She's a Keeper

I my last post (of over two months ago...ugh), I said I thought my new Larrivee was a keeper. I can now confirm that emphatically.

I've played it a lot, both at home and traveling. We've spent a lot of time at the river this summer, and it's made every trip with me. I've played it a *lot* there, including a number of fantastic campfire jams by the water. I wouldn't take it to salt water, but there's nothing better than playing by the bonfire, with the river a few feet away, and a million stars overhead.

I like everything about it. I like the feel and I like the sound. I like the subtle differences from the Martin. Not better, just a little different. Variety.

At home, I don't think it's stealing time from the Martin. I think I'm playing more guitar. The Larrivee is a gorgeous instrument, and I feel very fortunate to have such a pair of beauties.

NGD: Larrivee OM-03

...or "More Wheeling and Dealing"

...or "Happy Canada Day to Me!"

Yes, I've just completed another round of buying and selling. I realized that the 12-string, while a nice instrument, was a novelty that I wasn't playing much after the novelty had worn off.

I was also becoming more and more unsatisfied with acoustic #2 (the Recording King.) I love the specs on it - a smaller body guitar ("000" or "OM", as opposed to the bigger dreadnaught body shape), mahogany sides and back (contrasted to the Rosewood on my Martin), slightly wider nut. But the sound just wasn't great. I realized that the sound wasn't that different from my Washburn all-weather guitar - and if it's not markedly better, then it doesn't have a purpose.

So I thought that if I could sell the two of them, I might have enough money for a better #2 acoustic. CL served me wonderfully again - I not only sold both guitars, but also the little sailboat that's been gathering dust at the river for a few years now. That gave me a nice little war chest. Now what to spend it on?

I had an idea. I've seen a lot of very positive reviews of Larrivee guitars on the forums, especially their base OM guitars. Then I had a chance to hear a Larrivee at fiddle camp, and was very impressed. But I wanted to see and play one before ordering one blindly. A web search of dealers turned up nothing close by. Flash of inspiration - the twice-a-year guitar expo was here last weekend. Maybe I could see one there.

As it turned out, I could. Among all the crazily-priced vintage guitars, I found one guy with two new Larrivees: a standard-sized L-03R ("R" for rosewood), and an OM-40R. I played the OM-40R for a while, and seriously thought about buying it on the spot. But I wasn't certain, and in the end just couldn't pull the trigger.

Some more web searching showed a new Larrivee OM-03 from Elderly Instruments for a fair price, free shipping, and a 30-day money back return policy. Elderly has a sterling reputation, so I phoned and ordered it on Monday. Yesterday, the FedEx guy left a big box in my garage.

Larrivee is a Canadian company, though despite the French name (there's an accent on the first "e" that I don't know how to make on this keyboard) they're from British Columbia. So Darling Wife and I had some fun with the fact that my new Canadian beauty arrived on Canada Day.

My first impression is entirely positive. It has a clear, bright sound - a world's difference better than the Recording King (though that's not a fair comparison - the Larrivee is just a better class of guitar.) To Darling Wife's question of why I need a #2 acoustic when there's a Martin in the house - it has nothing to do with need. The Martin is #1, and this doesn't imply the slightest dissatisfaction with it. It's just something different. And I'll take it places I might not take the Martin - like the River. But I wouldn't take it camping or to the Folk Fest.

I'm going to give it some intensive playing this weekend, just to make sure it's a keeper. But I think it is.

One Year with a Martin

With the recent passing of my birthday, I could help but think that it's been one year since my Darling Wife gave me a very sweet day and a very sweet gift.

This will probably sound like bragging, but I swear I don't intend it to - it's just looking back over a year. I've made some fairly significant progress as a guitar player. I wasn't touched by god, I simply practiced and played a lot.

Part of it was having a good guitar - having a Martin on the guitar stand made me more driven to play. Part of it was having good examples - playing in a band with two good guitar players helped me pick up some things by osmosis. And part of it was just getting into a good positive feedback loop - seeing progress made me want to play more, which generated more improvement.

The last year also saw the addition of a PA setup in the basement. It's hard to overestimate what a big thing this is. It's a simple setup, and it didn't (relatively) cost much - but it's *huge*. We use it for a few things, but the most fun is DW and I using it for acoustic duo practice. And now, my Martin is fully pluggable.

I mentioned two weeks ago that baby was in the shop getting a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed. Well, I picked her up, and it works as well as advertised. The unplugged sound is unaffected, and plugging it into the PA sends the sweet sound of the Martin to the speakers. I brought her home Saturday (on the way home from fiddle camp - about which there will be much more), and I played with her plugged in all evening. DW joined me, and we played every song we know, and then some.

More open mics are sure to come. And here's hoping that year two with my Martin will continue the journey.

Maine Fiddle Camp

Yes, I'm going. To fiddle camp. In Maine.

I know, it's crazy. But it's happening next week, Sunday through Friday.

When the possibility of a family vacation to London became impossible, that gave me back a block of personal time that I'd considered spent. I looked at music events and festivals that Darling Wife and I could do together - and we have a number of these penciled in, including the Folk Fest.

I was intrigued by the idea of a fiddle camp - a full immersion into playing, learning, jamming. There was nothing local, but I found Maine Fiddle Camp, and brought up the idea to Darling Wife, who was fully supportive. I asked about it on a fiddle board, and had it recommended by some people who seem to know. So I'm signed up for June week.

I'm nervous and excited at the same time. I've been playing just about every day, and feel like I'm making good progress. It seems like a week-long musical immersion can only be helpful, and sounds like great fun. I'll rent a car (my two are already *way* oversubscribed), tent camp, and I'll take my travel guitar for fun. But the idea will be to do as much fiddling as I can.

I'll do my best to post trip reports after I return.

K&K Pure Mini Acoustic Guitar Pickup

...or "Baby's in the Shop"

With Darling Wife and I now having a couple of public performances behind us, I've been thinking about better options for plugging in an acoustic guitar. I've been using a soundhole pickup, which easily pops in and out of my Martin, and works well enough. But I know there are better options.

One would be to get an acoustic/electric guitar for our "playing out" opportunities. There are decent-quality Epiphones and Seagulls (and doubtless other brands) with built-in electronics, and you can plug them in right out of the box. But it seems a terrible shame to have such a nice Martin, just to leave it at home when it's time to go out and play. And no, I won't take the Martin camping or to the beach, but it's also not a museum piece - I have it to play it.

From my scanning of the acoustic guitar message boards, one product that I hear recommended time and time again is the K&K Pure Mini. They drill out the endpin, glue three small transducers to the underside of the bridge, and attach them to a jack that goes in the endpin. So you then have an acoustic guitar that can also be plugged in.

It was an intriguing thought, but my fear was that doing this modification would affect the unplugged sound of the guitar. That would be a deal breaker - I'm playing open mics once in a while, not gigging three times a week. It would *have* to be the same sweet-sounding baby unplugged that it is now. So I posted this question on my favorite board, and got all the reassurance I need that it won't affect the unplugged sound.

So I dropped my baby off at the shop this afternoon, and she's now awaiting surgery. I know she's in good hands, but I'm nervous anyway. They said it would probably be ready toward the end of next week, but I told them to take their time, as I'll be away all the following week. (Where, you ask? Details in my next post.)

Mike at Meadowood assures me that he's done this countless times. Fingers crossed. Of course I'll post again when I get her back.

Another Open Mic

Three months ago, I wrote about Darling Wife's and my debut as an acoustic duo at an invitation-only open mic in a friend's basement. We were invited back to his next open mic, which was last Saturday afternoon.

Last week was busy enough that last Thursday night came and went, and we still hadn't rehearsed at all. I was certain we wouldn't be able to rehearse Friday night either (Greta's senior prom) - which meant we'd have to cancel, as we're not going to go unrehearsed and play in front of people (no matter how informal.)

Surprisingly, we did manage to practice on Friday night after getting our prom girl off to the ball, and it went much better than I expected. We agreed on a few songs that we basically knew and didn't play at the last open mic. Then, almost as an afterthought, I suggested Sarah McLachlan's "Building a Mystery." It fell right into place, and after two times through, I think it's our best song. So, much to my surprise, we actually were going on Saturday with the intention of playing.

The open mic was 2:00-6:00, and just as last time, we hoped to be one of the first to go. Bud, the host, and his house band were first up, and did a killer electric set. The highlight was the Allman Brothers Band classic "Whipping Post." Then another guy went, and then we were up.

Accompanying my favorite Canadian vocalist....
(Photoshop credit, SL, with apologies to SM)

We had prepared four songs, assuming we'd play three - but it was a full house, and everyone got two songs. We led off with "Building a Mystery", then played Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain." I think they both went well, and were well-received by the crowd. It was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again.

Gear-wise, I was playing my Martin, and had the soundhole pickup in. I forgot to ask the sound guy if I was running through a pre-amp. I don't think I was, and I probably should have been. But I think I sounded okay.

Then we settled back with a cold beverage and watched a number of our friends play their two songs. Fun afternoon.

We're getting a nice little repertoire together, and we even have our own little binder of songs we can play as a duo. Very exciting.

Random YouTube Links

A few links I've enjoyed.

1. I've never seen Jimmy Fallon's show, but here are two musical clips from it:

• Two Neil Youngs. Absolutely brilliant.
• U2 Busks in the NYC Subway

 2. I'm *loving* a band called Mandolin Orange. A guy and a girl who both sing and both play various acoustic instruments. This is exactly my taste in music right now. Here's a clip of them doing a gorgeous version of Bob Dylan's Boots of Spanish Leather (proving yet again that Dylan songs are best sung by someone/anyone other than Dylan himself.) It looks like they're on the road promoting a new disc, and my fingers are crossed that they'll be at the folk fest this year.

Fiddle Upgrade

When I bought my fiddle in early February, my thought was to see if I'd like it, as I'd never touched one before. Given that uncertainty, my goal was to buy the cheapest possible "real" instrument (and not what the people on the fiddle message boards call a VSO, or violin-shaped object.) Now, a couple of months in, it's clear that I like it and intend to continue.

I play it every day - which I'm convinced is the only way to make progress. Even if I only have time to pick it up for 10 minutes and play a few scales and a few simple tunes, I feel like I *have* to do that. And I really enjoy it.

Given that I've answered my initial question, I started wondering about upgrading my fiddle. The woman who sold it to me (who buys and refurbishes used fiddles) told me that she'd buy mine back if I ever wanted to upgrade. So I contacted her - and just as in our initial conversation, I was shocked at how cheap fiddles are. I told her I wanted a better-quality fiddle - one that I could grow with and not need to worry about upgrading for the foreseeable future. In response, she got a few suitable candidates together - all between $200-300.

We arranged for another Sunday morning McDonald's meet. I asked Darling Wife to come along, as I value her musical opinion. We saw her in a far corner of the parking lot, setting up lawn chairs out of the back of her truck. She apparently thought it might be a lengthy audition process.

The lawn chairs weren't necessary. For that money, I don't need elaborate deliberation. It's a simple question - which one sounds best. She had three fiddles. I liked the sound of 2 and 3. DW had a strong preference for #3. So I played it a little more, still liked it, and bought it. $200, less $90 for my trade, made it a $110 upgrade. Absolutely a no-brainer.

I've now had it for a week, and it really is a significant upgrade. It sounds *markedly* better. And it's easier to play. If I had known what a difference was possible for such a small price, I would have done this after two weeks with the first fiddle.

And now no more fiddle upgrades will ever be necessary (which I say as a joke - but the woman I've been dealing with really seems to think that's true. And I hope she's right.)

Odds and Ends

A few random notes and links:

• In my last post about the Tommy Emmanuel concert, I linked to his performance of Angelina, one of my favorite Tommy songs. Here's a video of him backstage listening to a young kid play it. And then giving him a few pointers. I love how he just loves to play.
• Speaking of Angelina, here's a tab. I haven't decided yet whether I should attempt it, or forget I ever saw it.
• How could I possibly not go to this?
• Simply gorgeous version of Over the Waterfall. Simple parts...acoustic guitar and mandolin. I know the song and could play either part.
• Going to California guitar tutorial. One of my favorite Zeppelin acoustic songs. (Here's my other favorite - though there are a lot of great ones.)
• I had to make a long drive last weekend, and I downloaded two CD's by the Wailin' Jennys as road music. Fantastic group with beautiful vocal harmonies and acoustic instruments - and from my honorary home and native land. Here's a YouTube clip of Beautiful Dawn.
• Next Rosewood gig is this Saturday night, and we're excited. There will be at least one mandolin song. There's talk of incorporating the fiddle, but not just yet!

Tommy Emmanuel at the Keswick

I wrote about Tommy Emmanuel after last summer's folk fest (post is here), and ended the post by saying that I'd love to see him again. Well, I got my chance earlier this month when he came to the Keswick Theater.

Darling Wife and I had seats about ten rows from the front, all the way to the left. My bandmates were eating their hearts out at having to miss it - but since they were on a sailboat in the Caribbean, we won't shed too many tears for them.

There was an opening act, who I'd never heard of, but I figured that anyone touring with Tommy Emmanuel would have to be good. Was I ever right. The guy's name was Richard Smith, and he was a killer finger-style acoustic guitar player. Just like Tommy, he played a mix of instrumentals and songs with vocals. It turns out that he's fairly well-known in guitar circles (Chip knew who he was when we talked about the show later.)

His 45-minute set was fantastic (it's not often that you're sorry when the opener announces it's their last song) - then after a short break, Tommy came out. After writing last year about the show he puts on, I'm pretty much out of superlatives. With so many amazing players out there, and so many different styles of music, I hesitate to use terms like "the best" - but it's also hard to imagine that there are too many (or maybe *any*) better players. As a friend commented on the pic I put on FB: "He's OK if you like superlative unbelievable sounds like 6 hands playing on a single guitar!"

For two hours, he pulled out all the stops, and I just sat there with my jaw hanging open. Darling Wife said later, "I was paying attention to you watching him, and you kept doing two things - shaking your head, and laughing out loud." I know she's right. I couldn't help myself. That's the only way I know how to react to watching the impossible happen right before my eyes.

It really did seem like I watching the impossible. How can you do that many things at once on a guitar? And one of the things I love the most about him is how much fun he seems to be having. He has the enthusiasm of a child, and seems like there's nothing else he'd rather be doing and nowhere he'd rather be. And sometimes he looks up with an expressions of, "I know, I can't believe it myself!"

For the encores, he brought out Richard Smith, and they played 3-4 songs together. Again, I'm out of superlatives. I would have been thrilled to listen to a few more hours of them playing together.

I posted a bunch of YouTube links last summer, and here are a couple more.

• Angelina
• How Deep Is Your Love

Just a treat of an evening.

Fiddling Debut

My last post was about the sea shanty sing we hosted last Sunday. A footnote from the day is that I made my fiddling debut.

I've been practicing the fiddle every day since getting it two and a half weeks ago. It's definitely challenging, but I also feel like I'm over the first hurdle (i.e., I'm mostly past the "sackful of screeching cats" phase.) It's starting to feel more natural, and the things that I thought and hoped would translate, have translated. The fiddle is tuned exactly the same as the mandolin, so the fiddle tunes I've been learning on the mandolin over the past two years are pretty well burned in.

I've been very self-conscious about sounding bad, so I've been trying to play in the basement, and at off hours. But my first "outing" happened one night last week. I was playing upstairs, and Hailey walked in. I was expecting a joking complaint about the noise, but she shocked me by telling me how good it sounded. (I'm sure this sounds like a humblebrag, but I swear I don't mean it as one. I was *shocked* that she thought it sounded good.)

My second "outing", and a sort of debut, was at the sea shanty sing. I got out a few instruments in advance, in case anyone wanted to grab one and play (the mandolin, the 12 string, etc.), and Darling Wife told me I had to bring the fiddle out, that people would want to see and hear it. Sure enough, my friend Don walked in and grabbed it right away. He played Ashokan Farewell (from Ken Burns' Civil War series), and it sounded fantastic.

Coincidentally, that's a song I know on the mandolin and have been practicing on the fiddle, so I played started in on it when he handed it back to me. Then I played a couple of mandolin/fiddle standards: Whiskey Before Breakfast and Red Haired Boy, and Don grabbed an acoustic guitar and played the chords along with me. It sounded great together.

All I could hear was the notes I missed, the notes that weren't quite in tune, and where my bow touched the wrong strings. But it was very gratifying to learn that it doesn't sound completely horrible to an audience of supportive friends. So I'll keep practicing.

Sea Shanty Sing

Right after New Year's, we went with our friend Don to a new Meetup.com group devoted to singing sea shanties. That sounded like fun, and it was. Rhythmic call and response tunes with interesting history behind them.

We weren't able to make the next meetup, but Darling Wife suggested to a few friends that we could have an informal sea shanty sing in our house, and the idea quickly met with approval and spread. We invited our musical friends, and everyone seemed excited.

Our intention was to make it a little lighter in atmosphere than the meetup - there were a few people there who had very rigid ideas about what constituted a sea shanty, and what didn't. Our idea was that everyone would bring a few nautically-themed songs (or drinking songs...they seem to go hand in hand) that would be fun to play and sing, and we'd get together and have a good time.

And that's exactly what happened yesterday. There were a couple of last-minute cancellations, but a fun and friendly group convened at 3:00, and we played and sang until 6:00.

Here are the songs we brought:

• Farewell to Nova Scotia
• Drink to the Laddies
• All of the Hard Days are Gone
• Skye Boat Song

Very fun afternoon, and we hope to be able to do it again.

I V vi IV

Here's an amusing video on how widespread the chord progression I V vi IV is. In the key of G, that would be G D Em C. I had no idea how popular it is.

Fiddling About

From the "As if I need another distraction" file.

Seeing fiddlers at the Folk Fest and at some jams we've been to has planted the seed that it might be fun to fool around with a fiddle. It hasn't been a burning desire - lord knows that guitar and mandolin provide all the challenge I need - not to mention that my actual gigging instrument is the bass. But I thought that if the opportunity to get a reasonable quality fiddle on the cheap, I'd probably go for it.

Well, I found the opportunity, and I now have a nice little used fiddle. As my very wise wife is fond of saying (usually with a raised eyebrow when learning of my latest transaction), the problem with looking is that it leads to finding.

I saw a Craigslist ad for a used violin, and I responded with a few questions. I e-mailed back and forth with the seller, who turned out to be a woman who buys old violins from wherever she can find them (Good Will, estate sales, garage sales, etc.), fixes them up, sets them up properly, and sells them. She said she understood what I was looking for, and would gather up a few that would probably be suitable for me.

As an aside, I thought "violin" and "fiddle" were two different words for an identical instrument. That's not exactly true. They *are* the same instrument, but they're set up a little differently. A fiddle is set up with a flatter bridge, to make playing double-stops (two strings at a time) easier. I'm looking to play fiddle tunes, not Mozart concertos, so I was looking for a fiddle setup.

I met her at McDonald's Sunday morning at 10:30, and it was easy to spot the woman with four black instrument cases on a table. She showed them to me one by one, and each one had a spec sheet and price. Each one came as a package, with fiddle, bow, case, rosin. I had lots of questions, and she patiently answered them all. Then we went out to her car so she could play them for me.

They all sounded fine to me, but the ones I liked best were the cheapest ($110) and the most expensive ($225). I couldn't decide on one over the other, so price was the tie-breaker - especially since this is a "try it out and see if I like playing it" starter instrument. So I bought it and brought it home.

Now I'm painfully aware from grade school orchestra concerts that violin is not an easy instrument to learn, and that the screeching of a beginner violinist can be a painful-sounding thing. But the only way through that is to practice and get through the learning curve of putting your fingers in the right spot. So I'll try to play in the basement when no one is around to hear. My joke has been, "Here's a little number I call 'Sackful of Screeching Cats.'"

After two days, I'm kinda starting to get the hang of it, just a little. It's fun, and it's definitely challenging. Time will tell if I decide to stick with it.

Debut of an Acoustic Duo

I ended my last post with the question:

Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.

I'm thrilled to report that, yes, Darling Wife and I played as a duo in front of real live people. We rehearsed every day last week with the basement PA, and it's as much fun as I thought and hoped it would be. We got five songs down pretty well, and Saturday afternoon rolled around quickly.

The occasion was an invitation-only open mic hosted by a friend of ours from the Downingtown meetup. He invites people over to sing and play in an "open mic" format, where you sign up and play a few songs when it's your turn (as opposed to an open jam, where everyone sits in a circle and plays together.) The jam was 2:00-6:00, and we arrived right at 2:00, hoping to go early (but not first.) We signed up in slot #3, and then realized with a little alarm that no one was taking slots 1 or 2.

Thankfully, our friend Marylou came in and grabbed slot #1. She asked if I'd play mandolin with her, and since she was doing simple songs, I was happy to play chords along with her. She also grabbed an acoustic guitar player and a dobro player, so there was a nice full sound. I can't remember everything we played, but the "I Know You Rider" by the Grateful Dead was a good song that sounded great. That's a song that begs for a little jamming, but I'm still not comfortable enough to play an improvised lead, so I nodded "no" when she looked me. Ah well, still so much to work on.

Then, with slot #2 still open, we were up. Bud had announced a three song limit for everyone, so we whittled our five songs down to three, I plugged in my Martin, she did her "testing...1...2...3" into the mic, and we were off and running.

• "You Can Close Your Eyes", James Taylor
• "Five Hundred Miles", Kingston Trio
• "Comes a Time", Neil Young

There were no major malfunctions, and I think it went well. It was over before I knew it, and then we spent the next couple of hours watching other people and chatting with folks. It was a very fun afternoon, and when I asked Darling Wife on the drive home if she'd do it again, she said "of course."

That's music to my ears.

Basement PA

I mentioned in my last teaser post that I had plans for the basement. Well, the UPS guy made a few deliveries, and I now have a complete little basement PA set up.

Here's how the idea germinated. I blogged before about getting a pickup installed in my mandolin. I also got this soundhole pickup for acoustic guitar (which easily pops in and lets you plug in any acoustic guitar.) So I thought about getting an acoustic amp - basically this.

Then it occurred to me that for a marginal upgrade from the price of that acoustic amp, I could get a little PA system. Instead of an amp that you could plug in one instrument and one microphone, I could get a *much* more flexible setup that would accept multiple instruments or mics, could send output to speakers or headphones or a laptop.

The more I researched, the more it seemed like a no-brainer. I could host Rosewood rehearsals, I could host acoustic jams, I could use it for recording projects of my own, Lori and her friends could use it to sing. And not that we're a big party-hosting group - but if we ever did, we'd have a PA that you could plug your iPod into and blast tunes for the whole neighborhood to hear.

My criteria were: flexibility, decent quality (not junk, not audiophile quality), good sound, but (relatively) low wattage. I'm not looking to take it out of the basement, and not looking to shake the floorboards. My friend Chip gave me a crash course (and I've been trying to soak up all I can about sound, just out of curiosity and general interest, while watching him do Rosewood sound over the past two years), and he assured me that what I wanted was very possible within the budget I was looking at.

We visited a Sam Ash, and we agreed on what I was looking for. 10" powered speakers (i.e., small) and a medium-sized unpowered mixer. He recommended looking at Guitar Center's used gear website. I was excited when I got home, and got right on the GC site. I found what I thought we had talked about, e-mailed him the links, and got back the response that yes, that's exactly the kind of gear he'd recommend. So I clicked the mouse a few times, then waited for the UPS guy.

Here's a pic of my basement setup now. The two speakers are on stands. The mixer is on the table at left. I already had a decent-quality mic, at center. Also in the pic (on the floor) are stereo speakers (not hooked up, and no plans to hook them up here - they just happen to be there), my guitar amp, a bass amp, and my acoustic #2 (with the soundhole pickup in.)

I couldn't be more thrilled. It sounds fantastic, it's everything I hoped it would be - and it's just plain cool as hell. I don't know everything about the subtleties of my mixer, but I do understand the basics.

To Darling Wife's question of "is this necessary?", the answer is "absolutely not." This is a shiny toy, not a necessity. But it *will* get used. It's already being used. DW and I have been invited to an open mic/jam on Saturday, and we rehearsed three songs on the PA last night - I put my Martin through the PA, and she sang. It sounded fantastic.

Will we actually perform as a duo in front of real live people (granted, a small group of friends)? Stay tuned to find out.

Teasers

A couple of quick teasers for things I'll be writing about soon.

* I have plans for my basement. And I have an eye out for the UPS guy, who should be delivering a few packages in the next couple of days.

* In my last post, I mentioned that Rosewood has an upcoming gig on lucky Friday the 13th. We're working on some new songs, and one may have a surprise guest vocalist. Here's a hint - she's from north of the border. Sarah McLachlan? k.d. lang? Good guesses, but you'll have to come out to St. Peter's Bakery to find out!

A Musical Weekend

We just wrapped up a very musical weekend. Four separate events in two days has to be some kind of a record.

1. West Chester Area Community Chorus concert.
Darling Wife practices with the chorus every Monday night, and their winter concert was Saturday afternoon. A big snow was forecast, and we were ready for it to be postponed, but we got much less than forecast, so the concert was on. Darling Wife was front and center, and they did a great job. It was an hour of very pretty vocal music. Darling Wife was happy, and we were proud of her.

2. Celtic Spirit at the Sly Fox
Our friends from Celtic Spirit had a gig at a Phoenixville pub on Saturday night, and we arranged with some friends to be there. Also, it wasn't just an ordinary gig, it was Robert Burns Birthday Celebration. To celebrate Scotland's most beloved poet, there were men in kilts, bagpipers, haggis, etc., etc. All this, and Celtic Spirit playing too.

There was much hilarity. Anyone who went up to the mic and read a Robert Burns poem between songs got a shot of Scotch. There were Burns poems floating around, and I read one (and got my shot.) I also ate a bite of haggis - it was kinda nondescript at first, but it had a bit of a nasty aftertaste. I was also invited up to play bass with the band on one song, which was great fun.

3. Acoustic Jam
Sunday afternoon was the monthly acoustic jam meetup. This is always fun, and it was nice to be back yesterday after missing the December meetup with holiday busyness. We took a song that we learned and especially liked in the sea shanty meetup. (What's that? I haven't written about the sea shanty meetup?) Drink to the Laddies is a fun song, and went over well. I had my Martin and my mandolin with me, and 2 1/2 hours disappeared in a flash.

4. Open Mic at Chaplin's
I've been rehearsing with Rosewood, and we've been working on new songs in addition to polishing up old favorites. We've gone a while without playing out, and our next gig is 2+ weeks away, so we decided to play the Sunday night open mic at Chaplin's. We've done that before, though not for a little while, and it's always fun. They have a professional stage and sound system, and it's very cool to play in that environment.

The open mic is hosted by the inimitable Ted the Fiddler, and he was happy to oblige when we asked him to join us for a couple of songs. We extended the songs and gave him some room to stretch out and and jam, and he seemed to enjoy it as much as we did.

Rik Emmett

I recently saw that a FB friend posted a pic of himself with guitarist Rik Emmett, taken last week after a performance at a local club. It triggered a full-fledged "holy smokes, where did the years go?" reaction.

Rik was the guitarist/singer in Triumph, a Canadian rock trio that Leo introduced me to in high school. We both had their album "Just a Game", and we played it a lot. FYI, the album sleeve actually opened up into a board game - and yes, we actually played the game a couple of times.

In the fall of 1979, Triumph came to the Tower Theater, and I went with my cousin Bethanne (the first of many concerts we attended together.) We were both fifteen (i.e., without driver's licenses), so we took the trolley into 69th St. It was my first concert at the Tower, and we were toward the front of the balcony - great seats. I remember the show as being very high energy. They opened with American Girls, which was one of my favorite songs from the album, and they rocked the house for two hours.

Then....

Another of my favorite songs from that album was Fantasy Serenade, a solo acoustic guitar instrumental that sounds almost classical. I can still remember Rik playing that alone at center stage - just in awe that anyone could play such an intricate piece, standing alone in front of an audience, without any fear of making a mistake. When he finished, the crowd roared, and he took the acoustic guitar off and tossed it through the air to a roadie offstage. Wow...could it get any cooler than that?!?

Seeing the picture of present-day Rik made me curious, and a little Googling showed that he is indeed still playing. Here's a clip of him playing Fantasy Serenade live in 2011, and he's as good as ever. I also couldn't resist looking up a tab, and I may take a crack at it (very very slowly, of course.)

Interestingly, in the intro to the recent live piece, he says he composed the piece while at Humber College, which I've driven past any number of times with Darling Wife in the west end of Toronto.

...and now.

Update: Darling Wife both attended Humber College, and knew of Triumph playing all over the T.O. area before they broke into the (relatively) big time.

It also occurred to me that it might be a long-shot, but maybe I could find some details about the 1979 Triumph concert I saw. Sure enough, there it is, October 19, 1979. Sadly, no set list. But the previous show (Oct. 13, Oshawa, ON), *does* have a set list. And it looks like the show I saw. Wow!