My Life - Scenes from the Piano Man

We are proud to offer a one of a kind Billy Joel experience. It’s called My Life - Scenes from the Piano Man. The dream was to give the audience a suspension of disbelief in the form of an accurate and exciting representation of a live Billy Joel concert from the opening note to the last encore. Featuring Dan Harrell and the Piano Man Band. We have a 60, 90, and 120 minute show that includes all the hits played to perfection by a full band of seasoned professionals. Sax, guitars, bass, drums, and of course piano and vocals. The show includes a grand piano shell to complete the onstage look along with synced video elements and programmed cameras for close ups of players if the venue and budget allows. Video elements are available if venue has video wall available. With the rise in popularity of the tribute act, there is certainly an easy fit and market for this show.

This is a true tribute to Billy Joel and promises to impress.

Dan Harrell began his music career in his father's studio learning to play the drums, then piano, then guitar, trombone, saxophone, bass, tuba, and anything else he could get his hands on. His passion is piano of course and he has toured the country playing to countless audiences for over two decades. Also a dueling piano player, Dan has graced the stages of Jellyroll’s Disney World, Pete's Piano Bar, and Howl At The Moon.

He is an accomplished composer, arranger, producer, and vocalist with many album credits. His dedication to his craft and crowd interaction make Dan a true "entertainer" - in every sense of the word. He has always dreamed of performing a Billy Joel Tribute show, and surrounding himself with some incredible talent with the ability to tackle this very tough endeavor, this dream is now a reality. MY LIFE - Scenes from the Piano Man

TECH NOTES
VOCAL TREATMENTS –
ALL VOCALS: Take HPF up above 130, take about 3dB out of 300 Hz with moderate Q curve, bump up 1.6k 2dB with a wider Q. Compress ratio 4:1, med-fast attack, med-slow release. Adjust threshold to dig about 4 dB of GR on peaks. Let all else go through. 150 ms delay with single feedback slap to create the base effect. Simple HALL reverb, 75 ms pre-delay, 2.00 second or less of a tail. Never too wet… These effects stay under the lead vocal when singing, taken out altogether to speak in between songs. Bring them in until you hear them, then back them off just a bit. Trust. It’s THE sound. All set here.

DRUMS TREATMENTS –
Channels 1&2 are to be treated as a stereo pair; hard L/R. The DTX unit is the source for your bass drum and all percussion elements. All sounds are mastered so no worries about levels. If the bass drum is sitting well, so will everything else. NO EQ (it will be the PA or the channels).
NO COMPRESSION. NO EFFECTS on channels 1&2.

SNARE TOP: Roll up HPF to 110 Hz. 2dB bump up at 200 Hz, 3dB out at 300 Hz.
SNARE BOTTOM: Roll up HPF to 160 Hz, 3dB bump at 5kHz.
Compress snares 3:1, med-slow attack, med-fast release. Threshold to 4dB GR or less.
TOMS 1&2: Roll up HPF to 140 Hz. Take out 3dB at 400 (ish) Hz
TOMs 3&4: Roll up HPF to 110 Hz. Take out 3dB around 300-400 (depending on tuning).
FLOOR TOM: Roll up HPF to 60 HZ. Take out 3-4 dB around 250-400 (depending on tuning)
Compress toms 3:1, med-slow attack, medium release. Threshold to 4 dB GR at peaks.
HAT: Roll up HPF to 360 Hz. Take out 6 dB with a moderately wide Q at 700 Hz.
Compress 4:1, medium-fast attack, fast release. Threshold to 4 dB GR at peaks.
Simple PLATE reverb on SNARE and TOMS. NO pre-delay, 2.00 second or less of a tail. Plate verbs are brighter and compliment drums very well. Snares, toms as well as the high-hat get a touch. If you can hear it in the mix, it’s just a bit too much. Err on the dry side, but push the slower tempos a bit more.

BASS GUITAR - Take signal direct from bass pedals. NO COMP OR specific EQ, though you may wish to HPF a bit, even dial into your subs, but not necessary for A 70’S Motown tone. Just take what the genius gives you and marry it with the bass drum for an oomphy pulse. All done with this guy.

ACOUSTIC - HPF up to 120 Hz. Dig a little out around 700 Hz. Compress 4:1, medium attack, fast release, 3-5 dB of GR for consistency (Allentown for soundcheck). Add just a touch of the drum plate verb and call it good.

STEREO GUITAR L/R – Take as stereo pair hard L/R. Roll up HPF to 110 Hz. NO COMP or specific EQ.
Simply ride solos and keep in rhythm bed. Effects imbedded into tone. Nothing from FOH needed.

STEREO PIANO L/R - Take as stereo pair hard L/R. Roll up HPF to 110 Hz. NO COMP or specific EQ.
This is the piano for THE PIANO MAN. Keep moderately above the bed, up close to the lead vocal.
Vocal first, piano second. Lots of leads and rhythm playing, obviously, but also some diddling in between songs. Effects imbedded into tone(s). Nothing from FOH needed.

TEMPO – MONITORS ONLY

MIX L and MIX R – Take as stereo pair hard L/R. Tracks mastered to -3dB so there is room. BGVs are taken almost exclusively from these inputs. Using the track opener (Prelude – Angry Young Man), there is a BGV harmony that travels above the C VOX during the verses. Simply sneak these tracks up until the BGVs are just under the C VOX. Everything else falls into place for the entire show.
NO COMP - NO EQ - NO HPF.

USL VOX – very reliable high harmonies. Let this vocal “compliment” the stereo MIX L/R.

DSR VOX
USR VOX
… open for claps and vocal effects/blurbs, but rely mostly on MIX L/R for any BGVs.

Dan Harrell as THE PIANO MAN