Thanks for stopping by to check out todays Blog.   What does acoustic mean to you? What do you think of when you hear that term?  I have always just thought of acoustic meaning with no instruments plugged into anything or nothing electronic producing sound. That is one way to think of it; but acoustic also has three different meanings when you are talking about how the sound travels not just how it is produced.  Acoustic also means...the qualities that determine a room or a places ability to reflect sound waves in such a way that it produces a distinct hearing pattern.  That is totally not what I think of when I hear someone say acoustic.  
     I have several bands and or people I love to listen to unplugged.  Which is how they present the music that makes it acoustic. I love to go to outdoor venues also but that is a different form of listening and sometimes the sound is not very good and this is why. There are actually three types of acoustics:  outdoor acoustics,indoor acoustics and isolated acoustics.
Outdoor is open environment and that just means that the only thing that effects the path is distance; indoor means putting the source and receiver (performer and listener) in the same room and try to understand the effect the room has on them; isolated is where we will put the source and the receiver(performer and listener) in separate rooms and look at how intervening walls and other elements affect how much around gets into a room or gets out of a room. 
     I love open air concerts as long as I am not way out in the back forty....meaning as long as I am not in the very back because you cant hear or see anything.  That to me is totally a waste of money and time.  If the outdoor area has sound panels for the sound to bounce off of.....you can hear better.  This is an example of the only thing affecting the path is distance.  Less the path the better the louder the sound or the sound travels better, it has something to bounce off of instead of traveling into infinity.  Indoor is great.....you are right in the room with the performer and the sound has a shorter distance to travel. I have often heard musicians or singers comment that a certain place has great acoustics. The place may have great vaulted ceilings or out curved walls, whatever the design is to carry the sound better. I think that is why most people enjoy live performances better than studio productions, raw and unfiltered...you get the exact sound of the performers. Isolated acoustics is important for recording studios,  they  have rooms designed for music performances and recordings.  It is also very important to keep out unwanted noises like traffic, airplanes and anything that can interfere with the recording.  So, whichever you prefer, I hope this has been informative and helpful to you.  Until next time... Rock on!!   Oh, don't forget to check out my YouTube channel and enjoy videos, playlists and soon to be interviews and Podcasts. 
www.youtube.com/@lisaowens7629
 some Info taken from: takenote,Inspiration for Music Makers....online.berklee.edu

Lisa Bailey-Owens🤘

     Welcome back to Let's Talk Music.....I wanted to talk a little bit about my many ways that I have enjoyed music over the years. Let's see; I guess the first thing I want to mention is the Plastic Fisher Price record player that I had and it played little plastic records. I upgraded to a 45 speed record player for my nursery rhyme records and I had a small hand held battery operated transistor radio.  I would listen to them on and off all day long, I would later move on to Elvis and cooler listening options, ditching the nursery rhymes. I enjoyed the small record player for a few years, so as I got a little older I wanted to move up to something a little better.  I remember my father showing me this odd looking machine that he had purchased while he was over seas in the Navy during the Vietnam War.  This odd looking machine was a reel to reel tape player/recorder. It was amazing, and that would be the first time that I would hear the Beatles.  Music has always been a big part of my life, I just never really noticed until much later.  I will never forget this really cool Disco Stereo that my Mother had in our living room, my Father had won it in a punch board drawing. The punch boards were a really big thing for people to play and not have to chance loosing much money. It was real simple,  you pay a few quarters and you punch out these little holes with a ticket in it with a number. I think he won the stereo for a quarter.  I loved that stereo, I was not allowed to touch it but I would sit in front of it and watch the pretty disco lights flashing to the beat. The stereo was a console type with the components in the middle with the speakers on the sides, it had sliding doors to hide the middle parts when not in use. The stereo was dark wood finish vertical cabinet system, which was rare because the others were horizontal.  My mother would play Conway Twitty and Tammy Wynette as she cleaned the house. I play Nu Metal or David Cassidy, depends on what kind of mood I am in......LOL! The stereo had am/fm radio, 8 track tape player and a turntable.  I know we had some 8 tracks but mom mostly had albums. So, let's recap what I used as a form of listening so far....Plastic record player with plastic records, 45 record player, transistor radio, reel to reel tape player/recorder and a cabinet stereo.  

​Fast forward a little to Middle school and High-School, I had a really nice Sony Stereo with turntable and am/fm radio.  The thing I loved the most about it was that the speakers were 100 watt speakers.  I could blast my favorite tunes and it was LOUD, really LOUD!!! I had many of wonderful hours of playing time with that Sony.  I also had a boom box and that was the newest thing...cassette tapes/am/fm/stereo fm tuning.  I did enjoy the Cassette era but if you played them a lot the players would eat them up...I cant tell you how many cassettes I lost to a hungry player.  The cassette days also allowed us to record our favorite songs from the radio; if you were lucky enough, you also had a double cassette player and could record some of your own tapes for your friends. The Sony Walkman was all the craze as well, for a short time. I had to get one, too; I needed it for the bus ride home.  The future of music was getting ready to take a strong turn.  In comes the Compact Disc and the Compact Laser Disc player.  When first introduced, I was so amazed at the sound quality that the CDs offered.  I invested in the CD movement but I felt guilty leaving my beloved Vinyl.  I was very happy to have the crystal clear sound of the CD, the small compactness...it was going to be hard to beat the CD out. In order to keep ahead of the competition, the Discman was introduced, same concept as the Sony Walkman but with the CDs.   I had a Discman also, kind of tricky having one of those...the least little bump and the disc would not play.   The future of music listening was about to change yet again.  STREAMING your music...I love my streaming provider.  I have any song I want from any artist I want right at my finger tips.  I know a few people that just refuse to use a streaming service, most are free but you will have advertisements in the programming.  I pay a small monthly fee and I have no advertising and my daughter and husband are on the account also.  I usually do not listen to the radio anymore, I just love my streaming and I have Bluetooth on my car stereo so it plays right from the stereo.  This is a great time for music lovers, we have it made. We have great streaming options, Bluetooth cordless headphones, hands free phone devices and thousands of artists at the touch of a button. It's a great day in the neighborhood!!!
​www.youtube.com/@lisaowens7629
​Lisa Bailey-Owens🤘

     

     I was checking my Facebook posts and came across my friend Andrew Scotchies heartfelt tribute to Gary Rossington.  I was not aware that he had passed and I was very sad to learn of it.  I am fifty five years old and it is just the way of life that the ones the I enjoyed listening to and or watching would soon be leaving this earth.  I hate to admit that a lot of our great artists will soon no longer be with us. I read Andrews post and I felt his sadness and respect for Gary. I knew I wanted to post his tribute here on our website, a very fitting place for such words of praise.  Below is what Andrew wrote about Gary.
Lisa Bailey-Owens
__________________________________________________________________________
     A tribute to Gary Rossington and one of the greatest bands of all time.
It was 2003. I was 10 years old and well aware of Lynyrd Skynyrd. So naturally it felt like Christmas when my dad surprised me and my older brother Ryan with tickets he had won from a radio call in contest.

At the Littlejohn coliseum in Clemson, SC I experienced the show that would change my life forever. My first real dosage of the medicine known as live music.

The opening band was .38 Special but before the doors opened to the colosseum, there was a "yard band". That yard band was none other than the hard-driving funk masters, Mothers Finest. I remember the weather was causing the power onstage to fail a few times. That didn't stop Moses Mo MF and the crew from delivering an intoxicating set.

We had floor seats inside the colosseum but my dad, being the seasoned concert goer he was, knew how to slowly but surely slide us to the very front of the stage in the pit.

I can still remember the lights, the sound, that smell, the showmanship and most importantly feeling right at home with thousands of people I had never met in my entire life. I'll never forget that shared experience and the feeling of getting to hear your favorite songs played 10 feet in front of you.

I went to school the next day with my ears ringing and wearing Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt that fell down to my knees. That was it. It was quite clear at that point what I wanted to do with my life. A few weeks later my brother and I were taking guitar lessons at Musician's Workshop in Asheville.

Compared to Allen Collins, Gary was a little more physically stoic onstage but he delivered soaring, melodic riffs that struck you right in the heart. His conversational work on the guitar combined with Ronnie's brutally honest lyric's were just a few of the ingredients that made Skynyrd so potent. They were a southern band that actually denounced some things people associated with the south.
The songs called for better gun control, peace, care for the earth and compassion for all. The songs spoke about the demons we all dance with on our way to truly discovering our purpose. Skynyrd is not "a southern thing" despite what some fans my say. It's a unifying force for all. I have no roots in the holler....my great grandparents were immigrants from Slovakia, Italy and Poland. The things Ronnie spoke about are not isolated to one region, upbringing or anything like that.

The story, the music, the riffs, that was "our thing" in school. I had automatic kinship with those who also loved bands like the Stones, Skynyrd, Thin Lizzy etc. For a spell in highschool, my ringtone on my Nokia flip phone was a Skynyrd deep cut, "Was I Right or Wrong". I never silenced my phone in class...(Yeah I was that kid). My classmates and teachers would hear an almost daily dose of Gary and the gang.

My first band, Rightful Intentions (yeah you guessed it) did an instrumental rendition of "Freebird". My classmates Trent Arwood and Nick Robinson could play the lead part (Gary's slide part and all) note for note. That was no easy feat at age 12/13. And yes I KNOW "Freebird" makes many people cringe because of the generational jackasses that yell it out at any band at any venue but you that slide melody, that accuracy you can't deny the talent there.

Fast-forward to 2023, twenty years after I saw the Skynyrd for the first time, I am 30 years old and my entire career is based around performing and getting honest, heartfelt music to the masses. Any serious musician will tell you: we can only do many of the things we do because of the legends that laid the foundation before us.

Gary's work will live on and continue to inspire guitar players for generations. The message of Ronnie Van Zant has never been more relevant and force that is Lynyrd Skynyrd will continue to unify for years to come.

Rest easy Gary, THANK YOU for the music and for inspiring so many.

*Below are ten of my favorite riffs/songs by the band that continue to inspire me for all you fellow nerds out there. I'll be paying tribute to Gary at my French Broad River Brewery residency this Wednesday in AVL (6pm-9pm)

-Comin' Home

-On the Hunt

-Workin' for MCA

-Am I Losin'

- Needle and the Spoon

-Freebird

-I Never Dreamed

- Searching

-Cry for the Bad Man

- That Smell

#GaryRossington #lynyrdskynyrd #restinpeace #musicismedicine




          Gary Rossington​

Who sang it better? 
Left Banke
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDGDX-ke8D0
David Cassidy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fpQYZ_4sSI
Linda Ronstadt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTXC-iWRefg

Let us know who you think sang it better.

The book,  "James Cagney Was My Babysitter" is a book about the day Ryan Cassidy's dad, the late Jack Cassidy, took him to stay with James Cagney for the afternoon. Ryan was extremely shy and a bit scared to stay with someone he did not know. The story leads the reader into a magical world bestowed upon a young Ryan Cassidy. Cagney creates a loving and warm imaginary world that brings Ryan out of his shell and creates a lifelong bond between them. This book is a good read for children of any age and any Cassidy family fans out there. You can purchase the book HERE or the book will be released on Amazon on March 14, 2023. 

Even John Stamos loved the book! 

'  On Valentines Day 2023 something amazing happened.....David Cassidy was trending on Twitter.  "Wow!! you say, how does that happen?"  It happens when interests are sparked and people want to know all there is to know about someone or something.  Interests were sparked about the one and only David Cassidy.  The David Cassidy that made teenagers swoon, scream, pass out and go into hysterics during the 70's.  David Cassidy seemed to be a Jack of all trades when it came to entertainment.  TV, theater, movies, and a musical career, and that should not be a surprise.  David Cassidy, was the only child of Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. It should be no surprise that David would also have entertainment in his blood with parents like that.
      David's career was a lengthy one....starting in the 1960's. As a young man he dabbled in theater and started teaching himself how to play several different musical instruments: drums, guitar, piano, and harmonica to name a few.  David enjoyed playing in his garage band "The Pains of Glass" which was not one of his best from his description in his Auto Biography, " C'mon Get Happy: Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus."
     David had his start in community theater and that was the beginning of 50 years of amazing performances from David, be it on the stage or musically. It doesn't take long to realize that David was cut from a different type of fabric.  The Partridge Family TV Executives could not have had any idea the fame that David was getting ready to experience and I am sure David had no idea either.  Taping during the day hours, recording the albums at night, touring, and singing on the weekend kept him very busy and after awhile, very burnt out. 
      David did love seeing his fans and performing for them but he had to keep his distance from them.  His fans loved him but they were not safe to be around, groups of hysterical fans could very easily hurt him and anyone near by.  The fans did not really want to hurt him but the excitement of being near him, touching him, and talking to him drove them crazy.  Unlike today; social media makes our celebrity crushes more assessable,  although in the 1970's it was very important to get as close as possible when you had the chance....hence the hysteria.  David did several solo albums for RCA after the Partridge Family rage, but he was changing and his life was changing too.  Time for a break for David, he took and short time off to rest and rethink his career.
     The 1980's brought David into a more laid back time.  David was a very avid horse person also.  He enjoyed going to the track; hands on and watching the horses. David owned several horses and bred them as well. The 80's also brought more changes for David, living in the UK at this time David did one album titled " Romance" released in 1985 but it was not released in the United States.  David's Romance album fit right into the mainstream music that was being produced in the United States by other artists of the 80's, alas the US would not get to enjoy the Romance album. 
   David took some time away from the music industry to pursue his acting once again.  David's complete listings of his Theatrical performances start as early as 1960. (The Pajama Game 1960) (And So To Bed 1965) (The Figs Leaves Are Falling Jan.2-4 1969) (Voice Of The Turtle, August 1-7,1979.) (Little Johnny Jones, May 1-October 24, 1981) (Tribute, June 2-August 1, 1982) (Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, March- September 10, 1983)  (Jesus Christ Superstar, August 6-12,1984) ( Time, April 13-October 1987) ( Blood Brothers, November 1993- June 1994) (EFX,  November 1996 - December 1998) (David Cassidy at the Copa, January 18, 2000-January 21,2001) (The Rat Pack is Back, July 18th 1999 into the 2000s). 
     The 90s and 2000s brought David back to his album recording and doing live shows again.  David's first recording in 1990 was his self titled album from Enigma Records, the self titled album stayed on the charts for 12 weeks and peaked at number 136. 1992 came the recording of "Didn't You Used To Be" and also a mass undertaking of promotions and marketing for the album.   David would return to his theatrical performing after the upset of the 1990-1992 albums.  David's record companies were not very stable for one reason or another and they just never delivered for him.  We could go on for hours going over Davids ups and downs of his career.  David did release a few more albums before his death in 2017.  "Then and Now" 2001..... "A Touch of Blue" 2003. Several albums thru out the years were released as greatest hits or Best of Albums.  David's very last recording was made during his 2017 filming of the A&E Special...."Songs My Father Taught Me", this was an EP release only.  In closing I want to thank everyone for taking the time to read the blog and I hope that I have provided some interesting information on David for you .  
Lisa Bailey-Owens
Statistical information came from the Official  David Cassidy Website
www.davidcassidy.com 

     Thanksgiving is fast approaching us again and I think it is important to remember what we can actually give Thanks for.  I am thankful for my health, family, friends and just basically waking up from a nights rest for another wonderful day.  
     November 21, 2017 we lost David Cassidy to organ failure.  Five years he has  gone by and every year that passes I have to say I learn more and more about him.  I have for several years now been doing a Fundraising Effort for different places that I think David would have wanted us to help out.   This is the second year for the Humane Society Animal Shelter fundraiser in my home town area of Sevier/Cocke County.  The David Cassidy Birthday Memorial Fundraiser runs from April to April. I hope this year we can surpass our donations from last year by at least another 100.00 dollars. Davids love for animals and human life were very evident in the charities he supported in life.  David gave to animal foundations, racehorse foundations, Alzheimer Research and Prevention and many more.  Help Save The Music is proud to be a sponsor of the David Cassidy Birthday Memorial Fundraiser Event and to be helping out the Alzheimer Research & Prevention Foundation. We are also lending  a helping hand is being given to The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance as well. 
     I know that  everyone is not able to help out financially to these causes but you can also do your part by spreading the word about these charities in Davids Name.  It is vital that people are aware of the importance of the research and prevention of Alzheimer's .  My Grandfather suffered with Alzheimer's for years and as soon as he was diagnosed we basically lost him.  It is a hard thing to watch someone you have loved just slip away into another world of loneliness and despair. The disease is cruel and non discriminating, Davids Mother and Grandfather also suffered with Alzheimer's.
     Please help in anyway you can and know that whatever you do it is something to be Thankful for and it is greatly appreciated.   The links below are direct donation links so if you can help out with a small donation if you can and we thank you and David would thank you as well.
Lisa Bailey-Owens
smhumane.org
Smoky Mountain Humane Society Link

alzheimersprevention.org         
Alzheimer's Research & Prevention Foundation

www.thoroughbredaftercare. 
Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance
​
www.trfinc.org/
​Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation