This morning I go to take my breakfast sausage from the freezer and a frozen bag of California mix (vegetables) cascades out of the compartment smack onto my big toe. This is consistent with what I expect from California. My deep read of the book “Fifty” is going to take weeks; that is how intense the material is. I’m only on page 58.Tampa. I’ve never really been there. It’s 266 miles from here. (St. Augustine was 320 by the route I took.) The map shows no roads west of Moore Haven, but Wallace and I drove right through there in 2010. You know what I’d like? A break in Tampa, maybe a cruise around the bay. They say it is great, but I’ve seen a lot of bays. An awful lot. The terrain is different and trees are like Georgia and less like the Everglades, or so I gather.
That scooter jaunt to St. Augustine was truly an economical good time. I believe the whole trip came in at less than $400 including accommodations, food, and gas. Scooter travel is eventful, more so than a car, although I caught some brisk weather on November 18, 2011. I’ve never spent a day on the Florida west coast, as in overnight and see the sights. Hit a Karaoke bar and get all the women. Hmmm.
Late afternoon found Trent over for a pentatonic scale study. That’s major pentatonic, the “sweet” scale. The tune was the ancient Carter Family hit “Wildwood Flower”. Mind you, it was probably never scrutinized so closely by rookies, as we also learned the bass riff, rhythms, chording, and the why-for of the structure. I would rate it a very successful practice that should lead to some easy-listening recording. The song came from the list of Bill, the guitarist I haven’t met yet.
The tune also moved us ahead faster than the Blues, probably because it is more fun to play unless you are a die-hard Blues fan. If things go right, there is a chance to begin some recording within a couple of weeks. I don’t believe in drawn-out sessions, in fact I am less than a fan of studio-perfect tracks. I like my music to be a little bit loose, because it gives it the “live” feel. The world is full of overproduced Internet music anyway. I, for one, have no intention of head-butting with people who’ve been perfecting their riffs for forty years.
During the practice the idea came up of reversing the lead-bass lines, similar to how we render “Tennessee Flat Top Box”. We play a segment in the orthodox fashion, then the lead switches to rhythm and the bass does a facsimile of the lead. This is nothing new but nor is it common and anything distinctive these days has a charm of its own. It doesn’t sound bad at all.
This was helped by Trent showing up with a custom guitar, and it is expensive-looking. Has the Gibson purple deep-wax finish and a pickup switch that works right. By that, I mean he can push the switch downward to the lowest position and get a crisp lead sound without resorting to distortion pedals. We have not adequately practiced using the switch positions but I partially blame that on the lack of documentation on the subject. It's another of those things you're "supposed to know". Always my favorite.
I gave it a second thought and canceled Karaoke. I’m staying put. Six miles in the rain sprinkles, I’m tuckered, my toe aches. And the comfortable chairs are here. That’s not why people come over, I hope. I rather like to think it is because there is always something to do here while doing nothing, if you follow. TV can be watched at home, sports can be discussed at work. We need a place to go where doing nothing is interesting and/or constructive.
