Equipment

I have been debating with myself my next equipment purchase. Another guitar? A five string bass? A gizmo? You know, the thing that got me back playing lately was my old mixing board. I built a small tabletop stand for it. It sits about 30 degrees off vertical so I can sit right in front of it comfortably reach both the controls and the plugins at the back. The next thing I want is a new multi-effector. I bought a yamaha FX-500B when multi-effectors where in there infancy. It was a small half-rack unit that was intended for Bass frequency impedence. It had 30 presets. It doesn't work properly anymore and I miss it terribly. I ran my whole PA through it. Changed my sound on a whim. It was fun in the extreme. I will keep you posted on this next aquisition.:)

Keep music live

Hi Everyone,

Music collaboration seems to be well under way. I have been looking for a niche for us and I think I have found. Live music collaboration. It was my original reason for the site. My desire to play in a Jam style online. To emmerse myself in playing for 5-6 hours without noticing the passage of time is some of the best times I ever had. It's a bit of trouble. You have to co-ordinate with a few people. Easier said than done these days. Get your equipment there in working order. Have a place were you can turn it up without too much complaint. Once every five or ten years isn't enough. It has to be regularly. Now we have online music collaboration. So technically we can play whenever we want. However, the reality is we end up doing almost nothing but engineering. Not that I have anything against it of course but we end up losing that spontanaity that you get from playing with other people. A music store I used to frequent had a slogan "Keep music live". I don't know how they thought of it so long before computers but it turned out to be quite insightful. We are not stuck in the past and no moss grows on our rock but let's try to actually play once in a while. :)

The World of Rock

You all know I'm a rocker. I don't pretend to be anything else. However, I appreciate most types of music and I believe I try to encourage everyone in their musical pursuits. I have just spent an evening touring the world in Music Festivals. I have, for many years, believed rock to be the ultimate form and this years world wide music scene has not proved me wrong.

I have watched several music videos from the Ukraine. You take a thick traditional Ukrainian folk song. Add Reverb, Bass, some decent drums. pick up the tempo a little and you have something well worth listening too.

Or try this: Take your traditional grotto folk band. Add Reverb, Bass, some decent drums and give them a hot rock song. It might push or pull them out of their comfort zone a little but WOW!

All the news blogs I have looked at in the last two years haven't told me as much about the world as a few hours of international music festivals. Let your fingers do the walking and see the world through music.

Highway to Hell - Ukrainian Folk Version

If you missed this one you have got to see it. I laughed until my eyes started sweating.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3YQ24i1wP0&feature=youtu.be

Kabul alternative music festival 'Sound Central'

Kabul Afghanistan? Having an alternative music festival? If you are like me, you don't hear much about Kabul Afghanistan. Aside from the occasional report of a soldier being killed what do we hear? It's in a valley about 120mi/200km west of the Pakistan border, mid-line of the country. For practical purposes, it is at the center of the road system for the country. The continued presents of a strong military has made Kabul relatively safe. So much so it is actually growing, doubled in size in the last 5 years, 5 million and growing. The politics are still spoon down your throat but I will try to be optimistic and say something good seems to be happening.

The Sound Central Music Festival. I don't know where they get the "alternative" from? It's Rock. I don't care if it's slash, thrash, death or hard edged, it's like a breath of fresh air to me:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19825685

The local kids seem to be eating it up. That's nice to see. They promise to keep doing it. I will look forward to keeping an eye on the phenomenon.  

Here's a couple more links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZyWfPNh658&feature=colike
http://soundcentralfestival.com/
https://vimeo.com/51842350
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzyq4yoIfK8

New Collaboration sites

I found a few new ones: crazypellas.net, myonlineband.com, soundcollabs.com, tapegerm.com
I have done something unusual. I put a site that is under construction on the disabled list: onlinemusiccollaboration.com
Hopefully, the site will be up and running soon.

Collaboration sites

I was having a look through the page views over the years. The busiest views have always been announcements of new sites. Talking about new sites and reviews of the sites themselves. That's it! I'll have to do more reviews of the sites.

New Mission

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while. We've been slipping in the ratings, RATS! The primary focus of the site has always been to keep track of and promote Online Music Collaboration sites. I think this component of the site is a complete success. All the best Music Collaboration sites have pasted us in the ratings. That's a backhanded compliment, oh well.

While keeping track of the health and well being of Music Collaboration sites will always be our primary focus. We clearly need a secondary mission. You know we won't be doing actual Music Collaboration right here. It's lots of expensive software and bandwidth and technical know-how that every collaboration site on the main list is better at than us and that's OK.

So what should it be? It needs to be something that can be accomplished with only a few hours a month. In-depth reviews of the sites would take to long. We need some niche that is not presently covered. Suggestions would be welcome.

Jeff

www.trackbeast.com

Someone sent this new site to me. It seems to have facebook app status. It has a live chat function that could support realtime jamming if it's fast enough. It's pretty simple at this time but it qualifies for the main list.
www.trackbeast.com

Over the past few years I have been trying to promote Music Collaboration and keep track of websites that do online music collaboration. It occurs to me this site could do a little more, but what? This sites web-hosting would not support intense collaboration itself. So I think the best thing to do is find things that can improve the experience for people trying to participate. News and information. Let's give it a try.:)

Practicing YUG!

OMG, We have fallen to the second page of a google search. How could this happen? I don't make a post for a couple of months and poof! disaster. I found a guitar practice youtude video made by a friend of mine. He never told me about it, I found it online myself, the bandit. Anyway, It's something that is pretty easy to get away from for too long as the video demonstrates. I need more edge of the bed as much as anyone. So here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRZss9tER0g

I hope nobody minds if I give my friend a little plug:
http://www.facebook.com/2lenny
http://www.twitter.com/lensonit
http://www.len-hill.com

Disabled List News

The good news is Koblo.com is back, yes!! It's a beta but hey they don't come back very often.

This is the worst year on record for the disabled list. 15 casualties: jammm.in, collaborationkingdom.com, songbloom.com, ear-drum.org, root4music.com, wezimple.com, electronicamusiclovers.ning.com, wemix.com, collabnation.net, planetkidz.tv, myblogband.com, musicollaborate.com, guitarlodge.com, yourspins.com.

simplexmax.com has gone to a new genre and is not likely to be back. It's a website development site now. Fair well.

Some of the domain names are under construction and may be back. Others are quite likely available if you are looking for one.

http://soundcloud.com

Here's a fresh find from a new search. It looks as easy to use as anything I have seen. I will be taking a closer look at this site myself.

http://www.transjam.com/webdrum/

I have been informed of an interesting little app. It's a online drum machine. It does not seem to have any preset programs. That is something I always look for because I can't drum. However, it is nice to have an online option. Something that is fairly user friendly and not buggy. While this is not a full Music Collaboration site, it does a valuable service. I don't mind mentioning it.

http://www.recordtogether.com/

I'm a little behind but here goes. These guys are trying to make money with Music Collaboration. That's OK, everybody is trying to make money. Not too many utilities or apps. They seem to be just starting. However, they do fit  the criteria. So good luck.

The Origins of Rock-Ike Turner

I honestly don't know what to do with this SOB. Born and raised in Clarksdale Mississippi. The same home town of Muddy Waters, Jackie Brenston, Johnny O'Neil, Son House, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, Eddie Boyd. Where Hwy 49 and 61 meet. The legendary "crossroads" where blues musicians meet the Devil. At 20 years old, his band recorded a song called "Rocket 88" Considered to be the first rock and roll song. The credits were messed up a little and the song was named to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. A legendary feud began between Ike and Jackie at that time. It was Ike's Band.

The high energy of the song set the stage for everything that came after. If you thought Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis started Rock. They actually rode in on the coattails of this 1951 song. I can't give Ike the enthusiastic praise I would like to because of how he treated Tina Turner. What do I do? She was a driven singer, but she was driven out to the edge by him.

Ike Turner was there at the very beginning. He may very well have started the sound of Rock as we know it today. Someone once said Rock and Roll is a vicious game. Ike Turner was the Ty Cobb of music.

Here's a little more History: http://www.rockabilly.nl/artists/brenstonturner.htm

Gibson Rally - We Stand With Gibson

I hope you have all heard about it by now, but just in case. On August 24,2011, the US Department of Fish and Wildlife, raided Gibson. They took $500,000 worth of wood. It's just the stuff used to make Guitar necks. Practically, shutting out the company and putting 500 taxpayers out of work. To date, no charges have been laid for any crime the US Department is willing to admit to.

I don't usually get political on this site. I would have preferred to stay on the fun-side here. However, this cannot be ignored. Remember August 24, 2011. A day that will live in infamy. A day when the US government attacked Music Collaboration with a SWAT team.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAE4UDcEByA&feature=digest_refresh_mon

Gibson Rally - We Stand With Gibson - Les Paul

Les Paul
Born June 9, 1915
Died August 13, 2009 @ 94, Pneumonia
I can't help but wonder what he would have thought about all this. Born undoubtedly while his Dad was fighting WW1. He was basically a guitar player and music producer. He had lively debates with Buddy Holly in the sound booth. He developed the Gibson Les Paul guitar which bears his name. He changed music.

For the US government to attack Gibson is like defecating on the bases at a baseball game or taking grandmothers apple pie and shoving it her face. How could they do it?

I live in a town where the Mayor ripped out a baseball field, three months before a general election. He lost badly. It's a little early but let's remember August 24, 2011

Ike and Tina Turner

I have had a rare treat lately. I went to a Dollar store for a light activity at lunch last week. I was thumbing through the CD rack. Mostly it junk,of course but I thought you never know. I found this double CD set with a white cover that simply said Ike and Tina Turner. No real name on the album. A couple of pictures of them. The name of the company that released the album appears to be legit. I just wanted something new and different for my car when I drive to work.

I was totally blown away. It turns out it was copies of original recordings. Early 60's Motown I believe. The recording was clean. The effects were quaint, some almost funny. I suspect they might have actually built the devices with there own hands. Very little delay. Perhaps only natural reverb. Cable strings on the guitars. Simple Drum kit. And Tina Turner's voice.

I never really understood before. The legend of Motown. It was her, Tina Turner. That voice and production was Rock. It made Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Louis sound quaint. There was never anything like it before and little since. You could put it up against anyone and they would have a tough time competing. It set the stage for everything that came after. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, to name a few. There hasn't been a woman's voice like that since either. Many have tried, lots were successful. However, a new golden age of a woman Rocker has not come again yet.

I never heard any of these songs before. That was my rare treat.

A History of Country Music

A History Of Country Music


Musicians have been playing fiddle music in the Appalachians for years, but it wasn't until 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee that the first country music recording deal was signed. In this year, Victor Records signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.

Jimmie Rodgers was born in Meridian Mississippi, in 1897. Originally he worked on the railroads until his ill health got the better of him and it was only during this time that he followed his earlier love of entertaining. In 1927 he heard that Victor Records were setting up a portable recording studio and made his way there. He was immediately signed and continued recording and playing music until he died in 1933.

He was one of the very first musicians to be added to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1961 along with Hank Williams and Fred Rose. On the same day as Jimmie Rodgers signed with Victor Records, so did the Carter Family, who would become one of the most famous country music bands of all time. They remained with Victor Records until 1936. Not even divorce could separate the band though and they continued to record with Decca until 1939. Things started to hit a rough patch at this stage and despite signing for Universal and eventually Victor Records again, the band split in 1941.

It is widely acknowledged that that big day in 1927 was the introduction of country music to the rest of the country. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family were met with huge critical acclaim and became incredibly popular helping to sell a great many records. Country music singers and bands of today will often talk about the Carter Family or Jimmie Rodgers as being their major influence and with very good reason.