Ron Greene | The Musicians blog

Extend Your Life Being A Musician

This article is a great example of how being a musician is a wonderful reason for getting up in the morning.

Now we all know that eating right and getting a decent amount of exercise can extend our lives, yet, being a musician seems to be another contributing factor of life extension. (albeit, that’s if you don’t get hooked on the alchy and drug spin).

Steve Hideg is a good example of not only extending ones life being a musician, he does so living of the very edge of pure poverty. Now, we understand the poverty scene being a musician, yet, here’s a great example of enhancing ones spiritual drive with music. And to do it in such a classy way!

Jam On!
-Ron

(credit given: By Steve lopez | Photography by Francine Orr – via Los Angeles Times)

His rent is roughly $1,000 a month, and his Social Security income is about $900 a month.

“It’s a total miracle how he exists,” says one friend.

The secret is disciplined austerity, occasional help from buddies, and a once-weekly job as a jazz drummer — a job that feeds Hideg’s soul.

Hideg studied the moves of drummers Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, got a job in an electronics factory and joined all three of the company bands. He later became a full-time musician and worked with a circus band for a while, but the songbook wasn’t to his liking and the government deemed Western music the enemy of the people…

Learn more about Steve here…
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-senior-drummer-20170805-htmlstory.html

Kindergartners Learn Blues From Conan O’Brien…

Have to admit (subjectively) that this gathering of young minds with Conan O’Brien is progressively fun. An interesting way to introduce kids to music, in this instance… the Blues.

In any case, it’s worth a quick watch to get your subjective opinion.

Jam On!
– Ron

(credit via: society of rock .com)

“I Can’t Stop Laughing! As of right now, Conan O’Brien is one of the most popular late night talk show hosts in television. It’s almost always guaranteed that when a segment from Conan’s show gets uploaded on youtube that it’ll go viral within minutes. Sure, that’s the case for almost all late night talk show …” Continue reading

Gregg Allman Died May 27, 2017

According to Gregg Allman’s website… “Allman was born December 8th, 1947 in Nashville, TN, a little more than a year after his older brother Duane. Raised by single mom Geraldine, the family moved to Daytona Beach in 1959, though the brothers would spend considerable time back in Nashville.

Music City (Nashville) was an inspiration to Allman… He attended his first concert – starring Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, B.B. King, and Patti LaBelle – and with the guidance of a neighbor named Jimmy Banes, fell in thrall to the power of a guitar. Nashville’s pull continued long after the family moved, with the brothers both hooked on local radio station WLAC’s legendary late night R&B broadcasts.”

Many of us have played numerous Allman Brother songs at band practice and on stage… Gregg’s talent with his vocals, the keys and guitar have provided tunes that have inspired many musicians and fans!… RIP Gregg!

Jam On!
-Ron

(via: Gregg Allman .com)

“Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years. During that time, Gregg considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.”

… More Reading Here…
https://www.greggallman.com/with-deep-sadness-we-announce-the-passing-of-gregg-allman/

Ozzy Osbourne and Earth, Wind, & Fire?…

According to societyofrock.com (as of the date of this blog post) this video is… “Probably The Best Mashup We’ve Ever Seen!”

Well, ok… I’m not a big ‘mashup’ fan, but I’ll have to admit the timing reference the tempo on this DJ’s version of a Ozzy Osbourne being mashed up with Earth, Wind, & Fire… is quite entertaining.

I mean, mixing light metal with pop and pulling it off with a sense of continuity is a decent feat for sure.

Anyway… see what you think…

Jam On!
– Ron

As further quoted…
“Both are truly amazing musical acts, but they couldn’t be anymore different in their music styles. Then again, as they say, opposites attract, and that much is proven, here!”

More here…
https://societyofrock.com/someone-made-a-mashup-of-ozzy-osbourne-and-earth-wind-fire-and-we-cant-stop-laughing/

Soundgarden and Audioslave, Chris Cornell, dead at 52…

According to wikipedia… Cornell was known for his role as one of the architects of the 1990s grunge movement, for his extensive catalog as a songwriter and for his near four octave vocal range] as well as his powerful vocal belting technique.

Chris released four solo studio albums, Euphoria Morning (1999), Carry On (2007), Scream (2009), Higher Truth (2015) and the live album Songbook (2011). Cornell received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his song “The Keeper” which appeared in the film Machine Gun Preacher and co-wrote and performed the theme song to the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006), “You Know My Name”.

He was voted “Rock’s Greatest Singer” by readers of Guitar World, ranked 4th in the list of “Heavy Metal’s All-Time Top 100 Vocalists” by Hit Parader, 9th in the list of “Best Lead Singers of All Time” by Rolling Stone, and 12th in MTV’s “22 Greatest Voices in Music”.

The singer had played a show with Soundgarden, who were midway through their tour, when shortly after Chris Cornell was found dead on his MGM hotel by an apparent hanging.

But many are asking, why would a man who was worshiped by his fans, had a beautiful family and successful career, take his own life? Well, his wife and family attorney have come forward with a potential reason, here…
https://countercurrentnews.com/2017/05/chris-cornells-wife-just-blamed-his-death-on-an-fda-approved-psychoactive-drug/

Here’s a clip of his last performance before this unfortunate event…

(By Kory Grow via Rolling Stone)

“Born Christopher John Boyle in Seattle on July 20th, 1964, Cornell – who took his mother’s maiden name after his parents divorced – was the son of a pharmacist father and accountant mother in Seattle. He had two brothers and three sisters and jokingly likened his family to The Brady Bunch in interviews. Cornell eventually carved a path for himself after taking piano and guitar lessons before finding his way to the drum kit, which he played in an early incarnation of Soundgarden.”

More on Chris Cornell’s death here…
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/soundgardens-chris-cornell-dead-at-52-w482882

Tower Records, the history of…

The history of Tower Records goes way back…

Wikipedia mentions that In 1960, Russell Solomon opened the first Tower Records store on Watt Avenue, in Sacramento, California. He named it for his father’s drugstore, which shared a building and name with the Tower Theater, where Solomon first started selling records.

By 1976, Solomon had opened Tower Books, Posters, and Plants at 1600 Broadway, next door to Tower Records. In 1995, Tower.com opened, making the enterprise one of the first retailers to move online.

You probably remember your first encounter with a brick and mortar record store… heck even if it weren’t selling vinyl and only CDs, you no doubt can still flash back to the earliest of days that you experienced the ambiance of music in an actual walk in store…. Russell Solomon and Tower encouraged that experience.

We now see that vinyl is back, but a touch to late to save the iconic Tower Records from moving on into the music history books.

Jam On!
-Ron

All Things Must Pass’ is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of Tower Records, and its legacy forged by its rebellious founder, Russ Solomon…

Small Bands Playing To Loud At Gigs!…

OK, I’m talking mostly about the guitarist… You know, the one that has their amp pointing directly at the audience which blows high freqs right at a group of folks in front of it, going right through the legs of the player.

This long standing point continues to be an issue to this very day, especially with smaller hall/bar set ups. A simple matter of slanting an amp back to an angle that suits the ears of the guitarist would benefit everyone.., especially the audience (you know, the guy or girl with their ears bleeding hearing that amp straight on!).

At larger gigs (if not using forward throw reflectors) I’ve noticed that a good FOH mix guy will actually have the guitarist use his/her amp as their own ‘monitor’ pointing directly at them on stage away from the audience, otherwise using the amp mic for the FOH mix. Total forward hz/gain control this way, without isolated pockets of death freqs!

Jam On!
– Ron

(via: JoeBennett.net)

“So the amp gets louder. The singer (who, from the audience’s PoV, is always the most important person) immediately has a problem, because the guitar sound is now drowning out the vocal on stage (the electric guitar sits in approximately the same frequency range as the human voice, and its harsh upper midrange can obscure the harmonics of vowels that support singers’ diction and pitching)…”

History of the Double Bass Drum and Louie Bellson

Many think that the double bass drum set-up was started by the Hair or Metal bands of the eighties, however…

It actually started with ‘jazz’ legend Louie Bellson, a gifted musical school kid @ 15 in ‘1939 !’ who sketched out a double bass drum kit for his art class. That drawing earned him a high grade and served as a vision of what he would become… the most famous and arguably the very first double bass drummer.

So, the history of the double kicker goes way back further than one might expect. Now of course, you can use double kicker foot peddles to achieve the same affect (but not the same look) on a single bass trap.

Jam On!
-Ron

Here with his Rogers set-up…

Frosty, drummer for Lee Michaels passes…

71 seems to be a popular number this 2017 year for departed musicians…

Now, another powerful musician, drummer… Bartholomew Eugene Smith-Frost, aka: Frosty has moved on to the next musical dimension on April 12, 2017.

Ever since the day my face was melting after hearing Lee Michaels and Frosty play a small venue in Southern California in the late 60s, my appreciation for Frosty had never faded.

Be sure to treat yourself to some of the earlier work of Frosty and Lee (videos)… and of course, many of Frosty’s Austin bands.

Jam On!
-Ron

Frosty with Lee Michaels

(credit given Peter Blackstock via Austin 360 .com)

Born March 20, 1946, in Bellingham, Wash., Smith was raised in the Bay Area and also worked extensively in Los Angeles before relocating to Austin. He played on many of Austin’s biggest rock, country and blues records of the 1980s and ’90s, for artists including Alejandro Escovedo, Junior Brown, Roky Erickson, Butch Hancock, Marcia Ball, Tex Thomas, Doug Sahm & the Texas Mavericks, Toni Price, Guy Forsyth and Omar & the Howlers, among dozens of others…

J. Geils Left Our Planet on April 12, 2017…

An East Coast (US) guitarist has left us on April 12, 2017… J. Geils.

According to Wikipedia… John Warren Geils Jr. – ‘J. Geils’ – grew up in the New York Metropolitan Area, then interested in jazz and blues music. After moving to Massachusetts for his college education, he formed the J. Geils Blues Band while still a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. After dropping the word “Blues” from their name, the band released their first album in 1970, performing soul and rhythm & blues-influenced rock music for most of the 1970s, before changing styles to New wave music in the 1980s.

The article from Rolling Stone (below) describes the circumstances and updates of J. Geils death at the age of 71, as of the date of this blog writing…

Take Care and Jam On with the music my fellow musicians!

-Ron
Music Dials

… via Rolling Stone online (by: By Jon Blistein)

“The J. Geils Band released a slew of albums during the Seventies and early Eighties. With vocalist Peter Wolf at the helm, the band became best known for singles like “Centerfold,” “Love Stinks,” “Come Back” and “Freeze-Frame,” which have since become rock radio mainstays.”