Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
I was thinking about music the other day, and what it means to me. Music has been a big part of my life since I started taking piano lessons from Mrs. Crill (my neighbor) in fourth grade. I started taking guitar lessons at school when I was in seventh grade, and by the end of that year, I had my first guitar (a Squier standard stratocaster, which I still have). I would say that I progressed at a decent speed for the first couple years while I was taking lessons, because I was eager to learn new things. After junior high, I had streaks where I would play my guitar daily for months at a time, and then let it sit for a month or two. This continued through high school, but when I got to college, I met a few people (Mike Cendejas, Mike Falgout, Brandon Walters, Taylor Dwyer, John Dorman, the list goes on…) who inspired me to pick up my guitar again and make progress. I was introduced to music by bands I’d never heard before. I learned new chords, solos, scales, and other techniques that have proved invaluable to my playing. My last big boost came when I took private guitar lessons from Miles Moynier during the last semester of my senior year. I know that I’ll be better off keeping my day job than trying to pursue a career in music, but it still feels great to see that I can improve as a musician.
If you know me, you know that I am a Greg Laswell fan. Some might say that my enjoyment of his music borders on obsession. I listen to it frequently. I love to listen to new studio and live versions of the same songs that I’ve heard a thousand times. I could listen to his albums on repeat for hours on end. In fact, I have been listening to his forthcoming album, Take a Bow, pretty much nonstop at work since he announced that we could stream it from his website. I’ve entered a few contests put on by Greg’s promoters: one time I won a free copy of the How the Day Sounds EP in a contest on Myspace, and another time I won two tickets to a GL concert from FM 94.9, my favorite San Diego radio station.
I’ve seen him play completely by himself, with Brandon Walters at his side, and with full bands comprised of the likes of Molly Jenson, Kelly Bennet, Daniel Rhine, and Jon Titterington (I could write an entire post dedicated to how much I like hearing to these individuals, as well).
I’ve gone to see him live more times than I can recall. I’ve seen him at the Belly Up, House of Blues, and the Casbah in San Diego. I’ve seen him at the House of Blues in Anaheim. I’ve seen him at a small dive bar called The Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa. I’ve seen him several times at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. I’ve seen him three times on the same tour (twice in three days, in fact). I’m even hoping to see him when we are in New York on vacation at the end of May.
So why do I keep going to see him play his music? What will he sing or play or say or do that I haven’t seen or heard already? The simple answer is that he inspires me. When I listen to him play, I get that same feeling that I got when I played Say It Ain’t So with the Mikes and Matt in the last room on the left of Hendricks 3rd South. I get the feeling that I got after I first learned the versatility of the pentatonic scale, or the fact that the major chords can be easily played five different ways.
I love the way he’s not afraid to let his songs grow and change as he does. If you listen to the original release of What a Day and compare it to the version heard on the How the Day Sounds EP, you’ll be blown away. Both versions are excellent in their own ways. His music evolves noticeably across his multiple LPs and EPs. Even his appearance has changed (mostly in the form of an ever-present beard and Goorin Bros. hat).
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few good conversations with him: when he played that show at the Detroit Bar, he had nothing to do until 10:00 p.m., and we had gotten there early thinking the concert started at 8:00. Christine and I enjoyed discussing musical influences while Pink Floyd’s The Wall played on a TV at the bar. One time after a concert at the Hotel Cafe, I told him how much I enjoyed his music, and how I was looking forward to his then-upcoming record. He handed me an advanced copy of the album and said, “enjoy.” He’s a pretty nice guy and he really seems to appreciate his fans.
His music is honest. Sometimes it’s rough: you can hear his dog or his phone in the background of his tracks. On the new album’s version of Let It Ride, there’s a sudden, isolated snare roll that sounds a little odd on its own, but every time I hear it, I just smile to myself. There’s something meaningful in the fact that he’s not afraid to make mistakes. In a time where most bands and artists have their music mixed and mastered to technical perfection (almost always by an outside party), it’s refreshing to see that Mr. Laswell is satisfied to produce his own music and let it speak for itself.
I suspect that I’ll always feel this way about Greg’s music. Whatever inspires you, hold onto it. You’ll never know how it might move you.
It’s March 17 already. St. Patrick’s Day. In one respect, it’s hard for me to believe that a lot of time has passed since I was in grad school (9 months), since my sister had her daughter (8 months), and since I got married (20 months). But at the same time, considering that so much has happened in my life in the past few years since I left San Diego, I’m surprised that it’s only March 17.
I have a standard set of things I always do: work, eat, sleep, play video games, ride my bike, and hang out with Christine. I also read when I get the chance (although lately I’ve just been reading about cycling). I am really enjoying my life, but lately I’m trying to do things that don’t necessarily fall in that set (in addition to continuing to do those things in the set).
For instance, I now have tangible fitness goals when I ride my bike, whereas for the past six months or so, I’ve just been riding for recreation (not that this is a bad thing, I just think I need a goal to keep myself motivated to ride more often). I want to become a stronger and faster cyclist, and I eventually want to enter local races. I’ve even gone as far as isolating an event in which I intend to compete (a time trial), and I’m training specifically to be at my peak when that even comes around.
I’ve also decided to learn a new language (I know, this is something that I should wait to do until my mid-life crisis, but I like to get things done before they become a problem). Right now I’m learning Russian, mostly because I’ve always loved the way it sounds. I’d also like to visit Russia someday, so it might come in handy to know some of the language.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that it is a goal of mine to read more actively, and I’ve been doing that. I know I promised a couple of reviews for The Three Musketeers and Dracula, so maybe I’ll post them soon. I’m going to start reading Wilkie Collins’ Woman in White before the end of the month.
I went snowboarding this weekend for the first time in about 10 years, and I rediscovered how much I enjoy it. I enjoyed the trip so much that (unfortunately for my pocketbook), I want to go again before the end of the season, and get some gear so I can go frequently next year (I know I have at least one reader who goes to Mammoth fairly regularly).
I’ve been playing electric guitar in church for the past few months. Every other Sunday, I get up before dawn to meet the worship team for practice at 7:00 a.m. (this is earlier than I get up for work). I’m not complaining though; I love the experience and it is great to be able to play music with other musicians, as opposed to sitting in a room alone with my guitar, playing rhythm through a loop and playing lead over the top of it (although I believe spending time alone with my guitar is also necessary and good).
There’s not a real focus to this post, and I realize that. I don’t think I have much hope of salvaging this writing, so I suppose I’ll just conclude by wishing all of you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t forget to read the wikipedia article about the history of the holiday!
I’ve been pretty busy with school, doing homework and getting ready for the last finals week of the Master’s program. I have to take that real analysis exam again on June 15, so I’ve been spending a lot of free time studying to make sure I pass it this time.
That isn’t to say that I haven’t had any free time though. I’ve been able to ride my bike quite a bit still, play my guitar every so often, and last night Christine and I went to a MAE concert in Anaheim. The show was awesome, and we talked to the guys a bit after their performance. It was great to meet the band and hear more about what they are doing. I’m looking forward to seeing them play again when they tour to promote their next EP.
Work is going well, but it looks like I won’t be able to stay in my current department after graduation. I am looking into transferring to another department so that I can still stay at WD, but it seems like resources are stretched a little thin at the moment. I’ve also been looking at jobs at a few places in San Diego. So we may be moving back down south, but it really just depends on the job situation.
That’s all for now, but I plan to write plenty more after school is over.
Please take some time to visit whatismae.com and support their current cause: The House That Fire Built.
This is the premise of what I believe is a really cool idea: each month this year, MAE will be releasing a new song to support a humanitarian effort or charitable organization. Each song requires a minimum donation of $1 to download, which will go towards that month’s cause. Even if you can only donate the minimum (or even if you can’t donate at all), help spread the word by embedding the widget (see my sidebar) in your blog, your myspace page, or your facebook profile.
These three guys are great people and make amazing music, so help them help others, and you can get some cool stuff from them in return.
So, as of 7:00 p.m. this evening, I’m done with my fourth quarter of grad school, which is pretty sweet. It’s nice to not have to worry about homework or tests for a little while. I’m looking forward to this nice long break (one month, to be precise). I’ll be working a full schedule at WD (more on that later) for the first two and a half weeks and then heading on down to San Diego on Christmas Eve. If any of you are gonna be around and want to hang out, we’ll be there until January 1st or 2nd. Then it’s on to the winter quarter.
I’ve been working at WD for the past three weeks now, and it’s been a pretty fun job. I’m learning a lot of things about hard drives that I never cared about before, but that I find pretty interesting. As far as saving on hard drives goes, I get a pretty decent discount for each item, but there are some conditions to using it. Technically, I’m only supposed to buy hard drives for mysef (as in, not for resale), and I can only buy three of any given SKU# per year. Also, WD keeps track of the serial numbers on the drives sold through the employee store, so if there is ever a problem with the drive, maintenance or whatever has to go through me. So that’s the deal. I’m also guessing that if I buy a ton of hard drives all the time someone will catch on. But whatever. If anyone is really in need of a hard drive, I can occasionally help you out.
Finally, if you haven’t seen Coldplay in concert, you’re missing out on a whole different side of the Coldplay experience. We were lucky enough to see them on Tuesday, Nov. 25th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and I must say that it was one of the greatest live shows I’ve ever witenessed. I’ve always been a fan of Coldplay, but after this show, I have to say that they are even dearer to my heart.
Now it’s time to enjoy my time off.
GET IT. You won’t regret it.
I’ve recently acquired The Alchemy Index, Vols. I-IV by Thrice, and I am amazed at the diversity of this collection (thanks to Jason and Zim for the recommendation). Each volume (they come in two sets of two EPs each) is themed according to one of the four basic alchemical elements: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. After listening to each one a few times (see my Last.fm chart from a couple weeks ago), I’ve picked out my four favorites – one from each volume:
Fire – “Burn the Fleet” – This song is just so evocative. The images which the lyrics produce vividly describe the true desperate spirit of battle and victory, and the consequences of failure.
Water – “Open Water” – This is a mellow song that has some seemingly theological implications. The way I interpret things, this song compares the ocean to God, because “it gives and takes away.” The accompanying music does an incredible job of providing the listener with a sense of depth – as though the song itself is being cast up from the bottom of the sea.
Air – “Daedalus” – This song revisits an older Thrice song (“The Melting Point of Wax”) and an even older story – the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus. The song is heard from Daedalus’ point of view as Icarus’ father, and it brilliantly uncovers a parent’s inner hopes and desires for the life of his child.
(Honorable Mention – “A Song for Milly Michaelson”)
Earth – “Digging My Own Grave” – I love this song simply because it is so far away from what I normally would expect to hear from Thrice. This was one of the first songs I heard from the collection (during a random sampling), and it struck me as being wholly original and beautiful.
Even if you’ve never listened to or enjoyed Thrice before, you should still check out The Alchemy Index. The group truly pushed their limits making this collection: each volume has a distinctive style and each song fits its corresponding theme, but the entire collection can be viewed as a whole, with each element complementing the others. Each song in a volume achieves a different result than the last, and each EP displays a different aspect of the band’s technical prowess. They definitely played up the dichotomies between these four fundamental media – and the result is an amazing journey through pure audio bliss.
…and listen to Greg Laswell!
Check out his myspace here:
And if you ever see him live, that’s professional Sideman Brandon Walters playing guitar with Mr. Laswell. If you don’t know about his life, he’s Greg’s top friend, so you can check him out too.
It was a much simpler fix than creating a widget. I just edited the sidebar.php file of my wordpress theme to include my Last.fm chart. The only tricky part was to make sure that the chart code was inside an unordered list, which was inside a list item for another unordered list. The WP sidebar is weird that way.
Music of the Moment:
Sæglópur
Sigur Ros
