08.52
Comfort Inn, Somewhere, Virginia.
The view is better in daylight…
… ish…
Pillows of rock have un-necked my neck…
Hellboy Tom carries his own on-the-road pillow, a wise course of action for those with room in their luggage.
From room…
… to breakfasting trough.
09.33 Performance / presentation in public is a superb way of getting to know ourselves & our mechanics, with a primary aim: to become aware of our illusions. This line of education is strong stuff, and holds dangers:
if we are unpopular with members of the public, the advice they offer (not always attenuated by compassion & forms of refined expression) may do us damage;
if we become popular, our illusions & self-deception become reinforced & strengthened, that fans (who have the right to do so) may live vicariously the thrills & wonder of idealised celebrity;
if we are very popular, representatives of commerce & those who profit from our work, act to encourage our illusions that they may strengthen their hold upon us, and we become more susceptible to business control & direction.
So, for the novice: better to go carefully, preferably with those of greater experience; better to be well-practised; better to be sure of one’s larger aim.
For the more experienced: best to go carefully; best to be well-practised; best to be sure of one’s life-aim; best to know the poverty of our nature (so there is less in the way to prevent music moving out, and inappropriate reactions / repercussions getting in); best to remember Music creates the musician, and who serves the Muse; best to trust the inexpressible benevolence of the Creative Impulse; and best of all - have a really good agent.
10.53 An e-flurry underway, prior to our departure to Carrboro, NC. An enquiry from a Crafty re: sequencing an album. From the response…
… sequencing depends on how audients will listen. with a 33 vinyl album, there was only one way - forwards in the form & sequence determined by the artist / producer. nowadays, random select / shuffle generates sequences that undermine the form you might choose.
form: you have knowledge of form (natural / unnatural; natural = arithmetic & geometric). or you know form instinctively, in the body. what i did as a young man was play the music & pay attention to my body, and how it responded to the unfolding. the difficulty in practical terms is, this takes time. for an album, you have to play all the way through each time to get a sense of the through-flow.
another approach (told me by a Famous Person of close professional acquaintance): put your favourite tracks first & move through in descending order of faveness.
if you are aiming at getting to a listener with short attention span: put your hit first.
Imminent lobby call for departure with Mr. Beefy.
18.34 Carrboro Arts Center, NC.
Where are we going today, Mr. Beefy?...
Finger of Beefy points the way…
… the Electric Lady gives the answers…
… and we leave Somewhere I…
II…
… past Cigarette City…
… en route to Chapel Hill & Carrboro,
En route, with a couple of hours available & the Electric Lady operational & co-operative, Biff typed in Best Buy – and a store on our way into Chapel Hill appeared. The late Ken Latchney was the man responsible for introducing me to Best Buy, Ken’s own fave destination for new DVD releases. (My own fave DVD-acquisition site? To pre-answer the many enquiries that otherwise would pile into DGM Live – I am particularly fond of Rasputin at 69, Powell Street, SF).
We arrived at the Carrboro Arts Centre before the end of the children’s drama class & I hit the streets with The LCG, in search of coffee / sustenance / impressional interest. The coffee shop of my patronage, while here a couple of years ago to Soundscape, was closed; apparently it is up for sale.
(On the way to the) Dressing Room of The LCG…
Dressing room of the star…
Auditorium…
Soundcheck I…
II…
III…
IV…
Mr. Beefy sets the controls for the heart of the Carrboro Arts Center…
01.43 Motel Modest-But-Adequate, Colonial Heights, Virginia.
A supportive audience & a good performance. Probably, better playing than yesterday: focused & contained, but without any sense of restriction. Yet, the first of anything always carries its own particular weight & imprint.
For myself, the Beaudoux electric became my main performance guitar. Its areas of response are, obviously, not the same as the 48th. St. guitar – an individual guitar has its own characteristics – so I am learning on the job, and dealing with surprises. The Beaudoux is slightly harder to play than the 48th. St. but the electric sound is hotter. Actually, the hottest electric I currently use. As with any instrument made individually, it requires of its player that they invest time in developing a relationship & learning its idiosyncrasies.
Somewhere is Colonial Heights.
"Act with courtesy.
Otherwise, be polite."
