Notes_Norton

If something in the rig isn't working: Rule #1 - it's always the cable.

Jeff Beck - Live At Ronnie Scott's The cameraman must have been a guitarist because when Jeff does something super-human the camera is in the right place at the right time. This video convinced me that Jeff is the rock guitarist with the most awesome technical chops living today.

"It's So Easy" - Buddy Holly & The Crickets

We get the occasional hurricane. When I was a child I was in one with gusts over 200 mph but other than some minor exterior damage we were OK. Notes

When the vast majority of climate scientists say if we didn't start it we are "throwing gasoline on the fire" and scientists have been caught taking multi-million dollar bribes to deny that we are the problem, and you choose to believe the deniers, what else can I say? My dad was a printer and got an order for one of those inspirational posters you see in some businesses. This one said: My mind is already made up Don't confuse me with the facts. Choose: 1) The world's scientists are in a conspiracy with no profit gain for that conspiracy 2) The fossil fuel companies are in a conspiracy with trillions of dollars profit to gain from that cospiracy I think it's only logical to come up with the right answer. Notes

"The Waters Of March" - Mark Murphy (an Antonio Carlos Jobim song sung by many)

"Fire Down Below" - Bob Seger

Probably not. Because enough people won't do it. But that's no reason not to try.

The way I figure it is this: If 97% of the peer-reviewed, published climatologists in the world, from over 100 different countries that don't speak the same language, don't have the same political philosophy, and are ever economic rivals agree that humans are either the cause or are greatly accelerating the climate crisis, plus when a couple of the peer-reviewed climatologists have been caught taking $2 million bribes each from the oil companies, it's a good bet we are the problem. That's better odds than a lot of other things we bet our lives and livelihoods on. Anyone can call themselves a scientist and come up with all kinds of "alternative facts" but if they aren't published and peer reviewed they aren't worth anything. Peer review is the evidence of the concept. Sometimes it's best to err on the side of caution. Besides, in this overly polluted world, it just makes sense to pollute less. And the way I figure it is that if enough people do a little bit each, the impact will be a lot. Insights and incites by Notes

"Goin' Down Slow" - blues standard by St. Louis Jimmy Oden And covered by hundreds of others

Anytime. I have the most fun job in the world. I get on stage with my wife/best-friend who is a great singer and a good guitar and synth player. I play sax, wind synth, guitar, flute and sing to tracks that I make myself (I also play bass, drums and keys). Then we play popular music to the yacht club / country club / resort / and retirement development crowds. They dance, sing with us, play along with our corny running gags, come up and hug us, tell us about their lives, and send tons of love our way. Now I know I'm not playing "art music" but it's still a lot of fun. I look at the pop music I play as the 'junk food of music'. It may not be very nutritious but it sure is a lot of fun to play. It's like potato chips for the ears. I moved into this market from the singles bars as DJs took control of the youth market and bars started paring down their entertainment budgets. An older musician said to me that once I go into the adult market, you'll never turn back. He was right. Now I'm the older musician. Not that there isn't work involved. Every night is a one-nighter so there is a lot of gear schlepping. But people pay big money to go to the gym to lift heavy things. I have my own weights (PA speakers). We consistently have to learn new songs, but although it is time consuming and sometimes frustrating, especially since I make my own backing tracks, it's not really work. And when the track turns out well, it's a delight to play on top of it. The worst part of this job is being the "band salesman", but we've been a duo since 1985 and we have so many repeat customers, I haven't done a cold call in decades. I'm not a wage slave to some faceless corporation. I don't take orders from anyone. I live by my good decisions and hopefully learn by my bad ones. I wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, and in between do what I want to do. In other words, I'm free. I guess I'm livin' the dream. Insights and incites by Notes

We learned this song for a regular customer and it's a lot of fun to play: "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo" - Johnny Winter

Last year, in Vienna we attended high mass (read: long mass) with pipe organ, full classical orchestra, and full choir. They played selections from Mozart, Randhartinger, and Bruckner. We got a tip on where the best seats for acoustics were, and it was fantastic. In Vienna we also went to a symphony and an opera. None of it was in English, but that doesn't matter to me. I'm just there for the music. When we toured England, Scotland and Wales we went to churches for Evensong. Not ever being exposed to the Anglican faith, I had never heard of this. I read about it, went to the first one. I think it was about 5:00 PM, we sat in these Gothic carved chairs, the choir was a couple of dozen adolescent girls accompanied by pipe organ. If angels could be heard, I'm sure this is what they would sound like. We try to catch music wherever we go. In Scotland we heard some fine jazz and some music I don't know what to call in a road house - so I'll call it Scottish Folk for lack of a better term. In Canada I've heard out-of-tune but delightful folk in Nova Scotia, Symphonies in Quebec, Rock in Ontario, and in New Brunswick a few people with flat top guitars in a motel room next to ours invited us over and we had a great time. They were very polite. First they asked us if we were bothering them with the music. I of course said "No problem" and then they invited us to join them. So don't go bullying those Canadians. They're nice people. Eh? Notes

"Night Train" - Jimmy Forrest One of the 3 most requested songs for a sax player during my lifetime.

Bad Reputation - Joan Jett

Re: The Oh Sees - I don't remember the last time I saw a Burns guitar. BTW, the energy produced is infectious. What am I watching now, a white screen while I am typing. I have typos built into my fingers (standard equipment) so i have to watch what I'm doing. Even then way too many typos get by me. I'm in a blues mood this morning - thankfully this was recorded before auto-tune because the intentional, tastefully inserted, slightly flat notes add to the painful expression. "Ive Been Loving You Too Long" - Otis Redding

Depends on the piece they are singing. A lot of the Christian Church music was written in Italian, German, French, and other European languages. I would think they stay true to that. I would also assume that they would choose French if the piece is more contemporary. But I don't care as I don't listen to the words at first anyway. It's the melody, harmony, counter melody, comp parts, bass lines, etc., and how they are all meshing together to make the whole. When we went to Notre Dame, the organ started, the choir sang two chords and Leilani and I both turned around to the back of the church where the choir was. It was absolutely divine. If they had this in my city, I think I'd go to church every week, no matter what religion was being offered. Anything this beautiful can't be bad. Notes

I certainly don't. I make music for a living. My wife will approve any guitar I want to buy, so I don't have that safety net - In other words, I have to control myself. That's the bummer, I have no one else to blame for not getting that beautiful axe ;) The Lester Honey Pie in your link looks beautiful. Too pricey for me though. I hope you get it and it exceeds your expectations. I got my USA made Parker DFs for a little more than $1K US each. I'll probably keep them for as long as they last, and they should last longer than me. One for the gig, and one spare. The only other guitar I have is an acoustic electric. Same for saxes, one gigging sax and one spare. And I buy at my point of diminishing returns. After a while throwing more money doesn't give that much work related value. So I skip the fancy laminates on guitars or engravings on saxes and I go for a good, solid, pro instrument without the extras. But then I have to feed more than one instrument, sax, guitar, flute, wind synthesizer, bass, drums, keyboard synth and a PA system. Although I do OK, it looks like I'll never get rich playing music for a living. But I enjoy my life and if I had to do it over again, I'd choose the same career. Notes

We played "Wooly Bully" last night and nobody fell. However an extremely drunk man fell during "Honky Tonk Women" but we aren't going to stop playing that one ;) They picked him up, set him in a chair, and about 2 beers later he was back on his feet. They paid us to play an extra half hour, so all is well that ends well. Bob

Quit using your air conditioner - 45% of the power generated in the USA is for AC units --plus the AC units emit a lot of heat into the atmosphere Drive the most fuel efficient vehicle that fits your needs (not your wants) and drive it until it becomes a service problem (manufacture and transportation of new vehicles is very pollution intensive) Drive that vehicle with almost painfully slow, gradual acceleration, and when it's time to stop or slow down ahead, take your foot off the gas and slow by coasting - try to use the brakes as little as possible because it turns fuel you burned into heat. I get 100 extra miles per tankful this way plus everything about my car lasts longer. Plant trees and xeriscape landscaping, preferably with native species for your area. Mowers contribute to 10% of the CO2 emissions in the USA and with native plants you don't need to waste water and use methane producing artificial fertilzers Hang your laundry out on a line instead of the dryer except for things that can't go outdoors Wash dishes by hand instead of the dishwasher using a minimum amount of water and no electricity Use hand tools or at least non-rechargeable ones for small jobs. Why keep a drill plugged in all year if you drill a dozen holes per year (and so on) Unplug or switch off always on appliances like your TV set when not in use Paint your roof white. A couple of different university studies determined that if everybody painted their roofs white, it would buy us 100 years by reflecting heat out of the atmosphere the way the ice caps used to Don't vote for anyone who is a climate crisis denier or who has taken campaign funds (tacit bribes) from the fossil fuel industry Consume less. Don't buy the latest fashions if your clothes aren't worn out. Don't buy blue jeans with holes in them already, it's a trick to shorten the life span of a durable fabric. Evaluate what you buy and decided whether it is want or need. Choose what you do buy wisely to include both locally sourced, and fewer disposable and/or plastic packaging Eat only 100% grass-fed beef. I know they tell you eating meat is a disaster, but that's a lie. Growing corn for the beef is the problem. Cows graze on pastureland that would take mega-amounts of water, fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides to farm, yet the cows can grow there with nothing but what mother nature provides. Besides for that Cornell University and the Environmental Defense fund did a study and decided that making artificial fertilizer emits 100 times more methane than all the cow farts and burps combined I know this is supposed to be all music - all love. If we don't love the planet, our children and grandchildren won't be here to play any music or survival will be so difficult that music will be an unaffordable luxury. I live in Florida, 32' above sea level (which is rare around here). Most of my gig customers live less than 5' above sea level. My own livelihood is also at stake. Do what you can. If we all do a little, the end can mean a lot. We may have gone too far already, the warming might be impossible to reverse. If that's the case, at least we can stall it off so our children won't have to go through extremely trying days. Bob

I'm on the Lamb, But I Ain't No Sheep - Blue Oyster Cult

I do hope the people of Montreal realize what a great choir they have. It's truly world class. Notes

My wife also plays guitar. That's bad because if I'm looking at a new guitar, she says, "You really need a new guitar." The problem with that is that with the amount of money I earn, I have to curtail myself. ;) Notes

"Nica's Dream" - Horace Silver