So here's an interesting development... I am now playing bass with a couple of old friends! Slim Chance & Dave Rentz, two gents that I have known for years, are now my band mates and we are having a great time. Slim plays guitar and is basically the anchor man for the group as it is his style and repertoire that drives the band. His particular style is difficult for me to describe so I will provide this YouTube link (from many years ago) to give you a rough idea:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yesi0AYB9qY
Dave is a percussionist more than just a drummer and quite simply the best drummer I have ever played along side. I hold down the bass (my favorite instrument) and we have recently had the privilege of having the company of Bruce Wandmayer join us with his pedal steel guitar and sax.
Our little quartet has not arrived on a name as yet but we have secured a small regular gig at a very nice club nearby so... we'll just let it cook and see what happens.
More as it happens...
Thursday, January 31, 2019
Friday, October 12, 2018
Woodshedding...
Tommy Emmanuel calls "woodshedding" the technique of learning a song to the degree that you know every note and nuance and then... keep playing it over and over for days until it becomes a part of you! Play nothing else except that song!
Yeah... that's a wonderful concept but... that's not what I'm doing. (Not that I wouldn't mind trying!) That being said... I feel it safe to say that I am back in "woodshedding" mode once again and it feels pretty good.
Now you need to understand that woodshedding in my situation is not just referring to my guitar. Oh, no... I have a bass as well as a keyboard to work with. But before I could begin to get into any of those instruments I had to begin woodshedding my P.A. and recording system! Oh yeah... spend a little time away from knobs, sliders and cord patches and you can find yourself lost in a sea of madness!
I must say that it only took me the better part of one and half afternoons to remember how the system of mics, instruments, effect pedals, mixers, amps, etc. actually worked (and that included discovering and removing a 60 cycle power hum in one of the connections)! Then I was able to actually start working with musical instruments. Working being the operative term here. A musician friend of mine loves to remind me of his favorite sayings, "If you're not working on your chops... you're losing them!" I've lost a few but they are making their way back to me along with some new chops as well.
So... that's where I am today. The studio is back online and functioning and I'm getting some practicing done. I was even able to get a rough version of one of my tunes recorded for good buddy in California. Will wonders never cease?
Yeah... that's a wonderful concept but... that's not what I'm doing. (Not that I wouldn't mind trying!) That being said... I feel it safe to say that I am back in "woodshedding" mode once again and it feels pretty good.
Now you need to understand that woodshedding in my situation is not just referring to my guitar. Oh, no... I have a bass as well as a keyboard to work with. But before I could begin to get into any of those instruments I had to begin woodshedding my P.A. and recording system! Oh yeah... spend a little time away from knobs, sliders and cord patches and you can find yourself lost in a sea of madness!
I must say that it only took me the better part of one and half afternoons to remember how the system of mics, instruments, effect pedals, mixers, amps, etc. actually worked (and that included discovering and removing a 60 cycle power hum in one of the connections)! Then I was able to actually start working with musical instruments. Working being the operative term here. A musician friend of mine loves to remind me of his favorite sayings, "If you're not working on your chops... you're losing them!" I've lost a few but they are making their way back to me along with some new chops as well.
So... that's where I am today. The studio is back online and functioning and I'm getting some practicing done. I was even able to get a rough version of one of my tunes recorded for good buddy in California. Will wonders never cease?
Friday, October 5, 2018
Inspiration...
I have recently said that I am keeping these posts centered around my musical aspirations and I feel comfortable in doing just that. That being said... I find I have to include the topic of "inspiration". Something (or someone) has to inspire me to be musically creative. Perhaps it shouldn't be that way but... there it is!
Music has always been an important part of my life. In the early days of elementary and high school it was an activity that I just kind of liked more than anything else. I had a wonderful music teacher from the 4th grade all the way to freshman year in high school. Mr. Rueben D. Tuttle (sp?) was a musical inspirtion for me and many others. I started out wanting to play drums (of course) but after spending hours on "practice pads" ( a 4 inch square of rubber mounted to a piece of hardwood atop a snare drum stand) I was not inspired!
Mr. Tuttle recognized my lack luster attitude and asked me about it. I think I told him that this was not what I was hoping for. When he asked me what other instrument I might want to try... I had no clue. Other kids were working with instruments like clarinets, saxophones, trumpets and I think there may have even been a flute player but... none of those really "spoke" to me. Mr. tuttle asked if he might make a suggestion and of course I said yes.
He suggested the trombone. Well, of course he would... it was the instrument that he played. (Actually, he played them all but the trombone was the one he played the most). When I asked him about why the trombone the answer I remember most vividly was along the lines of "The trombone has a slide and not levers and pads. That means that the trombone can play notes in between the notes that the other instruments can play. It is the only wind instrument that can do that!"
Needless to say... I started learning the trombone. In fact I still have my old Conn trombone although I have not played it in decades.
Mr. Tuttle could be quite the task master but he made learning and playing music fun! You could see the enjoyment in his mannerisms when he played and you could definitely see the joy in his eyes when we came together to put on a performance. He was an inspiration!
In my high school years I stayed in band and I got into rock and roll. My first combo was a 5 piece called the Riptides and we did mostly surf music covers. I had a little electric organ called a Magnus Electric Chord Organ so I was the keyboard player.
There were a lot of high school guys getting into bands in the mid and late 1960's in our area and musicians were migrating from one band to another. Eventually I ended up in another combo (this time a 6 piece) called The Lords and we did fairly well but that's for another post.
Getting back to inspiration... right... I remember! So in high school there was the inspiration to be a musician in a performing combo for the chics (of course) and to be cool (of course) and to be doing something that most other kids were not doing... and (wait for it)... someone will actually pay us as well?
That kind of inspiration kept me going for years. Then I discovered song writing and that was a bit different. Like many, my first songs had to do with a broken heart or unrequited love. Then (because it was the 60's) I was "inspired" to write about everything that was "wrong" with the world. Luckily, that approach got old for me very fast! It was around that time I think I made my first rule about song writing: "You can complain about whatever you want but before the song is over you had better have at least one positive example to remedy the situation!". Ever since then I have done my best to follow that rule.
Some of my best and most inspired songs have been written about the woman I love or my kids. Others have been inspired by things I have witnessed, experienced or believe to be of great value. Every now and then a song will come ripping into my head out of nowhere and those, as rare as they are, tend to usually be amazing!
But today... today I find myself inspired by the rediscovery of and reconnection with an old friend. This guy and I go way back and it has been many years since we last conversed but recently he found me across the miles and years and the magic of the music that helped us form such a strong bond back in the Vietnam era has rekindled an old spark for music that I was not even aware had begun to flicker. This is inspiration for me now and it feels like it is growing within me.
Sure... one can live a life with many kind of inspiration or without any kind of inspiration at all. But for me to have the musical part of my self inspired... that is very cool indeed!
Music has always been an important part of my life. In the early days of elementary and high school it was an activity that I just kind of liked more than anything else. I had a wonderful music teacher from the 4th grade all the way to freshman year in high school. Mr. Rueben D. Tuttle (sp?) was a musical inspirtion for me and many others. I started out wanting to play drums (of course) but after spending hours on "practice pads" ( a 4 inch square of rubber mounted to a piece of hardwood atop a snare drum stand) I was not inspired!
Mr. Tuttle recognized my lack luster attitude and asked me about it. I think I told him that this was not what I was hoping for. When he asked me what other instrument I might want to try... I had no clue. Other kids were working with instruments like clarinets, saxophones, trumpets and I think there may have even been a flute player but... none of those really "spoke" to me. Mr. tuttle asked if he might make a suggestion and of course I said yes.
He suggested the trombone. Well, of course he would... it was the instrument that he played. (Actually, he played them all but the trombone was the one he played the most). When I asked him about why the trombone the answer I remember most vividly was along the lines of "The trombone has a slide and not levers and pads. That means that the trombone can play notes in between the notes that the other instruments can play. It is the only wind instrument that can do that!"
Needless to say... I started learning the trombone. In fact I still have my old Conn trombone although I have not played it in decades.
Mr. Tuttle could be quite the task master but he made learning and playing music fun! You could see the enjoyment in his mannerisms when he played and you could definitely see the joy in his eyes when we came together to put on a performance. He was an inspiration!
In my high school years I stayed in band and I got into rock and roll. My first combo was a 5 piece called the Riptides and we did mostly surf music covers. I had a little electric organ called a Magnus Electric Chord Organ so I was the keyboard player.
 |
| Magnus Electric Chord Organ |
There were a lot of high school guys getting into bands in the mid and late 1960's in our area and musicians were migrating from one band to another. Eventually I ended up in another combo (this time a 6 piece) called The Lords and we did fairly well but that's for another post.
Getting back to inspiration... right... I remember! So in high school there was the inspiration to be a musician in a performing combo for the chics (of course) and to be cool (of course) and to be doing something that most other kids were not doing... and (wait for it)... someone will actually pay us as well?
That kind of inspiration kept me going for years. Then I discovered song writing and that was a bit different. Like many, my first songs had to do with a broken heart or unrequited love. Then (because it was the 60's) I was "inspired" to write about everything that was "wrong" with the world. Luckily, that approach got old for me very fast! It was around that time I think I made my first rule about song writing: "You can complain about whatever you want but before the song is over you had better have at least one positive example to remedy the situation!". Ever since then I have done my best to follow that rule.
Some of my best and most inspired songs have been written about the woman I love or my kids. Others have been inspired by things I have witnessed, experienced or believe to be of great value. Every now and then a song will come ripping into my head out of nowhere and those, as rare as they are, tend to usually be amazing!
But today... today I find myself inspired by the rediscovery of and reconnection with an old friend. This guy and I go way back and it has been many years since we last conversed but recently he found me across the miles and years and the magic of the music that helped us form such a strong bond back in the Vietnam era has rekindled an old spark for music that I was not even aware had begun to flicker. This is inspiration for me now and it feels like it is growing within me.
Sure... one can live a life with many kind of inspiration or without any kind of inspiration at all. But for me to have the musical part of my self inspired... that is very cool indeed!
Thursday, September 20, 2018
Thunder in The Valley...
So... this past weekend was a tad bit noisy up here. You see, for the third year now a group of motorcycle enthusiasts have held an event in Cottonwood (just down in the bottom land of the Verde Valley below) called "Thunder Valley Rally". It's cool and all of that... they have local and regional music acts as well as a beauty pageant... all understandably geared towards the motorcycle crowd. But then all of those bikers see this inviting mountain with it two-lane winding road and... well... it tends to get a tad bit noisy!
An interesting thing happened recently... so I will tell you about it. I've been buying & replacing guitar strings for more than 50 years. Acoustic, electric, 6-string, 12-string, bass, ukulele, banjo ... you name it. I have never had a problem... until recently.
I changed the strings on my 1976 Washburn acoustic. Replaced the old set with a new set of the same strings I've been using for more than a year now. Brought everything up to pitch and discovered that my high E had a buzz! I checked the action... did not look like the string was hitting any frets. But the buzz was definitely there. I messed around with it for several days and finally decided to get hold of my luthier to have him take a look at it. He thought it might have something to do with the increased moisture in the air. So... the axe sat for a couple of days until I could get it to my guy.
In that time I bumped into a guitar playing buddy. We hadn't seen each other in some time so we pulled over to catch up with each other. I eventually got around to describing the problem with my Washburn. He looked at me and said, "Did you try replacing the string?"
I told him the thought never occurred to me and I asked him if that was a real thing. He looked at me as if to say "What? Are you new at this?".
I went home, replaced the string and, to my great joy, the buzz is gone!
After all these years... I guess it was my turn to have a bad new string!
An interesting thing happened recently... so I will tell you about it. I've been buying & replacing guitar strings for more than 50 years. Acoustic, electric, 6-string, 12-string, bass, ukulele, banjo ... you name it. I have never had a problem... until recently.
I changed the strings on my 1976 Washburn acoustic. Replaced the old set with a new set of the same strings I've been using for more than a year now. Brought everything up to pitch and discovered that my high E had a buzz! I checked the action... did not look like the string was hitting any frets. But the buzz was definitely there. I messed around with it for several days and finally decided to get hold of my luthier to have him take a look at it. He thought it might have something to do with the increased moisture in the air. So... the axe sat for a couple of days until I could get it to my guy.
In that time I bumped into a guitar playing buddy. We hadn't seen each other in some time so we pulled over to catch up with each other. I eventually got around to describing the problem with my Washburn. He looked at me and said, "Did you try replacing the string?"
I told him the thought never occurred to me and I asked him if that was a real thing. He looked at me as if to say "What? Are you new at this?".
I went home, replaced the string and, to my great joy, the buzz is gone!
After all these years... I guess it was my turn to have a bad new string!
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Jammin' with the pros
There are those times when I really feel like doing something musical. There are those times when I really feel like doing something creative. Then there are those times when both of those things come together. Today wasn't one of those days... well, not the musical & creative at the same time kind of day.
So on days like today I will grab my bass, put on the head phones, open iTunes and find some cool stuff to jam with. Lately I've working with Fleetwood Mac (in my dreams). John McVie is one of my favorite bass players. There is just something about his musical choices that resonate with me.
Today was a bit different as I was totally without direction or inspiration. Today I did a little work with the Traveling Wilburys (which was fun as well as educational) and then I tried to hang with the Police (on some of their simpler stuff). It is all good excercise for both my hands and my ears. For those of you following along with me on my adventure to broaden my musical experience... I force myself to actually understand what notes I'm playing while doing this. I used to just find the pattern without learning the notes... although it works, it doesn't really stimulate my understanding of what is gong on!
If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm keeping my "Tales from Deception Gulch" reeled in close to home. There's just too much unbridled chaos floating around out there for me to even consider making a comment. So, for the time being anyhow, just stuff that is happening on the creative musical side of things.
Catch ya' later...
So on days like today I will grab my bass, put on the head phones, open iTunes and find some cool stuff to jam with. Lately I've working with Fleetwood Mac (in my dreams). John McVie is one of my favorite bass players. There is just something about his musical choices that resonate with me.
Today was a bit different as I was totally without direction or inspiration. Today I did a little work with the Traveling Wilburys (which was fun as well as educational) and then I tried to hang with the Police (on some of their simpler stuff). It is all good excercise for both my hands and my ears. For those of you following along with me on my adventure to broaden my musical experience... I force myself to actually understand what notes I'm playing while doing this. I used to just find the pattern without learning the notes... although it works, it doesn't really stimulate my understanding of what is gong on!
If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm keeping my "Tales from Deception Gulch" reeled in close to home. There's just too much unbridled chaos floating around out there for me to even consider making a comment. So, for the time being anyhow, just stuff that is happening on the creative musical side of things.
Catch ya' later...
Saturday, September 8, 2018
Who Knows Where The Time Goes?
Lately I've been enjoying some of the work by Joni Mitchell. Admittedly, it's partly a nostalgic thing but it is also a discovery of some aspects of her work that I have not been familiar with. Like... I did not realize that Joco Pastorious played so much with her (and I am constantly blown away by Joco)!
Getting back into "wood shedding" mode is always an interesting adventure! A friend of mine often says "If you're not working on your chops, you're losing them!" There is always something new to learn whether it is a finger-picking style or a different chord inversion or just trying to remember how to use my equipment... always something to keep the little grey cells busy!
I've been reading about Paul Simon's new album "In The Blue Light" and how he has been spending time revisiting some of his older tunes and in an attempt to get "fresh new takes" of them. I've been looking at my tunes and wondering what I would like to do with them (compared to just playing them the way I've always done). So far... I've been lead to only make changes if they actually add something to what I call the "core" of the tune.
As a song writer my goal has always been to deliver a message through the lyrics and supporting that message via the melody and chord structure. This method is partly due to my desire to keep the process simple, partly due to my limited education as a composer/arranger and partly due to my belief that it is more important to get a good message with a good tune out there than it is for me to create a "musically perfect" work.
When I started this recording project almost four years ago I remember that my goal was to get these songs of mine recorded and protected in a simple clean production capable of delivering the message. My hope was that some other performer would pick up on my tunes and want to put them out there with is or her own flavor. After all that I have been exposed to in the past couple of years in the studio... meaning all that is possible... I have come back to the original idea of keeping it simple and just deliver the message! Get that part done first and then see what happens after that.
So... that's where I seem to be these days. With all of the distractions that life has presented these past months I find myself finally getting back to the "practice & rehearsal" part of the gig. I do feel a bit relieved, I must say. It was getting far too technical in my mind and... nothing was really being accomplished!
But now... my fingers are sore and I have to get past that!
More to come...
T.F.O.T.H.
Getting back into "wood shedding" mode is always an interesting adventure! A friend of mine often says "If you're not working on your chops, you're losing them!" There is always something new to learn whether it is a finger-picking style or a different chord inversion or just trying to remember how to use my equipment... always something to keep the little grey cells busy!
I've been reading about Paul Simon's new album "In The Blue Light" and how he has been spending time revisiting some of his older tunes and in an attempt to get "fresh new takes" of them. I've been looking at my tunes and wondering what I would like to do with them (compared to just playing them the way I've always done). So far... I've been lead to only make changes if they actually add something to what I call the "core" of the tune.
As a song writer my goal has always been to deliver a message through the lyrics and supporting that message via the melody and chord structure. This method is partly due to my desire to keep the process simple, partly due to my limited education as a composer/arranger and partly due to my belief that it is more important to get a good message with a good tune out there than it is for me to create a "musically perfect" work.
When I started this recording project almost four years ago I remember that my goal was to get these songs of mine recorded and protected in a simple clean production capable of delivering the message. My hope was that some other performer would pick up on my tunes and want to put them out there with is or her own flavor. After all that I have been exposed to in the past couple of years in the studio... meaning all that is possible... I have come back to the original idea of keeping it simple and just deliver the message! Get that part done first and then see what happens after that.
So... that's where I seem to be these days. With all of the distractions that life has presented these past months I find myself finally getting back to the "practice & rehearsal" part of the gig. I do feel a bit relieved, I must say. It was getting far too technical in my mind and... nothing was really being accomplished!
But now... my fingers are sore and I have to get past that!
More to come...
T.F.O.T.H.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Moving forward...
We have been finally getting some much needed rain this monsoon season. We've gone from a drought with high fire warnings to a nice muggy couple of weeks here on the mountain.
Music - for the past few months I've been attempting to rekindle my musical aspirations. It was difficult for a number of reasons (mostly tasks that needed to be addressed around the homestead) but I discovered that my equipment layout in the studio had no flow! Instead of being able to walk up to my equipment and begin, I realized that things were too jammed together. I rearranged some things and now all my equipment is easily accessible... keyboard, guitar, bass, mixers, computer, etc. What a concept!
So... now that I can easily access my keyboard, what is my first challenge?
There is a song performed by Delaney & Bonnie on their "Accept No Substitute" album called "Ghetto". I've always liked the song but what flips me out the most about it is Leon Russell's keyboard riffs! Leon has always been a favorite of mine for a number o reasons but his "voicings" on his riffs on this tune just do something to me.
[Nine days later...]
Of course, now that I have written about my "progress"... life has interjected itself with many tasks that have needed my immediate attention! Which is to say... I have not spent much time in the studio!
I'm going to publish this post and hope that the next one reveals some musical advancement.
Mahalo.
T.F.O.T.H.
Music - for the past few months I've been attempting to rekindle my musical aspirations. It was difficult for a number of reasons (mostly tasks that needed to be addressed around the homestead) but I discovered that my equipment layout in the studio had no flow! Instead of being able to walk up to my equipment and begin, I realized that things were too jammed together. I rearranged some things and now all my equipment is easily accessible... keyboard, guitar, bass, mixers, computer, etc. What a concept!
So... now that I can easily access my keyboard, what is my first challenge?
There is a song performed by Delaney & Bonnie on their "Accept No Substitute" album called "Ghetto". I've always liked the song but what flips me out the most about it is Leon Russell's keyboard riffs! Leon has always been a favorite of mine for a number o reasons but his "voicings" on his riffs on this tune just do something to me.
[Nine days later...]
Of course, now that I have written about my "progress"... life has interjected itself with many tasks that have needed my immediate attention! Which is to say... I have not spent much time in the studio!
I'm going to publish this post and hope that the next one reveals some musical advancement.
Mahalo.
T.F.O.T.H.
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