Lunch Report, and Happy Friday

Today's Lunch:
Today my lunch will consist of a Kale salad topped with slices of hard boiled eggs, jalepeno peppers, red onions and pace mild salsa for dressing. I'll finish with a little babybel cheese wheel.

Music Topic:
Last Song you listened to, and what in particular your impression of the song is.

The last song I listened to was Sherpa by the Tragically Hip.

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My impression of Sherpa:
The melody, a haunting melancholy groove, and the arrangement both work well with the timbre of Gord Downie's voice. It's one of those songs I can put on repeat listen to ten times in a row - just for the groove. It's a slow song, but not without power. It's the kind of song that is easy to play but difficult to write. Your mileage may vary.


Personal-Music Topic: When did you start playing guitar and why:

I started playing when I was 19 - but I would have played earlier if I could have afforded to buy a guitar. To be sure, I played "air" guitar for many years before I was able to get a real guitar. I couldn't tell you exactly when I first began to want to play guitar, but it would have been in my early teen years - when I began to listen to (and admire) bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Police, Eric Clapton, etc.

I remember watching a recording of Jimmy Page playing with Led Zeppelin, and pulling out the violin bow to play Kashmir - that probably was the moment I decided I wanted to -be- Jimmy Page. LOL! Hey - we all gotta start somewhere! I'm a product of that environment. By the time I could afford a guitar, my music tastes began to include a whole lot more blues than rock - but I "blame" my love for guitar on that one video clip where Page seemed to me to be the coolest guy in the world. To this day I still keep my eyes peeled for anyone selling a pair of black bell bottomed slacks with bright red and gold oriental dragons emblazoned down the legs!

First Guitar:
Mine was an early (blonde) 70s Gibson Les Paul Deluxe, which I bought second hand for $600 in '87.


Non-Music: Favorite author(s) growing up.

I think us older guys (50+) read a lot more books than those who now spend all their time reading the Internet. Not judging - just taking notes. So when I grew up, reading books was something most of us did. My favorite author would have been JRR Tolkien. Other authors I admired were all Sci-fi or fantasy writers: Michael Moorcock, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Frank Herbert, Umberto Eco, John Christopher, Stephan R. Donaldson etc.)

I still like to read, and as the father of five kids, I've read a lot of books to my kids - mostly sci-fi *hehe*

Share your lunch thoughts with us today!

Lunch:
Probably a Monster Energy drink and some beef jerky from the gas station.

Last Song
On my gym playlist last night, it was probably Jellybelly by Smashing Pumpkins- I've been experimenting with recording thick layers of rhythm tracks and that was my inspiration- also giving me a reference for what a Big Muff can do. I never mesh well with mine, so trying to get a feel for it.

Started Playing
When I was fourteen I picked up my Dad's 76 Takamine acoustic. Within a year I moved on to electric, and within another year I got much more into it, as I had a car (and thus a space to listen to and get inspiration from music my parents would have told me to turn off if I played it in the house.) My dad in particular was more of a country/folk oldies kind of guy at that point, so my initial point of learning were things like Neil Diamond and Cat Stevens songbooks; I really wanted to rock but didn't have the means to get exposure to actual rock music till, as mentioned, I got my drivers liscence and was exposed to all sorts of ridiculous Nu Metal.

(Dad came around to electric guitar and rock music eventually too later in life- idolized the Eagles, Clapton, Dire Strais etc.)

First Guitar
Above-mentioned Takamine was basically coopted by me when I was fourteen, my dad never asked for it back and bought himself a new acoustic. I still have it. First electric was a plywood Jay Turser with a crazy shape, found on eBay. I played it through my uncle's old Jordan solid state amp and learned how crappy a cheap humbucker can sound- put me on the path to preferring single coils for a long time.

Books
I don't read as much as I used to; in part because I appreciate classical literature too much, and they don't make that any more. Modern writers lost the ability to put together a sentence that is beautiful to read, which is a shame- Modern writers are so focused on a clever plot or idea, they tend to fumble through it with language. On the other hand, read Melville, Dickens, even Fitzgerald etc. and you get often dumb, over-simple/formulaic; or otherwise over-convuluted plots that seem like a mess, but due to their author's skill are much more a joy to read through. Language can be enjoyed in and of itself.

Howdy Dan and thanks for the lunch report, been thinking of these and how much one was needed.

Working from home today, so lunch will be a salami sandwich, cheese and crackers with a San Pelligrino.

Last song listened to was taking my youngest to school today. Linked in iTunes music from phone and listened to some Jerry Garcia and David Grissom, Not For Kids Only. All of my kids have grown to love these old traditional songs, and I like Jerry's acoustic playing against David's mandolin anytime.

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I started playing guitar about 14. Was a huge Beatle fan and between cousins who played, a friend who brought his Martin in to play bluegrass at school one day, and a baby sitter when younger who played her guitar I had to be part of this crowd. The friend with the Martin was quite talented and played with a family band.

First guitar was a Kay Hummingbird copy, Christmas present. High action and of course I wanted an electric, but was a perfect starter drug. First electric was a Fender Musicmaster II that I saved all lawn mowing and allowance I could.

Favorite author(s) growing up. Like you I spent time with a book in hand often. Don't know that I had a favorite, but would read a lot of sports autobiographies, Hardy Boys, military books - ones recall are Seven Came Through (Eddie Rickenbacker story), Old Ironsides and Red Badge of Courage.

I still read quite a bit. Anything from Wolfe, Vonnegut, Updike, music autobiographies to classics. This summers reading included; Jay Farrar (Son Volt and Uncle Tupelo) Falling Cars and Junkyard Dogs very interesting autobiographical short stories, Thomas Pynchon "Inherent Vice" 60's noir, and Rick Bragg's "Prince of Frogtown" southern writer ala Pat Conroy, and now re-reading Brave New World.

Later today will be amp testing. Looking at Vox AC 15, Fender Princeton, or Fender Deluxe Reverb. Growing tired of fender Blues Deluxe or just looking for a cleaner sound. Boogie F-50 Lonestar Special has pretty good clean but will see.

Lunch: Same as every other weekday, a protein shake made with Quest Protein Powder, a scoop of MCT powder and unsweetened Almond/Coconut Milk.

Last listened to: Nick Finzer's "Rinse and Repeat" from his No Arrival album.

Response — good solid straight-ahead jazz. Good to hear a young trombone player with this kind of musical maturity. Looking forward to hearing more from him. Also some tasty guitar work by Alex Wintz.

Started playing my brother's Silvertone acoustic (probably a Harmony or Kay) when I was 10. Got my own when I was 12 and have never looked back. After 51 years of doing it, you'd think I'd be better.

Happy Friday, Dan. Good idea!
Lunch: a bowel of some kind of oats/nuts cereal my wife likes.

Last tunes: was listening to Jimmy Reed this am and jamming along with my firebird. Several favorites of mine by Jimmy are "take out some insurance," big boss man," and "baby what you want me to do."
I was into rock and jazz early on, but the blues runs through all that and I eventually found myself actively listening to blues more and more over the past 20 years, especially going back and listening to the original recordings of many of the blues standards that are covered by so many different artists. Jimmy's songs have straightforward appeal and they tell a life story, with a touch of humor, about how we adapt to everyday life situations, with joy and/or sorrow.

My 1st electric guitar was a hagstrom kent, from the 60's, I bought from a kid who was moving into my house in '74, along with a Kay amp with an 8 in speaker and 3 input jacks, all for $60. It was a strat like copy with a plastic all in one top and pickup/electronics assembly that screwed into the top of the guitar.

I read moderately for a 70's teen, but loved Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the most.
My most recent read was Springsteen's Born to Run autobiography, which IMHO is a must read for any guitarist. Couldn't put it down.

Today's lunch was a sausage roll , an orange and a couple of twobite brownies.
I was wandering youtube the other day and somehow started watching this :

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And then discovered a great song called " Stay Down " by a band called The Lee's of Memory.The song starts at 12:02. You just never know when and where you will find good music. The whole segment is strangely addicting and worth a watch if you are into wood.

I started playing when I bought my first guitar , which was a Takamine Explorer copy. I was around 14 or 15 I think. Bought it on layaway with money from one of my first jobs. I have an older brother who plays guitar and I listened to him play along to his favorite albums. He was very clear that I not go into his room and play his records when he wasn't home. You can guess what I did as soon as he left the house. I was exposed to classic rock , big band, classical...you name it. He showed me how to play an Aerosmith song and that was it ( Sick as a Dog ). I didn't really get serious about it till around 20 or 21 though.

I come from a family of readers so there were books all over the place. I read " Night Shift " by Stephen King when I was 10 and read all of his early books soon after. I'm all over the map these days. Fantasy, Sci-fi, noir. Started with Chandler, Ellroy, John D MacDonald ( one of my favorites , that man could write ) Ross Macdonald, Carl Sagan it goes on and on. Reading about Stalingrad right now ( Lots of Military History too )

Good to see a bit of a tentative revival of the lunch reports over the last six months or so. They did become difficult to keep going on a daily basis in the past but were a great way to help build a community. Maybe once a week (Friday lunch reports?) could be sustainable though.

Lunch - a bowl of tomato soup

The last song I listened to – well technically that would be Sherpa by the Tragically Hip, but coming back to the spirit of the question it would be The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows by Gang of Youth’s.
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While I’ve been a fan of the band since they surfaced a couple of years ago I wasn’t so much listening to the song as watching the clip. My other creative outlet is video production and editing and I continue to be impressed by the skills of the drone pilot and remote camera controller in tracking the bands running front man for a single uncut six minute clip. My impression of the song though - like all of their songs lyrics with substance, in this case delivered with Springsteen Born in the USA like intensity.

When did I start playing – probably since birth but probably seriously around 8 or 9 years old. It seemed natural and inevitable as I was born into a musical family.

First Guitar – well I actually learned on a Strat that my father bought new in 1958. All I can remember at the time was being miffed that I only got to play with that older guitar but wasn’t allowed to touch his new ones LOL. At some point in my early teens I bought myself an Ibanez 2020t.

Books and Reading – I fondly remember many of the authors you referred to. I don’t really have much time for reading these days – particularly as I have a fair bit of reading to do for work. When I do I tend towards biographies (as distinct from auto biographies), recent history and current affairs.
Cheers, Robbie

Great topics Dan, well done and thanks. It's been a while since we had an LR.

Lunch was a left over porch chop and some spinach.

last song I actually listened to was Neil Young, Old Man. A classic tune from the 70s. Neil has always been a mainstay for my listening and performing. I was born with his aura and his style and voice suit my being well.

I started playing guitar at around 14 years old. to get chicks. My dad was a musical genius (for real) and was having some buddies over for dinner and some drinks (mostly drinks) so he went out and bought a nylon string guitar whose brand I cannot remember, a ukulele and a saxophone. When they were done he passed them off to us kids (seven of us) three of the four boys took hold of the guitar and the other took the uke. don't remember what ever happened to the sax. So that was the first guitar I played, never took lessons but was able to entertain my friends with acoustic versions of various rock songs, Neil Young, Beatles, Hendrix, all the usual at the time.

My first electric that I bought brand new was a Guild S-300D. All Mahogany with Dimarzio High distortion pickups. it was a high school graduation present to myself. Formed a few bands, did some solo work and generally just had fun touring around the Northeast New England areas of Stamford, Bridgeport, parts of New York and the like. Had to sell it one day to pay some traffic tickets and regret it to this day.

I used to read a lot but then reading complex contracts became part of my job and I stopped. I read the Tolkien books as others have mentioned but Steven King was always my favorite. I still have some of his books that I have never read. Of course there is also Green Eggs and Ham. My daughters favorite for quite a while. Probably read it a thousand times!!

Tom

Saw last week but didn't get a change to reply. Thanks for the LR Dan!

Last Friday I went to Buona Beef, got a 7" Italian Beef with hot giardiniera. I got the fries against my better judgement and a Slice.

I remember on that day I was listening to Aztec Camera High Land, Hard Rain CD. As I recall the song that was playing as I was driving back to the office with my carry out lunch was "Down the Dip"

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Nice folk song about life having its good times, times of plenty, times of sorrow and pain... I find it to be a catchy pop inspired folk song.

I should preface this by saying I can remember want to play guitar ever since I was four years old. I remember my parents shopping for their first house and asking me which one I liked, I picked the one because I thought the guitar came with the house (silly four year old I was)! I remember my parents to listening to albums on the stereo. Much of my youth revolved around music. I even was a DJ at my college radio station (starting with an overnight show, then a Sunday morning show, and finished with a midday jazz show).

I started playing when I was forty and can thank my daughter for that. I never knew teaching someone how to ride a bike could be so hard and it was taking a long time. I thought she might be the only 1st grader to not know how to ride a bike. Well the wife saved the day and ran across some video that was aimed at adults learning to ride a bike for the first time without training wheels. Well it worked like a charm, within a day she could ride a bike. So to celebrate, she took her to Toy's R Us and told she could pick out one thing. She picked out a First Act acoustic guitar (it was better quality than I expected). Soon after that she started taking lessons. So I started learning from her until I finally was ahead of her (because I committed more time to practice) ans started taking lessons myself from her instructor. She now has four other guitars (two electrics and two acoustics). The First Act is worn out but she keeps it as an art piece on the wall and to remind her where she started from. I'm not exactly sure why she picked guitar. I had a guitar, but never really learned to play it (more on that later) and it basically sat in its case in the closet,, it was rarely ever out. I had actually decided to donate the guitar and amp the year before she got her first guitar.

First guitar... Not sure I would really consider it a guitar. My parents got me an acoustic from Sears but it wasn't good. It made my daughter First Act seem like an USA Martin. So I wouldn't really count that. Next and first real guitar I bought when I 17 or 18. More I think about it, it was probably 17. So I went to the music store and picked up a used import (probably Japan based on the time period) Les Paul copy. It was Cherryburst with flame maple top. As I recall the neck was actually a bolt on. I don't recall the brand. I bought it for $125 iirc. Sadly I wasted those 22 years and never learned to play. So I don't know that I would even truly consider this my first guitar. Which brings me to when my daughter started playing. When she actually enjoyed the lessons and it was clear she was going to stick with it, I finally knoew that I could finally learn to play guitar. At the time I was more interested in Les Paul style guitars. I also recall seeing an ad for Washburn Pilsen guitar which I thought was pretty sweet. So at the time I was intrigued by Washburn (I remember a lot of the "wild guitars" back in my youth in the stores were Washburns) and I like the idea of the Pilsen (interest in beer and family stuff, being part Czech), and actually Washburns headquarters were min my village. So I purchased a Washburn WI-45 Idol. It is honeyburst with flame maple top and winged inlays. I like the what I would call a half horn on the upper bout that makes it look less of a Les Paul copy. I still have this guitar and keep it in the regular rotation, but I really do enjoy and like my G&L's much more.

Reading, embarrassingly I don't read much. Well I should say I don't read novels. My reading tends to be on specific subjects and technical: beer history, beer styles, brewing science / techniques, gear reviews, musician / band interviews and stories, bible studies, and news. So I guess my reading is to learn something rather than for for pure enjoyment (though I do enjoy learning things).

Cheers,
Dan