Bears
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Bears. Have you seen them out and about? It’s a mixed thrill to see them this year, knowing that they are being driven out of their safer zones by the recent drastic die-off of whitebark pine trees, one of their main food sources. The Great Bear is in real trouble. I’ll be performing a brand new song next Tuesday 19 May at the Teton Science Schools Jackson Campus with my pal Doug Peacock, Jesse Logan and Tom Turiano. The evening is called Ghost Forests and the Fate of the Grizzly. The song I wrote for the whitebark is in an open tuning, based on the slack key tunings that I was exposed to on Kauai last month. Of course I had to adapt the tuning just a little… but it is so beautifully suited to the deep richness of my Snake River Guitar by Chuck Spray Lutherie. Phil Round will accompany me on HIS Snake River Guitar, and I know you will love the chocolate/obsidian tones of these indigenous guitars. The working title for this song is “What To Hold,” and it begins by asking the question, “What to let go, what to hold?”
See you there. And do let me know what inspired you.
This must be a new feature of the site.
Anyway, my boss and a couple co-workers just made a motorcycle trip from LA to Jackson last week. It got me thinking of the time I spent up there and how close I came to calling it home. My last memory of the area was going to Chuck’s shop in Wilson, bugging him about when #13 would be done, and fishing just below the bridge. It was literally a flip of a coin that set a series of events in motion and ended with me becoming a State employee in Ca.
The title “Bears” caught my eye because I spend a lot of time these days working with the bears around LA, (yes, real wild bears) trying to convince them not to get used to being around people.
Someday I may get to make the trip again.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/09 at 07:34 PM
Hey, Marty:
Thanks for helping the bears in LA—talk about a hard time making a living! They’re lucky to have you. And thanks for keeping the fire burning with Chuck’s amazing guitars—lucky #13.
All the best to you.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 06/24 at 09:14 PM