Tallan "T man" Latz Worlds Youngest Blues Guitarist

Tallan Noble Latz (aka: The T-Man) was born on September 22, 1999 to Carl and Doris Latz. Tallan had an immediate connection to the sound of music and how it effected his emotions. He seemed to be born to play music and has been doing so for most of his life.



Tallan received his first musical instrument, a drum set, when he was 3. At age 4 he received a small acoustic guitar. He would strap that guitar on and play for anyone that would sit and listen.

At the age of 5 Tallan asked for an electric guitar for Easter after watching a video of Joe Satriani. He had his choice between a guitar, a remote control boat or a new bike. He chose the guitar. The stipulation was that if he got the guitar he must take lessons and practice. He has done both every since and has never looked back!

Tallan has a real determination to improve his guitar playing skills. Tallan practices 2 - 3+ hours a day. Tallan has studied with many accomplished teachers, he also watches numerous instructional DVD’s and has become a student of his instrument. All the while he’s working towards becoming one of the best.

Tallan loves playing his guitar; he’s played before small groups of 15 to huge crowds of a couple thousand. Tallan has already performed at dozens of venues and festivals. He has had the opportunity to share the stage with hundreds of different musicians, some local musician, some regionally known, some nationally known and still others that are internationally known, all before the age of 8. You can find more about where and with whom Tallan has played with here.

In just a few short months, Tallan has created a huge stir in the SE WI and Northern IL. The buzz is all about this little kid playing with the big boys. They are all saying the same thing “You gotta see this!!!”.

Tallan has many musical influences that range across many genres of music from classical music to classic rock and from blues to country. Tallan’s list is an endless list but some of his major influences that he came up with are: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, BB King, Buddy Guy, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Steve Miller, Eric Johnson, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, Derek Trucks, Rush, Keith Urban, Craig Young, Collective Soul, Bach, Beethoven and the list goes on and on.



Tallan already has endorsement deals with these companies: Curt Mangan Strings, Morley Guitar pedals, Laney Amps and Dean Guitars. More endorsements are in the works right now.

Just recently, before his 8th birthday, Tallan has formed a band with some seasoned music veterans from the area. The name of the band took on Tallan’s nickname and is called T-Man’s Blues Project. They are already taking the music community by storm.

Tallan has many exciting things that are in the works for the remainder of year including going into the studio to put together a CD and many other things that he’ll be announcing shortly. Some of these announcements are major things for an adult let alone a now 8 year old. (source: http://www.pbase.com/soulfulimpressions/tallan_latz).



You will be star...

Pianist animals

Nora was adopted as a kitten in 2004 from a cat shelter in Cherry Hill, NJ. Her parents, Betsy Alexander and Burnell Yow!, are artists and musicians who live in Philadelphia. As a kitten, Nora showed an immediate interest in the piano during Betsy's lessons with her many private students. One day Nora jumped up on the piano bench, sat in perfect posture with both paws on the keys, and began to play notes. She was just a year old. She has played almost every day since then, and loves to play duets with Betsy's students.



Cocker spaniel plays piano... Better than Mozart!



It's hard to teach a hamster using piano...

Gerry Phillips

At age 47, Gerry Phillips is becoming an overnight sensation . . . and it’s only taken 38 years.



People are simply amazed at his jaw dropping ability to play virtually any song with only his hands. His performances are both astounding and, at times, hilarious.

Why does he play songs with his hands? Because he can!

Gerry has been called everything from a “hand musician”, “gunecologist”, “hand farter”, “hand flatulator”, and a “manualist”.

In 1969, when he was 9 years old, Gerry went to a party, and the photographer (to keep the kids quiet) made a single squeak with his hands. Within minutes Gerry went back to him and showed him that he could also do it.

Gerry continued to practice at home. Soon he could produce musical notes, then simple songs. After more practice, Gerry could “hand fart” songs with his new and unique technique better than with the musical instruments he was learning to play. So he dumped the 4 musical instruments.

In the high school talent show, Gerry played Beethoven’s 5th, the Can Can, and the Blue Waltz to a raucous standing ovation.

The following year he played Black Magic Woman and You Make Me Fee Like Dancing. In his last year it was Sir Duke.

When Gerry was 16 he was taken to a bar in Dearborn, Michigan where Bobby Lewis was playing. Gerry was asked to perform, and he was an immediate hit with the crowd. No one had seen or heard anything like it before.

Soon Gerry was sitting in with top local acts such as the Teen Angels who refer to Gerry as the 8th Wonder of the World!

Once Gerry began posting his videos on You Tube, he became an overnight sensation. Soon the emails started pouring in with requests for more videos and DVD’s. Not just from America, but the entire world. With commercials and television requests coming in, Gerry is now getting the recognition this unique and gifted artist deserves.

People recognize Gerry for the serious musician he is. Sure it’s hysterical, but his talent is even more amazing than it is funny.

Django Reinhardt with his 7 fingers...

Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt (January 23, 1910 – May 16, 1953) was a Belgian Sinto Gypsy jazz guitarist. He was one of the first prominent jazz musicians to be born in Europe, and one of the most renowned jazz guitarists of all time. His most renowned works include "My Sweet", "Minor Swing", "Tears", "Belleville", "Djangology" and "Nuages" (French, meaning "Clouds").

Born in Liberchies, Pont-à-Celles, Belgium, Reinhardt spent most of his youth in gypsy encampments close to Paris, playing banjo, guitar and violin from an early age professionally at Bal-musette halls in Paris. He started first on the violin and eventually moved on to a banjo-guitar that had been given to him and his first known recordings (in 1928) were of him playing the banjo (a banjo guitar has six strings tuned in standard guitar tuning).

At the age of 18 Reinhardt was injured in a fire that ravaged the caravan he shared with Bella, his first wife. They were very poor, and to supplement their income Bella made imitation flowers out of celluloid and paper. Consequently, their home was full of this highly flammable material. Returning from a performance late one night, Django apparently knocked over a candle on his way to bed. While his family and neighbors were quick to pull him to safety, he received first- and second-degree burns over half his body. His right leg was paralyzed and the third and fourth fingers of his left hand were badly burnt. Doctors believed that he would never play guitar again and intended to amputate one of his legs. Reinhardt refused to have the surgery and left the hospital after a short time; he was able to walk within a year with the aid of a cane.

His brother Joseph Reinhardt, an accomplished guitarist himself, bought Django a new guitar. With painful rehabilitation and practice Django relearned his craft in a completely new way, even as his third and fourth fingers remained partially paralyzed. Hence, he used to play solos with only two fingers, and managed to use the two injured ones for some chords.

In 1934, Louis Vola formed the "Quintette du Hot Club de France" with Reinhardt, violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt's brother Joseph and Roger Chaput on guitar, and himself on bass. Occasionally Chaput was replaced by Pierre "Baro" Ferret. The vocalist Freddie Taylor participated in a few songs, such as "Georgia On My Mind" and "Nagasaki". The concept of "lead guitar" (Django) and backing "rhythm guitar" (Joseph Reinhardt/Roger Chaput or Pierre Ferret) was born with that band. They also used their guitars for percussive sounds, as they had no true percussion section. The Quintet du Hot Club de France was one of the few well-known jazz bands to have no drums or percussion section.

Reinhardt later formed bands with more conventional instrumentations as with clarinet or saxophone, piano, bass and drums. He produced numerous recordings at this time with the quintet. But he played and recorded also with many American Jazz legends such as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter, Rex Stewart (who later stayed in Paris), and a jam-session with jazz legend Louis Armstrong. Reinhardt could neither read nor write music, and was barely literate. Stéphane took the band's downtime to teach him.

As World War II was declared, the original quintet was on tour in the United Kingdom. Reinhardt returned to Paris at once, leaving his wife behind. Grappelli remained in the United Kingdom for the duration of the war and Reinhardt reformed the quintet in Paris with Hubert Rostaing on clarinet in place of Grappelli's violin.

Reinhardt survived World War II unscathed, unlike many other Gypsies who perished in the concentration death camps of the Nazis. It was especially hard for Django's people because jazz itself was not allowed under Hitler's regime. He had the help of a Luftwaffe official named Dietrich Schulz-Köhn, also known as "Doktor Jazz", who deeply admired his music. In 1943 Django married Sophie Ziegler in Salbris, with whom he had a son, Babik Reinhardt, who went on to become a respected guitarist in his own right.

After the war, Reinhardt rejoined Grappelli in the UK, and went on to tour the United States, opening for Duke Ellington, and playing at Carnegie Hall, with many notable musicians and composers such as Maury Deutsch. Despite Reinhardt's great pride in touring with Ellington (one of his two letters to Grappelli relates this excitement), he wasn't really integrated into the band, playing only a few tunes at the end of the show, with no special arrangements written personally for him. He was used to his brother, Joseph, carrying around his guitar for him and tuning it. Allegedly, Reinhardt was given an untuned guitar to play with (discovered after strumming a chord) and it took him five whole minutes to tune it. Also, he was used to playing a Selmer Modèle Jazz, the guitar he made famous, but he was required to play a new amplified model. After "going electric", the results were not as much liked by fans. He returned to France with broken dreams, but continued to play and make many recordings.

Django Reinhardt was among the first people in France to appreciate and understand the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie whom he sought after when he arrived in New York. Unfortunately they were all on tour.

After returning to France, Django spent the remainder of his days re-immersed in gypsy life, having found it difficult to adjust to the modern world. He would sometimes show up for concerts without a guitar or amp, or wander off to the park or beach, and on a few occasions he refused even to get out of bed. Reinhardt was known by his band, fans, and managers to be extremely unpredictable. He would often skip sold-out concerts to simply "walk to the beach" or "smell the dew". However, he did continue to compose and is still regarded as one the most advanced jazz guitarists.

In 1948, Reinhardt recruited a few Italian jazz players (on bass, piano, and snare drum) and recorded one of his most acclaimed contributions, "Djangology", once again with Stephane Grappelli on violin. However, his experience in the U.S. left him influenced greatly by American jazz, making him a different person than the man Grappelli had known. But on this recording, Reinhardt switched back to his old roots, once again playing the Acoustic Selmer-Maccaferri. This recording was recently discovered by jazz enthusiasts and is now available in the U.S. and Europe. Reinhardt and other guitarists of the Quintette du Hot Club de France used Selmer acoustic guitars.

In 1951, he retired to Samois-sur-Seine, France, near Fontainebleau. He lived there for two years until May 16, 1953, when, while returning from the Avon train station, he collapsed outside his house from a brain hemorrhage. It took a full day for a doctor to arrive and Django was declared dead on arrival at the hospital in Fontainebleau.

Mark Goffeney

This post isn't loony, but the boy is rather talented.

...Born without arms, Goffeney has been a performer as long as he can remember. Some of his earliest performances were between ages eight and thirteen, when he helped host Easter Seals and March of Dimes telethons. “I was their poster child,” he laughs. “So I think I got over the fear of performing. Well, actually, I never really got the fear of it.” He always knew he wanted to be a musician, but playing trombone in the school band didn’t satisfy his desire to rock. So a friend gave Goffeney a guitar demonstration, and he just imitated what he saw his friend do—only he imitated with his feet.

And his passion was stirred. From a ninth-grade band called High Octane that played pizza joints on the weekends, to a KISS-flavored hard rock group, to the debut of Big Toe, Goffeney has immersed himself in music however he could get it. He’s played solo. He’s played in retirement homes. He even learned to play the bass to increase his chances for joining a group. “Everybody was playing guitar in the ‘80s,” he explains. “And everybody wanted to play lead guitar, so it was hard to get in a band. So I started playing bass.”

Eventually, though, getting in wasn’t enough; Goffeney wanted to set his own pace. With another guitarist, he founded Big Toe in 1992, and seven years later PSB Records signed the band to a CD deal…on one condition. Goffeney had to work with Steve Dudas, former producer for Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne and Ringo Star, to refine the songs for the band’s self-titled album. “I got to sit on the same chair that Steven Tyler sat on when he was there,” says Goffeney. “Steve Dudas was very professional, very good. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I was an amateur and I needed to listen to him.”

Several years and many record sales later, Goffeney is no longer an amateur performer. He has appeared on television as an actor and a musician, and has spoken to audiences all over America advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. He played the principal role on FOX’s Emmy-nominated commercial Feet. The advertisement, aired during the 2000 and 2001 Super Bowls, was for the NFL website, and it told the story of a character named Roger who was so obsessed with the website that he did everything else with his feet—including changing his baby’s diaper. As a father of three, Goffeney is an expert at caring for children sans hands, so he played the feet. When the director announced the baby would wear cloth diapers, Goffeney didn’t bat an eye; his first diaper-changing experiences involved his baby brothers in the ’70s. But some mothers of the auditioning babies got jittery about the safety pins, which cost their children the role. “They waited for a mother who had nerves of steel,” Goffeney remembers. “They picked the baby based on the nervousness of the mom.” Because of his rare ability, Goffeney could command his salary for the role—quite a bit higher than the Screen Actors Guild standard FOX originally offered.

Cash is not always easy for musicians to come by, though. To pay the bills, Goffeney has worked in various jobs: as a telemarketer, in roofing, with adults with disabilities, with teenagers in transition. But his passion for playing didn’t die, and he eventually quit his day job to pursue performance full-time. “I would play anywhere they’d let me,” he remembers. As Big Toe scored more and more gigs, Goffeney moved his practice venue to Balboa Park, famous in San Diego for street entertainers. “We are actually licensed to play for tips,” he explains, and some days he brings home $200 to $300 in one day. “Sometimes I get a complex because some people might think I’m panhandling. But had I been born with arms, I still would have wanted to do this. I’m not going to not do it because not everybody gets it.” ... (Abilitymagazine).