General Music Chat

My internet radio station, 'Newgrass, Prog & More!' Web Radio & Interviews was built on this unusual dual genre interest in 2003. I know now that I am far from alone after over 2000 bookmarked listeners.

My audio interviews (usually between 40 minutes to 1 hour in length) have included such legends/icons as Chris Squire, Alan White, Tony Kaye, and Billy Sherwood of Yes; Carl Palmer of ELP/Asia; Ian Anderson and Doane Perry of Jethro Tull; Sam Bush, John Cowan, and Pat Flynn of New Grass Revival; Darrell Scott; Missy Raines; Claire Lynch; and Jamie Hartford (son of the late John Hartford).

Is there anyone else here that would mix a CD that would include:

Yes
New Grass Revival
The Strawbs
Crucial Smith
Genesis (Peter Gabriel-era)
The John Cowan Band
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Darrell Scott

Best,

Steve S-N/aka Tuxedo Cat Sings!
http://www.myspace.com/tuxedocatmusic

Put the songs on a CD and you're good to go?
Maybe I didn't get it, but in my defence, I read it twice.

Tuxedo,
Are you asking us to mix a cd of performances or interviews done on your website, or are you asking us to mix a cd of recorded material by these specific bands?

I'm sure people would be happy to help if it's the first thing, but if it's the 2nd, then I think that violates a few dozen copyright and distribution laws, something you won't convince any (savy) musicians to knowingly do.

LOL! I am part of the industry (Senior Media Consultant, Umbrello Media Entertainment, LLC, London|New York) so I certainly do not advocate violating copyright.

What I am asking is - in a hypothetical CD-R - would any folks here enjoy a mix which was limited to all of the bands that I listed in my original post.

Best,

Steve S-N

OK, Im gonna take MY guess.I say he's wanting to know if people would listen to a CD with this widespread of a genre mix. Id say yes becuase when I saw MY BOY Scott Vestal and John Cowan play JUMP BG style with David Lee R. on the Letterman show I knew we'd bridged a HUGH gap between genre bases. I saw Darrel Scott at a fest last yr and really enjoyed his 1 man performance.Pat Flynn is a MONSTER.With Missy on bass, John C on vocal (where we gonna put Carl.. SD and brushes??) I met Jamie when he was a kid in nashville back in the 80's and he has both heavy rock and BG influences.Yeah man with this eclectic variation ,its hard to tell what all this would sound like.Many of these people you mentioned cover such a wide range of genres , most are not even aware. Yeah, Id say theres a movement happenin in the Jamband , Dawgmusic (Grisman), Cybergrass,Jazzgrass,Newgrass, Psychograss, genres that would get a CD like this.
John

Not I.
But thank you for asking.
I prefer to do my own mixed CD,s.
I am working on one now.
All Bandmix.

There are some here, like KIDD who would buy it I guess

Personally I wouldn't. I like progressive music, but I absolutely abhor bluegrass/newgrass/country music.

Also, as far as 'compilation' CD's go, I think that I would rather buy individual songs from amazon or itunes and create my own, customized to my own personal likes.

Or is this select performances or something?

OK, Im gonna take MY guess.I say he's wanting to know if people would listen to a CD with this widespread of a genre mix. Id say yes becuase when I saw MY BOY Scott Vestal and John Cowan play JUMP BG style with David Lee R. on the Letterman show I knew we'd bridged a HUGH gap between genre bases. I saw Darrel Scott at a fest last yr and really enjoyed his 1 man performance.Pat Flynn is a MONSTER.With Missy on bass, John C on vocal (where we gonna put Carl.. SD and brushes??) I met Jamie when he was a kid in nashville back in the 80's and he has both heavy rock and BG influences.Yeah man with this eclectic variation ,its hard to tell what all this would sound like.Many of these people you mentioned cover such a wide range of genres , most are not even aware. Yeah, Id say theres a movement happenin in the Jamband , Dawgmusic (Grisman), Cybergrass,Jazzgrass,Newgrass, Psychograss, genres that would get a CD like this.
John

Very cool open-mindedness about this mix of genres, Kidd. Glad to make your acquaintance.

And no again, LOL!, I am not marketing a specific CD from my company, Umbrello Records, as we are not currently considering such a pre-packaged mix. I am simply asking as a fellow musician (vocalist), webjay/interviewer, and music lover.

Kidd - I think that John Cowan has one of the best tenor voices in all of recorded music - no genre excepted. I was speaking with him two days ago as a matter of fact, and he is involved in some very cool new projects.

Speaking of genre cross-pollination - Has anybody heard the wonderful 2005 'Moody Bluegrass' CD? Check it out on Amazon, etc. This prog rock/prog bluegrass project featured bluegrass A-listers like Alison Krause, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, John Cowan, and Tim May covering Moody Blues songs. And even cooler, Justin Haywood of The Moody Blues really liked this project so TMB appeared with the bluegrass all-stars at The Ryman Theatre to perform the CD live! Unfortunately no professional recording was made of this historic night. There is, however, a second Moody Bluegrass project in the works.

Steve S-N
http://www.live365.com/stations/virginiaprograsser

Yeah , if people would listen to some of this, I honestly think they'd at least appreciate the complexity , music theory and very skillful technique at work playing at this level .Alotta these cats cover classical pieces that would blow your mind.I had a week workshop with Scott Vestal in Nashville and one with Bill Keith up in Akron and learned more theory based principles in those 2 weeks that REALLY opened up some of the mysterys of the fretboard on the 5. My Jazz /Swing improv has improved tremendously.Yeah , I agree man , John C vocal is second to none..With Sam B , and MY BOY Bela your NOT gonna beat that anywhere.Yeah , Id heard of Moody Bluegrass CD but hadnt checked it out yet.Theres just SO MUCH happenin on youtube.If I sat on my ass right now and started watchin the videos Ive got saved, I finish up about the time Andragon got his first SS check.. (Id be 95.. )

Hell yes I would! That would be just like an FM broadcsast from the '70's, which is something that I really miss in today's genre-centered radio crap.

Moody Bluegrass reminds me of Hayseed Dixie - another bluegrassy band doing rock classics, only they only did AC/DC stuff. HD was fun, so why the hell not?

I consider myself fortunate to live in a location that has a good selection of radio stations that broadcast an eclectic selection of music. Just last night I was constructing window sashes for our new house while listening to a show on WNTI out of Hackettstown N.J.. I heard everything from Beatles and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to new and old acts of all styles that I have never heard of. Anyone involved in the creation of music should be exposing their self with as much variety as possible.

The concept of a multi genre CD, as mentioned by the Tuxedo Cat is a good one. I personally regularly listen to Classical, Blues, All kinds of rock, Jazz, 30's pop, bluegrass , neo- surf music, some country (I prefer the old tunes), and stuff that defies classification. The only thing I have trouble with is Opera, although I did get through a performance of "The Damnation Of Faust" last week.

Variety is good!

Howlin'

Yeah , if people would listen to some of this, I honestly think they'd at least appreciate the complexity , music theory and very skillful technique at work playing at this level .Alotta these cats cover classical pieces that would blow your mind.I had a week workshop with Scott Vestal in Nashville and one with Bill Keith up in Akron and learned more theory based principles in those 2 weeks that REALLY opened up some of the mysterys of the fretboard on the 5. My Jazz /Swing improv has improved tremendously.Yeah , I agree man , John C vocal is second to none..With Sam B , and MY BOY Bela your NOT gonna beat that anywhere.Yeah , Id heard of Moody Bluegrass CD but hadnt checked it out yet.Theres just SO MUCH happenin on youtube.If I sat on my ass right now and started watchin the videos Ive got saved, I finish up about the time Andragon got his first SS check.. (Id be 95.. )

Chris Thile (mandolin) and Bela Fleck (banjo) are two of the world's greatest (arguably the greatest) on their respective instruments. Folks who say that they 'don't like country' (and I am one of the folks that don't like modern country) haven't really listened to the sheer musicality of progressive bluegrass musicians. Bill Keith and Scott Vestal (both melodic banjo masters) can make even banjo-haters "see the light".

You should ask Santa for the Moody Bluegrass cd in your stocking on Christmas morning, Kidd - it is that good.

Steve S-N
Senior Media Consultant
Umbrello Media Entertainment, LLC London|New York|Hampton Roads
http://www.umbrellorecords.com

Hell yes I would! That would be just like an FM broadcsast from the '70's, which is something that I really miss in today's genre-centered radio crap.

Moody Bluegrass reminds me of Hayseed Dixie - another bluegrassy band doing rock classics, only they only did AC/DC stuff. HD was fun, so why the hell not?

Hey, Philbymon! I totally agree. I spent my teen years with '70s FM Radio (and AM radio!) and what they have for FM radio today is - with a few local exceptions - pure crap.

Hayseed Dixie was indeed cool, even while not being an AC/DC fan.

Have you ever heard of a psychograss band called Killbilly? They are long gone but put out some great music in their time.

Steve S-N
http://www.myspace.com/virginiaprograsser

In that case.. no. I only buy CDs of local hopeful bands.

I consider myself fortunate to live in a location that has a good selection of radio stations that broadcast an eclectic selection of music. Just last night I was constructing window sashes for our new house while listening to a show on WNTI out of Hackettstown N.J.. I heard everything from Beatles and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to new and old acts of all styles that I have never heard of. Anyone involved in the creation of music should be exposing their self with as much variety as possible.

The concept of a multi genre CD, as mentioned by the Tuxedo Cat is a good one. I personally regularly listen to Classical, Blues, All kinds of rock, Jazz, 30's pop, bluegrass , neo- surf music, some country (I prefer the old tunes), and stuff that defies classification. The only thing I have trouble with is Opera, although I did get through a performance of "The Damnation Of Faust" last week.

Variety is good!

Howlin'

Great to meet ya, Howlin'! I totally agree that multi-genre exposure is key if a musician wishes to become all that he/she can be.

WNTI sounds like a cool radio station; you are lucky to have it in your area.

I have had a hard time engaging with opera myself but am going to try and re-commit to it. My very good friend, Steve Nardelli, owner of Umbrello Music and lead singer/songwriter for The Syn (original 1960s Syn included Steve and both Chris Squire and Peter Banks later of Yes) is a huge opera fan. Hey, he's Italian and it's in his blood!

Best,

Steve S-N
aka Tuxedo Cat Sings!
http://www.myspace.com/tuxedocatmusic
http://www.myspace.com/thesyn