Christmas Song on the G70

G70 users, what style do you use on "The Christmas Song"?

While we are talking about it, has anyone ever roasted chestnuts on an open fire? Has anyone ever eaten a chestnut? I am 56 years old and have never had a chestnut.

Tom

...tastes like chicken

Tom, buddy ... you GOTTA get out of Muskegon !!! ...
New York City (and I would imagine other large cities as well) in the Winter, ESPECIALLY this time of year, the streets are filled with carts selling fresh roasted chestnuts ...
Chestnuts are tasty, very filling, and you may not want to hang around someone who has eaten a number of them ....

A number of years ago I was playing a gig (job, UD ) and I was playing "The Christmas Song" ... a guy came up to me and said that the song always made him feel sick ... I asked why, and he said "because my name is CHET !!!" ... ...
t.

BTW ... I think a simple jazz ballad style, perhaps with a nice guitar strum, is all you need ... think Nat King Cole .....
I play it with a piano voice in R1, Vibes/Guitar voice in R2, and with the technichord on playing block chords ... thing George Shearing ... ...
t.

Wish we had the 'EDIT' function ...
PPS ... I am using a technics kn6000 ...
t.

Tony,
The last time I was in NYC it was summer, no chestnuts. I'll take your word for it and if I ever get a chance to try chestnuts I certainly will, just as long as the seller isn't named Chet.

Tom

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

Been eating them since I was born.....they sell em on the street corners in New York City....& my folks always made em at holidays at home .....my dad also puts them inside dried Figs..YUMMMY!!!
Its an Italian thing Fugettaboutit!!

I don't have a Roland, but a nice variation on the Slow Swing style would be a 6/8 Slow Rock at about 70 BPM...I use it to play it in Floyd Cramer fashion.

A 16 Beat Ballad will work nicely as well, and give a more contemporary sound...60 BPM is about right, and using a Rhodes style Electric Piano for the melody really adds to the effect .

Never tried chestnuts roasted on an open fire...prefer turkey roasted in the oven.

Ian

In Rome they were selling them in early June ... right Andrea ? ..
t.

BTW ... I love the extension handle on that cast iron skillet ...
t.

Hi Tony,

in Rome they sell them almost all year round, because tourists love them. However, the right seasons for the chestnuts (in italiano "castagne" or "caldarroste" when they are roasted on a fire) starts in Autumn and right now you can find the best ones: big and juicy. Pity that, like many good things, they are not exactly "light", especially for dinner...

Donny, here I have seen a lot of dried figs stuffed with nuts ("noci"), but I have never seen figs stuffed with chestnuts, maybe because they are too big?


Dried figs


Dried figs stuffed with nuts and other delicacies...

oooooh YUM !!!!!!!!
t.

Candied chestnuts (marrons glacé)... The taste of Xmas for my old family.

YUM...!

I haven't had roasted chestnuts since my days as a lad going to all the Arsenal (that's a London soccer team) home games. An old guy used to sell them in the street outside the stadium. Just the thing to warm you up on a chilly day.

I have never eaten a chestnut but here's how chestnuts sound on the Roland Sonic Cell PRO...

Chestnuts

In fact you can hear more on my web site here: "Christmas on the Sonic Cell"

The songs will also give you a better idea of the quality of various sounds in the Sonic Cell. Although it only scratches the surface of the total 256 Megabytes worth of WAV ROM samples consisting of almost 2,000 instrument sounds inside when you include the two SRX expansion cards installed.

Best,
Mike

PS: Sorry for going a bit off the original topic but it is still about Christmas and chestnuts. Merry Christmas!

Mike,

Nice tune...great recording...could have used a voice change from piano (perhaps in the bridge?)to break it up...otherwise fine stuff.

Ian

Mike good stuff, thanks for sharing

Mike,

Great stuff. I loved it. Merry Christmas!

Tom

Excellent! Thanks for sharing.
DonM

Hey Mike..sorta hijacking the post....

I found myself very disappointed with the Sonic cell...not because of the sounds..they are great..

I grew impatient and purchased retail at Guitar Center..even though I had one ordered at dealer cost[associate dealer]..

The very first big disappointment...the Sonic cell is limited to a total of 99 files..any combination..Wav, Mp3, and SMF...If you needed to use another selection you have to change the thumb drive and reboot..

The other big problem for me....Every time you select another tune..you quickly have to reset the vocal mic settings [reverb]...I could not find any way to save this correctly....Very dumb..

I decided to buy a Juno G instead[traded back the Sonic Cell and bought the JunoG at retail again...wanting to regroup my initial loss on the Sonic Cell]..

The Juno G turned out to be the better unit for me..Only one SRX space compared to 2 on the Sonic Cell....Same Fantom engine with 128 polyphony...Much easier editing capabilities on the Juno G.....4 stereo track audio recording etc...

And the 2 biggies...The Vocal [input and effects settings remain when you select a new song[also 999 limitation on song files]..

Add the 61 key controller that the Juno G allows..makes it head and shoulders better for me..

On the plus side the Sonic Cell audio interface records super clean at 24 bit /96 khz...The Juno G 44.1khz..

Someone needing a great sound source and audio interface...the Sonic Cell is hard to beat...but for song playback the 99 limitation could be a problem..sure 99 is enough to do a predetermined set...but I want to be able to seek more...much more..

The Christmas sequences sound great on the Sonic Cell, I have the same sequences[using them for the last 15 years]..and they sound just as good on the Juno G..

One other side note comment..I found my G70 to be just as great of a sound source[also Fantom engine}..thus really never needed a Sonic Cell or a Juno G..For now I use the super light Juno G with a laptop on my band gigs[13 pound keyboard and a 6 pound laptop..

I didn't know these were commercial SMF..I assumed it was Mike actually playing.

Still, the Sonic Cell sounds very nice.

Ian

Not to chide too much here, but it SHOULD be acknowledged whether something like that you post (anyone, that is) is your own work or someone else's, whether you know the source or not.

It just seems more honest....

I didn't see that as a problem..Mike stated he wanted to show the sound of the Sonic Cell..

On Mike's web-site, it said, "Here are some Christmas songs that I put together using my new Roland Sonic Cell PRO".

That's why I thought they were played by Mike.

Not a problem...just a bit confusing.

Ian

Tom,

You want me to send you some Chestnuts? I work in Manhattan.

Also, try to imagine all the other stuff you've never tried in your 56 years. Makes you wonder.

------------------
Al Giordano
http://www.arrangerworld.com


Tyros 2, Yamaha P-250, Korg Triton Extreme 76, Roland VK8-M, DW Collectors Series Drums, Roland SPD-S.

Quite right. Much in the same way as quoting one's sources when writing a university paper.

Al,

That sounds great. My address is:

Tom Cavanaugh
1210 Spencer Woods
Muskegon, MI 49445

For all you folks out there that are going to use that info to steal my identity, don't bother, steal Don Masons instead. You really wouldn't want to be me and Don has way more money than I.

Back to your original question. I've been playing the song at gigs this week on the G70 using "UNpluged Schuffle " at mm 70

I have done it with about five or six different styles already this year. Keeps me on my toes.
Tonight I used a style called Wonderful Tonight, which was, of course, made for that song. It works great with other ballads too.
It's a slow 16 beat.
You're right Tom, I have made hundreds of dollars in the music business!
DonM