Three Rights Make a Left

"Pick it Up": The Stories Behind the Song Baker's Half Dozen Mickey Baker was, of course, a greatly influential guitarist, most famous for his Groove Records hit, "Love is Strange", with Sylvia Robinson. The song was written by Bo Diddley and features a nine note Baker guitar lick. By the time "Love is Strange" peaked on the charts in November 1957, I had been the young, mystified owner of a Roy Rodgers motif guitar for about a year. I had already learned all the songs in the book that came with the guitar, "Red River Valley", "Home on the Range", and a dozen others. When I heard that rippin' Baker lick, I was pretty sure that was the path for me. I wasn't sure how he made his guitar sound like that, but I knew I could pick out that lick. I did and was on my way to what quickly became an addiction to pickin' out licks. Mickey Baker had another role in my development as a guitarist. This influence came ...

Stringer's Groove 101 These are songs that, to my way of thinking, really drive home the concept of "groove", and I think all players, beginner and experienced alike, could learn from studying just how this feel was created in each song. 1. "You Can't Sit Down",  Phil Upchurch. From the first trumpet screech to the last chord on the B3, this recording JUMPS!!! Everytime it listen to it, I get the same old chill that I got the first time I heard it. It sounds LOUD, and wild and yet extremely well played. I know every player in the band understood exactly what the objective was and did not have to be told how to achieve it. One of the my favorite things about the performance is that after the drum solo, the drums stop and the organ brings the band back in! Great turn around on the cliche. 2. "Honky Tonk", Bill Doggett.  A masterpiece of understatement. Beginning with the most ubiquitous blues guitar lick of all time (da-DANG-da-DANG...), t...

How to Make Up a Story for Kids (and Grand kids) by   Jim Stringer   on Sunday, April 4, 2010 at 3:59pm · Public Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Close Friends Family See all lists... The Music Room Jim's Jam List Austin Music Band SMWest Family KU Alums The Music Room Texas Love Animals Self Employed Musician The University of Kansas Austin Area Shawnee Mission West High Acquaintances Go Back How to Make up Stories for Your Kids (and Grand kids)   I'm going to tell you how to make up stories for your kids, grandkids, etc., that they'll love and will forever etch out your place in their lives. In addition, these stories will put ‘em to sleep at bedtime, and keep them as quiet as a Packard straight-eight when in the car.   I don't have an English Degree... never wrote a novel. My skills in this department were initially garnered from my Dad who told me similar bedtime stories when I was a kid, permanently damaging my min...

Yesterday was election day and today, I'm immensely depressed. Songwriter that I am, I often find inspiration in loss -- and today, I'm inspired, therefore, I write. The results of the "election" verify what we've suspected -- our country is deeply polarized. It's hard to imagine a more clear cut choice that Trump vs. Clinton. The results clearly delineate the two sides and it's very evenly divided -- the popular vote was roughly 50%-50% with Clinton slightly ahead. By examining the exit polls: If you are a white woman with a college degree, you voted for Clinton, 51% to 43%. If you are a white woman with no college degree, you voted for Trump, 62% to 34%. If you are a white male with a college degree, you voted for Trump, 54% to 39%. If you are a white man with no college degree, you voted for Trump 72% to 23%. ALL other groups sampled, women and men, college or no college, voted overwhelmingly for Ms. Clinton. For the record, I voted for Bern...

OK... I'm not Bob Wills, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, or Johann Strauss the Elder, nor even the Younger. I'm just a seat of the pants geetar picker who started his first band at age 12, and has been at it now for 64 years. If you're reading this after 2024, then add an appropriate number of years on to that figure... I assume that if you can read, you can probably add. I've played probably close to 10,000 gigs plus or minus, both as leader and sideman, so this blog comes from the perspective of both. I've played for as many as 25,000 people, and as few as zero... that's right -- ZERO. (I'm not sure I like ZERO, but I'd far preferred the ONE GOOD LISTENER to 25,000 inebriated idiots, just for the record.) First, here's a few things that leaders should be aware of, followed by some things that sidemen should be aware of. If you're in a "band" and it's very democratic and no one is really the leader... enjoy your childhood. This is...

Some Life Lessons Action vs. Consequences It's alarming that an innocuous action such as putting your foot down on, what turned out to be, a non-existent step, can be one of those before and after points in life. Although I expect to recover as fully as possible, nothing will ever be the same for me again. Not only did I disrupt my own life, but also the life of my wife, my co-workers, and everyone that I am associated with socially and professionally. The ratio of consequence to action is extremely high -- very small action with huge consequences. Life Goes On I'm almost like a ghost, dwelling in the world I previously inhabited.  I found replacements for gigs... and the gigs went on as scheduled. Different, to be sure, but the Earth continued to rotate. My racquetball playing friends are still running and sweating. I'm sure they don't really miss my presence in any material way. Everyone can be replaced -- and this is actually a relief i...

This section will be in "diary" form and I've included this entry largely for my own perspective, though I hope it will be of interest to others who have had quadriceps tendon repair. It's just my own experience -- if there's anything I've learned it's that each individual progresses at his own pace. January 16, 2015 "Operation Day" Early day -- 6:00am at the venue where my surgery would be performed: Texas Orthopedics in northwest Austin. I don't really remember much about this day other than they knocked me out and when I came to, I had a big bandage on my right leg. I had opted for a "nerve block", so I could feel absolutely no pain at the incision. Somehow, Dana managed to get me piled back in the car, and we picked up the prescribed pain meds on the way home -- Hydrocodone  for pain, and Diazepam for potential muscle spasms. I was pretty much out for the day. January 17, 2015 "The Day After" I slept... the ner...