A couple more Rough Edges tracks

Well, there's a couple more copies of Rough Edges out in the world, so I might as well get on with the business of doing the liner notes. Tonight, I'll tell you about tracks three and four.

3 - The Train Song

This was inspired in part by the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, but the musical form came from a TV show I was watching on PBS one night. It featured a group of women folk singers, and included the Indigo Girls, Holly Near, and several others. I liked the way the songs tended to be put together. I especially liked the light touch they used to get their points across. It was gentle, thoughtful music and so much of mine at the time seemed heavy-handed in comparison.

It's in a standard tuning, but capoed on the third fret. The little opening theme is from Elizabeth Cotten's "Freight Train," so credit where credit is due. I couldn't resist putting it there. I hope Ms. Cotten's estate will be satisfied with a small percentage of the vast profits I've realized off the six or seven copies I've sold so far. ;>

4 - Speaking In Tongues

The long title for this is "My Fingers are Speaking in Tongues." Lyrically speaking, it's pretty self-explainatory. The music came from a warm-up exercise I came up with that makes use of a lot of 'tone clusters.' That's where you take a chord form usually used in the first three frets of the guitar and shove them up and down the neck. Cool stuff.

Both of these songs differ from most of this collection, in that they were recorded at New Sherriff Studios in Laconia, NH. I believe this facility is now defunct, as the Sherriff, one Dave Marsh, has left the area. Too bad. Very generous and talented guy. He was part of a three-piece project called MD2, which put out one CD. Musically, it's kind of in a little grey area that resides between New Age, mellow Techno, and soft jazz. It was a sax player, a percussionist, and Dave on electronic stuff. He helped turn Greenlaw's Music in Laconia back into a serious music store. Anyway, I recorded these two songs and the opener, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins," at his place.

Rory Gallagher

http://www.rorygallagher.com/


One of my favorite guitarists, and one of my biggest influences on the instrument, is Rory Gallagher. A bluesman from Ireland, he's not very well known in the US, but he was a big star in Europe.





I first heard Rory back in the mid-seventies. I had a friend named Barry Sutton who turned me on to a lot of great music. I was just starting to get serious about playing the guitar, and Barry changed my point of view forever by playing me "Irish Tour '74." At that time Jimi Hendrix was the center of the guitar universe. You were either trying to sound like him (Robin Trower, Frank Marino) or you were going in completely the opposite direction (Steve Howe, John McLaughlin). You have to remember, this was a pre-Van Halen/Stevie Ray world.





Rory was the anti-Hendrix. I was, and am, a big Hendrix fan, but Rory's approach was so breathtakingly fresh that I couldn't resist. Like a lot of other players at the time, I was busy filling the floor with effects pedals. My biggest mistake was to get a pretty good guitar and a pretty good amp, and then try and make them sound better with stomp boxes. Fuzz, flange, phase, compression, you name it and I had it parked a toe-tap away.





In contrast, Rory's rig at the time was dirt-simple; a Stratocaster, a Fender Twin Reverb amp, and a cable. That's it. And man, he could make that thing talk! Lately I've been digging through my collection and his albums hold up well over the passage of time. They don't sound the least bit dated. On the contrary, they prove the staying power of good ol' straightforward blues-rock.





Recommended titles? Just about anything is going to be a treat, but the older stuff has questionable production values, and some of the later stuff is a little over-the-top. I'd recommend starting with Irish Tour '74, the best of his three live albums. Live In Europe from '71 is a little more blues-centric, and his 1980 Stagestruck shows him in an almost heavy metal mood.





My favorite album of his is the studio effort from 1975, Against the Grain. I'd also point out Top Priority from '79, and Tattoo circa '73. These are the best-sounding recordings, and the quality of the songs is among his best. There are also some very good live DVDs out there, including a video record of the aforementioned Irish tour, and a new 2-disc set taken from his five appearances at the Montreaux Jazz Festival.





For a longtime Rory fan, Live At Montreaux is a little disturbing. News of Rory had always been a little spotty, and you get to see how his life progressed as well as his music. Sadly, he died in 1995 of complications from a liver transplant. That tells a lot of the story right there. His life apparently revolved around three things; playing the guitar, chasing the skirts, and drinking. From what I've heard he actually had the liver transplant around 1990. For a couple of years he took a little better care of himself, but eventually settled back into his old ways.





The Rory Gallagher we see from his 1994 set is a heavier, sadder man than the one who jammed with jazz great Larry Coryell in 1975. He used to have either two or three pieces behind him, but here he had at least five, and brought on Bela Fleck for a couple of tunes. He smiled, but still looked sad. He and the band took a leisurly stroll through the tunes, playing with convuluted endings and aimless solos. And still, every now and then, the brilliant strat-master would occasionally peek through, showing flashes of not just the old brilliance, but actual growth as an artist. At 47, the only thing he'd lost was his reason to live. He'd done it all, and simply didn't know what to do next.





His brother and manager, Donal, keeps the flame alive. There's an excellent website, the link for which is above. Interest in his music keeps most of his catalogue in print, so while it might take some detective work to actually find his CD's, it's certainly not impossible. If you like good rock guitar playing and feel like some get-down kick-ass rock and roll, you owe it to yourself to give Rory a listen.

A couple more songs

5 - The Painter's Song

My brother, Rett, is a painter. We've always had sort of a mutual admiration society between us, because I wish I could paint, and he wishes he could play music. I am also a huge fan of his painting, and have many examples of his work hanging in my house.

Every fall Plymouth, NH has an art show on its town common. I've managed to get to several of these events over the years, and I get a big kick out of it. The one problem I have with it is that it's kind of landscape overkill. Nothing wrong with a good landscape, but when you've got fifty or seventy-five painters showing their work, and the vast majority of them are showing New England landscapes, it gets to be a bit much. I don't blame them, because that's what sells, but after a while they all sort of run together.

So, I usually end up finding that one painter that is doing something radically different. This song was inspired by a fellow whose name I'm afraid I've forgotten, but I'll never forget his art. I could go on and on about it, but suffice to say it was very striking. This song was inspired by a trilogy of paintings he'd done, two of which he still had. All together I think it referred to the twilight of the gods. One was of a small group of Norse gods looking like the morning end of an all-night drunk. The other appeared at first to be little more than swirls of brown and beige color, but on closer examination was a mass of nude bodies all mingled together. Very striking.

6 - Heroes

This one was written as I was reading "Taliesin" by Stephen Lawhead. He spent a couple of years in the British Isles researching the Arthur legends, and in the end got four books written. Personally, they're my favorite telling of the tales.

One of the core ideas that's always in the back of my mind is that everyone has greatness within them. I believe that with all of my heart. Too few people in this world are willing to truly make the effort to try and live up to their own ideals. It's like Albert King used to say; everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.

As a Christian, the example I try and follow is that of Christ, but of course I have much more than his example to follow. That's the advantage the Christian has. Whatever it is that you are into or believe in, you owe it to yourself to set yourself aside and follow that which you believe is the core of true faith. Find out if it works, dammit. Use yourself and your life as a laboratory. Then, you can speak about it with authority.

For myself, I have put Christ, His spirit and His word to the test for 23 years and counting, and my life has progressed. I have tried to follow the hero's path. Not very well, I'll grant you; lots of mistakes and failures, but then again I don't feel like I've missed anything. There are things I know I've needed to do, and by God they've gotten done, or at least attempted. Who could ask for more?

More Rough Edges notes

7 - Prophet Sharing

This is a two-parter, written around 1989-1990. I spent the better part of a month parked on my couch with a back injury so I took the time to do some bible study. I headed for the minor prophets and got particularly interested in the book of Joel. The first half of this song is a rough paraphrase of Joel. I've noted that the old testament prophets were particularly fond of proclaiming woe; oh, woe unto thee, though stiff-necked and badly-dressed people. And so, the first half of this song is called "Woe, Nellie."

The second half is an extrapolation of the first half's warnings into the modern day. If you read Joel, he has a lot to say to us. About that time I learned that the word "secular" does not mean simply "without God" as I once thought, but instead "in the world." There's a lot of talk in Evangelical circles, and the contemporary Christian music community, about secularism. If this world truly belongs to Satan, then I am a spy for the other side.

This was one of the recordings that was hardest to include, and hardest to leave off. I'm particularly proud of this song (I suppose I should say, grateful) but am definitely not satisfied with the recording. I've been known to do it as a solo acoustic piece, but there's been a couple of opportunities to play it live with a band, and it comes off much better. Someday I'd like to record it that way.

8 - The Promise

This was written for a young man I knew who was having a very serious crisis of faith. I guess I offer it up as a prayer on his behalf. I'm pleased to report that, the last I knew, he was walking the walk.

As for the musical construction, this one's written on a guitar tuned to DADGAD. It's a tuning that Martin Carthy developed to help him better interperet Irish music for the guitar. The fingerstyle master Pierre Bensusan uses it a lot, as did the late Michael Hedges. With endorsements like that, how could I resist?

9 - A Voice

Pretty self-explanatory, lyrically. Musically, it's an acoustic guitar capoed on the fifth fret. I like the sound of it up there.

10 - Up

This was more or less an experiment to see what I could do with the sequencer and some tape speed adjustments. It's also some serious thought on the state of the world today.

11 - Wheels

This is one of my wife, Lynn's favorites. She especially likes the two overlapping synth patterns. This one's a tough one to do live, but we always have a lot of fun with it. Without the sequencer, I instead do a slapback-echo thing on the guitar, a la Edge of U2. Oftimes, the end of the song turns into an extended jam. Still, I think I prefer this version.

Link to Sweeney

Hi.

Some of you got here via a link on my CD. There's another CD I'd like to draw your attention to. Most of the copies of both CDs have links to both pages, but some don't, so here it is.

http://tcsweeney.blogspot.com/

This will take you to information that goes with a CD called "The Ricochet Project" by T. C. Sweeney. TC was a very good friend of mine, who passed away early in 2002. These are among the best recordings of his own songs, and I am proud to have been a part of them. I hope you enjoy the blog, and the CD.

Some more from Rough Edges

Hi. Doin' the Rough Edges CD back to front.

12 - Loser

Wrote this one in the late '80's for my wife, Lynn. She deserves an opera or something, but this is what I did. Sorry, honey. ;> Actually, I kind of like this song, or I wouldn't have included it. It's done solo with 1 acoustic guitar, tuned to a deep-C tuning

13 - F15 / Woodstock Nation

This is a two-part thing. F15 refers to a repeating rhythm pattern of 3 5's, into a riff and jam, and then cut away to a poem. The poem was written in Sacramento, CA late one night. California Public Television was running the movie "Woodstock" on its 15th anniversary, and it made me think of all the changes I'd been through since that time. The Woodstock Music and Arts Festival took place the weekend of my 14th birthday, and though I was not there, it had a profound effect on me.

I should also mention that the recording of this piece was different from the rest of the collection. This, like most of the rest of the CD, is me on guitar and vocals with the rest coming from a sequencer and synthesizers. Where as the others arranged this way were recorded piecemeal into a 4-track cassette deck, this one was done live, in stereo, into a home deck. Everything into my little 6-channel mixer and done live, in one take.

14 - BC-AD

I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior on March 14, 1984. The church I went to was a little house church in Sacramento, CA named Heart Ministries, which was a mission of a local Southern Baptist fellowship. By mid-April, there were five new believers who wanted to be baptized, including myself.

The Pastor, a dear friend named Jim Arnold who is now a missionary in Thailand, asked each of us to take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. On one side we should write "BC," and on the other, "AD." On it, we should write down what we thought of ourselves, what we perceived our friends and family thinking of us, and what we think God thought of us before accepting Christ and after. I took his idea a step further and wrote this song. I got to play it at my baptism on April 15, 1984.

When news breaks, we fix it!

Clark Kent. That was my hero when I was a very small child. Not Superman, oh no. Superman was cool, all right. Being able to fly would be neat, eat bullets, pick up cars, walk through walls . . . Didn't they have doors on Krypton?

But it was Clark Kent who was the crusading journalist. He, along with Lois Lane and that little twerp Olson, exposed corruption and dragged it kicking and screaming out into the light. He was the one who rooted out the evidence that put the bad guys behind bars. He was the one who stood up for truth, justice, and the American way. Superman just mopped up the mess when the two dough-heads got into trouble.

That's why I wanted to be a journalist. I was, and am, idealistic, and I saw that as a way to fight for my ideals. Too bad it didn't work out that way. Oh, well.

What disappointed me was the real world of journalism. And, to be honest, it continues to do so. There are no Clark Kents, but there are many who see themselves that way. To be fair, corruption is a lot more complicated than it was for George Reeves.

One problem is the illusion of an unbiased source of news. There simply is no such thing. Truth, simple pure truth, nothing-but-the-facts truth, can be packaged and shaped in so many ways. This was questioned once by a friend of mine, who insisted that the newspaper that he preferred was unbiased. At that time, we happened to each have a copy of our favorite newspapers for that day on hand. There was a story that appeared in both, regarding what was seen as a congressional victory for President Bush. Both papers ran the exact same story, reprinting word for word what had been sent to them over the Associated Press wire. But, the paper that was perceived as more conservative ran the story on page 1, above the fold, with a rather large photo of Mr. Bush, smiling. The more liberal paper ran it on the back page of the first section, with no photo and a much smaller headline. You can draw your own conclusions.

Again, if journalism is supposed to be about reporting the truth, why not report the truth about the journalist? Why doesn't the New York Times come right out and say what their editorial stance is? Or the Washington times? CNN and Fox News should both shout their biases from the highest sattelite dish. It's not like nobody knows already, fer hevvin's sake.

One of the most celebrated journalists in American history was William Lloyd Garrison. He was one of the heroes of the emancipation, and is almost always referred to as the publisher of an "Abolitionist Newspaper." What does that mean? Was there nothing but abolitionist diatribes printed on its pages? They had no other stories? No court reports? No sports section? No funnies? If something happened in Boston, or Washington DC, they only reported the abolitionist aspects of the story? I would guess it was a newspaper much like any other newspaper. It was probably read by people who could have cared less about the abolition of slavery, and just wanted to know what was going on in the world. After all, a newspaper is a business that has to attract readers, or it will go out of business.

That brings us to the other major problem that I have with modern journalism; the lengths that a news source will go to in order to make money. The worst offenders are television journalists, and most of all the 24-hour news channels. When CNN was the only game in town, they actually did a very good job of showing the broader picture, and keeping their own fingers out of the mix. For the most part, I will admit that I like Fox News Channel, and certainly prefer their point of view, but there's a lot of times they fall far short of the mark.

The latest example is the death of Anna Nichole Smith. I agree that it is a significant event, especially considering all the controversy surrounding the circumstances, the estate, and the young child she left behind. Still, the facts would be easy to report, and updates even moreso. So why do CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC insist on talking about it practically all the time? Isn't there any other news in the world? Do these people know that there was a coup in Thailand recently? The only way I knew was that a friend of mine who's a missionary there told me in an email.

Trouble is, there isn't much money to be made talking about the Thailand coup. CNN tried an all-international-news channel a while ago, and it bombed. It was good, but not glamorous. Sometimes I think I learned more back when we saw the news for a half hour every evening. Back in the day, there were three networks, and we lived in a very rural area, and could only get two of them. The news would come on right about dinnertime, and Howard K. Smith or Frank Reynolds would run through the main stories of the day. If you wanted more detail, you picked up a paper.

It's why I continue to listen regularly to National Public Radio. They cover a wide range of topics, and do it in depth, and even leave out the commercials. There is a certain pattern that you have to get used to, though. It's rather annoying, really, but you have to put up with it if you want to hear about anything besides Anna Nichole Smith. It goes kind of like this:

1) There's a problem somewhere.

2) Several people tell heartfelt stories about the problem, and how it affects them.

3) It turns out that the government knows about the problem, and somebody is trying to get them to spend money to solve it.

4) Heinous, selfish, power-mad people in the government don't want to spend the money. Their side of the story is told by people who are fat, rich, old, and white. You can tell, even on the radio.

5) If you're really lucky, you'll get to hear how desperate the people with the problem are again.

But don't you DARE imply that National Public Radio is biased. Oh, no. Not Superman. Or CNN, or the Washington Times, or Manchester Union Leader, or Fox News, or the New York Times, or . . .

Rough Edges

Hi. For the legion of PPLS readers out there (sound of crickets chirping) just want to say, sorry it took so long for me to stick more stuff on here. Those of you who have the Rough Edges CD were promised content here, and so here it is. And, since things show up here in the order they're posted, I should start with the end of the album.

Bob's Cliche City
East Chahunga Dragway
Limestone for Mayor

These are the last three cuts on the disc. They were made roughly 1989-1991 when I was a DJ at WPNH radio in Plymouth, NH. I used to work there one night a week, doing the overnight Friday show, and when they stopped broadcasting 24/7 the late night Saturday slot. Given the odd hour, I was pretty much free to do whatever I pleased. Mwahahahaha!!

So, I started doing my own fake commercials, which I mixed in with the real ones. And, this is three of them. I stuck them at the end so that you wouldn't have to suffer through them while listening to the music. By the way, I should mention that East Chahunga was an invention of Marcus Jennings, "the Doctor of Rock and Roll," one of WPNH's regular hosts. To be honest, I've forgotten his real name, but he was (and I'm sure, is) a great guy and an excellent DJ. He eventually got offered a better job in Buffalo, which is his home town. If you're out there, Doc, thanks for everything.

WPNH is still on the air, but it's now part of a conglomerate. The FM and AM signals are both satellited in from, I think, Boston. The building the studios used to be in was sold, and later torn down, and they've not had live on-air talent for ages now. Dirty little secret time: Back in the day, we used to say that the station's call letter stood for We Please No Human.

In The Beginning

A dissertation of Progressive Rock.

-----------------------

In the beginning was the Moody, and the Moody was prog, and the prog was Moody.

And there were many who drank from the well of prog; Sgt. Pepper, the Satanic Majesties, even the Boys of the Beach and the sounds of their pets. But for Moody, it ran as did the blood in his veins. Blue it ran, but not bluesy. Blue as nights in white satin into tuesday afternoon. To our children's children's children he sang until the seventh sojourn to the gemini dream.

And the Moody begat five children.

One was positive. Astral travelling from the south side of the sky, he was fragile and lived close to the edge. Though some threw tormatoes at him, he went for the one and used the keys to ascencion to climb the ladder and open our eyes. He plugged into the big generator and relayed to us the heart of the sunrise.

Another of the sons of Moody cried for elp. His condition required brain salad surgery, and he feared all nine karn evils. Still, he was a lucky man who still turns me on. Viewing a trilogy of pictures at an exhibition, he saw the hoedown between the sherrif and Benny the bouncer as a fanfare for the common man.

Still another aspired to be a King in crimson. He had the discipline, and was dealt a hand that could beat three of a perfect pair. But he was a 21st century schizoid man. In his courts they spoke elephant talk, but instead of red his clothing was starless and bible black.

Jethro was seen as a tull boy, just driving around in his four wheel drive (low ratio) and singing songs from the wood. And yet, those who knew him well found him deep enough to require an aqualung and as heavy as horses. He would stand up and freely pass the cup of crimson wonder for the benefit of all, even honoring the crest of a knave and the minstrels in his gallery. If only he could have done something about his locomotive breath.

The last wished to be first. "What shall you call me?" he laughed. "Anything but late for supper." He spent his days dancing the foxtrot and singing nursery crymes. He was even accused of selling England by the pound. He tooted the angel's trumpet until he had his phil. In the end, there was nothing left but his invisible touch.

And the five sons of Moody begat children of their own. From Kansas to Boston to Asia and even across the Styx they journeyed on gentle giant camels from star castle to dream theatre, carrying the King's X and drinking deeply of the nektar. From atop salem hill they were divine in sight of America Gommorah.

And Moody, now a great grandfather, said "Lovely to see you again, my friends."

Frontier Fleet

Well, it's about time I let you know about one of my obsessions. I am a trekkie. Not a trekker. I'm not that hard-core. But, I love all the Star Trek series, from the original right through Enterprise, and have most every episode on tape. I could watch the 23rd and 24th centuries until, well, the 23rd century at least.

As you may have gathered, I also like to write. I suppose then it was only inevitable that I should discover the world of PBeM's. That's, Play By eMail. I was lucky and found a good one right away. It's called Frontier Fleet.

It takes place roughly 15-20 years after the end of Voyager, so there's some distance between the official Trek universe and what we're doing, and yet the events of that still affect what we do. There are four ships, one starbase, and of course the Academy, where new members learn how to post properly, and begin developing their character.

It's a PG-rated game, so anyone that wants to write Trek-based soft porn has to find somewhere else to go. The basic guideline is, if they don't do it on the show, they don't do it here. Given that, it's still pretty open and free, with lots of room for creativity.

My main character is Lt.JG X'ok PaRel, a half-Vulcan, half-Klingon science officer aboard the USS Valkyrie. I also write a couple of the other science officers, Ensigns Alvarez and Fletcher, but they're considered SPC's, or Special Play Characters. X'ok, on the other hand, is a PC, or Primary Character. There's also NPC's, or non-playing characters. SPC's and NPC's are characters you throw in to keep things moving, and some NPC's are available to be played by anyone, with permission from the CO. There are people in the game who have multiple characters all over the fleet. Others concentrate on one or two.

What I find most striking about the game is the consistantly high quality of writing I find there. There are, quite literally, people from all over the world. Most of the writers are from the US, England, and the Netherlands, but I don't think there's a continent not represented, with the possible exception of Antarctica. All the posting is in English, which I would think would make it difficult for some, but apparently this is not the case. Oh, you can tell some people are still learning their way around the language, but the writing is still very good. I've learned a lot, and it keeps the juices flowing.

Anyway, I'll refrain from telling you any more right now. Better that you go check it out for yourself at www.frontierfleet.net. See ya there.

Ever Since I Was A Young Boy

Had a bit of a flashback recently. Took my two lovely and charming daughters, Cathleen and Emily, to Funspot in Laconia, NH. Funspot is one of those places where you can burn through twenty buck in an hour or so, but not mind the loss for a minute. Penny arcade. One of those places where there is, quite literally, something for everybody. We get a bunch of tokens, divvy them up, and from that point on the kids know where to find me. At the pinball machines.

I used to play pinball any time I got the chance, back in the day. It was one of my primary sources of entertainment, especially when I was in the Navy in the mid-70's. For me, there were three good reasons to hang out at a bar. They had good live music, good pool tables, or good pinball machines. Maybe, in my waning years, it's time to impart some of what I've learned on this subject.

First of all, I should let you know that my style of play was not like that of a lot of pinball fanatics I've known. I don't rock the machine. I've seen a lot of people tread that thin line of manipulating the table to the edge of tilt. For those of you raised on digital video games, a pinball machine has a device sort of like a pendulum, and if the pendulum swings too far, the game ends. It's called tilt, which means you tilted it too far. There was a bowling alley on the base at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, where they taped the tilt mechanism down. You could literally lift the machine off the floor and roll the ball any way you wanted.

To me, that takes the fun out of it. My style was more about finesse. Use of the flippers. I have good enough hand-eye coordination that I could aim the ball fairly well, if I were in practice. Even yesterday, having not touched a pinball machine for years, I was doing pretty well.

There were three or four major manufacturers of pinball machines back then. Remember that the information I'm about to impart is in no way official statistical data, or anything of that sort. It is merely observation, based on several years during which I travelled extensively and played a wide variety of machines. The main manufacturers were Bally, Williams, Chicago Coin, and Gottlieb. I suspect that Chicago Coin and Gottlieb might have been the same company, because the machines were so similar.

My personal favorites were the Williams. They were fast! There were a lot of reasons for this, I suspect, but I believe the main one was that the table was set at a steeper angle. My favorite trick on the Williams machines was a quick double flipper action. The ball would come down and just barely nick the end of one flipper. If you hit it just right, you could knock it into the tip of the other flipper, and then it had enough purchase to shoot it back up the table. baBAM! Plus, the spinners spun faster, the strobes flashed faster, the ball moved faster, and they were noisy sonzabitches!

The main problem with Williams was that they were more cheaply made. It could be one of the things that made them so fast, but little things would break down on them all the time. A roll-over button would cease operating, a spinner would stop spinning, or even a flipper would get loose. A well-used Williams might spend half its life out of order.

Chicago Coin and Gottlieb machines were made to be taken into combat. They had Gottlieb machines at Funspot yesterday that most of the graphics had worn off them, they were so old, but they still worked perfectly. They're slow, though. Painfully slow. The ball crawls around the table. They also seem to have the glass closer to the playing surface than other manufacturers. You're always hearing this scary CRACK as the ball hits the glass.

The happy medium was the Bally machines. Tougher than the Williams, faster than the Gottliebs, and classier than either. They weren't always the first with new innovations - Williams had that distinction - but they were almost always interesting, challenging, and well-made. The only real advantage the Williams had was, they were flashier. To young men, that's a big factor. Still, as long as it gave you fun for money, they were all good, and all got played.

Way before the days of action figures and other pop culture tie-ins, there was hardly a cultural phenomenon that didn't get immortalized on a pinball machine. A big movie, a popular TV show, a hot band, just about any cultural icon could be found with a silver ball cruising around it. I've played machines dedicated to everything from Playboy to Kiss to Star Wars, to Laurel and Hardy fercrissake. Some of them had a certain 'what were they thinking?' savoir faire to them.

It was a definite high point in pre-digital, mechanical entertainment technology. Unfortunately, that simple thing alone meant it was doomed, in the same way the electric guitar has given way to the synthesizer as a provider of tonal possibilities. I could see that the best, most high-tech and up-to-date pinball machine was John Henry to Pong's steam drill. You could see the winds of change moving the world any time you went into an arcade and walked past the rows of quiet pinball machines, and saw the crowds around the Space Invaders game.

Now, there's even digital pinball games, downloadable to your computer, which is the ultimate sacrilege. Not because of some warped sense of purity, but because it's just not the same. A mechanical game like pinball requires a certain amount of finesse that no digital technology can duplicate. It's like comparing film to digital photography. At the end of the day, digital is still tiny square blocks of pure color, and no matter how small the squares get, that's all they'll ever be.

So here's to the remaining pinball machines in the world. Long may they ding, bang, buzz, flash, and ratchet.

The Cute Beatle

So, anybody out there a Beatle fan? Whether you like the Beatles or not, no matter what your age or musical tastes are, there's an excellent chance that they've had a significant effect on the music you like.

Lately, I've been on a Paul McCartney binge. I have times like that, when I go on musical binges, listening to one artist almost exclusively for a couple months at a time. It had been a while since I'd had a good Beatles binge, and this time it settled on Paul. The Cute Beatle.

I've been concentrating on his solo work, although I've been digging around his old band's stuff as well. I keep coming back to the Ram album. It's an interesting piece of work. I've been looking at some of the reviews that have been done in recent years, on AMG, Rolling Stone, etc. A lot of people take exception with the fact that most of the tunes are all-but-meaningless throwaways. The thing with McCartney is that, even these get the full treatment. Just take a listen to the song "Ram On." One little verse, and the whole thing hangs on a little mandolin riff. But then you add the hand claps, the background vocals, the fills, and it becomes something more. Give your heart to somebody, so-o-o-on, right away . . .

The whole album is like that. What I find most striking about it is how everything sounds. Every now and then you hear a recording that makes you notice how good, or bad, your speakers are. Paul McCartney's Ram ranks right up there with Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, and Miles Davis' Kind of Blue in that respect. Especially the tone he gets out of the electric guitar. Listen to the chords in Uncle Albert. I would love to know how they got that tone. Clean, without being sterile. Full, without being loud. I love the way that album was produced. It's deep, without being thick. There's layer upon layer, but each one gossamer-thin.

It is really a high point in his career, although he's got a lot of great albums. Band On The Run always gets held up as his crowning achievement, and I do like it, but the ones that bookend it were equals in many ways. Red Rose Speedway and Venus And Mars may each have more flaws, but the highs seems to reach a little higher as well. I always liked his first solo album, McCartney. Off The Ground is terribly underrated. If you like Paul and have never heard it, you've really missed something. There's some great stuff on there, and the band is so much better than Wings it's almost painful. The new album, Chaos And Creation, is also quite good. I didn't know quite what to think of it at first, but it grows on you. Jenny Wren, Fine Line, and How Kind Of You come to mind as stand-out tunes, but the whole album's very good.

Listening to his music also makes me think about Linda McCartney, who was a centerpiece in his life in so many ways. I have come to believe that many people are jealous of their relationship. I have to confess that I probably fall into that catagory. Really, how could you not be? She was talented, beautiful, intelligent, and their partnership was a 24/7 kind of thing. Don't get me wrong; I love my wife, Lynn, dearly. There is, nor can there ever be, anybody else for me. Still, it's a musician's fantasy to have someone that can be that involved in the thing that defines your life as Linda McCartney was with Paul and his music.

She took her share of heat over the years, too. Supposedly, there's a bootleg tape that's been making the rounds for years. It's from a board tape of one of their concerts, with everything mixed way down except her off-key backing vocals. Funny, I suppose, but still mean. She was truly the Anti-Yoko. I personally believe that Yoko Ono ruined John Lennon. She fed on his weaknesses and built a fence around him. The poor bastard never stood a chance. Linda, on the other hand, supported and inspired Paul.

It would be easy to be skeptical of their relationship. It was too good to be true. Weren't they both sleeping around? Weren't they both junkies? This whole happy-couple thing must be a put on. In the end, however, I think the best clues to the truth can be found in the music that Paul wrote. The man who wrote My Love in 1973 was the same man who wrote Winedark Open Sea in 1993. He loved her, deeply.

That's why we all hurt for him when she died. We knew who those songs were for, and we knew he meant every word. I couldn't listen to Run Devil Run, the next album he did after her passing. Too much pain. To his credit, his creativity has kept him going, and I think Linda would approve of the way he's dealt with the loss. He's remarried, and instead of trying to recreate Linda and their relationship, he hooked up with a strong, independent woman for whom he feels genuine affection. But he hasn't taught her to play keyboards, and he doesn't drag her on stage with him. The new band is a boy's club, and they go up and rock the house. Paul is, for the first time in his life, a solo act.

The new album seems to be the most focused work he's done since Off The Ground. I especially enjoy it, because I've recently turned 50, and it's good to know that you don't have to be an oldies act once you turn 35. Keep rockin', Paul, and ram on.

Sugar, Sugar

Just before Christmas, I sat down with an artist who I've been an admirer of all my life. He was a founding member of one of the most influential bands of the late '60's. 

From humble beginnings in the small suburb of Riverdale, Reggie Mantle rose to the top of the charts with a handful of friends whose only goal was to form a little garage band and have some fun. 

It all started in the waning days of the British Invasion, when it seemed that any teenager with a flashy smile and a used guitar could rise to riches and fame overnight. 

Reggie, along with friends Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones, had a little pop-power trio, their beat-up equipment squeezed in beside the battered hot rod that Andrews drove to school every morning. As the host of the jam sessions, Archie took the lead guitar spot and Reg moved over to bass, with Jughead on drums. Soon, two local girls, Betty Cooper and debutante Veronica Lodge came on to play percussion and keyboards respectively. 

Andrews was the front man, but it was clear from the outset that Mantle was the brains behind the outfit. Now, nearly thirty-five years since The Archies' last album was released, I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to sit down one-on-one with one of rock and roll's true icons. 

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PP: The question remains, was The Archies a true collaboration, or were you Archie Andrews' back-up group? 

RM: (laughs) I guess it would be easy to think that. We practiced at his place, and he really was, at least in the early days, the most relaxed on stage. He was also a very good guitar player, so I didn't mind stepping back. What people tend to forget was that everybody in the group sang. Even Jughead, although we only let him sing lead on the Christmas tunes. 

PP: I remember his Christmas album. 

RM: That was my first stint as a producer. Not exactly high art, but we had a good time. (laughs again.) Of course, that was right at the start of Juggy's substance abuse period. We tried to keep it quiet, but I'd have to say that was the beginning of the end for the band. That, and his fling with Ronnie.  

PP: Now, wait a minute. Did I hear you right? There was a romantic link between Veronica and Jughead? 

RM: She'd deny it, of course, but it was pretty hot and heavy for a while. Surprisingly, Arch was the last to figure it out, and when he did he went nuts. We were doing a session, and they were late. I mean, hours late. Archie keeps asking questions, and Betty and I tried not to answer them. Eventually, he put two and two together, and then he trashed Jug's drum kit. 

PP: Wow. 

RM: The whole thing was fueled by Columbian marching powder, of course. We finished the record, and the tour was a disaster. Ronnie had a lucid moment and went into rehab, but the band was finished. 

PP: And Jughead? 

RM: He spent a couple years in denial, but eventually got his act together. Did it the hard way, too. Just stopped. Didn't know he was that strong, but he's stuck with it. Going to a good church, married, a couple of really nice kids, but he left Riverdale, won't talk about a reunion tour, nothing. Wants nothing to do with The Archies. Can't say I blame him, considering.  

PP: Were you disappointed that Betty married Archie?  

RM: It kinda stung, but I guess I expected it. Of course, the public thought that Arch and I used to fight over Ronnie, but she . . . Let's just say that she's independent. Didn't need either of us, when you come right down to it. 

PP: She was playing you?  

RM: You said that, not me. (laughed) The Archies was a thing to do. She was good at it. She's good at everything. She's running Lodge Enterprises now, and her father's smiling through his golden years. 

PP: What about your brief marriage to Midge, and the falling out with Moose? 

RM: I told you we werent' going to discuss that.  

PP: Your stint at Betty Ford? 

RM: This interview is over! 

(Reggie stood over me, scowling, for a full minute. I was tempted to apologize and beg him to continue, but I stood my ground. Don't ask me why. A range of emotion played on his face. Finally, he sat down.)  

RM: I've got a good life now. I may not have a wall full of grammies, but there's a few gold records. I'm a producer in L. A., and there's a lot of people who would give their right arm to be me. I put out a solo album every few years, I work steady . . . I got the monkey off my back. It was tough, but it's done. One day at a time. 

PP: Do you keep in touch with Archie and Betty? 

RM: Oh, yeah. I get back to Riverdale every now and then, and they've been to L. A. a couple times. Betty's even put background vocals on a couple projects I've worked on. I'm expecting them to come out to Cleveland later in the year for the induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. I'll call Ronnie and Jug, but I don't expect them to show.  

PP: So, no new Archies music? 

RM: I'm remastering the first two albums. There'll be demand after we're inducted, and it's a chance to finally clean up the mix, which I never liked. 

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We talked for another hour. Eventually, he forgave me for invading his privacy. He understood that he owed his fans an explanation. He also understood that he owed them his regrets, and his victories. It was a good time. It's not often in your life that you get a chance to share an afternoon with one of your heroes.

Guitars

I think I'm going to drop a few thoughts about one of my favorite topics; guitars.

I've been thinking a lot about guitars lately, because my house was robbed a couple months ago and most of my guitars got ripped off. I've been gigging with borrowed gear, thanks to some very generous family and friends. When we get the money from the insurance settlement, it's time to go shopping.

Now, for you women who have to put up with men complaining about your shopping, you know that we're just as bad. The difference is that we don't make you go with us when we go. 'Nuff sed.

Anyway, I lost five guitars, but now I'm thinking about what I'd get if I'd taken 5 guitars worth of money and had a chance to re-spend it. One thing I definitely want is a hollow-body electric. I once had a really good one, a blonde Gibson ES-175. Had to sell it to pay the bills, and been kicking myself ever since. It's not the kind of guitar I'd use all the time, but I love to play them. The other main thing I need is a good solidbody with single-coil pickups. Strats are good, although I'll probably do a mod on the electronics. A good Telecaster can do anything.

Here's where we get into one of my pet peeves; "tone woods." What most manufacturers call "tone woods" I consider toneless. Alder, basswood, poplar . . . These woods make dead guitars. Which can be a good thing, if your style of play includes a lot of processing. These kind of woods send a much simpler signal into your processor, and if that's what you do, then that's what you need. I like to serve mine up Rory Gallagher style; guitar, cord, amp. The rig acts more like an acoustic instrument when you run a simple set-up. For that, I much prefer heavy, resonant hardwoods like mahogany, ash, and maple.

One thing I'm considering is having a custom guitar made. In a way, I'd like to start collecting favorite instruments. An SG, a Strat, a Tele, things like that. On the other hand, I've always wanted to have an uber-guitar made. One that was exactly the way I want it.

So, here's what that would be:

Short scale. 24.75", like a Les Paul. Nice, C-shaped neck that was thin, but fit snugly in the palm of your hand.

Mahogany, with maple top and back. I've got the slab of maple, too. Birdseye, cut in New Hampshire, sliced into plank back in 1978 by my father-in-law. Beautiful wood, and rings like brass.

Carvin humbuckers, with coil splitters.

Graphite saddles and nut. No tremolo.

There it is; my Christmas list for '06. All donations cheerfully accepted.

And, I would, of course, love to know your thoughts on the subject.

r

First pitch

Hi. This is my first post to my own blog. Hope you have as much fun reading it as I think I will writing it. It will be about everything.

I think the first thing I should do is explain the name. Peter Pan is, of course, the boy who never grows up. A lemonade stand is the kind of business where the proprietor gets to decide the product line and the price. This proprietor also gets to decide what gets listed on the bottom line. Lemonade is what the wise person makes when life hands them lemons. I happen to love lemonade.

I have a lot of interests, and if I keep doing this, we will eventually cover them all. There is one more thing that I'd like to dump in your lap today, and that is my favorite bible verse. Luke 17:10. Be a good Berean, and look it up. Dat's all 4 now.

r