From: owner-wanderer-digest@smoe.org (wanderer-digest) To: wanderer-digest@smoe.org Subject: wanderer-digest V1 #42 Reply-To: wanderer@smoe.org Sender: owner-wanderer-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-wanderer-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk wanderer-digest Saturday, December 8 2001 Volume 01 : Number 042 Today's Subjects: ----------------- george story ["Kate Bennett" ] Re: george story [Susan McNamara ] Re: Time for full time [Susan McNamara ] Re: Time for full time [Howard ] Re: Time for full time [RoseMJoy@aol.com] Re: Time for full time [Mark Domyancich ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 00:24:48 -0800 From: "Kate Bennett" Subject: george story re; our recent discussion on elitism...this was just posted on the jmdl list...i love this story...George, one of the most highly regarded musicians in the world shows himself to be quite the opposite of being an elitist.. >>>Here's a letter that was posted to the rec.music.beatles.moderated news group. From: "Lewis Lustman" Organization: - Newsgroups: rec.music.beatles.moderated,rec.music.beatles Followup-To: rec.music.beatles.moderated I had posted this some years ago and, thankfully, Saki helped locate it. I had the great fortune to meet George and speak with him. He was as warm, gentle and funny as his close friends have stated over the past couple of days. I miss him very much. I hope this perhaps helps you through the loss we share. In the mid-80s, I had to fly from LA to Boston on business. I got to the airport a little early and went to the American Airlines Admiral's Club to kill some time. When I entered, I saw a guy I knew who worked there and he said, "Guess who's here today? George Harrison!" So he points to this longhaired guy with really big sunglasses sitting in a remote corner of the Club. I knew what I had to do. In spite of it being 7:30AM, I went to the bar and had a glass of wine. As I finished, the woman who was shepherding George left, leaving him alone. Good timing - the wine was starting to take effect on my empty stomach. I summoned up as much nerve as I could and, keeping my arms at my sides in as non-threatening a manner as I could muster, walked up to George and said, "I started playing guitar 20 years ago because of you and I just wanted to thank you for introducing me to something that's given me a lot of enjoyment for a long time." Instead of brushing me off, he looks up and asks, "Do you still play?" So I said "Yeah, more to piss off the neighbors than anything else." He grinned and invited me to sit down. I sit next to him. He's looking at me and I'm looking at him, and 20 years of questions as to who played this and what guitar was used on that just evaporated. And we're sitting there staring at each other. I noticed he was wearing these goofy tennis shoes, like the ones you see him wearing in "Magical Mystery Tour." Finally I said, "Do you still have the Rickenbacker 12-string you used in "Hard Day's Night?" and he emphatically said, "Oh yeah!" like "I'd have to be crazy not to keep it." We talked about The Guitar for a while and I asked him if that was the first one they made. He said it was the second, that some American woman had the first (which I later read about in one of the books on Rics). The Beatles albums were being released on CDs at that time and I think "Revolver" was the latest. I asked him about one of the songs I always loved (although never a hit) that I heard on the way to the airport, "And Your bird Can Sing." He said he had just gotten the CD himself and said, "Oh yeah, I just was listening to that. It was a good song." I asked him how he played the lead, since I could never figure it out and he said, "Oh Paul played one of leads and I played the other." My cordial response was "I've been trying to figure that lead out for two decades and now you tell me it took *two* of you to do it!" We both laughed. Just remembered - when I asked about the 360/12, he also said, "A friend of mine - do you know Tom Petty? - (I nodded my head - I had actually heard of him) has one just like it." Anyway, we talked about 20 more minutes about guitars and music, and then a woman came to escort him to his flight. He got up, we shook hands (very gentle handshake, like you see him give Ed Sullivan), he smiled that famous toothy smile and said "Take care, nice talking with you," and left. I felt proud not to have asked for my idol's autograph. Just two musicians chatting about guitars and music. I hope this story brought you a smile. It does for me every time I think of talking with George Harrison, ex-Fab, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and nice man who took time to treat a fan like a friend, all those years ago.>. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 08:41:21 -0500 From: Susan McNamara Subject: Re: george story Kate: thanks for sharing this story! Read it while listening to I Dig Love. Now I'm going to forward it to my brother Tom!! take care, sue PS I shouldn't say this out loud, but if anyone else see's pertinent guitar related stuff on the jmdl, please feel free to forward it here. I'm ashamed to say I haven't had time to read the main list in months. THANKS!! > >>>Here's a letter that was posted to the rec.music.beatles.moderated news >group. > - -- "Heart and humor and humility will lighten up your heavy load ... " - Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 08:50:32 -0500 From: Susan McNamara Subject: Re: Time for full time >Anyways, as I recall I was pretty pissed off by his attitude, but >for the life of me I don't remember why! Just goes to proove there's no >point in being angry. :) ha ha! now I remember this...yes, it sounded like he snubbed us but if I had all that info at my fingertips I guess I'd say 'what's the point' too. It seems like his definitive Joni tab book has been in process for a long time. But since we have the Guitar page 'what's the point?' :-) But honestly it would be great to pick his brain about which tabs he thinks we missed on. >So besides that, I was going thru some old Zip disks I had around here and >came across a partial tab for the lead guitar part for A Strange Boy - >should I finish it? I feel a need to tab something. > Lead guitar part sounds great, Mark! thanks, sue - -- "Heart and humor and humility will lighten up your heavy load ... " - Joni Mitchell ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2001 22:18:02 +0000 From: Howard Subject: Re: Time for full time I agree with Rose, I think Joel was/is all of these things - musician, archivist, photographer, guitar technician, not to mention trusted friend of Joni and Neil. I think he was also guitar tech for Bob Dylan for some time. I read a story once where Joel said he would find Bob's guitars left out on balconies in the sun etc, so to keep the guitar in good shape he would slacken the strings, put the guitar in a case, and bring it inside out of the sun. After a while, Bob started complaining that as soon as he put a guitar down for 5 minutes, it would disappear and he couldn't find it again! Howard Susan McNamara wrote: > > Anyway, your email got me to thinking, is Joel a musician, a > photographer, an archivist, Joni's guy Friday? it was never clear to > me what his main expertise was. I wish I could remember the > conversations Wally and I had about his dealings with Joel but the > brain cells are shot (especially now since I've been working for 10 > hours straight.) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 20:47:27 EST From: RoseMJoy@aol.com Subject: Re: Time for full time In a message dated 12/7/01 5:18:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, howard@souzoukakia.netscapeonline.co.uk writes: > I read a story once where Joel said he would find Bob's > guitars left out on balconies in the sun etc, so to keep the guitar in > good shape he would slacken the strings, put the guitar in a case, and > bring it inside out of the sun. After a while, Bob started complaining > that as soon as he put a guitar down for 5 minutes, it would disappear > and he couldn't find it again! > That's so funny Howard. It reminds me of Marcel at Jonifest. JMDLers were practicing their songs outside of the church at Jonifest and leaving their guitars in the sun. Marcel kept bringing them inside. I'm pretty meticulous with my guitar as it's the only one I own right now. Nothing great, just a Yamaha DW-5S TBS. Has a real pretty sunburst finish on her and nice gold hardware. As a newbie guitarist, sometimes I forget and leave the capo on. Will this harm it in any way? BTW, might we lure you to Jonifest this year :) ~rose ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Dec 2001 22:12:54 -0600 From: Mark Domyancich Subject: Re: Time for full time One time when I was jamming with some guys in my high school class one of them had a newer model Martin and played it outside in the winter, at night. I was scared to death the top would get a huge crack in it. I'm sure he didn't care (I bet his parents bought it for him!) That was 3 or 4 years ago so I'd like to see if it had any damage. I usually leave mine on its stand in my room at home and rarely put it in its case. Sometimes I'll take it outside in bright sun for less than an hour. So far it only has about an inch-length parallel crack in the finish, but I read someplace that those aren't anything to worry about. As for your capo question Rose, I don't think it would harm your guitar any, but that really depends on what kind of capo you use. If you use one of those Shubb capos that clamp on to the neck, than I wouldn't worry. If you have one of those old fashioned screw down type ones like I do, I would take it off. The fabric part creates a lot of tension down on the neck, so I would rather be safe than sorry. Mark > From: RoseMJoy@aol.com > Date: Fri, 7 Dec 2001 20:47:27 EST > To: howard@souzoukakia.netscapeonline.co.uk, sem8@cornell.edu > Cc: wanderer@smoe.org > Subject: Re: Time for full time > > In a message dated 12/7/01 5:18:20 PM Eastern Standard Time, > howard@souzoukakia.netscapeonline.co.uk writes: > > >> I read a story once where Joel said he would find Bob's >> guitars left out on balconies in the sun etc, so to keep the guitar in >> good shape he would slacken the strings, put the guitar in a case, and >> bring it inside out of the sun. After a while, Bob started complaining >> that as soon as he put a guitar down for 5 minutes, it would disappear >> and he couldn't find it again! >> > That's so funny Howard. It reminds me of Marcel at Jonifest. JMDLers were > practicing their songs outside of the church at Jonifest and leaving their > guitars in the sun. Marcel kept bringing them inside. I'm pretty meticulous > with my guitar as it's the only one I own right now. Nothing great, just a > Yamaha DW-5S TBS. Has a real pretty sunburst finish on her and nice gold > hardware. As a newbie guitarist, sometimes I forget and leave the capo on. > Will this harm it in any way? > BTW, might we lure you to Jonifest this year :) > > ~rose ------------------------------ End of wanderer-digest V1 #42 *****************************