samcrain.com

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! The first blue skies I've seen in awhile. They've mainly been some shade of gray or white. The blue definitely helps with morale..

Music news. Well it's not for about 6 and a half months, but I have a gig I just filled, as far as who I hired. It's at Boone's on November 1st, and will feature Buddy Rogers and Ben Taylor on saxes and bass respectively, as well as my antics on guitar. 

Before COVID, I did a fair amount of gigs with Buddy and bassist Rob Killam. Kinda like the Jimmy Giuffre 3, with Jimmy on saxes and clarinet, Jim Hall on guitar and Ralph Pena on bass. This was a drummerless trio from back in the 1950s or 60s. 

 We did a few Robbie's gigs and a lot of Nursing Home/Assisted Living shows. These were almost always mid-afternoon, and just for an hour or two. You get in a couple hours of playing, and are always home in time for Jeopardy. I miss those days. 

I don't have any other gigs at the moment, but I do have a jam session to go to this coming Tuesday. A musician friend from Bloomington, who no longer plays gigs himself, calls this Playing In. Some musicians don't go for this at all. They need the crowd. They've gotta be out there doing it.

For me, playing in is The Great Middle Way, in between playing alone in your room  and out in some noisy club. It's still a chance to make music with other humans, and work with the give-and-take of ensemble playing. And in this instance, there's pizza involved. 

It's all good though. And I'm still working on the YouTube page. I enjoy the comments from listeners. One even gave a bit of a critique, which is cool. That's actually the nature of my page: stuff from my practice sessions, where I'm usually working with an objective of some sort. Always trying to get better…

And once again, I've reached the end of the page. That's all the music news I had anyway, for the time being. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! Another beautiful day in the neighborhood. Actually, it's another funky day in the neighborhood: rainy and overcast. Another soul-crushing day here in Paradise..

One thing about getting older is that, even with a good night's sleep, you have days where something just doesn't feel right. This is one of those days, although I'm starting to normalize. Well, normalize for me. One person's homeostasis is another person's imbalance. 

Music news. I was invited to a jam session of sorts, on the 16th. Harmonica, guitar, percussion, and maybe even a bass player. I'm looking forward to it. I can make my own fun for long periods, here in the Music Lab, but eventually I need to be with other humans. As well as the music, and the fun of making music together, there's the fellowship. Well, that and the pizza. 

The only other thing to come down the pike was a last-minute gig at The Pharmacy. It was a 3-hour affair, with music for only 20 minutes out of each hour, The lion's share of the hour went to an artist showcasing their works. I begged off. 

I like the venue, and the people I'd have been playing with, but all that hurry-up-and-wait is something I don't want to do anymore. Not into providing  incidental music these days.  Honestly, I've played so many background music gigs that it throws me when people are actually listening!

Here in the Music Lab, I'm still trying to keep it going. Practicing most every day: scales and arpeggios in all keys and at different tempos, with Mean Mister Metronome keeping me in line. Also playing tunes. I'm still posting the better home videos to my YouTube page. every couple of days. 

The YouTube page continues to be fun. I've actually got a little bit of a following on there. Molo and Esteban are two people I hear from regularly, along with a few others. It's gotten to where it doesn't feel right until I hear from them. And it keeps me working on my playing.  

So that's my story, for now. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy overcast Sunday to you! For now, ich bin outa here. Much love. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! For some reason, I've been behind the 8-ball as far as blogging. Several attempts, all of which have been saved to draft and then forgotten.. This time I' m forging ahead. . 

Music news. Just maintaining at the moment. With me, it seems to be either feast or famine. But even in these lean times  I still try and keep the YouTube page well-stocked. A whopping 428 subscribers at the moment. 

And I still do my calisthenics every day.  My workout, as such, is just scales & arpeggios, all keys. Something I got out of a Clarinet Method Book. Clarinet music is perfect for guitar, because it covers the written range of the instrument, from low E all the way up. I do those a couple times through, increasing the tempo every time. 

I read somewhere that Jim Hall used to practice Clarinet music. So I'm in good company. The real challenge is adapting your technique to something completely different. So there's some that falls right under the fingers, and some involving great leaps and bounds.

It feels a little bit weird that there isn't some kind of musical project going on, but I figure soon enough. I've had one gig this year, at Harvest Market, which was a lot of fun. Hope to get another call sometime to fill in. 

Domestic news. Crain Manor  is getting itself a new roof. It got itself a new roof last year, which took care of some of its leaks.. But it wasn't installed properly and is starting to come loose from some of the windstorms we've had. So I spent a couple hours this morning with a sales rep from Erie Homes. He gave me a price that's doable, and we're off to the races.

So I figure this will all happen in the next week or so. It was kind of a charged morning, having the sales rep here going over things. Lots of information. I somehow contained the stress of the moment, but am still unwinding. 

So this is what's been going on with me. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Friday to you! Much love. Later. 

It's my favorite line from a David Carradine movie made back in 1978 called Circle of Iron. In it, Cord, a martial artist, aspires to fight and defeat the legendary Zetan. 

I don't remember where it is in the movie, but someone along his travels asks Cord what his business is. “My goal is Zetan” is his succinct response. 

This would make a wonderful line to use in a wide variety of situations: any restaurant(particularly fast food), any government office--especially the Human Services--, the Bank. Might be interesting to go a whole day walking in places and stating your case. “May I help you?” “My goal is Zetan!”

You'd get a fairly wide range of responses, from hostility to bewilderment. Me, I'd probably start laughing, for lack of any other comeback. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and I'm enjoying it from the confines of my Music Room. I'm not a hermit, but rather a Rugged Indoorsman. Yeah, that's the ticket. 

I can tell from the commotion behind me that my two cats are scuffling. They usually do this right at bedtime, but I guess this is the Day Show. Right now it's going on here on the desk. 

Back in the days of dayjob, there was a lady I worked with who would go on and on in the break room about her kids and her life in general, for both her morning and afternoon breaks. I referred to it as the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock shows. That didn't go over too well, but she probably would've made the same joke if the tables were turned. 

 Geezerhood 2. That's the name given to life in the 70s. I'll be a Septuagenarian in a couple short months. Not as cool as being a Sexagenarian, and harder to spell. But so far it's a lot like regular Geezerhood, just more so. 

And I figure there will be other phases, or sub-phases, coming up. Geezerhood 3(or perhaps 2.5)might be the Assisted Living Phase, if there is one. But so far Geezerhood 2 is enough to deal with. 

Music news. Same old same old . I don't have as many consecutive days as I used to, so I haven't been able to build any kind of momentum in terms of any new music. It'll happen sooner or later. Always has. And I'm still giving her hell on a more-or-less daily basis. 

The guitar has always been high-maintenance as far as that goes. Don't let her fool you. You don't have to buy her anything, but she still requires a lot of attention as far as  scales and arpeggios. Calisthenics, as it were. 

Anyway! This page needed a new post, so I guess this is it. When another gig comes up, I'll let you know. Still workin' it from here in the Music Lab, for the most part. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Saturday to you! Ich bin outa here. More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. And it's been awhile for one of these blogs. So here goes..

Noticing something of a paradigm shift as I move into age 70. The actual date is 5 months and 4 days away, but I'm already there. These are my findings so far:

You've got a  few more aches and pains than you had a decade ago. And you might have already had a knee or hip replaced. And as far as those aches and pains, you're either helping someone in your family or someone in your family is helping you. And your house probably has a few bugs in it that need fixing. 

At the moment I have a roof that needs some work. The windstorms of the past couple weeks have pulled up a few of the panels, exposing my old thatched roof. But the leaks are still taken care of. I had quite an adventure this past year when another storm put a good-sized hole in there. Not a fun experience. Still feeling great relief at having that patched, and not having to go all 1800s bailing out the rainwater..

Sometimes happiness is just having misery taken away..

Music news. Same old same old . Still practicing, and making YouTube videos. And still getting new subscribers here and there. It's great hearing from them. And it keeps me practicing. 

Trying to rotate the guitars I play, to some extent. I've got a sunburst Epiphone ES-335, a Gretsch Streamliner(basic ES design), and my Jim Hughes guitar- which is its own shape. I'm hoping it adds interest to my YouTube videos, having a different visual and sound every so often. 

At the moment I have eleven guitars and one bass guitar. One of them is an Ibanez classical electric, which currently needs a couple strings. I've never changed nylon strings, but I guess I can take a shot at it. It's a guitar I used to play a lot of, both on recordings and gigs. 

I'm not a collector as such. Guitars are just something you accumulate, one by one. And every guitar serves some kind of purpose. The classical electric, once it's restrung, will add a unique timbre. And I've got a Mexican Fender Tele for any kind of twang- plus many other sounds. Plus a couple of archtops-one in particular- for that big guitar tone. And so on. 

This is a long post. But it has been awhile. Nice to see people stopping in to visit the site. I had some more music stuff to talk about--to do with picking, and some stuff I've figgered out--but it'll keep. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. More later.  

 PS today's pic goes back to 2013. This is downtown at the old PNC Bank. My first gig in retirement. Kevin Ellis on bass and Jaro Howse on drums. Tim Roseberry took this picture. My only aerial photograph..

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I know somebody's been stopping by in here, because the site lets me know how many folks- if any- stop in on any given day,. 

Today's pic is of one of my guitars. It's one I've been playing a lot these days. I didn't know the model name or any other features, just that it's my Gretsch guitar. The only Gretsch guitar I own. 

So my Gretsch guitar is actually a Gretsch Streamliner. With a laurel neck. The color is listed as Burnt Orchid. It's also available in Fireburst and Gunmetal. The Gunmetal model is a cool blue. One of its characteristics, on all models, is a V-shaped tailpiece. I don't think it has any bearing on the sound, just one of those things that look cool without serving any particular purpose. 

I got it at the  Rock Shop back  in 2014 or so. A local entertainer named John Sweet was selling it on consignment. I remember being about 14 years old--which would've been 1968--playing my first jazz gigs in a place in a then-thriving Town and Country Shopping Center. The place I played in was called The Flaming Pit. 

John stopped in to see us, spreading good will wherever he went. Kind of a Don Rickles. As I remember, he managed to offend a few people there at the Flaming Pit, most notably  a waiter, who called him a hayseed. 

 According to the employee I talked to at the Rock Shop--46 years later--the jokes are still flying and still crude and usually insulting to someone or other. Nice to know some things never change.. 

 Anyway! My first ES-style guitar. I've got two archtops, one Ibanez and the other a B. Cook model(for Billy Cook, a guitarist and luthier from Peoria), and love them both--especially the B. Cook model--but it's a lot of guitar to reach around. 

So I've gravitated toward the ES-style guitars, having less girth and all. And I now have four of them: a cherry-red Epiphone Casino, a sunburst Epiphone Casino Coupe, a sunburst Epiphone ES-335, and my Gretsch Streamliner. 

I should say here that I'm not a collector per se. I don't have that kind of disposable income. Just a player who likes to have a few options as to which guitar he feels like playing. So my purchases are “off” brands like Epiphone and Ibanez- all decent but inexpensive instruments. A Benedetto or Collings guitar would be doable, but it'd set me back aways…

Well so much for guitar talk. For now anyway. As far as any bona fide Music News, nothing much to report. I had a gig on the 4th of this month, out at Harvest Market. Much fun. The next thing I have on the books is November 1st at Boone's. Something will surely fill in between now and November. 

I'm still pretty busy with family stuff, as well as keeping my own stuff together. It's almost a job in itself, particularly as you get older and things start falling apart. But I'm managing to get in some good practice time. And with that, keeping my YouTube page well-stocked with videos. Subscriptions are at 419 folks. I've got a few regulars, who drop me a line when I post something, It's always a kick hearing from them. 

So that's it for now. All the news from my world that's fit to print. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! 

A snowy day all around. My brother has just retired from his job of 40-some years, and is celebrating the fact that he doesn't have to trudge through it to get to work. That is a wonderful feeling, one I'd wish for everyone who wants or needs it. 

I left the world of daygig in the middle of the year, so I had to wait on that one. But the following January was nasty- the Winter of 2014(remember that one?)-- and I couldn't help posting a picture of my street, with my vehicle being just about the only one left on the block.

 I added a note, which read “don't hate me because I'm beautiful. Hate me(if you must)because I'm retired and don't have to trudge through this shit anymore”. I could certainly feel the hate that day…

Lesson learned: sometimes it's best to keep your good fortune to yourself. 

Music News. I'm practicing more these days. The impetus for this is partly just because it's there, but mainly from hearing a whole crop of guitarists from the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition. You can find it on YouTube. It's a humbling experience…

These players all looked to be in their 20s or 30s, and all of them without exception had monster chops. Stoopid good technique. All were plectrum players--meaning that they used a pick--but the fingers are used a lot more for chording, with the thumb for bass notes. 

I don't expect to be pulling off the kind of fingerboard shenanigans I saw going on at that competition, but I can at least try. Seems like the bar is set awfully high as far as that goes. Killer chops are now a prerequisite, just to get your foot in the door. At least it's something to aspire to. 

More to come on the YouTube page. I just lost two subscribers, but got a number of very nice comments with the last thing I posted.  As long as people are enjoying the stuff I post, there's no sense worrying about a few fluctuations here and there. 

So that's my news, such as it is. Still in there plugging away. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Happy Saturday to you! For now, ich bin outa here. More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! I'm a Man With a Mission today here in the music lab. My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to put these strings--Stage Right--with this guitar. Stage Left. The guitar is a Jim Hughes Special. It's currently missing an E string, and the other strings could probably stand to be replaced themselves. The strings I've got are Ernie Ball 10s. 

10s are pretty much standard procedure for all my guitars. My wine-colored Gretsch has 11s and my cherry-red Epiphone ES has 9s, but everything else has 10s on it. String gauges are a trade-off. Heavier strings give you a fuller sound but are tougher to play. Lighter strings give you mobility but a thinner tone. I usually go for the Great Middle Way with my 10s..

So I'm down for the mission. Got my guitar and my strings and my wire-cutters. We're off to the races. Changing strings is a pain in the ass, and I'd just as soon get that experience in the rear-view mirror as soon as possible.

I've had this guitar for a number of years now. I was attracted to its unique shape. As I remember, the high E went out soon after I got it, and I never got around to replacing it. As a result, exploring this instrument for its sound and feel is something I've still yet to do. 

I know he's built other instruments, but this is my second Jim Hughes guitar The first one was a bass, back in 1980. It had a built-in EQ, which made for a warm sound but also a few squawks here and there. It was even dubbed the Squawk Bass by someone I used to play a lot of gigs with. 

My Squawk Bass Anecdote: I played a lot of shows back then, and was doing Hello Dolly. There was a lot of down time in the pit, and we were watching the show. A very quiet dramatic scene. All of a sudden my bass made a big awful sound, and I lunged to turn off my amp. It was just a second, but the embarrassment reverberated for quite some time. 

The next day, before the show, I approached the actor who was doing the scene, apologizing all over myself for my bass and its noise. . Öh hell, he said. “I just thought Dolly had gas!” The actress was just a few feet away, and was not amused. Aghast might be a better word…

Well once I get this thing re-strung, I might just take a shot at some more playing today, and maybe even something worth sharing. 

Another guitar of mine that's been just gathering dust is an Ibanez Classical Electric, which is missing several strings. The Music Shoppe, out in Parkway Pointe, has a new person doing guitar repairs, and should be able to get it re-strung and overhauled a bit. For the immediate future though, I'm still concerned with this Jim Hughes guitar. Hope her sound is as good as her shape. 

So that's all I've got for now. Thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. More later. 

Greetings, whoever-reads-this! Actually, there are  folks out there who do read it, at least here and there. I know because they tell me. Also, the website tracks activity, so I can tell somebody stopped by. 

Music news. Fresh on the heels of a very nice gig. Grocery stores, or at least the one I visited yesterday, are a new venue for me. The 10am start time was challenging, but I still like the hours. And the fact that it's alcohol-free. Our crowd would've been a lot noisier if they'd been drinking. 

Along that line, Harvest Market also has some evening entertainment, up on its second floor. That's where the bar is, so I'm sure it's more lively. Someone who came down yesterday suggested we move it upstairs for future gigs.

I was just filling in, but probably wouldn't be as interested in the later hours. 10am-1pm is much nicer than, say 7 to 10pm. At least to this old curmudgeon. And I much prefer the quieter day crowd. Most of the venues I play are noisy- and as a result, I'm always frazzled by the end of it. With this one, there was no overload, nothing to shake off. 

Such are the challenges of a musician as he gets older and grumpier. You sometimes have to find new ways of doing what you do. More time is spent here in the Music Lab, but I still get out of the house- as long as it's early and quiet. And fun.

Not much more to report. I've got a collection of electronic pieces I'm looking to release. There's a version of it right here on the site, under My Wares. It's called Nine Pieces. Coming soon!

With that, I should ring off here. Got to get to practicing. I'm not pursuing a career as such, but I'm still trying to get better. More to come on the YouTube page. So thanks as ever for stopping in and reading. Much love. Later.

 PS today's pic is from a Bassburg gig. Me, Mark Sanders  and Rob Killam. I've worked with both these guys in different settings, always fun. Rob and I have done many many gigs over the years. Lots of duos and- my favorite- trio gigs with the great Buddy Rpgers. 

 This is not something I would ordinarily ask for, but Rob could use prayers if you've got ém. He's having some health problems- actually, theý've been going on for awhile-- and can use whatever help is available.