Greetings and Salutations Facts Of Music® friends and fans!

I know, I know — it’s been forever since I last posted a blog (June, to be exact)…

Would you like to hear about some MUSIC NEWS? Country music (and Rock)? Well then, READ ON…

I’ve been keeping my usual fare of “busy,” and have been playing in a variety of settings over these past 5-6 months. It’s been about that long since I started re-focusing on Country music, and playing more of it. I’ve been listening to the only Country Radio station in L.A. — namely KKGO “Go Country” 105.1fm (oh, well — there may be other ways to hear country — i.e. on the internet)! KKGO 105.1 is the ONLY Country Radio station that gives people the chance to win all kinds of “Country” things. I had the distinct pleasure of going to Nashville and seeing (among other things) Jason Aldean and the CMA awards (on KKGO’s nickel!).

It’s almost the Holidays, and I am grateful (even closer to Thanksgiving!) for the opportunity to have participated with KKGO on this “super-trip” that I enjoyed with my “partner for Country Music Affairs” (another CMA of sorts!) — photographer, media and technology specialist extraordinaire: Peter Duke.

Peter first suggested that I specialize (again) in Country Music…and that is the direction I find myself in and enjoying the most lately. Something everyone should notice (about Country) is how much it has become the “Rock” of today (with the original roots of Rock Music being from the heartland of America, and those southern roots!). While in Nashville last week, Peter and I noticed how truly “Rock” it was over there — and we had an absolute blast. Please go to my FaceBook account to see pictures — Peter posted quite a few: www.facebook.com/philippe.willems

There should be some video coming soon (from the trip), and I will be happy to let you know how to see it — when it’s ready! Those video clips should be coming in the next week or so, and I will certainly inform you when I can get them up…stay tuned/check in again SOON! Until then, I hope you keep on playing music and doing all things musical to your heart’s content…

Musically,

Philippe

THIS POST IS BEING RE-SENT (the original was inadvertently interrupted/discarded from the website). Hopefully, you received the first, but if not — here it is again. Sorry for the confusion, but maybe you’ll read it now — if you were not going to the first time (ha ha ha – editor’s note!).

Isn’t “live music” great?

It’s the way to go…or is it? Of course it is!!!

And, if you haven’t noticed it lately, there are lots of musicians playing live who play other parts and instruments as well – IN THE BACKGROUND — on pre-recorded tracks. THANK YOU TECHNOLOGY (for being so red hot and FAST)!

Finally, our equipment is fast enough to keep up with the demands put on it (i.e. a laptop that can crank out our studio production in the mix while we ever so happily do what we do “in real time” (…LIVE!). My friend Scott Moyer and I are putting together a new show that promises to put ourselves to the task (and for good measure, a little more weight-lifting to stay in shape)! Scott is a drummer, and I a guitar player — at least that’s how we’re known. BUT, we are also “multi-instrumentalists” in the true sense of that term. So, you will hear and see us playing various other instruments (therefore the extra weight — I hope our vehicles will handle the loads!). That means we will come, as a duo, playing guitars, keyboard, bass, drums, singing and filling-in all the other orchestral parts — some performed live via keyboard. We’re also planning on having “special guests” come and perform with us, at just the right moments.

This is our debut and announcement that in early July, we will start performing around the Southern California area as a “Duo Band/Orchestra.” I wonder what we will be known as — probably not “T 4 2,” but the “T” would definitely be “Technology.” The dates are not quite set yet, but then neither are our sets! We’re developing them right now.

First off, we will be playing many styles, very hip grooves and great standards and hits. All instrumentations will be available and either in the “original configurations” (when cover material) and most certainly with our original music.

Also (secondly), we will go out of our way to demonstrate a level of musicianship/performance/showmanship that focuses on MUSICAL CONTENT — sometimes creative arrangements, but NOT “Other Than Music” — a form of entertainment we see a lot of today!!! What do I mean by that? Well, it’s been a while since “artists/bands” have majored in musicianship (lots of “music” today focuses on a straight, simple pulse; one throbbing note; and 40 dancers in the background)! We are going to bring back MORE melodic, harmonic and rhythmic excellence into the lives of our audiences that will inspire both our audiences and ourselves to go upward and onward in our musical experiences. What’s not great about increasing our appreciation for and of the components that make music what it really is, and what it should be/can become?!!! We all know that music is a powerful medium, but its power has been greatly curtailed.

Scott and I are both intensely committed to the furtherance of QUALITY MUSIC AND MUSICIANSHIP. There are fantastic amounts of good music and great players out there — but that’s not what we get to see and hear much of the time, or so it seems. Though there has always been excellent music and musicianship around, much of it has not been promoted because certain “forces” in the business have decided to lower the “common denominator” so the effect results in a dumbing down of what most of the public generally hears (the thought behind this is to “keep it attractive” to the greatest number of people)…kind of like the government telling us we don’t know what to do, so they will “do what’s good for us.”

Third, and finally (and this is the part we are working OUT and ON the most), we are anticipating and preparing for the ability to run this show either WITH or WITHOUT electrical power provided (meaning, if there is no power available, we bring our own — hello batteries and power inverter — DC to AC!). No, do not confuse this with the popular band, “AC/DC.” And, no, we do not plan on performing any of their material! This is something that will make our show a bit different than all the others around us — but we still need to work out the “bugs” (how to make it all work!). Believe me, it’s more than meets the eye (guess that’s because it also includes the ear?!!! HA HA HA)! O.K., enough for now. We will bring more details to you toward the end of June, as we approach our bookings (for dates in the 2nd week of July sometime, and beyond).

Until the next blog, remember to make more music (i.e. add an extra chord, using “harmonic improvement” or possibly a “substitution,” if you like)!

Musically yours,

Philippe



Here’s a quick POST to say HI after about 6 months! Looks like I’ll have to catch you up on all the news and what’s about to happen — in the coming month or so! But at this point, suffice it to say this post is just to let you know that I am indeed still alive (remember, “Paul is dead!”?) — those of you old enough to remember that PR ploy (?)…

Oh, yes, and one more thing…

I sincerely hope you all have continued to grow musically in as many ways as there now are out there – more to come soon… “on them apples!” (clue to the riddle of the aforementioned PR ploy: What was the name of the record label started by the group whose member was NOT dead?…)

Musically, Mr. FOM