SUNRISE ON VINYL
The album Sunrise will be released on limited edition vinyl June 5th. Preorders have begun now. $15 plus shipping = two sides of pure analog bliss.
PREORDER HERE: foreverinmotion.net/vinylpreorder
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I was thinking about Buddy Holley today. Then tonight this photo came up.
The humility in that moment you realize how fragile we are yanked me down to earth face first in the cold hard dirt, and when I got up all I wanted to do was tell everyone in my life how much I love them. I mean really love them, and apologize for all the times I’ve taken them for granted because I forgot how fragile and special they are in my blindness. Looking at Buddy here I get all messed up on time. How relative it is. Neither short nor long — just a measurement for this physical trip — and probably nothing more than a cute name for the Universe’s ever-changing shape.
Then to look at this photo of Buddy & Waylon and basically see myself and all my friends, still so young, hungry, ready and open to all the possibilities of life; seeing him owning it, embracing it all so perfectly in this moment… it was 53 years ago that his plane went down in the Iowa winter not long after this photo was taken.
Buddy, I don’t understand the reasons for it, though I hope you do now, why your time was cut so short. I see your presence in this world every day, and for what it’s worth, I just wanna thank you, anyhow.
In 1976, Moris Tepper joined Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band as guitarist; a position he held until Vliet’s retirement in 1982. It was during this period that Tepper was handed the “Ten Commandments of Guitar Playing,” as written by Beefheart himself.
The list read as follows.
1. Listen to the birds.
That’s where all the music comes from. Birds know everything about how it should sound and where that sound should come from. And watch hummingbirds. They fly really fast, but a lot of times they aren’t going anywhere.
2. Your guitar is not really a guitar.
Your guitar is a divining rod. Use it to find spirits in the other world and bring them over. A guitar is also a fishing rod. If you’re good, you’ll land a big one.
3. Practice in front of a bush.
Wait until the moon is out, then go outside, eat a multi-grained bread and play your guitar to a bush. If the bush doesn’t shake, eat another piece of bread.
4. Walk with the devil.
Old Delta blues players referred to guitar amplifiers as the “devil box.” And they were right. You have to be an equal opportunity employer in terms of who you’re brining over from the other side. Electricity attracts devils and demons. Other instruments attract other spirits. An acoustic guitar attracts Casper. A mandolin attracts Wendy. But an electric guitar attracts Beelzebub.
5. If you’re guilty of thinking, you’re out.
If your brain is part of the process, you’re missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something that is fur bearing.
6. Never point your guitar at anyone.
Your instrument has more clout than lightning. Just hit a big chord then run outside to hear it. But make sure you are not standing in an open field.
7. Always carry a church key.
That’s your key-man clause. Like One String Sam. He’s one. He was a Detroit street musician who played in the fifties on a homemade instrument. His song “I Need a Hundred Dollars” is warm pie. Another key to the church is Hubert Sumlin, Howlin’ Wolf’s guitar player. He just stands there like the Statue of Liberty — making you want to look up her dress the whole time to see how he’s doing it.
8. Don’t wipe the sweat off your instrument.
You need that stink on there. Then you have to get that stink onto your music.
9. Keep your guitar in a dark place.
When you’re not playing your guitar, cover it and keep it in a dark place. If you don’t play your guitar for more than a day, be sure you put a saucer of water in with it.
10. You gotta have a hood for your engine.
Keep that hat on. A hat is a pressure cooker. If you have a roof on your house, the hot air can’t escape. Even a lima bean has to have a piece of wet paper around it to make it grow.
(Source: http://www.listsofnote.com/2012/01/10-commandments-of-guitar-playing.html)
Earlydown winterlight falls in the southwestern keep. These days make haste for endings. Whitman road is an old friend, so darkness is not among my airbitten thoughts of now, where news is New Mexico got snow while Brooklyn traced sidewalks in roseygold sleep.
2012 resolutions via Woody Guthrie.
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The deluxe edition of Sunrise is now available. Check it out. =)
This is complete nonsense phonetry (phone poetry) as translated by my phone when I tried using the voice-to-text feature to note something in “big sur” by jack kerouac. I think old jack would appreciate this…
*Everything in my life is beautiful again… just amazing how a center on so sweet. look at some strengthening. could be enough strength to move down to that list of them to pick up the coughing, a lot happy out of nothing, but a good source power in our own phones.
Ha! Good one android. What are you smoking? Dig that.
It was supposed to say…
Everything in my life seems beautiful again…it’s just amazing how inside our own souls we can lift out so much strength - enough strength to move mountains at that, to lift our boots up again and go clomping along happy out of nothing but the good source power in our own bones.
SUNRISE - Deluxe Edition
iTunes out 12/13/11
Physical CD out 12/20/11
Happy holidays everyone. Just writing to announce the re-release of my latest album Sunrise as a deluxe edition on December 13. “Yeah, so what’s the big deal? I already own that record.” Well, this feels like the album I intended to release a year ago, fully realized.
-I’ve remixed and remastered the entire album. It sounds better, warmer…
-Added a few tasteful elements to songs, including a whole new string section on “Pulling Away”
-3 never-heard-before bonus songs (14 tracks in all)
-New artwork comprised of photos taken by yours truly in New Mexico a few years back.
Its what I wanted to finish before I move on to the next album… I hope you’ll check it out! You can pick it up on iTunes on 12/13, or you can pre-order it now through my bandcamp website, which also offers physical copies of the album.
Pre-order here - http://foreverinmotion.bandcamp.com/album/sunrise-deluxe-edition
Also, if you ever watched “The Snowman” as a kid, check out the cover my brother and I recorded for the holidays…
http://foreverinmotion.bandcamp.com/track/walking-in-the-air-from-the-snowman
One love,
Brendon
Foreverinmotion