The Individualists tour was winding down, the 25th of June, EMO’s in Austin, on a pleasantly cool summer night. Finishing my stint at the Spirit of Harmony table, I hurriedly ushered myself to my friend-held seat, and was quickly introduced to a new acquaintance, sitting solo to my left. Hardly time to talk, only to exchange that she was there as a tribute to her late husband. Immersed in the show I would occasionally and hopefully very discreetly, make quick side-glances and I watched her as the music of Todd guided her to places she had been before, but with her husband by her side. (more…)
As mentioned in Part 1 of this interview, TAZ (Brandon Niederauer) is not only a dynamic, gifted musician, but an actor as well. TAZ began his acting career in 2016 playing a wunderkind teenage guitarist in the movie production Here Comes Rusty. He played the role of principal guitarist Zac Monneyham in Webbers’ Broadway musical, School of Rock; John Legend, in NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar; and is featured in Spike Lee’s Netflix series, She’s Got to Have it. Hard work was a reoccurring theme I caught as TAZ reviewed his experiences with acting. “I learned many life-lessons from acting. I learned early on that I could not be late and that perseverance was necessary – whether filming in the hot desert or in the freezing cold, getting it right was expected.” TAZ says that regardless of what he was doing, “I always devoted as much time as I could to try to get it right, to try to get things perfect every time. It was a blessing and a curse. (more…)
The Rockdoc Becky Bilyeu
What Does Breast Feeding, Orgasms and Music Have in Common?
Oxytocin of Course!
Oxytocin is a hormone and a neurotransmitter that is involved in childbirth, breast-feeding, sexual activity, empathy, trust and relationship building. Oxytocin levels are known to increase during hugging, kissing, and orgasmic experiences. It is not only the Bonding hormone between mother and child, but it binds musicians and audiences as well. Research shows that just listening to music gives an Oxytocin boost.
(Freeman 1995). (more…)
The Complexity of Greatness! Of what is greatness comprised: talent, practice, genes, nature, nurture, prodigy, passion? In the gallery of guitar greats reside Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and more recently, TAZ. (more…)
Soothing the Savage Soul
Are you or do you know a musician with dyslexia? If so, you might find that in the music field it is a gift, not a curse. Please check out what Sandy Emmerson, my friend, colleague and dyslexia specialist has to say…
Dyslexia is a form of neurodiversity which is neurological in origin and manifests itself with difficulty in learning to read, write, and spell. Consequences of these difficulties, which occur in a continuum from very mild to very severe, can include problems with reading fluency and comprehension, aversion to the printed word, issues with school socialization and self-esteem to name a few. However, judging by the number of extraordinary musical achievers who are dyslexic such as John Lennon and Cher, there are many potential silver linings that accompany the identification of dyslexia in a budding musician. (more…)
♬And the dream of the child is the hope of the hope of the man♬
Songwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury / John Deacon / Roger Taylor
A Winter’s Tale lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
The dream of a child is our hope and fortunately for us, our future. Recently I met 13 year old Sumo, an enlightening young man, exiting Todd Rundgren’s Utopia concert with his mom. While chatting a bit with him about the concert, he revealed with fervent face beaming, that his real musical hero was Freddie Mercury and that the music of Queen was his true inspiration and his emotional safety net. Intrigued, I had to know more. (more…)
