Notes_Norton

I'd Rather Go Blind - Etta James (It's a blues classic)

Ouch ^ ^ ^

Spooky - Classics IV

I use a pedal with amp modeling included. Digitech RP-355. They don't make that model anymore. But guitar isn't my primary instrument, sax/wind-synth is. What I play on the guitar is limited, but I play well within my limits. When I was young, playing the singles bars, the 'old timers' told me that once I left the bars and started playing country clubs, I'd never want to go back to the bars. They were right. Mrs. Notes and I play yacht clubs, country clubs, retirement developments (a huge market here in South Florida), condominiums, private parties, and during the season, once a week in an outdoor, waterfront restaurant in the dead time between lunch & dinner (12 years and running, we draw a nice crowd, and it's a good place for prospective clients to hear us). There is never a dead Thursday night were a couple of salesmen would rather watch TV and the manager scowls at the band. It's always a party and there is an enthusiastic crowd. No bar fights. 3 hour gigs - 4 is usually max. Two of these a week pays as much as 5 nights in a bar. Mrs. Notes and I enjoy playing music together, and we both have strong 'work' ethics. We play what they want to hear, we watch the audience and do our best to play the right songs at the right time, we skip breaks when the room is jamming (often paid back by going home early), and until COVID we worked steadily. As much as I would sometimes like to be back in a bigger band, where I all I have to be concerned with is my sax and vocal parts -- no making backing tracks - no lugging PA gear - being surprised by and working with live musicians - and so on - unless things change drastically, I'll never go back to that. Notes PS (self-serving plug) If you want to work with Backing Tracks - PG Music's Band-in-a-Box is a good tool and I sell a lot of aftermarket style and song collections for BiaB

I had a straight job once, got laid off, went back to playing music, now I'm self-employed, I can't fire myself, I guess I could still quit. Good luck to you, I hope it works out for the better. Notes

By The Rivers Of Babylon - Bob Marley & The Wailers

Good luck. I hope you come out of this unscathed. Notes

Mrs. Notes and I are in a duo together. I make all the backing tracks myself from scratch (I play sax, flute, wind synth, bass, drums, guitars, keyboards and voice). It's nice not having to depend on other musicians to make a living. You know the kind, those who show up late, take long breaks, miss rehearsals, are more interested in getting laid than making music, get high on the gig, etc. On the other hand, since I play all the parts myself, I miss the input from other musicians who have different ideas about what to play than I do. In other words, no surprises in the backing 'band'. But we worked steadily from 1985 until COVID, we paid off the mortgage, we are debt free, and even though small groups aren't as glamorous, we take home more money per person. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Insights and incites by Notes

Diggin' Up Bones - Randy Travis

A young man walked into our insurance office to purchase coverage for his new motorcycle. Only one question confused him. "Do you have a lien holder on the vehicle?" "I've got a kickstand," the prospect replied. "Is that the same thing?"

Or perhaps after bruising children with yardsticks for 30 years, they enter a mellowing out stage

Without a good foundation, the other instrument players don't know exactly how to play their parts to fall into a unified groove. In the recording studio, for pop songs anyway, the drummer is the king. Everybody syncs with the groove the drummer establishes. The bass player and drummer should work as a team, if not the groove is messy or lost. (In Latin American music, it's usually the clave player who sets the groove.) Then, if everyone else is listening and locking to that groove, the result will be a tight rhythm section instead of a sloppy one. When I lay down the drum part for a backing track I'm making for my duo, I 'sing along' the melody and bass line in my head while I'm playing the drum part. In that way, the groove fits the song and takes care of itself. I dislike drum machines for two reasons. 1) Each song needs its individual groove. Even if the variation is only slightly different from similar songs 2) The drum patterns and fills IMO must be tailored to each individual song as well. Of course, if you can't play drums, you have to find your best compromise. But keeping these things in mind might make your selection of a pre-played drum pattern a wiser choice. Insights and incites by Notes I've played in pop/rock/funk/Latin bands since I was a kid in Jr. High School. I learned to double on bass, rhythm guitar, and keys because every songwriter doesn't have the good sense to write a sax part. In the band I was on the road with for years, the drummer was a decent singer. Since my first instrument was drums, I knew how to keep time, I knew the first dozen or so rudiments, and I could do it, I'd sit behind the kit for 4 or more songs every night, so the drummer could get up and sing in front of the band. It impressed the girls, when I switched from sax to bass or guitar (most called them both guitars), keys, drums, sax, and flute. They would say something like, "How many instruments DO you play?" Another thing about learning all those instruments, is when arranging, making backing tracks, or writing styles for Band-in-a-Box, the experience lets me know the gifts and limitations of each instrument, and how the different instruments should interact with each other. Now I'm sure I couldn't keep up with the majority of good guitarists, bassists, or drummers, but I'm OK with that. Wind-Synth / Sax is my main axe.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - Eurythmics

I had 6 years of Catholic school. Vampires and werewolves are fictitious, they don't scare me. Nuns are real and they definitely scare me. 😁 What they did to the kids back then would have them thrown in jail today.

When I see my peers leaving life's stage, I consider myself a survivor. That doesn't mean I don't miss them though. Notes

I probably can't help because I play my own drum parts. My first instrument was drums. When I make a backing track, I play the drum part first using MIDI drum controllers and then the bass part. The two work together as a unit. Then I layer other parts on, the order depends on the song itself. I always save the two most fun parts of the song out of the backing tracks for Mrs. Notes and me to play live on top of the tracks. Notes

Willie And The Hand Jive - Johnny Otis

1. Bernard "Pretty" Purdy 2. John Bonham 3. Hal Blaine 4. Ginger Baker 5. Joe Morello Watts is still somewhere in the top 10 though.

Yellow Days - Frank Sinatra

Indeed. Although, the 9/8 isn't too bad -- depending on the song. In "Blue Rondo a la Turk" when the 9/8 gives way to 4/4 it is such a delightful release. It's one of my favorite Dave Brubeck Quartet songs in their catalog.

"Heartbreaker" - Pat Benatar

As a bass 'doubler' I believe a bassist should always play something that works with the drummer, supports the song, adds tasty licks when appropriate and never competes with whoever is singing or playing the melody. Although sax is my primary instrument, I played bass full-time during the psychedelic era when nobody wanted to hire a sax player. Before and after that, I really enjoy doubling on bass. IMO the guy in the video is overplaying and just showing off, but I must add, there is nothing wrong with that either. Notes

We're losing too many of the people who shaped many of our lives. Dozens of early Rappers are old enough to move into the +50-year-old communities that have been our bread and butter since the late 1980s. Damn, that makes me feel old. Anyway, RIP Don, I hope you and Phil can sweeten up heaven with your beautiful harmonies.