waltertore
1918 posts
Jan 31, 2012
11:27 AM
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Having performed around the world for the past 40 years I have come to these conclusions to avoid all the band drama BS, moaning and groaning about not any good players out your way to play with, etc, do these simple things and music will remain a pure joy for all your days:
*be completely self contained-aka-be able to do a world tour by yourself
*be able to record yourself and control what music is shared with the world
*let gigs come to you-ones you push for are often not good ones
*play the music that turns you on and forget what others want to hear
*charge a fee that makes you feel good about playing
*follow your dreams blindly
*if you are compelled to play in a band context be the leader and control hiring/firing/decision making. You don't have to be the frontman to be the leader (little charlie good example)
*be thankful you have a gift to express yourself with and leave it at that and if you make some money at it you are doublely blessed! Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Jan 31, 2012 12:20 PM
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Keith R
13 posts
Feb 03, 2012
3:42 AM
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Very wise words, Walter.
Being on the road with the same people every day for years must be one of the most difficult relationships in life. I could - but I won't - name four harp-playing bandleaders who couldn't stand the sight of their lead guitarist...In one case that guitarist hated the drummer and vice-versa.
I envy you your one-man band status. It is something I've considered but when I realise that I'm never going to sound as good as Duster Bennett, I get discouraged.
For a truly dreadful yet fascinating and very well written glimpse of that way of life, I recommend reading 'Owning Up' by George Melly. His tour bus was like a school playground cum psychological torture chamber on wheels.
Best wishes
Last Edited by on Feb 03, 2012 3:44 AM
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Frank
151 posts
Feb 03, 2012
5:00 AM
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Mr. Satan QUOTE...
"The most pitiful thing a musician can do is oppress the enjoyment of his own music"
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waltertore
1923 posts
Feb 03, 2012
11:17 AM
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KeithR: I encourage to give the 1 man band a shot. Duster Bennet is nothing special IMO. It is all about letting your groove come through. He does that and that is what makes his music sound good vs. the technical stuff he is playing. The key is to let your music come through your way. I started out playing music with Wilbert Harrision who probably had the biggest 1 man band hit in modern day music with Lets Work Together. I remember being fascinated by his rig and the sounds that came out of just 1 man. I lugged the gear, blew harp and when he got too loaded, took over on the guitar and kit. That was 35 years ago. I never thought I would come to it full time. I dabbled in it all these years but rarely left my trio format for gigs. For the past 10 I have been steady on the 1 man band. I toured with the same bassist for 13 years. We got along fine. That is the key- we liked each other and our habbits were similar enough to not wear on each other - neither smoked, drank or drugged in excess. The drummer was always the missing link for me. I had too many to remember.
Simply enjoy your music as Frank quoted. That is all that matters. There will always be a faster player, a more complex player, but there is only 1 you! I fear no player because I play me and nobody can top me :-) Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Feb 03, 2012 12:53 PM
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Keith R
21 posts
Feb 16, 2012
2:18 AM
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Thanks for your encouraging words, Walter.
I have read them a few times and it seems to me that when you say that Duster was "nothing special" you mean that if he can do it, then it can be done.
Which is fair enough - to a point. Then again, I was fortunate to see him 'live' at his peak, playing stuff that inexplicably never got recorded, such as his fiery rendition of Stevie Wonder's 'Somebody Knows, Somebody Cares'. As to what he DID record, I would direct anyone interested to his version of Slim Harpo's 'I've Got To Be With You Tonight', an example of Blues Power if I ever heard one!
And yes, you're so right about him "letting (his) groove come through". He was looking for, I quote, his "own form" within the blues or perhaps I should say, within his music. I believe that he found it, but didn't have the chance to play it for too long before his passing, an event that, like his (physical) absence from my life can still hit me like a hammer blow, thirty-six years on...
Thanks again, take care.
Last Edited by on Feb 16, 2012 3:36 AM
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waltertore
1980 posts
Feb 16, 2012
3:31 AM
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KeithR: I would wager the best music ever played was and is never recorded. Recording studios create a tension void of live gigs and recorded live gigs creates a tension that is void of a normal live gig. Recording means money, your sound will be preserved for others to critique, and it will reflect who you are. Most people don't have enough experience in a recording environment to really play their best stuff. That is why I record tons of hours a week. It has allowed me to relax as much as a live gig. But I bet if I went to another studio with someone besides me engineering, it would alter me to that uptightness most feel in a recording situation. That is why I control all aspects of my playing via a 1 man band and with recording.
You are right in what I said. Masterings the greats riffs is not all that difficult for the average player if they are willing to put in the time. Just look at all the videos posted here that get so close to them and often after very little playing time. When one has a blueprint to follow and explicit instructions on how to follow it, it is a fairly commn thing to achieve. When I listen to music I listen to the riffs, tones, phrasings, but most of all I listen to the musicality of the sound. That is the factor that cannot be put to blueprints and explicit how to follow instructions. Most music lacks this I listen to today. It is full of perfect technique but lacks musicality and that is what stands out to me not the great techniques and copied phrasings, tones, etc. Jimmy Reed is a great example of musicality. On paper his sound is about as simple as it comes but the musicality of it is beyond duplicating to my ears. When I hear a cover of his stuff usually the first thing that happens is I turn it off real fast and put on Jimmy Reed. Duster had his own sound. That is what turns me on. Copying is nothing impressive to my soul. That is great you got to Duster live. Live is always the best way to see someone. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Feb 16, 2012 3:44 AM
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Keith R
22 posts
Feb 16, 2012
3:44 AM
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Walter, I think it was Billy Boy Arnold who vouched that Little Walter at his mid-1950s peak was playing stuff that was way beyond his records. For me, that is difficult to imagine given how well he combatted the restraints of which you speak. No doubt Billy Boy was right - and I wish I'd been there!
And you're right of course. But I'm so happy that the Chess/Checker giants - to give just one potent example - overcame the restrictions of the studio experience and left a legacy of great recordings.
Best wishes
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waltertore
1981 posts
Feb 16, 2012
4:43 AM
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Keith R: I was good friends with Luther Tucker. He said the Chess brothers scripted out everything. SBWII was the only one that really put up a fight but in the end did it. I love those recordings as well but as I get older and I think wiser, I hear the stiffness more and more. I got to see lots of the greats as a bandmember and audience memember. The best I heard was the live stuff. There was an unexplainable feel to it the records miss. It sounds like you felt the same thing with Duster. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Feb 16, 2012 4:45 AM
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Keith R
23 posts
Feb 16, 2012
6:28 AM
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Walter, not to criticise you or your words but I'll either have to think of what you call "stiffness" as self-control, or restraint - something I think is an essential ingredient in performance - or I'll have to give away my music collection...
Today suddenly seems bluer than it was when I woke up. And that's saying something.
I also just read that a certain player is in the 'Second Top 10' players but Rod Piazza isn't. Hmm...now I'm REALLY puzzled.
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waltertore
1982 posts
Feb 16, 2012
7:05 AM
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KeithR: What I am talking about is the mindset going in is this- the songs are overly rehearsed. I hear that in music. I still love it on those records but would have prefered to hear them live in a setting they felt at home in. Top lists are subjective. Such is the nature of art. Thank god it is subjective because we all have equal rights with declaring what is and isn't the best
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
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Keith R
24 posts
Feb 16, 2012
11:45 AM
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Walter: Again, you're right regarding the lists and their subjective nature. It's just that in my opinion, Rod Piazza is up there with Kim Wilson.
Regarding the Chess recordings, for me it is difficult to imagine how Sonny Boy's 'Please Forgive' or 'Your Imagination' could sound better; likewise Muddy's 'Just To Be With You' and Walter's 'Mellow Down Easy', 'You Better Watch Yourself' and 'I Got To Go'. The latter four in particular sound fresh and spontaneous to me: no alternate takes exist, as you know.
Sometimes the outtakes have it: I always liked Walter's 'I Love You So' more than 'Oh, Baby', to name just one example.
And lastly, sometimes the rehearsal pays off: Jimmy Roger's 'You're The One' sounds very rehearsed and yet...to me it sounds like a cool, Miles Davis-style recording. Walter couldn't be any more relaxed and together - I love it!
Thanks for your thoughts. And keep on keeping on with being you, your own man, being inspired.
Last Edited by on Feb 17, 2012 1:57 AM
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waltertore
1983 posts
Feb 16, 2012
12:24 PM
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KeithR: I hear what you are saying. Many of my favorites are not on either list. IMO we all should have our own list and leave it at that. I guess the older I get the further I get from rehearsed music. I still love my favorites but having spontaneously created all my words and music as I go along for the past 40+ years has taken me to a different pasture so to speak than the normal musical approach. I tend to listen to recordings today for sonic characteristics I am trying to capture on my recordings. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
3,500+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
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