Teddy, Tennis, Sir Elton and Uncle Phil

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Lately I've been playing more often, with sudden intensity and increased volume. At home. Sure, why not? It's amazing how much creative energy gets unleashed when your home PA system and guitar amplification enables you to play softly while occupying a large sonic footprint. Reminds of a musical Teddy Roosevelt, speaking softly but carrying a big stick.

Speaking of Teddy, isn't it curious that in certain circles, his legacy is that of a pioneer environmentalist while others tend to vilify him in spite of his landmark achievements in preserving American treasures? He launched the National Park system with Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks among others, along with 150 national forests and many national monuments. Yet Teddy was also keen on hunting and delighted in shooting wildlife in abundance throughout American, Africa and anywhere else he traveled. I find myself torn between giving him a pass, for this was a widely glorified activity and an essential part of our pioneer heritage, on the one hand, and on the other, feeling like his legacy was deservedly tarnished by his penchant for slaughtering beautiful wild animals on a grand scale.
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Last night, I had the pleasure of witnessing several of the greatest tennis players in history---Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, plus Maria Sharapova and Victoria Anakova---at the splendid new venue known as Matthew Knight Arena, right here in my hometown: Eugene, Oregon. We thank Phil Knight for his largess because without his enormous contributions, this arena would not have been built. The breathtaking skills of all four, plus John McEnroe, were on full display, and in this exhibition, they also had the opportunity to let their personalities shine. And contrary to my expectations, framed by media events, they had plenty to offer in terms of personality and verve. Roger Federer in particular exhibited a quick wit and an exceptionally nimble mind.

Speaking of the Matt Knight Arena, two weeks ago we saw Elton John and his amazing band perform there. Thankfully, his percussionist John Mahon played on my first record, "When The Big Picture Fades", and through his kindness we were able to visit with the band before the show and to see their performance from the third row. Elton's performance exceeded my high expectations. He played for three hours, energetically and poignantly, tirelessly and flawlessly, and I ask you, how often can this be said of any musical performance? Thank you Phil Knight, for creating this remarkable new venue, equal to the most superb arenas in the world, in my hometown, then for arranging for such talent (tennis phenoms included) to perform here. To receive the collateral benefit of your giving character should humble us all in Eugene. But Eugene is a funny town that way. More on that later. I love this place, but it suffers from an abundance of strange and inexplicable quirks. Which will be a fine topic for another post, and which is the inspiration for my new song entitled "Our Town Needs Therapy". I've reserved a slot for this tune on my next release. In the meantime, thank you Uncle Phil!

I'm Back---Happy New Year

This is my first post in months. So much has happened I hardly know where to start. The biggest thing that happened---a serious, nearly life changing bicycle accident---offers me a terrific excuse for ignoring my blog. I will provide a detailed account of my near-death bike wreck another time. I could easily turn to other excuses for abandoning my loyal blog followers, but they pale in comparison to that one. For now though, I'm ready to celebrate 2011.

Resolutions? I've got plenty. A few of them may stick. For one, I plan to devote more time to Americana Dan. And to music. And to building stuff. Oh yea, I guess I should say that my commitment to building stuff probably explains more about my absence from this venue, and from music, than does my near-death bike wreck (NDBW for short).

What does it say about me that I have plenty of time consuming passions? That I'm flighty? That I'm scattered? That my affections are transient? Nah, I just like to do lots of stuff. And I'm one of those people who tends to get obsessive about my interests. Plus when it comes to construction projects, there's a lot to obsess about. More about this topic later---I have a lot to tell.

Other things that have happened since my last post? Well, my favorite football team---the University of Oregon Ducks---is playing for the BCS National Championship next Monday. You could say this is a dream come true, except most folks my age who became Duck fans in the 70's never dared to dream that this could come true. I don't know a single person from that era who ever stated in their most drunken moments that they thought the Ducks would someday compete for the NCAA National Championship in football.

I've taken a few trips, performed on several memorable occasions, learned that when bicycling downhill it is important to know how to use your brakes, witnessed transcendent musical talent---the greatest bass player ever, Victor Wooten---everyone should make it a point to see him play sometime, and in general, enjoyed my life as much as one could subsequent to an NDBW.

It's hard to know what 2011 may bring. I have high hopes that I will nurture this blog with more diligence than in 2010. That I will reach a point at which building even more stuff seems pointless. That I will record a new collection of songs. That the Ducks will win the BCS National Championship, defeating the mighty Auburn Tigers led by Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. And that I will ride a bicycle once again, safely this time.

Improvisation

I have developed a knack for musical improvisation. Plenty of musicians are skilled at improv, some prefer creating lead parts on the fly. That's not the kind of improvisation I'm talking about. Instead of injecting unrehearsed musical passages into a tune, I like to make up entire songs---both music and lyrics (the hard part) that way. At times, the results have been extremely gratifying with my sole regret being that the moment was not recorded. That's one thing about my improv numbers---they are all complete one-offs. I can't repeat them if I try.

My typical improv numbers tend to sneak up on the audience. I might start by playing a few familiar tunes, then throw in some of my original material. Somewhere along the way, I'll pound out a chord sequence that sounds familiar to the audience but they can't quite trace it to a particular song. Then I'll start singing a melody using lyrics that involve details of the place we're in or events that have transpired over the course of our evening.

A good improv number accomplishes a number of universally desirable things. First, there is usually a humorous component, so the audience often will start laughing. But more than that, audience members suddenly feel more connected to each other, so the song serves as a unifying event. Occasionally I'll manage to create a chorus that captures the vibe of the evening so well that before long, everyone is singing.

I don't know many musicians willing to attempt full improv numbers in live performances. I was afraid to do it for the longest time and would only attempt improv songs in the company of friends. Before long though, I gained enough confidence in my ability to create spontaneous songs which pass for finished pieces that I started to include an improv or two in public performances. It's a bit of a high wire act---one never knows when the mind might fail to deliver lyrics that sound coherent enough to pass for a real song. When that happens, the performer faces a dilemma. Your choices: stop the song or keep going with really lame lyrics or a break in the lyrical delivery. Either way, you have suffered failure. Luckily, at least in my experience to date, this fate has pretty much eluded me.

In a recent trip, I was performing short sets almost every night. As an aside, have you noticed that the word "emboldened" came into frequent usage during the recent Bush administration. Bush and Cheney never lost an opportunity to instill fear in the American people by telling them that every Democratic proposal would serve to embolden the terrorists. Well, I became emboldened to increase my usage of improvisational songs during my trip. And the results were overwhelmingly positive.

During one performance, I only had access to a piano rather than my customary guitar, and although I'm a pretty mediocre pianist, I managed to play four improv tunes in a row with excellent results. No doubt about it, I was thoroughly emboldened.

I'm thinking of doing an experiment in which I make up songs all day and into the night for a week and recording the results. When I'm writing a song, sometimes the process of trying to find just the right word or phrase is laborious and unrewarding. Many top songwriters say that their best songs have come in a flash. Maybe it is possible to create better songs without the angst. Like the modern art pieces which involve the dubious technique of throwing paint on the canvas, perhaps meaningful songs can be created in a similar manner. I need to give this a try.

Booking Time in the Studio

I'm ready to get back to the recording studio. It's been three years since releasing "Party of One" and despite the many distractions in my life, I've managed to cobble together enough new material to justify the return trip. This is exciting stuff for me. Here's the plan:
1. Make rough working recordings of my new songs and send them down to Gary White, my producer and longtime friend, so that we can brainstorm about how best to present each song.
2. Set a work schedule that will include booking time in an LA recording studio.
3. Arrive a day or two before our sessions begin to work through pre-production issues.
4. Complete the basic tracking sessions and head back to Eugene.
5. Work with Bill Barnett at Gung Ho Studio in Eugene to complete the vocal work and mix the songs.

After that, it's a simple matter of getting the songs mastered, arranging for the artwork and manufacture of the cd's, and voila! My third full-length recording project will be complete. This is no small achievement for me and I will be very pleased once its done. It's a lot of work, some parts of the process are tedious. But some parts are great fun. It is hard to describe the special pleasure which occurs in the studio at the moment a tune you have written suddenly transforms into a fully formed, radio-ready song. Some songs never quite get there, but when an arrangement begins to click, it's like magic in real time.

One of my favorite musicians, Richard Thompson, performed in Eugene last week and his current bass player, Taras Prodaniuk, has become a good friend after working with me on my first two records. Talented and gracious, Taras seemed genuinely enthusiastic about working with me on this new project. Before working with Thompson, Taras worked for years with Lucinda Williams, and before that, Dwight Yoakum. His musical sensibilities seem beautifully suited for the sort of compositions I tend to write.

Spring is coming, and somehow it seems perfect that my new recording project is being launched now. Chances are good that I will call the new record "Seize the Day", making the song I wrote recently in Jamaica (for more on that, read my blog post of December 19) the title cut. In making this new record, I guess you could say I'm following my own advice.

Super Sunday Arrives Again

When did Super Bowl Sunday become a national holiday? Certainly not in 1967 when the dorky sounding Super Bowl was born. I mean come on, the AFL was second rate back then. To the surprise of no one, the Packers won big. I was just a kid, but I still remember the post-game press conference with Vince Lombardi being goaded into admitting that AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs couldn't compete in the NFL.
I suppose the 4th of July celebration in 1777 didn't amount to much either.
But give us Americans a reason to celebrate and by God we'll take it. The best holidays involve widespread drinking starting early in the day. And in a dreary month like February, who doesn't want that?
As I write these important thoughts, I haven't had my first one yet, but hey, it's only 9:30 in the morning. I'll get started soon enough.
The real turning point for the Super Bowl, as we all know, came in 1969 when Joe Namath's brash prediction of victory for his New York Jets came true. In that instant, the AFL established its legitimacy and boy did we start paying attention. The television ratings ascended, corporations dished out crazy money for ads and in a few short years, the Super Bowl became an American institution. Never mind that most of the games were blowouts. The game was secondary to the function of the Super Bowl: giving America an excuse to drink like crazy.
As the NFL has evolved into an increasingly corporate entity, their leadership sometimes slips and refers to the games as their "product". Nothing like turning a national pastime into another kind of widget.
This year we get The Who at halftime. But you knew that already, having been exposed to the relentless pregame build-up for two weeks.
Speaking of The Who, did you know that the NFL is claiming a trademark on the expression "Who Dat". Seriously. They have been serving cease and desist orders on New Orleans t-shirt shops selling shirts with the express "Who Dat", claiming that they're infringing on the NFL's exclusive right to market New Orleans Saints (and every other teams) stuff. As an attorney, I know a stretch when I see one, and it doesn't take an attorney to identify the distinctive aroma of such pathetic bullshit.
Not that I consider the NFL an evil empire---the fact is, they raise money for many worthy causes and they generate a very entertaining, uh, product. I really hope this years game between the Saints (the perennial loser Saints!) and the Colts is a doozie. And that I'm still awake at the end.

Elvis At 75: The King In Perspective

The King is dead. Long live the King. Dead since 1977, life seems eternal for Elvis Presley in western pop culture. Two days ago, he would have celebrated his 75th birthday. Chances are you've heard all about it. "Elvis Presley, that rare breed of talent that comes along maybe three times a century...." At the risk of blasphemy, I find myself wondering what all the fuss is really about.

Let's start by acknowledging that Elvis was a groundbreaking performer who electrified and galvanized a hungry, bored, white American audience starting in 1956. He infused rock 'n roll songs with a style and energy not previously seen. His hip movements alone created such a stir that worried parents sought legislation to censor the King, adding to the legend. Aside from The Beatles, I can't think of another musical act that has seized the attention of teenage America which such sudden, pandemic enthusiasm.

For several years, we couldn't get enough of it. The King's fame survived a two year hiatus in the military and launched a successful acting career despite Elvis' limited talents as a thespian (here, I am defining success strictly on a box-office basis; the movies ranged in quality from mediocre to wretched). Once his four or five years as a chart-topping singer passed, he still managed an occasional second tier hit. Thanks to Las Vegas and two much publicized television specials, he managed to parlay his earlier fame into a state of tremendous financial security. And somehow, in spite of weight gain, a conspicuous tendency toward personal overindulgence and obscenely garish wardrobe choices, his hold over a large, loyal audience has continued to this day with no end in sight.

Why does the memory of Elvis have such staying power? As an artist, he never wrote a hit song (it is widely acknowledged that on the 8 songs where he is listed as co-writer, he made no contributions). His guitar skills were so modest that early in his career, he ditched the instrument. Even his breakout performances of rock songs such as "Hound Dog" are clearly derivative of performances by black artists that went unnoticed by white America. And young Elvis' incendiary performance style has nothing on Cab Calloway's wildest musical histrionics from the 30's.

But that's just it. In Elvis, America was exposed to something new, exciting and slightly terrifying---a white man playing black music without inhibition. And since so few had heard such music, and boy were we ready for something new, history was made. So to the musical geniuses that followed (Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and many more, guys who actually could write songs, play instruments, offer dazzling performances and expand the genre), as great as they all were, at the end of the day, Elvis stands alone as a cultural icon.

Of course we overlook his personal shortcomings. Most musicians have enough baggage to make a politician blush. But focusing strictly on Elvis' musical contributions, and comparing them with those of his contemporaries, is it unfair of me to suggest that his legacy is disproportionate to his body of work? Does it seem just that this performer is widely described as a talent so transcendent as to come along but three times in a century? For those who subscribe to this view, I respectfully beg to differ.

A short list of those whose contributions to music since the time of Elvis who, in my book, deserve equal or better recognition for their contributions to our musical heritage:
1. Bob Dylan
2. John Lennon
3. Paul McCartney
4. Bruce Springsteen
5. Jagger/Richards
6. U2
7. Buddy Holly
8. Jimi Hendrix
9. Clapton in all forms (solo, Cream, Derek & the Dominoes, etc)
10. Bob Marley
11. Paul Simon
12. Ray Charles
13. Fats Domino
14. Michael Jackson

You could even make a case that Elvis is not the most musically worthy or talented guy by the name of Elvis, because damn, Elvis Costello is outstanding! I could go on. I'll stop. I rest my case. May the King rest in peace.

Musical Progress---Thank You Jamaica

I've been waiting patiently for a musical resurgence. In earlier posts, I talked about "all the obstacles in my way" and it's no coincidence that I'm channeling lyrics from a classic reggae tune here since I just got back from Jamaica, which is where the resurgence occurred.
How did it start? I think it was on the beach when a trickle of lyrics and the nucleus of a song idea popped into my brain. Before long, an exciting new song was taking shape. "Seize the Day" is the title. It's a tune that's long on adult inspiration and positive values, just the sort of topic that swirls around my subconscious a lot these days as I come to terms with the notion of embracing my new age group. Most of my favorite songs include universal messages. "Seize the Day" is all about the universal. And it's built around a soulful guitar passage which kicks off the tune and repeats at the end of each refrain. I like songs that do that too.
Is that all I needed for my resurgence? Nope. I needed more, and I got it. Several performance opportunities came my way, and in the process, many new friendships were formed and a slew of perfect strangers embraced my musical with genuine enthusiasm. Three nights in Jamaica I held center stage and all three nights were magical and memorable.
Then, just a day before we needed to head home, another song popped into my head. And unlike typical song ideas which rarely result in a fully formed song, and when they do, it usually takes weeks or months for the song to evolve into a finished piece, this song was that rare kind which was essentially complete in twenty minutes. In my experience, the songs that come quickly are often the best.
Suddenly, I am committed to recording a new set of songs in 2010. I was slow to realize that there would be a beautiful rhythm to this since my first cd was released in 2004 and my second in 2007. That would make me one of those folks who puts out a new collection of songs once every three years. That notion holds a lot of appeal for me. And suddenly, it seems eminently do-able.
It's as if my patience with music, and my frustrations over the fact that the role of music has recently retreated from my life somewhat, has suddenly been answered in the best way possible. For that, and for many other reasons, I am wishing myself right now, and all of you too, the best of season's greetings and a Happy Happy Happy New Year---may 2010 rock for all of us!