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

A native of the island of Newfoundland, Duane grew up exposed to the island’s mélange of English, French, Irish, Spanish and Portuguese influences.  Duane's music does the impossible: it fuses traditional Newfoundland music with the gypsy jazz of the legendary Django Reinhardt.  His music dips and soars, bends and blurs.

Soon after I moved from the US to Canada in 2005, at a tiny show in a hotel room in Montreal, I heard Duane trading solos with trumpet player Patrick Boyle of Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. What a sound!  A swirl of rhythmic flayed guitar, fast picking, and muted trumpet musings.  Eureka!  I had a handful of new songs and THAT was the sound I had been looking for!  Humbled, I approached Duane after the show and asked for his card.  He obliged and (later confessed) that he thought nothing of would come of our exchange.  Lo and behold, a few months later, he and Patrick were sitting with me in a studio in Guelph recording two or three tunes.  Ha!  That'll learn ya, Mr. Duane!  He and I still marvel at our meeting!  We've made a lot of music together since then and I look forward to making so much more.

I asked Duane two simple questions:

1.  What made a difference for you along the way?

2.  Is there any person to whom you would like to ask this same question?

"Sounds obvious but I would simply say practice. I find there can be a bit of a mind game when I'm trying to learn something as I'm always looking for a faster way to get to where I want to go.

Feelings of doubt or frustration can seep in but when I finally get the joyous feeling of getting there I realize that basically it was just a lot of hard work, a lot of practice that was the key. 

Though I have -- of late -- tuned in to the idea of 'deliberate practice' which you can check out here.

Joseph Reinhardt

There's much written about Django's life but his brother Joseph was also an amazing player. Though he only played rhythm guitar on the recordings with Django there exists a clip of Joseph taking a solo during a tribute concert after Django's death which blew my mind when I first heard it. You can check that out here."

>> Tenacity: The quality or fact of being very determined; determination

Tenacity is also a series of short blog posts about my favorite players, musicians, athletes, artists, songwriters, entrepreneurs, writers, excellent people, etc.  The (short, sweet and practical) posts will explore how they got to be so damn good at what they do and what made a difference for them along the way.

Duane & I at Fred's Records // photo: koko bonaparte 

Tenacity is the quality or fact of being very determined; determination

Tenacity is also a series of short blog posts about my favorite players, musicians, athletes, artists, songwriters, entrepreneurs, writers, excellent people, etc.  The posts explore how they got to be so damn good at what they do. 

I asked a simple question: What made a difference for you along the way?  I encouraged short, sweet, and (most importantly) practical answers.

Jennifer Hamady

My friend Cliff Goldmacher directed me to Jennifer when I told him I was looking for a vocal coach in Manhattan.  Little did I know I would show up for my first lesson with her and meet a kindred spirit. 

One word comes to mind when I think of Jen Hams (as I like to call her): Wow!  Her approach to singing is unlike anything out there.  Literally.  Her list of accomplishments is long (she spent the early part of her career singing with and composing for artists and companies including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Wyclef Jean, Smokey Robinson, Kid Rock, Usher, Cirque du Soleil, Disney, and American Idol), but it's never gone to her head. 

To put it VERY simply, her approach to singing is holistic and deals with mental and physical inhibitions so that the singer can establish personal, professional, and performance confidence, and communicate with authenticity, humility, and strength. 'Nuff said.   She coaches, conducts clinics and masterclasses, and publishes books.  To me, though, she is an amazing, hilarious, passionate person; I feel very, very lucky to call her a friend. 


When I asked Jenn what made a difference for her along the way, she sent this response:

"I listened constantly to songs that intrigued me - singers that intrigued me - and I would imitate them over and over and over again.  I would zone out and spend hours recreating exactly what they were doing and harmonize with them.  I was always listening, and always singing ... that's a big part of it. The other side of that coin is that I loved the process.  It never felt like 'training' -- it always felt like fun, like a really neat challenge to see how close I could get to recreating other singers' sounds."

This is the "official" start of a regular series of short blog posts about my favorite players, musicians, artists, songwriters, entrepreneurs, linguists, writers, etc.  These posts will explore how they got to be so damn good at what they do.  

I asked a simple question: What made a difference for you along the way?  I wanted answers that were short, sweet, and (most importantly) practical.

First up ...

Damian Erskine

Damian is the man on electric bass.  He is one of my close friends from Berklee College of Music.  Though we usually only get to hang when we are recording or touring, I know this fellow has my back.  He's like a big brother to me.  And did I mention that his playing is so ridiculously funky, it should be illegal?  If you don't know, now you know.

I asked Damian what made a difference for him as a player when he was coming up.  Here's what he wrote:

"I think the two biggest things for me were what happened when I felt like I was in a rut, or never going to be good enough, or just not getting it. 

I realized that whenever I had that feeling, I'd get down and feel like packing it all up.

This was CERTAINLY not going to get me anywhere so I made it a point to push even harder when I felt my resolve waning (and continue to!).  

The second part is always being mindful of what I work on and how I practice.  Being intentional and focused is key to effective use of practice time.  If I was frustrated by not being able to play over jazz changes...well, I'd pick a tune and spend 20 minutes just arpeggiating over the chords and then spend 20 minutes learning the melody and then would spend a solid 20 minutes just playing over the tune...over and over again. 

I'd take that approach with anything that I felt I was lacking in.  Focus on it HARD and push through it until I struck upon something that made me feel better.  It's amazing how quickly anyone can improve when they really put all of their energy into it.

So, in short, tenacity and intentionality.  Never stop pushing and never push aimlessly."

There you have it!  Thanks, Damian!

Check out Damian & I in Austin, TX at Momo's.  Photo by Koko Bonaparte.