And Furthermore...

I have been on ships where because of the orchestra the ship's ratings rose to No. 1 in the fleet. I have also been in bands where the inexperience and neurosis was so severe it created an almost seemingly insurmountable "darkness." The flash video "Ship of Darkness" humorously tries to address this issue. I am aware of ALL these issues, because I have been through it. The fundamental difficulty for the pianist in a showband is the nature of the rhythmic concept utilized in the recorded tracks of the production shows. It is easy for a skilled musician to surmise there is something "amiss" about the tracks. Many many bands fight amongst themselves or simply fall apart because they do not understand what is happening. I know what is happening in the tracks as well as what is happening in the written music, because I have produced 13 CD's of my own using a Macintosh computer and Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer. I went to Ohio State to work on my doctorate, but one of my prerequisites was to learn computer music. While the university offered instruction and some crude machinery, I eventually invested the time and money to build my own home studio. Over the course of two years I pieced together a basic MIDI/Hard Disk Recording system that let me record my own projects. Over the preceding years of collegiate study and with a keen interest in keyboard technology, I had accumulated a nice collection of vintage synthesizers. Although buying used equipment became almost a hobby, it began with the need and desire to have the best "live-playing" rig for gigs. I have had several configurations of keyboard equipment, each appropriate for the style of music I was playing at the time. To make a long story short it was easy to begin producing projects via MIDI, after I assembled the computer system. I will always be indebted to the surplus department at Ohio State for giving me the scrap computer parts to use as the basis for my system. I knew that sound and feel were the two necessary components to make a MIDI project good enough to sell commercially. My vintage synths solved one of these problems, and 12 years of classical piano lessons along with the almost constant study of jazz and commercial music solved the other. I can proudly say after finishing 13 complete CD projects that I am proud enough to market, I never once used the “quantize” feature in Digital Performer. Everyone knows that "feel" is the heart and soul of music. A beginning or novice Showband piano player is in for a shock, when he hears the recorded tracks of a production show for the first time. They are generated by the computer, either by a MIDI file that is generated from a notation program, or from a sequencing program in which the arranger quantizes the tracks metronomically. This all but destroys the original "feels" of the tunes, but does provide an easier way to play the music with a recorded click track. This can wreak havoc on the keyboard player, because if the band is not aware of the existence of differing styles of music, and they have only done ships for their experience, they can only play in this ONE rhythmic concept. The concept most widely used by cruise ship arrangers is "pop," where the eighth notes are inhumanly and unmusically close together and places them "over the quarter note" both ahead and behind the real pulse. For a keyboard player to try to match this rhythmic inflection, he must sacrifice everything related to musical study. It really is absurd to expect a keyboard player to play this way. If one does not know better and everyone else in the band has little difficulty playing this style, this disparity can destroy a good piano player. Luckily I keenly am aware of this abnormality, and this awareness is what has allowed me to continue working in the Showband. It is never easy, but I use music as my tool to succeed. I know I will be fighting a continuous battle with the rest of the band when it comes to performing production shows. My success is based on the continual study of the music, its appraisal in a historical context, and my ability to perform it authentically with good feeling. This "good feeling" is the only thing that will sway young minds into abandoning a rhythmic concept they see as easy and appropriate for Showband performances. Studying and learning many, many styles of music, both American and South American takes years. Luckily I have put in that work. It is with this awareness I feel it is necessary to let the both of you know why I pursue the Showband piano spot. I don't particularly enjoy playing the music, but I am one of the few players that can succeed where others fail. Igor, who I replaced on the Serenade, was criticized for using a physical motion that looked like he was clawing at the keyboard. Similarly on the video they show on ships about the rehearsal of production shows, there is another keyboard player playing using this ridiculous motion. Trying to match a rhythmic concept that is based on the strumming of a guitar and the rhythm of spoken words for a keyboardist is insane. That is what "pop" is. That is why growing up I had no interest in any radio music that used guitar as it's feel creator. Piano feel, as exhibited in the gamut of music produced in the l980's by keyboardists such as Dave Foster, is something completely different. Ultimately it is the reason why that music was successful. It is powerful and moving, not contrived and superficial. Miraculously near the end of my contract on the Serenade, the ship for some reason accepted this concept and I was able to perform the shows authentically. There is musicality in Stage to Screen that the pre-recorded tracks can't begin to extract. I was amazed each time I made a discovery of this type. These unactualized musical concepts were what elevated the success of the show to previously unattainable ratings. It did give me a newfound respect for Wade Hubbard's abilities, but it also paints a clear picture of how drastically short the pre-recorded tracks fall. Luckily I remember these devices and did my best to document them in the written music. I will wait until a later time to open up that can of worms. I felt it best to convey to you the depth of my understanding of the Showband piano spot, and my willingness to take gigs that are all but sub-standard. It is a challenge and one that I usually enjoy.