Notes_Norton

Another blast from the past. I like Ian's flute playing on this cut... (Martin's guitar ain't bad either) My God - Jethro Tull

Interesting ☝️ Tangerine Dream - Craving For Silence

Yes there are advantages of having your phone with you - google in your pocket. I don't talk much on the phone, sometimes I go days without using the phone app on my phone. But I like google (actually Start Page) in my pocket, and if going to a new place, GPS. (There's another thing disappearing, paper maps.) If waiting I might open a FlipBoard article but never anything long. As the price of paper, ink, and postage goes up, many mags started accepting 'articles' submitted by people who have something to sell, and those articles are veiled advertisements for their products. I found fewer and fewer articles I wanted to read. The articles that are basically 'infomercials' rarely catch my eye. I still read mags and sometimes the news on my tablet, while 'couch surfing' but it's not the same. But I'm using less paper and that means cutting down fewer trees. I wonder if the energy used in bringing the digits to my tablet is better or worse for our environment. I guess it doesn't matter because I'm typing here. ;) Notes

You all are exposing me to music I didn't know existed. Thank you very much!!! Putumayo Presents - Cape Verde - (various artists)

As I mentioned before, I don't carry a sound level meter with me. But I do have an app for that on my phone. Because each phone is different, you have to calibrate it. I did this with white noise, pink noise, my stereo system and comparisons to my SPL meter at 85db. It's enough to give a rough estimate. But since the mic and electronics don't register much over 90db, it's limited. But at least I know when it's over 85db which starts the danger zone. Notes

I often wonder why devices with digital clocks don't include a capacitor to keep the timer going when the power is out. When the power blinks at home I have to reset the microwave, stove, answering machine and a few other displays. Insights and incites by Notes

I bring a SPL meter to the gig. Actually I bring two (one for myself and one for my partner). In addition to monitoring volumes in the audience, I periodically test the stage volume as I have control of my monitor's volume. Volume is a drug to musicians and I can tweak the volume of the monitor over 85db simply because it feels good. The SPL meter keeps me in check. Legal issues didn't occur to me, but I can see them. I figure it would be hard to win though both for the reasons slartabartfast mentioned plus how could you prove that the person initiating the suit isn't listening to music over 85db in his/her car or with the TV at home. I just don't feel right harming another person unless it's self-defense. Other volume offenders are movie theaters (bring your earplugs), lawn mowers (I always use ear plugs when mowing), other power tools, aerobics rooms in health clubs, etc. My wife used to take an aerobics dance class in a health club. The music volume approached 110db. She wore her 25db musicians ear plugs. A health club damaging people's ears has no business calling themselves a health club. I don't carry a SPL meter wherever I go, but after 40 years of keeping the volume on stage to 85db I have a good perception of when it is over 85. When I go to hear another band, I bring my musicians ear plugs, and if it gets too loud, I walk out. The only concerts I go to now are symphonies, and have learned to sit in the back. Sound decreases with distance. Still I bring my 15db ear plugs. I did bring my SPL meter to a competing duo's gig. It was by their request (they are friends as well as competitors). I reported the volumes which ranged from about 80 to 95 and he decided to buy a SPL meter before the next gig. As I said, I don't feel right harming an innocent person. Besides for that, I love my audience, they are like extended family to me. Some of them have been following us for decades. Why in the world would I want to inflict permanent harm on them? (No need to answer) Insights and incites by Notes

Great take on a Louis Prima song. We do that one at gigs, but instead of two guitar solos, I do two wind synth solos, one emulating a muted trumpet and the other a tenor sax (and try to play in the style of Sam Butera). Notes

Little Anthony & the Imperials - "Goin' Out of My Head" I was in a band that was an opening act for Little Anthony in the late 1970s. He was a nice guy and a truly accomplished singer and entertainer.

I'm past the age of being a strip club performer. To tell the truth, even in my youth I couldn't have been a stripper, I'm a lousy dancer :D Go to www.s-cats.com I thought I was being original with that name in 1985, but I guess I was either not original or I started a trend. I've copyrighted the name but it only applies to other bands in the USA. :( Notes

Is it ethical to play loud enough to damage the ears of your audience? We read a lot about ear protection for musicians, but what about the people who we can't live without? The audience. The included chart shows maximum hours of exposure to volume levels measured on a Sound Pressure Level meter set for "A" weighting and "Slow" response. These max hours are for a 24 hour period and they are going to have more sound exposure before and after your gig. These are OSHA estimates, some experts think the values should be about 5 db lower for the same amount of time. Most audience members don't know about ear damage and even if they do, have no way to accurately measure the volume. So is it up to us to protect them from permanent ear damage? What brought this up was a gig we recently had. It was for members of a dozen or so regional yacht clubs from various locations in South Florida. There were probably about 100 members. The gig included a dinner set, some announcements and then lots of dancing. We've done this event for a number of years in a row. It was held in a hotel. On the way out we passed a lounge and the band was playing at least at 110db. It actually hurt our ears as we walked by so I put in my 25db musicians ear plugs, and it was still too loud. At 110db after a minute irreversible hearing damage occurs. It's permanent, it can't be undone, there is no cure. Me? I think that is unethical unless a warning is posted. How about you? We keep our volume to 85dba at the closest table to the band. If they want it louder, it's their choice, at least we aren't hurting them, but then, most of them appreciate that we aren't too loud. Notes

Come to the dark side -- we have cookies!!!

And you can put little pieces of paper between the pages for bookmarks. And you can open them up to an article, keep your finger between a couple of other pages, and flip back and forth. Plus I find print easier on the eyes, the blue light from the screens gets tiring when reading a long article. But I see other advantages to e-mags too. Multimedia for one, although that gets abused. I'd often rather read at my own pace so my mind can drift off on associated thought from time to time. Depends on the content. Notes

Talk about great covers. Ben E King did a fine job on this song, but Tom Jones knocked it out of the park. I (Who Have Nothing) - Tom Jones

One of my favorite Dave Brubeck Quartet songs. Paul Desmond's alto sax playing is superb and his tone is simply the best. When it goes from 9/8 time to a 4/4 swing at about 1:50 the tension is broken and the cool school swing is a great release. The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Blue Rondo à la Turk

I quit advertising in the music magazines years ago. When I started in the 1980s there was a lively, multi-page classified ad section. By the time I quit running ads, it had shrunk to a half page, and most of them display ads. I also used to enjoy the articles more. It seems like more and more the articles have become advertisements in disguise. And it's not just music magazines, computer magazines and newspapers are doing the same thing. I suspect all but mass-market pop culture magazines like the ones in the grocery store checkout counters are going digital. I guess the demand for print media is down. It's costly to print paper and the postage isn't cheap either. It's much thriftier to use the Internet. It's just the way it is now.

Research has shown it's healthier to sleep in the dark. I put my router in another room. My bedroom has a digital alarm with red LEDs (red is better). Those are the only things that stay on when I'm not using them. Everything else plugs into a AC power strip that I can shut off by rocking the power switch. Besides for making it dark, all those instant-on devices use electricity when you aren't using them. I know it isn't much, but if a few thousand people turn them off when not in use, it amounts to a lot. No, I don't think you are being over-sensitive.

Gallows Pole - Led Zeppelin it's a classic

Sorry :(

The Replacements - Hangin' Downtown Because life is too short to enjoy only one kind of music...

My Pleasure!!! ------ That made me think of this one... The Andrews Sisters - The Strip Polka They are dated, but the sisters were very good at what they did.

If you haven't heard PMJ, you need to. This 'group' is ust too much fun. They feature different soloists and front people on different songs. All About That Bass - Postmodern Jukebox

The music magazines that I used to advertise my Band-in-a-Box aftermarket products in have all gone either belly-up or digital. And it's not just music mags, plenty of others are gone or gone digital as well. I miss the print media a bit, and enjoy others in digital format for the multi-media aspects. Notes

"People Gotta Move" - Gino Vannelli I love brother Joe's synth work on this. Gino's singing ain't bad either.

"Traffic Jam" - James Taylor cute lyrics