Archive for the ‘Los Angeles Music News’ Category

Some Different Jazz Music Styles Exposed

By Brian & Jeff On October 13, 2011 No Comments

Many of the dance elements of bebop eventually faded away and transformed into real music by musicians like Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Bud Powell, Ray Brown, and Sonny Stitt who really didn’t want anything to do with commercial type music. What these musicians were trying to accomplish was to use jazz musicians in the past; people like: Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Art Tatum and Earl Hines in an attempt to take their jazz music to a higher level than it was at the time.

Over time jazz music started evolving and started moving away from basic melodies to start producing more complex chordal sounds as well is dissonant tones and even chromatic patterns as well. Some of these dissonant tones that you hear all the time in Jazz Music are usually heard when two or more tones are played at the same time in a clashing manner that can be referred to as sounding strange or even terrible. This of course depends on how the tones all fit together from a particular key. If you use lowered fifths and raised fourths a lot, there is also a good chance he could start hearing clashing sounds.

The music’s chromatic sound will allow any musician to play all of the 12 tones of these instruments without having to worry about any type of interference. Substitute chords are easy for musicians to play as well as altered chords which have the ability to change any key at a moments notice. There is been lots of change in the rhythm which has become more apparent which are used in most types of jazz music these days. In many cases the symbols were hit in predictable patterns while other musical instruments like the bass drum and snare are usually hit on a more random schedule.

For those of you that don’t know what soul jazz is, it’s a type of music that started out around the late 1950s and has its roots tied to gospel as well soul using musical instruments such as the tenor saxophone. Ramsey Lewis was a popular radio figure in this time period and he wrote a song called “the in crowd” which ended up being a hit song back in 1965. The music signature of soul Jazz included changing the tempo songs as well as powerful bass lines.

Bill Evans developed his own music style, and was a pianist that made his claim to fame by producing a few different jazz music styles using major and minor medieval church modes that made different types of sounds between these two notes. The matter what key they were using, the musicians were allowed to form new harmonies which broke all the music rules as we know them and is often referred to as Modal music.

Jazz music started integrating with rock ‘n roll around the 1960s and 1970s which really ticked off a lot of jazz lovers. This amalgamation that took place is commonly referred to as jazz fusion. Complicated chordal harmonies are what make this music up. Also syncopating rhythms and oddly marked meters are another characteristic of this type of music. The type of instruments that are used in jazz fusion of the same type of instruments that today’s bands are using like the electric guitar, the synthesizer and electric piano, as well as the bass guitar. Some well-known musicians like Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Miles Davis and Frank Zappa were known to be lovers of jazz fusion music.

Smooth Jazz started gaining a lot of momentum in the 1970s and 1980s.

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Normans Rare Guitars

By Brian & Jeff On October 13, 2011 No Comments

Normans Rare Guitars opened up its first location in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles in 1975. Once you visit his store, you’ll find that Norman has a wide variety of vintage guitars to choose from like Rickenbacker , Gibson, Fender, Gretsch and Martin. Many musicians, collectors as well as high profile artist and rock bands have a lot respect for Norm based on his experience in the field. Once word got out about the quality of norms guitars, Ward about his musical instruments began to spread rapidly and he started to expand a lot faster.

Normans Rare Guitars

Normans Rare Guitars carry a huge selection of guitars and guitar accessories. Starting with the Fender model you can find electric, acoustic, base or squire models. As far as Gibson models are concerned, you can find flattop acoustics solid bodies, ELE hollow bodies, acoustic archetypes, thin line electric, and Gibson base. You can also find Martin guitars which include the signature model and the secret stash model. They also offer Rickenbacker guitars and bass accessories. You can also find Guild acoustic and electric guitars here as well as the ERI phone solid body, thin line, archtop, acoustic and bass models. You can also find the Taylor’s secret and stash models here. If you’re looking for that Gretsch electric, solid body and acoustic guitar you’ll be in luck as well. You’ll also be of the locate models from Nash, D’ Angelico, Mike McGuire as well as the Steel Secret Stash Model. You can find the Paul Reed Smith model, Don Musser models as well as Dan Electro Guitars and bass models. You can also find the Hoffner acoustic and bass models here as well as Yamaha as well as some miscellaneous acoustic and bass models and a few different models that are priced under $500.

And not only can you buy amplifiers here, but you can purchase the pedals and accessories here as well. As far as baste up his concern, they have Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, EPI phone, Dan electric, Hoffner and also some miscellaneous models available. Normans rare guitars has a clothing area on their website, rare dogtags, pick necklaces, different types of T-shirts and at least one I visited the site they offered a black cat which was sold out by the time I got there. Also they do have a blog on their website, however they do post on it occasionally, but not very often. When I took a look at their website, it appeared that the only post on it about once every couple months or so. However, I do notice that there are some pretty famous people on their blog so it is worth checking out.

One thing that I noticed, is that there is a videos portion of the website at Normans rare guitars, and that there’s a lot of videos posted on this website. It seems that a lot of these videos are based around celebrity or high-profile figures that drop into their store. People like Shirley Brown, Johnny Tillotson, Richie Sambora, John 5, Dan Estrin and Nick Wheeler, Josh Moreau and Cocoa Kat, Bill Evans, Mike score, Freebo, Dean Parks, Jackson Cook, Adam Levine, Tom Petty, Ramblin Jack Elliott, the Foo Fighters, Earthquake In Japan, Chris Mintz, amazing Nick, Sylvia Greenstein and Nick Dias, Adrian White playing Lady Gaga and will you know you get the picture by now. Also as you can imagine, hundreds of different celebrities have walked into Normans rare guitars and a done business with them.

One customer that did a review of norms guitar, mentioned that he knew Norm for decades. He mentioned that he’s in the that guitar business heavy duty and for a long long time has had the best choice of vintage guitars in all of Los Angeles. This customer actually happens to review new and used guitars for a magazine and Norm was the only guy to actually return a favor to him when he asked by giving him a book and some T-shirts. He also mentioned that Norm is an honest guy. He also wanted to emphasize that this isn’t really the place to go to if you’re looking for a bargain, it’s not a bargain shop but it’s more place where you are going to get high quality merchandise for a very fair price. He also said that a lot of the vintage guitar dealers in Los Angeles aren’t completely transparent with their customers, but you can count on norm being transparent matter what.

Another customer of Normans rare guitars mentioned that they got a great deal and were able to get some excellent equipment after shopping at the store. They also said that the staff down there were not only knowledgeable, but they give you your space and lets you look around the shop is much as you want unless you have a Pacific question for them. And if you do then they’re very happy to help you out and find exactly what you need. This particular customer had a great shopping experience at Normans. However be forewarned, if you use their restroom you’ll find some pinup girl pictures, ha ha Ha. However I have to give them credit for not being sexist and instantly presuming that I was just there because my boyfriend was. Normans is the place to shop if you’re in search for a major brand guitar. You don’t have to worry about just hunting for new guitars either, you can also find lots of used and vintage guitars there as well. It’s also cold and no that is Martin, Fender custom shop as well as his Gibsons are all very competitively priced with guitar Center prices. And if they don’t have what you want in stock, like any other good guitar shop will be happy to order it for you.

The vintage guitars that they have available down there are in pretty darned good condition. For example you could find 1959 Les Paul standards as well as fender Stratocaster is from the 1950′s and 1960s and even Fender precision bass guitars. Normans rare guitars are very reasonably priced over there. One example would be a mint 1956 fender Stratocaster that they sell at Normans for $65,000.

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West LA Music Review

By Brian & Jeff On October 12, 2011 No Comments

West LA Music grew up with rock ‘n roll and they became a recognized force in this industry in the early 1970s. They supply equipment to some of the top musicians all over the world. They have been known to be on stage at the California Jams in the 1970s and they have that also had a big presence in the digital multimedia era during the 1990s and have collaborated and helped some of the best players in the music industry today. You can find pretty much anything you want at West LA Music from drums, keyboards, guitars, amplifiers, recording equipment, DJ equipment, music software, synthesizers and accessories. If you’re looking for products for the lead manufacturers in the industry West LA Music can get it for you. They also have decades of expertise in formulating the right equipment packages for your production needs. In fact the first product that was sold by them was a Standel Amp back in 1967.

Rick Waite is responsible for artist relations down there, and has been with them for over 25 years now. Rick has been playing guitar since he was in high school. He was also friends with Toto and Chicago before they went big-time.

West LA Music

He’s also very personal and easy to get along with, and you’ll realize this very quickly if you ever enter their store and see him there. One of the things that motivates Rick most about working at West LA Music, is the fact that he commonly sees people walk in there that are famous musicians you might see on TV or Commercials. Rick thinks it’s a real honor to provide professional music equipment to these people. One of Rick Waite’s claim to fame for building West LA Music, was back in the early 1970s, he was out developing personal relationships with Don Griffin with some of the top musicians of the time. Rick thinks it’s fascinating to hang around the pros and believes that you need to hang with the professionals to be a pro yourself.

He also believes you really need to be serious and work with them, because professionals have high expectations and not everyone is able to meet those expectations. West LA Music has an expert sales staff that’s constantly doing business with manufacturer reps. So not only do the pros shop here but guess what they also work here. They have people associated with them that have scored films, gotten on TV commercials, performed with the major artists, have done orchestrations but the common thread they all have is they’ve been inside West LA music and done business with them. Some could argue it’s a very close environment and that they are one big giant happy family down there.

West LA music also has an artist relations department that can help you get all your music and audio recording needs met. Whether you need a musical instrument or home recording studio or you want to outfit a complete tour they can help you get started. You can count on the best prices anywhere on every major brand of gear that they offer. They will even be happy to facilitate some type of endorsement deal on any brand that they carry. You now have a chance to join forces with thousands of satisfied professionals who have also shopped at West LA music for over three decades.

West LA music is a company who is dedicated themselves tirelessly to do extremely great quality service and also brings you the best ideas and technology, and takes the time to evaluate your personal needs and also find the best cost-effective solutions to all of your music projects. The end goal is to have an awesome system that’s properly engineered and that performs to your specific requirements. They also realize that success does not happen overnight, and that it takes careful planning to achieve the most optimum results. There trained staff will personally work with you to make sure that the solutions they provide to your audio recording challenges are the best they can be. Whether you need help with live sound reinforcement, keyboard labs or project recording studios, they can help you.

The list of West LA Music Studios Installation Gallery clients are extremely impressive. Some of their clients include Val Garay, Billy Bob Thornton, The CW Networks Incorporated, The Five Guys Named Moh Incorporated, Village Studios, Levels Audio Post, Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center, and many more.

Mark Spiwak has over three decades of experience in the music industry, and is the lead audio and recording manager as well as the most senior salesperson at West LA Music. Mark primarily deals with all the high-end musicians as well as engineers. His specialty is creating custom studio solutions for the film and audio industry alike. Mark got a strong start in his career playing for some of the top national authorities and started recording and touring throughout the United States and Europe. As a born musician, in 1975, he was an employee of the Guitar Center in Hollywood and his ambition pushed him to open up seven more stores around the United States for them.

In 1986, Mark opened a couple of Guitar Stores that he owned himself called Midi City. However in the last two decades, Mark has made West LA Music his home, and his clients are the cream of the crop which include actors, film composers, musicians, as well as high-end postproduction facilities. As if this wasn’t enough, Pres. Ronald Reagan was even one of Mark Spiwak’s clients. Mark is happy working for West LA Music, and is also excited about all the challenges it presents. He feels that working with some of the most talented people in the music industry is the best present life can offer.

Joe Taupier is the head of business sales down at West LA music and began his career back in 1987 and has been working for this company for the last 10 years. Joe has been able to create several digital recording systems for some of the leading postproduction facilities and music studios in the country today.

And who knows, if you’re looking for a job you can actually send them your salary history or e-mail them or fill out their online application. They have a careers link on their website. So if you’re looking for a job and are interested in music, this just might be the place you want to work.

West LA Music Contact Information

11345 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 477-1945
Fax: (310) 477-2476
Hours: Monday-Friday: 10am-7pm; Saturday:10am-6pm
You can park behind both store locations!

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2011 Los Angeles Guitar Festival

By Brian & Jeff On October 4, 2011 No Comments

The July 4th Weekend was on overdrive at the Los Angeles Guitar Festival. Some of the biggest acoustic guitar and electric guitar minds in the world attended this and it was the first guitar festival with the name “Los Angeles”. Some people drove almost 1000 miles just to attend this event, and they said the trip was well worth it. In fact some liked it so much that they decided to move to the Los Angeles area. In fact you should try this California Moving Company, Oz Moving. This event went on for 2 nights and Mitch Chang did an incredible job organizing it. This event took place at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center and everything here seemed to work out just great. People are already looking ahead and are excited to attend this event next year as well. Performers at the event included Tommy Emmanuel, Jimmie Vaughan, Dick Dale, Laurence Juber, Cyril Pahinui, Bruce Forman, Gonzalo Bergara and Ben Lacy.

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Les Paul and The Gibson Les Paul Guitar

By Brian & Jeff On September 30, 2011 No Comments

The Gibson Les Paul Guitar is to a musician what an M-16A2 Service Rifle is to a United States Marine. It doesn’t matter if you own the Les Paul Tribute that comes with the sunburst top or the standard edition. The Les Paul Tribute also comes with an ebony style keyboard and gold machine heads.

Les Paul was bord in 1915 in Wankesha Wisconsin and grew up to be an American Jazz and Country Guitarist. Unfortunately Les Paul passed away in 2009. He had a lot to do with developing the solid-body electric guitar which triggered the rock and roll era. Many recording innovations that occured during the 20th Century were accredited to him. Les did many experiments with stuff like multitrack recording and delay effects that started getting a lot of attention throughout the music community. Les Paul is one of very few people who have a permanent exhibit in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Rocket Piano

Les Paul Played on radio after moving to Chicago in 1934. In 1936 his first two records were released to the public. He started taking a serious interest in Jazz around this time which is where his stage name came from. One of the very first solid-body electric guitars was built and named after him in 1940 which was called “The Log”. It was constructed out of a 4×4 chunk of pine and included a pickup with strings.

Les Paul originally tried to strike a deal with Gibson trying to sell them on his Solid Body Electric Guitar brainchild. Gibson wasn’t interested at first until Fender started successfully selling its Esquire which publicly evolved into the Telecaster models. Although Les had a successful career producing and selling his records he was never content with how they sounded. He eventually setup his own recording studio in his garage which was located on North Curson Street in Hollywood.

In 1954 the public was introduced to the 2nd issues of the Les Paul Guitar which they called the Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar. This guitar was completely black and it was appropriately called the Black Beauty. This guitar had a mahogany top which was distinctive to the Goldtop which had a maple top. It also came with the latest Tune O Matic bridge design. The Les Paul Junior was also released this year which contributed to the solid body electric guitar market. People realized that after using these guitars for a few years that they were all perfectly suited for professional use.

Gibson changed ownership in Jan 1986 and started producing many variations of the original Les Paul Models that catered to different buyers with different interests. Several design characteristics that were present in the classes models were put to an end in the 1980s, and unfortunately the maple neck and volute were included in these. You can find the Gibson Les Paul in high demand even today, and because of this high demand, you will find this guitar produced in a variety of different models. Some of these new models even include modern digital electronics added to them. Some are produced to replicate the earliest production models that came out in the 1950s.

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Soul Music Star Sly Stone Homeless

By Brian & Jeff On September 30, 2011 No Comments

Sly Stone Homeless

Sly Stone contributed a lot to the Jazz Music Industry during his music career. However things have changed for him and he is now homeless in South Central Los Angeles. From what I’ve heard he spent his entire fortune and lived large for quite a while. He even had a Mansion in Beverly Hills and a nice place in the Napa Valley. Unfortunately bad financial decisions and substance abuse issues are what led to him going totally broke. I’m wondering why can’t he just do a few more performances to get back on his feet? And what about his millions of fans and all his friends during his heyday and where are they now? My understanding is he is living in a small camper he owns which is parked on Crenshaw. A retired couple gives him food everyday and lets him shower in their home. He does say he’s been recording new music with his laptop but no one is sure whether or not he’ll try to sell it and make some money with it. We wish Sly Stone the very best and we hope he can get some performances soon.