gee-tar

Friday is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomI am going to continue to interpret The Internet’s silence regarding my guitar playing as evidence that y’all want more, more, more of my guitar playing. Agreed!

Herewith:

Song493
Song495
Song496
Song499
Song501
Song503
Song505
Song506
Song508

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

Monday is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomDespite my best efforts, people continue to not request that I post more guitar songs, so I keep having to do so despite the lack of public clamor. You people are killing me. As punishment, I’m going to post more anyway.

Herewith:

Song480
Song481
Song482
Song488
Song489
Song490
Song491

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

Half-Assed Music Video

In the sphere of Dubious Achievements, I believe I have just created a new one: Making a DIY music video constructed entirely from video snippets left over from Ask Jeff Anything videos and free (or very cheap) stock video I had lying around on the hard drive.

I enjoy silly challenges like this: Take some disparate video and try to construct something that has a narrative (of sorts), makes sense, and is maybe slightly appealing. It’s fun. I don’t claim it’s great. Just fun. Mainly for me. Huzzah for me!

Friday Is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomWell, a new year is about to begin in this randomly-chosen scheme of time-keeping we have, so that means it’s time to empty out the notebooks, MP3 files, and text files I have littered everywhere in a final end-of-year idea dump. Start fresh in 2012 like Lindsay Lohan, reborn and re-energized. So here’s a final crop of guitar songs for those of you crazed enough to actually listen to them.

Herewith:

Song456
Song461
Song462
Song464
Song467
Song469
Mom’s Song

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

Friday is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomSince there has not been, to date, any cohesive attempt to try to stop me from posting songs (though I worry that Occupy Wall Street will ultimately be revealed to have this as a goal) I figure I will go on and post a slew of new geetar songz. Hot damn! Free amateur music! This is truly a great time to be alive.

Herewith:

Song433
Song435
Song437
Song440
Song444
Song445
Song447
Song449
Song452
Song453
Song454
Song455

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

What Guitar Reminded Me About Writing

As some of you know, I’ve been playing guitar for a few years now. And, yes, posting my terrible, terrible songs to the Internet. You cannot stop me from posting my terrible songs to the Internet. Because I am not a guitarist, so I cannot be shamed on this point. I’ll continue to steal beats from led Zeppelin and riffs from AC/DC and posting the results here.

Learning how to play guitar has reminded me of my earlier years as a writer. As in, my adolescent years. Like just about everyone in the universe, I first started writing when I was a kid, a wee lad of about 10. So I’ve been writing for a loooong time, bubbas, and forgotten what it was like to just start out, y’know?

Learning and playing guitar has reminded me though, because there are parallels. I like to flatter myself that I have some ability as a writer, whereas the guitar is just for fun, but they’re both creative experiences and the path is similar, sometimes. Here’s a couple of things learning to play the guitar has reminded me about writing:

1. When everything is brand new, it’s easy. Every time I learn a riff or technique on the guitar, it’s an exciting moment that unlocks a lot of immediate ideas. BAM, I’m working on a song using those ideas. That’s how it was in the beginning when I wrote: Everything was new, so writing new things was easy. Thirty short stories a year? No problem. Every story I read, every class I took gave me new things to use. The work I was doing wasn’t very original, but it felt original to me, because it was all new stuff. I read Ulysses and spent the next six months writing stream of consciousness like I’d invented it.

2. Stealing Is How You Do It. The meager skills I have on the guitar are the result of a few things — some lessons, practice, and most importantly learning other songs. Every time I learned a riff or a solo from an old song, I immediately began plotting to steal it. The earliest of my songs reflects this pretty baldly, as you can literally hear badly-played riffs from classic rock songs brazenly arranged in my own fumbling style (which is charming, right? RIGHT?). These days I’m better at taking a riff as inspiration, playing with it, adjusting it, putting it into a new context and running with it.

That’s the same way to write. read good books and stories. Burn with jealousy against them. Drink yourself into a stupor because you’ll never manage anything nearly as good. Wake up in a ditch. Get washed up, eat something, take a nap. Then trudge to the word processor and steal the idea/technique. Keep stealing it. Steal it until it’s just part of your repertoire, until it’s natural to you. Then it starts slipping into stories without being showy, just another tool you use to tell a story. byt the time you sell something that utilizes the stolen element, it’s no longer stolen, it’s learned, and its yours.

3. Do it for fun. No one cares if I play guitar or how well I play, so there’s no pressure. I play because I enjoy it, I make my ridiculous songs because I enjoy them, and I post those songs because that’s what we needy, attention-whoring creative types do. The same goes for writing: Do it for fun. The writing, that is. The publishing should be for money, or some form of compensation, but the writing itself has to start off as pure enjoyment. Whenever I’ve spoken with a writer who writes from an income point of view, it’s always pretty depressing.

The ultimate point is, try new things. Learn new things. You will always enter that period of pure discovery and fun (suddenly I can hear Willy Wonka singing Pure Imagination in my head), once you get past that dreary initial period of frustration and Fail. Or am I the only one who had periods of frustration and Fail? Smug bastards. You’re all lying.

Monday is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomSo, we survived a hurricane. Some leaky roofs, water in the crawlspace we’ll be pumping out (apparently) for a week, and a lot of effort and sleep loss, but overall, nothing we couldn’t handle. Now, trying to get through to the roofer might be an adventure.

The best way to celebrate life’s little triumphs is to post your mediocre guitar playing, amiright? I said, AMIRIGHT?

Herewith:

Song422
Song424
Song428
Song429
Song430
Song431

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

Friday is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomSecretly, I know you all love my guitar playing and delusions of song writing. I know it! Nothing you say, no matter how vulgar, can dissuade me. Hence, more guitar songs from me! Now with some poorly-played keyboards as well, because I am growing as an artist.

Herewith:

Song411
Song412
Song413
Song417
Song418
Song419

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.

Friday Is Guitar Day

Epiphone Les Paul CustomYea, verily, despite the growing disinterest all over the world WRT my epic song writing skilz, here are, once again, some songs I made. Me, a guitar or two, and some software. I’m living in the future!

Herewith:

Song393
Song395
Song400
Song401
Song404
Song407
Song408
Song409

The usual disclaimer: 1. I admit these are not great music; 2. I claim copyright anyway, so there; 3. No, I cannot do anything about the general quality of the mix, as I am incompetent.