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According to reporting on The Washington Post online today, Guitar Center has filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Citing a press release, the Post explained that the California-based company plans to exit bankruptcy by the end of 2020 with $800MM of its debt erased. ^1, 2

Personally, I'm thrilled they plan to continue business operations. I'm really surprised — here we are the week before Thanksgiving and they plan to have it completed by the end of the year. They must be really confident about their financing.

The store near us has some really talented people working for it, and I like the store manager — she lets her personality show, and I really appreciate that. And everybody there has been fantastic with Kiddo. They've got my support.

UPDATE:
A couple of things.

First, Musician's Friend is the same company as Guitar Center. I'd suspected it for a little while because a lot of their data sure seemed similar; but when I placed an order, the customer service rep actually SAID it. So, that puts that mystery to bed.

The second thing is that they don't have any inventory. Maybe this is part of the restructuring, but every instrument I looked at online was back ordered. So, I don't exactly know what's included in "retail operations," but inventory isn't part of it, I guess. This super sucks for customers who were looking to spend their money with them, because I'm sure many of them shopped elsewhere after finding their potential gift wouldn't be in until after the holidays. In my case, two likely more popular colors weren't expected until late February; the only other color, black, was estimated to be available at the end of December (and not in time for Christmas). I didn't check on the back-ordered instruments I was less serious about.

I am coming to understand the value in having multiple guitars... something else I can thank Eddie Van Halen for.

Because I'm that interested, I've been learning how to play Van Halen's "Dirty Movies" — a track from their Fair Warning album.

I've loved this song since the album was released. But I didn't appreciate the complexity of the guitar parts in particular until only recently.

I've been learning it in part thanks to a pair of awesome guitarists who've made YouTube videos. But neither of them have it quite right: yes, the low E string on the instrument is downtuned a full step — if you have one of Eddie's guitars (as I do), you can accomplish this very easily using the D-Tuna gadget. Here's what they miss: all of the strings are downtuned a half step FIRST; THEN the low-E is dropped another full step, to arrive at D♭. Downtuning everything ½ step puts you in tune with the music as recorded.

Learning this music reminds me of something Eddie said in a 2017 interview with Smithsonian (you can see the interview on YouTube): "I had to fill in the holes." He's talking about creating a richer sound to make up for, perhaps, not having another guitarist or some other instrument in the group. His technique is evident in "Dirty Movies" — there are a few parts where he fills in a few measures here and there. That song will keep a guitarist busy! I just added another little bit of filler from the recording to my routine tonight and it made things messy for a while. I fully expect it will until I get it down.

Anyway, here's the value in having multiple guitars: after playing songs like this, I realize that having multiple instruments is not a vanity thing. Given the tuning my guitar now has, I can't play anything else from my normal "set" and have it sound right. Almost every other song on my list uses a normal tuning; some may have a ½ step down- tuning, but the low E string is still a full step higher than what I currently have. Oh, I could pop the D-Tuna back in and get back to E♭, and that'd give me access to maybe one or two more songs (Bob Seger's "Her Strut" comes to mind). Having a second guitar that stays in standard tuning would be pretty lovely. I could practice my usual playlist on one, and switch to the other for whatever I'm working on in an alternative tuning.

It sorta sounds lame as I type it, considering we're talking about $1,000 instruments here... but a guy can dream, right?

The deejay on the satellite channel annouced that today marks the 40th anniversary of AC/DC's Back in Black album. ¹

I learned today that the album was written as the band mourned the death of singer Bon Scott — out for drinks with friends, he passed out in his car and choked to death on his vomit. ²   40 years on and I had no idea the title refered to funeral attire.

I remember buying it on cassette. I was 11 years old, and at Recordland in our local mall. I can't recall who took me to the store — I think it was my mother — she allowed me to buy one album, and this is what I chose. I'm almost certain she was horrified by my choice... like she assumed I'd go for something much lighter, you know — Styx, Foreigner, Chicago, who knows — and her little boy walks back to her with this.

In fairness, she should have blamed our regular babysitter — she had this and Van Halen's initial release in vinyl at her apartment, and I listened to them both for hours.

Perhaps it wouldn't help her to know that I took up the electric guitar in my late teens (when I lived far from home) and that I've taught my daughter a great appreciation for 80's music... including this album's title track. C'est la vie.

Executive Summary: I LOVE this guitar. It inspires me to play.

My playing has changed. I play far more confidently now. I just don't recall playing this way before. It's like I've awoken from a state where I was just sorta maybe going through the motions.

Perhaps I'm playing more confidently because I'm hearing a responsiveness and power that wasn't there before. Perhaps it's ignited a passion I lacked.

I'm playing almost nightly now. And — and I could never say this before — my wife looks forward to hearing me play. I made a new practice list and have been working on it pretty steadily. Music I never attempted to play before.

I'm sure its a function of the practice, but new songs I try I seem to get the hang of fairly quickly. Other more complex ones I'll study and work on. Some I've worked on for a while I'll try some improvisation on — sometimes it sounds great; sometimes it doesn't, and those are learning opportunities.

I wonder about my Les Paul. Would I have behaved this way if the Les Paul had more aggressive pickups? Perhaps. I find I don't use the whammy bar very often — I hit it only very slightly on a few songs to create sort of a wave-like rhythm with the beat. I've used the D-Tuna once, and am thoroughly impressed with how well it works. Perhaps I'll work more with these tools later on — but for now, the big difference is the pickups.

Would I go back to the Les Paul? Not the Les Paul I sold. The pickups are the big difference -- I understand what an entry-level guitar that is. And that's not a knock on Gibson — it's just that's the best I could afford when I bought it in 2005. And if I'd had to spend $1300 or more on this instrument, I'd still have my Les Paul. But, in 2020, this guitar is an unmistakable upgrade.

No post about how much I love this guitar would be complete without adding a giant THANK YOU to my wife. She encouraged me to buy it, she allowed me to buy it, and now she tells me how much she loves listening to me play it. I really, really hope she means it when she says it — she tells me she does — but this kind of support is, admittedly, foreign to me: my relationship with the guitar started in the late 1980s, when I joined the service and was stuck in the barracks, looking for somewhere to invest my energy. It's outlasted two long relationships, during which my loves endured my zeal, but never encouraged it. But I'll keep practicing, and work harder to earn belief.

My "Guitar Tunes" playlist only exists on a clickwheel iPod I bought somewhere around 20 years ago. I play through this list every time I pick up my guitar. That iPod has a 30-pin connector (that Apple doesn't make or support anymore), and has been kept alive by being perched upon a Bose speaker system, supplying it power when on standby.

Happily, I have a 30-pin to Thunderbolt adapter cable which allows me to connect my iPhone to the Bose unit. It seems its only a matter of time before my iPod dies, and I'll need to reproduce the list on my iPhone. Until then, I've started a new practice list:

• For You - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
• Back on My Feet Again - The Babys
• Big Shot - Billy Joel
• In the Dark - Billy Squier
• Good Times Roll - The Cars
• Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
• Epic - Faith No More
• Turn it On Again - Genesis
• Jane - Jefferson Starship
• Life's Been Good - Joe Walsh
• I'm Alright - Kenny Loggins
• Middle Man - Living Colour
• Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
• Keep Talking - Pink Floyd
• Money - Pink Floyd
• Lunatic Fringe - Red Ryder
• Krazy - Seal
• A Girl Like You - The Smithereens
• Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
• Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears for Fears
• Mother Mother - Tracy Bonham
• Luminosa - Libera
• Waitin' for the Bus - ZZ Top

Seal released a rare collection of different spins on Crazy, which was the entire reason I bought his 1991 release. By the way, I've also been playing along to Violet for years. If I'm really into it, I cry, because I recall memories from when this album came out. Doesn't happen when I'm listening; only when I'm playing.

Luminosa I threw in there because I'd like to see what I could do with the melody. And I want to pick up Jane because I've been rocking out to that song since I was in the 6th grade.

UPDATE:
I've been playing my new list for two days now and I really really like it. Probably my favorites so far are Middle Man and Jane. Sowing the Seeds of Love is pretty much voted off the island already; Krazy is challenging... I'm going to have to Google the chords. I also can't decide if the D-chord on I'm Alright is an actual D or a Dm.

Tonight Kiddo got out of her music class mentioning she'd learned a bit of Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train... add one to the list.

Tonight on the way to class, Kiddo told me that she was going to talk to the staff about trading in her Schecter because when she got it, her arm was in a cast (it was), and now with the cast off, she's discovered it's not comfortable to sit and to play. In short, too bulky and too heavy.

So we're right back in the soup. It was another hour after her class of looking at instruments and asking questions about what she liked and didn't like. LIKES: gloss finish; lighter weight; similar price point.

This evening's candidates included a used Jackson Rhodes (in black; pretty, but noticeably scratch and dent, with a big ol' chunk taken out of the head), a new Fender Strat in black with a deep gray sparkly pick guard; an Ibanez GRG series in Jewel Blue.

I tried to push her by adding to the mix a Jackson JS series in a similar blue, with a Floyd Rose system and single-coil pickups at the neck and center, with a humbucker at the bridge, for $100 more; I offered to foot the bill for her, but she refused and went with the Ibanez instead.

On the ride home, the seatbelt could hardly contain her; she is thrilled about that guitar. She must really have been unhappy about the Schecter. Sometimes I guess it's hard for me to remember that she's still a kid; she has limitations. The other guitar really must have been heavy.

Funny thing — we went from having two hardshell cases between us to none. Happily, I did buy a gig bag for my Wolfgang the other night — she may use it to transport her guitar back and forth.

If I'm guilty of anything here, it's two things: (1) Trying to teach her about value, and (2) once she made a decision, to move things along to get the deal closed. Is that last one unfair? This is a kid who, between the ages of 4 and 10, would spend HOURS in the toy store just to come out with a ball. Always a ball. But I'm proud of her for speaking up and choosing to make the return, and for making a decision. In my view, she considered her budget and chose within it. The final bill came to about $25 over, but it's because I guided her into their warranty (I've seen how she's treated her last guitar). I'll happily pay for that good decision.

Kiddo has been taking lessons in music production for a few months now. What was once a nice little place for me to play my guitar has been nearly overrun by her keyboard, launchpad, laptop, monitor, and other accoutrements she's incapable of keeping tidy (part of her syndrome).

OCD is another part of her syndrome. Lately, her obsessions have varied, and one of them has been buying a guitar. We've tried to be gentle about guiding her away from these crazes as they emerge, but a couple of weeks ago when I walked back into the music store to collect her from her lesson, she was standing at the counter with a huge wad of cash in her hand — she'd just bought a used guitar, with guidance from her music instructor.

She's in the doghouse for that little stunt. She can't even play the thing until she gets her cast off of her arm. The good news here, though, is that it's not too shabby for an entry level instrument. And actually, I find myself a little jealous. It's got two Semour Duncan humbucking pickups that give it a better sound than my Gibson Les Paul has.

I can't have that.

For some time, I've been quietly drooling over Eddie Van Halen's line of instruments, but believed they were out of my reach... until last night. I happened on American Musical Supply's website — I used to get catalogs from AMS for years — and found they're selling EVH instruments at very reasonable prices. I found an EVH Wolfgang Special with a D-Tuna device in a lovely deep purple color:

I thought these instruments only came in black and cream — and honestly, I'd be fine with either color. But I like the deep purple... it lets me sort of assert a preference that helps to make it MINE.

Of course, making it mine will be a challenge. I think I'm going to be "stalking" this web page for a while.

In the meantime, I'm thinking about customizations I can do to my Les Paul that won't cost $1000... upgrading the pickups is one possibility.

UPDATE:
We have a Guitar Center store nearby, and I noticed they're charging the same price as I found on the other stores' sites online. Guitar Center is also running a special right now where I'd get an extra 15% off of the EVH if I traded in my Les Paul. I'm thinking really, really hard about this... hard enough that I almost want to pack it up and head over to have it appraised.

Also, I heard back from the Gibson support shop. They won't install a Floyd Rose system on my LP because the angle of the headstock makes it impossible.

The other option I was considering was intalling new pickups on my LP. I got some good advice from one of the Guitar Center guys about this... price tag would end up at about $240. If I end up hating the EVH and keeping my LP, this is my alternate route.

UPDATE:
Took in the LP. They offered $400, which, considering I bought the guitar 15 years ago at $849, isn't too shabby; they'll mark it up and sell it for probably something in the ballpark of what I paid, I expect. With the 15% discount, my equity in the EVH is around $550, meaning I'll bring it home for about $550 out the door ($450 + $100 tax).

So the plan now is this: they're going to a nearby store that has one in stock. And when I say "going", I mean they'll drive there to collect it. I'll come back to my store, plug it in and play with it, and if I find it acceptable, the deal is done.

I got a little choked up about it this afternoon while the Les Paul was being appraised. That guitar represented ascension into maturity in a way. Before I bought the Gibson, I had a Jackson/Charvel Fusion Deluxe I bought in the late '80s at a music shop in the Keys. Strat body, super fast neck. Had a series of effects pedals I used to play through into a Crate amp or something like that. I gave up on Malmsteen, Reid and Vai and dumped all of that crap and bought the Gibson Les Paul and a Marshall amp. Nothing else. Let the amp do the work. The guitar was built in Nashville in October, 2004; I probably bought it in 2005. I LOVE that guitar. It's hard to let it go, but... we'll see what tomorrow has in store.

FINAL UPDATE:
The EVH they showed me was not in Deep Purple... it was in a jaw-dropping flat black called "Stealth," sort of the guitar equivalent of a blackout package on a car: all black hardware, including the tuning pegs. The fretboard is black upon a lovely light maple neck. The pickups, which sound lovely by the way, are in alternating colors of black and cream; the same cream color is also found only on the binding.

Initially, I thought I'd just play this in the shop and have order the instrument in Deep Purple Metallic; but my daughter convinced me to buy this guitar instead. The great thing about the store policy is I can play it for 45 days, then bring it back and have order the purple if I really wanted it that badly.

Playing this guitar — through my amp at home — is a lot of fun. It certainly has a different sound than did my Les Paul. To start, it doesn't have the tinge of "twang" my G-string had, and the pickups delivery lovely, buttery sounds: the bridge pickup delivers crisp highs, but combines well with the neck pickup to deliver a smoother sound with more bass. If the guitar was a stack of pancakes, the bridge pickup brings lots of melted butter, and the neck pickup brings the warm syrup; the combination is undeniably delicious. (This is probably an awful metaphor, but it's morning and I haven't eaten yet.) The neck is thinner than my LP, and that has certainly impacted my play; the LP neck is much fatter. Through the Floyd Rose trem system, I can now add little accents here and there as I work through my usual playlist; these songs don't really call for divebombing — and I don't think I'd try until the strings are done stretching anyway. I haven't used the D-Tuna yet, but my curiosity is building. There is one thing about the guitar that I find a little weird: the headstock is small enough to make the neck seem short.

The only thing I'm unhappy with in the trade is that the guitar did not come in a case. When I bought my Les Paul, it came in a gorgeous hardshell case with a guitar-shaped cloth inside to cover the instrument, and a built-in combination lock — easily $200. I was stunned when the store manager walked in carrying just the instrument — not even in a gig bag. I can buy an EVH hardshell case for $159, and I likely will — the body isn't a standard strat or LP type shape. It's the premise, I guess.

At this point in my life, I'd describe myself as a high-functioning "wannabe" guitarist.

Here's what I mean: I never had a guitar lesson. I bought an electric guitar and a small amp just out of boot camp in the late 1980s. I taught myself to play by ear, and picked up chords by reading tablature. Approaching 40 years later, I'm still working on it. I've been in bands, and we've played small shows, but not as a guitarist - I sang and played drums, and left the guitar to somebody way more experienced and way more capable. At one point I was in another group where I did play guitar and sing, but I never got to play with them out anyplace.

I suppose it would be fun to get onstage and actually play a show, but I'm a hobbyist, not an innovator. I play in our spare bedroom to music I like. I don't write songs; I nerd for a living, and music is my escape.

For me, learning songs is kind of like programming; you find something that works and you build on it. And the "finished product" — that is, when I arrive at something passable — is perhaps a bit like discounted furniture: it resembles an expensive original, but it's not the same quality. I'm not saying the "discounted furniture" version of a song I play is my goal, but it's a start. I'd much rather learn it properly, using a combination of ear and tablature and chords to improve my output, and practice to improve my skill.

So this past Christmas, when I was asked for gift ideas, I said that I'd love a music book of Billy Joel Greatest Hits 1 & 2. I'd gotten into trying to play along with a few tracks from that album a couple of years ago, and his arrangements are challenging. I've gotten to the point where I can keep my head above water on a few songs, but my curiosity and desire to play them better has reached the "okay, let's quit messing around" point.

I have a small collection of music books. And when I say "small," I mean like... six. Artists include Barenaked Ladies, Queen, Rush, Styx, Van Halen. I bought some of those books — probably most of them — back in the 80's. Until recently, I hadn't opened some of them probably since then.

I'm excited to work on some Billy Joel with the aid of the new book. I haven't been able to play since before Christmas — we had actual guests in our guest room, so I had to take down my guitar rig — but I think once life returns to normal in there I can set everything back up again and learn what the actual chords are to "Movin' Out" instead of what I've been playing.

Did you catch the pun in the title of the post?

Earlier today I took my daughter to a music store. I don't mean the record kind. I mean the instrument kind. We were there to buy some replacement drumsticks and to let kiddo drool over a special keyboard (read: and to let me do some scouting in advance of Christmas). While we were there, kiddo picked out a guitar cable for me — and honestly, I've been awful about replacing my cables — I've got cables in my kit that go back to the 1980s.

So it only made sense that we would spend part of the evening fooling around with our respective musical interests.

Speaking of my kit, much of it has been recovered over the past week, as we're making a dedicated effort to get the last of our boxed up items from the move unpacked and sorted (a criterion: "If we've lived without it for a year, so how important is it really?"). So I've been reunited with a few things — cables, foot switches, music books, tuner (I'm sure the neighborhood is especially grateful for that particular find), and my old clickwheel iPod and a Bose speaker built specifically for iPods at a time when the iPhone 3G was a very hot item.

(By the way, Apple doesn't even sell any 30-in ANYTHINGS anymore, including 30-pin to lightning cables.)

This iPod is a national treasure as far as I'm concerned, because it has on it the only surviving copy of my Guitar Tunes playlist — a playlist I made specifically for the purpose of learning some passable percentage of specific songs.

Tonight as I played through the list I allowed myself to become swallowed up by the memories tied to the music. Not all of the songs have such deep meanings, but some definitely do.

Through this music I mourn the loss of my grandmother.

Through this music I mourn the loss of my father.

Through this music I grieve my first wife and my inability to give her the happiness she looked for elsewhere.

Through this music I realize and I remember.


I remember things that have made me who I am today. Good and bad.

I forget everything about life in the present, and my fingers stretch and yearn to align me with the music I hear. That effort is the transporter — when I do it well, I remember things like where I was when I first heard that song, or or where I was when I first started trying to play it. I remember the times I played to relieve my sadness, or played because I was happy. All of these memories are locked inside of these titles. But it's not enough to hear the song; I have to play along with it.

By the end of my sessions done well, my eyes are about as red as my fingertips. And maybe... maybe my soul is a little richer for it. All of these things I feel aren't part of my present in any perceptable way. But through this music I feel them all.

Time to dust off the music category and talk for a minute about all of the great music that goes into game production.

Yes, I am that nerd that will find music from video game scores on iTunes and create playlists from them. There is some really lovely music accompanying console games. Among my favorites:

• "Ende", on the Wolfenstein: The New Order soundtrack by Michael John Gordon
• "Ikora", on the Destiny 2 soundtrack by Michael Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C. Paul Johnson, Rotem Moav & Pieter Schlosser
• "Tranquility", on the Destiny soundtrack by Michael Salvatori, C. Paul Johnson, Martin O'Donnell & Paul McCartney

Yes, you read that last one right. That's "Paul McCartney" as in Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles.

These three tracks are in a playlist I use for soothing music.

I loved Styx as a kid. My cousin introduced me to their music when I was about 11, and I haven't stopped listening to them yet. When I got the chance to take my kid to see them — when she was 11 -- they played a three-hour show and put my kid on top of the world with their kindness. That put me "all in" on that band.

Some short time ago I discovered they had a social media presence, so I started following them. I wouldn't post much — I mostly wanted to see their updates on my feed. But at one point — perhaps it was just after the show — I posted to their wall a giant thank you for coming to see us, and for the great gifts of conversation and acknowledgment they gave my little girl.

Since then, I've become more active on their boards. Recently I've made a few posts that have really gotten some attention -— especially the attention of Tommy Shaw, the lead singer.

...and that attention led me to dare to send him a friend request.

I immediately regretted the decision and wished I could have rescinded it. Tommy was kind enough to like what I was saying, but come on. "The guy deserves his privacy. Leave him alone," I thought.

Did I completely "fan girl" over this? Oh hell yes I did. This took me back to when I was 11 and listening to Grand Illusion under giant headphones while admiring the album cover artwork.

Am I embarrassed about it? Yes. A little.

I don't imagine I'd ever see a post from him on my wall, and that's okay. I think it's enough for him (and the band) to understand there's still so much love for them out here in the world. The coolest thing is, it's a very direct communication — Tommy and the rest can just open up Facebook and see for themselves the things people write. For all of its evils, Facebook really does shorten the distance between people — like the distance between this 11 year-old kid and an AOR superstar.

I have a playlist that I add to every now and again with inspiration from Sirius XM. The channels "80's on 8" and "Classic Rewind" have helped me rediscover some really good music... or music that brings back memories, anyway.

My playlist, as of this evening — in alphabetical order by title:

• "Cars" by Gary Numan & the Tubeway Army
• "Don't You (Forget About Me) [Extended]" by Simple Minds
• "Feel it Again" by Honeymoon Suite
• "Heavy Metal" by Sammy Hagar
• "I'm Alright" (Theme from "Caddyshack") by Kenny Loggins
• "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits
• "Monkey" by George Michael
• "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
• "Naughty Naughty" by John Parr
• "One Night in Bankok" by Murray Head
• "Pretty in Pink" by the Psychadelic Furs
• "There's Only One Way to Rock" by Sammy Hagar
• "The Reflex" by Duran Duran
• "You Better Run" by Pat Benatar

I had to kick a couple of bands out of the playlist. Somehow Kid Rock's "Bawitdawba" got in there (released 1998) and I had three selections from Queen on there, too. Don't fret — I've got a 70's playlist for Queen.

Very few music acts have stayed with me since boyhood in the 1970s. I'm talking about music I heard on the radio then and stayed with me all these years — music that brings back memories of my childhood home and life with my parents.

This isn't about age; It's about good memories from days when I really didn't have a care in the world — exploratory days of growth and budding awareness, when my life was being shaped in part by the FM dial.

I can revisit those days through Becker and Fagen's art. Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho have been a constant companion for me. Whenever I hear "Hey Nineteen", I am reminded of my parents' stereo system... and of roller skating in the gym of the catholic school on Sunday afternoons. (Not that the song was anywhere close to as innocent as my memories are.)

I'm very saddened to learn of Becker's passing. Thank you, Walter, for your timeless art.

I was actually scrolling through iTunes and came across a name I hadn't seen in a long time: WINGER.

I have a small collection of cuts of theirs, that I honestly adore. Say what you want about 80's hair bands — but I always liked Winger for its prog rock. Exhibit A:

• "M16" (from Winger IV)
• "Livin' Just to Die" (Winger IV)
• "On the Inside (New Version) (The Very Best of Winger)
• "Disappear" (Winger IV)
• "Come a Little Closer" (Karma)
• "Generica" (Winger IV)
• "Seventeen" (Winger)

I first heard Winger on their self-titled release in 1988. Two tracks got a lot of airplay: "Headed for a Heartbreak" and "Seventeen." Only relatively recently did I stumble upon their 2006 release, Winger IV — a more progressive release, and a real statement album.

It's been too long since I've posted a simple list of what I'm listening to now. So here we go:

• Howard Jones. I haven't listened to this guy in a while. Found his "The Very Best Of" album on iTunes and am really glad I did — I'd forgotten how good "The Prisoner" is. I remember being desperate for radio stations to play it while waiting to strike my stereo's cassette Record and Play buttons like a cobra. The little guitar hook is still catchy.
• Beck - "Devils Haircut". I heard this on the radio the other night and really liked it. It's got a really dirty electric guitar hook complimented by a very clean 60's accompaniment. Plus all those weird free-association lyrics Beck does. It's got an Ocean's 13 feel, just weirder.
• Supertramp. I never stray far from the oldies but goodies, I guess. "Bloody Well Right" is my fave of theirs, followed by "The Logical Song." Extra credit: I have one of those Mattel Football games that you can hear on that track.
• Soundgarden. Started rocking out to "Fell on Black Days", "Blow Up the Outside World" and others with the news of Chris Cornell's passing.
• Stone Temple Pilots' "All in the Suit that You Wear". And speaking of late artists, I really like Scott Weiland's apprach to this song in particular. STP sounds fantastic on this track. You can find it on their Thank You release from 2003. The whole album is good — it's a compilation of their earlier must-haves, but this track was a lovely bonus.
• Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil. I remember listening to this album in the ninth grade. My friend Dave let me borrow it. I was very much into Ozzy's Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. But I couldn't hide my disappointment at hearing live performances of songs I did not recognize — Ozzy's third release was all Sabbath stuff. Now that I'm older, I have to say I can't lay off "Fairies Wear Boots" and the opening track, "Symptoms of the Universe."


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Apple iTunes pre-orders for STYX' new release, The Mission, were filled a couple of days ago.

I've got some thoughts.

Old and New

Another concept album, this tells the story of a mission to Mars. But the space mission is but one story being told.

The entire album is all about the confluence of old and new — it's a theme running through both the visual and musical art.

The cover gives one a sense of looking through a porthole on a ship in space; the porthole is at the center of the image and appears bolted to an iron-reinforced surface. Metal and wires are visible around the porthole.

The band's logo appears at center. The new logo is a blend of the classic, angular STYX logo with some modern design touches, like severing the base of the "t" and changing the tail of the "y"; the top half of the "x" is no longer distinct from the bottom half of the character.

What's more, take a closer look at the technology surrounding the porthole. There's an elongated silver metal piece there that is unique to the right side. Those of us old enough to have listened to STYX on vinyl might recognize that as an arm of a record player. If you consider the entire image in that context, it's not hard to see the porthole as a platter, and the entire composition makes the argument for old and new.

(P.S. - for good measure, notice the coin floating at lower left — it doesn't make much sense in the context of a spacecraft, but you can be damn sure that anybody who recognized the record player knows what that coin is for.

Now let's look at how some of the music communicates the theme.

"Overture"

I love what they did with the initial track, "Overture": It announces very clearly that this is STYX — the STYX you remember from 40 years ago — through two significant devices: using distinct keyboard sounds that mainstay keyboard sound that were such a huge part of what made them arena rock legends in the late 70's (0:02 to 0:05, and 0:22 to 0:47) and those heavy electric guitar chords (between 1:05 and 1:09), which speak directly to me of The Grand Illusion — this is GOLD. But the percussion and bass that Todd and Ricky bring are distinctly different — giving us a great blend of classic STYX with a new, edgier sound: old and new.

"Locomotive"

Perhaps no track speaks more directly to old and new than "Locomotive." The most obvious indicator here is the lyrics (transcription mine):

Locomotive tell me where you are
Now that you've become the distant star
Did you lose your faith where you belonged?
Did you hide from those who you did love?
Have you read the messages I've tried to send?
Will you ever come back home again?

Castles by the sea you made from sand
Hovercrafts and drones you built by hand
Forever fearless, asking why and how
Locomotive just look at you now


No one else on earth has ever been so far
Locomotive tell me where you are
And when that road calls your name
It doesn't matter what's to gain
It's in your blood


Staring up into the starry night
Why that must surely be your light
Locomotive, you're fading into the rising sun
And who am I to say that you're the lucky one?

This song seems all about the difference technology has made in our lives -- and questions whether progress for progress' sake is necessarily beneficial. Perhaps for STYX it was about the examination of whether the media reality of 2017 really make sense for the band who shot through the stars 40 years ago. Could "Locomotive" really be about the band?

The music also tells the story: the song opens with a classic STYX keyboard sound (think of the opening of "Mother Dear"), but it's also played primarily on an accoustic guitar. The band really tells the story from the point of view of someone who feels left in the past, and is evaluating the feats of someone who is forging the future.

Finally, I'll leave you with this thought: the locomotive changed our nation permanently. Though the locomotive seems like antiquated technology by the standards of today, our lives even now are still touched by its invention in improbable ways: the notion of time zones came from the days of rail.

Another Thought on "Radio Silence"

By the way, there's something I missed in my earlier note on "Radio Silence" -- another clever touch: if you listen very closely, you can hear morse code for SOS being played in the background of the track.

There's so much more to this album than I've what I've noted here. STYX has stuck to their concept album playbook and has createed engaging stories told through lyric and through the music, for fans old and new.

STYX released another single from The Mission today.

"Radio Silence" seems very much in the structure and story of "Man in the Wilderness" from The Grand Illusion of 40 years ago. The story of bitter loneliness and perserverance retold in the metaphor of being on a ship in space (transcription mine):

Clear blue skies above
And all I feel is love
In this dream
Sand, water, the earth beneath my feet
I feel complete

I wake in darkness
Remembering the fear
I'm really here
So far away
Lost, helpless
For words I never say
Until this day

The two songs seem so similar in fact, I half-wonder what they would sound like when played at the same time.

It bothers me to use a metaphor like "going the extra mile" to talk about a story set in space, but Styx did a great job of really communicating the story through sound. For example, there is a low noise that runs through the track tha resembles a motor or some kind of electromechanical system — that really added dimension and drew me further into the story.

Well done!

Lovely night last night for a drive. Caught the last little bit of Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" on the radio; rolled down the windows and told Siri to play that song for me, in anticipation of reliving summer evenings from my youth.

Within moments my radio was blaring "Lotta Love" by Nicolette Larson.

Just wasn't the same. :/

I've been tardy in following up on the concert.

I'll just start by saying it was a mind-blowing show.

The band was WONDERFUL — first off, they ROCKED THE HOUSE for over TWO HOURS that night, and played TONS of material — some of which I honestly never thought I'd hear them play live — including "Man in the Wilderness" from their 1977 release, The Grand Illusion.

Kiddo got to hear all KINDS of music that she's heard me hack to death on my guitar in the basement; now here we were, hearing it and watching it get played LIVE from 30 feet away — but thanks to some very special people, she got to see part of it (like in the image above) from ONE FOOT AWAY.

We were seated in the second row. First row fans were able to go up to the stage, and nearly all did — which basically left us front row seating and gorgeous unobstructed views of the band that captured my heart when I was kiddo's age.

The best part wasn't even two hours of classic rock bliss.

We met a pair of ladies seated in front of us — they'd each seen the band play well over 100 times, and have gotten to know the show and the crew fairly well. One of the pair took a real shine to kiddo, and our brief liaison was very richly rewarded. At the intermission, I was instructed to send kiddo up to them at the encore.

Those beautuful people made certain my little girl was showered with guitar picks and even the actual set list from the stage. PLUS, she got to meet the band at the front of the stage at the close of the show and was given some VERY, VERY kind words from Tommy, Ricky, and JY. Ricky approached her and pulled her ballcap up so he could see her face; Tommy told her that he saw her rocking out and they absolutely loved it. I simply cannot recount all of the love the band and the "super fans" showed her.

And kiddo was completely overwhelmed by the entire experience — she was so quiet through the show, I was afraid something was wrong; turned out she was just so blown away and so happy that she couldn't quite process it all! Here I am writing about it a month and a half later and I STILL have tears in my eyes.

Apart from the enormous generosity to kiddo, my favorite part of the evening was Tommy hearing me sing "Man in the Wilderness" from 30 feet away. And I know he heard it, because Tommy told kiddo that he had at the close of the show.

Thank you, thank you, a million times thank you to the band for giving me so many more amazing memories to enjoy as I listen — as we listen — to your timeless music!

Styx is releasing their first album in 14 years next month. What makes me happiest about this release is that Lawrence Gowan, a terrific performer who stepped in to replace Dennis DeYoung, played for us a solo piece at the concert that had us mesmerized — and that piece is on the upcoming album.

The song, titled Khedive, was named by his father after the ship he served upon in WWII.

Today I find myself thinking a lot about the music that I listen to and our introduction. I can reach as far back as 1978, when my cousins from New York first introduced me to popular music. During this particular visit, my older cousin brought with them a series of albums. And I remember sitting and listening to them with him. He brought I think three albums all from a band named STYX.

During that visit, my cousin told me about the band members. I could see them pictured on the covers of Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight as I pored over the artwork.

I became fascinated with the band, though I was too young to own any of their records. Perhaps I became so taken with them because my cousin meant so much to me. Perhaps I became so taken with them simply because they were essentially my first exposure to pop music. I don't really know. I was likely 11 years old.

I was so taken with them that I used to practice drawing the band's logo. I drew it a lot. And I mean A LOT.

At some point in 1979 my mom surprised me and my sisters with cassette recorders. These were chunky black and silver machines from General Electric. They were very far cry from the boomboxes later in the became along later in the 80s. These machines were more like units you might use for business dictation or something. Along with the machine my mother gave me a copy of Cornerstone, STYX's 1979 release.

I remember propping the tape up on a shelf and just looking at the artwork on the jacket (I guess that's what it's called; the card that went inside the plastic case).

Somehow, after all the cassette tapes that I played wore out and re-purchased, that single cassette always played like a champ. It is the one tape that I kept at the close of the cassette age (which for me was when I sold my 2001 Ford — likely one of the last models to still have an in-dash cassette player.)

And I still have that tape.

Today, I'm nearing the top of my 40s. I've listened to a lot of music since 1978. I still have a very special place in my heart for the bands I knew when I was coming of age (no pun intended): STYX is still right at the top.

Today is an extremely special day for me, because tonight is one of the rarest of opportunities: tonight I get to share STYX with my daughter.

She is 11 years old.

To mark the occasion, I purchased VIP package for the show. The package will allow us to sit right up front, and has all kinds of goodies I would have killed for at her age.

I'm picking up the tickets at will call in a little while. This VIP package includes a lot of stuff, but I don't know if backstage passes or an opportunity to meet and greet is included. If there's a way I can upgrade to get that access, I absolutely would. Meeting them would be completely mind blowing to this 11-year-old kid.

Just heard Taco's "Puttin' On the Ritz." Well, I heard some of it.

Mostly I "heard" this:

I have a music playlist for kiddo that she hasn't listened to in a long time. On the list are:

• What's New, Pussycat? (Tom Jones & Les Reed)
• Part of Me (Katy Perry)
• The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) (Ylvis)
• Shake It Off (Taylor Swift)

Her musical tastes have... shifted. She's super deep into her old man's classic rock, with some interest in hairband rock. Examples:

• We Will Rock You (Queen)
• Highway to Hell (AC/DC)
• The Final Countdown (Europe)

I haz a proud.

It was like being in a time machine.

I was transported back to my bedroom, standing in front of my stereo, rocking out to "Fight Fire with Fire" on my Best of Kansas cassette.

The band completely rocked last night. They played for an hour, plus a little more in their encore -- which of course was closed with "Carry On My Wayward Son".

The band played absolutely masterfully, even welcoming Kerry Livgren to the stage for one song — I think it was "Dust in the Wind". The band seemed to play a similar set list as was featured in their 2009 release, There's Know Place Like Home — even including "Belexes" and "Down the Road".

Rest in peace, Devo's Bob Casale.

You're through being cool.

This morning's misheard song lyric wouldn't have been misheard back in the 80's. From Def Leppard: "Living like a lover with a red iPhone"

Okay, get this: "Wanted Man" by Ratt — yeah, I said it — and even "Tell Me What You Want" by Zebra AND "Screaming in the Night" by Krokus. It was a big week for big hair.

What else? Here's a classic: "Open Invitation" by Santana. I still think this is one of the greatest rock songs ever. Also, a little prog rock: "March of Mephisto" by Kamelot. That one I found on iTunes Radio while hoping to explore James LaBrie's latest release.

I haven't bought too much music lately, but here's what I'm into of late:

First, a classic rock tune from the 70's: "So Into You" by Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Next up: rock: "Black Flag" by King's X.

Let's bring the room down for a moment — Libera's vocal version of Claude Debussy's timeless classic "Claire de Lune", which Libera calls "Luminosa". (Absolutely beautiful. It'll make you cry and you won't know why.)

Now let's pick things back up with the Beastie Boys' "Root Down."

All of this music was discovered — or rediscovered — thanks to Sirius XM.

"Put your hands on your feet \ Don't you know it won't seem right"

• Asia's "Sole Survivor"
• Pat Beneatar's "You Better Run"
• Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down"
• April Wine (yeah, I said it) "Sign of the Gypsy Queen"
• The Pretenders - "My City Was Gone"
• The Police's self-titled album (remastered)

• Queensrÿche's cover of "Almost Cut My Hair"
• The Black Keys' "Little Black Submarines"
• David Bowie's "Heroes"