Notes_Norton

Gigging, I plug everything on stage into a Power Conditioner, which suppresses spikes and boosts power sags. The ground is the third pin of the power cable. Since everything is plugged into the same conditioner/ground, there are no ground loops on stage, no 60Hz hum. It also protects the electronic components from power spikes and dips. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Ummm

Fact of Life: After Monday & Tuesday, Even the Calendar says W T F

Definitely. But you couldn't buy saxophone reeds in a convenience store, only music stores. Now I have to buy them on-line. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Every girl/woman I have ever had the pleasure of being intimate with in my life was introduced to me through my saxophone. Including the best one of all, who ended up marrying. Funny, when I was a kid, I wanted to play Baritone Horn (Euphonium). But when trying to join the school band, all the available instruments were rented, so like the other new kids, I got a pair of drumsticks and a practice pad. In retrospect, starting on drums was an advantage that has served me well all my life. Then the tenor sax player's family moved, and the band director said, “Who wants to try the sax?” I was ready to play anything that could create a melody, so I guess my “I Do! I Do!” was more enthusiastic than the others. It's the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. Euphonium players don't get much work. I played in a rock band after school, and I've been a pro musician all my life. No need to be a wage-slave at some corporate day job. Plus, it was a great way to meet chicks. But this is a “Listening to this now” thread. To be back on-topic here is another “chic magnet” song for saxophonists. I think the Harlem Nocturne gal would have liked this one pressed up against her “you-know-what”. And Gato did a nice job with Carlos Santana's song. Europa — Gato Barbieri

Association: When Mrs. Notes and I were gigging on a cruise ship, it would port in Cozumel every week. We loved our audience, but it was nice to get away from the crowds once a week, so we would take the ferry or the waterjet to Playa Del Carmen. This was before they decided to develop it and make it “The Mexican Riviera”. It was a sleepy little beach town. It had one little 2 story hotel with great authentic Mexican food, a few tourist cottages a short walk away, and a nude beach a little further south. It also had some of the clearest water I've ever immersed myself in. Standing neck deep, I could still see every toe on my feet. We would take the ferry on the way across, to be with the Mexican folks. It was full of great people, and even livestock like goats. On the way back we took the waterjet, because it was quick and more dependable, and we didn't want to miss the ship. Every week, all summer long, on the way back they would play this video by The Flans. It was about the same era as Bananarama, so I nicknames the Flans, “Plantainarama”. Well here is the video, and it brings back great memories. So please indulge me while I reminisce. No Controles (No Control)— The Flans

On the road as we drove through Nashville, you could buy Black Diamond stings in a convenience store.

Another song I learned by ear as a child. This was difficult when I was 12 or 13, but it was worth it. This song got me 'dates' with more girls than any other song I ever played in my entire life. One girl wanted me to play it while my sax was pressed against her ***** for foreplay. Harlem Nocturne — The Viscounts

We Suck Young Blood — Radiohead

No, but I had a New Year's Eve gig at an Alcoholics Anonymous club, and the audience wasn't spirited.

User 905133, thanks for taking me back to the songs of my childhood. Red River Rock and Wild Weekend were some of the first songs I learned by ear on the saxophone.

I'm old enough to remember when strings were typically sold individually. A guitar player I knew bought Black Diamond brand strings, bought a banjo string for the first string, a first string for the second, second for the third, wound third for the fourth, fourth for the fifth, and fifth for the sixth. It was a home-made light gauge string set, before they started selling light gauge sets. He said he learned that trick while in Nashville. I used to buy individual reeds. I'd go to the music store, hold the reed up to the light to see if the grain was even, and reject the bad ones. You can't do that anymore, either. So I guess the individual string and reed era ended decades ago. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Ghost — Joshua Redman (any excuse to get a sax player in the fred is a good one, even if it's not his best song IMO)

You are lucky. Be sure to buy all your consumables there. That keeps the cash flow going. Take care of them, so that they can take care of you. NOLA is a good music town and has a large population. That helps. I suppose there might be some M&P stores surviving in Miami, but it's a little over 2 hours away. Our local store was competitive, but once GC opened, people flocked there to save a dollar on a set of strings. Volume buying allowed that, and our local was selling them with less than a dollar markup. I know, when I was selling music books that complement my Band-in-a-Box fake disks, I was buying them from a wholesaler who was giving me 30-40% off retail. When Amazon came around, they were selling them for less than I could get them for. Volume pricing gave them a better deal from the publishers. I quit selling them, and just provide an Amazon link on the same page as my fake disks. Notes ♫

It's sad to see all the mom&pop music stores going away. The impersonal Big Box and Internet Order stores have taken over. Sure, you can get your strings for $1 less there, but you lose personal service that has been honed by years of experience. I was looking for a new mic for my sax. The Sure SM58 didn't reproduce it well. I went to the local store, the owner went to the recording studio in the back and handed me Sennheiser MD421. He said try it on the gig, and if you like it, I'll order one for you. No deposit, no credit card, just the trust of someone who has done business there. I tried it on the gig, and our Sunday gig was in an open air bar. One of my musician friends came to see us, and she said, "What have you done? Your sax sounds great, I could hear the difference in the parking lot!" Monday I went back to the store, with the mic in my hand, and he said, I'll order one, just keep using that until the new mic is delivered. The new mic came, and I just paid what he asked. A week later a Sam Ash catalog arrived in the mail (This was pre-Internet) and the MD421 was in it. Figuring what shipping and handling would have cost me, I actually paid a few dollars less at my M&P than I would have at Sam Ash. Having that service is why I bought all my reeds, strings, music books, and everything else there. When the Internet arrived, too many people when to him for advice, and then went online to get a better price. Now we don't have him anymore, just a couple of kids at the local GC store that are really not interested in you as a customer, and even if they were, they don't have the years of knowledge required to be able to help you. In other words, I feel your loss, Shane. Notes ♫

Midnight Train To Georgia — Gladys Knight and the Pips

My new year's resolution, play Auld Lang Syne at the end of this year, too.

Stone Flower Suite — Sergei Prokofiev

Just found this one and want to share

What makes Barbie more popular? Females. For so many girls, it is a toy they had a deep relationship with.

The End Of A Love Affair — Frank Sinatra

^^^ some of those are just too funny ?

Of Thee I Sing Overture — George Gershwin