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More directions sent.  I used the "e-mail" feature on the forum.

If you're working on 10 songs and have been playing less than a year, then I'd say that you are doing GREAT not OK.  Keep at it and you'll see the numbers slide from the OK category to Good. 

- Zurf

My friend Dirty Ed writes songs about rivers and paddling and fishing and people that do those things.  His songs speak to me, as I am one of the ones he writes about.  Anyway, he has a song called "The Paddle" that talks about the freedom his paddle gives him.  In writing about a whitewater run, the chorus of the song (and moderators, it's OK for more than a quick line as I have permission from Dirty Ed to reference his lyrics).  I never felt this way about a paddle, but I have a bicycle.  One of the reasons Jets60's song about a fat old guy reclaiming his youth in the saddle of a bike resonated for me. 

"Into the water I would slip
my knuckles white as I would grip
that old paddle
as I danced upon the waves.

That paddle took me everywhere
it seemed I never had a care.
It brought blue sky and blue water
to wash my blues away."

Three things I liked about this is the imagery of dancing on the waves, which is exactly what whitewater boaters do.  But what beautiful imagery.  Second thing I like about it is his juxtaposition of the term "blue".   Third thing is how he puts the freedom he feels paddling into the physical item of the paddle.  It becomes an icon (not a religious icon, just a physical representation of an emotional state) for the freedom from the day-to-day he feels on the water.  There's another line he sings in "River Morning" where he mentions nothing on his mind but the roar ahead - yes, indeed.  The roar ahead being a massive rapid.  He's putting that clarity of purpose and the emotional state of readiness, awareness, and freedom into the paddle itself.  Terrific song. 

Then there's the song he does about a midget clairvoyant who escapes from jail.  It's called "Small Medium at Large." 

- Zurf

Beautiful.  Simply beautiful. 

I used to get 4 hour RACs (e-mail me with proof of age to learn what an RAC is) from one boss, but he had to fire me.  The day I was fired, I had interviews lined up in the afternoon.  So it was convenient that I didn't have to make excuses for not being around.  The best work-related complement I've ever received was having the management of that business tell me "You're not our kind of businessman."  They went on to lose $80 million dollars the next year and go bankrupt while I went on to save the company I went to work for $16 million (their total profit for the year was $14 million that year - so you can see that maybe I'm not THAT bad of a businessman). 

- Zurf

Man! That sucks too.  Is your company getting ready for being acquired?  I ask because that's often when companies start dumping the expensive, experienced people.  Not that they'd tell you what they were planning.  Anyway, if you've got some stock in them you may want to hold on to it just a bit longer to see if there's an offer for it in the near future.  It won't get your job back, but at least it could put a little cash in your pocket.

- Zurf

That sucks.  In this economy it appears that people will take any excuse to reduce head count.  How they can make that determination without medical evidence, I don't understand.  How a hernia (which is usually in your abdomen) would cause a muscle injury in your leg, I also don't understand.  It's a cheap excuse, dishonest, and inappropriate.  But none of that helps you get your job back.  I'm sorry it's happened to you and wish nothing but good things to you and your funny little honey.  Hopefully you'll be able to find something else in the line of work soon.

- Zurf

That's strange.  Whenever that happens to me, it's always the guitar's fault. 

- Zurf

Strings are cheap.  Put on some new ones and get help in doing it.  Then you'll know what to do and whether there's something more serious wrong with your box.

- Zurf

43 year old male in the U.S.  Been playing guitar THIS time shy of three years. Self-taught from books, chord charts, and watching folks play.  I played bass guitar for a few years before picking the guitar back up.  I took lessons on that instrument.  I played at harmonica for a while and mostly only pull them out once or twice a year so I am perpetually rusty AND poorly practiced.  It doesn't sound all that good.  They're on my "one of these days" list.  There's only so many hours in a day, and what time I have to dedicate to music goes to guitar playing now.  I don't really practice, which is a cautious and studied approach to learning.  Mostly I just bang on the thing and see what noises come out. 

- Zurf

NoVa is local shorthand for Northern Virginia.  On an international site, it's probably not appropriate to use local shorthand.  But then it occured to me that by using local shorthand, it would catch the eye of folks who are local to this region and those are the very people whose attention I wanted to attract.  As welcome as they'd be, I didn't suspect Upyerkilt, Doc, or Alvee to attend from the UK. 

Oh, and also because I don't speak Spanish.  The world is full of languages I don't speak. 

Ken - Thanks for the offer.  Scotland is one of my dream destinations and I may take you up on that when the kids are older.  I've always wanted to go there and trek on foot to castles to explore, whether they were standing or in ruins, and hear the local stories that go with them.   Also, I like pubs, and I hear that the best in the world are in Scotland (though the Irish and the Germans give them a run for the money). 

- Zurf

I've not performed at many, but I've attended quite a few.  There's a club here locally that rents a room at a restaurant once a week to do open mic.  There are rules to be quiet during the performance and no criticism of the artist.  It's a mutual admiration group, and that's fine.  Why not build confidence in a safe environment.  But that sort of safe environment is extremely unusual. 

Mostly it's cheap entertainment for the bar owners.  They have one person or group who hosts, others sign up.  The host usually warms up the crowd with a few songs, then he/she invites different folks who've signed up to come up and perform.  Most places tend to get similar type folks.  For instance, you may get more bluegrass groups at one place, and more country folks at another, and alt rock a third, and folk at a fourth, and grunge at a fifth, and so on.  No hard and fast rules for the most part, but why go play hard-driving outlaw country music at a place that wants to hear mellow folk music?

Drinkers are drinkers, wherever you are.

You really missed something in Denver.  In one night in one bar there, I had a drink with and shook hands with Anson Funderburg, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Sam Myers, and several other big names. 

- Zurf

Directions sent.   I'm looking forward to it.  I'll have to pull out the songs of yours that I've printed out and refamiliarize myself with them.  I'm particularly eager to hear that song about bike riding.  It captured much of what I love about that activity. 

- Zurf