Live Show

Last night I had the great fortune to witness acoustic duo
Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Performing some incredible music.
I mean I was really awestruck.

In case you've never heard their music
(Which you must rectify this instant)
It's a blend of fast picking, percussion, acoustic beauty.
Seriously.
With just 2 guitars they make it sound like there's a whole band.
It's a truly amazing thing to witness firsthand.
I am incredibly grateful that I got to see them
(and it's a good thing I bought those tickets 2 months in advance
They sell out really really quickly)

I love Gabriela's playing style.
I just can't figure out how she does it
I suppose that's part of the magic.
She's really adorable too.
In the sense that yes, she is attractive
But she's also very meek and quiet
...At least when she gets in front of the microphone.
She loves to jam though
Watching her get excited and jump around the stage was certainly
one of the better parts of the show.
The whole thing was amazing.

Rodrigo's soloing skills could quite possibly be the stuff of legend.
He had very recently purchased a Gibson guitar in Nashville, Tennesee
And let me tell you, he earned that thing.
His fingers...they move like spiders through their own webs
A very big sense of ownership with a touch of delicacy.
I can only imagine what kind of practice and dedication he's put into it.

They have some serious metal influence on their playing
which is only the tip of their iceburg.
I only wish I could see them again
Or y'know...have them sign my guitar
...that would've been really fuckin sweet...
But, alas I did not get the chance
(despite my house being a block away from the venue...grumble grumble...)

I am more than content with just hearing their perfomance
and witnessing that piece of history live.

I could keep ranting on and on
But by now I think you get the point
Besides, it would just be better for you to go and see them yourself
Then you might understand.

Just
Before you do
Be prepared for a lot of drunk people to scream Gabriela's name repeatedly.
Drunk people love that woman.

Twilight

Happy New Year.
I know it's late
Clearly, I am unable to do anything on time.
It' s a curse, I know.

I am quite aware that it's been some months since my last update
It's not because I don't practice playing my guitar
but rather that I don't have a personal studio.
When I record something, it's usually for a purpose.
And well...here doesn't always feel like a purpose.

Sometimes it's hard for me to think that I'm growing as a guitarist and as a musician.
It doesn't always feel like I'm making progress.
I've had Maiko for a year and a half now, at least,
and while I can play some songs
it doesn't always feel like I'm becoming better at it.

I don't often write songs
I find it to be...a...well, I don't know the word for it
But there's usually a lot of balled of papers or deleted things.
I'm sure this is normal
I suppose writers and musicians do it all the time
But sometimes I get so frustrated with it that I just give up.
And I know that's terrible
I should write
I should try to write
But I'm not a lyricist, I never feel like my words have flow
Nor do I know how to communicate them with other people.

When I think about song lyrics, I am of course forced to think about the music that "inspires" me.
I say "inspires" because I don't exactly know what that means.
I don't hear guitar solos and think "man I want to sound like that"
...well, sometimes I do
I want to play my own style, mostly.
...I don't know.

I think about the groups and artists that I consider my favorite or to me are the greatest of this generation.
Like the way people consider Jimi Hendrix to be a guitar god.
(Honestly, I've never listened to that much Hendrix...not because I don't believe the hype,
I was just never interested.)
And I came up with this list:

1) John Mayer
-I'm not entirely sure he gets the credit he deserves
John Mayer is a brilliant musician and he often changes his sound
I can't just shuffle through his songs on iTunes or Winamp.
Particularly, his album Continuum, probably my favorite by far
If for no other reason than it seems more bluesy has a more earthy feel and tone.
He plays with all kinds of musicians, rappers, singers, crazy people
...it always fits so well.
And he's just a funny guy.

2) Liam Finn
-You may or may not know who Liam Finn is
You can certainly check out his Last.FM page
I found his music by complete accident
I was in a CD store in another town and it dropped on my foot
I saw the cover and it said "I'll Be Lightning"
I thought it was clever
So I gave it a listen
and I was hooked by the first track.
"Better To Be" has made itself into the list of songs that I will stop and listen to every single time.
I don't know much about how musicians play with sounds and vocals to achieve a certain sound
But damned if he didn't do it.

3) Nick Drake
-It's fricken Nick Drake.
And of course I would not know who Nick Drake is
If my friend did not possess his music and encourage me to add it to my "Sleepy" playlist.
While the sounds of Nick Drake have put me to sleep on many occasions
There are also songs on there that make me feel like they were written for specific or times.
Like...it belongs in the personal soundtrack of everyone's life.
Yes he died young, but his music still finds appreciation 30 years later.
(Amazing finger picking...truly remarkable)

4) José González
-Because "Veener" was a brilliant album
Because I love the song "Hints"
and because I like the way his name sounds.
And that's all I will say.

5) Carlos Santana
-Honestly, I don't know that much about Santana
I don't own any of his albums
But he's featured in a lot of songs that I have.
He plays with many, many, many different people
And he's been around the block more than once.
Whenever he's added to a track
That's a reason to turn the stereo up.
His fingers move like a spider moving about it's own web
There's a sense of beauty, outstanding rhythm and a personality all its own.
Sometimes it seems like he interprets time in the form of music.
He could play the the collapse of the economy and it would be the shit.

6) Jehro
- I love Jehro's music because it's been stuck in my head for 4 years.
I used to sit in Barnes & Nobles reading Japanese Animation Comics (Manga)
for hours on end. (It killed time very well.)
Every now and then I'd hear a song that would make me tap my foot and sway a bit
Eventually I stopped sitting in the bookstore but I found the song stayed in my head.
It was terribly annoying to have part of a song by an artist that I didn't know stuck in my head
All I could remember was a line that said "Kings and their Queens" and the melody.
...those aren't very good search terms, trust me.
But, eventually I found what I was looking for.
"All clad in silk and gold, I have seen Kings and their Queens
And with one single golden thread, I could've woven dreams
I've dug for gold it's true, and those Kings granted loans
But I'm still empty handed, now I'm heading home
...Long is the way."
And of course, to this day it's one of my favorite songs ever.
His album, I found, is also full of pure genius...and other songs that repeatedly get stuck in my head.


...I realize that 6 is an odd number to stop.
It's not because there aren't more
But rather because there are many more
There are so many musicians that I've left out that I almost want to go back and change these
But
When I think of the acoustic guitar, and the reason I want to play
These are the people that come to mind.
I suppose these musicians are part of my inspiration
as well as the various bands and groups that I listen to.
Maybe someday I will find a sound that I can call my own
But for now I just listen to these over and over and over again
And I wonder if I will ever appreciate the guitar the way they do.

""The guitar is the human soul sending a message through six strings"
-From the Japanese Anime series "BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now, after all of this talking it's only safe to assume that I will add my own music to the end of this post
Which I will.

The first of which will be my cover of
"Big Casino" by Jimmy Eat World
(Mostly because I love the line:
"And they'll say, all the salt in the world couldn't melt that ice")



The second of which will be my cover of
"Girl" by Beck
(...I don't know how he does it. He's a fucking Wiz)



And the last of which (today) will be
"ATWA" by System Of A Down
...because my girlfriend loves this song.



~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's a new year
It's a new day
I can't see into the future
No, I just play.

Tardiness

You didn't think I forgot about this did you?
Or maybe you did.
Doesn't matter.

It's not that I forgot
Simply that I've been procrastinating.
This log of my musical journey is supposed to be for myself
But I often neglect the sides of myself that deserve actual attention.
Anyway, I digress.

I realize that it's been a while since I've done anything, really.

Oh
I did order a new Mic off of eBay (I love that site)
Like an actual recording mic
...sorda
It -looks- like a recording mic
And that's why I got it.

...anyway.
I've been slacking
I know I shouldn't
And I need to work on that.

Since MP3MyMP3 had a little bit of difficulty recording things at a certain noise level
I've decided to start experimenting with Audacity
It's really useful
But, I know nothing of how to use it correctly.
That's half the fun of experimentation.
What's the other half?
I don't know.

Today I decided that I'd play "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley
That wonderful mash-up with Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse.
Again
Starts out rough
Gets slightly better.
...I don't know what I was doing at the end.
I got a little out of hand.
It happens.

Thanks to Humyo.com (an massive online storage website)
I can have plenty of space for these kinds of things.


...don't hide that excitement, I can see it in your eyes.


-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I make no promises
I tell no lies
I don't do things everyday
Although I do try
I am very lazy
Which I'm sure you'll say
I am not Michael Phelps
...I just play.

Aspiration.

You may not know this
But I have an mild (read: unhealthy) obsession with the song
"Viva La Vida" by Coldplay
Despite the recent controversy surrounding it
I just think it's...well, there's no real way for me to explain it.
The melody strikes chords in my mind, body and soul
You may not feel this way
But not all songs are meant for all people.

Regardless of whether or not Chris Martin is singing about the Crusades
Or parallel universes...I'll leave that decision up to you.
Whatever the case
It's a hell of a song.

Why bring this up?
Well, I was scouring the internet looking to see if there was an official music video for the song
(Not just the Apple Ad)
And of course, I came across YouTube.
In all honesty, I try to avoid YouTube like the plague
It's just so...well, I don't know.
It's YouTube.

Anyway, I came across a cover of "Viva La Vida"
And I had no choice but to watch it
I mean...really.
Look at this:


...
I mean
Shit.
That's talent.
Not just the very good imitation of the song
I mean the abilities of the people involved.
The Pianist doesn't miss a beat
Perfect synchronization
The Guitarist...just amazing
Multi-tasking at it's best.

That's just...fucking amazing
Excuse my language.
I really don't know what else to say about it
If you can't appreciate that
You just don't matter.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I'd like to be like that someday
I don't know how you do it
I mean...just...
...damn.

Just to play half that well would make my day.
I know I know
It takes a ton of practice
I know.
But sometimes I wonder, you know
...can I?
...could I?
...really?
I don't know.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I just need to learn how to play.

Inspiration

Inspiration comes in many different forms in many different ways
For some people, it's other people
For other people, it's nature
And some people are just naturally gifted that way, I suppose.
I don't really know.

But what is inspiration?
I find it to be something that makes you want to replicate
Imitate
Appreciate
Something that just awes you or makes you reconsider things you swore you knew.
It's what causes...change in people
Change in ideals
Change in lifestyles
Inspiration.

It instills confidence
Bravery
A willingness to go into the new.
It's...inspiration.

Such a powerful tool
And you may not even know you've given it to someone.
That's what's truly amazing to me.
You can just walk down the street and inspire someone to do something.
I'm not saying you should walk down the street like you're the end-all be-all
It's just chance
A wonderful opportunity of a chance.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

My inspirations come from every person I see walking down the street
With an acoustic guitar strapped to their back
Whether their in front of the local cafe playing
or on their way to a performance
Nothing is better than a live music performance.
No one is perfect, but damn if they don't give off...something.
Some kind of aura, some kind of charisma and power
Something about a person with a guitar makes me stop and listen every single time.
If they put their heart and soul in what they do
You can't just walk by that
You can't.
You'd be ignoring what it means to be human
What it means to live.
It's....music.
It's...light.
It's...life.

I wish I could show appreciation for every individual artist
I don't know how
But I wish I could.

Music deserves to be respected.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

In all the world there are musicians large and small
Expressing their love and lament of life
There are songs that can part cloudy skies
And ones to cause terrible storms
I have not yet found my way through words
...I just play.

Firsts.

I've always been interested in the guitar.
I can't explain why
I just have been.
And for a long time I was afraid to touch one
Afraid I might break one
Or worse...sound awful.

My first year in college, I actually got to play one.
My friend Megan had an Ibanez guitar sitting in her room gathering dust.
I asked if I could borrow it
She was like "Sure, I don't play it"
And I, for the life of me could not understand that concept.
So, I took it to my dorm
And fumbled around with it.
It was hard
My hands hurt like fuck
But...I finally got to play a guitar.
Of course, I'd never play in front of people...God no.
But the guy in the room next to me heard me playing and decided to teach me a thing or two.
It wasn't much, but it got me started, Thanks Sam.


Yes, I know this is a "Money Shot"
and I'm clearly being cheesy as hell
But I was happy.
My first time with an acoustic guitar.
It was...nice.

I've never had a teacher
I probably never will
So I had to find my way through various lessons
Older people giving advice and tips
And I never could do things right
But it's alright
I'll keep trying.

I tried learning chords and tabs
But all that was above my head
So for a while I just strummed the only notes I knew.
G, C and E.

Eventually I got around to trying to figure out how to play a song
From my favorite band, System of A Down.
Their song "Roulette".

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Here's my version:


And my attempt at the verse:


And yet again, with my vocal accompaniment.


I know I don't sound particularly pleasing to anyone's ears
But I still like to play
That's really all I have to say about that.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

For those of you who don't particularly care for my albeit novice version
Or are just interested what the original sounds like
You can find it here
(NOTE: I do not own the rights to this song, I do not encourage stealing or copyright infringment
listen to it and be done with it)

-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I'm a guy
with a guitar
I'm not very good
...I just play.