Dear Readers,
As Rick Neilsen, guitarist for the band Cheap Trick, has stated more than once in interviews: (paraprhased) "There are only 12 notes in the whole universe!" (the C scale) "And every band thinks how they re-arrange those 12 notes is cooler than how the other bands re-arrange their 12 notes."
That being said, the number twelve is important. There are 12 hours on the face of the clock; 12 months in a year; 12 tribes of Israel; and 12 apostles who followed Christ in His earthly ministry.
So, is anyone's 12 notes better than someone else's 12 notes? Partly, it's the instruments with their different pitches being played and the mood and the feel of the music touched by the local culture and geography: Blues is different than calypso, etc. Partly, it is who the music is being offered to: God or our own ego or entities even worse?
Some of my favorite music is from 1966-1968. I do enjoy the original rock'n'roll of the 50's and some of their sources. I also am keen on progressive music 168/69-1975; and new wave music 1977-1983; hard rock and new wave of heavy metal 1966-1988; alternative rock (not as much) 1988-1995; and I guess that's about it.
Anyways, I was asked by my former student Tristan Goodson, who I ran into on Graduation Night 2024 to check out his duo band with Cade Bailey at the Hardy Music Festival. Both Tristan and Cade were my former students and I knew they liked to play guitar. Both showed a flair for playing and being creative.
Tristan would often show me something he was working on when I had
my acoustic guitar up at school and I would show him how I was
progressing. There was never any judgement or feeling
pressured between us. Tristan had a country/blues/folk
feel. Very song structued music. I was impressed.
So, I went down to the Music Festival. Turned out the couple who owned the property had just gotten married. I had known the wife, Lisa, from my Sunday School Class at FBC-CV. She and her husband, Matt, were newly-weds. They had built a covered stage and a studio next to it. Turned out, they are the rhythm section for the band Cosmic Criminals, whose keyboard player is the new school band director at my school--Mr. Casey.
So, I bought a band t-shirt and watched the first part of the Smoking Section duo's set. They played acoustic but had some amplification and pedal effects. They were loose and tight. Relaxed. Very Dead-like. Cade plays and sets the rhtyhm and Tristan plays a lot of lead notes. A little bit of blues, rock, country, folk, and some jazzy chords. Very much of the period 1966-1974 for chording voicing. Upbeat and mid-tempo and grooving.
About a week later, Cade messenged me and asked if I wanted to do their next festival--a weekend show in West Plains. They would try to get a drummer and keyboard player. I said yes. They sent a practice schedule and are trying to secure a drummer.
Last night, they asked me to come down and jam. So, I went to Tristan's which is on some acreage. We set up on a field near a camper. The amps and pedals they put on a blanket and used an extention cord with a five plug in coming out of the camper.
It looked like a picnic.
The sun was going down and it was cooling off.
Very relaxed and beatiful.
We played four songs and jammed a little on "Amazing Grace" and "Hey, Joe."
Not bad. Very good vibe. I caught on, mostly, to the cycles: groups of chords, solo section, bridge, repeat.
They definitely have their own thing down after playing together for two years. I am honored and blessed that they would invite me to play with them.
I promised to bring some brownies next week.
Again, this
is another "touched by my former students above and beyond" moment
in a way I had never thought possible. Being a teacher has it
rewards which transcend the classroom.