Archive for August, 2007

Ghosts Of Computers Past

August 31, 2007 by john 1 Comment »

It’s official… I have successfully extracted the precious data from my dead* computer. All it took was a handy external drive enclosure, and I managed to get the drive mounted on another system. So I pulled my data, digital photos, and other important stuff off the drive. Now I feel a little more relieved about the whole nightmare… my old computer seems to be hosed; it’ll take a new motherboard to make it live again. But that isn’t a terribly huge expense, and I will probably wind up repurposing that machine as a server.

* It would be more accurate to say my old computer is “mostly dead”. I suspect my friend David would approve of this diagnosis…

 

Kissology Vol 2

August 29, 2007 by john No Comments »

Kissology 2As a follow up to my commentary on Kissology Vol 1, I recently received my copy of Kissology Vol 2. This second DVD set covers the years 1978 – 1991, which were in many ways difficult and strange times for KISS.

As KISS moved from being 1970’s larger-than-life comic book superheroes to being a 1980’s butt-rock (a.k.a. “hair metal”) band, it felt like they had lost part of what made them unique. It seemed like a step toward the mainstream of rock at that time. Their success in this move was undeniable, and it did renew their fan base with a fresh infusion of believers. Seeing the band on MTV without makeup was both a thrill and a letdown. It reminded me of being a kid and discovering my local Santa was actually just some guy in a costume. As noted in many reviews of this DVD set, the Tom Snyder interview is great; Ace is looped and Gene is annoyed. It’s clear foreshadowing of what was to come.

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Thinkasaurus

August 21, 2007 by john No Comments »

ThinkasaurusI’ve redesigned and relaunched my thinkasaurus.com web site. This is the site I use for business purposes and project-based work. I’m delighted with the work we’ve gotten and look forward to our next projects!

 

Restringing Guitars

August 20, 2007 by john No Comments »

Stratocaster HeadstockFor decades, I have had a policy of changing my guitar strings after every show. During the most active playing years of Jumbalassy, this meant restringing more than 100 times per year! The benefit is that the string tone is always very clean with clear harmonics. I’m not playing nearly so many gigs these days, but after the 80s Invasion workout last weekend I really needed to get to some deferred maintenance on a few instruments.

On Saturday I set up my tools and got to work. Two of my primary workhorse guitars were both in need of new strings and a fretboard cleaning, and I managed to get all of this work completed in about an hour while watching the Mariners game.

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iPod

August 17, 2007 by john No Comments »

iPod NanoI am pretty much the last kid of the block to get an iPod, but at least I finally jumped aboard. It was an act of fortune, as one of my co-workers came into possession of a free iPod nano that she didn’t need. I was happy to purchase it from her, and for the last week have been enjoying the freedom of rocking out to my own musical selections at the gym. It was also very useful last weekend when I was learning songs for the 80s Invasion gig.

I haven’t bothered downloading any podcasts yet, but I figure it’s just a matter of time before I leverage more of the available functionality of this gizmo. Over the last year I have been slowly encoding my (largish) CD collection to MP3, so suddenly I have a new way to listen to music on the go. Some time in the next month or so, I’ll replace my car stereo with a unit capable of directly interfacting with an iPod. Roadtrips are going to be a lot more fun!

 

Pod XT Live

August 15, 2007 by john No Comments »

Pod XT LiveThis spring I decided to update my live rig to consolidate the functionality of my guitar and bass setups into a single signal path. For the past several years I have used a Line6 Pod Pro as my preamp, which is a good-sounding guitar processor with versatile amp modeling. However, it wasn’t particularly good for use with bass. Line6 makes a dedicted bass version, but that would mean having two completely separate rigs. My solution was to sell my old unit and replace it with the Line6 Pod XT Live. This unit is basically a hardware platform with the ability to process any instrument, and Line6 has additional amp models available including bass amps. In order to maximize the potential of the Pod XT Live, I loaded it with all available model packs: FX junkie, metal shop, collector classics, bass expansion. I also installed the “gear box” software which allows the unit to present itself as a VST plugin.

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The Band: Being Part Of It

August 14, 2007 by john No Comments »

There is a special bond that happens between musicians who play together regularly. I imagine it’s similar with sports teams, although I’ve never really been part of one. I keep score and statistics for my wife’s softball team, and while recognize this provides meaningful active support to the team, it’s not the same as being on the field. When the game is over and we all head out for beers and burgers, it’s the players that celebrate / recount / analyze their game. I don’t feel excluded from the conversation (I am happy to participate in pretty much any conversation as long as I don’t feel I’m intruding); there is a simply a different relationship between the on-field players.

It’s the same within a band. The experience of practicing and playing together is a process of fusion for the individuals who share that adventure. Backstage between sets or after the show, we are joined by kind people who are our friends / spouses / supporters. Their experience of the night’s proceedings often differ from those of the band. Most of the time I feel pretty happy and positive after shows; I am lucky to play with good musicians and we generally have good communication via our instruments. We get feedback from listeners and observers, and it’s important to know how the event seemed to those in attendance, but the performers have an intensely personal connection to the actual event.

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80s Invasion – Thoughts on the Gig 8/11/07

August 13, 2007 by john No Comments »

It was a fun show this past weekend and I’m delighted with how well the music went. I had a pleasant drive over to Port Angeles on Saturday morning, arriving early enough to walk around town for a bit. Among my adventures of the day was finding a nice coffee shop with a La Marzocco “Linea” 2 group espresso machine; this is the unit I’d love to get as my home machine some day. After a few hours of walking around and exploring I found another small coffee shop where I camped out at a table and reviewed the set.

For this gig I took 2 Stratocasters (one as a backup), the Pod XT Live, and my Behringer bass amp. It turned out that the Behringer actually makes a pretty decent guitar amp. Its tone is pretty transparent, so it just acts as a power amp / cab combo. The Pod sounded terrific; this was my first performance with it and I’m very pleased with it.  

Soundcheck went well and I felt comfortable that we’d have a good night. Apparently the Port Angeles High School reunions are always a big deal. The class of ’87 was celebrating their 20th year, with the typical sort of reunion activities and social dramas one would expect. This gig was Shane’s (our drummer) reunion so he was the star of the musical show.

The actual music of the evening was great, with a lot of dancing and singing along. During the break I was subjected to a few drunken requests for “dude play some AC/DC or Tesla!”. Some of the people present were very attuned to our playing and made flattering compliments about some portion of the performance. It’s always good to hear that someone noticed the effort that we put into getting things right. I was glad it went so well and look forward to the next show.

Read the rest of this post for our set list.

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80s Invasion – Solos

August 7, 2007 by john No Comments »

With four days until the gig, I’ve gotten my notes onto a spreadsheet with little outlines of chord structures and solos. This is my study material and forms the basis of what I’ll need to memorize for the show. I’m especially enjoying working out the solos:

  • Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer) – The solo is really a blues form after the second chorus, but the guitar tone here is monstrous. No surprise here… it’s Andy Taylor, guitarist of Duran Duran and of Power Station. I have always loved his sound and am delighted to be playing this one.
  • Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey) – Neil Schon is a great guitarist. His rhythm parts are a study in guitar goodness. The solo in this song isn’t particularly challenging (mostly just E major) but it really propels the song. 
  • Let’s Dance (David Bowie) – The classic Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar licks are pretty easy to recreate. His solo is basically a Bb blues.
  • Kiss On My List (Hall and Oates) – It’s easy to overlook this one. The guitar solo in this song sits over a simplied version of the chorus, mostly outlining a C and Bb structure.
  • Rebel Yell (Billy Idol) – Steve Stevens is amazing. In “Vital Idol” I spent a tremendous amount of time painstakingly transcribing his layered parts and solos to recreate his playing. This is a classic example of his virtuosity.

I’m looking forward to this show. There are a number of elements that I still need to nail down, including the final tone programming on my new preamp… good thing I have a few nights left for final tech preparation. It’s a little unnerving to head into a three hour gig without a rehearsal but I have a lot of confidence in the other band members and I’m sure we’ll all be ready.

 

Brad's Wedding

August 5, 2007 by john No Comments »

Yesterday was Brad’s wedding, for which I was asked to play classical guitar and to provide accompaniment for a song during the wedding. For the pre-ceremony classical segment I used my trusty Garcia classical guitar, which was built in Spain sometime during the 1950s. It’s a a lovely instrument and has aged beautifully, yielding a very warm resonant tone. I wasn’t certain what or when to play, so I spent a few days poring over my books to select 30 minutes of material that would be appropriate for the setting. What I hadn’t counted on was playing outdoors with the occasional wind gust, so there were some moments when my music flew off the stand and I had to do my best to either (1) remember the rest of the arrangement or (2) improvise in the same style and key as convincingly as possible. It only happened a few times and I managed to plod along until I could find a moment to rearrange my music stand. Nobody made any “icky” faces at me, so I’m thinking I might have pulled it off  🙂

For the ceremony I was asked to accompany a singer, performing “Beloved One” by Ben Harper. The recorded version of the song is slow and rubato with only a very loose sense of meter. It works fine if you happen to be playing and singing the song yourself, but it’s a little challenging when two people are attempting to stay together on it. I made a slight rearrangement to the rhythmic structure to provide a framework for our performance. For this one I used my Epiphone 12 string, which is a great sounding instrument that I’ve used on at least a dozen recording sessions. The vocalist and I had a chance to rehearse the song before the ceremony. During the reahearsal, she sang quietly but seemed well in tune and ready to perform. During the ceremony she sang with projection and greater volume; her voice was beautiful and I really enjoyed accompanying her. 

The ceremony was brief and very personal. I was moved by the honesty and beauty of the vows they had written for each other. And it’s always wonderful to be present for the wedding of close friends. I’m delighted for them both and honored they asked me to be a part of their day.