Here are displayed some of the advantages of playing at reasonable volumes. Too many players today will just never get this. The ones that do have a definite advantage. God bless Duke Levine, Kevin Berry and their whole crew. Finer musicians are far and few between. 👍👍
The power of restrained drumming is totally evident here. You are the engine that is powering this tune. But you're not splashing a bunch of flash. You are solidly in the pocket. bravo! Oh and everybody else is pretty good too. :o) and Where the heck is Shelter Rock? Ahhh! just googled it. I'm in Northern NY. I want to create something similar up here to what you guys are doing. Thank you for posting this.
Speaking as a guitarist of 50+years, Duke Levine and Kevin Barry create a unique sound not heard or even approachable by most other musicians. I doubt I'll ever make it up to Boston to catch these guys live as I don't travel much anymore at 72. I'll just thoroughly savor clips like this to the fullest extent. ❤
I like the sentiment overall but as a counterpoint, I think it’s beneficial to always explore other styles, even if you’ve chosen a lane professionally. I’m staying with the food analogy, surely an Italian restaurant’s food could only improve if its head chef were to gain an understanding of flavor profiles found outside of Italy. A chef who knows which flavors are available and interact well with one another will be able to make a more subtle and engaging dish than one who’s only ever tried Italian cuisine.
I am an absolute advocate for always trying to improve our craft by practicing, studying and learning. That’s a life long process. At some point in that process though, we have to ask ourselves, who am I? In my opinion, versatility is not a sound or a style. The chef who has learned all the nuance of flavor at some point said, “there is something about Italian food that I connect with”. I’d like to focus on that. I’m just advocating for people to find their own voice on their instrument.
I have a similar feeling with guitar. I was a heroin addict for quite some time. Any opiate, really. At my lowest points, when no one was there for me, my guitar always was. It helped pull me out of it. If it weren't for that guitar, I just might be dead. It's an Epiphone SG Special. Although it's not the best guitar, and I own a Gibson Les Paul now, that SG is very special to me. I will never get rid of it.
When I look back, while I see deficiencies, the creative spirit can sometimes capture things that are surprisingly "advanced" or hard to achieve with a technical mindset for sure
As soon as I heard Duke I knew I wanted to play just like him. I thought about it for a minute and concluded no one ever could. Simply stunning musicianship and feel from all of this band. Thanks so much.
