March 2012 Newsletter-Schedule

February 2012 marked the loss of the most beloved of gig-mobiles, our 1994 Toyota Camry station wagon. It was the fault of a clueless teenager, not looking where he was going, who pulled out in front of me as I was driving to a gig, forcing a collision. It did minor damage to his rear bumper, but thoroughly smashed my front end.

And of course due to the age of the car, the insurance company wasted no time in declaring it a total loss, and offering a pathetic pittance in compensation. Fortunately I was not injured, and even managed to get my gear into another vehicle and actually made it to the gig. I was probably not at my best, but I do have one simple rule I try to follow in life: show up.
But wait, there's more. Click "read more" to, you know, like, read more - about the really the weird part.

Zen Guitar - Phil Sudo

If asked to recommend one book to musicians, I would offer, without thinking, Zen Guitar by Phil Sudo. It is by far the most inspirational, motivational, practical and concise philosophy of music-making I have ever seen.

Phil Sudo was a writer and guitarist of mixed American and Japanese heritage. He sought to find a way to "blend the wisdom of west and east into a universal philosophy of life." To do that, he decided to write a book that merged his love of rock guitar with his devotion to the philosophy of Zen. The result was a masterpiece.

Ichigo Ichie

I originally wrote this in June 2008 , but it hasn't been available on the internet for some time now so I thought I'd re-post. It's a look back at one fairly intense weekend of gigs, and some thoughts and reflections about the relationship between performer and audience. It also connects with my appreciation of the book "Zen Guitar" and its author Phil Sudo. I have written about that in another blog post, click here to read it. And now, into the archives...