Into Good Music Blog

David Bowie: A Reality Tour

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 16:22:00 +0000

David Bowie (born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947 in Brixton, London, England, United Kingdom) is an iconic English singer, songwriter and musician. David Bowie has hardly been heard or seen in the past five years, popping up only as a kind of sonic shadow, a backing vocalist on a handful of tracks by friends and new favorites, including Arcade Fire, David Gilmour, Alicia Keys, Scarlett Johansson and TV On The Radio.

David Bowie’s greatest hits live!” reads the sticker on the attractive packaging of this newly released, but recorded back in 2003, two-CD set. And nobody’s going to be complaining that the promise isn’t delivered, as Bowie – backed by a solid yet flexible band that hits each peak with precision – runs through elegant renditions of his most-pervasive successes. Under Pressure, Rebel Rebel, Ashes to Ashes, Ziggy Stardust, All the Young Dudes: all present and correct.

Like R.E.M.’s recent Live at the Olympia set, A Reality Tour was recorded in Dublin; the crew must come cheap. That, or fans in the Irish capital are simply unbeatable. The latter argument for the recording location is supported somewhat by the accompanying credits: after listing the various musical contributors, the emotionally charged audiences at the Point Depot” are acknowledged. And there’s no doubt those in attendance make themselves heard, though such is the high-quality mixing work on this release that their vociferous appreciation is kept at a distance until such a time as a roar is absolutely key.

With 33 tracks stretching well over two hours, A Reality Tour isn’t exactly suited to single-sitting listening. It’s also far from a genuine greatest hits collection, though it certainly does feature a number of Bowie’s most-loved songs. But it is a great document of one of the world’s most inspirational recording artists – and performers – proving that age can’t quench the man’s desire to create, communicate and, ultimately, entertain. A maverick talent whose place in the pop annals was assured long ago, Bowie’s continuing hunger sets a fabulous example for the up-and-coming could-be-‘Heroes’ crowd.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_1391211_48.html

About the Author: Gig Sport is an online ticket seller specialised in getting hard to find tickets for sold out music, theatre, festivals and sporting events at premium and competitive prices with Satisfaction Guaranteed Our aim is to provide fans with an excellent choice of Music tickets at a competitive market value. We want our customers to feel confident and secure so every ticket purchased from us is 100% guaranteed

http://www.gigsport.com

How To Reduce Feedback When You Play

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:37:00 +0000

If you've performed live on stage or even a casual jam with your friends at band practice -- one of the most annoying things guitarists have is a thing called FEEDBACK!

If you don't know what feedback is -- it's that terrible high pitched sound that comes from speakers.

It usually happens when you place your microphone too close to the speaker or play your guitar directly in front of the amplifier.

Not only does this damage your ears, but it puts your audience off when they come to hear you play! Now I'm not an expert on the dynamics of feedback. But I have performed on stage many times and have learnt a few tricks to avoid feedback from occurring...

The first step is to turn down your treble on your amplifier. Too much treble invites feedback so don't have too much treble in your amplifier settings.

The second step is to turn the volume on your guitar up only 3/4. Don't turn your volume up full as this is invites huge feedback! Always leave a little room on your volume, so don't turn it up all the way. Only 3/4 and I guarantee you will reduce feedback at least 80% with this trick.

One other trick is to turn down the gain or distortion on your amp. When you play softly, you can turn your gain or distortion full. But when you start playing with some serious volume, turn your gain only 50%.

You will still get the same sound and distortion, but this is the trick to avoiding feedback from occurring when you play loudly.

Finally, if you're using an effects pedal, only turn it up 3/4 the way. Like your guitar -- always leave a bit of leeway as it offers more control over the sound and keeps your playing tight!

Remember this -- if you keep control of your volumes, you reduce the level of feedback and have a much tighter sound as an over all band. If you turn everything up full and try to rule the world -- you'll sound a mess and out of control.

Written by ELMORE MUSIC

Heart - Crazy On You

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Steve Miller Band - Jet Airliner

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Big hotel turn your lights on

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:41:00 +0000

The title of this entry is part of the chorus of a well known Steve Miller song. Wait, it's not? Well according to the younger sister of a friend of my wife it is. How about Big ole jet airliner? That's more like it!

The mystery of rock and roll song lyrics has been around for.... well as long as rock and roll. I think the occasional drug induced haze, from either the listener or the performer, (or both) has magnified the issue. How about; "Excuse me while I kiss this guy". That sound you're hearing is Jimi Hendrix spinning in his grave. "There's a bathroom on the right". I don't think that is what John Fogerty was really trying to say. "Dirty deeds and the Dunder Chiefs". This one, actually "Dirty deeds done dirt cheap", is straight from Tom Griswald of the Bob and Tom show. He thought that was the chorus for many years.

How about one of the most famous album sides of all time, "In a Gadda da Vida"? In this case the lead singer of Iron Butterfly, Doug Ingle, while drunk or high (or both) allegedly slurred the words of the actual title and lyric "In a Garden of Eden". The result, one of the earliest and most endearing heavy metal songs of all time. By the way Mr. Ingle also wrote the song with its "proper" title. Just goes to show you, sometimes misinterpretation is a good thing.

Please share your unique lyrics as you see fit. Until next time, keep on rockin.

The Band - The Weight

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:51:00 +0000

The Band

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:26:00 +0000

On February 28, 1969 The Band made their live debut at the Winterland in San Francisco. The Band began backing up Bob Dylan in 1965 calling themselves The Hawks at that time. They were very influential in taking Dylan "electric" which of course was a very controversial event at the time. Singer/drummer Levon Helm did not participate in Dylan's 1965-1966 world tour for reasons unknown to me. The relationship continued throughout 1966 with Dylan and The Hawks, now named The Band, collaborating in casual sessions at a rented house in Woodstock New York (yes that Woodstock although the actual Woodstock concert was not really held in Woodstock). These sessions eventually would wind up on a Dylan album called The Basement Tapes. The Band also recorded a number of original songs that were released on the album Music From Big Pink and also on side four of The Basement Tapes. A little trivia for you. The album Big Pink received its name from the garish pink color of the Woodstock house.

Big Pink debuted in August of 1968 with songs that contained the eclectic backwoods style of The Band that was to become their trademark. Most of the songs were written by guitarist Robbie Robertson including the enduring classic "The Weight" (which is one of my favorite tunes of all time). The album received both popular and critical acclaim an in my opinion was one of the most influential albums of the late 1960's.

The LP The Band followed in 1969 with more great songs such as The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (you thought Joan Baez wrote it didn't you) and Up on Cripple Creek. This album was arguably their best work with the vocal harmonies being one of the items I appreciate most about the album. Stage Fright followed in 1970 with Cahoots in 1971. Other albums followed in the early 1970's before The Band performed their memorable last concert titled The Last Waltz in 1976, once again at The Winterland Ballroom. An all star cast performed at the concert including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and of course Bob Dylan. The Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

That is all for this time. As always I welcome your thoughts and comments. Keep on rockin' in the free world.

Mudcrutch - T.P.'s original band

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 01:43:00 +0000

We saw The Beatles!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Recently my wife and I attended a local concert. We went to see "1964 The Tribute". 1964 is a Beatles tribute band that has been together for 25 years. They perform as The Beatles in the early years from about 1962 to 1966. They wear the same clothes, boots and haircuts as The Beatles in the early days. They also play authentic instruments such as those played by The Beatles in that time frame. This goes right down to the Hofner bass for Paul, the Gretsch and 12 string Rickenbacker guitars for George, the Gibson E160J and 6 string Ric for John, and the same drum kit and heads used by Ringo. They also have authentic looking Vox amps although I found out those are just for show. They actually use newer Vox solid state boxes that they plug right into the PA system.

The idea is to recreate the exact sound of the Beatles. Amazingly they do this incredibly well. They all have the mannerisms of their character down perfectly right down to the George foot stomp to keep time and the fact that John often sang while chewing gum. The bass player even plays left handed.

This is the third time we have seen these gentleman perform and it is truly a great show. They remain in character for the entire show and truly, at times, make you forget they are not The Beatles. They have a website 1964thetribute.com. Check it out sometime. You can listen to some of their music and also see where they will be performing next. If they are in your area I highly recommend you see them. You will not be disappointed.

If any of you have experience with any other Beatles tribute bands or other tribute bands please feel free to share them. Until next time keep on rockin.

Guitar Heros

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:15:00 +0000

Who is the best guitar player in the world? We could argue this for days, weeks and probably even years. Your opinion may be based on your favorite style of music whether that be rock, country, jazz or whatever. Personally I appreciate good guitar players from all music genres. Some of the all time greats are Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Glen Campbell (a noted session guitarist before hitting it big as a singer), Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers trio of Dickie Betts, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks, and a couple later day heroes Joe Satriani and Brad Paisley. I could go on and on. Feel free to contribute to the blog and add your own.

My friend Mike, referred to in an earlier blog and an incredible guitar player in his own right, has his favorite in Jeff Beck. Mike's style sort of mimics Beck's with use of the whammy bar and getting many "unusual" sounds from his guitar. I guess for my money I prefer Eric Clapton. I can't really tell you why I just like his sound and his phrasings. Another guitar playing friend, Eric, who also is an incredible guitarist and a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard like Mike (incidentally, they play in the same band Back on Earth) turned me on to Django Reinhardt. Django is a jazz guitarist from the 1920's, 30's, 40's and 50's. He was known as the "Gypsy Guitarist". The man is incredible. He was badly burned in a fire at about the age of 18 and lost the use of his ring and pinkie fingers. He had to relearn to play the guitar using mostly his index and middle fingers as his other fingers were curled in towards his palm. Go to You Tube and search for him. You will be amazed at his ability and the speed of his fingering. Check it out it is a real treat if you like good guitar playing.

If you would like to share your guitar hero or heroes please do so. Until next time.

Forget all about that macho shit, learn how to play guitar.

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:02:00 +0000

As the title suggests, thank you John Mellencamp, at the age of 50 I decided to learn how to play guitar. I have always wanted to play and decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a try, that is nothing but my sanity and self confidence.

The torture began with a basic instruction book and has progressed to taking lessons from a good friend who has been playing for over 40 years. More on that later. My first attempts at forming chords were humbling and painful. Fretting a guitar places your hand and arm in positions that nature did not intend for them to be placed. Also pressing on steel guitar strings to form the chord is very hard on your fingertips. After a while you build up callouses but until then it is a painful experience. Along with the fretting you also need to get used to an 8 pound slab of wood hanging from your shoulder. Electric solid body guitars are heavy! It looks very easy to play when you are watching an accomplished guitarist, I assure you it is not. As I attempted to fret basic open chords like C and G my frustration would mount as I continued to touch strings not part of the chord or not press hard enough on the proper strings. You feel like you will never be able to make the chord. Finally after much pain and anguish I began to see progress.

I think that learning to play at 50 is more difficult than learning to play as a child. I think children learn easier and your hands and fingers are more flexible and easily trained. I hope this is true because when I go to Guitar Center and see all these little ten year old bastards playing so much better than me it really pisses me off! I guess the moral of that story is stay out of Guitar Center.

As I said earlier I began taking lessons from my friend Mike. Mike has been playing since the age of ten which means he has played for over 40 years now. He has the advantages of learning at a young age and experience. He also has something else I do not have...talent. Mike is an extremely accomplished guitar player who spent his early twenties playing on the road in a traveling band. I feel he could play in any big name band you can think of and more than hold his own. I would bet he is better than 75% of the guitar players currently playing and making a great living from it. Some people are lucky and get their break and others do not. Mike has been a great help with the mechanics of playing and he tells me I can become a decent guitar player in time with the proper mechanics and practice. I am not so sure about that but I do like playing for my own enjoyment.

The downside of taking lessons from Mike is he is so good that it is sometimes very frustrating trying to emulate what he is doing. He makes it look so damn easy. The other thing that sucks is what I play never quite sounds the same as what he plays. Then of course he has to throw in some impossible lick and then just sit there and grin at me knowing there is no way in hell I can possibly repeat it. He is a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard and I hate him!!! Okay, I don't really hate him but I would give a great deal to play anywhere near as well as he plays. I have seen slow but steady improvement and I will keep on plugging away.

Until next time take care and keep on rocking.

Uriah Heep - Easy Livin'

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:00:00 +0000

High School & College Years

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:48:00 +0000

I am continuing today with my early musical influences. In the early 1970’s, as I entered high school, the popularity of the “long play” album began to grow. Along with the album came liner notes and inserts. I really loved to read the inserts and the liner notes. It often gave insight into the making of the music on the album. There were some great albums that come out from 1970 to 1975. Aqualung, Machine Head, Can’t Buy a Thrill, Derek and the Dominos, Paranoid, Tapestry, Madman Across the Water; I could go on for hours. I really enjoyed how the songs fit together and began to appreciate the concept of developing an album.

When I went away to college the opportunity presented itself to be a DJ at the college radio station. That was a great experience! We had so many songs in our library and so much information about music and the performers at our fingertips. Two times per month all DJs were required to pull the midnight to 6 AM shift at the station. These were the only times we were on for 24 hours, normally we signed off at midnight. On these shifts we would play nothing but album sides. This would give you about one half hour at a time between album sides. I would take my school books and study but I also spent a great deal of time reading the album covers and liners. We also had large three ring notebooks filled with rock and roll trivia, facts and other information. I would often read these by the hour. By doing these things I learned not only the lyrics to songs but often the composer and other facts about the recording of the song. This knowledge has stayed with me through the years and I still enjoy learning the inside facts of rock and roll music.

If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences I would greatly appreciate it and love to hear them. Until next time, Merry Christmas and peace on earth.

Elvis - Blue Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:57:00 +0000

Working Class Hero

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Twenty eight years ago today the music world lost the genius of John Lennon to an assassin's bullets. It was a senseless killing perpetrated by an insane idiot. Earlier that day Lennon had signed an autograph for David Mark Chapman. I think this was a case of hero worship and stalking that went way too far and led to a tragic end.

John Lennon was far from a perfect person. The young John was cynical and angry and could be very cruel in his deeds and with his tongue. In listening to the song "Getting Better" from Sargent Pepper the line "I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her from the things she loved" always stood out to me. I think John was very cruel to Cynthia and it is well documented how cruel and mean he could be towards Brian Epstein and even his band mates. The mature John somehow found an inner peace with himself and the world. I have always blamed Yoko for being the catalyst that set in motion the break up of The Beatles. Now I wonder if that was the trade off for John metamorphosing into a good person and finding inner peace in his later life. Maybe it was just the fact of no longer having the pressure of being a Beatle. Perhaps it was the birth of Sean with an older and wiser John being more attuned to the gift of fatherhood. Whatever it was the John Lennon that died that fateful day twenty eight years ago was a very different person from the John of the early 1960's. He was not only a musical genius, he was a good man.

"A very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year let's hope its a good one without any fear".

The Beatles Arrive

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:21:00 +0000

February 9, 1964. The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show. I described it in my last entry. As I stated I feel that rock and roll changed forever that night. The genius of the Beatles is forever embedded in my brain. The songs, most of which were so simple at the start, were masterpieces. No complex guitar solos, no difficult riffs or chords, just a rhythm and a melody that were uplifting and made you want to sing along. A great deal of the early songs were silly love songs, as John said years later, but they just made me, and pretty much everyone else, want to sing along. Some of my favorites are Love Me Do, Please Please Me, I Want to Hold Your Hand, aw hell I love them all.

I always have wondered about the circumstance of their success. Would it have been the same without Brian Epstein? How about if Pete Best had stayed? What if some other producer instead of George Martin had been assigned to them? Remember, they had a difficult time finding a record company. Nobody wanted them. One executive even told Brian Epstein that "guitar groups are on the way out". Even EMI assigned them to their Parlophone label. Not exactly a ringing endorsement! Would we have had the pleasure of The Beatles if fate had not conspired to place all these people in the right place at the right time?

Once the Beatles performed on Ed Sullivan it opened the door for dozens of British groups to infiltrate the American radio airwaves. The Stones, The Who, The Animals, Herman's Hermits, The Dave Clark Five, Billy Joe Kramer and the Dakotas (how many of you remember them?), Gerry and the Pacemakers. The list is extensive. By the way Billy Joe Kramer and the Dakotas had a big hit with the song "Bad to Me". The authors of the song were none other than Lennon/ McCartney. I read somewhere that John actually wrote it but it sounds more like Paul to me.

I really enjoyed the guitar group music of the early mid 1960's and I still do to this day. To me it is timeless. I am really sorry I didn't purchase more records at that time. Most of my listening was done via AM radio. There is no doubt in my mind that this music fostered my love of rock and roll that exists to this day.

That's it for this time. Please share your thoughts and comments. Take care and long live rock!

Werner Regrets Building Rock Hall in Cleveland

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:46:00 +0000

In an early post I voiced my displeasure with the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex in New York. Apparently, Jann Werner co-founder of the Rock Hall wishes it would have been built in New York in the first place. Read the article and comments here.

Beatles Video

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:59:00 +0000

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:17:00 +0000

A spinoff of Cleveland’s Rock Hall will open soon in the SoHo district in Manhattan. Here’s the question......WHY? The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, not New York. I guess this is just another effort to eventually move the Rock Hall to New York. It’s bad enough that the awards ceremony is usually held in New York, not Cleveland. To put an annex there is just another slap in the face. The city of Cleveland needs the Rock Hall AND the awards ceremony to get people to visit the area. New York seems determined to steal everything away from Cleveland. First LeBron James and now The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What do you think?

Take the poll

Free Poll by Blog Flux

First Blog Attempt

noreply@blogger.com (The Real Mr. Ed) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:53:00 +0000

Well here it is, my first attempt at a blog. It is really my wife's idea. She says I am a good writer and that I have a great deal to say. I think what she is really saying is I talk too much and she is tired of listening to me. We both share a love of good music with most of my interest being in rock and roll from the 1960's and 70's. That is what this blog will concentrate on most of the time. Well...here goes nothing.

My interest in music started at a very early age. I am the youngest of 4 children with all my siblings being much older than me. You might say I was an "accident". Actually, there is no maybe about it, I was an accident. Anyway, my nearest sibling is 11 years older than me and the oldest is 17 years older than me. If you do the math here my oldest brother was a senior in high school when I was born. This meant that all 3 of them had a profound effect on me as I grew up. One of the effects was that they had vinyl records which they played on a "record player". This was a monural, no stereo at that time, player that could spin 45, 33, and 78 RPM records. The time period being the late 1950's and early 1960's they had rock and roll records. I can remember how colorful the records where. They weren't all black vinyl, they came in different colors. The artists at the time included Dion and The Belmonts, Connie Francis, Frankie Avalon, Elvis of course, Paul Anka, The Penguins, Little Anthony, Chuck Berry, (maybe the first guitar God) and so forth. They also had records which these days we call cross over country. There were artists like The Browns, Ferlin Husky, Conway Twitty, Eddy Arnold and others that went on to shape county music in the sixties. My sister especially would play the records for me until I was old enough to play them myself.This started at about the age of 3. I loved playing the records and would listen for hours.

I also recall watching American Bandstand with my Sis and dancing along with the kids on TV. We did all the early and middle 1960's dances. I have great memories of all this. I even remember vividly February 9, 1964 when rock and roll changed forever. That was the night the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan. I can see it like it was yesterday. The suits and skinny ties they wore with their "Beatle Boots", the floppy haircuts, which were a cause for concern for my Mom. "Just look at that hair"! And the screaming girls in the audience. That is the night that rock and roll changed for ever. Good bye doo wap groups, so long country cross over singers, see ya Frankie and Paul. Rock and roll became the land of the guitar group.

That's it for now. If you have any memories, thoughts, or comments you would like to share please post them. See ya next time.