A Beautiful Interview

February 10, 2010

Ceri Shaw suggested me an interview from our friends at Americymru. So here’s this beautiful interview with Dr. Karl Jenkins (I include also the link to their ticket giveaway competition for his performance at Carnegie Hall NY on March 6th 2010).

A Beautiful Interview

Dr. Karl Jenkins is Britain’s greatest and most versatile living composer, the author of an ocean of amazing and exalting music unlimited by genre, style or instrument. He holds a doctorate of musicology from the University of Wales and the Royal Academy of Music London. His many awards include several fellowships at various universities and an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for “services to music.” He has composed for jazz bands, orchestra and voice, for advertising, film, and live performance.

Dr. Jenkins is a native of the village of Penclawdd in the Gower peninsula, where his father was a school teacher and the choirmaster and organist of the Methodist church the family attended.

Two of his most recent works are Stabat Mater (2008), an adaptation of a 13th century Roman Catholic prayer and Stella Notalis (2009), adaptations and compositions of Christmas carols from around the world.

Americymru: You’ll be appearing as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall on March 6th . What are the circumstances and what will you be conducting?

Karl: As part of Welsh Week I’ve been asked to conduct some of my music as the first half of the concert. I have a strong relationship with Jonathan Griffith of DCINY who has arranged the event and who has been fantastic in that he has conducted and supported much of my work in the USA. On Martin Luther King Day 2010 he performed my The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and my Requiem. On this occasion I shall be conducting Palladio [famous for its use on a TV ad for diamonds], two choral extracts, Benedictus & Ave verum [from the Armed Man & Stabat Mater respectively] and the USA premier of my Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra played by David Childs for whom it was written Karl Jenkins Conducts “Palladio”

Americymru: You’re a musician, your wife is a musician, your son is a musician, your daughter-in-law is a musician, your father was a musician, has music always been part of your family’s life?

Karl: Well obviously that is the case. My father started the ball rolling really since he was hugely influential with regard to my musical education. He taught me piano from an early age and music was always in the house, both live & recorded. My wife Carol Barrat is a celebrated music educationalist while our son, a percussionist and film composer has just scored a Bollywood movie! His wife Rosie, whom he met in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is currently playing oboe with the London Symphony Orchetra.

Americymru: You’ve said in other interviews and your biography that your father was the organist and choirmaster at your village’s Methodist chapel, was he the greatest musical influence in your life? Do you think you’ve been the same influence in your son’s life?

Karl: What we’ve done as parents is introduce Jody to music and by default, the musicians life so he’s quite worldly for a young man [he's 28]. We did not force him in any way and having played piano & flute as a child, he asked to play percussion when he was ten. This was his instrument and became principal in the aforementioned NYOGB, won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music [where I had studied 30 years before] and graduated with first class honours. So, he’s been his own man really but I suppose it helps in that we work in different areas. What we do all share as a family is a love of all good music, regardless of categorisation, and in any genre.

Americymru: How would you describe Welsh congregational singing to someone who’s never seen it? Would you say that growing up with that musical experience effected or enriched you as a composer?

Karl: It’s obviously hard to describe music in words but what makes it unique is the rawness of the vocal sound. On the printed page it looks like any other four part hymn but the sound, to me anyway, is hugely atmospheric especially when sung in Welsh. The sound influenced my Adiemus project which had a degree of global success. This was a mix of the ‘classical’ but with voices that were not from the European classical tradition but more “tribal”. The text was my own invented language.

Americymru: You’ve performed and composed a very wide variety of instruments and styles of music and incorporate a great variety in your work, from the 13th century Roman Catholic Stabat Mater to Japanese haiku and African folk – what inspires or directs fitting these styles together in a piece? Where do you start writing music or creating music?

Karl: My musical journey, following academic classical training at Cardiff University & the RAM, has taken in a wide variety of genres and I’ve arrived at what I do now by way of being a musical tourist. Essentially I am a composer who always looks outside the European tradition for influences, texts & instrumentation, particularly percussion. With regard starting a piece, if I’m setting words then I immediately have a peg on which to hang the piece. If it’s instrumental or Adiemus then I’m on my own! The principle is searching around for ideas [usually using a piano] and developing what takes my fancy. A huge amount of intuition is involved, but intuition based on an armoury of acquired musical craft; harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, form et.

Americymru: “Stabat” Mater (2008) is your adaptation of a 13th century Catholic liturgical hymn, in which you included an amazing variety of instruments and material from sources as wide as 13th century Persian poetry and the Epic of Gilgamesh, how did you come to create this, what was your process in expressing this?

Karl: Well the established text is there already. Then much of what I have expressed above came in to play, looking outside Europe to the Middle East/Holy Land for relevant [i.e. concerning grief] ancient text, employing languages that were lingua franca at the time and including indigenous instruments in the orchestration. The eminent Welsh poet [and academic] Grahame Davies [who wrote the words for my recently composed anthem for the National Assembly of Wales] did quite a bit of research for me with regard to the literature.

Americymru: You’ve said in interviews before that you “don’t see any point in being a composer if you don’t communicate with people,” what does that mean to you? Do you feel that response in the audience is important, that response is the “product” or goal of a piece of art or music? What response do you want to create in your audiences?

Karl: I believe music should emotionally connect with an audience; make them cry, laugh, administer ‘goose bumps! I’ve heard far too much music with ‘one man and his dog’ in the audience, the piece never heard again and the event receiving “critical acclaim”.

Americymru: Wales seems to produce a lot of musical artists who would be (or are) described as “crossover”, yourself included – do you think Wales has a musical character or tradition that inspires or tends toward experimentation or something like hybridization, a lack of adherence to artificial limitations of genre?

Karl: I don’t like to use the term cross-over. I’m not sure what it means and I’ve explained what I do above. I don’t think the Welsh like music particularly. What they do like are singers which is not necessarily the same thing. I like to think that what I do is at least individual and at least it’s new. Most albums and repertoire [not just by Welsh artists] are a series of singers singing the same songs, songs that everyone knows. Many such artists are described as opera singers when they have never sang in an opera in their lives. At least good modern ‘pop’ has more integrity since it is newly composed.

Americymru: Did you have particular creative goals as an artist and if you did, have you achieved them? What would you like to look back on at the end of your life and see that you did or created?

Karl: Following my journey, I have come relatively late in life to what I do now, but the corollary is that I would not have arrived at this point without this musical tourism and the influence and skills that have come with it. There is still much to do. I’m setting the Gloria text for a Royal Albert Hall premier in July and there is much more to do.

Americymru: Is there any particular instrument you especially like to compose for? If so, what instrument and why?

Karl: Sounds pompous [which I'm not] but my instrument is the orchestra [& choir] and the rich palette of colours it provides.

Americymru: Is there any one work or piece that you created that you’re particularly proud of or happy to have done? If so, what is it and why?

Karl: The worrying thing is that some of my most popular pieces were kind of written quickly and which I didn’t set great store by. However, I suppose the Armed Man because of it’s impact but I think there is better music in the Requiem.

Americymru: What music do you listen to for pleasure?

Karl: I listen far less than I did, most certainly because I’m always writing and I need a break! Favourites would be Mahler, Strauss, Wagner, Bach, Stravinsky, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Weather Report, Steely Dan…

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......
• American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......
• Knights and Film Music Today I publish a new music track, inspired by knights, chivalry, code of honour, battles and dangerous wilderness exploration. This is a demonstration of my talent with orchestral arrangements. Knights and Film Music The Knight is an elite warrior sworn to uphold the values of courage and honour. Knighthood was......
• Travel Writer This is the beginning of the latest writing by Peter George Mackie. Please contact him if you want to know more about his works. The first chapter of his piece of travel writing "Flowers of Zagreb" can also be downloaded at www.authorsonline.co.uk. Travel Writer Dave was pondering over a map......
• Music, Movies and Independent Films In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world. Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea? Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• More Tips for Getting More Fruits and Vegetables Most people are not getting enough fruits and vegetables, despite the fact that there is such a large variety to choose from. Here are some great tips for how you can get pack more healthy fruits and vegetables into your life for a number of added health benefits that will......
• Dog Training Tips Your Dog Would Want You To Know by Geraldine Dimarco Contrary to popular opinion, anyone can train their dogs. Whoever told you it can't be done have used incorrect methods or have failed because they gave up too soon. Nothing tests your patience like dog training; but staying on course until you see the fruits of your......
• How to Find Rare Acoustic Musical Instruments It's not difficult to learn how to find rare acoustic musical instruments. But it can be difficult narrowing down your choices from all the interesting types of instruments you'll find. Whether you're looking for rare types of instruments like a zither or a lute, or rare vintage items like an......
• Even More Tips for Getting More Fruits and Vegetables Most people are not getting enough fruits and vegetables, despite the fact that there is such a large variety to choose from. Here are some great tips for how you can get pack more healthy fruits and vegetables into your life for a number of added health benefits that will......
• Introduction to the Banjo Instrument The term banjo actually refers to a family of instruments rather than just a single instrument that fits into another family. The banjo instrument family makes use of a membrane made of hide or vellum that is used as a sound board. The first banjo instruments were brought to the......

Listen to Music Online

December 19, 2009

Many asked me to write a post about the Music Pages I’ve got in my websites, so you can easily Listen to Music Online :)

Ok, let’s start then. The first page is the Music Demos page here at ManuelMarino.com.

You can find it also in the top bar, title is of course Listen to Music Online.

In this page I’ve collected the latest tracks I’ve produced in 2009, mainly orchestral and film music, but there is also Astronauts and Funk Music whis is a mix of different styles, from choral to jazz, pop and funk.

You can access also to my Free Mp3 Player.

This Mp3 Player contains mixes from old tracks, mainly 1999 produced tracks, and later years.

These tracks come from my old archive of my CD’s published on Mp3.com in those years but there are also independent demos made just for fun and to show my talent as composer and producer.

After Mp3.com experience, I focused on games soundtracks and you can listen to some of them through my MarinoSounds.com Studio page.

Just check the pages of the multimedia projects listed in the homepage.

Last but not least, MarinoSounds.com has been totally renewed, new graphics and new design. There is also a new logo saying Blasting your mind with unique sounds.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• Very Simple Audio Mastering Guide BUY NOW Page - I've just released my ebook (PDF document) about Audio Mastering. I wrote it after receiving hundreds requests from my musicians friends. You can find many guides on the net and at your preferred bookstore. But what beginners really need are few tips, to understand the basics,......
• Music Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine I've been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you'll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don't want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway......
• American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......
• Recording Music Industry This is a post I've received from Julien Bernier-Haineault and he is a music producer from Quebec, Canada. He made several songs for a lot of bands that never really got appreciated to their real value. I can say that trying, failing and trying again, now he absolutely knows a......
• How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Music Blogging Adding music capabilities to your blog, your myspace, or your livejournal can be a really excellent way for you to add atmosphere to the pages, further personalizing them for those who visit. When it is done right, adding music to your blog is something that can make it unique and......
• Year End Financial Benchmarks: Net Worth and Property Valuations One of the personal finance tasks that Mr. GoTo likes to complete at the end of each year is to establish and document a few financial benchmarks.  These benchmarks can also be important milestones in a comprehensive retirement plan. Net Worth as a Financial Benchmark First and foremost among these......
• Holiday Budgeting: Making Tough Choices In A Recovering Economy. Recently the news has been buzzing that the Great Recession is over, and recovery is on the way. However, with 15.1 million Americans out of work and about 30% of US factory capacity remaining idle, it’s clear that the economy is going to impact many families this holiday season. According......
• 17 Cool Sites To Listen To Radio On The Internet For Free. Yep, there are tons more out there - hundreds I would even guess. But I asked some friends what they liked to use, and took them at their word that these are worthwhile internet radio sites to check out. So without further ado, if you haven't tried these yet, they......
• New Flash Arcade Site PorkchopGames.com Check out http://porkchopgames.com an arcade site created by me.  All the games are free and load fast, earn points when you sign up and play and new games will be added daily. You can also copy the code and add them to you're own site, facebook, anywhere. I created the......

Very Simple Audio Mastering Guide

September 1, 2008

BUY NOW Page – I’ve just released my ebook (PDF document) about Audio Mastering. I wrote it after receiving hundreds requests from my musicians friends. You can find many guides on the net and at your preferred bookstore. But what beginners really need are few tips, to understand the basics, not huge tomes with neverending technical data.

Very Simple Audio Mastering Guide

BUY NOW Page – So I had this idea to write a “very simple” guide, and, I must say, it is really simple, anyone can begin mastering with some success after reading it. I give also a couple of “tricks” so you can begin really soon to obtain a professional quality master. Of course this will not make you a mastering wizard, I’m in this field since 1998 and I continue to study… (yes, those famous tomes! heh). But I’m sure your music tracks will be much better and I really hope you’ll send me positive emails about the book!

The price of this document is 5 dollars only, this is why the main purpose of writing it was helping my friends and of course helping you, the new musicians with their first audio tools.

I know impressive musicians, talented pianists and guitarists that consider Digital Audio Workstations like monsters. They had mainly classical academical education and it is difficult to explain them how a compressor works. Now with my ebook they’ll finally understand the basics about compressors and dynamics, and maybe won’t see anymore the DAWs like monsters! :)

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• The B52’s, London Roundhouse Wade Crawley is back with a great B52 concert review! If you remember, Wade wrote for us Punk music in the late seventies. Now read his new exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com! The B52’s, London Roundhouse It was on a hot and very sweaty summer night in London’s trendy Camden and......
• Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
• Recording Music Industry This is a post I've received from Julien Bernier-Haineault and he is a music producer from Quebec, Canada. He made several songs for a lot of bands that never really got appreciated to their real value. I can say that trying, failing and trying again, now he absolutely knows a......
• For game design Andrea Angiolino was born the 27th of April, 1966 in Rome, the city where he still lives. He published many boardgames and books about games, besides developing games for every media. His works appeared in more than a dozen of languages including Korean, Czech and Maltese. He is a game......
• Artists Psychology Here's an interesting exclusive article Roland d’Humières, 56 years old psycho-analyst from Aix en Provence (France) has written for our Weblog. I think it to be a very interesting writing about the artists psychology, or maybe "arts psychology", what's behind an artists mind. Artists Psychology Whatever is his/her Art, painting,......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Common Sense Advice For Investing In The Stock Market Given the poor performance of the stock market in 2008, its time to go back to the investment basics and make sure you don't forget the important stuff. 1. Only invest in companies that pay a decent dividend (at least 3%) and that have a long history of increasing their......
• Business VOIP Business VOIP offers advantages over regular telephone service that allow business more freedom and savings than ever before. Todays technology driven society predicts that if you do not have business VOIP, you will soon. However, before you jump on the business VOIP bandwagon, you should know what business VOIP is......
• Review: What Fish Don't Want You to Know - An Insider's Guide to Freshwater Fishing When it comes to freshwater fishing, one can never learn everything there is to know. What the book entitled “What Fish Don't Want You to Know - An Insider's Guide to Freshwater Fishing” provides is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of freshwater fishing; tips and tricks, anecdotes and commonsense......
• Free Traffic Analytics Tools Some of the best ways to increase website traffic is to use tools that will help you analyze where your website traffic is coming from. What areas of your site are the visitors focusing on the most, and which articles and links do they find the most popular. Here is......
• eBook Fishing in California The Complete Guide to California Fishing Download Your 32 Page FREE eBook Are you planning a vacation to California? Looking for a better way to fish the more than 1000 lakes throughout this state? You'll find everything you need to know inside The Complete Guide to California Fishing! We've......

The B52’s, London Roundhouse

August 19, 2008

Wade Crawley is back with a great B52 concert review! If you remember, Wade wrote for us Punk music in the late seventies. Now read his new exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com!

The B52’s, London Roundhouse

It was on a hot and very sweaty summer night in London’s trendy Camden and a packed audience of all ages and types gathered at the re-opened Roundhouse. They were all there to see that perennial party band, still together for over 30 years, the B52’s. It was ridiculously hot with many people standing and sweating profusely, but this didn’t diminish the anticipation of the crowd one bit. This became evident before the band even came out with many of them singing along vociferously to Talking Head’s ‘Psycho Killer’ when played by the club’s DJ. Then the lights went down and the words “Hello London, we’re the B52’s” was greeted by a loud roar as the band walked out onto the stage.

Touring to promote their first album in 16 years Funplex, the B52’s showed the sell-out crowd they still have the ability to turn out superbly crafted pop songs. The line up of Fred Schneider, Cindy Wilson, Kate Pierson and Keith Strickland have proved over the years they are masters of the art of catchy, pop songwriting and they treated the crowd to all of their hits and more in their uniquely frivolous and eccentric manner. The B52’s have crafted and honed their electro-beat, new wave, dance sound over 30 years and it’s still impossible to categorise.

Backed up by three backing musicians, the B52’s were in fine form. The soaring harmonies of Wilson and Pierson sounded as good as ever, while the wonderfully camp interjections of Schneider made sure everybody in the audience had a smile on their face for the duration. Along with the more humorous and wacky songs like ‘Private Idaho’ and ‘Party Out Of Bounds,’ with ‘Give Me Back My Man’ and current single ‘Juliet Of The Spirits,’ the B52’s proved they can also do serious and soulful. Their set consisted of the obligatory songs from the current album such as ‘Funplex’ and ‘Pump,’ interspersed with many of the old favourites like ‘Strobe Light,’ and ‘Mesopotamia.’

Judging by the enthusiastic reaction to the older material, it was obvious that the audience consisted of many of their older, long-term fans but there was also a surprising amount of young fans, many of whom were perched up high on their father’s shoulders. To the audience’s delight, the hits came thick and fast with Wilson and Pierson’s sixties style dance routines, Schneider’s deadpan but camp delivery and Strickland’s choppy and distorted ‘rock style’ guitar. What with their wild and wacky image it’s easy to overlook, but make no mistake, these guys are all excellent musicians in their own right.

The harmonies of the two ladies are as good as you’ll find anywhere in popular music, whereas one time drummer Strickland now stands at the front of the stage, giving us all the classic ‘rock’ guitar style poses. Schneider isn’t as animated as he used to be but the B52’s wouldn’t be the same without his perfectly timed ‘camp as they come’ vocals.

To the crowd’s delight, they inevitably get to their most well loved song ‘Love Shack.’ It is one of those songs that always gets everybody dancing at parties and wedding receptions. Where everybody from the youngest children to the oldest grannies knows the words and the Roundhouse crowd were no different. “The whole shack shimmied” barks Schneider and the crowd sing along as one. Personally, I was surprised they didn’t save ‘Love Shack’ for the encore but the crowd didn’t seem to care.

We eventually got two encores. ‘Rock Lobster’ which was the first B52’s song I ever heard as a teenager in 1980 and ‘Planet Claire’ with it’s 1960’s secret agent movie vibe. The sweat soaked crowd were on their last legs by then. The Roundhouse management obviously thought that the English summer wasn’t long enough to justify installing air conditioning, but many were ready to feint at the end. This wasn’t enough, however, to stop most of the crowd from leaving with large grins on their faces. It left many of us feeling that the world is a more fun place with the B52’s in it.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• Art, Communication, Connectivity Michael Marcus (also known as "Jacques Treatment") is a published author, poet, artist, and game designer; with George McVey, he has been publishing comics as "The Hamtramck Idea Men" on the very sensible grounds that they live in Hamtramck, have many ideas, and they are men. Joint work can be......
• Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
• The Emperor's New Clothes Ananda Sukarlan is an Indonesian composer and pianist living in Spain. This is an article he wrote for a magazine which has been published a few years ago in Spanish. We are very proud to have the original in English which has never been published anywhere, so this is......
• Music Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine I've been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you'll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don't want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway......
• The Invictas are back Bruce Atchison is one of my Yahoo Group best members and he wrote this great article. Bruce is a legally blind freelance writer and the author of two books, When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) and Deliverance from Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School).......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Dream Ocean Perfume Review, Giorgio Beverly Hills This is a review of the Giorgio Beverly Hills perfume known as Dream Ocean perfume. This is a phenomenal cologne for men that was created in 2005 by Designer Parfums. It has a fantastic scent to it that contains heliotrope, lily, orange and sandalwood in a unique and soft mixture.......
• A Truly Inspiring Concert: Jason Mraz Melanie Chui   Have you ever been to a concert where you were completely blown away by the passion, talent and performance of the artist?  I did, when I attended Jason Mraz’s concert over at the Molson Amphitheatre on August 15. I made it on time for the start of......
• Boyz II Men - Love [/caption] Simply titled "LOVE", Boyz II Men interpret some of the most popular ballads of the last several decades with their own flawless harmonies. Reuniting with producer Randy Jackson, Love is a timeless record featuring romantic hits including I Can t Make You Love Me, ( Bonnie Raitt), If......
• Bankers to share £6.4 billion Christmas bonuses Bankers at four leading City firms will share an estimated £6.4 billion Christmas bonus pool as thousands of workers lose their jobs or go on to short time. Regardless of bringing the world economy to the brink of bankruptcy, employees of London banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and......
• The Old Shell Game I like to watch street scammers in action. Actually, their victims are much more interesting. They're so gullible. So many think that they can come upon a seasoned professional con man and beat him (or her) by merely paying attention. The set-up varies, but the basics are the same. A......

Stop jogging and listen to some new music

August 13, 2008

I’m a big fan of 80s music. Yes, the decade that gave the world the sound of pop, the memorable 80s! I’m talking about Madonna, Michael Jackson, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael and many others. Well, let’s focus on Madonna, eleven albums, an impressive career.

Stop jogging and listen to some new music

Madonna, the world’s tastiest sweetheart, has announced more non-stop treats for her legions of legendary and devoted fans. Following the latest news that “Hard Candy” has debuted at Number 1 around the globe, it has been confirmed that Madonna’s “Sticky and Sweet Tour” will begin (hip) hopping around the world on August 23rd in Cardiff, Wales with stops in major European markets through September including London (11-September) and Paris (20-September).

Hard Candy features collaborations with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake. The main themes are love, music and sex and sometimes seems that Madonna repeats herself. Not bad, considering that this album is a great example of the best american pop music.

To be more clear, we can define it unforgettable pop with wonderful choruses. The style is more urban-oriented, than the past disco tracks, and Madonna’s best eighties are back, creating a unique cocktail of different genres.

This is Madonna eleventh and final album for longtime label Warner Bros and it surely represents another mark on current pop culture.

About the Tour, it will feature a lot of past favorites as well as focusing on Madonna’s Hard Candy. She will be supported onstage by different famous artists, as example Paul Oakenfold in London, and Bob Sinclair in Paris.

More than one million tickets have been sold, means about 90% of the total, so better to run as soon as possible to get your ticket!

At the same time, I would recommend to check also Coldplay events. Chris Martin is taking his band back on the road for what promises to be their biggest tour to date to celebrate their hugely anticipated new album ‘Viva la Vida‘ and hit single ‘Violet Hill‘.

- Madonna Tickets
- Coldplay Tickets

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
• Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
• Astronauts and Funk Music Today I create a new category, named 2009 Music Demos, where I'll publish totally new music tracks made with the latest gears but with the same talent behind: myself :) These tracks are demonstrations of my skills and creative ideas and in each post I'll explain the inspiration that moves......
• How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......
• To the audience of music Gunnar Colding is a former professional cellist who for 25 years has been employed by chamber orchestras as well as symphony orchestras of Sweden. This is an exceptional article he wrote for us. To the audience of music There was recently given a concert in New York mainly consisting of......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Racquet Review- Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Racquet - Wilson K Factor Six One Tour 90 Length - 27 inches / 69 centimeters Head Size - 90 square inches / 581 square centimeters Weight - 12.5 ounces / 354 grams Balance Point - 12.375 inches / 9pts Head Light Construction - 18 mm Straight Beam Composition -......
• Music Review of A Mouthful by The Do “The Do” are a French two-piece or duo indie band based in Paris. The Do were formed in 2007 and they are Dan Levy (Musician) and Olivia Merilahti (Vocals). Their music covers a wide variety of genres that include indie rock, indie pop, folk rock and a bit of electronic......
• How the Internet Aids Independent Music The World Wide Web has reformed every aspect of the world from social interaction to business to music. A couple of years ago Indie bands played in garages, family functions, and cafes. They cut CDs and sent them to music giants in the hope they will be noticed. The......
• The Cycle of Pop Music Rock music has always had its critics and those that wish that rock and pop music would just go away. But over the years rock has proven to be pretty resilient and has withstood the test of time. Pop music is a bit of a different animal than rock music......
• Madonna's MTV VMA 'Michael Jackson Tribute' Transcribed Watch the video of Madonna's tribute to the King of Pop speech at "Madonna Stole MTV VMA Show." Here's the transcription in entirety of Madonna's tribute to Michael Jackson speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 13.Michael......

Country Music Star Is Unleashed!

August 2, 2008

Robert Benson (if you remember he wrote An Explosion of Blues Music) this time gave me a review about the next big star in Country Music, Laura Roppe (pronounced ro-pay). She has a Shania Twain-like quality and already is receiving major air play in Europe. Robert said me also that he has just launched a giveaway for his ebook “The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting” and now it is a free download! The ebook is for anyone who loves music and records and is full of great details about vinyl.

Country Music Star Is Unleashed!

Apparently being the runner up in Kenny Chesney’s “Next Big Star Competition” in May of 2008 is just the springboard that Country Music’s next star needed, as Laura Roppe’s debut CD (homepage) can attest to. The CD “Girl Like This” will soon take the country music scene by storm, as this engaging singer/songwriter is more than just country music ear candy.

For many years, her career in music had taken a back seat to a legal career, marriage and being a mother, but when the ‘music itch’ became too strong, she resumed her career in music. In 2006, Laura was the lead singer of the popular Southern California cover band CoolBandLuke, belting out cover tunes from artists such as Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Blondie, Lucinda Williams, and Kelly Clarkson. Combining an eclectic mix of influences (such as the Indigo Girls, Carly Simon, Shania Twain among many others) and Laura’s unique voice and fresh style, the debut CD is a compelling array of edgy country girl sounds and rare, intoxicating country flavors.

Let’s explore the music: The single, “Mama Needs A Girls Night Out,” is certain to top mainstream Country Radio and is full of fun country music, memorable lyrics (“babies on the brain” and “put your skinny jeans on”) and a “Mom’s Gone Wild” chorus that every mother who hears the cut can identify with. And when you add inventive guitar work, titillating fiddle work and stellar musicianship-you have a recipe for success. The title cut, “Girl Like This,” combines a Shania Twain-like sassiness with an infectious melody and will be right at home on the Country Music Charts.

“Fly Fly Fly,” with Edie Brickel-like vocals, is a fun, country ditty and just makes you tap your foot with anticipation and sing along. “Float Away” may remind some of Jodie Messina, but others may hear vintage Carly Simon and the song is sung with angelic precision and passion. The cut “Little Daughter” may be her signature ballad, with poignant, emotional lyrics that is sung and played with tenderness and warmth that shows you that it is sincere.

Other songs include the sashaying cut “Ooh La La,” with great guitar licks adeptly mixed with her unique country growl and spicy solos. “Come To Me” is another fantastic country number, with dreamy lyrics and achingly tender acoustics. “Sing A Love Song” is full of inventive harmonies and an irresistible chorus. And the cut, “Crazy About You And Me,” just may be a new look at love gone wrong and has a delicious catchiness to it.

All in all, there is not a weak cut on Laura Roppe’s debut CD, “Girl Like This”. The music transcends typical country music boundaries and is full of expressive vocals, polished country pop and well-crafted instrumental sections and will certainly take the country music scene by storm. This stunning debut is just what country music has been looking for and I, for one, can’t wait to hear more!

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• Music Reviews: Wind and Wire Magazine I've been asked why there is no music reviews section. Well, if you search my name on Google.com, you'll find many pages (in English and Italian languages) that talk about my music works or music albums. So, I don't want to put a complete list of the links, but anyway......
• Music Geek Robin Mookerjee is a songwriter obsessed with music. Is this a good thing? Or a bad thing? I can say he is a real music geek! Read his story and check his website. Music Geek I’m really a fan as much as a songwriter, but a lot of songwriters say......
• Music Reviews: Splendid E-zine Another beautiful music review I had (with my pseudonym Vanethian) is this one at Splendid E-zine. The music review is about my music album Futures Past, with my pseudonym Vanethian. If you want to read more music reviews just search my name on Google and Yahoo. Music Reviews: Splendid E-zine......
• The B52’s, London Roundhouse Wade Crawley is back with a great B52 concert review! If you remember, Wade wrote for us Punk music in the late seventies. Now read his new exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com! The B52’s, London Roundhouse It was on a hot and very sweaty summer night in London’s trendy Camden and......
• How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Movie Review: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella Starring Brandy Norwood and Paolo Montalban I love Cinderella. I don’t really know anybody who doesn’t adore this type of character. Her story is one of rags to riches; poor in money but rich in love. Take her story, a timeless classic, and add Rodgers and Hammerstein to the mix and you have a hit musical.......
• The Science of Getting Rich, FREE pdf eBook Download: Personal Finance Management The Science of Getting Rich Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business eBooks personal finance edu personal finance for SCIENCE THE RICH Wallace D. Wattles Timeless wisdom and a practical, step-by-step prosperity program from a forgotten 1910 classic With a new introduction by Rebecca Fine GETTING OF SCIENCE THE RICH......
• Six Lessons Star Wars Can Teach Us About Money Is Star Wars just a fantasy world or can we learn some things about personal finance too? As a young lad I was exposed to the original trilogy, watching the movies with every sick day I could force out. Many of the broader subjects, like government corruption escaped my......
• 6 Lessons Star Wars Can Teach You About Money Is Star Wars just a fantasy world or can we learn some things about personal finance too? As a young lad I was exposed to the original trilogy, watching the movies with every sick day I could force out. Many of the broader subjects, like government corruption escaped my youthful......
• Save Money on a Diamond Ring It seems a distant memory now. However, when I asked my wife to marry me three and a half years ago, my biggest concern wasn't her response, but actually paying for the ring. Seems pretty silly in retrospect, huh? Maybe I was just confident in the answer (more explanation on......

American Music and Vintage Guitars

July 28, 2008

Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much more.

American Music and Vintage Guitars

My father was a gunsmith and fastidious in his craft. As a boy I once watched him raise a dent in an antique rifle stock. He had dampened a soft white cloth, folded it over a few times and placed on that blemish in the wood while applying the low heat of an iron. He did this patiently for hours, for days it seemed. Why didn’t he just fill it and do some sanding? I know the answer now. That random few moments when I was the youthful observer may have been the most precious thing he left me. It was really the seed of true craftsmanship and it grew within me despite my natural inclinations. It was not an overnight revelation. Not only did I see a glimpse of patience when the word had no meaning to me I also saw that it was the only way to do it right. Anything less is just that.

Around this time, 1960 or so, I was captured forever by the sound of Traditional American Music and struggling to learn the guitar when guitar players were scarce indeed for an Army brat in Munich, Germany. I thought the Kingston Trio were great until an older mentor loaned me his copy of the Harry Smith Anthology Vol. One. He suggested that I might find it interesting.

Interesting? My life simply changed forever and for the better. A door to another most wonderful world slammed open and has not closed for the last forty- eight years. Yes, interesting. It was a strange and mysterious world that opened like the fabled parallel universe. I truly felt, and still feel, that I found of part of me that had been missing. I loved the wonderful names, Blind Willie Johnson, Buell Kazee, The Masked Marvel, Furry Lewis and all the others. I had to know what they were saying and how they said and played. Griel Marcus calls it the “Old, Weird America”. I know it certainly called me to a lost world. These people were making music because they had no choice. It was in them as deep as breathing and money was not the object. At least, not then.

My passion has grown and my playing has improved but I am still drawn to the archaic in all arts. I have learned tunes note for note from these and countless other old recordings. In my later years I have seen that these same tunes are no longer played rote but that I have brought something of my own expression to them. I fear imitation for its’ own sake. Still, I must admit that guitar buddies of mine and I have spent untold hours dissecting each quavering semi-tone of “Dark Was the Night and Cold Was the Ground” by the magnificent Blind Willie Johnson. We do it with love and full knowledge that we will never succeed and rejoice that someone recorded it. To me it’s the most important recording ever made.

My love of vintage guitars and banjoes grew accordingly. ‘Neath beds and in closets they lurk. I am a lover of Martin guitars particularly and was thrilled and honored to illustrate a portrait of Perry Bechtal to used in advertising and as a label inside the guitar itself. Oddly enough it is executed in scratchboard – a technique I learned as a Medical Illustrator.

There came a point when I was hearing my own songs and found the courage to record and release them on my own CD entitled “Farewell to Pony Bob”. We did it in a back room of my house without fear.

I was truly surprised to hear that it is available on PodSafeAudio.com. With thanks to Steve James and Michael Martin bless their souls. Look ‘em up. The visitor to my website, will see that my recent paintings of dogs have included a musical influence. Great care was taken to render the banjo and guitar with accuracy. Those pups deserve the best.

There are times I have been painting or drawing, rendering detail that will read as I want it to, when I happen to notice the time. And it is hours past where I thought it might be. I confess those are moments of pure joy. Time and space went somewhere else for a while. Or maybe I am finally learning to see in the fullest sense of the word. Looking at something becomes not quite enough.

My father knew and I thank him for the lesson.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• An Artist Portrait (Part Two) This is the Part Two (and final part) of the true life story as artist written by Frank V. Cahoj for our Weblog. (Part One) An Artist Portrait (Part Two) I give an unbelievable amount of credence to these two early periods in my life: one of everlasting creation, one......
• A Beautiful Interview Ceri Shaw suggested me an interview from our friends at Americymru. So here's this beautiful interview with Dr. Karl Jenkins (I include also the link to their ticket giveaway competition for his performance at Carnegie Hall NY on March 6th 2010). A Beautiful Interview Dr. Karl Jenkins is Britain's greatest......
• Music, Movies and Independent Films In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world. Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea? Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of......
• History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com. History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide. Many of us find music......
• Artists Psychology Here's an interesting exclusive article Roland d’Humières, 56 years old psycho-analyst from Aix en Provence (France) has written for our Weblog. I think it to be a very interesting writing about the artists psychology, or maybe "arts psychology", what's behind an artists mind. Artists Psychology Whatever is his/her Art, painting,......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Learning the Acoustic Guitar When learning how to properly play the acoustic guitar, versatility is a major goal that you should work towards as best as you can. It is very important to learn all of the different ways you can play the various chords. By learning the different chords that you can play......
• How to Find Rare Acoustic Musical Instruments It's not difficult to learn how to find rare acoustic musical instruments. But it can be difficult narrowing down your choices from all the interesting types of instruments you'll find. Whether you're looking for rare types of instruments like a zither or a lute, or rare vintage items like an......
• Nobody Cares More About Your Money Than You Do This article is the 12th of a 13-part 14-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. I’ve read a lot of stuff lately about how scammers take advantage of other people. (Here, for example, is a brief summary of seven psychological tricks con artist use.) It’s easy......
• Book Review: The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method book includes real songs you can hear on the radio to teach a variety of acoustic guitar concepts. Included are songs by Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson, James Taylor, the Indigo Girls, and many others. There are lesson sections on topics such as finger picking,......
• Monfils manages to beat Kohlschreiber to take the tennis tournament win at the Open de Moselle. The top seeded player Gael Monfils has managed to end a four year drought in titles by claiming a 7 - 6 (1), 3 - 6, 6 - 2 win against Philipp Kohlschreiber from Germany during the Open de Moselle which occurred this past Sunday. Gael Monfils managed to serve......

An Explosion Of Blues Music

June 20, 2008

Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called “The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting.” You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com.

An Explosion Of Blues Music

Anyone who has ever listened to the “Blues” knows that it is more than just music, but an inspiration, an unfolding of the emotions that we all feel. From Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon and many other influential Blues legends, to the more contemporary Blues artists such as Robert Cray, Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Blue’s music has and always be a part of out musical heritage.

Capturing the essence and spirit that the Blues represent is a novel “Blues Musical” called “The Tear Jar.” Not focusing on a particular band or individual, the “Tear Jar” instead is a collaboration and meeting of the minds of many talented people including producer Chris Bravacos, song writer Robert Welch, audio engineer Frank Silver and writer Jerry King Musser.

Blended into the musical are the rare talents of musicians such as: industry veteran Diane Wilson (singing the character of Savannah), talented Bluesman Don Johnson (singing the character of Mason Ball), Blues guitar virtuoso Jared James Nichols (singing the character of JD Hunter), Jazz sensation Rose Hudson (singing the part of Chandra), veteran Gospel singer Eugene Barclift (playing the character of Stubs) and Soul Music vet Charles Lee (as the Preacher), among others.

To set up the story, one needs to know what a ‘tear jar’ is and what it represents. In ancient cultures, water was a prized possession and giving up water from one’s own body, in the form of tears, was considered a personal sacrifice. They would catch their precious tears in tiny pitchers or ‘tear jars.” The ‘saved’ tears could then be used to ward off evil or to help a sick child. The writer takes this belief and implements into the storyline and applies it to the infectious Blues songs that encompass and define the musical. Here is a brief synopsis of the story:

“Seasoned, itinerant blues man, Mason Ball, returns to The Blue Rose, a club in which he enjoys playing, with an owner he deeply ‘admires.’ Upon his arrival, he’s surprised to discover that a ‘new kid in town’ has claimed the stage and attention of an appreciative audience. This young upstart, one JD Hunter, is unwilling to relinquish the limelight and makes it clear that the ‘old blues’ is dead. To add to the tension, Mason’s private love interest shares with him a serious, personal loss. Frustrated with his inability to appease her emotional pain, Mason dips his finger into a jar of tears given him by his recently departed mother and touches her with the potion. This act, apparently, manifests in wondrous results… relieving her of her anguish. Mason doubts his healing powers, yet can’t dismiss the changes he seems to have made. When word gets out, the audience demands Mason’s appearance onstage and seem to come for his ‘gift of healing’ as much as his gift of song. JD challenges Mason’s abilities, those both spiritual and musical. When a plan to expose Mason backfires, JD Hunter learns what it’s like to be on the receiving end of ‘the gift.’ But, gift or not, the characters in this story find themselves at a new place in their lives after discovering life’s potential magic is available to anyone.”

I have not seen the production, but have listened to some of the music and was overjoyed to hear a dizzying array of crisp, fresh Blues cuts that are certain to be standards and will have die-hard Blues fans clamoring for more.

“When Does The Healing Begin” is full of Gospel-fueled licks and superb vocals that fuses the Blues and Gospel in an explosion of sound. The cut called “The Magic,” like any great Blues song, just bleeds emotion, from the growling vocals and the Stevie Ray Vaughan-like riffs, yet it still remains achingly tender. “Satisfier” is expertly played and sang, with sultry vocals and is sung with immeasurable passion and strength. “I’m Gone,” is bound to become a classic blues rocker, tight and structured, and just compels you to bob your head or tap your foot with melodic adventure. “Stormbringer” perfectly fuses Soul and Blues music, with impassioned vocals and stellar guitar and organ work.

“The Tear Jar” is bound to become an instant classic Blues production, with fresh Blues music for all fans of the genre, who are sure to be pleased with the efforts of all the performers and everyone who is involved with this wondrous project. In its beginning stages, “The Tear Jar” has a performance slated for the Sunoco Performance Theater on Thursday, August 7 and Friday August 8, 2008 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. And with an intriguing storyline, a stellar cast and new Blues standards, it will soon make a bold impression in the music world and specifically Blues music.

To learn more about this inventive project and learn more about the players visit TearJar.com.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• How Has the Internet Affected the Music Industry? This article is written by web designer Josh Gutteridge who runs Skyte Media. Skyte Media is based in the Midlands (England) and is a professional web design company that specialises in web design and development. Josh would like to receive comments about this article on his blog. But of course......
• Travel Writer This is the beginning of the latest writing by Peter George Mackie. Please contact him if you want to know more about his works. The first chapter of his piece of travel writing "Flowers of Zagreb" can also be downloaded at www.authorsonline.co.uk. Travel Writer Dave was pondering over a map......
• Recording Music Industry This is a post I've received from Julien Bernier-Haineault and he is a music producer from Quebec, Canada. He made several songs for a lot of bands that never really got appreciated to their real value. I can say that trying, failing and trying again, now he absolutely knows a......
• Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
• Music, Movies and Independent Films In this exclusive interview, Todd Cericola, owner of Clocktower Pictures, talks about his movie studio, about music in movies and about the independent productions world. Manuel Marino: When did you start your movie studio and how did you have the idea? Todd Cericola: Clocktower Pictures was started in February of......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Overcoming adversity Recently I had the privilege to hear renowned pianist Brooks Aehron. If you ever get a chance to see him, you will have a good time, whether you like piano music particularly or not. He is quite a showman. He makes music fun! One thing he asked the audience at......
• The Legacy of Jaco Pastorius - Joe Sinaguglia For over twenty years now, the planet has been without the presence of Jaco Pastorius, the revolutionary electric bass player of the 70s. He was a member of the group Weather Report and later led his own bands. Sadly, the lifestyle caught up to him in 1987. Despite his death,......
• The Harmonica in American History The Harmonica was not originally developed in America, but rather saw the beginning of life in Germany. However, the Harmonica has a rich history in North America, and contributed heavily to the history of music in America as well. Hohner began to manufacture harmonicas in 1857, and shortly after this......
• Musician Profile for Itzhak Perlman Who is Itzhak Perlman? Brief Bio: Itzhak Perlman is a classically trained violin virtuoso, a conductor and the principal owner of the Perlman Music foundation. Itzhak Perlman is easily recognized as one of the greatest violinists of all time, and is known for brilliant playing technique, direct musical interpretation......
• Let's Look at Harmonicas A harmonica is a free reed wind instrument that is played by blowing air in or drawing air out by placing the lips over the individual holes or reed chambers, or multiple holes or reed chambers at once. The pressure that is caused by blowing into the harmonica or drawing......

History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis

March 21, 2008

Roger L. Bagula wrote this exclusive article for ManuelMarino.com.

History of Music and Current Recording Industry Crisis

In a time when the whole future of how music is distributed is in question, maybe we should look at the history of music for a guide.

Many of us find music is a part of our everyday life; both in terms of listening and making it. I have an egroup on the archaeology of prehistoric men. Music seems to have been part of what distinguishes men for other beats. The discovery of a bone hollowed out to make a flute by Neanderthals has made many speculate that music is one of the oldest “preoccupations” that didn’t actually produce survival rewards.

We picture men with low foreheads sitting around the campfire playing bone flutes and beating on hollow logs. The man who was good on the flute had to be subsidized by the other hunters. In the Sahara Arab culture the women are the make the music. There are ancient Egyptian drawing of people playing stringed instruments, The god Mot is said to have had music in his temples. The ancient Greeks had a very well developed theory of 5 tone music as well.

In the European tradition what is called “church music” was actually scripted in a staff in 8 tones during the medieval era. In both church and secular life music was an everyday entertainment and some people spent their lives as singers in the Jewish Cantor tradition. At this time a distinction between “holy” and profane (dance) music seems to have been made.

The age of reason gave us Bach fugues and well tempered music with twelve major tones instead of just 8. Keyboard instruments appeared in churches and the drawing rooms of the rich and famous. Europe was a center of world culture in the arts and sciences with university courses being taught in music theory.

Revolt against this almost always pleasant sounding music turned up in the form of Schönberg and his ideas of twelve tone sequences. Others experimented with expressionism and what they called “tone color” in trying to match the music and art of a puzzling modern world.

But little known to the European intellectuals a new music form came to life in America based on a African folk form and being fostered by the black community quite by itself. Jazz was a free form music where chord forms called progressions were used and many of the people playing the music couldn’t read sheet music at all. It involved syncopation, drums and rhythm fugues as well as multi-melodies in an ad lib setting. It was involved in moods as the blues and dance in terms of swing and jitter-bug and was considered profane in many white communities. Until recording and radio it was pretty much played for free in clubs where blacks went at night . But even as simple as the chord progression were it displaced classical forms in the hearts of most of the world’s population in less than 50 years form Rag time in 1900 to the 1950’s Rock and Roll. In the materialistic society success came with money and records by these artists sold so well that they became the new rich of the 20th century.

In the ’60’s I met a black sargent (hard stiriper) in Army who did this odd kind of poetic singing that he called rap. We all scorned him because we knew that Rock and Roll was king and it was here to stay. Again out of the sub-community of the black in a America and off shot of funk music used as backing for this rap singing came out of seeming nowhere in the 90’s to become a real musical movement world wide. The poor black was angry: he had been promised “equal rights”, but he got welfare and lingering on street corners while dope dealers preyed on him and his community.

Urban renewal meant that he was shoved out of his generational neighborhoods so that up town whites could have new condos closer to work. Gangs took control of streets and whole communities and had shooting wars while the mostly white police forces hid in their substations until the shooting stopped. As far as I know there has been little reform in response to this widely popular music style and the angry and profane words involved.

Another trend in music has been multi-tonality. Everyone knows listening to a slide trombone that there are an infinite scale of notes possible to music. Mostly we think in terms of a scale based on powers of two. The twelve tone scale came about when the Greek pentatonic scale was rationalized with the church 8 tone scale. Adding an C flat and an F flat (or two more sharps) seems to even out the keyboard in 14 tones instead of 12. The Arab musical intellectuals who were influenced by ancient Indian musical theory added twelve “between” tones and special Indian like tuning forms. To western ears Indian and Arab music has a unique blue or “color tonal” feel to it that is attractive to a mind tired out by a limited tone scale of 12 tones.

In the early 20th century an electronic instrument called a Theremin was invented using the electronics that came with shortwave and AM radio. This instrument involved producing tones of all kinds of sine waves. By the 50’s this kind of music found it’s way into science fiction classics as Alien music.

In the 60’s with the use of computers the digital slicing and dicing of sound had started. The result as we all know is the compressed digital sound file called the mp3, but electronic music had become more than this ! From digital midi sequencing and interfaces that captured keyboard notes as score notes on an electronic staff to distortion electronics that could make a guitar sound completely different with feedback and reverberation effects, new music that had never been heard by human ears before was being invented and circulated. Like rap music, it wasn’t at first very easy to get such music to the mass audience, but the European “House” dance music of night clubs began to change that in the 80’s. Here a century long decline in European music began to turn around, so that the German school of electronic music is a leader in innovation and Americans seem to be trailing behind?

The conversion of the CD digital formate files (Aiff and wave) to mp3 in the 90’s by Classic Mac SoundJam which was taken over by Mac and called iTunes made upload of digital files to the Internet easy. People began to share their favorite music internationally. Downloads of digital music even at several megabytes each became very common.

The recording Industry being on the back end of this movement and historically behind in the innovation curve was caught unprepared. They began suing private citizens (college students who are the poor). For the rich to be openly prosecuting the poor for the crime of “downloading” became the democratically most unpopular move in ages.

It is the royalty money from the sale of recoded media that has made the new music rich like the Beetles. The failure of recording industry executives to find a way to plug this hole in revenues seems to signal a decline in such music as a way of passing music around that has been popular since the 1920’s and AM radio started it off. Before that it was sheet music that passed the music from one place to another.

The result of this crisis is that we are faced with a change in how music is given to the public. From my own experiences the recording industry corporate model hasn’t been a perfect one. We are looking at an art form where their are several kinds of artists who need to support their families: composers, performers and song lyrics writers. If these people “suffer”, then the listeners will be affected shortly after in not being able to get music that they want.

Survival and eating are usually a little above making music on the daily calendar.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• An Explosion Of Blues Music Author of this article is Robert Benson. He writes about rock and pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting." You can have your vinyl records appraised at VinylRecordAppraisals.com. An Explosion Of......
• Travel Writer This is the beginning of the latest writing by Peter George Mackie. Please contact him if you want to know more about his works. The first chapter of his piece of travel writing "Flowers of Zagreb" can also be downloaded at www.authorsonline.co.uk. Travel Writer Dave was pondering over a map......
• A Finnish music story Musician Matti Mattila wrote his story for us, a Finnish music story! Please read also his Finnish blog and check his page at LinkedIn. I named this article "A Finnish music story" because through Matti words we can know an exclusive tale about late 70's and 80's of Finnish music.......
• Putting a value on your vinyl collection This is another article from author Robert Benson. He writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates CollectingVinylRecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his ebook called "The Fascinating Hobby of Vinyl Record Collecting." Stephen M.H. Braitman Putting a value on your vinyl collection The value of......
• An Artist Portrait (Part Two) This is the Part Two (and final part) of the true life story as artist written by Frank V. Cahoj for our Weblog. (Part One) An Artist Portrait (Part Two) I give an unbelievable amount of credence to these two early periods in my life: one of everlasting creation, one......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• Another sacred cow slaughtered, as financial traders get set to record phone calls In this traumatic financial era in which we suddenly find ourselves living, yet another sacred cow of city trading will die a painful death in two weeks time when traders who either buy or sell shares, bonds and any other paper will be legally obliged to record not only phone......
• Acoustic Musical Instruments Glossary, pt 2 Bucking - Bucking is characterized by the cancellation of one frequency component or signal by another signal that has the equal amount of amplitude but an opposite polarity. Capo - Short for capotasto, a Capo is a moveable bar that is attached to the finger board of any fretted instrument......
• Oakville Guitarist Washbrook & Dana Stone "Dirty Ice Cream Music" label Dana Stone and Rick Washbrook meet in 1972 thats about 37 years ago at school in Aurora Ontario.   In fact Dana Stone was a student of Washbrooks later in his teens. They went on to being good friends through the years. In there early 20's they lived together with a band called the Stoves......
• 450 Random Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan." Barbie''s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. Studies......
• Sight When you look around, what do you really see? I'm sure you think you see trees and grass and buildings and stones, but in fact your own science says that you aren't actually seeing that. You are seeing light. The light comes from everywhere, and exists on all levels. From......

The Invictas are back

February 29, 2008

Bruce Atchison is one of my Yahoo Group best members and he wrote this great article. Bruce is a legally blind freelance writer and the author of two books, When a Man Loves a Rabbit (Learning and Living With Bunnies) and Deliverance from Jericho (Six Years in a Blind School). The first memoir is about his fascinating experiences and discoveries made while living with rabbits in his home. The second is a chronicle of the years he spent in an institution for blind children during the sixties, hundreds of miles from all he knew and loved. More information, and free samples from his books, can be found via links on the Deliverance and When a man pages. Bruce lives in a tiny Alberta hamlet with his house rabbits, Neutrino, Sierra, and Deborah.

The Invictas are back

There seems to be a trend in the music industry where once-popular sixties acts are reuniting, The Lovin’ Spoonful and Herman’s Hermits being only two which are currently touring. A lesser-known but just-as-good group which reformed recently is The Invictas. With their garage band sound still relatively intact, the four original members and two new musicians toured in 2005 and 2006, delighting rock music fans of all ages.

It all started during 1960 in Rochester, New York when Herb Gross heard a group of older teens practicing rock music instrumentals in the basement of the house next door. He and a few local friends decided they should form a group of their own. After doing a bit of brainstorming with school friends, they named the band after Buic’s car called the Invicta. A local college bar, Tiny’s Bengel Inn, was looking for a house band and hired Herb’s group. As they perfected their sound and changed a few band members along the way, The Invictas began playing gigs at colleges up and down the east coast and even in Canada.

The Invictas’ provocative single hit song, The Hump, was inspired by a couple of dancers in front of the stage at Tiny’s who were “humping,” as they called it, to the music. Herb thought the idea was so interesting that he wrote lyrics and the tune in one week. A record producer from Buffalo, Steve Brodie, heard the song and asked the band about recording it. Since the band members were accustomed to live performances and playing The Hump in the studio made the song sound uninspired, Herb invited 30 friends, bought several cases of beer, and The Hump was recorded. In fact, their first album, Invictas A Go-Go, was completed in one weekend and released on the Sahara Records label.

Radio stations were rather prudish in 1966, refusing to play the hump because of it’s title and suggestive lyrics. The record was even banned in Boston, a fact which the band members still treasure. After hundreds of fans flooded radio stations with requests, the record was allowed on the air. It went to number one in Miami and made the top one hundred in America during August of 1966. In Rochester, some record stores were reporting that The Hump was even out-selling The Beatles. The Invictas also appeared on some local TV shows and played at the Watkins Glen Race Track. It was around that time when the band started driving a 1955 Cadillac hearse on stage as a promotional gimmick. The members, aping the British groups popular at that time, wore English riding boots, turtlenecks, fur jackets, and grew their hair long. They also played with famous acts as The Young Rascals, Gene Pitney, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Shirelles, and Otis Reading. Later, they opened for The Beach Boys.

The invictas became so popular that they required police escorts, had their own fan club, and attracted plenty of eager female fans. Girls waited for them on their front lawns and called them on the phone at all hours of the night. Bass player, Jim Kohler, came home late one evening to find that some groupies had actually broken into his apartment and prepared a meal for him. Herb was once chased by a crowd of girls across a street and into a department store, where he hid in a ladies’ changing room. Their hearse, which sported gold racing stripes and the band’s name in bold yellow lettering on the doors, proved to be unreliable, breaking down often on the way to gigs. Then the Vietnam war caused the band to break up.

The Invictas did reunite in 1980 for a festival tent gig. Then again in 1995, they played another gig, recording Long Tall Shorty and The Hump 95. Throughout the years, Herb had established his own advertising agency and was earning a substantial income. While he visited Invictas member Dave Hickey, Dave’s wife Marilyn suggested they go to a blues club called The Dinosaur and see a group named The Mary Haitz Band. Mary heard that the two Invictas members were there and asked them to play a number. Dave declined but Herb performed Long Tall Shorty. The crowd became excited and called out for him to play The Hump. Herb, having a Blues Brothers moment, realized that he had to get the band back together one more time.

The Invictas toured in 2005, launching their ’60s’ tour at a bar called the California Brew Haus. The members enjoyed the experience and crowd reaction at various venues so much that they toured again the next summer and recorded The Skip ‘N Go Naked tour live CD, named after a popular Tiny’s Bengel Inn drink made with gin, beer, and lemonade. Herb also found a 1984 model cadillac hearse for sale in Oklahoma City and had his friend Dan Parsons customize it to look like the original Invictas vehicle. The ’60s tour covered the northeast states and parts of Ontario while the Skip ‘n Go Naked tour happened in upstate New York. The Invictas played various northeast U. S. gigs in 2007 as well. Though the band lost money, they all plan to continue rocking into their retirement years.

For more information regarding The Invictas, and to download a free song called Red, White, Blue, and True, go to the www.theinvictas.com website. On this site is some band merchandise, including their 2 CDs and Banned In Boston, a DVD of them playing live. Herb also wrote Rock Till Ya Drop, a coffee table book about his group, featuring many photos of the band and their gear.

Related Posts - Highly Relevant Content

• A Beautiful Interview Ceri Shaw suggested me an interview from our friends at Americymru. So here's this beautiful interview with Dr. Karl Jenkins (I include also the link to their ticket giveaway competition for his performance at Carnegie Hall NY on March 6th 2010). A Beautiful Interview Dr. Karl Jenkins is Britain's greatest......
• The Emperor's New Clothes Ananda Sukarlan is an Indonesian composer and pianist living in Spain. This is an article he wrote for a magazine which has been published a few years ago in Spanish. We are very proud to have the original in English which has never been published anywhere, so this is......
• American Music and Vintage Guitars Mark Weakley is an impressive artist; sculptor, painter, musician. He plays guitar, banjo and harmonica, and has recently recorded a CD of his original compositions. In this exclusive article he talks about himself, about his passions, about his father, about traditional american music, about vintage guitars and banjoes, and much......
• Creative Ideas (Part Two) This is the Part Two of the powerful article by Deremiah. (Part One) Creative Ideas (Part Two) RELATIONSHIPS INFLUENCE THE POWER OF YOUR IDEAS... Brian Tracy who has done a lot of research to compile the information in his wonderful book "CREATE YOUR OWN FUTURE" expresses in Chapter 7, page......
• Music Biz Marcos Marado wrote this exclusive article about Music Biz. Is the situation really so dramatic as he explains? Leave your comments, this could be our first really important debate on ManuelMarino.com. Music Biz I'm, first of all, a passionate for music. My passion for music before I can recall it,......

Related Websites - Highly Relevant Content

• 10 GREAT ROCK (N ROLL) SONGS: All About Sex [/caption] Sex, drugs and rock n' roll is the motto and it has certainly inspired more songs than we can count. However we know that rockers sometimes just like to dwell on the sex part. Songs about sex are fun, fast and they feature great electric guitar riffs. Sure there......
• Free Easy Ultimate Guitar Tab There are many places to find free guitar tabs online. Some of these ultimate guitar tab websites are free, while others charge a fee. One of the best things to do is find a whole bunch of free ultimate guitar tab web sites first and then join a pay......
• Grateful Dead Posters Memorabilia -> G -> Grateful Dead Grateful Dead fans, often called Dead Heads, and music memorabilia collectors can pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for items like handbills and Grateful Dead posters. Anyone not familiar with the band or the unique style of images and posters used during the......
• The Obama Economic Advisory Team - A Scary Group If you want to predict what an inexperienced politician will do when suddenly elevated by voters into a position of vast power and influence, it helps to evaluate the people he has picked to advise him.  So it is with President-Elect Barack Obama. Last week Obama held his first press conference as President-Elect. ......
• The Harmonica in American History The Harmonica was not originally developed in America, but rather saw the beginning of life in Germany. However, the Harmonica has a rich history in North America, and contributed heavily to the history of music in America as well. Hohner began to manufacture harmonicas in 1857, and shortly after this......

Next Page »

• Subscribe

  • Subscribe to RSS

• Most Used Tags

  actor America art artist Arts books Business compact disc creative creativity Culture Education entertainment film Games Ideas independent industry inspiration internet manuel marino marketing movie Movies Music musician musicians myspace paint painting People pop producer review rock shopping Technology television United States US Video game videogames Visual arts writing youtube

• Categories

  • 2009 Music Demos
  • 2010 Music Demos
  • Arts
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Games
  • Ideas
  • Movies
  • Music
  • People
  • Reviews
  • Site News
  • Technology
  • Writings

Links

• Listen to Music Online - Direct link to mp3s you can download. You can freely Listen to Music Online, this way!
• Shop for Car - Shop for Car means Huge Car Deals! Also Auto Parts and Auto Accessories!
• Shop for Clothes - Find the Lowest Prices on Footwear, Handbags, Shirts and Outdoor Gear!
• Shop for Computer - Best Computer and Consumer Electronics Brands.
• Subscribe by Email - Subscribe to receive daily email with ManuelMarino.com newest content.
• XML Sitemap

• Meta

  • Log in
  • WordPress

• Editorial Endorsements