I found a series of demo tapes I didn't remember I made back in the early 90's. Truthfully speaking I forgot I was quite good at one time (when I was playing regularly). All songs were done as a OMB completely by myself. All lead parts are played simultaneously on keyboards DX7, Roland U20, Roland U220, Roland Pro-E....no MIDI files used.....no overdubs or multi-tracking.....everything played live, including vocals. I think I'll post them one by one as I convert from tape to MP3. I'm quite proud of what I used to do back then.

additional songs

additional songs again from old cassette tapes

It’s quite good and interesting! Those tapes, though, didn’t preserve all the data… I guess you have nice demos made after going into digital as well.

Mark, I enjoyed listening to those performances. Sure can hear the difference in recording technology when comparing tapes to the new digital recordings.

All the best,

Gary

Hi Kabinopus...that's the kind of comment I like to hear..."interesting." I also like to think it's interesting what I did, playing two hands against each other and 3-4 parts at the same time.

No...I don't make good demo's at all. I'm better at "live" playing.

Mark

Hi Gary.......thanks for the comment from you also. I'm not sure why no one else commented. A lot of the reason I took the hours to convert from tape to mp3 was to post them to show what can be done as a OMB. Playing multiple parts, two instruments at once, working the fills, breaks, variations, etc, Seems like no one is really interested in new ideas.

I didn't think about it but yes....those tapes are archaic now. Here's one I did direct on the PA3x, I can see the difference! But remember, I just mess around on it once in a while doing single "takes." So, whoever listens to this, overlook the mistakes. Musette music was not meant to be played on a horizontal keyboard.

In my experience it’s quite hard to get any feedback on the internet using only audio tracks. Turns out, videos on YouTube prove to be more efficient. Yet, a real world still seems to be more rewarding. One time I just played the piano just for fun in a coffeehouse (slash bar), went home with decent pocket money. Looks like it’s a human nature that wants everything to be personal, not just content.

Thanks for sharing Mark. Musette sounded good too. It's not easy to share to the world - we are in a minority, ones who can play and have fun. So however the fanfare, so be it. It's all about the personal joy music gives us.

I was about to launch "You Raise Me Up" on the 3X, which is beautiful. The wife intercepted and said "you are no Josh Groban", so I nixed it.

I think you'll find more people will listen to MP3s if you upload them and supply a link, so they don't have to download them to listen?
I'm still in the hospital but I listened to several and they are quite good of course, given the quality of the recordings.
The last few songs I uploaded here got hardly any listens or comments. I guess they all know what I sound like.
Hardly worth going to the trouble of posting. As mentioned, YouTube posts seem to get more traffic.

Hey Don, good to see you're in the spirit of communication! Hope you are doing well and can get back in the saddle

I think there are a number of reasons people won't/don't respond to a music posting. DonM mentioned one; you've got to make it easy for them. Others are, 1. They simply don't like it, and prefer to say nothing rather than say something negative (especially if the poster is sensitive to criticism), 2. Some might view it as a "look at me" post, seeking affirmation, 3. Many may look at the song titles and decide they aren't into that type of music and won't bother to listen (check the number of views vs the number of responses), 4. Some will listen to the first few snippets of the first song and if they aren't impressed or don't like it, won't listen to the rest, and 5. some are more interested in the technology, especially the 'latest/greatest' technology, than in the music or the quality of the performances.

I don't think you should take it personally because you put a lot of time and effort into something and didn't get the response you'd hoped for; that's the risk of every poster who puts something personal out there for public scrutiny. Hey, sometimes you're the windshield and sometimes you're the bug. Most people here like Don's music, including me, and I don't even like Country music - but I like the unique way he presents it, especially his guitar and piano riffs which I find very 'authentic', and also the underlying humor that's present in so much of his work (and I love humor, I find it uplifting). But even Don admits that responses to music posts are fickle and unpredictable; sometimes it rains and sometimes it drizzles - FOR THE SAME PERSON. Take it with a grain of salt, Mark, and keep posting. Remember, it's an 'offering', and people can take it or leave it, it ain't personal.

Have a good day,

chas

Well said Chas. And thank you my friend.

Very interesting to hear how things have changed since the 90's!
Were you playing LH bass or pedals? That's something I work on in practice room but not yet on the stage . It can "swing" so much more than the auto bass. Thanks for sharing!

Oh yeah, I meant also to tell you Mark, that I liked a lot of the counter melodies that you threw in. Auto accompaniment can start sounding like a broken record.... Anyways, it's impressive you could do all that live!

Migliavacca...I've always wanted to tackle that on accordion but never did . More successful on mandolin.

Hi Mark , loved all your wonderful music !!! playing to this standard .....you will always find work and lots of gigs !!!
Thank you for sharing your talent !!!
Your old mentor John Leslie would be very proud of you .
regards .....Giovanni

Zuki......I really have to thank you for your remarks. I don't kid myself......the musette piece was not half as good as I can play it when I'm doing musette every day.

So, I thank you because......I love, absolutely love, playing musette music. I can play it for myself alone and enjoy listening to it. With your prompts now, I decided I'm going to have some "musical fun" for a change. I started practicing my French musette again....ON THE PIANO this time to get my finger dexterity back. Been at it for a few weeks now and I'll post that song again when I can do it flawlessly.

Mark

Chas....that's quite a lot of poignant stuff you wrote there. And everything you said made a lot of sense. Yes, it did soften the blow for me, because I put more effort into getting songs off a 30 year old cassette than I did in actually playing the original music.

But this is a good platform here to say this. I went through all that trouble for two reasons.

1) You don't really know a person or understand comments and remarks that person makes or how to talk to them until you know all facets of their personality. A newcomer into this room will not understand a lot of the spoken word, until they know where the person is coming from...their background.

2) I wanted to exhibit some creativity in playing music and using multi-keyboards. So many demos I see on Youtube......the players or vocalists in many cases are good, But that's it......GOOD, but no flair or imagination. So much can be done nowadays with the technology and no one seems to be doing anything but......playing songs. I had a lot of creative ideas back in those times that I thought I would pass on.

Mark

Hi montunoman.....no, no LH bass or pedals. My left hand was identifying the chord for the arranger, and MIDI'd to a sound module for more simultaneous sounds, or (with songs that don't have a lot of chord changes, playing lead).

You're correct about left hand bass. It completely adds flavor and excitement and individualism to a song that makes it your own. If I'm correct, Uncle Dave plays all left hand bass. It ain't easy if you want to do good bass runs!

Great compliment.....thanks. I could live a week on a "great compliment."

One of the things I take pride in is I can sing while playing "counter melodies" without missing a beat (as in the violin part of After the Lovin).....or......play a melody with my right hand and play the "counter melody" on the 2nd keyboard live.

And finally I get to my good friend Giovanni who I don't hear from that often but who always has something nice to say to me.

I love playing that type of music, world music, but unfortunately, there's no market for a Paso Doble, or a Strauss waltz anymore. I'm hoping they still appreciate it over there. I feel optimistic whenever I watch Andre Rieu and the crowds he draws in.

John Leslie....one thing I really regret....not having been able to tell him that my chance meeting with him turned my life around. Kick-started my music career, introduced me to French Musette music, fixed my accordions, sold me his custom-made musette accordion for 200 Pounds, got me my first job (in a German Bierkellar in Richmond), and introduced me to his (outgoing) girl friend who I dated for months. Talk about affecting someone's life!

Oh....I did tell him all that when I saw him again 10 years later, but......he didn't even remember me. Then again, he was a master BBC accordionist and an adventurer at the same time. Never did the same thing twice.

Hope you're doing well over there and playing regularly. If I recall you were working as a duo. I listen to a lot of Foster and Allen. He can really make that accordion talk.

Your friend

Mark