Sick of Music? Start Your Own Band

by David W. Jackson

You’ve always wanted to start a band, since you were little, air guitaring in front of the mirror to your sister’s copy of Frampton Comes Alive. Now’s your chance.

Step one: find someone with whom to play. Bulletin boards around most towns will be overrun with flyers that say ‘Bassist needed to play experimental skronk-jazz with a Southern rock edge’ or ‘World’s greatest guitarist seeks established band to Get Signed!’ or…well, you get the idea. Answering these is a bit, um, scary, but remember that some of the most successful bands in history formed as a result of carefully placed ads. Duran Duran, for example.

If you place your own ad, remember a few things:

1. Be specific. ‘Musician wants to form band. Must have own equipment’ will get about as much response as ‘Dryer Lint For Sale.’ State what you have in mind (Covers or Originals? Any particular style?), and always list your influences, even if they range from Balinese ritual music to suburban three chord punk.

2. Avoid hyperbole. Would you enjoy playing with the ‘World’s Greatest Guitarist’? If you’re in it primarily for fun, the words ‘No Experience Necessary’ always achieve interesting results.

3. Expect the unexpected. All kinds of crazy freaks answer ads. Just ask anyone who’s ever tried to sell a refrigerator. Another obstacle is finding some place to practice. Dorms and standard twentysomething apartment buildings (for obvious reasons) aren’t conducive to loud rock and roll.

Most of the people in most of the neighborhoods in most of the college towns in the world are used to a little bit of noise, so basement rock is generally the way to go. Talk to your neighbors before you rock and don’t play after 10:00 at night or the cops will come. If no one in your band has a basement, talk to people in other bands to find out where they practice and then trick them into letting you practice there too.

Another popular option is self-storage. College towns have a large concentration of people with ten times as much stuff as space to put it in, so naturally there are dozens of storage complexes, most of which are very cool about renting to bands. Rates and sizes vary, but if you shop around and combine resources with other bands, you can jam econo. The most obvious pros are that you can turn up as loud as you want at most places and play anytime the complex is open. Cons include the cold of winter and the heat of summer (not much insulation here, folks) and the often spartan wiring.

So your band’s been playing for a couple of months now, you’ve got ten or so songs together, and you want other people to hear them. There are a number of ways to go. A popular pastime among college students is something historically referred to as “The Party.” Young people gather at these occasions to foster stimulating discourse and express feelings of goodwill that will cement the bonds of friendship for years to come. As a result, they also like to rock. That’s where your band comes in. A little foresight, and you might even make it through with only residual equipment damage.

Don’t play too loud or too late, or the cops will come. Bars often like to organize live music as well, to break up the monotony of patrons drinking themselves into oblivion to a soundtrack of today’s recorded hits. Many fine established bands, as well as bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, got their start playing in stinky, wretched…um, well-maintained and pleasant drinking establishments. Often, a lucky local group can get an opening slot for the next Green Day, which is one step away from being the next next Green Day.

If, once and for all, you decide you’re content goofing around with your friends and making up songs about your favorite ’70s action show, and you couldn’t care less if anyone else hears you, then just rock out to your little heart’s content in your own basement and don’t share with the rest of us. We don’t care. We’ve already got our own band.

This article was acquired from the Music Monitor

Copyright © 1999 – 2010 the Music Monitor. All Rights Reserved.

New guitar mounted holding system for Iphones

St-Hyacinthe, CA Jun 22, 2010

Quebec-based Castiv Media is proud to announce the Guitar Sidekick, a guitar mounted holding system designed for Iphones. The system enables the musician to easily use any of the music/guitar apps available on iTunes, such as: video lessons, lyrics teleprompter, audio recorder, metronome, tabs display, and instrument tuner. Compatible with any guitar, it does not affect playing or tuning.

The Guitar Sidekick is positioned between the nut and the machine heads (tuners) of the guitar by clipping it around the strings. It does not affect the sound, playing, or tuning of the guitar, and works equally well with classical, acoustic, electric or bass guitars. The grip can freely rotate and position the iPhone in either portrait or landscape mode. The adjustable grip can accommodate the iPhone, iPod touch, iPod nano, BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry, Android, PSP, Zune, iTab, and more.

Feature Highlights:

* Easy to install and use
* Works on acoustic, classical and electric guitars
* Does not affect the acoustics of your guitar
* You can still tune your guitar with the Sidekick on
* Can rotate to accommodate either portrait or landscape view

There are currently more than 500 guitar apps for the iPhone/iPod touch which provide a wide variety of teaching, recording, accompanying, timing, and lyric reading functions. Particularly popular are guitar tabs (tablatures), which are fingering diagrams for songs, sometimes including lyrics. Castiv Media offers their own MP4 Tabs Lite application, permitting uploading of scrolling tabs from a Windows computer to the iPhone or other mobile device.

Pricing and Availability:
Guitar Sidekick for the iPhone, iPod touch, and other devices is available for $29.99 (USD). MP4 Tabs Lite is a free application.

Located in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, Castiv Media is a design company specializing in smartphone accessories for musicians. The company was founded by Mark and David Garon in 2009, and the guitar Sidekick is their first product released to the market. Later this year they plan on extending the Sidekick line with several other products. Copyright 2010 Castiv Media. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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REMINISCE – Joe Augustine

REMINISCE

Joe Augustine Revere Records RVR-961 On this CD, piano sensation Joe Augustine looks back and interprets the past. Here, he delivers with a creative interpretation of some past standards. Among these we have “My Funny Valentine” “Makin’ Whoopie” and the giant hits, “It Had to Be You” and “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” As he did on one previous album, he sandwiches hits between his own original creations. On REMINISCE he has “Remembering You” as the first song and the title track as the last one. What is different about this album though, is that on this production he has support in the way of Chuck Jacobs on bass and Albie Berk on drums. The backup never overpowers Augustine’s piano. This is a CD that brings an acoustic sense to the listener. The players only complement Augustine. Their support is mostly in the distance, thus the art work of the piano player is spot-lighted. The fourteen tunes are classic tunes penned by legends such as Irving Berlin and the Gershwin’s. A sophisticated presentation that displays an astronomical amount of class and ability. You will feel surrounded by the music. I felt like the drummer was behind me and the pianist in front. The production is clean and allows the music to speak. A rich, enjoyable experience. www.joeaugustine.com

PASO DEL NORTE – The Songs

A Celebration of El Paso’s 400th Anniversary
INNOVATIVE STRINGS

This album is a historic work that recognizes the rich history of the El Paso-Texas-Juarez, MEXICO area. Texas, New Mexico, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua were witness to Don Juan de Onate as he crossed the ancient Rio Grande (literally means “Large River”) on April 20th 1598. PASO DEL NORTE, the CD recognizes and celebrates this fact.  The album features various artists with a total of 18 songs.  These last for almost an hour and a quarter. Total time [73:42]  Featured are local classical, jazz, Latin, and world music artists. Most of the songs are done on the acoustic guitar.         The main artist presented is Stefan Schyga, who performs solo; with his duo LA VIENTA; and with the Acoustic World Ensemble. The group YOBOSO also appears here. So does the other half of Schyga’s duo–Mario Otero.  Add to the album El Paso’s hot jazz keyboard wizard Billy Townes and Nestor Asqui an international guitar artist as well as talented tango and acoustic player. The flamenco artist Carlos Lomas and jazz guitarist Curt Warren give variety to this production. But we aren’t done yet as I haven’t mentioned  William Strickland and Saeed Shahram “Invisible Borders” and finally guitar professor Aquiles Valdez and Ruben Gutierez, a local piano artist and teacher. The album is a musical tour-de-force! A must have.

http://www.innovativestrings.com

McKinley – Big Top Shop Talk

With her smooth vocal tones and jazz underpinnings, McKinley reaches some great hieghts on Big Top Shop Talk. Her songs are inviting and fresh. While her mellow natured songs and clever guitar riffs beckon you to listen again and again, it really is the wit of the lyrics that shine through and make this CD a singable delight.

Her version of “When Doves Cry” is incredible. She comes across sounding real & honest. Her treatment of the Prince classic “When doves cry” proves that she has the depth to create something fresh and new. For good measure, she retools a couple of her own songs from her previous self-titled release and throws in 7 new songs to boot!

It’s these new arrangements of her older songs I find so hard to swallow. If you like this album and are really seeking a treat, look for her first release “McKinley”. I promise the violin and cellos will sweep you off your feet!

Stefan Schyga – A LITTLE WORLD MUSIC

Stefan Schyga, a native of Hildesheim, Germany, began studying violin at age 11.
Soon after he developed an interest in guitar and started teaching himself. At 15,
he and his family moved to El Paso, Texas. He attended The University of Texas
at El Paso for two years where he studied violin with Laurence Gibson and studied
classical guitar with Neil Pennington.
In 1981, he returned to Germany to audition for a position at the German Navy
Band and was accepted. He also performed with a top 40 band, “Melody Kiel,”
playing bass and electric guitar. He continued his violin studies with Ludmilla
Slavianska and studied Flamenco guitar with Christopher Sturm.
In 1984, Stefan returned to El Paso to continue his studies. He received his
Bachelor of Music in 1988 and his Masters in 1991 from The University of Texas
at El Paso. In 1990, he won the university’s fourteenth annual Concerto and Aria
Contest. He studied classical guitar with Aquiles Valdez and worked and studied
with Flamenco artists Antonio & Rita Triana, Roque “Jarrito” Montoya and Elsa
Rosario. He studied composition with Dr. Joseph Packales.
Stefan used flamenco and classical techniques to bring to life his nylon strung
Spanish guitar.
Telarc recordings featuring La Vienta
* Forgotten Romance
* Jazzmenco
* Night Dance
During 1993 until 1998 La Vienta made their mark on the international music
scene with their fresh approach to acoustic guitar music.
They performed from San Francisco to New York, climbed to #17 on Billboards
Contemporary Jazz charts and to #4 of Mexico City’s Jazz Charts.
Since the Stefan has released two successful solo albums:
A Little World Music: Solo Spanish Guitar
Spanish Soul: Featuring the Acoustic World Ensemble
Selected Performances:
2006: Guitar Town Festival with Joe Satriani, Tommy Emmanuel, Sonny Landreth
and many more.
Great American Music Hall
San Francisco
Jazz Times Convention
New York
Stefan currently teaches at Guitar at Franklin High School. His website:
www.LearnHowToPlayGuitar.com is teaching over 3600 guitar students how to
play guitar. The site is free and is one way for Stefan to give back.
2008 will see another brand new release by Stefan featuring his favorite Classical
and Latin American Guitar compositions.

AATMI Djembe

AATMI Djembe
West african musical instruments and drums, designed created and sold by the group AATMI Djembe.Promotion of traditional west african music and culture.

2112 Percussion

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