Local Band Tips #7

The Importance of Good Gear:   I’ve seen some great bands who had some really catchy songs that somehow just sounded a little flat. The biggest culprit for this is poor gear. While playing a ton of shows with what I would consider my bands ” sister band” (A band you travel and share shows

Jim Marshall has died

  A truly sad day for guitarists everywhere. Legendary amp master Jim Marshall has died. Since the sixties Marshall has been the most recognized name in guitar amps all over the world.  Used by names like Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, the legendary Jimi Hendrix, Slash of Guns n Roses, Angus Young of AC/DC, and

Songs E.lectroshock loves and why #1

This is my latest creation, a list of songs I love and why. Please tell me why you love or hate these songs. I’ll start with some of my true favorites. 1. Stevie Ray Vaughn: Little Wing – Jimi Hendrix wrote this tune, SRV did an instrumental cover one of his albums. This song reminds

Local Band Tips #6

Curb your ego!!!   Ego is the worst thing you can bring to your band.  Confidence, self-assurance, even a lil touch of cockiness have always been a characteristic of the rock musician,but being humble has its place. Ego is the ugly version of these things. Ego infects every aspect of a band: Songwriting is a

T-t-t-t-tebOWNED!

For all our sports fans out there, seems Tebow ended up traded afterall! The Broncos traded him unwillingly to the Jets and stand to make a nice 5 million dollars back in paid salary to Tebow. I say fair trade. Off with the albeit hyped QB, and said hyped QB gets that much closer to

The Donnas

The Donnas: Spend The Night  When i think of true rock and roll, I think of Marshall Stacks cranked to eleven, hair flying, heads banging ,flashy guitars, powerful drums, beer and sexuality. This band has a healthy dose of all of the above. This album has been out for a long time, but its been in

Local Band Tips #5

Dont Over Saturate Your Audience !!! Every band starts building a fan base by getting friends and family to come to shows. They tell other friends and the bands you play with have friends, and so on and so on. If you have something people like ,you will start to develop a following. This is

A Wilhelm Scream

A Wilhelm Scream :  Career Suicide This is one of my favorite albums by far. One of those few and far between bands who are still willing to be dangerous in a world of self-indulgent rock star cliché crap!! Punk rock these days is looking more like MTV and HotTopic got in a head on

Local Band Tips #4

Style I’ve seen some bands that sounded really good, had nice gear, plenty of energy on stage and great songs, but something was a little off. One guy was dressed like a rocker in black with studded bracelets, one guy was a hippy with dreads and tie dye, one guy was wearing a jersey like a sports

Local Bands Tips #3

Put on a show!!! Nothing is more boring than watching four or five guys stand still with their heads pointed at their guitar or feet while they play. People come to be entertained,to feel a part of an experience happening on stage. Music can be cathartic, energizing, inspiring and moving. People  came to see you

Local Band Tips #2

The importance of merchandise These days clubs are not paying a lot of cash to local bands. Since any good time charlie with a detuned squire strat  can write a heavy riff in drop D , make an iron on T shirt ,start a facebook page and call his group a band. Club owners are

Local Band Tips #1

This is the first of many tips for succeeding as a local band. The Raffle:  When I was in local band Heres To Honor http://open.spotify.com/album/7uvu7yB4LanERhyBWUa93D in west palm beach, we would always make good money with a raffle. Yager  was the drink of choice for bandmates and fans alike.  Heres how it works: Buy a large bottle of

In the field observations #1

Just goes to show that once a head doc you are always observing society when and where ever you are at.

Neotropics

Neotropics UK band Neotropics is a pleasing blend of Dance, Pop, Electro, and Rock. Blending driving dance beats reminicent of classic bands like Depeche Mode  with the rock sensibilites of pop giants like Oasis and the Killers  glued together with catchy and emotional vocals. Add to it a killer sounding production and you have a formula

Can I get a cup of shut the hell up & common sense in pill form!

Patient 372 – Session 103

In all my years as a therapist, there have been some strange patients on the “couch”. But there is one patient in particular that came to mind today. It happened as I was in my car, waiting for the stop light to turn green. A little, old, fragile looking grandma in a sky blue Cadillac pulled up next to me, sipping on a cup of coffee.

Cat Muffs!

The strangest thing happened today. I was working. Well that might not have been the strange part but I got a text message from a very close friend that a video his roommate had shot went viral. Turns out he was right! Good Morning America posted about 115k views by the time I got to

Zac Brown

Zac Brown- You Get What You Give This cd is not a brand new release ,it came out in 2010.  But as you will come to know this blog is not all about new music,just great music in general. This and other Zac Brown cds make regular rotations in my daily playlists. Catchy songs with

The “Couch” Files

I want to let you in on the secret world of the insane and the mentally disturbed people out there which goes by the name, “Normal”. You know these people, they are in every neighborhood. They have problems that they try to hide behind closed doors so no one knows who they truly are. Their thoughts, my thoughts and whatever else comes up, will be discussed, my files are screaming to be heard. Of course the names and places will be changed to protect the innocent but the stories are real and come straight from what I call, “The Couch Files.”

So step right in, get comfortable and yes, the “Couch” is right this way, ready and waiting.

Down the rabbit’s hole…

As if Lindsay Lohan’s past wasn’t enough, seems this boozey babe has more trouble coming her way. Sources have stated that Miss Lohan is in abit of trouble with the IRS. At least now she has something in common with a decent percentage of Americans aside from the obvious? This has certainly humbled me. In

The Best of Strung Out

Top Contenders: The Best of Strung Out Strung Out has been a major force in the Punk Rock genre for many years. Long enough to have compiled a 23 song album of their most iconic songs. Add three previously unreleased tracks and you’ve got a jem on your hands. Strung Out has always blurred the line