Trebling Developments

Musicians have been writing about making music for a long time.  There are plenty of famous songs about being a working musician on the road, like Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again," or Bob Seger's "Turn the Page," or Jackson Browne's "The Load-Out."   Other songs of this nature might focus on a particular performer - real or fictional - like Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" or David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust."   I am, of course, omitting dozens of songs that would fit this theme (it's a blog, we don't have time). For a while now, I've been collecting a sub-genre of the "working musician" song, a sort of satire, often self-deprecating.  These songs are funny - sometimes in a dark way - but they're not full-on gag songs.  We're not talking about a song like "Opening Band" by Paul & Storm (as fitting as that song is). The playlist I have assembled so far has three broad

This blog has been conspicuously dormant for a while.  I wasn't kidding when I called it "potentially ill-fated."  Last time I posted anything was last summer.  A lot has happened since then in my musical life.  And I'd like to tell you about it.  If you're interested, that is.  If not, why are you reading this? Still here?  Okay then.  Let's start at a church fundraiser in 1989.  Here's a grainy still from a video shot at that event. Chord City, circa 1989 There is a little boy in the lower left-hand corner.  His head is circled for your convenience.  He is watching his father (center, face obscured by microphone) play guitar, along with his uncle (drums) and their long-time friends.  Members of this group have played together for years, long before this little boy was born.  This is the first time he's seen them play together publicly.  He'd been to a practice or two, but this is the real deal.  There is his dad, up on stage, playing and