Blasters West Coast Tour Dates February-March 2018

Wed, 02/14/2018 - 6:46pm
Written by KeithW

We’re on the road again, seeing places that we’ve mostly been…with apologies to Willie, the Blasters are heading out on a tour of the West Coast plus a few more dates here and there. As always, if you’re in the area of any of these shows please say hello - I am always glad to meet folks from the AW community.

 

February 

15 Morro Bay CA The Siren

16 Santa Cruz, CA Moe's Alley

17 Novato, CA Hopmonk Tavern

18 Pacifica CA Longboard

20 Sacramento CA Harlow’s

22 Bend OR Volcanic Theater Pub

George Whitty on Overcoming Stage Fright

Fri, 07/01/2016 - 4:23pm
Written by GeorgeWhitty
 

One topic that seems to come up fairly often in my messages and video exchanges here at ArtistWorks is our good old friend STAGE FRIGHT. It's a bit of a theme in the video exchanges, particularly, so I'm going to take a few minutes and discuss my experience with it and how I got rid of it.

One fine summer day in 1992, I had my first rehearsal with the Brecker Brothers.  I'd helped them produce "Return Of The Brecker Brothers" earlier that year, and to my incredible delight, they asked me to join the band for the tour.  But to my knowledge neither Mike nor Randy had heard me take a solo;  I think they'd heard I could blow, but hadn't heard me much in person other than doodling around on the recording sessions.  So, on this day, we set about rehearsing "Above and Below", a fast Latin burner.  And we played the head, Mike Stern took an extended smoking solo, Randy took an extended smoking solo, Mike Brecker took a VERY extended smoking solo, and then everybody looked at me.

Getting Ready for a Jam Session

Thu, 06/23/2016 - 1:36pm
Written by KeithW

getting ready for a jam session

Online programs like this one provide a great opportunity to learn how to play an instrument without leaving your bedroom, but for a complete musical experience there’s just no substitute for playing with real, live musicians in front of an audience. If you don’t have a band to play with, the best opportunity to experience live performance is at a jam session.

Jams are usually hosted by bars or restaurants during otherwise quiet times like Sunday afternoons or Monday nights (Google “jam sessions” and your location to see what’s around). The common musical denominator is blues, so the rhythm styles and soloing techniques you learn here in the Blues Guitar program will give you a strong foothold. If you haven’t participated in a jam before, here are a few tips on what to expect and how to prepare:

Scope it Out