Category Archives: Music

Old Anniversaries and New Fiction

By lytspeed Posted in Family, Gaming, Music, Writing Leave a reply

Today is the 14th anniversary of my first wedding. It’s one of those dates that I just can’t forget, try as I might. Amy, if you’re reading this, happy former anniversary. I’m sorry things worked out as they did, but I’m glad we get along pretty well now, for Keith’s sake.

Tomorrow is the Tem writing group, in which I am supposed to accompany Melanie on guitar while we sing “Ode to Billie Joe.” I’m ready, I think. It’s a pretty easy song to play, but I have to wonder if the surviving recordings are at a different pitch then they were actually mastered. The TAB and chord files that I have found on the ‘Net indicate that the song should be played in F, but it sure sounds like D to me. I actually like playing it best in E, because I can get a funky little half-step slide in there to imply the song’s bass line.

I’ve mentioned that the homework for that session is to write something out of our comfort zone, but also (if we wish) follow the guidelines of including a tavern or bar. I sat down at the keyboard, knowing only that I was going to attempt either a romance or a horror story, and something calling itself “Chesterfield Gray” came out. By the end of the first 200 words, I had three characters interacting obliquely in a 1940’s era waterfront bar. It was a great start, but then stopped cold after about 550 words. I found I had questions to answer before continuing.

When the female character started directly addressing one of the male characters, he surprised me, because he is pretty much a jerk. Why is he like that? How is she going to react? Could anything develop between them after him being such an ass? Will she take his put-off manner as a challenge, or forget about him? How will the third character fit into all of this?

I don’t often outline exactly where I want a story to go when I start writing it. I usually have some vague idea of how I want it to end and a few events that I want to happen along the way. But sometimes the characters don’t want to go there. This story is a case where the characters themselves are directing the story, much as a well-run role-playing campaign should unfold. The intriguing thing to me is that I am learning about the characters as they are coming out, and I’m wondering what’s going to happen to them, as if I weren’t in control of their destinies. I suspect that this will make the piece strongly character driven, but it may be short on plot. I may have to shoehorn some of my own events in there to make it palatable.

I bought a ticket to go see Johnny A at the Gothic next Tuesday. I’m really looking forward to seeing him perform, and hopefully I will be able to get a fairly close seat.

Failing Memory and Stereos

By lytspeed Posted in Music, Poetry, Writing Leave a reply

There used to be a different page here, but I haven’t the foggiest idea what the topic was, and the file is not on my backup tape. I hate that feeling. I guess it’s possible that I just missed a day, but I thought I had an August 29th file in here. Hmmm …

Ah! I remember! I was planning to go to an open mic poetry reading at Coffee on the Lowell this night, but when I got home I found out that my wife had bought me an early birthday present and she wanted me to open it. It was a new home stereo system, and I spent the next hour and a half playing around with it and setting it up. That was a very sweet gesture for her to make, especially since my birthday isn’t for another month!

Anyway, I didn’t make it to Coffee on the Lowell, but I did get inspired to write a silly little poem anyway. Maybe next month I can present it as a small bit of comedy at the open mic.

Dante Spumante Again

By lytspeed Posted in Music Leave a reply

Yes, we went to see Dante Spumante again. This time, John, the bassist from Juan Hit Wanda (aka Flat Rabbit) and Squidlick (aka Better Than Nothing) and his wife were there. Also, Trevor, one of the guitarist/vocalists for Dot Com, and his wife Debra showed up. Brad the Drummer‘s wife Cindy was able to get a babysitter tonight, and showed up as well.

The rest of the crowd was pretty quiet, but those of us at the band table had fun. I must confess that part of me wanted to be at Fiddler’s Green watching Rush on their first tour in six years, but we didn’t have the money for that concert. Dante Spumante was much less expensive, and though they didn’t have lasers and fog machines, they were entertaining in their own right.

At the end of the night, John, Brad and I briefly talked about getting together to jam next week. I hope that comes through; we haven’t played together for at least a month and a half, and probably more. Trevor also expressed interest in playing with us, so maybe we’ll have a miniature party that night. It was good seeing John; I still entertain delusions about being good enough to play in Squidlick with him and his other band members.

Dante Spumante and Soloing Modes

By lytspeed Posted in Music Leave a reply

Kim and I went to see Dante Spumante tonight while Keith spent some time with his grandmother. It was fun to see Dante playing cover tunes, along with their handful of originals, but I must admit that it was a little bit disappointing to know that I wasn’t the guitarist. I can understand why, though. Most of what they play is pop in major keys, and the two times I’ve played with them, I’ve taken most of my solos using a minor pentatonic scale. For some songs, that works great. For others, it creates tension that shouldn’t be there.

The guitarist who was playing with them was good, and he played the right scales during his solos. If I want to be able to fit in with bands in the future, I need to learn how to solo over changes and use different scales, like the major pentatonic, mixolydian, and phrygian scales. Looks like it’s time to dig out the old Guitar Player magazines and go through the columns.

It’s a little embarrassing admitting that I’m not versatile enough to solo over lots of different types of music. I used to solo over jazz progressions quite a bit, but I never really got it. I think this is my lack of music theory turning around to bite me in the ass. I should probably just stick to writing; at least I know a little about the theory behind that.

Broaband, Bryant, and Band

By lytspeed Posted in Computers, Music, Writing Leave a reply

I’ve been waiting to hear the words for over three years, now. “Yes sir, broadband Internet is now available in your area. Would you like to place an order?”

I felt like Fred Sanford. “It’s the big one, Elizabeth! I’m comin’ to join you honey!”

I’ve been trying to get DSL or some kind of broadband service since I before I moved into this town home. Unfortunately, I’m too far away from the closest CO (22,000 + feet) to get anything but IDSL, and with the vaporization of the DSL providers, no one will bring IDSL to a residence without charging double what ISDN would cost for nearly the same bandwidth.

But AT&T Broadband has come to my rescue. The cable upgrade in my neighborhood is finally complete, and I will be getting my cable modem Tuesday. It’s not the best alternative; I would much rather have DSL with a static IP, but I’ll take what I can get. I hesitate to leave my excellent ISP, id Communications, but there’s no way they can get me broadband at this time. At least I will lose some spam when I change e-mail addresses, though.

Ed Bryant’s birthday celebration at Stories for All Seasons was wonderful. A spate of writers showed up, including Connie Willis, Steve and Melanie Tem, Wil McCarthy, Terry Wright and Gary Jonas, to name a few. Connie introduced Ed using a “retro Powerpoint demonstration” (Ed’s words) that consisted of hand decorated poster boards, held up to spoof the milestones in Ed’s career.

Ed’s gift to the guests consisted of a raffle. The winner was awarded the dubious honor of having a character named after him or her in a future story by Ed. No one responded to the first number drawn, but we’re not sure if that was an act of self-censorship, wisdom, or if the person had actually left. At any rate, the second number called was my son’s, and I don’t think there could have been a more enthusiastic winner. He respects and likes Ed very much, and is excited that he will be appearing in one of Ed’s stories. Here’s a picture of the odd couple.

Brad the Drummer is playing with Dante Spumante again Friday and Saturday. His regular band is off this weekend, so he can make a little extra scratch. We will probably go to see them play Friday.

I revamped this Creativity Journal, in case you haven’t noticed. I hope the new format will be less daunting and have more of a journal feel. E-mail me with comments if you wish; any feedback is welcome.