My quest for a new, “real” guitar came to an unexpected but totally awesome end this past Friday. I’d been trawling on eBay — I almost closed on a Les Paul Special a couple weeks ago, in fact. But I always kept Guitar Works in the back of my mind. That’s the guitar shop in Evanston where my friend (and sometimes-ZP-drummer) Larry works. Larry’s kept an open invitation for me to come up and see what they have; it’s just taken this long for the stars (and budgets) to align…
It’s a great, friendly store in a slightly grungier area of Evanston that I’d forgotten exists. Larry steered me towards a couple of Gibsons, because that’s what I thought I wanted. You see, I’m not much of a gear-head, and to be totally honest, I always stayed away from Telecasters and the like for the simple (dumb) fact that I didn’t like the way they looked. Journey, AC/DC — these are the Gibson-playing bands, and their axes looked as substantial as their sound. By contrast, the highest-profile Fender player I knew of was Springsteen, who you can never hear above all those drums and saxophones anyway.
So I’m sitting in the shop, trying out some Gibsons and Gibson-esque guitars through the most basic amp Larry can find. They sound pretty good, and the necks are basically what I’m used to. Then out of nowhere, Larry very nonchalantly hands me this Fender Jazzmaster. Not to bore anyone even less technically inclined than me, but the Jazzmaster is a different Fender entirely from your Stratocasters and Telecasters. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves, but suffice it to say, it’s gorgeous in a far less symmetrical way.
Riff-ola!
And I wonder how much that look has influenced the fact that, in a sense, this is the indie rock guitar of choice. Forget Journey — the Jazzmaster is what Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth play! This is the guitar on the cover of Loveless, man! In fact, to be completely honest, I’d always thought the Jazzmaster was actually a little too cool for someone like me… But here it was in all its glory, and it was not outside of my budget, so I had to shake off my inferiority complex and just take that bull by the horns. Besides, wasn’t this supposed to be about sound and feel and playability — not looks and image and cache? Indeed it was.
But sometimes a flashy leather coat can be more than an accessory. It can fit like a glove and keep you warm and hold your cellphone. And not to stretch the metaphor too far, but this guitar was exactly THAT kind of coat. It produced a clean, boomy sound, and with all the knobs and switches I could shift into more menacing timbres with ease. Most importantly, it played like a dream. It had a substantial body, which I like, and the neck was extremely comfortable. My fingers just felt at home — no strangled bar chords, and the bottom two strings (very important to my playing) seemed to ring out for hours.
I tried a couple more guitars just to be safe, but I knew what I’d be going home with. Thanks much to Larry and Guitar Works for a great experience. Everyone else, look forward to the new and improved sound at my upcoming shows! Yowza!
This song’s gone through many permutations, settling (as usual for me) into something that falls well short of the three minute mark, even when recorded with a full band. It seems like every time something pops into my head that could stretch to epic proportions — with solos and strings and intros and outros — I inevitably just hack away until it’s down to “single-length” or shorter. Maybe this is a good thing. I imagine that if I was actually on a label, I could waste a fair amount of their money downright FORCING songs like this to sound like Queen (or whatever). But I’m not, so I don’t. I’ll consider that a lucky thing.
This was recorded in December with John and Larry (at a session documented here). I sang a live vocal that seemed decent at the time, but in listening back it’s actually kinda “hot” (and not in a good way). Still, that’s what you’ll hear in this demo, with nothing really EQ’d or mixed with anything more than a concern for basic volume levels. I’ve already added piano and smoothed out the drums for what will eventually be the “real” version, but I wanted to post up something that would give a sense of the energy level of the trio recordings, which is pretty high! And awesome! And exclamation! Point! But seriously, the way this song explodes at the end is, to me, kinda thrilling…
Lyrically, there are references to intemperate weather which would give you an idea of the initial aim, specific-subject-wise. But thankfully, I ended up blending in stuff that’s less topical and more personal. Still a hard balance, those two. Let me know what you think.
here comes the sun
our paper route would start at dawn we’d
cause the cracks in winter lawns we’d
form of something formed of ice
the wonder twins like satellites
(back to) our nickel-gas-fueled happy home and
chocolate served in styrofoam and
canned applause and cereal
and golden static radio
(but now there’s) nothing left of the dial
i only hear you sing from files we
shine our stars with aerosol
and drown in never losing calls
october comes and we fall back the
storm windows still at half mast here
comes the sun in all its might
but you can’t tell me it’s alright
As I’d mentioned in a message to my email listers, I’ve had some of the best nights of my musical life at the original Uncommon Ground location in Wrigleyville. To be perfectly honest, I’ve had less-than-ideal shows there, too — including the last time I’d played there, three or four years ago. So I was going into Friday night fully prepared for a situation where I’d be merely “getting one under my belt,” if I had to.
To make a long story short, I didn’t have to. The (admittedly small) music room was standing room only at showtime, when Alain De Courtenay started. Alain was amazing, a singer of Jeff Buckley caliber, and while his songs were mostly soulful and introspective, he had an easygoing rapport with the crowd that put everyone at ease. After he closed with a cover of Etta James’ “At Last,” he was urged on to an encore.
I was a tad nervous after that. Not only was he a hard act to follow, but the encore made me wonder if the majority of the crowd was only there for him, if they’d exit as soon as he set down. Not so. Everyone stuck around, and I did it like this:
The Ballad of Roy G. Biv / I Wouldn’t Make You Happy / Jay / The Next Thing You Know / West of Western / Everybody Looks Like Somebody Else / Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths cover) / Here Comes the Sun / Stay (Shakespeare’s Sister cover) / The Oldies Station / Soda & Sympathy / Good as Gold / Spirit of 91 / Get on with It / Common People (Pulp cover)
The last two songs were encores, and I feel like I might’ve been overstaying my welcome a little bit with the last one, but Amy wanted to hear it, so I figured what the hell. I cracked many a joke with the crowd, too, which is not normally my strong suit. I tend to speak too quickly between songs, coming across as a total nervous wreck — if not just flat-out mentally unstable. But I’ve been trying to lighten up a bit as a performer, smooth things out, open myself up. And I think it’s starting to work.
This video of “The Oldies Station” — including preambly stuff — will give some sense of the feel of the evening. Thanks much to all in attendance!
Up through this weekend, work was kind of crazy, and when I’m not working, I’m JAMMING. Not really. But I will say I’m well rehearsed for the show on Friday night. The usual loosening of limbs and fingers, the familiar blisters crowning the tips. Hour-long sessions going by like five minutes. A relief and a joy, seriously.
I’ve been using the new tuner I got for Christmas (thanks, ma Stewart!), a Korg Pitchblack with “true bypass.” That last bit sounds very Christmas Story / Red Ryder, but in fact it’s really great. With my old tuner, even if I had it switched “off,” the battery would keep draining down unless I unplugged the cables from it. Not any more. That thing stays parked on the floor 24-7. And not only does it save on nine-volts, but the “true” bypass means that the signal isn’t weakened at all, even with a weak battery in there. It’s also way more readable, way more accurate, and it adjusts with my capo placement.
All of this tuning — the fact that I need to do it so much (never noticed as well before) — only underscores the cheapness of my guitar itself. But I’m working towards a solution. I’m saving up some money, and I plan on picking up something like a “real” version of the Gibson copy I rock currently. Aselin has given me some advice, knowing my needs and my budget, and so I’m on the lookout for an 80’s or 90’s Les Paul Special. An ebay search has been stored and is checked regularly. Here’s a pretty one from 1996:
Oooooooh!
Also in the works is an amplifier tune-up. This might end up making a bigger difference than a guitar upgrade. I have (currently visible in the header of this site, actually) a tube-driven head of indeterminate age, manufactured by a Chicago company that also made Silvertone amps. Apparently, they’d just slap different labels on everything they made — but the quality was uniform, and decent. It’s a pretty good amp, is what I’m saying, and I’ve never had it serviced. And it’s about time.
I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to show a little care and attention in the area of gear. I hesitate to say it, but it’s like I’ve finally accepted that I’m a “real” musician, after a whole life of being “just a singer” or someone who writes short, sketchy songs because I “don’t really know what I’m doing.” No, man, no. This is just what I do. And it could stand to sound better. And so it will. Trust me.
