A few folks have emailed me or left comments on the site to ask how Sybil, my Parkwood Hybrid, is doing these days. In a nutshell, she's great. In a slightly larger nutshell, I'm happy enough with her that I sold my Rickenbacker, and those of you who know me well know that that's not something I did lightly.

I've been playing Sybil regularly since the beginning of January, once a week at church and once a week at worship team practice. I will occasionally pick her up and home, but I mostly use my trusty old Alvarez White Fusion when I don't want or require any amplification.

She's holding up quite nicely. A few weeks after I bought her, she developed a nasty buzz on the second fret, so I had to take her back to Guitar Center for a quick adjustment. And last week, I noticed that a small screw attaching the Parkwood logo plate to the headstock had come loose, but that was easy enough to fix. You know, with a screwdriver.

Otherwise, I have no complaints at all. I love how versatile this guitar is. When leading worship at church, I really appreciate being able to switch over to electric for a song or two, or even keep the acoustic and electric channels going at the same time for a really unique sound. And switching between modes is a snap. It's great for when you want a nice, soft, acoustic intro, but you want that little extra kick when the drums and bass come in.

Speaking of that extra kick, the Seymour Duncan Mini-Humbuckers have a great sound, even when going direct to the PA system with no amp. And the acoustic sound is really, really sweet. It's a brighter sound than what I'm used to (my Alvarez has a rich, dark sound that I've come to adore), but not at all unpleasant. And through my FloorPOD, it sounds absolutely amazing.



In the looks department, Sybil is a knockout. The Australian Blackwood top with Light Vintage Burst finish is just gorgeous, and the somewhat understated chrome controls add a bit of elegance to it.

Since I purchased Sybil, Parkwood has pulled the plug on its hybrids. From what I understand, they were a limited run made exclusively for Guitar Center and they're totally sold out. They should definitely make more. Parkwood got everything right in this guitar, and I couldn't be happier with it. Looks as though Sybil may become a collector's item.

But the hybrid market is getting more saturated. In addition to the Parkwood, I've already written the Taylor T5 and the Ovation VXT. I've also read about Michael Kelly's Hybrid Special, which weighs in at about $599, but I've not personally tried one.

Epiphone has also gotten into the game with the Les Paul Ultra II, which looks like a regular Paul but has a chambered body to get the acoustic sound. It sells for anywhere from $599 to $699 and comes in a variety of very Les Paul finishes.

Finally, Ibanez has launched a hybrid, too: the Montage. Its price range is about the same as the Epi and the Kelly, but it has some nice features for the money, including a built-in tuner and XLR outputs. It also features onboard reverb, chorus, distortion, and other goodies, although I can't in good conscience recommend using the effects built into any guitar. Just rubs me the wrong way.

So anyway, there you have it. I'm loving Sybil and I think she likes me, too.

Posted in the section Music | # |

And now my Rickenbacker is gone. I ended up with just shy of twenty serious inquiries, including people asking if I could ship it to California and/or Indiana. In the end, a really nice guy drove about two hours each way to try it out. He fell in love on the spot and gave me more than asking price, in cash. I think he and his sons will give it a good home.

For nostalgia's sake, here's the last picture I took of my Rickenbacker.

Posted in the section Music | # |

So I put my Rickenbacker up for sale on craigslist last night. Within 24 hours, I've had seven serious inquiries about it. Wow! I didn't think it would generate that much interest. But truth be told, it's a great guitar. I just don't play it much anymore, since Sybil came to town.

Posted in the section Music | # |

From The Guardian: The quest to decode Beck's lyrics can finally come to a close. "Most of the vocals on [Odelay] were scratch vocals," he has revealed to Rolling Stone. "We just grew attached to them."

It's still a great album, though. Definitely in the top ten albums of the 1990s, ranking up there with Nirvana's Nevermind, Toad The Wet Sprocket's Fear and Gin Blossoms' New Miserable Experience.

Posted in the section Music | # |

This is Sybil.

Isn't she pretty? She's a Parkwood. That's Australian Blackwood on her.

I picked her up on December 30, and Guitar Center let me have her for the January price (which was significantly lower). I checked her out a couple days before that and pretty much fell in love.

She's a hybrid (yes, I finally bought a hybrid), so I can get acoustic and electric sounds out of her with ease. And she plays very nicely. She uses electric strings, and I've been playing my Alvarez almost exclusively and neglecting my Rickenbacker for so long that she's amazingly easy to play.

Tonight was the first I used her for more than just messing around. We had Worship Team practice at church, so I plugged her right into the PA through a direct box. She sounded great. The acoustic sound was fantastic.

While I was at Guitar Center and spending money as if it were no object, I went ahead and picked up a Floor POD, too.


So I have a pretty sweet setup right now.

Which is good, because Tom and I are finally working on some recording, which we've been intending to do but not actually doing for far too long.

Now the question is: do I keep the Rickenbacker or sell it off? I'm definitely keeping the Alvarez, for two reasons. One, I love its rich, dark sound. Two, I'd like to have a real, honest-to-goodness acoustic around, just in case. But the Rickenbacker.... I don't know. I just can't see where I'd use it in the foreseeable future.

Posted in the section Music | # |

Need some new tunes to listen to while you work?

TuneCore (which was already on my awesome list) is giving away 34 free songs.

Quite the variety, too. I mean everything from Public Enemy to Over The Rhine to Bill Medley (no, seriously). Check it out here: http://www.tunecore.com/freealbum

After you get your code, copy it, fire up iTunes, and click on Redeem. Then paste the code into the text field. Your songs will start downloading shortly thereafter.

I haven't listened to everything yet, so I can't vouch for the quality of the whole, but there are definitely a couple good listens in there. And for free and legal, it's good deal even if most of the music sucks.

Posted in the section Music | # |

At some point in the possibly distant future, I'm going to buy a new guitar. The last guitar I purchased was my 12-string Alvarez in 1999. I rarely play this guitar. I skimped on it, and I shouldn't have. It doesn't hold its tune any longer than I can hold my breath. But I digress. Before that, it was my Rickenbacker 330 and my Alverez White Fusion, both in 1996. That was back when I was playing regularly in a band.

These days, I still play regularly, but it's at church. On any given week, I play during our Wednesday night practice and during our Sunday service, so I still get lots of playing time in. For leading worship, I have almost exclusively used my Alvarez White Fusion. I can't remember the last time I seriously played my Rickenbacker. But that's okay, because I've grudgingly come to accept that I'm not much of an electric guitarist. I'm a solid rhythm player, but don't ask me to solo.

So when I'm ready for a new guitar, it'll be pretty tough to justify an electric. In fact, it's pretty easy to justify trading in my Rickenbacker, although I'm still not sure I could bring myself to do it. But if I trade in my Rickenbacker for a new acoustic, that leaves me without an electric at all. I have not needed an electric guitar for a gig in nearly ten years, but rest assured, the day after I sell the Rickenbacker, I'll get a call to play a gig where I'll need an electric. Just the way my life is sometimes.

All of this leads me to ponder the hybrid guitars that are starting to come out. These guitars are, quite simply, amazing. They promise down and dirty electric tones or sweet and dainty acoustic tones at the flip of a switch. That's just too good to be true.

As far as I can tell, there are three main entries in this category. The heavy hitter seems to be Taylor, who has never really been known for their electric guitars, but who makes a really nice acoustic guitar. Taylor's hybrid is called the T5 (short for Thinline 5-way), and I've been lusting after it for months now. For starters, it's an absolutely gorgeous guitar, clean and curvy and just a bit understated. Check out the video of Marc Seal playing it here. But all this flexibility doesn't come cheap: you won't find a Taylor T5 for less than $2,000, and that's for the standard model. Expect to pay up to $3,000 for the custom or for a maple top.

While trying to come up with a way to convince my wife that the Taylor T5 was a necessity, I happened across the Ovation VXT. Like Taylor, Ovation has never been renowned for any work with electric guitars, but their acoustics have a fanatical fanbase. I'm fond of the Ovation sound, but not the round back they traditionally sport. But the VXT is flat. It's a hybrid. Looks nice and sounds nice. The VXT blog has some videos worth watching. The VXT is more reasonably priced than the T5, weighing in at around $1,600 retail. But I had trouble convincing myself that this was the right guitar for me. The T5 has some natural reverb, but the VXT doesn't look like it does (confession: I've looked at it up close but not played it).

Tonight, while leafing through the new catalog that Guitar Center sent me in order to keep me hooked, I found Parkwood's new Hybrid Blackwood, which looks really, really sweet. See it in action here. This is much more in line with the feature set and styling of the T5, but get this: it's retails for $1,000, about half of what the T5 costs. I honestly don't have any experience with Parkwood guitars, but from what I've read, they seem to be well-respected and well-liked. This one is definitely worth checking out.

So which one am I buying?

Well, let's just say that I'm currently examing the budget and leave it at it.

Posted in the section Music | # |

This one's for Tom.

Via Think Christian:

At Christianity Today, Roger Freet finds challenging spiritual insights in the music of Tool, a prog-rock band not known for their positive attitude toward Christianity. The Tool lyrics Freet’s chosen to highlight in the article are direct, brutal, and demand answers. Perhaps it’s a shame that I’m not accustomed to music, Christian or otherwise, that talks so earnestly about spiritual matters. Speaking of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan’s lyrics, Freet concludes:

The Holy Spirit is the giver of all gifts. If someone elects to use those gifts in the service of God, good. But those gifts are not rendered dormant or defunct by virtue of our intent. An artist who explicitly rejects God, as many have done, nevertheless remains a “sub-creator,” as Tolkien said, a creator in the Creator’s image. We should be suspicious of our tendency to insist that God only shows up in the right places. Sometimes, pagan sources can most accurately reflect back to Christians the power and lasting impact of genuine witness. You never know when and where God might reveal himself.

Reference

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I recently acquired a free exercise bike, so I've been working out a couple times a week lately. It's really helping me feel better, not to mention helping me get into better shape.

Of course, the most important component of the workout is the workout mix. If you're doing a 30 minute workout, don't worry. I've got you covered




Rock on.

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So it looks I might be working on some music with the drummer from my worship team. That's why I spent some time last night recording new versions of some of my older songs. I wanted to get them down in acoustic, stripped down fashion, with no effects or anything, just guitar and vocals. So these are pretty raw, but you're welcome to take a listen if you'd like. I'm hoping to see these arrangements change pretty dramatically in the coming days.

There's not much new here, although I think this is the first time "Dirty Little Secret" was recorded. Otherwise, if you've ever been to one of my shows, it's a pretty good bet you've most of these before.

Why did I call it The Laundry Room Sessions? Well, a few years ago, David helped me record some songs in our office (using just a PlainTalk microphone) and we jokingly called that The Office Sessions. Since I recorded these in my laundry room (which is also my home office), I decided to keep the joke going.

Grab individual tracks in MP3 format here:
Strange Days
Waste
No Soul For Sale
Sorry
If I Fell
It Happens All The Time
Forever
Dirty Little Secret

Or grab a zip archive of all eight songs here.

Thanks to GarangeBand for making it easy.

PS: For bonus points, listen closely toward the end of "Strange Days" where I completely blow the rhythm.

Posted in the section Music | # |

The 2006 Mounvtille Garage Sales were today. Just like last year, Jen and I, along with some other members of our worship team, not to mention a few new friends, played alongside the praise band from St. Paul's United Methodist Church.

And it rained.

We had just finished our sound check, when I felt a few drops on my head. Now, understand that my head is more sensitive to the rain than most, at least since I started shaving my head last August.


Click the image for a few more pictures.

So we pulled everything back a few feet in order to enjoy the modest protection afforded by the tarp hanging over and slightly behind us.

But anyway, we pressed on. And why not? We were set up, we had practiced, and we were among good friends.

And it turned out pretty well. We each did two sets, and the moment the fourth set ended, the sun came out in full force. Which was, you know, a little bit annoying.

But a good day, nonetheless.

Posted in the section Music | # |

I ran this through my irony meter, and it exploded.

Here's a snippet. See if you can guess the author.
But not the iPod. Most agree it is the best quality player on the market even if the cheapest one costs a few hundred dollars. The problem is that the iPod only works with either songs that you buy from the on-line Apple iTunes store or songs that you rip from your own CD’s. But those other music sites have lots of music that you can’t get at the iTunes store. So, if you have an iPod, you are out of luck. If you are really a geek, you can figure out how to strip the songs you might have bought from another on-line store of all identifying information so that they will go into the iPod. But then you have also degraded the sound quality. How cruel.

Oh, it boggles the mind.

I can't even bring myself to comment. The whole thing is just too stupid.

Posted in the section Music | # |

I can't wait.

Tomorrow, at long last, I get to see Michael Penn in concert.

I've been enamored with MP's music since 1992, when I saw his excellent "Long Way Down" video on MTV. The video was cool, but the song was enthralling. Who was this guy? Michael Penn? Wait a second... he did that song about Romeo in black jeans, right? Yep.

I rushed to the record store and bought his first two CDs: March and Free-For-All. I listened to them intently and repeatedly. I was hooked. The guy's music is amazing, his lyrics are astonishingly fresh and intelligent, and his voice is mesmerizing. Finally, I though, some music I can sink my teeth into.

And then I waited five years for his next album, Resigned. It was worth the wait. Some of my all time favorite songs (like "All That That Implies" and "Small Black Box") are on that album. That year, he toured in support of Sheryl Crow, and came within a two hour drive of my house, but I couldn't afford tickets at the time.

A few more years went by and he released MP4 (Days Since a Lost Time Accident), which is another excellent album ("Trampoline" is a great track from that one).

And tomorrow, I get to see him in concert at The Point in Bryn Mawr. My wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for Penn's music (in fact, she actively dislikes his music), so Dave will be joining me.

I can't wait.

Posted in the section Music | # |

Currently Listening to: The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins by Leonard Nimoy.

Weirdest. Song. Ever.

Posted in the section Music | # |

Another PodCast - If I Fell, recorded live at Etown Park in August, 2002. It's in the RSS feed, and here's a direct link.

Posted in the section Music | # |

Well, let's see if this works. I've enclosed an MP3 of "It Happens All The Time" for this post in the RSS feed.

Posted in the section Music | # |

These are my most listened-to tracks of 2004, according to my iTunes playcounts. Eclectic blend of modern rock, 80's stuff, and worship music. Interesting to see that Jars of Clay once again dominates my taste in music. Click the image to get any of these tracks from the iTunes store. Note that even though the Michael Penn song "Slipping My Mind" is listed as being from the album March, that's only on the re-issue. It was originally on his second album, Free-For-All, but the two albums were combined for the re-issue.

"Jealous Kind", Jars of Clay, Who We Are Instead
"Trouble Is", Jars of Clay, Who We Are Instead
"Is She Really Going Out With Him?", Sugar Ray, Is She Really Going Out With Him? - Single
"Kiss Off", Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes: Deluxe Edition
"Amazing Grace", Jars of Clay, Who We Are Instead
"Head Over Heels", Tears for Fears, Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears
"Hound Dog", Elvis Presley, Elvis
"No Such Thing", John Mayer, Room for Squares
"Stacy's Mom", Fountains of Wayne, Welcome Interstate Managers
"Drive", Incubus, Make Yourself
"Better Is One Day", Passion Worship Band, One Day Live
"Mad World", Tears for Fears, Shout: The Very Best of Tears for Fears
"Unchanging", Chris Tomlin, Not To Us
"Time of the Season", The Ben Taylor Band, Famous Among the Barns
"I Fought the Law", Green Day, I Fought the Law - Single
"If I Could Talk I'd Tell You", The Lemonheads, Car Button Cloth
"Under the Milky Way", The Church, Starfish
"All I Want Is You", Jars of Clay, In the Name of Love - Artists United for Africa
"God of Wonders", Passion, Our Love Is Loud - Live from the Passion Experience Tour
"Lesser Things", Jars of Clay, Who We Are Instead
"Slipping My Mind", Michael Penn, Free For All
"Butterflies", Toad the Wet Sprocket, Fear
"Enough", Chris Tomlin, Not to Us
"Sad Clown", Jars Of Clay, If I Left The Zoo
"Wonderful Maker", Chris Tomlin, Not to Us
"Tom's Diner", Suzanne Vega & D.N.A., Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega
"Bright As Yellow", The Innocence Mission, Glow
"The Munster's Theme", Jack Marshall, Ultra Lounge: Tiki Sampler
"Into Your Arms", The Lemonheads, The Best of The Lemonheads - The Atlantic Years
"Tainted Love (7" Single)", Soft Cell, The Very Best of Soft Cell

Happy New Year, everybody!

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"Green Christmas"
Barenaked Ladies

"White Christmas"
Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters

"Boogie Woogie Santa Claus"
The Brian Setzer Orchestra

"Little Drummer Boy"
Jars Of Clay

"Little Saint Nick"
Sugar Ray

"Jingle Bells"
Lisa Loeb

"Father Christmas"
The Kinks

"Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Barenaked Ladies

"Frosty the Snowman"
America

"A New York Christmas"
Rob Thomas

"Baby, It's Cold Outside (Mulato Beat Remix)"
Louis Armstrong & Velman Middleton

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Ray Charles

"The Christmas Song"
Weezer

"Christmas for Cowboys"
Jars of Clay

"Christmas Song"
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds

Posted in the section Music | # |

Wow. In seven days, we have an honest-to-goodness gig.

Kind of.

On September 18, Mountville will hold this year's Mountville Days. Yes, it's Mountville Days, despite the fact that it's self-contained within a single day. At least I think it is. Maybe I'm wrong about that. If so, I shouldn't have been quite so dogmatic just now.

Anyway, Mountville Days is when Mountville, Pennsylvania becomes the world's largest garage sale. Everybody and his grandma has a table, stand, rack, or some sort of display outside, where they sell junk they no longer want. Various companies and organizations set up shop along Main Street (yes, the name of the street is literally Main Street; just one of the many endearing features of the town) to hawk their wares or provide cheap snacks to harried garage sale patrons.

Along Main Street sits Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, an incredibly old building that dominates the street's landscape. Jen's mother works there as the secretary. Her employment is the root of our long and checkered history with the town of Mountville. The church's computer consultant, Charlie, lives right down the street from the church, and at one time operated his business from his home. It was during that time that he mentioned a need for some cheap labor, and my mother-in-law gave him my name. This is also, incidentally, how I got involved with computers as a vocation. Up until then, it had been strictly a hobby. Anyway, I ended working for Charlie for several years. Our business relationship ended in 1996 when I set off on my failed quest to become a teacher. Later that year, we moved to Mountville and lived in the renovated firehouse. It was such a cool place.

Toward the end of 2002, Charlie called me out of the blue. Knowing that I was a worship leader at the time, and knowing that I had a history of helping out with both worship services and church youth groups, he asked if I'd be interested in going on a retreat with Saint Paul's Church's praise band, which almost entirely made up of youth group members. Basically, I'd be helping them learn to become worship leaders. Jen and I packed our bags and headed off to Camp Innabah with them, and it was super cool. We had a blast.

A few weeks ago, Charlie called out of the blue again. This year, during Mountville Days, the church is setting up a stage outside, and the praise band is going to be playing. I think this is a cool idea. What would be nice, he said, is if the praise band could take some breaks but somehow still keep the music going. He asked if Jen and I would be interested in playing two one hour sets. Our answer, of course, was yes.

What Charlie didn't know, and something I haven't been advertising, is that Jen and I have been working on putting a new band together. In fact, we'd already found a willing guitarist/harmony singer by the name of Josh. This gave us a much-needed excuse to get together to practice. We worked on some material that Josh, Jen, and I are all familiar with from our Westwood days, and we even dusted off some Anonymous Joe songs, too. And they sound pretty good. Josh's guitar playing and his singing blend with mine very well, I think. We still lack a drummer, but I suppose that will come when the time is right.

So, we have our first gig on September 18. I'm really excited to be playing out again. I've missed it terribly.

If you want to see the new band, or at least what we have so far, we'll be playing from 10 to 11 and from noon to one outside Saint Paul's Church. Don't bother coming to both sets unless you really want to; they'll be identical.

Now all we need is a name. We haven't discussed it as a group yet, but I don't think I want to use the name Anonymous Joe again. That part of my life is behind me. I'll still use some songs I wrote for Anonymous Joe, since they're my songs and everything. I just don't want to use that name again. So I guess I need suggestions. I came up with The Blessed Rhinos. I was half-joking when I suggested, and I half-like it, but I'm not sure. Let me know what you think, and if you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Posted in the section Music | # |

We finally got around to re-recording "It Happens All The Time" this weekend. Click here to download the new version. No more goofy synth running through the whole song (there's still a tiny bit of synth in there, but it's completely different and I think it's used much more effectively this time). Two guitar parts plus bass and drums. Rather than using a stock drum track like I did before, I created a new drum line from scratch in Reason Adapted, an absolute kick-butt program from Propellerhead Software.

And last night, my good friend Brett came over to give GarageBand a try. Brett was the worship leader at Westwood who preceded me. He's now the Worship and Arts Director for NewSong Fellowship in Lancaster. We fooled around with GarageBand and Reason (ReWire rocks!) for a while, then he decided to record a worship song he'd written a few years ago called "You Alone." Click here to hear it. Brett did all of the male vocals and guitar work. His girlfriend Jamie did the female vocals, and Jen did the bass line. What did I do? Ummm... I was the producer. Yeah, that's it. I produced the whole thing. Well, I did help to talk him out of including the Nordic Keyed Fiddle. But Brett was floored by the possibilities that GarageBand and Reason present. I figure he'll be saving up for a Mac pretty soon.

PowerBook G4: $3100
M-Audio MobilePre w/Reason Adapted: $150
iLife '04 w/GarageBand (educator discount): $35
Being able to record a song in an evening and have it available worldwide on the Internet the next day: Priceless

Posted in the section Music | # |

10) Lincoln - They Might Be Giants

Ana Ng and I are growing old
And we still haven't walked in the glow of each other's majestic presence
Listen, Ana, hear my words
They're the words you would think I would say
If there was a me for you
"Ana Ng"

9) Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks

You keep all your smart modern writers
Give me William Shakespeare
You keep all your smart modern painters
I'll take Rembrandt, Titian, Da Vinci, and Gainsborough
"20th Century Man"

8) Grind - Jawbone Hill

Hey, baby, look to the seasons
Hey, baby, feel them one by one
Hey, baby, shout to the rainbow
Tell the Artist about His beautiful light
"Sun, Moon, and Angels"

7) The Burn Service - Vineyard Music Group

You are the fountain of my life
And in Your light I find my reason
'Cause Your love reaches to the stars
Even the great deep
And Your love reaches to this heart
And it makes me sing
"Your Love Reaches Me"

6) Utopia Parkway - Fountains of Wayne

When you think you've found something worth holding onto
Reaching for attention, hoping she would notice
You collecting bottles and thrown away cans
Like she was returnable, one day would refill your hands
How she loved you, all you imagined
Fit so well into your plans
"Troubled Times"

5) Resigned - Michael Penn

What once I took as remedies were only chalk hypotheses
'Tis the season for a breeze to blow them all away
To add insult to injury, the sum you gets means I agree
So you can call that empathy and find someone else to blame
"All That That Implies"

4) Ben Folds Live - Ben Folds

I pushed you 'cause I loved you guys
I didn't realize you weren't having fun
And I dragged you up the stairs and told you to fly
Flapping your arms, you started to cry you were too high
"Philosophy"

3) Much Afraid - Jars of Clay

Fare thee well
We're trading all our words for tea and sympathy
Wonder why we try for things that could never be
Play our heart's lament like an unrehearsed symphony
"Tea and Sympathy"

2) Pinkerton - Weezer

Yesterday I went outside
With my mama's mason jar
Caught a lovely butterfly
When I woke up today
Looked in on my fairy pet
She had withered all away
"Butterfly"

1) Gordon - Barenaked Ladies

Drove downtown in the rain
Nine thirty on a Tuesday night
Just to check out the late night record shop
"Brian Wilson"

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