New Trail Coaching, Scott Malyszka

A few months ago my artistic online friend Wendy gave me a suggestion to help focus on a task: Set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes and just do that task until the bell rings. Sounds simple, obvious, and pointless, right?

Well I tried it out while practicing for some recording work next week. I set the timer on my exercise bike (since I don’t practice in the kitchen) for 15 or 20 minutes and just played one tune over and over. Then I did it again for another tune I was working on. It was a good way to feel how 15 or 20 minutes of playing the same thing felt. It reminded me of breathing exercises, where you breathe in and out for 10 or 30 seconds to try to memorize in your body what that feels like.

Normally, I bounce from tune to tune, song to song when I practice. I do this to keep the “natural” flow of playing in mind, making my rehearsal somewhat like a performance. I have heard several classical guitar players and instructors advise that a musician should not practice the same piece repeatedly so that it doesn’t become mechanical or rote. The idea is to keep coming back to each piece with fresh focus and energy.

As I thought about how to practice for my recording session next week, I considered the one unique challenge in a studio: repetition. You got to record the same tune for five, six, ten takes. Sometimes you got to start a take over. You can’t bounce back and forth having your engineer set up one take, then set up for the next tune. In other words, you need to be ready to record the same track for thirty to sixty minutes and maintain your groove through all that repetition. That is a challenge that you will only find in a recording session, and it might ambush you if you’re not ready for it.

So I thought of my friend Wendy’s suggestion that was lying around on the corner of my brain, waiting to be used. Musicians, give it a try and see if it helps your stamina and groove. The one thing I found was that I was thinking really fast trying to notice mistakes so that I could fix them on the next go around. No stopping for a break to noodle and catch my breath, just keep playing for 20 minutes straight. No stopping to tinker with the metronome to try a different speed, just play that tune solid.

I kind of like it. Give it a try,and let me know what you think.

I plugged in my fiddle for a terrific gig with the Zen Consultants last night. The ZCs are a once-in-a-blue-moon folky rock group whose core consists of Larry Mediate on rhythm guitar, lead vocals, and overall leadership; Ron Goad on drums; and Bernie Muller-Tyme on lead guitar. Larry asked me to join on fiddle and Lucian Kowalski on bass for this gig at Bangkok Blues.

The restaurant has great Thai food and some American items too, like cheeseburgers and steaks. We were the first band of the night, playing for a bit over two hours. I say “folky” because most of this material could translate straight off to acoustic instruments no trouble. Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” the Beatles’s “Across The Universe,” Neil Young’s “Powder Finger,” Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho And Lefty.”

Bernie does a great version of Nick Lowe’s “Peace Love & Understanding” where he stretches it out in a groove with dramatic dynamic shifts, and an extended improv talk in the middle. Bernie was in the a cappella group Da Vinci’s Notebook for ten years–a fabulous group who performed in a free improv mode. The man plays lead guitar in the same mind space, just plays and let’s the guitar talk. Not overpowering on the lead either–it’s a treat to hear a Telecaster just blending in. His playing reminds me of a good mandolin in a tight bluegrass circle.

Same goes for Ron and Lucian. Both guys are solid and just play. Lots of good blend with these guys, they follow Larry, and it really is easy to play with them. Not a lot of tight tricky parts for me. I just played fills and leads, tried my best to blend with my bluegrass mind.

My electric setup is a new deal for me. I put a Headway Band pickup around my #1 fiddle. The instrument is terribly dark in tone, which works great in Feel The Wag since we don’t have a bass player. The blend with hammered dulcimer feels really good with those guys, but I wasn’t sure if the dark tone would work plugged in. I plugged the fiddle into my little Vox 5w busking amp, put on a touch of chorus and went for a semi-cello warm tone. To me, the best-sounding electric violin tone is often more of a viola or cello mellowness, almost doing the role of a B3. I wasn’t going for the more squawky vocal electric fiddle tone like Richard Greene with SeaTrin. Richard was the lead in that group, but I’m just playing fills and warming up the soup a bit. It seemed to work pretty good last night. Folks said it was a bit tough to hear the fiddle for the first part of our set, but the sound guy turned it up a bit and folks could hear it.

We got a lot of compliments, some requests that we could fill and others we couldn’t. It was flattering to have some other excellent musicians there to hear us, including Dulci Taylor and Jim Clark. Bernie and I each took a ten-minute solo spot, playing guitar and singing, to give the other guys a break, and that worked well to keep the music going for the audience. I sold a few CDs, signed an autograph, got some folks to sign up for my email list, and met lots of really fun and sweet folks. I hope we get a chance to do this again soon.

Three years ago I found Danny Schmidt’s music on a sampler CD. Suddenly I couldn’t stop listening to his music, his brilliant lyrics and sweet voice. Two summers ago my wife and I couldn’t stop listening to Andrew McKnight’s “Something Worth Standing For” CD with its creative arrangements and intense message. Last year, it was Devon Sproule performing for an hour at Jammin Java that flipped my wig, her solo with an old semi-hollow electric singing funky pure poetry. All songwriters from Virginia, all from about an hour or two from us here in the DC suburbs.

So it’s no surprise that I’ve found this year’s Virginia heroes–Trent Wagler and the Steel Wheels from down around Harrisonburg and Staunton. Their CDs have been burning up my iTunes, a mountain-style quartet with total rock-and-roll energy. I caught these guys last night at the Tortilla Factory for the Reston-Herndon Folk Club monthly show, and they blew the place apart.

They performed as a trio with upright bass, fiddle, and Wagler on guitar, banjo, and lead vocals. (Their mandolin player was taking time off for a newborn daughter.) Not a flat tire in the crew. Brian on the bass was spot on walking and slapping the beat. Eric Brubaker plays strong, sweet, driving hard fiddle. Wagler’s picking is clean, strong, and fast. His lead vocals are high, strident, mountainy, rock-and-roll raspy and sweet. His voice reminds me of John Fogerty on the old CCR records, and a friend pointed out quite a resemblance to the old CCM rocker Larry Norman’s high bluesy voice.

The songs were mostly originals and totally original. The lyrics always mean a lot to me, and their words were real good. Like I said, it takes me maybe a year or so to find someone who is writing something that is fresh and captivating to me. These lyrics are thoughtful, yet you feel like you get it on the first listen. “When That Whistle Blows” slays me, a guy saying goodbye to his lady with her new man chopping wood in the back yard and their new baby on the floor, looking just like the narrator, heading off alone on a train.

The guys were chatting up everyone and a lot of fun to talk to. These guys have a couple more shows coming up soon in our area, and we’re already making plans with friends to get there.

Get this stuff on your iTunes, it’s all worth it. http://www.thesteelwheels.com

I had a lot of fun playing at Jammin Java last night at a Songwriters Association of Washington (SAW) show. It was great hearing a lot of guys I hadn’t heard before. I say “guys” because it somehow turned out to be an all-man show. There was a really nice crowd there to listen, including lots of other musicians and songwriters.

First was Nathaniel Brown, a young guy and a son of a folky musician. He sang with a hard style and sounded great. I got a CD from him, and I expect it to be some good basement grunge stuff with good lyrics, but I haven’t listened yet. Jim Heald was next, but I only caught a little of his stuff because I was in the green room. I did hear some nice chords, rising by whole tones, and I liked the little bit I heard of his singing, which reminded me of Mark heard’s high strident voice. Next was me, and I felt pretty good up there. The sound is usually real sweet at JJ, and it is easy to sing there. Sound guy Kirby did a nice job the whole night. I got some nice feedback afterward, including good comments for a new thing I tried called “Get Myself Together.”

Brother Lou was after me, and he sang some originals with a loud, raucous voice and clever lyrics, kind of like a more rowdy John Hyatt thing. Tom Whall played very tight, funky chords and licks on the guitar while singing in a high, clear tenor. I kept talking with people at our table about how slick and good he sounded. Tommy Rueckert played 12-string and sang in an early 70s style, including a James Taylor cover that got a great reaction from the crowd. Sol “Roots” also played a few numbers to help with sound check, doing sweet blues and reggae with some percussion buddies on the side. Former local folky Todd Crowley did two songs on his autoharp to switch up things, and host Ron Goad did his usual excellent job as emcee.

I did miss one performer, Karl Valentine, but I got to hear everyone else, and it was a treat. I got a copy of Jean Bayou’s new CD, and I’m looking forward to hearing that. These songwriter shows are always full of talented, creative people, and it’s always a treat to hear and meet other musicians.

SAW’s website is http://www.saw.org

Writer’s block? Stuck performing the same old songs and not sure where to turn? Need to add something to your performances?

In September I will start a “creativity coach” training course, and I am looking for a few folks who would be interested in participating. I am offering free coaching for folks looking for a creative boost in writing, performing, or any other creative pursuits.

The weekly coaching sessions will be primarily through email, but phone or in-person may also work out. The free sessions would be an ongoing dialog from September to December. If you are interested, write to me at scott@feelthewag.com.

Have a great day.