Chas, I never heard of Sid Vicious, I can't think of any Marvin Gay songs that I would do, though I used to perform How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You. And, I'm confident that I would not be doing any Mick Jagger songs. However, there are lots of other top songs I recently began doing, and ironically, it really doesn't seem to make any difference at all who originated the song, male of female. During the past few weeks I've been performing Saving All My Love For You, the audiences, both young and old love it, though I changed the lyrics a bit to fit the gender. Obviously, I'm not the right gender for this song, but it has really gone over well.

Both these guys are great entertainers - NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! They're hard working guys and seem to work well with their audiences from what I saw. And, I have no doubt that they can do justice to any song they perform, regardless of gender, race, age, etc... That's what I love about music - it allows you to bring forth your creative juices and place your art-form in front of a vast array of audiences. It seems as the only recrimination upon doing this comes from individuals whom also work in the entertainment field - not the audiences they perform in front of day in and day out.

My fondest wish is to be able to continue to perform for at least another couple years, but I don't believe my health will allow this. If not, well, there will be a lot of gear going on Ebay.

All the best,

Gary

Don (Korg80), I actually credited Percy Sledge for creating and leaving the world a classic in that genre'. But for me, capturing one moment in time does not necessarily make one a great singer. Sorry if I offended your sensibilities, but I ALWAYS thought Percy was a lousy singer. His death didn't change my opinion. But music being subjective, if Percy is your cup of tea, more power to you.

Gary, I wasn't knocking Jay Bird Chalmers, just his performances of 'What's going on' and 'Ain't no mountain high enough', two Marvin Gaye classics. I think he was fine on the Pop and Standards stuff. I was just making the point about staying within the material you do well and not trying to cover everything.

I DO think, however, that his (Jay Bird) series of performances does expose one weakness of arranger-based gigs, and that is the repetitive nature of them. Taken singly, they may sound okay, but one after another all night is probably more 'perfect' drum loops and bass patterns than I could handle as an audience member.

I have heard some great arranger performances, but they were all or mostly all, true professionals (ie. Marco Parisi) doing a single demo with a balls-to-the-wall performance aimed squarely at selling that instrument.

Let's face it, arranger keyboards and OMBs have much more to do with economics than music. JMO, of course.

chas

I like Marvin songs a lot! those were just really bad versions.

And, I've always said that the advantage of using an arranger was economic...lots of sound from one man/woman and his/her machine.

As far as repetition, I break it up with guitar solos, vocals over guitar, different stringed instruments, piano only, etc.

And, I ALWAYS use additional players if the budget allows. For me, that's what playing is all about.

R.

I like Marvin songs a lot! those were just really bad versions.

And, I've always said that the advantage of using an arranger was economic...lots of sound from one man/woman and his/her machine.

As far as repetition, I break it up with guitar solos, vocals over guitar, different stringed instruments, piano only, etc.

And, I ALWAYS use additional players if the budget allows. For me, that's what playing is all about.

R.

What was that about repetition???

And, as this thread appears to show; you have to actually be an arranger "player/performer/user" (and we could add, Entertainer) to really appreciate what these guys do...in other words, having "walked the walk, to talk the talk".

Those who are into more traditional keyboards (and conventional players) just don't "git it" as much as those of us who have learned to truly recognize (and are grateful for) the value of these "tools of trade".

I agree, wholeheartedly, that both these guys are not only really good, but are also quite adept at showcasing their skills.

Viva the Arranger (and the One Man Band)!

Ian

Viva!!!