A Musical Life

DIY Love #2

2009-03-20T09:03:00.005-04:00

My latest abomination - a wine box guitar I made totally out of recycled parts. The neck and bridge (I think from a Harmony Sovereign) came from a snag on "big trash pick up day" and the box came from a thrift store in Oberlin, OH. Total investment (counting strings), $8.75. Plays and sounds great!

DIY Love

2009-03-20T08:33:00.004-04:00

Take a look-see at this awesome retro/cowboy themed guitar case made for me by sophiaworksf8! She custom made it for my wacky Gretsch Americana "Way Out West" guitar with funky vintage styled ranch/rodeo fabric. Her etsy.com site is HERE so stop by and check out her coolness!

Lux Interior 1949-2009

2009-02-05T10:50:00.001-05:00

Best of 2008

2009-01-24T14:42:00.003-05:00

I just found out I made radio station KKUP's No Pigeonholes "Best of 2008". I'm certain I don't belong in a list of such amazing & fearless independent artists but there I am. My deepest thanks to Don Campau for his tireless championing and support for independent music.

Truly worthy is my friend Sid Vad whose record and series of improvised acapella vocals entitled Impression Sunrise is probably one of the most moving and intense listening experiences I've ever had

KKUP is 91.5 FM out of Cupertino, CA

You can check out the list HERE and listen to an archived broadcast of the show (in 2 parts) HERE

Space Bass

2009-01-18T20:29:00.003-05:00

Monk's Advice

2009-01-05T08:49:00.004-05:00

Thelonious Monk's advice to Steve Lacy:

Thanks to Len for sending this to me!

2009-01-01T09:51:00.000-05:00

New Byrne & Eno!

2008-11-20T10:54:00.000-05:00

2008-11-17T09:49:00.002-05:00

Songwriters' Workshop 11.6.08

Jack, Jack & Me

2008-10-27T09:29:00.014-04:00

Someone hit this wall in West Toledo with a Kerouac stencil

so
this is what it all comes down to

jack
all robes and no monk
pouring out
and pouring in
like some cheap sutra
in booze and tears

an unresolved riddle
haiku
or koan
is all that remains

and of course none of it matters

but i can’t stop
filling it all up
with nothingness

since after all
nothing is empty
everything is full
of some stupid desire
to bring it all on

or throw it all
away

Urequited Bewilderment

2008-07-29T07:55:00.005-04:00

"Explain it Away", from The 365 Project, got airplay on Don Campau's mighty No Pigeonholes radio show on KKUP 91.5 fm in San Cupertino, CA over the weekend. You can listen to the podcast HERE.

As Don reveals in the program, I compiled 20 songs from The 365 Project at his request to be released on his Lonely Whistle Records label. Should be ready to ship by next week and you can contact Don through the Lonely Whistle Records website if you'd like a copy. The songjournal finally rests.

Don's huge presence on the indie scene - through his own music, the radio show and a vast, international network of close music connections - is beyond staggering. I hosted a podcast interview with Don where he discussed and shared some of his long history of independent music making. You can check it out and listen HERE.

Cheers to Don Campau!!

Trout Mask Zen

2008-07-09T10:27:00.001-04:00

Captain Beefheart's 10 Commandments of Guitar Playing

(From the Captain Beefheart Radar Station)

1. Listen to the birds.

That's where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren't going anywhere.

2. Your guitar is not really a guitar Your guitar is a divining rod.

Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you're good, you'll land a big one.

3. Practice in front of a bush

Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush dosen't shake, eat another piece of bread.

4. Walk with the devil

Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the "devil box." And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employerin terms of who you're brining over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.

5. If you're guilty of thinking, you're out

If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.

6. Never point your guitar at anyone

Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.

7. Always carry a church key

That's your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He's one. He was a Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade instrument. His song "I Need a Hundered Dollars" is warm pie. Another key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin' Wolf's guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty-making you want to look up her dress the whole time to see how he's doing it.

8. Don't wipe the sweat off your instrument

You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.

9. Keep your guitar in a dark place

When you're not playin your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don't play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you put a saucer of water in with it.

10. You gotta have a hood for your engine

Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house, the hot air can't escape. Even a lima bean has to have a piece of wet paper around it to make it grow.

Some Karma

2008-06-30T08:01:00.005-04:00

Basement + guitar + Ohio rain + power outage = ruined guitar

What Is The Matter With Me

2008-06-17T15:00:00.007-04:00

I admit it (the first step is admitting you have a problem); I've had a secret love affair with (and undying passion for) tragically sentimental (but genius) pop music created by almostwere's and nevertobe's, bands like The La's. I need a 12-step program and a weekly meeting.

"Hello, my name is Eric and listen to janglepop when nobody's looking."

700 Hobos

2008-06-04T08:19:00.003-04:00

This is the real deal and ends up a sort of sublime, epic poem of the old weird America.

Listen to the reading of 700 Hobo names (to the accompaniment of a folk guitar and ghostly radio signal) HERE. All 700 Hobos illustrated (a gargantuan project) over HERE.

I can't explain why, but this is one of the most powerful things I've come across in a long time.

#153 Slo-Mo Deuteronomy:

Over and Onward

2008-05-07T08:43:00.004-04:00

It's been a few weeks since the last chord rang out on the song journal. People have asked what I'm going to do with it (would I make a compilation disc, publish the lyrics, etc) and I just don't know. My gut feeling is to leave it as-is and move on.

I've finished my interpretation of page 65 of Cornelius Cardew's Treatise and sent it to Tom Furgas who's in charge of the project. Should be released in early summer.

All Things Are Empty

2008-04-15T15:05:00.010-04:00

With a couple of days to go in the songjournal I'm faced with the dilemma I worried about months ago - the last song. There's the part of me that wants it to be the best one, whatever that means. There's also the part of me that hopes it goes out understated and small; a bow to the zen master upon realizing I haven't learned or accomplished anything. Well, of course I don't know what it will be. I won't until sometime on Saturday.

I don't think any of it has been about "best" (or product) at all. It's been about process, perseverance, keeping creativity alive, self discovery and loss.

Loss. That's going to be the most difficult. I've become very attached to the thing (eliminating any possibility for zen mastery here) and to stop dead in my tracks on Saturday (which, coincidentally, is also the 1st day of Passover) is going to be hard. This quote (which I cannot attribute to any reliable source) pretty much nails it, “It's weird...you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second...just so it can hurt a little more.”

The Hive Itself a Teacup

2008-04-14T08:56:00.006-04:00

A whirlwind of activity as I near the end (five days left) of the songjournal.

The EP I did for.ala jazz records is now available for free download HERE. The Hive Itself a Teacup is a suite of five solo free-improvisations on several acoustic stringed instruments. My deepest thanks to Omar at .ala jazz records for the label invite. I also really, really like the cover art "Oink! Oink!" made for the release. In addition, I'm almost done with a limited edition, cassette-only release (working title: Know Your Lake Monsters) for his Goat Folk label.

Also, almost done with my realization for part of Cornelius Cardew's Treatise to be released by Tom Furgas later this summer.

It's good to be busy again!

Those Who've Gone Before, Those to Come

2008-01-22T16:37:00.000-05:00

Out of the blue I got a really nice note and some encouragement from a musician named Tim Walker who did his own 365-songs-in-a-year project. HERE is the link to his year of songs (scroll down). I'm blown away by the amount time he spent on arrangements and the care he took with each of his recordings. I'm a slacker in comparison.

I want to get in touch with other musicians, writers, poets, artists, etc who've made a commitment to a piece-a-day for 365 days. I wonder how many of us had the same motivations and expectations. I wonder how we would agree or disagree regarding the personal struggles and outcomes.

As I've said here before, David Andrew Strackany (aka PALEO) was my inspiration and he's still going strong a year after completing 365 consecutive songs. He now continues to write and record a weekly "sunday prayer" until the day he dies (I'm not kidding and I believe he'll do it). I wonder if he knows about the rest of us. He tours relentlessly and I'm going to try to get to a show to meet and thank him. Suzan-Lori Parks wrote a play a day for 365 days.

So what are you waiting for? Make the commitment to being creative every day for just one year - make it public or keep it private but do it (and stick with it). I guarantee nothing. Or everything.

Continuously Egging the Universe

2007-11-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

In progress:

Click here to get your own player.

Here's the archive of the first six months:

Click here to get your own player.

Gigging

2007-10-24T16:31:00.001-04:00

My friend and frequent artistic collaborator Leonard Kress and I performed at a local gallery opening last Friday (which included works by his wife Mania Dajnak). Among other things I performed, for the first time in public, songs from the 365 Project.

Crossing the Divide

2007-10-23T07:41:00.001-04:00

Well, the six-month mark has passed at the songjournal and I have exhausted the storage limit at my original Podomatic site and I'm either too cheap or too punk to pony up the $100. they want to bump up the storage allocation (viva la free music revolution!). I've now set up Part II HERE so if you want to continue following along or subscribe to the new feed please take a moment to stop by.

The Tortoise Faints in Coils

2007-10-08T16:31:00.000-04:00

I'm not saying the songs are getting better but the they (good or bad) are coming easily again.

Maybe it is because they are bad!

Upcoming Releases

2007-09-12T16:18:00.000-04:00

I was recently contacted to supply a track for an Ala Jazz Records compilation. They want "Cenitipede" from Vermis and I wasted no time with a quick "yes!"

Ala Jazz Records is a net label located in Mexico and after communicating with the owner I was invited to do a special solo guitar record for them as well! The types of music and people currently associated with he label are fantastic, edgy, experimental and special.

HERE are links to free downloads from their catalog. Who knew I would become part of the Mexican musical underground? I'm totally honored!

It's a Free Show Now!

2007-08-28T09:44:00.000-04:00

I've begun uploading my back catalog to last.fm, a nifty site from England that allows both independent and signed artists the ability to upload and sell (or give away) their music as MP3 downloads. Also, there is a "community" there of artists and listeners who can contribute journal entries, photos and editorialism ala wikipedia.

HERE'S the link. You'll get to my artist page and near the top you will see a variety of tabs. The tab marked "albums" will take you to all the full-length recordings I have there so far, all fully download-able for free. I plan on getting everything I've done there soon enough. Please keep checking in.

Once again, click HERE to check it out.