Music by Brian Patrick

photo: Keith Berson Last Saturday, I got to video John Craigie and the Rainbow Girls playing at the Rio in Santa Cruz. There have been months where John was all I've listened to. He's a great songwriter and storyteller. He plays and travels all over, and was just back from a European tour. His shows are special. The music's great, his songs are great, and his presence makes them memorable. I couldn't find any good live videos of his show online, so I offered to make him one. To my surprise, he said yes. You have to trust the universe. photo: Giant Eye Photography I've seen the Rainbow Girls with John a few times, and they have a great sound and feel. They were also kind enough to let me video their set at the show. More trust from the universe. It was a great experience. I got to see up close how they do their sound check, and I got a little bit of a feel for some of the magic that their incredible sound guy was doing: Jonathan Kirchner. The sound

Freewheel Brewing is a great local bar with friendly staff, surprisingly good food, and great beer. I get to play there solo the first Wednesday of every month.  I found the picture on the web. It's not from last night. It gives a good feel for the space. It fills up on the weekends, and there were probably 1/3 that many people out last night. I had fun playing. It was the first time in a while that I've played a show without lyrics and music. That made it feel a little more naked. I'm pretty sure I couldn't speak the lyrics to all the songs, but I've played them enough that something knew what to do. It was a little out-of-body: hearing my voice come up with things that I didn't expect to remember. I was stressed when I started, but it helped too. It was easier to look around and try to connect with people. It felt like I could hear the mix, and my voice in the mix better, and it was a little easier to get quiet and feel the room get quiet with me. Th

photo by:  Hy Murveit Chris and Brian joined me at the Pioneer in Woodside. No drums, but it was a friendly crowd, and a few danced. I think John, the manager there got some friends to show up, and we also got a birthday party that chose the Pioneer for their after party. It was all very cute. Eric and Hy were there along with Marc and Rami. Really nice to see those guys. Hy posted  a short video . Brian (Michael) sang a few new songs, and Chris sang a few too. Other highlights for me were Brian's harmonies, and a French lady who came on stage with a 20 dollar bill and kept asking us to "Change the Tempo". It was funny because it took so long to understand what she was saying, and because she was so comfortable walking on stage. My brother would have laughed. I don't think we adequately changed the tempo, and I don't think we got the 20 dollar bill. Others tipped nicely, and we'll do our best to get Jason on drums at the next one. Hmm, dance tun

If the strings are 80% of the feel of a guitar, then the neck, or more specifically, the finish of the neck is 80% of what's left. Whatever it is, after getting new strings, it's the next most obvious way to change the feel of a guitar. To keep a great feel on all my guitars, I'm obsessive about washing my hands before I play, and about wiping down my guitar after I play. Both are easy habits that make it feel better. And when it feels better, it's more fun, and easier to be creative. Modern factory wood techniques mean that we can now get nearly perfect polyurethane finishes that are strong and stand up to minor bumps, and can be easily cleaned of any smudges, or oil, or dirt, or even grimy build-up. And they protect the wood from moisture or abrupt humidity changes. We get to enjoy our guitars for years. The problem is that "poly" can go too far. It can get almost mirror-like. And when that happens, it gets sticky. Not sticky, like sticky fingers after e

I've fallen behind posting here, but a lot of fun things have been happening. Working backward, this last wednesday I got to play at Freewheel Brewing in Redwood City. It was a great turn out, thanks to everyone who came. And thanks to all the musicians who made it happen: David, Ray, David, Alisa, Chris. Total treat for me to hear all the different sounds we could create. Thanks to Larry, the owner for letting us play there.  It's a fun family-friendly scene. The weekend before, Eliza had a really nice block party where a few of us got to make noise for a few hours(!). Thanks to Herb (on flute!), Eliza, Alisa, Megana, Louis, (and Louis' Son!), Ray, and Craig for making such a fun musical space. That evening ended with world famous musicians who happen to live on her street leading us through a few songs. Thankfully Craig had a video camera, and he recorded a really nice video  that I'll be re-watching years from now. A few weekends before that, Jay John and I playe

I just recorded an acoustic version of the Ani Difranco song ' overlap '. I love the song, and especially the line 'there is strength in the differences between us, and I know there is comfort where we overlap'. But this was also an excuse to play with new software for mixing multiple video streams.