LR: Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Thanks for the LR replies yesterday. Seems I'm the only one who thinks a buffet doesn't necessarily spell bad things. I agree most of their clientele appear to get their money's worth & more, on a regular basis. I'm not exactly at my goal weight, but I tend to stay within about 5# of it, thanks to good food choices & almost daily work outdoors or exercise. I'm most likely to overeat at breakfast than any other meal.

Q-1: Does one meal tempt you more than others?

I don't think anyone had read George Fullerton's original book. Watch for it on ebay or amazon - it shows up now & then. Written some time ago but interesting pictures & perspectives from George when he was younger. I used to grab one every time I saw it on ebay then would pass it along to someone with a G&L trade. Throwing one of those $10 books into the deal stopped all the negotiating. Several of them had been signed by George.

As I mentioned, George signed copies of both of my books written by him. That makes both books very special. The only book that is more special to me is one I wrote myself that now contains the autographs of Dale Hyatt, George Fullerton, Les Paul [he signed it for me in his dressing room], Will Ray, Doyle Dykes, Joe Wilson, Darth Invader Dave, all the GbL'ers I've met in person, & the Michigan Jammers. There are 2 more names I hope to have in there one day: Vince Gill & BB King. I'm working on it., This book will be passed on to my son in a will.

Q-2: If you could meet 15 minutes face to face with an artist you admire, who would that be?

LUNCH: Leftovers today - probably made creatively into what will look like a salad. With green tea, fruit, & yogurt. I think fresh fruit & yogurt make wonderful desserts.

SONGWRITING: 2 things I've heard & read over the years about enhancing GUITAR playing was to listen to music in a genre you don't often listen to & practice some in a genre you don't often try to play in. I say that also applies to dealing with songwriting blocks or starting the creativity processes. To those I would add playing in an altered tuning and playing an instrument you know little about. I have a book of altered tunings for guitar; there are many. Many artists like Chet Adkins, Neil Young, etc used them often. I keep my little parlor guitar tuned to D-A-D-G-A-D, an international favorite. I have an old Yamaha acoustic that I keep tuned to a really weird tuning of mostly "C" octaves that was shown to me by an artist in Maine 2 years ago. She has many cd's & uses that tuning in almost half the songs on her cd's & in concerts. There are 2 instruments that I have around that I don't play. I only use them to "noodle around" & experiment for melody ideas. One is a rather inexpensive mandolin & the other is a Yamaha keyboard with lots of bells & whistles that I snagged for $40 on Craigs List.

Q-3: Ever use altered tuning to practice, perform, or create with? Why or why not?

HUMOR: One of THE most colorful characters in GbL history was Cajun Boy. Hard to imagine anyone enjoying life more than him. Great fiserman, too. Hope he's well; would still like to meet him one day. He was probably most noted for his postings of the "peeping Tom" images of the newlyweds next door, pictures of guys peeing in public places, his "Spongebob Squarepants" custom guitar, his down & dirty lyrics to his gig songs, & some indescribable photos. He claimed this was a "live" shot of him in one of his gigs:


Come on, folkz, my hard drive is begging for more images of this type!!!!!!!!!

Ok, who wants the driver's seat next week? This is fun.

Jay

Jay, I have really been out of pocket this week

I am a meat and potatoes guy and have been at the same weight for years. I do like a good buffet also.

I would like to sit down with Vince Gill but there are many others, some on this forum that I would like to meet in person.

I do use a drop D tuning on some songs. It does give a different sound and is required on some cover songs. I did read your book Jay and really enjoyed it My wife also saw a lot of humor in it. Have to run-- Darwin

a meal is a meal to me, doesn't matter what time of the day, it's fuel, i eat it.

i am not struck by celebrity, don't really admire any artist in particular, i do however enjoy their music. meeting them makes no difference to me. i would rather meet certain scientists face to face like hawking or sam harris for conversation.

i tune down the low e to d or c sometimes on my acoustic if a piece calls for it. other than i pay in standard tuning.

there are many others, some on this forum that I would like to meet in person. I do use a drop D tuning on some songs. It does give a different sound and is required on some cover songs. I did read your book Jay and really enjoyed it My wife also saw a lot of humor in it. -- Darwin

Agree there are many others I'd like to meet & get them to sign my book - you, for one. Always a contributor. I'd also like to get McCartney, Keef & Mick, Tommy Emmanuel, & as many of my faves as I could track down the rest of my life.

Drop D is used by many artists today. Keith Urban is another I like who uses it.

Glad your wife enjoyed it; I hope she is more understanding & forgiving of your affliction for reading it. LOL!

Q-1: Does one meal tempt you more than others?
Maybe not so much the meal (time of day) as much as what is on the plate in front of me. A good omelet is tough to beat, as is anything Italian with sausage! I'm also a sucker for a good Philly Cheesesteak. Tough to find in the midwest. Of course, one of the ways I lost 55 lbs in the last year was by avoiding the things I just mentioned!

Q-2: If you could meet 15 minutes face to face with an artist you admire, who would that be?
Tough choice. I suppose I'd like to meet Jennifer Lopez so I could ask her face to face if she wanted to run away with a balding old man!

Q-3: Ever use altered tuning to practice, perform, or create with? Why or why not?
I didn't for a long time because I was wrapped up learning stuff for the band. A friend got me interested in alternate tunings for some of the Rolling Stones stuff we play. I messed with it a bit, and there is definitely a difference in tone between the altered tuning and playing something close in standard tuning. I kind of put that aside, though, once we got a new singer on board and we began building a new set list. At some point I'll experiment with that some more, but it'll have to wait till we're back up to speed with a full set list.

HUMOR: One of THE most colorful characters in GbL history was Cajun Boy.
Yep, can't argue that point! I wonder what ever happened to him????

Come on, folkz, my hard drive is begging for more images of this type!!!!!!!!!
I don't have much to offer, other than this shot of the girl who tried to pick you up at the last Michigan Jam. That chick sure could party.

When I attend a cookout or am a guest at someone's house, I sometimes over eat and pay the price for doing so the next day. I have got to learn to control my appetite.
I am resolving to eat better in the future. Even at 58, you can learn to eat healthier.

Meet someone for 15 minutes: I wish that I could've met Jaco Pastorius for even 15 minutes but I would want more time with him. He was an incredible musical mind.


Altered tuning: Mark- the rhythm guitarist. lead singer in my band RAGs, plays a Line6 guitar and he uses altered tunings on several blues tunes. the guitar does it electronically so the actual tuning of the instrument is never changed.
On Bass I often use a drop D tuning for the 4th string, just to get more bottom in songs like " Pink Cadillac".

I think Cajun Boy may have met a good woman and therefore he is too preoccupied with his life to pay this site much attention, but I could be wrong, since I don't know the guy at all. I wish him luck and I hope he is doing well.

Meal I look forward to... one that has friends over for dinner, nothing beter than all sitting around a table sharing food

Celebrity I'd like to meet........... dont know if I really want to meet my idols. Met a few after gigs but only a handshake and autograph, no time spent. 15mins may be too long!! What if they dont match the expectation? that'd be really bad!

altered tunings... messed aroung in open G , obvious Keef riffs, but apart from that not really.

john

Meal I look forward to... one that has friends over for dinner, nothing beter than all sitting around a table sharing food

john

John, that is truly the best kind of meal. With or without acholic drinks, though a beer, wine, or mixed drink with friends is SO hard to top. I took my first - AND LAST - shot of moonshine with some friends. I don't recommend going that far. In addition to making my insides burn fiercely & my the room spin, I really don't recall much of any conversation or what we ate. Never again. And the more rare the occasion, the more special the meal becomes. I love the time with everyone at the Michigan Jam each year, but the Sunday breakfast before everyone heading separate ways is almost as special. Same with the G&L Shindig I attended in Fullerton a few years back.

j

HUMOR: One of THE most colorful characters in GbL history was Cajun Boy. Hard to imagine anyone enjoying life more than him. Great fiserman, too. Hope he's well; would still like to meet him one day. He was probably most noted for his postings of the "peeping Tom" images of the newlyweds next door, pictures of guys peeing in public places, his "Spongebob Squarepants" custom guitar, his down & dirty lyrics to his gig songs, & some indescribable photos. He claimed this was a "live" shot of him in one of his gigs:

This very flattering image of Cajun Boy was created by yours truly. Just taking credit for a redneck well rendered.

This very flattering image of Cajun Boy was created by yours truly. Just taking credit for a redneck well rendered.

Thanks for the source of this MOST flattering creation of CB. I didn't know where it came from, I just had it in a folder with the others. I think I miss pics like that as much as the technical stuff & the ole lib conservative banter. Best to you.