One Must for a Great Recording: Enjoy
I could tell he was nervous.
The artist I was working with had everything needed to produce a great recording: talent up the wazoo, a unique musical perspective, an incredible amount of polish for a person in his early 20s.
But when I pushed the “record” button and he played, I could tell he was nervous. Nothing terrible, mind you. Great chords, nice phrasing, all that. But I could just hear the tension in his performance.
In Honor of International Women’s Day
Here’s a live performance from the ’70s of Gladys Knight, one of my very favorite female singers. Gladys gots guts, soul, pitch, intensity, a natural vibrato and that little squeak at the beginning of some of her notes that makes me just squirm in delight. (Check out the “oh-oh-ol’ friends call me” at :47 to see what I mean.) A gem.
One Essential for Making It to the Big Leagues
Music is a contact sport. Especially in the big leagues.
Great players like to play, and they like to win. They run the ball as hard as a Green Bay Packer. They crave the applause that comes with victory. The audience might change, but the goal remains. A great player knows she’s a badass and wants to hear from those who matter that they also know she’s a badass.
Play on a team? You bet, as long as the teammates advance the ball. But great players will not suffer fools who stumble, fumble and lag behind.
You want to play in the pros? You see yourself in the big leagues?
Then I have one word of advice. One word. Do this, and you’ll be ready. Don’t, and you’ll be a poser.
Obama Sings the Blues!
Fun stuff. The prez sings a couple of phrases with an all-star blues band. Not as spot-on as his Al Green, but kudos to the man of many talents!
Big Mama Thornton Knew How to Relax
I’m a performer, first and forever. My desire to be in front of an audience preceded my first melody sung, first note played, first song composed, first class taught, first sentence written. I do those things because I am a performer.
Since performer is what I am, great performances turn me on. I love discovering them, sharing them and discussing them. (And emulating them.)
What makes a great performance great? What can we learn from the masters?
This is the first of a series where I seek answers to those questions. On deck: Big Mama Thornton performing Lieber and Stohler’s “Hound Dog.”
Why I Didn’t Watch the Grammys
It was the night of the Grammys, and zero hour approached. Remote in hand, I scrolled. “2012 Grammy Awards” appeared in the menu, but I scrolled some more, aimlessly selecting a rerun of Law & Order SVU I’d seen a dozen times. I kept up with the Grammys’ doings on Twitter and Facebook, but I couldn’t. Bring. Myself. To watch.
How come? My age wasn’t the problem; this year’s Grammys featured no shortage of greats from the past. Nor was the issue my musical taste, which has seasoned and broadened with time. No, my Grammy terror stemmed from something more complicated: my history and its meaning to me.
Recent Comments