Are Comic Book Movies Dying Instead of Thriving?

June has marked the release of one of the year's most critically panned movie. No I'm not talking about the mediocre movie The Hangover Part II. I'm not talking about the brilliant X-Men: First Class. As much as it pains me to say it, Martin Campbell's Green Lantern may become the worst disaster for comic book movies since the likes of The Fantastic 4 hit cinemas. And it was all going so well this year...
As I've mentioned before about the likes of Thor and X-Men: First Class, comic book movies have needed to drastically improve in order to survive at the box office. Throwing a special effects extravaganza at audiences just doesn't cut it anymore. Movies need to develop interesting characters, and generate a good story before worrying about spectacular special effects. That's where comic book movies are struggling. With so much choice now for comic book movies, the films can't afford to be lazy. Thor told a great father-son story, First Class added some historical gravitas to a superhero story whilst Green Lantern fails on just about every level...
Terrible plot holes, bad pacing, boring characters (unlike the comic book versions) and a bland story keeps Green Lantern's feet firmly on the ground. It's also an example of how a generic 'popcorn' superhero movie just doesn't cut it with critics and fans alike. If Green Lantern bombs, DC will probably shy away from moving forward with projects such as The Flash and Wonder Woman. This could cause serious ramifications for comic book movies because; Marvel's on screen catalogue of comic book characters will eventually run dry. With no alternative to go to, fans will inevitably get bored of Marvel throwing every B-List character under the sun at them. The same goes for DC's Batman and Superman franchises. They will eventually run dry and DC will have nothing left to offer.
That's what's most disappointing about the Green Lantern movie. There was so much riding on it, and despite having Green Lantern wiz Geoff Jones behind the scenes; the movie has killed off all momentum for DC. Yes they have The Dark Knight Rises coming next year, but considering that's up against Marvel's Avengers, don't expect it to reach the heights of The Dark Knight.
If the genre is dying, every upcoming comic book movie needs to be unique. The initial awesomeness of seeing Marvel's finest united on screen will undoubtedly hold off bad reviews, but other projects such as Spider-Man, Wolverine and Superman might not be so fortunate unless they give the characters and the story proper attention. It's time studios take these movies seriously. From the moment the initial GL trailer hit the net and viewers were treated to a classic Ryan Reynolds 'I KNOW RIGHT' scene, it was clear Warner Bros weren't treating GL seriously. And that's why the genre is struggling. It needs more X-Men: First Class, less Van Wilder in space.

The Art Of Darkness - Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket

"War is hell," the cliché proclaims, but it seems to be entertaining hell. Along with other ghastly subjects such as murder and vampirism, war ranks among the most popular and commonly used subject matter of filmed entertainment, and no war has yielded more or better films than the one in Vietnam between 1955 and 1975. Whether detailing the effects of the war by studying its aftermath or getting right into the heart of the battles, the Vietnam War has proven to be a source of boundless interest for filmmakers and moviegoers alike. Perhaps it is the moral ambiguity of Vietnam that makes it the most interesting war for film adaptations, and no films illustrate this ambiguity better than Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) and Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987).
Apocalypse Now was the first and still, arguably, the best film to take place in the midst of the war itself, shot shortly after its ending in the mid-'70s and released on the brink of the Reagan era in 1979. Inspired by Joseph Conrad's 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, Coppola and screenwriter John Milius supplant the metaphorical journey of its central character from 1890s Africa to the Southeast Asian jungle of the 1960s. Intimately tied to this shift in viewpoint is that, while Heart of Darkness's narrator, Charlie Marlowe, begins as a sane and stable man who faces madness and the inherent evil of mankind in the form of Mister Kurtz, Apocalypse Now's narrator, Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), has already been driven at least to the verge of madness by his previous Vietnam experience before the beginning of the film. This change of perspective suggests that morality and sanity had become much more tentative and ambiguous in the time of the Vietnam War.
At the 1979 Cannes Film Festival premiere of the film, Coppola stated that "My film is not about Vietnam; my film is Vietnam." We are thrust into a world of madness with no moral center, an apt vision of conditions in the Vietnam War. This intention is evidenced not only by the chaotic and violent nature of the entire film, but also in the decision to make the story's narrator a madman, thereby depriving the viewer of a more traditionally relatable gateway into the film's story.
Just as the film itself "is Vietnam" in macrocosm, three of its central characters also are Vietnam in microcosm: Willard, Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and Captain Kilgore (Robert Duvall). Willard has been in the jungle so much it has become who he is; in the film, he says of Vietnam: "When I was here I wanted to be there. When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle." Kurtz and Kilgore are two sides of the same coin, the soldier gone mad from the madness of war. Kilgore is the joyful madman who revels in battle ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning," he says in one of the film's most famous scenes. "Smells like victory") and has managed to keep a tenable position in the military despite randomly decimating entire villages, to the tune of Richard Wagner's "Flight of the Valkyries," for the sole purpose of clearing a neighboring beach so that he and his men can go surfing. Critic Michael Wood, in his article "Bangs and Whispers" from the October 1979 New York Review of Books, asserts that Kilgore should have been the Kurtz figure of the film, a man so flamboyantly insane that he provides a clear counterpoint to Sheen's Willard, but the closer similarities between Willard and Brando's Kurtz hint at a metaphorical journey of Willard into himself, into the darkest reaches of his own soul, that echoes his literal journey downriver to Kurtz's lair. When he completes his assignment by killing Kurtz, he has perhaps silenced the encroaching darkness in his own heart.
Apocalypse Now's overall vision of madness - from Willard to Kilgore to Kurtz, along with fascinating side characters such as Sam Bottoms's LSD-abusing surfer/soldier and Dennis Hopper's fanatical photojournalist - paints a disturbing picture not only of the Vietnam experience, but of all humanity in a world that made the atrocities of Vietnam possible. As Coppola himself says about the making of the film in Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper and Eleanor Coppola's 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, "We were out there with too much equipment, too much money and too much time... and we all went a little insane," which can be seen as an astute criticism of America's position in the war itself. Ultimately, Apocalypse Now is more than merely a war film, which may be why many critics consider it the best war film ever made, and perhaps even the greatest American film of any kind.
Full Metal Jacket has also been "acclaimed by critics around the world as the best war movie ever made," according to Warner Home Video Inc.'s 1990 video release of the film. Though it could be argued that Apocalypse Now is a greater cinematic achievement, it is less tenable to say that it is more true-to-life. Apocalypse Now is highly stylized and subjective, while Full Metal Jacket has a distinct documentary feel, despite its often stunning cinematography and use of stylistic devices such as slow-motion. These approaches reflect the background of each director: Kubrick began with documentaries like "Flying Padre" (1951), while Coppola got his start at B-movie producer Roger Corman's American-International Pictures.
Full Metal Jacket's more objective, realistic perspective also reflects the point-of-view of its protagonist and narrator, Private Joker (Matthew Modine), who goes through Marine training to become a field reporter in Vietnam. Though Joker is a much more sane and rational character than Willard, he too is deeply corrupted by his experience, as he becomes more and more cynical throughout the film. As Joker says at one point in the film, in the persona of John Wayne, "A day without blood is like a day without sunshine." This cynical loss of innocence is a cohesive underlying theme in the film, which, like Apocalypse Now, is a journey into the heart of darkness. This is established in the opening sequence, which shows its various characters having their heads shaved, set to the tune of Johnny Wright's "Hello Vietnam." Full Metal Jacket is, essentially, a coming-of-age story - albeit a very brutal one - that is divided into two self-contained, but connected, stories within the film.
The first story thrusts the viewer into the rigid, violent life of Marine training camp and, though Joker is established as the protagonist from the start, the central character of this first story is actually Leonard Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio). Leonard, dubbed "Gomer Pyle" by sadistic drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey), is a classic schoolyard bully's victim: overweight, slow-witted to the point of mild retardation, highly vulnerable and prone to crying under duress. Hartman, as a drill instructor, has made a career of being a bully, and the two immediately fall into this dynamic, with Hartman repeatedly choking, slapping and humiliating Leonard throughout the film. This story arc is easily broken into three acts: Leonard's humiliation, Leonard's education, and Leonard's revenge. Ironically, the completion of Leonard's education is the point at which he goes mad from the humiliation and abuse he has suffered at the hands of Hartman as well as the other recruits. Leonard finally snaps when Joker shows his first sign of corruption: after befriending Leonard and helping to educate him, Joker ultimately takes part in a ritualistic beating of Leonard after he and the other recruits are punished for Leonard's transgressions. At this point, the story moves into its third act, in which Leonard takes revenge on the bullying Sgt. Hartman, whose last words are more unrepentant bullying: "What is your major malfunction? Did your Mommy and Daddy not give you enough love when you were young?" Ultimately, though, Leonard forgives Joker and spares his life before taking his own.
The title of the film comes from this first half, in a soliloquy Leonard gives for his rifle, which represents to him a measure of cleanliness and order in the "world of shit" in which he exists. This basically sums up the theme of the film, which is also indicated in its two-part structure: no matter how disciplined and structured a warrior's training and weapons may be, the war itself is still chaos. This chaos runs rampant in the second half of the film, in which Joker finds himself in the midst of combat, at first as an outside observer reporting what he sees, but ultimately having no choice but to participate in the violence all around him. Like Apocalypse Now's Willard, Joker is somewhat on the fringes of combat, but still deeply effected and corrupted by it; while Willard is a hired killer working outside the main conflict of the Vietnam War, Joker is in the midst of this conflict but, in the beginning at least, does not participate in any killing.
Both films touch on a subject that is mostly avoided or neglected in war films: that of sexuality in wartime. Between Apocalypse Now's aborted Playboy Bunny visit early on in the film and Full Metal Jacket's Vietnamese prostitutes in the second half, both films eloquently illustrate the assertion so eloquently voiced in Chris Hedges's 2002 memoir of wartime journalism, War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, that "there is in wartime a nearly universal preoccupation with sexual liaisons." The undercurrent of rape and coercion present in both cases points toward the moral ambiguity of this type of sexuality, which, by extension, shows the questionable morality of war itself.
This ambiguity is also seen in the journeys undertaken by the central characters of each film. In Full Metal Jacket's second story, Joker is given a mission by his commanding officer, Lt. Lockhart (John Terry), which leads him into the heart of darkness, where he faces the ultimate corruption of his own heart (a microcosm for humanity as a whole) when he kills a young female sniper (Ngoc Le) at the end of the film. Like Willard's assassination of Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, this killing is an act of obligation, but both occupy the morally uneasy ground of vengeance; Kurtz's assassination is a cold, detached act of military revenge, while Joker's platoon collectively kills the sniper in a more heated, personal retaliation for her murder of their fellow soldiers. These differing perspectives are reflected in the tone of each film: Full Metal Jacket is a more visceral and real experience than the highly stylized Apocalypse Now.
Full Metal Jacket ends as it begins, with Kubrick's impeccably appropriate musical cues. The diegetic singing of the "Mickey Mouse Club Theme" by the platoon in the film's final shot brings the coming-of-age full circle, and the Rolling Stones's "Paint It Black" over the end credits perfectly mirrors Joker's closing narration: "I am in a world of shit, but I am alive, and I am not afraid." He has clearly reached the heart of darkness; the only remaining ambiguity is whether his lack of fear is a result of his succumbing to the madness of war.
To this day, wars continue to inspire films of varying quality. As long as the world continues to be colored in shades of gray, rather than black and white, the most successful art will always reflect this with a degree of moral ambiguity. Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket have paved the way, and it is to be hoped that future artists will find it, though it is doubtful that any can surpass the artistry of these two great films.

Ernest Goes to Jail Movie Review

The 1990 comedy Ernest Goes to Jail is distributed by Touchstone Pictures. Its stars include Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrall/Felix Nash/Auntie Nelda, Gailard Sartain as Chuck, Randall 'Tex' Cobb as Lyle, Bill Byrge as Bobby, and Barbara Bush as Charlotte Sparrow. The producers of this film are Coke Sams (TV's Hey, Vern, It's Ernest!) and Stacy Williams (Ernest Goes to Camp). The director is John Cherry (Ernest Saves Christmas).
The film's story centers on a bank janitor named Ernest P. Worrall. He receives a letter requesting him to show up for jury duty. He happily tells his friends Chuck and Bobby. In the courtroom convict Rubin Bartlett notices that Ernest is the spitting image of a deathrow inmate he knows, Felix Nash. He requests that the jury see the scene of the crime, which is inside the prison. The clueless janitor is knocked out and Nash assumes his identity while his twin stays in prison to serve his sentence. The innocent Ernest tells everyone that he is not Nash but no one believes him. Rubin Bartlett, having been found not guilty, returns to prison to serve out an unrelated sentence. He informs Ernest that if he doesn't start acting like Nash, the real Nash will hurt the ones he loves on the outside. Meanwhile on the outside, Ernest's friends notice that he doesn't seem to be himself as he plans to rob the bank he works at. Back in jail, the real Ernest realizes that he is in line for the electric chair. The real Ernest is stuck in jail on deathrow while the fake Ernest plans to rob the bank and flee.
Throughout the entire film, Ernest keeps getting electrocuted, making him magnetic. This is a hilarious feature to an already hilarious film. After he is electrocuted, all the metal objects in the room are attracted to him. It first happens in the beginning when he is using a floor polisher. When he turns it on, it quickly moves about the room dragging poor Ernest behind. He finally turns it off, but not before he accidentally shoots out soapy water all over the room as he falls to the floor and lands face down in it. A lamp also falls on the wet floor, electrocuting the janitor. As he gets up, all the metal objects, including some file cabinets, chase him into the safe where his face is caught between two metal drawers which are magnetically attracted to him.
Another notable electrocution scene is when Ernest is in the electric chair. Instead of killing him, the chair gives him the power to cast electricity around, make it easier for him to escape the jail by shooting electricity at anything in his way, like guards with guns or metal security doors.
One of the most interesting characters in the film is Lyle, Ernest's cell mate. He helps Nash and Bartlett kidnap Ernest and dress him up in Nash's prisoner clothes. But as the movie progresses, instead of being a punk to Ernest, like Rubin Bartlett, he takes a liking to him. We can clearly see this after Ernest wins the arm-wrestling match and Bartlett warns him not to speak so much or his loved ones will suffer. Lyle, instead of pushing Ernest aside and acting like the tough guy Nash's other henchman Bartlett is, just shrugs his shoulders when the mistaken prisoner looks at him. Also when Ernest mistakenly thinks he is going to be let out and is saying how great it is to be alive, Lyle can't stand it because he knows Ernest will soon go to the chair. Later on, he saves him from Rubin Bartlett.
To wrap, Ernest Goes to Jail is a good-hearted funny movie that will make all the viewers laugh until it hurts!

My Childhood Story: Planting The Seed Of Music

I grew up in the 1980's. For as long as I can remember, music had always been around me. Everything from watching movies on TV, to listening to the radio in the car, listening to the radio at home, and of course, there was MTV which at the time, was 99% music videos only.
From an early age, I was exposed to music that came before my time such as The Beach Boys, The Beatles, and even Steppenwolf. My mom had those albums on vinyl and she had a big stereo with a record player. You know, it was one of those stereos from the 80's with those big bulky speakers that were about 4 feet tall. They were so cool. I used to look at the art work in her record collection while I listened, explored, and discovered new sounds.
So by the time I was 8-years-old, growing up in the 1980's, I had already been exposed to the popular music of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. Then for the majority of my childhood, I was constantly surrounded by 80's music which I still love more than any other decade. I think that's how it works. Your favorite music comes from whatever you were most exposed to as a child. I'm not sure if I listened any more or any less than any other kid, but I know I spent a great deal of time sitting in front of my mom's stereo in total fascination.
When one of my older teenaged cousins found out that I listened to music a lot, she gave me 2 vinyl records of Def Leopard. Once I heard that band, I knew I had found something special. I was 9-years-old and hooked on Def Leopard. I already knew that I was a music addict.
Since my mom knew I loved to listen to music so much, she encouraged it by giving me a "boombox" for Christmas. Since my boombox ran on batteries, I used to bring it in the bathroom with me when I had to take a shower. I think all kids hate taking showers, so I used to make it more tolerable by listening to music while I washed myself.
That's when we had moved on to listening to "tapes." Remember those things? I think the first tape I got was Michael Jackson's "Thriller" which I think every human on the planet owned at that time. I listened to that album over and over. I also got more into 80's rock, continuing with my Def Leopard obsession, Bon Jovi, and moving on to "harder" rock bands like Guns 'N' Roses. At the time, people argued whether some of these rock bands were even playing real music. My theory is if a band is playing real instruments such as a guitar, bass, drums, and you hear a melody, harmony, and rhythm, you're listening to music.
Then when I was around 11, I discovered Metallica and I just knew that I had to learn the guitar. They wrote this song "Enter Sandman," and I thought it had the coolest guitar riffs I had ever heard. It would take me 2 more years before I would actually get a guitar and make a commitment to learning a musical instrument, but in the meantime, music was at the center of my leisure time.
Once I got my first guitar, there was no turning back. I took formal lessons for 5 years and then went off to college and got a bachelor's degree in music and then a master's degree in music in jazz performance. As I got older, I fell in love with classical and jazz music. It's amazing how I went from one genre of music to another and today, I still love all of the music that I've mentioned in this article.
The point of my story is that the "seed of music" was planted at an early age. If you're a parent reading this, and you would like your child to learn a musical instrument, then you need to create an environment early on that is filled with music. All types of music: rock, pop, funk, folk, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, jazz, and classical. Always have music on in the car. Try to turn the TV off and put on a streaming radio station on your computer while you wash the dishes, while you are cooking, or while you're relaxing outside on a summer day. Your kid will get exposed to it. That's how you plant the seed.
Your child doesn't necessarily need to learn an instrument so that he/she will go off to college as a music major. That's not the goal of learning an instrument. The goal is to have a well-rounded education and musical training provides enormous benefits in other academic areas like Math, Reading, and Science.
From my own experience, I discovered in my junior year of high school that not only did I enjoy learning, but my GPA really took off from that point on. I am convinced that it was my musical training that contributed to my new-found appreciation for learning in school and improving my grades. If I had started learning an instrument sooner, I would have seen an improvement in my grades much sooner as well. It takes time before the benefits of music training show themselves through test scores and grades in Math, Reading, and Science.
So plant the seed now, get your child started in music, and watch the grades and test scores fly sky high.

Tony Margiotta is the founder of The Musiconomy, a publishing company advocates musical training as an essential focus in childhood education and development. Sign up for the Free monthly newsletter and special report here:

Naya Rivera To Become The Next Young Pop Star

Her biography is full with small roles in The Royal Family sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise, covering all aspects of the entertainment industry from drama to comedy, but she is most known for her role in the musical comedy television series Glee, as cheerleader Santana Lopez.
Naya Rivera's character comes off as a cold-hearted and vicious cheerleader, who often shows her softer side to fellow cheerleader but the real Rivera is the opposite. The girl who started acting since she was four now wants to become the next young pop star and she has all the chances on her side to be successful in this industry. As Santana she got more and more opportunities to show off her vocals with pitch perfect song choices as she has sung everything from Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to Monica's "The Boy Is Mine", but nobody knows yet what will be her musical style, especially since in the past, Rivera has cited Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul as having major impact on her.
However, the first step for a pop career has been already made. The half Puerto Rican who once said "My passion for music is one of my greatest loves", surprised her Glee fans by being one of the first from the show to announce a record deal with Columbia Records for releasing her debut record. Teresa LaBarbera Whites, senior VP of A&R at the label, confirmed the news, noting that Rivera will begin working on her debut album after the Glee! Live! tour wraps in late June.
Moreover, Rivera is following the steps of Matthew Morrison, who has signed to Universal-owned Mercury Records and released a solo album, as well as of Mark Selling who has also released a solo debut album but independently. Her fans and those from Columbia Records believe in her talent because after all, though a secondary character, Naya Rivera is actually one of the more talented singers on the show, she has been songwriting since she was a teenager and singing even longer than that. Besides, Rivera has also changed since she was young, grew up and blossomed, making her a true triple threat in today's entrainment industry. She's not only a great actress, but she also has amazing voice and beautiful looks that combined all together make her unique key to success.

Contemporary Praise and Worship Songs

This is such an extensive subject that this writer is in danger of over generalizing or not giving due credence to to a subject that is massive. I would like to say that today is an exciting time for contemporary praise and worship. We have about thirty years of history behind us in terms the beginnings of what we know in this genre. Before the seventies we sang, in our churches, mostly hymns. Of course hymns in and of themselves are beautiful but it is nice to have the diversity that we have today. This diversity is found in contemporary praise and worship songs.
The first person that comes to mind is Larry Norman. In the sixties he supported people like the Doors, Janis Joplin, and The Who amongst others. He did this with a band called 'The People'. However it was in the seventies that he created an independent label called "Solid Rock" in which he produced his own albums and albums of other like minded artists. Interestingly, he was largely condemned by church minded people for his views on racism and poverty. Also he was a hippie and wore those types of clothes. Back then this would have been frowned upon. However he was an evangelist and Larry Norman today can be considered the father of rock Christian music.
Also in the early seventies we have the emergence of guitar playing worshipers from the Jesus People movement as well as Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa California. While the previously mentioned music of Larry Norman focused mostly on rock and had influences based on the Beatles and Elvis Presley, the latter was more folk like and introspective. Larry Norman reached out evangelically with his music while those in the 'maranatha' beginnings it was for the encouragement of the church. "Maranatha" by the way was the title of the first album that Calvery Chapel put out, previously known as " The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert".This entity later continued publishing music collections as well as becoming a music publisher in written form. This worship emergence that took place then was a very new development.
This is exciting because while we do have a precious and long heritage in the way of hymns, we have other doors opening up. There is nothing written today that can substitute for the way such words were sung and the profundities therein in a hymn. However there is something to be said for the wonderful process of creation and the creating of a new song. The seventies were the start of this and it has since gone from a corner or two of our nation to spreading throughout the country. Today we have thousands upon thousands of Christian singer songwriters in all genres.
To conclude; the seventies was about the emergence of new musical thoughts. Larry Norman asks in one of his more well known songs " Why should the devil have all the good music?" Karen Lafferty writes, after a bible study in nineteen seventy one" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness"... Both songs are great songs, spread like wildfire in its day, and both represent something that happened back then which was new and exciting. Both people and the movements that they represent have a solid place in Christian musical history.

Mark Lindsay - Paul Revere and the Raiders Charismatic Superstar - One on One

Paul Revere & the Raiders heroic Lead Singer/Songwriter/Producer - Mark Lindsay has impacted the music world in so many memorable ways.
Mark's voice and persona with The Raiders made him a 60's and 70's icon and a mainstay on classic hits radio. Not only did he obtain legendary status with the band, he was the object for affection for the world's school girl population. Mark Lindsay's alluring smile, handsome profile, and mop-top dew with his long trademark ponytail (que) were on the front cover of every teen magazine around the globe. And forget about those redcoats from England that called themselves The Beatles, Mark Lindsay & the Raiders were True Blue Patriots for American Rock & Roll.
Mark Lindsay will once again be singing those timeless Paul Revere & the Raiders megahits on The Happy Together Tour 2011. Headlining this year's tour is -The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie ("It Ain't Me Babe" "Happy Together" "She's My Girl"). Other legendary performers on the tour are -The Association ("Windy" "Cherish" "Along Comes Mary"), The Grassroots, ("Let's Live for Today" "Midnight Confessions") and The Buckinghams ("Kind of a Drag" "Don't You Care" "Susan").
The tour will be stopping at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Tuesday July 19th.
All these GREAT performers on one exciting bill, and reminiscent of the American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, Hullabaloo and Shindig TV show lineups of the 60's.
Paul Revere & the Raiders produced hit after hit throughout the 60's and early 70's. Memorable classics like "Kicks", "Steppin' Out", "Hungry", "Good Thing", "Just Like Me" and "Indian Reservation."
Marl Lindsay is a Florida native now. And thanks to Jeff Albright from the Albright Entertainment Group, I was able to speak with both Mark Lindsay and Mark Volman of The Turtles last week. The interview with Professor Volman will be following this article.
And now here's my interview with Mark Lindsay. Mark's a Singer/Writer/Producer/Hitmaker & Legendary Frontman of Paul Revere & the Raiders.
Hi Mark, thanks for spending a few moments with me today. How are you?
"I'm great Ray. Where are you calling from?"
I'm calling from beautiful Bradenton, Florida.
"Well hey; I'm sitting in Florida right now. We're over near Jupiter and we're actually living in Florida now. I've been married to Deborah for twenty years and in that twenty years we've lived in Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, California, Maui, Nashville, Memphis, upstate New York and Florida. So we've lived in all four corners of the country and Hawaii and I like Florida the best. Florida's cool, where else can you get summer 365 days a year, although it might get cold at night. I think we're both lucky to be down here."
What was living in Hawaii like?
"Except for the ocean breeze that blows pretty much all the time in Maui, the weather is pretty much exactly the same. We lived there for eight years and lived about two miles down the road from George Harrison as a matter of fact. We had three acres right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was great except we had a full time gardener, between him and the two of us; we'd be out there three days a week just beating down the bushes. So it got crazy but it was fun."
Let's talk about The Happy Together 2011 tour. It recently celebrated its 25th anniversary right?
"I was on some of the first ones and they put me back on the tour last year. We've got great reviews and we're back again this year. I love it, it's so much fun, you get to hear so many great songs and see all the guys, and it takes you back my friend, it takes you back. You're gonna' see a giant slice of the charts from the 60's and 70's and a lot of hits!"
I was a top 40 radio deejay back in the late 70's/early 80's and then MTV and video wiped out the radio star.
"Then the web wiped out the record. It's all digital, it's all downloads and unfortunately there's a lot of piracy. But the kids today, it's a whole new generation, you got a kid that's 12 or 13 years old and he just doesn't understand why he can't hack in and download stuff because it's there and so why can't you get it."
When I grew up, it was all about listening to your favorite deejay and finding out what the hit songs were. If you liked what you heard on the radio you ran down to the record store and bought the 45 record. Then you usually bought the album.
"Yea, it was fun. I love vinyl, as a matter of fact I'm working on a project now and we might end up putting it on vinyl as well because there's a whole new market, kids are discovering the fact that vinyl sounds a hell of a lot better than digital."
I miss that echo effect sound from all those classic 45 records. I'm not sure if we'll be able to ever master that wonderful sound ever again. Jim McCarty of TheYardbirds agreed with me when I spoke with him several weeks ago, that magical sound on those early records can never be duplicated.
"Well a lot of it had to do with the live chambers. CBS records in Hollywood where the Raiders cut most of their stuff, they had two special echo chambers that were just... well you've heard Simon & Garfunkel, Raiders, it all sounded great. Capitol Records had these echo chambers designed by Les Paul as a matter of fact. Yea all that stuff -Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys they all sounded great. I have a lot of my old equipment, a lot of the same equipment that I used back in the 60's and I can get pretty close but you cannot duplicate that echo. However a friend of mine has gone around and sampled a lot of the old chambers so he can get like 99% of the way there. It's an all new technique though."
There seemed to be a lot of pressure on those artists back in the 60's, pressure to get a hit record on the radio along with a grueling touring schedule and constant TV appearances.
"I joined my first band when I was like 14 years old and formed the Raiders with Paul when I was like 17 or 18. So I've been on the road all my life and for some strange reason I still like it. I guess I've never grown up. That's what's so good about The Happy Together Tour; we're back on the road again. You mentioned McCarty, we were lucky we had the show Where the Action Is. It was a great way to debut your record and everybody saw it at once. Although we did tour, there was like several years there where we were on the road like maybe 200 nights a year."
Do you think it was that kind of discipline that made the 60's music scene so great?
"I don't know if it was the discipline or the sheer joy of playing rock & roll. I remember my first record contract; I would have paid them a nickel a record, you know? Anything to make music, and it wasn't about the bucks it was about playing music, and being on TV, and playing in front of crowds."
Yea, what was the fame like Mark; I remember your picture being plastered on the front cover of every teen magazine around?
"It was a funny thing, in my mind there were two Mark Lindsay's. There was one guy that was on TV and then the magazine's and stuff, and then there was the real me which I knew wasn't like that guy. I was kind of having a hard time putting the two together. Inside I was kind of this shy kid from Idaho but when I got on stage everything changed."
I think many of us kids identified more with bands like the Raiders and Turtles because you were one of us. You were "American" bands.
"Well, we were the American Revolution."
And you wore that que or ponytail.
"And you know I wish the heck that I had put a Copyright on that because just think how many Hell's Angels would have been paying royalties right now."
Are you still sporting the ponytail (que) or is it a thing of the past?
"It's come and gone about four different times. I've grown it and cut it off. Right now I don't have it, I cut it off about three years ago but who knows I may start growing it back again, it comes and goes."
I wanted to ask you about a song you did in 1966 called "Little Girl in the 4th Row" from The Midnight Ride album, was there actually a girl in the fourth row that you were singing about?
"Being on tour and you look out at the audience and there'd be this babe, you know? But you know that there was no way in the world that you'd ever be able to meet her, you can see her out there, but like as soon as the show was over BAM -you were on a bus or a limo or whatever to the airport or wherever you were going and never stick around, so it was kind of like one of those things. Then Mark began to sing some of the lyrics to the song, "Maybe someday you'll be closer than four rows away."
So you never actually got to meet her Mark?
"Well actually I did, believe it or not in Buffalo New York in 1967 there was this priest that come up before the show and after a soundcheck before the show curtain opened. He said, 'Mark, I'm kind of the unofficial greeter here, there's these little girls that are sitting out here that would love to meet you.' So I said, 'Sure bring them on back.' So there were three girls that came back, and one of them was really- really cute, she had these cat eye glasses and there was this instant attraction, and I thought wait a minute this girl is 14 years old this is not going to happen. So I gave her a rose and a kiss on top of the head and that was it.
Fast forward to the 80's, I'm in this meeting in Beverly Hills to do this commercial for this big corporation and appear at one of their functions. And I'm there with this gal and one of the guys from the agency. And this girl and I just hit it off instantly, and we're sitting there laughing and the guy says, 'Well I might as well leave; it's obvious that you two know each other.' And I said, 'No-no, we've never met,' and the girl said, 'Actually we did meet many years ago but you wouldn't remember it.' I said, 'When did we meet?' She said, 'Buffalo in '67.' I said, 'You're the girl that I gave the rose to.' And I ended up marrying her."
You're kidding me?
"Nope, that's my wife now."
Wow, what a great story Mark.
"Oh yea. It was right, we were like star-crossed lovers. It was meant to be but it was just too early the first time around."
That is amazing.
"My life reads like a novel and so I'm working on a book."
Yea, I did hear that you were working on a book. As a matter of fact my first book was released recently - it's called Check the Gs -The True Story of an Eclectic American Family and Their Wacky Family Business. How far are you along in your story?
"Well you know I'm almost done, I've written it and rewritten it three or more times and I've been working on it for 10-15 years. But what happens is every time I get almost finished, I start reading it and I say no, no, no, that's not the way it really happened, I'm trying to make myself look too good here, this isn't really real. So I go back and write what really happened without really stretching the fabric over the real stuff you know? So as I've done that several times and maybe as I get a little older I get a little more honest with myself. So I'm really getting close to the truth now and the truth reads better than fiction."
Are you writing this totally on your own or getting some help with it?
"No, I'm doing it myself. Actually a couple of years ago I sent a couple of chapters to a publisher and I said maybe I need some help with this, and they no, no, no, we love your style just keep doing the way you're doing. They wanted to make a deal but I said I'm not ready yet."
Eventually, like I did, you're going to say enough, it's ready, I'm done.
"Well, when it's right it's right! It's like writing a song, I'll work on it in my head -and it's amazing back in the day I use to write a song and that's it great -spitted it out you know. Now I work a little harder on them and just keep working on it until I start taking things out and when I start taking things out I figure it's time to stop."
My book took two years to write and I look back and say where did those two years go? My mind was totally focused at that time on the story.
"It's a consuming art but it's worth it. And when you get through it you've got something you can look at for the rest of your life."
When we leave this planet, well... you already have your legacy; I guess I'll have mine with my book.
"No, I'm still working on mine; I've got a lot more stuff to do. I kind of hit a renaissance period and I've written more songs in the last eight months than in the previous eight years. And I've got a couple projects going, can't really talk about them but one of them if it happens, will fulfill my horoscope. Back in the 60's, Gloria Stavers, you mentioned 16 Magazine; she was the editor of 16, she gave me for my birthday one year my horoscope by Linda Goodman, a private horoscope right, and it predicted that you were going to end up with the mansion up on the hill, and sure enough I shared this big mansion with Terry Melcher, and about a sports car in the garage and I had the red Ferrari in there but she said these things will not make you happy you're going to want more, you're going to move on past this and do all these things and then become more famous then you ever thought you could. But it won't make you happy.
But much later in life you're going to have a second career that's going to be so phenomenal that it will almost out eclipse your first career entirely. You'll be known by millions more people. So I'm working on that and so if that comes true then there you go. And if this project works, that can happen, but I can't say anything more about it than that, but wait and see."
Tell me a little bit about Terry Melcher, he was an important guy in the 60's wasn't he?
"Terry was really the sixth Raider, if you listen to any of the songs up to the first record that I produced which was Too Much Talk; before that Terry was on every Raider record. We'd finish a song and he and I would go back into the studio later and he and I would mainly do the background. He had this great high sounding voice and it just blended so well. He was a big part of the Raiders sound. He was real instrumental in helping the Raiders in becoming the hitmakers they were and I really miss him, he's gone now."
He left us much too soon, didn't he?
"Sure did, the last four or five years before he died, I said come on Terry let's get back in and write something, let's do something again, and he said, well...I don't know. But his last big song was "Kokomo," (The Beach Boys) he's all over that for sure."
Yea, Terry Melcher was instrumental to so many important bands- including The Beach Boys and The Byrds. When I attended broadcasting school back in the late 70's, all my instructors were deejays with illustrious broadcasting careers and they all had Dick Clark stories. What was it like to work with Dick Clark?
"Well, he was totally professional. When the camera would come on or the Microphone would come on and he would be all smiles. He was very much a professional and if something didn't go his way you knew about it. But he got done what he wanted done and done his way and it sure worked for him."
So Dick Clark was also instrumental to the Raiders success right?
"Well sure, he had an idea for Where the Action Is; he hired us for the pilot because we worked very cheap, and when he sold the idea to ABC he hired us for a thirteen week period. He knew how visual we were right and we would work cheap, and he told me years later, 'You know what? I thought I'd hire you guys for thirteen weeks and whenever the show took off I'd hire a real band.' So they liked what they saw and by the end of that thirteen week period we had become that real band. We were the house band for almost three years."
You guys cranked out some hits man, but what really amazed me is that "Indian Reservation" was your only Number One hit?
"Yea, even "Arizona" which was up to where it made platinum but not Number One. But we did have some gold records, it was the only Number One and the funny thing is it was suppose to be a follow up to "Arizona." It was a Mark Lindsay record, I produced it and I usually didn't produce myself, Jerry Fuller did, and when I got through with the record Jack Gold said, 'Why don't you put it out as the Raiders, you produce the Raiders and they need a hit.' So we put it under the name of the Raiders and it became the biggest selling hit in the history of CBS records."
Any regrets for calling the band Paul Revere? (Keyboardist Paul Revere Dick continued to tour without Mark using the Raiders name)
"In the beginning, way back to the beginning before we got on CBS, we signed our first record contract on a little label called Gardena and the owner said, 'You got to sign the contract and sign your full legal name,' so my full legal name is Mark Allen Lindsay and I signed my name and then everybody else signed their name and Paul's name was signed Paul Revere Dick, that was his full name.
Then he looked over at us and said, 'Paul Revere...Paul Revere, Paul Revere, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait...a...minute! That's a great gimmick. I mean the Downbeats are okay but Paul Revere now that's a hook. Everybody knows Paul Revere's ride come on.'
He said, 'I'm going to call this band Paul Revere & the Nightriders or something' and Paul especially hated it because he'd been teased all his life in school about, 'Hey Paul Revere- where's your horse?' So he just dropped his first name Paul and went by the name Revere Dick. But when our first record came out, our first record said Paul Revere & the Nightriders. And although the name (Using Paul Revere) did cause some confusion but it's probably a lot like The Dave Clark Five where Mike Smith was the lead singer and Dave Clark (the drummer) was the name of the band."
There are so many bands running around out there without the original lead singers anymore.
"Well, what are you going to do...what are you going to do. But when you see the Happy Together tour you're going to see the real deal here, I've sang every hit that Paul Revere & the Raiders ever had. And Mark & Howard from The Turtles, if they're not the real deal then I never saw one."
I'm really looking forward to the show, and I'm hoping to get a pass to cover the show from backstage. I want to take a lot of pictures.
"Tell them Mark said that they'd better do it or I won't do "Kicks."
I'll definitely tell them that. My favorite Paul Revere & the Raiders tune has always been "Good Thing."
"Yea we'll be doing that, I love that tune, when we do it on stage it sounds just like we did on the record. The guys in the band all sing like birds or The Byrds -I'm not sure. But I do my best to make the stuff that we do sound like in the day or better you know. So there you go."
You've always had a great voice and your voice today sounds like your only 35 years old and it appears that you take really good care of yourself. (Mark is 69 years old)
"Well, I walk six miles a day; I get up around three or four in the morning and out by sunrise. That's where I write, I'll be on the trail. I try to eat right and exercise another hour when I get back home. So when I went in for a checkup recently my doctor said, 'Whatever you're doing don't stop it' (After getting a recent physical his doctor said you could be 25 years old)."
After Paul Revere & the Raiders you worked as an A&R executive with United Artist Records?
"Yea, I thought I was qualified, I'd been an Artist, Producer, Writer, a Publisher, so I thought I knew how to pick songs and it was a lot of fun and I did pick some hits. I had a great run there until Capitol bought the company and just like a radio station, somebody came in and said okay we've got your job now."
"What kind of hits did you pick?"
"The first project that they gave me was the City to City album by Gerry Rafferty. They said, 'Any hits on here?'I said, 'Well, let me take it home and I'll let you know.' So I went home over the weekend and came back and said 'Okay, Baker Street is a monster, it's going to be about a million-seller, it's way too long but we can edit it down. And they said, 'What's the next connection?' I said '"Right DownThe Line," not as big as "Baker Street" probably won't sell quite a million -maybe eight hundred-nine hundred thousand, and the third single should be "Home And Dry" maybe three hundred-four hundred thousand but that's about it.' And they said, 'You're on!'
So we released "Baker Street" and nobody's playing it. So I went to Charlie Minor, the head of promotions and said, 'Let me sit in your office, when you make all these calls to the stations and I'll get on the extension. Ask them if they're on it yet and, if they're not, why they're not playing it. Don't give them reasons to play it. Ask them why they're not playing it.' So he did and I listened and wrote down all these notes.
One station said, 'Well, the guitar is a little too raucous for our format.' Another said, 'That sax thing shouldn't be at the front, it should be at the end.' And so on and so forth.
I had a little studio in my house. I went home, got out a razor blade and made 17 different custom edits for these 17 stations. I threw them on Charlie's desk on Monday morning and said, 'Okay, send these out and ask them why they won't play them now.' And I guess maybe they were so flattered that we'd made a custom edit for their station - now, with digital stuff, of course everybody makes their own custom edits. But they had said, 'We'll take you on temporarily,' so when that happened they said, 'Okay you got the gig.'"
Do you still talk with Paul (Paul Revere Dick) at all?
"We talk occasionally; we haven't played together for years. You guys are always asking me would you ever do something together and there was awhile when I'd say no but nowadays I don't give a crap you know, why not? It might happened, it might not, if it does fine, if doesn't that's cool too."
It seems like Paul's version of the band took a totally different direction with more of a comedic flare, almost like a lounge act.
"Paul is a great natural comedian; when he grew up his heroes were like Danny Kaye and the Marx Brothers and people like that. And he just loved comedy. Now he's got a band and he does comedy bits and they play the hits and it's entertaining but it's not the Raiders that I remember. But as long as he's putting people in the seats he's doing the right thing."
Mark, I want to thank you so much for spending some time with me today, and I look forward to meeting you in person backstage at The Happy Together show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on July 19th.

The Top DJ Tips, Tricks and Advice for Club DJing and Making People Dance

Here's my multi steroid booster, magic bullet little blue pill designed to make you perform like the best hot list of 6 key DJ tips:
1. Be the Master of your equipment
Don't think you'll somehow get by without enough practice.
You may not want to hear it but you'll need to know your DJ gear inside out and like a real pro.
Read the manuals, look up the best video tutorials, practices and advice on how to use it and try some little tricks with it yourself in the weeks and days leading up to events.
Develop your own little techniques and wizardry. Take it to the max.
Be the geek who knows all about how to make the most of your gear.
Make sure it's 100% reliable and carry out all the maintenance checks you'll need. Take a back up solution if you can.
Back up gear
For example: if you have no back up for your laptop, burn some tunes onto CDs. At least if your laptop crashes you'll be able to play from them.
Know exactly how everything works. Be relaxed with it. This'll free you to think about other things, such as..
2. Know your music
Knowing exactly what tunes you've got in the bag, case or on your hard drive is a huge bonus.
Knowing when to play the right tunes and who to play it to is just as important.
A deejay who cannot perform should either not be playing or has forgotten to check through his or her music recently.
Check my pro DJ tips on knowing all about your music.
3. Watch the crowd
Now, you can master your DJ equipment perfectly well.
You have the best tunes in town.
But if you're not paying attention to the heart and soul of the party, then none of that matters.
A real pro will be watching the crowd every few seconds.
He or she won't be just looking up every ten minutes, they'll be feeling the dancefloor out, connecting with them.
A top deejay won't be so immersed in their mix that they can't look up. They are comfortable enough with their mixing techniques that they can afford to check out who's dancing, who's going crazy and they'll see if people start to sidle off the dancefloor.
Reading reactions
You'll be able to gauge people's reactions. Maybe they're happy, drunk, drugged up, boys or girls, black, brown, white.
All of this is important when deciding how to react by choosing your next tune.
It's the intuitive part of DJing and it's why some make it and others don't.
Luckily you can find out much more about DJ Tips to read the club dancefloor.
4. Look great when DJing
Like it or not, how you look is part of your image and impact.
Some people even prefer a good looking guy or girl to someone who puts on the best tunes.
No really, it's true.
Ask your image conscious friends some tips on how to dress and adapt to the venue you're playing at.
People will relate better to you if you at least make an effort.
I'm not saying you have to look like Brangelina, but be smart, adapt and make the most of what you have.
When I say adapt, I mean that you'll need to know about the people who hang out there and they'll react better to you if they relate to your image.
You'll go further if you do that.
5. Don't get distracted from your set
It's all to easy for the weak willed boys amongst us to get distracted by a hot gorgeous girl coming up to the booth with a flirtatious smile and asking for Lady Gaga right this minute, because it's her birthday, she says. Be respectful, but remain in charge Be polite, but don't get distracted. Speaking to her is not more important than getting your mix right. Now, maybe it's just me but people always seem to ask me for stuff right when I'm lining up a tune and I need to concentrate. I just ignore them until I'm set and satisfied. Then I'll answer them, quickly. Remember your priorities Don't let them distract you from your set. Listen, be nice, but they can't change the course of a night that's going so well. The priority is your set. You need to remember that before some big breasted dolly puts you off. If you find that you have difficulties with saying no to requests then see exactly how best to handle them with my tips on dealing with booth requests.
6. Play the music they want and not what you want
Now let's get this straight.
While it's hard not to think this is all about you, numero uno, number one son of a gun and the king of the booth, it isn't. I know I just said you shouldn't get distracted by hotties asking you for music, leave that until the end. One of the best DJ tips is for you to pay attention to the whole crowd, not just one person asking for Lady Gaga. You see, people are there to have a good time and very few of them will actually be looking at and wondering about how cool the deejay actually is. It feels grand to lay down tunes that make people dance from a club booth, but you're here to make people dance. You're not playing to jerk yourself off in a booth. The more people that dance, the more successful the night will be and the more chance you have of getting bigger and better paid future gigs. So it's up to you to adapt to the crowd and not the other way around. The above DJ tips should help you play your set better, get invited back for more gigs and rock the dance floor.

Jam Bands 101

Hold on to your hacky-sack! Jam Bands are not exclusive to the psychedelic, red-eyed or the tye-dyed. Although most closely associated with the Grateful Dead and PHISH; the Jam Band scene is perhaps the most inclusive, exciting and dynamic music genre in today's music.
Improvisational spur of the moment expression through music is pure magic. It's the sweet stuff that both listener and musician strive for; dynamic and responsive to the moment - the moment changes and so does the music. It's where the lines between performer and listener start to blur. The evolution of Jamming to Jam Bands is an interesting one - pull up a chair.
The first known use of the term "jam band" was in a 1937 glossary of terms stating "A jam band depends entirely on improvisation, using no written music". Close, but no cigar.
The true Fathers of Jam Bands were the Jazz musicians of the 1940's - the "Jazz Cats". It is said that Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and others were schooled after hours at Minton's Playhouse in New York City during the 1940's and 1950's. It makes sense, Jazz was the most experimental and most improvised music at that time. Sometimes from these Jam's or Jam Sessions there was competition. Musical battles such as "Cutting Contests" where musicians could display their musical prowess against each other were legendary at Minton's. Usually "Cutting Contests" involved piano players.
"Cutting Heads" or "Head Cutting" or "Head Hunting" usually involved Blues Guitar players. In the 1991 documentary The Search for Robert Johnson, blues musician Johnny Shines describes a headcutting battle he had with blues legend Robert Johnson on opposing street corners in Helena, Arkansas in the 1930s - to draw away each other's onlookers. Movies such as Crossroads (1986) and Cadillac Records (2008) display some Head Cutting scenes.
A Jam Session is when musicians play and improvise without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements. Jam Sessions (or jamming) can be based on existing songs, improvisation to develop new material or just plain enjoyment. Jam Sessions occur with musicians at all levels, from kids learning to play in their drummer's basement to epically talented musicians providing sophisticated improvisational music.
For the most part, Jamming and Jam Sessions were exclusively products of live music. Jack Kerouac describes it well:
"Here's a guy and everybody's there, right? Up to him to put down what's on everybody else's mind. He starts the first chorus, then lines up his ideas, people, yeah, yeah, but get it, and then rises to his fate and has to blow equal to it. All of a sudden somewhere in the middle of the chorus he gets IT- everybody looks up and knows; they listen; he picks it up and carries. Time stops. He's filling empty space with the substance of our lives, confessions of his belly bottom strain, remembrance of ideas, rehashes of old blowing. He has to blow across bridges and come back and do it with such infinite feeling soul-exploratory for the tune of the moment that everybody knows its not the tune that counts but IT."
So through the 50's and into the 60's Jamming and Jam Sessions had been going on for a while, The Jazz Cats, Bluegrass and Blues Musicians have been doing it and to a lesser degree Rock and Folk - but almost all the jamming is done during live performances. (Another reason to go see live music).
Enter into the 60's, the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia's bluegrass influences mix with the psychedelia of the time. Acid parties become all night jam sessions; music becomes improvisational for the sake of being improvisational and in turn experimental. The hippies free their minds and their music as well. Into the late 60's and early 70's the Grateful Dead are dedicating portions of their show to pure improvisational "space" jams. The Allman Brothers, Traffic, Jefferson Airplane, Jimmie Hendrix and Cream are starting to improvise more. Through the 70's the Grateful Dead tours extensively - Dead Heads are born, the Jazz cats, Blues and Bluegrass Artists are still jamming and now the rock guys are jamming in the form of extended solos. The over-the-top rock guitar solo is born. Almost everybody is jamming, in one way or another.
Remember that in the 60's and 70's and into the 80's music genres were still pretty defined, there was not a lot of crossover. The most notable of Jam bands were the Hippy Bands. Into the 80's bands like PHISH, Edie Brickell and Bella Fleck started to appear. Jamming became more prominent in other music genres. The fan base of the Grateful Dead grew, Dead Heads followed them from show to show as no show was ever the same. Many other bands began to play in a more expressive and sometimes unstructured way as their musicianship grew.
Enter the 90's: Dave Matthews, Blues Traveler, the Spin Doctors, Wide Spread Panic, Rusted Root, Government Mule, Leftover Salmon, Galactic and many others. The fan base begins to grow even more, festivals start to Pop up and collaborations of musicians crossing over genres become more common. Much to the horror of the true Dead Heads the Grateful Dead became mainstream and the term "Jam Band" was coined. This is where people assume when Jam Bands started. In 1995 Jerry Garcia, the inspirational and spiritual icon of the hippy movement, had passed. The Grateful Dead became the Other Ones and many Dead Heads began to explore other bands and music genre's. PHISH was huge, pulling tens of thousands at a time to their festivals.
2000 and beyond, music genre's blend even more as technology advances, people are experiencing new bands and new music over the internet. The Jam Band scene begins to flourish. Moe, The Disco Biscuits, Umphrey McGee, Keller Williams, North Mississippi Allstars, John Butler Trio, Madeski Martin and Wood, Les Claypool, STS9, Lotus, Perpetual Groove, many other bands and any kind of collaborations you can imagine. More established musicians like Steve Kimock, Phil Lesh, Warren Haynes, Levon Helm, Greg Allman, Buddy Guy and Bela Fleck collaborate with upcoming musicians. Festivals pop up everywhere: Bonaroo, Jam Cruise, Higher Ground, Jam in the Dam (Amsterdam), Rothbury, All Good, Mountain Jam, Wakaroosa, and 10,000 lakes are just a few. In 2004 Rolling Stone Magazine stated that Phish "was the living, breathing.....definition of the term" jam band", in that it became a "cultural phenomenon"
One of the most exiting things in music today is the crossover between music genre's. and the Jam band Genre seems to attact and infuse many other genre's. You can find elements of: Blues, Jazz, Bluegrass, Folk, Rock, Cajun, Afro, Cuban, Tecno, Funk, Rap, House and World Music in the Jam band music Genre. Jam band music crosses genre's, demands improvisation and is played by some of the best musicians out today AND it's still not mainstream. What does that mean? That means that you can still see some mind blowing music at the smaller clubs.
So, what is a Jam Band? Good Question. I think the term is limiting. What we are really talking about here is music that is structured but includes improvisation- oh, and with a groove (very important) So whether it be a Jam Band or a band that jams, get out see some live music and experience it for yourself.

Two Types Of Monitor Speakers With Two Different Purposes

Are you looking for information about monitor speakers, and if so: Which type in particular?
Many people don't realize this, but the same term can colloquially refer to two entirely different types of speakers that are built for completely different purposes.
Understanding the differences between these speakers should help you to not only find out what you need to know about them, but also appreciate how different they are from one another!
Computer Monitor Speakers
If you happen to be referring to computer monitor loudspeakers, that probably means that you intended to find out more about speakers that come attached to PC monitors.
This is partially a space-saving effort that also allows people to forego having to buy a separate set of speakers just to be able to hear sound on their PC. Normally, computer monitor speakers are inbuilt into the monitor on the left and right hand side of the screen.
That being said, some monitors have them below the screen but also in a left and right configuration.
Most computer monitor loudspeakers aren't exactly going to produce amazing levels of sound quality. The majority of these speakers tend to be stereo in nature and just offer an easy and convenient alternative to bulky and expensive speakers.
So if you're a true audiophile, these speakers aren't going to cut it by any stretch of imagination, but if you're more interested in functionality over finesse then they're a great option!
Studio Monitor Speakers
On the flipside, studio monitor speakers are designed for recording and stage purposes where audio quality is a necessity rather than an option!
The reason why these speakers are called studio monitor speakers is because they are designed to monitor the audio that it produces and keep it as close to the source as possible. This is important when it comes to certain tasks such as audio mixing and mastering where the ability of the sound engineer to examine the audio source as closely as possible is crucial.
These speakers come in different shapes and sizes, but they are generally quite large - especially if you're comparing them to standard computer speakers.
The idea behind the size of the speakers is that the listener (i.e. audio engineer) should be able to hear the sound coming directly from the speaker as opposed to the distorted version that is bouncing off walls and other surfaces.
Now that you know the differences between the two types that are out there, you should be starting to appreciate just how far apart they are from one another.
While studio speakers are often used by professional sound engineers in areas involving audio recording, film, radio, and even television and cinema - computer monitor loudspeakers are designed purely for the convenience of most users who happen to not be audiophiles.
So which type of monitor speakers were you looking for? Both have their specific uses, and that should be what you're basing your decision upon!

Instrumental Music Downloads - Listen to India

I know some people who love to have instrumental music downloads from India. When Hindus play music, this is only one aspect of the immense indian cultural diversity. India is a home land for music, as well as the powerful generator of a special kind of harmony.
Actually, the hindu type of music is a mean to raise the souls of the listeners, a special support for meditation. Not really what westerners are used to as regard to their pop or rock predominant music culture. Besides, the west is also the nest of classic and, although this point might be debated, jazz music. Those are widely known and appreciated instrumental music downloads. Nothing wrong with that. Nobody will dare blaming you for listening to such musical genres.
Music plays a big part in Indian culture. You can find it anywhere, including within the now renowned and prolific Indian movie industry. If you ever watched any Bollywood movie, you did not miss the songs, the choreographed dances, the overall presence of music, did you?
But Hindu music is not predominant in the movie industry, for it is very deep, contrary to what the apparently monotonous sound of God, Om would show. This music serves other purposes. It is for example believed to be very useful for those that rest or that are recovering from a disease. Also, the special monotonous sound of an instrument carries a strange form of solitude with its music.
When two instruments are mixed together, this is called jugalbandi. It allows both artists to unleash their creative power and produce an enchanting sounding atmosphere. Two sitars together can hypnotize the listener. So one very common way of using this charming music is to put a baby to sleep for example. Some westerners actually search for those instrumental music downloads to help them and / or children fall asleep! Also, singing along with those kind of formless melodies is the best way to call upon the spiritual nature in every mother.
There are different forks in Hindu music, called gharanas, with different schools. There are six different ways of playing the tabla, for example, and several sitar gharanas as well. Although many prefer to stick with classic oriental music and composition, the quite recent mix of jazz with Indian instruments opened the door to new and beautiful music production.
This gave us wonderful live performances and a new and interesting source of instrumental music downloads.

Creating Your Unique Style For Hot Rap Beats

Creating your own hot rap beats can be very innovative, fresh and inspiring. Each new day this musical genre is evolving with new styles and themes. It is because of this reason that these musical beats have grown so popular over the course of time. Well, you might think that it is difficult to create and produce these beats. However, it is not that difficult in reality. When rap music first hit the music airways most groups or DJ's needed a lot of equipment just to produce their sound, but today all you need is a computer to get started.
Along with a computer you will need beat making software and begin by starting out experimenting with the beats. In fact, only by experimenting, will you be able to discover your style, and the sound that you think is best suitable for creating your own hot rap beats. In fact, it is the unique style that you create that will separate your sound from others and therefore, it is certainly essential for you to find out the style. Through trail and error and hard work this experimentation with the quality software available to you that is easily downloaded and ready for use to make and produce these beats.
Downloading software is certainly not the easiest solution, but when you have the software, you would need to learn how to use it correctly which can take some time as well. Read the instruction guide that is provided and get some mental knowledge on how use it properly, then jump in and start putting tracks together. Once you understand the process and how to effectively make hot rap beats on your own, practice as much as you can and you will get it right.
In fact, if you choose the right software to create and produce your hot rap beats, making them would become much easier. In that case, you would not even require all of the old school equipment that was needed back in the day when those beats were developed. In conclusion, to create and produce your own hot rap beats your will need desire, talent and the ability to work on creating your on unique sound and style. You can do this for fun, profit or help produce other talented people the choice is yours. Music making software programs out there today make it easy and affordable to get started anywhere, the potential is endless and maybe you can become the next hottest thing. Get the tools you need and go for it.

Music To The Ears

Music is made to get in touch with our inner feelings. We relate to circumstances and situations when a song touches our deeper emotions. Go out and buy your favorite musician or group on CD, sit back and relax while listening to a story they are telling. It could make your life seem a lot simpler and appreciative than you think. Word is expressed by their experiences in life and all of the hardships they have endured.
Enjoy A Concert With Friends
What better way to enjoy their success than to go to an actual concert. You will enjoy that thrill of excitement and not to mention, make it a memorable day in your life to come. It is really easy to find concerts online and buy them at a ticket outlet for a decent price. Make the time to enjoy yourself and get away from everyday life struggles and get a group of friends to go see a concert soon. You will be glad you did.
Play That Funky Music
Try going to a pawn shop and pick up an instrument that you can enjoy playing. They will be fairly cheaper than buying a new one and great for beginners. You can take lessons online or at a local music store. In no time you will be able to understand how to play. You will be able to sit back and relax while relieving stress and playing the instrument for pleasure. You never know, you may become good at it and become a start yourself someday.
Sing For The Laughter
Go to a karaoke bar and try singing a song or two. Who cares if you aren't any good or if you are for that fact? The whole point of it is to have fun. You can get karaoke on Xbox and PlayStation now so you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home to enjoy it. This will be a great get-together for family and friends and to learn your singing style. Have fun and relax people!
To Be Or Not To Be
It is entirely up to you to decide if you want to continue on to stardom. Watch American Idol and see what it takes to be a star. Believe me when I say these people are not as good as I am. I think I have a good shot at winning it but building that confidence takes a lot of time and practice. If you want to be in the celebrities shoes, you will have to work as hard as they did to get there.

Learn to Play Guitar - 7 Tips for Beginners

Feel like learning how to play guitar? If you want to become a good guitar player then follow these 7 tips for success.
1) Be patient. When starting out you will probably be anxious to learn every song out there. But that will only last for so long. You should be patient as learning guitar takes a lot of time and effort.
You should be willing to practice for months. You will probably develop a love/hate relationship with it. That is perfectly normal. Just keep practicing. Do not give up. Sure you can take breaks as playing guitar and exhaust your fingers but you should not give up because of it.
2) Master the basics. The basics include the major chords and scales. You do not have to take lessons from a teacher to learn the finger positions of the guitar. Instead you can just look them up online for free.
This is the basis of music. Ideally you want to be able to play almost anything. That means having an understanding of where all the notes are on the fretboard. That also includes being able to hear them and tell the difference based on the sound and pitch.
3) Learn how to read tabs. This is the easy way to read guitar music. It is very easy to understand tabs. Basically you will get a chart of 6 lines that represent the 6 strings. The top line represents the high E string while the bottom represents the low E string.
Learning sheet music is more difficult with all of the symbols that may seem foreign to you. But care in mind that learning sheet music will really help broaden your musical horizon.
4) Learn how to play by ear. This is a powerful skill to have. Once you can listen to a song and without reading tabs or anything be able to play along to it you will have a sense of enlightenment.
It is really a skill that everyone wants to have when starting out. There is more instinct involved. To train your ear you can do so just by listening to music and trying to think about what key it is in. This is more advanced and it will come after the basics.
5) Learn how to play songs. Being able to play songs is great. It will teach you how to keep a rhythm. To play a song well you need to learn how to get your timing down. Again this is done from lots of practice of playing along with songs.
6) Know how to practice. There is a such thing as diligent practice and lazy practice. In order to play really good you need to practice really good. I mean really put your mind to what you are doing. It will be hard. You may want to call it quits until next time. But actually sitting down and practicing a song or whatever until you get it down takes will power. That is something valuable to have as a guitar player.
7) Consistency is key. It is more effective to practice for an hour each day rather than for one whole day and then take a few days off. You want to form the habit so playing guitar becomes part of your routine and your mind will adapt to it. After about a month of doing this you will want to play because you like to.

Get Mp3's Easily With Mp3 Search Engines

Previously, in order to play your favorite singles and albums, you had to first convert your music compact disk to the mp3 or a similar format in order to play your favorite music on your portable digital player. While that is still the preferred method for most music lovers who like to purchase music CD's and yet play their music on the go in a portable format, there had also been a rise of Internet downloads of music in digitized form in the decade before this, Napster being the most famous and previously notorious example. The music industry has realized the notoriety as well as the potential of digital music. Sales of music CDs have decreased over the years and music lovers would rather get their music online. They also have facilities of sharing their music with their friends through Bluetooth and infrared devices or even emailing mp3 files to each other.
All this is not so bad, considering the rise of Internet radio stations. Instead of relying on a few radio channels in your AM/FM player, you can now listen to music of your choice. Just type in the keywords in your favorite search engine and you are bound to come across one, if not more Internet radio stations, that exclusively play blues music. There are also social networking websites where musicians create their own profiles to upload their music which they allow you to listen online for free or download for a little price per song. Alternative rockers like Radiohead caused a storm by allowing fans to download their new album, In Rainbows, on their website for as much of a price as they wish to for the first week after its release. 66% of downloads in the first week were for free. However, Radiohead did go on to make a very commercially successful album. All this happened in 2005 and since then many artists release their albums and singles on their websites, and on a few reputed websites for a fee like $1 per song.
The concept of free legal music is hard to define. The Internet has paved the way for many unsigned artists to create web pages on websites where they can upload their music and share band activity. In order to become popular, these artists often let you freely download their music and share it with your friends or post in on your blogs etc. However, artists with record deals or major artists like Radiohead, only employ free legal download-able music as a marketing strategy.
This should not disappoint music lovers too much who want cheap music but do not want to resort to piracy. An Internet connection is much more affordable now, as well as, much more accessible. There are websites aplenty who let you legally play your favorite music without letting you download them. However, if you are always hooked to your laptop or net-book or mobile phone, this kind of music listening will certainly satisfy your needs and show respect to the artists.

Construction Features of the Yamaha LS26 Acoustic Guitar

The Yamaha LS26 is an outstanding musical instrument, hand made and utilizing exceptional traditional Guitar manufacturing techniques coupled with modern new innovations. The back and sides of this instrument are made of Rosewood and use a new non-scalloped bracing design to attach to the solid Engelmann spruce top which has been treated using Yamaha's original wood reforming technology (A.R.E). The Grand Auditorium sized body of the LS series gives the guitar an incredibly detailed and articulate tone which is ideal for finger-style, recording or any application where the extra dynamics of the smaller body can shine through.
Most acoustical guitars worldwide have a spruce top which has lightweight yet extremely stiff properties. It project mid-range tones better than, practically, any other wood which is very important in the absence of an electric pickup. The spruce wood top has a high velocity of sound, resonant open mid-range, high frequency attack and good low end breadth. The LS26 top has been produced using Yamaha's original A.R.E. (Acoustic Resonance Enhancement) technology which uses precision controlled humidity and temperature to manipulate the molecular properties of the wood to produce the characteristics of instruments that have been played for years. Instruments made with woods processed this way produce a tonal richness that is equivalent to having a brand new vintage instrument.
The LS26 has a Mahogany fretboard and laminated neck which has been modified to incorporate a 5-ply vintage 'V' profile and an enlarged neck block, as opposed to the LS6 and LS16 models, 3 ply design. This design creates a neck that is exceptionally strong with more overall mass than it's predecessors to deliver greater tone from the instrument. The smooth lines and edges keep the playing surface unencumbered and is great for those players who prefer low string height. The Mahogany and Ebony help to dampen the high-end ranges of the sound to produce fuller and more gutsy wooden tones.
Overall the Yamaha LS26 boasts a number of unique player-focused construction features which produce an instrument with incredible strength, outstanding comfort and fabulous tone. Improved stability and tonal sustain from the enlarged neck block, enhanced low-frequency response from the effective transmission of vibrations from the spruce top via the new bracing design and the pre-aged tone of the Guitar due to Yamaha's exclusive ARE wood treatment enable this instrument to have a wide dynamic response and a robust, meaty tone.

Breakcore - A New Generation of Electronic Rave Music

Breakcore is a genre of electronic music that has grown out of other related music scenes such as IDM, drum and bass, hardcore techno, noise and industrial music. Musically, breakcore tends to feature heavy use of distorted kick drums, drum "breaks" (recordings of drum beats played repeatedly in a loop) and sampling from a wide variety of sources, played at high speeds.
Breakcore can be hard to define and even musicians and DJs involved in the genre content that "breakcore" is nothing more than an umbrella term used to describe a number of separate styles of music that are related mainly through the mentality of their producers rather than sound. Nonetheless, music typically described as breakcore often exhibits a common "feeling of chaos" with irregular song structures and sudden rhythmic shifts. The most recognizable characteristic of breakcore is its drum programming, which often features a manipulated or processed version of the famous "Amen break" (or another classic jungle drum loop) played back at a high BPM. Melodically, breakcore ranges across a varied musical spectrum with some producers creating electronica-influenced sounds and others using recordings of traditional instrumentation (or a mixture of both).
Prominent breakcore artists include producers such as Bong-Ra, Venetian Snares, Aaron Spectre, Alec Empire and Kid606, though the number of breakcore artists that receive any noticeable amount of mainstream recognition is small. Influential record labels that have made contributions to the genre have been London-based Ambush records, Bloody Fist Records (Australia), Digital Hardcore Recordings (Germany), Planet Mu (United Kingdom) and others. Live breakcore events enjoy moderate popularity, such as Belgiums "Breakcore Gives Me Wood," "Bang Face" in the United Kingdom and "Wasted" in Berlin. Smaller breakcore concerts, festivals and club events are held regularly throughout North America, Europe and Japan.
Recent years have seen further evolution in the sound of modern breakcore. While complex drum programming remains a central component, the inclusion of an even broader range of sample sources has led to more heavy metal, classical and industrial crossovers with breakcore. The growth of chiptune and dubstep music has also had an influence on breakcore and a number of breakcore artists have emerged who combine the aforementioned genres with breakcore elements. While the genre continues to grow in popularity, it remains relatively underground with little attention in popular music media outlets. Internet-based sources such as the satirically-named forum "I Hate Breakcore" are currently the most popular places for new artists to share their music with the breakcore community.

Classical Music Appreciation - Using Rock Music To Bridge The Gap

Do you like rock music? Statistically, chances are you do because most people have embraced this form of music since its development in the 1950's and '60's. Now answer this: Do you like classical music? Statistically, chances are you don't. In 2009, rock, pop, and other related music accounted for almost 80% of global music sales, while classical music limped along at an underwhelming 5.5%.
Many people may feel that classical music appreciation is something that is beyond them. It is only for certain people who have spent many years studying it. However, it may be easier than you think to develop an appreciation for this wonderful art form by tapping into the same parts of yourself that respond so readily to rock music.
As with the development of any popular cultural art form, rock music reflects and assimilates the spirit of the times in which it was born, incorporating all the rebellion and passion of an emerging new consciousness. In its own time, classical music did the same. These musical genres are really not all that different. The elements they share relate to our emotions and to aspects of the human experience that are timeless and universal.
The things we like about rock music are its harmonic and melodic simplicity, its powerful rhythmic pulse, and its direct emotional impact. So the key is to start with classical music that has these elements and go from there. Once a bridge has been built from these common elements, then it is easier to gradually venture into music that may challenge your ear a bit. From there an immense world of beautiful and interesting music can be discovered.
Here are the best classical pieces to start with:

1. Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 - Start with the first movement. Listen to it multiple times - each time you will get more out of it. Pretty soon you won't be able to get it out of your head. Don't forget to turn up the volume! Conductors do make a difference, so I would recommend Karajan, Abbado, Bernstein or Ormandy. There are others, but it is best to stick with an established name at first - they usually record with great orchestras. Later you might try the 5th and 6th symphonies of Tchaikovsky.
2. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 - Use the same procedure as above. Add Kleiber and Reiner to that list of conductors. After this, all of Beethoven's symphonies are pretty awesome - try No. 3.
3. Brahms' Symphony No. 4 - With Brahms there is a lot of contrast, so the climactic sections will be interspersed with slower, lyrical sections that build.
4. Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, last movement - This is a proverbial "barn burner" from Shostakovich's most accessible symphony. Also try No. 10, movement 2 - although a little more adventurous, it is very powerful.
5. Elgar's Cello Concerto, first movement - This music was featured in the movie Hilary and Jackie, and popularized by early 60's cello phenomenon Jacqueline Du Pre. Add conductor Barenboim.
6. Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor - Made famous in the movie Amadeus I would recommend conductor Karajan. This one will knock your socks off!

So start with these suggested works and enjoy your journey of discovery. As you listen you will notice that the same forces are at work in these pieces as are in those that draw you to rock. It just takes a very slight shift in perception. So slight, in fact, that many rock artists borrow freely from their classical predecessors to create hits like All By Myself, Russians, Could It Be Magic and Groovy Kind Of Love. You may even find that as you listen, you begin to develop a new appreciation and understanding not only of classical music, but of rock music as well.

How to Use Reverb

The purpose of reverb is mainly to create an effect or scene for the vocal so that it has this almost magical depth to your sound. Reverb can be used on percussion, drums, vocals and other elements. Even instrumental beats can benefit greatly with the proper use of reverb. Reverb, whether it is natural or has been added via digital or analog effect, is an ever present element in any audio recording,
When using reverb, the first thing to do is consider how you want the listener to picture the vocalist during the playback. Remember that the reverb is used to enhance and not upstage the vocals.
You need to understand the basics of "arrival time gap." Reverb is generally used to provide what is seemingly an echo on the vocals or whichever you want to be enhanced on the track. If you want percussion to be given attention, you can use reverb as well. The time between the original sound heard by the listener and the reverberation that reaches the listener is called the "arrival time gap."
Study sound very well and learn how it travels so that you can get a clearer picture of how reverb works. Reverb needs to be balanced well as too much and the track may sound unattractive while too little reverb may make the track sound hollow.
Keep experimenting until you get it right. Remember that the track is a representation of your art. If you create a mediocre track, your fans will notice. Try to develop an ear and an instinct for finding out just how much reverb is needed. You can do this by having enough practice.
With upbeat songs, you would do well to use plate reverb. This is because plate reverbs have a vast selection of sounds. Some if the sounds are dark, some are bright, and some decay much longer than others. The advantage of plate reverb is that it can enhance effects without getting "washy." Plate reverb is good to use with brass instruments, acoustic instruments, vocals, and percussion.
If you are worried about your demo or track and you feel you need something to make it special, you can buy exclusive beats at many sites online. Just keep in mind to choose the sites well as anyone can easily set up a website in this day and age, there are many sites that are not reliable.

Introduction to Digital Music Recording: Part 2 - Basic Home Studio Equipment Set Up

This article will talk you through the most basic equipment required to create a home studio for recording music. There are plenty of desirable extras you could add, but here are the top five essentials to get you started.
1. A recording space
We have already covered in detail what makes a great recording space in Part 1 of this series, but in short you need:

• somewhere that is quiet
• a location that's a suitable size for both your equipment and performers
• a place that has good acoustics (minimal sound dampeners, and in some cases a bit of reverb).

2. A computer
If you're buying a new machine, you'll encounter the old desktop versus laptop debate. Desktop computers are usually better built (more solid) and cost less for the same specifications, but laptops are portable so you can pick up your recording studio and take it to the next suburb or across the continent with relative ease. Depending on where you plan to record your music, you'll need to decide for yourself whether you need a mobile studio or a static one.
Music recording software programs chew up both power and memory, so you'll need a machine with a decent amount of grunt. An absolute minimum of 1GB (gigabyte) of RAM is required, but preferably 2GB or more if you can afford it.
When you're dealing with digital music production, the old "less is more" adage absolutely does not apply to memory requirements. Greater memory capacity means your computer will be able to do more things at once, without taxing its brain quite so much. It also means you'll be able to store more audio files. 250GB of memory would be an acceptable minimum, but 500GB would be excellent. It's probably also worth investing in an external hard drive to back up your files.
3. A microphone
Many computers have built-in microphones of varying quality. The built-in mic on my Macbook Pro is actually quite impressive, but nevertheless, you'll always get a better recording by using a dedicated, good quality microphone. If you're just starting out, I'd recommend trying a USB mic because these are plug-and-play ready and don't require additional equipment such as a microphone pre-amp, or any special connections for different types of microphone plugs. USB microphones are a boon for music recording newbies.