As I watched the new set emerge from the haze at the horizon, I was struck by the beauty of these fresh rings, and of the older rings slowly passing by overhead. The wispy clouds drifting underneath them gave the scene a vast and stately depth. It was amazing to me that we had only […]
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The instrument was basically a twelve-foot length of silver-gray seatbelt material that would automatically retract into its spool when released, but I was pleased to discover I could still play an excellent rendition of “Eruption” by Eddie Van Halen on it.
I first became aware of Zoë Keating by her lack of presence in Melora Creager’s thrash-cello outfit Rasputina. Don’t get me wrong: she was definitely a presence on the album Cabin Fever, which is a lovely crazy romp all over the stylistic universe, but nothing that made her stand out from the other two musicians. […]
It all begins with a bassline. In this case, it’s a solo ascending scale that drops back to E, but that’s merely part of the story. The real story is the reason that bassline is included here. In my early life I was diagnosed with many talents; as a child I would regularly draw cartoons, […]
A quick snippet: senior year in high school. A milling mass crowded into a cul-de-sac of blue steel lockers, some intent on getting their books and packs for the next class, some proceeding more leisurely. Lunchtimes were staggered in my school, with the student body split between early A Lunch and later B Lunch. There […]
Snapsongs: “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” by The Royal Guardsmen
One bright Christmas in the late 70s my younger uncle decided he was going to assemble for his young nephew a proper musical education. This was nothing new. He was the “cool” uncle, only sixteen years my elder, and kinda reminded me of the latter-day Beatles in the way he dressed and wore his hair. […]
I was working in a small print shop as a prepress technician, although I was also doing design and IT work because there was no one else around to do those things. As with many small business situations, there were oddities and annoyances, especially as the basic personality traits of both The Owner and Operations […]
One of the last CDs I bought before leaving Austin, Texas for good in 2008 was a disc by a local band, Ghostland Observatory. Ghostland Observatory is the brainchild of two guys who decided that they would forgo any notions of pandering to the popular crowd and just make music that they wanted to make. […]
She introduced herself as my something cousin something twice something or something. She looked like Danica McKellar, but I supposed I could see some of my father’s side in her. She said she remembered my birth — “There was suddenly a baby!” she said. I was confused, as she looked younger than me, but maybe […]
When waiting to play bass at a live venue celebrating a fireworks display, it’s good to remember that an excellent way to practice your chops is with an appropriately-sized bunch of celery.