Wassup, whoever-reads-this! Kickin' it from my usual place, in front of my computer. I spend an appalling amount of time here. It becomes your whole world if you let it. Anyway, it's about time for another one of these.
Music news. I got my sunburst Epiphone ES-335 back in working order. The jack got messed up, a common problem. It only took a day to fix, but several weeks for me to get around to driving all the way out to Parkway Pointe to get it done. That was The Music Shoppe. They do a decent job of repairs, but it doesn't feel like a Music Store. Everyone was dressed business casual, and all with short hair. I think they thought I was some kinda relic from the 60s as I walked in.
Fortunately, I don't really care what people think of me, so I rather enjoyed what I perceived to be their disdainful impression of me.
So, yeah, anyway, there's another Music Store in that area- Capital City Music- that might actually be closer(as well as friendlier). I might try them next time I need something fixed or whatever. I know I've said it before, but I miss the music stores of old, where musicians would congregate. I gave lessons during those years, but there was a fair amount of down time to just hang out in the store.
I'm still practicing most every day. It's a regular routine of scales and arpeggios, all keys, and trying to play up and down the neck. I do the whole thing three times, at three different metronome markings- and I stop myself just like a teacher would and make myself do it over if I fall short on anything.
And while I'm running this stuff, I'm thinking about what kind of sound I'm getting, and about the time- am I on it, or pushing-- and whether my picking hand is coming in at an angle. All these considerations.
But once I'm done with the calisthenics, I move on to tunes. Still thinking about sound and time and phrasing, but more abandon. I guess it's my self-administered reward for the grueling scale and arpeggio work.
I once had a guitar student whom I'd reward for having done his lesson correctly. We'd play Peter Gunn. That is, we'd both play the theme together and then I'd jam over it. If I ever have occasion to see him again, and it's my gig, we will certainly fire off a round of Peter Gunn.
Gigs are still sporadic. I had one in February, and I've got another one in November. It's been more about domestic and family stuff so far this year. Still a musician though. Still trying to keep up--and maybe even improve--my skills on guitar. I still tape things from my practice sessions and put them up on YouTube.
As of today, I now have a whopping 501 subscribers! Tickled that people enjoy some of my stuff. I sure enjoy making it. And I plan on continuing to make it, as long as I have my two hands.
Thanks as ever for stopping in and wading through all this. Much love.
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