Posts Tagged ‘drums’
David Letterman Loves Drums
Posted in Blog, tagged David Letterman, drums, youtube on 06/12/13| Leave a Comment »
Eric Johnson
Posted in Blog, Reviews, tagged Aladdin Theater, bass, Chris Maresh, concert, drums, Eric Johnson, guitar, live, Music, Portland OR, Wayne Salzman II on 08/17/12| Leave a Comment »
So I was very lucky to see Eric Johnson last night thanks to my good friend, Ted (he’s also my step-father-in-law. What? that’s a thing.) I’ve only seen him live in concert once before. Eric Johnson, not Ted. I’ve seen Ted live lots before, though not in concert… I was 16 ( again referring to Eric Johnson not Ted), it was in San Diego at Symphony Hall, and an as yet unknown, at least to me, Sarah Mclaughlin opened for him. This time around it was at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, Or. First let me say it is a great venue. Everyone I talked to said a version of “not a bad seat in the whole place” and they are right.
It was a great show. Eric was backed by Chris Maresh on bass and Wayne Salzmann II on drums. Maresh and Salzman are amazing! Really interesting thing, they seemed to be their own opening band. They played a 45 min set and then took a break and then came back for a full set. I almost wish I had written down their set, but honestly I was too engaged in just enjoying the show and letting it wash over me.
Eric Johnson was one of my early guitar heroes. He has it all. Amazing tone, great technique, dedication to writing songs that fit his perspective of what is great, and he also has one of the two right hands in guitardom that I would want, the other being James Hetfield’s. Seriously, EJ can pick like nobody’s business and finger pick, and do a combination of both.
The Show
The opening 45 minute set was tight and rocking great energy with some crowd favorites. After the break EJ was solo on the stage with an acoustic and played a few songs that blew me away. His technique is insane. For those of you who do not play let me tell you it is easier to shred on an electric than an acoustic and EJ played flawlessly on his acoustic and did shred, but in a tasteful way. Yes, yes he did.
Maresh and Salzman came back out and the band got to rocking again. Then, about halfway through the second set they played “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” and this was the first wrong note for me. Now, let me be clear-I. Love. That. Song. But, it came after an incredible version of a Coltrane song that highlighted everyone’s talents. Side note: Salzman owned those drums and Maresh made me consider giving up the bass.
Back to my point. It may have been that “Nothing Can Keep Me From You” came after such an amazing performance, but EJ also seemed to be a little off his game at this point. His phrasing was a little stuttery. THAT may have been due to the fact that they just got back from Europe and had been awake since 6 a.m. But I think there is more to it than that. When they played some other songs off of “Ah Via Musicom” I noticed the same thing, but when they played newer songs or covers EJ seemed to be more on. To clarify, not bagging on him, it was still better than 95% of guitarists out there when EJ was off. So no “Eff you dude” and no “Yeah he sucks.”
There was one encore and it was great! They closed with “Wind Cries Mary.” And then it was over and I didn’t want it to be over. But I scrambled up front to get some pictures, which was difficult because there was still a grip of people at the front milling about.
Final Thoughts
Eric Johnson is stil the man at 57. The newer material is stronger than one might expect and my observations on the “Ah Via Musicom” aside he is still vital. I look forward to seeing him the next time he comes around. Also, I still need this jacket ↓
Father’s Pocketwatch
Posted in Interviews, tagged album, banjo, CD, drums, Father's Pocketwatch, folk, interview, kids music, Music, old-timey, Oregon, Pandorpion, Portland, skom, washtub on 08/13/12| Leave a Comment »
This week we have Portland, OR “old-timey, banjo and washtub bass, kids music” songsters Father’s Pocketwatch. A trio of talented musicians. They are Tyson, Ryan, and Brian. They apparently had a little extra time on their hands and went and did some vidyas. I am pleased as punch. They were very creative and entertaining in their responses.
Please visit their webiste, www.fatherspocketwatch.com, and enjoy the interview done in 3 parts below. Oh, also, there’s a Pandorpion! That’s right..PANDORPION!!!!
Part the first
Part the second
Part the third
Did you see it? The Pandorpion? Thank you so much Tyson, Ryan, and Brian. The videos are great. And remember kids visit their website and buy their “Premium Sampler” to help fund their next album. www.fatherspocketwatch.com
For our drumming friends
Posted in Blog, tagged articles, drummers, drummers to be, drums, equipment reviews, info, lessons, Mark Brownlee, total drums, total-drums.com, videos on 04/26/09| Leave a Comment »
Mark Brownlee of Total-Drums.Com commented on a previous post and I followed him back to his site. Let me tell you it is chock-a-block full of everything you could want to know about drums. Take a look.
So, you want to know about us huh? Thanks for taking the time! Total-Drums.com aims to give drummers (and drummers to be) a useful online resource including equipment reviews, lessons, articles, info, videos and…well you get the idea!
It’s our goal to give you the best drumming web site on the net by offering as much useful, fun, and interesting drumming info as possible.
4 year old Keith Moon
Posted in Blog, tagged drums, Keith Moon on 04/26/09| 3 Comments »
Check this kid out! His name is Joe and he is 4 years old. One thing the internet has done is pummel my self esteem (in a good way?)
Vodpod videos no longer available.