“How goes it in your sphere? I enjoyed the stories you used to post on your website. I know you’re extremely busy as the one man NASA of electric guitars, but if you could find someone trustworthy (an intern) to follow you around filming and recording your thoughts and interactions, with maybe some of your fabrication work at the bench, I think you’d have a hit VLOG.” (Dave A.)
I know so many incredible string players. One of the best perks of my professional life is experiencing excellent playing up close and in the wild. But what does one do when drowning in a sea of guitarists?
In March of this year, I thought maybe it’s time to initiate a new chapter.
Sometimes, playing guitar feels too much like an extension of work…it’s very difficult to turn off the analytical part of my brain and just enjoy playing, without the intrusion of how the instrument could be improved. What would happen if I learned a different instrument?
I picked up a used Gretch kit from a Vietnam veteran in rural Pennsylvania and began to teach myself drums.
Two months or so later, Killick texted. He would be on tour in New Jersey in July and wanted to know if we could meet up. Yes!
Killick is my dear friend and we have amazing discussions about music, production, philosophy, life. What about multiplying that energy? Maybe we could convene our local Jersey crew and dive into something deeper…
How is it possible that four people — who have never played together — spontaneously improvise an entirely new and coherent composition? No charts. No discussion. Just begin.
Q: Where does music come from?
I listen to mostly jazz from the late 1950’s and early 1960’s so this question has been a topic of extensive thought for a while. Something about those players, their improvisational skills, is absolutely captivating. Possibly because we as listeners sense that the musicians do not know what is about to happen next.
Everyone — musician and listener — is fully engaged and devoting maximum attention to the exploration.
Just a hypothesis. But it seems fundamentally different from rehearsed music recorded to a click track and built in overdubbed layers. What do you notice?
“I just woke up to ‘Polinator Jam’ and wanted to share some hardcore irony. First, as it opened, my very first thought was how much I liked the swing of the ride cymbal. My next thought was: this is going to be some cool concept-fusion music to which I wasn’t disappointed. Lo and behold, it wasn’t until you faded the quartet in with name titles that I had my second chuckle as you were the one swinging the ride!
“The first chuckle was the title and your video of working bees…
“Beyond your troupe’s 23min opus which produced many morning electron(s) firing for my mellon, was the parallel to my bee residents. I literally just hired a woman named Emerald to gently relocate a tenant colony of bees from my BBQ. I had actually announced to the fam some time last year that I wanted a small bee colony in the far corner of the yard so that we could get better pollination for the fruit trees and seasonal veggies I plant.
“You can’t make this stuff up! Thanks for tracking like a Paisano, Rick. Great minds…” (Aloha, Dave A.)
