November Update (from my email list)

(monthly email update)
Happy November, everyone!

Hard to believe, but another year has almost passed us by! There isn't much music news right now, but that is all for good reason. Instead, I've got a general health update, as a follow up to my last several updates which have mentioned various states of injury, which can have rather serious implications with guitar. The saga of the shoulder continues...

As many of you know, my body has had a rough year... Back in January, some kid cut me off snowboarding and instead of destroying him, I bailed and incurred a shoulder injury. Then, in February, I broke my thumb and, for the first time ever, had to cancel a gig. Then last month I broke my foot. All on my right side, too. So PT for my shoulder started with me being in a cast for my thumb, which the PT had never had to work around before, and then I went straight to a boot for my foot, because crutches on a bum shoulder don't work.

All of this has healed pretty well, except for the shoulder. It's been a mystery. Months upon month of PT, cortisone shots, x-rays, MRIs, and doctors visit upon doctors visit upon doctors visit. I've exhausted conservative options and have now resigned to the fact that I will need shoulder surgery.

I met with surgeon 1 in the beginning of October. He wanted to open up my shoulder completely, shorten the tendons, and tie them back together; all on speculation that my tendons are overstretched. That's a very traumatic procedure, riddled with long-term implications, not to mention 6 weeks in a fixed splint, then 6 weeks, minimum, of intensive PT. Everyone I spoke to after that cautioned me that that was a bad idea.

So I met with surgeon 2 a few days ago. He reviewed the MRIs, took my history, and very confidently diagnosed me with a SLAP tear (superior labrum, anterior to posterior). Basically, there's a cartiledge gasket that the ball of the joint sits into; that's got some damage that is causing pain in just about all day-to-day activities. My sister and a few others had suggested this early on, but I didn't want to pursue surgery until exhausting non-surgical options. The few medically-inclined people I have spoken with regarding this diagnosis and proposed surgical procedure have affirmed that this is the next step.

The procedure for the SLAP repair is to go in laparoscopically, clean up the damaged edge of the labrum, and then sew it back down to the bone. Recovery is 2-4 weeks in a split, followed by 6+ weeks of PT; full recovery in about 3 months.  I'm still trying to gauge where guitar can fit back into the picture (presumably, I should be able to gradually start playing shortly after the splint is off as long as I'm using an electric, so the body doesn't impact the angle of my shoulder). It's going to suck, but it is necessary.

The other catch is that the ideal time to do this has already passed. Ideally, I would have surgery in the fall, to be healed by the winter for snowboarding season... I understand that snowboarding is part of what caused this, but now snowboarding is only an option if it is physically not possible. So I'll be looking at after the season is over (or almost over), sometime in late April or early May, to ensure that I can get back to LAUNCH Music Conference again this year.

In the meantime, I get to live with it.

Unfortunately, since I have had no idea what the outcome of the surgeon appointments would be, I have not booked any gigs the rest of the year (well, I have a private gig tonight, but many of you are not invited; sorry!)... If you've got anything, let me know! And if you don't have any connections to venues, but want to see me, contact me about hosting a house concert; they're really easy and a whole lot of fun!

-Alex

ps - A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a quick photo shoot with Matt Kark. Check it out http://www.mattkark.com/blog/2016/10/31/alex. And Check out his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/mattkarkphotography/!

The Architect; The Engineer - Track Listing Cuts

I just finished up mixing for my upcoming album, The Architect; The Engineer. It's been years in the making, as I originally started recording for this back in 2010, so I am incredibly excited about completing this project.

And, better yet, it sounds pretty freaking amazing. This is something I'm incredibly proud of. It's a work that, I feel, stands on its own. When I listen to it, I don't hear my influences; I don't hear Trace Bundy or Trevor Gordon Hall. Instead, I hear my own, unique voice. And it's good. No, it's great. That's what I've spent 5 years on. This is the fruit of years of dedication, thousands of hours of practice, and a significant financial investment.

But behind all of the work that has yielded success, are a number of hard decisions. Some of that is in the musical discernment itself - how to play a certain note or whether to rerecord a section of a song - but some of the decisions are after the fact.

A particular decision I've wrestled with is what to include on the album. As I stated, I started this in 2010. Well, back in 2010, I can guarantee you I was not playing how I play today. That was before taking lessons with Trevor Gordon Hall and having my entire approach to guitar playing rocked. That was before my most current pedalboard configuration, which has evolved into this vehicle for tonal excellence. That was before a lot of things. So I have recordings from then and now - most recently last summer. And somehow they have to all have this cohesive element to them. Otherwise, what's the point, right? I might as well have just released singles. And I'm not really about that at all.

For the most part, the cohesion is natural. There are enough similarities between 2010 me and 2014 me that they can stand side-by-side. The piece from 2014 is, in my opinion, superior in writing and playing ability, but that doesn't make the 2010 piece "bad" per se.

But then there are a few that are on the fence. Those are the trouble. Because this whole thing is such an investment. For pieces that don't quite measure up, I can still remember writing them; I can still remember when, at one point in time, I thought they were something of great worth. And, naturally, I'd love for others to have that same experience.

But there isn't room for sub-par art. Not with the over-saturation that we currently have. And definitely not in my album. Anything that doesn't add value is taking away value. So there has been one track cut so far, Clairvoyant Observation. It's unfortunate that I had to spend time and money on mixing and recording, but it just doesn't measure up. A second, Revival, will be decided on in the near future. But there are some really cool things I've done with the piece that I don't want to lose. And I know this isn't a huge loss - it's one song (or two), afterall. But it's admitting that the piece isn't good enough. And, maybe, admitting that it was never good to start with.

Perhaps they'll resurface in the future as B-Sides or maybe I'll give them away at some point; I don't know. It's weird that something can be so near completion and then pulled back. But it's a humbling experience and I think this is going to help to shape how I approach album number 4.

Music For Wild Places with Laura Veirs

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything in here. Mainly, I just don’t have time. Life happens. And if it’s down to music or the music blog, the music blog is going to be cast aside. I suppose I should still have periodic updates on my personal music, rather than just rants and raves once every 6 months, but so far, that hasn’t happened.

So what brings me here today?

Laura Veirs. I don’t recall how I discovered her music – whether it was someone introducing her to me, or Spotify, or the radio (no, it definitely wasn’t the radio). In any event, somehow I landed on her email list (which I’m assuming I must have signed up for).

So yesterday I got an email for Laura’s email list. And usually, unless they list tour dates or give album release news, I pretty much just skim them. But this one was titled “Musical Rafting Adventure.” At first, I’m thinking, that’s a neat album title, so I read it, looking for updates on a new album.

But it’s not a new album. Not at all. Instead, it’s a 4-day guided whitewater rafting trip with Laura Veirs and Kai Welch. The gist of it is: you raft for a while during the day and get live concerts in the evenings. And you get to hang out with Laura and Kai the whole time.

This is a vacation! And I’ve heard of the big music festival cruises, but that’s on a packed cruise ship. This is limited to 15 people. And it’s out in nature, not some light-up façade with smoke and mirrors.

This is the house concert of the future. Want to really get to know your favorite indie artist? Go on vacation with them. Invite your friends.

Maybe I’m out of the loop and this isn’t anything new(?), but this is the most innovative thing a musician is doing that I’ve heard of, maybe ever. This is absolutely brilliant. Sure, not everyone can afford it, but you get a legit vacation out of the deal as well… If you were going to go on a rafting trip anyway, why not make it with one of your favorite musicians?

I think we need more innovation like this. The future of music is ever changing, so why not try to be ahead of the game? And maybe something like this is limited to the singer-songwriter, sans production. I’m envisioning a future indie scene where you can go on backpacking trips to learn about songwriting. Or where you can go on backcountry snowboarding trips where your base camp has a small music studio set up.

Music seems to be polarizing itself to where you’re either in a me-too genre where you’re a face in a crowd, displaced from any interaction with the artists, or you’re in a genre seeking the most intimate way to communicate music to your fans. This is just the next step. And it’s a good step to see happening.

 

http://windingwatersrafting.com/music-on-the-river/

Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live 05/08/14

I've seen him several times before. After all, his videos were what inspired me to pursue this whole percussive fingerstyle craziness. And every time it’s a great show.

And the songs will always be great; that’s what we’re there for. Secondarily, we go for the stories; Trace is an excellent story teller. His personality lends well to entertaining, yet very emotive story telling. He makes you feel like you’re there, sharing in his life’s highs and lows.

But, for seeing him over the course of several years, the stories hadn't changed much. Actually, it seemed like, with the exception of a few songs from his latest album, Elephant King, there wasn't much changing in his sets either. And that’s after several years.

So I was hesitant to go. I mean, hadn't I already seen it all?

My week had already been a lot of traveling, late nights, and early mornings. Did I really want another late night? Philly, with traffic, is about an hour and a half away, so it was a bit of a trek to get there. The physically exhausted part of me wanted to stay at home.

But then Trace sent out this email. He had flown in with one guitar, but wanted to borrow a second to play his song, Joy and Sorrow. So I didn't reply to it. Because I was tired... In addition to having a long week, I was also preparing to drive up to VT, snowboard, and drive back all on Saturday, so I didn't want to be too tired for that.

After a day of not replying, I got to thinking. Trace is one of my biggest inspirations, and he only comes through the area once a year. Was I about to miss that opportunity to see him because I was too tired?! That’s definitely not me. So I decided to go.

But I was also not going to throw away a chance at having Trace play my guitar. So I shot off the email. I figured it had already been a day since his first email and he had probably gotten inundated with replies, but maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t. I sent the email with a brief description and a link to the Live From the Yellow Room video that the kids at Messiah put up …you know, so he could hear what the guitar sounded like. I’m not gonna lie; honestly, it’s been a dream of mine to one day share the stage with Trace, so the video plug was intentional to maybe get a little toe in the door to maybe someday make that a reality.

To my surprise, I got a response later that day! Trace was going to use my guitar. And the marathon week continued.

Next thing I know, I’m at World Café Live, and Trace Bundy is sound checking with my guitar.

So I geared up for seeing yet another great show, wondering what Trace would be playing. I had heard it all, right? Even from last year’sshow, I had written:

Trace is engaging and a great performer. However, I desperately want to hear more of his songs that I haven’t seen him perform. It seems like he’s stuck playing “Trace Bundy’s Greatest Hits.” The hits are hits because they are justifiably the most interesting, exciting, and innovative, but I want to see the whole story. And I want to hear the whole story; I want to hear the stories to all of songs I haven't seen him play...

And I’m thinking he probably never read that, but he may as well have. Because he did exactly what I’ve wanted to see from him; he played a much less “flashy” show with fewer of the regular “hits.” So we got some new stories and insight into his writing process.

Yes, there were still some of the “hits,” and a few that I’ve seen him play before; I think I’ve seen him play Pachelbel’s Cannon at every show. But that’s okay, because there were new pieces and there were stories behind them. He played a lot off of Adapt and Elephant King, but he also threw in a few unique covers, like Michael Jackson’s, Beat It, on Iphone (which seems to be getting more intense as the years go on), GNR’s, Sweet Child O’ Mine (New? I hadn’t seen him play it before), and U2’s, Where the Streets Have No Name.

We got to hear about his recent stint with an EPSN contest, more about his growing family, and about who he wants to be as not only a guitarist, but also as a person. It wasn’t like you were with that guy who has the same set of stories that he tells at every party. Trace is a growing, dynamic human being, and he showed that through his performance.

And we got to hear about the more technical stuff. This is something that I’m always taking notes on when I see Trace. He makes this music incredibly accessible, in spite of him being, as they say, an Acoustic Ninja. He explains delay, and the purpose of delay as it relates to songs like Overtime. Then he explains looping and reverse loops, saying and playing familiar pieces in reverse. And, of course, the capos come out, but not without sufficient explanation.

The man is a brilliant guitarist and proves, time and time again, that he is just as brilliant a performer.

After the show, he came out to do an encore.

That’s when he played Joy and Sorrow. Unfortunately, my guitar was Sorrow; it represented “utter despair.” It’s a conversational piece that uses the two guitars in two different keys, D major and D minor, to illustrate the dichotomy of life’s more delicate moments. (I got a video of it, but I’m going to try to get Trace’s permission before posting it).

After the show, I got to hang out with Trace a bit while he packed things up. And, like most other solo musicians I’ve met, he’s incredibly approachable and a genuinely nice guy. It shows through his performance, but then really stands out in person. I got to find out about how he ended up going from being an Engineering professor to a professional guitarist (apparently I have to get my Masters for this to work), about some of his experiences playing things like LIFE, and a little bit about how he writes.

It’s inspirational; seeing guys like Trace definitely raises the bar. I’ve accomplished a lot in the past year, releasing my second album and playing B-Sides, so I think my new guitar goal will be to get to the level where I can share the stage with Trace. It’s ambitious, but isn’t ambition what gets us places?

Marketing Spam of the Day

So I just got an email from a company that allegedly produces 3D animation music videos. It was pretty obviously a mass email that I just so happened to end up on their special list for, but usually I’m okay with stuff like this. That’s how I somehow ended up on Whistler’s snow report email list, and a few blog email lists that I’ve actually really enjoyed reading, so usually it’s no big deal.

Generally the filters that get you hooked up with something like Whistler’s snow report are pretty good at sending these to appropriate contacts. As a musician, once you release something, you are inundated with emails for musician-related services. The initial wave takes a while to die down, but eventually the targeting gets better and it’s less crap and more services that you could maybe see yourself using.

Now I’m not thrilled with my life being analyzed for ways to sell me things – I don’t want to give that impression – but it’s much better than being targeted blindly for everything; advertising has come a long way, sneaky and questionable as most of their practices may be.

But in this age of directed advertisement, sometimes the advertisers’ filters aren’t good enough. Music videos? Sounds intriguing; I’m a musician. They even call me out as an instrumental artist, so it would appear as though they’re on board with that sort of thing. Because most people are not; I’ve gotten similar emails in the past for rap video production ...not my forte.

So they hook me in with their opener that actually sounds like they’ve done their homework.

Then they proceed to tell me about their lyric video services. You know, the ones where the lyrics scroll down the page while the song is playing… And they keep repeating the word “instrumental,” like somehow it makes sense that an instrumental act would want a lyric video.

Sometimes you just gotta scratch your head.

In the immortal words of Inigo Montoya: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Another Rainy Country-Tuesday

I read a review on Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s earlier today that described them as, “making depression danceable.”

And it got me thinking… I know people get seasonal depression during the winter, but sometimes I feel like I’ve got that with the spring. I’m a winter guy. Winter means snow and snowboarding and comfortable temperatures and low humidity and feeling accomplished when I leave work and it’s dark. Spring means awkward temperatures and humidity and torrential downpours of cold rain and driving into the sun in the morning and driving into the sun at night. And on an especially rainy country-Tuesday, it's even worse.

But far more than any perceived seasonal depression is this idea that music can be so emotive as to make you want to dance while depressed. Or, perhaps, another band/song could make you want to cry while happy.

Music facilitates complex emotions that don’t make sense out of the context of music.

And that’s why it’s so important; it makes us feel these emotions that society tries to obfuscate.

With the example of Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, you’ve got this band that you can hear hitting rock bottom. They make you desperate for them. You want to help them, but you don’t want them to stop. They make you dismally reflective, but give you that urge to move your feet. One moment you want to belt out lyrics along with them, but the next you are soaking it all in and absorbed in the music.

And you can’t escape those feelings. They set their hook and lure you captive, sending shivers down your spine. And maybe it’s that you want to be there, in that place, or maybe it’s that you can’t will yourself away. It’s when the music is taking hold. Let it in.

 

P.S. I just discovered that their next album is out on April 22… Preorder it.

So Much New Music!

Does it ever seem to you like music comes in droves? Where you’ll have these long stretches where you don’t really get any new music, you don’t see any shows, and you don’t play any. Then, out of nowhere, you’ve got a busy calendar and a stack of new CDs (yes, I haven’t quite moved away from physical media). And in an instant, you go from musical monotony to too much to process.

It happens. At least to me. And it seems like it’s a pretty normal trend. The number of half-written album reviews and half-written show reviews that I have littering various folders on my computer are starting to get out of hand. And it’s from times when I’ll get a new album and suddenly have 6, or I’ll go to a show and suddenly I’m going to 3 or 4 shows.

So here’s where I stand:

On April first, I picked up Abby Madden’s debut album. She had it as a free download and I’d much rather get a digital copy for free and then either buy a physical copy later or tip her the next time I see her play. I’ve wanted to listen to the album to see what she’s been up to and now I’ll be playing a set a show she’s playing on Saturday so it made it even more important to get a listen. That hasn’t happened yet.

Then yesterday, April second, I got to a show. A few good friends, Caleb Hawley and Trey Overholt, were playing at Milkboy in Philly. So far, the count is two: one album, one show. However, Caleb and Trey both just released new albums that I hadn’t picked up or listened to yet. I still need to get Trey’s because, for excuses that weren’t good enough, no one took cards (that was the main reason I got a smart phone!), but I plan to pick his up soon.

That makes three albums and one show. Except between Trey and Caleb was Max Swan. I had never heard of him before, but now I’m going to insist that everyone hear of him. That good.

Suddenly, I’ve got four new albums to listen to and one show. And on top of that, Matt Stevens just put out a new album, Lucid, which should be arriving in the mail any day now. Five albums, one show. And just like that, I’m overwhelmed. If I tried to cover it all, I would just litter my desktop with more unfinished reviews.

But I can’t not do it all. Or at least try. I’m just so excited and pumped on music that it all needs to happen. So here’s to seeing what the next few days of writing (or a complete lack thereof) hold!