Categories
Bluegrass Music

My Week at SPBGMA

I got back from Nashville and the SPBGMA conference a few days ago, and I will go over some of the notable high and low points that I experienced. These will come about at random, whether good or bad. There will also be thoughts not only about the conference, but about the city as well, since it has been over four years since I last visited for a music conference.

Networking – one thing about bluegrass artists that one doesn’t see with much other formats is that they are very approachable. Pretty much all of the bands showcasing on the main stage will also set up a merch table and enjoy talking to the fans. They are also more than willing to talk to someone like me who is looking to shop some songs for the band to record. Once a band or its members get to know how dedicated you are to the craft, you get to be closer to them. Some of the bands that I got to know better and developed a relationship with during the week were The Kody Norris Show, Nu-Blu, and The Edgar Loudermilk Band.

Article Material – I was able to talk to a number of fiddle players for future articles in Fiddler. One of these article I hope to complete is a coverage of The Violin Shop, a music store on the outskirts of the city (more on this later).

International Band Championship – About a dozen bands that are not A-list bluegrass performers compete for a large cash prize and SPBGMA promotion at the next year’s conference. A few were OK, but most were at the top of their game. You could tell that they work hard not only on their instruments and vocals, but also a rapport with the audience. The two bands that impressed me the most eventually took First and Second Place (Sylamore Special and Off the Rails, respectively). The complete list can be found at https://bluegrasstoday.com/sylamore-special-wins-2024-spbgma-band-championship/ .

Rhonda Vincent – There is a reason she is called The Queen of Bluegrass, A fantastic performer, wonderful singer, and totally personable with her fans. On Saturday, she filmed part of a new video (covering the old Olivia Newton-John song “Please Mister, Please”) with a number of young bluegrass pickers backing her up. Sorry for the blurry photo, it comes from a screenshot of the video I did and wasn’t able to upload the video.

Jamming 24/7 – Not sure if this is good or bad. This is what a lot of people attend SPBGMA and IBMA for — many of them don’t even bother to register for the conference. From Thursday through Sunday, there were at least five jam sessions going on in the main lobby of the hotel during peak hours, Moreover, there were jams going on in a number of hotel rooms throughout the night and into the morning hours. Now I am an early riser for my job, so even though I was on vacation, I was hitting the sack pretty early, and with the time difference (Central Time, and I live in Eastern Time), I found that I could not stay up too late to enjoy the wandering festivities. Thank God that I brought some good earplugs with me so that I could get some sleep. Heck, when I would get up in the morning, you could still hear some people jamming down the hallway. Of course, you wouldn’t see much people at the conference morning sessions. But if you are into listening to live music at all hours of the day and night, this is your weekend!

Sequins – I swear, with the exception of one band in the aforementioned championship competition, all of the females in those bands were wearing sequins. It tended to look tacky. It made me think that the bands cared too much for the looks and that they were auditioning for Las Vegas or Branson, Missouri rather than a bluegrass festival. It just doesn’t look good in my opinion.

Songwriter Workshop vs. Showcase – One of the seminars was listed as a Songwriters Workshop. This consisted of four bluegrass songwriters (Daryl Mosley, Johnny Williams, Jeanette Williams, and Raymond McLain). The performers each performed a few of their original songs, and talked about where the inspiration came from. To me, this is more like a showcase than a workshop. A songwriter workshop would entail successful songwriters working with aspiring songwriters on improving on their craft, such as discussing subject matter, arrangements, and even taking an idea and making it into a song together. I hope that SPBGMA considers how to promote this or create an actual workshop next year.

Hotel Parking – The Sheraton Airport Hotel has been host to the SPBGMA event for a number of years, and I would think that they would have a little better control of parking. They did have an extra lot about a 1/4 mile away that would have shuttle service, but it seemed that they still allowed non-hotel guests and non-conference attendees to park in the hotel lot until it was full, so if you were registered at the hotel and went off site for a while, you didn’t have a spot to park when you came back. There was a person at the gate entrance telling people about the shuttle service, but his suggestion only seemed to work when the hotel lot was completely full. I found myself walking a long distance twice getting back to the hotel while carrying some baggage. A better way to handle it would have been unless you had a hotel room, you should be forced to park in the supplemental lot and take the shuttle in.

Waffle House – We don’t have them in Michigan, so I hit one every chance that I get going south. Fortunately, there was one about two blocks from the hotel, so I was in Heaven. You can bet that I was there every morning that I stayed down there. The breakfast bowls with hash browns, cheese, and egg and choice of meat (my preference was sausage) are to die for.

Jack’s BBQ – Another favorite place of mine in Nashville. Now that downtown is pretty much ruined by progress, I don’t visit that location, so I go to one southwest on Charlotte St. The brisket and Texas sausage are cooked to perfection, and they have some amazing sauces, with the Carolina being my favorite.

Elliston Place – Another favorite restaurant, although I didn’t go to it, and probably never will again, because of …

Downtown Parking – The days of parking meters, even in areas like Music Row and the Gulch, are gone. I understand paying a king’s ransom in a lot downtown, but in the street in front of Elliston Place (and other areas), the meters have been replaced with signs showing a QR code. You have to scan the code, then enter your credit card number in the app. I feel sorry for anyone, especially from the older generation, who doesn’t understand this technology. Nashville central has made itself into a tourist trap. A candy bar is $3.00, and so is a 1/2-litre bottle of soda.

Hotel Food – Just as bad is the cost of the hotel food. It knows that a lot of the guests won’t venture away from the hotel, so it was charging $8.00 for a hot dog, $14.00 for a hamburger, $12.00 for a ham sandwich, and $3.00 for a banana.

Exhibit Hall – While not nearly as big as the one found at IBMA, there were a few interesting vendors. I did pick up a great t-shirt with the US flag but the stripes are violin bows. There were some nice new and vintage guitars, as well as banjos and a fiddle table. They had a second room for exhibitors, but it was almost empty with the exception of two music schools having tables. It would be great if more vendors would show up for this, as people do take an interest in buying bluegrass-related swag as well as trying out different instruments.

Nashville Music Stores – Because of the gentrification of downtown, long-time businesses have either closed up or moved away from there. Carter’s Vintage Guitars is still near downtown, so you have to pay for parking to visit. Fortunately, two of my favorite shops, Gruhn’s Guitars and The Violin Shop, have moved to the outskirts of town and have ample free parking. Any guitarist visiting Nashville has to make a stop at Gruhn’s. It is pure Heaven in there, although everything has a high price. Same with The Violin Shop and fiddlers. However, both stores know that a lot of people come in to just admire the selection, and you can always buy a t-shirt or keychain to prove that you were there. Grimey’s Record Store also moved out of its original location to the East Nashville area, but I wasn’t able to get to it this time.

Potholes – Now here in Michigan, we grow potholes like Hawaii grows pineapples. They are everywhere, so we are used to rough pavement. Sometimes, our road commissions will get out there and fill them so there aren’t too many damaged wheel rims and axles. Two weeks ago, Nashville had a big snowstorm, and as the snow melted, it caused a fair amount of potholes, especially on highways that usually don’t experience these problems. The city’s solution? Just post highway signs that say “Rough Road – Please Use Caution.”

Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge – I used to love hitting The Station Inn every time I visited Nashville. However, it is completely surrounded by high-rise apartments, and parking, even pay-to-park, is next to impossible to secure. It’s not worth the fight. Fortunately, two bluegrass artists were doing shows at Dee’s in Madison (a northern suburb of Nashville). The place is a dive to say the least, but is perfect in my eyes. While it is not strictly bluegrass (band bookings include jazz, R&B, rock and country), a lot of bluegrass artists that live in the area hang out there no matter who is on stage. I have found my favorite bar down there!

Frugal MacDoogal’s – If you ever crossed a large department store, a dollar store, and a liquor store, this would be it. An absolute amazing selection of beers, wines and liquors, and prices are very good. This is another place I visit any time I am in Nashville.

The Kody Norris Show – Kody is a true entertainer, combining Jimmy Martin, Bill Monroe, Porter Wagoner, and George Jones. He and his band dress to the nines in Manuel suits, but the charm is how tight the band is when performing. Kody, his wife fiddler Mary Rachel, and the rest of the band are extremely friendly to their fans, and Kody went out of his way to catch up with me and talk business during some downtime.

Vickie Vaughn – seeing Vickie the night before I was scheduled to head back to Detroit was the best gift that I could ask for. I first met Vickie in 2014 at a Leadership Bluegrass meeting, and since then we have remained great friends, even though we don’t get to see each other much. I have always called her my “kid sister” because of how our personal paths have paralleled. Since I have known her, her career as a bluegrass bassist has bloomed to playing with High Fidelity, Della Mae, and winning Bass Player of the Year this past September at the IBMA Awards Show. She is truly one of the most beautiful ladies and wonderful people that is in my life, and I will always love her.

That’s enough for now. Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

This Weekend at SPBGMA

I had a few minutes break from the SPBGMA conference here in Nashville. So far it’s been great! I’ll post more about it next week. Here’s a quick pic of the Edgar Loudermilk Band performing a showcase. Until next week, stay safe!

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Mandolin Bluegrass Music

So Why Did I Buy Another Mandolin?

So back during the pandemic days, I received a $400 debit card from the government. It was the last payment to me before I got a job, and I am not sure why they put it on a debit card instead of the usual sending the money straight to my bank account. Anyway, I completely forgot about it since I was now working.

Fast forward over two years, and while cleaning out my wallet a few weeks ago, I came upon the debit card. I went online and it still had the full amount available, but it was set to expire in about a month. Well, I wasn’t bound to let $400 slip away, but to be honest, I really didn’t know what I would use it for. I am pretty well set as far as basic necessities like food, paying utilities, and clothing. My thought was to treat myself to something special.

I didn’t want to splurge on an expensive meal. No, I wanted to get myself something to last me for a while. I first thought about a pizza oven, but I knew that I would probably use it once or twice, then it would gather dust in the garage. I also considered getting myself a handgun for protection at home, but because it was government money, they would probably deny that purchase the way the current administration is trying to suspend the second amendment.

My choice was then something in the musical instrument field. I have way too many acoustic guitars, and $400 wasn’t going to get me anything as good or better than I already have. The same goes for the bass. I have a banjo, dobro, and fiddle that I work with, but nothing to inspire me to get something more, again not for $400.

I always wanted a F-style mandolin, but the price was always out of reach. I have a decent A-style mandolin which I played regularly until I switched over to fiddle a while back. However, recently I saw that The Loar company (a stringed instrument manufacturer out of China) was marketing a LM-310F model, retailing for $400 through Guitar Center.

(WARNING: If you do an internet search on the The Loar LM-310F, you will find that a number of retailers are selling this model for $100 or less. DO NOT BE TEMPTED! These are international criminal rings that get your credit card information, keep emailing you about a delay in shipping, then after 30 days, you will never hear from them and you get nothing in return. Often these thieves will also sell your credit card information so that you will be REALLY screwed, and it will be difficult to get back your money, unless you have a really good credit card bank).

The GC near my house actually had a LM-310F at the store, and after trying it out by playing a sloppy version of “Bluegrass Stomp,” I knew that I wanted it. Since it was the floor model and they didn’t have any stock in the store room, I got a nice discount, and was able to pick up a heavy-duty gig bag for the $400 plus some change.

Let me tell you, this thing has a great bark to it when strumming those bluegrass chops, and the tone is nice and warm, way more closer to what a bluegrass mandolin usually sounds like instead of an A-style. It has a solid spruce top, a narrow V-cut neck (which is great for my smaller hands), and a nice satin finish. The main difference one can see compared to a standard Gibson F-5 mandolin is that the fretboard ends at the 20th fret. There is no upper extension of the fretboard over the body that made the Gibson model famous (along with a guy named Bill Monroe using it as his main weapon).

I have fallen in love with the mandolin all over again. I enjoy messing around with it while watching television, but I do plan on practicing on it more once I return from the SPBGMA conference next week in Nashville (NOTE: I may be late on next week’s blog, or even miss it entirely, due to the conference, but I will give a full review when I get back).

I would definitely recommend this mandolin for those moving up from a beginner A-style model but still not having the cash to afford a more costly F-style model (https://www.theloar.com/)

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Bluegrass Music

Audie Blaylock RIP

A few disappointments for me over the past 24 hours. The first one was that I missed the John McEuen show at The Ark due to a really bad snowstorm here in the Detroit area Friday night. The second one I just learned about as I was beginning to write this blog.

Audie Blaylock passed away earlier this week at the age of 61. While he was not a household name in the bluegrass industry, he left an indelible mark on the bluegrass music scene. Although born in Texas, he grew up most of his early life in Lansing, Michigan, playing in local bands and being a regular face at Elderly Instruments. Professionally, he started out playing mandolin for Jimmy Martin in the early 1980s, and went on to work with a number of other artists, including Red Allen, Lynn Morris, Chris Jones, and Rhonda Vincent (where I first met him). He then started a solo gig with his band Redline, as well as worked with fiddle master Michael Cleveland.

His home base was Auburn, Indiana, so he was a regular performer at bluegrass festivals in the Indiana/Ohio/Michigan area. I became good friends with his one-time fiddler Patrick McAvinue, whom I still talk to and recently wrote an article on for Fiddler. Audie was always friendly to his fans and fellow musicians. Learning a lot from his time with Jimmy Martin, his band was always tight when it came to performances, especially song arrangements.

His crowning achievement came in 2004, when he helped coordinate the Grammy nominated album A Tribute to Jimmy Martin: The King of Bluegrass. The recording gathered up some of the best in bluegrass, including J.D. Crowe, Sonny Osborne, Paul Williams, Kenny Ingram, and Michael Cleveland. He always had a high regard for Martin, and continued to perform many of Martin’s songs live and on recordings.

I went to see Audie and his band many times, as he was more than happy to do gigs in the Detroit area outside of bluegrass festivals. Talking with him was like talking to your next-door neighbor. He was interested in everything, be it music, musical instruments, automobiles and hot rods, farming, and woodworking. He proved to be a great bandleader, in that his bandmates always had great respect for him even after pursuing other projects.

I am sure now that Audie is performing once again with Jimmy at that bluegrass festival in the sky. You will be missed down here, sir.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Musicians

John McEuen: A Legend

This coming Friday I will be skipping my company’s holiday party to go to a concert that I know that I will enjoy much more. John McEuen of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band fame is doing a solo show at The Ark in Ann Arbor. If there has ever been a complete entertainer in the Americana realm, it is John McEuen!

I have always been a fan of the NGDB, and thought that McEuen was the ultimate in cool with that grizzled beard and dark stare from his eyes. Any true fan of roots music, particularly traditional country, folk, and bluegrass, has a copy of the classic 1972 album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, in which the band brought in country pioneers Merle Travis, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Vassar Clemens, Jimmy Martin and Mother Maybelle Carter to record country and folk standards. This three-record set continues to be popular with Americana audiophiles, and spawned two follow-up albums in 1989 and 2002.

McEuen joined the band when it was starting out in 1966, performed on some of its most iconic songs (“Mr. Bojangles,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “Fishin’ in the Dark”), playing guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle, and was in the band when it was the first US rock band to tour the Soviet Union in 1977.

NGDB would shorten its name to The Dirt Band during the late 1970s and early1980s and adjusted its sound to be more pop-oriented. They had a hit in 1980 with “Make a Little Magic” and appeared on a number of television specials, including one with long-time McEuen friend Steve Martin. They were even the back-up band for Martin’s comedy hit “King Tut.” McEuen left the band in 1986 to pursue a solo career. He would produce and perform on Martin’s 2009 solo album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. He would rejoin NGDB in 2001 for a number of anniversary celebrations and recordings, only to leave again in 2017.

A fantastic read is McEuen’s autobiography The Life I’ve Picked: A Banjo Player’s Nitty Gritty Journey. He talks about his life of working at Disneyland with Martin, teaching Martin some banjo licks, the ups and downs of being a member of the NGDB, the thrill of recording the Circle masterpiece, the tension while touring the Soviet Union, and working with his kids in musical projects.

One of my favorite stories from McEuen I read in a biography on guitarist Duane Allman, Skydog. McEuen relates to a time when the NGDB and the Allman Brothers Band were both waiting at an airport, and Allman told McEuen to pull out his banjo and play some tunes. McEuen was reluctant, thinking people would be annoyed, but Allman snapped back that anyone that didn’t appreciate banjo music was pretty much un-American. McEuen relented, and Allman was happy.

I first met McEuen when the NGDB was performing a showcase at the AmericanaFest back in 2015. I remember introducing myself to him, and he stared me down saying, “Do I owe you and money?” He has a fantastic sense of humor, which show during his solo performances. I have seen him a few times, and I know that this upcoming performance will be just as good if not better. I hope to get a chance to talk with him quick for a possible interview on his fiddle playing for Fiddler.

So if John McEuen is touring in your area, make sure to check him out. Like John Hartford and Doc Watson, McEuen is an American musical treasure, with tons of stories to tell. I leave you with some great McEuen videos.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Christmas Guitars

My Christmas Gift to Myself

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a safe and pleasant New Year. This was my first Christmas alone, as mom passed away last January and I was not in the mood to spend the day with anyone. I basically sat home, did a little writing, and watched some football games.

I did, however, buy myself a Christmas present. Since I had no one to spend some money on, I decided to spend it on myself. I didn’t want to break the bank, but I did want to get myself something that I would enjoy. About two weeks before Christmas, Fender had an online sale for a few of its guitars at 40% off. I looked at the list, and saw that there was a Squier Affinity Stratocaster, regularly $249.99, going on sale for $149.99!

Now, I haven’t played much electric guitar in the past 10 years or so, and have been selling off a lot of my unused equipment, including guitar amplifiers. I have two electric guitars left in my collection (a 70s-era Guild Starfire hollowbody and a 90s-era made-in-Mexico Fender Strat that was my workhorse during my final electric band days). The Affinity series for Squier/Fender used to be the low-budget line back in the 90s. I had an Affinity Telecaster from that period that was OK at best, as the tuners and bridge/saddles were cheap and the body was cheap plywood with hollowed out cavities that were filled with styrofoam. I paid about $100.00 new for it and junked/modified it for a few years until I sold it off with my house cleaning. However, the Affinity series seems to have been upgraded by Fender, with its Sonic series being the new lower-cost series.

The Affinity Strat looked to be a bargain for the price, and they had it available in a cool Surf Green color. Total cost was $158.99, and it came via US Postal to my PO Box in a little over a week.

I have to say that I am really impressed with the workmanship. Yeah, it’s made in China, so that probably has a lot to do with the lower cost. The body is solid and has some heft to it. The hardware is good, and the pickups are typical Strat sounding — not hot but not weak either. The neck has a matte finish to the back of it, which needs a buffing with some OOOO steel wool to smooth it out a bit. The fingerboard looks like rosewood, but is Indian Laurel, most likely a cheaper wood that the Asian market uses on mass-produced guitars.

I have always loved the sound of a Stratocaster, especially that switch position of neck/middle or middle/bridge pickup selection. It’s a glassy tone that Stevie Ray Vaughan used so well (although he had some hot-rodded pickups). Plus, I always enjoyed playing around with surf instrumentals by The Ventures and Dick Dale. I haven’t tried out the tremolo bar yet. The bridge looks a bit different from other Strat whammy bar systems, so I hope that it doesn’t crap out after a few bends.

All in all, it is a really good guitar for the price. Checking the Fender website, this guitar is on sale again at 20% off, or $199.99, until supplies last (https://www.fender.com/en-US/8-days-deals/affinity-series-stratocaster/0378000557.html). That leads me to believe that they may be getting rid of either this model or the Affinity series completely. So I would recommend that, if you are looking for a solid beginner electric guitar, or a reliable backup, you order this model while you can. It is backed by Fender, so it does have some good reputation.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Christmas

Polish Christmas Traditions

Well, I’m running a bit late due to the holidays. Today is Christmas Eve, and tonight I will participate in two Polish family traditions.

In the early evening, I will be having the Polish dinner known as Wigilia (veh-GEEL-Yuh). It consists of a number of non-meat dishes, basically practicing abstinence before the birth of Christ. With this being the first Christmas since my mother passed away, my brother has taken over the dinner chores and location. While I have never been a fan of most of the food served, I will go to keep peace in the family.

Next will be going to midnight mass, known as Pasterka (pah-STARE-kah). My church does the mass in both English and Polish, with the church choir singing Polish Christmas carols, known as koledy (koh-LEH-dih) a half hour before mass. My parish, Our Lady Queen of Aspostles in Hamtramck, Michigan, is a very traditional Polish church, and goes all out in decorating the altar for the holiday. As I am an early-to-bed person, I hope that I can stay up and not fall asleep in church.

Christmas day will be quiet for me, I will probably treat it as a regular day off, except to go visit my folks at the cemetery. Actually, I could use the rest, considering that I’ve been busy shopping, working, and baking the past few weeks. With mom gone, I’m not as motivated about the holiday to be honest.

I leave you with some koledy performed by the beautiful Polish choir Mazowsze (mah-ZOV-sheh). Merry Christmas to all of you.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Folk Music

Recommended Book: The High & Lonesome Sound: The Legacy of Roscoe Holcomb

This gem I purchased through Hamilton Books a few years back and came across it recently while sorting books after my move. This one is also authored by John Cohen, whose book Speed Bumps on a Dirt Road I reviewed back in June (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/06/17/recommended-book-speed-bumps-on-a-dirt-road/). Cohen looks at the life of Roscoe Holcomb, a legendary Appalachian musical artist that carried on the tradition of old-time music during the 1950s and 60s while the world around him was slowly modernizing, perhaps not for the better.

Like his other book, this is primarily a photo book, with very little text other than brief captions until the very end of the book. The story can be seen in the powerful photos of Holcomb and the people that he is surrounded by. Many of these photos are also in Speed Bumps, such as Bill Monroe’s performance in Hazard, Kentucky, but they are intermingled nicely and minimally, so that the montage leans more as a personal vision of an individual, namely Holcomb.

This book chronicles Cohen’s 1959 trip to east Kentucky to meet and work with Holcomb, who at the time had left the workforce due to many injuries. He supplemented his income by performing at folk festivals and farming. The black-and-white photos say so much about what Holcomb and his family struggled with in the Appalachian Mountain area. A moving photo is one just showing his hands and how weathered that were, even for a middle-aged man.

The text toward the end of the book includes reflections about Holcomb by those that knew him, as well as a 1978 interview with Holcomb shortly before his passing. However, the icing on the cake is the CD and DVD included with the book. The CD includes 13 tracks of Holcomb performing traditional songs on banjo, guitar, harmonica and vocals. While thumbing through the book, this CD is the perfect soundtrack. The DVD contains two short documentaries on Holcomb, one filmed during a 1964 visit with him, and the other a 2010 look at his life. The 1963 doc is a treasure, like watching a grainy television show from that time period. Not only it gives a back-in-time look at Holcomb, but also a reminder on how we saw documentaries back then.

This book was originally published in 2012, and while going for over $40.00 new, a Google search shows that it can be had for under $10.00 used, although I am not sure if the CD and DVD are included or what the condition is. Like Speed Bumps, it is a worthwhile purchase if you truly appreciate where old-time music was still living while much of the other country was looking at rock-and-roll.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Guitars Music Therapy

Three Items Tested for the Arthritic Guitarist Hand

A few weeks back, I blogged about working on my rhythm guitar skills for jamming at the upcoming SPBGMA conference (https://luegra.design.blog/2023/11/11/1255/). I also briefly mentioned that I am feeling slight arthritic pain in my left index finger (the hand that I fret with on guitar). I have tried putting pain-relief creams on the finger, but they are either too messy or just don’t work.

So the next step for me was trying some light therapy at home and at work. I purchased the following three items to see how well they would help.

The first is a small, rechargeable hand warmer. I picked it up through Amazon for about $10.00. It is about the size of the roller on a toilet paper dispenser and is charged through a USB connection, either with your computer or an AC outlet adapter. It took a while to first charge it up, and because it is manufactured in some foreign country, the English directions for using, charging, and storing it made absolutely no sense. Once I figured the thing out, it proved to be quite useful. It has three heat settings, which you control by pushing a small button that is embedded into the end. Good luck at controlling it if you have fat fingers. You can see what settings are on by the small LED light next to the switch (which also has the USB port there). Anyway, the low (blue) and medium (green) settings are great, but the high (red) setting is almost too hot to touch. While it seems to be designed to be gripped by the whole hand, I roll the warmer on my finger for a few minutes for fast temporary relief. It re-charges pretty quickly (the heat lasts for about three hours), and can also be used to charge up a low-battery cell phone. People at my workplace have seen it and ordered it for themselves. Overall, a good purchase.

Next, we have the Musician’s Practice Glove, which advertised as being a therapeutic glove for arthritis. It looked to be sort of like the compression socks that I wear for my diabetes condition, but for the hand. Once I put it on, I knew that it was next to useless. While there is a small amount of compression around the palm of the hand, the fingers are loose, and there is stitching at the finger tips. So, trying to press your fingers on the fretboard is troublesome. If you form a chord with your fingers, the cloth on the glove tends to muffle any open strings next to that finger. Moreover, forget any type of solo fingering, as you have to press down even harder to not muffle the plucked string. I think that I paid about $8.00 for this through Amazon, and I would advise anyone to pass on this product.

Lastly, there are the Copper Fit Hand Relief Gloves. I picked up these at the local CVS Pharmacy using a coupon. They regularly go for about $20.00, but I paid about $15.00. These are compression-style gloves that fit tight all along the hand and fingers, while leaving the fingertips bare. The palm area has a rubberized grip to it for non-slipping. These are not designed with the guitarist in mind, of course. Trying to move your fretting hand along the back of the neck smoothly is impossible. However, they do feel good for compressing on my hands and fingers. The recommendation is to wear these for 6-8 hours. My hands are always doing something messy either at work or home, so I put these gloves on before I go to bed and remove them when I wake up. I do notice that my finger does feel better in the morning, so this was a good purchase as well.

I also have been doing some hand and finger exercises for temporary relief from the pain. My advice is that, if you are still young and playing guitar, check with a doctor on how to remain nimble for the longest time possible.

Chew on it and comment.

Categories
Folk Music Rock Music

Shane MacGowan RIP

This past week, one of the most popular vocalists of the punk-rock era passed away. Even if you weren’t a fan of The Pogues, you damned well knew about Shane MacGowan. He was a hero and an anti-hero at the same time. He took The Pogues to international acclaim with his common-man songs that he wrote or co-wrote, along with choice traditional Irish, Celtic, and British Isles folks songs. The band panned away from distorted electric guitars and chose traditional acoustic instruments from Ireland, including accordion, tinwhistle, and four-string banjo. Yet, the sound was heavy, due to the attitude that MacGowan gave with his growling voice as well as what he motivated from his bandmates.

MacGowan formed The Pogues in 1982 after performing in a few punk bands, getting lessons on a traditional Irish music sound from his family members. The Pogues was known for its intense and powerful live shows, motivating fans to pay attention to the folk songs of old and the messages that they conveyed. MacGowan was known physically for his underweight figure, large ears, and extremely poor dental work. Yet he was like a demigod on stage, and his followers would not only pay attention to his vocals, but would sing along with choruses like the fans at a rugby or soccer match.

MacGowan also kept his Irish ancestry up to its fullest, especially when it came to alcohol. More times than not, he would appear on stage completely inebriated, and he gave George Jones a run for his money by not showing up to the gig or being too drunk to perform. It became so bad that he was actually kicked out of his own band in 1991 and The Clash’s Joe Strummer was asked to take over vocals for a time. His reaction was to form another band called Shane MacGowan and The Popes. He would re-join The Pogues in 2001 and perform with the band until 2014.

MacGowan’s addiction was not limited to the drink. He became a heroin addict, and only reformed with the help of Sinead O’Connor, who had him arrested so that he would admit to a judge that he had a problem and sought help. While he was able to kick those habits, injuries from a fall in 2015 had him in a wheelchair for most of his last years. He passed away from pneumonia on November 30 at the age of 65.

MacGowan and The Pogues had a number of songs that, while never hitting big in the US, they became sing-along anthems among the punk and alternative music fans for years. Cover such as Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town,” Eric Bogle’s “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda,” and the traditional “Jesse James” brought out with a harsh attack gave them new life. MacGowan also penned a number of memorable tunes, including “The Old Main Drag,” “Lullaby of London,” and “If I Should Fall From Grace with God.” However, what makes it so sad that he has passed away at this time is that his most memorable composition will be now heard on many radio stations for Christmas. “Fairytale of New York” was co-written with bandmate Jen Finer in 1988, and talks of a drunk sitting in a jail cell and thinking about Christmas with his sometime-love, which is sung as a duet with the late Kirsty MacColl. It is also ironic that MacGowan was born on December 25th.

Indie music fans of my age will always hold Shane MacGowan in our hearts, not only for his songs, but for his devil-may-car attitude that kept him going even in the worst of times. We all hope that he is having a pint of Guinness up there in Heaven.

Chew on it and comment.

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