New tools [YO/02]
when in doubt, change things up
I’m generally not much of a “gear head” - someone who knows the ins and outs of guitar pickups, the minute differences between various distortion pedals, how much owning certain synths will boost your sex appeal (hint = it won’t), etc. I’m not even much of a Guitar Guy for someone who primarily plays guitar these days.
As is the case with most of my friends who play a lot and tour around, I’ve never had a guitar worth more than like $600-700, and am terrified at the idea of bringing like a vintage Gibson worth $5k on the road (the second i took it out of the case I’m sure a beer would fly across the room and empty itself onto the pickups) — also i could never afford a $5k gibson so it actually makes the decision process quite easy.
and once you’re putting a guitar through pedals / not playing unamplified acoustic guitar at Carnegie Hall, the difference between my mexican Tele and a $5k version gets much narrower anyways.
(the alternative of this is what i like to call a Blues Attorney, or a Rock and Roll Dentist — a rich guy (almost always a guy) who collects expensive guitars and asks me stuff like “you got P90s in there?” — no shade to these people, it’s just not the world i inhabit)
I find something that works and then move forward with that, like someone who wears the same outfit every day as to lessen the stress of making decisions.
But it’s not random — I’m very concerned with “vibe”, and how the thing makes me feel, what ideas it provokes, the sex appeal that it gives (=none), and so on.
And I also really enjoy change, switching things up to give me a ‘fresh start’ — like rearranging my living room; starting a new hobby; painting my dog a different color.
All this to say that i just got a new guitar that i’m very excited about and is already shifting how i think about the new songs. it’s a baritone guitar, meaning it’s generally a deeper/lower sound than a standard guitar, with thicker strings and a longer neck:
it was only $600 at the local guitar shop (shout out Twin Town Guitars!) , which isn’t nothing but it’s way below what a Blues Attorney would probably get.
Anyways, this concept doesn’t apply to just music obviously, so i’d encourage you, if you feel in a rut - change things up! you don’t have to buy something expensive, or even buy anything at all — trade books with a friend, find some free furniture, talk with an australian accent for a month, pretend your dog is a chicken for 2 weeks and keep scolding him for not providing any eggs, and so on.
WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
These have been on heavy rotation lately -
Nilüfer Yanya - My Method Actor
The songs, the production, all so nice. Favorite moment is in ‘Mutations’ when the little guitar groove comes in around 1:06
Band from mpls that I recently became aware of — really great songs, big Hovvdy/Pinegrove/Lomelda vibes
I’ve gotten into dance music in the last 5 years more than ever — i have a huge playlist but Jamie is one of the masters. not a pure ‘dance’ record, lots of textures and samples and downbeat moments, but when it bangs IT BANGS
Not sure if you’re familiar - she’s an up-and-coming talent you should have your eye on. I saw her in a small club a few weeks ago (United Center in Chicago) where the intimate crowd of 24,000 went absolutely nuts the entire time.
Lucid VanGuard - Hot Air Balloons
Another minneapolis artist, Karl played one of my Fresh Cuts shows and i love the songs, the production on these is also so warm and beautiful — gives me kind of Bowerbirds/Andy Shauf vibes.
WHAT I’M WATCHING
Lots of movies lately:
The Substance
unhinged
Michael Clayton (rewatch)
i think if pressed on my favorite movie i’d say this one, it’s so concise and perfect
The Menu (rewatch)
dumb and fun
The Ides of March
not a perfect film but a STACKED cast, philip seymour hoffman slays as always
Michael Clayton (again)
i can’t stop please send help
YELLOW OSTRICH BAND NEWS
We’re playing in Winona MN on Nov 16 at 7:30pm as part of SLEEPY WEEKEND hosted by our good pals Sleeping Jesus - see more info here!! We’re gonna do full band (me, Joey, Meg, Kate) and play a bunch of the new ones.
ok thats all for now thank you !
alex