Guitar Noise

Welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News.

In This Issue

• News and Announcements
• New Lessons and Articles
• Forum News
• Sunday Songwriters Sessions
• Thoughts and Feedback

News And Announcements

Greetings!

Welcome to Guitar Noise News!

Without even asking for it, I got an email with a “scary story” for next month! And it’s a doozy! So where’s yours? Throughout October, we will be posting Scary Stories, mostly brief anecdotes of horror and humor FROM the world of working bands that readers have sent us. If you have a Scary Story to share, please hurry and send it in to Nick, Dan or myself. It would be truly HORRIFYING if we got your story too late. Even MORE horrifying if we didn’t get enough to put up at least one set! Bwaa, ha, ha, ha! (Okay, so I still need to work on that!)

In case you missed out on last year’s tales, you can find them here: Scary Stories

Don’t forget you can now reach me at dhodgeguitar@aol.com – that’s a lot easier to remember, don’t you think?

And, of course, whichever address you write me, you’re probably more interested in learning what’s new this week, no?

New Lessons And Articles

What Key Is It In?
JAMMING AT THE STUDIO
by Laura Lasley

You may not know it, but if you live in or around New York, there’s no excuse for you to not meet and jam with other musicians. Take a tour along with the Lasleys of this terrific place! It’s not only a place to jam, but it may also help you going in brand new musical directions. Check it out!

Band Creation 101
by John Tucker

John Tucker returns with some very sound advice about putting your band together and getting things off the ground. There’s nothing like playing with other people, so take the time to make sure you get the right people for you.

MP3 UPDATE:
Babylon (Songs for Intermediates #1)
Our first Intermediate lesson gets its own MP3 files! Now you can play along with this very cool arrangement of David Gray’s terrific song.

Forum News

Sometime in the very near future (and perhaps it’s already happened!) we will see our 2000th registered forum user. We may yet have more users than Nick has posts!

We’re celebrating with the creation of three new forum pages:

GUITAR NOISE LESSONS
Got a question on a lesson? Don’t quite understand what or how or why? Just want some company as you learn? Come join the gang in the lesson forum

GUITAR AND MUSIC THEORY
Well, who doesn’t have a question about theory? Come on in and get them answered here. Beginning to advanced theory questions are welcome.

SWAP MEET FORUM
Do you have GAS? Do you need to sell your old Strat for a new Les Paul? Post your WTB and NTS requests here, along with your contact information. These posts will be locked after one week, and deleted after one month.

I hope that you take the time to visit these new pages and take advantage of each other’s knowledge and experience. Look forward to seeing you there!

Sunday Songwriters Group

The Sunday Songwriters Group is a Guitar Noise exclusive. Conceived by Ryan Spencer and Nick Torres, the idea is to give songwriters a weekly exercise in order to help develop their lyric-writing skills.

It’s open to everyone. Got an itch to write? Jump on in! Even if you don’t write, you should feel free to critique. After all, you probably have experience listening to songs, no?

For more info, visit the SSG FAQ.

And now that you all know what’s going on…

Sunday Songwriter’s Group Week 48

Last week, we stitched together two random ideas into a concept for a song. This week let’s take your concept and do two things with it.

1. Figure out how that idea can be a lyric. Write down your storyboard of lyrical action.

Some things you might want to think about.

How does it start and end?
Any twists or surprises?
What is your message?

2. Describe where and when or why this story is happening. Give as many details as you can. If you prefer you can do this simply by listing images that come to mind when you think of your story.

Last week my example was:

You walk around Chicago with a guitar and people look at you like you are different. “Who is he?” they wonder. When you see street people talking to themselves or shouting at the sky you look at them like they are different. Are we really all that different? What would happen if you just stopped and started shouting at the sky too?

So this week I might do this for part one:

1. Walking out of the hotel. People trying to figure out who the guy with the guitar is. It makes you feel different, special, maybe a little proud.

2. Walking by the guy with the McDonald’s coffee cup in his hand begging for change and playing his harmonica. You just walk quickly on by and don’t look at him. You aren’t giving him your money. You work for a living. You are glad you aren’t him. Makes you feel different, special, maybe a little proud.

3. Walking on by you wonder if you really are all that different. You turn around, go back, break out your guitar and play with the guy for fun.

4. As you are packing up he asks you if you want half the change the passers-by threw your way when the two of you were playing. Underlying message, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

And maybe this for part two:

It’s August in Chicago. It’s hot enough to break into a sweat just standing there. The loop roars overhead. There is construction all around. People walk by non stop. The smell of food from the local restaurants makes your mouth water. There is pigeon crap all around under the construction scaffolding.

Play fast and loose with the ideas if you like. Use them to jog your brain into creativity, but don’t allow them to limit you. If the idea says “fields of corn” and you want “fields of genetically engineered soybeans,” well, knock yourself out.

Good luck and good writing.

Reviews

A-J Charron provides us with more CD reviews:

Katie Marie: Been Here Before
An excellent EP by the brilliant Katie Marie.

Kevin LaLiberte: Elation
Kevin Laliberté’s classical and gypsy guitar, accompanied by bass and drums is a pleasure for the ears.

Miguel De La Bastide: Siento
This is an album of beautiful music, elegantly performed and passionately understood by a true master.

Garrett Sawyer: Anthem
Beautiful songs, exceptional lyrics, well arranged and well delivered.

Spock’s Beard: Snow
Spock’s latest effort is a double concept album. And their last album with frontman/co-founder Neal Morse.

Spock’s Beard: Feel Euphoria
To find out how a band survives the departure of it’s lead singer and frontman, get this album. I’ve heard others call it the best Spock’s album yet.

Thoughts and Feedback

I saw Warren Zevon in Chicago in the late eighties. He performed solo, playing either the acoustic guitar or the piano depending on the song. Aside from his own pieces, he also did a cover of Billy Idol’s Dancing With Myself.

The news of his death last Sunday wasn’t a shock or a surprise. But, as these things tend to do, it did make me think about him, about life and death and music and songwriting.

Who else has written a song about a relief pitcher?

True to character, when I think of Mr. Zevon as a songwriter, I tend to think of his quieter moments. He had this knack of taking something very trite and worn and then turning it on itself, often with a few words, like this:

If you’re all alone
And you need someone
Call me up
And I’ll come running
Reconsider me
Reconsider me

Until you reach the last two lines, this could be anyone’s typical love song. But with the simple phrase “reconsider me,” you have to do just that. Who is this? What happened (to both of them) to put him in this position? How will it work out?

His songs often left me with more questions than answers, and sometimes I do believe that that’s what life is all about.

I hope you all have a grand week. Stay safe. Ask lots of questions.

And, as always,

Peace

David