[Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis
larrys.bands at charter.net
Tue Apr 1 15:36:59 PDT 2008
They tore the drum set up every
night at the end of the show, and the next day put it back together with
duct tape.
____________________________
Ah, the good old days. Makes me all weepy.
Larry
STL
----- Original Message -----
From: "ballen" <ballen at deltapathology.com>
To: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
> Music has ALWAYS evolved in such a manner. A musical style starts out as
> dance music with a simple beat and easily follwed tune/lyrics, then morphs
> into something pompous and overbearing.
>
> Look at the symphony. It had its roots in dance suites-short pieces with
> readily-defined dancees, similar to the line dancing of today. But
> composers
> got busy, orchestras got bigger, people couldn't dance to it any more. The
> symphony orchestra is now a museum piece - don't get excited, there is a
> PLACE for museums, but NEVER think that a museum represents what is
> happening now.
>
> When rock-n-roll started it was as dance music - a small band playing
> simple
> easily followed dancable tunes. Then it morphed into arena rock - the joke
> was that Van Halen required 50 semis for a tour - five for the equipment,
> 45
> for the egos. Every now and then, it scales back - in the early 80's,
> grunge
> came along just as "big-hair arena rock" was at its height. Grunge was 3
> or
> 4 guys plugging a guitar into an amplifier and running their hand along
> the
> top so that all the controls were at 10. They tore the drum set up every
> night at the end of the show, and the next day put it back together with
> duct tape.
>
> What will be next? I doubt if it will be horn bands!!! Doubtless it will
> be
> something using computers and loops, to my dismay. But I know one thing, I
> will NOT like it, won't understand it and will not try. But that's OK,
> it's
> not FOR me. My father never understood my music, I don't understand pop
> music today, and I doubt that I will understand the next big thing. But
> that's OK - Bach really didn't understand Mozart's stuff, Mozart didn't
> understand Beethoven, etc.
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
> To: "Mr. Bill" <ballen at deltapathology.com>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 12:54 PM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
>
>
>> It could be that musical styles don't change except after a large social
>> upheaval.
>> ________________________________________________
>>
>> I'm sure you are right. It does seem that changes in music follow major
>> social changes.
>>
>> I believe that the general public is hungry for something else. I know I
> am.
>> Country is evolving slowly and is still highly popular. I think that's
> true
>> because a lot of pop music has evolved into something the average middle
>> class person doesn't relate to. Weather it's some new jazz or Rap it
> blows
>> past most people who are basically set in what they like. That is, music
>> with a tune and words that they can relate to. Very simple but the
> average
>> Joe just doesn't understand altered nineteenth chords, ruptured 11ths and
>> zillion note licks. At the same time he doesn't like the monotone rhythm
>> stuff with one chord any more than he had a burning desire to listen to
>> beatniks in the 50's pound on bongos and recite poetry.
>>
>> Take line dancing for example. It has a pretty much set pattern that's
>> people can do over and over. It's very popular at least here. It's
> simple
>> and doesn't require anything except practice. I went to a dance the
>> other
>> night -- it's the first one that I actually paid for since high school --
>> and the floor was filled with a minimum of 100 people doing the Electric
>> Slide. The admission was $5 and they had a crowd of about 200-250
>> people.
>> The band was a trio and was very good. The band had a keyboard/vocalist,
>> Sax player and drums. It turns out the keyboard player was on tour with
> me
>> with the J Dorsey band and I was in the AF band with the sax player about
> 30
>> years ago. Small world.
>>
>> I think something new will appear and will sweep many of the weaker
>> styles
>> away. Remember the folk music craze, Peter Paul and Mary etc.? Simple
> with
>> a memorable tune. That's the formula. Early rock was that way which
>> morphed into C & W.
>>
>> We will have to wait and see what happens but while I think the three
> guitar
>> and drummer band is more or less here to stay I think the popularity is
>> going to drop like a rock. Will it be horn bands? I don't know the
> answer
>> to that but I do know people like them.
>>
>> I played with a friend's big band for the jazz club Sunday. There were
>> about 200+ people there. The band charged I believe $2500 for 18 pcs. I
>> don't know exactly but I got $125 so that's about right and I know he
>> doesn't like to go out for less. The admission was $15 for non members
> and
>> $10 for members. I think they took in just about what the band charged.
> BTW
>> it was a kick ass concert.
>>
>> There are gigs out there for horn players and it seems to be picking up a
>> little. Live music doesn't have to be expensive for the patron. $5-$15
>> admission won't break anyone.
>> Larry
>> StL
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: <kmurdick at jaguar1.usouthal.edu>
>> To: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
>> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 8:20 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
>>
>>
>> > You make a bunch of good points. I think the public is getting bored
> with
>> > the guitar based band as well, it's just that they don't really know of
>> > any other music. It may be the music industry that won't let go. It's a
>> > strange phenomenon. It could be that musical styles don't change
>> > except
>> > after a large social upheaval.
>> >
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Larry Walton Entertainment - St. Louis"
> <larrys.bands at charter.net>
>> > Date: Monday, March 31, 2008 5:28 pm
>> > Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
>> > To: Kent Murdick <kmurdick at jaguar1.usouthal.edu>
>> > Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>> >
>> >
>> >> Generations of guitar bands have left
>> >> > the popular music scene in ruins.
>> >> _______________________________________
>> >>
>> >> I am completely with you - personally I can't get to the OFF button
>> >> fast
>> >> enough when a guitar band comes on. Actually I am a guitar lover. I
>> >> played
>> >> for many years. Not particularly well compared to many but OK. It's
>> >> a
>> >> tough instrument and you need competent teachers to do well. You
>> >> really
>> >> can't treat it as a double. It's an instrument that is a beautiful
>> >> thing if
>> >> played with any sort of sensitivity. That's just my point. With
>> >> amplification and electronic gadgets it just isn't
>> >>
>> >> Guitar players have tried desperately to change things but what has
>> >> happened
>> >> is they have made things more boring. First came the wah wah and the
>> >> fuzz
>> >> box. Now there are whole pedal boards with every sort of gimmick
>> >> known to
>> >> man. They are instantly misused and overused by the players and
>> >> almost
>> >> never with taste.
>> >>
>> >> I think everyone is aware of the repetitious nature of the guitar
>> >> band and
>> >> the typical tune. I personally think that guitar bands are more of
>> >> an
>> >> assault than anything else. It's sad to waste a lot of talent on a,
>> >> IMHO,
>> >> instrument that is going nowhere in the next 50 years. The
>> >> instrument has
>> >> become BORING! Solos are more often than not something that
>> >> resembles a
>> >> mosquito buzzing around your ears. Have you ever noticed that most
>> >> of the
>> >> solos rarely cover more than a third or the easy reach of the hand
>> >> and
>> >> almost never incorporate chords as well as melody lines. That is
>> >> difficult
>> >> to do and just isn't done much.
>> >>
>> >> I have played professionally for 50 years. My main instrument the
>> >> Tenor has
>> >> been popular for long before and I assume will stay that way long
>> >> after I am
>> >> long gone. I couldn't say that the guitar will have that kind of
>> >> longevity.
>> >> There must be a lot of people out there that share my feeling about
> it.
>> >>
>> >> I think real instruments have a character and take on the
>> >> characteristics of
>> >> the player and become an extension of the person playing it. Sound
>> >> has to
>> >> be produced by the person and the instrument is of less importance
>> >> whereas
>> >> the guitar it's exactly the opposite.
>> >>
>> >> When a kid takes a band instrument he learns just thousands of things
>> >> about
>> >> the production of music ranging from dynamics to tone production and
>> >> the
>> >> balance that it takes whereas guitar bands do all that in a computer.
>> >> If
>> >> you don't learn how to play musically it's a pretty good bet that you
>> >> won't.
>> >>
>> >> After having said all that I enjoy good musicians playing the
>> >> instrument
>> >> with good taste who are not assaulting my musical taste or my ears
>> >> with
>> >> gadgets, volume or dumb music.
>> >>
>> >> From the business that the many local guitar stores do I would guess
>> >> that
>> >> kids are trying to buy good sound rather than take the typical 15-20
>> >> years
>> >> to do it the other way with a horn.
>> >> Larry
>> >> StL
>> >> ----- Original Message -----
>> >> From: "Kent Murdick" <kmurdick at jaguar1.usouthal.edu>
>> >> To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
>> >> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>> >> Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 2:45 PM
>> >> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Royal Crown Revue and horn based bands.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> > As simple as this music is (youtube.com / Royal Crown Revue) it's
> good
>> >> > to see horn bands of any type making a comeback. With horn based
>> >> bands
>> >> > there is only one way the quality can go, and that's up, IMO. The
>> >> > problem with the guitar based bands of the last 50 years is that
> they
>> >> > have remained musically static. Generations of guitar bands have
> left
>> >> > the popular music scene in ruins.
>> >> > This is due, IMO, to the fact that it is very difficult to read
>> >> music on
>> >> > the guitar and guitarists are
>> >> > generally musically illiterate. For example, the 2nd line G
>> >> (treble
>> >> > clef) on the guitar can be played in four places with a total of 13
>> >> > different fingerings. Guitarists usually learn play by memorizing
>> >> > finger patterns.. Anyone who has ever learned the Berkley Jazz
> School
>> >> > guitar scale system ( as I did) can attest to how difficult it is
>> >> to
>> >> > gain even a modicum of freedom and music skills on this instrument.
>> >> >
>> >> > Kent
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> > To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland
>> >> Jazz
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>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
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>> >> > Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>>
>>
>>
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