Washington, D.C. sightseeing vacation

Picasso















For the first time in about 6 years, I went on a vacation that did not involve a music festival. My first ex- wife (Vicki) and I decided to go on vacation together to see the art galleries and museums of Washington. We flew up from our respective cities, Charlotte and Norfolk, Va., and met at National (DCA) airport on Monday, June 21. This was somewhat of a reprise of a trip we took in the summer of 1980, when my brother was interning at the National Archives. Frequent Flier miles and Hotel points covered the expenses. Sweet. It is difficult to find a good traveling buddy and we did very well together on this trip.



Monday we visited the National Geographic Society museum. On Tuesday the National Gallery (East wing) and the Smithsonian Castle. We had passes for Congress but a suspicious package stopped visiting until it became too late in the day. We managed to see the Phillips Collection instead. Wednesday was National History Museum, the Freer and the Sackler. Thursday was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the National Art Gallery (West wing). I took lots of photos of Buddhist and Hindu statuary, and lots of lots of modern art at the various galleries. These are all posted on my site.


http://jambandfan.smugmug.com/Travel/Washington-DC/12707061_WPuhc#915545927_p9KWK

We stayed in Dupont Circle. It is a very exciting part of D.C. with about 1000 restaurants. We found the placed that seems frequented by the locals and had great meals every night. Breakfast was always at the Kramerbooks and Afterwards. Then into the Metro to head into the Mall. It was hot, I mean above 95 everyday hot. Washington set two record highs while we were there. Somehow my physical condition hardly slow us down at we left the hotel by 9am, had breakfast and into the Metro, walking and standing until 4pm when we head back to rest and search the Internet for restaurants. My legs just ached everyday.





Thursday was my birthday and we found an excellent seafood restaurant in which to celebrate.

Everyone seemed so friendly. Seeing us looking at a map, people would stop on the street and in the Metro to give us directions.
















a few pictures:






Buddha


















Ganesh


















Renoir

home. exhausted. lots of pictures.

home. exhausted. lots of pictures.

All packed for the trip

All packed for my sightseeing trip to Washington DC. I've been to DC several times (1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995) in late June to see the Grateful Dead at RFK Stadium. Nice of them to play my birthday so many times. This will be my first trip in 5 years that doesn't end at a music festival. My last was to New York City with Harriet, my 4th wife. But on these 1990's trips to DC were not see the museums and galleries. I went in 1988 for a professional conference and took a little time to see the sites.

This trip is only for seeing the museums and galleries. My ex-wife (#1) and I went in 1980, staying in dorm room at George Washington University with my brother who was interning at the National Archives. So, here we are, going again together 30 years later.

We are staying at the Hilton Washington Embassy Row at DuPont Circle. Lots of restaurants.

We have a pass to see Congress but couldn't get one for the White House. Other sites are planned; the Smithsonian and Air and Space, the National Gallery of Art and East Wing, the National History Museum, The National Archives, the Phillips Collection, the National Geographic Society, and the International Spy Museum. Somehow I doubt we get to everything in 4 days, lol.

Once I get back, there will a trip report and lots of pictures.

My Chain of Electronics

I have returned to playing music after a 6 year hiatus. I'm not sure why I stopped, I know my ex- (#4) absolutely hated my mandolin and seemed to be no fan of my guitar playing and singing. Other things, I guess, began to occupy my time. After losing so many activities I enjoyed, and a severe loss of energy, mostly due to the anti-seizure meds, I needed to find something I could do without having to leave the house and could pick up for a short amount of time. It was interesting to see I remembered how to play but couldn't make my fingers go where I wanted them to. I have been building hand strength and coordination for the past 7 months. To do so I have been collecting songs off the site Chordie, printing them out and playing through my folder, front to back, back to front. I've chosen songs from Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Gillian Welsh (Americana), Oasis (Rock), Chris Knight (country), Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Cure, and traditionals, just to name a few. I choose songs I like from any period or genre.

My chain is, either the Yamaha LLX26C or the Yairi 12 string (WY-1-12) (having electric pick ups) into a Zoom A2 acoustic guitar effects stomp box. The A2 offers many adjustments (47) to tone by adding reverb, chorus, delay among others. I only recently picked this up and have a fairly steep learning curse before finding the settings that work best for both guitars and any given song.

Next is the TC-Helicon GT-X which is a vocal harmonizer. I can basically split my voice into two harmonies, 5th, 3rd above and/or below what I am singing. On some songs the effect can be amazing. This seems to work best on Bluegrass, traditional and rock songs. There is also a feature called tone correction which helps by matching the vocals (either just one or with the harmonies) to the chords being played on the guitar. For the first time in my life I can hear myself sing.

After the harmonizer is the DigiTech Jamman. This is a device that allows me to play a phrase or a whole song and play it back and play over top of the original file. Then that part can be recorded as well. This can be done repeatedly. I have recorded the basic guitar and vocal track, added the 12 string and then the bass parts to create the whole song. It also serves as a great practice device to allow me to hear immediately what I have just played.

The signal is then sent to my Roland AC-90 acoustic guitar amp and also I use my Roland CB 30 bass amp through the subwoofer connection to add more bass tone to the track.

To record, I have a Zoom H2N recorder that I can use either with amplification or without. The sound quality is impressive. I can transfer the tracks to my Dell T105 (8 processors, 8gb RAM) for editing in the open source software, Audacity. I have yet to learn to match up the various, guitar, vocal and bass tracks into a coherent song.

When playing the Hofner Bass, I use my Sennheiser RS 120 wireless headphones. That way I can play without getting the tracks I'm listening to into the recording, making for a cleaner recording. Plus it is just great fun to blast Led Zeppelin into my ears and jam out on the bass. I have over 14,000 songs on my network attached 2TB drive, which can be accessed by any of my three computers.

You might be saying, "How can he afford all this?" I've been selling off the the things I no longer need or use. So for a guy who is somewhat housebound, I have lots to keep me engaged in new learning. My neuropsychologist thinks I've come up with a great way of engaging the various parts of my brain simultaneously.

I just discovered there is moderately high end guitar shop only 20 miles away. Moderately means $800 to $5,000. I plan on visiting soon, as my Guitar Acquisition Syndrome is is in full swing, lol.

Why I love Yairi guitars

Why I love Yairi guitars


The Yairi line are completely handmade in Kani, Japan by Kazuo Yairi. The company began in 1935. The name Alvarez Yairi is simply because Alvarez is the US importer of Yairi guitars. In the early 1960's Kazuo sent his son abroad to search for tone woods and he was on this mission for over 3 years. The tonewoods are aged naturally and the only machine used is the saw to cut the wood. At the peak of production the factory created as many as 4000 guitars in a year with 40 employees. Quite often a single luthier would build a guitar. Here is a video of the factory and the process of building: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPRyLPouYZM


Above at the headstocks of my two DY-67s


In the mid 1990's Working with Bob Weir, of the Grateful Dead, they created a line of guitars. He still plays Yairi guitars live. The WY-1 series is available in a number of tonewoods. Cedar and Rosewood, Koa, and Spruce and Maple. A few 12 string guitars were made.




The is a cedar top, rosewood back and sides model with a System 500 pickup and preamp. 1998 WY-1-12.


One really interesting feature is that the guitars themselves are tuned to G. Not the strings, the actual guitar.


I believe that the Yairi is the best deal out there.






Every guitarist needs at least one 12 string

photography and guitars

I've been shooting bands and people for about 5 years starting with a Fuji S2, then a Nikon D200 and now a Nikon D300. I've paired down my lens to a few favorites, a Tokina 11-18mm, a Sigma 24-70, a Nikon 70-200 VR and 2 fixed length, Nikon 50mm and an 85 mm (all 2.8 or lower). At least now I can fit them all in one bag, one heavy bag, lol.

On my photosite I have posted 9772 images, each one run through Photoshop.

http://jambandfan.smugmug.com/


Guitars

Since I am not shooting bands as often as I was, due to health reasons, I have retuned to playing the guitar, bass and singing. I have added to my stable of instruments, 3 alvarez yairis and Yamaha and a hofner "beatle" bass, two amplifiers and 3 sound pedals.





The 1986 I bought new in 1987. I liked it so much I bought a second as a backup.

DY-67 (1986 & 1989) and Russell

I was looking for a new guitar when my friend Marcus placed this baby (Yamaha LLX26C) in my hands. Way more expensive than I intended to buy, but we found a price that I couldn't pass up. electric/acoustic.

Everyone needs a 12 string too.

1998 Yairi WY-1- 12 (Bob Weir model) acoustic/electric.

2009 Hofner Bass

A Roland AC-90 Acoustic guitar amp and a Roland Bass 30 amp.

Pedals

DigiTech Jamman (looper)

TC Helicon Harmony GT-X (vocals and harmony effects)

Zoom A2 (acoustic guitar effects)

I'll be writing more about each of the pedals in subsequent blogs

So welcome to my photography and music blog. Looks like I have a few minutes to play before heading off to see my Neurologist. Check back in soon.

Chris

aka lord_nikon