I kind of fell off the grid for a bit there. I had about a month and a half stretch where I had either a rehearsal or a gig everyday. Then I had all these random gigs that I wanted to post about but they came up real fast I didn't get around to it. Recently I've been trying to make a website and somehow include this blog but I've just been getting frustrated and not making progress on anything.
So instead of posting about gigs and things, there has been a lot on my mind recently and I'll just mention a few.
1. Alvin Lee's death went almost entirely unnoticed. He was my favorite guitarist in high school and my de facto rebuttal to "who's a better guitar player than Jimmy Page?" While I have million memories of listening to Ten Years After, I'll spare anyone reading and just direct you to their biggest hit (with a great solo by Lee). Also, go to alvinlee.com and go listen to the short brilliant solo/obligato playing under the vocals from Spider in My Web from 1968.
So instead of posting about gigs and things, there has been a lot on my mind recently and I'll just mention a few.
2. Richie Havens. What can be said about the man who opened Woodstock? The great interpreter of The Song. Making you feel good even with sad songs. He was beautiful. If you haven't heard this, I suggest checking it out.
3. Lastly, I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Dean Drummond. Perhaps solely responsible for the continued reverence of Harry Parch, but also the genius inventor of micro-tonal instruments/compositions. I was fortunate enough to meet him a few times. I helped him unload a truck-full of Partch instruments and put them together. He felt bad that he could only pay me like 40 bucks. But I was student and would have done it for free. I saw him conduct the Newband at Montclair State many times, and recently, saw a beautiful memorial concert there, put on by his former students. Without expanding upon everything that Dean was to music and to many musicians whose lives he enriched, just listen to a classic: