The Search is On

In the past, I must confess, I've been quite a slacker when it comes to guitars. Most guitarists usually seem quite titillated when it comes to the prospect of (cheeky smile and small gasp) another instrument! I always felt like I had to fake interest just to not look like a slouch, but the fuss always seemed overblown, just like most of our cravings for more more more things are.

But I'm about to embark on a search for The Next Guitar. My 000-15 Martin guitar is a sweet little number--for acoustic music. I had a pickup drilled into it so that it can be more easily amplified at shows, but it's just not a guitar that's designed to be amplified. I got it before I regularly played with a drummer, at a time when I was even more ignorant about what goes into a guitar (or even what to call parts of the guitar) than I am now.

But as I start looking over the possibilities and options before me, I feel a strange and unusual excitement in my belly that is not merely the accustomed glee of "Weeee, more Stuff!"

I think it must be a feeling that comes from knowing that the instrument I choose is going to open new doors up for me and this band, musically speaking. We'll be able to do what we do now, only better, and do more sorts of other things, like sneak in a teeny bit of distortion for numbers that need it...

It's past time for a new instrument, because I've got sounds in my head that my noble 'ol Martin just don't make. The possibility of having a guitar that's more versatile--that can stand up and speak for itself in between the aural raucousness and delicious savagery of a trombone and a drum kit and a big ol bass, that's a gratifying prospect. After consulting with my friend and mentor, the great Steve Boden, I'm inclining towards a flat-top, round hole guitar of some sort or another.

Let's just see what I can find.

Cephas

Via the righteous songster Lauren Sheehan, dig this video of the late, very great John Cephas:



His voice reminds me of the late solo recordings done by Bill Broonzy on his album (of a live performance) entitled Trouble in Mind.

Other Albums

There are two other albums in the works that I should mention as well.

One is Northwest Bedrock Songs, which will combine original tunes, covers of Woody Guthrie's NW tunes, and songs by folksters Hobe Kytr, Dave Berge (who made a great album together when I was 2, "Dog Salmon and Rutabegas" - more on that later) and John Cunnick. The album will present a panorama of viewpoints depicting the Pacific Northwest in all its glory and its clearcut gore.

The other album, which is as yet untitled, is a solo album that may include a few other instruments here n there, and it may not. I believe it'll be mostly originals--right now I'm figuring out the best ( = cheapest & best sounding-est) method to record that particular album, and I'm polishing off the songs to be included thereon.

The solo album will include "I'm For You," "Terror Rising Blues," "Look Forward," and plenty 'o others.

One Future Album

I've got an idea for an album which you, like my buddy and bassist Luke, will probably call a "concept album." I don't like the term for reasons I will discuss in the misty future, but here's the concept.

This L.P.'ll be composed of 9 songs, the first 4 laying out the ills of this livin the way we go about it today, and the final 4 songs presenting methods of transcending the ills and challenges and falsities we face. Song 5 will be a transition between the two main arcs of the song.

The songs on the album (and indeed, I think, eventually all of my songs) will form a web that reflects the shape of the internet. Both random and intentional recurrances and links will be scattered throughout the songs, drawing concepts and images together to create a larger frame of understanding and resonance.

Each song will have chiseled lyrics, I already have titles for each song, multiple drafts of each songs lyrics, and a few other structural ideas in place.

My strategy is this--I'm going to use this blog to keep gradually updating you about how this thing's coming along, letting out more n more information slow and unsteadily until I foment some curiousity about the contents therein. I'll be doing this as I figure out & implement innovative and potent methods of promoting the album. The promotion will get woven in there with the content of the lyrics somehows, and thus the lyrical themes and concept will become intertwined with the album's introduction to the world.

If you or anyone you know has ideas that line up with mine regarding this project, please do not hesitate to call 800-MINSTREL immediately--that's 1-800 ... not really--email me.