It would be cool if Ran could post links to mp3s or youtube stuff to listen to.
Haha. Theposter is RanTheMan?
I should have guessed that. I must be stupid.
Sorry, I mistyped; I meant “Theposter”.
i’m planning on releasing something live. i was hoping someone could bring a good live recorder to my show when i’m in taipei. live is the only thing that counts really.
i’m trying to get something going with Corbet at the Living Room. i’ll let you guys know.^^
its kinda funny how our guitarman does a gig , feels bad that he showed up the house band and suddenly lumps all Taiwanese together again into one heap !! Yes, I totally agree that Taiwanese bands in general are not the very best in Asia (the Phillippinos tend to have that area cornered off)> But what does that have to do with other aspects of Taiwanese life? I just think its wrong to criticize all Taiwanese for what some Taiwanese do poorly. Now Taiwanese cant drive either, but they sure know how to cook up some good food, make a lot of noise, and make pretty girls !!
IT sure aint perfect in Taiwan. But dont insult everyone just cuz of some? The guys who cant play guitar well enough may have some nice character traits and if you knew him as a friend perhaps you and him could settle your differences.
I think the fragile ego on stage there was you ! Yes, you should just blow them away if you are as good as you say you are and why even worry? A real musician would respect talent. I gave up playing guitar when i finally realized that im no Carlos Santana. And it wasnt the fault of the Gibson guitar i finally was able to buy either. It was just ME. I simply wasnt good enough. And i knew it. And i never got mad when i faced up with people who played better. I simply watched them with awe !! And appreciated what they could do.
IF you stood up a band cuz you were way better? MORe power to ya. And if they dotn like it? They can kiss your ass. And I sure wouldnt waste any mental powers worrying bout that. And i sure wouldnt go and demean all Taiwanese cuz they cant play the blues as well as a gringo?
see where im going? YOU are the one with the fragile ego here. Go on , play your best and if people like it? Fantastic. If it gets the house band fired? Fantastic. If it gets the crowd lovin ya? Fantastic. If it gets you a Friday nite gig? Fantastic. Why worry bout the rest? And why insult others?
its kinda funny how our guitarman does a gig , feels bad that he showed up the house band and suddenly lumps all Taiwanese together again into one heap !! Yes, I totally agree that Taiwanese bands in general are not the very best in Asia (the Phillippinos tend to have that area cornered off)> But what does that have to do with other aspects of Taiwanese life? I just think its wrong to criticize all Taiwanese for what some Taiwanese do poorly. Now Taiwanese cant drive either, but they sure know how to cook up some good food, make a lot of noise, and make pretty girls !!
IT sure aint perfect in Taiwan. But dont insult everyone just cuz of some? The guys who cant play guitar well enough may have some nice character traits and if you knew him as a friend perhaps you and him could settle your differences.
I think the fragile ego on stage there was you ! Yes, you should just blow them away if you are as good as you say you are and why even worry? A real musician would respect talent. I gave up playing guitar when i finally realized that im no Carlos Santana. And it wasnt the fault of the Gibson guitar i finally was able to buy either. It was just ME. I simply wasnt good enough. And i knew it. And i never got mad when i faced up with people who played better. I simply watched them with awe !! And appreciated what they could do.
IF you stood up a band cuz you were way better? MORe power to ya. And if they dotn like it? They can kiss your ass. And I sure wouldnt waste any mental powers worrying bout that. And i sure wouldnt go and demean all Taiwanese cuz they cant play the blues as well as a gringo?
see where im going? YOU are the one with the fragile ego here. Go on , play your best and if people like it? Fantastic. If it gets the house band fired? Fantastic. If it gets the crowd lovin ya? Fantastic. If it gets you a Friday nite gig? Fantastic. Why worry bout the rest? And why insult others?
i could CARE LESS how they feel now. what i care about about is what they can do. they can make it so i can’t play there anymore. it’s happened before.
and i never said i was good. i don’t even think i’m good. i’m just trying to get the right notes out, and it’s a hard process.
what can i do? i try my best. it’s NOT that easy for me. i’m not trying to show anyone up. and the harder i try the more i get accused by them.
can i illustrate one more little anecdote:
i did a show once with the SYW band here where SYW asked me to do some solo piano. this electric piano had a good “throw” in the keys. not only could i get an f, i could get ff, even fff. for one part of my piece, i felt it still had some bite i could put into it. i decided at that point to blur the notes timewise, pedalwise, and dynamically. i got an ffff out of that fucker!not only that it really accentuated the emotion of that piece. kind of an agony/anger/all mixed up in there. a little like the way rachmananoff slurs the pedal to cluster the chords was all i was really trying for.
SYW accused me of showing off and being angry and attempting to break the piano. i just followed where the dynamics were going and i’m in trouble.
oh yes. let’s not have any emotion in our music, or dynamics.you hear the piece next time i’m in taipei and you decide if i’m doing what they said.
sorry two more:
bass player: “are you going to SYW’s house”
me: “yes, he asked me to write in some sub chords for his piece. he felt it was too plain”
SYW: “the bass player said you said my writing sucks and my chords were too simple.”
another:
you’re just going to play blues for your show?
yes.
but Twese will think you’re just in your own world and playing for yourself.
how can i win? you tell me.
Honest question: Is that a problem? Did Picasso paint for us? Or for himself? I really don’t know. But, my idea of art and performance is that the artist does it for him/herself and if other people like it… OK, cool. But, why would an artist do it for others, unless the goal was to make money rather than to express him/herself and to live for that moment?
Don’t get me wrong… I have nothing against doing honest work for a pay check. But, with art… that’s not work… right? And, if you can make a living making art… wouldn’t that be cool?
I just thought art was about expressing the self in the moment.
exactly! ohmygosh! you hit it on the head. art is to EXpress not IMpress. so now you’e said what i’ve been trying to say all along. here is where i diverge philosophically.
your guy Jerry Garcia couldn’t rip up the fretboard like EVH, but he could expression wise. he knew where the notes were that he wanted to reach and the feel that would express. i watched a whole JG video and I’m lovin it! same with CSNY. any one of those guys is a MFer on the guitar! listening to them right now on www.csny.com.
hell EVH didn’t learn that shit in school. he made it up himself and that’s why it was so cool. i’m tired of the MI/ berkely sound. john renbourne and a whole school of UNSCHOOLED guitarists is where it’s at for me. even Pat Metheny was unschooled and now they’ve institutionalized his sound. but i’ve dissected him and Wes, and what they were doing was so butt simple in could only have been discovered on a sofa late night after the TV went dead. that’s where the good stuff come from.MHO
exactly! ohmygosh! you hit it on the head. art is to EXpress not IMpress. so now you’e said what i’ve been trying to say all along. here is where i diverge philosophically with what i’m hearing in taiwan and a lot (but not all) of the new music out there.
your guy Jerry Garcia couldn’t rip up the fretboard like EVH, but he could expression wise. he knew where the notes were that he wanted to reach and the feel that would express. i watched a whole JG video and I’m lovin it! same with CSNY. any one of those guys is a MFer on the guitar! listening to them right now on www.csny.com.
hell EVH didn’t learn that shit in school. he made it up himself and that’s why it was so cool. i’m tired of the MI/ berkely sound. john renbourne and a whole school of UNSCHOOLED guitarists is where it’s at for me. even Pat Metheny was unschooled and now they’ve institutionalized his sound. but i’ve dissected him and Wes, and what they were doing was so butt simple it could only have been discovered on a sofa late night after the TV went dead. that’s where the good stuff come from.MHO
i’d rather hear neil young sing and press a few meaningful chords out of a piano than smooth-ass berkley/ MI piano players.
i wanna bring some lighter fluid and set a piano on fire at the end. ROCK N ROLL!