Musical Year in Review

My musical year in review could almost double as my overall year in review, as it was a very music-filled year. Musical activities have also been very much the best part of 2013.

This was the year I joined Chip and Sandy in Rosewood. This has almost been more fun than I could have imagined (and I have a very good imagination.) It's exactly what I was looking and hoping for - to play with good musicians in a gigging band.

I was talking to Darling Wife after one of the acoustic jams, and I noted that the musicians there treated me differently once word got out that I was playing in a gigging band. She answered, "Of course they do, you've got what they all want - the holy grail." I don't say that with any arrogance - I was just in the right place at the right time, and things have worked out. There are many many bass players out there as good or better than me, and Rosewood would sound great with any of them. The band could dissolve tomorrow, and that wouldn't make me any better or worse a player.

Playing with such a good singer has been an education in itself. Transposing keys on the fly is now something I can almost do without thinking.

Now there's the small matter of my miserable performing face....

It was also the year of the Folk Fest, which was an experience not to be forgotten. We can't wait until August for the next year's fest.

Finally, it was the year of the mandolin. I pretty much immersed myself in playing the mandolin, and I think I've made significant strides in my playing. I've started to bring the mando out in public, and that will continue in '14.

One of the best things about getting more involved in music is that it's something Darling Wife and I can do together. Most of my activities have been things she's not interested in doing with me. That's never been a problem - but it's also nice to do something that she enthusiastically wants to be part of. We had a great time this year at festivals, concerts, open mics, Rosewood gigs, acoustic jams, etc., etc.

My hope and intention is that 2014 will see a continuation of everything that happened in '13. Practices and gigs with Rosewood. Tuesday nights with Breakfall - and maybe gigs with them? I'm sure to be buying and selling equipment, which will keep the eyes rolling in my house. I'll be playing mandolin, guitar, and bass, and I'll always be looking for people to play with.

2013 was a fantastic year music-wise, and here's to that continuing in 2014.

Another Gig at the West End Alley

Last Saturday, Rosewood Trio had our second Saturday-night gig at the West End Alley in Pottstown. We're still not sure what to do about drums. We've rehearsed with a guy a couple of times, and he wants to play with us, but we don't see any way of fitting a drummer in on the tiny stage at the Alley. And we now have a number of scheduled gigs in the new year, both at the Alley and at St. Peter's Bakery, which is also *tiny*. Maybe a small electronic kit would do?

The three of us arrived to set up at 5:00 - last time we showed up at 6:00 to play at 7:00, but this time they asked us to be there at 5:00. Our setup and sound check took 15-20 minutes, so we then had time to kill before it was time to play. We sat at a table and ordered some food and a glass of wine and chatted. They told us they had a good number of reservations, which was exciting - the crowd was small the first time (I think the restaurant had just opened.)

Sandy brought a thermos of homemade glogg - a Swedish spiced wine, served hot. It was good, and had enough of a kick to get you through those long Swedish winters! We toasted the gig with a shot.

A few of my aikido friends came in around 7:00, and Darling Wife and brother Chris came in shortly after 7:00. The place did indeed turn out to be pretty full, and we had a great time. We played two sets, and ended the first with Sarah McLachlan's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", and the second set with "Santa Baby" (played in our Santa hats!) I *despise* "Santa Baby" when I hear it on the radio, but it was a lot of fun to play. Darling Wife filmed it, and we had a great time (and what's a few forgotten lyrics between friends?)

Oh, Sandy once again invited people to sing or dance during "Brown Eyed Girl", and brother Chris does not need to be asked twice. He grabbed our friend Erika, and they danced up a storm. (I thanked Erika afterwards for being so good-natured, and she assured me it was her pleasure.)

We shared a dessert after packing up, and agreed that it was another successful and super-fun evening.

Eric Johnson's Favorite Guitars

Fun little article with video clips of Eric Johnson's favorite guitars. Cool stuff.

Update on Lessons

A month ago, I wrote that Younger Daughter and I were starting weekly lessons - she on guitar, me on mandolin. A month later, she is working very hard at it and making great progress. I'm pleased and proud, but most of all happy for her that she's found something she loves to do. So she's continuing with the teacher we found.

I enjoyed my month of lessons, but I'm not continuing (and since you pay by the month, I didn't renew for December.) I got a couple of good technical pointers, but I need more - and I found it. I saw a number of flowing recommendations online for Mike Marshall's online mandolin school.

That's not a name that meant anything to me, but a little Googling shows that he's considered one of the very top mandolin players. He's set up a school where you pay by the month and get unlimited access to a big library of video lessons, which you can go through at your own pace. There are loads of free video lessons on YouTube, but seemed worth paying for. You also get access to printed tabs of the songs in the lessons - and the big thing is you can make your own video and submit it to the site, and Mike Marshall will review it and give you a video response. Not exactly the same as a real-time Skype lesson - but interactive nonetheless. A note for the frugal among us - unlimited access to Mike Marshall is *way* less expensive than half an hour a week at in in-person lesson.

I signed up two weeks ago, and I love it. I've been devouring the lessons. They're divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced. While I knew I wasn't a beginner, I decided it couldn't hurt me to start at the very beginning - that maybe I had some bad habits from being mostly self-taught that I could correct.

I went through all the beginner lessons in a matter of days, and now I'm in the intermediate - which is definitely my current level. The lessons are interesting and challenging, and I'm getting a lot out of them. I haven't submitted a video yet...but I guess I should.... Yes, I'm a little nervous about it, even though he repeatedly asks you to do it. Who knows...maybe I'll even do it this weekend. :-)

Rosewood at the West End Alley

Last Saturday was the first of two scheduled Rosewood Trio gigs at the West End Alley, a new restaurant in Pottstown.

We'd been rehearsing, and had some new songs to add to the set list. We've also rehearsed a couple of times with a drummer, but he didn't play this gig with us. The place was too small, and the stage was just big enough for three of us. (Parenthetically, I guess it was short-sighted of me to pick "RosewoodTrio" as our Facebook URL, when we won't be a trio if we do add the drummer. "RosewoodMusic" would probably have been better. Oh well....)

We arrived around 6:00 to set up, as we were scheduled to play from 7:00-9:00. It's a cute little place right on the main street of Pottstown, and they have a professional PA and sound system, so all we had to do was plug into it. Darling Wife and Brother Chris were there to see us, and they had an appetizer as we set up and did our sound check, then ordered dinner as we started our first set at 7:00.

We played about 50 minutes, took a 15 minute break, then came back and played a second set until 9:00. Sandy had her brand-new Taylor, which sounded fantastic - and I think the mix was good. The little on-the-fly changes we make are always amusing and always keep me on my toes. I know that no one in the audience would ever notice, but I smile to myself and think "that's not the way we rehearsed it." But we're nimble enough to react and stay with it seamlessly. As always, it was a blast to play with them. Darling Wife pronounced her dinner excellent, as well as the BYOB wine we brought.

Our last song was Brown Eyed Girl, and Sandy jokingly told people to dance and sing along. She didn't know that Brother Chris *never* needs a second invitation to get up and dance. He grabbed a waitress he'd been talking with all night, and they danced the whole song. She was a good sport, and when I tried to thank her afterwards for being a good sport, she assured me that she understood and that it was a pleasure.

As we were cleaning up, we asked Darling Wife to take a few pics, and maybe we could get a good one to use as a promotional pic (replacing the "cowboy hat" pic we've been using.) The one at right is the one we like best.

Another fun night of good music. And another paid gig too (very small pay, but a paid gig nonetheless.) We all celebrated with a glass of wine and a dessert.

We'll be back there again Saturday evening, Dec. 21. And Sandy already has a Christmas surprise in mind.

Marylou's 50th

Jan, Ginny, Dave, Harry

Our friend Marylou from the acoustic jam meetups just turned 50. (As an aside, Marylou has appeared on my blog before - we ran into each other at the Martin guitar tent at the Folk Fest and had an impromptu jam with their demo guitars.) She's a huge fan of music and jams and open mics, so her family and friends rented out a big room at the Thorndale Inn two Sundays ago and threw an open mic.

We went without any specific plans to play, but I took my acoustic/electric with me, just in case I found someone who wanted to do a few songs (and more importantly, could sing.) I found two such someone's almost immediately. Our friend Ginny had her guitar and her ukelele with her and was looking for someone to play with. Then we got talking with Jan, a mutual friend who runs the Monday night open mic at Jasmine Thai, and we were a threesome for the day.

We gathered in an unused dining room to pick songs and briefly rehearse. Ginny had a list of songs she'd been practicing, and I jumped at Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane." That's one of my favorite songs, and I know it well. We ran through the changes a few times and agreed on who'd play what. The ladies would both sing, and I'd take the guitar lead.

We had a bit of trouble settling on a second song. Jan wanted to do Lucinda Williams' "Drunken Angel." I didn't know the song, but she assured me it wasn't complicated, and taught me the chord pattern. It's a nice song with a simple progression. So we were good to go.

Marylou's friends had a PA and a sound system set up, and everyone sounded great. We ate and drank and talked and watched other people play. Then finally it was our turn. We set up and plugged in, the guy running the sound checked our levels, and we launched into the Neil Young - with our friend Harry playing blues harmonica with us. This was the first time I've had this guitar plugged into a real sound system, and it sounded fantastic (and was quite a rush.) Then it was the Lucinda Williams, with Jan singing and Ginny switching over to her uke.

I think it went great and it was a lot of fun. And I now have an open invitation to play at the Jasmine Thai on Mondays. I've got to see if I can make that happen.

Guitar Expo

The weekend before last was the semi-annual guitar expo at the Oaks Convention Center. Chip and Sandy went to this in June, and told me I simply had to see it. I needed no convincing, and have had this on my calendar since then. I asked Darling Wife if she wanted to come, and she did, so we made an afternoon of it.

Even though we were told it was massive, our first reaction on walking in was something like "holy f&@%." An entire expo hall filled with guitars. Football fields of guitars. It was boggling. We walked up and down the aisles in awe.

The first couple of rows were mostly acoustic instruments - mostly guitars, with some banjos, mandolins, and ukeleles thrown in. It's billed as a "vintage guitar show", and many of the instruments really were vintage - from the 60's and 70's, all the back through the 20's. Martin, Taylor, Gibson, etc.

The next aisles were more weighted towards electric guitars. It was a smorgasbord. I never knew there were so many Les Pauls in the world, let alone all under one roof. Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, etc.

Darling Wife was just as enthusiastic as I was, and any number of times laughed and said "oh, you need one of those!" I think her final list was 7 guitars that I had to have. If I can remember the list, I'll post it separately. The next step, of course, is winning the lottery.

The true vintage instruments were fascinating to look at, but I wouldn't want to own one. I don't want a 1938 Martin for $25,000, or a 1959 Les Paul, or whatever. First, I'd be terrified to have anything that valuable. Second, I just can't believe that a 1938 Martin sounds *that* much better than a new or recent Martin. Third, even if you convince me that it does, I'm not a good enough player to be worth that difference. If you have the money and like collecting cool stuff, god bless you - but that's not interesting to me. I'm happy to look at it, but I have *no* desire to own it.

It also turned out to be something of a social event. I knew we weren't going to see Chip and Sandy - they were there first thing in the morning (and Sandy made an impulse purchase of a new Taylor acoustic - an upgrade from the one she had!) We did run into a few people we know from the acoustic meetup, and it was fun to chat and compare notes about what we'd seen and what we lust after.

It was a total blast, and I can't wait for the next one. I'm only sad that I'll have to wait until June.

Lessons for Two

This past summer, Younger Daughter asked if she could take guitar lessons. Of course I said yes - everyone in this house knows that I'll support anything musical. If anyone wants to play the kazoo, tuba, bagpipes, or anything in between, I'll do whatever I can to make it happen.

Summer came and went, and with various trips and vacations, plus time spent at her mom's, it didn't happen - but neither of us forgot about it. In September, we saw a Saturday morning group beginner's guitar lesson on the township recreation schedule, and tried to sign up, but it was cancelled because not enough people signed up. So I went to Facebook and posted a message asking my friends if they knew a good local guitar teacher for a teenage girl. I got a good recommendation, talked to him on the phone, and signed us up.

Yes, "us." I saw from his online bio that he teaches a few instruments, including mandolin. I'm still playing a lot of mandolin - I play scales, exercises, and songs just about every day with very very few exceptions. I think I'm making nice progress, but I'm entirely self- and YouTube-taught, and I thought it would be helpful to get some feedback. You pay by the month for weekly lessons, so I'll do a month and then decide whether or not to continue.

We have back-to-back half hour lessons, and the first one was last Friday evening. I've taught Younger Daughter some chords, and she's enthusiastically practicing them. She wants to play songs she likes (Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, etc.), and I've told her that once she learns a handful of chords and gets them down cold, that she'll be able to play whatever songs she wants. Parenthetically, I could certainly teach her myself, but I think the discipline of going to a once-a-week lesson with a teacher who's not Dad will be helpful.

Both our lessons went well. He was impressed with how much YD knows already, and continued her down the path of chords and exercises that I started her on. My lesson was good too, and I now have some new exercises to practice - which I am.

Next lesson in three days.

Acoustic Jam, More Gigs

Sunday afternoon was October's acoustic jam meetup, and we were prepared with a new song, John Hiatt's "Gone". I'm not sure where she heard it, but Darling Wife recently brought home his "Crossing Muddy Waters" disc, and handed it to me with the comment, "I think you'll like it, it has a lot of mandolin on it."

She's right, I do like it, and it's a nice mix of guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin. We picked "Gone" to take to the jam because it's a fun, simple three-chord song with an opportunity for jamming in the middle.

My favorite song from the disc is "Before I Go", but I thought that might be too much for the meetup. I love it, and have been playing it on both the guitar and mandolin, and if I could sing at all, I'd take this to an open mic myself.

For the second straight month, I took both a guitar and a mandolin to the jam, and switched off depending on the song. Basically, I played mandolin whenever possible, going back to guitar for songs in unusual keys or with non-straightforward chord progressions. It worked out great, and I even accepted a nod to take a lead a few times - nothing fancy, but I can do a rudimentary lead that fits the song and key and sounds okay. I'll be doing this at all meetups to come.

After the jam, a bunch of us decided to continue the festivities at Molly Maguires, a new Irish pub in Downingtown. They have live traditional Irish music on Sunday evenings, and it was fun to have a meal and a cold beverage and listen to some music with good folks. It's been declared a new post-jam tradition.

Acoustic band practice was postponed last week, but we'll gather again this week. We've settled on some new songs to work on - and we have two more gigs confirmed. We have two Saturday nights (11/16 and 12/21) at the West End Alley in Pottstown. We also have some confirmed dates for the St. Peter's Bakery in 2014.

Amusingly, the West End asked for a band picture to put on a promotional poster, and we gave them the cowboy hat pic from the Folk Fest. It's a good pic of everyone (and the best smile you're likely to get out of me), but I hope people don't see it and expect to hear cowboy music!

Going Small

In the aftermath of the acoustic band's St. Peter's Inn gig, we talked about how daunting it was starting to feel to be rehearsing 30+ songs. We talked and exchanged some e-mails, and the idea of "going small" was presented and agreed on. Basically, instead of focusing on gigs and preparing for them as they come up, we'll do more open mics. We'll still take gigs as they come, but the focus will be getting out more often and playing 3-4 songs.

That will let us "play" more (in the "having fun" sense of the word.) We can try out different things, just do some jamming for the fun of it, try different arrangements - and let me play some mandolin. I think it's a good plan, and there are so many regular open mics in the area that we can play as often as we want (here's how to find out where.)

We started the new plan by going to Chaplin's in Spring City last night. We did an open mic there in May, and it's a fantastic venue - it's a real club with a real stage and a real sound system. You get 3 songs or 15 minutes. They supply a drum kit and a bass amp, and you bring your instruments and anything else you need. In our case, the only other thing we need is Sandy's vocalizer (the box that allows her to harmonize with herself.)

We signed up for the fourth slot, and settled in to watch the other acts with a bottle of white wine (BYOB). There were two singer/songwriters and one rapper(!), then it was our turn. We didn't do anything fancy last night, as we hadn't practiced since last Sunday's gig - we just did three songs we know well.

It's exciting to play on a real stage - even if it's only in front of a handful of people, most of whom are either friends or family, or are waiting their turn to get up and do three songs. We were tight and it all went well - Darling Wife (yeah, I know, not exactly the most unbiased observer) said we were head and shoulders above everyone else. But it's not a competition. Oh wait, it actually is a competition - the acts that are judged the best (I'm not sure by who, or over what time period of open mics) will win $300 and a gig at Chaplin's.

In practice, "going small" probably doesn't really change anything. We still have feelers out for more gigs - and if one is offered, we'll happily take it, and will get together as much material as we need. But it's a different mindset, and a good reminder that the real goal is having fun - which we're doing.

Last night was a fun night, and hopefully the start of a number of open mics.

Afternoon on the Deck

After a great (and rocking) time at Eric's wedding on Friday night, we made our way home Saturday morning with the rest of the weekend in front of us. For me, that meant band practice on Saturday night - our final rehearsal before Sunday's gig.

Practice actually went well - our pattern to this point has been rocky final practices (followed by gigs that go wonderfully.) We were a little stressed with the realization sinking in that 30 songs (which is what we were planning to play for a 2:00-6:00 gig) is a lot of material. We had considered dropping a few songs from the set, depending on how Saturday's practice went - but they all went well and stayed in the set.

I decided, and all agreed, that my mandolin playing had to be dropped for this gig. We were scrambling to get 30 songs ready to play, and didn't need the additional work of figuring out new arrangements for anything. But that's something we'll do after this gig.

We left the rehearsal feeling ready, so the only remaining question was the weather. The forecast called for a cloudy day with a 20% chance of rain. Even though we were playing under a canopy, a heavy rain would force us to cancel - the canopy wasn't enclosed on all sides, and we have all those electrical cords running around (mics, amps, PA, etc.)

Sunday dawned cloudy/foggy, but the weather gods smiled on us. By noon it was sunny with blue skies - a gorgeous early fall day - and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. I arrived at the Inn around 1:30, with Darling Wife and brother Chris. We had a niche at the corner of the deck to set up, and we were ready to go shortly after 2:00.

The playing itself went by in a blur. I think we sounded good, and we got a number of nice compliments, not only from people on the deck at the Inn, but also from people walking by on the street. There were no major malfunctions in any of the songs - not even the ones we felt shaky on right up until the last practice. We didn't have any of the tempo issues that we've had occasionally at other gigs (with the adrenaline flowing, it's easy to play songs faster than they should be played!)

My set list, with annotations from Saturday's practice, is at right. We didn't do things exactly in this order, and we skipped a few songs in the interest of time. But it's a rough approximation of what we played.

I probably say this on every post about the acoustic band, but I can't help saying it again. It is *such* a pleasure to be playing with such professional-sounding people. I can hardly believe my good fortune. And to actually be out and playing gigs? Just wow....

We finished up around 5:30, and Darling Wife had a bottle of wine waiting for us. We toasted a very fun and successful day, and then Sandy shocked me by putting actual green money in my hand. I didn't know it was a paying gig! Not that it really matters...I won't be quitting my day job (sadly.) But it's very cool to walk away with enough cash to take a supportive spouse to dinner - or think about new gear. :-)

All in all, pretty much a perfect day.

Brother Eric's take on the day is here. I'm also stealing his pics from that post. He's become pretty much the official band photographer - his shots from the polo club gig are fantastic, and we're all looking forward to seeing his pics from this gig. Keep an eye on the band's FB page for more pics.

Rocking the Reception

As I mentioned a few posts ago, there were two gigs scheduled for this past weekend. The first was Friday night, when my friend Eric got married. His ex-girlfriend (and current wife) wanted us to play a set at their reception, and we were happy to.

We're still missing a lead guitar player, but we picked some songs that sound good as a threesome. The wedding was small and beautiful, and the Stirling Guest Hotel is gorgeous. After the dinner and the toasts and the obligatory first dances, we got ready to roll.

I was wondering about the acoustics and how we'd sound. What made the place so beautiful is that it was an old home with high ceilings and hardwood floors - so I wondered if the sound would bounce around like crazy?

We launched into our set, and the sound seemed fine. People seemed to enjoy it, and were up and dancing at those songs that allowed it. We're not exactly a dance/wedding band, but we did the best we could. There was a lot of dancing to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love", and we do a nice version of that, so we extended it for a while.

The official photographer took loads of pictures of us, and maybe we'll get to see some of those pics one day. For now, all I have is an iPhone pic, which will have to do. Note my bow tie - it's the first, and maybe also the last, time I've worn one. Eric is a noted bow tie-wearer, and Darling Wife suggested a bow tie for me for his wedding, which was a wonderful idea.

We played our set, and got many requests for more, so we took a quick break to visit the bar, then played a second set. It was a pleasure to be part of a good friend's wedding. We had a great time, and got many very nice comments - most of which boiled down to "you guys are really tight, you should be out gigging." We are tight, and if we can get a lead guitar player on board, who knows....

(And of course the weekend was just beginning. Stay tuned.)

Going Public with the Mando

With a bit of prodding, I've brought my mandolin out in public. I started practicing it in earnest about six months ago, when I upgraded my mando from a toy to a real instrument. I still couldn't be happier with that upgrade, and I've been practicing it pretty much every day, and I know I'm getting better.

Noodling at the Folk Fest

My friends at the acoustic jams know I've been playing, as do my acoustic band-mates, and both groups have urged me to bring it and play. That's been a scary thought, as I don't want to embarrass myself. I'm a good bass player and a passable guitar player, but still a novice mandolin player. But both groups are friendly and supportive, and the time seemed right. I brought it to the Folk Fest, though I played mostly guitar at the campfire jams - then last Sunday I brought it to the monthly acoustic jam. I played about half the songs on guitar and half on mandolin (picking the songs with easier chords for mandolin), and it worked out great.

Last week at band practice, I was urged to bring the mandolin to the next practice. I've been asked that before and never brought it - but today I did. We talked about songs in our set list where I might play it, and I played it on a couple of songs. The reaction was good! We'll talk more specifically about where it might fit, and how to amplify it, and I might even play it on some songs at the gig (which, *gulp*, is two weeks from today!) We'll see - I may still chicken out. But I feel like I've crossed a threshold, and can actually play some fairly simple things for public consumption. It's exciting. :-)

Rosewood Online

We've been playing around with recording, and have been looking for a good way to post MP3 files. A little Googling turned up SoundCloud. We now have a site at https://soundcloud.com/rosewoodmusic/, and I posted two MP3's from our last rehearsal (electronic drums were added afterwards.)

It looks like a nice site. The MP3's can be listened to from the site itself - but more importantly, they can be posted to a Facebook wall, or embedded in a web page or blog post, like so:

Upcoming Gigs

A music-filled summer is turning into a music-filled fall. I've probably only mentioned a hundred times how happy I am to be part of the Rosewood Trio...but what's one more mention? It's just a blast to be playing with such a professional-sounding group. We have another gig coming up, on a Sunday afternoon in October at the Inn at St. Peter's. This is right next door to the bakery where we played twice this summer, and it's where we went to celebrate with a glass of wine after the bakery gigs. It's a fancy restaurant with a big outdoor deck, and we'll be playing for four hours out on the deck.

Breakfall (the electric band) is still in a state of flux. We've been playing some as a trio, and have just been too busy to look for a fourth person (though we'll start that soon.) That hasn't stopped us from having our own gig though. Eric, our guitarist, is getting married in October, and his bride-to-be wants us to play a short set at the reception. So he's picked a list of songs that sound okay as a trio, and we'll rock the house. He's also mentioned a song he might want to do as a surprise to his bride, and we'll be happy to play whatever he wants on his day.

Stay tuned for gig reports.

My Happy Place

Yes, this is my happy place!

Last Saturday, I played a set with the Rosewood Trio as part of a charity event/polo match benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The weather was perfect, and it was a very fun day, and I think we sounded good. Darling Wife, who has been at every open mic and every one of the three gigs I've played with them, said this is the best we've sounded. We also were actually a quartet for the day, as my friend Joe played the drums with us (two rehearsals and he was good to go.)

I was very happy that brother Eric and his family were able to be there - I was pretty sure that he'd enjoy seeing us, and he did (his very gracious take on the day is here.) Even better, he's a good photographer, so we finally have some band pics with a quality above an iPhone camera (posted on the Facebook page.)

Now, one thing Darling Wife tells me after every single performance is something to the effect of, "You look *so* miserable up there." I assure her every time that I'm practically giddy with delight to be on stage performing with some very talented musicians. But I'm also *concentrating*.

I've been hearing about "bitchy resting face." Apparently I have "miserable performing face." I'm not sure there's anything I can do about it. So yes, this really is a picture of me in my happy place. Believe it or not.

Anothery Bakery Night

Last Friday night, the acoustic band had our second gig at the bakery. The first gig was a complete success, and we'd been looking forward to playing there again (though with some last-minute uncertainty.)

Chip, Sandy, Dave

I left home around 5:00, looking to be there sometime after 5:30 for a 6:30 start. I had brother Chris with me, and Darling Wife would be coming directly from work to join us. I arrived to find multiple voice and text messages on my phone. It was our guitar player, telling me that our singer had canceled. What??? Really?!? Noooooooo....

I went into the bakery, and found him deep in discussion with a woman behind the counter. It turns out that she didn't cancel. Apparently the bakery got a call saying something about canceling, and assumed it was us. But things got straightened out, and we were playing. Whew.... So the evening started off with anger, disappointment, and exhilaration.

Issue #2. Darling Wife had called and reserved a table with 8 seats. I looked around and saw that the tables had name cards on them. But none with my name. There was one table of 8 labeled "Wyeth" - perhaps they got the name garbled. I asked, and the woman got out her book - yes, the Wyeth reservation was under Darling Wife's cell phone number. But she firmly insisted that she listened to the voice mail 3 times, and it was definitely "Wyeth." That's disappointing - I would have hoped that after 12 years, Darling Wife knew her new last name. But apparently there's still work to do there....

Anyway, once the false cancellation and the reservation name issues were resolved, it was all smooth sailing. Our singer's voice was improved from the night before, and there were no vocal issues. We did play the songs in the revised lower keys, and it all worked out fine for the most part. For me there was one exception - we recently added Jewel's Forever and a Day, which is a *gorgeous* lullaby. I have the song down, but it's not a simple three-chord song. Our singer asked for a key we hadn't practiced it in, and I wasn't able to transpose it on the fly. After a few clunkers, I simply stopped playing.

The two hours went by in a flash, and next thing I knew we were packing up and accepting kind words from the patrons (some of whom weren't even family or close friends!) Oh, and I had a chat with a young guy who was obviously a bass player. He came in as we were setting up and doing a sound check, and he looked at my bass and mouthed something. It took me a minute to realize that he was asking "fretless?" I gave him the thumbs-up, and he smiled.

The bakery again treated us wonderfully. We had all the food, drink, and desserts we could handle, and they gave us each a bag of treats as we were packing up. And once again, we split the contents of our tip jar, and went to the restaurant next door for a celebratory glass of wine. We calculated that if we did 20 of these shows every day, we could quit our day jobs. I'd do it in a heartbeat!

I'm basically out of superlatives to describe how much fun it is, first just to make music with talented people, and then to actually play out in public. I'm not sure there's anything better.

As the World Turns

...or "Soap Opera-type Happenings Playing in Bands"

Life is never dull. There have been a number of band-related ups and downs this week.

The electric band has been going great since we added a good lead guitarist late last year. We have hours of tight material, had great fun recording some demo tracks, and have been actively looking for little bar gigs (we had one scheduled for a Saturday night in July, but we got bumped for reasons unknown and were trying to reschedule.)

Note the past-tense "we *were* trying to reschedule." Tuesday morning, we got an e-mail from the lead guitarist, saying he had too many other commitments and had to quit the band. Okay, no hard feelings - he's a good guy, and we'll stay in touch, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if we play together again somewhere down the road. But we're sad about it, and have to decide how to move forward. We'll put an ad for a lead guitarist on Craigslist and see what we find. Or we could look for a bass player, and I'll move back to guitar (which is where I started with this band.) Stay tuned for next week's episode and find out what happens.

Then there's the acoustic trio. We play our second gig at the bakery tonight, and I'm very excited. But it was touch and go right up to the last minute. We practiced Wednesday night, and our vocalist came in with a cold and a sore throat and could hardly sing a note. We worked through some songs, telling her to please not do anything to strain her voice, and we finally ended practice early with a discussion on whether or not we'd have to cancel the gig.

We agreed that canceling on the day of the gig was bad form, so she said she'd make a decision yesterday. Thankfully, the text message I got yesterday said that she was improving, and could go if we could make some adjustments to the set list. She can't really hit the high notes, so a couple of songs have to be dropped, and a number of others have to be played in a slightly lower key. That's not a problem, and we rehearsed last night and figured out the new keys we'd be playing in.

So we're good to go, and I'm looking very forward to a fun evening. Though I will admit to a little nervousness. Changing the key of so many songs the night before a gig isn't ideal. It's not a *problem* - the guitar players just adjust the capo and play the exact same thing. I learn songs by patterns, and the patterns don't change - there's just a different "home" point. But there's a greater chance that I'll just play something by habit that used to be right, but is now wrong.

Stay tuned for a full report.

Traveling with Guitar

Adirondacks '12

I've written about my travel guitar a few times since getting it last year, and I still couldn't be more pleased with it. It's been exactly what I envisioned it would be - a guitar that I can toss in the car whenever I'm going anywhere that I might have some time to sit down and play. So far, it's gone to the River many times, Ocean City, MD twice, Staunton, VA a few times, and it accompanied us on our Adirondacks hiking trip last year. (As an aside, I'm very sad that I won't be able to bring it to Maine next month, as we're flying.)

I realized after a couple of lazy afternoons sitting out by the river and playing, that I tend to go through a pattern of tunings and songs, which I'll document here mostly so I can look back later and see how the pattern changes over time.

Standard Tuning, no capo
The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young)
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Led Zeppelin)
Scarborough Fair (Simon and Garfunkel)
Feelin' Groovy (S&G)
Blackbird (Beatles)
Guaranteed (Eddie Vedder)
Norwegian Wood (Beatles)
Rainy Night in Georgia (Brook Benton)
Across the Universe (Beatles)

Standard Tuning, capo 2
America (Simon and Garfunkel)

Standard Tuning, capo 3
Catch the Wind (Donovan)
Something in the Way She Moves (James Taylor)

Standard Tuning, capo 7
Here Comes the Sun (Beatles)
Hotel California (Eagles)

Drop-D Tuning
Harvest Moon (Neil Young)

Double Drop-D Tuning
Going to California (Led Zeppelin)

Ocean City '13

Open-G Tuning
That's the Way (Led Zeppelin)

Open-G Tuning, capo 2
Morning Morgantown (Joni Mitchell)

DADGAD Tuning
No Quarter (Led Zeppelin)
Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)

This isn't to say that I can play all these songs well - some are very much works-in-progress - but I think they're all at least recognizable to someone who knows the song.

The pic at right was taken from the beach at Ocean City. It was after our nightly walk on the boardwalk, and I was playing while Darling Wife and Chris walked on the beach. Since I have the capo on the 7th fret, that means I'm playing either "Here Comes the Sun" or "Hotel California."

Maidencreek Old Time Music Festival, 7/14/13

(There's been so much music, and so much *life* going on, that I've fallen way behind in things I want to write about. Hopefully a number of posts over the next few days will clear the backlog. Hopefully. :-))

Open jam (I'm not in the pic)

A few weekends ago, I saw a notice for the Maidencreek Old Time Music Festival, an annual event in the Reading vicinity. It sounded like a day of acoustic music (guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, etc.) - with both scheduled performances, workshops, and jam sessions. I decided I wanted to go if vacation permitted, and thankfully it did. When the day dawned warm and sunny, Darling Wife decided to join me.

I decided to take the back roads route, rather than the turnpike, and it was a very pleasant drive through some rural areas between Pottstown and Reading that I wasn't familiar with. Oh, and I decided I was a mandolin player for the day. In retrospect, there's no reason I couldn't have taken a guitar too - but there were mandolin workshops, and I decided that would be my focus for the day.

The event was at Maier's Grove, a private picnic grove run by the Lions Club. It was small and intimate. Most of the workshops I was at had 10-15 people. We saw some individual performances to start, then the instrument workshops started in the middle afternoon. I sat in on the "beginning mandolin", then continued with the "advancing mandolin".

Both sessions were very helpful. All my mandolin work is self-taught - I'm working from books and YouTube lessons, but I haven't had anyone look at me and give pointers/corrections. The "beginning" workshop was good feedback that I'm on the right track with my basics, and the "advancing" workshop was good feedback that I'm on the right track with the things I'm currently working on (pentatonic scales, movable chord shapes up and down the fingerboard, picking patterns.)

While I was attending my workshops, Darling Wife was looking in on the other workshops, and then found herself captivated by the square dancing workshop. She said the caller was a Pennsylvania Dutch guy who was hilarious and made it a great time. She said that when our kids get married, we're hiring him for the wedding. (She hasn't broken this news to the kids yet.) She also almost got a degree from Yodeling University - but that's her story to tell.

There were no formal workshops in the late afternoon, so we listened to some informal jam sessions, then found a shady spot under a tree next to a bubbling stream and enjoyed the summer day. The Lions Club was there selling food and drink from a pavilion, and that's what we did for lunch and dinner. The food was really good, and much of it was homemade, including ice cream, which was to die for!

The last event was a concert by the workshop instructors. They were all good, but the highlight for me was the "advancing mandolin" workshop leader Ken Gehret. He played a few songs, including a beautiful solo version of George Gershwin's "Summertime."

All in all, a very fun day. What they call "old time" music is basically Appalachian music - fiddle tunes derived from Irish/Scottish folk music. They're mostly simple three-chord songs, but they're fun to play and fun to listen to. At the end of the day, they announced that next year's festival would be on the same Sunday in July. We vowed to mark our calendars and be there again - but within days, we got a "save the date" postcard for a wedding we'll be expected to attend. Ah well.

Here's an article from the Reading Eagle.

Tracy Grammer, 6/29/13

More notes from a very musical weekend.

Last Friday, as I was bubbling over with excitement about the upcoming gig, I saw on Facebook that Tracy Grammer was going to be at The Burlap and Bean, Darling Wife's very favorite coffee shop and live music venue, the very next night. I saw Tracy at the folk festival last year, and she's an engaging folksinger. I asked DW if she wanted to go, and she enthusiastically did, so I went online and got us two tickets.

I've been aware of the general outlines of her story for a while, but I've learned more recently. It was probaby around 2000 when WXPN started playing "Crocodile Man" by Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer a lot, and I thought it was a very catchy tune. I heard later that he had died suddenly. I thought it was a shame, as it seemed he died just as they were starting to hit it big - and then I didn't give it any more thought.

When I saw last year that she was going to be at the folk fest, I did some Googling, and learned a very sad story. She and Dave Carter were life partners as well as a musical duo. He died, just shy of age 50, of a massive heart attack, in her arms. She has continued recording and performing his songs. (She tells the story here.)

We had a very pleasant evening at the Burlap and Bean. I had never been there, but it was everything Darling Wife said - an intimate coffee shop with comfy couches and plush chairs, as well as tables and a small stage area. They serve all kinds of fresh food and hot and cold drinks. The sound was great, and we were as close as if she'd been playing in our living room.

It was just her and her acoustic guitar, and it was both a sweet and a sad evening. She calls herself a storyteller in addition to a musican, and she interspersed stories of Dave Carter, and how they met, and how their musical and life partnership developed. It was very sweet and poignant and heartfelt - but I also couldn't stop thinking how hard that had to be, to re-live those memories and experience those emotions again every night in front of an audience.

One irony is that she said Dave Carter's explicit plan was for him to stay home and write songs, and for her to go out and perform them. And that's what's happened - he's no longer around, but she's made it her mission to perform his songs and keep his memory alive.

Ignoring for a moment the backstory and the emotions, his songs are worth singing, and it was a night of great music. Tracy's guitar playng isn't complicated, but I love her sense of timing, and how she makes her guitar almost a percussion instrument. She really comes down hard with the right hand, snapping her wrist on the downbeat.

Here are a couple of Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer songs:

• Crocodile Man
• Gentle Arms of Eden

Friday Night at the Bakery

Last Friday night I had the chance to play a real live gig for the first time in...30 years? I mentioned in my recent post about my fretless bass that I've been playing bass in an acoustic trio, and we had our first gig together at a local bakery (full details here.)

Our job was to play from 6:30-8:30 (two sets with a short break in the middle.) We'd been rehearsing fairly intensively, and I was pretty sure it would go well, but I felt a little nervousness on Friday. I wasn't nervous about not knowing our set - on the contrary, I felt very comfortable with all our songs. I'd rehearsed them often enought that they were all "burned in", and we'd rehearsed together enough that we could make fairly seamless on-the-fly adjustments and stay together.

I'd been told that the "stage" area was small, and it was even smaller than I'd imagined. The three of us were in tight formation - so much so that one had to be careful about swinging the neck of one's guitar, or you'd bonk the person next to you. That wasn't a problem, and it actually turned out to have advantages.

The inside of the bakery was small, with maybe 10-12 tables - and the tables were all full. There was also an outside deck overlooking French Creek, with more tables and more areas to stand.

We launched into our set shortly after 6:30, and it went great. Darling Wife, who was part assistant sound man and part master of ceremonies, gave us the thumbs up about the sound mix. One thing that our rehearsals didn't account for was the background noise. The bakery was full, and people were talking as they ordered food and ate and watched, and it was loud. So much so that it was a little disorienting at first. In our quiet basement rehearsals, I could literally hear the sound of fingers on a guitar string and adjust appropriately. Now I didn't have that feedback I was used to. It wasn't a problem, but I was paying *very* close attention to what the others were doing.

I mentioned that the physical closeness had advantages - the primary one was we could exchange a few words. If one of us said "another chorus", we all got it and reacted appropriately. And we did make a number of adjustments to songs - mostly just reacting to the moment and following the singer. It all worked out great.

The two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and the night was a complete success by any measure. We got many kind words afterwards from people, and the bakery gave us all the pizza and pastries we wanted (and a take-home goody bag of pastries for each of us.) And our compensation wasn't limited to what we could fit in our bellies. We had a tip jar, and the contents at the end of the night were enough to put a little cash in each of our pockets, and we (the band and Yoko Darling Wife) decided to go next door to the St. Peter's Inn and blow the rest of our tip money on a bottle of wine to celebrate an insanely fun evening.

There are a couple of videos and a number of pics of the evening on the Facebook page. Here's one more video.

We'll be back at the bakery to do it again on Aug. 9. And we're working on other gigs. So here's to a fun and musical summer.

Chip, Sandy, Dave

Mandolin Musings

Random thought #1: an aikido teacher I very much like and respect said something that's stayed in my head. "You're a martial artist every day you train. Every day you don't train, you're not." Simple to the point of being simplistic, but a good reminder - if you want to be something, you have to do it every day. And you can replace "martial artist" with "musician", or any other avocation.

Random thought #2: at a recent acoustic jam meetup, I was talking with the best musician (by far) in the meetup. He plays everything, and plays them all well - at a given meetup, he might bring a guitar, a mandolin, a dobro, or a bass. Sometimes he'll jump up and play the piano. He plays the fiddle (though he hasn't brought that to a meetup), and he just bought a set of bagpipes. Anyway, I told him that I'm now playing the mandolin and asked for advice on getting good enough to play in a group like the meetup - how to do the little leads and fills he throws into a song. He didn't hesitate with his answer. "Scales. Over and over and over again."

Well, duh. As he said it, I couldn't believe I'd asked the question. Of course the answer is scales. That's what made the difference for me on the guitar, of course that would be the answer for the mandolin. So I'm now doing a set of exercises with the major and the pentatonic scales on the mandolin - every day. I'm also working on picking speed, and I need to throw some tremolo exercises into my daily routine.

There's also the possibility of playing the mandolin on some songs with the acoustic band. They know I'm playing the mandolin and want me to bring it - and I very much want to, but it's too soon. I need to get better. At the moment, we're rehearsing intently for our first gig (8 days away!), but when that's over, maybe we'll identify a song or two where I can play the mandolin instead of the bass.

Finally, here's a YouTube clip that I simply adore. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin on the mandolin and Paul Gilbert on acoustic guitar playing "Going to California" (a *gorgeous* Zeppelin acoustic song - definitive version here.) If I was forced to pick one musical hero of mine, JPJ might be the guy. He was the musical anchor of the greatest rock band ever, playing bass, keyboards, mandolin, and even a little acoustic guitar.

Enjoy.

Going Fretless

I've been playing bass in an acoustic trio, and it's very exciting. The singer is a woman with the voice of an angel who also plays guitar, and a guy who plays a fantastic lead guitar. We connected early in the spring via the Craigslist musician's classifieds, and have been rehearsing weekly. They've played together for a while, as a duo, and with another bass player. We have some gigs coming up, but more on that in an upcoming post.

This post is the last episode of the Great Gear Change of '13. When I started playing with them, I wanted a more "upright bass" sound than I was getting through the Fender Precision. I looked at upright electric basses on Musician's Friend, and they look very cool, but the good ones are very expensive and simply out of my ballpark.

I started investigating fretless basses, and set my sights on the Ibanez SR370F. I went into Guitar Center one evening, and they had the 5-string version in stock. I played it and fell in love with it - but I wanted the 4-string version, not the 5. They said they could order it for me and have it arrive in a few days, so that's what I did. The standard 15% off coupon and the GC gift card that brother Eric had gotten me for Christmas made it a very inexpensive addition to the pack.

Trying to make a long story short - I picked it up, brought it home, *loved* how it looked, but didn't like how it sounded. I suspected setup issues, but it was beyond my ability to fix. I took it back to GC on a Saturday morning, and was lucky to find the guitar tech unoccupied. He made some adjustments, and also talked through what he was doing, which was very interesting and educational.

When I told him I was playing in an acoustic band and was looking for an upright bass sound, he recommended flatwound strings, as opposed to the roundwound strings more common on electric basses. I got the set he recommended, and it really does sound more like an upright bass. The sound is less "boom" and more "thump". (which may make no sense, but I know just what I mean when I write it. :-)) Suffice it to say that it sounds really good and was exactly what I was hoping for. And did I mention it's a *gorgeous* instrument?

As for playing fretless, it's an adjustment - but an interesting and fun experience. The frets are why Fender named their first fretted electric bass the Precision Bass. You put your finger anywhere within the fret, and you get the exact note. Playing fretless is taking the training wheels off. If your fretting hand a little bit off, the note is a little bit off. The neck has marker lines where the frets would be, and I've found them to be very accurate - so that helps considerably.

My band-mates noticed the difference in sound right away. So I've been rehearsing with it for the last month, and I'll be gigging with it this summer.

Fender Stratocaster

...or "Part 2 in the Great Gear Change of '13"

The next change was pure whim. I've loved my Mexican-made Telecaster, but I got it into my head that I'd love to trade it for a Stratocaster. It seems like every guitar player should have a Strat at some point. Again, CL made it happen - I listed the Telecaster, and quickly found a buyer who was happy to put cash in my hand.

The next step was figuring out which Strat I wanted. There are various quality levels, starting with the Squier Strats, then the made-in Mexico (MIM), the made-in-America (MIA), and the money-is-no-object custom shop instruments. My budget dictated MIM. These instruments have a good reputation, and my Telecaster was MIM and was a great guitar.

I started on eBay, which has practically unlimited options. I was particular about the color and style I wanted - either a red or a brown sunburst body, and a maple fretboard (for no technical reason - I just really like the look of the maple fretboard over the dark rosewood fretboard.)

I was looking over some factory refurbished MIM Strats that cost just what I had sold the Telecaster for, and was close to pulling the trigger. But the thought then occurred to me that if I went onto Musician's Friend and used one of the 12% off or 15% off coupons that show up in my e-mail just about every day, I could get a brand new Strat for just a few dollars more than a refurbished one.

So that's what I did. I ordered a red Strat with a maple fretboard, and it arrived a few days later (in perfect condition.) It looks great and sounds great, and I couldn't be happier with the trade. I'm still getting familiar with the three pickups and the 5-way switch that activates combinations of pickups. It's a fun learning process, and I'm getting some nice classic sounds out of it.

Epiphone EJ-200 CE

Part 1 of some quick notes from what I'll probably look back on as the Great Gear Change of '13.

I already posted about my mandolin upgrade. I still couldn't be happier with how that's gone. I now have a legitimate instrument, not a starter mando. I'm playing it every day, and I love it. More about that very soon.

I've had the urge for some different guitars, so I followed the same pattern of selling a piece of gear on Craigslist, then using that cash to buy something else. I'm sure I've written here how happy I was with my gear - and that was 100% true. I simply got the desire to change things up, and I was able to do that for a very small cash outlay.

I've wanted an acoustic/electric guitar for a while - an acoustic that you can plug into an amp or PA system. I've been playing much more acoustic guitar than electric, so I thought one of the electrics could make way for an A/E. As much as I loved my Casino (and I really really did), it's the only one that would bring in enough money to get the A/E I wanted. And it worked out perfectly - CL found me a buyer who handed me a fistful of cash.

He was no sooner out of my driveway than I was online at Musician's Friend ordering an Epiphone EJ-200 CE. It arrived a few days later, and has exceeded every expectation. Unplugged, it sounds every bit as good as my Seagull, and the built-in pickups and electronics sounds fantastic.

I was curious to play a jumbo-sized acoustic (and that's what it's called, it's not my terminology). It's supposed to have a bigger sound - and I guess I can't say for sure whether it does or not. With various people's work schedules, someone is almost always sleeping, no matter what time of day - so I'm usually trying to play somewhat quietly. But the jumbo does have a very different feel on my lap, and I'm not sure it could be played standing up (I guess it could, but it would take some getting used to.)

Part 2 of the Great Gear Change of '13 coming soon.

"Little Martha"

I'm way behind on my posting - and it's not because I have nothing to write about. Quite the contrary, I have lots to write about - new gear, new songs, possible upcoming gigs with the classic rock band, and confirmed upcoming gigs with the acoustic band. And I'll try to write all about that as soon as I can.

But first, a post about "Little Martha", the Allman Brothers' sweet little acoustic guitar piece. This has always been a favorite of mine, and I just assumed it was way behind my ability to play. So I was very pleasantly surprised when I found this YouTube tutorial. As an aside, Tonedr is a fantastic musician, and his YouTube channel has loads of great song tutorials on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and mandolin.

It turns out the song isn't that complicated. The most complicated thing is the tuning. It's in open-D tuning (D/A/D/F#/A/D), with a capo at the 2nd fret. Once you know that, and the basic riffs, it all falls into place. I can't play it at speed yet, and won't be mistaken for Dickie Betts - but it sounds great, and I'll be practicing it a lot - just because it sounds so good, and has me so pleased that I can actually kinda play it.

Actually, I may have to get another acoustic guitar, so I can have one tuned to open-D at all times.

Just kidding. :-)

One other thing that occurs to me. Before the Internet and YouTube, how on earth would you ever learn to play a song like this? Or Led Zeppelin's Rain Song - a song that stumped me for years, and turned out not to be that hard - once you know the crazy tuning it's in. I find it hard to imagine that anyone would ever figure it out on their own. Fortunately, I have YouTube.

Holding the Pick

...and right-hand technique in general

I've mentioned a few times that I took three months of guitar lessons two years ago, and what a rewarding experience it was. I still work on the basics that he had me drill in. But there was one thing he told me repeatedly that I never "got."

I held my pick with my thumb on one side and two fingers on the other (the index and the middle.) He said that was just plain wrong - and I've also heard that in other places. But it's habit and it basically works for me - though I know my picking technique is a weak spot, so why not try to do it right?

Anyway, he wanted me to hold the pick between my thumb and my curled index finger. I tried, and it never felt remotely comfortable - so when I stopped the lessons, I reverted to my old form.

Fast-forwarding to last week, I saw a set of YouTube mandolin basics lessons spoken highly of. I took a look, and one of the lessons was right-hand technique. She said the same things my guitar teacher said, and when I tried it, it actually felt good. I guess something just didn't click two years ago, but I think I get it now.

I'm trying to hold the pick this way exclusively, both on mandolin and guitar. The old/wrong way of holding it is a deeply ingrained habit, but I'm trying to play scales and finger exercises on both instruments every day, in the hope of burning in a new habit.

A New Mandolin

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was interested in upgrading to a better-quality mandolin. Well, things came together as I hoped they would, and I now have a Kentucky KM-150 mandolin (stock picture at right.)

First things first, I sold my Ibanez mandolin on Craigslist. As that was happening, I was reading the forums at Mandolin Cafe for advice on a decent quality budget mandolin. I say "budget" because I learned that high-quality mandolins are more expensive than high-quality acoustic guitars. In an ideal world, I'd love to get a really nice mandolin, but in this non-ideal world, it doesn't make sense to spend too much on an instrument I like - but that will always be secondary to the guitar.

Anyway, a number of posts about good budget instruments talked about the Kentucky "A" models ("A" referring to the teardrop shape.) A number of posts also highly recommended The Mandolin Store. Looking at their website, I liked that their instruments came with a hard case and a setup. The setup is essential - I don't know where I'd find a mandolin tech, and I'd rather not have to try to find one. I want an instrument that's properly set up from the beginning.

Making a long story short, I phoned The Mandolin Store as soon as I had the cash in hand from selling the old one. I was prepared to go a model or two higher on the Kentucky lineup, but the guy I talked to said the entry-level KM-150 was the better instrument. Better and cheaper is a combination that works for me. A few days later, USPS brought it to my door.

The short review is I love it. Granted, I don't have much to compare it to, but it feels better, plays better, and sounds better than the Ibanez. It's in my hands as often as possible. So now there's the small matter of getting better at playing it.

"Willin"

After seeing Little Feat at the folk fest last summer, I took their song Willin' to the acoustic jams. It's a great song, and got a very good reception from the folks at the jam. (The classic live version from Waiting for Columbus is here.)

I learned the song by searching for the chords, which are easily found, here. This is correct, and is perfectly fine for playing along, or in an acoustic jam. But it's not how they're actually playing the song. All these chords are first position (i.e., open chords, at the bottom of the fretboard.) If you listen, you can tell that the acoustic guitar chords are being played high on the fretboard - and having seen them play it twice in the past year, I can confirm that Paul Barrere starts high on the fretboard and works his way down.

Last night I stumbled across a YouTube lesson that explains it (well, maybe not exactly "stumbled" - Privettricker is simply amazing, and I'm subscribed to his channel and look at his uploads with great interest.) Here's his lesson on Willin'. Very easy, very cool.

Mandolin

I was certain I've blogged before about the mandolin, but I see to my surprise that I haven't. The only thing I've written is the following on my "Gear" page:

Ibanez entry-level A-shape mandolin.  So far it's been a lot of fun to play, but I know that if I ever play it more seriously that I'll want to upgrade.  But most of my attention is on guitar at the moment.

I bought my mandolin from an aikido friend a few years ago. He had bought it to see if he liked it, found that he did, and had upgraded to a nicer instrument. I had the same thought - get a cheap one to play around with and see if it's fun.

It is fun - a lot of fun. I played it some when I first got it, then only played it intermittently for a while. But now I'm playing it again regularly. And as I suspected, that means I'd really like to upgrade to a little higher-quality mandolin.

I know what I'd like - but more on that if it happens. The first thing is to come up with the money for it. I've decided that three electric guitars is more than I really need. Even though I like and play them all (but not all at the same time, as ladies under my roof are fond of saying), I would rather have two electric guitars and one nice mandolin. So two of my electrics are now on Craigslist - whichever one sells first, I'll keep the other.

Here's the kind of song that's fun, and not too hard to play, on the mandolin: Soldier's Joy.

Another Jam and Taking a Lead

The other Saturday night, Darling Wife and I were invited to a small acoustic jam hosted by one of our friends from the Downingtown meetup. We had a great time - and the level of musicianship was a big step up from meetups. It was assumed that everyone had a good feel for basic song structure, and would be able to follow along with whatever was going on. It sometimes felt like bring thrown into the deep end, but I kept up fairly well, and it was a lot of fun to be challenged.

One thing I realized afterwards is that I'm now pretty comfortable taking a lead for 8 or 16 bars. There's usually someone leading the song, and he'll nod at someone to take the next section. When I started playing at jams (2+ years ago), that made me break out into a sweat, because I simply didn't know how to do it and didn't want to embarrass myself.

Now I'm happy when I get the nod - not because I'm making any jaws drop with my sizzling leads (I'm definitely *not*) - but just that I can do it at all. All I need to know is what key we're in, and I can do something. The only issue I sometimes still have is the question of major/minor. I'll know, for example, that we're in the key of D - but are we in D-major or D-minor? It's usually obvious - but occasionally it's not. I still feel very much like a beginner - but it feels good to realize that I can now do something that I couldn't before.

The other thing I realized (at least for the group I was playing with) is that if I'm going to play with groups like that, I should be more familiar with some of the folk standards. There were a number of Bob Dylan and John Prine songs called for, and neither are hard to play, but I didn't know them. I've been listening to and playing some John Prine, and he's fun. Here are a couple of my favorites:

• Paradise
• Spanish Pipedream