Search options (Page 46 of 71)

My grandson, Casey and I played a gig last night for the American Cancer Association. It was a dinner for "survivors" who have been "cured" of cancer. I put quotes on the word cured because they use it as a relative term. All cancer survivors have a date certain followed by a timeline since their last signs of the disease disappeared. They all would tell us "12 months" or "ten years" since remission. Needless to say, "survivors" are a positive bunch. One fellow who was quite young came up to us with his pretty wife to announce that his throat cancer hasn't been back for 12 years. Most folks who dodge death change their priorities and try not to miss out on the really important things in life.
This was the first venue where we had enough room around our setup for Casey to skate on his rip stick (a skateboard with two castor wheels) while I sang slow ballads. This gives Casey a chance to showcase his excellent skating skills and entertain visually as well as sparing his hands on his djembe drum thus saving them for the up tempo stuff. The crowd enjoyed his skating as much as his drumming and singing.
toots

Hi Johncross21,
You have a good idea to record yourself. The sounds coming out of the speakers and the voice you hear in your own head are majorly different.
It is the sound coming from the speakers you have to refine and improve.
Nine out of ten people tend to go flat when their intonation slips a bit. My niece is one of the few that  goes sharp. Sharp or flat doesn't matter until you have flat tending singers singing along with a sharp one. Then the intonation difference will really rattle your cage.
toots

Amy, you bad girl - putting the snitch on his triangle pick. My wife does me the same way.
I like triangle picks because if they rotate, all three corners play and feel the same and the flat edge gets firmly against the palm of your hand and stabilizes everything.

I find men with an Irish brogue interesting and entertaining.
Women with the brogue sound fetching. I could listen forever.
toots

Hi Badeye. It's Friday and time for some more blues on your wonderful thread here. After tax day there are multitudes of folks who have the blues.
Pat Dailey is a writer usually known for his funny songs but I find he can do serious ones big time. I found this one on a C.D. of his but it's not up on U-Tube. My buddy John Reno recorded Pat's "Blue Catawba Moon" with me playing tuba and trumpet on his "Bonified Social Club" C.D. http://www.johnreno.com/music.html
Casey recorded me last night so you could hear this well written tune:
http://www.youtube.com/user/tubatooter1940

Hi Mark,
One thing to look forward to is, as you age, hardening of the arteries sets in and finally prevents the blood vessel expansion that  is the chief cause of migranes.
I was so glad when I reached my late thirties and my capilary headaches came less frequently.
Still, booze, too much chocolate or other dairy products can set one off if I overindulge.
Since males in my family have all been alcoholics for the last three generations, my migraines have saved me from possibly a worse fate.

Hey Tony,
Don't sweat the harsh critique from your better half. She has no reason to be a diplomat where you are concerned. If others criticize you harshly, you bet she will come down on them like a ton of bricks. Honest criticism from her is a way for you to improve fastest because she will be anxious to recognize your real progress.
My wife's honesty has often been my only real and consistent measure of progress in a lifetime as a musician.
toots

Hey Doc,
We knew you would find a way to "git 'er done".
toots

Back in the day, my mom used to judge a man by how he danced. Ballroom dancing was a huge deal in the 1930's and through the 50's.
These days, sadly, formal dancing is a lost art. the discipline and the beauty is unappreciated by the X Generation. Another aspect was it gave a guy a chance to hold a strange girl closely without buying her an expensive dinner.
toots

Maybe I am incorrect but the rhythm pattern goes:
dum dum tee dum tee dum dum. No big deal!

Tell me about it,Doc. I spent 20 + years in barrooms playing:
"I Got the All Overs for You"
"Third Rate Romance - Low Rent Rendevous"
"Easy Lovin'"
How about, " Our Cow Wouldn't Give Us Any Milk So We Sold Him"
These songs are like some movies. Some are so bad they're almost good.
toots

Thick strings last the longest, hold a tune longer and have a bassier sound but they are harder to fret and tear off your hard won callouses.
Ultra light strings are trebly sounding, hold a tune for the shortest time but are easy on your fingers.
I have a Yamaha dreadnought and I like medium light strings (between light and medium thickness).
They give me a bigger sound than the lights and hold a tune fairly well.
toots