I originally started only to make a brief comment on the video in Boo’s post, but it turned out to be more than that so I thought I’d do a separate post.
Entertainer of the Year (maybe even the "Century) Yes.....this has become my favorite Youtube video of all time
. I laugh every time I watch it
. As Bill said the "puppetmaster" is absolutely brilliant. Especially as an art like that is seldom practiced these days
.
But there is also a lesson here. Equate what he's doing, an act that is fading (or has faded) from the entertainment scene, with musicians who are watching live music "fade from the entertainment scene." Yet he found a "gimmick" to keep himself going (and maybe even encourage others to try and bring his unique brand of entertainment back to the forefront).
Watching the old Fred Astaire movies makes me wish that someone could have found a way to do that also with tap-dancing. No one managed to salvage it with a new "gimmick" before it completely bit the dust!
But, maybe there’s still time for OMB players to do so? Bring something fresh and creative to the scene. Stop playing the helpless and pitied standard OMB solo act being pushed into the background and come up with some new ideas before playing an arranger also goes the way of tap-dancers, stagecoaches, and dinosaurs.
Now, not my intention to resurrect a firestorm that has already been doused, but I thought Deb's remarks about the "singer in a box" was something that should have been explored and not torn apart and fed to the lions (as in his subsequent post). I've been thinking about that very thing for years now.....recording a woman's voice and doing the great duets with myself and "her" from the classic Musicals.
Donny keeps talking about how "entertainment value" needs to keep reaching new plateaus with today's audiences. He's right! No one want to see a simple one-man-band playing anymore no matter how good he is. People were mesmerized, in the beginning, with what one person could do with one keyboard. Unfortunately, the novelty has worn off by now. Yet most players are still spending their time griping about how good, standard music is becoming extinct rather than trying to seek new ideas that would appeal to today‘s public and maybe re-invent the one-man-band arranger player.
BTW, I didn't see the video, but I'm assuming that's what Peter did.......backed up a vocalist who was recorded to mp3 and played from the hard drive.
Deb should be applauded for bringing that to everyone's attention. I'm sure the "puppeteer" thought long and hard about which way to go with his act. One-man-band players should be doing the same thing....looking for new directions to take live music with and not spending their time berating other members who want to bring some really great, creative ideas to our attention.
I'm still hoping myself, after all these years, to do what I think Peter probably did in the video. I want to sing my solo’s and throw in duets with a “female vocalist.” Not only that…with the vocalizer, one could record himself as a “group” and bring in the snippets here and there as in the songs “Personality” (Lloyd Price).....Things (Bobby Darin).....In The Still of the Night (The Five Satins.....maybe even the song “Mr. Bassman.“ I don’t care what anyone says. I think it’s one of the best ideas that has been introduced for a while now and should be carefully considered and not dismissed!
As for Deb doing that post, I give him credit for his ability to recognize “possibilities.” I think he's a "visionary extraordinaire!”
Mark
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