Yearly Archives: 2007

Classic jazz and blues?  Steely Dan combined that and black stylings with gospel and just a lot of good musicianship.  I was listening to a YouTube video of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker talking about producing the music. to Deacon Blues.  While I don’t always agree with the lyrics of their music, I can appreciate their approach to making good music.

Dean Parks, a guitarist for some of the recording, comments on Donald and Walters approach to recording (around 3:40 minutes into the video).  He says that they were not looking for perfection, they were there for "beyond perfection."  They wanted the music to be something that people would listen to over and over.  You worked past perfecc to where it seemed natural and then to where it seemed almost improvised.  There music was a two step process — perfection and then beyond perfection.

I know what that is about.  I have played with musicians who got every note right.  But the music was lifeless.  One pianist I know could play the hardest pieces in the world.  But you seemed to be missing a reason to listen to him again.  You can’t always define that, but you know it when  you hear it!

Getting to that place in music is where we are headed as musicians!  But first we must get the foundation down — learn to play music first!

Franklin Pyles, President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, has got some new thoughts on his blog — part 1 deals with a new book out called "Jim and Casper go to church", published by Tyndale, 2007 — asking questions like, "what is a real worship service?", and "was the establishment of the church the real mission of Jesus?".  Part 2 is a continuation of the discussion touching on faith, belief and truth. Here is a section of that discussion:

• We truly need to hear a condemnation of smugness in stating our beliefs. We need to be honest that we are beset by doubts and assailed by fears. But, we must also say that our belief is not something that has been made up to make us feel better, but something that can be inquired into and about which an assessment of truth can be made.

With the end of the day, a walk is a good thing!

Out we ventured with Trixie, the dog.  The sky had poured forth most of the day.  By evening a slight wind had evaporated the worst of the splashes.

The lawn next door was growing mushrooms — a rarity for drought ridden prairies.  That was not the only encounter with the dome-topped sprouts.  Around the block we encountered further evidence of a higher than usual water table.

One yard had neatly trimmed grass.  The front yard included bricks and chipped wood arranged in pleasant patterns.  A few houses away the lawn was populated with various grass varieties along with plants of the weed variety.  At the corner two triangular shaped stones were engraved with paint signifying the address and the owner.

A truck passed and we waved.  Such is the custom of small town.  No idea who was in the truck other than another of God’s creations!  A young couple briskly navigated the cement sidewalk, intent on exercise with little talk.

Upon our return we settled in to an evening of Scrabble.  The withheld rain appeared once again. 

On the bright side of a cloudy evening, we don’t have to water the newly laid sod!