I keep working my way closer to recording in strict just intonation. Here’s one I did today, of my song Breakup Songs.
The acoustic guitar is in equal temperament, and the bass and vocals are untempered. I love singing harmony when the fretless bass is playing lattice notes. Sometimes I feel like I’m sliding along a groove in the tonal gravity field.
Sacred Grounds Cafe in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood has had an open mic of some sort since the late 60’s. In its current incarnation, it’s hosted, every Thursday, by local music teacher and multi-instrumentalist Mr. Natural, who thoroughly looks the part! There’s a fun crowd of regulars and it’s a warm, accepting and inviting atmosphere….
I had the great pleasure this spring of singing with Tribe of Dreams, a traveling band that creates musical community everywhere they go. They left behind, in San Francisco, a wake of connection and increased musical collaboration that is still rippling outward. One of my fellow transient tribe members has been the ethereal Froukje van der…
I often have the pleasure of singing at one of Steve Key’s Songwriters At Play showcases. These are held several times a week in San Luis Obispo area. There’s a lot of talent in the county, and Steve books many good traveling acts. These tend to be excellent shows. Brian Jeffrey is one of those…
I grew up thinking that music was made with a particular set of twelve notes, the ones on the piano keyboard. I had a vague sense that there were other scales in the world, but I thought of them as “more primitive” or perhaps subsets of the 12-tone scale, like that pseudo-Asian music you make…
I’ve added a few new tracks to the Audio page today. Two of them are live cuts with Jody Mulgrew, my great musical pal. The Cove is my song and Jack of Hearts is his. They were both sung at the Greco’s in Shell Beach, a couple of years apart. We plan to do some…
More fun with the Q2HD. Bug Zapper is a co-write with my friend Scott Bryson. I’ve reworked it endlessly, and this is where it sits right now. For years, there’s been a major II chord in the chorus, clinging like the kitten in the “Hang in there, Baby” poster. I finally got over it and…