Deep Space
Published: Fri, 09/29/23
Since there were only a few feet separating the band from the audience, and we were all still figuring out exactly what we were doing, the gigs had a vibe one could fairly describe as "informal." But Whit's enthusiasm for the material was infectious, and his performance style proved acrobatic, in a high-wire, will-he-make-it-or-won't-he kind of way. And while he generally stuck the landing after chasing his own hands around the fretboard at a daredevil pace, he would occasionally just blank. At such times, he would stare at the guitar neck for a moment, hands at his sides, before intoning: "deeeeeep space!" It invariably broke the tension, and it certainly always made me laugh.
Some weird bug is making the rounds at Casa Fretboard, so I have been in deep space myself for the past couple of days, the kind where you stare at your work and go, "oh yeah, it's cool, I know what needs to happen here," and then, forty-five minutes later, you're still staring at the screen, having made absolutely zero progress whatsoever. I did finally rally yesterday afternoon for all of an hour, if that, during which I laid out maybe two pages of tab for next month's Fingerstyle Five lessons, but if I had that day to do over again, I would spend it binge-watching the rest of season two of Good Omens, with zero regrets.
Writing being a slightly lower impact proposition than coming up with cool ways to improvise on "Matchbox Blues" in the key of A, I thought I would at least still get this week's newsletter out – neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, and all that – in order to answer a couple of questions that have rolled in from more than one source over the past several days.
Question #1: "Has your Youtube channel been overtaken by bebop aliens, and when will the fingerstyle cowboys be riding back in to reestablish law and order?"
Answer #1: There will be new fingerstyle material coming over the next couple of weeks, and I am hoping that, unlike in the curiously serious 2011 Daniel Craig film of the same name, the cowboys and aliens will find a way to peacefully coexist on Planet Fretboard for the foreseeable future.
Question #2: "Can I still sign up for the Minor Blues Chord Substitutions workshop even though the live stream is over? Is a full replay available? Can I still sign up for all three workshops in the series?"
Answer #2: Ok, that's really three questions, so here are three answers: yes, yes and yes: You can still sign up for a year's access to the Minor Blues Chord Substitutions workshop, and that will include a complete replay of the live stream, plus the downloadable PDF and jam track. There are two more workshops yet to come in the series, and you can still sign up to take them, and/or the one that's already happened, all at the link below:
And now, if anyone asks, Crowley and Aziraphale will be receiving my undivided, if wan, attention until further notice.
More soon,
David