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Moog Taurus Pedal

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The Moog Taurus pedal is an analog synthesizer that is played with your feet. It helps fill out the song your playing with that real church pipe organ/deep base register sound. The best example of this sound is when The Police used this pedal at the beginning of Don’t stand so close to me. This ancient, blast for the past, is precisely what your looking for, if you want that little extra something for your sound!

If you’ve ever seen a church organ up close or in pictures, then you may have a better idea of what this instrument looks like. Hey, if you ever went to someone’s home and they had one of those ‘ol cheezy home organs, then you’d have a good idea as well! The Moog Taurus pedal looks exactly like the pedals at the bottom of these organs. You play it with you feet!

The Moog Taurus Pedal has been around for ages. Bands that have or had them in their musical arsenal are bands like RUSH, YES, Pink Floyd, the Police and many other rock, fusion and metal performers from yesterday, right up to the present day scene!

The thing that got me thinking of this was while playing with CounterPoint the other night. Chris Noto, the best bass player that I have ever had the privilege of playing with, brought it up while taking a break. He said his brother has one and that he’d love to get it from him if he could, and believe you me, this guy REALLY knows what he is talking about. The way this guy plays the bass, if he had one of these things, it would sound like he is playing 3 instruments at once! Just imagine what it could do with your sound.

So check out the links on this page and learn for yourself what this could do for your band’s sound.

Keep on Jammin’




Just came back from the Cenotaph in East York

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I just walked in the door from the remembrance day celebrations at the East York Civic Centre. It was a beautiful ceremony that I’m sure touched everyone’s heart! There was at least 2000 people in attendance, really nice to see that kind of respect!

East York Cenotaph

East York Cenotaph

It started off by a parade of all our military forces. In attendance were War Veterans (Air, Army and Navy), legion members, Fire, Ambulance and the Police just to name a few!

We sang O Canada, followed up by some opening remarks. Then came the Last Post. For someone to say that this song is VERY POWERFUL is not saying enough.

Then came the Lament speech, followed by the Hymn:O Valiant Hearts. Then our local Toronto councilor Janet Davis said a few words. Right in the middle of her speech, 4 yellow coloured Harvard very ancient looking airplanes flew over the cenotaph, nice touch boys! If your into airplanes or your Canadian then you’ve seen these things before! I would loved to have seen a Lancaster there, it’s my second favorite Canadian airplane, my favorite in the Avro Arrow. I don’t know why the damn Diefenbaker Government literally, I mean literally dismantled the life and pride of a county! That is why I’ll NEVER VOTE CONSERVATIVE in my life!!!

Now comes the reading of In Flanders Fields. It was written by a Canadian called Dr. John McCrae (1872-1918) from Guelph Ontario. He was a medic in a field hospital who took a break from sowing up some young solders fresh from a battle and then he penned this beautiful Poem.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

It was read perfectly by Rehanna Ali from D.A. Morrison Middle School. Now it was time for the laying of the wreaths, it was moving to say the least. After this, a song was played by some kids on acoustic guitars with an electric soloing throughout it, nice soloing to boot! The Reverend Alex Bissett recited the Litany for World Peace prayer as well the hymn: O God, Our Help in Ages Past was said.

We then sang God Save the Queen! I haven’t sang that one in many years, so it was great to walk down memory lane with so many fellow Canadians of different strips! They then did the Colour Party Retires and Parade Dismissal. Wow, what an event to experience!

Let us hope and pray that we do not have to put any more names down on another Cenotaph.
May they all rest in peace.

Playing Guitar with CounterPoint

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So on Thursday Oct. 30 I was jamming with Counterpoint!

This is the band that was playing in the 2008 Nuance Art Rock festival. This experience was one that I will remember for years to come.

The guys in CounterPoint are looking for a guitar player that will help round out their unique sound. As you’ve read in some of my other posts on this blog and on my Guitar Licks and Tips site, I have been very excited about how these guys approach song writing and how they play, because they achieve that BIG FAT sound that I LOVE.

The guys from CounterPoint

They asked me if I wanted to jam/try out for the guitar player role for these masters of progressive rock, when I saw them that fateful night at the show. I hummed and hawed about this for months it seemed (really it was only a couple of weeks). Then finally one night I said to my wife, what the heck and just threw my hat into the ring! That night I had a lot of trouble sleeping. In the back of my mind I was saying to myself Am I really ready for this?

We then set a date to get together. It was delayed a few times because of this, that and the other thing, but finally we got together.

When we sat down in the rehearsal hall, Rising Star Studios, I was finally relaxed. You couldn’t find a nicer bunch of guys. We sat and talked for a while, they even brought a couple of beers to make the jam more relaxing, nice touch.

I just stuck to my coffee because I had the songs that I went through at home in my old brain box running in overdrive and I didn’t want to mess anything up! As a rule I don’t like to drink when I play guitar, unless it’s at a campfire or just goofing around here and there. While jamming with guys of this caliber, you need to have your head screwed on correctly! As it turned out, these were just your regular kinda guys and I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Keep on Jammin’

Electric Hendrix Vodka

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There is a new tribute to the greatest guitar player of our time Mr. Jimi Hendrix. The tribute is called Electric Hendrix Vodka. The story now is taking a turn for the worst, just like the unfortunate one that it was named for.

A company, with the help of the House of Hendrix, started to pay homage to the great Jimi, with out thinking about one very important thing … they forgot to tell Experience Hendrix, the company that runs Hendrix’s estate what they were doing. Now, according to a local radio station Q-107, the product is being pulled from shelves due to licensing issues.

I’ve been searching online for a while now and there isn’t a straight forward answer as to what the reason was that brought on this ruling. The only thing I found was something about the family being broken into 2 camps. They seem to be fighting for whatever piece of the pie they can get? One big happy dysfunctional family I guess? If you can shed some more light on this one for us then please bring us into the loop! I for one can’t follow the bouncing ball.

Here is an overview, in point form, of how it started nice, then somewhere along the way it turned ugly

  • 2005 – Craig Dieffenbach begins Electric Hendrix LLC with the blessing and involvement of the Jimi Hendrix family.
    – Owners of Parent Co. Electric Hendrix LLC include Jimi’s brother Leon Hendrix, Joe Hendrix and other friends and family members of Jimi Hendrix.
  • 2006 – (January) Electric Hendrix LLC rescues, moves and begins renovation of the childhood home of Jimi Hendrix. Electric Hendrix LLC also assisted in securing a new marker for the grave of Jimi’s mother, Lucille Hendrix
  • Present – reps for the “Hendrix Experience” the organization that manages the Hendrix estate won a court battle against the makers of Electric Hendrix vodka. One of the company’s owners was Leon Hendrix, Jimi’s brother, and the head of Experience Hendrix is Janie Hendrix, Jimi’s step-sister.
    (from Michael Stone-AudioPros)

So why can’t we just get along? Here’s an idea, lets have a drink!

Keep on Jammin’

Rebel Wheel at Nuance 2008

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Rebel Wheel at this years Nuance 2008 was like the icing on a perfectly made musical cake! Once again, real nice line up there Wilton!

This Ottawa band played with so much feel and expression that night. Their sound was great and their approach to music showed a level of writing that I have not seen in many years. If they keep this up, then this will not be the last that we see/hear from these guys! Watch out for them.

Their on stage presence is that of a bunch of fun loving friends that are just jammin’ in a hall, and you just happen to be there at that point in time! They first gave me the impression of a Bare Naked Lady that meets a Jazz fusion band. I think that the BNL’s are the most entertaining band to see live!After a short period of time, I soon realized that there was much more to them then meets the ears. It honestly looked like Rebel Wheel was having a blast!

The true leader of the band is David Campbell. I loved some of the Steve Howe influences that he used in Tempra, but more on that stuff later! His approach to the guitar is wild! It was enthusiastic and intriguing to watch him jam. Aaron Clark, the drummer of the band and the guy I bought a shot of that black ouzo for, was funny … but he certainly is the back bone of the sound.

Gary Lauzon is the bass player of the band. He also had the best playing stance of anyone that played there that night … he was sitting down in a chair the whole show. Ah, Leon Redbone, I get it! Don’t get me wrong, the man was re-inventing how the direction of bass playing maybe going towards! His technique with his hammer on’s where something to behold. Very neat way to play the bass!

Now last but not least, there is Angie MacIvor. Who wouldn’t want a player like her in your band. Her sax, voice and keys were nice touches everywhere she put them into a tune. Not over powering at times, but intense when you really needed it! She added that Shuffle Demons feel to them, that night, LOVED IT!!!

So I have to give the Rebel Wheel band a 2 thumbs up! Now, go and check out their site for dates in your area and see for yourself … they are worth the drive.

Rebel Wheel, Keep on Jammin’

CounterPoint at the Nuance 2008 show

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CounterPoint is the kind of band that you DO NOT want to miss seeing live at least once in your life. These guys are just that good.

I read their bio’s from the evenings program and it was so nicely done that I have decided to show you all what was in it.

Member Biographies taken from the Nuance 2008 program:

Rick Kazmirchuk, Keyboards & Backing Vocals.

In February of 2008 he went out on my own to start the CounterPoint project as I wanted to write a more aggressive style of progressive rock. I needed to find players with a high level of musicianship to pull this off which I am happy to say has been accomplished with Jeff Morrison handling vocal duties, Chris Noto on bass and Joe Pawslowski on drums.

Joined my first band (Purple Haze) at 15 playing cover material and some original. Worked with numerous original bands over the years (Meshiana Wish, The Wish, Spinal Tramp, Media, NRG) still writing and performing original material and playing more cover material that was progressive-oriented along the lines of SAGA and Genesis and played in a SAGA clone band in the early 1980’s.

In 1986 I joined CERAFIM and was the major contributor and influence to the writing of the band’s
music in the styles of progressive and contemporary rock. CERAFIM went on to record 4 well received CD’s and is still musically active through Internet radio stations and is distributed internationally by a number of independent record labels.

In January of 2005 I ventured into a new musical partnership as keyboardist with the Canadian original progressive rock band THE LAST PLACID DAYS OF PLENTY.

Chris Noto, Bass guitar

Chris has been playing bass guitar since 1972 and has been surrounded by music as far back as he can remember as his father Sam Noto is one of the best jazz trumpet players in the world.

Chris brings a unique style of bass to the band, a cross between prog rock greats such as Chris Squire (YES) and Greg Lake (ELP) as well as a be bop jazz influence from his father. Chris grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and moved to Toronto in 1975 and has been here off and on ever since.

Chris opened for the band Mountain in Las Vegas when he was a mere 21 years old. He has played with keyboardist Rick Kazmirchuk in NRG, CERAFIM and a brief stint with the Last Placid Days of Plenty before teaming up with Rick as bassist for the CounterPoint project.

Joe Pawlowski, Drums & Percussion

I’ve been playing drums for almost 30 years. My main influences are Gene Krupa, John Bonham, Carl
Palmer, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford, Neil Peart and Mike Portnoy. I have been in a variety of different bands, from Rock, Jazz and Progressive.

I plan to give you a blow by blow description of their show in upcoming posts in the future. Stay tuned for more … I promise it will be more then worth the wait!

CounterPoint, Keep on Jammin’

Lorne Hind at the Nuance 2008 show

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Lorne Hind from LorneHind360, was a natural opening act to kick start the Nuance show. He is also listed as the only instrumental band to play that night as well!

Lorne Hind

Lorne began his musical career in his hometown of Whitby, Ontario. As they say, good things grow in Ontario! Sorry that was a bad one, but there is absolutely nothing wrong in his playing style at all.

There at the impressionable age of 9, he was enrolled in the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music. I started taking lessons from a teacher with these accreditation, but as you know some people are natural instructors and some … well not so much.

As a student of guitar, he was taught music theory, classical guitar and wanted to take what he fathered there and move on to learn about the electric guitar. This is where he found his first love.

He said that his knowledge of music theory was a little shaky in the beginning stages but, that didn’t stop him from forming a teenage garage band. Now let this be a life lesson here kidz, don’t think that you’re not good at playing any instrument at first try. If you keep up the love and the drive, you CAN and WILL achieve anything that you set your old brain box to do.

At the age of 16, his parents moved the family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Now while residing in the USA, Lorne concentrated his efforts on teaching himself more about music theory and the structure of songwriting. This is something that I did, but the structure of songwriting is the only thing that has eluded me still to this date!

So while looking over his site, take note of when and where he is playing and go out and see him live. Like myself watching him for the first time, you’ll probably say, who the hell needs Jeff Beck when we have Lorne!

Keep on Jammin’

Nuance 2008 Music Festival

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This was a celebration of Art/Progressive music scene in Toronto. In it’s 3rd year, I find it was more than what was advertised in the Toronto media.

I once again proudly proclaim that this years 2008 Nuance Art Rock Festival was a massive success!

I just can’t say enough great praise for this event. If you live in the Toronto/GTA area and your a big lover of Progressive rock, then keep your eye out on all of my blogs for next years event. Having missed the last couple of years, I feel that I have lost an opportunity to see other bands of this great musical genre and help keep this torch alive for future generations to come!

So check out some of my links to see what it is that I am talking about!

Keep on Jammin’ Nuance

How to play the pipe organ

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Rick Wakeman shows off his church pipe organ skills at Lincoln Cathedral.

Ever since I was a young boy and went to St. Basil’s church to attend mass there, I loved hearing the pipe organ that they had. The longest pipe is over 70 feet long and when you stood beside it and the organist pulled out all the stops, the sound that emulated from it was overpowering to say the least! This is where the origins of the phrase “Pulling out all the stops” comes from!

I don’t write too many posts on classical music, but I do want to show you another section of my love for this mostly forgotten form of music.

Check out the guy in the background who has the envious task of working the multiple stops on the organ. I don’t know about you, but I’d be very nervous about trying to help the God Father of Progressive Rock adjust his sound, while he is playing just inches away from you!

Keep on Jammin’

Don Kirshners Rock concert

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Don Kirshners’ Rock concert brought us the best that Rock & Roll had to offer. It was the best and most viewed music show on television during my youth … and we thank you for it Don, wherever you are these days. This music variety show premiered on September 29, 1973 and sadly ended on January 1, 1981.

I can vividly remember staying home and watching this show countless nights, seeing musical giants strutting the stage! My mind would wander, imagining myself performing with these greats. I thought about how in the hell, what did these guys do to make the guitar sound like that? Did they sell their souls to the devil for unearthly musical powers?

At the time, Don Kirshners Rock concert was a land that I wanted to go to and be part of some how, some way. I now realize that this show helped me to become hooked on guitar playing.

The shows that really were embedded in my mind were Black Sabbath, Frank MarinoPoco, Brownsville Station , Kool and the Gang (as a young guitar player, these guys were out of sight man!), and John Klemmer (I distinctly remember this being my first exposure to jazz guitar playing).

Here is just a PARTIAL list of the musical who’s who of Rock, that played on the show, as well as helped forge my R & R experience for years to come!

Bad Company, Badfinger, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Black Sabbath, Brownsville Station, Joan Baez, Pat Benatar, Black Oak Arkansas, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Blue Öyster Cult, David Bowie, The Byrds, Harry Chapin, Cheap Trick, Jim Croce, Devo (one of my favorites!), The Doobie Brothers, Eagles
Earth, Wind & Fire, Edgar Winter Group, Electric Light Orchestra, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Golden Earring, The Guess Who, The Hollies, James Gang (the guy who lived down the street played in this band, Domenic Triano), Billy Joel, Johnny Winter, Kansas, B.B. King, Kiss, Mahogany Rush, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Frank Marino, Don McLean, Ted Nugent, New York Dolls, Billy Preston, Prince & The Revolution, Ramones (the ultimate wedding band, imagine the version of the bird dance!), Lou Rawls
The Rolling Stones, Todd Rundgren, Rush (my home town band from Toronto), Santana, Seals and Crofts, Sly & the Family Stone, The Stampeders, (love these guys!), Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band, UFO, Uriah Heep, War, Weather Report, and T.Rex. Holly shit batman, what a partial list that was!

I ask people at work if they remember anything about this show and most of the time I get these blank stares looking back at me. Is it just me, or was this show one of the greatest shows to watch as a kid?

God bless Don Kirshner, where ever you are!

Keep on Jammin’ Don

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