Leonard Smalls

I can play better than Al Di Meola, if that helps. He's got no chance against me at gin rummy!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1423242057' post='2682739'] [size=4]It's failing so far. I was tapping my foot to part of the piece, and found myself whistling an extract a few minutes ago.[/size] [size=4]No; no cause for concern. The meds will be kicking in, shortly.[/size] [size=4]Ah..! I hear there's someone at the door. That'll be the medics kicking in the door...[/size] [size=4]Maybe I should stop playing this track so loudly..? [/size] [/quote] Glad you've seen the light! And I've just had the greatest possible compliment for this future no.1 (not no. 2!!!); a friend just played it to her little boy, he looked at her beseechingly and said "please Mummy, make it stop!"

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1423240475' post='2682713'] [size=4] Paul was second; Len is third (pronounced with an Irish accent...). Time for an anecdote... I've not seen it around for a while, but tucked away in our 'museum of horrors', we've a MIDI expander, Roland D110. It worked well for a few years, then, suddenly, started rejecting all control, to generate instead completely random sounds, some of which were very interesting, other less so; many completely unpalatable. If I can dig it out (and if it now even turns on..!), I'll see if I can post a sample of it gurgling and chuntering away. "Why the anecdote..?", I hear you ask, scratching your chin and upper hairline... Well, I suspect Len to have a similar D110, with the subtle difference that our one did, at least sometimes, come up with some usable random noises. I could be wrong... [/size] [/quote] I knew my offering would be right up your street! As you can see, I'm on a mission to promote a lack of harmony, to pooh-pooh melody, to reject the concept of time. [Bond villain mode]The world will soon be mine![/Bond villain mode]

Here we go... Somehow the train reminded of the nightmare truck attempting to kill Dennis Weaver in Speilberg's movie "Duel" - like it's relentless, unstoppable, out of control, just like this rather tuneful bit of piano "jazz". For your delectation and delight (or perhaps disappointment and disgust) I give you 2 minutes 35 seconds (but may feel much longer) of: [url=https://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/duel]DUAL 2[/url]

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1423040648' post='2679782'] Perhaps I am hoping a decent recording might make up for my poor compositional skills? Though I would imagine it would make them all the more glaring. [/quote] I always roll my "compositions" in a large amount of hifi glitter in the hope that nobody will notice the many shortcomings! Still, I see the whole point is to produce something you yourself like - if other people like it and even vote for it, all the better.

I'm too old to work in 8ths. But I can vacillate randomly between 4/4 and 5/4 to such an extent that the casual listener might think it's just out of time. However, I feel that said casual listener will have turned it off in disgust well before they'd reached any conclusions about the non-linearity of time, maaaan!

[quote name='Old_Ben' timestamp='1422802153' post='2676886'] Thanks all It was a great competition this month with everyone's entries being on top form! Well done to all and beers on me! [/quote] Well done indeed! Mine's a pint of Orkney Skullsplitter...

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1422806825' post='2676945'] Trombone [i]and [/i]cowbell..! Mmm..! [/quote] Half right... No trombone this time. Though I've got time to get our local jazzist in to roll my burgeoning composition in glitter!

I've already made a start with a chaotic almost 5:4 chuffchuff beat; lovers of freeform funky freakism might just be able to tolerate it. Others are likely to run screaming if it continues as it's started!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1422213529' post='2669944'] A more than tenuous link with the picture, I'm afraid, and I can't say that the musicality [i]per se[/i] gave it many saving graces. Some may like it, of course; we live in strange times. Disturbing, the piece..? Definitely. [/quote] Cheers Douglas! I didn't expect it to appeal to lovers of nice melodies, or even music! But someone's voted fore it, Gawd 'elp 'em! Anyway, the link with the picture is that the picture is based on a lady in a Burkah protesting, and Bush gave many folks in the Middle East good reason to protest. She's no doubt disturbing the peace to fight the war - to paraphrase the annoyingly tuneful and rather po-faced Joan Baez...

We occasionally finish with Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie", but that's about the only cover we do... However, I'm tempted to give this a go (or perhaps Parliament's "Flashlight") [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hURfS6b3wVo[/MEDIA]

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1421950798' post='2667059'] Only joking post away [/quote] You asked for it... If you want slightly more accessible Derek look for the Mirakle album with Jamaaladeen Tacuma on bass, or his last performance with the Shakin Ray Levis - bot on you tube. [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5dz_1meBjY[MEDIA]

I won't post the Derek Bailey/Min Tanaka video then!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1421855770' post='2665839'] ([size=4]I[/size][i]'m alarmed by the 'yet'. Should I be..? [/i] ) [/quote] I likes a nice tune, me...

[quote name='alittlebitrobot' timestamp='1421797784' post='2665279'] In that case, I might just go for the "shortest entry" award. [/quote] Like a truncated version of this? I don't quite dare, yet... [MEDIA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyGMI0q8o6Y[/MEDIA]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1421674641' post='2663786'] Yes, we know, and you're very good at it. [/quote] You smooth-tongued devil you...

[quote name='alittlebitrobot' timestamp='1421458941' post='2661656'] current status: unlistenably cacophonous. [/quote] I like unlistenably cacophonous...

I've been gigging my Wal since I bought it in 1990... M band at the time had a stage show where an artist would paint a background - and us - while we played. Luckily all that's washed off the Wal, but there's deep wear on the body. It's starting to look like Stanley Clarke's "If only this bass could talk" which is fine by me. It's there for playing. I'm not the sort of person who would buy a new couch and leave the plastic on for the next 5 years!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1420803153' post='2653550'] If I owned a shop and knew this was what you were going to do..without even asking me if I could or would price match, I'd charge you to try out the kit [/quote] aye! If everyone only tried kit out in a shop then went and bought from an online retailer who had nowhere near the same overheads there would soon be no shops left. However, as a shop owner (not a music shop) I realise that to try and minimise this sort of behaviour I have to give the sort of service an online retailer can't, and hope the customer appreciates it enough to buy from us. Unfortunately lots of shops of all types don't seem to understand this might be their only way to survive!

Like!

Managed to finish (sort of!) in time before going on holiday tomorrow... http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/disturbing-the-peace

Thumbs up from me!

I used to DJ in Leeds during the 80s at the Phono, Warehouse and University - mainly funk and general indie oddities... That was in the days when a Citronic Hawaii with Stanton carts was the beezkneez! I remember someone once asking me to play some "Proper dance music {I was playing "Flashlight" at the time} like the Virgin Prunes". Unfortunately for him I had "Pagan Lovesong" which he was obliged to dance to, on his own, in the meddle of the University Refectory in front of 1000 wannabe funksters!

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1419413111' post='2639624'] I know a man who has, as part of his HiFi setup, an Isotek power conditioner. I think that they are about £2,500. [/quote] I know the guy who started the company, though he runs Isol-8 now. And to be fair, there's much more of an argument for using a power conditioner than an uber-mains cable! Some audio kit - usually because it hasn't got a robust enough power supply - is very susceptible to mains-borne noise, dc offsets and voltage fluctuation and reacts by either having humming transformers, or giving out low level white noise etc. Supply filtration or even re-generation in extreme cases can sort that out. However, a re-generator needs a lot of headroom if you're going to play loud and expect loud bass - unless you've got flea-powered amps and enormously efficient speakers. But as far as I'm concerned the power supply should be able to cope with any extreme of power supply that falls within the ESQR regs (electricity safety and quality) - my Bryston power amp specifically says don't bother with any mains foo as you'll restrict what the amp can do!

The standard audiophool response on being told the science - whether it's to do with room tuning RFI suppressors or mains cables or even hi quality "hifi" consumer units and plug sockets - is to say "well science doesn't know everything, and how can you know this doesn't work unless you try it?" The usual answer is "I've never jumped off a cliff either but know it will hurt because science tells me that gravity will smash me very hard into the ground... The point is that you [i]have to believe it works [/i].