I knew John Wetton was sick. I knew he had cancer. I was still hoping he would pull through. Sadly he passed away. I heard the news this morning on twitter. It is so sad. He is a prog rock hero of mine.
Most people know him from this:
But to me, it’s always this:
Or maybe this:
Maybe, but definitely this:
Rest in Peace, John Wetton.
We had our first band practice in about a month tonight. The first time we’ve gotten together since the last gig. We were down one singer due to a sore throat, and there was some political joking around as the liberals in the band outnumbered the conservatives 2–1. (should we drop that 3-doors down song? I mean, they did play the inauguration)
I left my pedal board at home so that I can have it when RPM starts this week. I hope to have a new Fender tube amp (the 15 watt Bassbreaker) but that all depends on whether or not guitar center can get it’s head out of it’s ass.
How was my playing tonight? I’ll tell you in one word:
Suck.
Oh my goodness did I suck tonight. My RPM album is going to be atrocious.
Did you know that a guitar is more than just a musical instrument? It has an extra hidden use too. You know those stress ball things that you are supposed to squeeze the hell out of when life gets you down? Well stress balls ain’t got shit on an electric guitar. When the feels start overwhelming you, like say if the United States just swore in a fascist prick as it’s new chief executive, you can bash the living daylights out of your guitar until the pain of the real world subsides slightly, or until your fingers start bleeding.
I started some of my annual RPM Challenge prep work. I created a new soundcloud account to use for listening to works in progress on my various mobile devices. Also, I created a new trello board to keep track of the progress of each new idea. It’s not much, but it’s a start.
I still have to do some test work with my new MacBook Pro. I’ve used GarageBand on it, but I haven’t recorded any live audio. I have to make sure my Lexicon audio interface will play nicely with the USB 3 connections via an adapter. I don’t expect any issues, but who knows. If I can’t get audio into the computer then it will be another iPad based project. Of course, Apple went and updated GarageBand for iOS yesterday. Couldn’t they have waited until March so I wouldn’t have to waste time learning any new features? How inconsiderate of them, eh?
Then I have to set up my amp and my pedal board and my mics so that when the urge hits I can just plug in the lappy, switch on the amp, and play whatever needs to be played.
The January prep work always makes me feel like a super nerd, but I don’t care. It’s fun… in a super nerdy way.
I went to the RPM Challenge website during my lunch break to check out any new blog or forum posts. There aren’t many at this point, but come February 1st, there will be a lot. I figured I’d add a blog post about how I sort of want this year’s project to sound one way, but it will probably end up as something different. I think I tapped into something unconscious. This is what I posted:
These days I am stuck in a teeter totter of mood swings that go from depressed defeatism to just roaring mad. This is the world we live in now, I guess. If it weren’t for my wife and step kids I’d probably go nuts.
Join me!
I want this year’s music to be mean and angry and complicated and anti-social and to have as little as humanly possible to do with what anyone else might want me to write or sound like. Of course I lack the talent to write music like that, so at best we’ll get noisy songs that sound kinda mad but otherwise sound like everything else I’ve ever done.
Or, I’ll go into it wanting angry and mean and anti-social and end up with quiet and moody woe-is-me stuff (with the occasional wah-wah guitar solo).
How the hell should I know what it’s going to sound like? I’m not even sure who I am anymore. I had all these preconceived notions about the world outside my door and BANG they’re all wrong.
A wise man (who played in a band called Traffic) once said, “who knows what tomorrow may bring?”
Two weeks from tomorrow. Come on February, you son of a bitch. Bring it on. Do your worst.
Okay, where the hell did that come from? I think I can guess, and I think the answer has to do with a certain American transfer of government that is scheduled to take place on Friday. That’s pretty much coloring every thought these days.
I’ve been really in the mood to listen to Stephen Stills over the last few days. I gave the Manassas album a spin for the first time yesterday. I like most of it, but there are a bunch of country songs that just make me want to stop listening to any music ever and bury my head in the sand and never come out again. Urgh. I don’t like country music. I blame Hillman for those (though I have no evidence to back that up).
Earlier today I was trying to figure out why I had the sudden Stills interest. Well, he’s a guitar hero for sure, and a ridiculously great singer, and a fantastic songwriter… but is that why?
Then it hit me. The reason is “For What it’s Worth”. Is that the first rock and roll protest song? It might be. People say that, but I have yet to hear every single rock and roll song ever written so who can say for sure. It doesn’t matter though. On Friday the United States comes to an end when that fascist piece of shit is inaugurated. We’re going to need people to stand up to him in whatever way they can. We’re going to need people like Stephen Stills.
I’m thinking about keeping track of all the songs that get stuck in my head over the course of a day. Here’s a list of a few recent examples.
The opening theme from Billy on the Street (great show!)
Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers by Jeff Beck
The music from Super Mario Bros. that plays when you get a star and are invincible.
Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, as interpreted by Lizardfish.
Just to name a few.
I think I might need therapy.
Lots and lots of therapy.
This morning I got up and went outside and shoveled yesterday’s snow. There wasn’t a lot, but it still needed to be done. That was pretty much the end of me, energy wise, for this quiet Sunday at home.
I have all of my guitar gear here at home and it’s going to stay here until March. During the February RPM Challenge bonanza, I am going to bring my Marshall and one fuzz box to the band’s rehearsal space. All of the main gear, the Fender amp and the pedal board, are staying home for use during RPM. I’m not guaranteeing that it will be used, but it will be here if I have the opportunity.
So it’s all sitting around the house, and I’m sitting around the house, and the guitars are not being played, and the guitar player is sitting in a comfy chair not playing, and I don’t know why. I mean, I want to play. All weekend long I’ve been thinking, you know what? I want to go down stairs and just plug the Strat into the Deluxe Reverb and just strum some bluesy chord changes for a while. You know, not really practice anything specific, or try to write anything new… just play for the sake of playing.
But the snow, damn it. I just haven’t had the energy. I haven’t been able to peel myself off of this chair. I am seriously disappointed in myself. I have to get out of this mindset before February arrives.
Urgh.
I just signed up for the 2017 RPM Challenge. I’ve been playing the game since 2007, and playing it successfully since 2012.
Given the political climate in the United States these days, I think we can safely assume there will be a lot of songs about hating fascism. I can’t say for sure that will be the case (last year most of the songs were about how the Earth is not flat…really) but if you are a betting man/woman…
I have already decided that my Fender amp and my pedal board are staying at home until March. If I’m going to do this, I want to do it right.
The musical chaos begins on February 1st.
A couple of people posted short clips of us playing last night onto Facebook. I stole ’em all (sorry) and sticked them together in iMovie. Enjoy!
