It is wholly appropriate that I now have another Stratocaster. The model was introduced in 1954, so this year marks its 70th anniversary. This was not on my mind when I found the one pictured in the previous post, but an online aquaintance posted a link to an article about Fender's most ubiquitous guitar, and I was amused by the significance. Click here if you'd like to read it.
Back in the early 2000s, Fender introduced "satin" finishes to their line of Standard guitars, and I clearly remember thinking "Those aren't going to age well." I expected they'd discolor easily through use, and get all blotchy and unappealing. Well. Silly me. This past Thursday I came across the 2003 Standard Stratocaster shown below in a favorite local shop. It had been upgraded considerably by its previous owner(s) over the intervening 21 years, and seemed worth a look. So I looked.
Long story short, I went back the very next day with some older/superfluous gear. We made an even trade of it, and I brought the Strat home. It's a wonderful axe, and to say I'm pleased to have been proven wrong about the satin colors is an understatement. I truly love how the finish has aged.
Downsizing the gear again. Yes, the pedals. Traded in six yesterday, came home with two. Mathematically, that's known as "subtractive progress." For the curious among you, the new ones are the Screamer and Reverb stomps from the simple yet amazingly versatile 3 Series by JHS.
This whittling-down of things means I now own a total of just ten pedals, and three of them are tuners. One tuner is a standalone, an old Boss TU-2 that stays out in my little studio for general use. And then I have two pedalboards. One with six pedals, another with three. My style of play doesn't demand more than a minimalist approach.
That said, I'm always impressed and intrigued by many players' giant pedalboards showcasing all the amazing effects and combinations thereof available to them. But I also hold the belief that that one's pedalboard ought not take up more real estate on stage than one's amp, and I use small combos. My 2x12, 4x10, and half-stack days are over.
But hey, remember: there is no wrong. Go big, stay small, do whatever works for you. The important thing is making Music.
Crazy, right? As of this month, I will begin receiving Retirement Benefits from the Social Security Administration. Please bear in mind that I may have left the full-time rat race behind, but I'm not retiring from writing, recording, or performing Music. I might have scaled back the public events, but have no plans to quit the business entirely.
In fact, I'm currently involved with a full-band reboot of The Mistress Miriam Show, featuring three of the original members plus a new bassist. I'll post our bookings in the sidebar once we get to that point.
Time to share some pleasant memories from this past year, all mostly local. There were no visits to far-off exotic destinations (unless we count a splendid week spent on the coast of Maine), but there's usually enough going on close by to keep us entertained, and 2023 was no different. Some fun was definitely had, and enough music was made to keep the voice and fingers in shape. Not very many public performances, but I did a lot of studio work, and have projects underway that will take me well into 2024. I'm not able to list everything that went on in these past twelve months (four shows with Mistress Miriam, for example, and me with no photos), but here are a few images.
The Group DeVille Trio played our yearly concert at Williamsburg's Angel Park.
Photos by Henning Ohlenbush (above) and Steve Smith (below)
My friend Chris and I had a lovely dinner out with our dear friend Thomas, (aka the man behind Pugwash), who was over from Ireland for a short tour, promoting his wonderful new album The Rest is History. It was great to see him again. We had fun pointing at each other, something musicians do a lot. And yes, Thomas and I have a pillow on our heads.
Photos by Linda Stevenson
The annual Performance fundraiser for the arts at the Pines Theater in Northampton's Look Park saw me joining Bigger Stars as "Brad Whitford" for a killer portrayal of Aerosmith. This is always a fun show, with upwards of 1000 area residents in the audience, and dozens of musician pals hanging backstage. Like a family reunion, only no arguments with that one difficult uncle. Yes. We totally rocked.
Band photos courtesy of Bigger Stars
It was a sad year too, some of it. But I don't need to elaborate on the dark side. We're past the Winter Solstice. The days are lengthening again, and a new year begins tomorrow. So I'll close this post with a collage of some simple beauty captured on my phone while out and about in 2023.
My best wishes to all of you for tomorrow and beyond.
It's the last day in September, and once again I'm posting something on the day of the event. I could tell you that all this online promotional stuff got away from me because we've been practicing like mad, but that would be a fib. Anyway – good cause, honored to play. We're closing the show, hitting the stage around 7pm. Early night.
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| Image: courtesy of Meat for Tea |
Hey, look. It's the equinox.
In other news, we've finally chosen a permanent name for the duo. The Story Hour was okay for our trial run back in July, but after further discussion and refinement, we will henceforth be known as Mistress Miriam's Two Cent Revue.
I know this post is ridiculously last minute, but if you're in Easthampton tonight, come and see the show.
1: The Story Hour had a wonderful first gig, and we're looking forward to further developing the act. We already have new music and stories to rehearse, and a photo shoot coming up soon so that fresh promotional material can be created. Fun stuff. Our next show will be at Luthiers Co-Op (Easthampton MA) on September 23rd. Mark your calendars!
2: I'm down to only one Telecaster now, because I traded the two cheap non-Fender ones in and have a new (to me) guitar in the lineup instead. It's a 2022 Epiphone Les Paul Studio model. Alpine White. It plays, as they say, "like buttah."
3: I deleted all my Twitter apps.
