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.

Time apparently flies...

So... it appears that my last post was in May of 2012.
Must be about time for another one...

I'd be a liar if I said that not much has happened in all that time.
I'd also be a liar if I said that I remembered all of it!
It's a stretch to say I remember most of it but... I guess I should try.

Lost some people over the past six years... some very close.
Still with my wonderful beautiful Lady, I'm pleased to report.
Still working on my music... actually have a few under copyright.
Reconnected with a few folks from my past... one in particular that kind of has me over the moon with joy.

And... still in Deception Gulch!
My Lady and I hope to find truly "greener pastures" in the not too distant future but considering the state of affairs this country is in these days... Jerome still has that sense of community that is healthy and helpful.

Moving on...

Last year was completely filled with construction on our property... and I mean completely! Much needed repairs but we are so glad that part is done... well there are still some repairs needed (isn't that the plight of property owners?) but at least the non-stop (except for the days long breaks) construction crews are no longer here and we can actually see what plants survived.

In 2015 I decided that it was actually time to do something about all of the songs I had been writing over the years. December 3, 2015... the 4th anniversary of my son's passing... was the day it all began. I have a buddy that is a trained musician and he agreed to help me with the recording aspect of the project. He dove deeply into the machinations of digital recording and we began.

A great deal of time was involved in learning how to set up the recording situation. You know, mic placement, volume and tone settings, etc. While he was learning the actual recording side of things I was having my mind blown learning about arranging. I have been in a few bands (combos mostly) over the years but I had been performing as a solo artist for a long time. Just me and my faithful Washburn acoustic guitar. Well, when you are playing for a crowd of liquor drinking folk looking for a good time (and seeing as how my main genre of music was Classic Rock)... it is important to keep the sound coming out of the P.A. system so that is what I did. Strummin' and singing... full tilt boogie! But now that I'm in the recording studio and have the ability to lay down multiple tracks... I became introduced to the world of musical arranging! A totally new concept for me especially considering that it was up to me to lay down most (if not all) of the tracks. My mind began to explode!

Bottom line... I did not have to be continuously strumming my axe!

I have always been a rhythm guitar kind of player. Never really learned things like melody lines or riffs to accompany another player. I was usually the vocalist so being the rhythm guitar always seemed like enough. I do consider myself a half decent bass player but I have not yet learned how to sing lead and play bass at the same time. So... I do have an understanding of how to accompany other players... in concept. But never had much experience in doing it.

Now that I am in the studio... I started off by doing what I've always done: play rhythm guitar (track #1); sing lead vocal (track #2); maybe play some bass (track #3); vocal harmonies (tracks #4+) and occasionally add some keyboard (track #5). I would lay these tracks down either to a metronome or a drum track created by my buddy.

Good enough... right? Not really. Because now I have the ability to not be strumming on every beat. A concept totally new and foreign to me in most of my solo performing. I would listen to what I had recorded and realized that there was so much more that could be done if I could change my guitar style from always strumming to something more artistically musical and, therefore, more entertaining to the listener.

Hence... "arranging" and that is where I am these days. Trying to think like an arranger. Of course, if I had the money I would hire other musicians to help me and I could count on their individual tastes and styles to inspire me.

I'll let you know how this next step works out for me and, hopefully, it won't be another six years before I post again!

T.F.O.T.H.

Visiting spirits or... ?

So... a few months ago a neighbor asks me if I've seen anybody suspicious around her home as she is missing some stuff. I asked her what was taken and she says over $15,000 in cash! Well, I had not seen anybody suspicious... other than the one or two vehicles that often visit her.

About a month or so after that she tells me that somebody is definitely breaking into her house because some other stuff is missing. Then two days ago she sees me outside and asks the same question and is interested in getting a neighborhood watch going. This time she is missing three bottles of prescription drugs.

I ask her if there has been any signs of forced entry and she tells me that there is not. Further, she assures me that she has installed new deadbolts on her doors (in case anybody might have original keys - it is a rental ;property) and that she has secured all of the windows.

So... am I sharing this with you because I am concerned that a possible crime wave has entered Deception Gulch? No, I am not. There is a little bit more information to share on this situation.

A few weeks ago this same neighbor knocked on our back door obviously in an extremely altered state trying to sell us some, shall we say, "illegal substances"! This person was stumbling with her words, weaving as she stood at our door and basically way over the limit of whatever she was on. I have known her for many years and have seen her in many altered states but never like this.

After we were able to assure her we were not nor ever had been interested in her offer, she stumbled away from our door heading in the opposite direction of her home. I decided to follow her to make sure she got off our property safely only to discover that he wandered into another neighbor's yard and was completely unsure of her whereabouts... she was totally lost and only 100 feet from her home!

Time passed and when she asked me for the second time about "suspicious" visitors in the neighborhood I questioned her about her recent episode at our home... she drew a complete blank. To this day she has no recollection of that incident!

This afternoon she called me wanting to organize a neighborhood watch. I don't think we need a neighborhood watch as much as we may need to watch this particular neighbor!

But then... sometimes that's life in Deception Gulch.

Maintain, co-exist and; Rise Above It All!
T.F.O.T.H.

Maintain...

So much has transpired since my last post. Both in my life and the life of Jerome as well as Deception gulch! Friends and family members have literally moved on to new realms.  I'll just leave it at that...

It is now May and Spring has finally arrived and the freshness of the immediate environment is a welcome change for our little neighborhood. The national political scene seems so far away from this place and I have to say that I find that a comfort. Living so close to nature as we do here in the Gulch helps to provide a healthy perspective to what is real and important.

I have decided to attempt to update this blog on a regular basis and I suppose we'll just have to see how that progresses! For now I can say that life is good and future is looking better. I hope you are able to say the same about your life.

Until the next time...

Maintain, co-exist and; Rise Above It All!
T.F.O.T.H.

Katie Lee Stories...

Katie Lee has added some of her stories to her website.

You may read them HERE

Maintain, co-exist and; Rise Above It All!
T.F.O.T.H.

2010... What's next?

So... another year to start off. Wonder what this one will bring?

Life has been pretty darn good here in The Gulch... at least me and My Lady feel that way! Weather-wise we've had a little bit of snow and some rain but we can certainly use more moisture before the summer months hit us. We have our health and our loved ones appear to be healthy as well. Work still comes in... sometimes a mere trickle... sometimes a nice steady flow.

The Town is moving right along. I find it quite amusing to read some the "Jerome, Arizona" Google alerts I receive from time to time. There are evidently many people from all over the planet who write in their blogs or Twitter, Facebook and such that are now experts on our little community. I've lived here for over 25 years and I know I don't have it completely figured out... so I am thankful that I can read the numerous postings on the Internet to learn what is actually happening.

I'm looking forward to playing more gigs this year. I've got some new equipment as well as some new material to try out. Always an adventure! The new year feels promising I must say. Of course, I'm basically a positive kind of guy so it always looks somewhat promising from my perspective!

I hope this year provides us all with reasons to think and act positively. As the good news comes to the surface I will do my best to report on those episodes that have bearing on us here in Deception Gulch.

In the mean time... "Play honest. Be good. Keep a song in your heart."

Peace,

Maintain, co-exist and; Rise Above It All!
T.F.O.T.H.

Fall has Fell...

It's been a long Summer. Life in Deception gulch has been interesting. Jerome has become a bona fide tourist town. Actually, it has been moving in that direction for several years now, but with the economy in the shape it's in more people are showing up every day.

It doesn't adversely effect us down here in the Gulch. At least not directly. With a little planning we can make our daily visit to the post office without too much outside interference. It used to be that a local could just tend to stay low on the weekends and pretty much have the town back to "normal" (a term used very loosely here) during the week days. Now it just ain't so.

I really am not complaining. The town can certainly use the revenue and the quality of merchandise available in the shops has improved significantly over the past 20 years. I don't think you can buy a rubber tomahawk in town any more. There's just too many strangers wandering around these days. It wasn't so long ago I could walk up town and at least recognize every third or fourth person I saw. Those days are fading into the history of the town.

However, it is still one of the best communities I've had the pleasure to live in.

Life in Deception Gulch tends to move on at its own pace. We had a neighbor's cat go A.W.O.L. for almost 72 hours but I'm happy to report the critter decided to return home and the cat patrol has been able to stand down. A couple fo fall/winter gardens are starting to show some promise. The paradise and black walnut trees are changing color and dropping leaves.

The only real sad news is that the hummingbird population has dropped off dramatically. I knew it could not last, but this year our house finally rated top billing with the little creatures. I was going through about a gallon of sugar water a day there for a while and it was great fun! In past years the hummers have shown a decided preference to our neighbor's feeders. A decided difference! We would walk down to his house in the afternoon or early evening and there would be 30 to 50 birds hitting on his feeders. While on our property we would have about a half dozen. Not this year, though! They finally decided to have the party at our house and it was great fun!

Music is in the air again. I've been managing to play an afternoon gig at one of the local pubs on the weekend once or twice a month. Getting my chops back in the hopes of actually putting an album together. It's been a dream for a long time. Practice, practice, practice!

I'll see if I can't come up with more interesting tidbits on a more regular basis.

Thanks for dropping by...

Maintain, co-exist and; Rise Above It All!
T.F.O.T.H.