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6
Jul

Sharing music generation to generation – summer in Maine & we all work harder now! The Marcrescue blog

Greetings All,
I’m confused.
Very much so.
What year is this???
But let me back up a bit first.
I loved music from a really early age.
I remember playing duets with my mother when I was six using these two recorders:
And my love of recorded music started with my parents as well – they were always listening to albums and this is probably the earliest album that I first heard them playing at a very young age that is still one of my top favorites today:
Their love of music certainly started me on the road I’ve been on my entire life.
From the recorder I moved on to the violin and for a couple of years I played in the Minneapolis Youth Symphony Orchestra.
I continued on violin for just a bit when we moved to Boston and then moved on to classical guitar lessons.
I have no idea why I made the switch.
But then came my downfall.
I went over to Marty Kaufman’s house one snowy day.
He said “I’ve got to play you something you won’t believe”
I still remember exactly where I sat in the living room at Marty’s house and I remember where the record player was – one of those old combination units – a b&w tv in a wood cabinet with speakers on either side of the tv and a record player positioned on top of the tv that you accessed by lifting up a wooden flap.
And I remember exactly what I thought when I heard the two songs he played me – a two sided single.
“There will never be another record as good as this….ever!”
And I can make a case that even making that decision at that very young age (12 or 13) – for me – that statement still stands today.
What did he play me?
The same record that blew minds all across the country.
Before Ed Sullivan.
Before the press caught on.
The wildfire was all word of mouth at that point.
And what a raging inferno it was:
Everything changed for me.
For the remaining time I took classical guitar lessons I would end every lesson asking about how to play this chord or that chord…..my teacher was very patient with me.
A few years later my wonderful mother took my sister and I to our first concert:
(We had the brown color tickets).
And then Thanksgiving night in 1967 my friend Jimmy and I went to our first concert by ourselves…..compliments of our parents dropping us off and picking us up….at the old Back Bay Theatre in Boston.
It was quite a show.
Brian Wilson had already been replaced by Bruce Johnston for performances but The Beach Boys were still great.
(And what can I say – Buffalo Springfield blew us away – wow – that evening started a life long appreciation of all the talents in that group – especially Neil Young)
What a night.
A few years later I was listening to the brand new progressive radio in Boston on WBCN which was a classical station during the day and then the freaks took over and broadcast from the back room of the Boston Tea Party (you could hear the bass from the groups playing on stage coming through the wall when the jocks opened up the mic to talk) from 10pm to 2am (I should have been sleeping as I had school the next day….tsk, tsk, tsk).
Boston was a great town for concerts and I did my best to see as many as I could – music was already my life after all……Zeppelin, Hendrix, the first tours of CSN&Y and Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Creedence, The Byrds and my favorite live band of that era – The Who…who I saw about every six months or so it seemed through 1969 – 1971.
I saw a number of artists early on  – Bonnie Raitt numerous times and this killer singer – songwriter who had an amazing album that all of my friends had before the big single broke……and a number of us got to see him at an amazing solo show at the Lenox Music Inn in Western, Massachusetts.  A memorable concert because the fans sat on one half of a hill on the grass and the performer played solo on a stage on the other half of the hill (think of a “V” with the fans on one side and the performer on the other.  It was a perfect evening and this singer-songwriter was magical.
That night as much as any started my love affair with singer-songwriters.
Which brings me to mention two points.
First.
Singer-songwriters.
It all starts with the song.
I’m really a fan of the people that write songs.
Which is why there’s a Mishara Music.
Our mission statement is on the cover of our first Amazon free song sampler “A Home For Singer-Songwriters”:
PS Our three free song samplers at Amazon.com have been received better than we could ever imagine!

 

How well received?  Here’s the number of free downloads we’ve given away through Amazon in the last year – over a half a million – a great way to discover the best music you’ve never heard of (click here  http://tinyurl.com/MisharaMusicAmazon
to go to Amazon where you can download 31 totally free songs from Mishara Music!)
 
Our company is all about finding great singer-songwriters and helping them survive and prosper in their craft.
What a great collection of albums we’ve put out so far:
And next up a great new album “Halfway To Wonderland” by Chris Ross – coming this August:
And in September the new album “The Longest Day” by Barnaby Bright!
Here’s a video teaser for the song “Old Coats”:
This is what comes of a life long love of music – wanting to be involved and more importantly share that love and discovery with other people with a similar appreciation of singer-songwriters.
Much like my parents shared their love of music with me.
So after all that – what’s the second point I wanted to make?
I shared my love of music with a youngster over a couple days a week back.
My wife and I took Ethan to a couple of concerts.
He’s been to performances geared to his age group – Imagination Movers and The Wiggles.
But now he shared in some of our music.
First off on a Friday night we drove to Bangor for an outdoor show downtown by the river.
A group that’s had a few hits…..and played every single one of them…..and more!
The Beach Boys were as wonderful as I remembered all those years before….and this time Brian Wilson was on tour with them and he performed a solo, played piano, played bass and sang
Ethan loved it.
He and his mom danced and sang during his favorite Beach Boy song “I Get Around”:
And then two nights later it was time to show him a real singer-songwriter at the Civic Auditorium in Portland (Kim’s favorite artist to see live – these tickets were her birthday present) James Taylor:
 
 
Game as he was – Ethan nodded off during the show……but can you blame him?…..it was during one of the great lullabies of our era “Sweet Baby James”:
Lots of driving that weekend but it makes me smile because I was fortunate enough to find something special to me at a young age and share it.
And speaking of sharing.
I got a great email this week in the form of a playlist email from Karoline Kramer Gould – the music director at WJCU in Cleveland.
She wrote about our Mishara Music group Clarensau.
She’s discovered the song “I Would Trade”.  The song that Tyler wrote about his grandfather with lyrics that resonate with so many people.
And Karoline is sharing her music with the next generation as well…..although the method of sharing is a bit different:
I laughed when I got the email.
There’s no better sign that your music is making an impact as when it disappears from your desk!
Here’s a video link to hear “I Would Trade” by Clarensau:
If you’ve had a loved one that’s been through a difficult time in their life recently there’s no more perfect song that captures the emotion of the moment.
So summertime is in full swing in Maine now…..and we may not have much surfing on our coastline (what would the Beach Boys have written about if they’d grown up here?)…..but the harbor is busy and town is full of tourists.
All’s good on the coast of Maine…..and the music has been great!
Enjoy the summer and please share the music you like with someone you love!
Marc
PS  Here’s the Beach Boys set list from the show on November 23rd,1967:
And here’s the set list from June 22nd, 2012 – it was stunning and isn’t it the truth…..we’re all working much harder now that we ever did in years past…..even The Beach Boys:

 

Marc Ratner

Mishara Music

E-mail: marcrescue@gmail.com

Website: www.misharamusic.com

WordPress: www.marcrescue.wordpress.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/marc.ratner