perception
Current mood: amused
Category: Music

There are a LOT of guitar players who read my blog.

There are even more who are just friends here

But NONE have commented on how many bridgepins are in my default picture! So, how many just find it natural to have 7 strings, & how many didn't see that? Was that just a lil' too much to ask? Sometimes we're so involved with what we do or where we're going, the obvious escapes detection. Like when the guy in front of you in line @ the fast food joint is a mega famous person, but you're so busy trying to figure out how to "have it your way" you only realize it after you missed the op to say hello.
I recently bought back a guitar from a friend who has been in somewhat dire straits thanks to this economic climate. It's great sounding, not really expensive, & I installed a pickup. It was good when I delivered it. I bought it back, figuring I could sell it & get back what I sold it for originally...until a really good friend came in with a $2200.00 name brand instrument for me to set up.
Wow, beautiful, & after I was done, easy to play. But in the quiet of the shop, I could clearly hear...something...missing? I picked up the guitar I just bought back from my friend. Clean, sparkling, lots of overtones & life. The $2200.00 guitar? Great tone, accurate sound, but no sparkle, little life. Sure the expensive instrument is beautiful & fundamentally excellent, but there's a subtle voice about my friend's guitar that makes me smile. Something I didn't notice as I set it up the first time, or even when I delivered it.
Just as in a relationship with a friend, taking time to develop a relationship with an instrument really helps blend your voice with it's own & the resulting harmony is perfection in the moment!

7:20 AM - 5 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Tell me a Story
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

Last nite @ our SongNet TAXI nite, an artist I met recently came & had
her work evaluated. Great stuff, good voice, well produced track. Yeah,
she's serious.
But I misread her name on the disc (I'll bet it happens often too) It
looked like Katie STOREY, but it's really SHOREY. Ooops…
But then hey, she probably has plenty of stories about that, & as an
artist, plenty of life stories too. Her voice is kinda like Stevie
Nicks, but stronger and in tune, & the song she presented was rockin',
so, as a songwriter, I was obligated to capture the moment.
Maybe she'll want to rewrite this with me & put a "real" vocal on
it. Imagine this song with a richly textured female vocal & maybe
it'll sound more like a hit? Hmmmmm…
www.myspace.com/mtnbch to listen
(lyrics in blog post there since the new player still can't display 'em)

5:51 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Country Song
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Music

Song NINE!
That's about two months o' writin...kinda.
This one was started a few years ago, when 9-11 became a rallying poit for the country.
But with 9-11 back again as a point on the calendar, AND the way this country is in financial disaster, I got the inspiration to finish it.
This may be the second post on this that comes up, because I posted about this one on Saturday, but it seems to have disappeared...
Check the song out on the other page:
www.myspace.com/mtnbch
& I'll seeya @ the IMC www.imc.08.com!

4:23 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

I’m Still Here
Current mood: sleepy

Some of you know I wrote TWO songs this week!
This one is not as produced, but it;s part of a project I;m doing with my friend Karie Hillery.
But I'm old & tired so I'll post more later on the other page.

8:01 AM - 0 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

I’d Rather be Happy
Current mood: happy
Category: Life

As I mentioned in my last blog, I was working with a friend who just couldn't do uplifting songs, they weren't ready for that 'cuz of the issues in their life.
Okay, I get that. But I'm old enough now to know that although catharsis is required to get over some things & feel better, a lot of time can be wasted sittin' in pityville, & even though anger can be fun, (C'mon, EVERY video game has a FPS quotient!) it doesn't really help anybody 'cept yourself, and even at that, it's not moving forward, it's more lightening your load. So if I can add a smile to someone's day, I consider that an investment in making the world a better place
Sure, this is a fluffy light tossaway kind of song. But hopefully it will help you find a grin someplace, & maybe get stuck in your skull so you'll be hummin' it all day!
www.myspace.com/mtnbch for song 7!

6:01 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

song a week 6, Daydreams to a Friend
Current mood: optimistic
Category: Music

Grocery shopping a while back I reached in my pocket & realized one of the coins felt different. I pulled it out to discover somewhere along the way I got a euro instead of a quarter in change. Cool! A euro is worth more! But how did it get here?
Over the labor day weekend I was cleaning out the garage & came across the huge ring of odd keys that my grandfather had started decades ago. What did those keys open?
Two stories, unrelated, coming together. Opening things locked away, releasing stuff holding back the possibilities of new journeys, & a connection to places yet to see.
Several friends emailed me at the last second, just before I took down last week's song, asking me to leave it up a lil' longer so they could listen.
I almost did, but then I realized it wasn't moving forward on my own terms. So as much as I love my friends, I pulled Tropic of Fairbanks & posted this new one. As a concession though, I will email any of these new songs directly to anyone that asks, 'cuz they're still all demo roughs & better versions are hopefully yet to come.
Just like daydreams, eventually they get fulfilled one way or another, & hopefully, will make you smile.

www.myspace.com/mtnbch or use the link on my friends list

2:54 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Disappointed
Current mood: hopeful
Category: Music

Thanks to those of you who have hit my blog!
There are a LOT of you who have visited, & know I've embarked on this new challenge of posting a song a week to my other page.
BUT…
The most recent song posted only had SEVEN plays as of yesterday, whereas this blog has had HUNDREDS of hits! What does this mean? Do people come seeking wisdom? My point of view? Porn? I really appreciate those who read this blog, I love you all.
My music is a big part of my life though, & I feel that it speaks more than words alone can say. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's myspace not loading the other page fast enough. I wish I knew. I know I've been frustrated by other friends "pimped out" myspace pages loading SOOO SLLLOOOOWWWLY that I give up before listening. But mine is a basic music page. Generally, it boots up quick & is easy to listen to. & if you're really interested, I'll send an mp3 directly. The Bible talks about the parable of the talents, & the dude who didn't use it, losed it. Music that is not heard is kind of like that. It cannot speak, be laughed at, loved, hated, used or abused unless it is heard. & if nobody cares, it fades away as if it never existed.
I blogged about a friend a while back who said he wrote close to a thousand songs. I know he wrote a lot because I saw some of his notes. Unfortunately, he passed away before most of his songs were archived, & nobody else knows how they go.
Sometimes I look at my own archives now & realize I've forgotten some of my own songs, & because I don't read or write sheet music, those songs may also be lost & are just lyrics alone now. There are only 3 songs I regularly play out from my 2 year old CD, & at this point, I sometimes forget how some of THOSE songs go now, because they are from another point in time, & I am more interested in moving forward instead of looking back.
But because many of my friends & I realize we have more to look back on that to look forward to at this point, the songs I've written about those times mean more to them.
This week's song looks forward, tongue-in-cheek. A call for songs about global warming went out last year, and I started writing this but didn't finish in time. Because I'm probably going to redo the lyrics at least once more before I consider it finished, this is the ONLY opportunity you'll have to listen to this version, before it is lost forever
www.myspace.com/mtnbch.to listen to the "Tropic of Fairbanks"
& if you really truly want to collect these songs, email me directly & I'll send you the mp3s the same day I post so you don't have to hassle with myspace issues.
I'll even send you the first 4 if you like, which means by the end of the year you'll have the equivalent of THREE CD's of my songs FREE if you can stand it!
Thanks for listening!

10:38 PM - 9 Comments - 10 Kudos - Add Comment

Forward to the past
Current mood: nostalgic
Category: Life

Got a new network computer at work yesterday. A lil' faster, a lil' more powerful, generally a lot nicer. BUT…NONE of the files I use daily were in there, no were the network connections I need for printing & everything else. In order to move forward, I needed to be able to go back...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Last night, some friends got together to have dinner & talk about life so far. I've known some of 'em for over 4 decades. The conversations always start with "whatcha been doin'?" Going back to catch up with what's current, before making plans to meet in the future.

Monday night I will be sharing some music & life with Randy Wayamori. We will be sharing stories & songs that some have not heard in 20 years of more, because those songs & stories were part of our lives alone, & we knew the inside stuff that made those things real & tangible.

This week's posted song was written from a memory of one of my favorite songs. Some would say it's close to a rip-off because the concept & chording is almost the same as the song that inspired it. DUH! It's INTENTIONAL!

The famous song was a big part of my life experience. I transferred many cherished cassettes to Cds so I can play those memories in my car. It is the soundtrack of my life. But that soundtrack continues to grow as more scenes are added to the story, & some of that soundtrack doesn't quite fit the movie anymore. Some songs respect the foundations from the past while building current, & even future, experiences & images onto them.
It's one of the reasons "oldies" are popular, & when artists like Amy Winehouse go "old skool" it makes people smile.

"Rehab" wasn't even a word when the groove of that song first hit the scene

www.myspace/mtnbch or just click the friends link for Mountain Beach Enterprises to listen.

I hope that "Drive" fills you with some good memories & keeps you from "Running on on Empty".

5:46 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

New song week 4
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Music

The new song is "Drive"
Started this one a while back, & it still needs a lil' tweekin'.
Played it live @ last night's showcase, posted the slightly less acoustic version.
:)
I have a lot of new inspiration, so I've started about a half-dozen more new songs.
Feels good t' rock.
More thoughts later...

6:48 AM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

New music & a step back in time
Current mood: blessed
Category: Life

Well, the fourth one is ready to be posted. But I will wait 'till friday.
These are still just demo roughs, so I really thank those of you who have responded that they actually SOUND good too!
:)
Monday night @ the Talking Stick will be greaat! Randy & I haven't EVER done a "secular" gig together in the close to thirty years we've been friends & bandmates. We rehearsed last nite & revisited some of our material from baands we've been in together, stuff we both wrote.

Hope t' see some of you there!

:)

2:51 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment