Live Looping, My All-Time Favorite Pedal, & ‘I Don’t Know What to do with My Hands’
Sep 3rd
Beauty (meaning tone) comes in many different forms (of delay). It can be a handpainted Freakshow Digilog (tone is in the paint, of course), in the looks-so-boutique-you-know-it-sounds-good Skreddy Echo, or the calm, cool black of an Empress Vintage Modified Super Delay. For others, it might come in the form of a flanger. We humbly call those people wrong.
For me, it comes in the form of the spectrum of tonal light emanating from this pedal:
You don’t see the spectrum of tonal light? Not even emanating a little? Ya. I know. My little Arion SAD-1 looks as if it may at one time have been an effects pedal. I still don’t know how it’s working. I’ve re-taped those wires so many times, as the adapter jack is broken. And I never step on it; bypass looper only. I’m afraid, realistically I think, that if I step on it, it will disintegrate. But here’s the thing. I have delay pedals that can do more than this thing. I have delay pedals that sound better than this thing. I have delay pedals that are not in danger of developing a short in the wiring and frying my whole board. But I have yet to hear a delay do what this one does. There is strangely dark, meshed quality to this pedal’s tone that almost seems to meld things together. Or even synthesize sounds. Like a chorus, but good. 
And I cannot get any delay pedal to sound like this one. And I’ve owned and played more delay pedals probably than anyone ever should. To me, this is the most beautiful one. I got it six years ago this December, at the now defunct Future Music on Sunset Boulevard. (Oh, how I loved that store. I still have dreams about it. No, for reals.) And it has been through pedalboard after pedalboard, and has seen hundreds of pedals come and go. Yet it’s still here. And well, I can’t sell something that looks like that, so…it always will be. But it would be anyway for the tone! hehe
To truly appreciate what this pedal can do, you really have to hear it. This is another new song I just recorded, and towards the middle/end of the video, I put the guitar down and start messing with the POG, and then this Arion. And you can hear the almost orchestral sound that starts as I turn the mix knob up. And sorry for yet another song, but it’s where all my spare time has been going lately. (Pedals that do not have homes yet, if you’re reading this, I’ll come back soon.) So here’s the new song, and this one is not tracked, but played straight through and looped live, while recorded via external microphone:
And you can hear what the Arion did. This is truly one of those beautiful, gorgeous sleeper pedals that we all dream of finding. I’ve never heard another delay, analog or digital, do what this one does. Just be careful not to breathe around them.
Now, I must mention that undoubtedly the best part of this video is that I obviously have no clue whatsoever on what to do with my hands when there is not a guitar in them. I had no idea I was doing that. If I had to guess, it looks like I’m first conducting the POG (inanimate object, folks), and then wofting the sound from the amp up towards my nostrils. Sounds like something I would do.
I am so awesome. Nope.
Splendid.
Karl.
New Song – ‘Something I Can Almost Remember’
Aug 30th
I’ve been trying really hard lately to figure out how to still be a guitar gear junkie when I have no money. And on a whim, I decided to try this new fad called, ‘playing the stuff you buy.’ It was strange and a little bit frightening at first, but after the first couple G chords and modified Edge riffs (and by ‘modified’, I mean, ‘added more delay’), I felt strong. So in the absence of buying gear, songwriting happens. So maybe not buying new gear is actually a good thing? ………lol Ah, I say crazy things sometimes. But in the meantime:
What is happening here? Yesterday I discover that it is possible to not be in a nightmare and still have two harmonizing David Hasselhoff’s flying at you, and today I’m questioning the merit of buying new gear. I think the world is ending, folks.
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. The full version keeps getting taken down off youtube, but this should be required watching for all us gear junkies:
Titles Do No Justice…
Aug 29th
So…
…this exists.
I’d love to say, ‘Good for you, David! Way to have fun and not take yourself seriously!’ But, I’m not really sure that is the case. In fact, I think I am now less sure about everything I have ever been sure about. This man made my childhood so much brighter with Knight Rider. And then something happened……
Ooga Chaka.
Karl.
Worship Seminar & Damage Control is The Best
Aug 25th
Well, always one for being on top of things, I’m giving no less than 24 hours notice of a worship seminar in the Temecula Valley area that I’ll be speaking at. It’s the next three days, and it’s put on by Chorus Church and one of my mentors, Eric Beeman. Everything you need to know is here at School of Worship. This isn’t to promote myself, it’s just because some of you have asked about gear and worship seminars (I’ll be teaching on both), and I got too hit in the face by life this spring to put one on. hehe I think it’s a small fee, and if you don’t include me, there are some amazing people speaking and playing at it. hehe
Oh, and I broke a knob off of one of my Timeline’s smashing it into my car (because I am so awesome), and Damage Control/Strymon fixed it for a great price and with a turnaround time of 2 days. Because they are, simply put, the best.
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. I’ve posted this before, but I will do my absolute best to do my effects demonstration at this hallowed level of awesome:
Uncontroversial
Aug 24th
It would appear that my last few posts have incited some fairly passionate putting forth of opinions by some folks. And yes, I did mention some of the automatic opinion-inciting words, such as ‘Line 6′, ‘big pedalboard’, ‘true bypass’, and ‘Christian.’ (Man, if only I had mentioned ‘Dumble’ too! That would’ve been great.) In actuality, I do try to be slightly controversial in some of my posts, as it tends to spark better and more valuable conversation. You don’t learn anything from each other while re-hashing the same old status quo. And I’ve been stoked on this blog how great and respectful of each other the arguments have been, even the more heated ones. So, because I think the discussions are so important, I was tempted to continue the trend and title this next post something like, ‘Playing a John Mayer Song Through a Dumble-Modeled Patch on a Line 6 M13 in Churches That Mandate Their Musicians to be Baptized and Own an Axe-FX Before Joining the ‘Team of Lead-Worshipers’. But…uh…I decided it might be time for a little break from controversy.
So instead, here’s a gift. A gift of music. (As if there were any other kind.) It’s one of the new U2 songs they’re premiering on their current tour, to see how audiences react. See? U2! How can that possibly be controversial? But I’m stoked because, while their last album seemed to forsake song-writing and melody for lots of empty layers and orchestration (good things on their own, but the song has to be there), the new stuff they are demo’ing seems to have gone back to what has made U2 so great over so many years: huge anthem-like songs that can also be stripped down to just an old Irish folk tune with a great melody over a perfect harmonic structure. And those of you hardcore fans, who might have a special place in your heart reserved for the only-once-played, personification of musical perfection that is the intro to The Fly from Live in Boston 2001, will be overjoyed to hear that they have finally, finally written a song around that intro. I give you (well, me and U2…see what I just did there…give you), Every Breaking Wave:
Now, before the U2 conversations start, let me tell you why this is the most uncontroversial video you could ever imagine. Because it has something for everybody. Let me explain:
If you love U2, here’s a brand new song from them with a gorgeous melody, and the chance to see Bono and Edge singing like it was just their backyard.
If you hate U2, you can hear how about 3/4 of the way into the song, they still haven’t worked out the proper chords for the melody, and can hear them struggle a bit. So then, you can flame away!
If you think Bono is a showy heathen, there’s a line about gambling to help justify you in that opinion.
And if you’re looking for deep Christian meaning from Bono, there is also the line, ‘I thought I heard the master’s voice; it’s hard to listen while you preach.’ (Now I gotta admit, lyrics don’t get much better than that. That hit me pretty hard.)
If you love Edge’s guitar, it sounds absolutely fantastic in this clip.
And if you hate Edge’s guitar, well, it is soaked in delay, so have a heyday destroying it. 
If you think U2 is the biggest band in the world, you’ll hear a hushed silence fall onto the crowd as they play this intimate and soul-baring song.
And if you think U2 is an overblown crock of over-the-hill losers, you’ll hear a lifeless crowd falling into total boredom.
(Isn’t it amazing how perspective can actually change facts depending on what you’re preconceived notions are?)
And if you just don’t care one way or another about U2, there’s a cool blue hue over some awesome upside-down umbrella’s for ya.
See? This video has something for everyone! It’s my gift to you. ……Alright, alright, and for those of you who think for some odd reason that this may have been less of a gift and more of me just making an excuse to show another U2 video (where in the world would you get that idea?), here are some more gifts:
Some brand new wonder:
And some worship. This song will sound cheesey to you at first, but just keep listening. One of those ones that defies you not to have fun with it:
And then, of course, for you rockers out there. This one is thanks to Nater2, who posted this in a previous comment. The best part about this, except for the vegan’s-nightmare on his head, is how in the world this can actually be considered a lesson. Just because I can see your hand does not mean I can copy you. hehe And, as much, as this style of music doesn’t grab me personally, I must admit it was pretty impressive about 3/4 of the way through when his hand literally becomes a blur on the camera as he’s moving it above and below the fretboard. Oh, and you gotta love the honesty of just plain calling the song what it is, amongst other language…’Nitro’, ‘keys to the Lamborghini’, and of course, ‘Michael Angelo’:
And lastly, a retro-classic that makes you remember why you’re alive. Well, maybe that’s just me. And there’s deinitely some akwardness there too, but for some reason…I just love it. Fun version is first, better and full version of Karla DeVito’s song is right below:
And just for good measure, Klon, Alf Hermida, waitlist for a Toneczar, Ed Roman, Danelectro Timmy clones, Lincoln Brewster, Line 6 Verbzilla.
Splendid.
Karl.
Why Effects and Rigs are Necessary Part 2: That Rig
Aug 20th
You know that rig. It doesn’t matter if it has different pedals on it, or if the amp has a different faceplate. It’s the same rig. That hideously huge one with two amps, three pedalboards, five guitars with a multi-stand, and a double-decked keyboard stand, that just oozes pretentiousness. On the 10×10 stage in the 50×50 church playing for 14 people, of course.
Oh wait, that’s me.
Well, not that bad. Anymore. I’ve only got one pedalboard now……it comes apart into two so that I can move it, but that doesn’t count. (Nope, doesn’t count. I don’t want to hear your logic.) I do bring two amps, though. And as much joy as it brings me (mmmmmm), it can be daunting at times. So, last week, when I brought the riglet pictured in part 1, well……I must admit that there was a part of me that thought I just might sell everything.
I take the riglet to my car a half an hour before I have to leave, as that’s usually how long it takes me to pack my stuff up, make the 9 trips to the car, and load it all in. So I take the amp and the head, and then the guitar and mini pedalboard. And I still have 25 minutes left. It was so weird. And what’s more, the little board runs a much lesser risk of slamming into a wall, and then me having to run over and patch the spackle back on while it’s still kind of wet. Or, whatever. I don’t know how it works, but there are parts of our apartment that have cracked off spackle because of my pedalboard, stuck back on somehow. Then, when I said goodbye to my wife, I wasn’t sweaty. And driving down to the service, I promise, I felt my little truck riding better without all that weight in the back. And then I loaded in so quickly, that I even had time to go across the street to a music store before the rest of the band got there. Bonus round.
(For those of you who lived through glamrock, I understand that you have an automatic repulsion towards gear because these are the types of images it brings back to your mind. I know it must be hard to differentiate in your mind between spandex and rackmount effects. I understand. It’s not your fault the ’80′s have been responsible for so much damage. So much awesome, tiger-striped, friendship-bracelet damage. But just so you know, you can rock effects and big amps without rocking……that. Even though this dude is my new hero.)
So really, I’m thinking of doing this all the time. It pains me to admit almost succumbing to the ultimate musical temptation: ease over tone. But that is exactly what was happening. Luckily, tonal reality (sounds like a bad prog-rock album title) set in with the sound of…well, with the sound of no more sound. Yep, that’s right. The one time in years that I don’t run my rig off of a power conditioner, the church blows a breaker. Fortunately, everything recovered fine, except my shaking nerves after hearing that terrifying and all-too-familiar-for-us-unfamous-musicians-playing-in-small-churches-and-local-dives worst fade-out ever sound as we watch our brilliant blue led’s slowly fade into oblivion. Too dramatic? In some ways, yes. But in another way, a way I like to call ‘the right way’, absolutely not. Either way, it reminded me why I have a huge rig: to fit a power conditioner it. So:
Reason #1 for having That Rig: protection of your gear.
So we start playing the set, and at first it is so liberating to have that small of a setup. And then we get to a really driving part. And I already have my Tim’s drive and boost on, my guitar’s volume up, and I need somewhere else to go. Of course, I could walk over to the amp, or do the awkward trying to turn pedal knobs with your pointy rockstar shoes, but it’s kind of too intricate of a passage to do that at the same time (at least for my humble skills), and it will sound too awkward to stop and do it because I don’t have a second delay pedal or reverb to hold the sound decay for a bit while I make on-the-fly adjustments. And I realized that I could really have used another boost, and another drive. Hence:
Reason #2 for having That Rig: always having another intensity level with the click of a switch.
Not to mention, that in those times when you do need to change a setting on-the-fly, it’s nice to have a second delay and/or reverb to decay while you are changing settings, changing guitars, changing sheet music, improvising the next passage in your head, and just general flowing of the music without sounding blocky. Brings us to:
Reason #3 for having That Rig: fluidity of the song.
So first two songs end, and now it is time change keys while the worship leader talks. And having played with my pads for so long, it was unbelievable to me how awkward the transition felt. It sounded like deafening silence. And I wished I had at least brought an ipod and a volume pedal for my pads. This is the first time in a long time that I have played without them when there is no keyboardist. Of course, you could do it by holding the last note with a compressor, looping it, reversing it, and then fading it out on one delay/looper while you swelled in with a pad sound on another delay, and that’s probably an even bigger rig. And I realized:
Reason #4 for having That Rig: fluidity of the overall set.
Reason #5 for having That Rig: bending down and knob-twisting is awkward. (No need to explain, right? Presets, or a second pedal, although maybe not as ‘old-school rockstar I don’t need no stinkin’ pedals’, can sure be a lot less distracting; especially if the set is particularly diverse in the sounds it requires.
And then I start to tear down. During the ending prayer (as I had that plane to catch). And the opening video. And the beginning of the message. It was so time-consuming to undo cables, and extension cords, and try to stuff them into the pedal board case, which then wouldn’t fit, and I had to do it over. And I realized that part of the reason my rig is big is actually for ease of use and professionalism. It’s large, but it’s that way so that I don’t have to connect any extra pedals, or cables, or jerry-rig anything, and I can actually set it up and tear it down faster than I can the riglet.
Reason #6 for having That Rig: swiftness and professionalism.
And this isn’t even mentioning little things that you know are going to happen with a smaller rig, such as…I wish I had brought a rack to set my amp on because all I can hear is low-end rolloff even though I know I’m probably killing the drummer with my high ‘beam of death’ blowing by my knees, thinking it sure would be nice to have trem on a certain song, or not being able to look down after flubbing a passage and be instantly comforted by the fact that since I have all that boutique gear, I must by definition still be a great guitarist. Okay, that last one is a bad thing. But overall, it was a brilliant evening for me, as it really solidified in my mind the reasons for having to deal with the looks of ‘there’s another jerk musician’ when I walk in (on multiple trips to and from the car) with ‘that rig.’
So for those of you who have that rig, own it. Play it. Love it. If you don’t have a wife (or a husband for the lady rockers out there) yet, keep it under the covers next to you. For climate control of the NOS op-amp chips, of course. Not because our rigs are just gorwn-up and more expensive versions of the G.I Joe helicopter I had to cuddle with every night.
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. Some of these are probably wrong conclusions, because subconsciously I probably can’t bring myself to admit that there are ways to get good tone without breaking my back carrying gear for the last 7 years. Or maybe I just like gear. Mmmmmmm……gear. Ya, probably that one.
Christians Are Mean!
Aug 16th
I was in the middle of actually writing a useful post (imagine that), but the words just weren’t coming. And contrary to popular opinion, when I freeform write and the jokes are that bad, I actually do manage to figure out where the delete key is. So for now, I thought I would relate a little story that I found quite interesting a few weeks ago.
I was having a conversation with some fellow musicians (that means I was on a message board), and the discussion was having mostly to do with music as it pertained to worship. As such, there were a fair amount of Christians in there. In fact, almost all Christians. Except for this one guy. He’s a friend of mine, and I know he’s not into religion. And as the conversation became heated (how crazy would the world be if we didn’t have the internet to make us feel real), people were no longer…um…nice. Except the one guy who wasn’t a Christian. How he managed to have a soft answer for everyone, especially when it came to the inevitable religious topics, was admirable.
And it made we wonder why Christians are so mean. And I include myself in that generalization. I’ve met a great many people who don’t believe in God’s love for them, who love a lot more than I do. The only reason I’m able to post this is not because I was so magnanimous in the afore-mentioned conversation, but because I have recognized how mean I can be and can now identify (sometimes, hehe) when to just back out of conversations because I know I will not be able to control myself. But that’s treating the symptoms…like throwing out the chocolate cake. Sure, you’re not getting fat right now, but that’s only because there’s no cake. Get in a room with one again, and the gluttony comes back. There is a deeper issue here, and it’s one I might venture to say, if I may be allowed to be so bold, that we might want to look into. And it starts with each of us individually. That means me. Blast.
Paul talked about our battle not being against flesh and blood. But sometimes I think we (meaning me) get that confused.
Oh, and…
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. This is not necessarily a Gear Page post, although I have seen it happen there many times. And it has nothing to do with the last post, in which I obviously uttered the magic conversation words, ‘Line 6.’ I thought there was a great and healthy conversation going in the comments there, and I hope it continues!
Dude, Have You Ever Heard of Line 6?
Aug 13th
Ah. My favorite comment. I get this about once every couple of months. Just got another one on youtube. Incredibly kind, well-meaning folks who look at my large-ish pedalboard and think, ‘Ah, poor guy…hauling all those ancient analog pedals around. He must have never heard of Line 6!’ And then they proceed to describe to me the wonders of these new-fangled inventions called ‘multi-effects’ which have just recently rendered the old analog technology obsolete. And I do not have the heart to tell them that yes, in fact, I have heard of Line 6 and that I might vaguely recall the name ‘Axe-FX’; because their intentions are just so genuine.
On some related (nope) notes:
- School of Seven Bells has a new album out. And it is all that you have ever hoped for.
- He’s not so cool anymore because he caught up on his waitlist, but plugging in a Hermida pedal is really something special.
- I think reality tv just hit an all-time low. A guy was trying to drop cd’s onto a plastic cup. And there were hosts, and lights, and a stage, and shots of the audience with that ‘look-at-my-face-twist-in-breath-taking-tension-please-put-me-on-tv’ look. About seven or eight years ago, I was watching David Letterman, and he said that in ten years reality tv would finally hit its all-time low and go off the air forever on the heels of its newest incarnation, ‘Hit Me With Driftwood.’ And with ‘Drop the CD onto the Cup’, we are unbelievably not that far off.
- And yes, I did watch the whole thing. It may be time to re-evaluate how you spend your life if you’re tensely yelling, ‘Whoa! He almost got that cd to stay on the cup!’ That’s when you need to stop and say those words to yourself out loud: ‘He almost got that cd to stay on the cup.’ Oh. Not my finest hour.
- U2 has a couple new songs, and thank everything that is good in this world, it seems they have rediscovered that fabled land called melody.
- Bono is quoted as saying that ‘a melody should feel inevitable.’ I absolutely love that; it seems to embody good song-writing so completely. But their last album seemed to have very few ‘inevitable-sounding’ melodies. I think they are back. I also sometimes think, with quotes such as this, that Bono may be a genius.
- On the other hand, Bono is also quoted as saying, ‘I love to paint. I don’t think it’s just the fumes, but it might be.’
- Someone once noted that the famous and oft-used inspirational quote from D.L. Moody about how the world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully devoted to Him, is in essence saying that ‘the world has yet to see a man fully and completely devoted to God.’ As a fellow stupid person in a world of stupid people, I’m not sure that can ever really happen. But it does haunt me.
- And if you’re not religious, hey. You probably know by now that you’ve gotta put up with some God posts from me in order to get to the gear demo vids, or to watch me make a fool of myself by completely dissing (the ’90′s were an awkward time, weren’t they?) a pedal and then having it show up on my board in a later post, or to see more proof of highly paid actors who can’t…um…act. You know, why-ever you come here. (Or to hear words like ‘why-ever’.)
- Speaking of highly paid actors who can’t act……you knew it was coming:
- The best part is his confused blink after he says ‘inferno.’ You just get the feeling that it’s not necessarily that he’s a bad actor; he just simply doesn’t understand any of the lines coming out of his mouth.
- In fairness to Keanu, I may not be too keen on his acting style, but I have heard that he is one of the hardest workers in Hollywood and does most of his own stunts. While I’m sitting here writing a blog. Perspective.
- Now, I’m veering dangerously away from music here, so we need to bring it back. For those of you who have not seen MegaPiranha, well first off, your life must just be an empty, hollow shell. But second off (how come ‘first off’ works and ‘second off’ doesn’t?), not only do giant piranhas jump out of rivers headfirst into condominiums and you get to see landscape shots of computer-generated tails hanging out of buildings, not only does the hero bicycle kick them (yep), and not only do they celebrate and end the movie after only killing one of the thousands of megapiranhas, but Greg Brady is in it. Yes. He so is.
- And how does that bring us back towards music? Because Tiffany (yes, ’80′s Think We’re Alone Now’ Tiffany) is also in it. She plays a scientist. And she just might have feelings for the former navy seal who is bicycle-kicking megapiranhas. But they come from different backgrounds, and want to save the world in very different ways, so it’s dicey for a while. Oh, and she does fall to her knees and scream that she just wants to kill all the piranhas. Just wants to kill them all. Some folks say that this movie was purposefully bad. Dear sweet mercy, I hope so.
- Sometimes, I go a couple weeks without having played a set that calls for fuzz. And then I have to turn it on for a few seconds just to feel normal again.
- A lot of the new worship music coming out sounds like if Coldplay were hillbillies. It’s either that, or lazy song-writing. I haven’t contributed anything better, granted; but just an observation. It’s like country songs but with the harmonic color taken out and a straight drive beat put in. And for me, I’m like, if that’s where your music naturally takes you, just leave the groove and the lap steel in, and rock the country.
- Come on, worship song-writers. What happened to the good ‘ol days of just U2 ripoffs? Don’t change things up on me! That’s all I can play now!
And scene.
Splendid. (Maybe.)
Karl.
Why Effects and Rigs are Necessary Part 1: That Guy
Aug 10th
The other night, instead of this…
…I used this…
And I learned a ton from The Riglet. And not what I thought I was going to learn. This is part 1 of said learned things. (What?)
It was the night before my wife and I flew out way early for a family wedding out of state, and I needed to get in and out of the worship service very, very quickly. So, I grab my pad rig pedalboard, disassemble it, and grab only the basics from my main board: od w/ boost, delay, tuner, and volume pedal. Now some of you purists out there right now are thinking, ‘Uh…’basics’ means plugging straight in.’ And I agree with you…if that was what the set called for. But what the music needs should always trump the coolness of ‘plugging straight in.’ And I must admit, it does feel pretty cool. But here are your other options for not bringing pedals when the set calls for it:
1) Be that guy who thinks they can play the dotted eighth delay on Not to Us with their hand. It is so my favorite to listen to folks try to do that (hehe). But I decided not to be that favorite for other people. (And end up being ‘that guy’ in their blogs.)
2) Be that guy who thinks his amp volume is low enough to tune by ear while the pastor is praying. And note to all of you out there who are that guy: your amp volume is not low enough to tune by ear while the pastor is praying.
3) Be that guy who’s playing arpeggiated off-tempo ‘textures’ on the intro to Hosanna because ‘you don’t need effects for ambient playing.’ Which is true…unless the rest of the band is trying to play that sonically spacious intro as close to the track as possible, and you’re that guy ‘who knows better’ than Hillsong’s producer. Which you very well may be. Sometimes I feel like I am. But then I have to realize that since I actually do not make gold records when I put my pants on one leg at a time, it is very difficult to describe to the rest of the band how in fact my thinking I know better than musicians everyone else digs, is actually not arrogance.
4) Be that guy who’s rocking Spinal Tap power chords while everyone else is minimalistically letting space ring out in the verses of Mighty to Save. This one should really be self-explanatory.
5) Be that guy who forces the whole band to change their style to a straight-ahead hard rock or a laid back blues because they want to gel as a band and don’t want your guitar sound and playing to stick out like a sore thumb. Granted, changing the whole feel and style of a set to an effectless or non-ambient one can be a great thing…provided the rest of the band is on board. Forcing them to do it because you didn’t want to plug in a delay pedal is a little…well…let’s just say it’s a good way not to get a call to play for the next worship set.
6) Now, the volume pedal and the overdrive pedal were because even though you can control both those effects with just your guitar’s volume knob, I tend to fall behind on that when really fast note swells are needed or when I need to change from a clean chord to an overdriven lead with no dead space in between. And I didn’t want to be that guy who hindered the worship music because he didn’t want to bring extra pedals so that he could look cooler on his blog.
And I really, really wanted to plug straight in. It would have cut down on the stuff I had to bring, I would’ve looked cool, and I would’ve gotten that incomparable feeling of raw rock ‘n roll power when you stick that jack right from the amp into your guitar with that loud electronic crackling sound. (And I’m not even joking. That’s a cool thing, and few things are cooler in life.) But in thinking through how best my guitar could compliment the music in the set, I realized, once again, how necessary it is to have a pedalboard in my rig.
I’m not saying that everything has to be played exactly like the track. We all have our own creativity, and I have heard plenty of folks play things that I like way better than the original track. What I am saying is that if you don’t ever concede any ground (such as, ‘Ya okay, even though I think this song sounds better with a blues riff rather than an ambient texture, or with a delayed anti-solo rather than a flanged ’70′s rock line, maybe I’ll come closer to the original because I’ve already changed 3 out of 4 songs in the set’), at some point you have to ask yourself where the line is between innovation and arrogance. And I’ll say right now that I don’t know where that line is…so I try my best to always error on the side of humility (and fail miserably most of the time…hehe). Which is one of those ultra (and I mean ultra) rare things in life that maybe, just maybe, is more important than music.
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. For those of you interested in those pedals I mentioned tough times were forcing me to sell, the thread is here: http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=759234
Everything is Music
Aug 4th
Ever think that the entire world is made up of sonic textures? That it’s actually different sounds traveling at incredible rates (‘it feels like you’re running at an incredible rate, Harry!’) that make up objects, feelings, and life? And as such, we each would have our own unique tonal center? And mine would be an Irish flute played through a sound system of line-array Matchless’s (mmmmm)? Well, I do. And this proves it unequivocally. Except without the unequivocal part…or the proving part……so, I guess we’ve just got ‘this’:
- Phil Collins, I love you, but the drum fill in that ‘I can feel it callin’ in the air tonight’ song that the government obviously passed a law saying that is has to play in every department store in the world at least once per hour, is the most awkward drum fill on universe. It also sounds like the bongo patch on a Casio. Or maybe that’s just the speakers in Ross. Only the best for me.
- Speaking of Phil Collins, he’s totally the police inspector in the beginning of Hook. You know, the one investigating Pan’s missing children. Yep.
- Oh, and speaking of buying things in department stores, I went into this one store one time and saw the greatest Robert Downey Jr. jacket ever. I went in to buy it with definite mirth in my step. And it was $1200. Just the jacket. The music in my head definitely stopped for a second.
- I know it’s overplayed, but how is Pachelbel’s Canon not the best song ever? And yes, I have seen the ‘Pachelbel’s rant’ video on youtube. And no, he does not include U2 in it, no matter what you hear.
- Speaking of overplayed, Sweet Child o’ Mine? So…much…of that guitar intro. Everywhere. However, I have to admit, I wish I had come up with something like that. So iconic.
- And ‘iconic’ is so the new ‘epic.’ Which means both words are almost about to be banned from life. Like ‘hands down’ and ‘nails.’ Because I…uh…definitely have the power to do that? Yes.
- You know those folks that sing along the cool places of the world? And usually they are just horrendously hacking some finger-tapped and ’80′s-a-cized version of Phantom of the Opera on electric violin? Well…3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica yesterday, and lo and behold, one of the best female voices I have ever heard. I got a video, but it sucks, because she was a girl, and even though I was with my wife, I didn’t want to be the creeper taking a video of a 16-year-old. We talked with her afterwards, and she was actually our age, but we couldn’t tell at first. Anyway, here name is Clare Means, and you should definitely go to claremeans.com . And when her songs are in movies next year, remember that you heard of her first here and then bow in homage to my awesome abilities to…well……shop in Santa Monica, I guess.
- And my wife made me a card yesterday for one of our anniversaries (yes, we are cheesey and celebrate everything…love is a good thing), and…well…all I can say is that if you’re jealous of her, it’s okay:
- Read that last one again. She is the greatest. She even knew to give him a Vox and an Explorer. If that’s not love… But seriously…love you, Sweetheart!
- Playing a worship set tonight. With my amp, guitar, a drive and a delay. Maybe a tuner. Leaving really early for a family wedding in Colorado tomorrow, so I gotta get out of there fast right after the set. Regular guitar playing, that’s all you need. Swells, textures, ambience, and synth with a delay and a drive? Looking forward to the challenge. I’m sure there will be some awkward sounds, too. And some stepping on air where I imagine more pedals to be.
So much more to say, but I need to go get ready for the flight. Not sure how much I’ll be around; depends on the internet situation up there. Not in Colorado as a whole, but where we’re staying. hehe I’m also taking bets for how many times I’ll hear ‘In the Air Tonight’ and ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ on the trip. I’m pretty sure Colorado has those songs, too. I’m going with the conservative vote of 12 each by Monday.
Splendid.
Karl.
P.S. Not to sound desperate or anything, but times are tough. Not in danger of not making rent or anything, but tough enough to where I feel guilty having so many pedals on the board when everything else is so tight. So, if anyone is interested in an Ooh Wah, Mosferatu, Strobostomp, POG, or RV3, let me know.
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