Reunion Blues Backstage Banter

The Reunion Blues Blog

Monthly Archives: April 2011

Orlando Wright, bassist to the Stars

Last Saturday night, I forfeited my usual piano gig and jumped across the Golden Gate to hook up with Reunion Blues artist Orlando Wright who is currently touring with guitar legend Buddy Guy. The concert was at the incredible Davies Symphony Hall in downtown San Francisco.

Orlando, John, Ric

In his dressing room, Buddy was in rare form sharing road warrior stories about B.B. King and John Lee Hooker and making us laugh until we cried. We sat in the green room with Orlando and had the opportunity to meet with the band. There was a Steinway grand sitting in the room and Orlando, knowing I am a big fan of stride piano, kept bugging me to play a tune. I finally sat down and ripped off a little “Honeysuckle Rose” which piqued the curiosity of Marty Sammon, Buddy’s keyboard player. As Marty sat to take a turn at the 88s, I knew I was in big trouble. :-)  He ripped into a tune where the left hand emulated Fats Waller on a good day… while his right hand echoed Dr. John. – Unbelievable.

The purpose of our visit was the recording of Orlando outside the concert hall, giving him the opportunity to tell us about his relationship with Reunion Blues. We were then invited to witness a stage show that the “74 Years Young” Buddy Guy put together for a sold-out venue. The blazing duels between Buddy and guitarist Ric “Jaz” Hall left everyone breathless while the cool, calm and collected Orlando Wright held up the bottom with the confidence of a thoroughbred. – This is a must-see concert.

Check out Orlando’s page by clicking HERE.

Free Trumpet Case Week

RBCT3 Triple Trumpet Case
RBCT3 Triple Trumpet Case
It is trumpet week!  We have the Reunion Blues Continental RBCT3 Triple Trumpet Case for the best trumpeter story or reason why you should have this case. The RBCT3 can hold and protect up to 3 trumpets.

To qualify all trumpeters need to Like us on Facebook (we’ll be checking) and toot your horn (sorry, couldn’t resist) about your journey as a trumpeter in the comment section of this blog post (not on Facebook). The more creative the better chance you have at winning. We’ll highlight our top picks later this week and choose the most inspirational trumpeter’s story on Monday, May 2nd. Get your story in by Sunday May 1st.  U.S. residents only.  Good luck!

Nikki Sixx “This is Gonna Hurt” Book Tour

I met Nikki Sixx on his book signing tour.  He hit San Francisco on 4/14/2011.  He was signing his new book “This Is Gonna Hurt” at Book Passages in the SF Ferry Building.  We waited with hundreds of others for an hour and 30 minutes.  When we looked back, we couldn’t even see the end of the line there were so many people.

Nikki told me that the guys were giving him a hard time because he didn’t have a gig bag for his guitar.  He said that “he needs a gig bag”!!!  I told him that the Sonoma Bass Gig Bag, in black leather (model #314 15-29) is 49″, not long enough for his new Signature Blackbird Bass, which is a staggering 57″! Nikki said that he can use it for his P Bass.  Yes!  He now has the RB Sonoma Bass gig bag in black leather.  I also hooked him up with our black Merino Wool Pinstripe RB guitar strap.   DJ Ashba, his guitarist of Sixx .AM., has the same strap,  which I presented to him at the NAMM Show.

Nikki was just as I had imagined … charming, kind, warm, and an all over beautiful person.  Let’s just say that I was 15 when I first started listening to the Crue, and Nikki was plastered all over my room.  You can imagine this meeting was one of the best days of my life!  Thank you Nikki!

Details on his new book are as follows: This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx, is part photo, part journal—but all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling photography and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Combining the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times Bestseller The Heroin Diaries with a photographic journey, This Is Gonna Hurt chronicles Sixx’s experiences—from his early years filled with toxic waste, to his success with Motley Crue, to his death from an OD and his eventual rebirth through music, photography, and love.

Love story, bad-ass rock tell-all, social commentary, family memoir, This Is Gonna Hurt offers the compelling insights of an artist and a man struggling to survive, connect, and find a happy ending—a search that fuels Sixx’s being.

You can view his book tour dates and videos of the “This is Gonna Hurt” documentary by checking out Nikki Sixx’s official site:  http://www.nikkisixx.net

Motley Crue is on Tour this year!  For all of you Crue fans check out the following link for tour dates near you! http://www.nikkisixx.net/tour/

 

 

Music Ed and Desert Fun with School Music Dealers at NASMD

National Association of School Music Dealers

The National Association of School Music Dealers NASMD knows how to combine industry education, motivation, networking and good old fashioned fun in their conferences. This year’s event in Palm Springs was spectacular! Bringing together the leaders of this segment of the music accessories industry, NASMD ensures that their business is heading in the right direction.

West Music's John Feldman and Nate Ersig with Reunion Blues' rep Jay Lewallen - Photo Credit: Music Inc. Magazine

Business sessions with titles like “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Instrument Rental Programs”, “Future Trends in Retailing”, “Changing Technology and Your Business” and “Saving Music From the Chopping Block-Politics” helped conference attendees stay at the forefront of critical issues.  Events like the Road Rep Olympics (including an Obstacle Course, Van Schlepping and Loading and Equipment Repair) and the Golf Tournament ensured that everyone had a rollicking good time. Throw in a few cocktail parties and poolside receptions and you’ve got the perfectly complete conference. Madeleine Crouch with NASMD has to be the hardest working, nicest event organizer in the world. She was everywhere and did everything.

Equipment Repair winner Chris Behrens from Summerhays Music stands atop his RocknRoller Multicart first prize while Madeleine Crouch looks on. - Photo Credit: Music Inc.

A Road Rep Olympics contestant navigates the dreaded NASMD obstacle course! - Photo Credit: Music Inc. Magazine

One of the highlights was “Rep-Ardy”, a take off on the Jeopardy game. Hosted by George Quinlan “Trebek” of Quinlan and Fabish with industry leaders as participants, this event tested industry knowledge amidst much laughter and good sportsmanship. The panelists were Steve West of West Music, Jim Kidder of Kidder Music, Bill Harvey of Buddy Rogers Music, Roger White of White House of Music and Scott Summerhays of Summerhays Music. Everyone who witnessed the game was a winner.

George Quinlan, dressed in his Alex Trebek costume, congratulates Rep-Ardy winner Jim Kidder - Photo Credit: Music Trades Magazine

NASMD Professional Standards are:
• To Help Teachers Develop Successful School Music Programs
• Help Parents Support Their Child’s Active Participation in School Music Programs
• Help Students Enjoy the Benefits of Making Music in their School

Based on the Professional Standards listed above, NASMD is doing a great job. It is becoming widely known that students who participate in music programs score higher on tests, develop higher IQs and build social skills and lifelong self-motivation. Much of this can be attributed to NASMD dealers who work closely with schools and band directors to keep the music programs marching onward and upward.

The final evening festivities included Grayson and Kristina Zeagler of Zeagler Music passing the plaque to new NASMD President Joel Menchey of Menchey Music. - Photo Credit: Music Trades Magazine

Free Cymbal Case Week

RBCM22 Cymbal Case
RBCM22 Cymbal Case

This week we’re gonna give the drummer somethin’! We have the Reunion Blues Continental RBCM22 Cymbal Case for the best drummer story or reason why you need to win this case. It can hold and protect up to 4 large crash or ride cymbals and a hi hat.

All drummers need to Like us on Facebook and tell us your story in the comment section of this blog post (not on Facebook). Feel free to get creative! The more creative the better chance you have at winning. We’ll highlight our top picks later this week and choose the most inspirational drummer’s story on Monday, April 25th. Get your story in by Sunday the 24th.

Reunion Blues – Adventures at SXSW 2011

Austin, TX - Music Capitol of the World?
Every spring aspiring and professional musicians alike descend on Austin, TX for the annual SXSW music festival, joining promoters, managers, marketers, and music fans for a week of frantic live music, parties, and general chaos. The festival has expanded to include “Interactive” and “Film” conventions catering to the Mobile/Tech and Independent film industry… but the heart of SXSW is clearly the music.

Upon landing in Austin it’s apparent that this is a music town. Guitar cases and gig bags abound, resting in hands and slung over shoulders throughout the airport terminals and dotting the curbs and corners of the 6th street mecca.

Reunion Blues hit Austin to participate in the “Gear Expo” – a sideline convention designed to put MI companies in direct conversations with our most active customers – the musicians slugging it out amidst the crowds and in the clubs, each hoping to catch a break in the ever changing, highly competitive, and always challenging music business.

While the festival has gotten pretty massive in it’s 25 years, featuring some of the top names in popular music (Foo Fighters, Kanye West, and Bright Eyes were just a few of the “headlining” acts this year),  most of the venues served as showcases for new and upcoming “independent” acts. I was fortunate to be able to catch several showcases over the course of the week, enjoying some great young bands I was familiar with and finding a number of new acts that demand attention.

My first showcase experience at SXSW, which also turned out to be the most memorable, was Esben and the Witch, hailing from Brighton, England. Anyone who knows me will confirm my obsession with so-called “dark” music, and having just discovered the brilliant Violet Cries record a few weeks before SXSW, I was really looking forward to this show.

The band loaded in their own gear and did their own soundcheck, which brought back memories of my own gigging past… no rock star egos here, just hard-working musicians getting ready to give their best to the crowd. And give they did.

Esben and the Witch

Daniel Copeman (in silhouette) and Rachel Davies performing "Eumenides" @ SXSW 2011

Rachel Davies’ siren-like voice brought an ethereal warmth to the bleak soundscape of guitar, noise, and pulsating beats constructed by Daniel Copeman and Thomas Fisher. At one point during the performance, all three members took turns battering a single floor tom, which conjured the impression of  some antediluvian pagan rite, and during the closing track “Eumenides” Daniel dragged the drum out into the crowd while Rachel pummeled a crash cymbal for the song’s finale. The whole experience was so “punk”…  it elevated Esben from “band to watch” to one of my favorite bands (and I made sure to catch their set the next night.)

Had that been my only live music opportunity at SXSW I think I could have gone home happy, but this was only day one… and as the crowds descended on downtown Austin, the bands gathered in all of the city’s near 200 venues to play to industry and fan alike (some performing 10 or more times over the course of the week!) Frankly, there were so many bands playing at any given time (over 1800 bands on the “official” showcase list) that inevitably some great talent would be missed (Zola Jesus, I’m sorry!)

Here are a handful of other great bands I caught during the week:

Junius

Junius are one of the best rock bands around in my opinion... making heavy but "artsy" music... no one else could pull off a hard rock art record about Immanuel Velikovsky! They totally owned this crowd.

Menomena

If you haven't heard their "Friend and Foe" record you need to pick it up immediately. By far the most creative CD artwork packaging ever made.

Lavinia

From Boston, MA. Their songs build nicely, from melancholy to heavy rock... their new EP "There is Light Between Us" is excellent!

Tigers That Talked

Hadn't heard of these Brits before SXSW but they won me over... great songwriting with bursts of punk energy.

Weekend

Hailing from San Francisco... The bass player sound checked with "Age of Consent". They sound a bit like Joy Division played through some of Oliver Ackermanns effect boxes and they totally rocked.

Violens

I really love these guys... they play complex pop music that manages to incorporate influences ranging from Norwegian Black Metal to the Smiths and from the Beach Boys to New Order. Awesome.

Braids

Another new discovery for me... lush ambient and psychedelic pop. A great find!

Class Actress

Fat Analog synths and 80's dance pop... Elizabeth Harper was really cool, after the show I mentioned to her that my wife was a huge fan and she dug a CD out of her bag so I could bring home a souvenir. Classy!

Battle Circus

Hailing from New Zealand, these guys play aggressive and complex music that appeals to my proggy side. Looking forward to picking up their record as soon as possible!

The Best of Bass Guitar Week Stories

Here are the stories we have coming in for Bass Guitar Week. There are two more days to tell your story. So Like us on Facebook and tell us why you deserve the RBB4 case in the comments of of this post.

Spencer Pyne has a great story about how he started playing at the age of 14 and now is daughter is a bass player, singer, and songwriter.

RBB4 Bass Guitar Case
RBB4 Bass Guitar Case
Several giggling bass players tell us why they deserve a case.
Rod Speed has a fretted and fretless bass but only has a case for one of them. He is in the band Ménage à Neuf. Adam Bogle needs one for his Fender 5 string Jazz Bass. Chris Nichols does a lot of gigs with his bass and he would be helped by caring something light and soft instead of heavy and hard. He is in the band Ben Morris & The Great American Boxcar Chorus. A new bass case would make Dylan Kelehan’s life easier during his daily commute as a bass and guitar teacher. Joe K’s bass case burned in a fire but the bass survived.

Doug Child and Paul Medoff are either building or restoring basses and believe the RBB4 would make a great finish to their projects. Paul is in the band The LoveLight Blues.

Andrew Scott and David Daw tell us they need to replace an inferior gig bag. David is in the band Antidote 8