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Bruce Cockburn plays Rocket Launcher at Live 8

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The best thing to come out of Canada, acoustically speaking that is, is Bruce Cockburn. The way he approaches songwriting is breath taking. He makes his guitar and two hands sound like a full band.

One totally mind boggling aspect of his playing live, is that Bruce mixes up how the song is executed on stage. One night he plays it one, then the other he performs the song in a completely different position on the guitar. The essence of the song remains the same but, by playing it in contrasting locations, it allows him to add little phrasings to add even more colour to the piece. Damn this guy is GREAT!

The one song that he performs solo and the one I play the most is If I had a Rocket Launcher. Bruce’s thumb acts like both the bass and drums, while the other fingers act like the melody. This becomes very clear, to even most of the non musicians out there, when the song enters the solo part.

He has an incredible amount of independence between the his fingers and his thumb on his right hand. Mr Cockburn basically has a whole band in his right hand.

The best example of this is his performance at the Live 8 concert, held in Barrie 2006. I recall getting ready for work that day while watching it. As the time to leave for work was getting closer, I was sitting at the edge of my seat just hoping to see him before heading off. With the luck of the Irish with me that day, he waltz onto the stage just before I had to go. He did not let me down!

When I perform this song now a days, I use this concert as a reference point. I do his intro, which I’ve never heard him do it quite like this before, along with sections of his solo. The only thing different about my version is that I play it in the first position (I play it at the top of the guitar). This allows me to have more strings that ring out when playing. Filling in the musical holes if you will.

The thing about this show is, every time that I watch this show, it seems that I’ve missed out many subtle changes that he does! Damn this Bruce Cockburn fellow, I will never be able to play exactly like him~!@#$%^&*()_+!

So in case you missed out on this show/version, check out the video and tell us if you think I got it right!

Keep on Jammin’ Bruce Cockburn





Which Digital Keyboard Is Right For Me?

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Before you go out and buy your keyboard, there are a few tips that you need to consider. There are a huge choice of keyboards and digital pianos available today -and quite often that choice can seem really overwhelming. Even a quick online search will give you more options than it is possible to get through in a week -so which one is right for you? Which one will best suit your needs?

1) Affordability. Make sure that you can afford it! Even the most conservative budget should not have too many problems finding a good keyboard that will suit your needs. Once you have set yourself a top level of what you want to spend, make sure you do not go over that.

2)   Weighted action versus synth action. Synth action simply means that the keys are a little lighter, weighted action simply means that the keys are heavier and therefore behave more like an acoustic piano. The weight of the keys transmits to the style of play that you are buying the keyboard for: weighted action is great for the trained pianist or someone who is looking to develop their piano skills; synth action is more suited to those who play a more synthy or techno style, as the keys can be played a lot faster. Just a couple of the more technical terms you may come into contact with when buying your keyboard.

3) The number of keys. It can certainly seem that the choices you have when it comes to the number of keys can be almost as far-ranging as the choice of keyboards in the first place! The range goes from as little as 20 right up to 88. The choice is yours: if you are looking to use your keyboard for things like samples, then only a small range is needed and you only need a few keys. For the more experimental, for instance if you are looking to play around with sound development, then you want as many keys as possible.

4) Is an onboard sequencer worth it? This comes down to a very simple factor: if you’re working without a computer, then yes. If you’re working with a computer, then it probably won’t be necessary.

5) Do I need a workstation? The workstation on your keyboard will perform a myriad of functions, from sequencing to effects. If you are already using a computer which handles all of that, paying extra for a workstation may not be the most economical vantage point. This should be weighed against the fact that the workstation is, however, an incredible tool to use.

6) Velocity and aftertouch features. The velocity feature relates to how the sound is produced relative to the amount of pressure given to the keys, for example how quickly they are pressed. The aftertouch feature deals more with the sound that is produced after the keys have been pressed, like when they are resting on the keybed. Whatever use you have in mind for your keyboard, then velocity and aftertouch is something you should definitely be looking for.

7) Can I take this to a gig? You might want to think about a hard case to protect it, and obviously maneuverability is going to be a factor. It may seem obvious to say, but do you really want to be lugging some huge keyboard around from one gig to another? If one of the reasons you are buying the keyboard is to take it to gigs, then this should definitely be considered.

When you take the time to find the best keyboard, one that will suit your needs and your goals, then you are much more likely to develop the long-term relationship with your instrument. Think about what is available online -this is often the best way to buy a new keyboard -with the added advantage that they will deliver straight to your door!

Cold Play – Shiver – Acoustic Version

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Coldplay, what a good band. They’ve been around for ages, tons of people I’ve met love ’em and their sound is great.

Most songs they play take a bit of time to tickle that musical funny bone in me. There is an exception with a song they did for BBC show in 2000. It was an unplugged version of their hit song Shiver.

This song has everything that I love in a song. For the first time in a while I actually listened to the word and they were, well nice. This is a big step for me because I NEVER pay attention to words in a song.

The second thing going for this creation is the chord progressions. The phrasing is fabulous. The chords are FULL SOUNDING , there are open strings ringing out for all to hear and it is not just a sappy love song full of simplistic guitar changes. The second guitar adds that extra filler that I look for in gauging for the perfect song!

The guitar player, Chris Martin, has created a song very worthy of figuring out. So much so, that I am going to give it a go when I’m done this post!

The reference that I will be using as a rough template for the song is this video that I found on Youtube!

I also want to apologize to my regular readers for not posting all that much the past little while. Sometimes you just have to step back for a while to re-energize the old batteries that will help bring a better perspective in the things that you love doing to make it that much better. Thank you!

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan missing songs

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For all your Bob Dylan fans out there, here is a neat bit of musical trivia that you may have not known about up until now! It’s all about 4 songs that were not released on his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, that did not make the final cut. They are “Let Me Die In My Footsteps”, “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie”, “Rock and Gravel” and “Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues”

So this album, Bob Dylan’s second one which had the working title of Bob Dylan Blues, was a pure master piece! This album did much better then his debut album titled Bob Dylan, which sold about 5000 copies, just enough to break even at that time. This little known fact about these 4 songs made me sit back and scratch my head to wonder, why?

Can you actually believe that some idiots deemed them unusable for public consumption? This album made it to 97 on Rolling Stones Top 500 albums of all time!
With Blowin’ in the Wind on an album, I guess you can’t go wrong now can ya? Thank God they left that one on it!

So here is what I took out of this fairly long article. If I have misinterpreted any of this or got my info wrong then PLEASE tell us.

So Bob Dylan resumes his work on his second album at Columbia’s Studio A in New York city. This session started on October 26th, 1962. “Mixed-Up Confusion” and Arthur Crudup’s “That’s All Right Mama” were deemed unusable, so out came the scissors and they were cut. A master take of “Corrina, Corrina”, which was not an original, was selected for the final album. I remember listening to this one when I was a young kid at my parents house, what a great tune.

A few copies of the original pressing of the LP — with the subsequently deleted tracks, “Let Me Die In My Footsteps”, “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Willie”, “Rock and Gravel” and “Talkin’ John Birch Society Blues” — finally turned up for general consumption, against Columbia’s blessings. CBS produced records later on with these four songs, but not the corresponding covers.

Imagine for a second, only 30 pressed copies with these tunes were released, then they stopped the presses, removed the offending songs and finally started the presses once again? Can you say really rare and valuable piece of plastic?

In April, 1992, the first known stereo copy (with the label listing the original four songs) was found at thrift store located in Greenwich Village in New York City. The quality of this valuable piece of music history was used and in not bad condition. It was later fetched $12,345.67. Envision, if you will, this album being in mint condition?

Keep on Jammin’

World Record for largest guitar ensemble will have to wait

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As you know the good people at Luminato Festival got together a bunch of like minded souls to gather together and attempt to break the Guinness World Book of Records for the most guitarist in a musical ensemble. We did set a Canadian record in this category in the process.

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This is just a small sample of the atmosphere at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square on Saturday June6th, 2009. This was when we were attempting to break the Guinness World book of Records for largest guitar ensemble. For more pictures of the event take a look at our flickr account.

The weather couldn’t of been better. I was to meet up with a buddy of mine, Sean, who works with me at the hospital. We also played a talent show at work a couple of years ago and we came in second place for the show. The winner was this lady playing the saw, yes a saw! In her defense it was very unique to say the least!

I ending up getting there early so I thought that I’d go to the Hard Rock and get us a seat on the patio. It took Sean and his beautiful bride to show up, so I had to earn my keep outside and started having a few light refreshing liquid beverages. Man that was fun!

I met tons of interesting people there. Also on the patio, there were tons of musicians hoisting pints before the show and we showing off their acoustics to anyone interested. I came across this guy named Mark McCreary who walked past my seat. He was carrying around a custom made guitar case that he created. This one was made of shaved bark and pine cones, REALLY COOL LOOKING! If you are looking for something like this for yourself or that special guitarist in your life, then give him an e-mail. uniquelydown@hotmail.com

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This is a sample of the work that this guys does for his custom made guitar cases.

I remember this tall guy standing at the front of the stage with a hollow body guitar. He had his buddy there video taping the event. As it turns out, this video was taken by him and his buddy!

You can see Sean and myself on it at counter number 0:05. The counter is located on the bottom part of the video, and when the video is playing you will see numbers moving. I’m the guy with a white baseball cap on backwards with rectangular dark glasses. I am in the bottom part of the screen. I am holding up my beige top Larrivee. I am holding the guitar upside down and my guitar strap is hanging at the back of it. I’m wearing a light blue shirt. Sean is behind me directly to MY right YOUR left, with dark hair taking a picture with his head turned back to the crowd. He has a blue wristband on his right hand. You have to freeze the tape in order to see us.

The suspense was so think you could cut it with a dull butter knife! At one point, the announcer said that we were 5, YES 5 people short for the record. I looked back at Sean and the excitement level in our eyes was off the radar screen! Surely we can find 5 people at the busiest intersection of Toronto, Canada’s largest city, 5th largest in North America that plays guitar that wants to join in!

Then after performing the song, some guy from The Guinness Record group said that we were short 123 people! what the F–K! Didn’t they say we were 5 guitarists short a couple of minutes ago?!

At that point we quickly departed back to The Hard Rock Patio. Sean’s wife graciously was waiting for us, along with our guitar cases, I really appreciated that young lady!

Just a side note here, while in the head, I met this really excited guy. He told me that when he was on the patio and he heard that we only needed 5 more people for the record he begged and pleaded with the Hard Rock’s manager if he could get a guitar down from the wall and go over to join in. The manager hemmed and hawed for a split second. He then proceeded to grab this guitar off the wall that they used for employee of the month and let him go over! Can you believe it!

After a couple of drinks and some crying in our beers we headed off home.

We were sooo close but … Well there’s always next year!

P.S. Pinhead, you better show up for next years attempt, got it!!!

Keep on Jammin’

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