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Woman who inspired song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds dies at 46

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A childhood friend of John Lennon’s son Julian, was the girl who was really behind the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds from the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album!

Lucy Vodden is her name and she was a very important person in Musical history. Unfortunately she passed away this past Tuesday in a London England hospital. She had a long battle with lupus and was 46 years of age.

Vodden’s connection to the Beatles dates back to her early days, when she made friends with schoolmate Julian Lennon, John Lennon’s son.

Julian Lennon, then four years old, came home from school with a drawing one day, showed it to his father, and said it was “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

I just found this story today and thought wow, is that really what the song is about!!! I like most people today thought that the song was about LSD trips! It a little bit of Beatles trivia that I found neat!

Keep on Jammin’




The Bass Guitar

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Most music has always had a bass line, be it written or implied, today the bass part is fundamental to most of the music we listen to. Whether it’s the big bowed orchestral bass, the huge bass pipes of a cathedral organ or the ultra low warm sound of a vintage synth bass, the bass line serves as a root and foundation for most music.

We tend to notice the emptiness of when music lacks a bass line or implicit bass line. With rapidly evolving styles of music in blues, jazz, r&b and rock plus an ever increasing need for portability and stronger, louder bass lines prominently featured in musical hooks, there was clearly a need for a new kind of bass instrument. This is how the electric bass guitar era came into being.

Technically, the electric bass guitar was invented in the 1930’s although it never enjoyed a mass popularity at that time. It’s predecessor has existed for many prior years in the form of the double bass or acoustic bass.

The electric bass guitar offered a distinct change from the sounds that people had grown accustomed to hearing from previous upright basses. With it’s guitar like playing position the electric bass guitar differed from the hard to carry acoustic bass, electric bass strings also were not bowed like those of an acoustic and offered musicians a relatively easier to play and use highly portable instrument.

From a distance, the electric bass guitar could easily be mistaken for an electric guitar as the both look very similar with the same solid body shape, however the bass usually has a longer neck. Also, unlike an acoustic guitar which is hollow, with a sound hole to allow for amplification, the sound of a Fender bass guitar is amplified by plugging it in to an amplifier and speaker.

A bass guitar typically has four strings which are tuned an octave lower than the lowest strings of a regular guitar. It is often played by plucking or thumping the strings, unlike other guitars which are strummed. The Fender bass guitar is definitely a rhythm section instrument. When playing and interacting with a good drummer, a good bassist can help shape the flavor and pocket of the music in a way that non rhythm section instruments cannot. The electric bass is a special instrument and much more than a 4 string guitar.

What is Jazz Improvisation and Where Can I Learn It?

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Improvisation is common in many types of music, but is mainly expressed in jazz. The songs that all jazz soloists should be familiar with are called standards. These songs are not usually practiced collectively as they are so well known. A player can expect to build his own solo jazz part upon a standard usually. The jazz standards must be learned by all aspiring players . The structure of the song must be memorized and understood prior to attempting a solo. You will find that if you understand music it can be an invaluable skill when it comes to this task.

The soloist usually will not begin prior to the main melody of the song being played once through by everyone. It is important to know how long this will take as it will be your cue to begin your solo. You will receive a nod by the leader of the band to begin your solo when it is your time in any case. If there is a solo singer, your part will come after theirs.

Only training and a good understanding of musical structure will be the building blocks of a great jazz improvisations. Knowledge of the structure of a song will give you a road map of where your solo should go. This is where all the time you spent practicing scales will bear its fruit. A good jazz improvisation solo combines your knowledge of scales with your knowledge of the chord pattern of the song itself. If you find it difficult at first to build a solo, try playing arpeggios in the key signatures as you move through the song.  A good solo is not simply combining scales one to another. The jazz solo should have something to say after all, so do not just play scales by rote. You cannot know the exact way you will get through your solo, but you can know generally how you will  get there.

Most jazz improvisations start with at least a general understanding and statement of the melody. A simple start allows for a greater latitude in expression as you move through the solo. As you go on through your solo you can increase the tension, dynamics and tempo before resolving to the main melody at the end. Listen to some favorite jazz solos that you know and see if the pattern is not the same as what we are describing here.

Listen to other instrumentalists to hear how they do their jazz improvisations. Go to concerts, buy recordings and learn how to build your own jazz musical solo. In time you will know what the pattern of a good jazz improvisation is intrinsically without being told.

The Danforth Music Hall is 90 years young

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The Danforth Music Hall in Toronto has just celebrated it’s 90th year of operations in my neighbourhood. It’s one of those great buildings that you drive by every day, but are not aware of it’s importance to the area. It’s seen it’s ups and downs over the years and now it’s time to place it in it’s proper place in history!

Originally this great gal on the Danforth was called the Allen Theatre Chain. Back in the day they referred to it as a grand “photo-play palace.” The Theatre chain was owed by Julie and John J. Allen.

This grand venue was home to both Vaudeville and theatrical acts as well as silent movies, which were accompanied by live piano. It has a single screen, holds multiple types of events, has 1800 seats and has been use in many movie scenes. To name just a few of the feature films shot there were Chicago, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, (Studio) 54, Bulletproof Monk and some scenes of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Their first theatre was in Brantford Ontario. In 1920 Julie and John J. Allen returned to Brantford and bought the now Sanderson Centre. After remodeling and redecorating it was opened on February 2, 1920 as the Allen Theatre.

Then the location changed hands in about 1929 and was called Century Theatre. They kept the inside and outside look of the building pretty much as the original.

Some of the past acts that performed at the historic Danforth Theatre & Concert Hall in the 80s and 90s were The Police, Bruce Cockburn, James Brown, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Tom Waits, Barenaked Ladies, The Tea Party and Blue Rodeo just to name a few.

I’ve only witnessed two events there, Amos Lee and Rick Wakeman. Both shows were great, the sound was beautiful, the hall itself was majestic and the seats were GREAT!

So here is to the old Danforth Music Hall and many more years to come!

Keep on jammin’

The Hour on CBC TV

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The Hour is a Canadian TV talk show with host George Stroumboulopoulos. The Hour has had some fabulous guests in the past and I’m more then sure many more to come.

It’s one of those great Canadian shows that allows their guests to be perfectly relaxed to in a public forum. George provides us a candid glimpse into his guests personal and private lives. He it seems to make his new friends feel like they’re all just sitting around the kitchen table, having a coffee and shooting the breeze. in my eyes, George is one of Canada’s greatest interviewers today!

George was first brought to the public’s attention way back when he was a young video VJ from the old Much Music scene. This is a music station in Canada that shares a similar format to music channel MTV in the US.

The musician’s that have been on the show are perfectly suited to his hosting skill set.
Some of the more resent ones that I really liked was the Canadian singer called K-os. George invites him to just relax and chill on his show.

Some non musicians that have been on the show is impressive as well. Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter’s piece was very insightful and moving to my wife and I. You know I did not realize that bob Dylan’s song Hurricane was about this great man, huh!

Has anyone seen The Hour on CBC? If so, what do you think! should he continue in this format Or should he be back at Much Music?

George, Keep on Jammin’

Trivia about Vigilants

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This is just a little post about some good old buddies of mine from the band Vigilants that came out of Brantford Ontario way back in the 80’s!

I’ve been doing a stay-cation this year and I was just searching for topics to write about, here on this blog. Today I was going through the Canadian Pop Encyclopedia website and I happen to some across a listing for Vigilants! It’s great to see that friends will be remembered for their hard work in the future in this way. Hats off to you guys!

A 4-piece hard rock act from Brantford, The Vigilants won Q107’s annual Homegrown contest and used the money to record their EP ‘Run For Cover’.

The record featured guest vocals by Lee Aaron who also appeared in the video.

So check out this link to the site. Ah, the memories.

I know some of you have seen this old video of the band, especially on Facebook(thanx Domenic for the video link!) but I just wanted to show some of you who haven’t, enjoy!

Keep on Jammin’ Vigilants from Brantford!

Pope John Paul II made a music CD?

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Last night I was watching the old idiot box(TV) with my wife and we came across an neat bit of holy trivia. We found out that the late Pope John Paul II had recorded a CD at Abbey Roads studio. Well, he never went there it seems, it was just the technical crew who did some work there. It’s called Appa Pater (Polish) “All yours” the Pope used to say.

I realize that this must be old news to some, but it was released March 23, 1999. In some on-line reviews, most people had this idea that it was going to be some form the New Age rip off that was going on during that time period. Some called it World beat, as a way to describe some of the style on this CD.

Now fast forward a few years after the Pope had pasted, some heard it again in a different head space. Most came to the conclusion that this is a great piece of music.

A independent review from Amazon
I am not Roman Catholic. I have never studied the Catholic faith. I never attended Catholic schools. I have strong and irreconcilable disagreements with the Roman Catholic church’s policies in many areas.

That said….

I have this CD of John Paul II’s voice, with accompanying music, saying prayers. I am writing this Amazon review to say that I truly find it uplifting and comforting.

After taking in some turns during that TV show last light, I just had to check out what else was on the CD. A few tunes stood out. I was a little disappointed that there was no Gregorian Chant interpretations on it, I’m a huge lover of this genre!
Vieni Santo Spirito, Padre Della Luce and Madre Di Tutte Le Genti stood out.

The lyrics are in multiple languages, so to add to it’s appeal I guess? They were based on John Paul II’s prayers, statements from homilies, etc. and integrated with an eclectic orchestration along with some nice drum beat and at times had an techno feel to it. At some points I thought they might brake into some electric House music, really! The way they weaved in and out of some Latin chants, Polish prayers, and African rhythms was outstanding!

It was even #1 on the European charts upon it’s release. Is it just me, or was I on some other planet when this happened?! Along with this mystery, I still can’t find out if this CD was done with or without the blessings of the Pope or the Vatican. Another puzzling thing about this thing. The church is great at doing things like this, now aren’t they.

Has anyone else heard of this CD or bought it in past?

Keep on Jammin’

Learn To Play The Electric Guitar The Right Way

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I can still remember a time not too long ago when I was seriously starting to believe that the electric guitar was breathing its last breaths. Do you also remember when pop music seemed to be taking over the world? Instead of wanting to learn to play electric guitar, it seemed to me that becoming the next Backstreet Boys spin-off was the coolest thing ever, at least according to the rest of the pop world.

Well, thank all that is good and holy, the days of the electric guitar is upon us once again. A few important bands played a crucial part in bringing rock back to life and that means that more people than ever want to learn to play electric guitar. A few awesome reasons why you should definitely try your hand at this instrument is:

1) It’s versatile! One of the most pertinent features of an electric guitar is how versatile it is. Most new guitarists who want to learn to play electric guitar starts out with rock, but you will find a ton of other styles you can go into. Some of the world’s best electric guitar players are found in jazz and blues, and there is definitely also place for electric guitars in pop, country, metal and every other genre you can think of.

2) You can get a great range of sound! You get a few extraordinary guitar players who can get almost any sound out of their axes that they want to. You can either buy effects pedals or just tweak some setting on your own setup to produce very unique sounds. Some of the world’s best guitarists use both of these methods to achieve amazing results.

3) You’ll look cool! Even though classical and acoustic guitars can be mesmerizing, there’s just nothing that compares to a masterfully played riff on an electric guitar. It’s no surprize that so many guys want to learn to play the electric guitar, look at how easily the rockstars get the girls!

How can you learn to play?

There are tons of ways that you can learn to play electric guitar. These include:

1) Take classes: Having an instructor up close and personal is great and you will definitely see some gains towards your end goal.

2) Teach yourself: Some people have the self-discipline to sit sit down and learn to play electric guitar all by themselves. Just keep in mind that when playing with others like in a band it’s always very handy if everyone has some basic understanding of music theory.

3) Take internet lessons: With the digital age that we’re living in it means that many things have been brought into the comfort of your own bedroom, including learning to play guitar. You can find online lessons as well as lessons available for download. We highly recommend you check out our Jamorama review.

Before you go any further you should be sure to have all the equipment you will need. Get yourself a guitar and amplifier that is not too expensive so that you wouldn’t have spent too much if you decide to stop playing for a while.

Always keep asking questions as this is by far the best way to learn to play electric guitar. You will encounter a lot of guitarists in your journey and when something sounds awesome, ask them to show you how they did it. If you are practicing regularly, you will be stunning the crowds in no time!

How to Manage Stage Fright

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Stage fright is much the same phobia as public speaking, a phobia of being humiliated in front of an audience. Stage fright is so common it ranks among the highest of personal phobias . Not many people are born orators or performers. There are certain people that love attention and are natural performers. Some of our most famous celebrities deal with stage fright all of the time. Stage fright is a problem for Barbra Streisand, for example. There is help available for stage fright sufferers and you can learn to manage it.

Stage fright affects most people when they perform in public. You must learn to not think about  the audience when you are performing. If you have studied well, you need not worry about the audience. It is best at first to not look any audience member directly in the eye for fear of losing your place or being distracted by their demeanor. A good tip is to look just above the heads of the audience sing as if you were singing to that place, not the floor, and they will think you are looking at them.

Your first piece should be one which you can always do without thinking, an easy one. A song that has difficult technique nay be impressive, but it hardly the selection to put you at ease. Save the tough stuff for last. In order to feel good about the performance at the start, do the proper selection for the first number, the audience will applaud and that will make you gain some much needed confidence. This is one of the secrets to managing stage fright, let the small steps lead you to larger ones.

Stage fright affects all of us at one time but we can learn to deal with it. Failing is a fear we all face and this is why stage fright is so hard. You can learn to manage stage fright with these easy tips.

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