Random Music Blogs (15)

In the music news, Eagles band co-founder Don Henley was in court this week over a case where he clams handwritten notes used to craft songs from the 1976 album HOTEL CALIFORNIA had been stolen and sold at auctions. Three collectibles dealers Glenn Horowitz, Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski are on trial in this case.

Valued at more than $1 million, the defendants knew the materials were stolen, manufactured false provenance, lied to auction houses, potential buyers and law enforcement about the origin of the manuscripts.

This all started with author Ed Sanders, who had been hired to write a biography of the Eagles, were he allegedly had stolen them in the late 1970's and is said to have sold the manuscripts to Horowitz in 2005, who then sold them to Inciardi and Kosinski.
In this case, Sanders has not been charged with a crime. However, the means by which Sanders got the notes is essentially the question at the center of the case.

Henley testified that he gave Sanders access to his handwritten notes, but he never gave the writer permanent possession.

The attorney who is representing Kosinki, stated the defense rightfully owned the material and therefore were free to sell the papers. He claimed that Henley voluntarily provided the lyrics to Sanders.

The defendants opted to forgo a jury trial and the trial is expected to last for several weeks. The verdict will ultimately be decided by the judge. Obviously a lot at stake.



Hotel California is listed as the third-best-selling album of all time, certified platinum 26 times by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) having sold more than 32 million units worldwide.

Both of my cousins who relocated/retired to Florida are musicians. The one who is 4 miles from me is active for small events, parties as a soloist on keyboards with some programmed electronic drum tracks. When possible, he hires out as a trio with a guitarist and bassist.

Several times we talked about his bass player going through some health (and personal) issues that is affecting his wanting to gig and if I'm interested should his guy decide to leave the trio. I said yes, but I'm no where 'up to speed' to play 40 songs at a gig. I'll need more time. He knows, I've got several bass guitars and amps and can 'rock & roll' at a moments notice... well, assuming I know the songs. But I want to be 100%

He's booked a local gig at a club in downtown as a duo because the club owner didn't want the trio. The bassist was offended and indicated it might be time for him to move on... I'll go to his gig, not to play and no expectations other than getting the experience of seeing them perform live, so I can make a few recordings. That way, I can fit in seamlessly and be an asset to the group.

I've been asked to provide some photos of me, the bass and me playing the bass along with a short write-up of my musical background so he can include it in an introduction sheet of the members with some list that he emails people who would be interested in hiring the group.

Doubting I can make this happen quickly, he's heard some of my demo tapes from years ago and said it should be no problem. He feels really good about this and said "Don't worry cuz, this is your fate."

One of the founding members of the Allman Brothers band passed away at the age of 80. He was a singer and guitarist, born in West Palm Beach, Florida and retired in Osprey, Florida.
Betts had some health issues dating back to a stroke in 2018 and died from cancer and COPD at his home today.

Ramblin' Man - The Allman Brothers Band

In the late 60's and early 70's there was a popular venue where they held teen dances Saturday and Sunday nights. It was originally a grocery store that went bankrupt, not long after it became a gathering place where they projected surfing movies on the wall. A father and son bought the place, erected 2 stages and hired local bands to perform there. The pay wasn't great, but it was steady work where as many as 4 bands playing each night and sometimes we were booked 6 to 8 nights a month.

The venue (legally) had a capacity of 90, but there where nights where kids stood outside waiting to get in and it was mostly 'standing room only' as the owners packed the place.
Lots of places would stamp your hand as identification so you could leave and return later and more kids would pay to get in as soon as a few left... even if they were going for a hamburger with plans to be back in 30 minutes. So total paid attendance would easily be 250 to 300 in a 4 hour period.

Because it was so popular, bands as far as 50 miles away were booked to play there. I got to hear a good sampling of the music being played in South Florida. There were a few Latin (Cuban) bands playing and a few soul or blues groups, but mostly the mix was rock & roll and later changing to hard rock music.

Over the years, I had been in a few different groups and my father managed us which was great because he was friendly with the owners that helped us get more bookings.

One afternoon, we had solid rain for a few hours and the streets were flooded. Some of the groups were forced to cancel their appearances. We weren't booked that night, but a desperate last-minute call from the owner asked if we were available. No problem. Our drummer had a Volkswagen bus, so we loaded our gear and was able to go through the flooded streets to make it to the gig! That effort put us in 'solid' with the owners.

As always, it was important to have a good opening song at the beginning of each set.
There was a band we often shared a stage with called "The Body Shop" and they played a mixture of blues and rock & roll. They were located across town so none of us knew them from school or any other connection, but we got along great with no friction or band rivalry in any way, so it didn't matter if they opened the set first or we opened the set first.
The cool thing about this group was they often opened their set playing the high-energy song "Living in the USA" by the Steve Miller Band.
I heard this song on the radio today and it reminded me of the group.
Great song!



"Somebody get me a cheesburger..."

But each day, when she walks to the sea, She looks straight ahead, not at he...
Lyrics from the song The Girl From Ipanema, a 1960's Brazilian Bossa Nova international hit.

It's in the song list of music I'm learning, for an upcoming gig. Rehearsals at a rate of 2 per week puts me in a pinch, as it's not enough time to comfortably learn all the arrangements and play more than one set as a trio. My cousin will duo with the guitarist and do the other 2 sets without me. No choice. it's agreed. The venue is a open bar at a restaurant and the management only wanted a duo to play low-volume anyway. I'll be introduced as a guest musician and play a few songs. We are bumping the regular entertainment... a woman who sings to pre-recorded music.

At this point, I'm expecting to carry on my day job working 2 large projects and 1 small one already on the books. I asked for a short break from sales for a few months. That didn't go as planned, three new sales leads are on my calendar.

I'll make it happen... I always do.




Brazilian jazz singer, Astrud Gilberto, 1940 to 2023 died at the age of 83.

Did Kurt Cobain and Nirvana really change the landscape of music?? It's been 30 years since his death. Bassist Krist Novoselic's career faded and drummer Dave Grohl's career soared.
They still play Nirvana songs on classic radio.



Drugs, sex and grunge music...

It's Sunday night and I'm wrapping up another YouTube marathon weekend, where I came across some stories about Paul McCartney and John Lennon. American singer/songwriter/guitarist Carl Perkins had enormous influence on The Beatles, early in their careers.
This video I'm linking is about after their breakup and how they often collaborated with other musicians.

Paul & Linda had visited John in New York at The Dakota apartments where he was staying. As they were leaving it's claimed Lennon said: "Think about me every now and then old friend..." Something they didn't share with anyone else. Lennon was murdered in 1980.

Years later, McCartney invited Carl Perkins to work on a project with him and stayed at their house. Carl had a dream with a song lyric and the next morning he played it for Paul, repeating the last words he and Linda heard when leaving John.

The rest is history.



Did the spirit of John pass by Carl that night?

Now that I'm getting back to music as a profession, my tone and volume is more important as a trio performing in small venues than as a five piece rock band playing at outdoor concerts. My cousin did a gig at a patio bar of a local restaurant the other night and the first thing the manager said was "Keep the volume down."

I get that. I walked around the venue to listen to the loudness and levels of the piano, drum machine, guitar and vocals then came back to make suggestions. For now, all the music came through 2 speakers on stands near the band. Louder near the front and not loud enough in the back.

The manager said the volume near the band was okay. I suggested moving the speakers further apart so the coverage near the back would better without having to make things louder. My cousin mentioned he has 2 satellite speakers not being used. That's perfect and all we need to do is make some extension cords for power and sound and we can place them on opposite sides of the venue for better coverage.

To keep levels under control, I'm thinking about some audio compression. It's something that gets used in nearly all processed media we listen to. I've been researching audio compression recently for where and how it gets used, also what benefits it will give in a live performance. Basically... it makes the sound more uniform where the peaks don't exceed a preset level and the lower sounds are raised making the music program sound fuller. The music is literally compressed into a volume range.

For me, it will even out my volume so finger picking style is the same volume as slap style. I bought an inexpensive compressor and will experiment with that.

Some videos on compression are 20 to 50 minutes long... too much for an example. I found a good example that takes less than 3 minutes to make the point.



A good explanation is a singer getting very close to the microphone and then backing away a foot or two. The compressor will compensate for both conditions so he/she will have the same level.

A sweet song from yesteryears.

Releasing her first country album called, Cowboy Carter, should bring some attention to that genre of music.