|
This month...a new free piece, a new guitar, a performance at Echoes Radio, and some recommendations.
This Month's Free Piece
This month's piece is "140 Character Blues". It's a straight ahead 12 bar blues in E with some fun licks and some occasional dissonance thrown in there. I play three choruses on it, each slightly different. Pay attention to the staccato notes in the bass line on the downbeat of each measure. It should be played with a nice tight shuffle feel. I would love to hear people add their own choruses! Have fun...
140 Character Blues - TABs
140 Character Blues - Video
* I am tuned to standard Eb in the video.
A New Guitar
I recently purchased a Furch GNc-SW crossover nylon string guitar. I play classical guitar in school every day, so I really love the sound and feel of nylon strings. I wanted an instrument that would have the same tone, but with more of an acoustic feel, so of course I went with Furch!
Thank you to Roger Schmidt at Brickhouse Guitars in Kitchener, Ontario for getting it into my hands.
Along with being a composer/guitarist, Roger Schmidt is a mind blowing artist. Check out his work here: Roger Schmidt Fine Art
Guitar details:
Furch GNc-SW
(This is the guitar used in this month's free piece video above)
Echoes Radio
I recently had the amazing opportunity to record a “living room” concert and interview with John Diliberto and Jeff Towne for Echoes Radio. I have played at Echoes in the past with Flow (Fiona Joy, Lawrence Blatt, Jeff Oster, Will Ackerman) and Departure (with Tom Eaton & Jeff Oster), but this was my first solo appearance.
Echoes is broadcast on 120 radio stations throughout the country and online worldwide, and has 200,000 weekly listeners. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have my music reach so many new ears.
The show will air around Thanksgiving and will include an interview and performance of five songs (Something in You Remembers, Belonging Just Where You Are, The Tree Still Thinks of Tom, Imagine Leaving This Place, & So She Spins).
I will post more info on my social media and website when I have airing details.
Recommendations
Existential Dialogues I by Daniel Chechick
This is a wonderful book that dives into existential philosophy in the form of dialogues between the author's adolescent and mature selves. It addresses topics including the finiteness of life, our struggles with the forces of socialization, inter-generational relations, and the limits of our perceptions. It is written in a casual, conversational way which makes it easy to read and less heady than many existential writings, without losing its deepness. It is an enjoyable and fascinating read. (There is a book II as well, which I just ordered.)
Marika Takeuchi - Dreamer in the Dark
I have been a fan of Marika's music since I first had the opportunity to perform with her on one of Will Ackerman's Gathering concerts. She is a fantastic composer with extraordinary chops. Her newest album is absolutely beautiful.
 Tom Eaton - Fogbound
Need an hour of tranquility? Look no further. My dear friend Tom Eaton is a genius at composing long, immersive sound environments that take you very far away from the daily grind. His music is always interesting, even as it unfolds ever so slowly. It is full of color and texture that will hold your ear and quiet your mind. Just lovely...
Aaron Larget-Caplan - John. Cage. Guitar.
The classical guitarist, Aaron Larget-Caplan, has arranged a collection of John Cage's piano music for guitar, and it is brilliant!
The sheet music (standard notation only) is available from Aaron's Bandcamp page. Highly recommended! These arrangements are a lot of fun to play.
John. Cage. Guitar. - Sheet Music
 American Hardcore
This is an interesting documentary on the birth of the hardcore punk movement in the early 1980's. It includes interviews and performances from some of the most important bands of the genre (Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Black Flag, D.O.A., G.B.H., Circle Jerks, S.O.A., M.D.C.)
You can find this movie on various streaming sites.
That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read these. Have a wonderful November and a Happy Thanksgiving.
Cheers,
Vin
|
