What's happening November 2020

 I played an open mic gig earlier this month at my mate Shaun's perthopenmic.com.au. It was great to catch up with him, to chat with some of the musicians there, and to play of course!  I hadn't played out in more than a year, I tensed up and after half an hour my left arm was like a rock!  Apparently I sounded great but I felt it was pretty rough.  I need to do more gigs so I don't instinctively tense up.

Some interesting chaps there, a guy Chris who was a real estate agent, once his kids had grown up chucked that in and is making a living out of music. Said he does a lot of singing with backing tracks for retirement homes and the like, does a lot of busking, weddings and birthdays.  Sounds like it's not super lucrative but he is doing what he loves and paying the bills.  He was playing guitar and singing, which I think is what you should do if you haven't been playing the guitar for 30+ years - learning to sing and playing the guitar will get you somewhere a lot faster than just trying to play fingerstyle.  It was great to chat to you Chris!

Oh, the accountant playing guitar and singing has a great voice, there was some top quality musicians there.  A dude with a bass and a laptop running loops, very groovy.

Meanwhile the WA Youth Strings Orchestra that I am the chairperson for has three engagements this month...that's keeping me busy.  But not so busy that I can't noodle on songs I'm still learning, and finding new ones that I just *have* to try out.

For instance Naudo recenty played Rolling in the Deep which I had a crack at, and it is real bang for your buck.  As in, you get a lot of big sound for very little effort - it is not difficult to play.

Another of my favourite fingerstyle guitarists Jake uploaded Thompson Twins Hold Me Now and it got stuck in my head.  Not quite as easy, and I never play anything the same as the arranger, but after noodling with it for an hour I thought I sound record it so I can listen back.  This is where I ended up, needs more work but this one will be a keeper.

Hold Me Now demo: