Not a joke—this Sunday’s Musical Questions installment will be done by the rather pensive looking guy with the guitar in the pic to the right; namely, me. Contrary to what I wrote late last year, my taking a Musical Questions slot doesn’t signal an end to the series, tho we might be in a little bit of a lull. There are interviews circulating with some good musicians, & I also have some thoughts about ways to expand the series. This just seemed like a good time for me to step in.
In a way, I’d hoped to get some of my new solo stuff recorded before this, but just haven’t gotten to that, & in all honesty, I’d rather get the solo material tightened up thru performance before I do much recording. I’ve been a guy who played in bands, often in a support role, so the solo turn is a big & exciting departure; actually had my first gig earlier today amongst a whole bunch of kids (& parents) at the Council library. It was a hoot—Eberle came along in a teaching role, & we had them singing & clapping along to numbers like “Frog Went A-Courtin’,” “Boll Weevil Blues,” “C-H-I-C-K-E-N” & “Whoa Mule Get Up in the Alley.” Anyway, you can check out one of my songs from an earlier incarnation in the video clip below. It’s an improvisation on a scale known as “the enigmatic scale.” I came up with this as part of the soundtrack for Moominpappa at Sea last summer; for those familiar with that story, this music was used the first time a strange character named “the Groke” appears on the lighthouse island. I’m playing a solid body electric guitar (for those who don’t know, this is what you see of when you think “electric guitar”) & Eberle provided a lovely backing on the cocktail drum kit. We had a nice time recording this song, & hope you enjoy it too. Sunday I’ll post a clip of me playing a solo on the eponymous banjo.
So if you’re in the mood Sunday morning, it’ll be Musical Questions with me. But also be sure to check out tomorrow’s Weekly Poem & a special Saturday afternoon post.