Guitar Musings is now three months old and I would like to ask you how I am doing? Below is a brief survey, about 7 questions, and your answers will help me improve upon what I feel is a good start. If you fill out the survey, you will also be entered to win a copy of Tommy Emmanuel’s “Live Center Stage.” Please, only one entry per person. The survey will be open until Wednesday May 28th 8:00 PM MST.
Once again, thank you for visiting my site.
Larry McDowell
(5.28.08: survey is closed. Thanks to all for your responses)
Just got this message from Tommy Emmanuel camp. In case you haven’t listened Bob and Tom, they love practical jokes and are pretty funny. Their energy and Tommy’s should be quite interesting.
Tommy will be on the top rated National morning radio program BOB AND TOM at somewhere around 8:30 am EDT on May 20th - from Indianapolis, Indiana. It is LIVE in 150 cities. Some cities delay it (Pacific & Mountain time) so they can air as their morning drive show. Here is their affiliate list: http://www.bobandtom.com/gen3/affiliates.htm Also, here is a pass to their VIP website so you can listen to the show on your computer if Bob and Tom is not broadcast in your city. Just go to www. bobandtom.com .. and select VIP top right tab. USER NAME: airheads05 PASSWORD: airheads05 This is a great opportunity to expose Tommy and his music to America. Please pass this information on to others, and if you can…Listen in! Regards, Linda
So set your calendars and alarms so you can wake up in time for a listen.
I asked in my last post if the statement, “This is acoustic music in your face”, was a warning or a prediction. Still not sure which one it was but CD 2 was in my face and Tommy got a little bit of help from Bob Littell on Harmonica.
Highlights:
The mix: I know I said this in the last post but it’s so good and really makes the CD’s an experience to listen to.
Working Man’s Blues: Good old fashioned blues with Littell on the harmonica. They played off each other well and had a nice little jam going at one point. I’m not a huge fan of the harmonica but this was truly impressive.
Morning Aire: Beautiful song. I don’t know if there is more I can say.
Initiation: Tommy Does a long version of this where he’s really working the delay but in the end there’s a point where you could tell he just releases and lets the music take over. “Primal Guitar” as Michael Hedges used to say.
Questions: Last track on the CD and all I would write down in my notes was, “Wow!”
Any “lowlights?” For me, I would say too much harmonica. The first four tracks felt like they were Tommy featuring Littell. There was great guitar in those tracks but the harmonica seemed to butt in like a third wheel at times. My thoughts were, “I bought this CD for Tommy Emmanuel, not the harmonica.” As I said before, I’m not the biggest fan of the instrument. Great playing and I have a great respect for Littell’s playing but it was too much for me.
Final Thought:
Once again, if you don’t have it get it! If you are still wondering and waiting, get it anyway. You won’t be disappointed. Can’t wait for the DVD!
“This is acoustic music, in your face…” is the introduction on the first track on Tommy Emmanuel’s “Live, Center Stage” CD1. Was that a prediction or a warning? Either way, Tommy didn’t disappoint with his 2nd live double CD set in three years.
Highlights:
The Mix: Every song on CD1 was engineered to perfection. From Tommy’s playing to the just the right mix of crow noise makes you feel like your there at times.
Nine Pound Hammer: Great improv solo much like Guitar Boogie. At one point, Tommy is playing guitar with one hand a moving baseline on the other. Oh yeah, he’s singing on top of all that.
And So it Goes: Beautiful arrangement of a timeless Billy Joel song. This performance just might bring a tear to ones eye.
I Go to Rio: Just love that he plays this. It’s partially because I performed this in Jr. High choir and he does an awesome job with it.
Beatles Medley: Not the best one that I’ve heard but it’s still worth mentioning. He does like to mix it up so this version had “Here Comes the Sun”, “When I’m Sixty Four”, “Day Tripper” and “Lady Madonna.”
No “lowlights” that I could find. Some of the Tommy detractors might not enjoy some of the rhythmic montages that Tommy has been known to get into. I believe he goes into a three or so minute rhythmic trance during Mombasa. If you don’t already have it, get it. If you’re still wondering and waiting, my thoughts on CD2 will posted soon.
Now that I have found tab that will point me in the right direction in learning Tommy Emmanuel’s Borsalino, it’s time to get practicing. What I usually is listen the hell out of a song and watch any videos I have to observe technique. I had a great version of Tommy performing Borsalino from the Sierra Nevada Center Stage show that aired on PBS. It was on my DVR for quite a while and knew it would always be there. At least I thought it would be. Turns out my Tommy show got recorded over because I failed to protect it so needless to say, I was crushed and pissed.
Technology taketh away and technology giveth back! Did a quick search on YouTube and found the performance that I once had. Not to big of a find since YouTube has tons of videos available at anytime but I didn’t want to visit YouTube everytime I need to look at the video. I want to be able to watch it on my iTouch any time I felt like it. Thankfully, many have addressed this need with programs and services that assist me in getting YouTube videos on my iTouch. It’s called “YouTube to iPod Converter” from dvdvideosoft.com. It’s a simple little program where you enter the URL of the video, specify where you want the .mp4 video to save and click on the “convert” button and you are set. I now have my Tommy video back and can reference it any time I like.
This is yet another great resource for musicians who need to reference music on they fly when they are practicing. This video conversion method isn’t relagated to just iPods. You can do conversions for your PSP, Zune, Windows Media or any other kind of media player.
If only this software could transcribe the song for me and then I would be set. : )
