Mutant contraption: Kaossilator Guitar

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower"

-Steve Jobs

"To make a rock 'n' roll record, technology is the least important thing."

-Keith Richards

I think my guitar lives somewhere between those 2 ideas. Endlessly fascinating, this instrument’s inspired imaginations for over 1000 years.

If Jimi were alive and Eddie hadn’t drank it all away, they would be masters of the Kaossilator Guitar. If you’re not hip to what that is, check You Tube. Again, the guitar proves why it’s the ultimate platform for individualism and musical self-expression. Van Halen customized his guitars and Jimi modded his amps; the Kaossilator (a synthesizer wired right into a guitar) would literally induce a frenzy in their pants. This mutant contraption offers an ultra modern way compose, manipulate and down right fiddle out sounds the world’s never heard.

So Google “Kaoss Pad Guitar” and witness the latest evolution of an instrument that’s been sending shivers down people’s legs for over a 1000 years.

Songwriting Rhythm Guitar Tips

Dangerous Rhythm Guitar Playing

You want to guitar shred? Go make a You Tube video!

Band mates most in demand are the guys that lead through their Rhythm playing and songwriting. Play solid rhythm and I promise you that even the bass player and drummer will keep time off you.

My last two video posts followed the songwriting process and gave my songwriting tips. This video is done in the service of a point or 2 on rhythm guitar playing in a band situation. Yes guitar solos are the hallmark of the guitar slinger but the song writing rhythm guitar players are always the band leaders. (And chick magnets.)

3.5 Rhythm tips

1. Buy (USE) a metronome.

2. Pick a rhythm role model. (Love Setzer, Townshend and Joan Jett )

3. Mix major and minor chords

3.5. Learn the notes in the chords and now you’re a dangerous musician.

Calling All Rock Stars!

Is there a worse sound than a metal band playing a school gymnasium? And surely there was no worse time for heavy metal than 1988. It was all REM and U2 back then. And a more dead end place than Suffolk County Long Island? There isn't one!

Yet the best sounding heavy metal band who's timing couldn't have been better, played that night in '88 at the SUNY Stonybrook Gymnasium.

Jane's Addiction (JA) did that night what every kid who joins a band dreams of doing: Taking the stage of some dive, full of people who never heard of you and rocking them to the point of oblivion. (Poor Love n Rockets had to follow them and didn't stand a chance.)

But where are JA now? The once amazing Dave Navarro Tweeted their bass player Eric A. abruptly left the Comeback Tour in the middle of the Australian outback after playing just a handful of shows . (Anvil anyone?) And I guess it's back to posing for John Varvatos ads for Perry. It's a shame because these guys really were the Real Deal. Sure it was 20 years ago but I'm talking Real Rock Stars. JA and contemporaries Guns-n-Roses may have been the a last of the Led Zep breed.

But without JA and (especially) The Pixies paving the way, the world never would have been able to take Nirvana seriously let alone consider Kurt Cobain a genius.

In 2010, it kinda looks like Lady Ga Ga is pop culture's one and only Rock Star . And she doesn't even play the guitar…

When is Talent Boring?

Derek Trucks: Musical genius. Inspiration. Pushing the very boundaries of what it means to be a guitar player. Derek Trucks is boring.

If you don’t know Derek, check You Tube. Derek won the gene pool lottery, folks. His uncle's an original member of the Allman Brothers. He even has an uncle who played for the Detroit Tigers.

But here’s my problem with the DTB: (Jam Head jargon for Derek Trucks Band)
So many phenomenal musical ideas, so many gorgeous lines, its blinding! After a while it hurts my head. I need a nap.

I call the “Los Angeles Effect”. In LA, there so many big beautiful blond haired BOOMING women, that after a few days, there’s nothing special about them. I resented LA for making beautiful surgically enhanced models boring! Derek’s got the LA Effect.

And I’m a person who typically loves to hear bands bust out of the box. BOOM!! I’m not a box guy. But you know what? Here I’m saying “Derek. Pick a friggin’ box! Or maybe pick two boxes. Four boxes in this economy? C’mon Dude. Blinding talent is out of fashion these days in the U.S. of Unemployed.

I’ve shared these ideas with my peers who love Derek Trucks. They say I’m just a jealous hater. But I’m thinking that maybe this god-like talent is too much responsibility for one man.

But don’t let my message get twisted:

1. Keep practicing.

2. Pick a box (or two) to concentrate.

3. Write songs that don’t hurt people’s heads.

3 Ways Mature Songwriters Steal

Way back in 2005 I wrote a post celebrating a traditional piece of music which inspired Lady Ga Ga's hit "Speechless".

http://dixiebosco.blogspot.com/2005/08/dirty-or-spiritual.html

The exact chords are very different but the dark spiritual hook is the same. Lady Ga Ga stole it from Elton and Bowie who stole it from McCartney who stole it from Sam Cooke. Evidence of this thievery is (wonderfully) all over Rock, Pop and R+B music.

4 off the top of my head

1. Sam Cooke : Bring It On Home to Me
2. Sublime: Santeria
3. Sarah MacLachlan: Adia
4. Beatles : In My Life

Check my 05 post and play around with the song structure. Steal only the pieces that speak to you!! An immature artist will simply imitate these exact chords.

3 Ways a Mature Artists is like car thief

1. Strip off the valuable pieces.

2. Repaint the pieces.

3. Drive it around with your band and tell everyone it's yours.

3 Reasons: Finding Perfect Bandmates is Harder than Finding Love

Find the perfect woman/man is far easier than finding perfect bandmates. So if your really serious about making it, you'll be well served to take more care in finding the bandmates than the Mr Right.

3 "Whys?"

1. Your husband or girlfriend will not get you to the Madison Square Garden

2. No girl ever tore her top off at your girlfriend's art opening. Well ok that one's possible.

3. You can't rely on fixing band chemistry with make up sex.

Are you band mates really just your buddies? Or are they people you've specifically chosen to change the game in achieving your dreams? If you treat the choice of who you pursue like life or death decision, you'll increase your chances of playing The Garden. Oh, and the same standards work in finding Mr right too. It's just nobody really interested in seeing Mr. Right tare his top off.

Songwriting Tips: Demo Clip #2

Here we continue to make something out of nothing.

Now that we are off to a good start the goal is to finish. It's crucial for me to get some momentum. To feel the wind at my back and move to sketching out the rough outline of the entire song. I need to work fast. Just record and go. I replace the perfect with the good enough. Works for me. In songwriting and in life it's your personal weirdness keep you from thinking in a straight line and progressing to the next step. I'm weird and so are you. Be proud. Learn how to get rolling.

And since I do not fancy myself a singer (not would Clapton or Jimi) I've added a solo guitar track here. This sounds like I'm going all Peter Frampton in my basement. But it's really my way of looking for vocal melodies. Otherwise I'd try to sing and it would just get ugly. The melodies flow from the guitar and I can go back and find the best and discard the rest. Like I said. Works for me.

Musical Inspiration: Fela!

I live in NY and I'm a big fan of the arts. However I rarely take in Broadway show. It’s expensive and it’s usually a musical. (Expensive + musicals = I’m not there.) But this past Friday night that’s exactly where I was. Sipping fine whiskey and taking in “Fela!” a big musical over at the Eugene O’Neill Theater.

“Fela!” is the Jay-Z and Will & Jada Pinkett-Smith production that transports you back to 1970s Nigeria to hang with Fela and his band of singing and dancing outlaws. If you like funky live music and getting to see 1^st hand, that some people in this world just get all of the talent, then this show’s for you. While I felt not worthy to call myself a musician afterward, Fela inspire me. It gave me a million ideas of how to make music better and be a better dancer too. J

And we a TMZ moment: Robbie Robertson member of The Band and Shutter Island music director, sat in front of us. Having played with Dylan and a million other legends, the guy’s Rock royalty. I only had one small complaint about Robbie: He fanned himself with the Playbill all through the 2^nd act. I find celebrities doing things during slow parts of Broadway show, distracting. (Sorry Rob!)

But really there were not many slow parts in “Fela: “The Most Original Show on Broadway” as it’s billed. So if you’re in NY, have $250 and you call yourself a musician, get over to Fela it’s a lot of fun!

Songwriting Tips: Demo Clip #1

My previous post strummed the parts out. I decided to slow in down and move the break up front. (IV, V, IV) Here's a sketch demo in Garage Band.

The final version will bear zero resemblance to this demo. No moody moody synths. More Strokes in attitude and Norah Jones in arrangement. The aim is to just get started and have fun.

That's all.

New Songwriting Project Video

Thought I'd show you start to finish how I write a song arrange the song and record it. Start to finish. Song is in A. Chords so far are A D E (I,IV, V) with the chorus F#mi E, D, A (VI,V,IV,I)

Stay tuned to see it unfold and wrap up.

Songwriting Tips on How to End a Song

You only get one shot at a first impression? In music you need to make a fist AND a last impression.

Everyone loves a big finish. Start big. And end big. Nowhere is this idea truer than in music. Great endings leave you wanting more. But as I pointed out in my last post starling’s hard. But finishing? That’s harder!

Finishing is actually so difficult that the band Spoon, recently released song that actually has no ending. The thing ends so abruptly you’d think your iPod ear buds got yanked out. But no they abandoned it entirely. Major label acts can’t even finish.

Young Idiot musicians typically treat endings more like the periods on a sentence than an event. Pros make an event out of it. (Aerosmith’s Sweet Emotion)

2.5 tips for finishing

1. Land it like a plane or crash it like a train! Smooth velvety conclusions are elegant, Messy chaotic and gory work. Don’t do anything in between

2. If its bad make it big. Big endings typically sound like something is happening and trick most listeners that its good.

2.5 If you’ve tried tips #1 and #2 and your ending still smells, just paint it red. Its my favorite!

Eat your vegetables. Close the deal. Finish what you start!

Three Tips for Songwriters

What's the worst decision I ever made as a Young Idiot musician? Taking music lessons. Why?

1) Often fatal to creativity.

2) Riffs repeatedly slip into songs without warning .

3) I communicate ideas in Roman numerals

Its especially crippling for songwriting. When encountering this problem as a Young Idiot I'd just ball up my fists and cry. Now more mature I resort to a precious bag of tricks.

Three tricks in losing the musical baggage:

1) Writing a song on another instrument : I drop the guitar and pick up a bass. When I lose chords I focus on the melody. Its like introducing Astroglide : a totally different feeling entirely.

2) Go dancing at a club or bar. Why? To meet that special someone who'll dump you. Songs simply flow from broken hearts.

2) Stealing with a twist : Swipe any 2 chords from Beatles "Yesterday" and two chords from any Stevie Wonder classic. You now have something you'd never be able to come up with in a billion years on your own. Pick any two you like. Radiohead & Donna Summer. Jeff Buckley & The Monkeys. Lady GaGa & The Carpenters. You have to put some time into it but this crime will pay.

No matter which way you go here you'll have to finish the song. But we'll talk about that next time.

I am I am trying to teach my 5 year old the guitar...

When I hear the expression, "Those who can do those who can’t teach." I want to reach for an axe.  And that axe would be a Gibson Les Paul.    

That statement through a gross ignorance implies teaching is a quaint offshoot of babysitting. (Which, they'll say is what teachers are really engaged in.) In that statement i hear, "You want to learn something , Kid?  Get out there and take that education by force out in the "real world."

Fact is that that is a cop out.  Truly reaching a kid and impressing a lesson on them, making it stick and be inspirational is hard as hell.  It requires sales skills, coaching skills, psychological skills anthropological skills....  You must set the kid's frame of mind to sell the message and then inspire them to try something that they have no skill in whatsoever.   Introduce that new idea and skill with the perfect mix of art and presentation and you have a shot at moving the student forward.  

And like all things related to approaching my 5 year old the approach is one of peace, love, understanding and being consistent.  

But perhaps Kenny Rogers was thinking of teaching his 5 year old when he wrote: "You gotta know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em.  Know when to walk away.  Know when to run...."

 

Monetizing a Dream.
Instead of giving Guitar Center cashiers my money, I should have bought the company's stock. Listed for years at GTRC (Who knew??) they're being bought out by Bain Capital, the venture capitalist running dogs founded by the hopeful, Mr. Mitt Romney.

Outside of a shareholder lawsuit and wild P/E ratio, it's got stable management and lots of cash to gulp down puny competitors and monopolize the industry. So Next time you’re using an essential service, wonder “Am I wandering past a pot of gold?” I will.

How do you Roll?

You wanna to get it on? Spontaneity in making love is one thing but some things just need to go by the book.

How do you get it on...musically? That’s an important question to ask yourself when you want to accomplish anything with your instrument. What are the perfect mix of conditions, feelings and attitudes that set your mind on "play", "write" or "record"? And no, doing a bong hit doesn’t count.

And what are the steps best for you structurally, that for example, get you to lay down quality tracks simply and quickly?

I recommend that you think hard on and write down each step on the path to that place. How do you have to feel to create that chill beat? How do you whip yourself into a rage when you are writing devil music? If you want to get funky, first you have to feel funky. So the rule is free your mind and your ass will follow. And its different for everyone.

Don't Forget to Write

...and record.

Like mirrors, recordings never lie.

So go and get a decent digital recorder and lay down some tracks and listen. Really, listen.
Do you hear what you want to hear? Maybe something that could use a little polishing? Not only will you develop your ear to hear, working with the recorder boxes, which generally suck to use, will become easier and thus more approachable. The result you'll record more and produce stuff that sounds better.

Me & My Marshall Dual Bloc

A small change in your amp set up can affect your tone. A small change in your tone can be interesting. That interest can be exciting. That excitement is all you can hope for when your trying to get motivated.

Last year I moved but never set up an AWESOME Marshall amp lent to me by a band mate and a truly close friend. It's been sitting in my basement unused but today, I set that rig up.
It's a JMP-1 pre amp running through a 9200 Dual Bloc and it's definitley not vintage. After I slipped a multiverb into the effects loop it has a sexy techno kitty purr to die for. Playing out of it can olny be described as, quality time.

Ok, I've got gear wood. ;-) Gotta rage!

Take Your Own Advice

Lost the switch i used to have in my brain that gets me motivated to practice. Anyone see it?

I wrote some time ago that following a practice schedule was key in the improvement we all crave for our playing. Wish i could actually get down to it.

....Anyway...working on it.

Been Away But Im Back

Had to temporarily choose life's important and somewhat inevitable responsibilities over playing recently, but now I'm back. (Rusty chops and all.) The biggest part of improving you'll find is to play often. Biggest part of playing often is to be inspired. Biggest part of finding and maintaining inspiration is through your sensitivity to new sounds that excite you. If you engage in that process often enough not playing will be too painful to bear.