Results tagged “JAMFest” from ScottandMargo.net

So, the guitar that I won from Otto's Daughter arrived on the Saturday before Christmas. The band wanted me to send them pictures, which panicked me a bit because my digital camera's been down for quite a long time because of a missing battery charger. I got a replacement and got it done over the long weekend.

Here's the stuff that's packed with the guitar:

An Otto's Daughter yo yo (a yo yo? I love yo yo's!)
G's sticks with an initialed note that they're from the show
The setlist from the 15 Dec show
A screw with a nut on it (!)
Mo's strap (I almost feel bad about this one, but it is a comfortable strap)
A promo poster for the show and guitar giveaway signed by the band ("This ain't the poster - JVB" on the back)
An OD promo card
Four Otto's Daughter picks from HorrorPicks
A dirty rag (ooo...sweat from the show)
OD stickers
(not pictured) Bubble wrap personally squeezed by Jacqueline Van Bierk
(not pictured) A plastic tag (couldn't find it)
(not pictured) A business card for a place in CA that does guitar lessons

Not a Gibson, in front of a tree

SG Hearts OD

Everyone needs a screw with a nut on it...and staples...

Baby's first chord. With me anyway (JVB has had her way with it already). Em if it's not obvious from the way the photo came out...the 1 and 4 fingers aren't touching.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be poking around the local pawn shops for a decent amp. I don't think I'm up for the commitment of having actual live lessons yet. Will see what I can do with what's available online (I'm working on chord transitions with pivot and guide fingers lately, plus I'm looking through some tabs) and will do a progress check in a couple of months. The goal at the moment is to be able to say that I can play it by the time Otto's Daughter get around to playing somewhere around here.

My longer term goal is to be able to hang in there at Lotusphere's JAMfest next time I go. I'm not going to be at Lotusphere 2007 so I have at least a year to learn how to play the instrument and figure out how to work my musical sensibilities into more of a blues influenced situation.

This could be interesting.

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, GuitarHero, Jamfest, Lotusphere, Music

Back in April, I did a post that was only half joking about what I was doing to prepare for the next Lotusphere JAMfest. Here's the follow-up post that I mentioned. First, a little story:

Back when I was packing for Lotusphere 2006, one of the things I packed is an M-Audio Oxygen 8. It's a small portable MIDI controller for use with some of the software I have on my Powerbook. The intent was to use then time I had between the last session of the night and the first session of the morning to work on music. It didn't end up working out that way, because in transit, the USB connector broke and I don't own a MIDI-to-USB converter...so the musical hermit routine was done and I had to find other things to do at night. Fortunately, there's a lot of that in Orlando (rather, Lake Buena Vista) during Lotusphere.

Here's what I've been working on since then:

I spent some time looking for a replacement USB connector for the Oxygen 8 when I came across an inexpensive Edirol PCR-50 on eBay. That solved most of my problems with having a broken USB connector so I bought it. I'll still get the Oxygen 8 fixed, but it's not as urgent these days. Yes, there's no external audio hookup in the picture, and there's no power line. I set this up for the picture and then put the Powerbook back where it normally lives. When I'm playing around, I either have headphones or have it hooked into the 5.1 surround system that's not in the picture.

I'm doing two things with this setup. I'm learning how to use the software and I'm learning how to play a keyboard. I'm hoping that this will give me the vocabulary I need to find and express what will eventually become my music. I'm also looking ahead to Lotusphere and JAMfest. I'm thinking of ways to fit into how that whole thing goes down both in terms of songs that I'd be able to play that other people might want to play there, and also figuring out how to improv and follow the rest of the band as it starts really jamming.

I may or may not make it to Lotusphere 2007, and it's possible that none of the above ends up working whether I do make it there or not. But I've been thinking about it for a while and I'm not going to be happy til I do what I need to do to find out if it'll work out. Who knows? It could be a wonderful thing.

Technorati Tags: Gadgets, Jamfest, Lotusphere, Music, Technology

I'm about two thirds of the way through the hard level. Some days I'm better than others but I'm getting better at it all the time. Won't help me with most of what I'd expect to see at Jamfest now (though Spanish Castle Magic and Crossroads, maybe Godzilla could be close). I'm having a hell of a time with Guitar Hero. It's loads of fun, and has a very playable learning curve. It's actually kind of seductive...when you start getting good you're almost left feeling that you could pick up a real guitar and play it on that too. The music's good too if you're into guitar rock.

There's a conversion out there where you can plug these controllers into USB and use it as a MIDI controller. That could be fun.

I have some other ideas for Jamfest next time. Will post on that when I have it more fleshed out. It might work out, but it might not. Will see.

Technorati Tags: Lotusphere, Review, Music, Jamfest, GuitarHero