Whats New?
Outside before performace
I just received the photos that my good friend Terilyn took during the Tammany Hall gig. The show went over very well. I was very impressed with the young audience's willingness to listen and sing along to some of these songs which were written nearly 30 years before they were born. The cell phone waving during Last Kiss was also very cool. The setlist is below along with any modifications to the guitar's tuning and harmonica keys used.
The reason the 12 String is tuned down a whole step is to keep the tension on the neck to a minimum. Even though the necks on modern 12 Strings are built to withstand this, old habits die hard, plus the deep, throaty, Leo Kottke-esque bass sounds from a lower pitched guitar are quite striking to the ear, even when playing simple chords. I plan to really work hard at the 12 String and learning how to pluck the individual octave strings. I'll be starting Chris Proctor's video, Techniques for Contemporary 12 String Guitar, as soon as possible, in which he demonstrates the octave string playing as well as many other cool techniques. Look for an interview with Chris soon as well! The former National Fingerpicking champion has been kind enough to grant me one!
Setlist: 2008-Jul-12 Tammany Hall, Worcester, MA
- Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan) [Std tuning, A-Harmonica]
- Flier (Mark Hanson) [Std tuning, Capo 2nd fret]
- Like a Hurricane (Neil Young) [Std Tuning, G-Harmonica]
- The Drifter (12 String Version) (Jeff) [Guitar tuned down one step, Capo 1st fret]
- Defending the Castle Keep (Jeff) [DADGAD Tuning, Capo 3rd Fret]
- The Fisherman (Leo Kottke) [Std Tuning, Capo 1st Fret]
- Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran) [Std Tuning]
- Time of Your Life (Green Day) [Std Tuning, G-Harmonica]
- Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan) [Std Tuning, C-Harmonica]
The CD is still not complete. I have a lot going on with school and other priorities, and now that I have my MacBook, my standards have gone way up with how I wish to capture the sound. I really want to make a high quality debut CD, so I mean it this time; No more promised deadlines! I'm tired of unintentionally lying!
Thanks for all of your support, friends. Till next time!
-Jeff
p.s. This quote rang true because it took me a while to tune to DADGAD, so I had to fill up the space with some talking, so I just explained how to tune to it.
"Thank you for enjoying the tuning so much...I hope you like the music more..."
Ravi Shankar (sitar) at George Harrison's Concert for Bangla Desh in 1971
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Performing July 12th in Worcester, MA
Happy July, everyone! As you can see, I’ve been quite busy with working on the new CD and getting my first professional gig ironed out.
Sorry for the delay on the CD but I just bought a sweet Ibanez AEL2012E 12 String Guitar so I decided to hold out on the CD release so I can re-record some tunes that lend themselves better to a 12 String and write a couple tunes with the 12 String in mind as well. I also started my Berklee classes (Music Theory 101 and Desktop Production for MAC) so juggling all these duties will be challenging, but I certainly need to have the CD released for the gig since I’m advertising it!
Check back often over the next few days as I plan to release some samples from the album (or maybe full songs!) over the next few days so I can at least prove that I’m working on it!
Thanks for all the support, wishes and donations to my tuition fund so far. It’s really quite moving that those who can are helping to support an artist! I promise that it all goes into reinvesting into Jackal Music. For those who can’t afford it, bless you and please pass the word (or more appropriately, music) on to anyone who may be interested. Also feel free to make suggestions to types of songs you’d like me to write. I could use the practice anyways!
June 19 2008
Hello, guitar lovers! Well, I just received confirmation for my first gig since starting Jackal Music! The show is in Worcester, MA which is where I live now and it's at a place called Tammany Hall on Saturday, July 12th. I will be an opening act for some multi-band event. I don't know many details yet. More info to follow soon! I need a name for my act! If anyone has any cool ideas, please contact us!
I am working on those articles, but more importantly I am working on my debut album now. I plan to have everything recorded by Sunday, but I hope to have one song as a sample up before then. I plan to have half guitar solo instrumentals and half acoustic solo with vocals and some harmonica. I foresee many sleepless nights ahead of me!
June 12 2008
I apologize for the lack of updates lately. I have moved into a new place and getting my work area set up to a usable standard has taken some time, but I am ready to roll now! I have written part of two new songs and I have several articles partially completed covering alternate tunings, CAGED techniques and using rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero to improve your musicianship. The CAGED article is beginner level and will demonstrate one of my new songs and how the 5 basic CAGED shapes are played all over the neck. I am very excited about finishing this material and I will try to have the majority of it completed and available by the end of next week.
"So, now that you're here, how do you find America?" "Turn left at Greenland"- John Lennon responding to a reporter during the Beatles first US visit.
May 29 2008
I promised updates this week, and I still plan to make an attempt to get new material up but several of life's unexpected curve balls were thrown at me and that may be difficult. I'm moving into a new apartment this weekend and my mom had hip surgery done and needs lots of visitors! She's OK! My new apartment is basically sound-proof so I'll be setting up my new studio just the way I want it!
Steve Krenz, author of groundbreaking DVD instructional Learn and Master Guitar, was gracious enough to put my song, the Drifter, into his "featured media" section of the Learn and Master Guitar student site. I hope he has time for an interview when I see him in Nashville this summer. Thanks Steve!
"Practice that guitar everyday..and don't never get married" - John Cephas
May 26 2008
Happy Memorial Day! No real updates today, but being the son, nephew and friend of several veterans I wanted to express my thanks to all those who serve to help keep us safe! I've been enjoying some much needed time off, but I promise there will be some major updates this week!
May 22 2008
I just wanted to thank all of my supporters who have donated to my PayPal fund for this effort. It helps tremendously! It helps to have some of the little expenses covered like the gas money for my two road trips to the Wachusett Reservoir to film my latest video and a little to put towards my education! It also keeps me motivated to write because I feel obligated to keep my "share holders" happy with my songs and articles! I'm sure many of you have seen some of your ideas already implemented onto this site so keep them coming!
May 19th 2008
Some exciting interview news. Grammy winning guitarist Al Petteway and former National Fingerpicking Champion Chris Proctor have both agreed to doing phone interviews after the successful response from the Mark Hanson interview. As Mike Myers from Wayne's World said, "I'm not worthy"!! (But I'll still do the interviews anyways! :)
Speaking of which, based on some member feedback I will be splitting the Mark Hanson interview (as well as all future interviews) into parts by question. There will be a transcription of each question and a link to the mp3 response. The full transcription will also be posted for those who cannot easily access mp3's or who would like to simply read it! My webmaster put a nice feature in so when you do a "printer friendly" printout (look for the icon on each page), all referenced links have the full addresses of the links printed out at the end of the article or page. This applies to all pages of the site, not just the interviews.
"Learn a song slowly, gradually build up speed, and practice like the devil." -Doc Watson on how to develop speed
May 9th 2008
I hope you like the new logo! My friend Jane sketched out the Jackal, moon and clouds and my webmaster used his Photoshop skills to put it all together like you see now! A little history; I wrote a song in 1996 called The Jackal and there is a lyric that goes “You see the Jackal laughing hard as you gaze into the moon” and that’s where all this originated. Maybe someday I’ll re-record the song, as the old version was done using ultra-cheap equipment and is on cassette. One of these days I’ll get around to restoring all my old (and often times BAD) college recordings. I finally finished the Mark Hanson Interview recording. It’s up and ready for download for registered users! If you aren't registered yet, do so now, it's free after all & only takes a minute! - After logging in, download the interview from the box on the left labeled "downloads". I’ve also written an article that explains the techniques used to record the interview with wireless equipment. If you are out 4-wheeling on the beach and suddenly Neil Young calls you on your cell, you want to be able to record the call! Also comes in handy during those “special” moments that you need to record a conversation, especially if the other party isn’t recording this phone call “for quality assurance purposes”! Read your state’s laws on recording phone calls! The “My Gear” section is now up! I plan to post blurbs for most items as I find time. Once I finish my new tune and get it recorded I should be able to fill in a lot of the blanks! I’m not going to be posting timelines anymore because due to the unpredictability of new software and techniques, coupled with work and family life, I will probably be late on a lot of projects if I set fixed dates! Once I start classes in June, however, I will have deadlines so there should be lots of stuff in my “Projects” section beginning in late June. I’ve added a biography for Leo Kottke. I plan to review some of his albums shortly. I’ve already done one on amazon.com for 6&12 String Guitar, but I’ll do another one for my site as well as some of his other great bodies of work such as My Father’s Face and a Shout Towards Noon. Watch out for a new section. I haven’t decided on the name yet, but it will be devoted to teaching showmanship skills. Please submit name suggestions! (Showstoppers, You’re So Vein..etc) The first lesson will be learning to play the guitar behind your head! Completely useless, I know, but remember watching videos of Jimi Jendrix playing the guitar with his teeth? Haven’t you always secretly wanted to learn to do that? Me too! I can’t yet, but I can play the guitar behind my head and guess what, it’s really easy! I will show you soon! I’ll be thinking about the teeth thing! Have a great weekend! Make sure you send your mother a card, or maybe even some flowers!
"With all these great (guitar teachers) around here, don't cop their licks, COP THEIR ATTITUDE." Leo Kottke during a master class
May 5th 2008
Happy Cinco de Mayo! This has been a great weekend! I was able to interview and record Mark Hanson over the phone, I attended his concert that night in West Roxbury, MA at his brother’s church. Then on Saturday I was able to attend two classes he was giving at the Music Emporium in Lexington, MA. They were on improving your right hand picking technique and his method of teaching jazz chords through fretboard visualization in a manner very similar to the CAGED
I will try to have the written transcription of the interview up today, although the links within it may not be ready quite yet. The audio will not be ready today because of the volumes of my voice. Mark sounds great, clear and good volume but for some reason the phone’s headset boom doesn’t pick up my voice at a satisfactory volume or clarity so I will have to do some editing with software to bring up the levels and equalize things. Plus this will give me a chance to edit my blunders! Ums, ahs and stttttudering be gone!
I have also received the drawings from my friend Jane for the new logo. It’s exactly what I asked for and more, so hopefully that will be up by the time you read this! Now I have to go to Staples and get my business cards re-printed! Oh well, they got them done in an hour last time I used them!
I’m also near completion for my second tune, Defending the Castle Keep. This song is in DADGAD tuning and I began writing it at the Accent on Music Seminar last summer after my first master class with Al Petteway who uses DADGAD primarily and it has become his standard tuning. The tuning doesn’t imply a major or minor (but rather a suspended 4th) so it’s quite easy to go either way after you get some practice with it. Also, many of the chords are two-fingered. I think the maximum I’ve used is three! I hope I can have that up by Thursday along with a rough draft of the tabs.
That’s it for now. I haven’t mentioned a lot of other things in the pipeline yet because I have enough to write as it is! To be continued…
Today’s Quote: “I married Isis on the fifth day of May,
But I could not hold on to her very long.
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong.”
-Bob Dylan in 1975 from his album, Desire.
May 2nd 2008 - Mark Hanson Phone Interview
Some topics discussed were how Mark’s summer guitar camp has evolved over the years, how he started his publishing company Accent on Music, how to travel with your guitar, advice on which classes he’d recommend to a music student with some free electives, what working with Leo Kottke was like, common issues that many new students share and how to avoid them!
I am endeavoring to get this up by Monday as well as a transcription with links to help all the artists that he graciously mentioned during the interview such as Nora Jones, Doug Smith, Chris Proctor and many others. Be on the lookout!
April 19th, 2008
April 18th, 2008
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Mark Hanson and I...I'm 5'11
just in case you were wondering
-Jeff
Mark Hanson at Music Emporium
-Jeff
These are very exciting times at Jackal Music! I just finished conducting a phone interview with Grammy winning Mark Hanson. I will make this available as a free mp3 download for all registered users. Register today - It's free, and we respect your privacy! This was an excellent interview (thanks to Mark of course) and it was done completely wirelessly and I was able to walk around the yard and house while doing it, so I plan to write an article this weekend to explain the techniques used.
Improve your Right Hand Technique on your Guitar
Let’s face it, learning good right-hand technique in the guitar world, whether it’s fingerpicking or flatpicking, stinks beyond belief! But we all know mastery of these skills is necessary to pull yourself from the pool of “average” guitar playing. I’d be willing to bet that getting frustrated with learning clean right-hand techniques contributes significantly to the relatively high guitar-dropout rate! Read More...
Parents Beware: Playing Video Games and Watching Movies May Help you Learn
I fondly remember those days gone by in high school when my teachers warned me that my brain would turn into mush and become an amorphous mass of uselessness if I watched too much TV or played too many video games. I guess throughout history this theme has been repeated over and over again; Parents of the 60’s generation thought that listening to the Beatles was the equivalent of worshiping Lucifer.
Read More....
