Musical Market

All good things must come to an end.

Today I played my last gig at the Guernsey County Farmers Market here in Cambridge, OH.  Every Friday morning from May-October the market is open on the courthouse square in downtown Cambridge.  It's really the perfect location for a nice, small-town market.  Vendors line the square with their goods and services, as shoppers wander along the tables looking for something pretty, delicious, or useful.  You see smiles of all ages from buyers and sellers alike.  You see all kinds of characters walking along.  There is no dress code or level of formality.  You hear conversations, laughter, and maybe even a dog barking as its owner pauses near a table of fresh bread.  Up until today, from about 10:30 until 12:30 or so, you might have heard some music coming from somewhere over by the base of the large concrete steps leading up to the historic old courthouse that towers over the square.

Starting last fall I would go down to the market and set up my little PA system, open my guitar case, and sing for a couple of hours.  Busking away for whatever people want to give.  Most people just throw in a dollar or two., while some people like to give me something yummy.  Some people just like to sit and listen, and sometimes they sing along as they walk on by.  Occasionally a few children might try to dance along with the music as their parents stop at a nearby booth.  Today a young girl walked by and smiled, giving me a thumbs up; it made my day.  Last week a kid walked by holding his ears; it made me laugh.

It was a good time down at the market.  It may be hot and humid, or windy and cool, but always worth the little bit of time each week I spent downtown.  Hopefully wherever we end up in North Carolina will have a great farmers market, too, so that I can go down with my guitar and make people smile, dance, sing, or plug their ears.


Bel isi,
-kyle

My view from the market.  A couple of renaissance characters.

Little Blind Fish - SOTW #30

Howdy folks! Week #30 is HERE! For those that are new to the party, I've made it my goal to learn a new song every week in 2011. Each week I find a song that I like, learn it, then share it here and across my other online portals.

Last week I did a song my Stephen Stills' band, Manassas, and decided I would try to do a CSN&Y theme for the next few weeks by taking on a song from each member's other musical ventures. With Stills out of the way, I went on the hunt for something by another CSN&Y member and stumbled upon a funky song from David Crosby's group, CPR. CPR was formed in the mid-90's by Crosby, Crosby's son, and Jeff Pevar (a stage and studio guitar powerhouse). The song, "Little Blind Fish" comes from the trio's self-title studio album, which was released in 1998.

I'm grooving out on this one with my Taylor 716ce-LTD and capturing it all on the wife's Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG20 camcorder in 1080 HD!
Just a few things about this video:
1. I broke my D-string right before this, so you'll probably hear an imbalanced snappiness in the strings from having to change only the one.
2. I dropped my pick a little past the halfway mark, but I could hardly notice the change in tone.
3. It was blazing hot. The high definition video should provide you with excellent viewing of the beads of sweat pouring down my face. Mr Frog says "Hi" Cheers!



Bel isi,
-kyle

It's Hot

Just finished playing at my weekly farmers market gig.  I was outside in the bright sun playing and singing for two hours.  It's in the mid-90's with a heat index of 100+ degrees!  Needless to say I'm a sweaty, swampy mess.  But it was fun and worth it.  I may not have collected as many tips in my guitar case as I normally do, but I did receive a tasty lemonade that was bought for me by a trio of  nice young vendors at the market.  It was delicious!


Bel isi,
-kyle

It Doesn't Matter - SOTW #29

What are we up to now? Week #29? Holy cow!!!

Alrighty folks, it's a bit later in the day than usual for posting this, but I've been pretty busy with work and packing up my apartment. Moving south next month! Woot!

Anyway, after I covered Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" a couple of weeks ago I received some suggestions to do something else in the CSN&Y-ish field. 66strummer recommended a few different tunes and I took one and ran with it. So this week I present, from Stephen Stills' band, Manassas, "It Doesn't Matter". Manassas released this song on their self-titled debut in 1972. Some of you may remember that time period, I do not. Anyway, Chris Hillman of the Byrds was also a member of Manassas. Firefall recorded a cover of this song and changed the lyrics up a bit.

This one's played on my Taylor 716ce-LTD and recorded with the new Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG20 camcorder. For best quality, use 1080HD playback on YouTube. This song was TOUGH. The timing and such is rather tricky, so it's still "in progress". Balance should be a little better than the last video. Still tweaking that. Also, apologies to Steve Berger. Mr. Frog is BACK!  Cheers!


Bel isi,
-kyle

Packing Up

We're moving.  Shelves are being emptied and boxes are piling up.  I just cased up a few of my guitars for moving.  Not all of them, though.  I'm keeping out the two we use on a regular basis until we actually move in a couple of weeks.  Not sure when I'll have a chance (and a space) to bust these out again, but I'll let you know when I do.  It's going to sweet!

Bel isi,

-kyle

My View

Closing time at the Bear's Den in Cambridge, OH.  This was taken from my post in the corner of the porch. To get the full perspective of my view for the evening, just add hundreds of screaming fans and plates of delicious food.  (one of those items may be exaggerated)

Bel isi,

-kyle

Turning Tables - SOTW #28

Here it is, week #28!

Ok, so I know it's a little later than I usually post (the video was up last night on youtube), but here we go. This week I went with a cover of Adele's "Turning Tables" from her recent album, 21.

I'm back to my Taylor this week, but switched up the cameras a bit. I used a new Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG20 on the highest quality setting. So you should be able to watch in 1080HD on youtube. I think the audio quality came out really good with this new camera, you be the judge. I think the mix could be better, but that's more in how I'm standing in proximity to the mic than anything. I'll probably stick with this new camera for the remainder of the year. That way I don't have to worry about getting text messages while recording on my smartphone.

No frog this week. I just forgot to have him join me. He'll be back next week, unless he quits. Enjoy!


Bel isi,
-kyle

Bloody Fingers

Just got home from a gig.  I played for three hours straight.  I think my fingers want to bleed but can't because they are too tired.  Life is good.

Bel isi,
-kyle

Cowgirl in the Sand - SOTW #27

Greetings from Michigan! It's week #27!

Went home for the rest of the week to hang out with the family. So this one is on-location at the in-laws. I took on Neil Young's "Cowgirl in the Sand" after catching it on the radio. I also used City and Colour's cover for some stylistic influence as well.

Since we're out of town, we left the Taylor back at home and took along the wife's Yamaha FG730. It's got silk and steel strings on it and has a nice, throaty sound. Say hi to Mr. Frog and his friends; a lamb and a bear, which belong to my 3 year old brother-in-law. Cheers!


Bel isi,
-kyle

SOTW

Song-of-the-Week: A resolution for 2011


At the beginning of this year I decided to make two resolutions.  The first one was to not eat fast food for the entire year.  It's been pretty easy so far, with only a few close calls craving Taco Bell and Arby's.  The second resolution was to learn a new song every week.  52 weeks, 52 songs.  So far I've stayed with it and have added many great songs to my repertoire.  Every Thursday I release a new video of me debuting a new song.


Typically, the Song-of-the-Week (SOTW) process starts with me listening to a bunch of different songs, either by my own discovery or on the suggestions of others.  Once I find a song I think I might want to learn, I check online to see if anyone has posted the chords or tablature for that song.  If it is available, I'll try playing the song, usually with a recording of the original, to check for accuracy.  If it's fairly accurate I might make some changes and then print it out.  Everything I print out I also save to myDropbox as a .doc file, that way I can go back and make more changes or print out a new copy if I need it.  I try to keep at least a few songs ready in the "to be learned" pile at a time; I rarely start a new week without an idea of what song I'll be tackling for the next few days.  As I perfect the songs I might go and visit some of the songs in the pile, just to keep them fresh, but I don't attack them full on until their week comes up in the rotation.  When I do take on a new song I dig into it and make concrete asthetic choices.  I may listen to the original a few times to get certain parts figured out, but I try not to keep the original in my mind as something I need to match.  There is certainly a place for "copycat" covers where everything sounds dead on, but I'm of the mindset that a cover doesn't necessarily need to be anything close to the original.  After all, it's already been done that way once, so I try to put my own spin on the song through my playing and singing.  However, I generally make my covers at least recognizable to the original, and sometimes I get pretty close.  Once Thursday rolls around I set up my camera and record myself playing the song.  Within one or two takes I usually have the clip that I need, then I upload it to my YouTube Channel and share the link to various places on the internet, like facebook, twitter, and the Acoustic Guitar Forum's "Show and Tell" section.  Then I go back to my pile and start learning something new.




To see a full list of my SOTW progress so far, check out this playlist.


Bel isi,
-kyle

A Picture

Me and guitar great, Pete Hutttlinger.  He was John Denver's touring guitarist.  I met Pete earlier this year at a house concert.  He put on a great show despite suffering a stroke late last year.
Bel isi,
-kyle

Gigs!

Earlier today I resumed my weekly busking gig at the Guernsey County Farmers Market.  The market runs every Friday from 9am-1pm, May through October on the Courthouse square in downtown Cambridge, and I usually play for a couple of hours starting around 10:30.  It's a fun place to play as I lay out my guitar case for spare change, entertaining whoever happens to pass through the square.  As I play I get to watch all sorts of people pass through, shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, and homemade arts and crafts.  Afterwards I usually go around and pick up some produce and homemade bread from some of the vendors.

Another regular gig I've had for the last few weeks is at a great little restaurant called the Bear's Den.  The Bear's Den is located on Rt. 40 just east of Cambridge in a neat log cabin-style building.  It has a spacious porch where I claim a corner every Saturday evening for a few hours, starting at about 6:30.  The menu is full of yummy things!

Feel free to come out this summer for some local, musical fun!  Keep an eye on the latest shows by clicking on the "Events" tab.


Bel isi,
-kyle

A Picture

Just a cool flower.  I took its picture.

Bel isi,
-kyle

Welcome!

Congratulations, you found my website/blog!  Here you will find all sorts of goodies about me and my music.  I'll use this blog to post updates about my own musical happenings as well as share things that interest me, like other music, videos, and pictures.

Be sure to check out the links to my various sites around the web.  My YouTube channel contains many videos of me performing covers, original songs, as well as some non music-related videos, many from my time in Papua New Guinea.  Feel free to subscribe to the channel get updates on my latest uploads.  My Facebook Music page allows you to "like" it, which will keep you up to date with all of my musical things by posting my activity in your news feed (I promise not to clutter your page).  My Soundcloud page is like my own little audio notebook.  I use it to showcase my original songs, musical ideas, as well as some covers.  If you have a Soundcloud account you can "follow" me.

I am also on Twitter and frequently contribute to the Acoustic Guitar Forum.

Cheers!

Bel isi,
-kyle