Gary Tittle's Music Blog

Steps to Production

2010-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

1)Compose multitrack/multichannel MIDI file of original music. 2)Export MIDI File from keyboard workstation 3)Load in REASON and raise the quality of instrumentation using things like the PLAY engines. 4)Take instrumental tracks and load them into the V-Studio (personal choice V840GX). 5)Record vocals against the instrumental tracks. 6)Load into SoundForge for mastering. That is by no means a FAST take on production. Song writing and recording are very time consuming. The difference begins to take shape with the principle of "creativity on demand". There is a disparity between recording an "album" as an artist, or recording music to be used for soundtrack materal on film, television or advertising. The disparity is defined simply as - THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING. -g

2010 and Reinvention

2010-01-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hi! Welcome to my music blog. The theme of this blog changes officially this year from the "band" blog to my own music blog. There have been a lot of changes in the last couple of years - leading to the reinvention of my entire approach to music. Through the use of my KORG Triton and "REASON" I have discovered that nearly all the music projects that I work on now are dependent on myself. Phil is still providing percussion support - and I have been talking to other musicians who will work with me from time to time. The main websites are morphing also. If you look at http://www.garytittle.com you will be able to see it over the days to come. Thanks for looking in. Please check back often.

Tracy Dry Bean Festival - Sunday, September 7th

2008-09-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

I will be performing with Jen and Mike Chivers on the Community Stage at the Tracy Dry Bean Festival this Sunday Morning. The show starts at 11am.

Announcement

2007-06-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

It is now official. Yakking Dog Music Publishing Company is now affiliated with and registered with ASCAP. Mixdown is already underway on our first CD release titled "OTHER SPACES". This CD is a mix of Ambient, Rock, and Easy Listening. It will be available through direct order and through Amazon.Com. (along with several other online and also brick and mortar shops). 0g

Radio Airplay Releases: "Sea Thing" and "Greg's Blues"

2006-11-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

The Gary Tittle Band The Gary Tittle Band ANNOUNCEMENT: We have released "Sea Thing" and "Greg's Blues" as airplay releases. These songs are available in high resolution "broadcast quality" downloads for authorized radio programming directors to add to playlists effective today. We encourage all programming directors to preview each song and add them to their playlist rotation. -Gary

"I Don't Drink Anymore.... (Than I Used To....)"

2006-09-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

"I Don't Drink Anymore......(Than I Used To.....)" This has sat in the vault for about three months and I decided to release it on My Space. Go to http://www.myspace.com/thegarytittleband ..and click on "I Don't Drink Anymore...." - - Yippie-i-ooooooooooooooooo Image Let me know what you think. Me (on Piano/Vocals), Philip Tittle on V-Drums. Lots of fun!!!! -g

Dave Parker and Phil Tittle

2006-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

DSC00115, originally uploaded by gtittle.geo.

Here is Dave and Phil performing with "Mushroom Stamp" on 09/24/2006.

"Sea Thing" and "Calcutta" - Climbing the New Age Charts

2006-09-20T01:08:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody! We have two new releases 'Sea Thing' and 'Calcutta', #4 and #6 respectively on the AudioStreet.Net New Age chart. Please visit us at: http://www.audiostreet.net/artist.aspx?artistid=50919 ...and give it a look and a listen. We appreciate reviews, comments and especially emails. Thanks. -Gary

The Influence of Pet Sounds on Sgt Pepper

2006-09-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Beachles

I stumbled across something pretty wierd called "The Beachles". It is actually a "mash-up" of two different albums - Pet Sounds and Sgt Peppers. It is cacophonious at times and at other times it seems to make sense. Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson actually have a discussion/interview on the whole thing - and it is kind of sick/fascinating all at the same time. Even more interesting - was Brian Wilson and George Martin sitting at a console together at Abbey Road (YouTube) having a discussion on dissecting the tracks of Pet Sounds some 30 years after the fact. The exploration is "out there" but the actuality is - Pet Sounds and Sgt Pepper are very different. Brian comments that the albums are actually not alike at all. The similarity is the creativity that went into the structure of the sounds. For example - Brian comments that he puts together the sound of a guitar with an organ for a homogenous/synthesis in one song. This is kindred to the introduction of the Moog Blue Meanie and the Mellotron on many of the Beatle's works.

Songs You Don't Want to Hear!

2006-09-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.claytoncounts.com/blog/

Want to laugh? How about Frank Sinatra singing "Mrs. Robinson" or Peter Sellers singing "Hard Days Night"? Well - this blog/website "has it all" - even Pat Boone with a special track called "Speedy Gonzales". This is absolutely hysterical (pathetic?). Anyway - I couldn't believe this - and I still don't believe it - CHECK IT OUT! I guarantee that these are songs that each of the perpretrators would prefer that you never unearthed, at alone listened to. -g

The ULTIMATE Beatles Store!

2006-08-30T21:37:00.000-07:00

The ULTIMATE Beatles Store! Well - we did it - couldn't stand looking all over the Internet for Beatles memorabilia and stuff and so we created ONE SPECIAL PLACE for Beatles fans everywhere - THE ULTIMATE BEATLES STORE! I'll bet that you spend some time checking this out - because I keep browsing through it and can't stop. :) Anyway - Here it is, so enjoy! -g

Geoff Emerick, George Martin and The Beatles

2006-08-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Two books that seem to really define the real history of The Beatles are “Here, There and Everywhere” and George Martin’s “All You Need Is Ears”. Between these two books an important perspective can be formed about the relationship between the Producer and Recording Engineer. There are personal ancedotes in both books, but the real value is the lesson learned about the differences between the role of Recording Engineer and Producer. They are most definately not the same thing. “Here, There and Everywhere” documents some of the things that led up to the disintegration of The Beatles as a band and the latter struggles that they experienced after “Revolver”. I was absolutely amazed to learn how little influence that George Harrison has on the overall production of the last few Beatles records and how he was considered to be a “junior member” of the group. The criticism of George Harrison documents that he struggled to produce the things that John and Paul wanted to hear on their records. It is important to remember that at the time The Beatles albums were produced (and I confining this to “Revolver” and the records that followed) there were no techno-toys like recording artists have today. Nearly all of the sounds heard on Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road were produced by clever and natural means due to the ingenuity of Geoff Emerick searching for ways to get the sounds that The Beatles were asking for. The most advanced instrument that surfaces later on in their career appears to be the Mellotron - a keyboard which produces it’s sounds with tape loops! Interesting enough - there is currently an M-Audio keyboard that EMULATES the MELLOTRON quite well and I highly recommend it to any band that is doing Beatles covers. BUT - true Mellotron, it is not, make no mistake about it. I first heard a real Mellotron live in the Bob Berry Trio many years ago in a lounge somewhere on Steven’s Creek Boulevard in San Jose. I will never forget the richness and extreme impact that it had on the sound of the group. Geoff Emerick tells that John Lennon brought the Mellotron to Abbey Road during the production of Sergeant Pepper’s and Paul created the signature Calliope sound with the flute setting that opens “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Aside from this instrument, other instruments were also brought to Abbey Road for the very first time. Among them - the sitar and the Tamboura, brought by George Harrison. One interesting story tells something that is quite surprising - and that is the fact that the distance of a microphone from an acoustic instrument was closer on some of these recordings than had ever been done on any recording prior to The Beatles. Geoff Emerick is the first engineer to document placement of a microphone inside the bell of a trumpet or trombone. During Eleanor Rigby, the string section had microphones only a few inches from the violins, much to the disdain of the artists who were performing. The result, as we know today, was one of the most powerful early string recording ever heard. George Martin was the bridge between The Beatles and the introduction of the use of London Philharmonic Orchestra artists in the recording of pop music. Before this time - it had not happened, at least in the U.K. I do know, from other things that I have read and researched that Phil Spector’s approach to recording “Spectorization” and “The Wall of Sound” may have been occurring at the same time across the Atlantic in Detroit. A lot of this new type of recording technique was happening on both sides of the Atlantic almost simultaneously. “Let It Be” was actually remastered at one point by Phil Spector! Interestingly enough - Phil Spector was also directly involved in Beach Boys albums at a later stage. “The Wall of Sound” approach to recording has come down as a legacy of the work of George Martin, Geoff Emerick, The Beatles and Phil Spector. These four entities changed the face of recording, engineering, production and music forever.

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-04T17:19:00.000-07:00

....guitars and pianos... a story:

2006-06-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

So I stood on the front lawn with my Japanese electric guitar... ,,,and a picture was snapped that spelled out my future in a way that I did not understand then. I was going to Middle School (in Santa Clara, California) and I truly hated it. I thought of myself as trapped in a social culture that I both disliked and mentally rejected from the beginning. It was all about sports, clubs and academic things that I had really no use for. Chess Club? Give it up. Wrestling? Stupid. But guitar? That was different. I didn't even have a clue on how to tune it - but I knew immediately from the first time I ever held it that it was my friend in some way. It was 1965 or was it 1964? I don't know - but I did know that church offered a piano to play when nobody was around to say "don't play boogie stuff" or something like that. My grandmother thought I would be a "musicianer" or something like that. She was raised in the sticks of Virginia on a sprawling tobacco farm owned by her father. She also was very grounded in the Pentecostal church - which struck me as nothing but very wierd. But, Grandma, "Mom" as I called her for reasons I won't go into here - loved me and was constantly looking for ways to nurture either faith or music in me. She constantly sang hymns as she ironed clothes and worked around the house sewing and cleaning and cooking. Daddy Mike (as I called him) was always at work - and he liked to go hunting (which I didn't like) and fishing (which I didn't like)... but I did like my guitar and took a lot of comfort from it always. I had a bad complexion and was very sensitive about it. I used to look at myself in the mirror and shudder at how I appeared to myself. I knew I liked music - but I wasn't sure what it was all about yet and even more - didn't know what I should like or should listen to. In elementary school I heard my first rock and roll band. I was in 6th grade and something inside me jumped at the sound of the songs that they played to our school assembly. I suppose at that time it was a bold move for a principal to allow a rock and roll band play for young impressionable kids - and it was the move that changed my life forever. I knew THAT was what I wanted to do. It communicated, people listened and seemed like the perfect way to express myself and get someone to listen to me say, sing or do anything. There were a lot of things that happened during my early teen years that changed me a great deal as time went by. There weren't any drugs or alcohol in the picture - but I think that to some degree, I did like girls. Didn't know much to do about it as nobody spent any time explaining the "mechanics" of it all - pretty awkward, actually. We moved to another area of the city and I spent a couple years floundering with my music - mostly playing piano and taking a few music lessons on piano - all while the kids played street football and ran up and down the streets of the neighborhood - for me it was piano and books and perhaps the occasional pet. I had a few friends and acquaintances but none that influenced my music until later. I really have to say that my first lessons at guitar were at the hands of some who were just a bit more able than I was - and it began by learning a few chords and a few sets of note riffs - every new thing built upon the last and made something different and exciting to listen to. ...and as my music skills grew, other things began to happen... ...so what were the first songs that you ever learned as you began to play guitar or keyboards? The obvious ones had three chords. There was "Gloria" (by Them/with Van Morrison), "The Last Time" by the Rolling Stones, "Play With Fire" by the Rolling Stones... but before I ever got to that point - there was the music that influenced me as I grew into an appreciation of bands and their music. Upstairs in Willow Glen (where we lived for a time) there was a Hi-Fi... yeah - not a stereo - a HiFi - and the first records that we ever played on it were Rickey Nelson, Billy Vaughn, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Elvis Presley and it was only later that two other albums came in the house (I bought them) that really made serious changes in the music that I listened to over and over again. First - there was "Meet the Beatles" and then there was "The Rolling Stones" - those were the album titles - that was it... there was no "Bridges to Babylon" or "Sgt Pepper's" yet - they weren't even thought of. There was no Jimi Hendrix and no Metallica - there was more likely The Everly Brothers or the Beach Boys. Even Jan and Dean, later on. Entertainment without the Internet and without VCRs? Yeah - that's what it was. Radio was even different then.. All there was amounted to "hit" radio on AM and FM wasn't even starting it's heyday yet. One of the biggest things to come along was James Bond and THAT was a passion too. I read every single Ian Fleming novel that came out, starting with Dr. No and forward. At that point, I never imagined there would be garage bands and playing with other kids from school - and in retrospect, when that DID happen - other things began to happen too. I was a true loner. My entire understanding of life to that point revolved around watching Gil Hile's All Night Movies (and I used to sit up all nite when I should have been sleeping before a school day) - there was also church. Good old Sister Wrench. She was the church pianist and she pretty much banged away on the old hymns, "He Set Me Free", "How Great Thou Art", "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" - and just about every other old fashion hymn you could ever dredge up. There was no Christian Contemporary music at that time - unless you would want to count "Kum-By-Yah" or something like that. I am leaving out names - because I don't think anyone wants to see their names here - most of them are dead now anyway - but one particular pianist - with her background in New Orleans changed my life in church. She played "barrelhouse" style in church and I had never heard anything like it before. Except maybe as a child growing up in East Palo Alto down the street from an all-Black church - and man - THEY COULD SING! I listened to a lot of Floyd Kramer then. Much of the musical piano style that I play today is very much rooted in Black gospel, Floyd Kramer and Barrelhouse playing. It works oh so well with the blues! As I move into the personal material I will be restricting some of these entries to those on my friend's list. So - if you don't want to miss anything you had best jump in, because this is going to go on and on. ....but Floyd Kramer gave way to other things... .....like learning that "prepared piano" offered other possibilities. Upholstery tacks turned out to give the piano a "honky-tonk" sound when I placed one into the felt of each hammer that would strike the string. This was the first time that I discovered that piano didn't have to sound like a piano in the proper sense of the word. And - I had a cassette recorder by now and I began to record my songs on it. By the time I visited with my cousins in Illinois I had learned how to make my acoustic guitar sound like an electric one by using contact pickups - little more than a transducer with two wires soldered to it and secured to the guitar with a bit of surgical tape. There were way more than three chords and I was playing melody lines very easily. My cousins were enthralled with the idea of playing in a band and I influenced them as "the cool cousin from California" and ended up pushing them into a lifelong love of music just like myself. It was only two short years after that when I learned they had formed a country group in Illinois, and later - North Carolina - and were playing in bars and truckstops to make money with my Uncle managing them and pushing them along the way to more and more as musicians. Their's was a family band made up of brothers and two sisters - they ended up recording a vinyl album and selling it whereever they played. I still have a copy of it somewhere. My Uncle Earl was always doing something different and unique, especially where his children were concerned. When I visited them in Gilman, Illinois (one of the lounging places for Al Capone in the 1930s) I made all kinds of interesting discoveries about life. One of the most memorable was getting hooked-up with "Dolores" who turns out would hook-up with anyone... much to my cousin's amusement. "Come over to my house and play the guitar for me, Gary". That was an early discovery that music tended to cement the most fleeting relationships. ..but fleeting relationships and girls were never as important as music... When we came back from Illinois and resettled in California we had a piano in the living room and I got my hands on a second cassette recorder. This was my Sophomore year at High School and things began to happen musically. With the second cassette recorder I quickly discovered that I could sing with myself and record a second instrument by ping-ponging back and forth between the recorders. This gave me something that was rare at that time - another musician - even it was me! Overcoming the shyness and introversion during my early high school days led to the discovery that there were other musicians around and that was one of the greatest things that ever happened in my life. I formed friendships with other guitar players and we spent a huge amount of time playing music together and both copying the things we heard others play as well as the early attempts at writing our own songs. Few of us had decent instruments or amplifiers and microphones at that time were used together with our guitars in our marginal amplifiers. First there was crummy crystal recording mics (which sound terrible) and then better ones from Radio Shack. Despite the bad equipment - we made music that was not so bad at all. Garage bands began to proliferate all around us and regular visits to other kids playing music in their garages became routine. The "garage show" was about all we had in the earliest days - with the garage door being opened and playing to the street when other kids would come by to watch. My guitar friends and I would walk around the neighborhoods on a Saturday trying to find other bands that were practicing to just listen and exchange ideas. The currency of acceptance was approval and mutual respect. "Hey man, that sounds great!" and - with that - you had gained another insight and maybe got to stick around to learn a few things from each other. It was not very long after that when we discovered that you could play at a recreation hall at a public park or a dance at the Junior Highs and High Schools and make a few dollars for your effort. That was the next milestone - discovering that people would pay for bands to play. We learned how many songs it took to cover one, two or three hours and set out to make sure that we had enough to be covered for that length of time (and almost immediately discovered the 15 minute break per hour thing was a great help when it came to having enough songs!) This was the first year of discovery that began to lead to even better things. When I was fifteen years old I played my first Enlisted Men's Club on a military base. These events were unique to anything that we had ever seen. AND - once we started playing at those - we discovered that there were a lot more of them out there. For some reason - booking agents in the valley (Santa Clara Valley) had not discovered the money potential in dealing with the military clubs. Several phone calls rounded up no less than five of these gold mines and by sixteen - we were playing at all of them on a repeated basis. I remember a couple of years later annoying a booking agent because he had never been in such a such enlisted men's club before and he was literally begging me to not quit one band and make that "gig" so he had an "in" there. Having done it for so long - I failed at that time to recognize that the agents had finally figured out it was an untapped venue and were struggling to add it to their list of clients. Not to get too far ahead - and backing up sufficiently to tell this part of the story - at an early point I also discovered that there were predators out there. One person who seemed to show an inordinate interest in us was a gay man looking for fresh blood. That didn't become apparent until one member of our group was literally a part of his sexual advances and I simply walked away from the whole thing in disgust. In retrospect - the "victim" was a teenager who had no father figure, was continually looking for "something new" and the whole thing later on (two years) nearly ended in tragedy when he tried to take his own life after his mother discovered the relationship. (and the rest of you.. put your guns away - I am not dissing or flaming here). One garage band led to another until I finally hooked up with a group that was made up of all high-school buddies and we played our homecoming dance (before which we had lost the game). It was at this dance that I experienced my first "review" when another student (which shall remain nameless in this account, but he will know who is he is when/if he reads this) launched a fairly decent sized ice cube across the dance floor from the back of the high school cafeteria and nailed me squarely in the forehead. Hmm, could it be someone did not like the show? (Duh!) Must have liked something because two years later we were playing in a band together in a completely professional environment. But, we talk about that later. I even took a couple of guitar lessons from him. Strange marketing for a guitar teacher (but it must have been effective, because I conceded). So many things happened at this time that it is very hard to keep it all linear in event order, and being that this is the first time I have written it down anywhere - I may reorder and republish this later as I think it through. It was about this time that there were large rock concert gatherings happening in the SF Bay Area - and the mode of exchange in our house was "go to church and you can go". ... so I went to church on one such occasion and went to a huge gathering called "The Human Be-In" and San Jose Family Park at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds - where I saw (all in one fell swoop) Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane and if I gave you the other two band names you wouldn't even believe it - but one of the two was Big Brother and the Holding Company (yes, with Janis Joplin) and THEY weren't even the real headliners! What a fantastic show that was. It only served to fire up my enthusiasm even more (and I went ALONE) - and make me even more determined to do well playing music. ---more---- (To Read On In This Story - go to http://www.tagworld.com/gtittle )

Updates and Other Stuff

2006-06-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Things are moving forward nicely with the group. We had bassist Dave Parker sit in with us Saturday nite and it was really nice having some bass with the rest of our music. Really nice person! NOTE: If you want to read other things that are going on with the group you can check out one of our new sites: TagWorld http://www.tagworld.com/garytittle or http://www.tagworld.com/thegarytittleband . Tagworld is being updated a lot more than our MySpace site or even the main website: http://www.garytittle.com at present - but make your way through all of the locations because I don't cross-post very often. (See the sidebar to the left and scroll down for links to all of the websites and blogs). I promise to do a better job keeping this blog updated in the future. Sorry for the lag but there has been quite a bit going on and I U.A.'d (underachieved! :) ) -g

Forging Forward in Music as A Career

2006-04-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

HOW DO YOU STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR MUSIC CAREER?

Here are a number of books that are very useful to help you move forward in your musical career. Wether you are a teacher, or simply want to get out and gig more - these titles have the information that you need to move forward in your musical pursuits. I have purchased, read and reviewed several in this type of title and can tell you that what I have picked out here for you to look at will truly be helpful and well worth having.

A Business Guide For The Music Teacher By Beth Gigante. (Refferences,Texts,Miscellaneous). Piano. Music Book. Published by Neil A. Kjos Music Company. (WP155)
See more info...

The Touring Musician A Small-Business Approach to Booking Your Band on the Road. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 6x9 inches. 250 pages. Published by Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0823084299. (331383)
See more info...

Breakin' in to the Music Business Book (not sheet music). Size 6x9 inches. 276 pages. Published by Cherry Lane Music. ISBN 0895243180. (2508650)
See more info...

The Business of Getting More Gigs as a Professional Musician Book (not sheet music). Size 6x9 inches. 144 pages. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0634058428. (331067)
See more info...

Navigating the Music Industry Current Issues & Business Models. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 6x9 inches. 400 pages. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0634026526. (330756)
See more info...

The Complete Music Business Office Book (not sheet music). Size 9x12 inches. 96 pages. Published by Mixbooks. ISBN 0872887111. (330445)
See more info...

The Craft and Business of Songwriting, 2nd Edition Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 8.5x11 inches. 372 pages. Published by Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 1582970858. (330944)
See more info...

All You Need to Know About the Music Business - 5th Edition Book (not sheet music). Size 6.4x9.5 inches. 444 pages. Published by Simon & Schuster, Inc. ISBN 0743246373. (331238)
See more info...

Confessions of a Record Producer - 3rd Edition How to Survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 7.25x9.2 inches. 336 pages. Published by Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879308745. (331439)
See more info...

Get It in Writing The Musician's Guide to the Music Business. Book (not sheet music). Size 8.7x10.8 inches. 352 pages. Published by Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0793566991. (330239)
See more info...

Hot Hits, Cheap Demos The Real-World Guide to Music Business Success. Book (not sheet music). Size 6x9.25 inches. 180 pages. Published by Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879307625. (331116)
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How to Make It in the New Music Business Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 7x9.13 inches. 288 pages. Published by Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0823079546. (331374)
See more info...

Making Music Your Business A Guide for Young Musicians. Book (not sheet music). Size 6x9.3 inches. Published by Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 087930460X. (330284)
See more info...

Music Publishing The Real Road to Music Business Success - 5th Edition. Book (not sheet music). Size 8.5x11 inches. 208 pages. Published by Artistpro. ISBN 193114009X. (330567)
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Networking Strategies for the New Music Business Developing Successful Relationships in Today's Music Industry. Book (not sheet music). Size 7.4x9.2 inches. 246 pages. Published by ArtistPro. ISBN 1592007538. (331884)
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Succeeding in Music A Business Handbook for Performers, Songwriters, Agents, Managers & Promoters. Book (not sheet music). Book & Disk Package. Size 8.3x11 inches. 198 pages. Published by Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879307021. (330948)
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The Complete Singer-Songwriter A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording & Business. By Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers. Book (not sheet music). Size 6x9.25 inches. 202 pages. Published by Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879307692. (331092)
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The Musician's Atlas The Ultimate Resource for Indie Artists & Music Business - 2006. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 8.5x11 inches. 368 pages. Published by Music Resource Group. ISBN 0966936868. (331387)
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The Studio Business Book - 3rd Edition A Guide to Professional Recording Studio Business and Management. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 9x12 inches. 364 pages. Published by Thomson Course Technology. ISBN 1592007473. (331727)
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The Truth About the Music Business A Grassroots Business and Legal Guide. Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 7.25x9 inches. 626 pages. Published by Thomson Course Technology. ISBN 1592007635. (331878)
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This Business of Artist Management - 4th Edition Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 6.38x9.68 inches. 284 pages. Published by Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0823076881. (331380)
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This Business of Music - 9th Edition Book (not sheet music). Book & CD Package. Size 6.38x9.5 inches. 526 pages. Published by Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0823077284. (331382)
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This Business of Music Marketing & Promotion - 2nd Edition Book (not sheet music). Book only. Size 6.25x9.13 inches. 308 pages. Published by Watson-Guptill. ISBN 0823077292. (331381)
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So.. you Think You Are Ready For MIDI Guitar?

2006-04-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

While I was looking for the less expensive Roland ready MIDI optioned guitar I ran across this Brian Moore model (which comes very heartily and heavily recommended by it's users). This guitar is beautiful and I can only imagine that with the Brian Moore endorsement that it must certainly have the action and playability desired by all. Check this out:

Brian Moore i8.13 Midi Electric Guitar Transparent Red Chrome Hardware

So, here you have it - a MIDI Primer for Wanna-be MIDI Guitarists:

I have personally been using and playing MIDI guitars for a few years and decided to spill most of what I can in a few lines here for my readers. First of all - my first MIDI guitar purchase was a Yamaha G10 and I have to tell you that it's intended use was to originally run a Yamaha TX81Z synth (yeah, have that too - more later). After spending a couple years using the TX81Z (and there are program links and free editors galore available for this) I discovered a Yamaha G10 at a very reasonable price and bought it. Mine has the V1 upgrade in it (and if you don't have that - and can't get it anymore anyway - don't buy this) and it tracks and performs beautifully. The G10 is not a true MIDI guitar. It is a MIDI Guitar controller.

I am very happy with the Yamaha rig and plan to use it on an upcoming recording (will release it on MySpace and TagWorld when it is finished).

The next purchases was a Roland GR1 (excellent) but I am a little miffed I cannot find a flash card for it anywhere. It allows for user-stored patches and it sounds fantastic.

As I stated earlier - I am also making the leap into a Roland VG88 rig as I think that it will very much jump-start some of the directions are band are heading in right now. (Listen to "This Is Not The Way" on TagWorld for an example of VG88 lead work. If you can find "Jesus Is The Reason for the Season" on my Lycos Europe site you will hear yet another example - jump there via my main website http://www.garytittle.com to find the European mirror).

All MIDI guitar is not created equal. This important to realize from the very first as you will disappoint yourself if you are not careful with your purchases. My quest has finally led me to the VG88 because I have actually tried everything else that is out there already.

If you are going to make the MIDI jump - do it with a VG88 and you will be absolutely amazed.

Roland VG-88 V-Guitar System

The Roland V-Guitar system is absolutely fantastic. This textures and muscial capabilities of this MIDI guitar setup will astound you. It seems like it doesn't matter what we imagine that we need - Greg drags sounds out of the system that completely match every single thing that we have ever tried to duplicate in our cover tunes - and has extremely enhanced original music production.

Listen to our song "This Is Not The Way" for examples of what this unit can do (check out Greg's lead part in the song). http://www.myspace.com/thegarytittleband

I have been playing MIDI guitars for several years and have amassed three that I use - albeit - none regularly. After experiencing hearing Greg's VG88 for a few years I am ready to make the VG88 purchase - but I don't know if I want the Roland-Ready Strat. What I would prefer is to continue using my existing Roland MIDI pickups (I have two different kinds) on my existing guitars and a little something different for a ROLAND READY guitar - so a search revealed that there is a guitar with HUMBUCK options which costs less than the Roland Ready Fender Strat:

Switch Innovo IV MIDI Electric Guitar Black FireMist

Check this one out - - just when you thought that a Roland-ready guitar was too expensive - along comes the Switch Innovo - with HUMBUCKING PICKUPS, no less.

So what about MIDI BASS, is there such a thing? YES!

Check out the V-Bass system from Roland:

Roland V-Bass System and GK-2B Divided Pickup

Greg runs a VG-88 Guitar rig with a Roland-Ready Stratocaster. THIS Unit is on the top of my acquisition list for our studio - it is the Roland V-Bass and there is also a Roland-Ready Precision Bass available for it. Check this out.

Thoughts on Songwriting

2006-04-15T09:02:00.000-07:00

Thoughts on Songwriting Songwriting is a very big part of my life. I am very pleased to have been able to write over 100 sets of lyrics in 2005 and am working hard to keep it up through 2006. There is so little time with my schedule to pursue music and songwriting, but thankfully - I have been riding the train back and forth to work for the last 5 1/2 years or so and have been able to use my laptop onboard in route (coming home sometimes) to work on arrangements and ideas and it is always easy to carry a steno-pad along the pull out when lyric-writing is possible. I have found songwriting and music must be a passion to accomplish anything with it (and in our case we can only practice every couple of weeks at present as a group) - but the rest of the time I try to do at least ONE thing each day toward accomplishing goals - and it is very hard to stay on track (no pun intended, because of the train ) and keep moving forward. I don't entertain any ideas of being some kind of star or anything like that - but I do have the goal to write music and continue putting it out there for people to listen to and hopefully - something is special to someone or I can entertain someone for a few moments. Music is emotional - people want to FEEL something from music. That is why music exists. If you can touch people (ballads are good for this) and especially if you can story-tell - you are on the right track. So much music today is negative and destructive. I feel that this is not a good trend - the idea is to heal others and lift them up - not to talk about killing or dying or any of the rest of the some of the things that are common in hip-hop and street music today. I think that these mediums will be around for a long time - and perhaps those who write things like that are trying to get somewhere or understand something - but at some point it is important to stop, take inventory and ask: how can I make things better? This, of course, is not the only things that I do lyrically - but lately this is something that weighs in heavily on my mind. ALSO - I have put up a new Songwriter's Books resource at http://www.garytittle.com/songwriting1.htm - drop by and take a look when you have a chance. Cheers! -Gary

Presley Performance -

2006-04-12T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite old Elvis performances:

INSIDER: GTB Studio Room and Pics

2006-03-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

This is our studio room. You will be prompted for a film loop player if you do not already have one installed on your system. This is very cool because it does things that PhotoBucket does not do. (Although I do use both). Jonathan and I spent quite a bit of time in here setting everything up and it is still a work in progress. The next step is the extention cable for the Fostex D80 console and the Behringer submixer for tape and digital deck integration. The cable hiding is key to all of this because we want to keep this as neat and tidy as possible. The vocal processor (not a cruddy one - prime and classic...Roland VP70) will be merged into the effects loops and will placed under MIDI sequencer control for up to four voice/single voice driven harmony recording. The next addition will be the merger of all of the MIDI and SAMPLER libraries onto the main CPU with the setup of a second and third CPU in the closet to mute harddrive noise. All of this is running on a wireless LAN at this point and direct Ethernet cabling will be key to bringing the speed up from the servers. The Amiga MIDI sequencer (running Music-X) also goes onto the LAN at the completion point. The heat will be dealt with a intermittent exhaust fan (4 CPU backfans) with a remote switch to turn it on and off when we are recording. More L8r. -Gary

Music and Ergonomics...

2006-03-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

Well - I FOUND AN OFFICE CHAIR! So I am driving along a neighborhood where they are having a spring cleaning and VIOLA! There it is! FREE! An ergonomic lumbar support offering office chair. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Recording and Ergonomics...

2006-03-11T05:23:00.000-08:00

When I got in from work yesterday I headed straight for the band room and fired up the multi-track and my equipment. Phil and I spent about 8 or so rehearsal passes through "I Don't Drink Anymore" and then recorded it four times. Jonathan (my son-in-law and singer for "Mushroom Stamp") manned the drums after this and we recorded a piece that we call "Elliott Goes Home" that sounds a bit like a blend between the Beatles and Pink Floyd. I will be putting these songs up and soon as the mix is finished. The one thing that I am noticing about this recording configuration is that I am going to have to either move the master keyboard to face the console or bring a remote for the Foxtex D-80 around to where I can just punch through without so much moving around. When we recorded the basic track for "Fearless" I captured a chair creak that is plaguing almost everything that is done in here. That means that every single take has to have that edited out before I can do much with it. A little later on (after the sun comes up) I will be out on a mission to find an appropriate work chair for this console and keyboard area. Hi to everyone again. I have been hard at work on this record and I can tell you that it is just exactly that - work. The only thing that you can do in a project like this is keep refining things until the workflow is smooth. Does anyone have any input on replacing these blogger templates with custom things? cul8r -Gary

Turning The Corner

2006-02-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

What is TURNING THE CORNER? What it means to us here at The Gary Tittle Band is moving from this huge backlog of original material to the realm of recorded material. I don't know for sure that I can ever say that I am absolutely happy with something we record - but I can tell you for sure that the satisfaction behind saying "we did this" is worth everything to us. It's really funny how in 2005 I ended up writing over 150 lyric pieces and they are standing as a beautiful foundation to sing to everytime we strap on a guitar or fire up our equipment. There are some very big changes ahead for us right away here as we are looking at what we are going to actually do with all of this new music. We find ourselves resisting going for any one style because the entire body of material is actually quite diverse in going from one thing to another. I don't know if I would say we are any one thing yet - because we simply love playing together. Our quest for a bass player, or even a keyboard player to cover the bass end and sing continues. I am not sure at this point that what is coming on the project front will even absolutely require this, but it sure would be nice. CUL8r. -g

Rehearsal and New Things

2006-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

We are looking forward to rehearsal tommorrow evening. Our New T-Shirt design will be drawn by Chelsey Lewis. I think you will all be amused. We will do a small initial run to offer to those who would like to buy one. Shortly afterward, you will be able to buy them from our "band merchandise table" page. Look Here ----> (http://www.garytittle.com) The new design IS NOT AVAILABLE YET! Check back for the release date. cul8r

New Band and Social Websites.....

2006-01-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

Lots of new stuff to check out. There are three brand new websites about the band and folks in and around the band: (1)http://www.myspace.com/thegarytittleband where you can listen to streaming mp3s and even occasionally outright download new tunes. (2)http://www.myspace.com/garytittle where you can read more personal things about the members of the band and their families. (3)http://360.yahoo.com/gtittle.geo where you will need to set up your OWN 360 account on Yahoo (and if you don't have a Yahoo account, get one!) - but then you share on a far more personal level. This is reserved for those who wish to become friends and participate in our social network. Hope to see you there!

"This Is Not The Way"

2005-12-30T10:41:00.000-08:00

Check out this new tune on our band's MySpace. "This Is Not The Way" was recorded in 2005 and is one of the tracks we have selected for our CD. The track is not downloadable but you can hear it and comment, if you like.

http://www.myspace.com/thegarytittleband

Cheers!

SHOUTcast - HOME

2005-10-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Shoutcast is awesome. :) I am listening to Pink Floyd right now while using WinAmp and the StreamRipper moving the content directly to a ripped mp3 file on my machine. To do this you need Winamp5 and the 32 bit StreamRipper from the Open Source project. Give this a try. If you are running Windows XP SP2 and are willing to give WinAmp a try this is a great source to add to your music collection. So far, I am satisfied with the results. More later.

Rehearsal Video Online (DSL or Broadband)

2005-06-05T20:03:00.000-07:00

"LOST" is depicted in this video upload shot in our rehearsal room in May of 2005. This was performed on a cable TV station and due to hardware failure was not videotaped at all. We think that the audio quality on this is far superior to the attempt that we made on May 28th. Since it didn't air because it was not videotaped I thought it would be fun to take a low-quality video clip and upload it for you all to see. The problem on the video shoot on the 28th was twofold (1) the audio going to the video mixer was not audited or checked by the engineer and (2) the pause feature of the recording deck inadvertently went south (maybe mercifully anyway) during the videotaping of the segment. We wrote this song during March and April of 2005 and it will be on our first CD release. It can be found at the following link: http://ia300024.us.archive.org/2/items/GaryTittleLost/ If you do not have DSL or broadband be advised that the .asf clip is pretty large, just slightly under 100 megabytes. The video quality was incidental because it's sole purpose is monitoring the progress of the rehearsal. There will be more of these to look at it in the near future as we begin work on the rest of the songs for our CD. Peace

Guitar - Music To My Ears-

2005-06-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

Guitar - Music To My Ears- (Tracy, CA) Greg Darling is the lead guitarist for "The Gary Tittle Band". He is also an accomplished guitar teacher. To find out more, check out his "Guitar, Music To My Ears" website. Peace.

Phil's "All My Dogs" Blog

2005-06-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

Phil's "All My Dogs" Blog (Tracy, CA)

The Gary Tittle Band Insider Blog

Thanks to Tracy Cultural Arts Commission and The Odeum

2005-05-28T23:41:00.000-07:00

(Tracy, CA) We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Tracy Cultural Arts Commission and "Backstage at the Odeum" for providing a venue where we could share our music with the City of Tracy. Special thanks goes out to Mike Chivers, Wes Huffman and Victor for their work on the production of this program. For those who don't know what goes into this Community Cable program on Channel 26 - there is a lot of hard work. We were glad to have the opportunity to help out in setting up and in performing at "Backstage at the Odeum". The Bohn Blues Group was great. You have to see these kids perform "I Go to Bohn" (sung to the tune of "Bad to the Bone") it was just fantastic. Peace. CUL8r.

Auditioning Bass Players

2005-05-25T16:43:00.000-07:00

(Acerail, Great America Station) We will begin actively auditioning bass players in June. Must read, have own equipment, transportation and sing. Multi-Instrumental a big plus. We will provide scores/lead-sheets and in time will entertain signing you to our General Band Partnership Agreement if things work out. Email us from the main website (see link in the sidebar). Your move...

Phil Collins - Official Site for Phil Collins

2005-05-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

Phil Collins - Official Site for Phil Collins The second greatest musical influence on my life is Phil Collins. His music is spectacular and speaks to my innermost thoughts. I enjoy just about everything he has ever done, including the soundtrack to Walt Disney's Tarzan. When I watched the DVD that was shot in England with Genesis and the Phil Collins concert in Berlin I was thoroughly impressed was his handling of the crowd and with his genuine all-out effort to put on a great performance. If you collect concert videos, don't neglect to add these to your collection. Our band is working on several covers of Phil Collins and you can look forward to hearing them in the near future when we play in public. Our label, Yakking Dog Records, will be the main release vehicle for our CDs and we will also be publishing the scores to everything that we record. Be watching for an announcement as the time grows close. (The Gary Tittle Band Publishing Company). Till next time. Peace.

The Beatles as a Influence - George Harrison

2005-05-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Tracy, Ca Gotta tell you straight up - of all the influences in my life to play music - The Beatles have played the greatest role. Particularly, George Harrison... The loss of George was a sad time for me because of all the four Beatles, George was the most influential for me. When I watch the "Concert For George" and see Jeff Lynn's treatment of some of George's songs it is not that hard for me to imagine what their working relationship was. In our band it is important for us to be close and genuine with one another. George presents that aspect, I think, in his life's model as a musician. Never in history has there ever been, or will there ever be again, a person such as George Harrison. I have read quite a few things about his life and the conflicts that he experienced as a person. The genuine aspects of the words in his last songs and how they tell his experiences set a standard that I don't know that I can ever hope to reach. Just had to say these things about George tonite - don't know why - just felt moved to do it. Peace.

2005-05-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Source Forge - OPEN SOURCE and SOFTWARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT

2005-04-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

SourceForge.net: Software Map Grab this and bookmark it! This software is in varying staging of development, but there is most definately something here for everybody. I have found everything from video editing software to games on this huge repository of publicly developed software. Some of the projects on here are even co-developed with commercial interests. The interesting this about this is that I have found that quite a number of projects that have gone to commercial software later have began as open source and shared projects in the beginning. A large number of pro-audio/music programs began their lives as open source projects.l Don't miss out on this... it is truly outstanding.