Rory Gallagher played some of the rockingest blues based guitar of the baby boomer generation. He turned down a request to join the Rolling Stones because he did not want to be boxed in. In addition to his brilliant guitar work, he wrote scads of top shelf songs and raged through different leads each time he performed them. His enthusiasm is evident in each performance. He jumped around the stage like Angus Young of AC/DC, but with less manic movement. He drew his band members in with eye contact and brought out their best like a good football coach.

In his trademark plaid shirt and jean jacket, Rory was not quite Jimi Hendrix wearing a feather boa, but for a regular guy he made you want to watch, listen and move. Legend has it that when Jimi Hendrix was asked how it felt to be the greatest guitar player in the world, he said “ask Rory Gallagher”. High praise indeed.

His brother Donal created and has been the caretaker of a fabulous website www.rorygallagher.com. Youtube videos are many. For my money, I like Bullfrog Blues and A Million Miles Away. A Blu Ray edition DVD was recently released of the Irish Tour ’74 including documentary footage. He comes across as a very humble man who loved his craft. Unfortunately, he passed away too early in 1995, but thanks to videos, he still lives on. Rock On Rory!

At first glance I was like, “Oh great another Guitar Hero…” As I looked a little closer though, I saw the gamer was actually playing a real guitar. I had to know more!

Is this the future of learning to play an instrument? For people like me, a hobby guitar player at best, this is perfect. I get to play famous songs all the way through on a real instrument and it’ll increase my difficulty as I learn. Jackpot! However, as the way I am with most things, I have to play devils advocate. A concern of mine and something I hope the game will address in the future, is how is it going to teach creativity and imagination that make good guitar players great? We can all agree that running off the tracks a little can get the creative juices flowing but this game is teaching kids to stay completely on the tracks.

One thing is for certain, this game has a chance to be a game changer (no pun intended ) and regardless of what the answers are to my previous questions I am for anything that will put a real instrument in the hands of more kids.

All of us listen to our favorite music artists for one reason or another. People even experience music in other ways than hearing alone. I know someone who is partially deaf and has a touch of Synesthesia.  She tells me that, for her, the French horn sounds exactly like the taste of chocolate milk. There are probably just as many reasons for appreciating music as there are genres and styles of it, which makes a truly objective definition of music seem less plausible than a perpetual motion machine.

When you listen to music, does it calm and soothe you, or make you want to move and shake? Does it make you want to pump your fist and bang your head, or does it move you spiritually and elevate your consciousness? Do you listen to music because it stirs your heartfelt emotions with its evocation of sadness, joy, triumph, or longing? Or do you listen to music that tells you a story, or helps you relive one of your own? Perhaps you enjoy music that repulses and frightens you with chaotic sounds and grotesque imagery?

Most of us tend to gravitate toward the familiar in our daily lives, and this definitely includes our music.  This habit can lead to a very narrow definition of the word. We’ve all heard someone say “I love music, but I can’t stand rap (or disco, polka, Norwegian black metal, etc.). “That’s not ‘Music!’” Many others would beg to differ. By opening our minds a little and becoming more adventurous, any of us can expand our personal definition of music to include more possibilities for our listening pleasure.  Try listening to something different for a change, just for the adventure of it. You may discover not only some things you didn’t know you’d like, but perhaps even a new favorite or two.

Here are a few examples music that are pretty different from each other, but each is – for someone – the very definition of “music”.

John Cage – Child of Tree

Altai Hangai – Khookhoo Namjil

Konono No 1 – Lufuala Ndonga

伝統音楽デジタルライブラリー　尺八演奏　「鹿の遠音

Brothers Horse – Cardinals Girls & Money

Being a bass musician leaves me with a lot of options meaning I have the freedom to pick my musical projects unlike those pesky guitarists I had an epiphany at a small open mic gig regarding a statement my old mentor said to me, “You may have to choose between the most shredding cat in town and the cat that’s good enough. If you find yourself in this situation make sure you grab the cat that you can throw back a brew with. The cat that’s cool to hang.”

Pictured: Cat that's cool to hang

I’ve had the opportunity to involve myself in a few different musical ventures in my short time playing and always thought about that nifty saying, “Cool to Hang”. But it never really hit home with me until my current group I have been playing with for the past few weeks. I realized our chemistry is outstanding. We can laugh and poke fun at each other without worrying about someone taking offense. We have fun while practicing but don’t lose sight of our goals and are always making progress.

Back to the open mic gig; while playing I was wedged behind the vocals and guitars, between amps and next to the drums (like I said, I’m a bass player ) I was getting super bad sound and I only had myself and the drums to play from (standard small gig woes I guess). So, I found myself standing there (with a cajon nearby that I had to make sure I didn’t turn into a Steve Harris-esque foot stand and believe me I oh so wanted to) trying to remain upright and not look too uncomfortable. Then my drummer throws in a tasty little fill that I hadn’t heard before. With a quizzical look I glance over and the dude is grinning at me and winks! I chuckle and almost trip over a tambourine as I realize that he knows I can’t hear anyone else and was playfully trying to throw me.

That’s when it hit me. No other band I’d ever played with has been like this one. Everyone truly is ‘cool to hang’. It all makes sense. We’re not trying to live the dream. We all have day jobs. We all consider ourselves lucky to be playing out when we can and we enjoy our therapy practice sessions. It’s a release from the rigors of the grind, a way to take a step out from the stress of everyday life and breath some fresh air.

I’m sure everyone’s situation is different and if you’re living the dream or trying to then maybe you want that jerky amazing guitar player so you get noticed a little more. For me, I’ll take “Cool to Hang” any day of the week.

Visit Frank Catalano’s RB Artist page to see him in action.



Name your top 5 musicians who inspire you musically!

Personally, who inspired you to groove the way you do on your preferred instrument? Whether you started playing at the age of 5 or you were an adult, almost every musician has their list of musician’s who inspire them to play. Post your own personal list below in the comments and lets discuss (psst, make sure to lead in with what instrument you play )!

I’ll start it off, as a bass player these are my top 5 guys that inspired me and made me want to improve my playing. These guys all have diverse playing styles and can play in the pocket or lay down a busy groove with the best of ‘em. But the thing that makes all these guy’s special for me is the simple fact that their musical works continually inspire me to be a better musician.

In no particular order,

1)      Allen Woody (Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule)

2)      Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna)

3)      Berry Oakley (Allman Brothers –original line up)

4)      Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilot’s)

5)      Donald “Duck” Dunn (Booker T and the MG’s, Blues Brothers)

Let me know in the comments below who’s on your list.

Although I’ve never tried the DJ thing, I’m sure there is some skill involved. And, if someone requests a song, it doesn’t matter if you know it or not. Just dial it up and push play. But where is the soul? Another of my humble opinions: There is nothing like watching or listening to a guitar player build a solo to a crescendo.

A lot of us parents who play guitar hope that our kids want to play guitar so we can jam with them, bond and they will love us because we are so cool. But, in many cases it probably doesn’t work out so perfectly. When I taught my daughter to play the guitar at age 8, she picked it up quickly. I was in heaven on that day when we played “Brown Eyed Girl” together. But, I had 2 conflicting thoughts in my head: “This is great, we will play music for the rest of my life and share something very special…and/or…Enjoy this now because it will not last”. Turns out that the latter came to bear. She could have taken up the guitar with enough natural talent to have some fun with it. But, I just don’t think the guitar is the ultimately cool instrument it once was.

What do you think? Is the guitar losing it’s luster in the musical world? Leave a comment below and let us know.

-Jay

Photo Credit: Jsome1

A couple of Sundays ago, another voice was added to our usual weekend soundscape – that of a beginning violinist, practicing hard on one particular piece. I couldn’t tell where it was coming for certain but what I could tell was that they have not been playing for long. It was obvious that they were limping through Minuet in G Major, a fairly well known tune generally attributed to J.S. Bach.

Not every bystander can withstand this level of music-making for extended periods of time. The late comedian Jack Benny made the most of this fact. However, this was – literally and figuratively – music to my ears. I believe that learning to play a musical instrument is a sure-fire way for any person to enrich their own life. I am convinced that learning music is especially helpful to young people in their formative years, on so many levels that we may not yet have identified them all.

I try to encourage anyone who is first learning a musical instrument to keep at it, because I know from experience that eventually they will be rewarded with a sense of personal satisfaction by their accomplishment. Besides that, once a person has practiced enough to play confidently so that the tune really comes across, other people will enjoy it too. I guarantee there is no other high that compares to receiving the sincere applause of an audience.

Hearing this creaky version of Minuet in G Major took me back to my own childhood, when I’d be hard at work practicing scales and basic tunes on my trumpet at home. My stepfather, Charlie, always let me know how I was coming along.  Whenever he’d pass the closed door of my bedroom on his way down the hall, he’d say“Hey, give it a rest why don’t you!?” Or “I thought I told you to knock that off!!” Ah, the sweet memories of my youth!

Seriously though, this sort of critique can really stifle the muse for someone just starting a musical path. If a beginner is “on the fence” about whether to keep working on tone and timing or throw in the towel and start Tae Kwon Do lessons instead, advice from guys like my stepfather can send a young player straight to the Dojo… after returning the violin to the music store on the way there.  Knowing this, I tried to think of how to send a message of encouragement to this unseen novice serenading us from somewhere across the street, however unintentional and tentative that serenade may have been.

I remembered a pop hit from back in the ‘60s (I confess that I am old enough to remember when it was getting lots of airplay on AM radio) which was based on Minuet in G Major. The melody is about all I could remember of it, but thankfully this is the 21st century and in a few short minutes I found a YouTube video of The Toys performing A Lover’s Concerto from a 1965 TV episode of Hullabaloo. Pay dirt!

This pop tune is in 4/4 time, whereas Minuet in G Major is in 3/4 . It’s performed by a vocal trio, so it has lyrics – the original is strictly instrumental. The pop version changes key several times, probably arranged that way an attempt to keep it interesting enough for pop consumers used to three minute dance numbers with a hook of some kind.  But the tune is indelible. You can speed it up or slow it down, change the key or the meter, add lyrics or take them away.  Regardless, that unmistakable melody shines through.

About the time I had confirmed that this video was what I was looking for, I noticed the change in the background sounds. My novice violinist had gone quiet. Was he/ she finished with practicing for the day? Were they feeling too timid to keep it up? Was some counterpart of Charlie intervening on behalf of annoyed parents everywhere? I cranked the volume on the ‘puter and hit “play.”

How gentle is the rain
That falls softly on the meadow,
Birds high up the trees
Serenade the clouds with their melodies…

…And so on.  It’s a pretty lightweight number, to be honest. But that melody is just so catchy! It has been catching people’s fancy for at least 285 years, at this point. A good tune will do that. This is what is meant by “timeless.” I’m sure that some of my neighbors were just as annoyed by my blasting A Lover’s Concerto as they were about having to listen to creaky violin playing. But they were far from my thoughts. I was hoping that my beginner had heard, and noticed that melody. I wanted to say “check it out – I heard you, and I know the song you’re playing. Good work, you’re getting it! Don’t stop!” But not knowing who to say it to, or where to find them, I could think of no way to accomplish this. No way, that is, other than to send a musical message out toward their general direction, and hope for the best. Maybe it worked. I can’t really say. I can report that about five minutes after the video ended, that voice began Minuet in G Major once again. I thought it sounded less “limpy,” and a little bit more confident that time. In fact I’m sure of it.

Share your stories of learning to play an instrument. Did you have words of encouragement all the way through? Or, did you have someone like Charlie keeping you down? Let us know!

Photo Credit: garryknight

Watch his videos HERE.

Laurence & Paul

What do you get when combining a golden voice, clever songwriting, incredible musicianship, lush harmonies and a love of music? You get Phil Angotti’s new CD release “People and Places”.

Phil draws from American and British power pop influences from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s but he has crafted his own style. Phil wrote all the songs, and if you like melody, you will like this release. You also get some great grooves and all the extras. I suggest that you get the whole CD (don’t just download a song or two). None of the songs sound the same and they each help build a total work of art. And with the Lazy Apple Orchestra you get a lot of different instruments on each song that you don’t want to miss.

As song # 6 says, “What happened to the songs with the grooves?” Well, I think he answered his own question. Click HERE.