Category: Music

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Music

I’m going to Yamaha’s “Innovation Road” museum!

Whoo-hoo! We managed to get a reservation to visit Yamaha’s Innovation Road museum in Hamamatsu, Japan!

Innovation Road is Yamaha’s interactive museum, packed with instruments that the legendary company has made over the past 130+ years. And yes, you’re allowed to play them, because the museum is meant to be a hands-on experience.

I hoping to at least see, if not play, the Yamaha DX1 (pictured above), a synth of which only 140 were ever made, and one that I’ve never seen in real life. For any synth players out there, it’s basically two DX7s in a single keyboard, and with much better displays. In 1983, it retailed for $13,000 (alomst $44,000 in today’s money):

Here are a few tunes you’ve probably heard that feature the DX1…

I happen to be the owner of a couple of vintage Yamaha keyboards — and they’re hard-to-find ones, too! One of them is the DJX, released in 1998, and the other is the DJX 2, released in 2000. The ones pictured below are mine…

Here’s a little bit of noodling I did on the DJX:

…and here’s a quick thing I put together on the DJX 2:

In addition to their famous synths, it’s also home to a lot of pianos…

…guitars…

…and all sorts of instruments because in the music world, Yamaha seems to make everything:

Here’s a tour from 6 years ago:

…and here’s a short video from a month ago:

And oddly enough, admission to Innovation Road is free! You just have to reserve one of the 150 spots they make available every day from Tuesday to Saturday.

I’m looking forward to this one!

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It Happened to Me Music

THIS is the photo that made me accept that I’m old

Why this photo?

Because the accordionist pictured above, who could easily be a stunt double for my father-in-law, is none other than Krist Novoselic, the former bassist for Nirvana, performing two years ago.

Here he is in 2023 with Geddy Lee (I would love to hang out and jam with Geddy — and hey, Krist too!):

Another pic of Krist:

By the way, it pleases me to no end that a member of Nirvana has embraced the accordion. I’m glad to be in good company.

I haven’t seen a photo of him in several years, so until today, if you mentioned his name, this picture would come to my mind:

But we all get older. In 1992, the year the photo above of young Krist was taken, this photo of young me (and the band I was in, The Dangerous Kitchen) was also taken, and I certainly don’t look like that anymore:

Here’s to getting older. It beats the alternative!

 

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Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me Music

Playing LIVE at the Honu: Saturday, September 26 at 2:30 p.m.

It’s short notice, but I got the call to play on short notice too!

I’ll be joining Tom Hood, playing good ol’ classic rock and folk tunes — him on ukulele, me on accordion, plus various other musicians — at The Honu, a fantastic tiki bar in Dunedin at 2:30 p.m.!

My plan is to show up at least an hour or more before the show to get a loco moco and an ube colada.

If you’re in the area, drop by, say hi, have a drink or some food and enjoy some tunes!

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Music

How did I not know that an instrument like the Suzuki Andes 25F existed?

How did I not know about the existence of the Suzuki Andes 25F, an instrument that looks like a melodica…

…but sounds like a recorder or flute?

Here’s Suzuki’s official product video for the Andes 25F, and the only it could be more Japanese would be if it didn’t have English text:

(Also, I just learned that Suzuki trademarked the term “melodion”.)

It can be quirky…

It can be serious…

It can even be haunting, in a melancholic 1980s way…

Here are its innards

…and I’m thinking, “You know, with one of these, I could completely rule a Ren Faire!”

(It’s on my Amazon wishlist, in case you were wondering…)

 

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Music

Wendy’s rockin’ new album makes it feel like the late ’90s/early 00’s again

Wendy’s new emo rock album, Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot is probably my favorite fast food promo project since the anime-styled “choose your own adventure”/dating simulator game I Love You Colonel Sanders.

With songs produced by Matt Squire (credits include Panic! at the Disco, 3oh!3, All Time Low, Simple Plan and Sum 41) and featuring the following artists…

…it’s a fun listen, and even more fun because of silly Wendy’s-related lyrics like:

  • “Always fresh, never frozen,”
  • “Square burgers saved my soul”
  • “It’s not a phase, It’s a 10-piece.”
  • “Great together, like Frosty and fries,”
  • “Dipped fries, a salty sweet goodbye”
  • “My Frosty’s funeral.”

Alas, I haven’t found any lyrics about the chili yet.

Anyway, the album’s a better and more fun listen than I expected. Check it out!

The songs

You can find the songs on the usual streaming music services, as well as YouTube. I’ve posted them below:

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Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me Music

A last-minute country music recording session

On Wednesday afternoon, I got this text from Tom Hood, ukulele player extraordinaire and leader of the band I sometimes play with:

I hadn’t seen Tom since November, I’m always happy to collaborate with hime, and it’s been a while since I’ve recorded in a studio that wasn’t my home office, so it was easy to say “Yes!”.

If you’re wondering how I could possibly sign on to record an accordion part for a song I’d never heard before on the following day:

  1. The song, Whisper in My Ear, is pretty straightforward (but catchy!) country waltz. It’s just three chords and heartbreak.
  2. Twenty-five years of lugging an accordion to all sorts of places, from bars to conference stages to airplanes stuck on the tarmac, will make you a great improviser.

So I made my way to South Tampa on Thursday evening and brought two accordions into the studio and rehearsal space, situated in a building behind a house of friendly guy who introduced himself to me as Wayne.

The place had a homey feel that reminded me of my friend Chris Walmsley’s basement, where Volume, the band I played with at Crazy Go Nuts University rehearsed.

After a couple of rehearsal runs, it was time to record! Dennis McCarthy, whom I’d met as the drummer with the band that played at Tom’s birthday party, was the sound engineer.

“Ready?” asked Dennis, whose voice I heard through the monitor headphones.

“Let’s do this,” I replied.

“D’you wanna record another one?” I heard Tom say over my monitor headphones.

I couldn’t resist and was soon presented with a chord chart and a listen to the song in its current state.

Once again, I did two takes, which included a little noodling to go into the solo, and we were done!

I was invited into the booth to hear some of the other songs that Tom had recorded.

After listening to a couple of songs, it was time to go home. I bade good night to Tom, Dennis, and Wayne, hoping that I might have another opportunity to record there.

I’ll post a link to the tune once it’s published!

Categories
Music

Excellent choice