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Silenced Fred

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Back to the "rendering" or "cover."

 

I think some bands that are put together for specific "sound like" purposes can do well at least for a while depending on how far they're willing to travel. Also, some "Standards" in a standard sorta style are something I think almost any saloon musician has to learn to handle with the style of a professional entertainer.

 

("Play Proud Mary," shouted the drunk lady two tables from the stage three or four times during almost any other piece. Guess what... it may be a good idea to play it, and it's not that hard for a CCR style rendition. It ain't "selling out," it's playing music for money.)

 

But I think "renditions" can be further subdivided into "pretty close in general style but reflecting my/my band's instrumentation, vocal qualities and such," or into the "I'm taking a whole different tack on this piece."

 

For example, I think the old 1950s classic "You belong to me" (See the pyramids along the Nile) more recently turned into kind of a "chick flick" piece. It has a breathy girl singer - or reasonable facsimile <grin> backed by a strummy acoustic guitar thing. The original and versions that followed were pretty similarly done with fancier chords and orchestral-style arrangements even if played by one guitar and/or keyboard. So there are at least two totally different concepts for the piece.

 

So... I don't know how much relevance this analogy means to some younger folks on here, but it's like asking who did "Misty" either vocal and/or instrumental. Nearly everybody who has done it has followed one of several basic concepts for the piece but... my memories of Roy Buchanan and Johnny Mathis aren't necessarily what even another guy my age might think of.

 

m

 

Yeah, I mean we do have some covers, and most of the stuff that we would do is from back catalogues of bands to try and bring people deeper into the artist. So its like, "Oh you like this band, well you know this song by them, but what about this one?" I mean at the end of the night, people are there to be entertained. And if we can bring them into the music and not just play "Greatest Hits" from bands and it makes them think about the songs, then I feel I have done my job.

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Hi Milo. Yeah, that's a good explanation of Rendering. Sometimes it's the instrumentation that shapes a songs arrangement, sometimes it's the players abilities, sometimes it's audience expectations.

 

Fleetwood Mac is a good example in my cover band. We do "Gold Dust Woman" our own way, but it's still familiar. We're do "Rhiannon" as close to the album version as possible, copping Buckinghams lead lines and riffs note for note, and we do "Oh Well" very heavy with an extended Improv lead section at the end.

 

I think it's very important to balance these approaches in order to keep the entire audience interested, and to keep the band from limiting itself based on instrumentation. We're the only Three Piece I've heard play BOC's "Godzilla". It sounds like a Blues band rendition, but the audience loves it every time.

 

Bottom Line, it doesn't matter what songs you pick or how you arrange them or if you only do originals. What counts is playing from the heart, enjoying what your playing, and letting the audience feel how much yo enjoy doing it. Give your performance 110% every night, and don't make your band decisions based on "ease". Nothing turns me off to project more than hearing band members say, "But it's easier to do it this way." Do it the hard way and the audience will pick up on it.

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recently scaled back to a three piece.

 

Upright Bass/vox (ashdown 500w SS head, avatar 2x12 w/ tweet)

Guitar/gang vox and whoah's ( 78' Fender Bassman 135, avatar 4x10 "vintage" Blues Breaker cab)

Drums/gang vox and whoah's (DDrum kit w/ applicable accouterments)

 

 

 

easier to schedule, easier to write(we've been playing together for three years now).

No B.S. No Drama.

Life is good when you find a certain link with other musicians

 

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sinner...

 

where around Boston do you play?

 

I lived in Cambridge in the early 60s and the Club 47 Mt. Auburn and stuff were the places to go... <grin>

 

So... I guess this country kid is asking what types of joints?

 

m

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sinner...

 

where around Boston do you play?

 

I lived in Cambridge in the early 60s and the Club 47 Mt. Auburn and stuff were the places to go... <grin>

 

So... I guess this country kid is asking what types of joints?

 

m

 

 

around here it's O'Brien's, Great Scott, or the Paradise Theater.

Middle east Cafe still has two rooms, and T.T.'s is going strong.

Harpers Ferry has changed hands, and is now owned by the Paradise folks.

Axis, and Avalon, now a H.O.B.

and The Rat is long gone.

there are a few other little hole in the wall places around, but they are a dying breed.

dry.gif

Gentrification Sucks

msp_sneaky.gif

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I mostly hung out around Harvard Square 'cuz that's where Dad was in school and where his apartment was. I was mostly in high school two years of that, then one year in college back "out west." <grin>

 

But I liked some of the little Irish saloons behind the downtown area and such.

 

m

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Any word on the '69?

 

I was rockin on the Big Muff earlier. I've got the perfect setting now. I'm going crazy waiting for my Fuzz Factory though. It sucks waiting for stuff to come in the mail. What do you think about the Fuzz Factory?

 

I played on one in GC, and I couldn't really get any amazing sounds of it. THe stuff I have heard from them is SICK though

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It's pretty much impossible to just sit down for the first time and get it to sound good. I'll probably be using recommended settings for a while before I figure it out.

 

I read that Jack White used one in the Raconteurs a lot.

 

When I get it I'll definately be glued to it for like a week.

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I also read that he uses a Big Muff. I expected him to use some crappy old obscure fuzz. I guess that explains why I can totally nail his tone ;)

 

I mean, you look at his stuff with the White Stripes. shitty amps, shitty guitars, but his pedals? Top notch and all were customized with either mods or a paint job.

 

Raconteurs? Custom guitars, custom pedals. He knows his stuff. To the average listener, it seemed like he used weird stuff, but he really didn't.

 

Give me a Fender amp and the distortion plus and the neck pickup with tone all the way up, I can rock that ****

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What do you think about the Fuzz Factory?

 

I love it. It is the Velcro like fuzz sound I have been dreaming of for years. Be ready to spend some time with the pedal to find the right sound. It is in there, just takes a while with the plethora of knobs and options. The recommended preset help get you there and then you can expand from those points. My only complaint is the occasional choking out even with the gate wide open. I can live with it, though.

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I love it. It is the Velcro like fuzz sound I have been dreaming of for years. Be ready to spend some time with the pedal to find the right sound. It is in there, just takes a while with the plethora of knobs and options. The recommended preset help get you there and then you can expand from those points. My only complaint is the occasional choking out even with the gate wide open. I can live with it, though.

 

The Velcro is what sold me too. And not just the ZVex recommended Velcro setting but other settings that sound like Velcro.

 

I love vegetating on pedals for hours and getting them to do weird stuff. I'm a tweaker (you know what I mean...) so I know what I'm getting myself into. I can live with it choking out occasionally too. After all it is a whacky little fuzz pedal. That kindof stuff is expected.

 

Thanks for the insight evol ;). Hopefully it doesn't come in today while I'm in class because it requires a signature.

 

Fred last night I read a bunch of stuff about him online and it was pretty interesting. I'm sure you already know all of it though haha.

 

Haha no euphemism.

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The Velcro is what sold me too. And not just the ZVex recommended Velcro setting but other settings that sound like Velcro.

 

I love vegetating on pedals for hours and getting them to do weird stuff. I'm a tweaker (you know what I mean...) so I know what I'm getting myself into. I can live with it choking out occasionally too. After all it is a whacky little fuzz pedal. That kindof stuff is expected.

 

Thanks for the insight evol ;). Hopefully it doesn't come in today while I'm in class because it requires a signature.

 

Fred last night I read a bunch of stuff about him online and it was pretty interesting. I'm sure you already know all of it though haha.

 

Haha no euphemism.

 

Haha yeah... I become immersed in artists

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