DianeB
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Posts posted by DianeB
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@matonanjin Thank you, Ron, what a sweet thing to say.
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If this be trouble, send me more.
The run-up to the show saw a week of unseasonably chilly, wet weather, so we postponed to our rain date of the following Sunday. That gave us a chance for one more rehearsal that Friday night, as we hunkered down in Joe’s basement during torrential rain. It paid off. We were ready.
Sunday afternoon arrived with brilliant blue skies and a light breeze, perfect for music al fresco. As Joe set up his PA and ran the mic cables, residents trickled in and found their chairs. Jim, who arranged this for his community, consulted with the social committee as tables appeared, then food and drinks. Alan, Amy, Jeff and I busied ourselves with stands, instruments, and tuning. We had multiple acoustics, Amy’s bass, a resonator, 12 string, banjo, mandolin, cajon, and my Strat.
I discovered to my dismay that my wireless produced an annoying pulsing sound over the PA, so I had to yank it and replace it with a cable. Pedalboard, A/B box, good to go. I glanced up to see that the trickle had grown to a crowd of more than 40. The tables had sprouted beer and wine, pizza, salads, and cupcakes. I felt a buzz in the air.
I fixed my face and walked around to greet some of the residents. To my astonishment, one had worked at DuPont when I did, over 40 years ago, in the building next to mine. We had co-workers in common. A wave of memories returned.
The reminiscing had to wait: it’s four o’clock, show time. Jeff and Joe gave me high fives. I surveyed the smiling, expectant faces before me, and we were off. A solid start. On the fourth song, California Dreamin’, I had Denny Doherty’s lead vocal. I counted us in, Jeff and I hit the intro, and I heard my mates come in with the background vocals. I became weightless. Everything, save song and sky, dropped away; I was back in 1965.
At the first break, I again took the chance to mingle. I merely said, “Hello,” and their eyes lit up.
We poured ourselves out: Amy on “Amie” (of course), Alan on “I Shall Be Released,” Joe on “Peaceful Easy Feeling,” Jeff’s mandolin solos, Jim’s slide licks on his resonator. We didn’t have monitors, so I couldn’t hear the full mix, but Joe reassured me it was all coming out the PA. There were trivial hiccups, but we laughed them off.
Did you run that stop sign again?
I thought there was another chorus!
That’s okay, you do you.During an extended discussion to my left about which key, I explained to the audience (stealing from Neil Young): “There’s an awful lot of math going on up here.”
And during yet another, interminable discussion to my left about who has which part, I continued: “This is what happens when you have too many Ph.D.s in the band.”
All too soon, Jeff was on the final riff to “Wonderful Tonight”. The G chord faded away. Applause. Joe shut off the board. Handshakes, hugs, smiles. Time for cold beer, cold pizza, and — Hey! Where did those cupcakes go?!
Our guests collected their folding chairs and started their short walk back home. As the shadows grew, we coiled up the cables, packed the instruments, and loaded our cars. We raised our glasses in a toast to the music. Amen, brothers and sisters, play it the way you feel it.
Left to right: Jim, Jeff, Me, Joe, Amy, and Alan:
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It could use a selector switch for all those sound holes.
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I bought the Strat from Gregg Cobler a year and a half before he died in 2023. (For those who don't remember Gregg, here he was "Cntryblues".) At the time he was recovering from a serious surgery (sarcoma) to his leg and decided to thin out his collection. He texted me with pictures of three guitars that he was about to take to Guitar Center to see what he could get for them. I had been window shopping for a Strat, and I wanted a California model.
"Don't you dare take that Strat to the store," I shot back. "Take it to FedEx or UPS and send me the bill. I'll sell it here if I have to, but I think I'm in love." A few days later, it was on my front porch: a 1999 American Deluxe, and not a scratch anywhere. Practically mint condition. He had replaced the plastic knobs with the knurled Tele style. Sniffles and Trixie approved, making it unanimous.
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Maddie, I hope you won't mind us giving a little space to your talented predecessor, Jared Scharff, who held that special seat for years. Only now am I getting around to learning about him. From 2021, here's a profile in Guitar.com.
For the best part of four decades, Saturday Night Live has remained one of the most popular and influential shows on US TV. Since the late-night comedy showcase debuted 1975, only five guitar players have occupied the full-time guitarist’s chair in the Saturday Night Live Band....
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Into the home stretch. We've rehearsed outside to check the PA system, and today we had a final run-through. Word on the street, so we hear, is of residents looking forward to the show. The 55+ development has 125 homes, so if 25 people turn out, in good weather, I'll be thrilled.
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The "workshop" Nancy is referring to is Guitar Intensives, which runs in late July.
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Meanwhile, the hype machine comes to life.
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Yeah, you can guess what this bunch is up to. Four rehearsals in, "Blurred Vision" is tightening up. Stay tuned. 😉
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@Anon Hi there, and welcome to the forum. You probably noticed that your post required approval. It's a new requirement that Steve had to implement because we were recently inundated with spam from new "members" who signed up for that sole purpose. We regret the inconvenience. Such is the online world these days.
As you settle in and look around, you will find from reading that many of us have shared your experiences. You're not alone in having to start over from scratch. The same work that rewards us, humbles us. Carry on, keep us posted of your progress, and join us for Steve's Live Lessons about every other Tuesday night (7:00 pm Central).
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@dan0725 Well done, Dan! Good guitar work, in time, and a smooth vocal.
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A heads up about two documentary films out this month in limited engagements. First, "Coastal", a new black-and-white iPhone film, shot by Daryl Hannah, of Neil Young's recent California tour. Second, a re-release of "Pink Floyd at Pompeii 1972" in 4K. Check online and your local theater for dates and times.
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Last night I had the thrill of seeing Kaki King perform in town. She's on tour, a double bill on most dates with the California Guitar Trio. As expected, she used her projector for visual effects with her custom Ovations, and demonstrated her Passerelle bridge, which essentially turns the guitar into a 12-note lyre. The California Guitar Trio has been around for decades, now comprised of Paul Richards, Bert Lams, and recent addition Tom Griesgraber, who plays a Chapman stick. There were terrific originals as well as goosebumping covers of "Jessica" and Ennio Morricone's theme to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Kaki joined the Trio for the finale:
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Wikipedia has a good discussion of the format and the compromises that compression requires.
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Wow, Mike, that's just lovely. Worthy of a a soundtrack!
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@hespeler Welcome to the forum! I'm inclined to agree with @Fretless, who I know is an accomplished guitarist. Your feelings of frustration might arise from a natural tendency to compare your guitar skill to your proficiency in, shall we say, your neighboring skills. They give you a great head start. An experienced music educator could help you make the most of them without having to start from the very beginning, like many of us here. Stay in touch.
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From the Guardian:
'A Part of You is Gone'
... In a city known for its creative output, the fires ravaged two neighborhoods musicians called home on opposite ends of Los Angeles. The fires affected high-profile performers as well as dozens of working musicians, destroying the instruments and home studios essential to their craft ....
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Watch Live Lessons on the Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERE. 7:00 pm Central Time US
2025 LIVE LESSON DATES
JANUARY
14th – Great Chord Moves in D
28th - Great Chord Moves in G
FEBRUARY
11th - Great Chord Moves in C
18th - Jazz Guitar with Paulo Oliveira
MARCH
11th - Improvise a Celtic Irish Song on Guitar
18th - Fingerstyle with Bryce Mullins
APRIL
8th - The Belmont Guitar Ensemble
MAY
6th - Great Chord Moves in A
13th - How to Change Chords Quickly
20th - Scott Bernard
JUNE
5th - Mark Kroos
24th - Great Chord Moves in E
JULY
1st - Want Better Solos? Think Like a Singer
22nd or 29th - To be announced
Future dates and topics to be announced.
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The dates are set for next year, July 20–26, 2025. Faculty will again be Toby Walker (seated, purple hat), Denise Adorante (seated, gray cap), Mike Rowling (who had to leave early this year for illness) and Chris Grampp, who will be new. Adam Levy is between Toby and Denise. Details and final pricing will be posted on the web site as plans firm up. Finally, I have our group picture. Can you believe this was early August? It's Maine!
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@Cindy Hi, Cindy, it's good to see you back! After that first year here in our new home, the discussion board has quieted considerably. Doug and I monitor it daily, but there's only about a dozen regular visitors. Traffic picks up when Steve has a Live Lesson, as people download the accompanying files.
I think there are multiple reasons. DVDs have fallen out of fashion, and Legacy no longer offers the course on physical media; apparently they licensed the content to Udemy. Steve has found a niche and likely has little interest in duplicating what's available through multiple streaming services. There's also a general fatigue around social media now. It's mostly reposts and videos and emoji, and few people seem to have either the patience or capacity to write posts in comprehensible, complete sentences. I find it sad.
I was part of the last cohort of any size to start out with the LMG course, and that was twelve years ago. I've seen maybe three or four people report completing the main course or the fingerstyle course in that time. I'm just not one of them. Even years ago, we observed that once someone reached about session eight, their participation dropped off. Maybe they hit a wall or lost interest. Maybe they learned how to teach themselves.
The good news is that a significant number of us still remain connected through Steve's Live Lessons and conferences. The fingerstyle retreat is thriving, but the summer gathering remains on hiatus while Steve locates a new venue. Attendance dropped off steadily post-covid; enrollment at Trevecca took a hit and revenue with it, and Trevecca raised the facility rental fees beyond Steve's budget. We wait to see if anything materializes for this summer.
Meanwhile, Doug and I tend to the housekeeping here. Since I last heard from you, I've completed several music theory courses at the local university and lots of private lessons. So when the occasional theory question comes around, I can usually field it, as you and BenBob used to do so well. I enjoyed a two year stint in my neighborhood band, and lately play the occasional open mic. This is my way of giving back. I really look forward to seeing the gang in Nashville every year. You'll find my reports in the conferences section.
Hope to see you as a regular again! Happy Thanksgiving, and best wishes!
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And the explosion is about to go off. At the time, the primary AM radio station in the Tidewater, Virginia market was WGH. They published their weekly Top 30 on these fliers and placed them wherever records were sold. I collected them from about 1963-65, and I how I would love to have them back. I think my mom tossed them, because I wouldn't have (sigh). A high school classmate saved a few, like this one. The DJs were household names: Bob Calvert, Gene Loving, Keith James, Richard Lamb, George Crawford. WGH sponsored the local premiere of "A Hard Day's Night", which I attended with a neighbor friend. My oversized souvenir ticket is gone, too (really deeeeep sigh). I remember well the long line outside, the opening chord, then 90 minutes of pubescent female screaming. Priceless.
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Epilog
Amy and I are safely home. We sang our way northeast along the interstates for two days and 800 miles, harmonizing to Mary Chapin-Carpenter (we passed her general vicinity in Virginia), the Indigo Girls, and whoever else turned up on her Pandora playlist. Already we're making our plans for next year.
Thanks for reading my modest diary. Much was omitted for lack of time. I've discovered that when I compose these posts in another app, then copy and paste them here, the text is sometimes illegible on other devices. I apologize for the annoyance, and I suspect the issue lies with this web site. Sigh.
Steve faces a dilemma: how to open up the retreat to all who want to attend while maintaining its intimacy. I don't have an answer: thirty students, as this year, seems to be the limit to the current arrangement. This time the weather was perfect. But cold, wind, or rain might present other challenges as we shuttle between buildings in the future.
Collin, Tim Lerch, and Christie Lenée were all terrific. But I tip my denim hat and bow to all those who offered a student performance. We had three times as many participants this year as last. Way to go, everyone! We had covers, originals, the mirthful, and the mournful.
And to all who were there whether in person or in spirit, you — whose generosity and encouragement and humor and artistry have kept me from going off the rails along this journey — may your music always be a comfort. Nurture it, cherish it, and put it out there in this world that craves it so.
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Never mind the concerts, here’s a taste of the heart-stopping cornhole action:
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Sunday: the outro. The lodge came to life about 6:30, earlier than usual. We fueled up on pancakes, and one more time, up the hill, around the bends, past the lake, by the cabins, through the swarm of eighth grade girls, up to Valley View. Steve made final announcements and we welcomed Christie Lenée back for her workshop. She touched on (sorry, had to) tapping, hammer-ons and pull offs, the mentality of practicing, and connecting with the music inside oneself. We celebrated our host and hostess one more time, then it was time to say goodbye.
Some left from Valley View, at least one met a Uber at the front gate, while the rest of us returned to the lodge to retrieve our luggage. Hugs, handshakes, shouts, and waves. Amy and I sent our roommate Barb off with hugs, loaded our loaner Corolla, and set off for lunch in downtown Franklin. With the sunshine of another perfect day above, my faithful friend and copilot alongside me, I recalled a byword of Deer Run: I am blessed.
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Trouble Brewing
in Guitar Playing & Technique
Posted
Here's a bit of "I Shall Be Released," with Alan on lead and featuring Sprinkles and the Cupcakes: