A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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At the flea market this morning I was told a rather fascinating tale. Ivan had written a new song about a preacher who made moonshine on the side. When he died his coffin burst into flame, incinerating the hearse. Turns out that it was based, in part, on a true story. Ivan made up the … Read More “The Case of the Blazing Hearse” »
Yesterday we celebrated the Fourth of July on Samish Island with their annual parade. It was the first time the parade was held in its regular location in several years due to COVID, and there certainly was an air of celebration. We parked at the McDaniel’s cabin and had a short walk to perfect viewing … Read More “To Anacreon, on Samish Island” »
Yesterday the Greenville Chorale celebrated the conclusion of its 60th concert season and its director, Dr. Bing Vick celebrated 40 years as conductor of the group. It was a stirring concert at First Baptist in Greenville with a varied repertoire played to a capacity crowd. It was also bittersweet for me. This was my last … Read More “A Farewell to the Greenville Chorale” »
As mentioned in my last post, I’ve played in a lot of different jam sessions over the past few years, in different genres and different settings. I’ve gotten a feel for what works and what doesn’t. I keep fantasizing about starting my own sessions, but that’s not going to happen. Regardless, I thought it might … Read More “How to Have a Successful Jam Session” »
I’ve been playing in lots of music venues lately. My standard two have been the Pickens Flea Market and Gramling Opry House. I finally got around to visiting the Oolenoy Bluegrass Jam, both on New Year’s Day and on their regular Friday night session. Table Rock has also started back up with their bluegrass sessions. … Read More “Local Music Session Round-Up” »
In 1985 I had gotten settled into my teaching career and was starting to accrue a bit more money beyond simple survival. I had one small keyboard, a Casio CZ101, but I wanted something with full-sized keys. I made a trip down to a huge music store in Atlanta and purchased a Korg DW-6000. On … Read More “An Old Synth Comes Full Circle” »
I have a love/hate relationship with the song “I’ll Fly Away. I sing it at just about every jam session I attend and, quite frankly, I had gotten a bit tired of it. During the pandemic I sang it at one funeral and heard it at two others. Every time we do it at the … Read More “I’ll Fly Away Redux” »
I really miss playing in jam sessions. I learn so much just by listening and trying to follow along. Granted, I’ve participated in lots of online sessions and I’ve had time to hone my skills and learn new tunes during this pandemic, but it’s just not the same. I made one trek to the Pickens … Read More “Musical Hoarding” »
I have weird dreams. Sometimes I’ll dream an entire piece of music and have to get up immediately and go to a keyboard. Sometimes this works. Other times I realized that it’s just a piece of music I heard somewhere that got stuck in my head. Once I dreamed I heard the 23rd Psalm sung … Read More “Germophobic Paranoia Blues and Other Dream Tunes” »
I can’t believe I haven’t posted anything here since Halloween. November was a blur, and December was upon us before I knew it. We have now entered the most chaotic time for professional musicians. This past week alone I’ve had either a rehearsal, a performance, or a group jam session every day. Since stores have … Read More “A Christmas Carol, Revisited” »