By now, I figure that everyone has heard the story of how the song Yesterday was originally just a melody, with no lyrics, and that the Beatles (McCartney?  Lennon? I'm not sure which one) used “Scrambledeggs” as the temporary title…

Lately I've gotten interested in Loopers again. As most, if not all, guitar players know, Loopers are floor pedals that do an instant record-playback of your riffs.  Press a button, it records. Press again, it plays back.  Again, and it…

As of mid-April, I will have been playing music in front of a crowd for ten years. I've learned a lot about what I should do and what I shouldn't.

Below is a list of some things I have observed…

A couple of years ago, I mentioned how I had been “woodshedding”. That's guitar-slang for “practicing a lot”. I've been doing that again lately. 

Once in a great while, for some reason, I get the urge to push really hard…

I'm not crazy about sad Christmas songs. In fact, you're never gonna hear “I'll Be Home For Christmas” or “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” around here unless I forgot to hit the thumbs down button on Pandora.

It's not…

Before I became a solo Musician/Entertainer,  I was a SatCom Systems Test Engineer for over 35 years. My last job in that role was working in the field on the Royal Caribbean ships. When I was done for the day…

I have been saved by my MacGuyver Bag many times.

In case you didn't know already, MacGuyver was a TV character (I think they may have resurrected the original '80s era show a few years ago). Anyway, this guy was…

I almost never have stage fright. In fact, the more people that are out in the crowd, the more energy I feel, and it rubs off on me, always in a good way. It loosens me up and makes me…

There's a trend lately where musical artists are selling their entire music catalogues for huge money.  According to ABC News:

“In 2021, Bruce Springsteen reportedly sold his catalog to Sony for more than $500 million. Others capitalizing on the trend…

Not that you asked for it, but here, in no particular order, is my list of ten “Desert Island” albums; the ones that could possibly keep me entertained enough to not have to talk to a soccer ball. Never mind…

When it comes to classic rock, it's hard to beat AC/DC.  My favorite band?  Well, not exactly.  But I love their energy (pun intended), the fun they seem to be having on stage, and the sound and style of their…

One of the best things about being a guitar player is having access to effects pedals. They're interesting, colorful, they open up lots of new sounds, and if you know how to turn the knobs just right, they can really…

Strange but true! OK, not so strange actually, but I thought it was sorta weird: Early on Saturday afternoon, I was flipping through TV channels, and stumbled upon a golf tournament. I'm not a golfer (probably because I'm no good…

Wow, two legends gone in one month.

Jeff Beck, one of my favorite guitar players, passed away in mid-January. He was one of those people that I assumed would be around forever; probably because he pushed the envelope, and was…

Been seeing a lot of articles about "music royalty" lately.  There's Elvis, King of Rock and Roll.  Aretha Franklin, Queen of R&B.  James Brown, Godfather of Soul.  Many people with titles like those definitely deserve them.

But now I see…

Happy Holidays!  We've had quite a month here; let's just leave it at that. Due to several events out of my control (and a fair amount of exhaustion), I decided to find an easy way out of having to think…

Unless you're a guitar nut, like me, these 3 guys are most likely not household names.  But they are some of my guitar heroes, and they deserve way more attention than they get.  Click these YouTube links and give them…

When I started out in 2014, I quickly found out that a lot of my preconceptions about performing were wrong.  One of them was my fear of using backing tracks.

More than once, I had heard other musicians use words…

As I'm pretty sure I've said before, writing music doesn't come easily for me.  It's why, after all this time, I've done only one album.  You'd think though, that at least the lyrics shouldn't be too much trouble, considering some…

A while back, I posted about some highly unlikely collaborations that actually happened (Zappa and Osmond on Nightline, the Martha Stewart / Snoop Dog connection, Pat Boone's "metal and leather" phase, etc).  I jokingly suggested that there is an upcoming…

In 2015, I tried adjusting the neck relief on my Squier Precision Bass but I forgot to loosen the strings first.  SNAP went the truss rod.

I ordered a replacement neck from Warmoth, a vendor of bolt-on…

I couldn't resist making fun of this one. The world's most overplayed cover song; Sweet Caroline.  from cruise ships to poolside bars to Boston Red Sox games to Over-55 retirement communities everywhere.  How many times have I played it?  Thankfully…

There used to be a venue in North Melbourne that was near (actually right next to) the Sarno Road landfill.  It was called, rightly, The Landfill Saloon.

It was pretty popular with locals, especially with bikers, but for some reason…

I've butchered the lyrics to quite a few songs over the years, even before there was a Weird Al Yankovich.  And as I had said in a previous post (see Hey Mr Dan Marino, from 18Nov2021), I plan to put…