I was chatting with a friend this morning, and we got onto talking about different variables in guitars - woods used in the top, back, and sides, body shapes and sizes, number of strings, etc. It was very cool (Thanks, Patrick!) I have also been experimenting with different picks and materials for playing the guitar. Both of these things make me think of how many different ways and different depths we can look at and experience life. There are literally millions of ways we can do things in the minutest of details. With guitars I have found that all the different body shapes, woods used, construction techniques, and combinations thereof make some guitars more expressive in different ways than others. With my picks I have found that all the different materials - woods, stones, plastics, bones, metals, horns, shells, even hoofs, have a different sound on the string. And holding the picks in different ways or attaching them to my thumb and fingers with different contraptions makes a huge difference too in the tone and attack - not to mention combining them with fingerpicks or bare fingers with some or no nail protruding to pick the string with. This is a level of granularity in both guitars and picks that is fascinating to me, and helps me to feel a song and the connected emotion in exquisite relief. It reminds me just how amazing this life is. Everything in this life has endless variables and possibilities just waiting to be found and experienced. And therein is part of the purpose and beauty of this life - to live it to the fullest and with abandon, exploring all these variables in the fine grains of life.
What have I been up to?
Magpies a couple Fridays ago was great fun. I only brought out three guitars (steel string, nylon string, and electric), and the evening was full of variety and good friends. I love it when we can take all the ingredients of different requests, backgrounds, and sounds and make a tasty musical dish out of it!
Last weekend I had two private parties (one of which was postponed) that were great fun. Best to Ron and Pat on their birthdays!
What am I up to this week?
Friday night is back to Magpies for our next-to-last outing of the season. I always talk of how much fun I have there with the wonderful folks and staff, and if you haven’t experienced it I’d love to have you in the audience. The first Friday in May is the last time I’ll be there until mid-October, so come on out if you want to join in the good food and good friends.
Saturday night was supposed to be at the La Veta Inn, but they had to cancel due to kitchen difficulties. I wish them the best as they work through their problems. The Inn is a wonderful place that can be a handful to run.
What’s on the horizon?
I just booked the third Friday of each month at PDub Brewing Company in Pueblo West May through August.
I also booked a few extra weeks at the Yellow Pine Guest Ranch in Cuchara for the Thursday-night barbecue. We’ll now be going June 8 to August 31. This is a wonderful old barn and great place for music and barbecue. More as the season approaches.
That’s it for this week. I surely do appreciate you all and the variables and granularity our friendships and experiences bring to each other!
Best always,
Tom
Details this week:
Who: Tom Munch
What: playing & singing
Where: Magpies, 229 S. Union, Pueblo. 719-542-5522
When: Friday, April 21, 7-10 pm
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