Skip to main content

Day Seventy Seven (Year Four)

Swung by the local bookstore tonight in search of the new issue of Guitar World.  It's an anniversary issue for Nirvana's In Utero, out 20 years this year.  They didn't have it in stock yet, but they did have the new issues of Guitar Techniques and Acoustic Guitar.  The new issue of AG has a cover story on Jason Isbell's latest record, Southeastern, that came out back in June.  It was a record that I was really looking forward to this summer, and also one that got at least somewhat lost in the shuffle of an impending move.  Reading the cover story got me to pull out the record again, and it's one of those albums that feels like an old friend, even after only a few spins.  Isbell's songwriting was great when he was with the Drive By Truckers, and his first few solo records kept that up, but this latest one ups the ante.

In that spirit, and still thinking about learning cover songs and finding an open mic, I found the chords for two of his songs, one called "Stockholm" that comes from the new record, and one from his 2007 release, Sirens Of The Ditch, called "Dress Blues."  They're both great songs that share some similarities in their chord progressions.  It made them easier to learn, for sure, and I worked them both over pretty well during tonight's time in the studio.  Next step involved there?  Getting more comfortable with my vocals.

Other stuff I worked on tonight included the Guitar Aerobics lick of the day (lick #3 of week 2), and as per usual this week, a little bit more lead guitar stuff from a GW DVD booklet.

All told, it was another really good day that, if I'm completely honest, could have used a bit more time in the studio than I gave it.  So many opportunities to get better.  I need to try and take full advantage of each and every one of them.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day One Hundred Forty Two

So, I haven't been sleeping much lately, and I've been staying up late. listening to music, doing a bit of playing, and watching old episodes of Behind The Music on the internet. It's funny, you know, because I never met the rest of my "band," I've become the critic. It's all right, don't get me wrong, but for a decade now I've always hoped that I'd find a way to release something. It'll happen, I know it will, but it's continually happened slower than I expected it to. I've gotten close to getting something released, as I've documented before here before, but with the winter coming and the cold closing in, I'm facing another chance to make something musical of the winter. I'm going to start by finishing up the old things that have gotten pushed to the sides in the last few months. With the buildup of everything since the summer, it should be easier. Even if all I do is spend the winter writing lyrics, trying to g...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day Three

Short one today. I've got a bunch of the DVDs that Guitar World has put out. Waded through those to see what I had, worked off of the lead guitar one. Just basic scales , but still a light place to begin. It was nice to just start loosening up my fingers again. Off from work tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get a lot of playing done. Said I'd mention the other project I'm hoping to finish this year. Back when I was living in WI, I started a hard rock band with a friend of mine. She was heavily influenced by Evanescence, and so, with her as vocalist, we started writing songs. We had written and demoed almost a full album's worth of music by the time I moved to IA, and had even purchased a P.A. in preparation for eventual gigs. We never did find a permanent drummer or bassist, so our demos sound very rough (and not nearly loud enough). I'd like to finish those songs, and make an EP of the 4 or 5 strongest, just as a way to put a cap on that project. More tom...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day Two Hundred Sixty Six (Year Six)

One of the biggest advantages of not getting all that much done this week is that it clues me in to what I need/want to take on vacation with me.  It's basically everything that went along with me when we left to go and dog sit on Monday night.  Granted, there are a few extra things I need to pack (the notebooks with the first two recording projects in them, for example), but that shouldn't be too hard to fit in. Most of the day tomorrow is full already, but there might be a bit of time in the evening (like there was today) to get into the studio.  Then, possibly a few hours on Sunday morning before we hit the road around noon. My shoulders have started to loosen up a bit from all of the insanity the last few weeks.  I'm ready to finally have an extended chance to focus on music next week.
Post a Comment
Read more