Tell em What You’re Going to Tell em
For the music category I wasn’t sure what to write, so I asked my facebook friends and I received a generous number of suggestions for topics to discuss. A friend of mine is a Toastmaster and offered me this popular maxim in respect to public speaking. “Tell em what you’re going to tell em. Tell em. Tell em what you told em.” I’ve decided I’m going to use every single suggestion that was offered on facebook and decided for the first post, I’d tell you what I’m going to tell you in future posts. I’m going to do this to a generously cranked blues channel on cable radio to keep in the musical spirit of the thing.
The peanut gallery is invaluable and here are the suggestions:
“Roger Slaney: Concerts you’ve seen over the years … a review on noteworthy ones … be interesting to hear your perspective.”
Concerts are something that stick with you over the years, kind of like the accompanying tinnitus that also seems to come with loud concert attendance, playing in a band and working a job that requires headphones to communicate through atmospheric noise. But my hearing is just fine.
That being said, concerts will be a series of posts.
“Paul Martin: Home recording & publishing. Music type must see places you recommend in the cities you’ve visited.”
“Dan O’Brien: How about the disgraceful use of Auto Tune in the recording industry.”
This sounds like another great idea for an ongoing discussion. A comprehensive look at the recording industry over the years. I can use my experiences with Groove Fondue (the production name Don Dupuis and I use) as well as at least one other Cows at War project. It’s been an… interesting journey for sure. The music industry is a tough nut to crack and it can leave you feeling like Dustin Hoffman playing Michael Dorsey being rejected at an audition during the opening credits of Tootsie. Replace the actor/director with music producer/music supervisor and you get the the general feel of the thing.
Michael Dorsey: “They have dinner–” Can I start again? I didn’t get kicked off right.
Casting Director: The reading was fine. You’re the wrong height.
Dorsey: I can be taller.
Director: No. We’re looking for somebody shorter.
Dorsey: Look. I don’t have to be this tall. See, I’m wearing lifts. I can be shorter.
Director: I know, but we’re looking for somebody different.
Dorsey: I can be different.
*pregnant pause*
Director: We’re looking for somebody else.
I like the suggestion of places of musical relevance. I really started paying attention to that when we went to Manhattan for three days in 2014. I’d been posting on facebook and Vaughan Evans got on me about my responsibilities as a guitar player to hit the music stores and post photos and I’m pretty certain I’ve done so ever since. Speaking of Vaughan…
“Vaughan Evans – I’ve always wondered if the guitar has been taken as far as we will see it.
There really hasn’t been many new innovators pop up in the last 25 years and make us all stop and jaw drop.
A lot of incredible players but no innovators.
Has the instrument met its climax?
Who is the last guitarist who’s become a household name?”
I’d like to start a discussion with some respected musical friends on general topics such as Vaughan suggested, then distill it into post form. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a forum going soon for these interesting topics of dialogue.
“Mike Ouellette: Here’s a few ideas Mark: Since you are talking to music lovers, it would be nice to have an audio/video component to your blog or vlog if you will! 
It could include favourite acoustic versions of songs from the original bands or singer, or even favourite covers as there are a lot of Youtubers and Facebookers out there doing covers and many are very, very good!
Also, maybe a section on guitar solos section where people could discuss which melts their face or touches them or whatever guitar solos can do to a person.
And lastly, you could have a discussion on interesting or touching lyrics from the present and the past. For example, for me, Bob Seger’s line “Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then” from Against the Wind always spoke to me in it’s simplicity yet, it is open to so much interpretation for any individual, based on their experience. That’s the beauty of music!!!
Just a few ideas to use or discard as you wish.
Have a great Sunday! Cheers!”
These are all fascinating topics that I can incorporate into the general flow of discussion. A series of top ten lists would be great on ALL of those subjects. This is definitely going to be a multi-media website. Wait a minute… I may have misunderstood what you meant here. You want me to perform in front of the camera???
Oh my. Hmmm… if I had to choose between that and having my nipples spot welded to my forehead? It would be a real tough choice. Real tough. It might not be so bad if I just play and never open my mouth. Then I see this… and IIIIIII dunno. I’ll have to ponder it for a while… maybe shoot from the neck down… with me wearing black on a black background in dim lighting to hide the bulk of me…. I’ll probably do it, Mike. Lord help us.
“Bob Fitzgerald: There are a lot of very talented street musicians in the world. Some that you can tell are very well trained. I could sit and listen to them all day….and they are everywhere! Cheers Mark!”
I’m telling you, when we’re traveling and I hear music, I’m like Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein. Drawn to the sound like a stumbling zombie, clutching at imaginary notes in the air. There were two street acts I caught in Zurich and Paris that I managed to capture on video and I’m going to be doing more or that in the future. Street music is always a great encounter, be it an oompah band in a Paris subway to two Canadian guys slamming out the blues on a bridge over the Seine in Paris. Done, Bob! I’m thinking of busking at the nearby Eastern Passage boardwalk this summer. Maybe not even busking, but just sitting out on a bench on a nice day with the strat, the Vox, my phone and a wifi speaker for accompaniment.
So I told ya what I’m gonna tell ya.
From now on, I’ll just tell ya and I’ll try to keep it entertaining.
Any thoughts to add?