Seven 9s and 10s

Five for Friday

  1. This is the first time I’ve ever participated in this little weekly meme that some of you seem fond of. I guess I just don’t often have very much to say and certainly not five things to say once a week.
  2. So far, 2013 has been astonishingly situationally bi-polar. Something good happened, then something incomprehensibly bad happened, and now good things are happening again.
  3. Sorry about the vagueness. The bad thing just isn’t meant for public consumption and the good thing is too fresh to truly celebrate. I’ve learned my lesson about getting all of your hopes up only to beg for your shoulders to cry on a short time later.
  4. I bought a new guitar yesterday, bringing my total to 11. This, however, is my first big boy acoustic. I played approximately 65 guitars in eight music stores in two cities over the past two weeks before finding one that immediately felt right to me. The fact that the price was on the low end of all those that I’d tried was just icing on the cake; it plays and sounds better than some guitars I played that cost over ten times as much. I’m glad I was patient.
  5. Speaking of music, there is some good live music in my forecast. Next week is a They Might Be Giants show in Rochester. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen them play, but I never get sick of them; their catalog is so deep that I’m guaranteed to hear something new every time. There will also be a few Burning Snella gigs in the next couple months and there’s nothing I love more than performing live, so that’s a ton of fun. Deftones are playing in 2 weeks, but I’m not sure I want to spend $30 to see them in an acoustically terrible venue. Additionally, I’ve been enjoying free performances down at the Eastman School of Music about once a week. It’s one of the world’s most respected music schools and it’s mesmerizing to see its students performing excellent music, at no cost, in some of the city’s most beautiful venues. Related: I’ve got a big star on my calendar for May 30th, when the RPO will be performing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. It’s one thing to listen that masterpiece on record, but seeing it live is spine-tingling.

“David Bazan discusses guitars after living room show”

Remember four months ago when David Bazan played a show in my living room - otherwise known as one of the greatest nights of my life?

After the fans had left, he popped his head into my guitar room where he and I proceeded to have this nice 15+ minute conversation about guitars, which my friend Saby (thankfully) captured on video. The light is weak and the audio is quiet, but I’m glad this exists. It’s a great memory that I’ll carry through my life - talking shop with my favorite musician, in my house, with my guitars.

High-res GPOYW In my happy place with my rarest of guitars. It’s a ~1962 Wandre Tri-lam that belongs to my father. I don’t know the full history of the guitar, and I’m not sure how it got to America, but I can be pretty certain it didn’t come over on the same boat that he did, because he came from Italy in the late 1950’s. The funny thing is… I took this picture a few hours ago, then my dad called - out of the blue - from Florida to say hello (he spends a few winter months down there each year), and then he ended the conversation by saying “I love you.” I don’t know the last time I’ve heard him say that, to anyone.  I guess that’s pretty awesome.

GPOYW

In my happy place with my rarest of guitars.

It’s a ~1962 Wandre Tri-lam that belongs to my father. I don’t know the full history of the guitar, and I’m not sure how it got to America, but I can be pretty certain it didn’t come over on the same boat that he did, because he came from Italy in the late 1950’s.

The funny thing is… I took this picture a few hours ago, then my dad called - out of the blue - from Florida to say hello (he spends a few winter months down there each year), and then he ended the conversation by saying “I love you.”

I don’t know the last time I’ve heard him say that, to anyone.  I guess that’s pretty awesome.