Last Update: Sunday, January 4, 2009
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August, 2008
Monday, August 04, 2008 Hillside Farm, Meigs County
It’s been a while since I sat down to collect the thoughts that have been trying to get out for the last month or so. Vanessa, Izze, Zach and I went to Budapest for a week’s family vacation. It was nice to go somewhere with Vanessa that was new to both of us. It was a blank canvas for us all to enjoy on equal footing. After a week in Hungary, Zach and I flew down to Rome to join the rest of the Tuna gang for a week’s worth of gigs in Italy. I remember when I first drove around in Italy with my Mom, Dad and brother Pete in our little Millecento Turismo Veloce Fiat. It was a tine car and we all jockeyed to sit shotgun next to Dad. We drove through Italy, up through Central Europe through what was then Scandinavia Andover into Finland where we visited relatives.
I was fifteen then and a wistful sort of kid. I lived in my imagination a lot and long drives with the family were a perfect opportunity to imagine what I would do when I was ‘grown up.’ The fantasy in those moments were to be driving somewhere in the world in a cool car that would, of course, belong to me. It would be raining much of the time, but my headlights would always pierce the darkness and lead my way to wherever I was going. This was before I started to play the guitar, so that didn’t figure into the dream at all. Funny… traveling as always been a large part of my life.
While were traveling through Italy on this trip with Zach and the gang I found myself wondering what might be running through his mind. He is a different kid then I was and I did not see the same sort of quite introspection, but what do I know.
When we got back to the States Zach and I drove up to West Virginia to meet his Mom and returned to Hillside Farm to work on material for my new CD, ‘River Of Time.’ Before we went to Europe I sat down and wrote to new songs for the project, ‘Fairy Tale For Dad’ and ‘Cracks In The Finish.’ I already had a pretty instrument, ‘Izze’s Lullaby,’ but I needed some more original material. I had already settled on ‘River Of Time’ not only as title for the project but I wanted to write a song about. This is a metaphor that follows me every day. Years ago I had a dream about Grandma Kaukonen coming to me and talking about the River and this gave me a chance to bring her back to life in my mind. It was the next to the last day in the studio up at Levon’s and in the morning when I got up I went over to my guitar case to start picking and writing. I looked at the case… it was a Collings case and I don’t own a Collings so I figured I picked up one of Larry’s guitars by mistake. I opened the case and it was not only Larry’s guitar case but it was empty. Well, so much for the picking idea. I knew I didn’t have time to waste so I sat down at the keyboard and started to write. What I wrote was more of a poem than a song but I liked where it was going to I printed it out and took it to Levon’s. While Larry and Barry were doing some overdubs I took my old J-50 out to the picnic table and started to write some music. The cool thing about starting from a poem is that it didn’t follow any of the ‘normal’ music paths I might have normally followed. I really reached on this one and it came up gold for me.
On another song I had been messing with some pretty chord changes for some time. The changes and coalesced into form but I still needed a melody. With to brilliant musicians on board like Barry Mitterhoff and Larry Campbell this one was truly a no brainer. By the time we were done we had a beautiful song that the three of us had written… and thus ‘A Walk With Friends’ was born.
G_d works in mysterious ways and you never know how things are going to turn out. I have wanted to work with Larry Campbell for some time and I can only hope that he at least almost as much fun as I did. Barry’s magic was turned loose for real on this one and he sparkled as he does so often. To get Levon Helm to play drums on three of the tunes was a dream come true. Actually, the whole project was a dream come true. Most of the basics were cut with me playing my old 1956 J-50 which I have owned since it was new. It is the guitar that I learned to finger pick on… it is the guitar that I wrote ‘Embryonic Journey’ on, it is the acoustic guitar that I played with Janis Joplin, on Airplane records and on my Hot Tuna recordings. It is an old friend. When I hold this instrument I hold the span of my years in a tangible way. I love this guitar. The other instrument that I used was the M-42 Martin guitar that David Bromberg himself picked out for me. I hope I live long enough for this beauty to become an old guitar.
Now that I’m back home there are home things to be done. I just took Izze to school and I’m trying to catch up on computer stuff. I am listening to my roughs and I am so pleased with what we all did last week. That I should be able to channel such beauty is amazing to me indeed. I tend to take myself for granted and not attach to much importance to what I do as an artist.
Well… in my song writing on this CD, I followed my own advice and wrote diligently where and whenever I felt the spirit moving. I wish I did that all the time. Moments of creation are fleeting and must be captured before they dissipate like ripples on a pond. Well, I should have done that for this little entry but at least it’s done now.
Monday, August 04, 2008 Hillside Farm, Meigs County
It’s been a while since I sat down to collect the thoughts that have been trying to get out for the last month or so. Vanessa, Izze, Zach and I went to Budapest for a week’s family vacation. It was nice to go somewhere with Vanessa that was new to both of us. It was a blank canvas for us all to enjoy on equal footing. After a week in Hungary, Zach and I flew down to Rome to join the rest of the Tuna gang for a week’s worth of gigs in Italy. I remember when I first drove around in Italy with my Mom, Dad and brother Pete in our little Millecento Turismo Veloce Fiat. It was a tine car and we all jockeyed to sit shotgun next to Dad. We drove through Italy, up through Central Europe through what was then Scandinavia Andover into Finland where we visited relatives.
I was fifteen then and a wistful sort of kid. I lived in my imagination a lot and long drives with the family were a perfect opportunity to imagine what I would do when I was ‘grown up.’ The fantasy in those moments were to be driving somewhere in the world in a cool car that would, of course, belong to me. It would be raining much of the time, but my headlights would always pierce the darkness and lead my way to wherever I was going. This was before I started to play the guitar, so that didn’t figure into the dream at all. Funny… traveling as always been a large part of my life.
While were traveling through Italy on this trip with Zach and the gang I found myself wondering what might be running through his mind. He is a different kid then I was and I did not see the same sort of quite introspection, but what do I know.
When we got back to the States Zach and I drove up to West Virginia to meet his Mom and returned to Hillside Farm to work on material for my new CD, ‘River Of Time.’ Before we went to Europe I sat down and wrote to new songs for the project, ‘Fairy Tale For Dad’ and ‘Cracks In The Finish.’ I already had a pretty instrument, ‘Izze’s Lullaby,’ but I needed some more original material. I had already settled on ‘River Of Time’ not only as title for the project but I wanted to write a song about. This is a metaphor that follows me every day. Years ago I had a dream about Grandma Kaukonen coming to me and talking about the River and this gave me a chance to bring her back to life in my mind. It was the next to the last day in the studio up at Levon’s and in the morning when I got up I went over to my guitar case to start picking and writing. I looked at the case… it was a Collings case and I don’t own a Collings so I figured I picked up one of Larry’s guitars by mistake. I opened the case and it was not only Larry’s guitar case but it was empty. Well, so much for the picking idea. I knew I didn’t have time to waste so I sat down at the keyboard and started to write. What I wrote was more of a poem than a song but I liked where it was going to I printed it out and took it to Levon’s. While Larry and Barry were doing some overdubs I took my old J-50 out to the picnic table and started to write some music. The cool thing about starting from a poem is that it didn’t follow any of the ‘normal’ music paths I might have normally followed. I really reached on this one and it came up gold for me.
On another song I had been messing with some pretty chord changes for some time. The changes and coalesced into form but I still needed a melody. With to brilliant musicians on board like Barry Mitterhoff and Larry Campbell this one was truly a no brainer. By the time we were done we had a beautiful song that the three of us had written… and thus ‘A Walk With Friends’ was born.
G_d works in mysterious ways and you never know how things are going to turn out. I have wanted to work with Larry Campbell for some time and I can only hope that he at least almost as much fun as I did. Barry’s magic was turned loose for real on this one and he sparkled as he does so often. To get Levon Helm to play drums on three of the tunes was a dream come true. Actually, the whole project was a dream come true. Most of the basics were cut with me playing my old 1956 J-50 which I have owned since it was new. It is the guitar that I learned to finger pick on… it is the guitar that I wrote ‘Embryonic Journey’ on, it is the acoustic guitar that I played with Janis Joplin, on Airplane records and on my Hot Tuna recordings. It is an old friend. When I hold this instrument I hold the span of my years in a tangible way. I love this guitar. The other instrument that I used was the M-42 Martin guitar that David Bromberg himself picked out for me. I hope I live long enough for this beauty to become an old guitar.
Now that I’m back home there are home things to be done. I just took Izze to school and I’m trying to catch up on computer stuff. I am listening to my roughs and I am so pleased with what we all did last week. That I should be able to channel such beauty is amazing to me indeed. I tend to take myself for granted and not attach to much importance to what I do as an artist.
Well… in my song writing on this CD, I followed my own advice and wrote diligently where and whenever I felt the spirit moving. I wish I did that all the time. Moments of creation are fleeting and must be captured before they dissipate like ripples on a pond. Well, I should have done that for this little entry but at least it’s done now.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Hillside Farm, Meigs County
I got an email from Mary Meade. She told me that she had lived in Yellow Springs in the early sixties and that she and her husband knew Ian Buchanan. ‘Would you like a CD of Ian playing at our house in November of 1962?’ ‘You bet!’ was my reply and indeed she was quick to send my the music. I was home today folding some laundry while I was waiting to drive to town to pick Izze up from school. What a great time to listen to Ian.
As the music came out of the little clock radio I was transported back in time. Many of the songs he played were songs that I tried to learn and that have been a part of my repertoire since… well, at least 1961. There he was, reaching out to me through the years and showing me yet once again, how the tunes went. It occurred to me as I perceived nuances that would have been over my head back then how truly remarkable the man was. It also occurred to me that I would not be the musician I am today had Ian and I not met in Yellow Springs in 1960 and had he not elected to teach me to play.
As I listened to Ian’s performance I realized yet one more time how very much he taught me. In Mary’s own words at the end of her accompanying letter, ‘Ian is not a person you ever forget!’ It has been almost 47 years since I first met Ian… more than two thirds of my life. I owe you more than I can ever repay old friend. I hope you are at peace.
