Seemed like it was time.

While sitting with my Mom during her chemo treatment today, I caught up on some unfinished business. 

Look out, Japan!  Rock steady, Western, Mass.  Hang tough, Woldingham.

Three letters in one night.

Going out tomorrow to San Fran, Canada, and Japan.  Lots of "ans" in those place names!

Watch out world ...

I thought I lost Kurt's response to my TENACITY questions in a catastrophic HD wipeout.  Sadness ensued.

Now that I am back in the saddle, I decided to look around and see if I tucked it away somewhere.  Lo and behold! 

Here it is ... unedited. 

Kurt is the MAN ... the Rennaissance man, that is.  Awesome music.  Awesome art (google image it).  Awesome style.  'Nough said.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kurt Swinghammer
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:09:29
To: Kate Schutt
Subject: Re: Kurt! 

One thing that I believe opened up my playing, was opening up my ears to new music. I deliberately did some difficult listening, and subjected myself to music that wasn't about me, wasn't part of my social scene, and sometimes wasn't even remotely enjoyable... at least at first. I wanted to be exposed to as many different voices as possible, especially artists whose paths were obviously not motivated by mass acceptance and financial reward. I gradually expanded my musical vocabulary, and hopefully that will continue. There is certainly an endless supply of music to discover.

I'd like to hear Burt Bacharach answer this question.

What is Tenacity?

The quality or fact of being very determined; determination

Kurt & co. performing live for the CBC

It's been a little while, but I am back at it.  Writing postcards and letters to those of you who've dared to send me a missive through the Postal Service.

Big ups to Edwin for sending me a homemade Aerogramme all the way from Surrey, UK.  Wow!

Right back at 'ya, Edwin.  On some fancy stationary, to boot! 

What's the Postcard Project?

I like to write letters and postcards. You write me; I write you.  Simple as that. 

I dare you.

319 Lafayette St, #159, NY, NY 10012

*To those I haven't sent a postcard to yet:  A little family health crisis took the wind out of my sails for awhile, but I am back in the cockpit, hand on the tiller, pulling in the main sail and headed your way, tacking back and forth, making some headway.  Be patient.  I'll get there!  And THANKS!

Everything that YOU need to know about virtuouso guitarist Julian Lage can be found here and here.

If you don't know, now you know.  You are very welcome!

What I need to know about Julian can be found in the mysteries of the universe.  The soundtrack to the very second we met went like something like this.

Of course I just had to ask Julian to chime in for my series of blog posts about tenacity.  Lucky for me and for you, he obliged.  Thanks, wonder boy!

"The thing that helped me most as I was first getting seriously into playing guitar was to make a time to play consistently every day.

Even if it was for 30 minutes, i would commit to working on something in the time period, no matter what it was. Also, i always had a kind of short attention span and because of that, it would cause me to practice a wide variety of things on any given day.

So if i sat down to practice alternate picking for 30 minutes, the act of practicing that might remind of a bebop melody that seemed like it would necessitate that same kind of technique, so I'd practice a bebop head for a little while. Then I might get intrigued by how to play fast lines over a bebop changes without over tightening or holding my breath, so that would lead me to putting on a record of a player exemplified this kind of easiness best, maybe Chick Corea or Wes Montgomery. And from there, I remember rather than transcribing any solos, I spent most of my time listening to the players I loved, and then immediately after hearing them, trying to play in their style, even without having specifically acquired their vocabulary.

From there, I could clearly hear where the deficiencies were in my playing and that allowed me to get more focused on what qualities and techniques I needed to develop in order to sound more like the music I loved listening to.

At the core of all this, I think the most valuable component of my practicing in the earlier stages, and what continues to be fruitful today, is a commitment to studying my own style and spending time regularly analyzing what my strengths and weaknesses are.

I feel that by studying my own playing, it really helps me to respect the natural musical voice that lies within and that has been there all along, and encourages the analytical mind as well as the imaginatoion to do what they do best, which is to take a task and run with it in all directions. As Wayne Shorter said, 'What is the plural of focus? Focus in all directions!'"

The quality or fact of being very determined; determination

I'll be talking about Foodclef today. It is a platform which has provided a chance to 15 great singers of Canada to join voices and work in collaboration to raise money for charity. 

The price is $15.00 including shipping worlwide. This is done to even out the cost. I hope that you all show interest and purchase the cd for a noble cause.

To purchase the cd, go to http://foodclef.com/buy

A 15$ donation, could mean a meal for a day or more for someone in need!!