Lets Get rockin

Hey there, we keep bumping into each other, always nice:)

68 Come Back Special was one of Setzers side projects back in around 2002/3, made up of the BSO bassist Mark Winchester & The Drummer Bernie Dressel.

It's more traditional Rockabilly, with a strong country edge. He did release a cd called Ignition & it's probably my fav Setzer work too date. He did also do another side project with a band called The Nashvillians, but I've not heard any of their stuff as yet, he took them over too Japan & was Reunited with Slim Jim Phantom on drums.

Thanks for your response

I'm amazed you haven't heard of The Brian Setzer Orchestra. They've been going since the early 90's now & tour up n down the States constantly.

Ever see that film with Arnie "Jingle All The Way"? There's a swing version of Jingle Bells in it, well thats the BSO:)

He does a big band version of quite a lot of the Stray Cat stuff too, I sent you them via MySpace, as I just can't be doing with typing those long links manually (roll on 500 posts)

I guess I'm behind the times.
lol...spongehead will take time to check the myspace.
Just signed up to a new networking program almost identical to myspace, but it's really new. Been busy with that, had classes again today, and trying to catch up the work I haven't been doing the past couple of nights, lol.

Your such a naughty lil rebel:P

Yeah, but you seem to enjoy it.

Heh heh, that's the sponge effect in action

I prefer The Stray Cats over the Orchestra too, yet he seems to open up more with the orchestra as he dabbles more so with Jazz etc. It's kinda difficult with the stray cats to do the Jazz stuff as a 3 piece, sure he can do it, but it drifts from what the cats are all about then, bare bones rockin music.

If you like the cats you want to look for the DCD Rumble In Brixton, it was filmed at their reunion show in London in 2004 which I went too.

Here's the moment when they walked back on stage together for the first time in 15 years to open Rumble In Brixton, enjoy:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyySzsfFLj4

Thanks Jason.. amazing.. WOW cool allways great what kind of sound a tio group can bring to your ears I like that song, fantastic they are really tough. I had a try on playing the main parts on the guitar, yes but as you can guess I´m not so used to that kind of style so i´m not that good at it but I get it clearly within a little less in tempo. I get to practice that for a while to get it in perfect rhythm in the original tempo. Another song i listen on YouTube was Stray Cat Strut, i think the orchestra is a great ad in that tune and the short guitar solo is very nice played. Yeah the brass section really adds a little jazz flavour to it and then they lead into the Pink Panther tune WOAW... i loved that melody allready as a kind as allways watching that series and still get to see it sometimes now a days. I guess you have allready watched that video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODFrMyLYkMY&more=related&search=

ps. by the way the harmony structure of Stray Cat Strut somehow reminded me on a instrumental tune by Santana called Toussaint L´Overture. In the main theme it´s nearly the same chords only ends on a G minor instead of a G dominant still it sounds completely different. Do you know that tune from Santana well it´s great sure you have heard it it´s on their 3rd album release in 1971.

No I don't know the Santana song you are referring too, but Stray Cat Strut is in C Minor, I played it for years in a band I was in. But I always liked Santana so will look it up:)

Yes i know Setzer´s song is in C minor exactly like the Santana tune, what I was meaning is it ends on G minor the first 3 chords are similar ( Cm/B flat/A flat/Gm). I couldn´t find a video from that tune on Youtube, maybe you have more luck then me.

I'll download it off the net if I can;t find a video. A great Stray Track song you'll love is called Beautiful Blues, I'll try to email it too you, it's god an astonishing amount of chord changes in it, so much so that it sounds more like a complex jazz progression than a blues track.

Yes would be nice, I know what you mean I have a book about blues harmony progressions and at the end of it there are very complex chord changes in a normal 12 bar blues form that it sounds very different to what´s normal played also they sound very beautiful not just complex.

Yes you're right they completely change how a song sounds, from typical blues, to harmonious & sweet. This also opens up the ability to bring in completely different scales for solo's etc. It can get really mundane being stuck to pentatonic's all the time. But it is difficult soloing over so many chord changes unless you're very talented.

I sent the email, you should have the song ready to download:)

Ok i wait for it to come. Yes it´s not that easy changing the scales so often through these chord changes. There´s a play allong cd in that book i have and three years ago I practiced a lot on that but still it´s hard to play easy on them. But i like mix pentatonic scales with chord options or tension notes from other chord scales. Specialy i like harmonic minor scales played over dominant chords like for example play E-harmonic minor over an A7(-9-13) that sounds so cool. I also learn to play melodic minor scales but they are not so easy to handle, i work more with harmonic minor. I´m not able to practice all that stuff with other musicians in my area so i picked up on some scales from that book which fit on my mood in soloing and use them.

A lot of that stuff seems to fall into place just by playing about with it, but it certainly helps to have prior knowledge to the scales & chords. I can never remember all the chords, one sight change in fingering turns them into something totally different!

You see I made a mistake I mean D-harmonic minor over A7...haha

I'd not have known anyway, it's a minefield all that stuff, & impossible to remember every variation & substitution that you can use.

Right... you know what i learn not to see every scale visually on the frettboard, i concentrated only on these notes that change, (by the thing is befor I started playing guitar 18 years ago I practiced all the notes and chords on a small keyboard and when i changed after a year to the guitar which sure i wanted to play first I also learned the notes on the frettboard so now after all these years I know where all these damn notes are so it was not that heavy learning all these scales. Still i´m not a master in useing them... LOL but it gave me a help not only playing on pentatonic.

ps.The funny thing still is it´s allways the same if i see a great player by useing mostly only pentatonic scales it sounds so awesome over these 3 chord progressions. I allways think man... I´m so damn rotten in playing guitar.

Ya not rotten at all, like I said it's impossible to know it all unless you have a photographic memory, a lot of it falls into place just by experimenting while jamming. I have to get you finger picking yet;)

Yes jamming is the main practice on that stuff like I said befor there was so much stuff in that book and I knew I never will play some of it with musicians here where I life (nearly all of them are into rock&pop cover, so no need in harmonic minor... haha) i just took from the book what i knew would help me and also I would use in my own songs I made. I know some musicians here who yes they play good... well they are more speedy technique players still they don´t know what a A7 chord is, isn´t that funny.
Did you listen to that instrumental piece (Cloudburst) I sent you in midi couple days ago, did you like it a little???

Yes, it's very good, the midi sounds let it down though, but they always do.

Yeah...LOL i know what you mean... i used that program more to do arrangements on the song and that worked fine. We practice that song in the group the last few times we met up I send you a recording from the practice room but we still have to work a little on it but yes with guitars it sounds pretty good well it has much more life in it as that midi sound without any beat..haha

Midi is ok as a tool for learning etc, but I hate it used within real music, it's destroying musical talent, no one bothers learning to play any more.

True... i sent you a recording from that tune as soon as I have one with the group. By the way I told that we found a femal vocalist, well she jumped of last week telling us she wouldn´t have enough time to practice with us once a week, then we found out she´s allready in 2 groups. A guy is comming next week to rehearsal also plays guitar so hope we have more luck this time. It´s really a pain in the neck searching for musicians here in my area that fit to the group & the music we play. Sometimes I can´t sleep nearly the whole night by allways thinking about the music and how we could move on with it.

That's why I gave up bands & gigging, it's just so difficult finding people that you can work with. & people with the same level of commitment.

I understand your point really... but still I´m trying to get something together here. I had a break last year on playing in groups because of frustration as I told you and I got new energy so I´m on it. I spoke a lot with my mate the drumer I know him for about 12 years now and have made quite a few projects over the past years and all ending up in a deadzone. Still we both share the same thing geting a little happy with the music stuff we create together and maybe share it to some nice people who are interested in other music besides the cover groups here in some concerts, it can´t be so difficult to get that.
Besides we both are 37 now and if another 10 years have past I don´t think we will have enough energy left to get started then so we will try really hard this time (maybe it will be the last time you never know) besides we don´t want to get rich, just get a plesent feeling together and share, so there´s only the vocalist missing. I spent also some time in other practice rooms from groups here and the one thing I was allways missing was conversation about music and what it means, feels and all what´s up to it. I´m very glad to share that with the two mates I have in our group.

37 isn't old, 47 isn't either for that matter, look at Setzer on stage he has more energy than almost any modern band or musician I can think of, & he actually is 47... So you have plenty of years in you yet:)

Yes he´s amazing, your probable right with your saying about the age. So I have to get off the computer my girlfriend want´s to use it, maybe we meet up later again so see ya´ Jason thanks for the good talk.

Ok mate, have a good evening & don't forget to listen to the song I sent you:)

WOW.... yes there are pretty much changes in that one, sounds great, cool the solo lines sound like in the 50´s jazz music, very nice tune it get´s in a good mood. If i would have a little money left by end of the month I would buy me some more albums from earlier blues & jazz players.