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tower of power

Rubén Valtierra, Weird Al Yankovic Part 1

March 6, 2022 by KC Editor 1 Comment

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Rubén Valtierra plays keys with the inimitable and iconic Weird Al Yankovic. In Part 1 we hear about Rubén’s chops as a musician and his general approach to life, you’ll understand why he’s been at the top for such a long period of time.

To listen / watch:

  1. Audio-only: click on the play button in the audio player above, or:
  2. Video: watch the embedded video below or check it and previous episodes out on our YouTube Channel

Discussion topics covered during the show (links will open in new tab):  

Rubén’s Website

Van Cliburn performs in Moscow, 1958 (on YouTube)

Rubén performing with Rush Hour 1986

Dr Demento 20th Anniversary TV Special

The Saga Begins – Al sends Rubén home

Recreating the diverse sounds and styles across Weird Al’s huge catalogue

Weird Al show timing

How Rubén nearly ended up as part of Jimmy Kimmel’s house band

The Simpsons – Three Gays of the Condo

Glenn Hughes Live in Moscow 1995

Sampling a Hammond B3 to use on a Kurzweil

Why Rubén loves Kurweil keyboards

Sound design for a Weird Al tour

Weird Al vs Tower of Power

What’s Weird Al like as a boss? (spoiler: he’s a great boss)

Rubén’s bucket list: Santana (and a shout out to David K Mathews)

The Valtierra Latin Orchestra

The upcoming Weird Al Movie

Why Weird Al is a true, great artist

Not mentioned but worth a watch: Weird Al and the band play 77 cover songs over 77 nights.

Tag a keyboard player: See Part 2

Desert Island Discs: See Part 2

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

We’re always keen to hear from you: drop us a line via the website, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you’re a keyboard player, we also have a regular email newsletter with interesting news from the industry just for you.

To help us keep the podcast running like a fine oiled machine, we do have a Patreon account if you’d like to contribute the cost of a small cup of coffee a month and receive bonus content

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Glenn Hughes, Ruben Valtierra, Rush Hour, Santana, The Simpsons, tower of power, Weird Al Yankovic

David K Mathews, Santana / Etta James / Tower of Power (Part 1)

November 25, 2020 by KC Editor 1 Comment

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David K Mathews has had, and continues to have, an amazing career across a range of genres. In Part 1 of our interview, Dave covers off his work with Tower of Power and The Rat Band. And he’s only getting started….

Links to content mentioned during the show (links will open in new tab):  

Tower of Power

Dave playing with Tower of Power

Elvin Bishop

Chester Thompson

Larry Blake’s Rathskeller

Dave with The Rat Band

Desert Island Discs:  Coming in Part 2!

Don’t forget to click on any of the subscribe links to automatically have each episode download, or just click play on the player above to listen right here.

We’re always keen to hear from you: drop us a line via the website, Facebook, or Twitter.

If you’re a keyboard player, we also have a weekly newsletter with interesting news from the industry just for you.

To help us keep the podcast running like a fine oiled machine, we do have a Patreon account if you’d like to contribute the cost of a small cup of coffee a month.

Finally, check out our podcast guest playlist on Spotify to get a taste of each guest’s creations.

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Etta James, Santana, tower of power

One of the Best Isolation Covers You Will Ever See

July 1, 2020 by KC Editor Leave a Comment

I’m just going to leave this here:

You may recognise some of the living legends on this video, if not check out all the details here. I promise it’ll be one of the most fun uses of 9 minutes of your life.

Here’s the list of top-notch musicians involved:

VOCALISTS
Brent Carter – Tower of Power, currently AWB lead vocalist
Will Downing – Multi-million selling, major label recording artist
Jo Harman – Award winning British vocalist-songwriter
Eliot Lewis – Hall and Oates, “Live From Daryl’s House”, AWB
Audrey Wheeler – Top NYC session singer (Freddie Jackson, Madonna), formerly featured singer with Unlimited Touch
Cheryl ‘Pepsii’ Riley – Noted Gospel/R&B singer and Arista and Columbia recording artist
Porter Carroll – Singer/songwriter/founder/drummer with multi million selling band ‘Atlantic Starr’ (Hall and Oates)
Travis Milner – Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist/producer/composer Gerald Levert, Roy Ayers, Gerald Alston, Busta Rhymes
Ms. Monet – Recording artist, backing vocalist Will Downing, Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald
Michael Angelo – New York legendary Funk vocalist
Chris Walker – Vocalist with Billboard Top 30 hit ,’Take Time’, Musical Director to Al Jarreau, Regina Belle
Klyde Jones – Hall and Oates, AWB

GUITARISTS
David Spinozza (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, James Taylor)
Jeff Tamelier (Tower of Power, Starship)

KEYBOARDS
Roger Smith (Tower of Power, Dave Matthews Band) – Hammond Organ
Rob Aries (John Scofield, Mary J Blige) – Electric Piano
Travis Milner (Roy Ayers, Gerald Levert) – Keyboards

BASS
Chris Walker (Bob James, Kirk Whalum)

HORNS
Fred ‘Freddy V’ Vigdor (AWB, Michael McDonald) – Tenor Sax
Cliff Lyons (AWB, Manhattan Transfer) – Alto Sax
Barry Danelian (Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Billy Joel) – Trumpet
Ozzie Melendez (Mariah Carey, Diana Ross, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony) – Trombone
John Scarpulla (ToP, Diana Ross, Paul McCartney) – Tenor and Baritone sax

DRUMS
David Garibaldi (Tower of Power)
Steve Ferrone (AWB, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty)
Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy)
Brian Dunne (Hall and Oates, AWB)
Rocky Bryant (AWB, Dave Sanborn, Cindy Lauper)
Herman Matthews (Isley Brothers, Kenny Loggins)
Graham Hawthorne (Paul Simon, David Byrne, Madeleine Peyroux)
Poogie Bell (David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Randy Crawford)

 

Filed Under: Players strut their stuff Tagged With: AWB, tower of power

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