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Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Summer Jobs
 I've started to line up some gigs for the summer.  Some are one time gigs.   There are a couple of weddings at which I'll be singing. (Hopefully those are one time deals)    Others will be returning engagements.  I like those.  By nature,  performers tend to be slightly insecure,  and getting asked back to play somewhere you've played before is a shot of confidence that someone out there likes you.

Posted by westguitar at 5:44 PM EDT
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Tuesday, 17 March 2009
So uh, What do you do?
 I was recently asked to describe my music.   That is often difficult for me.  I tend to move between many styles depending on the setting,  and depending on my mood.   I try to size up the audience as I'm performing and guess what they're in the mood to hear,  but sometimes I just take a shotgun approach.   A little bit of blues,  some old country,  some standards,  a little bit of pop,  maybe some jazz mixed in.    Give everyone a taste of something they'll like,  and more often than not,  something they didn't expect.   The one thing I have come to truly believe is that no matter how many songs I know and how many styles I play,  without fail someone will request something I don't know!

Posted by westguitar at 8:49 AM EDT
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Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Lions and Lambs

The old saying is,  if March comes in like a lion,  it will go out like a lamb.   I have to admit,  where I am,  we didn't quite get the big snow storm the rest of the East Coast got,  but it was COLD.   I'm going to put it sqarely in the lion column.     I am really looking forward to spring.  It's my favorite season.   Everything starts to regain a little color,  and there is always the promise of new life.

It's also a good time to start thinking about those outdoor gigs!

Posted by westguitar at 6:33 AM EDT
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Tuesday, 3 March 2009
It's About Time

Yes,  I am finally updating my website.  I few weeks ago,  my computer got sick,  and I haven't done much with this website ever since.  However,  It's time to get back into the swing of things and keep it up to date so I can continue to call myself a professional.

If you've been to my website before,  you know I often use this front page to write about different things that are going on in my life,  both musically,  and sometimes on a more personal level.   In the future,  I'm going to do my best to keep the upcoming gigs section up to date,  but you may notice less frequent updates to the front page.  The headline above says, "It's About Time,"  and I've decided that in the short term,  my time is better spent not sitting in front of the computer quite so often.  

Posted by westguitar at 8:26 AM EST
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Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Happy New Year
Hello my friends!   What a year 2008 has been.  It started kind of slow,  but ended up being my most productive year ever, musically speaking.
I found some new places to play,  returned to some old favorite places,  and sadly, saw one or two places for the last time.
I got a chance to play with some great musicians,  and also saw my solo act expand into new directions as I had an opportunity to play on my own more than ever before.  One of the highlights has to be when my friend Deb Herbert came home from Denmark for a visit and we played a gig at The Big Tree Inn in Geneseo.   We had hundreds of people partying on Main Street as we turned the front porch into a stage,  and jammed with a band of local all stars.   What a night.   Speaking of bands,  W.B. Blues went "on hiatus,"  which is to say we didn't officially break up.  Our lives just got suffiently busy that we decided to put the project on the back burner for a while.   We did one last set at the Geneseo Summer Festival in the park,  which seemed a fitting place to go out in front of so many familiar faces.  I am happy to say that although we aren't performing together as a trio,  there isn't any acrimony among the members,  and you can still occasionally see any combination of the members sitting in with each other for a song or two at various jams.  The week before Christmas even saw an impromtu reunion as the three of us played a set of blues Christmas Carols. at the Beale Street Son House night.
In the area of my personal life,  well it has been a tumultuous year.   There has been some romance and some.....non-romance (is that a word?)  I think I'll just leave it at that.
I made some real progress on getting my barn one step closer to being the music studio I envision,  but also had longer periods of inactivity on the property.  
2008 is also the year my mother was diagnosed with cancer.  If you've been through this,  you know that absolutely everything else takes a back seat.  Gigs, property, bands, love life  all go out the window and you just concentrate on your loved one.    You also draw stength from those around you,  and I found out just how many wonderful friends I really have.  That includes many of you who may be reading this.  Your prayers and messages of support during that time helped me, and my mom more than I can ever express.   I'm happy to report that her treatment seemed to be successful and while we can't say the cancer is gone, things are headed in the right direction at this time.   I can't say Thank You enough times to all of you who expressed your support directly,  and to those of you who just quietly remembered my family in your prayers.  
Who knows what 2009 will bring?   As I write this,  I realize that a year never ends the way you think it will based on the beginning.  I'm sure it will be full of surprises,  both good and bad.   Here's hoping that your journey to the end of 2009 is safe,  happy, and bountiful.
Cheers!

Posted by westguitar at 8:34 PM EST
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Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Tis the Season
Every year just about this time I start dusting off the Christmas music.  I like to wait until after Thanksgiving, despite that fact that they've had Christmas decorations out at the stores since early October.
For the last five or six years,  Pete Collin and I have done a Christmas show someplace.   This year,  Pete has a broken finger,  and he's uncertain if he'll be able to play.   Pete and I go through this little ritual every year of getting together to rehearse,  and trying to remember how to play the same songs we always do,  never quite remembering exactly what we did the year before.    I hope he's in shape to join me for at least a song or two sometime between now and Christmas.
I'll keep you posted about any upcoming show,  in the meantime,  I hope you take a moment from the shopping and hustling about to remember why we're all doing it.    Happy Holidays.

Posted by westguitar at 6:52 AM EST
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Thursday, 27 November 2008
Random Thoughts to fill space

 

 

  •  My last entry here was titled "Up Yours, Judge Smails."   Not one person commented on the reference,  or asked what that meant.  I'm a little disappointed in that.
  • Last week, I played at St. Ann's Community,  as I do about once a month.  Just by chance,  Connie Deming and Jed Curran were both there,  and the three of us sang a few songs for the folks who live there.  It was great therapy.......for the three of us.  What a wonderful feeling you get entertaining people who really appreciate it.
  • A friend's brother died suddenly and unexpectedly last week.  It was a reminder that you shouldn't wait to tell the people you love how you feel about them.
  • Gigs have been rather few and far between lately.  If you're reading this and you're in a position to hire me or refer me,  I'd surely appreciate it.
  • I've started to polish up the Christmas songs.  For the last five or six years,  Pete Collin and I have done a Christmas show somewhere.  This year,  Pete has a broken finger,  so I'm not sure he'll be able to play.  I'm still trying to figure what I might do.  It's become a tradition I really look forward to.

 


Posted by westguitar at 8:41 AM EST
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Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Up yours, Judge Smails.
 I've been taking advantage of the nice weather and working on my barn.   I've got water, sewer,  electric, and phone all burried underground.  There was a lot of hand digging involved,  and it has inspired to me practice my guitar.   I'm not cut out to be a ditch digger for a living.

Posted by westguitar at 7:01 AM EST
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Friday, 7 November 2008
On Politics, and Elwood P. Dowd
I have a degree in Political Science from the University of Rochester.  I've had more than a passing interest in the political system for quite a while.  While it seems like every election cycle you hear about how negative the campaigning is compared to previous years,  a quick study of history will show you that mudslinging is certainly nothing new,  and is generally no worse in any given year than in another.   What I believe has changed is the frequency with which the messages are disseminated.  With so many more channels on tv and the increased use of websites, emails, and viral videos,  it is almost impossible to find a moment away from the campaigns.  
It's easy for people to become caught up in the rhetoric.  Passions can run high when you are constantly bombarded with messages that say Candidate A will allow space aliens to probe you,  and Candidate B will mutilate a litter of puppies in front of your children.   Here's what I'd recommend.  Decide what's important to you.   Not what anyone else tells you is important to you, but what will really matter to you in the next four years.  Then look up how each candidate has handled that issue in the past,  and how they say they will handle it in the future.   Then make your decision.   Leave the rest of the nonsense alone.
This past weekend,  the 1950 Jimmy Stewart movie, Harvey was on TV.  It's a wonderful movie.  You can't help but feel good when you watch it.   There's a famous line in the movie that has stuck with me for the last few days:
"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant.  For years I was smart.  I recommend pleasant."

Posted by westguitar at 2:09 PM EST
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Thursday, 30 October 2008
By Request
   I have on more than one occasion made the claim that I can play about thirty seconds of any song.   After that,  it becomes evident that I don't know it.   I try to take requests when I perform, but there are just too many lyrics out there to know everything.   It seems like no matter how many songs I learn,  I always get asked for one that I can't sing.
The music itself on the other hand usually comes pretty easy. 
 I'm going to let you in on a little secret:  There's not a lot of original ideas in popular music.  Most of it follows a pattern,  and if you know what to listen for,  often times you can predict what's coming next with a pretty high level of accuracy.   I'm speaking of plain old pop music here.    Other types of music are a little tougher.   Bluegrass music confounds me because I don't know the songs,  and jazz often has weird chords thrown in just for the sake of being weird,  but pop, rock, and blues make it easy to be able to come up with some reasonable version of the theme song to Lavern and Shirley, like I had to the other night.  Shlemiel,  Shlemozzle!

Posted by westguitar at 8:01 AM EDT
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