Archive for May, 2009
Ever have one of those days where you get a song stuck in your head and you can't get it out... no matter what? You're not even sure where or when you heard it. It might have been playing on the alarm radio when you woke up or maybe it was blasting from a car next to you at a red light. You can't remember the source... but your brain seems to think that it's a great idea to play it over and over and over. It can be a highly frustrating experience. One that I've been plagued with today.
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I just realized my "Style" category was missing one crucial genre: Reggae. But then I also realized I have no clue how to play the real "roots" stuff. Apparently I forgot to take that "Reggae 101" class at Berklee (they still let me graduate) and Burning Spear hasn't called me for any gigs lately.
To be perfectly honest, the majority of what I know comes from listening to Stewart Copeland with The Police and Pete Thomas with Elvis Costello. Hardly Rastafarian, but they are both masters ...
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I apologize for the recent lack of loops over the past week. As you know, there is lot of behind the scenes work going on at ryangruss.com in preparation for June 1st. Between the film crew in my house, the international press junkets and my fresh Botox injections, it's been hard to keep up with the day to day administration of this site. Plus it's Memorial Day weekend, so I'm also busy barbecuing and drinking beer.
To keep you entertained in the meantime, here's a tour of Stewart Copela...
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...of the "Gruss Cam". This is just a small part of what's to come on June 1st. Stay tuned...
ryangruss.com from Ryan Gruss on Vimeo....
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Here's a behind the scenes look into Billy Cobham's recording session for the upcoming sample CD, "The Ken Scott Collection". It's nice to see (and hear) Billy back on the acrylic Fibes kit. Hat tip to my friend, Matt at recordready.com for sending this my way.
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The life of a touring musician is one that is often full of bizarre and surreal encounters. Between hanging out with methed-out truckers while you eat pancakes during 4am pit stops, to the VIP events you attend because you're "in a band", traveling around the world and playing music will supply you with plenty of crazy stories to tell your grandkids (and blog readers). Often times, these encounters include rubbing elbows with the most random of celebrities in even more random situations. Like...
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If providing you with every possible loop format is wrong, then I don't want to be right. In another step to make this blog the greatest thing since the NKOTB reunion, I've decided to start providing Apple loops (AIFF files) along with every new beat. They'll be included at the bottom of each post along with the WAV and REX2 files. Now you can just drop the loops into GarageBand or Logic and easily adjust the tempo to fit your needs. Look for the inaugural AIFF file to be posted shortly...
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Our good friend, Kenny Aronoff, is back to play us a few syncopation examples from Carmine Appice's legendary instructional book, "Realistic Rock". Speaking of realistic, is Kenny's vest made from alligator or snake skin?
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My old mentor from college, Kenwood Dennard, is back to show us how to keep things flowing with Jaco Pastorius and John Scofield. From swing, to funk, to reggae, Kenwood always makes it feel good, no matter what style he's playing.
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Whenever I hear Rage Against The Machine, I instantly reminisce about my senior year of high school. Everyday, during the lunch period, my friends and I would sneak out of school and drive to fine dining establishments such as Little Caesar's and Bruegger's Bagels.
Normally, going out to lunch isn't a big deal for a high school student, but my school had a "closed campus policy" and even employed a full time security guard to make sure kids weren't leaving the premises. This made the noon...
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