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This month…
• A new free piece
• Grammys…enough with the Grammys
• Hipness
• Some recommendations
Free Piece
This month's free piece is a sweet little melody with some bluesy licks played over an alternating bass line. Focus on bringing out the melody while keeping a steady driving bass line with the thumb.
Voting for the nomination round begins Friday October 3rd and runs until October 15th. I am extremely proud of “City Lights Hide the Stars”, so I have been on a mission to share it with as many folks as possible in the NARAS/FYC circle of artists.
I may have more of a chance to be drafted by a professional baseball team than I do at being nominated for a Grammy, but making connections with so many musicians and hearing tons of fantastic music is a reward in itself. Over the last month, I have received some wonderful feedback on my music, and have opened the door to some future collaborations and recording work with other musicians from various genres. That's a win in itself.
That being said, I will be promoting away until the 15th. Please help me get the word out by sharing any of my gazillion posts. Click the pic for listening link.
What is hip? Not my hip.
"You're into a hip trip, maybe hipper than hip."
Lately, I have had Tower of Power's “What Is Hip?” stuck in my head. It's a favorite of mine going all the way back to high school, when our hip teacher Doc Watson transcribed every part for our jazz band to play. He also took us to go see Tower of Power in concert. That's a great teacher!
What's not hip is my right hip. I will be having it replaced in a few weeks. After years of thinking I had a really bad sciatica problem, I found out back in 2024 that the problem was actually my hip. Apparently, there is no cartilage left in the joint. I've put up with the pain for years now, but the thing that I can longer tolerate is my ever increasing lack of motion. Putting on a sock or shoe, getting in and out of a car, walking comfortably, sitting for an extended period of time are all becoming extremely difficult…so it is time.
I am really eager to have the surgery done so I can get back to “normal”. Plus, I have a giant stack of new books to read during my weeks of recovery. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited for that.
Send good vibes if ya got 'em.
“What is hip? I wanna know what hipness is”
Recommendations
Here is what I've been listening to and reading…
That's all for October. See you sometime in November once my new hip is hip.
As always, thank you for reading these and for supporting my music. Please feel free to share these newsletters with like minded friends. They can sign up to receive the newsletter by joining my mailing list over on my website.
