Re: [Harp-L] re: can I blame the gear?

[IronMan Mike Curtis <ironmanmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 4, 2006, at 6:51 AM, rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Thanks for all the suggestions and detailed information from the list.
>
> I'm going to buy a couple of Special 20s and see if I can hear a  
> difference in
> the chording. In the meantime I'll stick with melody lines (that's  
> what I do
> mostly anyway). I'll work on relaxing as well. Kind of an odd
> juxtapostion--need to keep the music rocking, need high energy for  
> this music,
> but need to be relaxed to do it.

Relaxation is physical.  High energy is intensity, and is emotional.   
"High energy" is misleading, because we often think of it as  
hyperactivity.  Some of the most intense music I play is *VERY* low  
volume, so low that it actually stops conversations and other noises  
in the room as the audience strains to hear.  You might expect  
"SHHHHH"'es, but that never happens, because the music is already  
intense and the audience is into it (and I'm attentive enough to know  
when it's gonna work).  Dropping the volume  to near-inaudible levels  
adds a special intensity that can happen only in this manner.

> Recording is an interesting art. As a bar band, you get points for  
> showmanship
> and enthusiasm. Hard to get that across when recording.

True.  Some acts are much better live than in studio, and vice  
versa.  That's because they're two vastly different art forms.

> Also you can play lots
> of stuff live and it's fun. What's the point of recording Little  
> Walter, Chuck
> Berry, or the Beatles? They've already been done better than I  
> would ever dream
> of.

This is a very good argument for arrangements and having ones' own  
unique style.  This is one reason I'm always talking in terms of  
stretching the envelope, that positions do not equal modes, and  
such.  Copying another artists arrangement is competing against a  
legend.  Doing YOUR version puts you on the playing field alone.

Joe Cockers version of You Are So Beautiful is a classic.  If I did  
that version, I'd be (rightfully) compared to Joe, and even if my  
version were (somehow) better, Joe did it first.

And so I did my own arrangement of it.  Give it a listen on http:// 
www.myspace.com/ironmancurtis  and let me know what you think.  Same  
basic song, different arrangement, done as *I* feel the song.  Rather  
than compare it to Cockers version, ask yourself if you feel there's  
room for BOTH versions, not as covers but as unique entities.

I do some "copy" covers, some as tributes to artists I admire, some  
because fans request them, and others just 'cause I like 'em.  But I  
never sweat it if I don't sound just like the record.

> So you try to come up with new stuff, but of course the new stuff is
> competing with Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and the Beatles. Good  
> thing I have a
> cast iron ego.

When we create new music, we no longer compete with others.  Even if  
we sound like The Beatles, they never recorded our songs.  Joe Cocker  
sounded a lot like Ray Charles (and even mimicked his movements), but  
"justified" himself by "doing songs Ray never did".

An excellent example of this principle is Dread Zeppelin.  Their lead  
singer is an Elvis Presley impersonator, and they do Led Zeppelin  
covers in a Reggae style.

Notwithstanding, the cast iron ego is a must in this biz.


--IronMan Mike Curtis
ironmanmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Great songs! Amazing videos!   www.myspace.com/ironmancurtis