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Post by levon on Nov 21, 2014 8:19:41 GMT -6
No argument there.....yet there is not one John Mayer tune in my head that I could hum right now....though there are dozens of Stones tunes. And I'm not even a fan. Edit: one John Mayer tune popped into my head. Lol, lots of John Mayer tunes in my head
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Post by levon on Nov 21, 2014 1:02:51 GMT -6
One more word on Keith Richards. I kinda like the guy. He's a true character and he undoubtedly has created a big piece of music history. I just don't see him as a brilliant musician, even though he was, at a time, quite brilliant in his simplicity. For me, the Stones were good up until 'Exile'. After that, meh. I recently saw a 2013 Stones concert on YouTube, could've been in Philadelphia but I'm not sure. Anyway, they invited other people on stage to play with them. Big mistake. They invited John Mayer. Major big mistake. John clearly showed how mediocre Keith and also Ron Wood are when he traded licks and solos with them. The difference was ridiculous. Only my opinion of course. Sorry for the OT.
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Post by levon on Nov 21, 2014 0:55:32 GMT -6
Hi Levon, I realize Mr. Albini has worked on lots of records and is considered an excellent engineer. He seems like a great guy for artists to work with, but his own music clearly never went far, which is why I joked about there being maybe 50 people who cared about it. I've seen my income drop by more than 90% from the new digital paradigm. I think artists are basically being screwed, and just learning workarounds to cope with it. Historically, this isn't anything new, artists were at the beck and call of royalty since time immemorial. But, when guys who were not part of the original NYC Punk music scene wax poetic about it, I have to call bullshit on them, I was there, on the inside, from the very beginning. I also must admit, I don't have time to spend reading everything he had to say in his lectures or articles, so I may be rushing to judgement, but I did read enough to get the gist of what he was saying. I'm not trying to crack wise here, but a keynote address by definition is a lecture. As for not agreeing with him, well, I think it's important that musicians use their voice to promote fair treatment, not sit back and smile while being kicked to the gutter. The Chinese don't care about copyrights, and we're heading in that direction ourselves now, because congressman basically don't understand how it works, and powerful business interests seduce them easily. My friend had 1.4 million plays of his song on Spotify, and he got a $45 check. Do I need to say much more? I just remembered, another friend had a song of his featured in the most popular British tv comedy. In the scene, girls were jumping up and down in their bedroom, dancing to his track for over a minute and a half, (an eternity in TV time), and he also received a check for.. $45, ( what's up with that number?) Martin, funny, I can agree with almost everything you say here re. artists being screwed (now and then) and the Spotify scam. We're pretty much on the same side here. As for Albini, I'm certainly not an Albini devotee, I don't even know most of the stuff he produced, I hated punk rock with a passion and I was never too much into indie rock. So I can't comment on his involvement with the true punk scene. And that's the point, I don't care who he is or what he does, the essence of what Albini says rings very true for me. Whether he sold 50 records or 50 million or whether he waxes about something he was no part of is pretty much irrelevant for me. We all state our opinion and I know that I, for one, definitely sold less than Albini. I also don't believe that he is against fair treatment/payment or promotes 'sitting back and smile while being kicked to the gutter'. That's not what I took away from this. Rather, I like his attitude of think positive, stop moaning about things you won't change anymore, use the internet as a tool for your own benefit and don't rely on labels and publishers that will only screw you as much as they always did. Or maybe even more now that physical sales are not what they used to be. And don't forget, I see this from my European point of view, things might be very different at your end of the world. Or maybe not so much.
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Post by levon on Nov 21, 2014 0:37:42 GMT -6
What makes you think he's lecturing? He stating his opinions in front of people who obviously liked to listen, otherwise they would've walked out. If you don't agree with him, fine, nothing wrong with that. But then just don't listen and walk away. And, Keith Richards, while I like the guy as a unique character and appreciate what he does, he doesn't impress me as a musician at all. Mediocre to put it politely. Only my view, of course, but since you've stated yours I guess I'm allowed to state mine. While I could technically play circles around Keith I think I'd be quite happy having a 50 year career writing and playing absolutely classic (albeit simple) rock riffs that are permanently etched into each and every one of our minds. This I absolutely agree with!
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Post by levon on Nov 20, 2014 2:08:09 GMT -6
Nice track Martin, love the guitars. I agree with what was said before, I would still set the vocals into the track a bit more and bring up the snare. Grain o'salt, as Tony said, as I love my drums loud and it may not be to everyone's taste. For the bass, I often use headphones to judge initial bass levels, that takes the room out of the equation, then later adjust it on speakers
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Post by levon on Nov 20, 2014 0:43:12 GMT -6
So, some guy from a band maybe 50 people gave a shit about is lecturing about how other artists approach protecting their work? Why anyone cares about what he has to say escapes me. When Keith Richards speak up, I'm listening. What makes you think he's lecturing? He stating his opinions in front of people who obviously liked to listen, otherwise they would've walked out. If you don't agree with him, fine, nothing wrong with that. But then just don't listen and walk away. And, Keith Richards, while I like the guy as a unique character and appreciate what he does, he doesn't impress me as a musician at all. Mediocre to put it politely. Only my view, of course, but since you've stated yours I guess I'm allowed to state mine.
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Post by levon on Nov 20, 2014 0:37:18 GMT -6
A huge problem is that kids are no longer exposed to great live music as part of everybody's life such as high school dances and parties. You're right, we all started out as cover bands and learned to play and write by copying great songs. But what can today's cover bands cover? Cookie-cutter prefab songs? Today's top 40 stuff is not worth copying (IMO) and young bands today would have to dig very deep to find the good stuff. So deep that only a few will find it. Aahhrg, why can't we stay positive for a minute ??
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 4:34:30 GMT -6
Great, good job. What a nice mood you got in there.
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 3:42:03 GMT -6
Can't you run the sound from the Kemper to a cabinet, bypassing the Kemper cabinets? Wouldn't that give you the 'amp in the room' feeling?
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 3:16:05 GMT -6
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 0:40:10 GMT -6
TC in terms of getting shit done, I have a new approach. i ask how much time do I have and what 1 task csn I get done in that time: no matter how small and I do it: good luck. With you xtra PSU and modules could you make an 8 channel summing unit ? You could probably sell that ? Thanx M, yes i have a couple extra PSU's, and around 50+ Extra channels/stereo inputs, so yeah I'll be building a few small chassis and offering a couple summing boards, if anyone is interested, let me know a config u may want, and we'll see if we can work out a deal, of course I'm always into trades as well 8) these things sound really good stock, with the Jim Williams mods, they are stunning! Dare I say SSL killers!(in quite a few opinions, including Brad McGowan's) Why oh why do you live half a world away??
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 0:37:23 GMT -6
Satisfied isn't a glowing recommendation. It's a realization you have it pretty good considering the situation around you. Not unlike a welfare recipient that says the economy is good, if you were one of the few well paid survivors in a collapsed industry, you would be pretty satisfied too. I wonder what his opinion is of current music and musicianship that he has to record and listen to for hours on end. That would be my downfall. I would spend a lot of time outside the control room. Jim, I see where you coming from and I'm not your typical struggling artist, because i don't have to live on my income from music, so I'm probably not a good example. I might not even be qualified to join this discussion at all. I have a well-paying day job that lets me build a comfy home studio with selected high end gear and enjoy it and the music I make in there. I agree, I could not make a living from music these days. Even in the days when I was very active as a writer and had a bunch of major label releases, I was struggling to make ends meet. And that was the primary reason I took up a day job. There was rent to be paid and food to be bought. And cats to be fed...
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Post by levon on Nov 19, 2014 0:32:30 GMT -6
Making any profit touring smaller than stadium shows ended around 1970 according to everybody I know. People love to blame their failures on record labels and publishers but ignore the fact they would have been sued out of existence long ago if much of the "rip-off" nonsense were even slightly true. In most cases I've seen, the artist's own manager ripped them off by selling out their back-end income in order to collect 10-20 percent of a massive advance that would never be repaid. You have a point and I agree that might be the case for the US, but in Germany, you could make money touring sold-out 6000-seaters in the 1980s. And I also agree that managers where a big source of rip-off. As where publishers and producers who were supposed to work for you.
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Post by levon on Nov 18, 2014 8:00:24 GMT -6
As always, JMO The whole tour to make money thing is BS, the vast majority of talent isn't interested in doing that. Albini's faux punk example of a band from 1975 being discovered now because of the internet, and relaunching a touring career at the age of ?(at least 60+ years old?) is a fucking absurd example, it's pretty clear that he's just selfishly/disingenuously trying to secure his anti establishment brand IMO, kinda blows his cred, i stopped reading there. News bulletin for U2 and Mr. Albini, Giving away music for..cough..."free", reinforces a tragic paradigm, devalues your own work, and that of your peers and clients, end of story. As for talented artists trying to make a living, survival instinct is a paramount human condition, artist will sacrifice wealth, and even comfort to do what they love for a living, but if you take away their ability to eke out the most meager of livings, they WILL NOT, and you will see the cream that used to rise to the top, give way to more turds floating in the shitter at an ever increasing rate. Tony, I believe that, if there's no more money to be made, the shit that floats around trying to get rich off songwriters and artists will go elsewhere and sooner or later, only people that love music will be 'the music industry'. On the creative side and on the consumer side. Cut out the bvllshitting middlemen. The turds will simply lose interest and, consequently, the quality of music produced could improve a lot. But, I know, we're still a long ways away. I don't agree with everything Albini's saying, but he's got a few good points here. And what I like about his POV is the positive he sees. I'm getting tired of the constant moaning and wailing from all corners, it doesn't help and it doesn't change a single thing. Yes, the industry is fvcked up today but it always was fvcked up. Record companies, publishers were always a scam created to rip songwriters and musicians off, the very people who created the music were never ever paid adequately. I've experienced the tail-end of the golden age of music production (late 70s and into the 80s) and it sucked already then. The difference was that nobody stole music in those days, if you discount kids that stole albums in record stores (ahem...) and clueless 'songwriters' who stole your riffs. But musicians, songwriters were being ripped off just like they're ripped of today. All the while record companies made the money. Friends of mine toured endlessly in the 1980s, albums in the charts, sold out shows in 6000-seaters and their (major) label said they ended the tour in debt. How's that? What I take away from Albini's speech is, don't cry about the way things are - change them, take your destiny into your own hands, use the tools that are available, enjoy creating and be glad that the big labels and useless A&Rs (who have no clue about music anyway) are on the way out. I'm in it for the fun of it, music has got to make me happy, first and foremost.
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Post by levon on Nov 18, 2014 0:49:50 GMT -6
Chop to my loo! Meter madness 8) See, what did I say? There you go. Congrats Tony, that looks sweet. How's the studio build coming along?
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Post by levon on Nov 18, 2014 0:47:44 GMT -6
Plus there is all the work you don't have to do ! Knowing Tony, that'll be the problem. He doesn't like to not have work to do...
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Post by levon on Nov 17, 2014 8:39:55 GMT -6
Come on, the poor suckers have to work almost 4 continuous weeks in July. Horrendous. Then again, they only have a job security for four years, then they could be out and have to live on their meager income as lawyers, doctors, consultants. What a shabby life. Cynic mode off, angry mode on. This goes not only for the US, I'm a royally p'd off by the fact that politicians are the only employees who constantly dictate their own salary and work conditions. Imagine every worker can tell his employer how much he has to pay him and how long he would work for that. Politicians regularly forget that they are employed by the citizens, not the other way around.
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Post by levon on Nov 17, 2014 3:04:12 GMT -6
Steve Albini gave the keynote address at Melbourne’s Face the Music conference last week. His surprising message: I'm satisfied and optimistic about the state of the music scene. Long story but it might be of interest for some here.
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Post by levon on Nov 13, 2014 3:26:34 GMT -6
I can proudly say that my music is not on Spotify... or any other outlet for that matter, ahem... because, who cares?
This is truly a f'd up business in a f'd up world and the frustrating thing is that feeling of helplessness. But things will change, although we might not see it in our time.
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Post by levon on Nov 13, 2014 1:01:42 GMT -6
When I was looking for a Marshall amp 2 years ago, a friend of mine, who's a total amp freak and expert, turned me on to a vintage JMP, which I bought. He also strongly recommended S-Gear and I thought he was joking. Until I tried it....
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Post by levon on Nov 13, 2014 0:50:55 GMT -6
I saw that...Now THAT'S rock and roll... Or a serious sign that Jimmy Page is an asshole. I don't blame the guy at all. Besides, this is such an opportunity for people to critique the hell out of the band 40 years past their heyday prime. They would rock just the same but RP's voice won't sound the same and so many people will initially whine about that as well as whatever else they can find 'wrong'. Besides, I wonder if the guy is just done with it. His recent Band of Joy albums and the project with Alison Krauss were some really spectacular tracks and live performances. Has anyone seen/heard the performances he did with the Sensational Space Shifters?! Let the man explore and experiment and move on into a ton of other cool things we have yet to hear. He totally deserves to do so and has played those Zep songs till he's blue in the face and sick of them. Any idea how many times that guy has been expected to sing/play the stairway song? Sheesh! It's his turn to say, no 'thank you' and I get it. Rock on Mr Plant!<script type="text/javascript" src="safari-extension://com.ebay.safari.myebaymanager-QYHMMGCMJR/ea13ed7b/background/helpers/prefilterHelper.js"></script> And he still plays Zep songs today... Rock on. Both of you.
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Post by levon on Nov 11, 2014 3:26:09 GMT -6
I guess the problem is that Page lives and breathes Led Zeppelin and Plant doesn't.
I totally dig Jason as a drummer, he's amazing and agree he was totally legit in Led Zeppelin.
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Post by levon on Nov 10, 2014 23:57:43 GMT -6
I saw Led Zeppelin in 1973 and as much as I would love to see them again 42 years later, I respect Plant's decision and understand his reasoning. This guy is not about money, he's got ethics and that's extremely rare these days. I understand that, as an artist, he doesn't see much value in playing the same old stuff over and over again. Plant is all about musical growth and exploring new musical territories, that's what makes an artist great. BTW, the Beatles also rejected a lot of money for a reunion...
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Post by levon on Nov 10, 2014 2:16:51 GMT -6
Andreas Grosser's FET 'tube' is directly interchangeable with the VF14 in the U47. Soundwise, it's extremely close, I heard both side by side and the only difference was the noise of the tube that the FET doesn't reproduce. If ever I want to have a real tube in my 47, I can just take out the FET and plug in a tube, simple as that.
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Post by levon on Nov 9, 2014 1:58:18 GMT -6
That sounds pretty good, which amps did you use?
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