pianoblood

wow... alone (shakin' sugar). i can't believe it. i don't think i've heard that live since lounge ax... maybe one of those park west shows. i'll have to look through my old cassettes to see if he played it there. amazing. i wonder if that was a subtle gesture/nod/tribute to jay. always loved that song -- in all of its incarnations.

Jay's music, spirit, love, energy and legacy will not only live forever, but will grow with time. He has influenced more people and musicians than he ever knew (myself included). I only hope he knows now.

hi everybody

i'm going to be playing a lot of outdoor gigs soon, and every year i forget how frustrating it is to play the keyboards and not be able to see the lcd display because of the sun. i'm sure there is a very basic, simple way to fix this problem, but i haven't figured it out yet. any help / advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks, and have a great week!

i had an easier time getting tickets to the rolling stones at the aragon ballroom. i am happier than anyone for wilco's continually growing success, but i really miss the days of standing in front of lounge ax and just handing over a twenty dollar bill at the door to see the band. oh well, you can't go back. good for them. i'll go put on my lounge ax t-shirt for good luck and hope for the best saturday. hope i have a better shot at pearl jam at the vic tomorrow.

Very true.

But then, McCartney also released this song 10 years ago on "Flaming Pie". It was called "Souvenir" and he sang it masterfully. Remember it ?

"souvenir" is a great song. i wish mccartney got as much credit and recognition for his more recent work as he deserves. maybe someday wilco/tweedy will have the same problem of living up to a couple of decades of brilliance. upon a few listens, i have to say that this music just "speaks" to me, for lack of a better way to put it. each new wilco album has drastic changes, new sounds, themes and vibes, but also seems to keep a little bit of what came before, while adding more elemets. this album is like "beauty rock" or something. it's truly an ALBUM, and not a bunch of songs (as all of wilco's albums have been). it's a complete thought, filled in with beauty, sadness, soul and white boy funk. and i mean that in a good way. while there is not a classic "rocker" on this album, it seem like it wouldn't make sense or coherently fit with the rest of the songs. even a song like "the ruling class" (one of my favorite songs last year) would have taken the album's vibe into a different direction. SBS is what it is -- a permanent record of where wilco was in 2006, and the only word i can use to describe it is "beautiful." i keep trusting tweedy to take me along on his journey, and he has yet to ever let me down. a lot of detours, surprises and unexpected moments, but that's what makes going along for the ride so special. tweedy is THE artist of his generation, and this album, in which he continues to follow his heart and his instincts regardless of whether or not it is the "right" move for him and wilco at any particular juncture, only continues to prove that point to me.

it was amazing, and great to see them again, but doesn't it bother anyone, if ever so slightly, that jeff isn't in the band full-time? i know schedules and comittments make things difficult, but it just seems like the whole idea of golden smog was that they would get together when they could all get together for shows, even if it meant only a few shows a decade. i'm probably over-reacting, and it's probably been brought up a million times before, but it just takes a very small, almost imperceptible thrill out of the whole experience for me, knowing the other guys have been playing and building up shows together without jeff. but, having said that, i'll take what i can get, and to hear radio king, can't keep from talking, etc. with the smog is always special beyond words.

thanks a lot. i appreciate the advice.

hey everybody --

i'm a musician who has been in bands for years. due to starting a master's degree, getting married and expecting a baby, i'm not able to play out as much as i used to, so i really want to get into recording. all my life, my recording has all been done in a studio with other people at the helm. i was always reluctant (stupid) to learn my way around the board, so i'm really ignorant about it all.

so, my question is, what is a good way to start to get into recording at home? am i better off to get a stand alone multi-track or use a computer program? i guess to start, i'd be looking at the $1,000.00 - $1,500.00 range. I have all the instruments/amps I want/need (not really, but enough to be happy right now), vocal mics, some condenser mics, headphones etc. i definitely want a decent amount of tracks (12? 24?). any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. thanks a lot!

one ammendment:

somehow, when i typed in the B in the bridge, it turned into a smile face with sunglasses on it. the smile face with sunglasses is a B chord. later

hey --

i don't have much time to write it out, so i'll just kinda get you started, and someone (or i) can take it from there.

randy newman does this one in Eb. the wilco version i played along to seemed to be in E. i'm not sure if they actually do it in E, if the recording is slightly off or (more than likely) my piano is out of tune.

anyway

(E) no one likes us i (E+) don't know why

we (G#7) may not be perfect but (C#7) heaven knows we try

but (Amaj9) all around even our (Am7) old friends put us down

let's (E) drop the big one and (B7#5) see what (B13) happens.

etc. etc. in Eb, the chords would be Eb, Eb+, G7, C7, Abmaj9, Abm7, Eb, Bb7#5,Bb13. lots of annoying piano chords that don't always translate easily to guitar.

for the break, it's

(A) we'll save austra (E) lia

(A) don't wanna hurt no kangaroo (E)

(A) we'll build an all american (E) amusement park there

( they got surfin' too

(all the A, E, and B chords are flat if you play it the other way)

i know this is incomplete, but if you want, i could map it out better over the weekend. good luck.

p.s. i'm still looking for a drummer. somebody help me please!!!!!!

hey everybody,

just wondering if there is anyone here who is a drummer or maybe a multi-instrumentalist, or if they know someone who is and might be interested in possibly joining a band in the chicago area. i'm gonna lose my drummer in a few weeks to an internet romance of all things, and i don't want to give up being in a band just yet. we aren't bound for fame or fortune, but we have a lot of fun and play out a lot. if anyone can help me out, i'd really appreciate it. my email is lennycarl1@yahoo.com. thanks.