What's Your Musical Talent?

[Julie Marie]

"We're putting the band back together." Elwood Blues.

It seems there's a lot of musical talent here at Susan's.

So, what instrument(s) do you play?  Do you sing?  Have you ever been in a band or an orchestra?  Have you ever played live on stage?  Have you played solo?  What type of music do you play/sing?  What's your favorite song?  What's your most memorable moment?  Are you actively playing/singing?

If you had to provide your musical resume, what would it look like?

Julie

[HelenW]

I can play the piano (my primary instrument), the guitar, viola (in HS) and Clarinet (just enough to get a feel fo the woodwinds although I love the tone).  I inherited my grandfather's German concertina too and I can find my way around on it.

Before puberty I had a soprano voice that people said was exceptional.

I was a music major in high school and was planning on making it my career.  I wrote songs and orchestral music too.  I played numerous times live, on stage, for school concerts.  Never a payin' gig though.

The rotten thing is that I don't own a piano and I rarely get to play anything.  I strongly suspect that when I decided to "be a man" all those years ago I repressed my creativity and lost my music.  I sold my violin and viola a number of years ago because I hadn't touched them for so long and was about to move.  I still play (slowwwly) on the piano if I get my hands on one and would love to get better playing jazz.

I love jazz and orchestral music.  Choral music is also a joy (last Sunday's choral holiday concert was so beautiful it made me cry).  The music is the absolute BEST part of the holidays.

hugs & smiles
helen

[Dennis]

Sing and play guitar. I've also played tenor sax, bass clarinet and drums.

Played sax, guitar and drums in a band when I was a teenager. Didn't last long because I was underage and we performed in bars, which was a bureaucratic nightmare for the bandmembers.

Currently sing jazz in a small (13 members) vocal jazz group and would like to get back to playing classical guitar.

Most memorable musical moment was when I agreed to play guitar for a friend's wedding very shortly before the wedding (because the musician they had hired quit with no notice). Spent 72 hours practicing a few Mozart pieces. Performed very nervously (I really don't like playing guitar in front of people) and found out, luckily afterwards, that David Foster had been among the wedding guests. Needless to say no recording contract offer arose out of it

Sang live on stage for the past couple of years and just did my first solo recently. I don't really have any desire to play guitar in front of people. It's kind of my private thing. I will occasionally play for friends, but that's about it.

Dennis

[cindianna_jones]

I play cello, upright bass, electric bass.  I doodle on the guitar and piano.  I read music and have an intuitive feel for music as it leaps off the page at me.  Every time I hear a melody, I work out an arrangement in my head for it.  I go to sleep putting instruments and voices to parts in my head nearly every night.  I've been able to draw music from just about any instrument I've picked up.. I just love to play.  I do a bit of home studio hobby sort of stuff but have no recordings that I've kept.  I teach cello and have been thinking of teaching double bass next year.

I love to sing.  I was active in choirs when I was younger.  I had the lead in my high school musical.  I have a long history of directing chamber and vocal groups along with church choirs.  I relied on music scholarships to help pay for college.  My music professors were always trying to convince me to major in music.  But I followed the money and got my degree in electrical engineering.

I sang and played professionally in a band for 8 years.  We played mostly pop stuff and a trunk load of requests.  We were mostly a vocal band.  The year I quit playing professionally to work as an engineer, I took a 50 percent pay cut.  I gave up singing for the most part after my transition. I'll sing a tenor or alto part to harmonize, but I'll never sing lead again.  That is one of the cherished things I have lost.

I currently perform with two symphony orchestras. I am principal cellist in one and second in the other.  My last couple of concerts were sold completely out by the way.  That's a tribute to my groups and directors and not me.  They are wonderful people with great talent.

Memorable moments?  There are too many to write about.

Long time ago... in a galaxy far away... We were just going through our list of songs as we normally did at a wedding dance.  We forgot to exclude one... "If you leave me now." by Chicago.  We recognized its inappropriateness for a wedding immediately and smiled at each other. We mumbled the words a bit in harmony. We cut it short and moved on.  I don't think that anyone really noticed.

My bow left my hand in a quick passage during a concert once... and struck the conductor in the face.  That was fun.  Last year, my instrument popped a string in a concert.  I played the remainder without it.  Fortunately it was one that I could cover with other positions.

Recently at a concert in the central valley, the audience gave us a standing ovation and would not us leave the stage.  You wouldn't think there is that sort of demand for quasi classical / bluegrass music presentations, but these people loved it.  We tried to leave the stage and they started stomping their feet.  That really moved me to tears.

Even though I love music terribly, other than vocal work, I consider myself a pretty average musician.  I love to play and participate in every function or group that will have me.... although I did pass on playing in a ->-bleeped-<- band back in the 80's.  That was a good decision for me even though they did meet with some success and actually made some money.

I love music.  God is in music.

Cindi

[Ricki]

Can't sing worth a toot or dance for that matter but played trumpet all my kid years!
can hold the tune in my head cannot project it into the lips or legs.. How awful is that!
I'd be better being the ticket boy or bouncer for your band?

[Dennis]

Can't sing worth a toot or dance for that matter but played trumpet all my kid years!
can hold the tune in my head cannot project it into the lips or legs.. How awful is that!
I'd be better being the ticket boy or bouncer for your band?

Be a groupie, Ricki. They get to go backstage and mingle with the band. Plus you can wear really tight skirts.

Dennis

[Hazumu]

So, what instrument(s) do you play? 

Drums.

JOKE:
Q: What do you call someone that hangs out with musicians?
A: Drummer

Do you sing?

Only when I have to...

Have you ever been in a band or an orchestra?

Several.  The one that finally gigged continuously started out as "Anduril", but our manager convinced us it was too hard to explain to club managers, so we changed it (with his help) to "Messenger".

Have you ever played live on stage?

Does a club stage count?  If you mean something more concert-y, the answer's still 'yes'.

Have you played solo?

I hate doing drum solos, but -- yes...

What type of music do you play/sing?

We were a 'top 40 and Nostalgia' band, so we did a wide variety of stuff (including 'Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy'), but we especially liked southern hard rock, intellectual rock, and stuff in odd patterns.

What's your favorite song?

Just ONE?
"Gonna' Get You Anyway"
"Kashmir"
"Subdivisions"
"Gettin' Betta'"
"Don't Tell Me You Love Me"
"Bloodsucking Leeches"
(I'm prob'ly showing my age...)

What's your most memorable moment?

Playing New Years at the Cavanaugh's in Kennewick, Washington.  They put us in the ballroom on a big stage.  The band was firing on all cylinders, and the audience was INTO IT!

Or maybe it was the night the singer sang the entire first verse of "Walk This Way" on helium, cracking up us AND the audience, and damn near passing out on stage from lack of oxygen while we sang the chorus "Walk this way..."

Or maybe it was the night the bass player ripped into "The Sailor's Hornpipe" for his 32-bar lead at the end of "Heart of Rock 'n' Roll", taking the rest of the band by surprise, and cracking EVERYBODY up (the next night one guitar player surprised us with "Woody Woodpecker and the other one did it with "The Flintstones"...)

Are you actively playing/singing?

No.  Woodshedding one day a week for an hour, keeping the chops alive.

If you had to provide your musical resume, what would it look like?

"Promoted mass alcoholism"

Karen

[LynnER]

Wow, what a setofquestions.....

Primarily Im a drummer, a very VERY fast one.... I play a 4 piece clasic Slingerland 78 oversized kit on a gibralter rack, Cymbals are all Zildjian A's, A customs, and K customs....

I also play piano (concert, rock, and Jazz) which Im actualy extreemly out of practice on, and the flute (again concert, rock, jazz, and folk)  I can also play just about anything else given to me so long as it dosnt require strings....

I can and do sing backing vocals, but Im haveing lots of fun perfecting my fem singing voice, I can hit all the notes and tones I want but I cant get the volume or projection I want.......... yet.  Practice makes perfect...

Im a fan of all things punk....  bands like Face to Face, Descendants, Bad Religion, No Use For a Name, and the list goes on and on.....

Favriote song....... bad question, dont have one.... and Im not going to list all the ones I REALLY like here... My fingers would get tired...

Currently Im in a band called Still I Stand...they know about my transition ofcorse but dont seem to really respect it which is deffinatly shown in the layout of our Myspace page.... 

I was in my middle schools award winning Jazz band, and in HS played concert piant for many events...

Im planing a move to Denver in Febuary and will allmost imediatly start looking for or putting together another band sence my band mates are content liveing at home with there parrents and makeing next to nothing and NOT TOURING like we should *shrugs*

I do have an actual musical resume but I wont post it here... That would mean digging it up, and its too long anyways........

[Melissa]

You guys put me to shame when it comes to instruments.  I would say my best instrument is the piano.  I practice every once in a while, but I seem quite adept at learning new stuff on it.  I used to play the clarinet for 2 years in junior high and other instruments I can play, but not very well are: Guitar, Cello, Harmonica .

However, when it comes to singing, I think I do quite well.  I can sing as both male or female (without any special equipment, although female song selections are more limited) and I have been singing since I was a kid, but I really started working on it in junior high and highschool, where I was in a choir for the next 4 years.  I have sang regularly on an amateur basis since then.

Melissa

[Dweia]

I think music is the "thing" in my life.. Has been and always will be 

I used to sing when I was young enough... But then I grow as a man and have no voice anymore   

Then I played flute couple of years.. That wasn't my instrument so I changed to guitar 
I played guitar 80-94, then I was forced to sell my Fender because I needed new summer tiers to my car 

Well 92-97 I worked as a Dj, so I played turntables 
And that time my favorite song was Faithless : Insomniac 

Now I just listen to music.. Sometimes I play guitar, sometimes I have fun with my computer and different music software I have...

My favorite music.. That's hard question.. It depends how do I feel...
But with my son we listen quite much our own Finnish bands :
HIM , Nightwish, Rasmus and of course Lordi..

Lordi won the European Song Content last spring with this Monster Rock song
Last summer we did a 1000 km summer trip with car
and only 1 h we listen other band than Lordi 

[Suzy]

Cool question!

I've been trying to make music as long as I can remember.  My counselor told me recently that making music is a strong need in my life.  I actually went through college on a clarinet scholarship.  Though I still can play it,  my main interest has always been guitar. 

At this point my guitar collection numbers 11.  I like to play acoustic best, my Martin being my #1.  But I also have a couple of Strats that I sometimes play.  I also play a variety of other stringed stuff like mandolin and uke, as well as a bit of keyboards.  I manage to play once or twice a week somewhere, with or without a band.  My voice is on the high side, and though I have never been confused with Julio, people do not leave when I sing.

I have a small recording studio in my house and if I would get off of Susan's I would get back to a project I'm working on.  So far I've done 6 CD's (one of those is my music) with another in the works.

I also love to write music, some of which has a spiritual nature to it.  I've been fortunate to publish four songs so far and I won a runner up in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.  That was really cool and I got a check from Yoko Ono.

I think my most memorable moment of performing was having NGW staff play one of my songs with me in Nashville.

As for style, I like classic rock sound, sometimes fused with a country feel.  But always some beat to it.  But I appreciate any style as long as it is done well.

Melodiously,
Kristi

[cindianna_jones]

Let's put a band together.... we can call it "Bender"

Cindi

[Elizabeth]

Hi everyone,

I play guitar and have played in bands since I was 14. I have not been in a band for a few years now and not really sure if that's something I will do again or not. My illness makes if difficult to play for long periods.




Love always,
Elizabeth

[Yorick]

I used to play the trumpet in a church band and I started to learn how to play the guitar but I didn't keep at it for long. I don't like singing and I haven't played any instrument for several months now.

[TheBattler]

Well I used to play the Saxophone when I was youger. I was good back then but I would have to practice up to be any ise now. I did a bit of singing but I was not that good.

Alice

[Ricki]

Okay i decided, i'm going to be Lynner's groupie if she'll have me!

ricki

[cindianna_jones]

Can I be your groupie Ricki? 

Can groupies have groupies?

Cindi

[LynnER]

Time to start my solo carrer heheheh,  Im going to have to form a new band in Denver sence Im leaving SIS in El Paso.........

How about the Linner Edge for its name?   I have plenty of music and Im pretty sure with partial ownership of the music from my former band I can work out a deal to keep/play some of the songs I really liked...

(For those interested you can listen to my current band at myspace.com/stillistand  (Yes it shows me in guy mode... no I dont appreciate it but I didnt design the site and they dont care... no comments on that please)

[tinkerbell]

I used to play the trumpet in a church band and I started to learn how to play the guitar but I didn't keep at it for long. I don't like singing and I haven't played any instrument for several months now.

That's the thing.  If you don't practice, you forget.

...and who is this little furry fellow down here?

what a cutie!  adorable!


tinkerbell

[cindianna_jones]

Time to start my solo carrer heheheh,  Im going to have to form a new band in Denver sence Im leaving SIS in El Paso.........

How about the Linner Edge for its name?   I have plenty of music and Im pretty sure with partial ownership of the music from my former band I can work out a deal to keep/play some of the songs I really liked...

(For those interested you can listen to my current band at myspace.com/stillistand  (Yes it shows me in guy mode... no I dont appreciate it but I didnt design the site and they dont care... no comments on that please)

Okay... no comments.

Lynn, we need a correct URL. The one you mention leads to some other wierdo who is too private to let the freakshow in.

Cindi