Newsletter Vol. 2 # 85 – July 25, 2004

Welcome to the latest issue of Guitar Noise News.

Emails Of The Week

Greetings!

Welcome to Guitar Noise News!

Perhaps that should be “welcome back!” I hope that everyone is having a pleasant summer (or winter depending on your position to the equator) and that this issue of Guitar Noise News finds you all in good health and spirits.

I thought I’d do something a little different this time out and try to address the numerous emails and questions that have been flooding my inbox for the past few months. Mostly because it will save me the trouble of repeating a lot of information! Shall we see?

Q: Hey guys! What’s up? I haven’t gotten a newsletter since the end of May and there haven’t been any new lessons on the home page in like forever. What’s going on?

A: Every year the staff of Guitar Noise takes what we’ve come to call a “sabbatical.” The site essentially shuts down for a period of time; there are no new articles but the forums keep active. Readers who have been with us a while know that this sabbatical tends to coincide with Paul’s habit of leaving Beijing once a year to do something fun and interesting. Okay, last year he didn’t leave Beijing, but it is kind of hard to run the site while directing a movie full time.

Q: Hi! I just recently found Guitar Noise and tried to register with the Forum page. But for whatever reason, it won’t recognize my name or password. What gives? By the way, I love the site!

A: When I said that the forums were active, I should have said “semi-active.” Not that there wasn’t a lot of activity going on, but rather that there were numerous problems as well owing to our switching over to a new server for the forum pages last spring. The short answer is that we’re still working out a lot of little minor glitches. If you have had (or continue to have) problems registering or logging on to the Forum, send a note to Nick, myself or Paul and we’ll try to clear it up as soon as possible. And remember that “as soon as possible” usually doesn’t mean within twenty-four hours!

Q: Hi again! Thanks for giving me a reply about the forum page. But now I have another question. I saw that you have a weekly newsletter and I signed up but haven’t gotten one as yet. Does Guitar Noise News really exist?

A: It certainly does. Usually it comes out every Sunday, but occasionally there are glitches with the newsletter as well. I should note, too, that this particular issue of Guitar Noise News (the one you’re presumably reading now) is a bit different than the ones we’ve done in the past. Usually the newsletter will contain the following “features:”

News and Announcements
New Lessons and Articles
Worth A Look
Email of the Week
Sunday Songwriting Sessions / Sunday Composers
Reviews
Thoughts and Feedback

In addition to these things, it will often contain a bit of information on the Internet pages with which we have an affiliation program. On a rare occasion we might spotlight a particular advertiser.

Q: Dave, Are you okay? You haven’t put any new articles online since before going to Toronto for the Guitar Noise Seminar. Did something happen? What’s going on? Hope you are well.

A: Since Paul is back home in Beijing, and hopefully sufficiently rested from his holiday, we should start getting new lessons and articles and reviews online again on a fairly regular basis. Usually this means two or three new articles each week. This week we’re proud to present a terrific new interview between longtime Guitar Noise contributor Bill Cozzo and Mato, the phenomenal guitarist of the band Indigenous as well as what I believe is a first for Guitar Noise, the initial chapter of a serialized fiction piece by none other than Len Collins, creator of the Guitar Breakthrough tuition software and frequent contributor to this site. Here’s a little rundown of each:

An Interview with Mato Nanji
by Bill Cozzo

Mato Nanji, the incredible guitarist from the band Indigenous, chats with Guitar Noise contributor Bill Cozzo about recording the band’s latest CD, his guitars and amps, playing live, and aspects of the band’s career from early beginnings to playing with legends.

Meet The Dinosaurs
by Len Collins

What happens when Jeff, Lizzie, Alan and Dave get together to form a band? What happens when their band gets a serious look from someone in the music industry? And why do they practice in the Black Lagoon? This first installment of a four-part serial from Len Collins sets the stage for some vital lessons on what it takes to become a band and to move toward getting your music out to the public.

I just recently found Guitar Noise and I have to say I’m very impressed with it. I’ve learned more from reading your articles and lessons these past two weeks than I have taking years worth of lessons. BUT there doesn’t seem to be any new material from you lately. I hope you haven’t stopped working for the site?

A: Not to worry! If my schedule holds up, between teaching and hosting/teaching seminars, I should be back to writing articles on a fairly regular basis in the very near future.

And, by the bye, please call me “David.” “Mr. Hodge” is a little too formal…

Q: Love the site! I’ve got an article I’d like to submit to Guitar Noise. How do I do that?

A: If you’d like to join the ranks of our readers-turned-writers, take a moment to read the information on our submissions page. Then send me your first draft along with a note of introduction. It usually helps to put the word “Proposal” on the subject line of your email.

Please note that it’s very important that you send pieces either as Word Documents or as a Rich Text File. Neither Paul nor myself has very sophisticated computer equipment and we simply don’t have the time to do a lot of transcribing. This may peg us as dinosaurs, but one has to work within the parameters of one’s equipment.

Q: I really, really, really wanted to attend the June 6th Seminar on Neil Young Songs but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to. Will you do that one again?

A: I’d be more than happy to, if there’s enough interest. I’m currently working up a tentative schedule for the rest of 2004 and would love to get your input. Here’s a list of possible topics:

Neil Young Song Seminar
Beginner’s Blues Guitar (also a repeat)
Blues II (for those who’ve taken the Beginner’s workshop)
Introduction to Basic Guitar Maintenance and Minor Repair
Basics of Lead Guitar
Paul Simon Song Seminar
Beginning Bass Guitar

And I’m also thinking that the first Saturday of December might be a perfect time to have a seminar on Christmas songs…

So please let me know your thoughts on these subjects. Or let me know of others you’d be interested in seeing. I look forward to hearing from you on this.

Q: What’s the thing on the Forum page called “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.

Now in our second year (!), Nick and Bob are continuing to put us all through our paces, giving us weekly assignments to help everyone sharpen their abilities.

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.

Every Sunday, Bob posts up a new topic for the week. I look forward to reading your material and hope you take the time to critique my pieces (when I can manage to write one!).

Q: I know this awesome band that I’d like other people to hear about! How can I spread the word?

A: Funny you should mention this. One day a few weeks ago I noticed that Nick had created a whole new page called “Picks and Pans.”

Another way you can tell Guitar Noise readers about a band or CD (or even a particular book, instrument or piece of equipment) is to submit a formal review. We are in the process of putting together a multinational “review team” and when that’s in place we’ll post guidelines to help you submit your review to the right person. In the meantime, though, simply send it along to me and please put the word “review” in the email subject line.

And if you’ve got a CD, book or product that you’d like to have reviewed for the site, please (for the time being) contact me and I’ll get you to the right person.

Q: A friend of mine thought she saw Paul in Boston the first weekend of June. I told her she was crazy. Is she?

A: Not necessarily! Paul was indeed visiting the Western Hemisphere for his vacation this year. He popped in at Toronto and took part in the Guitar Noise Seminar we had there. From Toronto, he came home with me for a week and then spent a weekend in Boston before heading back to Canada. I hear he spent some time in July visiting British Columbia before heading back to China.

Q: So now that everyone’s back in place, can we assume that like will go on per usual at our favorite guitar website?

A: Yes and no. Paul and I did a great deal of talking concerning the future of the Guitar Noise web site and throughout the rest of the year. We’ll be talking with you about our ideas. As always, your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Q: Dave, I know you get a lot of email. But did you really get all these emails or is this some kind of cute prank?

A: A little of both, actually!

Q: Finally, why “peace?” I mean, it’s cool and everything but how did you come about signing your emails that way?

A: I sign my emails with “peace” because I sign my personal correspondence that way. And if you ask my friends, you find that I’ve been doing that at least since my college days (mid-to-late 1970’s).

Why? Originally it started, as most of these things do, with a questioning of the status quo. I’d often sign letters with “Sincerely yours,” or “Love,” depending on the recipient. Both have their quirks. If I don’t sign “sincerely” does that mean I wouldn’t normally be sincere? And let’s not even get to “love…”

So I mentally and emotionally set off to find a place that made me happy; a place where sincerity and love were both byproducts and not ends in and of themselves. And “peace” is what I discovered.

To me, peace is all about accepting one’s place in the world. That sounds pretty passive and I don’t mean it to be. It’s about knowing that you’re part of a huge thing called life that’s going on with or without you. And it’s about knowing that every person and each thing you come in contact with everyday is part of that. Now you can go about trying to change, to improve, to ignore, whatever helps you cope with things. But you have to make yourself a part of it all. Not a superior part, looking down on the rest of creation with compassion or contempt; neither an inferior part, hoping to avoid notice and certainly abstaining from participation. Simply being a part of everything.

Peace is not an easy thing to find. The ego tends to get in the way a lot, taking everything as a personal insult. And peace is not an easy thing to maintain. Your sense of balance has to be constantly at work.

But when you have peace, all the other things, such as sincerity or love, that you could ever want or, much more importantly, ever want to give, are usually right there along with it.

So how can I not wish it for everyone who reads this site? Especially since music probably does more to contribute to my stores of peace than anything else?

I hope all of you have a terrific week. Welcome back! I look forward to hearing from you and, of course (and always), I wish you…

Peace

David

Q: Do you still have the stuff about unsubscribing?

A: Sure do! It’s here at the bottom with the copyright information.