What A Year

A FaceBook friend started a thread about how many books she has read, shows she attended, et cetera as a "year end" theme..Upon reflecting back on my year, I came to half her totals.
(She is a dedicated "doer", mortals need not apply)

But, I still had some very nice pluses for the year.

Over one hundred times this year I donned a guitar and played for others.
That was incredible. It was once aspect that buoyed me immensely...usually just when needed. As far as payment, I think I netted $500 for the year. Sigh...

Note to self - more paying gigs, less payment in kind.

The fun factor was easily the motivation. My love of music and my ego certainly had a great time of it.
I learned many, many new tunes. Many people would not consider that a worthwhile accomplishment. I treasure learning new things - a pointed reminder that I traveled that road well.
Oh...I learned to sing and play. Major accomplishment. Huge.

I also saw many acts this year. varied - from the Davies brothers - The Kinks - albeit separately, to a Canadian folk hero -  Bruce Cockburn...to an Australian singer, Ry Cuming.
Blues, rock, flatpicking, singers, jazz...I saw it all. It helped to expand my horizons greatly. That, in turn, garnered my playing praise and still more gigs.

I read a fair amount. Not as many as last year, though. If you include manuals, reference books, and blogs, then perhaps...

Two friends released new CDs. Although I can't count these as my accomplishments, I do love to see friends doing well.

2010 was not half bad.

Happy Birthday, Jesus...

Merry Christmas, to the rest of you.
May the coming year be better than the preceding one.
May you find happiness in everything you do.

Too Plugged In?

Most of us have cell phones. If you are reading this you have a computer and a connection to the Internet. You may have a GPS in your car. Many of us have FaceBook (or FB) accounts, MySpace accounts, Twitter Accounts...you get the idea. Smartphones, small PCs, really.They are everywhere. Are we too plugged in?
Yes, I think so...sometimes.

Musicians, do you record to a computer? There are people with no amps, nor effects to speak of and yet they have at their command all the toys that the rest of us pay a dear price to buy. Referred to as 'modeling' it is the practice of simulating virtually any sound; be it a particular amp or an effect. Get the right package and you can play through Jimi's amp and pedals without the use of floor space or depleting your bank account.

There are several interfaces between your instrument and your PC. GuitarPort, is one. It has gotten to the point that I saw a show last year in which not one amp was visible. They sounded great. But to me, something was missing. Those glowing blue or red pilot lights or the flutter of an EQ in a corner.
There are also a school of purists, who will insist nothing but analog one inch tape will do.

I find myself in the middle in that I will use technology, but at a decidedly slower pace. I record to a sixteen track recorder. Although it is not tape, it is digital. But it is intuitive as any reel to reel user can see.

I use the PC mainly to help with composition. I also use it for a final mixdown. But I don't use Jimi's amp and pedal collection.
I still like microphones, and boom stands and cables snaked back and forth. There is something very organic about it. The smell of a tube amp that has been well played for a few hours.
And pages in between my fingers. I still have a sizable collection of vinyl records. I am not ready to give up the analog experience, yet.

We are approaching a time when everything will go digital. No more books, or CDs - everything delivered over your Internet connection...instantly. I'm sure someone will squirrel a nice assortment away in a mountain retreat. A library of Alexandria for the Analogs.


But while technology has made many things better and easier, I am very sad at the prospect of this consolidation coming to pass.

It Isn't Always About Us

We tend to think the world revolves around us. All humans. Now throw some musical aspirations into the mix and it can be lethal.

Yesterday I had a gig to play at the 50th Anniversary Shindig thrown for the Canales, Ricardo and Marie - by their children - Steve and Karmen.
We arrived early and set up with time to spare. The room was covered in decorations which led me to believe that we as a band were under-dressed.  This looked like a tuxedo styled gig.
Jerry told me not to worry. This was the second anniversary party that he & I have worked this past year, and he also reminded me that the other was also a 50th celebration.
"100 years...," he smiled and shook his head.
His point was, they are here for reasons other than you and I. We are window dressing...we are decorations...creators of ambiance is the best we can hope for.

As the people filtered in, my apprehension increased. The women were in gowns for the most part. The men in suits. Jerry and I were in shirt and tie.
"We need jackets, at least..."
"Shhhh, relax."

When there were perhaps twenty people and they were beginning to clump at tables getting hors d'oeuvres or a drink, Jerry and I began to play.

'Ain't She Sweet.' Mild applause. 'Witchcraft.' More mild applause. I spent a lot of time on these songs, I was beginning to think something was amiss. Was my fly open? What was it?
Jerry was beaming. Was he drunk? What was I missing?
We played four more tunes and took a short break.

"Wow, they love us," Jerry said - smiling from ear to ear.
"Are we at the same function? They aren't paying attention at all. Only a handful are dancing."

We played another set. The people ate. The requisite toasts to the happily married couple were made and made again. Some cousin  with video equipment was recording the event for future generations of Canales.
We played, "Wouldn't It Be Nice." A couple of youngsters were trying their best to dance as they had seen the adults doing. It was very cute, indeed.

Nobody was looking at Jerry and I. No one came to the bandstand to compliment us. It was restaurant staff that offered food and drink.

"See kid, they are here for a party; this is not a concert or a show. As long as we don't set fire to the curtains they will have fond memories of you and me. Although they won't remember a single song we played."

I got it. I am a persistent student if nothing else. It may take awhile but I will get it. From that point on I really enjoyed myself. After all, I was here for a party.

Turn It Down

In 1970, I bought the new album by a favorite group of mine, Mountain  - which was called, 'Nantucket Sleighride.' There, inside the opening cover was the admonition, "To Be Played At Maximum Volume."
Being the obedient fourteen year old that I was (yeah, right) I took this advice to heart. How many times my father came down to my room in the basement to ask/tell/scream to turn the volume down?
So I very well understand the reaction volume and good music can produce in young people.

Around the age of nineteen, I discovered a new style of music that didn't use volume to get its point across. It relied on the message of the lyrics. I also discovered Sonic II ear valves. I have been using them ever since. Preserving my hearing, which is very sensitive, is very important to me.

Tonight I was at a club in Hollywood watching a excellent young man being drowned out by his own music. I must be in the minority. Most of the people in attendance were happy to shout above the music...carrying on as though this were a basement party I attended most weekends while in high school.

A friend and I recently observed that it seems as though high school never really ends.I think this true. The cliques, the rivalries...all of it is intact at age fifty something. Could this be the reasoning behind the decibel level? Were we really just at another keg party while someones parents were absent?

I'm not sure. I also don't worry about it as far as music is concerned. I play the way I want to, and if others find it enjoyable...far out. One of the few criticisms I had to endure this year was that I play too softly. And more than once, I shot back - "Then turn it down."

Get My Mojo Woikin'

Most instruments have what their players will variously describe as "mojo," "history," "stories to tell," "personality," et cetera.
The older an instrument is the greater its history is assumed to be. Surely a violin that is four hundred years old and worth (this I think is a great part of the catch) millions has to have better tone than a brand new violin produced at the same shop. It just makes sense?
It never has to me. There may, in fact, be building techniques they previously employed or materials used that are the reason for the tone and so we see why some pieces might be sought after.

But to this day, much if not most of it is speculation or the will to believe in something magic.
Why would a guitar once owned by Jimi Hendrix make MY playing any better? It's silly to think that way, no?
Musicians would, for the most part, disagree. They believe in magic when it comes to their instrument and the effect it has on their playing.

It started when collectors in the 1980s began buying old Les Pauls at ridiculous prices. All of a sudden, classic Gibson was worth ten twenty, one hundred times the original price. And at that point, players felt the mojo risin'.

I have six guitars, the oldest is an incredibly cheap and yet wonderful nylon stringed classical guitar. It has no mojo (aside from a sticker that reads, "Are you stoned or stupid?"), it DOES have wonderful tone.
The rest are all 2007 or newer. Would having a 1962 Jag, worth $4,000 make my playing sound better than the $800 Jag that it happens to be? Nah...

Part Duex - Relicing
The act of intentionally aging a guitar to make it appear older than it happens to be.

Rusted screws and hardware - worn paint. I've never had any of my guitar in that conditions and I do not baby them in any way. The gold plating wears off. The knobs show accumulated dirt. but for a guitar to look like this, someone had to employ sandpaper. No arm I've met sweats paint off. Oh, and Fender will charge you a premium for aged guitars. There are many techs out there that for a substantial fee, will soak your knobs in coffee grounds, use the above mentioned sandpaper and drop implements like screwdrivers onto your guitar in an effort to make the guitar appear as though it has stories to tell. We can delve into the world of fakes and counterfeit guitars another time.

There is one other effect aging has on finished wooden instruments that I have seen and witnessed, that I do enjoy.
It's referred to as, "checking."
When Mr. Gibson first began (the end of the 19th century), furniture was coated with nitrocellulose lacquers.
These lacquers do not react well to sudden changes in temperature. If a guitar which has been outside in the cold is then exposed to moderately warm room temperatures, as the wood expands, the finish cracks - checking.
Like the spiderweb cracks in old porcelain, the checking itself can be beautiful.

Part  Trois - Polyurethane/Polyester - Modern Finishes
Poly finishes are not supposed to check. They are plastic. (We can discuss whether a plastic finish strangles the tone another time),  What I would guess is Fender and others use a nitro undercoat - that will yellow with time and then finalize it with a poly overcoat.
The reason I would hazard this guess is I have been temperature cycling my MIM Jaguar. If poly doesn't relic, why am I doing this?

I lay the guitar outside in the hot sun for an hour and then bring the guitar into the cool, shaded house several times a day. The wood expands and then shrinks.
At night I am reversing the extreme, but still cycling. An hour out in the cold night air and then into the warm house.

Most relicing I have seen is produced horizontal to the body.

After just one day of a couple of cycles I began to see very fine cracks in the undercoat.
The guitar is smooth to the touch. And they run almost vertically. Northwest to Southeast if one were to hold the guitar up by the neck. If they get to the point where I can photograph them, I will.
Now, to spot the lines easily I have to look into the reflection of a light source - a line will be evident and the image will be distorted like a broken mirror.
As I am fond of saying - we'll see.

Strange daze, indeed.

Laura Birdsong

A good friend from New Jersey has released a wonderful CD called, 'Crazy Wisdom.'
I'd heard a song from the CD but until it arrived today, I had no idea of the treat waiting for me.

Laura has a voice that was formed by living with the bees and the bears by a lake. I think that she always lived by this lake - even when in suburban N.J. It seems to be an integral part of her since forever.
Because the music and thought flow with a practiced rhythm that seems to have existed since the beginning of time. Her music never feels contrived...the words are not forced to fit. They just work.
She's a poet with a natural soul.

She also gathered together a wonderful group of musicians to help her with the project.
Bru Rossman, Mike Ferrara, Billy Karcher, Gerry Griffen, Dave Moore, Don Sternecker, Delaynie Rudner & Meg Beattie.

The CD release party will be:
"Upstairs" at Tierney's Tavern
136-138 Valley Road
Montclair, NJ
Sunday, November 21 · 2:00pm - 4:00pm

Congratulations Laura!!!