Saturday outpatients clinics... and other weekend stuff

Saturday outpatients clinics are possibly a good idea. There was no one in the car park and the hospital virtually empty, plus I was seen bang on time and felt had more time as the consultant wasn't behind trying to make up time. The good news (as I type this I'm desparately looking for some wood to touch) is that I've been really good since the last attack back about three weeks ago. Hopefully the road forward will continue like this. I couldn't find a link to foodstuffs and in the end the consultant agreed that stress is probably the biggest influence on the condition.

I've got to go and have an MRI scan this week now - that is 7:45am! Doesn't really mean a problem as I'm normally in the office by then anyway and hopefully it'll mean the car park is clear again. I had one some while back and hated it! I'm not great in confined spaces and the noise really does do my head in!

Most of the rest of the weekend had a huge music focus to it. Mrs F and Daughter-of-Furtheron went to a schools swimming gala on Saturday, amazingly my daughter was the only representative from her school... which even though it's the smallest secondary school in the area I thought was a bit odd. She didn't quiet get into the final and the rules were she could only be in one event. Anyway while they were out I got around to recording two songs that have been on the boards for a while.

They are available in the player on this page... eyes right --->

Rise Up - this is based around a lick I had written ages ago on my old Yamaha 12-string. I then came up with an idea of a verse chord pattern which is basically rising through an Em scale in a pentatonic scale. The lyric idea of "Rise Up" came from the chord pattern idea and I had some lyrics fixed - the song is dedicated to anyone who has had their self-worth/self-esteem knocked down by people and is a call for them to "Rise Up".

Within
- a lyric idea I've had for ages. There is a phrase I heard years ago "Comfortable in your own skin" that I've wanted to write a song about. Firstly since at the time I heard that phrase (about a year before I went into rehab but after I'd started to really try to do something about my drinking problem) I had absolutely no bloody idea what it meant. Honestly I was that lost at that point. So this is another one of my recovery songs, it's about someone who is now comfortable in their skin and able to look at themselves. So I had some half written lyrics and then the chorus lyrics solidified from that and I just doodled about until a simple little chord pattern suddenly sounded right. A little thought and that was fixed... for the interested it is G, C+9, Em7 and D (with a sus4 trill). Now the trick... I leave the D and G held on the top two strings through all chords apart from the D so they stay the same as the chords move around below - well I like the way it sounds.

Sunday I ended up giving my aging Squier Strat a much needed clean and set up. There was a lot of gunk on the fretboard - but I can't remember when I last cleaned that out! I polished up the frets with the great Planet Waves fret polishing system which does a good job for the DIYer. However I have to admit that as the old girl is approaching 30 a fret dress if not a total refret might be on the cards as they are beginning to look well worn, not that it is affecting playing yet but I think soon it might on some bends. New strings and a little bit of intonation adjustment and brilliant. I restrung the Les Paul.

I was listening back to the Sat evening Drunk Punk show whilst doing this lot. Now I started recording the two songs above about 1pm on Saturday and their they both were out on the show by midnight. How utterly amazingly cool is all of that! I am again in so much debt to FourDinners for his support.

Later I was relearning a total 12 string classic (Give a Little Bit by Supertramp) and wondering if I should add that to my set list for the up coming gig. The 12 string is a nightmare to tune and I've struggled with it's action and intonation over the past years... now I'm thinking of using it live - I must be bonkers! But with Rise Up built around a 12string, Beautiful sounding so much better in it's original 12 string setting and now Give a Little Bit maybe there is justification for my madness. Maybe not...

Comments

  1. Get you. Adopts faux Mick Jagger stoned voice: "I moight use it loive." Way to go fella. Keep it up.

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  2. I like that song a lot. That's weird, I just had it stuck in my head the other day. "Give a little bit... " yeah!! Set-list yeah!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Just catching up on a quick visit, glad to hear your health is good.

    ReplyDelete

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