Song List (in progress)

This is a fairly complete list of the songs I on which I am presently working. I'll add to this list as I add new material. If you think of anything I might add, please let me know. My vocal range is two octives, E to E to ah well, E. Mostly a baritone. If you are a lyricist, let's write some songs!

Africa -Toto
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Monty Python
American Pie - Don McLean
Angel from Monetgomery - John Prine
Angie - Rolling Stones
Annabelle - Gillian Welsh
Barely Breathing - Duncan Sheik
Behing Blue Eyes - The Who
Big River - Grateful Dead
Bittersweet Symphony - Verve
Black Peter - Grateful Dead
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Can't Let Go - Lucinda Williams
Carolina in My Mind - James Taylor
Champaigne Supernova - Oasis
Cowgirl in the Sand - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Death Don't Have No Mercy - Grateful Dead
Do You Realize - The Flaming Lips
Don't Let It Bring You Down - Neil Young
Echoes - Pink Floyd
Got Me Wrong - Alice in Chains
High and Dry - Radiohead
If You Could Read My Mind - Gordon Lightfoot
If You See Her Say Hello - Bob Dylan
Imagine - John Lennon
It Ain't Easy Being Me - Chris Knight
Jack Straw - Grateful Dead
Jane Says - Janes Addiction
It's Great Day to be Alive - Darrell Scott
Letter to Elise - The Cure
Loser - Grateful Dead
Needle and the Damage Done - Neil Young
North Dakota -Chris Knight
Nutshell - Alice in Chains
Ordinary World - Duran Duran
One More Cup of Coffee - Bob Dylan
Panama Red - Peter Rowan
Reasons Why - Nickel Creek
Sign on the Window - Bob Dylan
Soulshine - Warren Haynes
Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan
Tear My Stillhoue Down - Gillian Welsh
There Ain't No Easy Way - Darrell Scott
Tu Seven - PGroove
Under the Milky Way - The Church
Walls of Time - Pete Rowan
Wayfaring Stranger - traditional
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - the Beatles
Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
Wonderwall - Oasis
Would - Alice in Chains
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips
You are a Big Girl Now - Bob Dylan
You're Going to Make Me Lonesome - Bob Dylan
Your Ghost - Kristen Hersh
You've Got a Friend - James Taylor

just a quick note

Here are some of the artists who have performed and recorded with the Gibson J-200.

Pete Townshend, John Prine, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Gram Parsons, Cat Stevens, Sheryl Crow, Townes Van Zandt, Jeff Beck, Carl Perkins, Steven Stills, Noel Gallagher, Chris Isaak, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.


Roy Rogers, so cool.

1993 Gibson J-200

Oh my God!

I drove to meet the seller this morning and impatiently waited at a Starbucks just off the Hwy. Raleigh showed up with all three guitars. First I tried the Hummingbird. Spruce and Rosewood. Lovely balenced sound. Then he brought out the J-45. Spruce and Mahagony. Serious lower tones but at the same time complex. We played both for several minutes switching off. That way I can hear both at a distance. Finally he breaks out the 1993 J-200 Standard. It appears to be a perfect match of the 20th aniversary edition. AAA Spruce and AAA Maple. Longer neck, nice and wide. Hard to judge the tone sitting on the tailgate of a truck but I knew that was the one.  Lowest list price on this guitar new is $3,800. This guitar is in amazing condition. 17 years old and looks like it just left the factory. Built at the Bozeman, Mt. plant. Raleigh told me his house was hit by a tornado in the Spring and he realized that maybe owning 50 guitars was a bit excessive.

So I get the J-200 home and as usual, replace the strings and use guitar polish to shine her up. Decided on Light Medium (EJ-16) strings and tuned it up. I play for a few minutes and then let the strings start to stretch. About an hour later I took her in to the guitar room. I start playing and this guitar is a cannon. Way low bass response, like a freight train. Beautiful tone. With the volume of sound coming through this guitar I can sing as a prefer to, which is loudly. Right from the gut. Unlike most of my guitars, the J-200 is lower than my vocal range and my voice rings out above the guitar. This is the guitar I've been looking for. I want to marry this guitar.

choices

I checked Craigslist today and lo and behold a guy in High Point is selling 3 Gibsons, a J-45, a Hummingbird and a J-200. He's going to meet me Monday morning in Salisbury. Here is an example of each.

(2002) J-45 

                          

























(1992)Hummingbird

J-200

Gibson guitars

Looks like the Songwriter was sold. I'm glad because I wouldn't have been happy with it. So now  I'm considering the various versions of the Songwriter, Dove, L4, 45 and the Jumbo. I guess I'll be heading to the Guitar Center to try out the various models, so that when one becomes available I'll know which ones I like and be ready to move quickly if one comes along at a good price. Used Gibsons don't seem to stay on the market long. I had the opportunity to play a Dove when I was 16 and never forgot the sweet tones of that guitar.

Tuned one of the Yairi DY-67s to Eb to play Alice in Chains. Interesting sound and with the strings so much looser it is easier to bend the notes. Started with "Nutshell". This song has some interesting rhythms and make take me a while to get the chord changes down. I'm using the MTV acoustic version as a basis. Another difficulty is going to be the harmonies which are one of the things that make AIC songs so good. Hope my vocal harmonizer is up to the task. I'm afraid that the VocalLive 4 may be required to manually adjust the harmony to the correct pitch.

Nothing planned for the weekend. Still considering the six hour round trip to Raleigh next week to see Umphrey's McGee on Friday. It is an early show, 6pm, which would mean I could be home just after midnight. Saturday, George Porter, Jr. at the Double Door.

Have I gone insane?

Off this afternoon to look at a Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Studio (2006). Another closet queen popped up on Craigslist last night. Spoke to the owner this morning and perhaps will be the first in line to see it. This one is priced at roughly half the price of a new one. Premium Sitka (red) Spruce and Indian Rosewood b/s, mahogany neck. I thought after the recent Martin D-15 purchase I was through with my Guitar Acquisition Syndrome, at least temporaily. I'm running out of room.

Sadly the guitar did not meet up to my standards, one being not needing repairs and another factory quality control issues. The space between frets as they get closer to the body always get smaller. This one had a first fret smaller than the second or the third. We even measured it. I then grabbed a tuner and tested the sonic space and sure enough it was noticable. On the other hand I really, really like the SWD and shall certainly look for another, especially a Songwriter Deluxe Standard.

Maybe I can blame it on my neurological condition. (Note: this picture was taken before I acquired the Martin D-15.)














Looks like I'm not the only one with this condition.

http://www.guitaracquisitionsyndrome.com/Page_1.php

monday morning

Good morning all,

Thought I'd share a bit from my weekend. Molly was happy with the photos of her band "Amelia's Mechanics." Friday night was WideSpread Panic, a band I first saw in 1987 and have seen most years since then. Almost a ritual with me since that time. I could not count the number of times I've seen them. Back in the day I used to be guest listed and more than once saw them with fewer that a dozen people. Originally they were more a Dead cover band, something they deny, but just check the set lists from 1986-7.  Dave was the first one I met in the Summer of 1987, which was when I moved to Athens. Sonny was the nicest one, he was once the doorman at the long gone, "Uptown Lounge." Sonny used to comp me in to all the shows at the Uptown during that summer. Great guy. John Bell taught me the song "Me and My Uncle," but was a little stand offish. Mikey was always too stoned to talk. He used to play sitting down.

Had my usual Saturday morning breakfast at Toast with brother Eric. Spent the rest of the day playing the guitar, playing with the dogs, and working one of my books. Working on which guitar sounds better with what song. The Martin D-15 certainly has it's place in lineup. I find it is best suited for the Americanna, and Bluegrass strumming. Sounds good fingerpicking but is not loud. I intend to have Fine's to put in a K & K western pickup and then we'll see how it sounds amplified. So I switched between guitars frequently.

Got the house cleaned, even the screened-in porch. I have discovered the TV show, 24. I love catching a series where I can watch (Netflix instantly) ever episode without having to wait a week in between. I think I'd have gone crazy watching 24 and having to wait a week in between shows. So besides the anxiety from watching the show, it was a very restful weekend. Happily, I have health and dental insurance now. It took almost two months to get it. The new national healthcare bill was not helpful to this point, maybe by 2014. Expensive as all hell.




So, I'm writing a non-fiction book on a newcomers guide to accessing the 12 step programs. After 26 years of experience and over 6,000 meetings, I feel somewhat qualified to write this. I've also starting ou a science fiction novel. I've been thinking of the the technical aspects of computer-brain interfacing for years and the idea of turning it into a novel occurred to me a couple of weeks ago. Sort of a dystopia where the individual is lost into the greater whole.