Saturday was pretty groovie. I started off the day with an early gig at Piedmont Park playing for the Green Market. By the way, if you haven’t been to see the market, you should go! It’s every Saturday, there’s music, it’s free and it’s great fun. Anyway, I was supposed to start playing at 11AM, but my gear had other plans. I got set up which takes less than ten minutes with my new rig and had no problems. However once I started performing, my Echoplex, being the oh-so-user-friendly piece of gear that is, thwarted my efforts.

 

On the first tune it suddenly faded my loops while I was playing. While I usually try to roll with glitches that pop up during a performance, this was just unacceptable. Luckily, my years of training took over, and my in-depth gear knowledge told me the magic fix—turn the Echoplex off and then back on. Brilliant! It works though…like a charm. Heh.

 

I played that tune again with no worries. A small crowd formed around me to listen, so I decided to play a cover song that most folks know. I got my loops built and suddenly the Echoplex began to multiply my loops automatically. In other words, it took what I had recorded and extended the length. That screws up the phrasing for the melody that I play over the loops. Again, I just refused to swing it, so I used the magic fix. It was enough to scare off the crowd, though. Sorry folks, these things happen. I did a non-looping piece after all that nonsense. It went well, and the Echoplex worked without a glitch on the tunes that followed. I sounded more like Darren Michaels. Folks came back. I had fun, but got sunburned. Curse my highland blood.

 

Playing in the park is always a joy for me. People always seem in their best mood. Plus it’s great to be playing laid-back music outside in the sunshine amongst the birds, squirrels, and trees…and midtown traffic. Thanks to the Green Market folks for having me play. They want me back, so look for me again sometime this summer. Next time I’ll bring sunscreen.

 

A few hours after the park, I went to play at a birthday party for one of my students, Austin Longo aka the Muffin Man. He turned thirteen on May 28^th but had his party on June 4^th. When Cindy and I pulled up to the Longo house, Tom, Austin’s dad, greeted us and commended me on my bravery. He said that his house was packed with thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds. I could hear the giggly screams from the front yard, but I did not fear…much.

 

I set up on their deck in the back yard, and played a few tunes. Although I was already worn out from earlier, I think I played pretty well for the most part. I even had the teenagers captivated for a few songs. Some musicians take pride in winning grants or getting Grammy nominations. Well, darn it, I can hold an American teenager’s attention for more than five minutes! If you listen closely, you can hear the soft tapping sound of me patting myself of the back. Heh.

 

Austin came up and jammed with me for a few tunes, and then played a few tunes by himself. Then I turned it over to the rest of the young people. They took over the impromptu stage and wailed away on some kickin’ classic rock tunes.

 

I really love to see that! A few years ago I would have sworn to you that the garage band was dead or at least dying. Young people in America have a plethora of distractions and are rarely given opportunity to partake in the joy of making music. It seems to me that the budding young musician is squelched by misplaced ideas of musicians being deviants or just straight up druggies. Perhaps the media imposed image is to blame or perhaps the vanishing music programs in schools cause it. The reality of young musicians is this:

These are just people who are young and finding something to enjoy in their lives. They are also finding an outlet for expression, which is something I recall desperately needing in my younger years. Kudos goes to Tom and Debbie Longo and parents like them for encouraging their children to explore music! I wish for a world full of parents like you. Thanks for having me out, Tom and Debbie.

 

Anyway, I’m off my soapbox now. The rest of the party was great I managed to scarf down an excellent veggie hot dog. Plus I gave in to the temptation of the cookie birthday cake. I’ve been trying to shed some pounds, but birthdays and parties have foiled me. Chocolate chip cookies, you are the bane of my existence. Heck, I figure the universe is expanding, so why can’t I?

 

I’m off for now. BassUp! website is still in the works…patience please. Next gig is June 25^th at my beloved Jatema. New originals and covers will be played, and the Echoplex will hopefully be in harmony with the rest of my rig. So long until then!