chasophonic

Monday we went to see Brandi Carlile at the State Fair. This was a freeby at the Bandshell. WOW! It was honestly one of the best shows I have ever seen. We went back last night to see her again. Outstanding.

I've been feeling that I haven't been getting enough music lately, but that's not it really. After the Bluegrass festival I picked up my mandolin and have been playing that quite a bit. Scheduled going to the Fair to see people I know playing, so went last Thursday as well. Riverfolk is kind of dead in the water right now, but hopefully that will change soon.

I came away from the Monday show thinking I need to expand what I play. I go to Bluegrass fests and have a great time, but this isn't my music. I can take country in small doses and Irish in even smaller ones. What I felt after the Monday show was that deep down I'm a rocker. I've got some roots in folk, but rock was the music of my formative years. It resonates deeply in me. I am expanding my music arsenal in many ways. More instruments, more songs, and more techniques. Don't expect much immediate change, I will just be becoming ever more eclectic.

The realization I came away for the Tuesday night concert is that I really miss playing in a band. I think that's why I go to so many jams. It's not quite the same though. Not sure what I'm going to do about that.

In a word WOW!

( My first time on a Concom )

Gibson is about to release a Les Paul guitar that has frequency detecting circuitry in the bridge, motorized tuning machines, and an on board CPU to manage it all. The machines are only slightly bigger than standard mechanical ones.

The guitar tunes itself.

You can select a variety of tunings or program your own. You can also adjust intonation.

Runs about $2200.

From the ad:

# 2 rechargeable batteries charged through the guitar jack
# About 250 tunings per charge
#
# Tunings:
# Regular
# Open E
# Open G
# DADGAD
# Hendrix tuning (1/2 step down)
# Single and double dropped-D tunings
# Custom tunings
# Reference tuning to other instruments

Betsy's Back Porch is at Nicollet and Diamond Lake Road.

Note: It is the Diamond Lake Road Bridge over I 35W that is gone and affecting their business. 46th St will get you across.

From Bobb Fantauzzo:

In addition to providing a wide selection of coffee, tea, beer, wine and
food, Betsy's Back Porch offers a wide variety of music. Having a venue to
share their music with the general public in a comfortable,
listener-friendly environment is a great asset to musicians, audience
members and the neighborhood . it would be unfortunate for Betsy's to close
permanently as a result of lost revenue caused by the 35W construction
project.

So show your support and join us on Saturday if you can. Special events are
scheduled; including outdoor grilling, a silent auction and LIVE MUSIC ALL
DAY LONG. The music ranges from folk to pop to rock to blues to classical
guitar to jazz . and there will even be some belly dancing thrown in for
good measure.

Here's the music schedule:

11:00 Jeremiah Bohn - blues
& Chas Somdahl - folk

12:00 Bobb Fantauzzo - jazz / zen

1:00 Mark Bussey - classical guitar

1:30 Patrick Garry - mellow rock / pop

2:30 Mirah Ammal - Belly Dancing

3:00 Laurie Potter - folk / rock / pop

4:00 Howard Krantz - original / folk

5:00 Beth Kinderman - folk

6:00 Positronic Croutons - blues / rock

8:30 Hot Box - pop / rock

A happy birthday wish to davidschroth

I have gone with the broad theme of music circles so the community will have meaning beyond the task at hand that suggested it. I invite those of you who posted comments about music circles in general during the discussions following Minicon to repeat them again there.

Most everyone I can think of off hand with an interest in this community, has likely already friended me and will see this. But feel free to invite others as you see fit.

So go have a look; circleofmusic

I think my next post there will be about kinds of music circles.

Everyone, please no more about Minicon/MnStf music, for the time being.

Over the next several months, I will lead LJ and personal discussions about the future. So much of what I am seeing here is not going to do anything but burn bridges and damage friendships. Much of the anger and attack is founded in a past that may have little to do with how things are and how they can and hopefully will be.

Music at Minicon is important to me. It is no exaggeration for me to claim that I doubt I would be making music at the level that I am or possible at all if not for Minicon. I owe much to this community and I intend to pay back. This fire is not helping. I have sat in music circles with all of you who are commenting, you know me. I am not vested in the past that set your definitions of good and bad for what Minicon music was. I know what it has been for me.

I know also what it is elsewhere. I've performed at and jammed in circles at cons in Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia and others in Minneapolis. I have observed and been subjected to various kinds of exclusionary elitism, deliberate snobism if you will, at ALL of these. But it was not institutionalized at any of them and it is not institutionalized here. STOP, don't tell me about what your perception of the past is. I can't do anything about things past, give me a chance to show you the future.

I will be speaking directly to many of you who have expressed themselves in various places over the past several days. I will also seek out those who have posted who I don't know, to invite input and inclusion. But for now please end this, it is no longer helping. I understand the issues.

I will do all that I can to make music at Minicon a better experience for all. We can do this.

Minicon: Musicians Welcome

Your friend in music, Chas

OK. So this post turned out even longer than the last one. I’ll get to some songs next.

Birthday wishes to davidschroth.

Hope you've had happy day.

Many of you know that the college I have worked for for over 30 years ceases to be as of July first. We become a department in a new larger College of Education. All jobs within the newly merged college have been under review. Although I “knew” my job would need to exist in the new world it wasn’t official. “They” have been at this for a year. Wednesday, I finally got my letter saying that my job is being continued into the new college. Just two weeks short of the end. I have many colleagues that have been treated as poorly.

This resets the clock for another year. There will be programmatic reviews that could eliminate the work and thus the job.

So, I have a job for another year. Only one more week with the Grand Jury. Maybe I will be a bit less stressed for the summer. (Maybe not, I still have two lab manuals to write.)

At least I can sing.