"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

So, today was the last day of the year, and therefore the last day of the binder challenge.  All told, I thought it was a success.  Is it as complete as I had hoped it would be?  No.  However, I did spend the month accumulating all of the resources that I thought should make up a starting point for learning in the new year, which was ultimately the point of the exercise. Other things that happened today: 1) I finally got around to checking out the pictures that my boss took when we had Sonia Leigh in the store for her performance.  Really cool photographs. 2) I checked out a CD that a customer had dropped off for me a while back that I just hadn't gotten around to listening to.  It sounds like it could have come from the 60's, and was pretty enjoyable all around.  A good send-up of classic Brit-Rock sound. Tomorrow starts the new calendar year, and I begin with a binder full of resources to learn from, a few questions to answer about said binde...

Left work early today.  Went to the doctor.  Waited around so long to even see anyone that I was wishing I had brought a guitar, because at least that way I could have accomplished something useful. When I finally got home, I dug out the folder I had talked about last night, and I started wading through everything that was there.  I found a lot of stuff, including resources from all 3 teachers I've ever taken lessons from (the other 2, aside from Jay, were Terry Bowe and Chuck Worm).  I learned more from Jay and Chuck than I did from Terry, but a good portion of the basic info was from Terry.  Looking back on it now, I wish there had been some sort of way I could have continued to take lessons from Chuck in 2003.  I learned a lot from him in a relatively short period of time, and one of the reasons for that was his ability to break things down, and successfully explain the theory that ran behind the music. Part of the reason for that, I think, was that ...

I stumbled across a song and a band that I love tonight.  This, on its own, shouldn't come as a surprise to those who follow my musical ramblings.  What came as a bit of a surprise to me is that I already own most of their records, including the one that the song I re-discovered is on. The Clarks are a band out of Pittsburgh that shot to some acclaim in the mid 90's/early 2000's with a bunch of really catchy, well written rock songs.  Most notably among them were "Better Off Without You," and the song I dusted off tonight, "Cigarette." How, you may be wondering, does this fit into my binder goal, especially at this late of a time in the month, when I'm supposed to be focused on it as much as possible?  Easy.  At one point in the years I took lessons, I had a guitar teacher (a fantastic player named Jay Stulo) work up a tab for "Cigarette."  If I recall correctly, it isn't all that tough of a song to master, but remembering this led ...

Sat down tonight with a guitar and a few of the books that are going to be involved in the binder going forward.  One of those books, The Complete Guitarist by Richard Chapman, is going to be a solid resource that will form a decent chunk of the basic foundation for the binder.  I've had the book for a long time, and I've always known that the "playing" section builds step by step toward a better understanding of the instrument. I didn't spend enough time with the books, but that will happen in the next three days, as I try to put a bow on the month by having something to start the new year with. I ordered something at work today that I maybe shouldn't have, but did it anyway.  It's the Tender Mercies album, featuring Dan and Jim from Counting Crows.  Included on the record are new versions of songs the Crows have covered live, including "Wise Blood" (a song I love), "Four White Stallions" (another song I love), and "Mercy,...

I've been kicking around the notion that I'm going to post something on lyrics for more than a week tonight, and it's finally time.  Fair warning going into this, though, there may well be ideas in this post that some will disagree with, perhaps violently.  Nonetheless, I'm not scared.  The impetus for this post goes back almost two weeks.  The last time SL was in town, she was blasting Eminem as we headed out to dinner.  Eminem has always been a bit of a tough sell for me.  He's clever, he's catchy, but at the end of the day, I've never been able to see myself owning anything more than a "best of" when it comes to his music.  And yet, somehow, I feel it in my soul that the world needs him.  How do I know this?  It started when he "retired" for about 5 years.  He lampoons/comments on a part of pop culture in such a way that, when his voice is absent, the space where it ought to be is noticeably empty.  And his turns of phrase are ...

It feels good to be back in the saddle, blog-wise, after my holiday break.  There's so much that feels within my grasp right now, and so many things to finish off.  The craziness of December at work has passed for another season, and the week-long run up to the first of the year is going to be a good time for me to get things in order, so that I hit the ground running come January 1. The rest of the week needs to be spent focused in on assembling the pieces of the binder, so that I have at least a skeleton to start the year with.  I'm closer to having that than I was on the first of December, but I know that I can be closer still in the next few days. One of the things I know I need to do a better job on in the new year is keeping a record of what I'm working on (and how much I'm playing).  Just picking up the guitar every day hasn't been enough to see the steady progress I'm looking for.  Realistically, I can't expect to get to the 50 hours/week mark th...

Okay, so... I've got a bunch of stuff I want to write about, but I've got to dash off to work and do a bit of traveling tonight.  Therefore, it's entirely possible that I'll be taking the rest of today and all of tomorrow off, what with tomorrow being Christmas and all.  If I find a spare moment, however, there will be a post, so stay tuned!

I know I said I was going to spend some serious time working on the binder tonight, and that was my intention all day long.  And then I wound up staying an hour and a half late at work thanks to the holiday insanity.  After that, what felt more my speed on getting home was to sort through all 34 tracks that the band has been able to record.  Some of these tracks are 30 second snippets of music, mind you, it's not like we've got 34 songs finished and waiting to be sorted through.  To give you some sort of idea, all 34 tracks add up to less than 2 hours of music. Anyway, I listened to everything, or at least enough of everything to make some sort of decision as to whether or not it might fit on the record.  I'm trying to come at this from my own perceptions of whether or not the songs will fit together as a cohesive collection of music.  Trying to listen and see what the songs will need to take them from where they are right now to where they need to be, an...

Insanely busy day at work today!  I got up early this morning, and made it down to Half Price Books to exchange the guitar licks DVD I had gotten the other day.  I simply swapped out the one that skipped for one that (hopefully) won't skip.  Haven't gotten a chance to try it out yet, but hey, there's always tomorrow night for that. Tonight when I got home, I took a few minutes for myself, just to sit and decompress, and then I took a quick look at what I've laid out for the binder thus far.  I'm trying to piece together a series of small steps that (hopefully) won't take too long to complete, but will push the progress forward on the binder.  I stumbled across something else I had started way back when that has only been half finished, so that seems like a logical place to begin.  Aside from locating the notes in each key on fretboard diagrams, I had also started what I recognize now as a theory notebook, where I was jotting down vital info (notes, number...

Played a bit of electric tonight after work as a way to wind down from an otherwise hectic day.  I'm trying to sort out in my head what the process is for getting everything done that needs to get done with the band.  I'm really feeling right now like the obvious first step is to sit down with everything we have (demos, progressions, bits of lyric, etc) and just see what jumps out at me.  Find the spots where, were it entirely up to me, certain songs would be included and certain songs would be pushed to the side.  I'd even go so far as to break it down verse by verse from a lyrical standpoint.  It just makes sense to me to take stock of what's there, especially considering how little work has gotten done since August. As for the rest of my playing, I need to just dive headlong into some of the main resources for the binder.  I've got 9 days before the end of the month, and I'm really needing to start taking that project seriously again.  It's fallen...

So, a couple of days ago, SL sent me a link to a blog post by Jon Acuff.  He wrote a great book called Quitter about how to get from your day job to your dream job.  This blog post of his got its genesis from much the same place as my own blog sprung to life.  He posted on his birthday about how great he was at starting things, and about how not-so-great he was at finishing things.  Then he issued a challenge to the people who follow his blog:  make a "finish list" of things you want to get done in 2012, and follow up/through on it.  After thinking about it for a couple of days, I'm doing this. Here's the link to Acuff's post.  http://www.jonacuff.com/blog/ the-hardest-part-of-a-project- is-also-the-most-important/ And here's what I'm certain is going on my list: 1) The record with B. I'm tired of looking at it not being done.  I'm tired of waiting on other people.  If I've got to refurbish a currently defunct laptop and find ProTools...

I haven't been late with a post in a very long time, but it happened today.  And I don't even have an amazingly spectacular story as to why it happened.  I fell asleep on the couch.  Go me. I had a few interesting things happen musically today.  All of the quirky variety. 1) Had lunch with K., who was in town from Waterloo for a day.  Went to Olive Garden.  Felt like old times.  All she had asked for from me this Christmas was volume two of the "Songs To Frighten Customers" mix that I had made a few years back.  I thought it was going to be tough to find more songs.  It wasn't.  So I got her that, and she got me a book of staff paper from B&N, where she titled all the pages with Gibbs rules from NCIS.  This makes me happy.  Partly because it's Gibbs, but mostly because some of them will make really cool song titles.  Maybe that will be a bit of inspiration when I start writing again. 2) In celebration of the old ...

I picked up the Rich Robinson record today at work.  Got it essentially free.  Gift cards are cool.  I got through the first track on the way home, brought it inside to finish listening to, and then life took over for a bit.  I'm listening to his first solo effort as I type this.  I'm sure I'll get around to listening to/importing the new one in the next couple of days.  I'm off both tomorrow and Tuesday, and I'm excited for the break, both for musical and sanity purposes.  The holiday stress at work is starting to bubble up a bit.  What I need right now is exactly what I have time for: some serious time with a guitar. That said, it feels really quiet here tonight.  Some part of me wants to fill up that quiet with listening (Black Keys, JD McPherson, the aforementioned Rich Robinson), but I'm feeling like a little bit of playing and maybe some examination of where I sit on the binder with 13ish days before the end of the month would be a go...

One of the things I love about my job in the far corner of the music business is the fact that, periodically, I stumble upon a new (or sometimes older) record that I'm completely unaware of.  Such an event happened today at work, and it made me immediately put the record I discovered on hold.  It's a new disc by Rich Robinson.  For those who don't know, Rich is one half of the brother combo that makes up the brain-trust of the Black Crowes.  I bought his first solo album, Paper , after the Crowes broke up/went on hiatus/whatever they did back in the early 2000's.  It was obvious to me then, immediately on listening to that record, who wrote the lion's share of the music for that band.  Lyrically, it may not have been pure genius, but that album was teeming with interesting musical decisions.  That alone makes me excited to hear his new album. Also of note.  I had an interesting discussion with SL tonight about lyrics that spurred the kernel of a...

Relatively slow day today.  Got up late, but still had enough time to play a bit of guitar.  Ran through the blues stuff from yesterday again, just to get the notes feeling better underneath my fingers.  Like learning anything new, the licks will take some time to seep in.  Learning the right fingerings and the right picking patterns seem to be the toughest parts right now, though.  The notes themselves aren't all that tough. I'm also noticing that my tab reading abilities are improving.  All those numbers aren't quite as intimidating as they used to be, and it's getting easier to translate them into music that sounds like it's supposed to sound, so this is good news. Improvement is supposed to be wide-spread.  One of my downfalls in the last year and a half is that I've gotten too focused in on specific things.  Working on the binder is forcing me to consider all areas of my playing which, in the long run, will do me a lot of good.  Stil...

I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped I would, I'll admit that right off the top tonight.  That being said, I still accomplished a few things worth noting, and in the process I found a couple more resources for the binder. I found a couple of small books that had gotten themselves stuck in the middle of a bunch of random music resources on a low shelf.  They're part of the "100 Killer Licks & Chops" series.  I found the Blues one and the Rock Guitar one.  Half Price Books purchases both. Coolest part of that?  The books come with CDs that have audio examples of each lick and/or chop in the book.  I went through some of the blues ones today, because they felt like they fit in with the Clapton stuff from the last few days. Also, broke down and bought something off of itunes tonight.  It's a record by a guy named JD McPherson, and it's the closest, freshest thing to 50's rock & roll that I've heard since Stop, Drop, & Roll b...

I had every intention of coming home from work tonight and practicing.  When I got home, however, there was an email waiting for me from B. with 4 songs/parts of songs in it that she had recorded and wanted to send to me.  It's exciting to have band stuff to listen to/work on again.  I listened to all 4 ideas, and the one I feel the strongest about is the one she likes the least.  The idea that the song she thinks is just something short to throw at the end of the record is something that I can see as being longer and more involved than that strikes me as funny.  I'm looking at these demo as ideas, not things that are set in stone.  Either way, it'll give me a non-binder portion of my day tomorrow.  A songwriting portion, which is really cool. There will also be a Clapton portion, as working through "I'm Tore Down" has been fun, and is something that needs to be seen through to the end now. From there, I'd like to work through some of the Vai, and ...

I tried to practice deliberately today.  I was successful, at least for a while, by going back to something I had started to work on last year sometime.  I revisited another one of my abandoned projects, if you will.  The project of note was Clapton's version of "I'm Tore Down."  I had started learning that sometime early on in the life of the blog, and then gotten away from it around the time of the "Stairway" experiment.  In going back tonight, I made sure that I was focused in during the bit of time that I had, so that, even if it wasn't enough for me, I would still get something that felt like progress out of it. I started with the scale that all of the riffs & licks are based on (C minor pentatonic).  I played through it slowly at first, and then with increasing speed.  I discovered that, having done a little bit of work last year, both the scale and the backing guitar parts felt familiar underneath my fingers more quickly than I had expecte...

I got an email today from SL with a link to an interesting blog post.  The post details a study of practice habits.  It dates from the early '90s, and discusses two groups of violinists in West Berlin.  The scientists involved wanted to study the differences between violinists who were on the way to professional performers, and those who were on a path to teach the instrument, but not play professionally.  They were curious about practice habits, amounts of time put in on the instrument per week, and the like. Here's what they discovered.  Each group spent roughly the same amount of time (50 hours) per week practicing their instrument.  The differences, they discovered, were in other spots.  The professional players consolidated their work into two distinct sessions per day (one in the morning, one in the afternoon).  They also devoted about 3x more of their time to deliberate practice.  This, as defined by psychology professor Anders Erics...

I've been kicking something around for the last couple of days.  I'm not sure whether there's a place for it in the binder, but I feel like some part of learning to play ought to involve reading about the artists that inspire us to do what we do.  Whether it's about their songwriting, their playing, or just their lives, I feel like the musicians that have come before me have something to say about my journey.  Admittedly, it shouldn't be a large component, because the true focus is in the playing and the attention to practicing well, but still. I'm off tomorrow, and I can't wait to dive in and just play for a while.  I'm sure there will be a bit of work done with the Vai workout, I'd like to focus in on either the "rock guitar" DVD from Guitar World, or the "lead guitar" one.  The other big thing I'd like to get accomplished tomorrow is to do some reading in the studio manuals that I have.  If I'm smart, I'll also tr...

Not a whole lot to report today.  I worked in the middle of the day, and my Dad was in town unexpectedly for the weekend, so that took care of my evening, but it did so in a good way.  So, I didn't get much done in the way of music today, but I swear that tomorrow I'll get back on the horse and kick some serious musical butt!

Rocking the rest of the new Black Keys record as I type this.  This band just keeps getting better and better with each record.  Picked up the new Guitar World tonight.  Cool little article with Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline on the new Wilco record.  Wasn't quite long enough for me, but then again, I could read about that band for days on end. Sat with the acoustic for a few minutes tonight.  I'm really wanting/needing to start writing songs again.  I don't care whether it's for the band or for some solo project that I don't quite know I'm working on yet, I just need to start again.  I'm finding cool sounds on the instrument, and that inspires me to write songs. At the same time, I'm feeling the need to crank up the electric too.  I suppose that I'm just wanting to play more than I have.  I know I talked about putting together the binder being a more academic process thus far than a musical one.  I'm starting to feel like at least a f...

Skyped with B. for a bit tonight.  I wanted to banter back and forth a bit about the conversation I had with R. last night.  We decided, collectively, that the issue lies more with all three of us and our level of commitment to getting things finished off in a timely manner.  I think that she and I need to figure out exactly what it is we want out of these songs, how we want them to sound, and stand firm on some things while letting him offer suggestions as he sees fit.  Basically, we need to be in control of our own band. I've been so focused on the paper side of putting together the binder that I've forgotten to play for the last few days.  Picked up the electric for a little bit today, however, and it was good.  Instead of feeling like I was knocking the rust off of my fingers, I could feel them reaching for notes, exploring more than being hesitant, so that was cool. About the only thing of consequence I got done in relation to the binder today was ...

I got halfway through the new Black Keys record this morning.  Absolutely loving it thus far. Had an interesting discussion with R. tonight over pizza and beer.  She asked how things were going with the band, and I told her that things had hit a wall because J.'s studio was down.  We talked about how it felt like not too long ago that I had been home, and songs were being worked on and everything was moving along at a really quick pace.  Then we figured out that those things all happened in August .  She proceeded to ask me what it was that J. brought to the table that I couldn't do myself, if I so desired.  What were the answers?  1) ProTools 2) Education Then I admitted that, given an entire day locked in with only music stuff to focus on, I could probably figure out tempos on everything, throw together some rudimentary drum tracks, and plow ahead on my own.  I told her that I'd feel better about the whole project if we were partially don...

I got something crossed off the list of bare-bones binder stuff done tonight: I finished off the last half of the note sheets for all of the keys.  That had been the last piece of the things that I had started last year sometime.  I know it's a small step, but it really feels like crossing off one of the small things that will let me move on to bigger and better challenges ahead.  I'm glad that's finished, and I think it will be really helpful, because when you're trying to get to where you know you need to be, it's one thing to know the steps you need to take, but it's entirely another to see them all laid out in front of you. R. sent me a text message today, practically begging for me to set aside the new Black Keys record for her when I got to work.  I did.  And I set aside one for myself as well.  I picked them both up at the end of my shift.  We're having dinner/drinks after I get done with work tomorrow, so she'll get her copy then.  I, on...

I undertook the tough part of the binder prep. today: I sorted through the guitar magazines that had accumulated in my hall closet, searching for anything that might hold a key to further learning.  Also, I was searching for all of Richard Lloyd's Alchemical Guitarist columns, as I want to include them in the binder.  Apparently, Guitar World has produced a couple of DVDs chronicling Lloyd's columns, so it might be beneficial for me to hunt those down as well. Side note: I'd really like to find some Brian Setzer stuff to include.  I've got a book on his technique, but his rockabilly/swing style fascinates me.  Maybe video would come in handy there too. Lloyd's columns ran from August of 2007 to sometime in 2009.  If anyone can pinpoint and end-date on those (or, technically, a going-on-hiatus date), they would be doing better than I.  I'm pretty sure I'm missing an issue in there somewhere, but if worst comes to worst, I can always contact GW and order ...

I spent the entire day thinking about having tomorrow off so I can spend the day working on the binder.  It makes me happy to think that the very basics are covered, but I'm starting to uncover sections that will need to be added in.   Here's what I've discovered in my thinking today. 1) There needs to be a Beatles section.  Or something to that effect, anyway.  I've got the complete scores for everything they've ever done.  I've got every studio album they ever recorded.  I've got a few cool new magazines on them actually in the studio.  I refuse to believe that I can't learn about a bazillion useful things from making them an extended point of study. 2) There needs to be a songwriting section.  For a few reasons, actually.  The biggest of which is that I haven't done (or even tried to do) nearly enough of that in the last 4 months or so.  That makes me sad, so it's going in the binder.  Somewhere in there, I'm certain that the...

I got my brother's Christmas presents picked up today.  Cross that off the list of musical things to do before what, in all reality, will be the first week of January. The coolest thing happened tonight.  I got all of the piles of magazines and other musical resources off of my living room floor!  Granted, some/most of that is now being sorted out on my kitchen table, but hey, sometimes the starting of a project involves shifting resources from one point to another, right? I discovered something tonight, as well, the process I had started way back last year, which at least partly involved finding all of the notes in each key, and the subsequent spots to play them on the fretboard, had been started, but never finished off.  I had gotten about halfway through the circle of keys before giving up, though, so at least some of the work has been started.  That, to me, seems like the place to begin.  Finishing that small bit of the project is almost like finding ...

Day two of the binder project was productive, but before I get to that, I should mention the other cool things that happened today at work. 1) I had a regular customer come in and drop off his copy of the new Pearl Jam documentary "just in case I wanted to watch it."  Seriously, how awesome is that?  I'll still buy it eventually, but it's pretty cool that I get to check it out.  It's only the first disc, so I won't get to check out whatever the special features are, but hey, I can't complain when I get to borrow it, now can I? 2) I talked to G. at work about my brother's classical music addiction as it relates to Christmas presents.  Got some pretty sweet ideas from her, too.  That takes a bit of the pressure off for that one, and has the added bonus of kicking off my holiday shopping. The cool part about the second day of the binder thing is this:  I've got the absolute bare-bones, this is what I have, part out of the way. And so today I s...

A couple of quick hits tonight before I get to the biggest musical thing in my day: 1) Had a customer drop off a random CD today.  The cover looks like a 60's mod sort of thing.  Haven't cracked it open yet, but I'm very curious to see exactly what's hidden on that CD. 2) My manager brought in a CD with a bunch of pictures (11, if I remember correctly) that he took at the Sonia Leigh in-store performance.  Again, haven't yet checked them out, but knowing the stuff he gave me after the Corey Taylor gig, they ought to be some good shots. Started to wade into the binder tonight.  I started by going back and looking at what little I had done initially.  Here's what I'm starting from: - Fretboard Diagrams, labeled by key, with all of the notes in said key circled.  Those are done for every single key. - A notebook where I started a half-page for each key that has      1) All the notes in the scale written out.    ...

Yesterday's post has been picking away at the back of my mind all day.  I've turned it over so many times in the last 24 hours or so that I've lost count.  Here's what I've come to, conclusion-wise: 1) Still incredibly disappointed in the way that November went down.  That being said, I'm going to keep with the theme, and focus my work outside of the band on a specific thing during the month of December.  I'm going to move away from focusing in on a song, however, and instead turn my attention to whipping the much ballyhooed practice binder into some sort of existence.  I've clung to it as this mystical beacon of hope for far too long now, and still, not many of the pieces are in the places they need to be.  My new goal will be to have the binder in basic working order by the first of the year, so that I can begin next year with something more structured on which to base my study of the instrument. 2) I'm hoping that focusing in on the binder wil...

I did it.  I recorded a couple of songs today.  I got versions of "Miami" and "All I Have To Do Is Dream" down on tape.  I really liked the way the solo electric guitar stuff turned out, and really hated the way my voice sounded on the recordings.  I'm starting to remember why I found someone else to sing the songs I work on.  I've never really been satisfied with my voice all that much.  Or maybe I've just never tapped into using it the way it needs to be used.  Maybe I need to take singing lessons.  Maybe I should just refine my guitar chops and be a hired gun in that regard.  Production is probably the place for me if the band stuff doesn't work out well. I'm all over the place today, I can tell.  I'm not quite willing to call November an unmitigated disaster when it comes to the music, but it sure seems like it was close.  I didn't even get close to accomplishing as much as I set out to.  I'm disappointed with myself....

Played through "Miami" today.  I'm feeling pretty good about that one.  It'll definitely make the final cut for the EP. Dropped J. a line today, in an effort to re-open lines of communication/figure out where he's gotten to.  He got back to me tonight.  Apparently, the studio is down.  He's having mixer issues.  Hopefully, he says, it's just a power supply problem, and we will be back up and running soon.  This record would be done so much quicker if we were all in the same place.  Or if I had ProTools and could do what he does.  Makes me think that, with some of my Christmas money this year, I might just get myself ProTools and refurbish one of my old laptops exclusively for music usage.  Seems like a solid idea. Skyped a bit with B. tonight as well.  She's working on another song for the band.  I updated her on what's going on with J. and presented the notion that we ought to be figuring out tempo on the other songs we ha...

So, a co-worker told me about a song that her son had written and submitted to a songwriting contest.  She was excited about it, and wanted me to check it out.  It took her a while to get me the info, but yesterday, she handed me a sheet of paper and told me to check out that song.  Tonight I did.  Turns out that it's a contest sponsored by Guitar Center, and the grand prize is a 3 song demo to be recorded with John Shanks, $10,000 in cash, and free gear from a bunch of companies.  It looks really cool.  I wish I had known about it back in October, or whenever it was that the contest started.  I'd have written something and submitted it.  There were also some cool, short, videos by Mr. Shanks on the process of writing and recording.  Then again, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing. Still hoping to get a lot (EP & Song) done on my two day break from work.  One of the things that I struggle with, both when it comes to the music side ...

Had an interesting conversation with SL today before I headed off to work and she headed home.  "How's your November song coming?" she asked.  "Not so great," I said, "I probably won't get there." In that moment, I felt guilty.  I'm not surprised to have felt this way, but it spurred me on to make up for what hasn't gotten done thus far in November.  I've been thinking about that moment all day.  I'm working Sunday, but have both Monday and Tuesday off.  And it dawns on me in my crazy way that maybe, just maybe, I could go on some sort of run, get some recording done, and manage to throw "Classical Gas" together at the last minute, thereby skating out of November with a completed EP and a song learned (or mostly learned), thereby calling it an admittedly under the gun success. I started playing around with both the acoustic and the electric this morning.  Started with "Miami," and played a bit of "Goodni...

Went to see the new Muppet movie tonight with SL.  After working all day, it was a nice respite from the craziness that goes along with retail on Black Friday.  Wasn't sure what to write about today until it was almost too late, but then SL suggested I write about how a classic song is always a classic song.  In light of the Muppets, she's right.  Songs can be associated with so many things in our lives.  Periods of time, certain people, struggles, and successes.  And it doesn't take much to bring us back to those moments, does it?  The first few bars of "Rainbow Connection" just find a way to put a smile on your face, and take you back to being 9 again.  There's something magical about that. Granted, it works the other way as well.  Certain songs make us sad, certain songs make us remember conversations, old loves, and new beginnings.  It's the same reason it's hard not to re-use songs on mixtapes.  We want to create that sense o...

Nothing to report today... it's a holiday, so I took a day off.  Back to work on stuff tomorrow, though, I promise.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Started trying to work through one of the songs for the EP tonight.  I picked "Miami" by Counting Crows.  I'm trying to figure out how to make my solo electric version of this song come out something like this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLMLbzH2JAM Not sure that's entirely possible, but I'm definitely willing to try.  As I write this, I'm trying to figure out whether I can figure out a way to Stevie Ray Vaughan the section where the solo is supposed to be, so that maybe I can have the illusion of a rhythm part behind me as I solo.  If that fails (and I suspect it might), I know I can always overdub a solo in there somewhere, but it would still be cool to be able to pull everything off myself in one take.  If only I had a looping pedal... something tells me that having one of those babies at my disposal would be rather handy for this type of a project. One of those, or money toward one, will no doubt end up on my Christmas list this year.

I started going through songs today, in an effort to figure out exactly what was going to make the cut.  As usual, I found more than enough tunes to accommodate  my needs.  There's some fun stuff in there, though, including an awesome song I have by Elvis Costello called "Deep Dark Truthful Mirror."  Also included in my list was one of my favorite Counting Crows songs off of their record Hard Candy .  The song's called "Miami," and it has always been a tune I connect with strongly.  We'll see what happens in the next 7 days or so, but I'm feeling some good things coming with this. Also of note, and cool, today was the fact that Sonia Leigh's manager called and talked to the music manager today (wish it was me) to set up another potential visit and leave his contact information. Further proof that solo electric can be really cool is found here, with Bob Mould at the A.V. Club http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgjCphGETnU This is going to wor...

So, I've spent the last three weeks going back and forth in my head between recording an EP and learning "Classical Gas."  As a result of the back and forth, I've hardly gotten anything accomplished on either front, and now I've got a week, and I'm kind of disappointed with myself. That being said, I had a bit of an epiphany tonight.  I was sitting with the song binder and the unplugged electric, just paging through and running a few things to see if they'd work with my voice.  I really do want to have at least something to show for November, even if it's only a couple of songs.  As I was sitting with the electric, I flashed back to a musical moment where the world around me just stopped, and I was frozen completely in awe of the event I was watching. Don't quote me on the date, but I think it was 2002 sometime, I just happened to catch Paul Westerberg on Jay Leno one night.  He was promoting Stereo/Mono , which had just been released.  He came...

After all the excitement of the Sonia Leigh in-store yesterday, today was understandably quieter. Still haven't heard from J.  It's going on three weeks now, and I'm thinking that one of the things that needs to happen in the next couple of days is me reaching out just to see what's going on in J.'s corner of the world.  Having talked to B. quite a bit in the last week or so, it's been on my mind a lot of late. That said, I sat down for a bit tonight after work, and started to gather the articles and other assorted things I had mentioned the other day for inclusion in the binder.  Not entirely sure how I'm going to transfer everything to the binder yet, whether it'll be through copies of the articles I want to include, or how this will work, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.  Some of the shorter things will be easier to duplicate, and the song transcriptions will be simple, but the longer guitar workouts and their corresponding diagrams might ...

Went to the Sonia Leigh in-store performance at work today before my shift.  I was expecting it to just be her and an acoustic guitar, but to our amazement, we got a 5 piece band!  It was Sonia and her acoustic guitar, her drummer, her bass player (with an acoustic bass), her lead guitarist (on acoustic), and an accordion player.  This is the second time I've watched accordion take lead phrases with an acoustic as the backup instrument (the other was at last year's Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash gig), and it was equally as amazing today as it was then. The other cool thing to watch was the way that Sonia and her guitarist interacted & structured their acoustic arrangements.  Her guitar was almost always capoed up the neck, while his was almost never altered.  It was a mini-crash course in part layering, and a really cool way to make more noise with less instruments (something I can definitely use in recording). As an added bonus, they played at least half o...

Picked up the Sonia Leigh record tonight at work, in advance of the in-store appearance tomorrow.  Going in slightly before noon just to make sure I don't miss anything.  It'll be fun to be close enough to watch her play, and know that she's already been signed.  I know there's a chance to learn from what she does in an intimate, acoustic setting, and I can't wait to see what I can pick up from her. Another crazy day today at work.  Made for a good night to come home and sit for a little while and just focus on the musical things that need to get done. So many things that need to be included in the early stages of the binder. 1) The Berklee study criteria 2) Vai's 30 Hour Workout 3) Zakk Wylde's Guitar Bootcamp article, and the other tips from GIT & Berklee that are also included in that issue of Guitar World. 4) Some song transcriptions ("Little Wing," "Red House," "Have You Ever Loved A Woman") that I really want...

Very long day at work today.  Perfect chance to come home and sit with the acoustic as a way to de-stress after my shift.  Did just that and discovered that "Friend Of The Devil" may well end up in the running for the list of songs that makes the EP.  More likely the slower, Counting Crows version than the more sprightly original version by the Grateful Dead, but that's just the way it happens in my world. Found out something cool at work today that's music related as well.  We're going to have Sonia Leigh in the store at noon on Saturday.  She's the opening act for The Zac Brown Band that night at Wells Fargo Arena here in town.  There's a rumor that she'll be playing an acoustic set in the store.  I work at 2 that day, but I'll totally be going in early for the gig around noon.  We've got her record as an in-store play this month, and for me, its been one of those slow-burners that the more I hear, the more I like.  It's only ten bucks ...

Had the day off today, but the musical highlight didn't happen until tonight.  I had a good, long (2 hours) chat with B.  First time in a few weeks.  We're both puzzled as to J.'s lack of communication, especially considering he has tracks to play around with.  I'm thinking I'll actually have to reach out to him and see what the deal is. Apparently, B. has been doing a lot of playing the last few weeks.  Our conversation started with her being stuck while trying to shore up one of the songs we worked out most of when I was home in August.  We worked our way through that, and then she dropped something new on me that she had been working on.  It's faster than our usual stuff, which is good.  We've got a lot of cool stuff, but not a lot of faster rock numbers.  This has the potential to be one of those.  It's just a chorus, mind you, but there's definitely something there. After that, I dragged out a chord progression that I swear I'd ...

Listening to a live stream of R.E.M.'s new career spanning best of on NPR.com as I write this. In any process that is as long and drawn out as the one that is being chronicled by this blog, there are going to be high points and low points.  Ordinary days and watershed days.  Today felt like a watershed day. I compared the two Berklee applications.  I was right, the first one had more to it.  There was a second sheet in the earlier app that had more musical characteristics and questions on it.  It gives me more of a chance to lay out the areas that I will need to focus on in order to put my best foot forward when I apply. Other things that happened today: 1) I found the binder that I had intended to use to make the centerpiece of the project.  There's a skeleton of something there, but it's really thin right now.  It's something that I can definitely flesh out from there, and the exciting part of that is that I don't think it would take all that...

I finally got Florence + The Machine's Ceremonials imported into itunes today (finally).  Still can't find my copy of Lungs , and it disturbs me.  I'm better organized than that, or at least when it comes to music I am. Tomorrow is the 15th of the month.  Mid-way through, and the progress I've made on both "Classical Gas" and the EP idea has admittedly been pathetic.  I've got to start recording stuff soon (like, maybe starting tomorrow) if I plan on having anything to show for November. I pulled out the song binder that had been a very early part of the blog process in an attempt to find some songs for the EP.  It's getting to the point where I'm just going to start picking stuff and laying it down, if only for fun.  "Gas" needs to get some attention as well. I know full well that this is a time for me to get my ducks in a row, so to speak.  A time when recent events in my life have combined to bring me to a point where I'm r...

I got caught up on a lot of the excess reading today.  There were a lot more magazines built up than I thought there were.  I didn't get through everything, but it did feel good to at least start the process.  I read a really cool article on the creation of "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs."  What I didn't get to was all of the Beatles stuff.  That surprised me somewhat, honestly.  I paged through the Berklee App. a little bit, but not as thoroughly as I need to.  I've got the ability to burn the midnight oil tonight, though, so I'm fully expecting a lot to happen late tonight. I still need to dig for the first Florence + The Machine record.  That, too, will happen before work tomorrow. Also, I stumbled across a pile of tabs that might be considered for the EP.  One of these days I need to start recording stuff for that. Another week gone by with no word from J.

It must be Beatles month for some of the big publications.  I'm not sure whether it has to do with the 10th Anniversary of George Harrison's death being this year, or what the story is, but I stumbled across the last copy of a magazine that Rolling Stone put out today, on The Beatles, album by album.  In my head, it will go hand in hand with the Guitar World article that I mentioned yesterday. I've been listening to the new Florence + The Machine record in the car going back and forth to work for the last couple of days.  It's really good.  It makes me want to dig for the burned copy of the deluxe edition that JP from work hooked me up with earlier this year.  I'd like to give that a fair listen again, if only to see if the new record is as much of a leap forward as I think it is. I'm off tomorrow.  I know on the surface that it's just one of my two days off this week, but the fact that it's a Sunday makes it feel like I will get more done.  I know...

I had a series of revelations today.  They were all good revelations, too, so I count that as a good thing.  The list, if you can quantify it as such, went like this: 1) I should be able to both work on "Classical Gas" and pull off the EP in the same month. 2) If I'm going to be serious about the original goal (Berklee), I ought to start my plan for improvement with their acceptance requirements.  That said, I printed off a fresh copy of their application.  I intend to compare it to the one I've carried with me for a decade now, just to see if things have changed at all in 10 years, and then start devising my plan of attack/practice from there. 3) I got an email from my brother today while I was at work that related to yesterday's post.  At the risk of being completely nerdy, here's what he wrote: I just read your blog from last night and wished to insert my opinion and say that I think the cover EP sounds like a great idea for a November project. P...

Today was an unexpected hodgepodge of awesome.  I got the new record by Florence + The Machine for free.  Deluxe edition and everything.  Haven't cracked into it yet, but I will in the next day or so.  The other random act of music happened as I was walking out the door for the day.  I ran into a co-worker who then proceeded to loan me She & Him's holiday record for listening/burning purposes. I've also received a request tonight that's of a decidedly musical nature.  It has been suggested to me that I should really focus in on my EP of covers that has gotten mention in this space over the last couple of weeks.  That being said, I'm starting to ponder if I ought to make my project for November the EP instead of "Classical Gas." More on this thought tomorrow.

After looking through the transcription for "Classical Gas" yesterday, today I sat down with the acoustic and tried to start making sense of it musically.  I know full well that I'm roughly 9 days behind schedule in doing this, but I'm getting there.  It'll mean really stepping up my game, playing-wise, if I'm actually going to accomplish my goal, but that can definitely happen. It was really a lot of fun to start analyzing the chord progression.  I made it through the intro and the first section of the song today.  Getting up to the main theme felt like big progress, considering the slowness with which I've gotten started this month.  What I enjoyed the most was hearing the melody inside the chord progression.  There are so many nuances to this song, and I can't wait to figure out the way that the melody lines intertwine their way through these chords. I imported Cold Roses by Ryan Adams today, as well as Soul Coughing's Irresistible Bliss . ...

So, I gave myself a list of three things yesterday that I wanted to get done today, and I'm happy with the fact that I got two of them taken care of completely, and made a bit of progress on the third. What did I get done, you ask?  1) I got in touch with B. to see whether she got anything done writing-wise this last weekend.  She didn't.  Looks like I'm going to have to start taking over that part again.  In a related story, I did sit down with the acoustic for a little bit this afternoon, but I wasn't planning on working on anything in particular, so I didn't get much writing done. 2) I answered my Tom Waits question.  Here's what I have.  It's easier that way, because it makes for a shorter list than what I'm missing. - Closing Time - Small Change - Swordfishtrombones - Blood Money - Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards - Asylum Years - Beautiful Maladies: The Island Years I need more Tom Waits and the rest of Son Volt. 3)  As...

There really wasn't all that much happening today, sadly.  I worked late, so I got a chance to sit with the acoustic for a few minutes before I dashed off to work, but the way my work day went, I needed more time with the guitar than I got.  I'm just thankful that the next two days (both off) will give me that time.  Here's what I'd like to get done with said time: 1) get a serious start on "Classical Gas." 2) find B. to see how her writing went this past weekend. 3) figure out exactly what I have by Tom Waits, and thereby, what I still need. One other thing of note:  I made a muppet for muppet trade with a co-worker today... he got me a copy of the new holiday record, and I got him a copy of the tribute record from earlier in the year. That's really all for today.  Tomorrow will be much better.

So, what I really want to write about tonight is Christmas music in the retail environment, but since doing that may well violate my employer's blogging and social networking policy, I'm going to pass on that rant. Never did hear from J. today.  I was really hoping that we would at least have something to work with by the end of the weekend.  In a related story, I wonder how B.'s weekend of deciding our songs needed bridges went.  Last I heard, she was going to try and add some in here and there.  Not entirely sure how that's going to work, but then again, that isn't a big surprise to me, having lived with the songs in their current state for as long as I have. I did however, manage to find the official transcription I have for "Classical Gas" tonight.  It's from a 2009 issue of Guitar Techniques .  I figure, if I'm going to follow through with this, I really ought to do so from a professional transcription.  One that has a recording...

Another slowish day today.  Caved again and picked up something I maybe shouldn't have.  I bought the deluxe edition of one of my favorite records from the last few years, Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More .  The deluxe edition comes with a disc full of live stuff, and a 4 part documentary on the early years of the band.  Secretly, I've wanted this for quite some time, work has just never carried it until recently.  What I'd really like, though, is the Guitar Recorded Versions TAB book of that album.  Not sure if it's actually available or not, but if it is, I need it. Still no word from J.  Usually he gets stuff done on Sundays, though, so I'm still holding out hope for a drop of files tomorrow. Didn't have a lot of time to play today.  I feel bad about it, but the way the day fell just didn't afford more than a couple of minutes.  I really need to focus in on "Classical Gas" this week, and try to make some serious pro...

Not all that much to report today.  I went in to work at noon, so I had the morning to mess about a bit with the guitar.  Printed off a couple of tabs that I'm thinking of using for this EP I've been debating. 1) Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen 2) Next Best Western - Richard Shindell/Lucy Wainwright Roche Whether or not they get used depends on how my vocals end up sounding/whether or not I can find a tuning or capo placement that works for my voice.  Both songs are simple, chord-wise, and both fall close enough to the C-Am-F-G progression that I could use them and get away with it for the purposes of the idea that's in my head. No word from J. yet on the tracks, although I did talk to B. for a bit last night, and she's thinking she'll spend the weekend working on some things for the band, so hopefully that will be productive.  Can't wait to see what the end of the weekend brings.  There's an outside chance that we might be able to move on to ...

So, I worked a split shift today.  Oddly enough, it gave me time to do music stuff at three different times during the day.  This morning before 7, I put my uncle's CDs into the car stereo.  It was sad and fascinating at the same time, hearing his voice, listening to his guitar playing.  I had hoped I'd be a bit more ready for that emotionally.  I wasn't. This afternoon I got a chance to work on the Everlys tune and a bit of "Classical Gas" before heading back to work tonight.  "All I Have To Do Is Dream" is really starting to come together.  Moreso than the Mason Williams.  Granted, I've worked on that more, so I can't honestly say I'm surprised.  As for tonight, I'm hoping to pick through a few things on the electric.  It feels like things with the band are going to start winding up again here pretty quick.  J. has had tracks for about a week now, so I'm expecting work soonish here.  And while I know I've said it bef...

Knowing full well that I'm supposed to be working on "Classical Gas," I was feeling decidedly 60's rock & roll this morning.  I went with a classic by the Everly Brothers.  "All I Have To Do Is Dream."  I found a couple of versions of it, but the one that feels right to me is capoed at 3 and in the key of C.  Most of the song is the classic C-Am-F-G progression that makes up a great number of early rock & roll songs.  There's a key change to F in the middle, but other than that, it's really quite simple. I've been pondering dashing off a quick EP the last couple of days.  Something with 3 or 4 cover songs and an original or two.  Maybe make it something where all of the songs use the same chords, in the spirit of "The Greatest Song Ever Written."  I've already got a name for the EP.  Maybe that will help in the process. The last two things I'm ordering for myself until after Christmas came in today. 1) Divine Provi...

So, apparently I've decided on "Classical Gas" this year.  Which isn't to say that I won't toy with other songs as the month goes along, depending on my level of progress.  What's cool about "Classical Gas," at least from a learning perspective is this: the tab that I have of it breaks down very nicely into sections that seem to make for easy learning.  In the end, that may have been the thing that pushed me to it.  Either that, or listening to my brother rip through it when we were in Door County this summer. It presents different challenges than "Stairway" did last year, and that appeals to me as well.  Although there IS a part of me that thinks I'll go back and revisit "Stairway" as well, if only for the solo, which was the only part I didn't nail down last year. Got a bit of a musical shock to the system today.  Stopped by the mailbox to grab the days ads and bills and whatnot only to find a package from my Mom.  K...

Three things I'd like to touch on today.  No particular order to them, really, so I'll just dive in. 1) Tomorrow is the 1st of November.  A year ago I started in on "Stairway To Heaven."  This time around, I'm debating between two songs:  "Classical Gas," by Mason Williams (the solo acoustic version from Handmade ), and Laurence Juber's version of "Maybe I'm Amazed."  Both are acoustic showpieces.  If I really wanted to get adventurous, I'd add the acousitc version of "Layla" to that potential mix of songs.  And, just for the record, if you made me pick an electric song, it'd be "Red House."  I've wanted to learn that fully for years .  I guess I'm really picking between four songs then, aren't I? 2)  After the rah rah nature of yesterday's post, I did get serious about working on the Vai Workout.  I started in on what will make up the 1st, 11th, and 21st hour of his 30 hour workout.  Not ...

I expected to hear from J. today.  Mostly, that was because I had told him there would be tracks waiting for him lat night.  I was fully prepared to use that feedback as the crux of my blog post.  As it happens, I didn't hear from him.  Admittedly, that threw me a bit, but that's okay, because it led me to a different topic for tonight's post. Tomorrow will be the 100th day of the second year of the blog.  That seems like a fitting time to stop for a moment, look around, and take stock of where things are.  I'm almost a third of the way through the second year, and my initial reaction to that is this:  If the stated goal (Berklee) is still the goal, I don't feel like I'm making the progress necessary to be advancing on that goal with any sort of speed. I'll admit that we're making slow progress on the rock record, but the progress on my playing has been slower than that.  Lately, most of the work I've done with the guitar has been in response ...