I have been using this phrase a lot lately… coins in the jar. I am playing several upcoming gigs and calling them ‘Coins in the Jar’ events… what does it mean?
The phrase comes from a song I co-wrote with Alyson Bleistine and the phrase is hers… so often on the road I see little snap shots of people, just like me, struggling toward their dreams and callings. musicians on stages pouring their hearts out for tips, kids selling lemonade to save up for that special toy, people wanting to help people but needing funds to do it… coins in the jar.
I know, from my own experience, how hard it is to ask for help in our lives; while at the same time how important it is, as well. Right now I am in the process of raising funds for the recording of my next CD… can’t do it without your help. As awkward as it feels, I need to ask for those coins in the jar, whether literal coins at one of these concerts or the ‘coins’ of CD sponsorship.
But it goes both ways, as the Lady of the Realm often reminds me when she and I are in the audience of another musician – I need to toss in my coins. When I see a lemonade stand- I need to toss in my coins. When someone asks for help – I need to toss in my coins.
Whose dreams need a boost in your life today? Time to toss your coins in the jar…
One of the songs that will be on the upcoming CD, JOURNEYMAN, is called “I Want To Be A Hero.” A little tune about growing up, there is a line that says “…walking a road that was unforeseen…” and it made me think about rhythm guitar.
I have known since I was in 3rd grade that I wanted to be a musician and I have always had very definite ideas of what that should look like. My plan was to be the rhythm guitarist and sing background vocals in a band. My heroes were always rhythm guitar… John Lennon, Tom Petty, Ray Davies… a good rhythm player can control and direct a band and move it where it needs to go, conjuring up different shades and emotions and dynamics…
And singing background vocals… who can forget those images of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan with Paul and George singing the “ooohs” during ‘Twist and Shout?’
Yep, that was my plan… to be the rhythm guitarist in a band and sing BGV’s.
And the unforeseen road? That would be me singing solo, playing rhythm, lead, and percussion all at once while singing lead vocals… oh well…
Jewell’s Theme is a song off of my instrumental CD, TAKE IT IN, and actually has no lyrics in it (sort of circumventing the category this blog entry is in…) However, I am reminded of the song today and wanted to address it here…
Yesterday, I was asked to take part in the funeral of a person in my town. I didn’t know the person but their family has heard me sing in church and asked that I sing their mother’s favorite hymn at the service. It reminded me of my own Grandmother’s passing. Jewell Ames passed away on September 10, 2001 and due to the terrorist attacks of the next day, most of our family was unable to get to her funeral. My Mother sent me a copy of the service and included in that letter a copy of my Grandmother’s favorite hymn… I Would Be True. I will be honest, I had no idea my Grandmother had a favorite hymn nor was I familiar with the hymn itself, but in the back of my mind I knew it would find its way onto my guitar some time.
When the Take It In CD was being recorded, I found the copy of I Would Be True again and decided to use it somehow. So, I started with the chord progression for the hymn. At first I wondered about doing sort of a Pachabel’s Canon type of treatment, stating the actual melody of the hymn and then with each repetition adding and accentuating the structure until it became something altogether different by the end. That would also keep the hymn like structure of the repeating verse form minus chorus and bridge. I never got far with that idea… just not as inventive as Pachabel, I’m afraid… what I did finally do was to take the IWBT chord progression and create a new melody over it. As I did that, I also added a few other chords here and there as well as a chorus. The hymn itself comes back as the bridge before crescendoing into a final chorus.
I had one other element that I wanted to use in this piece, a banjo-ukulele that belonged to my Grandmother. I had originally thought about making it one of the rhythm instruments on her song, but keeping the thing tune proved quite an adventure and not particularly doable. However, I tracked the banjo-uke playing the chords and melody of the hymn, added a sample of an old vinyl record spinning complete with scratches and, voila, I had what sounds like an old 78 of my Grandmother’s favorite hymn as a prelude to the song written for her based on that same hymn.
Down in the basement, I’ve got that slide projector out
I dust off that old screen and take those carousels down
Revisit once again all those places that I never want to leave in all these…
Pictures of Us, one of the songs on my most recent CD, has its origins in my childhood. My Dad is one of those fathers who takes pictures of everything. Every trip, every holiday, every family visit, every school event, every major purchase, everything… And periodically, he would summon us all to the living room in the evening where he had set up the screen and the slide projector and we would watch these events unfold. There would be, of course, the odd slide that either didn’t drop or was inserted backwards or upside down and we waited while he fixed and then triumphantly showed it correctly. The sound of the fan in the projector and the sight of dust floating in the projection beam are distinct memories.
As a father myself, I am not like my Dad in this respect. Although I have noble intentions of documenting everything, I often am just lucky to be there on time. There are the odd videotaped school plays, talent show performances, karate tests and music recitals but nothing that can rival a good slide show. The advent of the digital age has taken this art form and moved it from the family room on a Saturday night to a small digital picture frame on a desk. And I am afraid my own children will be the worse for it.
It wasn’t too long ago, while visiting my parents, that I ventured into the basement and dug out the screen and that old slide projector and as many carousels of slides as I could find. For the next couple of hours, I immersed myself in my own childhood and my family’s history and I silently thanked my Dad for taking all of these pictures. And of all the treasures in my parents’ house, these might just be among the most valuable.
