Music In The Family

Welcome to another week and to another post made by myself. Nothing much has been happening in my life at all lately, but I am mainly here to tell you about music and that is what I am doing and this time, it is going to be unrelated to Elton John.

Since October last year, members of my family have been getting musical instruments. It all started that October when my sister, Michelle (who moved out of home in June 2006) rang Mum up and said that she got a guitar, so one day she came over and brought it over with her so Mum could tune it and get it right. Michelle, her boyfriend and my brothers all went to the coast that day while Mum and I were spending time with Grandma and Granddad, who had come over to spend the day with us. That afternoon, Reece (one of my brothers) was playing Michelle's guitar and he really liked it a great deal that he wished he had one! The next day, Reece went out to the local musical instrument store called The Music Spot with Mum and he came home with a new guitar as well. Mum said that she saw a guitar that she really loved and would love to get one day (Mum used to have her own guitar before we went to America and she really enjoyed playing it).

A few weeks later, I went into an electronics place called Tandy down at our local shopping centre, Grand Plaza, and brought a keyboard that I had my eye on for the last few years. Actually, Mum and I waited for the keyboard to be brought into the store from the storage room. The keyboard I looked at, the CASIO CTK-451, was very similar to my cousin Skye's one, except it wasn't MIDI compatible and had different songs, but the one they brought from the storage area looked a lot better and I got it for exactly the same price I was wanting the older model for, and I bought a keyboard stand separately, as that didn't come with the keyboard.

The newer one was is a CASIO CTK-481 and it was even better than the one I was looking at because it was a lighter color and it also is MIDI compatible, which is what I need as I am going to et into MIDI creation for when I get my web site up and running. Two days after getting the keyboard, I bought a book from the local bookstore called The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory Second Edition by Michael Miller. I found the book very easy and fun to follow and was impressed at how much I was learning through it. It contained an audio CD, which includes The Complete Idiot's Guide To Music Theory Ear Training Course, which will help you know the difference in pitches and what are intervals, scales and much more, just follow along with the book and do the CD for the chapters that have the CD icon and you will be all set for that chapter. The worst thing is that I have only just started Chapter 4, the last chapter in Part 1, so I better get a move on with it. Even though I'm still on Chapter 4, I feel like I could really recommend this book for everyone who loves music. In my opinion, the book doesn't make music theory seem hard at all, just another fun lesson that you can do at your own pace!

Since I bought the keyboard, I wanted to get into learning some songs, so I eventually went to The Music Spot with Mum, the place Reece got his guitar and I was looking for a music book.
Mum helped me find a more modern E-Z Play Today book that includes keyboards as well, and it had a lot of my favourite songs, so I ended up buying it and an M-Audio MIDISPORT UNO MIDI-to-USB cable (a MIDI cable that had a USB cable at the other end for plugging into the computer to make MIDI music with the keyboard). The music book, E-Z Play Today - Adult Contemporary Songbook is quite good. The MIDI cable was expensive though, I nearly didn't buy it, but I couldn't resist it. If you want to know what MIDI is, I can't really tell you as it is a little bit complex, but you will find a link to the MIDI Manufacturer's Association website in my Links section.

Even more surprising was that Beau, my other brother, bought himself a keyboard as well. At the time, I thought it was good, but then I realized what a few of the fall backs were such as having a built-in sustain button instead of a sustain pedal, which would be a lot easier to work with if you're changing between notes than having to press the button. Beau also eventually went out and bought himself a keyboard stand. Skye, my cousin, had already got an electric guitar a while back, but she loved my Aunty Angela's acoustic guitar so much that she used to play it. Aunty Angela and Uncle Peter got Skye her own acoustic guitar for Christmas, including a guitar tuner and a device that shows you correct finger positions for certain chords, Skye was rapt about that.

Well, that is it for me at the moment. The next time I do a post, I am going to talk about my interest in web design how I've come to know about it. It may not be totally to do with music, but at least it is music related as my web site will be totally about music and I will also tell you bits of the stuff that will be included.

My 2006 Elton John Concert

This is a picture of Uncle Peter (left) and myself just before we left to go to the Elton John 2006 concert.


Hi everyone! As I promised, I've done another post for you to read! I said last time that this time I was going to tell you about my last Elton John concert that happened on November 26, 2006! The concert I went to back in 2002 that I told you about last fortnight was fun, but I didn't do a lot of cheering or singing along with songs like everyone else was in the Entertainment Centre, Mum encouraged me to sing along and just enjoy myself as I was a bit nervous! At the concert I went to last year of Elton's called The Captain And The Kid, I did a lot more cheering and clapping and singing and fully enjoyed myself!

When I found out that Elton was coming back to Australia for his Captain And The Kid tour, I was, like the first time, very excited! I told everyone in my family about it coming! I tried getting through on various radio station competitions, but had no luck, except my Granddad, who won Elton's new CD on 4BH. Little did I know, the week before the concert, I found out that Uncle Peter had bought tickets for he and I to go to the concert. That really made my day.

It is worth me mentioning here that since June, I've been watching Australian Idol and was (not voting until the end) hoping for one of the contestants, Damien Leith, to win each week, he made it to the Final 2 with another great singer in that competition Jessica Mauboy. I didn't realise that the Australian Idol Grand Finale would be on the exact night of the Elton concert.

Uncle Peter and I listened to Elton's new CD, The Captain And The Kid all the way to the concert and Uncle Peter thought it was quite a good CD! When we got to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, we got a park just near the building, therefore it would be easy to leave when the concert was over! When we got inside, we paid for the concert programme! The programme looked so good, especially with an interview with Elton and Bernie about the Captain And The Kid CD.

We went in just before 8:00pm to get our seats. Since the last concert, I was concerned if I had to go up or down steps, but we sat was an area where people with disabilities can sit. When we got in, I was shocked to see the view we had, it was fantastic! At the 2002 concert, me and Mum were on the ground floor, therefore you could always get some one's head in your way when you don't want to, but where we sat in 2006, you could see the stage and the big screen directly opposite us. It was such a good concert with Elton even doing 5 songs in a row from the new album!

Unfortunately, I found out later that Elton was sick that night when we saw him, he went off stage for a few minutes to be sick while Davey Johnstone played guitar until Elton came back and apologised for the sickness. I was actually surprised that there was no support act this time like the last time. Elton just performed straight for a few hours before finishing. It was a fantastic concert, even Uncle Peter enjoyed it! The lights were nice and bright and the sound was nice and loud! I do intend to go to another Elton concert in the future. I did hear that he might be slowing down after this year, but he will still be good. If he ever announces a final world tour, I hope to get right up front on that night and enjoy seeing him live close up.

Next time, I am going to talk about various music things that are unrelated to Elton, so watch this space for more posts vary soon!

My Very First Elton John Concert

This is a picture of me holding the tour programme at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on the night of the concert.

Hi everyone! I know it has been over a week and a half since my last blog post, so I thought I'd do another one now. I Will start adding more to my blog a lot more regularly than what I am doing at the moment. Last time, I said that I will tell you about my first Elton John concert and how I was able to go to it, so here I go!

In 1998, I wanted to go to the Elton John and Billy Joel Face To Face concert at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane, but I didn't end up going. Then in 1999, when my family and I were in the US, in Wyoming, I heard that Elton was performing in Laramie, in memory of Matthew Shepherd (a gay man who was killed in Wyoming), I really wanted to go to that one even though I realise It was for a purpose. I never went to that one either, but this time it was because Laramie was right on the other side of Wyoming, near the northern part of the state.

It all started on Christmas Day in 2001, I think it was around October or November that year that I found out Elton was coming over to Australia for a tour, I really wanted to go and see Elton live. I have been telling my Grandparents and my Mum how much I would really would love to go and see him live, so on Christmas Day that year, my Grandparents came over to have Christmas Lunch and then that afternoon, we were talking and then my Granddad said to my sister, Michelle, that she should write in to Kim & Laurel at 4KQ (a radio station that my Grandparents used to listen to and I still listen to, Kim & Laurel were the breakfast show hosts) and tell them about my disabilities and how much I would love to go and see Elton live as I am a real big fan and ask them if they would be able to send tickets for me!

Well, I didn't think it would happen, but one day in 2002, when we were going to my Grandparents' house (I don't know if it was February or March) and we stopped at the mailbox for Michelle to post a letter. Then one day, I was listening to 4KQ and they were advertising that that weekend was to be Elton John weekend where you get a copy of Elton's album at the time, Songs From The West Coast and tickets to the concert.

About a month before the concert, 4KQ advertised that the first night of Elton's concert (the Wednesday, April 24) was sold out and they the concert people had decided to add a Tuesday night concert, I was so excited, I thought I'd get a chance to see one of the two nights. I started getting very desperate, still hoping. Then on Monday, April 22, 2002, I woke up, turned 4KQ on and still heard them giving away tickets to Elton's concerts, I then continued to get ready for school.

Then, on Tuesday afternoon, I came back home in the taxi (there are a few schools in Brisbane that allowed students with disabilities to be able to get to and from school by taxi if they can't get picked up by their parents), I was surprised to see my Grandparents' car sitting in the driveway, I was wondering if they were just there to visit. I went in the house and said hello to everyone and put my school things in my room. After that, I came out and sat at the table with everyone else to have something to eat for afternoon tea. Before I started eating, Mum showed me an envelope. I tried to read the writing on it, it was a little hard, but I couldn't believe what I was reading, at first I thought it was a joke. Mum then told me to open it, I opened it and pulled out two yellow bits of paper and tried to read one of them.

When I was confused what the paper said, Mum asked me if I knew what it was and I said no, then Mum said "They're Elton John tickets!" My Granddad took a photo of my reaction straight away with his camera, I still smile every time I look at it! Mum told me she was out when she got the call from 4KQ saying that Kim & Laurel would be happy to send tickets for me to see Elton live! I ended up having that Wednesday off school because I was so excited and to celebrate with Mum by going out for lunch!

Me and Mum had dinner before we left and at six o'clock that night, my Grandparents came over as they were taking me and Mum to the concert! It was quite dark when we got to the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Before we went in, I got some pictures taken and then we went and got a concert program and sat outside the door to the concert hall to wait, I flipped through the program and tried looking for a set list of all the songs Elton would sing, but couldn't find any ((I was a little disappointed, even the concert programme I got for the 2006 concert didn't have any). Before we went in, some of the ushers came and Mum told them about my vision problem and she went in with the usher to see how I'd be able to get down the steps. I found out that the steps were too narrow for me so the usher took me and Mum (my Grandparents stayed at the door) the long way to the ground floor where we'd be sitting.

As we were walking down to the ground floor, we went down in a lift and when we got to the bottom and walked a little way, the usher said that we were near the backstage area, he pointed to a sign that said Back Stage and to a door and said that was where Elton was, behind that door, but there was a security guard there to stop people going through! I was really excited walking through there! We eventually got to our seats, so we sat down and waited for the show to begin!

I wondered who the support act was going to be and was surprised at how good they were. The group was called Supergirlies, two girls who made up words to popular songs in a comedy way! They even suggested that Britney Spears' Baby One More Time and Oops! I Did It Again were done with the same music! That was a real laugh to listen to, but even though I enjoyed them, I really wanted Elton to come on! After the support act went off after a few encores, Elton got introduced to the stage! I was so excited, I wondered what song was going to be first! Then I heard the very beginning of Elton's song from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road called Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding. Mum got me to look at the stage and I was a guy playing the keyboards in darkness! When Elton came on and started waving to the audience before sitting down at the piano to play Love Lies Bleeding, I couldn't help myself, I just couldn't believe my favourite singer was up there on stage, therefore I cried for a little bit while Elton was singing the song!

I was so glad that Mum was there with me so she comforted me while I cried, I stopped before the first song was finished and was excited to hear Elton go in to Bennie And The Jets! Elton then followed that with a song from his then new album Songs From The West Coast called The Ballad Of The Boy In The Red Shoes, which was also done very well! I loved the entire concert, Elton did 4 other songs from that album, I Want Love, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore, Original Sin and The Wasteland! I nearly cried a little again during Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word because I was so happy! The lights were all bright and the sound was fantastic! I remember Elton doing I'm Still Standing and all the lights get turned right up and bright every time he sings "Yeah, yeah, yeah"! I also remember Elton coming stage 2 times for encores; the first time he came on for an encore, he did Pinball Wizard and then came back on again for Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and Your Song!

I do wish I could tell you everything about that concert, but I don't remember all the details of it like I did 10 months after it! Even Mum enjoyed herself at the concert as well!

Well, I guess that is it for now! Next time, I'm going to talk about my last Elton concert I went to! No, I didn't cry during that one, but I did do a lot of screaming!

Hi, I'm really sorry that I haven't had any news on here since I started this blog, but this is my first one. There are lots I have to tell you about my most favourite interest of all - Music!

Well, where should I begin? I think I shall tell you about how I became a fan of who I think is one of the best singers in the world - Elton John! I became an Elton John fan back in 1995! It may be strange to think of, but I actually started my love of his music all because of one thing, an advertisement on TV for his Love Songs CD, which had just been released here in Australia! I listened to the bits of songs on the ad and I realised that I wanted the CD so badly! I got that CD that very Christmas and I was very happy!

It was very sad to hear that Princess Diana died in 1997, just two months after Gianni Versace, both were friends of Elton's. I think it was nice the way he did Candle In The Wind just for Diana, now called Candle In The Wind 1997. When they put the funeral on TV, I watched Elton as he sung the new words to Candle In The Wind, I also heard another sound going on along with the piano that sounded like strings, but wasn't, as you don't see any other instruments. I feel there must be something on the piano itself that Elton must use to make all those good accompanying sounds, Elton still does that in his solo performances today with the piano with different sounds.

I was very pleased to hear about the single being released of the song, but I didn't realise it was going to be put on the Something About The Way You Look Tonight single, which doesn't worry me as I love Elton's music anyway. I have to admit, even though I like the studio version with the string arrangement by George Martin, I do prefer the live funeral version, which when the single came out, I thought it would have the live version as well.

Being in Australia, we basically get Elton albums and singles that are exactly like the ones in the UK, even though we don't get some singles that the UK does, which really annoys me. When Peachtree Road got released, I read on the Elton fan club news section that the UK would get the single release of All That I'm Allowed while America got Answer In The Sky, Australia released no single from that album whatsoever. I had another disappointment when the single re-release of Are You Ready For Love came out. No music stores here could get it, and when I tried to order it from the UK, I found out it was deleted (no longer available).

All that proves to me that if you want to be a fan of Elton John; you are best living in either the USA or the UK. Another difference I've noted as well is the fact that in Australia and the UK, 12 of Elton's original albums made it into the remastered CD series called The Classic Years, Australia and the UK got the Classic Years CDs with light covers and a yellow strip down the side with The Classic Years in it. Rather than doing what we (Australia & UK) did, the US released all those albums with slightly darker covers and a nice gold strip down the side with The Classic Years in it. In some ways, I do prefer the US release of all those CDs, but I also like the UK & Australian release of those CDs, just not as much as the US ones. The Classic Years version of Rock Of The Westies was the only album that had different bonus tracks, Australia & the UK got one bonus track, the famous Don't Go Breaking My Heart, while the US got to rare bonus tracks, I don't know the name of them!

Well, I guess I'd better stop here, but I promise I will try and add more to my blog soon, rather than waiting a long time to do it. Next time, I will tell you about my very first Elton John concert I went to and how I got to go to it! Yes, it was exciting, but that will have to wait. Bye for now.