The peak foliage has passed but there are still hardy stragglers clinging to the branches. Some of the trees are not quite ready to relinquish their leaves and join their denuded brothers and sisters in anticipation of the coming winter. Another year is slipping through our fingers.
I am not used to being home so much and the lack of scripted organization that being on the road requires sometimes leaves me at loose ends. It is an interesting place to find one’s self. So many choices. What to do, what to do? I have mandated actual practice time for me every day. What a concept! There is time for solo practice and time spent with my good friend John Hurlbut in preparation for our duo show on Sunday the 12th of November.
It is cold here in Southeast Ohio today. Freezing when I got up and just peeking into the low 40’s as nine AM approaches. It won’t be long before the low 40’s will seem like a heat wave!
I find that as age wraps its bony fingers around me it seems more difficult to hold onto a sense of relevance. I remember my father towards the end of his life referencing more than once the William Butler Yeats poem, Sailing To Byzantium. The second stanza meant a lot to him in the mid 90’s as it does to me today.
From Sailing To Byzantium, second stanza:
‘An old man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick, unless
Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing
For every tatter in its mortal dress,
Nor is there singing school but studying
Monuments of its own magnificence;
And therefore I have sailed the seas and come
To the holy city of Byzantium’
William Butler Yeats
Sometimes as one might say, ‘Ain’t nothing new but you.’
With these reflections in mind I think I shall load my canine buddies, Maverick and Percy, into the car and take a drive in the morning frost.
A couple of questions (out of left field) about that stack of (4) Fender Super Reverbs you used when playing with the Airplane in mid-late ’68 and through 1969. Any recollections about where you got them and what happened to them when you moved on to other amps? And also, did those have the stock Jensen Speakers or were they replaced with something else?
Another question, is if you have any recollection of who played drums on the Airplane song “Lawman”. The Bark album specifies that it was Joey, but in a Relix Magazine interview from the late 80s, Spencer stated that he played the drums on that, and it was the last thing he recorded for the Airplane, and was not credited. They had different drumming styles, and it’s hard for me to tell.
Hey Dave… first of all those are Twins not Supers. The ES-345 is a true stereo rig so there were two Twins for the bridge pickup as well as the neck. I probably got them from Sherman & Clay in San Francisco. The Jensons would have done the trick until they blew up and I think we went to JBL’s after that. They were harder to blow. Back in those days I didn’t give much thought to speakers. They just needed to work and they had to be easily replaceable on the road wherever we were. I blew speakers all the time. When the Airplane first started touring road cases didn’t exist yet, or if they did I didn’t know about them. I just put the slip cover on the amp and checked it in as luggage when we flew, which was pretty much all the time. (no gear truck yet)
If Spencer (may he rest in peace) said he played on Lawman, then I’m sure he did. Spencer, Grace, Marty, Paul, Jack and myself are the Core Airplane to me and musically the most creative incarnation. IMHO
I remember seeing ev sro speakers in those twins.
I really despise those speakers they sound like crap for guitars
Memory is a funny thing,,, I don’t remember the SRO’s in the Twins. I do remember them in the Marshal/Hi Watt cabs which was some years later.
Oh well…
I just spent 20 minutes looking for that pic but couldn’t find it
When or if I do I’ll send it to you.
I have a pair of blown ev sro speakers around here somewhere if you need/want them
Hard to argue with your position. You don’t know until you try it though… With enough Hi Watt horsepower you can anything sound good… sort of!
Ah the Irish always thinking and contemplating. And putting it down. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so thankful for ability to sit and play guitar. I always wish I could have more time it keeps me whole.
And thanks to Greg for the Sandy Denny update. She is one of my very favs.
Keep on keeping on
Taking time for solo practice and jamming with John Hurlbut sounds like a great way to embrace the changing seasons! It’s awesome that you’re exploring new rhythms and melodies even as the leaves fall. Any favorite tunes on your playlist for the coming duo show? 🍂🎶
I love everything John throws at me. It’s always a lovely journey!
2023 has been an interesting year. I would say, “it’s a wash.” Between lay-offs, and finding a new career path, I’ve grown a lot personally. I’m thirty years old, and I have a beautiful, supportive wife and two young boys. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment – or a quiet one for that matter. I’m sure you can relate on some level when you were my age. I’ve recently read, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” by Albert Camus, and he stresses the difference between his idea of Eluding regarding Diversion in the Pascalian sense. Basically, our bodily life is always one step ahead of our thinking and eludes it in the sense that even when thought tries to catch up, life has already carried on.
I think about what you have written and I say: enjoy the moment, and don’t dwell on it. “What to do, what to do..”. Jorma, you’re already doing it.
Picking up the guitar at age 65 was about the smartest thing I’ve done, next to quitting cigarettes in my mid thirties. I look forward to practicing, every day, usually after coffee and newspaper the morning. It is a new thing in the life of an old man. Every old man needs a challenge, I say. It keeps us thinking, keeps me in touch with the young man who still lives inside my head.
Fall in southeast Texas is rather muted compared to the fantastical palettes of color that dapple eastern forests, but the subtleties makes one who cares about such things as seasonal changes keep a sharper eye to see. A walk in the woods is a good way to leave the mortal coil far a while and contemplate the eternal, to which we surely all belong. The rhythm of the seasons is all the proof I need.
Really a great post here. Ah, the ever-changing season outside (and in us). I’m only 70 but I get what you are saying and feel it. And what a great gift of your Dad, passing on the Yeats poem. Very appreciative of your sharing this and hoping I can internalize it.
Sue and I stopped by Vanessa’s boutique and gallery the other day. WOW. I was especially drawn to the painting Marty Balin did of Jerry Garcia, displayed among a collection of Jerry’s prints. It was so good to see your awesome fringe jacket, Jack’s glasses…Thanks for sharing this history! m
I try to set aside at least an hour a day for practice, usually I have the TV on low in the background. Doesn’t always happen every day because life sometimes happens too, but I try to make an effort. Was particularly inspired recently by attending the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation Homecoming in Avalon, Mississippi a few weeks ago, so I have been working on a bunch of his stuff.
Speaking of Sandy Denny,I was able to locate a great compilation by Fairport /Fotheringay ;live recordings titled “A tree with roots “,all Dylan covers by the band .
Great stuff ,there are too many standouts to list but the cover of Days of 49 is most memorable .
Check out Vans most recent release ,Accent the Positive ,just came out 10/3/23.
As for walks and fall ruminations it’s been a bountiful fall ,the Bir Oak acorns are both by incidence and size grand ,as well as a good apple and chestnut crop.
All our edible dependents went on vacation a week ago and are hanging in a locker for 21 days ( Durocks& Angus ).Frankly it’s nice to have the relief from the daily feedings.
Looking forward to going to Fur Peace next year and seeing the acoustic Duo on the road .
Thanks again for the great show at Live oak,as a comment I most enjoyed Justin on the drum kit ,in my very humble opinion he was the drummer in the bands esteemed run that supported the best.
Thanks for the great times
Catch you down the road
Sigh… I wish I could be more organized with practice….or cultivating the song ideas onto fingers on the fretboard or words on the page…
Never enough time… hours in the day… motivation…always some metaphorical fire to put out…
The crisp morning air reminds me I’m alive and I hear my mom’s voice reminding me to wear layers.
The foliage has yet to peak here in south jersey but we are well on our way… it’s funny how it seems to last shorter each time
Who knows where the time goes-sandy Denny