Making The Music

Long Time Gone

2007-07-28T11:26:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a long time since I posted here. Since my last post I created a band , dis-banned a band, and got a real job. Right now I am wondering what the heck to do with the music. Maybe go back to the coffee shop thing? Just write and record some demo songs? The cool thing is that I can do whatever I want I just have to know what that is. So stay tuned as I try to figure it out. I have been spending alot of time on MySpace lately. There is so much great music goin on out in the world now. I put one of those maps on the MySpace Site (thegaryjacksonband) that shows who has been to visit. It is cool to see people from all over the world listening to my music and watching my new live cheezy video. So come visit and add your little corner of the world to the map.

Gary

Finding The Groove

2006-04-22T09:40:00.000-04:00

I was reminded by a new friend of mine that I haven't written anything since last year. I have been very busy on my job and unfortunately the music is playing second fiddle for now. I have gotten together a few times with some great musicians that are interested in playing my originals and making the new CD. So I am finding my groove at work and with the music. It is not an easy thing to get busy people together regularly. All of the schedules have to magically collide together into one moment. Those times that we have synched up have been very good. They bring an interesting perspective to my music and it sounds very good. Most importantly it feels very good as well. The feeling part is important. I believe from that space you can create and contribute from a different level. It is a notch up from just playing the music. It is where the groove is. So stay tuned more is on the way...

Back To Basics

2005-09-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was filled with music for me. I was blessed to play both Friday and Saturday. Friday night was at a little bar in the West Side of Cleveland. Verlie's is a small neighborhood bar that has been family owned for over 40 years. I was blessed to have my friend Alexis Antes play with me that night. I wasn't sure how my new solo material would go over there. In the back of my mind I guess I was expecting the night to be like most small bars, however nothing could have been further from that experience. Vickie and Ken (owners) are musicians, they have transformed that lil cafe into a simply wonderful place where people actually come to listen to the music. Go there and find out for yourself. You won't be dissapointed. Saturday night was at a nother special place in Akron. Scott's Folkatorium is basically a flea market and concert hall. Scott the owner is a very special person who is living his dream to have this place. I asked my new friends Sacred Fiction to come and play. I also asked an old friend Joyce Elliot to play the violin with me. The music was great. The only problem is that NO ONE CAME. I guess I just not get the promotion job done. Writing the songs, building your website, recording promos and booking gigs is just part of the whole picture. The other is promotion. The difference between the turn outs is interesting. At Verlie's there is a built in audience that is used to having a real mix of musicians. When I walked in the place a guy was playing a guitar sitting at the bar and a fiddle player was jamming along. At Scott's you would think that given all of the great local talent that has performed there you would have a similar situation. No, you can not tale promotion for granted. Without promotion there is no crowd, without a crowd there is no sales, without the sales there is no place to promote. I mean I know this like I know my name, I guess I need to work ecven harder at this part of the process.

You Never Know

2005-08-11T01:43:00.000-04:00

Well it's been awhile since my last posting. Life has been giving me the usual roller coaster ride. However, yesterday was one of the best days I have had in a long long while. The day started off with getting a job. Yahooooooo! I then went to my new favorite music store and the owner gave me a Larivee hat. If you haven't had a chance to play one of these fine guitars you should take the time to go and try a couple of them out. They are by far a quality instrument with a special feel and an awesome sound. Later in the day I got to hear one of my songs from the first CD on the radio. What a gas that was. The day ended up with a call from the local paper syaing that they wanted me to play in the big downtown music festival. It's on my birthday. I will be playing there till around 7:00 and then I will be playing later that night for a local benefit. What a great birthday present.

The music project has started to pickup momentum. I have landed some good gigs and I have been working very hard on my original songs and a couple of cover tunes.

Preparation Meets Opportunity

2005-07-19T02:17:00.000-04:00

Well the last few weeks have been about promoting my solo music. I have the website
working and the online press kit. I have been mailing venues and I have had some
good responses, and I have had NO RESPONSES! I am going to just keep pluggin
along and wait for the moment "When Preparation Meets Opportunity"...
I did get a new guitar. It is very cool! It is an acoustic electric resonator. I traded
an old acoustic resonator and a nylon string guitar for this baby and some cash.
It really has a tin canny type of sound. It is a good complement to my other acoustics.

Build It & They Will Come...Maybe

2005-06-07T00:27:00.000-04:00

It's Monday night and I just finished one of my two long days for this week.
I work two jobs on Monday and Wednesday.
The job market is so crummy here that I have to work two
jobs to come close to getting enough money to make it.

I am excited about my music again. That is a real good thing.
I finished my promo package this past weekend and I also created an online press kit at
Sonic Bids.
It seems to be the way of the future. They also work it the other way with people looking for talent. Those opportunities get posted and you pay a fee to apply. I guess it will be worth it down the road a bit. It is time to start getting some gigs and get out there and play the stuff for awhile. I originally thought I would make the new CD first. I could use that to pave the way. However that project seems to always take one step forward and two steps back. Now there is an idea for a song... This will be a whole new experience playing solo.
I tried a couple of times already and the second time was alot better than the first.
The whole thing feels stronger to me now. I am looking forward to it.

Ready or Not

2005-05-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

It's Sunday and a bit of a lazy day here. Today I found a new groove in an old tuning. I wrote a song a couple of weeks ago about Coal. Here in the east coal mining was a major industry that carries a long history of wealth, pain, and suffering. Whole towns grew up around and were named after the mines that fueled their existence. One such mine, Number 9 is the topic of my song. I used a basic tuning, open D in the first versions of the song. Today I found it is a lot more fun to play and sounds cooler in the tuning of DADDAD. I have written several other tunes in this sort of droney tuning. Using the slide and a combination of picking styles gives this song a whole new sound. The song is about a Coal Train Engineer hauling "Number 9 Coal" over the mountain. As he makes the journey he reflects on his life, love, the here after and Numer 9 Coal. I have several great songs now for the solo thing and my next step is to head for some open mic nights and see how they go over. Playing solo is so much different than playing with a band. It's just you and a guitar, but what a way to go... Here is a link to some information about Number 9.

Testing My Metal

2005-05-14T16:41:00.000-04:00

Finished another stand-in sound gig last night. Two Metal bands. I learned a little about the Metal Bands last night. In my humble experience I see the Metal Bands as an evolution not unlike the evolution of Blues to Rock. The second band Motherload was a good band and the musicians were nice guys and had a lot of class. The music was covers from bands that I have never listened to. So for me it was like all new music. The frontman is a zany character that provides a certain element of theatre to the show. The experience for me was comparable to Led Zepplin meets The Talking Heads with a little sprinkle of David Bowie and then crank the whole thing up through about 25,000 watts. At times a bit ordinary and other times very tight and rythmic with suprising dynamics. The crowd loved the band. I know it was loud and I could feel the 85 hz rattle my chest cavity every time the drummer hit the kick pedal and I was 60 feet away. The crowd however was right up front at about 100 db of sound pressure. The energy of the crowd was light and fun loving with a certain "hell raising" feel. Much better than any rap shows that I have done sound for. I am probably not going to head out for any metal shows real soon, but the band and the crowd sure helped me get into it and to make the band sound great. So thanks Motherload for a Motherload of fun!

Still Got The Blues

2005-05-09T04:28:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the Blues Challenge Competition. I played with the Big Fish On The Wall Band. The event was an IBC sanctioned affair. These things are held all over the country. The winner is then qualified to participate in the Big Show at Memphis Tennesee in 2006. There were 6 bands from Ohio, PA, and West Virginia. We didn't win but we held our own. Received lots of great comments and met alot of fine folks that are into the blues. I have spent many years with this form of music. I know that it is part of me and has influenced all my music. The blues comes from some place deep inside. It isn't always a sad thing, it is more experiential. Most of the blues is about real life. It is an awesome experience when you can get these experiences across to an audience. However, I think the blues has changed somewhat in the last few years. There are many bands that bill themselves as "blues" bands without ever really getting there. It is not that you have to have a beat up old guitar, and some kind of old delta groove, it is the emotion and the experience that alot of them are missing. So thanks to the North Central Ohio Blues Association and Mr. Gary "Showtime" Sanders for inviting us. Gary is part of the Black Cat Monroe Band and will be going to Memphis in 2006 after qualifying by winning the Marietta Blues Challenge. I had a really good time and "I Still Got The Blues"...

Got My Mojo Workin

2005-04-30T04:22:00.000-04:00

I am excited. My blues band "Big Fish on the Wall" will be participating at the North Central Ohio Blues Challenge. This is a qualifying event for the International Blues Challenge. This event is designed to showcaes Blues Artists from all over in Memphis Tennesee in 2006. For Ohio it is the first stop to the main competition in Marietta. We have one rehersal before next weekend's competition. We are not really one of those bands that practice all the time, we just sort of play as we go. This band has been around since 1983. In my opinion the current lineup is the best ever.

The picture is the Band Logo, the band has taken on many different forms since we
started it. The original band had two drummers. We have had some great musicians
as part of the band. Several guitar players, a couple bass players, several harmonica players.
We have had horn players including a trombone, and keyboards as well.
So if your in Loundonville Ohio on May 7th stop by and say hello.

Lovin My Guitar Rig

2005-04-27T08:46:00.000-04:00

It's Wednesday morning and I had a really good time last night playin guitar through my new setup. It's Boss, really Boss TU-2 Tuner, Boss RC-20 Phrase Sampler, Boss ME-50Multiple Effects. I can play a rythmn part and sample it with the RC-20, Click the button with my foot and play along with the recorded part. This process has given me some more confidence for my solo act. It really does sound good. Another benefit is that I am able to work on playing other guitar parts that I probably wouldn't have discovered.

Let It Flow

2005-04-24T01:42:00.000-04:00

It's early Sunday morning. We are expecting 4-6 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. This snow thing is really gettin old. It seems like this winter just keeps hangin on. Anyway, setup the guitar rig today and it was inspirational. It seems since I got "off it" about the music and decided to have some fun with it, the songs are starting to flow again. For me, the songs come fast and furious. It is up to me to catch em and hold on to them somehow. I broke out the portable 8 track and my very cool BOSS RC-20. It is a sampling peddle that lets you play a rythmn, record it and play another part along with it at the same time. I find that playing along with the basic guitar track helps me find melody lines, and helps to create a structure. So the music is flowing and I say let it flow...

Another Day In Paradise

2005-04-21T10:33:00.000-04:00

Today is Thursday. I am getting some good responses to my local ad for musicians. In one way it is very exciting. The idea of meeting new musicians and sharing my songs with them. It is also a bit daunting at the same time. I am asking them to listen to the music and let me know what they think. For me it is about the music. I love to play and the CD will give us all a chance to maybe play some fun gigs in different venues. I downloaded a song performed by Steven Stills today, "In My Life". Yeah I know it's a beatles song. But man does he deliver it! I never really "got" that song till I heard him do it. It used to seem so simple. having a little "water under the bridge" so to speak, I now understand this song. The lyrics are not simple, they are very powerful. The song gets the experience across. Those FAB Four cats keep amazing me again, and again.

Getting Some Momentum

2005-04-19T21:41:00.000-04:00

I am starting to get excited about my new plan. Oh yeah maybe I didn't tell anybody what the plan was. Anyway, I am working on my solo act. I am also playing more now. It is amazing I used to play for hours and hours a day. Then after a set back on my CD project I guess I just took some time off. Today I was looking for some "popular" songs to mix in with my originals. My idea was that people could relate a little better and that would get me a couple of gigs. So my first try was an old Dave Mason song, "Only You Know and I Know". Great song. It is mixed with an acoustic track on one stereo side and an electric track on the other. Well, I got the tuning (and man I love alternate tunings) somewhere off the internet. So I start working it out and all of a sudden I am really starting to get the feel of this tuning. Well the next thing I know it's 20 minutes later and I have come up with several new riffy's of my own. I just love exploring new tunings. I spent the rest of the practice time in the new tuning and will probably return to it next time. I also started networking on the internet for some musicians to help me finish the CD and do some performing locally. Just local boards and stuff. Till next time...

Another Manic Monday

2005-04-12T00:44:00.000-04:00

Just finished another Monday...I have two long days a week. They are
both 14 hour days. So I look forward to Tuesday to sleep a little bit.
Usually something always comes up. Anyway I was playin the
guitar tonight and having fun with some new grooves. I worked
a little while on my newest song, Man In The Mirror. Sort of a stale
old metaphor for taking stock of yourself, myself in this case. The verses
stack up nice and the chorus is shining through a little. However I know
there is a part missing. This song actually came about as two other partial
riffs. Sometimes I have to just go down the path and see where it leads.
Off for some sleep, maybe...

More About The Sound Gig

2005-04-11T00:20:00.000-04:00

I was thinking that my very first post to the blog didn't quite have
enough information. I left out stuff like...
The Band's Name: "Wild Avenue".
They have a web site so you can find out more about them there.
They also have a schedule of where they are playing.

Wild Avenue Website

First Entry

2005-04-10T13:40:00.000-04:00

This is my first journal (blog) entry. The purpose of the journal is to record my thoughts and experiences about music. Specifically, about "Making Music". Last night I was a stand-in soundman for a friend of mine at a club down in Canton Ohio. Got their early, and actually knew one of the guitar players that was playing in the band that night. Setup went smooth with the exception of a channel swap problem. It is a good setup there. The mixes are split monitors and mains. The monitor mixer is located up by the stage, and the main board is located in the back of the room. The band was classic rock and they are a good band. Making music for me is not only playing it, but also in producing it in different forms. Live sound, recording, etc.