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I began my loose sketches with this piece--something I`ve had in the back of my mind for years. Actually, the execution of it was not exact, but it`s where I began just to see what would come of it. The slower section is where I activated my Lexicon JamMan--many of the following tunes incorporate the use of the JamMan with no tape overdubbing involved. This is how some moments with one guitar come about in concert. So let this first piece serve as an introduction to what`s to come on this project.
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This one has a cascading effect with the first pass locked into the JamMan. As it develops, each pass signifies how I become acquainted with my first pass. This piece is an attempt to try my hand at something almost classical. I bail out eventually and do one of my riffs signifying an exit. Much of my playing style is a result of simply playing and less of discipline and study. Any true classical guitarists would note this, but to the less-trained ear (including my own), it`s simply a series of playful notes running into each other.
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One of my favorites on this CD. I wrote it in a hotel room in Dublin, Ireland, summer of `94. It`s titled after my Irish grandmother, whose voice you can hear on "The 50th" ("Way Back Home" version). I capo the 2nd fret and then capo the 4th fret with two notches cut out for the B and D strings, creating more fifths in the chords. David Wilcox inspired the capo idea that I use on this piece. The guitar is my 1984 James Olson.
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I first created a loop in my JamMan, fading it in after my tape machine started, and then I just started playing over it. I always enjoy a shuffle. It reoccurs later on, but with other lead lines (entitled "On Second Thought"). Many of these pieces were recorded with my Langejans guitar and the new L.R. Baggs mic/pickup system plugged direct into a Tascam 388.
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This piece was recorded in Michael Card`s studio, "Mole End". I simply listened to Calvin Millers short story about a marionette on strings, and played along spontaneously. If you`d like to hear the version with his voice and the story, it`s available from the PKC. I played the Olson guitar on this piece.
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This piece is played with a Michael Hedges tapping style. I`ve done this number now and then in a full length effort, usually when I`m very comfortable and confident, and the picking nails aren`t too grown out. As you can hear the guitar (Langejans) has very responsive harmonics, as does the Olson guitar. When I first heard this melody in my head, it wasn`t easy to execute, but with practice...I almost have it down!
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A very short piece using my JamMan to create a backward loop, and playing the chords to it.
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This is a piece I`ve toyed with for a while now. I eventually wrote lyrics to it, so it`s a full length song in memory of my father James, whose grandchildren called him "Paka". It has a Chet Atkins style picking pattern in alternate tuning: E-B-C#-G-B-E. I play the Olson guitar and a Paul McGill resonator guitar on loan from my friend John Schroeter--a beautiful guitar with a great, unique sound. The finger snaps were provided by Nabisco--just kidding--actually off my Korg 01W keyboard.
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An instrumental version, very simply done one day. This has always been a favorite of mine in concerts over the many years since 1980. It was recorded on my "Ph`lip Side" album (vocal version). It`s in D with a dropped E-to-D on the 6th string. Two Olson guitars.
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I sampled in my JamMan a little rhythm pattern about four bars, and then played over it, restarting the pattern again before the sample ran out. This is just a jam with more of a bluesy touch--no key changes--just a groove and "in the pocket". I quote some of my electric licks here and there.
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This is an out-take from my "Beyond Nature" album. Phil Maderia popped in with his National Reso-Phonic guitar; Maderia is playing the slide, I`m flat-picking and playing bass. Later we added tuba while we were doing the horns on "Light Of A Common Day". I was hoping this track would have made the "Beyond Nature" album, but I`m glad to see it appear here. Everyone should hear a real live tuba now and then--even Ralph Vaughn-Williams scored a tuba concert that`s fantastic.
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This is an abridged version of the piece I wrote in memory of my grandparents` 50th wedding anniversary. It`s an E tuning piece (E-E-B-E-B-B), touching on the themes of "No Place Like Home" and "I Want A Girl Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad" with some of my own bits thrown in. I play the Olson on this--two guitars.
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The Langejans guitar here, with a loop created on my own JamMan. A gentle melody, reminiscent of "As Warm As Tears". Although it`s short, your CD player can be programmed to play it over and over again for 24 hours if you like! I think of these short pieces as passing thoughts that sort of come and go. I often hear these kinds of melodies in my head throughout an average day.
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This is a piece that was inspired by the kinds of things that Anthony Phillips has done in the past (eg. "The Geese And The Ghost", one of my old favorite albums from the 70`s).
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This moody piece was one of those recordings I`d forgotten about, and then came upon while trying to identify some old unmarked 7-inch reels of tape, probably from about 1990, perhaps while writing music for "Beyond Nature". Sections are reminiscent of "A Place Of Springs". I can imagine seeing the north coast of Ireland again, with the waves gently breaking on the shore with its interesting rock formations.
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More of the same--Langejans direct into the 8-track, with the JamMan looping the original pass. The closing part is rhythmically similar to Andreas Vollenweider`s style on the electric harp.
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Part II of "Passing Thought"--just a longer version. Same loop, but with more lead work. This is the kind of thing that`s fun to keep going on and on. I often create a loop while practicing, and try my hand at working on different legato phrases such as hammer-ons, chromatic phrases with a bend or two, and harmonies. Call it what you like--I`ll call it a reprise of a reprise.
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A touch of "Symphonic Dance" from "Beyond Nature". If you yawn, you may miss it as it passes by quite suddenly.
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The closing number, in a C tuning, alternates from C minor (C-G-C-G-C-Eb) to C major (C-G-C-G-C-E) on the fly. I`ve played this in concert now and then over the past few years. Finally I just played it direct to tape with slapping harmonics and bends. This is a lot of fun to play, and it has an ascending section that gives it some attempt at a melodic flow. I liken this piece to "The Reunion" from "The Wind And The Wheat" which, like "Del`s Bells", was Hedges-inspired.
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CD Information
