Talking about death ... - Several threads talking about death

[TresGolpes]

There are several threads talking about death, Mongo dying, heads gone dead, now the obvious question is:

Is this board dead, muerta ?

I have logged on several times here, and it is literally a cemetery, once in a while someone gets enough energy to type something (like right now) but otherwise, this board is either dead or just about to die ! :0

[Fish]

You've definitely got a point there......

At the end of last year I noticed that I averaged about 0.8 posts a day. Now it's down to 0.28. It seems to me that it was after Mongo died that things quietened down. I know I didn't really feel like talking about other stuff for a few days.

But these days I'd be perfectly happy to have good, exciting discussions if someone else started some....

I know I should be trying to think of topics but I can't.

Help me, somebody..... please.

[120decibels]

The post volume on this site, like any other message board, ebbs and flows. You're right, it has been slow lately. However, don't nail the coffin shut yet. As long as we have some intelligent people asking and answering questions here, the forum will be alive and kickin'.

I'll start thinking up some topics.......


Zach

[JohnnyConga]

WE ARE NOT DEAD!.....yes we do have lapses like any other club. But don';t think that we are Dead!...What do you bring to this forum?...What has been your experience as a percussionist/student/teacher? This is a good question to answer,No?...what can I offer you?......At your Service....JC JOHNNY CONGA....http://www.Showgigs.com/JohnnyConga.....MONGO LIVES!......

[JohnnyConga]

Here are some questions ..Who has been your greatest musical influence and why?
Who is your favorite conga-timbale and bongo player of all time? and why?
How many rhythms do you know versus rudiments?
Who is your favorite Latin band of all time and why?
Do you know where the rhythms came from and how they came into being in latin music?
What is Charanga-Dengue-Caballo-Son-Son Montuno-Ritmo PaCa-? Do you know these rhythmic patterns for these styles of music?
I will leave it at this point and see if i can spark it here with these questions.......I await your LIVE posts......At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....MONGO LIVES!....

[Juancao]

Hey Johnny Conga what's up? I enjoyed all the good advice you have given out here and so I wanted to respond to your last post. My greatest musical influence was actually Oscar Hijuelos and his book The Mambo Kings. I read the book and then bought the soundtrack when the movie came out. After that I practiced drumming on my basketball, yeah, don't ask me how but it kind of worked. I saw Poncho Sanchez in concert here in Texas and that sealed it for me. I had to start playing. Eventually I took some lessons with this dude, Neftali Medina, and just went from there. He would sing to me what he wanted me to play, like scat, and I would have to follow him. It was a lot of fun. Now my influences are Poncho Sanchez, Mongo, Tito Puente, among many many others. Tito Puente was really the first to inspire me to play. The joy he inspired when he played really moved me. When I play I just love it and I am not like all that, I just love the music. Hey I would love to hear what everyone has to say on all of the topics presented. Juancao

[TresGolpes]

OK, now the group is rolling again...

[Laurent Lamy]

:p Thanks god, you are here to save us!!!

[CongaMan]

Thanks JC you are just GREAT!!
I'm glad to see people thinking positive in my board and I thanks all for partecipating...

I'm very happy to have realized my dream with CongaPlace connecting musicians from all over the world sharing knowledge and experience...

Honestly I'm very satisfyed and proud of my board result, but off curse I respect TresGolpes opinion

[JohnnyConga]

Yo Juanco ..........was Neftali the former drummer with the band "Mandrill"?? If it is I recorded this "jungle funk" thing with him back in the early 80's in L.A. I had often wondered what became of him. He was a hot drummer.....At your Service ...JC JOHNNY CONGA....WHO'S NEXT??

[Juancao]

Hey Johnny Conga, I don't know if that was the same Neftali or not. I don't get to see him around much anymore. But it could be because that dude was BAD! I bought this old beat up and broke down conga practiced on it for awhile and took it to him and I was like "Yo man this thing doesn't work" and he sat down and played it for a few minutes and he made it sound like it was the best conga in the world. I was blown away. I had felt kind of bad because my conga was so crappy but after that I was inspired. He could play anything but was real cool and humble about it.
Hey JC I have some questions for you or anyone who wants to respond. I want to join a Latin jazz group, how would I go about doing that? I guess I need to get out in the scene a little more and see what's up. I don't even know if I am good enough but I feel like I need an outlet. I have been practicing and playing but now I need to do something with all of that. Let me know what ya think.
Juancao

[Michael S]

Juancao, I was in the same boat, playing for a little over three years with no outlet beyond my garage. Finally, I broke down and let some guys talk me into an "open mic" night at a local club my wife was managing. There is no Latin jazz, or much of any jazz, in my area. Pretty much all classic rock, blues, or top 40 cover bands. Then I started doing a jam night with a local band once a week as well. Now this is all pretty much classic rock and a lot of 12-bar, I-IV-V chord junk, and I play mostly tumbao variations all night, but I'm learning a lot about playing live with other musicians. Also, people now know that I AM here, something that would never have occured inside my garage, so exposure and networking is the key element. I keep hoping that the idea will germinate among local musicians here that a good R&B-funk-dance band would be a good idea and then someone will say "Hey, I know a guy who can play congas...". So I guess what I'm saying is: get yourself out there, no matter how much it hurts. Even if it means coming up with a tumbao variation for "Mustang Sally".
Incidentally, does anyone out there know what to play during a slow blues? Normally, I just sit out, figuring there's not much I can add to it. Congas just don't seem to fit everywhere. ???

[Michael S]

BTW, I really want to thank everyone involved with, and who regularly contribute to, this forum. Without you all, I would never have taken the leap to playing live, starting my exposure, and furthering my learning. The advice and inspiration provided by you folks has been immeasurable to be. And everyone gets along so well, something I have found to be NOT true on other forums.

[JohnnyConga]

Hi Michael S...for a slow blues try bass conga playing a "shuffle tumbao" it is still 4and but accented as a "shuffle" the term for a jazz rhythm pattern. Your advice is also well given to Juancao. Networking and getting out there is the only way. Also try a local paper and advertise yourself as available. Michael, even James Brown used congas in his music.chek out the tumbao in "Super Bad", that brother is playing his Butt off! Early Motown utilizes congas,mostly on early Marvin Gaye tunes,"Ain;t that peculiar" uses that same "shuffle tumbao" of which i speak. So there is room for you in a R+B band .My first was a band in the Bronx called "Jungle Rat" and the second one was The soul Psychedelics, both from the Bronx,NYC. I love to play to R+B. On Bobby Ramirez's new release "Pan con Bistec" i play the "shuffle tumbao" on a couple of tunes. BTW you can pick up the CD at BobbyRamirez.com. I am on there with a host of Great musicians from the Miami area and beyond-Puerto Rico-Cuba-and South America. I am proud of the work I did on it and highly recommend "Pan con Bistec"....At your Service...JC JOHNNY CONGA....

[Michael S]

I agree, Johnny C; the early Motown artists were some of the first to utilize congas, outside of the jazz world that is. I learned the rhythm to "What's Goin' On" quite a while ago and that same rhythm seems to be throughout that classic album in one form or another. I have lots of old James Brown. And let's not forget the great stuff contributed by Papa Dee to those wonderful War songs. (I adapted the salsa rhythm played by Giovanni on his Conga Virtuoso video to "Low Rider" and it fits perfectly.) I love experimenting with the funk and R&B music.
Thanks for the tip on the slow blues. I assume you mean a traditional tumbao (HTSTHTOO) but played on the low drum in a swing-eights pattern, such as: 1 &da2 &da3 &da4 &da?
Boy, that would have to be played really slowly!
I'm going to go listen to "Super Bad" right now to check out the tumbao. Alot of that James Brown music is played with the shuffle ryhthm. I'm sorta keen on that Funky Imbus pattern found in the CongaBook and I've been experimenting with that lately.
My feeling is, if a band, or any group of musicians, is willing to let you play with them, even if it's not where your head is, go for it. I've learned so much about interacting with other musicans just by playing tumbao all night and the jam or open mic nights, are great for learning how to play with really bad musicians which is just as, if not more, important as learning to play with good musicians. I CAN'T EMPHASIZE THAT ENOUGH! Ever try to keep steady time when the kit drummer really sucks, or the singer/guitar player is way out there in his own world?