YouTube, the good and the bad for musicians…

YouTube has provided (and continues to do so) a great platform for listing views for your musical works, eg., bands, solos, (live and video mixes) et. al. However, hence its inception YT has lost some revenue generating power. Using Utube to display your works is still a powerful platform indeed, yet as a revenue producer… well, Jack Conte of the Pomplamoose YouTube fame has some great updates and tips to expand your musical income considerations…
Jam On!
– Ron

Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and filmmaker Jack Conte may be best known as one-half of Pomplamoose, the indie-pop duo that racked up over 80 million views for their “VideoSongs” on YouTube

Recorded in September 2013 at XOXO, an arts and technology festival in Portland, Oregon celebrating independent artists using the Internet to make a living doing what they love. For more, visit https://xoxofest.com.

Lynyrd Skynyrd Continues on…

Oh my, the reflection of this band brings goosebumps. It’s great to see these cats [Lynryd Skynyrd] in continuance! Some may had departed in their plane crash but a powerful family continues… and, it’s wonderful to see that their lives and music ‘expands’! …
-Ron

Lynyrd Skynyrd 2014

(by: the Sydney Morning Herald/Martin Boulton)

For some musicians, retirement is not an option. They simply want to play … and play and play. In 1977, just days after the release of their fifth album, Lynyrd Skynyrd had no choice about disbanding following the deaths of singer and founding member Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his older sister and back-up singer, Cassie Gaines, in a South Carolina plane crash…

Titanic Violin Sells for 1.5 mil, was it authentic?…

In late October of 2013, what was considered to be the authentic Violin that was used to play through-out the disembarkation of the Titanic, went to auction and sold for a reported… (apprx.) 1.5 million!
Jam On!
-Ron

Titanic Violin

(by: reuters.com & image Credit:/Cathal McNaughton)
A violin that was being played as the Titanic went down was sold for 900,000 pounds ($1.46 million) at auction on Saturday, a record price for memorabilia from the doomed ocean liner.

Band leader Wallace Hartley played the instrument, trying to calm passengers as the ship slipped into the frozen waters of the North Atlantic in April 1912…

More on this story here –>

https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/19/us-titanic-violin-idUSBRE99I07420131019

The Shure SM58 Continues to be Musicians Fav…

Shure SM58 microphone vocal mainstay…

If I asked you to name one of the most-used stage equipment items, I just bet that the Shure-58 microphone would probably come to the top of your mind. The legendary Shure SM58® vocal microphone continues to be designed for professional vocal use in live performance, sound reinforcement, and studio recording. It was tailored for singing or speech response and is (of course) a world standard.
Jam On!
-Ron

Shure_SM58_microphone

(by: Wikipedia)
Like all directional microphones, the SM58 is subject to proximity effect, a low frequency boost when used close to the source. The cardioid response reduces pickup from the side and rear, helping to avoid feedback onstage. It uses the balanced XLR three-pin connection. There are wired (with and without on/off switch) and wireless versions. The SM58 uses an internal shock mount to reduce handling noise…

More wiki data here -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shure_SM58

Music Instrument Museum (MIM)…

Music Instrument Museum

Located on Tatum and Mayo Boulevards in Phoenix, Arizona, the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) is the only museum in the world devoted to global musical instruments. MIM opened its doors to the public on April 24, 2010, and immediately became recognized as a fun, family-friendly, worldwide tourist destination. It includes exhibits for every country in the world, along with exhibits that offer an insider’s view of how some instruments are made, how they are played, or the varied contexts in which they are used.
-Ron

https://mim.org/

YouTube video

The Bad Plus finding jazz in Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’…

the Bad Plus

I just knew that someday a (capable) Jazz group would render a Classical movement justice. In this instance… the Bad Plus has taken it upon themselves to really encapsulate the works of Stravinsky. Now, there are a lot of considerations when taken-on a task of this magnitude.
For instance: the very thought that a modern-day acoustic Jazz trio could even approach the powerful scores of Stravinsky’s orchestral may seem a tad silly, until you consider how interestingly enough the composer’s other works sound in similarly to existing sounds of the Bad Plus’ 3-piece jams.
Ron-

Listen to the entire movement of Stravinsky’s ‘Rite of Spring’ by the Bad Plus here ->
https://youtu.be/DdE49jdfn6Y

AND… read an in depth review in Chicago Tribune
( by: Howard Reich October 22, 2013)
“Stravinsky’s orchestral score – with its convulsing rhythms and shattering dissonances – will be delivered by the bare-bones instrumentation of Ethan Iverson’s piano, Dave King’s drums and Reid Anderson’s bass. While they’re trying to capture the savage intensity of Stravinsky’s original, a series of abstract videos will play on two screens, just as an orchestra 100 years ago accompanied members of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes during that notorious premiere of Vaslav Nijinsky’s provocative choreography…”
Read article in its entirety here ->
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-jazz-stravinsky-reich-20131023,0,4995862.column

 

Joan Jett at 55 Still Rockin’…

You’d have to admit that Joan Jett (whether you like her or not) is considered one of the main women Rockers of all time. Here’s a quick recap of her October (’13) tour gigs with pics…
Ron-

Joan_Jett_still_rockin

(By Cassie Carpenter for Online Mail @ dailymail.co.uk)
She penned The Runaways’ Cherry Bomb in 1976.

And 37 years later, Joan Jett still looked toned and taut in her red catsuit as she rocked out Santos Party House in New York Wednesday.

The 55-year-old guitarist – born Joan Larkin – finished off her signature slinky look with a silver belt and Converse high-tops…

White Boys and Metal Music…

The Heavy Metal minority includes women and blacks. Interestingly enough, some music does have a fair amount of race and gender exclusions… some that you’d never think would be the case…

Ron-

Heavy Metal Girls

(by Mike Bell, Postmedia News)

 

What shouldn’t happen and what is entirely inexcusable, though, is when the self-proclaimed gatekeepers of a certain musical style let more important things such as race and gender enter into their “membership requirements,” and do all that they can to make sure those who don’t fit the bill know they’re interlopers…
Read On Here ->
https://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/heavy+metal+minority/8975442/story.html

Playing music with your Heartbeat…

This idea about creating music with your heartbeat opens-up a ton of considerations… In this article the ‘BioBeats’ application creates the music ‘from’ your heartbeat… but, I can see the power in arranging your tune(s) with your own heart tempo.
Ron

heartbeat music

(by Natalie Robehmed, via Forbes Staff)
BioBeats’ first foray into so-called “adaptive media” is Pulse, an experimental app which generates electronic music based on your heartbeat. All you have to do is open the app and hold your finger over the…  Read more here ->

https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2013/08/27/an-app-that-makes-music-from-your-heartbeat/

 

Visually impaired since birth, she plays the trumpet on stage…

This is an inspiring story whether you are a sight and/or memory music player!
Ron-

Trumpet playing

(by By Belen Casillas [email protected])

Dedicating two to three hours to daily practice, seven months later Ms. Allen earned 14th chair in the district band. She proved to hundreds of spectators that being visually impaired was not a disability to becoming a great musician…

Continue reading here ->
https://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-Yes/184391/visual-impairment-cant-stop-musician-from-making-music#.Uht9Mj_WmCk