LUNCH: We gotta do a weekly town run to get groceries & a few things. Probably go to the good ole Golden Corral buffet. I'll rely my usual restraint & likely have a fresh salad, some grilled chicken & cooked veggies, then treat myself to some melon for dessert. I really like the food at Golden Corral - hope you have one near you. The word "buffet" is the most common spoken word in this town..,.., & it shows.
Q-1: Whatcha think of buffet places - good idea? beware?
SONGWRITING: Every songwriter I know keeps a notepad or recording device [pocket recorder, cell phone, etc] handy to capture an idea, thought, phrase that just might wind up as a lyric or melody in a future song. One of my songwriting buddies' best work came when he & his wife were in a booth at McDonald's & he overheard a conversation in the booth behind him with a couple trying to quietly discuss getting a divorce while their kids were playing at their feet under their table. He jotted notes, lyrics, on his napkin until he could get home. From that came a song called "Waiting To Here" about the long way from playing grownup wearing Daddy's boots & Mama's heels to here in divorce court. He recorded it & gets requests for it at every performance.
I frequently make messages to myself into my iphone, wherever I am. Sometimes it's a full or partial lyric, sometime it's a concept. Sometime it is an actual bar or 2 on the guitar or a keyboard. Just bits & peices; never a full verse. I keep a pen in my hand in church, lectures, & presentations of all kinds. I make notes in a booklet of titles & phrases. I create a new title on a fresh page or add related words to that or existing pages as things hit me from out of nowhere. OK, so my mind wanders a bit.......... well, a lot, really. What I've done is found a way to USE that tendency. No one has ever questioned me about making notes on anything I was listening to. Example: one Sunday in church, I either heard, read, or thought of the words "River of...." Since then I've added these related words: life, God, soul, tears, fools, dreams, time, shame, whiskey, gloom, love, choice, peace, joy, truth, freedom, eternity, power, desire, evil, light, darkness, no return, mist, voices, blues, ..... & I'll keep adding to it & drawing from it over time. And that's only ONE page of many pages of unsensored possibilities for a song or song parts. I keep the booklet handy for deposits & withdrawals.
Q-2: Do you use any techniques like that or know of such used by others?
G&L: I have always enjoyed reading about the history & evolution of G&L. George Fullerton's books: "Guitar Legends ~ The Evolution of the Guitar from Fender to G&L" & "Guitars From George & Leo" I find very fascinating. To make them even more special, George Fullerton signed each of my copies of those books. Though his most recent one, "Guitars From George & Leo" is about 3 times as long & packaged more professionally, I still like his first one more. They're worth having in any G&L enthusiasts' library. Sometimes they show up on ebay for cheap.
Q-3: Do you prefer one of these Fullerton books over the other?
HUMOR: OK, let's see more. Here's one I got off this site a few years back
Tomorrow,
Jay
