Intonation: A Nearly Four-Decade-Long Musical Conversation

Martin D-76

I’ve been enjoying a musical conversation that I’ve been having with my father that has spanned the better part of four decades  This conversation has assumed numerous directions, been carried with words and with music, and though it has been conveyed through countless instruments over a gamut of styles and genres, Bluegrass and the acoustic guitar have always been what I call ‘home’.  Over the course of this conversation with my father, I would have to say that it hasn’t been until about the last year or so that I could say I’ve really ‘gotten’ the meaning of it all–or am getting to the meaning of it all.  Perhaps this would be a good point to mention that my father died in April of 2010, but it doesn’t seem to have put a stop to the conversation; in fact, in some ways things seem to ramped-up a bit.  I know it sounds strange, but trust me, it isn’t.

Growing up, I was fortunate to have been exposed to a great deal of live music–my father spent a good chunk of his free-time playing guitar in a couple of different bands that I remember.  He was a fantastic musician, and I would venture to refer to him more as a guitarist than a guitar player–it’s a subtle distinction and some use the descriptions interchangeably, but not me.  He could play a dozen different instruments proficiently enough to “play along” with a group, but I’m certain he felt most comfortable on the guitar.  There were guitars that came and went in our house–some with six strings, some with twelve (an eight string guitar may have even stayed with us for a short time)–but the one that stuck around until the bitter end was Dad’s Martin D-76.

That's Dad on the right with his D-76, then only a couple of years old.

Looked upon as something of a novelty, the Martin D-76 was a produced to commemorate the U.S. bicentennial, and it was a limited edition with only 1,976.  For the most part, the D-76 did not sell well primarily because of quality control issues that had plagued the preceding years.  The guitars had lost their sense of hand-built quality, and the D-76 was a limited edition that attempted to draw consumers back to the brand; unfortunately they didn’t sell out of them until 1978.  Fortunately, Dad got one, and fortunately they just happen to be good guitars.

As a kid, touching the guitar wasn’t exactly verboten, but it definitely wasn’t encouraged either, and let’s just say that I’m thankful that Dad never saw me doing my Pete Townsend-style windmill strumming technique on his Martin; I might not be writing this post today.

I started off on the ukulele, and played that for a while, but yearned to graduate to a tier-one instrument.  An uncle gave me a banjo and I played it for a time, but all I could muster were some basic techniques that, to this day, I have not moved beyond.  My dad always modestly said that he played guitar so that he could hang out with real musicians, and when a college roommate of mine brought a guitar to school with him, I jumped at the chance to learn, and the couple of chords that I did know bloomed into a laborious, self-directed study of the instrument.   By the next Christmas, I had my own guitar and was free to play as often as I liked.

Many of the ‘guitar-related’ behaviors I saw in my dad as I was growing-up that I never understood now began to make sense.  Tuning the guitar was always a fun thing to watch Dad do:  He would go to that far-off place–not a physical place, but a mental place–with his eyes down-cast, looking at nothing and hearing something that only he could hear.  He could feel that sweet spot between sharp and flat like no one else and if he were playing with someone even the slightest bit out of tune, he would search you out in a crowd to share a funny look, like an inside joke (at my house, whistling out of tune–so long as it was on purpose–was high comedy). I guess I caught the same bug; sometimes I take so long to tune-up that I don’t have enough time to play.

That's Dad on the right with 12-string guitar, complete with cigarette wedged into the peg head.

Despite the fact that he would always say his tuning was, “close enough for bluegrass”, he taught me that there should be some respect paid to and some care taken with the harmonic relationship between strings, and further, the relationship between the instruments.

Dad also taught me that, if you were going to play, you play like you mean it.  You didn’t have to play with him very much to hear him tell you to play it or sing it louder.  He played with a heavy right hand, and over the years, nearly dug a hole in the spruce top where his pick would come down just above the top E string, something that was thankfully left untouched when the guitar was sent back to Martin 10 or 15 years ago for a factory reset.

The arc of my own musical interests has run the gamut, but live, imperfect music has always been at the core, and though I ranged-off into electric territory, I always came back to the acoustic guitar, and really eventually back home to bluegrass.  Perhaps it was my own maturity level, but there was something restorative about bluegrass.  I could identify with ‘the old home place’, having moved away from it, and pining to get back to it one way or the other, in one form or another.

Martin D-76 Purfling

I watched him for years, studied his mannerisms, and saw how connected he was to this guitar and how capable he was with it.  That’s why it was so tough, 3 months after he’d been diagnosed with inoperable cancer, to see him toting this guitar through the airport on his last trip to Phoenix before he died.  Unless you’ve experienced it, I guess you don’t know how you’ll act, but I had been whistling past the graveyard for 3 months and in that moment, everything became quite real, and I knew instantly what that scene meant.  He told me that, “It was always your guitar anyway.”

Not feeling especially worthy of playing such an instrument and partially due to some degree of grief I’m sure, it took me a while before I felt completely comfortable with the idea that I was now the guitar’s steward.  After a couple of months, I had Bob Colosi make me a set of bridge pins, nut, and compensated saddle–all out of bone–to replace the original plastic ones that Martin put on the guitar and that my father so detested.  I then had the guys at Guitar Electronics (don’t let the name fool you) do the fitting, shaping and installation.  It wasn’t until I had added these touches and actually improved upon the original sound that I felt like the guitar was mine.  I even solved the difficult B string tuning problem with the compensated saddle which Dad probably wished he had done too.

It’s funny to me how I kind of chuckled at my dad for the amount of time he spent trying to get his guitar in-tune, and only later realized why.  With a fine instrument, the tones are so much more well-defined and you can hear that relationship between that the strings that I talked about earlier much more clearly.  Also with a fine instrument, the woods used in the guitar are much more superior conductors of sound vibration, so not only can you hear it, but you can feel it as well.  It is hard to convey this in words, but suffice it to say that I’ve played for nearly 20 years, and this was an epiphany for me.

That's Dad in the middle with his D-76. He'd be pissed if he knew I posted this one.

I found myself doing many of those things I observed my father doing over all of those years, and I found that things that I did not understand had begun to become clear.  Sometimes, it is as though we are playing the same guitar and I find myself chuckling over one of those old inside jokes–almost like I’m still carrying-on a conversation with my father, even since his death.

My daughter will have forgotten her grandfather–she was not yet 2 when he died–and my son was born 2 weeks after his death, so the one real tangible thing I can share with them about an extremely vital aspect of my father’s life is locked away in that guitar, and the only difficulty will be for me to coax it out for them to “see” for themselves.  I really do feel that I’m more of a steward than an owner of this guitar, and perhaps one day I can tell one of my kids that the guitar has always belonged to them anyway.

Now, if those kids would just keep it down so I could tune-up.

Grateful Dead Live at the Greek Theater 1982-05-22 – A Review

I’ve posted the link to the audio at the end of this review, but I would love for you to check out the review first, listen, and then let me know what you think. 

I’ve been listening to every ’82 show I can get my hands on, and thanks to the Internet Archive, and specifically, their “Dead Zone”, I can stream these shows, and I often have a selection of several versions of the same show to choose from.  Back to 1982…  ’82 is a really hot year that sort of gets forgotten between the big years of ’77 and ’85, but it is fantastic music that should be heard.  The band seems fresh, and they have a couple of things going for them that the 2 big years above weren’t able to afford them. 

In ’77 (and ’78 to a larger extent) the Godchauxs were weighing the band down.  Donna for one reason or another (there are lots of arguments in her defense as well as arguments against her) Donna became very shrill, and Keith’s grand piano had locked the band into a place that made it difficult for them to be dynamic and evolutionary.  Besides, Keith’s battle with alcohol had made him little more than a sleeping fixture on stage.

In mid ’79, Brent Mydland essentially filled the spot that both Godchauxs had occupied, and came in with not only a new sound vocally, but he supplied a new array of sounds on the keys that really allowed the band to explore the bounds that they had previously occupied.  Although 12/01/79 is one of my all-time favorites, it really did take a couple of years for Brent to really settle-in and find his space in the music and probably took as long for the band understand where he was in the music as well.  It is interesting to note that in the previous Spring tour, Jerry had switched sides on the stage with Phil on 04/02/82 in order to be next to Brent, a position he would remain in while on stage for the duration.

Back to the concert…  What a show!  I’m a sucker for Jack Straw shows, and maybe I’m a total geek, but I’ve even got a Great Northern t-shirt.  The band is listening to each other, and playing well together.  The Jack Straw pleases, the Sugaree is fantastic, Cassidy hits those outer limits but brings it all back home, but that Cumberland Blues simply blisters–it is definitely one of the good ones that I asked about in a previous post about best versions/performances of Dead songs.

I was a bit worried when I saw the Lazy Lightning, but from the first notes, you realize that this isn’t 1985 where they play it much faster than their ability to make it sound any good.  This one cooks and satisfies, and so does the Deal to end the first set.  I love a good Deal first set ender.

In typical fashion, a first set starting with Jack Straw is coupled with a second set starting with China>>>Rider, and this one has all the components you would want.  This is a good one to listen to in order to get a feel of the band.  There is so much energy brewing here, but it’s all about how well it is harnessed.  In fact, and I’m not the first to say this, but the recurring train theme in Dead music is the perfect metaphor for the band–so much power moving on its own and the question is, how to control it.  Sometimes you just have to hold on, sit back and enjoy the ride.

Women Are Smarter is fun, Never Trust a Woman showcasing Brent’s personality is gritty, and the Lost Sailor>>>Saint of Circumstance is right on the money.  They explore, and as you’ll find typical of this particular show, they all coalesce around that emotionally climactic rallying-point in the music.  Again, you may not always know where you are within the context of the music, but you have the confidence that the band will help pull you out of it and allow you to make some sense of where the music has taken you.

He’s Gone, a usual jumping-off point, helps propel this one into that second half of the second set otherworldly realm and dumps you off into a short drums and then into space.  I agree with folks who say that Not Fade Away should pull out of space rather than end the show, and that’s exactly what happens here.  Maneuvering out of the fog, they give form to chaos, and before you know it, you are listening to the old familiar cadence of Not Fade Away, and it feels good.  Brent’s organ swirls while Jerry’s guitar shreds and Bob finds those funny angles in the music; all the while Phil is dropping sonic bombs and Mickey and Billy are laying down a gauntlet.

Once they’ve squeezed that one for every drop, they send you off on an up-tempo Wharf Rat.  I cannot stress this enough, but the Dead understood the power of silence as well as the power of volume, and it is readily apparent in this one.  They are spot-on in this version instrumentally, and their harmonies are quite good–again, a fact that owes a great deal to bandmates listening to each other.  Another aspect of the band that this song tells about is the overall physical condition of the band.  In later years when Jerry ballooned-up, he would absolutely struggle through this song, typically placed late in the second set, and it would be dreadfully evident in his vocals.  This one is very nice.

The Around and Around is, well, it’s Around and Around, and although the Good Lovin’ starts a little shaky, it settles down and yields a really nice Bob rap and build-up to the end.  The U.S. Blues encore is a nice one to hear and is a great exclamation point to this show, and this is not just a mail-it-in encore either; these guys are still at work, and you can tell by the crowd bleed-in through the mics that the crowd loves it.  This encore is a real thankyou from the band to the crowd–the band loves it too.

All in all, this is a fantastic show.  Sure you will find problems with it, but this show comes from a time when they were playing really well and enjoying themselves.  I would definitely recommend checking this show out as well as challenge you to listen to that whole ’82 – ’83 period and weigh it against what might be your favorite period.  This is good stuff and it rocks.  Here is the link (enjoy, and again, let me know what you think, and while you’re at it, tell me what YOU are listening to):

http://www.archive.org/details/gd82-05-22.sbd.gorinsky.5215.sbeok.shnf

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Les Paul: A Life of Musical Innovation

photo courtesy blog.oregonlive.com

I haven’t said anything about Les Paul since his death a week ago, but I’ll just say that when I saw Les Paul guitar for the first time, I just had to have one.  In guitar parlance, you are, very very generally, either a Les Paul guy or a Stratocaster guy.  If you are familiar with the sound, you’ll know that the Les Paul has a deeper tone, or, as I like to call it, a bit of a growl to it, in comparison to the twangy brightness of the Strat.

We’ve got Les Paul to thank for two of the most important musical innovations of the 20th century:  the electric guitar, and multi-track recording.  We take it all for granted because we are just used to hearing music rather than recording it, but if you’ve ever done any recording, you know that multi-track recording not only changed the way it was recorded, but changed the way we all listen to music, and what we expect to hear when we are listening to it.

Rather than talk about his life – there’s plenty of information about Les Paul and his life story – I would rather you sit back and listen to him play and talk about his life and his music.  Accompanied by Marian McPartland who is a fantastic pianist – if you can ever catch her show, please do – Paul Nowinski on bass, and Lou Pallo on rhythm guitar, Les Paul gives you a big juicy slice of musical history that deserves a listen.

Please take a listen here, enjoy, and share your thoughts:

http://www.archive.org/serve/LesPaul1996-2002PianoJazzMarianMcPartlandNYC/LesPaul1996-2002PianoJazzMarianMcPartlandNYC.wma

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Grateful Dead Live at Madison Square Garden on 1987-09-19 – A Review

Courtesy Steve Zipser and Setlist.com

My business partner told me this morning that Mickey Hart had been a good friend of Walter Cronkite, and that Cronkite had been something of a closet Head.  The way they met, or as well as I could piece it together, is pretty interesting.  Apparently, Stephen Stills was to do the music for a sailing documentary that Cronkite was going to be narrating.  The long and the short of it was that Stills ended-up flaking-out and Mickey along  with Jerry Garcia, Carlos Santana and some others put together a soundtrack for the documentary, and that’s how the two met and eventually became friends.

The articles that I read placed that meeting some time in ’87 or shortly thereafter, so I’m not completely clear on the date, but Mickey invited Cronkite to a show at MSG and Cronkite reluctantly accepted.  His comment to Mickey was that he was looking for reasons to leave during the show, but couldn’t find one.  He was hooked.

In any event, I thought it might be appropriate to try and track down the show, but with little success.  Oh, I have access to the show, I just don’t know which it is…  Not having any luck finding the date I was looking for, and for the purposes of just simply listening to the music rather than getting lost in research, I chose this show from Saturday night in a 5 night run – hey, I’m a sucker for Maggie’s Farm (don’t worry, I’ve included a link for the show below, but read first).  I’ve long had the  show from the night before which features a smoking La Bamba, but I had overlooked this little gem.

The recording quality of this soundboard is particularly good, and as is the case with most MSG shows, the mood is electrifying, and the band is on and having some fun.  Also of note is the fact that this one was being broacast on television for the FarmAid Benefit, hence the particular importance of Maggie’s Farm appearance in this show.

From the very start the music is very tight and, though the lyrics get flubbed quite a bit, the setlist is good, and one thing I always like to hear is interaction between the band and the audience.  In the first set, we hear, “we want Phil. we want Phil.”  Phil makes reference to how well restrained the crowd had been in the nights before, and rewards the crowd with Box of Rain – one I always like to see in a setlist.

The Crazy Fingers > UJB > Playin’ is very good, but particulary the transition into Playin’ – it is right on the money.  Drums and Space are enjoyable, and this comes from a guy who used to wear out his fast forward button as he zipped through Drums and Space every chance he heard it – boy was I happy when I could just advance to the next track on a CD.

The post Drums and Space sequence is really nice with Miracle into a Maggie’s Farm that lives up to expectations.  This was the first time they had done this one on their own after having played it 3x while touring with Dylan a couple of months before.  It is un-rehearsed, spontaneous, and very hot.  Not all of the lyric assignments had been as worked out as they would be in later years, but the unknown often comes together and yields wonderful results.

Lovelight is short and sweet but hot, and is a good capper for the 2nd set.  The encore is a sweet Black Muddy River – one that always makes my eyes feel like they are about to well-up.  This one is well-played and by the book, but everyone sounds good, and Brent’s tinkling on the keys through the second part of the chorus makes the hair stand up on my arms.

Overall, this show more than satisfies, and is a good example of how the band could rise to the occasion when it needed to.  It’s a stellar show, and one I think you ought to listen to.  Let me know what you think.  Enjoy the show:

http://www.archive.org/details/gd87-09-19.sbd.mccarthy.396.sbeok.shnf

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15 Concerts in 15 Minutes (well, not exactly)

Recently, I was tagged on Facebook in a note that asked me to come up with 15 albums in 15 minutes – albums that were basically influential enough on me to make me change the way I looked at (or listened to) the world.  I think this is a great exercise, because if you are like me, you find that 15 albums is such a small allotment that it forces you to throw out a number of good albums in order to create a pretty concentrated list.  Rather than using this space for that list, you can see it here on our website.

 My cousin liked the Dead-leaning list and suggested that someone put a list together of Dead tunes along with a date for a favorite performance of that song.  I love the idea, so I will be working in collaboration here with him – he’s supplied the list of tunes, and I will now supply the dates.  I hope you enjoy (and I hope you know that I didn’t put this together in 15 minutes): 

• Morning Dew – 08/06/71 – This is the way this song should sound.  This is not quite primal Dead – they’re starting to come into their own – but they really know how to build this one up.  Bravo.  LISTEN
• Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain – 09/15/85 – This one was easy for me because this performance always blows me away.  The entire second set is a must have, but especially the Scarlet>Fire opener.  This one is silky smooth.  LISTEN
• Peggy-O – 10/30/77 – This one was pretty easy too.  I’ve long loved this version first because it has some sentimental value based on where it was performed, my alma mater, but beyond that, it is the right arrangement of verses and instrumental breaks that gives this one a certain gravity that really conveys the message and meaning of this song.  Also a very good show.  LISTEN
• They Love Each Other – 09/10/93 – This one was easy as well.  Two college roommates of mine were at this one and I have just always loved this version – Jerry really gets funky on this one.  If you are a Jackstraw fan, as I am, you cannot go without this show.  LISTEN
• Althea – 07/19/90 – This is one of my favorite shows-perhaps because I’m a bit partial to the home turf, but both sets are just so solid.  Althea can be a snoozer for me, but this one is really well-played, and upbeat.  Please listen to this whole show though, and let me know what you think.  LISTEN
• Row Jimmy – 06/10/90 – I really had to think about this one.  I’m not a huge fan of this song because it tends to drag for me, but this particular one’s got a bit of a bounce to it that moves it along quite nicely, and the interplay between Jerry and Brent at the end is very nice too.  LISTEN
• Wharf Rat – 07/27/73 – I couldn’t resist this one.  The Wharf Rat is kind of the dessert to the famous Watkins Glen Soundcheck Jam.  If that doesn’t mean anything to you, lots of luck.  This Jam>>>Wharf Rat combination is otherworldly; that’s all I can say about it.  LISTEN
• Help on the Way>Slipnot>Franklin’s Tower – 10/31/91 – This wasn’t my first choice which would have been the 08/13/75 version released as One from the Vault, but that would have been too easy.  This one has a certain intensity to it; in fact the whole show does, and I would definitely recommend sticking around and listening to the entire show.  LISTEN
• Terrapin Station – 06/15/85 – I’ve always liked this one.  I thought about selecting another date, but the interplay between Jerry and Brent during the solo is ethereal, and despite his strung-out sound during that period, he manages to hit this one out of the park.  The outro from this one is very nice too.  LISTEN
• Bertha – 07/08/78 – This one for me is so good because the band utilizes all of the different rhythmic qualities of the verse AND chorus, and they don’t just play it straight…Does that make sense?  Listen especially about half-way through Jerry’s solo.  This is a stellar version from a really stellar couple of shows that summer from Red Rocks.  LISTEN
• Loser – 05/08/77 – Tough one.  Loser isn’t a song I’m typically looking for in a set, although it is one that is fun to play on the guitar, so I know why Jerry played it.  I have to admit that this one I didn’t choose so much for the performance of the song, but for the show itself.  If you follow the music, then you know this date pretty well, and this version just happens to be very tight and powerful.  LISTEN
• Candyman – 10/14/80 – This too is a tough one.  Candyman is not the first song that comes to mind, but I do know that I like those early Brent versions of the song because of his ability to carry the harmony.  This is a nice quiet version of the song with a very laid-back pace to it.  LISTEN
• Stella Blue – 10/14/83 – This is the last easy one on the list.  You’re either a Stella Blue fan or you aren’t, and I happen to be one, and I can say that I don’t know of a single other performance of this one that combines the loneliness and eeriness of the front end of this song with such a warm and redemptive ending.  Unfortunately, the AUD does not capture it like the SBD.  Update:  Well, it looks like you get the AUD you wanted; the concert has been released as a Dick’s Picks edition.  LISTEN
• Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad – 02/20/71 – First of all, I love this one because it is the meat in a Not Fade Away sandwich, but the thing that makes this one smoke is how they work it out after the And We Bid You Goodnight instrumental part.  Truly a one-of-a-kind version as far as I’m concerned.  The Lovelight screams too.  LISTEN
• Throwing Stones – 10/09/89 – This one’s a bit tough for me because I think of it more as a setup tune than anything else-a kind of appetizer to the main course.  Having said that though, I’ve always liked this one mainly because it carries the mood of this show into the final number.  It also happens to be one of my absolute favorite shows ever.  Talk about intensity.  That Dark Star is a monster.  LISTEN 

I loved doing this, but I’ve got songs that I’m curious to know what you think about.  If you are reading, please try and come up with some dates to put next to the following songs: 

• Cumberland Blues
• Dark Star
• Let it Grow
• Shakedown Street
• Jack Straw
• Black Peter
• China>>>Rider
• Cassidy
• Sugaree
• Viola Lee Blues
• Uncle John’s Band

 Proving once again that we do more than just show you the best deals in the Phoenix real estate market; we show you how to get the most out of living in Arizona, and try to help you get the most out of what you are listening to.

Another Live Music Link from Arizona Premiere Music

I always try to share my favorite live music links and one that I’m glad to see back online is the “new and improved” Sugarmegs.org.  I’ve listened to it for years and it’s gone through a few different iterations; it’s been offline and it’s been online, but now it is back with a vengence and I think still has THE widest range of live music available ANYWHERE.  According to the current numbers, Sugarmegs.org has 3,952 bands and a total of 18,928 shows online.  Sit and take that in for a sec…  That is alot of music.

They’ve got everything from 311 and 3 Dog Night to Ziggy Marley and ZZ Top – from Devo to Del McCoury and everything in-between.  It is a searchable database which makes it a heck of a lot easier than it used to be to find something to listen to.

Check it out.  Look for your favorite band, but while you are there, listen to some stuff that you might never have listened to before.  I can tell you from personal experience that there are some artists – Bonnie Raitt comes to mind – whose early performances changed my opinion of them, an opinion that had been influenced by some of their later work.  Enjoy.

Proving once again that we do more than just show you the best deals in the Phoenix real estate market; we show you how to get the most out of living in Arizona, and try to help you get the most out of what you are listening to.

Live Music Links

I know this is an incredibly short post, but I have completely forgotten to include you guys on a couple of my favorite links when it comes to live music:

Setlist.com is, for me, the quintessential live music fan’s database of all manner of live music from the Allman Brothers Band to Zero, and most everything in between.  These guys have saved me countless times when it came to finding things, and because my own live music collection is not catalogued and exists on tapes (yes cassette tapes – and I even still have my deck just in case), cds and electronic media, most of the time, these guys help me find things in my own collection.  Thanks Setlist.com.

Archive.org is another site that will blow your mind.  I mean, where else can you listen to the original recording of Rhapsody in Blue (first part here, second part here), listen to one of 5,666 items in the Grateful Dead archive (my favorite section) – you can also browse any of the 3,016 bands in the live music archive band list – or you can listen to independent labels, internet labels, rare recordings, speeches, poetry, you name it.  It is definitely one of my favorite favorites.

I hope you find these of some use.

This week marks a busy week for the Phoenix music scene…

This week is a busy week of summer shows in Phoenix at multiple venues around the Valley.  On the 17th, Taj Mahal will be playing at the Celebrity Theater, and Tom Waits will be appearing at the Orpheum Theatre where he’ll be there for 2 nights.  Taj Mahal will be warming-up for the New West Fest in Fort Collins, CO where they’ll be headlining with Little Feat August 15th – 17th.  Tom Waits will be starting his Glitter and Doom tour here in the Valley where he has not performed for 30 years, so it should be interesting.  Tim McGraw will take his act to Cricket Wireless Pavillion on the 20th, and Crosby Stills & Nash will be at the Dodge Theater on the 21st.  Tim McGraw will be touring with new material from his recent album Let It Go.  Crosby Stills & Nash hope to hit the right note and come off of a not so well-recieved performance in wine country a week ago.  All in all, there will be plenty of music to listen to this week, and plenty more in the summer to come.  Keep it tuned here, and we will update this space frequently.