Monday, March 27, 2017

Comfort and Happiness

I was playing music Saturday night and was struck at how easy it was to get thrown off my game.  What happened was that I was experimenting with different guitars and techniques at my gig (big surprise, huh?), and because I couldn’t hear as well as I’d like to and because something was not set up right on the guitar I was playing, I found myself suddenly kind of lost and very moody and unhappy.  I’ve heard of other guitar players saying this when they just couldn’t get their “sound” and were suddenly at sea.  This made me think of how much we seek comfort in our everyday situations to maintain a sense of happiness and rightness with the world.  I don’t know if it’s a need for control or whether it’s something else inside our psyche that needs for everything to be just “so”, but it’s a weird feeling and something that can really throw you off for while.  My “go to” solution is to jump to the big picture and say that the situation just doesn’t matter in light of how big and wonderful the universe is, and that’s probably what I did that night.  But beyond that I find that having the flexibility to go with the situation and to find the hidden gems within the uncomfortability can really be rewarding.  I see the most creative and contented people do this, and it fascinates me and makes me seek to explore these situations myself.  I once heard that stress is the most powerful force for change in our world, and handling it with finesse and joy would be a hoot!

What have I been up to?

Last Saturday I had two wonderful gigs.

Playing for Tosha’s 40th birthday party at one of the nursing facilities Saturday evening was just very special.  You may have seen my post on Facebook about this.  Tosha was not expected to live for more than a few weeks when she was born because of multiple medical conditions, and to reach her 40th birthday as a happy and loving person even though she deals with quadriplegia is amazing.  Happy Birthday,  Tosha!

Saturday night I had a great crowd of folks I haven’t seen in ages at PDub’s.  Brad Schoolland, the proprietor, sat in on several tunes, I switched off on several guitars, and it was overall a really fun night (although as I wrote above I was having some technical difficulties that threw me off a bit.). Thanks to all who came out!

What’s up this week?

Sunday I’m doing another online concert from our living room from my first-Sunday series of concerts we started a couple months ago.  I haven’t decided on a theme yet, but it will be an engaging and fun night of friends and music as always.  Maybe I'll lean towards spring tunes?  Or maybe it would be fun to turn towards cowboy and historic music.  Hmmm...we'll see.  Tune in to concertwindow.com/tommunch at 7:00 mountain time if you'd like to listen and join in on the conversation.

That's it for this week. I really appreciate all the kind condolences that so many of you sent about our sweet little cat, Nisi. We miss her terribly, but we are so glad she was part of our lives - if even for a short time. Looking at the summer I'm talking to the Royal Gorge Bridge about possibly doing some weekly solo shows on their big stage at Elk Park.  I'll keep you posted.  Maybe it'll make me comfortable and happy! 😉

Best always,

Tom

Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch
What:  playing and singing
Where:  online at https://www.concertwindow.com/tommunch
When:  Sunday, April 2, 7-8ish pm MST

Monday, March 20, 2017

The Unexpected

Life is always a give and take, and much of it is dealing with things we don't expect. This is both a challenge and a blessing. Some of the biggest delights happen unexpectedly, and also some of the biggest disappointments happen the same way. To try to mitigate them completely is impossible, and just like the roses along the path, if we could mitigate them we would miss out on some pretty wonderful things. We also would miss out on some pretty painful things that can teach us and make us grow. We experienced this in the last week with the passing of our cat, Nisi (short for Anisette). My wife, Jen, found her little lifeless but still beautiful furry black body Saturday morning after she was absent most of the day Friday and then overnight into Saturday. It appeared she had been attacked by a bigger animal. She loved being outside to frolic and hunt, and we knew this fact since we had gotten her from friends who had lived in Gardner with her for her first 4 or so years. Pueblo West can be a dangerous place for outside cats with our rural setting and frequent wildlife sightings, but we accepted that this was how she wanted to live, and we got used to her sometime forays lasting all night. It was still unexpected to find she had been caught while doing what she loved to do - like a daredevil in a way. But she taught us a lot about living in the moment and enjoying life, and so we are sad but pleased that she came into our life unexpectedly and exited unexpectedly as well. Cherish the unexpected, my friends. It can be the best parts of life. And in her spirit I'll include the blog post I wrote about her three years ago entitled, "My Cat Understands".

My Cat Understands

I've been writing about pretty heady subjects of late. I guess I’m trying to be wise and learn from all the reading and living I’ve been doing. Funny thing is, my cat seems to have more wisdom than I do sometimes - especially in the morning. She waits until she knows I’m rushing to get something done, and then she comes to me for affection. I usually try to pick her up and cuddle her for a while, and of course this has a wonderful calming and loving effect on both of us. It also reminds me that there are more important things in life - giving and receiving love and caring. The most interesting thing she shows me is when I’m not totally present there for her. She gets annoyed and will bite me. At first I thought she was wanting to play or was being mean, but I more realize that she is actually teaching me to be in the moment and to let other things go. When I do that and talk to her, then she doesn’t bite or get annoyed by me.  Now I suppose I could see this as a cat being selfish, but I don’t think so. I think that she is more in touch with the meaning of living here on earth - wanting to enjoy each moment and putting the passion in everything that life is really about. So I say, “Thank you.” to her, and I hope you get these moments, however brief, in your life to enjoy.

What have I been up to?

Last week was full of wonderful Irish spirit with St. Patrick's Day even with our loss.

Friday was an all-Irish evening at Magpies with several guitars and lots of good friends celebrating the Irish with all the Irish tunes I could muster.

Saturday was another all-Irish evening at the Bell Tower Cultural Center in Florence opening with young Celtic women dancers from Castle Rock and then me singing Irish songs and leading the wonderful audience in old favorites. It was quite a night!

What's up this week?

Saturday night 7-10 I'm back at PDub Brewery in Pueblo West for a night of great beer and music. I'm really enjoying the beer and camaraderie at PDubs, and they've made some adjustments so that the service should be outstanding this time out. I'm even expecting Brad Schoolland to sit in on a tune or two. He's the founder of the brewery and the fellow who had the accident last fall you may have read about in October. He's recovering well and ready to join me on stage. I'm looking forward to it all. Please come out if you can for a porter or cream ale and some live music.

What's on the horizon?

I just booked the Feed Store in Westcliffe for another concert this summer on August 20. This is always a highlight of the summer for me, and you just can't beat the setting in the park in the shade of the beautiful Sangres.

There's lots more coming, so stay tuned.

I guess that's it for this week. Many of you have offered condolences on Facebook about our little Nisi, and I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.

Best always,

Tom

Details this week:

Who: Tom Munch
What: singing and playing
Where: PDub Brewing Company Taproom, 181 S Purcell Blvd, Pueblo West, 719-647-8864
When: Saturday, March 25, 7-10 pm

Monday, March 13, 2017

Change and Age

I’m modifying my guitar style again, and it has me thinking of how changes are made as we age. First, about my guitar style, I've principally used three guitar fingering techniques throughout my career - flatpicking, fingerpicking with fingerpicks and thumbpick, and fingerpicking with bare fingers. If you've heard me play in the last few years you know that I mainly use bare fingers and have a very beat-driven style where I slap my thumb or the back of my fingers on the strings for a backbeat. In past years with fingerpicks I would click the fingerpicks on the top of the guitar. With a flatpick I would thump the strings or guitar top every so often with fingers or the pick. It took a long time and a lot of brain gymnastics and callous-building to develop each of these techniques. Now I am changing my technique by incorporating a thumbpick into my bare finger technique and by using fingers with my flatpick technique so I can fingerpick in what is known as the "Nashville" style. The thumbpick allows more defined bass notes and faster picking, but it also complicates the thumb thumping on the strings. The flatpick with fingers allows the ability to have fingerpicked passages when using the flatpick for fast picking and strumming. It wouldn't seem that either of these would take much adaptation to master, but that's where the aging comes in. As we age we seem to lose brain plasticity - the ability to remap and rewire our brain to handle new patterns and concepts. I've definitely seen this with my brain - almost as if there is only so much capacity for change. I used to like trying new things - especially new menus and concepts on the computer or with electronic devices and instruments. But I found that I kind of burned out my brain's ability to do this at some point. So why am I changing my guitar style if I don't think my brain can handle it? Because I still thrill at a challenge, and I think that I should always be improving my music in whatever way I can. These changes will open me up to many more musical textures and sounds - from muting the strings to playing faster riffs and having better rhythm and much more. I know you'll see me stumble a little as you hear me over the next few months. This is akin to walking and chewing gum while juggling sometimes, but hopefully you'll also see more fire and dynamics in my playing. How about you? Do you thrill at change?

What have I been up to?

Friday Magpies was a blast a couple weeks ago with a bunch of guitars and a packed house.  It was so much fun!

Sunday was the online living room concert in Nebraska, and it was great fun too.  My wife, sister, and niece (and Beau, our dog) were a great audience in the room, and I had friends from all over the country tuning in.  I mixed up some Irish tunes with some favorites and original tunes.

What’s up this week?

Friday is St. Patrick’s Day, and I know Magpies 7-10 will be a great place to celebrate.  I’m always up for whatever the audience is up for, and I think it’ll include quite a few Irish favorites.  I’ll have several guitars including my Lowden Irish guitar on hand and my picking fingers ready for some blazing jigs and sweet ballads.  Come on out!

Saturday I get to be part of a fun Irish event 7-9 at the Bell Tower Cultural Center in Florence where I performed a concert a few weeks back.  The event will start with Celtic dancers and continue with me playing Irish music.  I plan to do a lot of favorites with a few sing-alongs that everyone can join in on.  Tickets are $8 for Bell Tower members and $10 for non-members. florenceartscouncil.com

What’s new on the horizon?

May 27 at 7:00 I just booked a concert in Elizabeth, CO, for the Coyote Creek Concert series.  There’s more info at their website coyotecreekconcerts.com.  I really enjoyed playing this a couple years back, and I’m thrilled that they’ve been doing such a great job for the folks there.

That’s it for this week.  I’m working on taxes, but I also need to get back to practicing these new guitar techniques.  Hope to see you soon!

Best always,

Tom

Details this week:

Who:  Tom Munch
What:  playing & singing
Where:  Magpies, 229 S. Union, Pueblo.  719-542-5522
When:  Friday, March 17, 7-10 pm

Who: Tom Munch
What: playing for Celtic night in Florence, CO
Where: Bell Tower Cultural Center, 201 East Second Street, 719-784-2038
When: Saturday, March 18, 7-9 pm