"Muse" - ings on Rock & Life

Well, New Year's Eve is here... I (again) have spent the day thinking over goals for next year, and I've decided that I want to make 2016 a definite Finish Year. How does that take shape for me?  It means that all of the things I've started in the last year or so, I would like to cross off the list in the new year.  This means: 1.  Finish learning the "Stairway" Solo. 2.  "Red House" 3.  "Little Wing" 4.  "I'm Tore Down" 5.  Finish Learning "A History of Rock & Roll in 100 Riffs" 6.  Practice Binder 7. GW Columns 8. Shore up my fretboard knowledge 9. Finish Writing & Recording the EP 9a. Power Pop Record 9b. Double Album? 10. Work my way through the Vai workouts. There's more, I'm sure, but this seems like a good, aggressive list to start the new year.

My brother and his girlfriend got here today. They are hanging out with us through the first of the year, and I can't wait to have a chance to talk music. Tonight has been fairly low key, mostly because I have to work in the morning. The brother brought along my last Christmas present, too, and it's going to be awesome. It's a stamp that has a measure of TAB on it, which is going to be great for copying scales and riffs into my notes for the practice binder. So, yes. While tonight was quiet, tomorrow is when all the fun begins.

Tonight was a quiet one. At least somewhat like last night, I spent some time thinking through goals for next year.  There wasn't a whole lot in the way of getting things in order outside of my head tonight, though, and with my brother and his girlfriend in town the next couple of days, I'm hoping that lack of time spent tonight doesn't come back to haunt me.  I've gotten to the point with my thinking where it shouldn't take me too long to put the pieces in place, though, so even being able to steal a few minutes at some point tomorrow night should really have me where I need to be heading into New Year's Eve. I feel less than spectacular about what got done tonight, but decent about where things sit for the week, and the coming year.  I'm really excited to see where 2016 takes me, because I think it will be somewhere really good.

Today was a good day that could have been a little bit better. These last few days before the start if the new calendar year are always strange ones for me.  It's that weird combination of looking both backwards and forwards while trying to stay in the moment and make progress.  Usually they end up as days where I spend my time getting things arranged so that I feel like I'm starting the year on the right foot.  This is especially prominent if I've been out of town (as we were for the holiday).  Today was no exception to that.  I'm feeling settled back into the studio.  Ultimately, that was the goal for today, and it was one I felt I met pretty strongly.  Things are back in their proper places, cases are put away, and while the new instruments are still searching for their permanent homes, things are back to functional in the studio. Tomorrow needs to be a day of moving a couple of things out (mostly boxes that just got stashed in the closet temp...

Travel day today, in advance of a potentially huge winter storm tomorrow. The long and the short of that is this: we're home in time to have a full day in the house tomorrow.  Most everything is moved back into the studio.  I've just got to get the Strat moved back in, and then I'm good to go. I'd really like to spend a decent chunk of tomorrow hiding out in there, trying to get reacquainted and get some things done, listening included. We stopped at Exclusive on the way out of town, and I picked up a couple of things.  The two I remember off the top of my head are: 1.  Gimmie Fiction (Deluxe Reissue) - Spoon 2. Pneumonia - Whiskeytown I'm really hoping that tomorrow is an incredibly productive day for me in the studio.

Today was a pretty relaxing day. We did a lot of shopping, and I was able to cash in some of my Christmas money to pick up the other big box set I was eyeing of late. I got myself the new Springsteen box that highlights The River . It not only comes with the remastered edition of the original album, but also a disc of other things that they recorded during those sessions, as well as the first thing they gave to the record company, before taking it back and continuing to work on the record. There's also a documentary on the making of the record, and a video of a live show from that tour. Between that and the Dylan Bootleg, I made out really well this Christmas. Lots of listening to do when we get home.

Merry Christmas! So, there wasn't much time to practice today. I did get a few more music related gifts, though, so that's awesome. 1. Victor Wooten's book, The Music Lesson, came from my brother. 2. Also from my brother, two stamps. One of them is a chord symbol, and the other is of a staff of tablature. Both are excellent, and exactly what I was hoping for. Tomorrow is set up to be a low key sort of day, so I am really hoping that I will have a chance to get some playing in.

Happy Christmas Eve! So many things became official today. 1. I got my mandolin from the Mrs. 2. The Mrs. got her Cajon drum from me. Well, okay, so it wasn't a ton of stuff, but those two things were pretty big. I also ended up with Troy Stetina's book called Fretboard Mastery, and then the 6 Disc edition of the latest Bob Dylan Bootlegs, from '65 & '66. All told, I consider that to be a win, and it kicks off a weekend that should be an awesome time. I'm hoping to get a bit of time to sit down and play tomorrow, because between all the driving and all of the awesomeness with the family, there wasn't much time for that today.

So, I'm about 90% packed for the trip to WI.  The only thing I really haven't decided on is whether or not to bring the mandolin and an acoustic along with me, or the mandolin and the strat, or just the mandolin.  I suppose that mandolin and uke is also an option, but that seems less likely right now.  It'll probably be the electric in the end... easier to pack and lighter to carry. We did Christmas with the Mrs. and I tonight, so I can mention that I got a book of chords for the mandolin (that I'm still waiting for Christmas to really dive into), a songbook from O Brother, Where Art Thou? , a set of drumsticks, and a key chain that holds guitar picks. Tonight was a good night, even if not a lot of playing got done, and I'm ready for the holiday weekend.

Today was another busy day on both ends, which left little to no time for any sort of real progress where the playing side of things was concerned.  It did , however, leave me a few times where I could sneak in a little bit of listening, so that was cool. I'm already starting to work through what I want to bring up north with me over the weekend, which is probably a good thting because I've got tomorrow night to pack.  I know it can't be a whole lot, but I'm determined to take a few things along, and actually have a bit of time to sit down and practice. Energy has waned a bit as the week has gone along, and I'm really feeling like tomorrow night needs to be a good one, to give me that push I'll need to carry me through the holiday weekend.  We'll see what happens.

Today was a full day of work and family, which didn't leave a whole lot of time for the studio, but gave me a lot of time to have my brain running in the background.  I'm still trying to piece together my list of goals for next year, but I can say for certain that a lot of them will be tied into finally getting some things finished and figured out.  The list is definitely getting clearer (and a bit longer), but I'll have it ironed out by the end of the year for sure. I did find time for at least a few minutes of listening today, but that was about it. I'm still feeling okay about the week, but I'm also knowing that I've got to pack for WI in the next couple of days here, so time feels like it is growing short already this week.  Tomorrow will be better.

So, we've hit that point in the year (11 days left) where I'm starting to think about how goals are going to stack up for 2016.  Some of that is due to the fact that this weekend absolutely flew by, and next weekend we'll be up in WI for Christmas.  I'm not ready to write the whole list out quite yet, but the pondering process has begun in the back of my mind.  Anyway... I got into the studio late tonight, but still had time to start working on the book that the Mrs. picked up for me on Black Friday.  I also started taking a look at that Guitar Techniques lesson that I had mentioned earlier in the week. The playing I got in today (however brief it was) felt good.  It felt like what I needed at both the end of the weekend and the start of the week.  The next three and a half days will likely go by in a blur.  We'll see what I can get done in that time.

I need to start writing again. I sat down with the acoustic tonight and just played for a while.  I can feel the songs in there, just waiting to jump out.  Maybe tomorrow, I'll go through the old demos and see what jumps out at me and has stayed vital. Started in on that Christmas project for my brother, as well.  There's definitely the start of something there, I'm just not sure how much of it I'll be able to get done by the time we leave for Christmas with the family. Tomorrow needs to be a day of focusing in on practicing, that GT lesson in particular, and some other things, too. It was a quieter, more dispiriting day than I had hoped for, and I'm going into tomorrow feeling like I really need something good to happen. 

Tonight was a mostly quiet night of preparation for the weekend. I want to spend a good amount of time working through that recent lesson in Guitar Techniques that has hovered around the periphery of my attention for the last couple of days. The Mrs. dropped another early Christmas present on me today, if only because Amazon had just dropped it off as I walked in the door: it was a book of mandolin chords, which will be awesome.  I'm really trying to wait to do much with the mandolin until the holiday, because it was supposed to be a Christmas present, after all. Also of note, but not vital to the playing side of things, I may have stumbled on a Christmas idea for my brother that coincides with the musical side of things.  I've got to think it over a bit more, but we shall see. That's really all for tonight.  Tomorrow is going to be a great day, though.  I can feel it.

Today was a much better day than yesterday... not that it took a whole lot to get to that point. I got into the studio a little bit on the late side, but spent some time tonight playing over a few songs, trying to get some of the ideas from Songs & Solos underneath my fingers a little bit.  I did okay, considering I just sort of threw myself straight into it. There was a bit of listening tonight as well, and also a flash of something that might turn into a song.  All together, the night was a bit of productivity in a number of different places, but really just a hodgepodge of things.  Hopefully tomorrow, and the weekend, will be improved.

Tonight was a really quiet night, definitely the quietest night of the week, but I managed to finish off the Tom Petty biography and do a bit of listening.  I didn't dive into the end of Songs & Solos tonight, but getting back to that will likely happen tomorrow evening. What I did get to do tonight was talk to my brother for a few minutes.  We talked practicing for a bit, and then got into the fact that we'll get to hang out in about a week.  I'm now trying to figure out what to bring with me, instrument-wise when we go up north. Tonight may have been on the slow side, but I'm feeling pretty good about things as I head into the second half of the week and the weekend ahead. That's really all for tonight.  More tomorrow, and better.

So, I made it all the way through the reading/studying part of Songs & Solos tonight.  The only sections I have left are the ones that offer up melodic ideas, having taken you all the way through the techniques and thought processes behind how to go about things.  So, all things considered, I'm feeling good about that right now. I did a bit of listening to that "new" live Elvis disc, and that has been an interesting listen so far.  I'm not sure I agree with all of the choices they make, but if nothing else, it serves as an excellent reminder of just how versatile, and how amazing his voice was. I'm also about 30 pages from the end of the Tom Petty biography.  I'll either finish that tonight before bed, or get very close. I'll dive into the  last few chapters of Songs & Solos and perhaps that lesson from Guitar Techniques tomorrow.

For a first day back at it after a weekend away, I thought today went pretty well. I'm perilously close to the end of Songs & Solos now (about nine pages, to be totally honest), so I'll probably finish that off tomorrow sometime.  I did some good work in it to get to that point today, and I'm happy with that. Closing in on the end of the Tom Petty bio as well, with just over 100 pages left in that.  It's unlikely that I'll finish it tonight, but tomorrow is at least somewhat of a possibility. Got some good practicing in tonight relating to the Songs & Solos , and figured out that one of the lessons in the new issue of Guitar Techniques may well be one of my missing pieces.  I'm really intrigued to see how the week progresses, knowing that as I go into it.

Another day spent mostly on the road means another day with not a whole lot to report. We did stop at a B&N on our way home, however, so I was able to do a bit of scouting and pick up a few things. I looked for books on mandolin playing (but struck out), and also looked for recordings by Christopher Paul Stelling (and struck out there as well). That said, I picked up the latest issue of Guitar Techniques , the new live CD by Elvis, and a disc of Bach Solos performed by Chris Thile (so, I guess on some level I was successful in finding something mandolin-related). This weekend was a blur, and didn't allow much time for music, but I'm optimistic that the week will prove better.

Not a lot to report from a day spent mostly on the road. We did, however, get my three year old niece a drum set for Christmas, which is awesome.  She loves it. As for my brother and sister in law? Maybe not so much. No real chance for me to get any playing in today, but I am hoping that tomorrow will be a different story.

Didn't really have a lot of time to get into the studio tonight. Instead, I ended up consoling myself by making some progress in the Tom Petty biography, and trying to figure out what the best way is for me to reinforce the things I have been focusing on, while building a solid foundation for the start of next year. I'm looking forward to a day in DSM this weekend, and am hopeful that I will be able to spend a bit of time finding a few musical things that will help me out while we're there.

Today was a good day that didn't end up involving a lot of studio time. I picked up the 20th Anniversary edition of Jagged Little Pill .  The two disc one with the unreleased demos and live stuff.  The other thing I did today, that I'm more excited about is this: I snagged an iTunes card, and used it on the new solo record by J.R. Richards, the former lead singer of Dishwalla.  It's this that I'm starting to listen to as I sit here and write tonight. Oh, and I grabbed the new issue of Guitar World today, too. The other cool thing about today happened tonight, after Mom had gone back to her hotel for the day.  She came down to hang out on my only full (non-holiday) day off all month.  She called and said that she had gotten to talking to the maintenance guy as she was coming inside, and that somehow, in the course of the conversation, he had mentioned that he's been writing songs.  Two years my wife worked at that hotel, and not once did it come up t...

Tonight was all right. I got into the studio a little bit earlier than I have been lately.  I used my time at least somewhat wisely tonight, as well.  I finished off the "scales" chapter of Songs & Solos , and got myself up to the very start of the chapter on other soloing techniques... it starts with a discussion of intervals, so that should be cool (and hopefully delve into things like lead lines written in harmony, etc.).  I looked at the first page or so of it, just to get myself through the introduction. After that, I did a bit of listening, and then played around with some Johnny Cash and Chris Cornell on acoustic, because those guys came up in discussions at work today. Fairly short in terms of time tonight, but a bit of solid progress nonetheless.  Hopefully tomorrow will be another improvement.

So, I took the night off from Songs & Solos .  Some voice in the back of my mind told me that I might be due for a 24 hour break from it, and for once, I decided to listen. Instead of trying to work on that tonight, I sat down and learned "Ol 55" by Tom Waits, which was in the newest issue of Acoustic Guitar .  I had heard it as an Eagles tune, but never fully appreciated it until Tom's solemn growl from his debut record.  It's a great song, and one that definitely needs to be in my repertoire. Aside from that, I did a bit of listening, and made a bit of progress in the Tom Petty bio that has seemingly taken over for the Jerry Lee Lewis in the last week or so. Not a bad day by any stretch, but the studio was definitely the high point for me.

Actually made it to the record shop tonight.  Picked up three things, all on CD.  They were: Live 1975-1985 - Bruce Springsteen Florasongs EP - The Decemberists Live At Red Rocks - The John Butler Trio All told, I'm happy with that.  I was also looking for a record by Christopher Paul Stelling, who was featured in the latest issue of Acoustic Guitar .  Having listened to him on NPR tonight, I'm even more excited to hunt down some of his music. I got into the studio later than I wanted to tonight, but also earlier than usual.  I'm feeling good about my progress tonight.  I made some solid progress in Songs & Solos , and am almost through the early, scale focused side of things.  It has been great, and I could stand to take more time with it (and I will), but I'm headed straight toward the section of the book that focuses less on scalar applications, and more on melodic implications. I got back to my journal tonight as well, jotting down a ...

I meant to stop by the record shop today to poke around.  It didn't end up happening, but the Mrs. has a meeting tomorrow night, so maybe I'll stop by after work, we shall see. In the studio tonight, I finally put my finger on what has been going on with me.  As I made a bit more progress in Songs & Solos , it occurred to me that I'm almost spending enough time in the studio each night.  New things are making it into my brain, on some level, and my knowledge is growing, but I'm not quite getting in there early enough in the evening.  Even an extra 15-20 minutes wwould make a big difference. The other thing that needs to start tomorrow (because if it does, it can be a habit by the first of the year) is to keep better notes of what I'm working on. I didn't find myself in the studio a lot this weekend, but I felt like the time I did spend in there was productive.  Hopefully that bleeds over into the week.

Today was an okay day. Stopped by the bookstore and picked up the new issue of Acoustic Guitar .  There's an interview with Glen Hansard, and tabs from Tom Waits, Hank Williams, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Time in the studio was all right tonight, too.  Not quite as much time as I was hoping for, but I'm past the basic scale and melody stuff in Songs & Solos .  I'm up to the section on modes, and from there I think it goes into more melodic constructs rather than being quite so scale focused. Haven't gotten to spend any real time with either the Jerry Lee Lewis bio or the Tom Petty today, but I'll try and fit in a few minutes before I fall asleep tonight. Tomorrow needs to be a bit more focused and regimented, so that I can take what I've been working on and build on it.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the loss of Scott Weiland right off the top.  His band was never going to be a critical darling, coming as they did, in the second wave of grunge acts to populate the music industry in the early to mid 1990's.  They had the talent, though, and they wrote enough hits to justify a greatest hits record and a comeback or two in recent years.  Weiland was a unique vocalist in an era before a good number of vocalists tried to do nothing more than ape Eddie Vedder, and even though he hadn't done a whole lot in the last few years, his presence in the music world will be missed. Okay, I had to put that out there. Tonight's time in the studio was spent working through the same things as the rest of the week.   A few pages in Songs & Solos , a bit of reading (tonight from the Petty bio), some listening, and a bit of work figuring out a few things.  Not too bad for not a whole lot of time at the end of the day. Tomorrow needs...

Tonight was a great night.  Not necessarily because I got a ton accomplished during my relatively short time in the studio, but more because of the points I got to while I was in there: 1) I've hit the point in Songs & Solos where it starts to involve something other than just major, minor, pentatonic, or blues scales.  While that will be a lot of what I use in my playing, without a doubt, the fact that I got to the bebop-based jazz scales tonight was really cool.  And it was cool not only because they were scales that I hadn't had much (if any) contact with before, but also because it was while playing those scales that the melodic side of this whole course of study really started to open up for me.  I heard the possibilities in the notes, and perhaps more so, in the spaces in between the notes.  Things are close to opening up.  I can feel it. 2) I got a bit of reading done tonight that was outside the Songs & Solos context.  There's a fai...

Tonight was better than yesterday, but still focused on some of the same things. I got through another few pages of Songs  & Solos , and am feeling okay about how that is going.  I'm still feeling like a bit more focused studying would be a very good thing in that regard. I got a chance to play around a bit more with "Six Ways To Sunday" by Blackberry Smoke, and while that hasn't crystallized yet, I'm feeling better about that than I was a few days ago. Today may not have been the wildly productive day I would have liked it to be, but there were some small strides, and there was some progress made. Tomorrow needs to be better than today.

Today was somewhat of a follow up on yesterday.  I waded through a couple more pages of Songs & Solos , still focusing on the melodic side of things, and working to get the feel of the ideas they presented underneath my fingers. It felt, at least a little bit, like a step backwards from yesterday, if only because I didn't quite spend as much time in the studio tonight as I did yesterday.  That being said, I'm still feeling a heck of a lot better about where I sit at the start of December than I did for all of November. We've got meetings that let out around 4 tomorrow, so that should get me home a little bit earlier than usual, which might just get me a bit more time in the studio tomorrow night.  We shall see.