Its been a productive musical period the last few weeks. The muse is continuing to stay with me, I'm pleased to report. Last month, I recorded a video with a miniature 12 string electric guitar, as part of the Small Guitar in Motion project and it was fun playing electric again, channeling my inner Hendrix, though at heart I am and always will be a folkie. The video is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL_O18rVTbU&feature=plcp and begins with an acoustic version of You Ain't Going Nowhere (by Bob Dylan) and digresses from there. I've been playing this song on and off for almost 40 years now. One of the happiest tunes I know, and it just seems to keep on evolving with me (recently changed the chording and added some little embellishments just to make it even happier :-)
Recently started playing the old-time tune Kitty Alone again and worked up a new version with the guitar strings tuned so as to sound more like a banjo, moving both E strings up to G (talk about warp speed!) and the A string down to G. I now officially call this the kitty tuning, and it brought out in my playing new versions of Worried Man Blues and Take the Last Train to Clarksville (from that great folk music group The Monkees). Currently learning the song Walking Down the Line (by Bob Dylan, but never officially released with him playing until the legal bootleg series), using the kitty tuning. I first heard this song off a live album by Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger. I loved hearing Arlo teaching the audience the chorus by saying something like the reason that the guy in the song has a troubled mind is because he has flying feet.
The next few months or maybe the rest of my lifetime will be devoted to getting together with old and new musical friends alike (including my musical partner Mark Huslage in preparation for our next open mike at Perry Hall Folk Music Night on June 9th), and including my old fiddling friend Lisa Roberts, Mike Petti, Leah and Marlin and John, and last, but not least Q!
As I've said before, it just feels so good to be playing again.
Until next time.
Peace,
Gary Kenneth Bass (almost famous folksinger)
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
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