The Dream Machine

After pining after this guitar for nearly a year, I am now the proud owner of late 70's Ibanez Les Paul copy that was on consignment at Ralph's shop, King Music Center. This was one of the results of Ibanez flat out plagiarizing (if I can use that word for a guitar) the Les Paul- being sued- and then barely changing enough things so that they couldn't be sued any more.

The guitar came at a high cost- namely selling my (formerly my brother Ben's) SG to Mike "B" Bennett at The B String guitar shop downtown. I hope the "Solid Guitar" is on its way to some other aspiring electric guitarist and it will help them with their music as much as it did me.

The next chapter of the story just happened. I'm currently downtown at Chelsee's cafe, across from the B String. Moments ago I stopped into the guitar shop to show Mike the reason I sold the SG. He had told me before that he is familiar with these Ibanez Les Paul copies, including ones like mine that differ from real Les Pauls mostly in the neck- Gibsons have a "set neck" design where the neck is physically set into the neck (more expensive, stable, and resulting in the incredible note sustain that Les Pauls are famous for); my Ibanez has a "bolt-on" neck (you get the picture) like Fenders, which results in a little bit brighter, snappier sound. The end result is lots of the beefy tone of a Les Paul but with a bit more versatility and brightness like a Stratocaster.



I set the case up on Mike's counter, and a curious look came over his face as I unlatched the top and opened it up. He inspected a few parts of the guitar before concluding that this is the very Ibanez Les Paul copy he had owned and sold at The B String a few years ago!

I'll get my first chance to see how it performs tonight at Elliot's Revue for their weekly jam. So far I am unbelievably pleased with the instrument. With all love and respect for my beloved former axe, this guitar is as much a step up as my acoustic Gibson was from my first guitar, that little Epiphone acoustic-electric some of you remember.

On we go!

the dawning of the age of aquarius

Well really it's not that grand but I did notice today that we are fewer than 18 months from 2012. I am thinking about gathering up non-perishable foodstuffs.

An update...

I continue playing acoustic music with folks in King, NC. I'll have my first real gig with Ralph & Rex McGee, storied musical brothers of Stokes County and beyond, on July 31 in Clemmons. Here's hoping I can hold down my end of things.

Otherwise I'm enjoying electric guitar muchly again, after a hiatus, more or less, from the instrument. Currently I'm looking for other like-minded musicians with which to start an electric outfit, aiming to get rooted with blues and folk-derived music and see where it may go from there. I also have tons of little musical clippets and snippets stored in my loop pedal, and am seeking venues to get some of that stuff out of that box and into other spaces. We'll see.

it has been brought to my attention that the photo below didn't work out right. Here we go again.

Eight and a Half Months Later

OK...

Two major updates- one is that my brother Ben sent me this real live picture (that's really his finger on the left hand side) and folks let's just say the sign speaks for itself. I never thought much of free thinkers myself.

Second is I am at the Green Bean coffeehouse in Greensboro, North Carolina and just saw a bumper sticker for the band "Marks On Most Surfaces." The most astute audience will note that their acronym is "MOMS" and indeed they are taking advantage of that in their advertising.

In other news-

Now twice delayed, I'll be playing my first concert for the NC Triad's folk music society, the Fiddle and Bow (http://www.fiddleandbow.org/) sometime in April, or so it looks currently. I may have the honor of opening for the terrific Chuck Brodsky (http://www.chuckbrodsky.com/). We shall see.

Next Friday I will open for the inimitable Jon Watts (www.jonwatts.com). Information on his front page- towards the bottom in the Tour section.

Besides these things, I now have an 8 month rearview mirror in which to view my experience of the Kaufman Kamp, the incredible acoustic music camp I attended for the first time this past June. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think about it. I knew it was great at the time, but I had NO idea how influential it would be for me, to become my one most looked-forward-to event of the year (and I anticipate for many years to come), and to help me come to finally settle, more or less, into a good description of myself as a musician- flatpicker.

Visit Steve Kaufman at www.flatpik.com (yes "pik") and see for yourself if you have any interest in acoustic music, the traditional mountain-based music of the eastern US, or if you are baffled at what the term "flatpicker" may mean.

I am thrilled that this year at the Kamp I'll be working with Russ Barenburg, king of sweet-tea-sweet acoustic tone. Awesome.

Take care all.

Piety Street!!!!!

This is just a tree falling in the forest with no one to hear it, likely, but I am listening to John Scofield's spring release "Piety Street" and I am SOOOOO EXCITED to hear this record at this moment! Everyone run out and acquire it however you see fit as long as you do it NOW! This is amazing roots/soul/country/jazz- yes!

In other news, I'll soon be playing at Whole Foods and, more excitingly, at Foothills Brewing Company in downtown Winston-Salem. Details forthcoming.

Home again

I use "home" loosely, having lived six places in the past 13 months- anyway- I've returned from the amazingly well-kept secret of the Steve Kaufman acoustic camp in Maryville, TN. I spent the week taking classes, sharing meals, picking and hanging out with some amazing flatpickers and teachers- the likes of Rolly Brown, Mark Cosgrove, Steve Kaufman, the unbelievably smooth Scott Nygaard, Jeff Jenkins, Mike Maddux, and the illustrious Dan Crary. What a time.

Reality strikes again as that blissful experience has drawn to a close and there is again money to be made, floors to be swept, dishes to be washed, meals to be cooked, etc. I have much more impetus to get a lot more flatpicking in my life now and seek out all the good acoustic music that I know is in this area. Just have to find it.

Looking forward to my coffeehouse show this Sunday (Cafe Roche on Hawthorne in Winston-Salem, 12-3).

gone a'pickin' and a'grinnin'

Reporting from Knoxville on the eve of my long-awaited week at Steve Kaufman's acoustic camp at Maryville College, Maryville, TN (http://www.acoustic-kamp.com/). Thanks to the scholarship I received for this occasion, I'll spend the next week developing my flatpicking skills and repertoire with the aid of some of old time & bluegrass music's finest teachers. Perhaps most exciting of all is the promise of three meals a day in Pearsons, the Maryville College cafeteria. There was a time in my not-so-distant past when that last sentence would've been a joke- no more!

Life goes on as I've now lived two lightning-speed weeks in Winston-Salem, capped by Friday night's show at Honduras Coffee Company (http://www.hondurascoffeecompany.com/) in Stuart, Virginia. It was intimate (to say the least), certainly a case of quality over quantity in terms of listening. Folk there were friendly and laid back, enjoying the wonderful atmosphere and listening in a way performers don't often enjoy. A major technical snafu on my part (the essential missing component of the PA was of course inside one of the speakers) made for a true acoustic show. Many thanks to my folks for lending the PA, again, while I wait for that fine day when I can get my own.

Now it's off to camp, with lots of excitement for the people I will meet, the tunes I will learn, and for any life nudges, major or minor, that will inevitably come out of such a gathering.

Happy trails~