Damn you Pete Townshend, damn you.

Pete does one-man acoustic shows occasionally, right? I find it difficult to believe he's never performed any of these tunes solo. It's all about arrangement, Taso. Find a new way to intepret these tunes sans synth, using what you have. New arrangements are done on cover tunes and "unplugged" versions all the time. Occasionally, the results are truly stunning.

I've played many a tune with David (dhodge) where we ignored the original arrangement and do whatever we can with two acoustic guitars. We liked the tune, and we played it doing whatever we felt like doing. There's usually some characteristic hook or link to the original, but occasionally it's only the chord progress and the lyrics -- and even those become fair game for bit of twisting. It's fun.

well, if you have a multi effects pedal or a bbunch of pedals, you could maybe find a setting that sounds vaguely synth, and just play it that way.

And this is a good point -- can do a lot of stuff with a looping pedal.

Wow, sorry Taso! When I saw the thread title I thought that you'd hurt your fingers trying to do the windmill.

But to the subject: the looping pedal sounds good. OR, if you have a recording setup, you could record a 2 track part - one track with a click, the other with you (or someone you know), playing or midi-ing the synth part. Mix it down dual mono so each track is discreet, and play that back during the show, with the click going into the drummer's headset (which he'd have to get used to), and the synth part going to the house - or a separate amp. Just use a simple CD player and make a cable with a stereo jack on one end and two mono's on the others.

I wonder if someone's midi'd that backing track somewhere on the internet?

There's a wonderful and close-to-impossible-to-find record called The Secret Policeman's Ball, which was a charity event where Pete played acoustic accompanied by a classical guitarist (whose name escapes me - sorry). What did he play? Won't Get Fooled Again. It's a wonderful and intense version of it and should inspire you to not worry about not having the synths.

Sometimes, though, the synth part is easily simulated on guitar. Most of the synth stuff from Baba O'Reilly and Won't Get Fooled Again are simple arpeggios repeated over and over. If a guitarist doesn't mind getting creative (a little echo or delay and perhaps some phhase shifting), you can come up with more than passable arrangements.

Many good songwriters like to think of their songs as works in progress. Today's arrangement might be yesterday's news. Don't be afraid to experiment. You could, for instance, let the sax player take the violin part in Baba O'Reilly or even the single note guitar solo parts in Won't Get Fooled Again. Don't ever shy away from coming up with your own take on a classic. There are many wonderful "covers" of great songs out there and there's no reason you shouldn't be included in them!

Peace

some say that the acoustic performances of "pinball wizard" and "won't get fooled again" inspired the "unplugged" craze that followed.
i believe it was john williams who sat in with pete on those.
i actually saw the secret policemans "other" ball in the theater. i have both on phono. true treasures

pete is a great song writer and probably the best rythem guitarist i've ever heard,
his leads, well, they leave alot to be desired.

Taso, why don't you just become a Real Man? Dump the guitar and get yourself a synth, like real heroes do. I'm sure you can find plenty of guitarists around to fill up the void...

argen,

be nice :lol:

Actually.....
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...

Not a bad idea. The looping idea sounds good too, although I don't have any equipment for that. The recording idea would also work.

I think the best thing would be to find a keyboard player. There are just so few around here, and the ones I know aren't really keyboard players, they just play every now and then, a few things they know, etc. However, that would be most desirable. I have other songs I've written/other songs I'd like to play that really sound best with a piano or keyboard... I play a little piano/keyboard stuff now, so I could probably handle the simple synthesizer parts of these songs, but I'd have to buy a synthesizer, and then I'd have to find another guitarist.

But that's another problem, I don't really want another guitarist. I like the sound of guitar/bass/drums...

So I must find a keyboard player. I have a few people in mind.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, and helping me think it out.

So I must find a keyboard player. I have a few people in mind.

Do you really think Billy Joel is willing to take the pay cut?

:lol:

You know....Now that you mention it :lol:

I seriously have considered that. (Not asking him to join a band, but--) If I ever saw him walking around (I live around 10 minutes from him, and I've seen him on the road) I'd tell him if he ever wanted to play the blues with someone who wasn't interested in money, just for fun for an afternoon, give me a call. haha. It'd be worth a shot :lol: