Editorial/Interview/Review - Journalism
Some years back, I was walking around Hollywood after midnight. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and was lonely. Across from Cantor's I discovered Al Smith's famous news stand and Al asked me what was wrong. He listened to my life story for a while and then said "Hey, you might like this magazine." He wasn't kidding.
That began a 30-year relationship with Keyboard Mag. For 10 of those I wrote a monthly column for them, and for the last 10 years I've been a Contributing Editor interviewing my musical heroes and trying out incredible new gear. It's a dream gig.
Here's an interview with the powerful and sensuous Brazlian pianist/vocalist Eliane Elias. I asked her what it was like growing up in Sao Paulo. Did she play soccer with the other kids? She said, no, when she was 11 or 12 she liked to come home from school, transcribe Bill Evans piano solos from records, and sob. The story:
And
And here's a product that blew my mind. It's a virtual banjo that does amazing things. You won't believe this, but you can add it to hip-hop tracks, jazz tracks, latin...it changes everything! There's even an animation of a flea-ridden dog that appears and scratches when you do something cool.
