music updates

Howdy! Just a little update on the music front...

I have come to realize a few things... First, that I do enjoy playing lead guitar more than bass. Both are fun, as making music itself is fun, but hand me that guitar please. :-)

Second, playing in a band on a regular basis is also fun, but since I have a "day job" that is NOT music related, the time to sit and write songs has been very hard to find... The "alone" music time I've had the past few weeks have been spent working on my chops, so to speak. Though he doesn't know it, I've been playing along with Cousin Kenny Vaughn on the Marty Stuart Show and learning not just licks but also when NOT to play - when to strum - when to accent, etc.

So - bottom line - spending time "rehearsing" has cut into writing time such that I have ZERO new material in the month of February. This is not a complaint, just an acknowledgement to myself more than anything.

We are having a GREAT time on Thursday nights in Jackson, but it looks like it may be coming to a close... The crowd has not been what the building owner wants, and I understand their position... If we don't maintain a minimum number of patrons then it's not worth it to them to open the building.

So are we quitting? Not at all! We will be there this Thursday, February 28th, and bringing our A game for your dancing and listening enjoyment. If it falls through then it was just not meant to be and I will continue to pursue music ventures in other ways.

Speaking of which - still no word on when the Open Mic returns to Jackson... I was hoping it would have started back in February, but didn't happen. Hoping for March, but I think it would have already been announced by now. As for Dyersburg, I made contact (finally) with the owner of a cafe here in town that really likes the idea. He is not normally open in the evenings, so he's having to check on some logistics...

But where ever we hold it, it will be on the third Tuesday of the month. This will prevent an overlap on  the first Tuesday at Jackson and the second Tuesday in Memphis (MSA - Memphis Songwriter's Association - has their meetings on the second Tuesday). I will create a Facebook event to coincide so I can get the word out as well...

And this coming Monday night is the annual "Celebrity Waiter's Night" at Lupos restaurant here in town. All donations that night as well as a portion of the food will go to support the Dyersburg City Schools team in the local Relay for Life benefit. Not only will there be school and local celebrity waiters and staff, but we will also have music provided by our Director of Schools Neel Durbin, local singer/songwriter Joseph LeMay, some students that will provide entertainment, and I'll be closing out the night with a mixture of original and cover tunes. Would love to see you there and would love the support for Relay for Life!

http://www.facebook.com/events/594997070514482/

That's all for now - thanks for reading!

What? No songs?

Hey readers! Just an update to tell you why no songs this week...

Let me start with earlier this month. I've actually written three songs since January 1, and re-wrote an older one. All four of these are available on my YouTube channel - http://www.youtube.com/jimmylogan0916

Last week - no song. Things were VERY busy at work, plus some things going on at home... I did spend a lot of time working on some lead on some older songs, since I've been asked to play guitar and sing in a band on Thursday nights. So there's that.

This past week my mother's only living sister was diagnosed with cancer. It was in the latter stages and she only lived a few days, but she didn't suffer. Today was the services for her. Earlier this week we had minor well problems - at least I thought it was minor. After the "repair" it turned out it was bigger issues, and I didn't think I could get the part till tomorrow (Monday). Turns out my mother-in-law found a place in Bradford that had the part.

Got it changed out and found a leak in the tank, so I bought and installed a tank AFTER the graveside service today. Now I'm REALLY exhausted... (emotionally and physically) We have water, but the pump is not cutting off like it should, so tomorrow, when it's daylight, I'm going to follow up AGAIN with it... At least we can take showers now though. :-)

This past Thursday night was the first show for the band I mentioned above. I must say that even though I enjoy playing bass, it was VERY nice to hold a guitar instead... :-) I very much enjoyed picking the Dwight Yokum stuff that David (the bass player) sang.

We have online testing taking place this Tuesday, plus there was a Java issue that affected our mission critical attendance software this week. Made for some LONG days...

Tomorrow I'll be at the High School all day getting ready for the testing on Tuesday. Whew. :-)

So - that's why no songs this week (and no Car Wars updates the last couple of days). We did have a short Plexus meeting last night in Dyersburg and I got some answers to some questions I'd been wanting ask. All in all a good meeting and I feel even BETTER about this product that I've been taking and Vanessa has been selling. I feel better - have more energy - AND I've lost 18 pounds and 2" in my waist over the past month! If you're interested, let me know and I'll get you more details... Even if you're not looking for weight loss (who's not?) the healthy benefits are amazing!

Oh - I had a Dewey Cox moment today... ;-)

Thanks for reading!

Letter to Marty Stuart

Yeah - second post of the day - but this is pretty heavy on my mind right now, so I want to record it...

This is a letter to my friends/family/fans - but it's also a letter of appreciation to Marty Stuart.

Let me start some time back... Vanessa and I were attending the Friday night jam at Halls every week a couple of years ago. We were playing and singing and visiting - just having a good time. My buddy James mentioned RFD-TV and the Marty Stuart Show. I told him we didn't have RFD. Well now I know what I was missing all this time!

When we changed our Dish Service the last time we gained RFD somehow and I set the show (along with Pop Goes the Country, Porter Wagner, Hee Haw, Larry's Country Diner and The Joey and Rory Show) to record on the DVR. I caught a few episodes here and there and thoroughly enjoyed them, but it wasn't until last night and tonight that it really REALLY hit home with me.

Again, we were playing bluegrass every week, then I moved from there to playing bass and singing at the dance in Halls. It's two step and line dancing, so it's a lot of traditional country music (the stuff I grew up on) and of course picking with the great Max Winchester was just icing on the cake. I gained a new respect for the old music and began writing songs as well. Next thing you know I'm going back and forth to Nashville, playing open mics here and there - having a great time and trying to break into professional songwriting.

About this time last year, I'm listening to a podcast and "Sundown in Nashville" comes on. I am floored! This song was so honest and true it was almost scary! I decided to do a little checking on Mister Stuart and I read about how he's "getting back to the roots" and "staying true to country music." I knew he was right, but I didn't know just how right he was.

As the months went on and I continued to write, I felt myself being pulled into the commercial aspect of it. No, I haven't sold a song yet, and it's partly because I continue to write what I feel and what I love. I've had "gatekeepers" in Nashville tell me things like, "no artist today would do that song" and "that's not country, that's Americana. You won't hear that on the radio." The more I heard these things the more I started taking it as a complement!

If you've read my latest email from ReverbNation, you know that my "resolution" for 2013 is to make as much music as I can and to connect with as many people as I can. And I don't mean to connect by writing a pop or hip hop song for the radio, but by writing from my heart and performing from my soul.

Fast forward to tonight... I get home from work (Vanessa is working a ball game at the middle school) and see that the next episode I'm ready for is number 101. It's a re-run from last March and it's all about Nashville Volume 1 - Tear the Woodpile Down - the CD from Marty Stuart that Sundown in Nashville is on. There are also several interviews and behind the scene shots from Marty and the cast talking about what they do and how they feel about it. When Marty talks about making a connection with the fans and "defending the music that he loves..." Well he's articulating what I've been feeling, and I applaud him.

I've always thought he was an excellent musician, but I have much more respect for him as an artist now. So much that I've added something to my bucket list... I already have it on my list to perform at Music City Roots. It's no secret that I love that show and what it stands for. I still want to perform on it, but now I want to perform on it with Marty and the Superlatives. I want to stand at the end of the show and be in the Loveless Jam with them.

Marty may not have the "legend" status that Hank, George, Johnny & Merle have, but he seems to love what he does and loves the music and loves carrying on the tradition. I don't know how he could be anything but a legend.

Happy New Year

Greetings!

I came to a realization a couple of nights ago that I wanted to share and document...

For a while, I've had a few things on my eBay notification list. First, Franklin guitar straps. They are the best, IMHO, and I've picked up some bargains keeping it on my watch list.

The other consistent thing has been "Indy Custom" guitars. At the FLMS (friendly local music store), he carries Indiana guitars. Sometime last year, I can't remember when, he got in some limited run "Indy Custom Shop" guitars. He had some Strat copies and some Tele copies. He had two Seafoam Green Tele copies and one of these had been "set up" professionally. I swear you couldn't tell the difference between it and a USA Fender. I was VERY impressed. He finally offered it to me for $300 even, but I just couldn't justify it - too many other expenses and I don't technically NEED it.

Soon after I was looking around on the Internet and a guy had one just like in out of state. It was on eBay. It didn't sell, so he reposted and dropped the price. Three times. I finally offered him $125 shipped and the least he would take was $125 PLUS shipping. Why didn't I go ahead and pay the extra? It had a BAD ding on it at the body where you would naturally look "down" while playing and see it. And I should say gouge because it was more than a ding...

Anyway, I thought I'd start a notification on eBay in case a "deal too good to pass up" came up. The email two nights ago had this -

Indy Custom ICLE Tele-Style Rosewood Electric Guitar with case - Limited Edition

I thought - "wow - that's better looking than the Seafoam Green! - looks like my Gretsch." Then it hit me... I was chasing a guitar that I already had... Since I don't play lead on a normal basis, I don't NEED this item, and when I look at that one and I think, "it looks almost as good as my Gretsch..." Well... You get the idea. :-)

I do have three things on my "wish list" though to fill in some gaps. One is something that, like another electric guitar, is not something practical right now. A pedal steel guitar. Not only are they expensive (and I have other things I NEED to spend money on - food, shelter, clothing), it's something I'd have to get good at before I could even play it out somewhere. I have confidence I COULD do it, but it's just not something you throw in the car and take to a jam session. :-)

Item number two is "just because I want one." My long time friend Bobby Jack Stallcup has an Alvarez Guitar VERY similar to my old one (my first guitar) with two major exceptions... One, it does NOT have any kind of pickup or electronics. Two, it has nine strings. Yep - nine! The top three are 'normal' like on a 6-string and the bottom three are doubled like on a 12-string. Again, not completely practical, but would be a nice item to add to my acoustic collection.

The third item is something I could pop on Amazon right now and order if I wanted, but just haven't done so... A G7th brand capo. Here's a link -

G7th Performance Capo (Six String, Silver)

You know, that's a little over half the price they were just a few months ago!

Anyway, that's something I've always wanted to try. I have used Kyser capos for years, as you can change their position SUPER fast, but the G7th is supposedly a better product.

So that's my update. Hope to see you down the road!

Jimmy

Photos and more photos

Howdy!

I wanted to share some pics and rather than do several Twitter posts or Facebook posts I thought I'd just post it as a blog entry... Hope you enjoy!

First, I want to mention our baby boy is now 19 years old! Here's a pic of him and his girlfriend during his birthday dinner...

and outside afterward with Vanessa too...

Friday night I was asked to sit in on lead at Halls with NashVegas (the band I used to play bass for).

Vanessa's caption for this pic on Facebook - "Playing lead tonight on one of the first guitars his dad bought him. Uncle John picked it out cause it was a "hot lead" guitar. :) "   Yes - this is the Gretsch that daddy bought me with the Alvarez to learn on. Since I took to acoustic first and foremost, this guitar didn't get much play. I used it with Heaven's Echos and used it in the studio, but never did a ton of lead work. It was fun playing off of Max on steel though - swapping licks and filling in. And of course supplying vocals. Always a good time. :-)

Saturday I was booked for the River Arts Festival in Memphis...

When we saw that Cumberland Collective were going to on the same stage, we decided to head down early! We saw these find people and musicians at Music City Roots back in June and were VERY excited to see them again! We got there early enough to meet up with Mike, Noah and others before they took the stage and won the crowd over (they had already won us over). If you EVER get the chance to see these fine cats, DO IT. You will not be disappointed, no matter what your genre of music. The energy that they use on stage is enough to get anyone excited about music. :-)

Here's a shot of them doing their thing...

You can find them online at http://www.thecumberlandcollective.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheCumberlandCollective

They called me and a few others up on stage to help with their last number...

When you do go see them, tell them we send our love...

I then had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a new friend from the Memphis area - Bobby O'Neal. Here's a shot of us getting ready to swap out on a few songs - writers in the round style...

He finished with The Reckoning and had asked me to supply some "jamming lead." Those of you that know me know I never pass up an opportunity to play. :-) He posted it on YouTube this morning... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue9H_NU7NH8

Just a few more quick pics... If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you saw this one already...

Yamaha had a promotion a couple of months back where you got a free tuner and book for "test driving" a new A series guitar. I was actually impressed with one that I found at Guitar Center in Terra Houte, Indiana. Well I got the tuner and posted that pic and earlier this week I got the book. One page has a pic of basically my old Yamaha guitar I picked in Nashville - got it for a song! (pun intended)

That's it for now! Hope to see you down the road, on a dance floor or in a listening room somewhere soon!

October 2012 Updates

Howdy! I know it's been a while since I've posted here, but I've been posting on Facebook and Twitter as things have happened. Well now I have so much to talk about that it's too much to try and say 140 characters at a time. :-)

First, in case you haven't heard, my writing is still continuing. I had the pleasure of co-writing a song with someone I met on the NSAI forums. It's my first "cheatin' song" and is posted on my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mCF82pVz_4

I was asked to come play bass at Henderson last Saturday night. I only sang a few, but that's okay. I knew I was being hired to play bass and it was a good time. I do enjoy bass, but prefer guitar of course, but still get a kick out of people that think I'm only a bass player. There are people that have known I've been a musician for years and have never heard me play bass, but now there are people that have only seen me play at dances and think I'm just a bass player. Kinda funny. :-)

So anyway, I played that and was asked to play a couple of Thursday nights, but was not able to make it.

We still drop in at Halls from time to time to dance a few and see Max and Sue. We dropped in last week and Max took a few minutes after the dance to show me some things on the steel guitar. That's the instrument I'd like to tackle next, but they are NOT cheap... Going to keep my ears open though.

So anyway, it's normal while we're there for them to get me on stage to do a few songs. Sometimes I'll play the bass and sometimes I'll play the lead. The lead player has a nice Telecaster with three pickups (Nashville style) and it's fun to trade licks with Max. Well at the end of the night the band leader asked if I was booked next week. "No," I replied, so he asked me to come and sit in all night - on LEAD.

Last night I changed the strings on my Gretsch and took time to polish it up real good and dress the neck as well. Here's a couple of pics I took...

Kyle has offered the use of his amp before, so last night I took time to make some adjustments on three of the presets. It's a 50 watt Johnson with built in modeling and effects, so I'll be taking it and using it. As I said above, I prefer guitar, so I'm really looking forward to this. :-)

Had some other things happen... Yesterday we sung at Ripley at a benefit for the park. Vanessa and I sang some covers and I did some original songs as well. It was a fun afternoon - perfect weather (not hot at all, but not cold either) - and a retired teacher and her husband came out to see us perform! Thanks again for the fish dinner you two!

Then today... Ahh... As long time readers of my blogs know, I used to play in a gospel group known as New Heaven's Echos. I was with them for about 7-1/2 years. They continued together for a few years after I left them and then finally broke up into two other groups. One of the groups is still singing regularly and the other is, as far as I know, not really traveling, but still doing a few songs together.

Well yesterday we found out that the part that doesn't sing as much anymore are members at a church where the others were scheduled to sing for Homecoming. Vanessa and I thought it would be GREAT to go and see them! When we got there I was asked if I had my guitar, and of course the story goes that if I have my pants, I have my guitar, and I *DID* have pants on...

So the singing started with Living Truth, a group of guys that we've known for some time. Rusty Petty used to play piano with The Joylanders - Hal Rodgers has two sons and used to have a family group - Joe Gant has been singing for longer than I've known him - and Grady Fowler with whom I had the pleasure of meeting at last year's Quartet Convention.

Anyway, they started out, then Hershell's group, Blessed Assurance, took the stage. Hershell asked me to join them on guitar, and of course I did. Afterward some people from the church sang and Rusty and I played for Vanessa to sing God Will Make this Trial a Blessing. Seems that the unplanned theme of the day was miracles.

Then Pam, Cindy and Rachel sang a few songs, then they invited Hershell and Jean to the stage. This meant the four singing parts from New Heaven's Echos were on the same stage again for the first time in a LONG time! The pictures are a little blurry, but you'll get the idea...

  

Needless to say it was a special moment of which I am VERY grateful to have been a part. That was the signature song "Miracle in Me" being performed.

A great time for sure! Love you guys!

Polishing a Guitar

There was a tweet from Takamine the other day where they had a follower ask a question. I was going to send a link to my blog post on the subject, but it's one of the ones from my old iWeb site that is no more, so I dug the info out of the archives and am reposting it here... Hope it helps someone...

The other thing I mentioned the other day was making my guitar look new again... I stumbled upon a video at juststrings.com from the Taylor Guitar shop that showed how to polish, clean, etc. your guitar. Basically, it’s one of the things you’d take it to a professional for. It wasn’t how to “setup” a guitar (string height, etc.), and that’s something that people still pay others to do, but this was an overhaul, so to speak.

Here’s the page where you’ll find the video - http://www.juststrings.com/literature.html - Look down the page to Elixir. If you’re interested, and I assume you are if you’re reading this, watch the video. I bought some low tack blue masking tape, some boiled linseed oil, some 0000 steel wool and found the exact same Turtle Wax product that the guy mentions. I started with the Turtle Wax.

(EDIT: here's a direct link to the YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plU27QJBKn8&feature=player_embedded)

You may notice that the guitar he’s polishing is not in bad shape at all, so the gloss doesn’t show that much. My guitar has just had the occasional guitar polish added over the years, but nothing nearly to this degree. I took an old T-shirt and used it to add the Turtle Wax and then to buff it out and MAN you can really see the gloss and shine! It really made the body look new again, and even slicked up the back of the neck...

I forgot to mention that I took the strings off and saved them... After polishing the body, I took the 0000 steel wool and rubbed in (not scrubbed it) in a buffing pattern WITH the grain up and down the neck. I did not use it like a file to wear down anything in particular, just to rub the neck. I noticed that a lot of the black residue was pulling from the frets. I did NOT press down harder, but continued to rub up and down. The frets really cleaned up, best I could tell.

I forgot to mention that I put the tape over the sound hole like the tech shows. He mentions to do this to keep the steel shavings out of the body of the guitar. He was VERY correct... You can’t SEE the shavings on the video, but they were sure there! The only thing he had in the video that I didn’t buy was a soft bristle paint brush to help brush off the shavings. I didn’t think it was that big a deal, and I couldn’t find one soft enough, but before I do this again I’ll pick one up.

(EDIT: I *DID* pick one up, so this made it easier to brush and go on)

When I was done with the steel wool, I could see shavings all over the body of the guitar. I used my old T-shirt and brushed it off. Do NOT rub, or else you take a chance on scratching the finish. Once it was clean again, I took the boiled linseed oil and followed the application technique the guy described and demonstrated. I did NOT soak it, but buffed it into the neck like he showed. It seemed to really make the fingerboard feel new and normal again, and not try and cracking, like 21 year old wood will do. :-)

I also noticed on the ‘clean side’ of the paper towel that it was coming off BLACK from all of the dirt and grime over the years. I turned to another ‘clean side’ and continued to pick up some grime, but much less. Then a third ‘clean side’ came back clean, so I stopped. Now the frets shined like they were new again. :-)

Next came the application of new strings. I thought I had another set of RotoSound, but did not, so I used some Martin Marquis. I tuned up and played a few licks. MAN! It even sounded better - more crisp - better action with the neck. And I was able to do some faster picking... The Turtle Wax on the back of the neck coupled with the conditioned fingerboard and clean frets really made for easy play!

What did I do with the old strings? Remember - I saved them... I put them on a cheap guitar that Benny picked up at an auction. It’s a CHEAP guitar, but will hold a decent tune as long as you’re in the first five frets. These strings made a big difference over what came on it, so I decided to take it to work. Today it sits leaning against the wall near my desk. If something happens to it, nothing is lost, but as long as I have it it’s nice to be able to just pick up and strum, play something that’s on my mind or just grab it to play during a break to clear my head...

Oh yeah - I also took a socket and tightened the tuning pegs like he shows in the video. Most of them were slightly loose, but that got them snug. I also took a small screwdriver and made sure all the screws on the end of the peg handles were snug. I can’t tell that it  stays in tune better, because that guitar has always held a good tune, but it seems a little “tighter.”



There you go! Hope that helps someone!