Steve Ball Diary     sb home     related guitar craft diaries seattle rep circle seattle practice circle discipline diaries nj circle diaries		Monday August 27  Tuesday August 28  Wednesday August 29  Thursday August 30  Friday August 31  Saturday September 01  Sunday September 02      Read the archive	Monday September 03  Tuesday September 04  Wednesday September 05  Thursday September 06  Friday September 07  Saturday September 08  Sunday September 09
		Monday August 27 Monday morning meetings in Redmond extend deep into the afternoon.  Then, phone calls to Boston to plug into an ongoing project there.  Busy days. * * * Early evening: SBRS chez Travii.  More work and preparation for a busy month of shows just ahead.    Then, SGC rehearsal chez Bob and Jax.  Good work on a new Recreational Vehicle, then home work on King for a Day, Sigh and a Kiss, Birds of Fire.  Special Guest, TonyG (sans guitar) shows up just before tea break.   Wonder if and when TonyG will begin to show-up avec guitar? * * * Tuesday August 28 Seattle Circle Board meeting this morning.  TaylorS and I met at Uptown Espresso and wondered where everyone was while CurtG, GregS, and WalterH were waiting in the new SC facility wondering where we were.   Duh. Uh,... seems we still have a few communication bugs to work out of our system(s.)  Ah well.  A good meeting nonetheless.  * * * Rumor is that an old friend and band-mate, Nigel Gavin, may be coming to visit the US in September.  He recently sent me this picture of one of his current groups: Nigel is, by far, one of the most talented musicians I have ever played with, (of course, excluding all the people I am currently playing with...)  Dangling prepositions and all. For those who don't know, Nigel was one of the driving forces within the League of Crafty Guitarists in the 1990-1991 timeframe.  He was also the primary bass player of Prometheus.   Hope he makes it to Seattle for a visit.  * * * Wednesday August 29 I love that there is a community of people who, now twelve years after Hideyo Moriya coined the term, understand what a "bogo tour" is.   Witness a recent exchange on a matter of extreme global importance: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Travis Hartnett"  To: "Steve Ball "  Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 4:04 PM Subject: Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid I see that Re-Genesis is performing the entire "Lamb" with costumes, video and lighting in London on October 26th. It's looking like a pretty busy month of live music for us, eh? TH ---------- From: SB Reply To: TH Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2001 4:13 PM Subject: Re: Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid shite - let's go for a 48 hour turn around... think Steve Hackett or Phil Collins will show up to busk and/or sell some CDs outside the auditorium? shite #2 - why don't they come to Seattle? ----- Original Message ----- From: TH  To: SB Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 9:31 AM Subject: RE: Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid If Genesis couldn't make any money trucking all that gear around the US, I doubt the tribute band can either. I mean, these guys have to pay performance royalties to the authors and all. ---------- From: SB Reply To: TH Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 1:19 PM Subject: Re: Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid True - but they can't be in it for the money, can they? No one sane goes into a mobile theatre production of an obscure 70's prog rock opera thinking "Yes, I'm going to get rich from this venture..." or do they? ----- Original Message -----  From: TH  To: SB Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 1:20 PM Subject: RE: Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid Probably not, but they're probably also a not-for-loss organization. There's enough Prog Anoraks in the UK to make those shows at least pay for themselves, but add in trans-Atlantic airfare and the amazing travel distances of the US, and you've got a Bogo Tour of unimaginable proportions. A "bogo tour" is an overly-ambitious, resource-limited, money-losing, seat-of-the-pants, sleep-anywhere-possible, play-anywhere-possible music tour taken on with the unrealistic aim of 'building an audience' across an impossibly wide region, preferably a very large (foreign, if possible) country or smallish continent. The word 'bogo' derives from Hidi's brilliantly insightful  mis-pronunciation of the word "bogus," however the word "bogo" carries much more baggage and is 10x "bogus." The first official "bogo tour" was the 1989 League of Crafty Guitarists fall US tour.  Ten people (SB, Curt Golden, Tobin Buttram, Pauly Richards, Hidi Moriya, Herni Nunez, Ralph Gorga, John Sinks, Bettina Nunez, and Edi Galimany) drove in two vans across the US and back in five week frenzy.     * * * More mailbag clean-up today: ----- Original Message -----  From: "Horacio Sairafi" <horaciosairafi@usa.net> To: SB Sent: Friday, August 03, 2001 6:09 AM Subject: greetings from Córdoba. HI STEVE! HOW ARE YOU?.I´VE FOUND THIS PICTURE OF THE GAUCHO´S TOUR (DEC. 20 ,1994) AND VISITING THE SB SITE, I THOUGHT TO SEND IT TO YOU .IT WAS IN THE PRO MOTOR´S STORE FRONT, THE SAME DAY OF THE NIGHT PERFORMANCE. I´D LIKE TO INVITE YOU TO VISIT MY BAND´S NEW SITE (LAST WEEK WE OPEN A WEB PAGE ("SOCIEDAD SECRETA" IS THE NAME OF THE BAND) BECAUSE I REALLY APPRECIATE COMMENTS AND SUGESTIONS FROM YOU.THE ADDRESS IS:  http://www.sociedadsecretarock.com.ar   MY VERY BEST WISHES AND HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON. HORACIO Herni, SB, Machine-Gun, MartiS * * * Lots of new music showing up this week.  To sleep this evening with renewed hope.    * * * Thursday August 30 Remain in Light (Talking Heads) is certainly one of the most amazing albums ever recorded.  Letting the days go by today.  Water flowing underground.  * * * Slept in later than usual this morning; could not get to sleep last night. Many errands to do this afternoon.  Embracing the mundane.   SBRS show tonight: 7:30pm at Pitcairn Scott Gallery.  Some new songs may come out this evening...  Wouldn't want to miss that, now would we?   * * * Good show for a great audience tonight at Pitcairn. Hopefully, this will be the first of many shows there.  Roving BTV correspondent DavidLV was there in full force, recording the show for future web embarrassment... New songs went over well.  Forgot to do one important song: Happy Birthday. Now: everything in its right place. * * * Friday August 31 Waiting for the telephone.   Antici...   pation. * * * This news item just in from TravisH: Study: Flat future for digital music By Richard Stenger CNN Science and Technology  (CNN) -- The prospect of music lovers purchasing digital songs on the Internet in the future looks extremely bleak, despite efforts by the recording industry to convince them to do so, according to a new report.  The survey, polling a sample of Internet users in the United States, found that half listened to CDs on their personal computers but only one-quarter listened to songs they downloaded on their machines.  Moreover, only 6 percent said they had purchased digital music online during a three-month period this spring, according to Gartner Inc., the technology research firm that conducted the survey of 4,000 adults.  The situation will likely not improve, given the hesitation of consumers to pay for material that they previously downloaded on free song-sharing networks such as the now-dormant Napster, and because the major record labels have failed to come up with a simple alternative, according to Gartner researchers.  "Digital distribution needs to be brain-dead simple for consumers," said P.J. McNealy, co-author of a report released this week entitled "Digital Copyright Law: Protect Content and Consumers.  "Any solution should work with all music software and hardware. In order for this to happen, the Big Five need to work together, and that doesn't look hopeful before next year," said McNealy, referring to Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI, Bertelsmann AG and Warner Music.  Upcoming music distribution services include MusicNet and PressPlay, both of which will charge fees to download songs. The former is backed by Warner Music, EMI and Bertelsmann; the latter is a joint venture that includes Sony and Universal. Both groups have said they expect to be ready by late summer. Napster also plans to rollout a membership-based site by the end of the year.  I would pay a significant monthly sum to have demand-based access to every song every recorded.  I would not pay to have access to 0.1% of only the most popular crap that the majors shovel out into their monopoly-driven drainage pipes.  Demand-based access to everything has serious value.  Partial access has negligible value and leads to inevitable user frustration (I can't find what I want and feel I've wasted time searching) which is why no one wants to pay for it.   * * * And this just in: ----- Original Message -----  From: "Brock Pytel"  To: SB Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 2:42 AM Subject: bogo tours Hi Steve, about these bogo tours: does four months in a van with no insulation beginning with two weeks of Canada in February qualify ? Do i score bonus points for playing in Appleton, WI ? And how about having a week off in Oshkosh ? Did you know that they give free blocks of cheese to welfare recipients in that state ? At least they used to. MMmm. Wisconsin cheddar. Maybe some could be arranged for the next guitar craft anniversary to commemorate bogo tours in general. I hope you are all doing well down there. I am officially not allowed to live in the states now - since they took my green card away at the border. It has the effect of making Seattle seem far away. Hi to everyone. --  Brock Pytel Scamindy Records 1736 Napier St. Vancouver, BC V5L 2N2 CANADA http://www.brocksongs.com  ----- Original Message -----  From: SB To: "Brock Pytel"  Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 10:34 AM Subject: Re: bogo tours Hi Brock! The specific level of bogosity can vary from tour to tour, but your examples are certainly classic and qualify for the Cleveland Bogo Tour Hall of Flame.  We miss you here. Why did they take the green card away? I thought since you were married to a us cit that you were okay for life now? Weird... Anyway, we're all still here struggling along in our usual ways. We're moving into the new SC space tomorrow. A big step forward and year long commitment... we'll see what happens when winter sets in and the novelty wears off. Waiting for a phone call from the borg to see if the interviews I did last week amounted to anything.  Say hi to H and C and know that we are missing you here. With love, -s. PS - I shoveled your email into my diary verbatim. Let me know if this is not okay and I'll shovel it back out. (Using the standard SB policy for getting into deep shit: do it first, then ask permission. 8 ^ ) * * * Never really know who is reading this diary.  Probably better that way. * * * Made one important phone call in the afternoon.  One (perhaps lesser, but more desirable) opportunity closed, making room for a (perhaps greater, but more difficult) opportunity.   * * * Saturday September 01 Move in day for the new Seattle Circle HQ.  Quite a turn out: 25 people, whipping the facility into shape both in and out doors.   Impressive group and an impressive quantity of quality work put into the space today.  The first official inaugural rehearsals begin on Monday evening. * * * A phone call or email I've been eagerly anticipating has yet to arrive...  perhaps it will not ?   Mystery word of the week: patience. * * * Jonatha on constant rotation in my car.  I sing along at the top of my lungs.  So Much Mine and Amelia kill me every time.  I love this music even more now than back ten years ago when I was a total Story groupie (I went to all their shows, bought dozens of CDs for friends and strangers...) What are the chances that Jonatha and Jennifer will ever reunite?  Probably slim from what I can tell... and this is a tragedy.  Their voices belong together.  * * * Evening: putting Every Thing in its Right Place. * * * Sunday September 02 Up early and off to Sunday morning Bikram yoga class in West Seattle.   While out, I missed a call and invitation from Jax and family around the corner at Macrena for breakfast.  Home hibernation this afternoon, working in the studio on some new seeds that are in the air.  * * * DavidLV has done it again.  His latest BTV videos from last Thursday's Pitcairn show are now up on his site: http://stringcraft.com/~davidl/guitar/  * * * 3:29pm.  Just finished tracking rough sketches for four, count 'em, four new songs that popped out last night.  When it Rains, South Central floods up quickly. * * * Tonight: probable poker play-off, chez Pelota.  Need to win back the two dollars I lost last time... * * * Poker: Did not get my $2.00 back from last time, but I ended up losing (and winning) absolutely zilch.  A break-even night unless you count the winning joke that Deborah's cousin told this evening. Happy Birthday, Tobin! * * * home Monday September 03 More SBRS shows in the works at Pitcairn Scott Gallery. TravisH put this poster together:   * * * Evening: SGC rehearsal at Bob and Jaxie's.  As a group, we were 'on' this evening.  We brought an older Wilson's standard, Paper Tiger/Falling Buddha, back to life quickly and easily.  We also cleaned up a few 'trouble' spots and found that the actual 'troubles' were perhaps less than we initially imagined.   Or at least, we surprised ourselves on a few occasions by playing with good tone, tuning, dynamics, and listening.  I could get used to these kinds of rehearsals. Fortunately, we have one more opportunity before our Thursday SAM show to discover more troubles and dispel any potential cockiness that may arise from our engaged momentum. * * * Tuesday September 04 A day of happy phone calls.  Rains, pours.  * * * SBRS rehearsal chez Travii early evening; continued refinement of our newest material and some gentle polishing of some of the older 'classics.'    At the end, I presented one of the four new musical 'seeds' that have been flying around.  The Travii snapped it up like hungry dogs. It is such a pleasure to play with musicians who listen, learn, respond, and improvise so well.   I have the double pleasure of playing in two such groups. For me, musical themes and thematic impulses tend to arrive in cycles.  Often, complete ideas arrive fully-formed, as if they had been in the oven baking, and they just pop out, ready-to-eat with very little muss or fuss.    It is harvest time. * * * Wednesday September 05 8:00am SC Board Meeting at HQ.  The results of the past weekend work day are evident. SC projects in the works: weekly calisthenics meetings, monthly 'work days', regular performance refinement workshops, master classes with visiting guest instructors, and a weekend 'residential course' with special guest instructors. Also, a primary ongoing process: fund-raising.   * * * More interesting opportunities hovering in the air with another potential local company today.  Getting down to the wire in making a commitment to (employment) work for the next phase. * * * Early evening: fun(d)-raising work chez Dean and Patty.   Later: SGC rehearsal, testing a new concept designed to  increase the dramatic performance value of SGC shows. * * * Delightful dinner with Dean and Patty (and William, Lewis, and Wendell, the wonder dog whose picture may show up in these pages tomorrow.  Many Seattle Circle fund raising issues explored and addressed.  There is money out there.  We have to go out there and be seen out there to get it. * * * SGC rehearsal/run-through with our new analog song title slideshow.    For me, the title of an instrumental piece can be like an antenna that transmits (or contains) a message or an image about the identity of the essence of the piece. For years, I have performed in groups where long streams of polyrhythmic notes have sprayed into the ears of our audience without a single announcement, message, or even a hint of an explanation regarding the nature or character of the pieces we play (or their origin.)  Here is a dilemma, even a choice to make: some audiences appreciate this.  Others find it "off-putting." So, what might we do to engage our audience more actively in the process and presentation of our pieces without chatting them up with boring, or worse, fake snappy banter about our songs?   Tomorrow, at Seattle Art Museum, we begin an experiment to see if a visual presentation of (non-verbal) song titles might add some depth, emotional impact, and/or intellectual capital to our standard musical presentation and performance. Bad analogy of the day: remember life before mouse-overs? Regarding the experiment with song titles: I predict a mixed response with mild positive reactions from those who prefer hand-holding, background information, and pictures to accompany their reading, and mild negative reactions from purists who would rather bathe in clear aural sensations free from the tyranny of pesky and potentially pedantic words and ideas getting in the way of otherwise direct strings-to-heart sonic transmissions. Wow.  That was quite an obnoxious run-on. Good rehearsal this evening.  Fun and light-hearted.  Enough clams in just the right places to relieve any serious fears about the quality of our shows tomorrow. * * * A very satisfying evening, all around.  Excellent conversations. Hope in the air.   * * * I never really know who is reading these pages.  But I know more tonight than I did yesterday.   * * * Thursday September 06 A long, busy day, getting many professional ducks in line before SGC shows at SAM and Town Hall this evening.   * * * ----- Original Message -----  From: "SandraP"  To: SB Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 7:10 AM Subject: Re: Performance regarding adding excitement to your performance... why don't y'all just stand up? Not a bad idea!  We have not done that recently.  Any other ideas or suggestions out there?  * * * SGC show at SAM: not particularly magical, but quite honorable.   The first set was really a slow-ramp warm-up.  By the second set, we had hit our stride, although there were some ongoing subtle tempo problems (occasional rushing, unchanneled  adrenaline.) I have no objective read on the effectiveness or impact of the song title cue cards.  However, a few people in the audience were able to make comments using the titles of the songs they enjoyed rather than trying to describe "that one song with the fast notes, polyrhythms, and complex harmonies."  And, at a minimum, SGC "branding" seems intelligent, with or without the song titles.  Duh.  Town Hall is an amazing facility - how has this venue been off of our radar for so long?  GregM was a hero and put together a wonderful line up of performers - what a treat to be sandwiched between such diverse and deep local talent.  I mean, what a nightmare to have to follow the two excellent performers who preceded our set.   Overall, our performance had some high points, but it is clear that we need a complete live sound system overhaul.   Also, at this point, recording our live shows to ADAT remains, at best, a distraction, and at worst, a means of completely defocusing our presentation.   In addition to the Heisenberg problem, now, what might we do with $50 worth of ADAT tapes from last night's shows?  Listen back and cringe?  Listen back and reflect proudly on our masterful/pitiful (choose one, depending upon your personal distortion tendencies) execution?   Hmmm...  Might be a good thing to do, but perhaps we might first invest a few minutes to reexamine  the impulse that leads us to record our shows before we pour the time, energy and $ into the process? Okay, what if 'magic' had happened.  An amazing Circulation or unprecedented performance of, say, Cultivating the Beat.   Would this be worth the cost and distraction?    Perhaps.  But what of post-production (mixing, mastering) and productization?  How and when will these activities fit into the plan?  I'm not suggesting a meeting to discuss this, btw.    Just reflecting on where some of our energy went last night. * * * Friday September 07 9:05am - My ISP has down been down since yesterday afternoon; hope nothing urgent is happening on the web or in my inbox.   A day of significant decisions ahead. * * * 10:32 ISP is back, but flaky.  A flood of mail.   * * * 6:30pm.  A tornado afternoon of meetings, phone calls, negotiations, possibilities, and trade-offs.   May have a few mistakes along the way, today.  It is so hard to measure in the moment what it means to "do the right thing" when the short term wrong thing may in fact be the long term right thing.  The wrong local decision may be exactly the right global decision.  Life is complex, dangerous, and uncertain.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is either in denial, insensitive, completely unconscious, or all three. * * * Counting my blessings.  Too many to count, but god appreciates the effort. * * * Saturday September 08 7:23 Up and off to the first SCHQ Guitar Calisthenics meeting before sitting.   * * * Five guitarists at Calisthenics this morning; a good beginning.  We worked through TonyG's patented 45-minute right hand warm-up.  What might  our playing be like if we did this every day for a year?   Or even, something less ludicrous: every week for a year? And why don't we?   One hour per week working on the foundation of our technique seems intelligent, worthwhile.  But this is very hard to do.   This kind of work requires a continual in-the-moment sacrifice that stretches out over 50 minutes.   And what are we sacrificing?   On the outside: an extra hour of sleep. On the inside: everything we think we already know how to play, our excruciating self-boredom with simple, repetitive tasks, our image of ourselves as 'accomplished' players.   Very difficult work.  * * * This just in courtesy of WalterH: Wow.  Great photo of the SGC at Town Hall last Thursday evening.  Thanks WalterH. Great venue.  Thanks GregM.  At least two heroes in action that night.  Unfortunately, as usual, BobW has a headstock covering his head...   * * * Afternoon: studio work and prep for SBRS at Bellevue Starbucks this evening.   * * * Starbucks report: Firstly, SBRS now has at least one completely certified head-turning hit that works on any generic crowd.  Otherwise, this was a fairly sucky gig.  Playing was okay - some high points: BBO, Dark, I am (not?) in Love, SC Rain, Belltower, Running Up That Hill, and the improvisations.  There were a few intensely attentive and appreciative fan in and/or passing through the audience.   Poor KimC must have gotten stuck in traffic, but ChrisC was there in full force, listening and generally smiling up a storm.  And, of course, I hope SashaP had a great belated B-day dinner downtown.    Why such a sucky gig?  The primary reason: there was more background noise than I can remember in 16 years of shows, even counting Mr. Spots, Kismet, Borders (Redmond, Seattle, Tukwila), and Central Park in NYC.  Overall, the energy required to pierce through the veil of noise was unsustainable. Perhaps we were in the right place at the wrong time.  But you never can tell.  Perhaps there was a budding guitarist in the audience whose life was compelled forward by some brief moment of bliss, shock, or beauty.  All three were present in our show this evening at various moments.    * * * This just in from another hero with growing influence in the SC Community: ----- Original Message -----  From: "SteveT" To: "SteveB Sent: Saturday, September 08, 2001 5:39 PM Subject: Greetings! I just read your diary and wanted to mail you - looked for a mailto: and didn't find it - clicked on the most "obvious" thing, and got your mailto:. What a pleasant endeavor. Anyway, you have your ADAT tapes... I still have the offer open to master one song for free (per group). SGC hasn't cashed in their coupon yet... I'd love to produce and master one of your songs. I've always held a soft spot for "where it goes, we go" (as I understand the name to be from the flash cards).  p.s. I like the flash cards. Provides a frame of reference for that which is not tangible. A proper stapling of  heaven to earth... I was offered the job teaching Intro to Audio at Shoreline Community College... Looks like the universe has something in mind... I'm looking forward to the next time we can catch up and chill out. I've been going pretty much non-stop, as I intuit you have as well. A good rule for when two busy people get together should be to sit back, chill out, and listen to some fine music. Your friend, ...Steve * * * Tomorrow: former BTV advisor BillB arrives in Seattle for some old-fashioned networking. * * * On other fronts: going slow.   Carefully, putting Everything in Its Right Place.   * * * Sunday September 09 Buried in transitions. Not exactly a day off, but now I feel like I need one. * * * home