Everett wrote:Ok i give up it was kevin cronin right?
Newer...
Deb wrote:Michael Sweet?
Bigger...
Don wrote:Robert Plant
Newer, but not bigger, lol!!!! An 80's metal icon, incredibly talented, still very active, still kicking ass.
steveo777 wrote:Willie Nelson?
Is he still alive? lol
I'm thinking I should probably ask Andrew to remove the thread soon out of respect for the artist. He's really going above and beyond and it's just so much more than I expected from 4 hours of vocal instruction. I will ask tomorrow if he minds if I post a picture.
Anyway, this started about 4-5 months ago. I found out he offered personal instruction in his spare time and it seemed crazy, but I just thought, what the hell -- the worst thing he could do is say "no", or just not answer. His assistant got back with me within a day, and I had to send in an MP3 of me singing so he could get an idea if he thought he could work with me. I was also surprised that the cost was much less than I expected -- not cheap by any means, but something I could work within. Didn't hear back for a few weeks and thought my MP3 probably gave him the best laugh of the week, lol. But after a few more weeks, I was surprised to get an e-mail to try to schedule my "upcoming lessons", and it just made my day. Problem is, the guy is constantly busy and very understandably it kept getting pushed back a few months. Just last week a friend asked me what ever happened with this, and I said unfortunately I was afraid it might not. I'd pretty much written it off. Then that night I got an e-mail from them that he'd be available this week. I jumped on it, got it scheduled and paid for, and here I am.
My voice is a little tempermental with allergies and weather, and I wasn't off to a good start today. It was sunny and warm this morning when I left, and the temperature quickly dropped -- I heard we're supposed to possibly see some snow flurries tonight. I was really afraid the sudden change would put me under the weather, and on top of that, I have been working my tail off, have barely gotten 3 hours of sleep per night the last week, and haven't had adequate time to practice. To be completely honest, I was pretty much preparing myself for bombing and embarrassing myself today, but I kept positive and just accepted that if it happened, hey -- at least I tried, and life goes on.
This dude is freaking magic, and if things had happened
exactly as I'd hoped for best case, I would have short-changed myself. First off, he was completely disarming and humble and made me feel at ease. I never for a second felt uncomfortable or dumb. Second, I'd hoped to maybe record the lesson with a handheld digital recorder so I could have it for future reference, and he actually suggested I do that before I even asked. Third, he was totally cool with letting us use a few of his own songs for examples. We ran thru several from different bands, but I have to admit that singing some of his own tuned with him was the COOLEST. Forth, I don't know how to explain the rush of having this guy demonstrate
full-on vocals 6 inches from my face -- I was
absolutely amazed by his power and control. I couldn't believe that after the first hour of going over proper warm up techniques, he actually had me dishing that same power back at him and told me I had an "amazing instrument".
I asked him during the second hour what type of material he thought my voice was best suited for -- that though I loved singing
everything, that I knew my voice wasn't best suited for covering certain bands. "Like what", he asked? I said, "Well, your stuff is a great example... I've learned a lot from practicing along with some of your songs, but even if I can carry the melody and hit the notes, I just don't have your kind of voice so it can't sound right". He said, "Yes you do! You have that inside you and I'm going to show you how to do it."
And I'll be damned if he didn't bring a lot of it out. Without being in practice, I'd worried that my voice would be toast after one hour if even that, but he took me thru two full hours hours, including some freaking' AC/DC ("Highway to Hell") -- I normally dread singing that type of stuff for ragging my voice out quick -- and I barely felt warmed up by the end. No pain, no hoarseness -- just power. I was just floored, and he couldn't have said nicer things about what he felt I was capable of.
I learned some other important things too, such as why I'm a half inch shorter than I used to be at age 20. The way I exercise in the gym has caused my muscles to pull me forward and hunch my posture, and it's something I'm going to have to unlearn -- he made some suggestions, and it could take me a year but it's reversable.
Tomorrow he's invited me to the studio of a bandmate, and we will finish up there and actually do some recording. So now I get to hang out with 2 of them! Like I said, he's really gone above and beyond what I've expected -- I always thought Rock N Roll Fantasy Camp seemed like a dream, and this just beats it. And I think I'll keep this going, maybe once a year at least, for as long as possible.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 2:46 am
