Electric Guitar

I was going to do this whole album on my acoustic guitar, but then I met someone with an electric. At the same time, some of the parts (especially the lead guitar parts) weren't sounding right. So I said screw it and borrowed the electric for a few days. I'm glad I did.

Tonight I added a slide guitar to "Beauty's Never Ugly" and I think it sounds pretty good. I'm not very good at the slide, so the part I played was pretty basic but it kind of makes it sound like a brand new song to me.

This is the first time in a while that I've been excited about this song. It's been nothing but trouble for me to record and nothing has ever sounded right. It actually took me about 2 hours of trial and error guitar soloing before I figured out that it would sound better with the slide.

I only have the electric for 2 more days, so I'm going to be up late in the GLC piano room both nights adding guitar solos and backwards weirdness to the album. It's nice to be playing an electric guitar again. (Thanks Patrick.)

My Japanese Debut (but for real this time)

I played my first show last night at Freestyle Bar in Maebashi. I was pretty nervous about the new material (and the old stuff that I'd never played on stage), but everybody (a few friends and a random group of Japanese businessmen/women) was into it.

Playing alone is not like playing in a band. The noise that the band creates kind of envelops you like a fog. It wraps around you like a warm blanket. It's a suit of armor that makes you feel invincible. I could keep going with the lame metaphors, but I think you get it. You're putting yourself out there either way, but when it's just you up there there's nowhere to hide.

I played a new song that I hadn't put online anywhere yet. It's called "Yours on Earth." Here it is:

The show went well. I can't wait to play again.

This was the set list:

I Know
Beauty's Never Ugly
No More War Songs>Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire
Yours on Earth
I've been Stuck in NYC for Way Too Long
More to See
Turn it On (sing-along version)