Have you ever tried to sing along to a Led Zeppelin song?
Not the easiest thing in the world to do.
But that didn’t deter my kiddos from sending me an mp3 of their Mother’s Day wishes and gift in a verse composed by my Michelle and sung together with my Joe to the tune of Zep’s “Going to California”.
Let me put this in context for you: Joe is in Colorado, Michelle (and hubby David) are in Michigan; they did a speaker phone call to sing this into a little thumb drive recorder attached to Michelle’s computer that she uses for research interviews.
So, it’s the non-musician in the family who orchestrated this fun Mother’s Day greeting…(transcript follows) Continue reading
Author: laura bruno lilly (Page 28 of 40)
I was digging through the More Cowbell Cult Playlist I compiled about 2 years ago looking for the song by The Buena Vista Social Club that featured cowbell. I thought maybe since it’s close to Cinco de Mayo, I’d feature it in a blog post and revive the call to contribute to the expansion of this fun playlist.
I know, I know, Cinco de Mayo isn’t a Cuban holiday…heck, it isn’t an American holiday either, so?
I confess to liking any festival that encompasses dancing, food, family, music, art and community involvement regardless of ethnic origin.
my former fiance was deeply involved in the early days of La Raza
I was first introduced to Cinco de Mayo in the early 1970’s, long before it mainstreamed into American culture. At the time, I was engaged to a young man who was Chicano*. We were both students at the University of Colorado, Boulder – then and now a hotbed of education, social activism and well yes, partying…Along with the normal Vietnam protests, we spent a lot of time not buying or eating grapes from Safeway…. !Viva La Raza!
Continue reading
On the practice stool and/or in the recording studio. Be back soon!
Stuart with his uke
The first recording session for Swimming with Swans: the music is scheduled to begin Wednesday, April 27th.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post:
When prepping for actual recording, timing is everything. Not just in the realm of musical readiness, but also in gear readiness. Booking this session date gave me approximately two weeks to break in fresh strings. So of course that meant changing out strings ASAP; which I did.
All set and ready to go!
Changing out strings on the Prisloe is pretty routine. Basic procedure for me involves laying down a blanket on the living room floor, arranging all the necessary tools on it (tuner, peg turner, string pack, dust rag, jewelers’ sandpaper, string clipper) and then sitting down with the instrument to my right. All set and ready to go.
The body as a natural luthier’s bench
This is how I’ve done it for decades on both the classical and the 12-string, so even if I had access to a cool luthier’s repair bench, I’m not sure I’d use it for this task.
gently sanding out burrs in the nut
Doing related guitar maintenance is often easier done during string changes. Unfortunately the ‘new’ dead spot on the 4th fret 4th string is way beyond my mending capabilities. It will have to wait until I find someone in the area qualified to do repairs on my custom Prisloe.
1st string shortened before winding on peg
Until then, I also trick-out the 1st string to accommodate an oddly unbalanced string winding on the peg.
odd but workable 1st string winding
Interrupted by a local intruder
Last week’s string changing routine was spooked up a bit by the need to crush a curious Palmetto Bug* (he looks tiny, but he shrank after being smashed, believe me!). Ugh – how I hate anything roach related.
Now, please excuse me as I continue to dig my fingers into these fresh strings…Gotta break ’em in. My three solo selections are ready and just itching to be recorded.
*nicknamed ‘the unofficial state bird of South Carolina’, here are some funny conversations about the local critter.
Today is 22/23/24.
Isn’t it a great Mathematical day?
What an exciting time to be alive.
(I’m always looking for cool date/number relationships; this is the absolute best. In fiddling with today’s date during an unproductive morning journaling, this phenom revealed itself to me. Hubby thought my discovery was so cool, he e-mailed a bunch of people. His enthusiasm inspired me to share the announcement with you, my blog readers)
So, is coffee really coffee if it’s Decaf?
That’s the question I pose to you, my readers, especially those of the coffee-persuasion.
I tend to lean towards the NO side of this debate. Afterall, one does not find decaf beans growing on coffee bushes, waiting to be harvested.
Just sayin’…
(read my ‘Goat-Joe Love & Laura’s Sumatra’ posts, part 1 & part 2, for fun info on this subject)
Waiting for Brenda
Of course wouldn’t you know, the day’s dark grey skies decided to pour forth a drenching rain the moment I stepped out of the car. Brenda and I were meeting that morning at the FloTown Starbucks on Palmetto for a quasi-interview, so I wanted to get there a bit before the appointed time.
After my mad dash into the tiny building, I quickly scanned the area for an available table. As a veteran of numerous coffee shops, I know that claiming one’s territory is best done first. I planted my book bag atop my find as evidence of ownership then proceeded to redeem my empty bean bag* for a free cup of coffee.
Returning to ‘our’ table with java in hand, I settled in to read a few pages of ‘Home to Cedar Branch’ while waiting for Brenda’s arrival…
Home to Cedar Branch is Brenda’s second novel in the ‘Quaker Café’ series. While not intended to be a part of an actual series, this stand-alone book clamors to be part of something larger than itself. Writing has a way of making demands on its author and Brenda is accommodating those demands by crafting yet a third book in the ‘Quaker Café’ series as of this posting.
Both novels, along with an in-progress third, are centered around the fictional community of Cedar Branch. I asked Brenda if she would like to live in Cedar Branch. Surprisingly, she told me that she Continue reading
A final contemplative thought as Holy Week comes to a close
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBqoQJRNepo
Yesterday’s Palm Sunday marked the start of Holy Week – the last week of Lent and the week preceding Easter. It is a time for reflection and commemoration of the Passion of Christ for those of us who are followers of the Prince of Peace.
palmetto fronds
saw-palmetto leaf: the artistry of His Creation
This year, I realized the connection between Sunday’s palm fronds to the area where we are currently living: the Palmetto State of South Carolina. Not a spiritual connection, but one that helps me to see some inter-connectedness in my personal life and this place – well, at least its flora.
That said, I thought I’d use this liturgical timeline as a means to express some thoughts I believe reflect the heart of Christ’s message. I’ll be sticky-noting some quotes/images from this blog’s archives that reflect those thoughts* and maybe come up with a new post when all is said and done.
*just scroll down to view them as I (re)post them over the course of this week.
(click here & here for the two I selected)
“Music is a place” Philip Glass
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The Carina Nebula (photo credit: NASA Hubble Heritage Team)
Just a note to say ‘wish you were here’…I am camped out in the midst of prepping Swimming with Swans pieces for recording readiness. Too cool.