I’ve spun my wheels a bit on the creative front since the move to Portland. Not surprising, given all the circumstances of course. So I’m really pleased to bring you a recording of a new song composed by yours truly—it’s my first venture into composing instrumental music since the early summer of 2008, & a welcome return at that!
The song is called “Epiphany Road,” & I’m indebted to a dear cyber friend for both the title & the inspiration to compose the piece. That friend is Sandy Maxey, a brilliant person who I'm fortunate indeed to know thru Twitter. If any of you doubt that Twitter can be used to convey important information & indeed, both deep thought & observations, you clearly haven’t experienced what Sandy Maxey can do with the form. But more importantly—as in all friendships, whether in “3-D life” or in the “virtual” sphere—there has been a chance to share on a real level. For this, I have so much gratitude; & in the course of such a conversation, Sandy told me about a special place that she calls “Epiphany Road.”
The name stuck with me, & I began noodling on the guitar with that conversation in mind. This was the result—a humble piece given the amazing title, but one that I like. It’s played on my Gold Tone wood-bodied resonator guitar tuned to open D. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever come up with a song in an open tuning & I must admit it presents some challenges—it’s not as easy to rely on a string of extended chords to give some melodic interest for example.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the recording equipment I used to use at my disposal anymore. For the time being, I’m using an Olympus hand-held digital recorder—not a bad piece of equipment for what it is, but not up to the quality of the Boss workstation I’d been using. I do have a little Sony condenser mic, which is a big step up over the Olympus’ built-in, tho again, it’s not the same quality as the mics I used when recording in Idaho. The song is a single, “live” track.
So here is “Epiphany Road” for Sandy Maxey—& very much hope you all enjoy it too.
The photo isn’t a picture of the actual “Epiphany Road,” but rather of a road not far from where I grew up along the Saxtons River in Vermont. It seemed to fit on a few levels.
A Lovely Way To Walk The Road.Thank You John.My Best Wishes To You+Yours in 2012.
ReplyDeleteContemplative, complex, and lovely. I've listened over a few times. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the photo, too.
as soon as i saw the title, i knew exactly what road you were talking about. sandy is quite a lovely & intelligent lady....i'm so fortunate to know her in real life & interact with her online as well. i count myself fortunate to know you too.
ReplyDelete:) gorgeous song.
Hi Tony, Jacqueline & Barbie!
ReplyDeleteTony: Thank you so much! A very happy New Year to you & yours as well!
Jacqueline: Thanks--I appreciate that so much!
Barbie: So glad you liked it! I consider myself so fortunate to know both you & Sandy: you are both amazing people & dear friends. I just have to figure out how to get to North Carolina for a visit :)
Oh, so lovely! Made me slow down for a moment and take in the goodness of my world.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this, John.
Wishing you the best of all possible worlds in this year to come.
xo
Hi T: Thanks so much! I'm very glad you enjoyed the music & that it made a little difference in your day. All the very best wishes to you for 2012 as well :)
ReplyDeleteNice, John! I especially like the use of harmonics in there. In a way it reminds me of the movies from the Canadian Board of Education we used to see back in my schooldays; they were all in b&w and they had soundtracks like your song - solo guitar that sort of ambled along with the action or scenery on the screen. I can almost see a boy and a girl bicycling down a road through fields in b&w to this piece.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Hi Roy: Thanks! One never knows about harmonics--I think they get ticky awfully quickly unless handled well--so glad to hear you liked them in this case. Yes, the amblinb walk instrumental is a sort of specialty of mine :) A happy New Year to you as well.
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI'd not been to your blog for sometime, and I read about the changes in your life.
Wanted to wish you a happy 2012, a year of new adventure and creativity!
I loved this. As others have pointed out it does make you stop and reflect; it also feels gentle and wistful.
ReplyDeleteHave a great new year; I hope it's full of creative inspiration.
So lovely.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, HKatz & Clare
ReplyDeleteLinda: Thanks for your good wishes. I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for you as well.
HKatz: Thanks so much! Very best wishes to you for 2012!
Clare: Thank you :)
A beautiful piece. I know there are words in there, waiting patiently to be let out.
ReplyDeleteHi Kat & Mairi
ReplyDeleteKat: I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it's a quiet song--for all my loud guitars quiet is a specialty of my compositions :)
Mairi: I'm truly gratified by how much you like this--thanks so much, my friend.