I usually don’t like Mr Bean (I know many of you could “boo” me now, but hey, it’s my blog, I have the right to an opinion) but this thing is amazing!

Not an air guitar show but an…air drum show! Enjoy!

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A couple of days ago, a 12 years old girl jumped out the window while her mother was there with her and, of course, died. She left a good bye note, sign she was determined to do this and it was not a spontaneous act. The girl was an “emo kid” and fan of Tokyo Hotel band.

OK. I see them on the streets every day, with their dark, rebel hair, with a strong and black makeup, with dark clothes and that semi-goth look. At first I smiled, it must be a trend. I remember me fighting with my mom over my long hair and scattered jeans, over my skull t-shirts and metal music. Ah, yes, and I won’t tell you how hard it was to wear ear rings. At first 1, then 2 large ones. I was cool with my red and black leather jacket, long hair and ear rings. I was I guess 19-20 years old and loved metal!

But I didn’t jump, and most of all, I have never thought about anything like this. I even remember telling my friends once that if by any reason they will find anything like this about me, they know I DIDN’T DO IT MYSELF! I love life! I loved it there too. I loved life in every single aspect of it. I loved rock music, distorted electric guitars, long hair, screwing everybody who was pointing at me for one reason or another!

2 days ago it was this late night TV show here caused by this 12 yo kid who jumped. There was a psychologist invited, a rock music critic, 2 emo kids and others that I don’t remember. The theme was clear: why did she jump?

I watched a part of the show then, the next morning I have seen a news in an e-newspaper and I followed a link there to a site that preaches emo culture.

I can tell you I had an impression of a large gap. A gap between me and these kids. I am 31 yo, remember? I am not that far away. I can not imagine how would it be to be 55 yo and to face such a situation. If you are 55 yo, then you probably feel the gap even worse than me and you probably couldn’t understand it either, the way I do it now.

These kids are not 12, these kids there look, feel and act like 20 yo. They look sad. I haven’t seen a single smile on their faces on that site. How could you not smile?!! How could you be sad at 12?!! WTF is wrong with you, emo kids?

I read on that site that is the site of emo community in Romania, as they say:

“these persons have the tendency to hate themselves, to feel inferior to the others, to be very hard on themselves, all these leading sometimes to suicidal tendencies!!!”

Man, could this be right? I don’t believe in censorship, I believe in freedom of expression, but CAN YOU POSSIBLY write on a web site that leads the flag of a community of teenagers that the teenagers that are part of that particular community hate themselves?! You can not grow inside them the feeling of inferiority and most of all you can not tell them, yes, man, you have suicidal tendencies, pay attention, we all here have it, well, it’s not that bad, if you think about it!

Am I crazy? Have I lost it or what? Shouldn’t we grow inside kids and teenagers the feeling of security, trust, the feeling of being on the right way, to make them feel good with themselves? Is this emo culture an anti-social one or what?

They were speaking about Tokyo Hotel as being one of the musical leaders of this emo culture and they were accusing one song, named Don’t jump as being part of the problem, being the favorite video of that girl who jumped. The psychologist said that the message in the video is understood exactly the other way by a listener. Don’t jump!! Now you get it the other way, if you want!

I must admit I was not familiar with Tokyo Hotel and their music so I tried a couple of songs. I can tell you that the music was not that bad, don’t blame me for that appreciation, a part of me likes this style. It is that crying music that has roots in punk, alternative, etc. They say it’s new. The rock critic invited to that show was pissed off for this and I understood him why. I watched him a lot of times on TV, he had a late night rock show, metal oriented, man, I loved it, his name used to be associated to late nigh metal.

So, he spoke a bit about this music and I also listened it the next morning. How could it be new!? Listen closely! Remember Radiohead’s Creep?! Creep has the same idea, it is released in 1993 and it is alternative. Nothing new on this earth right? Also, how about Nirvana?! People should ask Tokyo Hotel’s composers where do they get their inspiration from. Nirvana must be one of the sources, in my opinion.

So, people listened this music long before emo kids were around, nothing new. Then, why this suicidal ideas? Where is it coming from? Tokyo Hotel is a produced band, has composers hired just for them, the look, the songs, they are all “artificially produced”. While I don’t argue that in music it is a marketing way of doing it, like for ex the T.A.T.U. thing. Here it was big, 2 Russian girls with lesbian image singing in semi-erotic outfits. Who cared about the music?!! It faded away…

It is the same thing now with emo, IMO. Somebody created this culture from scratch, gave the leading lines and said let it grow and spread. Then, we’ll sell things like music and clothes to them…

Man, how about coffins? Little ones, they are only 12, remember?

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These last days we tried to put up a couple of songs for tomorrow’s show. Once a year there is this show in our city, Retro Rock 70, where people who used to play in a band 20-30(?) years ago meet again and play for a big public.

While it is not our case (I mean the part with 20-30 years ago), we are invited there every year to be part of it. I remember one year I was also the hired gun for the show, because, as you may imagine, it is difficult to have all the members of 30 years ago meet together, in the same shape, so a solo guitar player is almost all the time needed, so, depending on the situation of the moment, one of the guitar players available is asked to fill in for here and there. A couple of years ago I was the one and I can tell you I had a lot of fun playing songs like All right now or Get back along with guys of the same age with my parents.

I remember what somebody (70 years old), told me once: it is just the body that gets old, not the spirit! Inside we are the same! Man, how right he was! This line stayed in my head till now and each time I see these guys on stage I remember it.

These guys make me laugh, really! Not in a bad way! I respect them because I see myself in about 20-30 years. It is fun to look at them and see how they joke with each other, like one guy trying to nail a song and playing a lot of flat notes, saying to the others, wait, I will figure it out, I will remember it, and one of the band members saying back yeah, like you ever did while everybody laughs!

Drinking a beer, that position with their eyes on the guitar neck, bend over the guitar cause they don’t remember too well where’s the damn fret!! And then one week later, after a couple of rehearsals, they are beasts released on stage! Man, I love this! This happens every year here since 7 years I think and tomorrow will be that day, again.

We put up a couple of songs because ourselves we took a break and we’ve got together after a while, this time with a new band mate, a long time friend, and we needed to work a bit together.

But tomorrow evening everything will work as a charm and we will have a lot of fun, I have no doubt about that! In the end, isn’t this the idea when making music ?

PS: The picture is taken at one of those shows, like 2 years back, I think. And yes, it’s us!

Later edit: I have just received a call that the show is postponed until next month due to the fact that local elections take place. Well, let’s wait until next month.

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From Michael Angelo Batio’s site:

“Michael, like Joe Satriani also has a famous guitar student! Michael taught (Rage Against The Machine and AudioSlave) guitarist Tom Morello while Michael was attending college. Tom has credited MAB with teaching him in a feature article in Guitar World Magazine”

What do you know? It is very interesting to find out about big names that studied guitar with other big names.

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I am sure most of you know Steve Vai’s famous 3 neck Ibanez guitar. It makes a very interesting show to watch, because, beside being the Master of The Space Guitar, Mr Vai is also the Master of Visual Appearances and I think we all know what I am speaking about.

But are you familiar with the concept of “Harpolyre”? If not, read on, watch this video and let me know what you think!

…the new classification of “fretted harp guitars” - however, I don’t want to make too much of this term, as I expect it will confuse the casual reader into thinking I consider it a type of true harp guitar. It is not. Nor is it a “triple-neck” guitar, nor a type of lyre guitar. Despite most major museums having specimens, no scholar has addressed the instrument in any detail, though many have noted the unusual tunings of the outer necks - obviously not intended for chords. Yet they are fully fretted, even extending to glued-on soundboard frets in some specimens…

Read more

Now, can you tell me where did Mr Vai get his inspiration from? Could it be this instrument?

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(photo credits RedBison) Yesterday I have decided to start selling some advertising on my blog. I didn’t want to do it sooner, because I intended to have a steady readers base and a relatively steady traffic first. At this moment, I have decided to start taking advantage of my traffic and PR since everybody’s got to live on his own, and this blog doesn’t make any exception. This blog has to pay the rent, and parents decided to teach “him” a lesson: earn your money, you are old enough to pay for your expenses!

So, if any of you is interested in rates and stats, please see this page and contact me for details, I will be happy to answer you.

For the moment, prices are low because I am in the beginning, but are subject to change, depending on how things go. If you purchase a 3 months package you will have the advantage of a price set in the beginning, no matter how high the price for one spot will go.

So, spread the word around and why don’t you take advantage of the low prices and purchase one of the 6 4 available spots right now?

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Indeed, seems that people started a whole industry around electric guitars (and I am not speaking only about directly related things such as guitar strings, amplifiers, picks, stompboxes) and they never cease to amuse and make me wonder where could we go next?!!

Because Jon of GuitarNoize.com and Gary of Thumbrella pointed to a few interesting electric guitar related gadgets, when I found this I knew I had to show it here, so here it is: the Fender Telecaster mouse pad! Very cool thing to own, don’t you think? My current home mouse pad has some nuclear plant related drawings and graphs on it and the one in the office has cats on it…

Later edit: Jon asked me if they come in Strat version. Well, here’s the link to the original Tele model and here’s a Strat model.

Well, how’s that for a gift, IG?!! Huh?!

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A very practical observation: be careful when listening music while driving, it can be dangerous! It happened to me, more than once, to sing what’s been playing on my CD player and due to the rhythm to step on the acceleration pedal more than needed or…to have guts to “force the entry” of an intersection…Not good! Trust me!

I am not a reckless driver, no way, I like to think I am a “defensive” driver, meaning I let you pass if I consider it is better for the situation and I don’t have that “me first” complex. But when listening to a high paced song, a “driving song”, man, I lose it sometimes!!! And I become mean!!! Ha, ha, ha!!! Me first, me first!!

I guess it is the same with everyone of you, right? Once you turn up the volume on your auto CD player and a song that gives you wings comes on, you become an other you, right? A meaner you, with way more guts! Look, mom,I’m king of the road!!

A few songs that drive me wild on the road: Highway to hell (AC/DC), Balls to the wall (Accept), Hard times come easy (Richie Sambora), Youth gone wild (Skid Row), etc. Actually, I think a driving song needs 2 a few ingredients : a steady, “easy to feel” beat (4/4), with balance, a good melody and, in my opinion, a positive attitude.

Even love songs will do. Here’s a Romanian band, (Holograf) and a song that really makes my day when I am behind the wheel. It is my favorite Romanian band (about 30 years of playing) so you get the chance to taste a bit of Romanian culture (again)! The song is called Romeo and Juliet, please make an effort to listen to it even if you don’t understand the lyrics.

So, let me hear you!

What gets your engine started when behind the wheel !?!

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Yesterday I was invited to a folkloric show at the main theater here. I am not a big fan of folkloric music, not at all, but because we were invited by one of the artists in the show, who has sung at my wedding, I couldn’t refuse the invitation.

I the beginning I thought it is going to be a boring show for me, since every time I see this kind of music on TV for ex, I change the channel. Man, I was wrong! I can tell you that I really enjoyed the show! And you know why? Because I have decided to make the best of it and I focused my attention on music, artists, instruments and I was amused of all the thoughts running through my head during the concert.

So, a few basic lines first: in Romanian folkloric music there are no guitars. Period. Doh! This “band” had a double bass (we call it contrabass here), 9 violins, 1 flute, 3 accordions and one cimbalom (is this the word?) plus one bandleader. Imagine the fact that the artists that are really famous here in Romania are also engaged in a collaboration with local theaters, so on stage were some very famous singers that you see on TV everyday (again, if you listen this music). Imagine Johny Cash or Dolly Parton singing in your city every month at the local theater. I don’t think it stands the comparison but you get my point.

Romanian folkloric music usually is a “returning walk”, to call it this way, you end your passages where you start them. You start the passage in C, you walk around, play, sing and, guess what, you go back to the same C! It is a round thing. Also, songs don’t always have choruses, in many cases, songs are made up by lyrics parts followed by a repetitive theme played on violins. And again, the themes are “round” and come back to the starting point.

So, because I am not a fan of this style, I only like about 2 singers, I tried to focus on something else.
And there the show became interesting:

Double bass player - because the double bass was clearly distinguishing from the rest of the instruments, I could easily follow it’s music. I was surprised to recognize in what that guy was playing some …ROCK AND ROLL FORMULAS!!! A bit altered cause Romanian folkloric music doesn’t follow the same chords progressions but it was fun to listen. Songs are mostly 4/4 in C or G major so it fits fine! The only observation was that in folkloric double bass progressions, this “rock and roll” progressions were altered by very interesting chromatic passages. I could also compare this double bass music to a jazz bass music due to the “walking bass” style, the guy never stayed on the same note and only used his bow to produce short notes, not as in cello playing (as less as I know about cello playing, I think of Apocalyptica and I have a reference point!)

Violins - very interesting, considering that I know one of the players as a VERY good player, he played at my wedding and I met him and the singer that invited us many times starting that moment and we became good acquaintances. The singer is very well seen here on this market of wedding singers. He proposed me at one time to start rehearsing with them to join them for playing at weddings, but as much as I was honored by the fact that he asked me, I politely refused, explained him I love my rock music and I love to play rock, pop and everything related to these styles but wedding music is not my “cup of tea”.

So, again about violins, I liked the way they synchronized (and they were 9!) and I loved some passages where some of the violins played the third of the rest, which I didn’t know it is used in this kind of music, but it gave a great effect!

Flute…nothing to say about him, no solo passages, no nothing, so I know he was there but I let him be, no particular interest there.

Well, the guy with the cimbalom (again, is there such word, right?!!). He is, along with the double bass player, the rhythmic section of the band and man, what rhythm he has!! I still wonder how he manages to hit those strings with his sticks. The funny part was that the women lead singers, after receiving flowers, always put them on his cimbalom, on one side. He always looked a bit intrigued: hey, WTF are you doing, hey, can’t you see I need those strings there?!! Damn, woman!! That made me think of a local expression used when you want to cover up a particular situation: “to put the handkerchief on the cimbalom”. I think I understand better now!!

Singers - here it was a very interesting situation. As in any style, there are singers and there are ENTERTAINERS! This last group were always in close contact with the public. I admired the fact that, some of them, for ex, after like 30 years in professional singing, were so sure of themselves and were practically ruling the scene! They were the master of the scene, feeling very secure and this transmitted a good feeling to the audience!

These ENTERTAINERS, of course, had the biggest success, the public kept on clapping and applauding at the end, asking for an other one. I admired them being so secure on stage, proving they know how to handle the crowd (of course, a very targeted public - beside myself).

I also watched the bandleader during the show: there were a couple of singers that were new or had not that much experience and I watched how the band leader stayed close to them, communicating to them, signaling to the band more difficult moments, as in free measures where everything must be “felt” by the band considering the performance of the singer. And then, I watched the bandleader totally relaxing when very experienced singers came on stage, the band leader started to smile, joking with them, and even left the stage for a few moments when one of those artists was singing. It was a proof of confidence and trust, because, anyway, after so much experience everything works by itself in such cases!

I have listen to the voice of the singers: there were 2 that I didn’t hear well, compared to the others. I asked myself if this is a matter of vocal technique or frequencies in their voices against the microphone frequency response. They were both males, one was with less experience, and I have immediately thought about vocal emissions, not being able to project the sound to where he should. But I also ask myself if it wasn’t about frequencies that were not distinguished from the rest of the band.

Anyway, most of the artists there, given his music style, are also wedding musicians. I remember joking with my wife about the cimbalom and double bass players going to a wedding: man, I am no taking this guy into my car?!! Hey, take the damn box out of my car, I have no room anymore!!

After the show we went to a restaurant with Romanian specific, to eat something, cause we were all hungry after the show. Me and my wife also invited my parents in law to this show and to the restaurant so we picked this Romanian specific restaurant so they feel comfortable there. What do you know!? The restaurant is owned by one of the artists in the show and she came after the show to sing in her own restaurant, as it seems she does once a week to keep it successful. So we couldn’t escape it there either!

But after a bottle of wine, everything was fine!

Looking back I consider this a very pleasant musical experience that I recommend to all of you. Listening to an other musical style was a refreshing thing, making me think more of my guitar playing and rock music!

By the way, I was telling you I only like about 2 Romanian folkloric singers. I want to point you here to the greatest Romanian folkloric singer, Maria Tanase. She does not live anymore but her musical talent, in my opinion wasn’t yet equaled by anyone. Here’s a couple of songs that are representative for her music. The first one is kind of a slow curse, “Who loves and leaves, may God give him punishment…”

See also a French version of the same song. She has a record in French, I think.

An other one here:

And also this one, in French, I don’t have anything in English but it may help a bit to catch the spirit.

Enjoy!

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Did you ever thought about what influence rock music has over people worldwide? I am always pleased to see artists outside rock music scene covering famous rock hits. Some of those covers come from people I wouldn’t have thought they enjoy rock music, like for example these cases below.

I know AC/DC is big, had a lot of hits and is in a position where everybody would like to sing one of their song, but man, Celine Dion, Anastacia , Shania Twain, Shakira singing AC/DC??!! This is a “must see” in my opinion!!

So, here we go:

Celine Dion and Anastacia singing “You shook me all night long” (pop rock version)

Shania Twain again with “You shook me all night long” (pop/country version, I love the slide on ACDC, I ask myself what Angus Young thought when he saw this video,because I don’t think he missed it!)

Shakira with “Back in black”, after you pass the first part, it is fine, considering Shakira’s singing style. I love the guitar part!

I consider these performances a tribute to monster band AC/DC, tribute that well known pop divas pay to somebody that made a mark on rock music. I consider it a form of respect, because when you are on top, you only sing somebody else’s songs if you really respect that artist.

Stumble that, people! Thanks!

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