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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

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/

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)…”

Fireworks in Your Brain on Music…

It probably goes with saying… playing music stimulates our brain. This article goes further into describing the difference between listening to music and actually playing it.

When we ‘jam’ our brains light-up with inter-related connections that enhance most every activity and function… including fine motor skills that invoke both hemispheres of the brain.

Jam On!
– Ron

Enjoy this video…

(via: Anita Collins: TED-Ed Original lessons)

When you listen to music, multiple areas of your brain become engaged and active. But when you actually play an instrument, that activity becomes more like a full-body brain workout. What’s going on?…

See the Video and Read More Here…

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-playing-an-instrument-benefits-your-brain-anita-collins

Tips on Earning Money in the Music Industry…

As a musician, you’ve no doubt given the thought that one day you can take your playing, singing and/or songwriting skills and make-it in the music biz, while earning a decent living doing so. Any insights along this path can be helpful and you’ll discover in this article a nice checklist of items to incorporate into your music career resolve.
Jam On!
-Ron

(By Bobby Borg on Sonicbids Blog – also shared on hypebot.com)

There are literally hundreds of tips on making it in the music business, and we all know how overwhelming that can be. If you’re wondering which ones you should try to integrate into your daily life starting today, these 15 basic guidelines…

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.

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-

(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

Janis Joplin on Girls in Rock n’ Roll…

Janis Joplin… “You are only as much as you settle for.” Check out this excellent (video/audio) biography of one of our era’s most influential musicians and most tragic cultural icons… (click image above)

Ron-

(by blank on blank)
On September 30, 1970, four days before her death, Janis Joplin gave her final interview, a profound conversation about creativity and rejection with Howard Smith of the Village Voice, found in the altogether fantastic The Smith Tapes Box Set — an archive of Smith’s restored interviews with such icons as John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Jane Fonda, James Taylor, Jerry Garcia, and more.

Fan page ideas for your website or social media…

As a musician, having a decent ‘Fan’ page on your website or any social media platform is a great way to develop your following. This article provides some cool and helpful insights as to how your might consider expanding on your current fan page (or building one from scratch)…

Ron-

(by WixBlog)
Making a fan website is a great way to show appreciation to actors, musicians, athletes, artists or any other remarkable person that made an impact on your life. If you play your cards right, your website can become a hub for communication and conversation with fellow fans…

5 Fan Page to do’s here -> https://www.wix.com/blog/2013/09/create-a-successful-fan-website/

Musician Making it on the Web or, Royalties only?…

The basic theory of selling your music online remains a touch cloudy to some. It appears that the (subjective) concern of Royalty based musicians has some conflict with the otherwise tactful Internet approach, along with it’s important tender relied on by non-royalty-producing singers, songwriter and players.
Ron

(by Rocco Pendola… via post on The Street)
Many wildly successful artists, who could very easily rest on the laurels of their past and/or present royalty checks, look past the antiquated system for other ways to sell records, generate revenue and connect with fans. Meantime, a handful of musicians…

This story continues (go down a few paragraphs) here…
https://www.thestreet.com/stocks/general/11981670.html