Archive for June, 2012
VAN DYKE: Whatever works
Jun 29th
Has anyone ever told you that if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life? Didn’t you secretly wish their toilet would overflow? Most of us do not love what we do. That is not to say that most people hate their jobs, in fact, a lot of people like them just fine. There is just something they would rather be doing. How do you know if you love your job? That is a great question! The answer is simple. If Bill Gates gave you his entire fortune, which is hundreds of billions of dollars and you did not need to have a job, would you still do it? I am pretty sure the answer is no for most of us. Yes, we would put a few days in after we got the money just to amuse ourselves, but that is about it.
Van Dyke
The way I look at my job(s) is simple. My real job is hanging out with my family and friends, playing and listening to music, watching baseball or football, and eating stuff that is bad for me in moderation, well most of the time in moderation. I just have the job(s) to keep me grounded. What does any of this have to do with music? I wish I knew.
Do you get to listen to music when you work at your job? I understand that it may not be appropriate to have music blaring everywhere, but I think most employers should allow some form of music to be heard by their employees. For those of you who do listen to music while you work, how much less would you like your job if you were no longer allowed to? For me, my job(s) would become a miserable experience, much like listening to Dan McGlaughlin announce baseball games. I have the luxury of being able to listen to whatever I feel like listening to at my job. This is the best workplace music situation, by far. I have experienced just about all of them in the many jobs I have had over the years. There is the piped in ‘elevator’ music which is nearly as bad as nothing at all. It is interesting to hear an orchestral version of ‘Pumped Up Kicks,’ but I am not sure I could deal with it for 8 hours. There is the radio station controlled by ‘someone up there,’ which is usually a station only 40 percent of the employees like. Then there is the radio that is accessible by everyone. What dictates who chooses the channel? It is usually determined by the person nearest the radio, I suppose. What is your music situation at work? What if you work at the radio station? Then you couldn’t really listen to a different one, could you? I wonder if it is like working at a pizza place and getting free pizza all the time. You get sick of pizza after a couple weeks. Or is it like a donut shop where it is impossible to be tired of it? Do the rock station people listen to country when they are off work? Do the country station people listen to the Nickelback station? I would hope not. These are the things that keep me up at night.
In these days of satellite radio, and all the portable devices, it is easier than ever to listen to your own stuff. Then, after a few years, all you do is hit the skip button and end up listening to 4 songs an hour. Maybe letting Gus control the radio was not such a bad thing after all…
It is ok to listen to bad music at work. It makes you appreciate the good stuff that much more. So, if Chet thinks he is all that because he is picking all the music, just smile and tell him thanks. They play the best stuff during p.m. drive time anyway…
Now, go out and jam with your favorite local band already. I hear they added some new stuff just for you.
Don Van Dyke
LIVE EVENTS: Stay cool with live music this weekend
Jun 28th
Glendale Riders (country)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Music Under the Stars, Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, Mo.
Decatur Park Singers
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Oakley-Lindsay Center, 300 Civic Center Plaza
Heartache Tonight (Eagles Tribute Band)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Shawn Kellerman (blues/rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Club Tavern, 1023 N. 10th St.
Wrecking Ball (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Kathy Brink and Mike Coultas (acoustic)
WHEN: 3 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: 18th annual Home Winemaking Contest at Baxter’s Vineyards in Nauvoo
Raised On Radio (blues/rock)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital Benefit, Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa
Press Play (pop/rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Grandview Church, 1019 Cedar
Madd Hoss Jackson (country)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansigna Dr.
New Crime Theater (cover)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Nowake (rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Evandy’s Boatel, Naples
Third Violation (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Well Hungarians (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Zeke Cernea (acoustic)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Cellar 21, 121 N. Fourth St.
Keith Franx (acoustic)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa
Sally Weisenburg Trio (acoustic)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Ridge View Winery, Mount Sterling
More details on upcoming shows are available on the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.
For information on bands and concert venues, go to the music page at www.thelocalq.com.
Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.
VAN DYKE: Are you experienced?
Jun 22nd
Wolfgang Van Halen, left, and David Lee Roth perform during a Van Halen concert March 1, 2012, at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo)
As a musician, there is nothing worse than watching or listening to a live recording of yourself that is not so good. This is especially bad when you thought at the time that you were doing really well. You have this great memory of having a blast playing down at the Palomino Club and the band being really tight and hitting on all cylinders and someone shows a video showing that you were out of tune for three songs and sounded like Roseanne Barr singing backup, or you played the same verse four times because someone missed a cue. It is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things, I know, but it is a huge let down. Is it not better to just keep the memory of a great night? You know whether or not you left it all out there and gave it all you had, so why revisit it? I never liked watching or listening to these things when I was in a band. The experience is what I wanted to hang on to, and that just does not translate to media. That is what I remember as an audience member too. I remember the great blue margaritas and that the band played a bunch of songs I liked. I don’t remember that the guitar player hit an F# instead of a G in the middle of that one tune. I remember that the guitar player looked just like Jeff Lynne when he had that wig on playing disco stuff, not that someone forgot the words to The Wreck of the Old ‘97. I don’t want to go review a tape to make sure, either.
Van Dyke
Somehow, this takes me to what is missing from big name live music today. For one thing, bands are depending on touring and merchandise more than ever to keep going because it costs tons of money to go on tour when you get into gas, meals and lodging for a bunch of people. Also, ticket prices are just obscene these days with the service fees. It seems silly that you pay a service fee when ordering tickets online because you are doing all the work yourself. Then you couple that with the fact that once a band plays one show, it is up on You Tube and readily available like those championship t-shirts and hats that teams start putting on before the game clock even runs down to zero. Everyone then sees the show, they know the songs that will be played, and there are no surprises. After that, what is the point of shelling out $75 to go watch it in person? To me, the video-taping devalues the experience. I have seen Van Halen six times from my couch on their current tour. I would love to go see them live, but since I know the show, I am not gonna spend a hundred bucks. If the tickets were $12.50, I would consider it.
When I used to go to concerts, it would be posted all over: No Cameras or Recorders. A lot of times it was printed right on the tickets. They were serious too. You could smuggle half of Columbia or a bottle of liquor in and they would just smile at you and wave you through. But a camera, forget it. I always wondered why they made such a big deal out of it. I guess it was more the idea that you were going to sell your pictures or recordings back then. Today, there is not much they can do about it. Everyone has a camera on their phone, if not a video camera. The thing is, these recordings rob you of the total experience. They are not the same as being there.
Music is an experience for the artist and the listener at the same time, which makes it the finest of the arts, in my opinion. But, all art is meant to be experienced. It has never been intended to be a product or a representation of itself. Looking at a picture of a painting is not the same as seeing it up close. You cannot see the flaws in the picture, but you also cannot see past them. You will see what I mean this weekend if you head down to the Arts Faire on Saturday. It will be the perfect means of recovery from the fantastic Blues in the District show. I hope to see you there!
Don Van Dyke
LIVE EVENTS: Enjoy extra daylight this weekend with live music
Jun 21st
The Church Sisters (bluegrass)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Music Under the Stars, Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, Mo.
Tony Bernards Rock-n-Roll Show (classic rock)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Madison Park, 24th and Maine
Zeke Cernea (acoustic)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Martinis at 515, 515 Maine
4 Guys (classic rock)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Eagles Club, 3737 N. Fifth
Preston Shannon (blues)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Blues in the District, Washington Park
George Cate and Steve Stoner (acoustic rock)
WHEN: 6 p.m. Friday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Jeff Sable and The Sable Band (country)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Next of Kin (rock/country)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Coors Lite Beer Tent at Western Illinois Fair in Griggsville
Mike Coultas & Kathy Brink (acoustic)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: 10th anniversary party for Collver Family Winery in Barry
Jared and the Gentleman (country)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Raised On Radio (rock/blues)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
The PimpKatz (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansigna Dr.
Wreckingball (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Adams Trading Post in Liberty
Captain Geech and Shrimp Shack Shooters (classic rock)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Coors Lite Beer Tent at Western Illinois Fair in Griggsville
Ganelle and Donny Ray (soul/country)
WHEN: 1 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Spirit Knob Winery, Ursa
Ken Carlyle (acoustic)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Ridge View Winery, Mount Sterling
Highway 99 (country)
WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Coors Lite Beer Tent at Western Illinois Fair in Griggsville
Toussaint Smith (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Holler and Swaller, 500 York
More details on upcoming shows are available on the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.
For information on bands and concert venues, go to the music page at www.thelocalq.com.
Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.
LIVE EVENTS: Beat the heat with cool tunes
Jun 14th
James Armstrong (blues)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Music Under the Stars, Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, Mo.
Royal Bliss with Days Taken and Tim Hart
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Saints Avenue Opry (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lewis Street Playhouse, Canton, Mo.
COST: $8
The Warehouse Project (rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansigna Dr.
Zeke Cernea (acoustic)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Days Taken (classic rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Tennessee Tap, Tennessee, Ill.
Raised On Radio (rock/blues)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Evandy’s Boatel, Naples, Ill.
Super Majik Robots (cover)
WHEN: 8:30 Saturday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Whiskey Dixon (country)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Mississippi Pearl (acoustic)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Ridge View Winery, Mount Sterling
Toussaint Smith (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Holler and Swaller, 500 York St.
Smooth Sounds Band (jazz)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
More details on upcoming shows are available on the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.
For information on bands and concert venues, go to the music page at www.thelocalq.com.
Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.
VAN DYKE: Get a Guitar Teacher…NOW!
Jun 12th
Have you ever taken guitar lessons? I have. I took lessons when I was a kid for a few months. All I remember is learning the notes and playing Happy Birthday and other simple melodies. I never made it to chords. The strings hurt my fingers and the songs were boring, so I lost interest pretty quick. My teacher was nice, but he just did not make it very much fun. He just followed the book and the kiddie songs that were in there. I know now that the basic stuff is important, but I think if my teacher would have showed me a little more how the basics relate to an actual song that I may have heard before, I would have stuck with it. Maybe. I still remember most of those lame songs, so I guess it was not a total loss. Especially now that I have kids.
Van Dyke
I would say that I am pretty much self-taught on the guitar. That would not really be true, though. The fact is that my first real guitar teacher was the band Black Sabbath. The monster riffs of Tony Iommi were something I needed to learn how to play. I noodled around trying to learn them every day. Then, I happened to find a Black Sabbath song book in a music store and the floodgates opened through the magic of tablature. Tablature is a method of music notation that uses six lines to represent the strings of the guitar, and uses numbers placed on the lines to represent which frets of the guitar to place your fingers on. If you know proper fingering for chords, it is very simple to read and use. If you don’t, it is a little tougher, I guess.
Being a lazy person, I tended to only learn the parts that I liked from songs. This is something that continued throughout my teenage years. I would hear a part of a song that I thought was cool and I would learn just that part. This was all on electric guitar, by the way. Once I had an electric, the acoustic guitar became a decoration. This is why real guitar teachers are important.
Now that I am old, I realize that it was a mistake not to go take lessons again when my interest in the guitar returned. A good teacher would not have accepted my learning just the cool parts. He or she would have made me practice until I had the complete song down. At least, I would hope so. So, what makes a good guitar teacher? I have no idea. I would think someone who genuinely loved music and the guitar, for starters, would be best.
My ideal teacher would be a practicing musician, either in a band, or a solo artist, or whatever. They would ask me to bring in one song every week that I wanted to learn and they would bring in a song they wanted me to learn as well. In between going over the two songs, we would discuss music theory, scales, chords, you know, the boring stuff. We would rotate acoustic and electric lessons at whatever interval worked the best. Preferably, the teacher would have a soundproof room for lessons with a stocked refrigerator, a collection of the world’s finest guitars, and nice comfy seats. But that is just a dream.
Recently, one of the best guitar teachers in town decided it was time to step away from teaching for a while. I won’t get into details, but that is an important lesson in and of itself. A good teacher will not ‘phone it in’ or teach if they would rather be doing something else. They will not cheat their students out of the joy of music just to make a few extra bucks. I know it was difficult for this person to walk away, but if you are not true to what you believe, you are nothing. And this person is something special for being so classy and respectful. Thanks for the lessons…
All of the music stores in town offer guitar lessons. I have heard good things about them all. Do not be afraid to shop around for the teacher that fits you best. Think about what it is you want to learn and how you want to learn it. It would not be a bad idea to write it down, if you are forgetful like me. If you want to learn the guitar, there is no time like the present even for an old doofus like myself.
If you are a veteran, please look up six string heroes (http://www.facebook.com/sixstringheroes). It is an organization that provides free lessons and guitars for veterans of any age. Actually, look them up even if you are not a veteran and consider making a donation. Every little bit helps to buy strings, picks, and other accessories.
There are lots of fantastic players in the area. Go see them in person as often as you can. Not all of them give lessons, but it never hurts to ask. Also, make sure to get to at least one Blues in the District event this year. There will be some serious guitar playing going on down there.
Don Van Dyke
LIVE EVENTS: Find out where local bands are playing
Jun 7th
Carl Jackson and Friends (bluegrass/country)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Music Under the Stars, Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Hannibal, Mo.
Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters (classic rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Lake Hill Winery, Carthage
COST: $7
Larry McCray (blues)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 8
WHERE: Blues in the District, Washington Park
Cheeks McGee (acoustic)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Ridge View Winery, Mount Sterling
Logan Kammerer (acoustic)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
The KingBees (blues)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: The Club Tavern, 1023 N. 10th St.
Ketcham Louden Live (acoustic)
WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Second Annual Breast Fest featuring Overdraft, Further Ado, Ketcham Louden Live, Days Taken, The Pimp Katz and Nova 6 (rock)
WHEN: 11 a.m. Saturday
WHERE: Hard Times II Camp Point
The Cheeseburgers (classic rock)
WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Sheridan Swim Club, 3915 S. 36th St.
COST: Free for members, $5 for non-members.
Eleven (classic rock)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: St. Francis Church Picnic, 1721 College
Raised On Radio (rock/blues)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Keokuk Yacht Club, Keokuk, Iowa
Further Ado (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Adams Trading Post, Liberty
Harlot (classic rock)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: The Dock, 1021 Bonansigna Dr.
Heather Mathews (acoustic/blues)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Tool(Shed) (Tool tribute band)
WHEN: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Johnny Bang Bang’s, 138 N. Front
Barrington Wildfire (acoustic)
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Ridge View Winery, Mount Sterling
Big River Swing Machine
WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: One Restaurant and Bar, 600 Hampshire
Toussaint Smith (country)
WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday
WHERE: Holler and Swaller, 500 York St.
For more details on upcoming shows, go to the calendar page at www.thelocalq.com.
Submit details for upcoming shows at www.thelocalq.com/node/1767.
VAN DYKE: On the road with DVD
Jun 1st
I have always viewed vacation time like cold medicine. More often than not, you feel great when it takes effect, but when it is over, you feel worse than before you took it. Then you have to wait way too long before you can take any more. I had to do it though. So I broke down and took a week off before Memorial Day. I left town a couple times.
Van Dyke
The first trip, I went to Springfield with a couple of friends who were filming a musical performance for local television there. The room looked ideal for hosting a wedding reception. White round tables that would seat maybe six around them were scattered throughout the room along with the token square wooden dance floor that most reception halls seem to have. You know, the one that looks like someone took a laminate flooring display from Home Depot and just threw it on top of the carpeting. There was a rather elaborate stage there that had curtains and everything. The walls were lined with framed photographs taken by a local photographer and a few historical shots that looked like they were from the 1930s or ‘40s. It was actually a nice place that probably costs a bundle to rent.
On the far side of the room was a bar area. In this space, there was a long table with various totes and cases for all of the television equipment. Along the wall opposite the bar was another long table that appeared to have all the equipment that those ghost hunter guys use on it. Monitors, keyboards, headsets and stuff you may find in the control room at a television studio. Well, the portable version of it anyway.
Other than myself, and the two musicians, there were four other people present. There were two camera operators, someone who I am guessing was the director, and a lady who seemed to be their servant walking around attaching cables and focusing the equipment. They informed us that the host of the program would be there in about an hour, and they would try to get the performance taped first, then tape the host interviewing them.
So, the performers went ahead and got their instruments and amps out and set up. They had begun tuning up when I heard someone ask if anyone had a microphone. Judging by the way everyone turned paler than Val Kilmer in Tombstone, it looked like the answer was no. Luckily, my friends are always ready for such things and had a decent microphone out in the car. Then the TV people found one too. Problem solved. Or was it? Well, sort of. There was no PA system being used since this was a video taped performance with no audience. No PA system means no power for a monitor, or a speaker for the performer to hear what they are playing or singing. For a vocalist singing over amplified instruments, this is almost a must-have. If you are a singer, you understand. I am not, so I could go without it and sound just as awful as I would if I had one. The TV folks found a PA system over in the corner of the stage area and tried using it to monitor the video tape machine audio, but there was about a one second delay, so that was a no-go. Finally, the guys just decided to go without and give it a shot. I think it went OK, but we did not have time to hang around and watch any playback.
As I watched, I thought about how strange it must feel for them performing to a room full of empty tables and trying to act like someone was there. Most musicians have had to do this a few times in their career in actual venues. Some get their spirit broken by it, others break out the spirits because of it. I have seen some local bands when there were only a handful of people watching. They did not seem to care one bit and had a fantastic time anyway. That is because our area has some players that would go down to the bandstand in Washington Park and play for free all the time if they did not have to work, even if no one was there. Maybe you know some of them.
The other trip I took was to Keokuk for the Back Alley Band Fest. A really cool event that showcases several area musicians and groups on storefronts, back yards, and alleys within about a six block radius. It was a great time. Maybe something like that could be done in Quincy. What do you think?
Until next time, get out and see some local music this weekend. I will be out trying to find something to write about. I need more ideas…and a guitar teacher…
Don Van Dyke
