Notes_Norton

That happens from time to time. (BTW, we do "I Shot The Sheriff" somewhere between the Marley and Clapton versions and the audience at our weekly marina gig likes it) You see, I have a very good memory, it's just a little short OK I'll go elsewhere Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar

"I Fought The Law (And The Law Won)" - Bobby Fuller Four

I would suspect some singers want a mic for the fx. It's easier to hear yourself that way, especially for singers who don't have proper training. And as I said before, volume is a drug for musicians. Music just sounds better when it is loud. We often play at one particular yacht club. We start playing during their cocktail hour, then a dinner set and later a dance set. During the cocktail and dinner sets we play at 65dba at the PA speakers. We can hear people talking over our music. But that's OK with us. The function of the cocktail set is for people to converse. When I go out to eat I like to talk to the people at the table with me. Then when the dinner is done, we crank it up to about 85db on the dance floor, the people mob the floor and when the night is over they thank us for a wonderful evening and often comment about the volume being just right. A second yacht club we play is completely different. They put us in a tent in the parking lot and call it 'dancing in the street'. Since it's outdoors, we turn the volume up right from the start, but not loud enough to hurt their hearing. Every gig is different and it is up to the professionals (us since we are getting paid) to analyze the gig and play appropriate music at appropriate volumes. I would also appreciate a singer with no mic if accompanied by non-amplified acoustic guitars. I stress non-amplified even though I shouldn't, because around here I hear guitarists "going acoustic" by putting the electric down and picking up a flat top guitar with a pickup and plugging it into an amp (I'm sorry, that isn't acoustic but I know better than try to explain it to them). Insights and incites by Notes

The Arabian Nights, complete Ballet in two Acts - Fikret Amirov If you have the time check this out. He combines Azerbaijani folk music melodies and harmonies with Soviet Era symphonic composition style. If I were to have 10 desert island music CDs, this would definitely be in the collection. It's brilliant!

From Heaven From Hell - Golden Earring

Little Richard - The Formative Years 1951 - 1953 Some surprising good blues here before he was a rock n roll pioneer. Keep it playing for the full album if you like.

When I'm done with a magazine, I pass it on for others to read. Music mags go to other musicians, general mags get left in doctors or dentist offices, or whatever. None go into the bin. Notes

Chocolate Rabbits

The L.E.D. Zeppelin is just too funny. Thanks for sharing that!

I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair - Stephen Foster I'm not going to post a video because I don't care for the song and don't want to search one out ;) - besides posting a video is not required in this game, just a luxury.

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