Notes_Norton

It consists of the controller and the synth modules (or software synths) The controller looks like a clarinet, fingers more like a sax, flute, recorder, or brass (user's choice). Some have internal synth sounds, mine just puts out MIDI and I use hardware sound modules for the synth voices. It has MIDI continuous controls for Breath—usually used for volume The reed can sense your lip pressure and can be used for pitch bend, lip slurs (brass), or any of the MIDI continuous controllers (CC) Fingerings for notes On my Yamaha it has a thumb rocker that can be assigned for two different CCs, one up, and one down. There are 128 continuous controllers, not all of them are appropriate for the wind synth, but many of them are It can do things a keyboard controller cannot do, and a keyboard controller can do things the wind controller can not. To emulate a solo sax, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, and many pure synth voices for a solo part, it allows the player to do a more realistic emulation than you can with a keyboard. Two examples come to mind. I was playing in the lounge in a country club, and playing a muted trumpet patch. A trumpet player came out of the dining room and into the lounge to see who was sitting in on trumpet. I did a party. The people knew us. This was before I started bringing a guitar to the gig, but used a keyboard instead. We were by the pool, and the host, a guitar player, came out of the house to see who was playing guitar. Here is what my wind synths look like. The gold and red foil was added by me. A guy on the wind controller forum used to make them. And here I am playing one, at the birthplace of the US Navy SEALS in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Notes ♫

It has evolved, but I wouldn't say beyond. It has changed, but better or worse is a useless comparison. Music has changed since Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky Symphonies, but that doesn't make them inferior. I hear good modern music and bad modern music, and that is just my taste showing. Others think what I like is bad, and what I dislike is good. That's why there is more than one kind. Or as they say, "That's why there is both chocolate and vanilla ice cream." (I prefer pistachio.) Notes ♫

I live and love music. It doesn't have to have a saxophone in it for me to like it. I like symphonies, blues, jazz, Latin American, Caribbean, Klezmer, country, rock, punk, disco and quite a few other genres. BTW, sax is my primary instrument, but I started on drums, and also play flute, wind synthesizer, guitar, bass, keyboards, and vocals. In my current duo, http://www.s-cats.com I do all our backing tracks. Usually from scratch. I tried buying some but spent so much time tweaking them, it's easier for me to just play the parts into a DAW. That way I understand everything about them, the chords used, any substitution chords, and so on. In the bands that I've been in, since every composer doesn't have the good sense to include a sax part, I would double on bass or rhythm guitar so we could cover "3 guitar" songs. In one band the drummer was a lead singer, so I would sit at his kit for a few songs so he could get out front and sing. I also write aftermarket styles for the auto-accompaniment app, Band-in-a-Box, at https://www.nortonmusic.com and I write all the parts to those styles. I've been a pro musician since I graduated school, with an exception of taking a job to see what "normal" was like. It didn't last all that long. I've opened for headliners in concert, played dive bars and almost everything in between. So how do the Beatles relate to me, the sax player? As a music making ensemble. Notes ♫

Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Robert Hazard (covered by Cyndi Lauper) Notes ♫

I've been known to enjoy music from the 1800s to the 2020s. Depends on the piece of music, and how it affects me. And it doesn't matter what genre or artist. If I like it, I like it, if I don't, I ignore it. But I listen with musician's ears. What the mass audiences go for might or might not agree with me. And that's OK. My dad was into Tchaikovsky, Duke Ellington, Eddy Arnold, Frank Sinatra, Elton John and a lot more, so I guess I just inherited that. Notes ♫

Alright, Okay, You Win - Count Basie orchestra with Joe Williams Notes ♫

Who's right? I say "Both" There are two kinds of music, (1) Music I like (2) Music made for someone else's ears. Notes ♫

Don't Cry No More - Bobby 'Blue' Bland Notes ♫

Sorry if I'm repeating, due to time constraints, I had to skip a page of posts, I'll go back later, after the gig. ------ I don't think most pop music of today, including the Beatles' best work, will stand the test of time like Mozart, Bach, and Beethoven did. In 100 years or so, I don't think the average people will know about them. Al Jolson was a major star in his day, but ask a kid today about him and do they know? Pop music is disposable music. The works of the great classical composers will be played by orchestras for some time to come. Between you and me, I'd rather hear Abbey Road than anything by Mozart, but I'd rather hear a Shostakovitch or Tchaikovsky symphony than Abbey Road. Here's the difference. Themes and variations. I played Dvorak's Ninth symphony in school and have had 4 different recordings of it by various symphony orchestras. After I'd heard it hundreds of times, I noticed something I never realized, and it blew me away. In the fourth movement, Dvorak mixed two major themes from two different movements to make a new melody. That was easy. But he also took a variation of a piece of another melody theme for a background 'answer' part, and yet another variation of another melody for the bass line. So in that part, he combined the major themes from all four movements in a way that wasn't obvious. I've listened to the Abbey Road medley hundreds of times, enjoy it, but nothing new has been discovered. Notes ♫

Thanks for the Huey Smith tag, we do the Johnny Rivers version because it is more commercial, but I really like Huey Smith and his Clowns. Tu-Ber-Cu-Lucas And The Sinus Blues – Huey “Piano” Smith and his Clowns Notes ♫

IMO, If you have bands like Frank Zappa & The Mothers, the Steve Miller Band, Elvis Costello and the Attractions Prince and the Revolution, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and others, where the leader is the attraction, it doesn't matter to me if the band members rotate, as long as the “star” is still alive. It's like the old Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, or Stan Kenton orchestras. But you can't cover those bands with a new leader. Some bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin were a unit, and IMO, replacing any of them would be a problem. The Rolling Stones have always been Mick and Keith, so changing the others isn't major – but I still think Brian Jones was a major contributor to their early work. Jay and The Americans have had 3 Jays, the second one's real name was Dave and their biggest hits were recording by Dave. Blood Sweat and Tears had Al Kooper as the first singer, then David Clayton Thomas, and most of their hits were by him. To the average music consumer, it really doesn't matter if none of the original members are there, they want to hear the songs and be able to say, “I saw _______ in concert.” So that lady I mentioned earlier was happy to pay top dollar for The Kingston Trio, because she didn't know all the original members have long since died. She heard the songs, and can say, “I saw the Kingston Trio when they played at the Sunrise Theatre.” Me? All the big stars come to town on the weekends, and I gig almost every weekend, so I don't get to see any. I guess it doesn't matter what I think, I'm not buying a ticket. It's all about the money, and whoever owns the name, wants to make money from it. I don't have to agree. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

As a working musician, I seldom get to see anyone, because they show up on the days that I'm usually gigging. But in my younger years, I did open for quite a few of them as the 'warm up' band in concerts, and also some big show clubs. The musician who is now my wife and I started this duo http://www.s-cats.com in 1985. So I sometimes tell the audience that the only band that has been together longer than us is The Rolling Stones—and when the timing seems right—I add “and we still have all the original members”. Back On Topic No it's not plagiarism to go out with a famous band name and no original members, if you don't own the name it's copyright infringement, and if you do own the name it's legal, but I still consider it fraud. Notes ♫

Like A Rolling Stone – Bob Dylan Notes ♫

I wonder how much the musicians in the tribute bands with no original members are making? Back in the late 1970s, we opened for The Trammps in a show club in Miami, where we were the house band. They offered me a job with them for $200 per week. I'd have to tour on the band bus, and share a room with another member on the road. I was making more than that in the house band. And I also know that often the band or artist doesn't own their own name, the label or someone they sold it to does. Remember when Prince was that symbol, because the record company owned his name. John Fogerty fought a legal battle with the record company to be able to use his own name, too. So that gets me to thinking. What are the 'official' tribute band members really making? Are they being pimped by the owner of the band name, or riding the gravy train on someone else's reputation? For me? I've played in cover bands for decades. We were expected to sound like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, Sam & Dave, CCR, The Blue Notes, The Cars, and everyone else. To mimic only one band is easy in comparison. I have no desire to go to any tribute band concert, unless I know one of the members and want to support him/her. Notes ♫

Me And Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul Notes ♫

In many cases, the record label owns the name, and pushes out a tribute band as the real thing. The fans don't know. When we were opening shows for Motown in Detroit, they wanted to sign us up for 'the big time', but they only wanted to pay 2 cents per records in royalties. If that wasn't bad enough, out of our royalties: They would take out exaggerated recording, promotion, and distribution costs They would control all the publishing rights and get all the publishing royalties If we wrote the song, a ghostwriter who had nothing to do with it would have his/her name on it and get half the writer's royalties And we would have to change our name to one that Motown would own, so they could hire/fire and even have more than one band touring the country with the same name That was pretty standard back then. Our manager tried to get a better deal, and Motown just quit talking and hiring us. In other words, “If we can't pimp you, you are of no use to us.” Our manager figured we'd have to sell a million LPs to break even with Motown, and back then, that was a rare feat for a first release. Which is why there were so many one-hit-wonders back then. They got their record on the air, the label made all the money, and if they didn't pay off the fantasy debt, they just called it even and said if you want to record again, pay the balance off first. In the rare case that the record back then went viral, and made more than the debt, you could get a better deal for the next release. You were considered an automatic until you quit selling, then they released a greatest hits album and dropped you. A couple of years ago, a friend of my was very excited that she had tickets to see The Kingston Trio. I didn't have the heart to tell her that all 3 members of The Kingston Trio are dead, and she was paying top dollar to hear a tribute band. The Stones are hanging on with only two. Brian Jones went first and now Mick and Keith are still hanging in. If one of those goes, it'll be all over. Fleetwood Mac changed members every few albums. Lynard Skynard died in a plane crash, and the name went on with new folks Blood, Sweat, and Tears are touring with I think no original members, and definitely not Al Kooper or David Clayton Thomas Our neighbor was married to Blackfoot's drummer, and I think they are touring with no original members. The drummer died, and the poor gal never got over it. Quiet Riot, Humble Pie, Ratt, Yes, Thin Lizzy, Hollies, Judas Priest, and so on are tribute bands. Without Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys aren't the Beach Boys either. But that's nothing new, The Drifters, The Platters, and so many of the early rock groups went through the same thing. Most of the fans don't know the difference.

Electric Avenue – Eddy Grant Notes ♫

Stormy Weather – Jazz standard first sung by Ethel Waters Notes ♫

He could have gone as Laika, the dog the USSR sent into orbit, in the early days of space exploration. Poor Laika, it was a one-way trip, with no return planned. Notes ♫

For years, until a hurricane blew the clubhouse down, we did Halloween and New Year's Eve at a nudist RV campground in Florida. The first gig was Halloween. When they offered the job, I asked if the band was required to be nude, and she said no. Then I asked if they had a sense of humor, and she said yes. So Mrs. Notes had a flesh colored unitard, and she dyed a t-shirt and a pair of my skivvies flesh colored. Then we cut cardboard rectangles out, painted them black, and pinned them over the 'sensitive' areas. Then two more attached to sunglasses but not covering the lenses, and we went as 'censored nudes'. We were a hit. A lot of the audience members came in costume, but by the end of the night, most were naked. We played there at least twice a year for quite a few years. It's funny how unsexy playing a nudist camp can be. It just becomes natural. Years before that when I gigged in a strip club, that remained sexy, Funny how that happens. Taking clothes off never became unsexy, but total nudity, although pleasant, just settled down to normal. Anyway, they were both good gigs. But that was our all-time best halloween costume. Notes ♫

Agreed. Actually, when they came out with pop filters, it wasn't as much fun as the nylons. But I think they may have worked better.

That's All – Jazz standard by Alan Brandt and Bob Haymes Notes ♫

I have a Casino made in the Peerless factory and an ES330 made in Kalamazoo. The Casino is about 90% as nice as the Gibson, and at less than half the price.

I remember using a coat hanger with a woman's nylon stocking stretched over it in front of the mic. I don't know how well it work with the plosives, but anything having anything to do with women's nylons isn't probably a bad thing 😮

Midnight Train To Georgia – Gladys Knight And The Pips Notes ♫