Music Before the Money

I’m not a techno guy. Although I’m a bit more far removed from the musician who just plugs the stuff in and turns it on I don’t memorize specs and spend hours talking gear. However, i learn a lot from people who do so I would never put down this fascination with electronics.

If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would even think of owning powered speakers I would have laughed. Powered speakers were for the banquet circuit or for guys who played accordion in the mall (not that there’s anything wrong with this! it’s a gig!). Then a guy traded me a set of Peavey powered speakers with a 12 and a horn. These were useful as monitors because there was no amplifier need to power them. However, there was no good EQ on them.

Usually a sound system has a mixing board which takes the instrument and voice signals and sends them to an amplifier (via an equalizer to mold the sound). This powered signal is then fed to a speaker. Depending how long the lines are there is power lost along the way. A powered speaker has the amplifiers built into the speakers which saves the power loss because the length of the cord is inches.

A friend of mine brought my attention to the Mackie powered speakers several years ago and although I never bought a set I was intrigued by them. Using the same (active) type of crossover as the Peaveys, the Mackies had improved this. Also the signal lines were balanced which mean that the noise is reduced. Another plus is that there is an amplifier for both the horn and the speaker and this power is balanced for each.

I still don’t have Mackies. I bought a set of Groove Factory speakers, 15″ and horn, from a friend. They are heavy but have a warm sound and a 4 band EQ so that you7 can plug a mike directly in if you need it for a PA or just an insturment.

The buzz out now is that another brand of speaker, DB technologies, is adding a wireless set-up to each of their speakers so that the only lead going in will be the power plug.

George Carlin maintained he had a name that never ended: geor - ge - or - ge -or ge.

What George Carlin did for comedy transcends any of his peers or predecessors. He studied the masters and could do great vocal impersonations - Ed Sullivan for one. In fact he was one of Ed’s famous comedians for his character Al Sleet, The Hippie Dippie Weatherman. This shtick made him famous and he could have milked this comedy for all it was worth. He was not only a regular performer on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show he was also a guest host many times.

His contemporaries, Bill Cosby and Rodney Dangerfield, were looking at life from different angles and maintained this style over the years. Carlin did a 90 degree turn. His “Seven Words . . .” routines are as mimicked as much or more than the Monty Python lines, of which we knew all too.

The album Class Clown changed all this. He grew his hair long and became a spokesperson for my generation. What Mort Saul and Lenny Bruce started Carlin ran with. The reason for this that the world was ready for the irreverent, anti-establishment banter that Saul and Bruce were banned for only a few years before.

We had Carlin 8-tracks that would break in the middle of a joke. We didn’t care. because we would park on the back and let Toledo Window Box play until we wore the tape out.

“How come there’s no blue Food?”

“You can toke up before you get on the airplane or in the lavatory in flight. In other words, you can get off and get on, or get on and get off!”

“Today in the news, 18 people suffered 24 hours on continuous whiplash when a man claiming to be the Devil hijacked a roller coaster.”

“Also in the new, the Nobel Prize for mathematics goes to Albert Finestein for discovering a new number. Finestein calls the number “bleen” and says it comes between 6 and 7.”

Just like with a record album a Carlin album release was a time of rejoicing. “Hey, guys, I go the new Carlin album! Come on over!”

I have not really listened to Carlin in a long time. I think I will tonight.

I was in Arizona about 13 years ago and a few of us were sitting around the pool on night when I guy came out with a strange-looking instrument that featured a guitar’s neck and a triangular body like a shaved balalaika. The guy started playing and it sounded something between a ukulele and a banjo - although not an unpleasant sound at all. The bottom end was missing but there was a pleasing mix of other tones which made up for it. And then, it was just an informal sing-song around a swimming pool.

The Martin & Co. Backpacker Travel Guitar , as it is called, has a solid spruce top with a solid mahogany back and sides. It uses two different type of wood for the fingerboards. The first type is a reddish-orange, African wood called Paduak or Paduach.The second is Morado, a Bolivian Rosewood which has various shades of brown stripping. Weighing in less than 2.5 lbs it has a rich and loud tone but can fit into the storage cases on an aircraft.

Although the front strap hooks onto the body many owners suggest that you hook it to the head for better stability. The guitar was made to pick up and go and has been on the space shuttle, to the top of Mount Everest and to the North Pole.

Whatever your reasons for buying the guitar you won’t be disappointed. It is a party in a little black bag.

Last weekend’s Martime Beatle Event thrilled all the lovers of The Beatles and those forever in tune with 1960’s music. Again Hal Bruce filled the stage with eager performers who combined a huge Beatle repertoire with songs from other groups of the 1960’s for an action-packed 12 hours of music.

The music rarely slowed down. Hal Bruce opened the show with a 45 minute solo performance and then brought up his friend, Scott Ferguson on the drums for their duo Ticket 2 Ride. Local duos and singles
got their chance led off by Ian of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, a successful recording artist. Another Dartmouth girl, Heather Pyke, sang Skeeter Davis’ End of the World followed by a Brett and Shane Kinrade, twin 12 year-olds who played Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby in duet form. Terry Creaser from Sheffield, England was followed by Donna Scaglioni who did an amazing rendition of Oh Darling.

A late addition, Free Fall, from Amherst did a set of formidable Beatles Songs and then The BlackByrds from Hungary carried the show further with their youth and enthusiasm.

John Lennon fan, Jay Goeppner, wowed the audience for a 3rd straight year showing once again that he has few equals as a front man.

The Sumer of Love Show featured Michelle Gill doing Grace Slick and Aretha Franklin without missing a note. It was an awesome performance. As usual Hal Bruce led the show and was musical producer.

Why these shows are put is to recreate the excitement that the music created so many years ago. And our hats are off to Hal Bruce for having the stamina and the vision to put on a show of this caliber.