Static Live Magazine February 2019

Before the Gig…
Well, the big show is Friday and I have a few days so … no
biggie. I better look up those lyrics for the cover songs
online though. Easy to find but harder to memorize.
When I mess up the words live, no one notices anyway.
Trust me, the rare one who catches a mistake is happy to
let me know. When I can’t remember the words I find it
an art form to make them up on the spot like a free flow
rapper. What freaks me out is sometimes people in the
crowd singing along. I haven’t resorted to a music stand
or lyric pad, which seems to me to be very amateurish.
You see some form of cheat sheets a lot at open mic
night.
Oops, better cram! Just booked two more shows for the
weekend. One is for an island themed party to fight the
chill of winter; the other is a classical guitar gig. When
you ply your trade as a musician, you gotta stay nimble.
I’ll work up some calypso later but I’ll get right to work
brushing up my chops on nylon string guitar for the
wedding. Any fool with some time and a $10 guitar can
jangle out some chords but when it come to right hand,
finger style will challenge us all. I start with some Mateo
Carcassi, the 19th century master whose etudes are
still on-point. This reveals a weakness in my ring finger
that I fix with more arpeggios by Mario Giuliani, another
classical icon of the guitar. In fact, he was not unlike Jimi
Hendrix in his era and I’m surprised that guitarists who
know the music of 1960 are so unfamiliar with the guitar
heroes of 1860.
by Adam Floyd
Of course, the bride wants the Pachabel “Cannon” and
I’ve found a nice arrangement. Sounds plush and I know
she’ll love it. She wants me to select the rest of the music,
which is no problem Thirty minutes of seating music and
something lively for the rice gauntlet. It turns out to be
a theme wedding. They want me to use an ornate music
stand so I guess I won’t have to memorize the classical
stuff after all
Now for the island music. The chords are a breeze but
to nail the style of melodic treatment is tricky. On the
beat, off the beat, before and all around the beat. My
friend who is actually FROM the islands tells me that all
American reggae is a travesty, which I keep in mind as I
try Marley’s “Redemption Song”. You have to love the way
our island neighbors go easy on the consonants. So nice
to hear them talk, but hard to copy. As they say, “everyting
gon be awryght”.
With all the extra gigs I won’t have time to work on my
own Mr. Holland’s Opus. Friday I nap until late for the
weekend madness. It starts off with a bang. The bass
player needs to be bailed out of jail, the guy who borrowed
my amp isn’t responding and my truck has a flat.
Kinda hard to have sensitive fingers after changing a tire.
Also, no time for final lyric work. The good news is, it’s
only nine and gig isn’t until ten so … no biggie.
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