All Strings Attached

 

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A couple of years ago, I started looking into the rare guitars Gibson made in the '70s. The Norlin-era was not fondly looked at over the years, but has been getting a second look now that they are all well past vintage collectable status, and are gaining in value. 

Firat I found a Gibson Marauder, which was kind of their attempt at making a Telecaster Deluxe. It's much more interesting than that. The stock pickups were what made it so.

Then I found a very rare (and very odd) Gibson Corvus, and decided to give the Marauder some company.

   

One of the other guitars from that era was the L-6s

Played by this guy.

And this guy...

... and also this guy, before pausing to throw the TV out of his window.

Those Gibsons cost a couple grand now, and I can't justify spending that kind of loot on something that will be in the back end of my Norlin collection.

Then this showed up online! a Japanese copy of a Gibson L-6s

You just never know what you're gonna get from Guitar Center, as they fail to reveal many details and often have limited pictures. But once they dropped the price nearly in half, I jumped on it, and now it joins my pack of Norlin inspired oddities! Sounds and plays great, but also has a bit of its own identity thanks to the talents and traits of  Matsumoku Industries, Japan. They were under contract with American companies to make everything from sewing machines to kitchen cabinets and their guitars were crafted quite well, as they were using computers to lathe the bodies at exact specifications way back 50 years ago! The electronics were often cheap crap, but that made it okay to make upgrades, as you really weren't going to devalue one of these for the vintage market. 

It's 50 years old, and cost me a little over $300!

Raising A Cup of Kindness

I have performed New Year's Eve at the same club since I joined the Savage Brothers Band in 2017. 

Woke up the next morning - it was 2018 and time to get my life in order. 

I pulled up just as the last sunset of 2024 was taking place. I was a litle early, so I sat in my car at watched it setting. I thought about where my life was at back when I started, and it wasn't a very happy place. My father was in failing health, I was going through a messy divorce, and had just moved back into my house after living elsewhere for several months. I was starting over at pretty much everything, but I still had my music to keep me going. My previous band was filled with stories of relationship breakups and all kinds of drama. This band is a little more stable in that department, and I was offered some encouragement and stability as I slowly found my way back to feeling like myself again. The shows have all been fun, and provide me with a sense of escape from my daily hardships. 

Tonight's show was yet another lively event, and everyone went home happy to start yet another new year.

I went back to my shabby hotel room, which was cheap, clean (although musty smelling) 4 minutes from the club, and very familiar. I've stayed there several times over the years, so I pretty much know what to expect every time I return, for better or worse.

This time aroud, I had a next door neighbor checking me out as I loaded by stuff back in the car. A cat was in the window saying hello! A pleasant greeting as I started my New Year's Day travel back home.

 

Walk Of Life

 

I turned another year older this month. My partner and I went to Fitzwilly's and had a casual but fun time together. I had a few more shows to play after I finished my caroling gigs, and now the weather is back in the mild 50s, so I went for another of my many walks.

It's truly a beautiful world we live in, and I try to remind myself of that every time I step out and do my usual mile or so stroll. It gives me peace of mind and a little time to stay living in the moment. Important to remember as we trudge through winter and into another new year brimming with uncertainties around the world. 

It's Only Talk

 We saw some great concerts this past year, as we often seem to do. This time around was especially memorable.

 Pixies in Mansfield (I will always call this place Great Woods) Seeing The Pixies play in Massachusetts is the best way.

Pretenders at Tanglewood (My personal favorite, as Chrissie Hynde has piled up a huge amount of great songs. She didn't even play "Brass in Pocket" which is arguably her biggest hit. Didn't matter)

 Violent Femmes  at the Pines Theater Florence, MA (the show I saw most of my friends at, and one of  the closet to home)

PJ Harvey in Boston (great show, but a traffic/parking nightmare... thanks alot, Post Malone!)

Soul Coughing in Boston (took the train in this time!)

 

Beat: The '80s King Crimson Tribute in Hartford. (surprise second favorite concert, back in the city I saw my first rock concerts)

Might As Well Sing

 

Storrowton Tavern 2024

18 years of singing Christmas Carols with one of the people who had been at it way before I started. 

(it may have been one of her first jobs ever)

Life goes on, and people do different things with their lives, but friends stay friends and after several years, we performed at the Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield, MA where it all started. I only have one more show here for the year, so this was a one off, but I always enjoy coming back, and making people smile during the holidays. 

A House is Not a Home

 Last month, I woke up and checked my phone for messages, like I usually do. I'll often make coffee, come back to bed, put on my reading glasses and see how the day might unfold. I received a note from someone I didn't even know, who sent me a picture of a pile of splintered wood, along with the message

"your former house"

Needless to say, I was a bit shocked. 

Although I had very little sentimental value attatched to the house at that point, I lived in it for over 15 years until I went through a divorce, and then spent the last few years trying to sell it, as I was soon living with my new partner, and had no interest in keeping what was an old fixer-upper in poor shape. The person I ended up selling it to had just been part of a big rehab project on another aging cottage in the association, so I had hopes that they might finish the job on mine, but they seemingly ran out of money and simply moved in and started tearing things apart without doing any type of construction. It was a sad development (or lack thereof) and the new owner only lasted a couple of years before he was evicted for various reasons. The next new owner let it sit dormant for several months, and I had a feeling that something was going to happen.

Back when I still was the owner and sole resident: I had very little to do when I would show up, other than collect mail, and make sure the pipes weren't frozen during the winter months. A few of the local cats in the park would come say hello. I ignored advice from people who said I should keep the house as an investment, because I knew that it was too expensive an undertaking and a complete tear down would be in store for the future. I was sitting on a footprint that was more valuable than the house itself.

and so it would come to be, 4 years after I sold it and moved out for good. In its place will likely be something grand and refreshing to see, instead of a decaying symbol of my failed marriage and an empty safe haven. Looking back, I had run out of places to live in New England, and the Valley was my idea of the happy home I had been longing for ever since I fled Boston in the early '90s. When things were at their darkest, I was completely alone and scraping by to keep up with the mortgage and heating bills, while staying optimistic that things would eventually turn around. So I don't miss all the work I put into something that was not meant to be, although I'm glad I made it work long enough for me to safely move on, when it was finally time to do so. 

Fall Feels (Part Four)

 

A week after first discovering this new to me bikepath, I was back for more of it!

This time, I explored the southern half of it, in the town of Cheshire, and riding alongside the Cheshire Reservoir, with peak Fall foliage in the background.

The relection off the still waters and clear blue sky made for even more colors to come out.

I encountered something very cheesy near the center of town.

I managed to bike all the way north to the spot I previously turned aroiund from last week, so the majority of the path has been done. I probably did about 3 miles of the 7 mile rail trail. Really about the prettiest I have ever seen. The hills of Western Mass are a sight in the fall.