Just returned home (San Francisco Bay Area, California) from my cross Country trip to Central Florida which included visiting Walt DisneyWorld, and of course , attending the much anticipated Synthzone keyboard jam in Lady Lake, FL. B4 leaving for Florida, I thought I had finally got over the bronchitis & resulting laryingitis that had curtailed my vocal performance schedule a month earlier, but after landing in Orlando, my ear canals closed up (resulting from the sudden changes in jet cabin pressure) & my sinus' alternately became stuffed & runny (allergies to pollen in the air?) of which brought back a hoarse voice (again) . Even so, I had a great time taking in the Disney Magic for a few days before driving up to Lady Lake for the SZ Jam on Saturday. Highlights included thrill rides: Test Track & Mission Space, Space & Splash mountain, & the terrific International World Showcase at Epcot:




My favorite (not to be missed) 3D show presentation at the Magic Kingdom: Mickey's Philhar-Magic! : http://goflorida.about.com/library/bls/bl_wdw_mk_mickeys-philharmagic.htm
To top this off, the nightly fireworks were incredible. After Disney, I had a chance to stop in for a drink at Jimmy Buffet's place at Universal's Citywalk:



Regretably, Jim Eshleman (SZ member: the Pro) had to cancel attending the Florida Jam because of a last minute gig booking on the weekend of the event, but because he & his wife Sheila were able to drive down (from Hilton Head, SC) to Orlando during the week before, we got together for breakfast at DisneyWorld and had a great time sharing entertainer-musician stories & our views on the future of arranger keyboards. I can vouch that Jim is a terrific guy, of which totally belies the negative impression some people may have formed following some of his sometimes rather blunt comments made on the General Arranger forum. It's obvious to me that words alone written in posts can perhaps be misleading to the true nature of an individual and may be worth the extra opportunity to get to meet people in person to discover who they are. I was really glad to finally meet Jim (Esh) in person.

Here's a pic taken of us together :



Realizing that he and I were the only Yamaha players signed up for the FL Jam, I felt a little trepidation about showing up at the FL Jam now. Thankfully, aside from a few Ty jokes , the Technics folks welcomed me with open arms. Afterall, as a former KN5000 fan & owner myself, I was really looking forward to the opportunity to finally meeting (in person) Technics friends I'd gotten to know on the forum & by email & phone alone (for such a long time: some up to 6 years, as far back as the Technics Canada Forum). As with all the wonderful SZ members I've met at the first West Coast SZ jam event and/or privately , everyone was very friendly & I had a lot of fun making music with the terrificTechnics players. Afterall, it's NOT really about the keyboard you play, but how you express yourself musically, right?

The MOST FUN for me of the get together were the keyboard jam sessions with some terrific Synthzone member musicians. Highlights include: Harry Babcock's:

GaryV, HarryB, and his lovely wife:


impressive keyboard skill utilizing his 88 note hammer action Roland KF-90 with his Technics KN7000. I especially envy his ability to play 10ths & his stride piano chops. Bill Norrie's:



impressive 'orchestration skills' performed live on the KN7000. Mark's:



great use of his left hand voice with rhythmic comping, and playing melody & fills with your right hand. This (as we discussed) is (to me) a critical element in arranger keyboard playing which provides a more convincingly live performance. GaryV & Sue Riffle: Really enjoyed your tastefully played selection of song arrangements. Heather: I congratulate you on your playing. It takes a lot of courage to get up and play and I look forward to hearing you play again.


Roger Mepstead:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Roger.jpg[/img]


Thanks for rounding out the music program with your History of Pop music tunes (from the 60's thru the 90's). Very nice arrangements. I only wish you would go the next step, remove the sheet music, let your hair down & just let the music pour out from your heart, because I'm confident you actually "do know" your songs by heart. Just memorize the chord progressions (changes) in your head and the melody (fingers) with follow. Trust me. A real special treat (for me) was meeting Bob Hendershot:

[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Bob.jpg[/img]

I've exchanged emails & conversed with him by phone (for over 6 years) back when we both owned KN5000's, and it's nice to re-kindle a new relationship as co-MusicPad Pro owners now, sharing and exchanging MusicPad tips & files. A GREAT BIG thanks to Bob for bringing his MusicPad unit to the get together, demonstrating it, and letting me use it as well, allowing me to only bring to the event a tiny USB Pen drive which includes hundred's of song sheets/lyrics. A great big thanks also goes out to Dan & Carolyn Hanson:

[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Dan&Carolyn.jpg[/img]

for going to all the work of bringing his Yamaha Tyros to the Jam to let me play on it. Dan, I only hope that this encourages you to play your Tyros now. Thanks to Bernie Ackerman for supplying the extensions cords, and his beautiful harmony chords on the kb [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/wink.gif[/img] too.

My only personal frustration was not being able to sing because of my struggle with laryingitis: sounding no better than Donald Duck, so had to just keep my mouth shut. [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/eek.gif[/img] As a singer, not an easy feat for me. [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/biggrin.gif[/img] Interestingly enough, arriving back home in California, my singing voice has for whatever reason miracoulously come back, so I'm convinced there was something in the air Florida that triggered an allergy (the alligators?) [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/eek.gif[/img] My only other disappoint was missing the opportunity to meet John C (Bruno123) and his presentation. I did see his hand out sheets though. Good stuff.

On another note, I won a Technics 'keyboard dust cover' door prize (courtesy of Walt Tenay Music) and alas, it fits perfectly on my Tyros. A special thanks goes to Walt Tenay for all his generous door prize donation gifts.

Lastly, and most importantly, a BIG thanks to Fran, Marge, Heather & Cindy, and Dan & Carolyn for all their hard work organizing, scheduling, providing the food (meals), and making this event the big success it was. Ok, in addition to the above, here are the other pictures I took with my camera of the SZ East Coast Jam attendees:

Fran In Florida:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Fran.jpg[/img]

Marge In Florida 2:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Marge.jpg[/img]


Sue Riffle (Disney Cast Member):
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/SueRiffle.jpg[/img]

Bob Riffle (Disney Cast Member):
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/BobRiffle.jpg[/img]

My buddies: Bernie & Anneliese Ackerman
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Bernie&Anneliese.jpg[/img]

Bruce Womack:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/BruceWomack.jpg[/img]

Cindy & Heather:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/Cindy&Heather.jpg[/img]

Bud Whipple:
[img]http://members.tripod.com/scottyee/images/FLSZJAM/BudWhipple.jpg[/img]

Ok, hope this gave everyone here a taste of my East Coast (FLA) SZ Jam experience.

Scott [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/smile.gif[/img]

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http://scottyee.com

[This message has been edited by Scottyee (edited 04-21-2005).]

Great Stuff Scott! Very much appreciated. Really looks like a good time was had by all.

Hope your health continues to improve. Joan

Hi Joan, glad you enjoyed my report & pics. I suspect now that my Florida ENT problems (runny nose, cough, hoarseness) was allergy related. Because I never had pollen allergys before, my doc thinks my recent illness (bronchitis) may have triggered an allergic sensitivity to spring pollen now.

Joan, hope your health is improving as well. Missed seeing you at the Jam. I know you would've enjoyed it. Maybe at the next SZ get together . . . perhaps on 'your side' of the pond, as I'd love an excuse to save up my pennies for a trip to Europe.

Scott

Well done Scott. Your reporting skills are perfect, like your playing.

Fran in Florida

Thanks for the great pictures, Scott. It was a special treat for me to finally meet you in person after all those years on the phone and in emails. A wonderful experience.

Super report Scott and it was great to meet you and have a natter. Hope your voice returns to normal very soon.........

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Willum

Scotty my FRIEND,
How great you are at every thing you do. This is no doubt the best post I have seen on this forum since the days when we all were the pioneers here, many years ago.
It is so good to see Good Pictures of all the people we know so well and have been writing to and sharing with for all these years.
I hope you continue to recover from this nasty stuff we both seem to have. I am getting better every day now that all my medicine is gone and my breathing device is empty. Go Figure??
Best to you Scott, and come down and see us again.
BEbop

Scott,

Thanks for the compliment. It was a pleasure meeting you and especially jamming with you and getting some ideas on songs to add to the repritoire (A Certain Smile) and the proper style to use with Ellington's Cavaran.
I need a mentor like you, here in the Orlando to help me get to the next level and a push start to playing out regularly.

You're an inspiration to everyone!

Thanks again,

Mark

Hi All,

Fistly I'd like to thank Scott for his East Coast Jam report and pictures. It is great to put faces to names of people, particularly those that have helped me over the years and I am sure many other forum members will agree with me.

You don't know how I envy all of you. We have nothing like it here in the U.K. Of course we do have 'music get togethers' once or twice a year but not on the scale you've all just enjoyed.

Thanks again for sharing it with the rest of us, it is much appreciated.

Kindest regards to all.

Aud (U.K.)

Great article Scott. Thanks for the kind words. It was really a great weekend thanks to meeting you and all the other people attending. It was so encouraging to spend time with so many people interested in playing and listening to keyboard music. The various styles, techniques,and sounds made it wonderful. Everybody being so friendly. The pictures are great too. Thanks again.
Harry B.