I recently returned from a second visit to CA this month. My goal was to do my best to visit my friends I missed the first time. I still missed DP and Hyunjoo Kim, but I did get to meet with Jason Ford and my sister, Marty, Frankie Lee the newborn, my Mom for mothers day, and Katie Strand. Katie convinced me to join her at what she tried to sell as an open mic, but it was more like a private jam at a restaurant named Michael’s in Santa Monica. I didn’t know what to expect although she offered some details. Apparently, this group gets together every Monday. James WHELAN was the leader. Katie and I arrived at 10pm, the restaurant was closing and James was waiting on the last table in the garden. Katie introduced me to a guy a bit younger than me named Rob. Rob asked me if I play music and I replied. There may have been brief battle of wits at some point. I couldn’t tell. Perhaps my head is up to it’s usual shenanigans and imagining something. maybe Rob was just being Rob. After all, I just met the guy. He commented int my shoes. The only other comment about these shoes came from Rhonda when she told me they were odd and perhaps on the ugly side. Rob said he liked them. I couldn’t tell if he was serious or mocking me.
Katie asked me to help her set up. We went upstairs to the restaurant storeroom. On out way, I especially noticed the strange artwork on the walls and general décor of the place. it was unusual for a restaurant. Not hip to my taste. Bizarre. As I remember, the walls were cream color. I thought a darker color would help the artwork stand out. Instead, the whites in the art sorta clashed with the cream walls, and made for ugly.
I moved a really heavy Yamaha keyboard down the stairs as Katie followed with the cables and a stool. A second trip made for the speakers and mic stand. Katie set up quickly as Rob and James were polishing wine glasses and wrapping up from Monday night business. We were all in a little bar room area. Maybe a lounge or waiting area. It was comfortable. There was a third guy who apparently played the box with drumsticks, or hot rods as I remember them named. There were two Hungarian girls that were friends with Katie, and there were two other employees who were staying after-hours for the entertainment.
Katie kicked it off with a few Katie songs and the Yamaha digital piano. The Hungarian girls talked softly while Katie sang. Apparently, they were sisters and one was visiting the other and they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Rob and James continued polishing and prepping their sides for the next day. I wasn’t certain what was going to happen musically. Katie sounded great. Much more advanced then I remember. Polished, yet a bit raw in some areas that worked overall. I requested some of my old favorites and she obliged. I especially noticed that she tailored her piano around her voice in her newer stuff. Between songs, Rob repeatedly asked me if I was going to play one. I was patient and didn’t want to take too much time away from their performance. I declined. Katie’s songs are mellow and jazzy. Moving, but not in a loud way. I wanted to pick it up a notch. In these situations, I usually play We Bleed Blue. It showcases a cool guitar progression I invented, and I can sing it softly if I have to. Rob was adamant about me playing his steel string, but I opted to play Katie’s nylon string. The last time I picked up a nylon string was at a 29 Mules band BBQ and jam when I played the same song and it went over well. I started a bit shaky and it got worse. I played well with the Mules, but the spacing on the nylon string threw me for a loop this time. I finally got used to it mid way and finished. I kept my energy at medium. After all, I hadn’t heard the others play and I didn’t want to come across overly confident. I prefer to match the energy in the room.
I gave up the guitar after one song, which I believe is the proper thing to do (keep this in mind Ken). James picked up the guitar and exploded with energy like a race horse out of the gate. He definitely brought the energy in the room to an 11. It was comfortable. He was playing an old martin or gretch acoustic in some alternate tuning. It was a 1-4-5 progression utilizing the open tuning to hammer on a great riff, all while singing straight from his soul. I couldn’t help it, my legs and arms started moving to his tune. It’s wasn’t an uncommon progression, but it was clearly well done and I certainly wouldn’t category it as ordinary or common. It my nature to take in the energy and with this, I loose the lyric, so I’m not certain what he was singing about. It took me another song or two to realize this man. Somehow, he was able to effortlessly create chord structure while simultaneously creating a sorta independent rhythm. Make no mistake; I’ve heard some great, great singer songwriters that can do the same. But this guy really had a style that spoke to me. It inspired me to continue with my own style and fine tune it.
When I got back to Brooklyn, and picked up my guitar, the James WHELAN in me surfaced. Suddenly, I’ve realized my own style of dynamics and percussive rhythm. For the last 5 years, I have become a musical computer composer, and my acoustic has sat patiently collecting dust. I’ve been trying to transition back towards it, and I have been making progress. This may be the straw.
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