david griffith - saucepanbach: Blog

Alternating humidity and quick storms. Air cools rapidly ..... thanks ‘air’.

Last night’s ‘Showcase’ at the Family Hotel was the best fun I’ve had in light years.

1/1/11 has an aura of ‘new beginnings.’ and it did that for me.

A morning spent working out a songlist which is an interesting process of deciding the first song and seeing what instinctively feels good to play next. Keep going until you’ve covered an hour and make sure that there’s a balance between ‘cut my wrists’ songs, ‘cut your wrists’ songs and ‘how lovely it is to be here’ songs.

I try not to mumble so people don’t appear to be fooled by upbeat and slow.

You could have hurled stones and feathers around Katoomba last night and still hear the feather drop.

Got a late invite to an afternoon jam - I’m not very good at jamming as yet - and went anyway. It was lovely and, of course - silly me - it’s about being social. A shy toddler showed me that.

Got fed and played music, came home [...]

At ten thousand hours of practice to become a master of anything, it’s ten hours a day for about three years. Put like that, it’s quite a big deal.

I’m as clumsy as hell but Griff Hamlin’s backing track to his ‘4 note blues’ works a treat with each of the blues patterns. What a joy to just play notes which are harmonic.

I did suggest to nine year old grandson, a year ago, that he and I are both at an age where - if our interest is engaged - that we can both devote large amounts of time to music. Somehow, for me, it’s a question of ‘What else am I doing that is of greater importance ?’ now that family responsibilities are not so immediate. That makes it sound like it’s been ‘sacrifice’ and ‘put on hold’ where the truth lies closer to having the space and time to do almost anything which requires no money.

I have no partner. I have limited interests. Grandson is - by age definition - engaged in countless activities.

The Magnolia buds are swelling as Spring [...]

Temperature hovers between zero and ten and if hell is hot, this must be heaven. Enough of complaint. I can take five days break and head north.

The cream and crimson Magnolia, living in the front garden, is heavy with bud but running three weeks late with flower. Spring is near but, as yet, no warmth in the wind.

I take guitars. My Godson - who has had a deeply troubled life - bounds into the farm an hour after my arrival - bottle of scotch in hand and prepared to share a drink.

I’m wary of drink. Hmm... wary of drinkers is closer to the truth. We share a drink and I’m struck by how much ‘lighter’ he appears. Great recent trauma has revealed that he was sexually abused as a child.

The unburdening has lifted a weight of such magnitude that the prism of intense inner conflict through which he has interacted with the rest of humanity is almost - dissipated.

I was sexually abused and too many of the few I know have suffered similar fate.

I’m sure that there are paedophiles [...]

First few days of August and the yearly month of westerly winds sweeps in bringing black ice, pink and pearl grey skies and a bleak reminder that Spring is still a month away.

The daffodils don’t give a damn about such fripperies and they flower regardless. There’s something cheerfully counter intuitive about flowers blooming in winter. A reminder that growth continues underground when conditions are indifferent above.

Played at the Clarendon last Tuesday without anything in mind apart from ‘Nota Bene’. A very cool side benefit of playing and practising blues scales, for the last few months, is that my chords are now clearer - more precise. This makes huge difference to both my degree of comfort on stage and my ability to leave space for Bruno to drop in his sweet lead guitar. We followed it up with ‘Volcano burning’ and ‘Hick it up.’ Went down well.

The phone rings. It’s my friend whose son is on his way to court. Life can be a hell of a struggle when you’re ‘young, [...]

How many elephants can you fit into a room before they become noticeable? When do the Emperor’s new clothes reveal themselves a magician’s trick? If you don’t see the elephants you will be trampled...... the Emperor remains as invisible as his clothes.

Sick in body, sick in heart and madness beckons. How I feel is reflected within society and the world body itself.

The first of the daffodils have flowered through the recent frost and clusters of promise are pushing up through the soil. Amid the devastation wrought by frost - the burnt and damaged foliage - new growth. Thankfully there are forces not within the control of man.

I pick up the guitar again......an absence of months. Back to blues scales and ‘over and over’. If ten thousand hours of practice make a musician then I haven’t reached the first hundred so it’s just as well that it isn’t a race and there’s no competition.

‘Have faith.’ echoes in my mind. ‘Faith in what?’ echoes back.

A moment of fierce [...]