The Regular Friday Post
Rando Lyrics: Sent to meetings, hypnotized
Last week’s rando lyrics: The lyric, “ If you know what's good for you” is from the song "Wouldn’t It Be Good”, performed by Nik Kershaw. Written by Nik Kershaw, it was released as a single in January 1984, and as Track 2 on the album “Human Racing”, also released 1984. Produced by Peter Collins. (Ed. - this wasn’t completely rando - damn thing’s been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks…)
Credit: Wikipedia Link: >Wouldn't It Be Good<
This Week’s Documentary Film Recommendation:
On Plex, and elsewhere as well (may be fee-based) - “Heirloom: Guitar” billed as “The Journey Of The World’s Most Popular Instrument”, basically the history of the acoustic guitar…
Things I Found On Social Media:
Welcome to The Regular Friday post!
For Today:
So, the city I live near has an event every year called the “Street Music Festival” - it lasts all week, and daily during the lunch hour musicians set up in designated locations (two in the City of Spokane, one in Coeur D’Alene Idaho, across the state line from Spokane). This year some friends who had previously played during the festival invited me and a couple of others to play. This is me, doing my song “Long Road Back” to kick off our set. I didn’t include pix of any of my friends (this year) because I hadn’t asked their permission to publish their photos, but we all played together for about an hour, and as folks came by to listen they could drop a few bucks in the bucket if they wished. This year the event supported a charity called Second Harvest that provides food to those in need.
“Me…with a Yamaha and a Fishman…”
In the “Links” section below I talk about the gear you see in this photo. It was a great time, we had a lot of fun playing together, I was able to play alongside guys who are way better than I am, and we raised some money for a worthy cause. The setlist is this week’s “What I’m Listening To” selection. The link to the Spotify setlist is below. The last song in our set was one I hadn’t heard before, but it’s very cool, pretty easy for any level of player to learn and play, so it’s this week’s…
…A Song To Play…
Lyrics
(Ed. I’m not entirely sure about this set of lyrics on Genius, but…)
Well, he was from a small town
In Northern Mississippi
She was raised on the Puget Sound
A third generation hippie
Fate would take them to L.A. County
And get them stuck in a traffic jam
And El Camino and a red Trans Am
Burst stereo was blaring Dylan
The bootleg sessions
And all the times, they are a-changing
Made a pretty good impression
She looked over and caught him smiling
Under the California setting sun
They fell in love on the one-o-one
California, California
California dreams come true
Well, they got in with the in crowd
And got off on the rock 'n' roll
Cocaine spree and the music's loud
Backstage at the Hollywood Bowl
They got the house in Topanga Canyon
The partied at the Viper Room
Blending into the neon gloom
California, California
California dreams come true
California, California
California dreams come true
Well, you see them down on the Sunset Strip
Trying so hard to be so hip
Manhattan Beach to Malibu
It's all about the ocean view
And who you know in Hollywood
It's cut throat but it's understood
Champagne koolaid(?), drink it down
You're the toast of tinsel town
California, California
California dreams come true
California, California
California dreams come true
Credit: Genius Link: "California" Lyrics
The “ME!” Section…..
What I’m Listening2: Spotify Link: >Street Music<
This week’s WIL2 selections are the setlist from the Street Music Week songs we did:
*Long Road Back – Michael Acoustic *Dream Like Mine – Bruce Cockburn *Barricades Of Heaven – Jackson Browne *Summers Cauldron – XTC *Great Day – Andy Partridge (Ed. note - this song is not available on Spotify, so was not included - It’s not a cover of the Paul McCartney song - or any other artist - and may not be available yet because I think it’s on a recent album release) *Poor Howard – The Weavers *Comes A Time – Neil Young *Long May You Run – Neil Young *Spokane” (to the tune of Cocaine by Eric Clapton [written by J.J.Cale]) *Needle And The Damage Done – Neil Young *Handle With Care – Traveling Wilburys *When You Dance – Neil Young *No More – Neil Young *California – Shawn Mullins
The Music Theory Part
Yes, I know many (most) of you will skip this - I don’t care, this is good stuff…
The Axis System - This is especially for anyone who may be playing or interested in playing jazz with others in a combo. Jazz is one of those areas of music where the rules that bind ordinary mortals just don’t apply as much. In jazz, you can play chords without the root note or perfect fifth, using only the 3rd, 7th, and maybe some other stuff, or not, and everyone in the audience might just snap their fingers and say “Frosty, man, frosty”…. admittedly this is not for “Herberts” (if you get the reference to the Star Trek, TOS episode, we can be friends…), but it’s still pretty cool.
Scale Degrees - As the name implies, this is particularly about the names of the notes in a scale. But, as we know, the notes in a scale become the roots of the chords in a key. Here’s what the other musicians you talk to that know this stuff mean when they say this stuff…
Diatonic or Not? - Diatonic means stuff that’s part of the in-crowd in a scale or key. Non-diatonic means it isn’t part of the official in-crowd, but cool to have around anyway. Sort of like junior high, but for music…
Shameless Self Promotion Section:
My song is out! Link: “Long Road Back”click on link for streaming options, then scroll down for links (or just click on these links) to Amazon, Apple, Pandora, iTunes and even Spotify
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Disclaimer Section (Just so we’re clear…)
This Substack is free, I receive no compensation of any kind from companies or products I mention. Some linked or quoted material may be copyrighted by others, and I credit them. I rely on the “Fair Use” doctrine for educational purposes (Link: Fair Use). *I do not use AI, things I link to might - Exception: I did let Substack’s AI create the “Guitar In A Circle” logo at the top of the page. It came out pretty nice (Substack friend Brad Kyle at Front Row And Backstage liked it, so….) -Michael Acoustic
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Gear Stuff….
Here’s the gear I used - Guitar: It’s less expensive than some of my other guitars, but it’s my most used “practice” guitar - in the photo above, I’m playing a Yamaha FGX3 acoustic/electric guitar that I bought used off of Reverb. Playing it through a Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge (bought that new at Mark’s Guitar Shop in Spokane - across the street from where we were playing that day). Vocals: Shure SM58 vocal microphone (also used off of Reverb) through the Fishman. All of us in our group took turns on the gear.
So - no power? No problem for at least an hour or so (I think it would have been fine for another hour, we just had to stop at the hour mark - more or less…wink) with a guitar and mic. It’s capable of hosting an aux amp - and the Loudbox is Bluetooth and external source capable - cuz there’s no power outlets on the street, and here’s the answer to that problem. What if you don’t have electronics installed? See below.
Some Links For Today
ED. None of these result in compensation to me in any way, and I’m not endorsing any of them, but some of my readers may find them as interesting as I did…
From Carvin Audio:
Amping An Acoustic Guitar - Here’s how you do it (sorta) if you don’t have a soundhole pickup or installed electronics.
Gig Nightmares - Avoid them by reading this and then thinking through your gig - street or club? House amps/sound system or bring your own? Sheet music or on a laptop? Thinking through those sorts of details can save your sanity…
From Blues Guitar Unleashed:
Blues Shuffle Comping - Rhythm guitar work in a group
Circle Of 4ths - Going counterclockwise turns the Circle Of 5ths into the Circle of 4ths. It’s the Swiss Army knife of circles!
Make Counting A Habit - We count a lot when we’re playing, not just count-in. Here’s how to make it routine.
Play Real Songs By Yourself - No one else around? You are!
From American Songwriter Magazine:
Hooks - Mr. Dean Fields at American Songwriter is something of a national treasure for songwriters - when he speaks, I listen…
From Songtown:
Conversational Writing - A different approach to consider
Finding It - What's your place in the "biz"?
From the Disc Makers Blog:
Making Money As An Indie Artist - Things to consider
Vocal Warm-ups - It definitely makes a difference
Best Place To Upload Music - Here’s where it’s at…
From Speed Songwriting - Mr. Graham English
Quantity/Quality? - Things to consider
Thank You To Our New Subscribers and Followers!! This Week’s Conversation With Mika, the Cat:
Me: “What song are you thinking of right now?”
Mika : “I'm alright, Nobody worry 'bout me, Why you got to gimme a fight? Can't you just let it be?”
Cheers and keep playing!!
Michael Acoustic
“It’s never really final - you just run out of things you can bear to change…”
Nice write up of our performance, Mike! It was super fun, and so great to play your song live. Nice to hear about your equipment as well. That great gear saved the day.