Good Music Makes Me Weep

Ever been so happy that you feel as though you'd burst if you tried to contain yourself?

I was listening to Peaches En Regalia - Frank Zappa - there is a refrain done at 1:46 into the song. The saxes play a sweeping melodic line while the bass walks up behind them.
Sigh.

There are passages that can bring me to tears - tears of joy.
That alone makes me more susceptible to the magic. I play the portion over and over, drinking in the chest swelling emotions. Frank was a great composer, to be sure. I wonder if he knew of the effect he has on people? I doubt it.

We do our best...write our pieces in the sand and hope the tide doesn't erase our works too soon. Hope that one or two people appreciate what we have done.

Today was to be a gig at Characters celebrating the birthday of two regulars...a bartender and a patron.
But as chance would have it it was raining all night and continuing into today.
No worries, let's just do it next weekend.

"Ernie, we have a gig next weekend at the Back Door."
"Ok"
"Can we do both?"
"Why not, Jerry?"

I can do it all. I know this. Musically speaking...
I can do whatever Jerry wants and then some. He whipped out some Santana on me yesterday, thinking I wouldn't know the tunes.
He started with 'Jingo' and the followed with 'Samba Pa Ti.'
Puhlease...I cut my guitar teeth listening to Santana. I am the  guy when it comes to Santana.
'Europa...' Ha!
Do you have something of a challenge for me here?
I can do this...and well!

When it's good, when the notes fit like dovetailed joints...it can bring me joy that can make me weep.
I had been watching footage of Hendrix at Woodstock recently and I noticed a facial expression he and I share.
An indrawn cheek, introspective face...It's the joy face!

It's all he can do to keep from weeping with joy - "this shit really works!"
(Try keeping a straight face on stage when people are yelling your name in praise and you happen to agree with them) It is as much a face of self-discovery as it is self assured.

Certain (who am I kidding?...many) songs can bring this out in me. Maybe it is the difficulty of the passage that feeds me. Or perhaps it's the feeling the song suggests. The lyrics. Many different reasons.

The tunes themselves have very little in common.
One by Loggins and Messina, a couple by the Stones, Zappa...and on & on.
A disparate group if ever there was one.
It's music.

I hope the effect never wears off.

Subliminal Message

When Verizon offered a Droid phone at no cost to me, I acquiesced.
Shortly afterwards I decided to get a case. I found a brand I liked...in black, red, blue, silver or purple.

The purple spoke to me.
Frequently I heed my first instinct...when my spidey sense tingles I try to follow it. (The trick being the ability to distinguish a first instinct from a suggestion made by your drunken monkey)
Fine, I'll continue to be a rebel...purple cover it is.

It is a nice cover, does the job well and feels welcoming to the touch.

The other night I was noodling on my Jaguar with the phone laying on the coffee table.
I finished what I was playing and tossed the pick on top of the phone.

(Can you see the light bulb going off over my head?)

Dare To Dream?

Some people reach for the stars - most however just want the stars handed to them.
Dare to dream? Sure...but pursue it! Or it's naught but a wet dream.

On Saturday we had a jam session that became a huge powow to discuss the state of, "The Band." I thought I would just ignore the conversation and jam, but I was sucked in.
(Gawd, I need to fix this)

One is plotting the deepest, heaviest band since The Beatles. The setlist he envisions reads like a party from 1973 when The Outlaws and The Dead were de rigur.
Never mind that we don't have the talent to cover the parts he sees and hears. I love dreamers; I am one. However I have a need that transcends inaction and dreaming. It was unleashed a year or so ago. I was somewhat slow to pickup on the change inside. I just knew that creation and allowing other people to share the joy music brings me was a mission in life, nah - it is basic sustenance. Without sharing we are truly alone. But to add to his woes, he frequently has to hock his amp to pay one bill or another. Next idea...

The next great idea tossed out is catered gigs, after all - why do people come out? Food and music? Of course this reminded me that we do not all share the same point of reference. That connection can be even more rare. The plot might have merit but it's not music. Next...

How about a female singer? She is pregnant...So she'll be gone after the birth of the twins she is carrying. And what happens when her water breaks on stage? Next genius to the podium.

Jerry has a gig (actually several), same ole tired set list:
Suzie Q
Little Sister
Que Paso
Funky Music
Gloria
I Can See Clearly Now
Margaritaville
Wooly Bully
La Bamba

And he wants to rehearse them, not just - "wing it."

A collective groan goes up. Sets of eye roll.
I got sucked in...

"Hey guys, Jerry is the only one at this table that has paid me to play, gotten gig after gig, et cetera. Until you beat his track record, I'm playing while you continue to dream, m'kay?"

Music IS a popularity contest. But in the making of it, it has to be from the heart and concrete. I will pursue my own thing. I have my own head full of ideas, I don't need to compromise to share it with others as I can do that solo.
But for today, I will play with Jerry. He makes me smile...music makes me happy.

Whistle While You Work - Go Go 2011

Wood Brothers & Carsie Blanton (Friday 2/4)

Jam at George Harrisons (Saturday 1/15)

Gig with Status and Steve in Rancho Cucamonga (Sunday 2/6)

A pile of books (fifteen or more)

Where do people find the time? I have so much to do and so little free time. And yet I have enough time to lounge about and compose.
As a species, we humans are very strange animals. My dogs know enough to lay in the sun and run when I pour food. But for some reason I feel out of it if I am not in motion. Sitting makes me dull and witless.

This year started with a bang and I have found that even a moment of dowtime is too much for me. Do not confuse quiet reflection with downtime.
I have written two tunes, auditioned for a new band (A Beatles Tribute) and generally kept inventive and energetic. Whew - all good.

On the technology front I got a new phone - a smartphone. (Free, I paid sales tax, only)
It has been a boon in everyway. I dictated lyrics while walking through my neighborhood. The moment struck and I just clicked the record button and voila. How many times I have lost an inspiring thought due to lack of paper and pen.
[sigh]

It is NOT for games, but productivity.
My goodness, this rings true!
I have an application that allows me to compose and another that contains a chord library. The virtual recorder is worth the price of admission, alone.
And as of yet, I have not become tethered to the phone. I can put it down, unlike some people I have seen.
I recently saw two people eating lunch. As the meal concluded, they both picked up their phones and began texting in isolation. It was a surreal sight.
There are limits, people - use them!

Even the television has been better than usual. Where it had settled into a medocre lull last September, it has come roaring out of the new years gate in a most enjoyable way.

I hope everyone has a great 2011.
If you are in town February 4th and would like to see the Wood Brothers and Carsie Blanton, drop me a line.

OD Of A Different Sort

I have a thing for OD (overdrive) pedals - those little wonders that allow your amp to sound as if the tubes are fully cranked and the sound is then said to be, "breaking up."
When the sine wave produced by the amp gets boosted beyond what the amp was made to put out, the tops of the waves are clipped off - the amp is said to be clipping...thank you, Captain Obvious.
This is what OD pedals are trying to simulate.

Too often, they are pseudo distortion pedals - fuzz boxes in OD clothing. It is much easier to muddy the signal - make is a square wave (fuzz tone) than cause it to go into clipping.
Toward this end I must have half a dozen OD pedals - each nice in their own way. Some better than others with a particular guitar.

Marshall makes, or made  two fine OD pedals in the BluesBreaker (still produced) and the Guv'nor (both version I & II are out of production, but can be found on eBay).
Boss makes several - I have only used the BD-2 and at that, sparingly. It is a very loud pedal. To compensate I have to cut the amps overall volume even further.
I also have a sample of DanElectro gear - The Fab OD, a very servicable box with little to distinguish it from any other.

Before Thanksgiving I learned I had an upcoming gig and I knew I would need an OD that at that moment I didn't possess. Something very crisp and lacking all 'cream.' Creamy is the adjective tagged to most ODs. A thick sound - as though it were humbuckers, even if it wasn't. Sustain in abundance. And most of the time, that's a good thing.
But for this gig, I needed clean Fender twang with a bit of punch to it.

Joe Satrianai has attached his name to a line of pedals made by Vox. Not my favorite musical concern. I dislike the amps they make today. But one day while perusing at Styles Music, Pomona I spied a 'Satchurator.' Much like Emelda Marcos and shoes I have a thing for pedals. Many guitarists do. Always searching for perfect tone. Whatever that may happen to be this week. You see, the target is elusive and constantly moving. A fact we musicians ignore. But I got the Satchurator and really grew to love the pedal. Well made and very versatile.

I noticed on Google, reviews for another Vox pedal in the Satriani line, called the Ice 9.
Everything I read sounded as though this would be a perfect addition to my pedal board for the gig. Joe has a thing about having a second switch on his boxes allowing for a 10db boost.
In the case of the Satchurator, it is perfect. Two levels of punch.
The problem was that Styles did not have one in stock; I would be forced to deal with the demon Guitar Denter.
Guitar Center is to music what Wal-Mart is to the American standard of living - a huge detriment.
But I needed this pedal and I needed it it now. The gig was Saturday and it was Wednesday already.

I've had it a month or so and have grown to really appreciate Satriani's input into these pedals. Again, the second boost is fantastic, although do not double up on both and expect anything other than Hendrix.
Besides the standard Gain, Tone (high cut) and Volume dials (chicken heads), they have included a Bass dial, not a cut - a boost.
This pedal is clean - when driven hard...this pedal is clean. No mud, no cream. Just an honest punch up.
All the pedals in the line sport nice thick baked on enamel paint, the Satchurator is Ferrari Red while the Ice 9 is..Icy White.
The only downside to these two fine pedals is their size - they are beefy, wide pedals.