Great to see you and your work back, Skai! And thanks for this piece, I had not heard of Nicky Hopkins before, but it reminded me instantaneously of the 70s ballads, somewhere between Billy Joel and Elton John. But actually not really anyone of them, so now I know, whom I need to look out 😊. Compositionwise, I really admire  the structural complexity of this track, the jumping between the different rhythms and themes which still makes a comprehensive whole. I still have not yet grasped the full structure of the track, though I heard it on Powerplay the last days 😊. And beautiful play, of course, as always!

A beautiful little idea in the intro, first the chords and then the arpeggios to lighten it up. Really nice!

Erik Skai-sorhands...🎹 Very evocative piece played wonderfully.👍

Oh my, I wish I could have played that well at sixteen. A truly beautiful emotive piece of music.

Related tracks: Walk In The Park

original track of music with vox and poetry by @ladyofire
https://soundcloud.com/ladyofire/she-comes
backup lyrix/vox and photo cover design: Mariam Zohra D : Myrh
Photo by Ti

She Comes In Waves By Lady Of Fire Poetry - Addional Vox by Myrh

This is an original composition in tribute to heroically good classic rock pianist Nicky Hopkins (a.k.a. “Edward” as he was sometimes called in the studio by members of the Rolling Stones).  He would have turned 80 years old today (02/24/2024).

This was not an attempt at impersonation, but rather an effort toward one specific aspect of his versatile playing style, namely, that elusive balance of flow and syncopation.  Simply put, listening to Nicky Hopkins makes my brain dance, and trying to capture that effect is what inspired this piece.  

Note: Many are unfamiliar with the name Nicky Hopkins, but everyone is familiar with his piano playing which has appeared on records of the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, the Who, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, the Kinks, Steve Miller Band, Art Garfunkel, Jerry Garcia, the Beatles (as well as solo work of all four individual Beatles), and many others.  He played on over forty top 40 albums, and dozens of singles.  He was practically a member of the Rolling Stones (and came up with many of the Stones’ most iconic piano parts including for the songs Angie, She’s a Rainbow, Loving Cup, Sympathy for the Devil), but his battle with Crohn’s disease prevented him from being able to commit to regular touring.  As a result, he spent most of his career working as a session musician. He was, however, an official member (from 1969-1971) of Quicksilver Messenger Service where his piano work generally sits up front in the mix and where you can hear his creativity fully unleashed (e.g., check out their songs Shady Grove, Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder, and Fresh Air).  In spite of his limited number of live performances, he was also a talented improviser as showcased in the Rolling Stones studio jam album “Jamming with Edward”, and another great example of this is the high-quality recording of his live performance with the Jerry Garcia Band on “Let it Rock: The Jerry Garcia Collection Volume 2" https://soundcloud.com/jerrygarcia/sets/let-it-rock-the-jerry-garcia.

Here is the Wikipedia article on Nicky Hopkins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Hopkins

Song art: The image depicting “a session pianist resembling Nicky Hopkins” was created with a lot of help from my brother-in-law Patrick McGee using a combination of AI art generators.

Edward Piano Hands

Watch the video on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/7xRNVbZJybU

Behind You

This time, I played one of Led Zeppelin's signature songs, "Stairway to Heaven," on a nylon string electric acoustic guitar.
This song is included on Led Zeppelin's fourth album. The album sold over 29 million copies worldwide and was certified platinum in the United States.
Like all guitarists who consider themselves avid Led Zeppelin fans, I love this song and often play it lightly when tuning my guitar. I omitted the effect processing and simply adjusted the volume and uploaded it. I noticed that it sounded more boosted than when recording the chord strokes in the second half. Since it's a Led Zeppelin piece, I thought it might not be a bad idea to listen to it in this condition.
Personally, I hope that everyone can feel that the nylon strings (end type) that come with the two electric acoustic guitars fit perfectly into the guitar itself.
Winter is over in Japan, and we are about to enter the spring season, but I chose this piece as the final part of this winter's nylon string solo performance series. After this, I'm starting to look forward to the possibility of using a nylon string guitar to complete some of the collaborative pieces that I've been unable to complete.

===============================
Led Zeppelin - Stairway To Heaven (HQ)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPSkNFODVRE
Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (lyrics) Released: 1971【和訳】
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzTLbMUYtqs&list=RDwzTLbMUYtqs&start_radio=1
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Stairway To Heaven Chords by Led Zeppelin
https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/led-zeppelin/stairway-to-heaven-chords-1088573

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin cover (SOLO) with a gut-string guitar

Hey…. So I put down the slide guitar the other day, and picked up the mandolin after a slide solo wasn’t working. Then did this little song. A rather surreal look at the metaphysics of stars as they relate to us. Occasionally, we are at a loss to make sense of this life. I find perspective in observing the night sky, among other things, even if for only a brief moment. Hanging out with others helps too. So does playing music. I usually laugh at myself in those moments and realize just how fascinating life can be. I mentioned this story before, but in a different context. I have been ‘caretaking’ a fire ant colony for over twenty years. The common sense of today’s world would seek to destroy the colony, as labeling them as ‘nuisance pests’ comes with a dire consequence for the ants. Fire ants bite only to get a grip and then sting (from the abdomen) and inject a toxic alkaloid venom called solenopsin. Anyway, the colony had been in my neighbor’s yard decades ago, and I did my best to encourage him not to destroy the colony. But after seeing a friend of his riding over the colony with a riding lawn mower, I knew the colony was doomed if it stayed there. Then one day, while emptying the kitchen compost bucket into the compost pile, I saw a long trail of fire ants coming from my neighbor’s yard into mine. They had begun to build a mound near a brush pile in the back. So the ants have been here for 5 years or so. Sure, they may strip an aspen sapling bare, or try and sneak into my vegetable garden, but for the most part, they have been good neighbors. They have come out of their mound now that it is a little warmer. I was cleaning up the gardens in the back, and noticed hundreds of them working on their mound. I looked yesterday and I saw this one ant carrying a large twig, way bigger than him, on top of the mound. As he walked, the twig was waving back and forth like a sword raised in the air. I laughed (to myself) and realized it had been a while since I had done so. This song is about all those little things in life, like that, that bring us back…. Hope you like it. Thanks for dropping by, Mark

Lammbone's Album

Walk In The Park

The title "Maybe" was chosen because when I started this piece I was feeling unsure and ambivalent about many things going on in my life.  We all have those days, and music is my outlet.  Thank you for listening!

Maybe

Zero G (2015) Anthology CD3 Track 02

I grew up in the Florida Keys where both of my parents worked as musicians in the entertainment business.  My grandmother taught me to play the piano at an early age.  I ended up pursuing a career in mathematical research and teaching, but in my free time I enjoy composing music mainly for piano.

Heavy Punk Rock 'n' Roll band turns into Synthwave nowadays! Brand NEW album "Ultraviolet Cosmos" available NOW!

Edward Piano Hands

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