Piano (2 Viewers)

[The_Doc_Man]

I learned music theory and performance starting from age 6. Too many years ago. I started with the "piano accordian" which is different from the button accordian or concertina. I switched to trumpet at about 12 and switched to organ at 13. I played organ for many years thereafter.

Including playing on live TV in Birmingham AL USA, playing for fashion shows (same city), playing on Bourbon St. and on Tulane Ave. in New Orleans, and even recording a couple of singles at the same studio where Fats Domino cut his first albums. (Cosimo Studios in the N'Awlins French Quarter.)

I guess the highlight of my performing career was when I was in the backup band that covered the Sonny & Cher concert. Charlie Rich ("The Silver Fox") was the lead-in act. I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Rich at some length. He set me straight on music as a career. Which is why I stayed with computers and chemistry.

To summarize his advice: Unless you have a great deal of luck or an incredibly apt manager, you will spend years on the road, living out of a bus or a cheap motel room, never forming close relationships with anyone except your tour members, and never having a place to call home.

I played organ as a hobby or a side vocation since I was 13. The only reason I don't right know is that Hurricane Katrina drowned the instrument I had and at the moment I have other priorities to consider in home reconstruction. I'll get another instrument eventually, but right now I've got other fish to fry.

On the theme of pianos and electric keyboards, I tend to bang a lot on any touch-sensitive keyboard but I'm told that on electronics, I'm enjoyable as a performer.

That comment about "the piano player doesn't go home alone" - My wife and I met at a dance because my musical background helped me to become a good dancer. She was later fascinated by my educated fingers that could play other things than ordinary keyboards. But she liked my organ, too

 

[Bodisathva]

IThe only reason I don't right know is that Hurricane Katrina drowned the instrument I had...But she liked my organ, too

You know...I'm positive there's a joke in there about a drowned organ

So, Doc, not trying to pry too much, but given your background, what was the organ that was drowned? Please tell me it wasn't a B3 with Leslies

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I lost a Technics F3 console. 2 x 61 manuals, 1 x 25 pedals, about 150 voices depending on exactly how you wanted to count them. Maybe 100 if you were a really strict organ "purist." Polyphonic for all but the "Solo" voices. It was also a three-channel amplifier with something like 100 watts per channel or close to that. You could take direct RCA Audio Jack output if you wanted it.

It had 13 micro-computers inside because it used digital recordings of the sounds and played them back digitally. So for instance, "Trumpet" was a recording of someone playing a King trumpet. "Electric Piano" was a recording of someone playing a Fender Rhodes electric piano. I guess you could say everything except the "traditional organ" sounds were digitally sampled waveforms. Even the drums were sampled. First, it played the sounds via sampling. Second, it constructed rhythms by sequencing. So for the drums, at least two microprocessors were involved.

I never owned a Hammond with a Leslie but I once owned a Lowrey Lincolnwood with both internal AND external Leslies. It was possible using the "Ensemble" setting to run all three channels at one time. I could shake the house. Good thing it was a stand-alone house, no upstairs or downstairs neighbors to awaken.

On the other hand, the organ I played most often on Bourbon Street was a Hammond B3 with Leslie. Oddly enough, the owner of the bar where I worked had bought that organ after Hurricane Betsy. I doubt anyone can fix up the one I lost, the water got too deep.

But then, a Hammie can be fixed after a flood of less than three feet depth because all you have to do is clean up the pedal contacts. For the Technics, all the of works are spread around the instrument and the chip circuits get corroded. End of chip circuit. End of organ.

 

[Bodisathva]

I lost a Technics F3 console. 2 x 61 manuals, 1 x 25 pedals, about 150 voices depending on exactly how you wanted to count them. Maybe 100 if you were a really strict organ "purist." Polyphonic for all but the "Solo" voices. It was also a three-channel amplifier with something like 100 watts per channel or close to that. You could take direct RCA Audio Jack output if you wanted it.

bummer ...that was a nice piece.

I once owned a Lowrey Lincolnwood

I used to sell Lowrey's... Of course anything else we got in trade, but the Lowreys were the bread and butter. The Lincolnwood was a nice piece. Had a little old lady customer that used to make hubby load hers up on the truck so she could play it at church because she wouldn't play the one the church had.

 

[hooks]

I play a bit. I don't read music.

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, but sounds better played more slowly than it should be, it can be quite creepy if done right.

The middle 8 of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lot of Shakin'

I prefer to play the bass or Strat

Col

I am no keyboard player but i can bang a few things out by ear. I completely agree with ColinEssex. Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is the most beautiful piano song ever. I have about 5 different versions of that song and the slowest and sloppiest version is by far the best. That song just guts your insides. I usually listen to that song over and over while doing an all night programming session.

Sorry but im going to reminisce a little bit

I prefer jazz/funk guitar. Nothing better than playing old jazz/funk at a bar and watching the crowd love it even though they have never heard that style of music before. Those were the happiest days of my life. The ones that i remember most was when we had some girls dancing on our amplifiers. Never had girls dance like that and get that crazy to our type of music.

Another time the owner of the bar kept giving the band shots of some mystery drink and of course we the band ended up really drunk. The owner also made us play Elvis songs even though none of the band new any Elvis songs. Fun times.

The group that i played in never had a name, well we did but it changed every time we played. We also never practiced together. They would call me up after not hearing from them for about 4 months and say be at so and so tomorrow night at 8 pm. I would show up and we would play. lol I really miss it.

I was very lucky that the drummer and bass player were professional jazz musicians and were really really good. Of course anyone who knows anything about bands knows that the drummer and bass player make the band. If you have a good drummer and bass player then the band will sound good no matter what the guitar player does, so i had it easy.

I used to work at a hospital on midnight shift and i would go into the chapel (which was built in the 20s and was very eerie) and play on an old hammond organ the pipe organ song which is in all of the old scary movies. I can't think of the name of it but it is very eerie.


If you want to here some good organ stuff check out Jimmy Smith and Lonnie Smith. Both of them are excellent. Jimmy Smith is from what i hear the one who perfected the "Hammond" sound. Not sure if that is true but there ya go.

Anyway i rambled enough.

Let the good times roll

 

[BarryMK]

One of these days I will set up a website and let you guys hear what I play nowadays. ( I promised that to Barry and Col ).

Some things are worth waiting for!

 

[Ron_dK]

I'm working on that Barry.
Had some problems in finding a good free web host and my abilities in setting up a website are very limited
But I'll notify you , once arranged.

 

[BarryMK]

I'm working on that Barry.
Had some problems in finding a good free web host and my abilities in setting up a website are very limited
But I'll notify you , once arranged.

Ron
Good. I'm writing and recording with a vengeance at the moment. If I produce anything good enough I'll post it up. A couple of songs show promise. I've just fallen out of one band and into an even better one, oh the luxury of a four piece band again.

 

[Ron_dK]

I'm writing and recording with a vengeance at the moment.

What's a vengeance. A new multi recorder ?

If I produce anything good enough I'll post it up. A couple of songs show promise. I've just fallen out of one band and into an even better one, oh the luxury of a four piece band again.

I have lots of tapes and stuff, recorded with various bands, which I
transfered to CD, wav's, mp3 etc. Problem is to put it on a website.

I recently joined Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/), but one can only upload video's. So I 'll need to make some entertaining vid to support the songs uploaded on there. That's not really what I'm after, so I'll guess I better continue in finalizing that website and post anything interesting.

Ron

 

[Rich]

What's a vengeance. A new multi recorder ?



I have lots of tapes and stuff, recorded with various bands, which I
transfered to CD, wav's, mp3 etc. Problem is to put it on a website.

I recently joined Youtube ( http://www.youtube.com/), but one can only upload video's. So I 'll need to make some entertaining vid to support the songs uploaded on there. That's not really what I'm after, so I'll guess I better continue in finalizing that website and post anything interesting.

Ron

Why can't you just post a clip here?

 

[BarryMK]

What's a vengeance. A new multi recorder ?

Ron

Owing to the language difference I don't know if you're being serious or not. If you are - With a vengeance is a way of saying "doing a lot"

If not - a vengeance is the latest low tech recorder available and I have one for sale on Ebay
Barry

 

[BarryMK]

Why can't you just post a clip here?

Rich music files tend to be massive, even encoded MP3s. This site would never cope.

 

[Ron_dK]

Why can't you just post a clip here?

Max upload is only 300K. Would be a very short clip.

 

[Rich]

Max upload is only 300K. Would be a very short clip.

Enough to get a feel

 

[Ron_dK]

Owing to the language difference I don't know if you're being serious or not. If you are - With a vengeance is a way of saying "doing a lot"

If not - a vengeance is the latest low tech recorder available and I have one for sale on Ebay
Barry

I thought you were refering to the Vengeance Soundset for Korg Legacy Collection.
For a change, I was serious.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

As to the comment regarding Jimmy Smith originating "the Hammond Sound" - try ETHEL Smith, from 30 years earlier. She was innovative and had fingering at least as good as Jimmy Smith - but a different genre. I think the most famous of her recordings were "Nola" and "Tico Tico" - very up-tempo, quite lively, and very precise in her own way. She even wrote a book for organists who needed extra help with pedals - and she added a chapter for women organists who played in heels!

I actually didn't care for Jimmy Smith that much. He was all flash and no substance. Nothing but keyboard pyrotechnics, no coherence of melody. When he played "Misty" on one of his albums, it took him two full verses to get to the point at which the song was recognizable. There is "funky" and I don't question his funk level - but if you can't actually play a recognizable tune such as "Misty" so that it REMAINS recognizable even with improvization, you are missing your audience. Therefore, I would call him an artist but not as good an entertainer.

Don't know Lonnie Smith.

My favorite organists were Eddie Baxter and Johnny Kemm (two Lowrey Organ Company demonstrators) and Earl Grant (he of "Ebb Tide" and several other pop organ selections of the 1950s).

I also highly respect Keith Emerson's keyboard abilities. Also, even though he was less technically astute than some others, Billy Preston was a really fun organist. Entertaining is sometimes more fun than technically precise. Virgil Fox was awesome technically but sometimes his work was a bit mechanical. I thought his rendition of Bach's "Jig Fugue" was dynamite, though.

Bodisathva - you used to sell Lowrey Organs? My mother worked at the N'Awlins store as an organ teach for beginners. She loved working with children. Every now and then she would get a small credit for a sales or upgrade of an instrument. I used to do local demonstrations of Lowreys up to and including the Celebration (C-500). After that, though, I thought Lowrey Organs took a wrong turn. For instance, the early MX series required you to use the power steering or turn off about 30% of the organ's abilities. Now things are different, but back then the MX series was useless to me. That's why I switched to the Technics line.

 

[BarryMK]

I thought you were refering to the Vengeance Soundset for Korg Legacy Collection.
For a change, I was serious.

I'm glad to note that someone living in the Dutch mountains can be serious.

 

[BarryMK]

Enough to get a feel

You couldn't record a fart in 300k!

 

[Bodisathva]

I used to do local demonstrations of Lowreys up to and including the Celebration (C-500). After that, though, I thought Lowrey Organs took a wrong turn. For instance, the early MX series required you to use the power steering or turn off about 30% of the organ's abilities. Now things are different, but back then the MX series was useless to me. That's why I switched to the Technics line.

While they still concentrate on a lot of the pre-set stuff (which turns off a lot of purists), it's become a lot more customizeable. The SU series was nice...the new Stardust is incredible, but with a six figure price tag, working in the store was the only way I'd ever get to play one.

 

[Ron_dK]

I'm glad to note that someone living in the Dutch mountains can be serious.

Lol...

I'm happy to see that those UK Bards haven't lost their sense of humor either




BTW for those who didn't know, apart from piano/keyboards I do play some guitar as well.