sorry folks, i just really have been short on words lately.
however, today is a very beautiful day and i'm chillin' with stevie ray. stevie is always an inspiration. now i have my issues with double trouble, i really am not sold on the ability of the rhythm section but they're not bad... and they stay out of stevie's way. also, no matter who is in stevie's rhythm section its like da vinci collaborating with another professional painter on a work...
so here's the deal with stevie, as i see him. he's convincing. i don't listen to him run across a dozen notes in a split second and think its amazing for the same reason i do when nuno bettencourt does the same, when nuno does it it sounds great but it kind of stops there, when stevie does it he communicates whatever he's feeling. somehow every note matters... it matters when he plays fast, it matters when he plays slow. almost with no regard to how fast or slow he's actually playing. because every note matters.
my extraordinarily talented hero of the jazz world, dan mccarthy, once took me into a club in williamsburg to listen to a jazz band. it sounded to me like a scored classical piece by modern artist trying to communicate rectangles through circles, so perfectly jazz but so tragically not musical that the forefathers of jazz would be utterly repulsed by the pretension and pointlessness of the exploration. dan turned to me and said, 'this is horrible'. i told him i agreed but asked him, as he is the music sage, why he had thought so. he responded, 'i know everything they are doing, i hear the whole thing before they drop it, its fake, its phony, its what some people perceive as jazz, but its not music'.
i think its interesting what people appropriate as music and good music. its about pushing boundaries (ie radiohead) its about moving forward and developing, but the heartbreaking reality is that too often people lose the importance of how much a note is worth, and how carefully they should be spent. i love stevie ray because he spent a lot of notes, but he spent them well. about as perfectly as the count of monte cristo spent his fortune on the destruction of the count de morcerf.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
about last night...
ok, so first of all i'd like to say something about this morning. i listened to two songs... ring them bells and most of the time of the Oh Mercy album by dylan.
good music raises questions... his raises plenty in the writing. like... i know he rhymes for rhyming sake, but how does he get away with so many throw away lines? wait, was that a throw away line? its like it all builds to one crucial line... and so are the throw away lines just rhyming for rhyming sake or building blocks that no one else gets away with? he paints with his lyrics, better than anyone else.
but back to last night.
my good friend JTR called me last night asking me to do a recording project for him at about 8:30 last night. he lives way out in green point and was asking if he could send me tracks to lay a few guitar lines on. i love this sort of thing. in the studio i've always operated better under time constraints and am a firm believer that the fewer takes the better.
so he sends me the track and i set up my sound recorder that i shorted out when doing the demos for the record i cut in rochester and, logically, it still doesn't show any signs of life except a gentle flashing of the display screen which tells me to give up hope.
so anyways, i end up using some freeware and reversing some cables, running to the club to grab a mic, warming up the trace (my little, but monstrous amp), tuning up the les paul and an hour later finally getting to the job at hand. one pass to get the sounds, one pass to track. then an hour to go back and forth with JTR to try and get it sitting just right because of an inexplicable delay that occurred in the recording process so the phrasing was off by a split second... and that was annoying... so then JTR writes me back and asks me to throw down another lead line in just to fill out a few bits... so i crank it up, get that really dirty les paul grind and another quick pass... and again with the delay! so i sent it over and told him to figure it out because now it was about 11pm and i really would like to keep from getting noise complaints if at all possible.
the weirdest thing in the whole thing was that from the moment JTR called i had the song "love is only a feeling" by the darkness running through my head... and the song he sent me really sounds nothing like that... or anything by the darkness for that matter... but it led to some obscure phrasing, so i guess i'll take the inspiration from wherever it comes.
despite the 2.5 hours for the project, i was only tracking for about 10 minutes, but for all the critics out there, i can assure you that these were not throw away lines.
good music raises questions... his raises plenty in the writing. like... i know he rhymes for rhyming sake, but how does he get away with so many throw away lines? wait, was that a throw away line? its like it all builds to one crucial line... and so are the throw away lines just rhyming for rhyming sake or building blocks that no one else gets away with? he paints with his lyrics, better than anyone else.
but back to last night.
my good friend JTR called me last night asking me to do a recording project for him at about 8:30 last night. he lives way out in green point and was asking if he could send me tracks to lay a few guitar lines on. i love this sort of thing. in the studio i've always operated better under time constraints and am a firm believer that the fewer takes the better.
so he sends me the track and i set up my sound recorder that i shorted out when doing the demos for the record i cut in rochester and, logically, it still doesn't show any signs of life except a gentle flashing of the display screen which tells me to give up hope.
so anyways, i end up using some freeware and reversing some cables, running to the club to grab a mic, warming up the trace (my little, but monstrous amp), tuning up the les paul and an hour later finally getting to the job at hand. one pass to get the sounds, one pass to track. then an hour to go back and forth with JTR to try and get it sitting just right because of an inexplicable delay that occurred in the recording process so the phrasing was off by a split second... and that was annoying... so then JTR writes me back and asks me to throw down another lead line in just to fill out a few bits... so i crank it up, get that really dirty les paul grind and another quick pass... and again with the delay! so i sent it over and told him to figure it out because now it was about 11pm and i really would like to keep from getting noise complaints if at all possible.
the weirdest thing in the whole thing was that from the moment JTR called i had the song "love is only a feeling" by the darkness running through my head... and the song he sent me really sounds nothing like that... or anything by the darkness for that matter... but it led to some obscure phrasing, so i guess i'll take the inspiration from wherever it comes.
despite the 2.5 hours for the project, i was only tracking for about 10 minutes, but for all the critics out there, i can assure you that these were not throw away lines.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
discipliine... and how my day used to look
i remember after i started playing guitar seriously at age 14 that my dad said to me, 'some say that eric clapton locked himself in an apartment for a year to learn how to play guitar'... i have no idea if this is true, but father has never been one to mislead me. and regardless of whether this is what happened or not it had a very strong impact on me when i moved to rochester, ny in august of 2006.
i lived with my best friend and he had a normal job where he had to get up very early in the morning where i, on the other hand, had to work all of about 3 hours a day for about 10$/hr and then would gig in the evenings to try and make ends meet. the term 'scraping by' was an inaccurate description that alluded to more luxury than i actually had. but regardless, every morning he'd get out of the shower at about 6:30 and wake me up by playing any number of our 'greatest records of all time' collections and we'd sit around and drink coffee and discuss the inner workings of the bends, achtung baby, mary star of the sea, dark side of the moon, abbey road, etc. usually he had to go before the last few songs to make it to work on time and i'd finish up the record.
about 2 weeks into my life in rochester i met a guitar player named brenden giusti who had played with tower of power and randy travis as a touring guitarist, and then an infinite number of musicians in the chicago jazz scene before he moved back to rochester. he liked me because i had a good feel, i liked him because he was an absolute monster... reading, ear play, groove and 13 gauge strings. while on a gig together we were just jamming while the other musicians took a break and i, in all my shame, got lost in a twelve bar blues while simply comping chords. brendan laughed at me and to this day has never allowed me to live it down.
usually after the record was finished i'd boil up some oatmeal and sit and read. primarily the bible but also history, theology and philosophy books from about 8am until 11am. at eleven i'd bust out the pen and paper and start writing for an hour and then at noon, once our other roommate, keeshon, would arrive to the living room i'd run to my job and work my three hours. upon returning i'd head straight up to a studio we had in the attic of the apartment and at 3:15 begin what was seldom less than 4 hours of practicing.
brad would never arrive home until 7:30 and often times it was after nine that he'd return, and in that window i would work without stopping... generally playing twelve bar blues the entire time. about once a week i'd write and record a song, but after being brutally embarrassed on a gig, i vowed to never get lost in a twelve bar again. to my mother's discontent and frustration i would not eat until brad got home and he almost forcibly had drag me to the kitchen to eat something.
this went on from september until may, every single day. my chops got good. my discipline was in tact and it was really a full time job for me to learn how to be a better musician. about 2 or 3 times a week i'd head out around 9:30 to play a gig with any of the acclaimed muscians in the rochester circuit: kalu james, dan (welch) ryan, teagan ward, nate cronk, brendan, brad or whoever else happened to be playing somewhere in the city. but the important thing was the discipline.
now that i live in new york i work tirelessly to keep my head above water financially and my disciplines have taken a back seat. with the cushion of almost a year with such intense practice and an intense 5 month tour in 2008, my fingers still do what i tell them to on que, i've lost some of my skill but not enough for most people, other than brendan, to notice. but i haven't moved forward and i haven't been getting better.
my writing and my voice have improved, but my chops and my peace of mind have suffered from the lack of this intense structure. unless i do very well with this first album of mine i can't imagine any time soon that i'll be able to block out four hours of rehearsal time and 3 hours of reading time in any given day, but that does not mean that the disciplines should be abandoned... and they have been.
today i have decided to take these back. dollars pay the immediate bills, but the immortal toll of a life freed of discipline has for more lasting consequences. i'm going after it again. the road, the gigs, the networking, the reading, the playing. i'm going after it again. and to embark on this it is not dollars that are most valuable, rather, the discipline.
i lived with my best friend and he had a normal job where he had to get up very early in the morning where i, on the other hand, had to work all of about 3 hours a day for about 10$/hr and then would gig in the evenings to try and make ends meet. the term 'scraping by' was an inaccurate description that alluded to more luxury than i actually had. but regardless, every morning he'd get out of the shower at about 6:30 and wake me up by playing any number of our 'greatest records of all time' collections and we'd sit around and drink coffee and discuss the inner workings of the bends, achtung baby, mary star of the sea, dark side of the moon, abbey road, etc. usually he had to go before the last few songs to make it to work on time and i'd finish up the record.
about 2 weeks into my life in rochester i met a guitar player named brenden giusti who had played with tower of power and randy travis as a touring guitarist, and then an infinite number of musicians in the chicago jazz scene before he moved back to rochester. he liked me because i had a good feel, i liked him because he was an absolute monster... reading, ear play, groove and 13 gauge strings. while on a gig together we were just jamming while the other musicians took a break and i, in all my shame, got lost in a twelve bar blues while simply comping chords. brendan laughed at me and to this day has never allowed me to live it down.
usually after the record was finished i'd boil up some oatmeal and sit and read. primarily the bible but also history, theology and philosophy books from about 8am until 11am. at eleven i'd bust out the pen and paper and start writing for an hour and then at noon, once our other roommate, keeshon, would arrive to the living room i'd run to my job and work my three hours. upon returning i'd head straight up to a studio we had in the attic of the apartment and at 3:15 begin what was seldom less than 4 hours of practicing.
brad would never arrive home until 7:30 and often times it was after nine that he'd return, and in that window i would work without stopping... generally playing twelve bar blues the entire time. about once a week i'd write and record a song, but after being brutally embarrassed on a gig, i vowed to never get lost in a twelve bar again. to my mother's discontent and frustration i would not eat until brad got home and he almost forcibly had drag me to the kitchen to eat something.
this went on from september until may, every single day. my chops got good. my discipline was in tact and it was really a full time job for me to learn how to be a better musician. about 2 or 3 times a week i'd head out around 9:30 to play a gig with any of the acclaimed muscians in the rochester circuit: kalu james, dan (welch) ryan, teagan ward, nate cronk, brendan, brad or whoever else happened to be playing somewhere in the city. but the important thing was the discipline.
now that i live in new york i work tirelessly to keep my head above water financially and my disciplines have taken a back seat. with the cushion of almost a year with such intense practice and an intense 5 month tour in 2008, my fingers still do what i tell them to on que, i've lost some of my skill but not enough for most people, other than brendan, to notice. but i haven't moved forward and i haven't been getting better.
my writing and my voice have improved, but my chops and my peace of mind have suffered from the lack of this intense structure. unless i do very well with this first album of mine i can't imagine any time soon that i'll be able to block out four hours of rehearsal time and 3 hours of reading time in any given day, but that does not mean that the disciplines should be abandoned... and they have been.
today i have decided to take these back. dollars pay the immediate bills, but the immortal toll of a life freed of discipline has for more lasting consequences. i'm going after it again. the road, the gigs, the networking, the reading, the playing. i'm going after it again. and to embark on this it is not dollars that are most valuable, rather, the discipline.
jes' call me moses
south by south-west is a festival that that keeps herself from me year after year and further austin is a destination i've tried to get to since 2007 and her border control constantly keeps me from entering.
i guess i don't really know what goes on there and that intrigues me. i hear the tales of rows and rows of bars and music venues that leave me in a fascinated obscurity for not having dawned said streets this far into a pursuit of something to which austin is so dear and is so dear to austin.
i don't know how long it will be that i'm kept from this promised land of sorts but with so many dear friends and exceptional musicians, whom i know personally, there i do say this with the utmost sincerity and encouragement, i wish i was there.
if you're not familiar with pico vs. island trees, kalu james, dj halo and many others, and you have the privilege of being in my jerusalem while i'm puttering about in the desert, make sure that you catch them and tell them that tommy sent you. if you're still walking about the outskirts of the city waiting for the trumpets to blow, take a moment and google these exceptional artists. i'll get there one day, even if only to the city limits... ;)
i guess i don't really know what goes on there and that intrigues me. i hear the tales of rows and rows of bars and music venues that leave me in a fascinated obscurity for not having dawned said streets this far into a pursuit of something to which austin is so dear and is so dear to austin.
i don't know how long it will be that i'm kept from this promised land of sorts but with so many dear friends and exceptional musicians, whom i know personally, there i do say this with the utmost sincerity and encouragement, i wish i was there.
if you're not familiar with pico vs. island trees, kalu james, dj halo and many others, and you have the privilege of being in my jerusalem while i'm puttering about in the desert, make sure that you catch them and tell them that tommy sent you. if you're still walking about the outskirts of the city waiting for the trumpets to blow, take a moment and google these exceptional artists. i'll get there one day, even if only to the city limits... ;)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
pop songs
i remember my friend jenn telling me how much she liked the pink song, please don't leave me. and i took a listen, and for once we agreed on music. its a great pop song. now jenn and i don't agree on much when it comes to music. i love dylan, cohen & cave... and she doesn't... and she likes heavy, over produced rock music that makes me giggle... not in a good way.
but from time to time we connect. and its always a joy, and its always over pop songs. but the pop song that has me impressed this time is one i don't think she'll be on board with... i also don't think many people will be on board with me. but i've always enjoyed being daring.
love story by taylor swift.
yep, i said it.
its a song, its a story and a great story at that. its obviously fantasy, but its not a bad fantasy. and with all these teenage girls bouncing about singing songs to try and mia lewis all the hank moody's* out there, this is certainly a breath of fresh air. its a return to innocence. and i like that.
further, she wrote it. further, dianne warren didn't co-write it. further, she uses dense lyrics to communicate a large amount of content. i'm thoroughly impressed.
perhaps my favorite thing about this song, which follows the romeo and juliet story by name until she M. Night Shyamalan's it at the end, is in a comment i read on the wikipedia page:
"However, the story of Romeo and Juliet is intended to be considered a tragedy as opposed to a love story. There are some who feel the song misrepresents the original ideals of the story and creates a widespread miseducation of classic literature."
... because this comment left me speechless.
*californication
but from time to time we connect. and its always a joy, and its always over pop songs. but the pop song that has me impressed this time is one i don't think she'll be on board with... i also don't think many people will be on board with me. but i've always enjoyed being daring.
love story by taylor swift.
yep, i said it.
its a song, its a story and a great story at that. its obviously fantasy, but its not a bad fantasy. and with all these teenage girls bouncing about singing songs to try and mia lewis all the hank moody's* out there, this is certainly a breath of fresh air. its a return to innocence. and i like that.
further, she wrote it. further, dianne warren didn't co-write it. further, she uses dense lyrics to communicate a large amount of content. i'm thoroughly impressed.
perhaps my favorite thing about this song, which follows the romeo and juliet story by name until she M. Night Shyamalan's it at the end, is in a comment i read on the wikipedia page:
"However, the story of Romeo and Juliet is intended to be considered a tragedy as opposed to a love story. There are some who feel the song misrepresents the original ideals of the story and creates a widespread miseducation of classic literature."
... because this comment left me speechless.
*californication
Monday, March 8, 2010
never stop looking
its a funny place i'm in. the transition, the impatience, the foresight. i have spent a lot of my life jumping... not with any sort of calculation, rather, just a quick jump here and there to the next destination. not that i've failed to think through how things should come to pass, but i have jumped with such an urgency that i have failed to see all of the possible out comes and further not focused on multiple sight lines.
i have not wound up face down too often. i've not missed my mark too many times, but oh mercy, it is getting exhausting. i tried to take virtues in stride by holding onto the ones i thought necessary and relevant and leaving the others to the side. i have not shackled myself with regrets, i have not looked back in longing for the chance to make different choices, but i've looked back enough to know how i'd respond to certain questions if asked of me again.
i have saddled up beside patience. i have begun waiting for good things, not forcing them. and now, for the first time in my life, i'm wondering what to do in the day to day. the disciplines are good to me, but the days have a habit of slipping from me. i'm half way through a record and half way through writing the next. there has got to be a way to seize the day and see the days ahead.
right now i'm listening to josh ritter. Girl in the war is a great tune, but only really comes alive on In The Dark - Live @ Vicar Street ... i've listened to 40 versions of the song trying to find one as good as that one.
i have not wound up face down too often. i've not missed my mark too many times, but oh mercy, it is getting exhausting. i tried to take virtues in stride by holding onto the ones i thought necessary and relevant and leaving the others to the side. i have not shackled myself with regrets, i have not looked back in longing for the chance to make different choices, but i've looked back enough to know how i'd respond to certain questions if asked of me again.
i have saddled up beside patience. i have begun waiting for good things, not forcing them. and now, for the first time in my life, i'm wondering what to do in the day to day. the disciplines are good to me, but the days have a habit of slipping from me. i'm half way through a record and half way through writing the next. there has got to be a way to seize the day and see the days ahead.
right now i'm listening to josh ritter. Girl in the war is a great tune, but only really comes alive on In The Dark - Live @ Vicar Street ... i've listened to 40 versions of the song trying to find one as good as that one.
Friday, February 19, 2010
back in new york... and i'm gettin' anxious!
so here i am outside of the record by about 2 weeks. its been a bit of a process getting the whole thing together but i have been learning that patience IS a virtue. i used to mark it up to something less than courageous, but i've been coming around to more sane way of thinking.
so here's whats going on. i've been in steady contact with mike at belly of the whale, he's been keeping himself busy working on some guitar lines that will serve to offer the ever so necessary icing. some times they are simple melody lines, sometimes they are WHO sized chords (not the grinch's minions) and i'm teeming with excitement to hear what the final takes sound like.
i am going to have to go up to finish the record, this is true, but its only half the songs that need finishing, so be certain, before you know it you'll be able to listen to the first few cuts on the record, download them, email them to friends, and get me in to the awards shows for next year... from there i'm sure i'll be able to kanye west my way onto the stage in the most inappropriate methods imaginable.
so here's whats going on. i've been in steady contact with mike at belly of the whale, he's been keeping himself busy working on some guitar lines that will serve to offer the ever so necessary icing. some times they are simple melody lines, sometimes they are WHO sized chords (not the grinch's minions) and i'm teeming with excitement to hear what the final takes sound like.
i am going to have to go up to finish the record, this is true, but its only half the songs that need finishing, so be certain, before you know it you'll be able to listen to the first few cuts on the record, download them, email them to friends, and get me in to the awards shows for next year... from there i'm sure i'll be able to kanye west my way onto the stage in the most inappropriate methods imaginable.
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