Live Is Live, Again — AGAIN — (well, not totally…)!

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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 NOTOther 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 :-)



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