Many Think The Beat Made The Big Bands Popular...
Interesting premise. Certainly, since the beginning of time (not that kind of "time") people have been beating out rhythms on hollowed logs, pots, rocks and drums. Rhythm is a basic in Man. All Life has rhythm...tempo, beginning, endings. So, did the Big Beat attract people to the Big Bands? Perhaps...
In the case of Gene Krupa, his talents helped bring the drummer to the forefront. His looks and style plus his drumming ability were like magnets to audiences during his career. GO Gene GO was the chant and and Gene went...Sing Sing Sing is still heard everyday in some form or other on the radio, TV Shows, Movies, jingles...it's inescapable. That Primal Tom Tom beat goes right to your core. With the GK Band, (of which I have been the Leader for 6 years) audiences still demand Sing Sing Sing. That driving floor tom introduction makes everyone a Bobby Soxxer or Jitter Bug again.
As a young drummer, my first exposure to Big Bands was through the LP records of my parents. They had all of the Glenn Miller hits, so I learned to play along with those recordings and drummer Morris (Moe) Purtill, Miller's guy. Apart from IN THE MOOD, the Miller Band was not a hard swinging group. Glenn didn't want that...his was a Dance Band and that great Miller Sound of Willie Schwartz on lead clarinet ( who, years later, befriended me when I was a 23 year old playing on Nelson Riddle's band) was something special. Still is. Strange as it might seem, my first exposure to Gene Krupa came from watching the Dennis The Menace Show, with Jay North as Dennis.
Dennis is seen marching down the street in the opening sequence while beating on a Bass Drum. Mr. Wilson, Dennis' cranky next door neighbor, looks out his window to see what all the racket is about. When he sees Dennis, he says, "Well, he's no Gene Krupa." Having never heard that name, I asked my Parents who that was and they told me Gene was a famous drummer. Not a spectacular intro to Mr. Krupa.
Not long after that, Gene and his Quartet came to The Embers, a Night Club located in Indianapolis, my hometown. Having now contracted Krupa Fever, my parents took me to hear Gene in person. There were his White marine Pearl Slingerlands, the highly polished cymbals, the two small spotlights on each side of the set and his initials, GK inside the crest on the head of the Bass Drum. I must admit, I don't remember a thing about the music that night. I was mesmerized by the lights, the showmanship and the Man himself. As Louie Bellson said, "You could have 15 drummers on stage, all playing at once, and your eyes just went to Gene. He had that kind of presence."
After the set, I was ushered back to the small dressing room. Gene was in his tux shirt and no jacket, relaxing. Here I came, the Millionth Kid Drummer wanting to meet his Hero.
I began asking questions and Gene was kind enough to answer every one of them, dumb as they may have been. He had a great love of children, coaching Little League Baseball teams in Yonkers, NY. counseling, mentoring. He was a true Gentleman...and a gentle man.
About a week later, an envelope came to our house addressed to me. Inside was a picture of me and Gene. Me looking stiff and nervous and GK, over my shoulder, looking dapper and cool. Whenever I look at that picture, I remember that night.
Move up to 2005. I had spent a number of years trying to become the licensed Leader of the Krupa Band. There was no Band at that time and it took some hard work on my part to convince the Estate that I should be their guy. My resume was impressive enough that they finally said yes and off we went.
The band came with no music as the Krupa Library had been lost or destroyed in a fire in Gene's Yonkers home not long before his passing. I had been putting together a book of Krupa hits over the years, finding music, getting things copied and taken off of recordings and also getting the scores from Quincy Jones from the LP he had done for Gene in 1956, Drummin' Man.
Armed with charts and a handful of dates, we were on our way. My time as Leader of the Gene Krupa Band has been wonderful. Wherever we have played, audiences have given us standing ovations at each performance. Hundreds, if not thousands of people have told me their personal Gene Krupa Story, either about having met him, known him, seen him or just admired him, and, like Gene in that dressing room in the Embers, I listen intently to everyone of them, trying to carry on his music and honor his legacy.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Mike Berkowitz New Shows for Symphony Pops!
Sent by: ARTRA Artists Management
Reply to the sender
Six NEW Pops Shows
Click on photo for more Information!
Mike Berkowitz here. As you begin to program for the 2011-2012 season, please take a moment to look at these great programs I have put together for Pops Orchestras. All of these are proven winners, both with The Santa Rosa Pops, where I'm in my 5th Year as Principal Pops Conductor and also with other great orchestras around the country.
Michael Berkowitz
Movies Rock...
Hot music from contemporary films like Iron Man, Twilight, Avatar, Transformers, Cast Away, Star Trek, Up and more. Original Orchestrations. Plus Newest John Williams Star Wars selections as heard on the Star Wars Tour.
Swinging Sinatra...
Original CHARTS plus Instrumentals like the SINATRA FILM SUITE! Hear the Original arrangements for Symphony Orchestra with a great Sinatra Interpreter.
Lenny and Steve...
Bernstein and Sondheim. West Side Story, Candide, Forum, On The Town, Sweeney Todd, Anyone Can Whistle and more.
Movie Magic...
The Greatest Music of All Time for the Movies...From Gone With The Wind through Star Wars and more!
The Lone Arrangers...
Arrangements of Don Costa, Billy May and Nelson Riddle done for Sinatra, Nat Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, Sammy Davis, Jr., Rosemary Clooney and more! 2 singers.
The Broadway Babies...
Jule Styne, Cole Porter, Kander and Ebb, Rodgers and Hart and Hammerstein too! The Best of Broadway's Musical Heritage with 2 or 3 singers.
And don't forget these successful shows . . .
Judy Garland 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall...
Featuring Tony Award Winner Debbie Gravitte singing the songs from the Carnegie Hall 1961 Concert that was called "The Greatest Night In Show Business History". And these are the real arrangements!
Mancini Magic...
All the hits and all his sidemen. Pink Panther, Moon River, Baby Elephant Walk and more! Original charts and featuring Cecil Welch, Steve Dokken, Steve Hanna and Mike Lucas...Mancini's own traveling musicians!
Now booking for the 2011 - 2012 Season and Beyond!
Call now for more information.
Robert Bauchens, Artist Representative Phone: 1-800-354-1645
ARTRA Artists, 130 S. Canal St., Suite 211, Chicago, IL 60606
E-Mail Bob at: artra@aol.com
This e-mail was sent from ARTRA Artists Management
Immediate removal with PatronMail®
SecureUnsubscribe.
To forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague, use this link.
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Reply to the sender
Six NEW Pops Shows
Click on photo for more Information!
Mike Berkowitz here. As you begin to program for the 2011-2012 season, please take a moment to look at these great programs I have put together for Pops Orchestras. All of these are proven winners, both with The Santa Rosa Pops, where I'm in my 5th Year as Principal Pops Conductor and also with other great orchestras around the country.
Michael Berkowitz
Movies Rock...
Hot music from contemporary films like Iron Man, Twilight, Avatar, Transformers, Cast Away, Star Trek, Up and more. Original Orchestrations. Plus Newest John Williams Star Wars selections as heard on the Star Wars Tour.
Swinging Sinatra...
Original CHARTS plus Instrumentals like the SINATRA FILM SUITE! Hear the Original arrangements for Symphony Orchestra with a great Sinatra Interpreter.
Lenny and Steve...
Bernstein and Sondheim. West Side Story, Candide, Forum, On The Town, Sweeney Todd, Anyone Can Whistle and more.
Movie Magic...
The Greatest Music of All Time for the Movies...From Gone With The Wind through Star Wars and more!
The Lone Arrangers...
Arrangements of Don Costa, Billy May and Nelson Riddle done for Sinatra, Nat Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, Sammy Davis, Jr., Rosemary Clooney and more! 2 singers.
The Broadway Babies...
Jule Styne, Cole Porter, Kander and Ebb, Rodgers and Hart and Hammerstein too! The Best of Broadway's Musical Heritage with 2 or 3 singers.
And don't forget these successful shows . . .
Judy Garland 50th Anniversary Carnegie Hall...
Featuring Tony Award Winner Debbie Gravitte singing the songs from the Carnegie Hall 1961 Concert that was called "The Greatest Night In Show Business History". And these are the real arrangements!
Mancini Magic...
All the hits and all his sidemen. Pink Panther, Moon River, Baby Elephant Walk and more! Original charts and featuring Cecil Welch, Steve Dokken, Steve Hanna and Mike Lucas...Mancini's own traveling musicians!
Now booking for the 2011 - 2012 Season and Beyond!
Call now for more information.
Robert Bauchens, Artist Representative Phone: 1-800-354-1645
ARTRA Artists, 130 S. Canal St., Suite 211, Chicago, IL 60606
E-Mail Bob at: artra@aol.com
This e-mail was sent from ARTRA Artists Management
Immediate removal with PatronMail®
SecureUnsubscribe.
To forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague, use this link.
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Thursday, July 8, 2010
How I Met Nelson Riddle...
In 1973, I had been working with Helen Reddy for almost three years. Helen had a number of Pop hits, including I AM WOMAN, of course, and NBC decided that she would be the host of a Summer replacement show for Flip Wilson. The show introduced the Pointer Sisters to America and other stars over the course of the Summer were Peter Allen, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jim Croce, Anne Murray, Albert Brooks and Chuck Berry, to name a few. A real microcosm of the 70's LA Music Scene.
One of the best things about Helen and her husband Jeff Wald was their loyalty to the band that traveled with her for her live concerts. Wald has become a legend over the years for his over the top style and in your face heavy handed negotiating tactics. It was really something to watch as Jeff would do whatever he could to further Helen's career. He was young and brash and had absolutely no fear at all, whether yelling at Room Service or the Head of Capitol Records.
Helen's band at that time included Mike Warren on Guitar, Dick Horn on Piano, Dave Parlato on Bass and me on Drums. When we heard the news of the impending Summer TV Shows, we were all excited but also not sure, as NBC insisted that the Musical Director for the TV Show was to be the Immortal Nelson Riddle. Would Nelson want to use his own guys? How would he react to a quartet of long haired Hippies invading his Orchestra?
Mr. Wald went to the Mystical "Powers That Be" and insisted that Helen's Band be the rhythm section on the Show. I have no idea what he had to do but it was decided that we were to be in Nelson Riddle's Band for any and all music performed, not just Helen's music.
Told to be at the Capitol Tower for the first prerecording of the Show, I arrived about two hours early, just to make sure my drums, which had been delivered by my Cartage Company, were in order and also to maybe get a peek at the music we would be recording that afternoon. I had hair down to my shoulders, wore a floral shirt and low rise blue jeans with a large leather belt. Slowly the band began to assemble. Shorty Sherrock, Al Aarons, Cappy Lewis, Tommy Shepherd, Nelson's son Chris, Buddy Collette, Gene Estes, Al Viola, Claire Fischer and others I can't recall, began to find their seats.
Suddenly, in walked the man himself. Looking around, he said hello to his regulars, began leafing through the music on his stand, placed there by Vern Yocum and then looked in my direction. Typing this, I can remember the fear I had at that moment. I went over to introduce myself. He was professional and somewhat distant. Clearly, he had no idea what to expect from Helen's band and no idea what to expect from the young kid standing in front of him with a mountain of hair who weighed 99 pounds and was his new drummer.
First thing we recorded was the Theme to the show, which was Nelson's instrumental arrangement of I AM WOMAN. No problem...He counted it off and away we went. Some more short versions of the Theme, some bumpers and the Closing Theme and it was break time. We went into the booth to listen to what we had done and Nelson seemed to relax a bit. It sounded good, the band was tight and our little rhythm section gave an authenticity to the charts that was a new experience for Nelson.
One by one, we recorded each number for that week's show. Nelson had a metronome on the podium. Before each take he would get the tempo from the metronome and after each take he would turn it on again to see if we were still at the same tempo. When it turned out that we were, he would turn in my direction and smile. It was going to be OK.
I don't recall how many shows we did but each week we did the same prerecord at Capitol 1 and then over to NBC to do the show live. I went on to work with Nelson on many other projects. Live gigs with his band, recordings with Eydie Gorme, more TV and Films and the Linda Ronstadt concerts at Radio City Music Hall. I did the last date he ever did, September 1985, NYC, South Street Seaport. Temperature 55 degrees and the wind blowing hard. But that's another story. And it all started when I was 24 years old and was Helen Reddy's drummer.
One of the best things about Helen and her husband Jeff Wald was their loyalty to the band that traveled with her for her live concerts. Wald has become a legend over the years for his over the top style and in your face heavy handed negotiating tactics. It was really something to watch as Jeff would do whatever he could to further Helen's career. He was young and brash and had absolutely no fear at all, whether yelling at Room Service or the Head of Capitol Records.
Helen's band at that time included Mike Warren on Guitar, Dick Horn on Piano, Dave Parlato on Bass and me on Drums. When we heard the news of the impending Summer TV Shows, we were all excited but also not sure, as NBC insisted that the Musical Director for the TV Show was to be the Immortal Nelson Riddle. Would Nelson want to use his own guys? How would he react to a quartet of long haired Hippies invading his Orchestra?
Mr. Wald went to the Mystical "Powers That Be" and insisted that Helen's Band be the rhythm section on the Show. I have no idea what he had to do but it was decided that we were to be in Nelson Riddle's Band for any and all music performed, not just Helen's music.
Told to be at the Capitol Tower for the first prerecording of the Show, I arrived about two hours early, just to make sure my drums, which had been delivered by my Cartage Company, were in order and also to maybe get a peek at the music we would be recording that afternoon. I had hair down to my shoulders, wore a floral shirt and low rise blue jeans with a large leather belt. Slowly the band began to assemble. Shorty Sherrock, Al Aarons, Cappy Lewis, Tommy Shepherd, Nelson's son Chris, Buddy Collette, Gene Estes, Al Viola, Claire Fischer and others I can't recall, began to find their seats.
Suddenly, in walked the man himself. Looking around, he said hello to his regulars, began leafing through the music on his stand, placed there by Vern Yocum and then looked in my direction. Typing this, I can remember the fear I had at that moment. I went over to introduce myself. He was professional and somewhat distant. Clearly, he had no idea what to expect from Helen's band and no idea what to expect from the young kid standing in front of him with a mountain of hair who weighed 99 pounds and was his new drummer.
First thing we recorded was the Theme to the show, which was Nelson's instrumental arrangement of I AM WOMAN. No problem...He counted it off and away we went. Some more short versions of the Theme, some bumpers and the Closing Theme and it was break time. We went into the booth to listen to what we had done and Nelson seemed to relax a bit. It sounded good, the band was tight and our little rhythm section gave an authenticity to the charts that was a new experience for Nelson.
One by one, we recorded each number for that week's show. Nelson had a metronome on the podium. Before each take he would get the tempo from the metronome and after each take he would turn it on again to see if we were still at the same tempo. When it turned out that we were, he would turn in my direction and smile. It was going to be OK.
I don't recall how many shows we did but each week we did the same prerecord at Capitol 1 and then over to NBC to do the show live. I went on to work with Nelson on many other projects. Live gigs with his band, recordings with Eydie Gorme, more TV and Films and the Linda Ronstadt concerts at Radio City Music Hall. I did the last date he ever did, September 1985, NYC, South Street Seaport. Temperature 55 degrees and the wind blowing hard. But that's another story. And it all started when I was 24 years old and was Helen Reddy's drummer.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sacramento, Napa, Santa Rosa and Baltimore.
April 27th.
Another rainy day here in Balmville, NY. Heater has kicked on and neither of us are happy about that. 49 degrees again today but they say that Friday will bring warmth and sun to my little corner of the World.
In chronological order:
Flew to Sacramento to do 2 concerts with my Big Band and the Four Freshmen. Sacramento audience numbered in the 2000's and the show was great. Napa Opera House the next night. Beautiful venue and another swell show. Had some Ayotte drums provided for me on the Napa gig. Nice sounding, very open drums. Kind of a pale blue wash for a finish. Was like playing on a drum set that would have been seen in Yellow Submarine...Brought my Bosphorous Cymbals and they were once again amazing to play on. Many people came up to me and said that my cymbals sounded amazing...and they were right! Thank you Michael Vosbein and Bosphorous.
Flew back to NY. Gave a few pints of blood to the IRS and then right back to Northern California, this time for two Concerts with the Santa Rosa Pops. The act was Jim Curry and his Tribute to John Denver. Charts by Lee Holdridge who was John Denver's own arranger. This is one amazing Pops Show. Jim sounds naturally like Denver and looks like him too. When he first came out, the audience didn't know what to expect but after about 5 seconds of him singing Rocky Mountain High you could feel everyone relax and a spontaneous round of applause came up from the audience. They knew the Concert was going to be a treat. Jim's group includes his wife on vocals and guitar/mandolin, an amazing flute player, another multi instrumentalist on all kinds of stringed things, a Bassist and Richie Garcia on drums and percussion. Richie had worked with John Denver for a number of years and it was so nice to have him on the gig. One of the best Pops Shows I've ever conducted and one that Orchestras should be booking NOW!
Took the Red Eye home on Sunday night. Home for two days and then a 4 hour (schlep) drive down the NJ Turnpike to Baltimore where I was a last minute replacement Conductor for the BSO's Concerts with SPECTRUM.
A quick 2 hour rehearsal at Meyerhoff with the BSO and then 4 Concerts. The first one was at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. What a beautiful Hall!!! I can't say enough about this place. It's all wood and the sound is amazing, both onstage and in the House...A true Gem of a Hall.
Then 3 more in Baltimore at Meyerhoff. Audiences were very lively, singing along, clapping on 2 and 4, (most of the time) and dancing in the aisles and in their seats. That's what Spectrum concerts are like> These four guys plus their four man rhythm section, led by Tex Richardson on Piano, do an amazing show of the Best of R & B, The Sounds of Philadelphia and Motown. With the uncanny ability to sing like the artists they are covering, Spectrum is really a very special Pops show. Nobody does this music better, plus with their costumes, choreography and tip top arrangements for Symphony, they are truly Living Legends, which they were named in Las Vegas last year.
A few words about the BSO. GREAT! WONDERFUL! AFFABLE! FRIENDLY! COURTEOUS! AMAZING MUSICIANS!!!! My thanks to all of them, the crew, Spectrum, Mary Plaine and Eric and also Paul Meecham for having me.
That's it. One last drum set to sell. Call or write. Didn't hear from anyone as to my question last month on whether I should be more forthcoming about people and places...Either no one is reading this or no one cares I guess. In either case, the elegant solution might not always be the way to go.
Until next time,
Stay warm and dry...
MB
Another rainy day here in Balmville, NY. Heater has kicked on and neither of us are happy about that. 49 degrees again today but they say that Friday will bring warmth and sun to my little corner of the World.
In chronological order:
Flew to Sacramento to do 2 concerts with my Big Band and the Four Freshmen. Sacramento audience numbered in the 2000's and the show was great. Napa Opera House the next night. Beautiful venue and another swell show. Had some Ayotte drums provided for me on the Napa gig. Nice sounding, very open drums. Kind of a pale blue wash for a finish. Was like playing on a drum set that would have been seen in Yellow Submarine...Brought my Bosphorous Cymbals and they were once again amazing to play on. Many people came up to me and said that my cymbals sounded amazing...and they were right! Thank you Michael Vosbein and Bosphorous.
Flew back to NY. Gave a few pints of blood to the IRS and then right back to Northern California, this time for two Concerts with the Santa Rosa Pops. The act was Jim Curry and his Tribute to John Denver. Charts by Lee Holdridge who was John Denver's own arranger. This is one amazing Pops Show. Jim sounds naturally like Denver and looks like him too. When he first came out, the audience didn't know what to expect but after about 5 seconds of him singing Rocky Mountain High you could feel everyone relax and a spontaneous round of applause came up from the audience. They knew the Concert was going to be a treat. Jim's group includes his wife on vocals and guitar/mandolin, an amazing flute player, another multi instrumentalist on all kinds of stringed things, a Bassist and Richie Garcia on drums and percussion. Richie had worked with John Denver for a number of years and it was so nice to have him on the gig. One of the best Pops Shows I've ever conducted and one that Orchestras should be booking NOW!
Took the Red Eye home on Sunday night. Home for two days and then a 4 hour (schlep) drive down the NJ Turnpike to Baltimore where I was a last minute replacement Conductor for the BSO's Concerts with SPECTRUM.
A quick 2 hour rehearsal at Meyerhoff with the BSO and then 4 Concerts. The first one was at Strathmore in Bethesda, MD. What a beautiful Hall!!! I can't say enough about this place. It's all wood and the sound is amazing, both onstage and in the House...A true Gem of a Hall.
Then 3 more in Baltimore at Meyerhoff. Audiences were very lively, singing along, clapping on 2 and 4, (most of the time) and dancing in the aisles and in their seats. That's what Spectrum concerts are like> These four guys plus their four man rhythm section, led by Tex Richardson on Piano, do an amazing show of the Best of R & B, The Sounds of Philadelphia and Motown. With the uncanny ability to sing like the artists they are covering, Spectrum is really a very special Pops show. Nobody does this music better, plus with their costumes, choreography and tip top arrangements for Symphony, they are truly Living Legends, which they were named in Las Vegas last year.
A few words about the BSO. GREAT! WONDERFUL! AFFABLE! FRIENDLY! COURTEOUS! AMAZING MUSICIANS!!!! My thanks to all of them, the crew, Spectrum, Mary Plaine and Eric and also Paul Meecham for having me.
That's it. One last drum set to sell. Call or write. Didn't hear from anyone as to my question last month on whether I should be more forthcoming about people and places...Either no one is reading this or no one cares I guess. In either case, the elegant solution might not always be the way to go.
Until next time,
Stay warm and dry...
MB
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
April...So far, so good.
April 14th. Day before Tax Day and my taxes are all screwed up. Obviously my Accountant of 25 years is taking it easy in his old age and my return is now being done by 100 Monkeys wearing Green Eye Shades using Texas Instrument Calculators from 1988 to do my forms.
Have today and tomorrow to get it right before I am forced to go the Extension route and find someone who knows about the Music Biz to do it all over for me.
Music Stuff...
Two Concerts last week with my Band and the Four Freshmen. Sacramento on Thursday night and then the Napa Opera House on Friday. 2000 people attended the Sacramento Show and the Napa gig, with a seating capacity of about 400, was a swell place to play.
First of all, the Freshmen sound great. Those great harmonies and the amazing musicianship on display by all of them is a pleasure to watch and listen to. We did about 5 tunes with them and I always love to channel Jimmy Campbell, Stan Kenton's drummer on the Road Show album with his band, the Freshmen and June Christy. Nice rolling energy and I love to try and get that feel.
Sold out all the CD's brought so we took orders in Napa and sold some more. True to my word, all were shipped out on Monday and they should arrive in California as we speak.
Home until Friday when I go to Santa Rosa again, (you ask, "Why didn't he just stay in California for the week?"...Too much to do and also there's the lovely Deirdre at home.) to do a John Denver Tribute with Jim Curry and his Band. Shows on Saturday night at 8 and Sunday at 3. This guy looks and sounds like John. Nice arrangements done by Lee Holdridge and some lovely slides and film to accompany the music. Come on out all you John Denver fans...Wells Fargo Center!!!!
Then, I will be off to Baltimore to conduct 4 concerts with the BSO and Spectrum, the World's Greatest Motown Tribute Show. Love these guys and looking forward to 4 great performances.
Still waiting for Susan Boyle to get her self ready to tour. We've been on Red Alert for months about this and we all hope that it will come to pass in the months ahead.
Miss Minnelli has decided to work with a trio for the present, ridding herself of the 12 piece band that has played behind her for over 30 years. We wish her luck and look forward to her returning to the format that has worked so well for her all these years and that her fans expect. The band is such a large part of her show it's a shame that her new advisors don't understand that fact.
In the meantime, I'm back booking Corporate talent with some nice projects looming overseas for some high end clients. More about this next time.
Is this just a place to discuss upcoming gigs or should I start telling people things I know and talk about how I feel about them?
If you have an opinion, email me. berkowitz66@msn.com
Talk soon.
Best,
MB
Have today and tomorrow to get it right before I am forced to go the Extension route and find someone who knows about the Music Biz to do it all over for me.
Music Stuff...
Two Concerts last week with my Band and the Four Freshmen. Sacramento on Thursday night and then the Napa Opera House on Friday. 2000 people attended the Sacramento Show and the Napa gig, with a seating capacity of about 400, was a swell place to play.
First of all, the Freshmen sound great. Those great harmonies and the amazing musicianship on display by all of them is a pleasure to watch and listen to. We did about 5 tunes with them and I always love to channel Jimmy Campbell, Stan Kenton's drummer on the Road Show album with his band, the Freshmen and June Christy. Nice rolling energy and I love to try and get that feel.
Sold out all the CD's brought so we took orders in Napa and sold some more. True to my word, all were shipped out on Monday and they should arrive in California as we speak.
Home until Friday when I go to Santa Rosa again, (you ask, "Why didn't he just stay in California for the week?"...Too much to do and also there's the lovely Deirdre at home.) to do a John Denver Tribute with Jim Curry and his Band. Shows on Saturday night at 8 and Sunday at 3. This guy looks and sounds like John. Nice arrangements done by Lee Holdridge and some lovely slides and film to accompany the music. Come on out all you John Denver fans...Wells Fargo Center!!!!
Then, I will be off to Baltimore to conduct 4 concerts with the BSO and Spectrum, the World's Greatest Motown Tribute Show. Love these guys and looking forward to 4 great performances.
Still waiting for Susan Boyle to get her self ready to tour. We've been on Red Alert for months about this and we all hope that it will come to pass in the months ahead.
Miss Minnelli has decided to work with a trio for the present, ridding herself of the 12 piece band that has played behind her for over 30 years. We wish her luck and look forward to her returning to the format that has worked so well for her all these years and that her fans expect. The band is such a large part of her show it's a shame that her new advisors don't understand that fact.
In the meantime, I'm back booking Corporate talent with some nice projects looming overseas for some high end clients. More about this next time.
Is this just a place to discuss upcoming gigs or should I start telling people things I know and talk about how I feel about them?
If you have an opinion, email me. berkowitz66@msn.com
Talk soon.
Best,
MB
Thursday, March 11, 2010
One more drum set for sale...
Hi All,
Too many drums. This great Ludwig Be Bop Set is a winner. Pics can be seen in an earlier post. They're worth it...Make me an offer. I need the room in the studio and these are not getting out since I have the new DW Jazzers.
Ludwig 6 Ply Maple Black Lacquer BeBop Drums Set. Bass Drum is 18 x 16, Small 8 x 12 Tom, 14 x 14 Floor Tom. Not wrapped, just pure black lacquer, beautifully done by Ludwig. Mini Lugs, Rims Mount on Small Tom, comes with modular mount to attach to a stand and three Floor Tom Legs included too. No rust, no pitting, like new, chrome shines like right off the showrrom floor. A couple of dings on the small tom tom from snare rub. visible in picture. New heads...
Price : $1,200.00 OBO Once again, no bottom feeders or Ebay resellers or any of the 400+ Lizards who watched my Ebay auctions but failed to make a bid. I can wait until the right buyer somes along...that means someone who appreciates fine American Made Drums that have been cared for and that sound amazing at all kinds of tunings, Jazz, Funk. Be Bop or Big Band.
Too many drums. This great Ludwig Be Bop Set is a winner. Pics can be seen in an earlier post. They're worth it...Make me an offer. I need the room in the studio and these are not getting out since I have the new DW Jazzers.
Ludwig 6 Ply Maple Black Lacquer BeBop Drums Set. Bass Drum is 18 x 16, Small 8 x 12 Tom, 14 x 14 Floor Tom. Not wrapped, just pure black lacquer, beautifully done by Ludwig. Mini Lugs, Rims Mount on Small Tom, comes with modular mount to attach to a stand and three Floor Tom Legs included too. No rust, no pitting, like new, chrome shines like right off the showrrom floor. A couple of dings on the small tom tom from snare rub. visible in picture. New heads...
Price : $1,200.00 OBO Once again, no bottom feeders or Ebay resellers or any of the 400+ Lizards who watched my Ebay auctions but failed to make a bid. I can wait until the right buyer somes along...that means someone who appreciates fine American Made Drums that have been cared for and that sound amazing at all kinds of tunings, Jazz, Funk. Be Bop or Big Band.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
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