Yesterday, Senator Russ Feingold introduced a resolution to censure President Bush for breaking the law by illegally wiretapping American citizens.

When the president misleads the public and the Congress and willfully and repeatedly breaks the law, there need to be some consequences --that's how the law works for everybody else.

Censuring the president is a reasonable first step in condemning the president's actions. Now it's up to us to show broad public support for Senator Feingold's resolution. Can you sign this petition asking Congress to join the call for censure?

http://political.moveon.org/censure

Thanks!

Don't know if anyone has heard that latest controversy here on myspace.
It seems that has been a bunch of fans setting up impostor sites.

Like the zztoprocks. Now many legit artist are pulling their sites. Myspace has not been
responsive to artist complaints. I lost 3 good buddies. Herbie Hancock is gone.
I found a new one. But who do you know which is the real one?

myspace.com/herbiehancockpossibilities
top 8 is gone. :( huge influence
myspace.com/kurtrosenwinkel is gone. :( one of my fav guitarist

found
myspace.com/herbiehancock22

ZZ Top is the victim of identity theft. The myspace profile "ZZ Top" (http://www.myspace.com/zztoprock) has been misrepresenting themselves as the band and is guilty of violating the band's copyrights. You seem to be a true fan of ZZ Top. If so then you should remove the imposter's link from your page. Myspace has been informed of this unscrupulous use of the band's identity but so far has failed to act. It is up to the fans of Billy, Dusty and Frank to help stop this shameful disrespect of their art and careers. Please visit www.zztop.com the official ZZ Top website for more info, pix and tunes. Come to the scrawlboard and share your thoughts with the band and fellow fans.

Thank you for your loyalty,
"That little ol' band from Texas"
www.zztop.com

I received the message below from Shannon White. A link to her myspace page is
below. Receiving her message inspired me to do some more checking. I went to the Park Place site and found her link. The odd thing is her link is the only link I could find. That went back to her myspace site. All others came up with a page showing their press kit.

Yesterday, Daddy Rich an artist I had previously contacted about Park Place emailed me.
In an earlier discussion with him. He told me that he not received one gig from them. He had contacted them many times. He wanted to get a copy of his press kit. They kept telling him. They would send him one, but never did.

Yesterday in his email, he stated that he finally received a copy. He said it looked pretty good. It was in a dvd format containing his bio, picture and three songs. However, anyone requesting a copy of the press kit is expected to pay $10 to receive one.

Let's see, they want an artist to pay $250 for their service. Then they charge $10 for the press kit. The charge for the press kit is not mentioned in their contract agreement. Then they take fifteen percent any gig they get them. Man, are these folks crooks or what?

I did learn my investigations have been putting pressure on them. The jazz, blues link on their main page has been removed. If you click on band & groups, you can see it. However, all the artist I mentioned in earlier a post have been removed. There is about 1/4 amount of artist posted now. None has a link to their press kit.

I emailed Shannon White back. I pointed out to her. About her link going back to her myspace page. Also, it seems that if she is gigging so much. That her name would come up in a google search. There is nothing related to Shannon White, except her my space page. Her my space page has not gotten a comment since last September. The month she joined myspace.

I figure she is part of the scam. I ask her if she was. She has not replied back.

Please spread the word about these jerks!!

Cheers!
Gary





RE: Park Place Entertainment LLC
Body: I am very happy with Park Place. They have made me thousands of dollars and the promote my shows very professionally.

Thanks for asking.

:) Shw

For improvisation ideas and exercises: http://www.prdrum.com/prguitar/index.html For cool custom guitars: http://www.kbguitars.com/index.html For tech info: ttp://www.guitarnuts.com http://www.freeguitarvideos.com http://jazz-primer.com/index.html http://www.visionmusic.com/index.html http://www.frogstoryrecords.com/ http://www.rickdelsavio.com/ http://www.guitar-masters.com/ http://www.stuntzner.brent.org http://www.jazzguitar.com http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/index.html http://www.berkleeshares.com/guitar http://www.jazclass.aust.com/ http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/index.html http://www.chrisbergson.com/recordings.html http://www.jazzimprov.com/ http://www.johnpfeiffer.com/ http://www.johnscofield.com/ http://www.patmartino.com/ http://www.tedvieira.com/ http://www.justjazzguitar.com/ http://www.guitar.ch/en/info/frames/info/set.html http://chrisjuergensen.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/lessons.htm http://www.ulfwakenius.com http://www.pego.be http://buscarino.com http://benedettoguitars.com http://greenfieldguitars.com http://fineguitarconsultants.com/index2.htm http://www.walkerguitars.com/ http://megasguitars.com/ http://www.campelloneguitars.com/Models/cameo.htm jazz radio station http://www.krmlradio.com/ http://www.berklee.edu/ http://www.jazzitalia.net/lessons.asp http://www.joemonk.com/ http://www.sravitz.com/ nice intro to jazz mode voicings http://www.rickpeckham.com http://noidlefrets.blogspot.com/ http://www.bradshepik.com/ http://www.marcribot.com/ http://www.wolfgangmuthspiel.com/ http://www.touchofjazz.com/raffjazz.html htt://jazzbeat.safeshopper.com/35/cat35.htm?994 http://www.badiassad.com.br/ http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/ http://www.swingmusic.net/ http://www.barryfinnerty.com/ http://www.benmonder.com/ http://www.jimhallmusic.com/ http://www.billfrisell.com/ http://lagrene.com/ http://www.carlfilipiak.com/ http://www.guitar9.com/ http://www.charlie-christian.com/ http://www.patmethenygroup.com/ http://www.wholenote.com/ http://www.jazzpages.com/ChristianEckert/ Dan Rose http://www.jazzrecords.com/enja/9116.htm http://www.dannygatton.com/ http://www.davestryker.com/ http://www.allaboutjazz.com/ David Torn http://www.KCRW.org http://www.wnur.org/jazz/artists/bailey.derek/ Elliott Sharp http://www.panix.com/~esharp/ http://www.frankgambale.com http://www.garywittner.com http://www.georgebenson.com/ http://www.playjazzguitar.com/grant_green.html http://www.jackwilkins.com/ http://guitar-masters.com/ Jef Lee Johnson http://www.allaboutjazz.com/iviews/jljohnson2002.htm Jimmy Raney http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/artists/artists_page.jsp?artist=25 Joe Pass http://www.playjazzguitar.com/joe_pass.html http://www.shawnlane.com/ http://www.playjazzguitar.com/kenny_burrell.html http://www.kevineubanks.com/ http://www.kurtrosenwinkel.com/ http://www.lenistern.com/ http://www.mikestern.org/ http://www.waynekrantz.com/ http://www.leeritenour.com/ Mark Elf http://www.jenbayjazz.com/ http://www.markwhitfield.com/ http://www.martintaylor.com/ Mick Goodrick http://www.wholenote.com/artists/artist.asp?i=4 http://www.mordyferber.com/ http://www.nelscline.com/ http://www.pacodelucia.org/ http://www.aldimeola.com/ JOHN MCLAUGLIN http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=6347 http://www.paulbollenback.com/ Peter Bernstein http://www.crisscrossjazz.com/artist/BernsteinPeter.html http://www.ronnieearl.com/ http://www.scotthenderson.net/ http://www.sherylbailey.com/ http://www.mimifoxjazzguitar.com/ http://www.sonnylandreth.com/ http://www.sonnysharrock.com/ Staffan William-Olsson http://www.therealthing.no/Staffan.aspx http://www.stevekhan.com/ Steve Masakowski http://www.astralproject.com/musicians/steve.html http://www.playjazzguitar.com/tal_farlow.html http://www.tomdempseymusic.com/ http://www.ulfwakenius.com/

Climb Every Mountain By Jamie Andreas The longer I teach, the more I am impressed with one unassailable fact: most of what becoming good or great on the guitar is about has nothing to do with "musical ability". It has everything to do with that group of qualities loosely spoken of as "character". When I was 16 years old, I met a friend who enabled me to put an end to my desperate search for a classical teacher. Scott played the classical guitar, and was taking classical guitar lessons at a music school I had never heard of, but started going to immediately, where I took lessons with his teacher. It was thrilling to meet Scott, because I had never seen a person play the classical guitar in person, only heard it on records (and from that, was trying to teach myself: wrong move!). It was more thrilling to meet his teacher, a trained, experienced, and fine classical player. As time went by, I remember going over to Scott's house often and playing guitar with him, and hanging out and practicing and playing at his house. After awhile, it became clear that I was surpassing Scott in my classical playing. His mother was a very astute and intelligent person, and would always listen to me play. I remember that she used to remark about a difference she noticed between my relationship and approach to guitar and that of her son Scott. She noticed that I applied myself with an intensity that Scott never exhibited. For instance, she noticed that I would work relentlessly on the same piece, the same passages, the same problems, always striving to reach a higher level of perfection with what I was playing. For whatever reason, Scott just did not do this. (Actually, all reasons come down to one thing: I needed to do it that way, and Scott didn't. The entire "why" of it all would be another essay!) Believe me, Scott had as much ability to play as I did, as much "natural talent" for music. It took him so far, and apparently, that was far enough for him. I am in the business of building excellent guitar players, and so, I must convey a certain truth to them along the way, one that does not seem to be obvious and sufficiently appreciated by most people. It is this: it is relatively easy to achieve about 80% of anything. It is relatively easy to develop ourselves to about 80% of proficiency in any field we may choose. If you want to become a computer programmer, a business person, own a restaurant, be a carpenter, be a musician, anything, you can study it, get experience, and become "functional". Most people that bother to develop something useful (and most do, being forced as we are to "make a living") achieve this level. But to become really good, to start to rise above, and noticeably so, the average person doing what you do, THAT takes a whole different kind of effort, and a whole lot more of it. Most people do not do this in their particular field. Most people really are, when it comes down to it, content with doing what they "must", and keeping their standards and goals low enough to avoid too much demand and discomfort. That is why the age old lament of all employers is "you just can't find good help anymore". Yes, because the ..1 goal of most people is to DO as little as possible and GET as much as possible. That is the formula for mediocrity. To put it simply, it is easy to be mediocre, that is why so many people are achieving it. We are all climbing a mountain. In fact, we are climbing various mountains all the time. Becoming a guitar player is a mountain, and every piece of music you work on is its own mountain. It is easy to work on a solo, a song, or a piece, and get it "pretty good". You know, 80% of the notes are there, so hey, leave me alone, what do you want, ALL the notes! Come on, I would have to REALLY work hard on it to get that! To bring a piece of music from 80% to 90% is an incredibly demanding process. Climbing that mountain further and further is the essence of being an artist, no matter what your field of endeavor is. Yes, that is the truth. It is easy to get 80% of the way up the mountain, any interested party can do that. Closing in on that last 20%, well, that separates the men from the boys, as they say. Here is the thing to understand: every step forward and upward required to move past the common crowd will most likely require as much as ALL the effort previously put out. The higher we climb, the more we must exert for every inch gained, but every inch is precious, and worth more than everything before it. The gap between 99% to 100% is, in fact, infinite. Yes, the real polish, the real excellence, comes only to those deeply committed to it. I don't know why, I didn't make up the rules. However, I believe it has something to do with some natural "filtering out" process. As if Life were saying "only those acting from great desire, great need of the highest kind, need apply. Only those willing to prove themselves by using every ounce, and then more, of their strength, will achieve greatness". This is why it is very common for me to have the kind of experience I just had with a student who is working with my two books, The Principles, and The Path. Jim is working on getting his first songs together, beginning to end, strumming, changing chords and singing, and doing it from memory. He was working on the song "Amazing Grace", and has dutifully practiced the chord changes according to my instructions, and was in the process of putting it all together. I told him I wanted the song memorized, and showed him how to go about it. He came in the next week, and announced that he did some practice on it, but really spent most of the time on the new blues shuffle I had given him. Obviously, it was "spanking time", and I reached for the paddle! I explained to him "yes, you have achieved the ability to play that song with a lot of hesitation and stumbling, and losing your place. Congratulations. You have climbed part way up the mountain, and that is good enough for you. You decided you would do what was easy, fun, and exciting, the new blues shuffle (exciting because it is new, left up to him, it would receive the same treatment, left half done and never "polished"). You decided to avoid the REAL work of bringing that song all the way to perfection, where you can grab that guitar, and sing and play that song from beginning to end." Yes, Jim hung his head in shame, and admitted I was right, and resolved to do better! What I was doing was preventing the swerving toward mediocrity that was already beginning to assert itself for this new student, by giving him the attitude that leads to good and great playing. Now, understand that this student is not intending on being a professional, and in fact is an adult with many responsibilities, and so gets little time to practice, sometimes only a few minutes a day. It doesn't matter. That is no excuse for letting months go by, and ending up with a bunch of butchered and dismembered "pieces" of music that are just that: nothing but pieces! Whatever level of player or student you are, you must always demand excellence from yourself. And that does NOT mean "do it to the best of your ability". Who knows what ability any of us have. It means "do what must be done to achieve the goal". And that implies you HAVE a goal, and that it is the correct goal. Ultimately, our goal should be to be able to say "as far as I can see, I have climbed". Segovia, when asked how much he practiced said "as much as I need to". He meant "I work as hard as I have to in order to achieve my vision of what I know is possible". The artist is constantly climbing, growing into our abilities, constantly surprised at what our striving brings out of us. There is always a new height coming into view, and we climb it because it is there. As time goes by, we occasionally look down at the view and are amazed at how high we have climbed. People below us may look up at us in amazement at the height we have achieved. They may applaud, and the sound of that applause can be like a siren song to some, who may decide to stop and listen, and forget to get up and move on. A true artist (whether it is your first day playing or your 50th year) will soon lose interest in that, and turn their gaze upward once more, and begin moving once again toward their vision, to the height that remains out of sight for others, and can only be seen and achieved because of the height already attained. About the author Guitar virtuoso, recording artist, composer, and teacher of 30 years, Jamie is recognized by music experts around the globe for her major contribution to the advancement of guitar education. With a straight forward writing style, her tried and true, result-oriented guitar book, "The Principles of Correct Practice For Guitar", powerfully reveals the correct practice methods that no other book has revealed…taking the student from the beginning stages all the way to the highest levels of virtuosity. Learn more at www.guitarprinciples.com Play Jazz Guitar Forum

Review of Beautiful Evil It's pretty darn hard for me to have a favorite album, or to latch on to one that is hard to put away. I have a complicated taste in music in that I can and do like various styles. Blues, rock and roll, jazz and funk. Beautiful Evil is so different from mainstream anything, that it immediately captured my attention. While there isn't any rock and roll to be found on this album, it is full of jazz, blues and pure funkiness. The vocals on Beautiful Evil are a treat. It's not often I have found a jazz guitarist who sings as Gary does on this album. His smooth, easy going vocals capture you and pull you into the song. The backing vocals are nothing short of incredible. I can't think of any other group who has a style as unique as this. This is not a safe album. Personally, I think Gary and his group took many chances to make Beautiful Evil the masterpiece it is. Blending different styles so flagrantly, utilizing smooth vocals, contrasted with hip back up vocals are a perfect example. It is obvious all the musicians talents were utilized to great effect. Gary smooth comping and leads are there alright, but it seems he holds back some in order to let the uniqueness of this album come alive. Truly, if he had made himself the absolute focal point, I think we would have just another jazzy album. So I have to give a great kudos to him for his production of the album as well. If you are tired of the same old thing these days, do yourself a favor and immediately run out and get yourself a copy of this 5 star album. Marsh Bruehl Old Fox Trail Music Gazette