Delicious Grace

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu, Eduardo, oh no, here we go, my first YouTube video of me jamming along with a YouTube video.
Right away, be happy it's not with yours. You know it took me a long time to get over my own personality,
to do something like this, seeing it as a global recording displayed here.
I watched six onacarom videos in a row, and I felt like I wanted to get up on stage and jam along.
Using this video, I started a new thread in Fusion & Crossover Music, but this is something else.
I'm calling it a trans-video, overlapping my video over the original,
and being trans everything, trans continental, trans Atlantic, and being onacarom, trans celestial.
That's South America to the Niagara Peninsula to Denmark, with you watching in Brazil.
Nuff said! The mix sounded good to me, but in the video I'm a little too loud.
I should have figured out the chords for the break in the middle,
but I was in too much of a hurry getting the amp, guitar and camera together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWxXAsHja-w

 

[alcaponedudu]

Hi John. How are you, my friend? Crazy weekend over here with all the things going on regarding the elections.

What a nice video you’ve just made. You’re right about you sounding too loud compared to the music going on in the back. But that’s not a problem right now. You’ll find a way to get it more balanced. I didn’t know this song.

You reminded me a lot of Carlos Santana on this one. Really a surprise. I had never had this feeling with the other videos. Is it your real sound? Santana is a great player. Some of his songs are amazing.

How was your weekend, mister Watt?

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! I'm happy to see you're not disappointed in me, still getting into it.
I probably sound more melodic because I'm playing along with a song, not just riffing out.
This is the same guitar and amp I've been using, changing tones to fit into this song.
I like how I palm mute the strings for a cleaner, mellow sound, and pick harder for mild distortion.
My 1977 100 watt Marshall head, the first with a pre-amp and main volume,
could be set up for a cleaner sound when playing rhythm, getting more distorted when picking heavy riffs.

My weekend could have been lonely for this no family, no girlfriend and no real friends kinda man,
but an old sign-painting customer who is walking with a crutch in each hand, dragging his feet,
asked me to help paint his new apartment when his painter didn't show up one day.
I was painting all weekend, with my friend sitting there talking with me.
Getting paid was nice.
I asked him if he could drive me to No Frills, saying the Monday holiday, when they were closed,
would mean extra 50% off stickers on Sunday night. There were stickers all over.
I bought a lot of vegetables for salads, and three different salad dressings. Nice!

When you said Carlos Santana, I thought of Samba Pa Ti. Caravanserai was a great album.
I would use a little more distortion for Santana.
He used an older Gibson S.G. with a Marshall stack,
and only had three notes he could hit that would feed back forever, something he did.
If you notice in my wah-wah video, my guitar feeds back as all the strings in different keys,
and I'm holding many different notes with feedback. This little BOSS amp is really nice.

Now that I hear the limitations of the computer speakers and how my computer system is set up,
I'm going to change all that so I can be in the middle of the online video and my amp.
I just set the camera down on the table, and now I'll use a stand to position it better for sound,
and so you can see the video I'm jamming along with.
The tone I'm using and the way I'm playing, yeah... I wish I had a tremolo arm and phase shifter to float along.
I could say that's more Jimi Hendrix, Robin Trower, guys who pioneered that phase shifter, feedback sound.
When Robin Trower played with Procul Harem, he was using an old Gibson S.G. through a Marshall stack,
and after he quit that band he changed to a Stratocaster.
I saw him with Procul Harem in 1970. They all looked a whiter shade of pale.

I didn't vote. I am very cautious with my own sanity, and with what is coming next.
I hope you don't have too much sand in your underwear.

I'm back just to say that I find "onacarom", his music and graphics, to be amazing.
If I ever wanted to produce an original song, I would turn to him for video help.
How he can keep putting them out, seemingly at a whim, also amazes me.

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! Here's what the Toronto Star, Ontarios' biggest newspaper has to say about your election.
You can also consider that as owned by an American media conglomerate.

A far-right former army captain who says he wants to fight corruption should win the by-election.
He says he wants to gut government ministries and privatize state companies.
With traditional values, he wants to roll back rights for gays and other minorities.
Jair Bolsonaro, a former Sao Paulo mayor, is also in a Oct. 28 run-off.
This election is seen as a seismic shift in voter intentions,
after the 2016 impeachment of President Dilna Rousseff.
This new political climate is seen as fitting in with global trends,
of people voting for anti-establishment and populist candidates.

Here's a newspaper article about politics in Welland.
Claudette Richard, maiden name Ward, is part of the biggest crime family from Welland.
City Council appointed her as a city councilor with a secret city council vote.
An "ombudsman" from Toronto found the city guilty of improper procedure,
and when he asked what city councilors voted for her between public elections,
the mayor told him there was an equipment failure with no recorded vote.
He also wouldn't tell the ombudsman who voted for her.
The Ward Family took over Welland with guns, knives and hypodermic needles,
in the late sixties, killing people in public and saying they wouldn't go to jail.
I'm responsible for two of the older Ward men, out of fourteen children,
being in jail for life, with another sentenced to sixteen years.
People in Welland want change. They have always wanted change.
They say everyone knows, but no-one can do anything about it. I try, and I keep trying.
My family, friends and myself are victims.
I can't murder, rape or drug addict their children. I can only act legally. That makes me a loser.

 

[alcaponedudu]

Hello John. Good to know about your weekend. And I'm glad everything is ok with you.

You're very aware what's going on over here. The far-right candidate is running at number one now. We are going for round two (we called it here after the first round any of the candidates couldn't reach a majority of 50% + 1 voters).

I've got some news regarding Delicious Grace for you: We might add a singer to the project. I've been considering it for a long time. It's just a matter now of finding the right person and get the thing going. We've got someone under our radar. The guy sings with passion and have Rock N' Roll in his heart. I don't know yet if he's going to be the one.

That's going to be funny to experience my music being singing by someone else. I've been the only one doing it since day one.

 

[John Watt]

Good evening, alcaponedudu! I'm just here for a quick look to see if you saw my political posting.
But you've got some big news, and it is strange any way it works out.
A new singer can take over a band, singing the songs his way, or singing the songs he wants to sing.
I like pros who just sing and sing songs to cover them, not being a self-aborbed artist.
If that includes original songs by band members, that's better for the band.
But I know that's not just where you're at.
Your band isn't your day job, and it's a special and emotional time for you, same as me.
I'd be stand-offish, inviting singers over and seeing who keeps coming back.
I'm like that with girlfriends.
I would sooner go out with a girl who wants to go out with me, than chase some dream girl.
It's about building a sound, building a band, and that takes tenacity, and for Americans, audacity.
You, you just need someone in your city. Maybe you should watch Tenacious D on TV.

Look at Pat Benatar. The photo on her first album looks like people dressed like grooms and a bridesmaid.
When that almost wedding album didn't sell, she came out with a new look and new songs.
Look at Steve Perry. When Journey hired him he eventually thought they owed him their new, huge success,
and his ego got between him and the band, what gave everyone time to spend their money.
Look at Eddie Money. He was a New York motorcycle cop until he got hurt in a bad accident.
He decided to pursue his rock and roll dream and look at the big hits and huge concerts he had.
Look at Cat Stevens and Julio Iglesius. They both were hospitalized for a long time, being very sick.
Cat Stevens came in as an Englebert Humperdink entertainer, stain shirts and slick hair, crooning.
He came out as Cat Stevens.
Julio was over forty, laying in his hospital bed, when a nurse said he was a good singer.
Look what happened when he started to record.
Huey Lewis was working in a warehouse, over forty, and other workers heard him play harp and sing.
They asked him to join their after high school band and look how big they got.

What would mean the most for me, would be having a singer I could harmonize with,
or think that I could sing a song once in a while, especially if we're talking original songs.
You might want to feel one out during a live performance, to help with the writing.
In a way I could be jealous, thinking of the intense feelings and musical dynamics that could be involved.
You could be expanding your musical horizons, and that makes everyone around you more interesting.
oh... what a feeling... what a rush!

 

[John Watt]

Yes, Eduardo, I was typing away to you like you were going to consider hiring an older musician.
That's because I wish it was me down there with you, even if a band didn't come out of it.

If I was going to look for a lead guitarist, and someone showed up playing a.. uh... tune like this,
I'd be wondering if she could play everything else.
If I was in the picture, I'd be standing behind her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6rBK0BqL2w

 

[John Watt]

Eduardo! I just had the most incredible co-incidence of my life,
unless having a mutual orgasm counts for more.

I spent over $22 for a half-pint of 1SHOT medium green,
so I could continue my cherry Strat theme as my new sugar maple theme for the mail-order lefty Strat-style.
I was surprised that a previous right-handed neck from an old offshore Strat-style had the exact same measurements.
I screwed the neck in at the bottom corner and it fit perfectly.
I used a wire to check the other holes and it went all the way in. So did the screws.
Checking the alignment with a piece of string, it couldn't be any better.

The first photo shows the right-handed neck in place, and the second shows all the screws screwed in.

I'm going to thin the paint out so it's almost a stain,
and paint the body as a shaded texture, trying to be like a forest floor.
I'll paint different sizes of sugar maple leaves on it with red, with some two-tone green,
and if the body green shows through and it looks good I'll leave it like that.
Right now, I'm thinking I could paint the pick-ups red on the green pick-guard.
Depending on how that looks, I'll paint the headstock red or green, or do smaller leaves.

I can't say you're possessive about your music,
but you are so serious about it I'm surprised you're looking for a singer for your songs.
I hope this isn't a decision you're making while you're looking in a mirror.
Jimi Hendrix:
"I used to live in a room full of mirrors, and all I could see was me.
Until I took my spirit and I broke all those mirrors,
and now I'm looking at the whole world to see,
I said I'm looking for my love to be".

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! I'm still having election thoughts for you and me.
Here's something from many years ago.
You can see I was arrested for federal, Canadian, defamatory libel,
for calling a Welland mother and her fourteen children a criminal organization.
After being in court for two years, charges were dropped, I won the case.
During one court appearance,
twelve judges from Ottawa appeared, all wearing gowns with chests full of medals.
After I won my case, this law, usually associated with an act of treason against a king or queen,
was removed from the books. "The Queen VS John Watt", and I won.
Removing a British influence from Canadian law is good for this Son of the Gael.

 

[alcaponedudu]

Hi John. How are you, my friend? Glad to know you're busy doing good things. I'm really curious about how you guitar will look like when it's ready.

Last week I had to do a little dentist procedure. Got some stitches in my mouth that's why I was away. All I was allowed to do was rest. But now I'm fine and ready to go.

I understood you concern about the new singer situation. But it will not change a thing, John. The plan is to continue the same as we are right now: I will keep writing stuff on my own terms and producing. What I'm looking for is a more professional approach to the singing department. I'm not a singer and never wanted to be. I just sing my songs because that's the only way we could find so far. I did the best I could but now is time to take it to another level. If it doesn't work out I'll be back to this task immediately. Don't worry, my friend.

I wish you were here so you could join us. DG feat. JW! How cool is that?!

This girl on the video is a maniac. I had watched something about her a while ago. She really got it.

Tell me about you. Is there a new video on the way?

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! I'm just taking a break from apartment stuff, the owner from Toronto is here,
and I had to look to see if you replied.
I do have a kind of new musical news.
Seven years ago, I registered "gigsters" as a domain name, thinking about music.
I was surprised a name with "gig" in it went through all the way as being original.
I would have thought someone in the big band era would have used that.
Being made homeless a few times, and it took a lot of criminal activity to force me into that,
made me cancel hosting and just keep the name on hold.
Yesterday and today I started the process to activate it online.

Right now, I'm going to go for a walk to the bank to get some money,
so I can buy an online debit card and pay for the annual registration.
I paid yesterday for two months hosting, almost there.

You should look up having your own domain, building it up any way you can.
I'm just left-clicking my way to global stare-dom.
If you have all your online output on one domain, it's just a link away from everywhere else.
$29.95 annual registration, $11.95 monthly hosting.
Easy Hosting is a business that originates from New Brunswick.
Everyone says that New Brunswick has the best tech-talkers in the entire world.

That Beethoven girl doesn't intimidate me. She's sitting down.
I'm not just standing, moving and dancing around.

Admit it! Looking for a singer is adding some soap opera to your life.

www.easyhosting.com

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! If you're looking for a singer, I could be looking for another guitar player.
I really like how this man is playing Jimi Hendrix songs, but I'd change it a little bit.
His tone needs a little distortion to soften the sound, he's got too much reverb on,
and I don't hear any echo as a sweetener, or a phase shifter.
He also would have the same tuning problems Jimi Hendrix always had,
because his bass strings go to the furthest tuners and scrape under the string retainers,
especially when you're using a tremolo unit.
And if he is playing a right-handed Strat upside down, and I think he is,
the tremolo unit would be hanging down in front of the bridges, always in the way.
He should be playing with a lefty body and a right handed neck.
If he's just sitting outside making videos with a small practice amp, that's okay.
I can sing along with his playing, but I'd try doing it a little bit slower.

 

[John Watt]

Oh no! I just realized.
This is the almost perfect backup track for me playing lead guitar.
I also heard his rhythm guitar version of "Little Wing".
I've got to get this new camera and sound system together.

 

[John Watt]

Eduardo! I'm trying to help you find a singer.
I also thought of a nice band name.
Sir Prized.

 

[alcaponedudu]

Laughing a lot about your comment: ''Looking for a singer is adding some soap opera to your life.'' It might be, my friend, but I've got to take all my chances, you know. I think it's for it. I'll let you know as soon as there is some conclusion about this situation.

John, I wrote an instrumental piece on the guitar that sounds promising. I wrote it with brazilian singer/songwriter Alceu Valença in mind. I went to his concert last months and it probably had an inconscious thing to it. Big fan of his work. I think you would like him.

So, I had a feeling and I started to play and this song just came about. There's no definitive title yet but it will probably be in portuguese. Not sure yet if it will be on acoustic or electric-guitar. I've already tried and sounds good in both of them.

Other than that everything is fine over here thank God, my friend. Hope you're doing ok aswell.

Have a good weekend, John!

 

[John Watt]

Eduardo! It's not very often that I feel life is coming together just for me, but it is today.
It was busy in the store, for sales, being open Saturday and Sunday, with a new partner, changing signs.
This is where my apartment is, so I wasn't alone all day even if it was raining outside.
A Scottish lady with a heavy accent came in to visit, talking with her for a half hour.
The new building owner, the wife, after the divorce, came and asked me to work tomorrow.
She offered a nice chunk of change, so I said yes right away, even if it means not being in the store.

I stayed in tonight so I can get up when she's knocking at my door early tomorrow morning.
My painting on the stairs, repainting after the plumbing mess, isn't finished, maybe half-way,
but she said they're the most beautiful stairs she has seen in Canada.
I tried to get a Taj Mahal look going, because her family is from India.

But enough about me. As soon as I typed "Alceu" into YouTube many videos popped on.
I picked a live song that wasn't too long, about five minutes.
I'll comment after the video, and I have some serious comments for you.

I feel like I was watching the musicians more than I was hearing them.
This is an indoor venue, a big concert hall, but the sound production just isn't there.
I can hardly hear the drums, where's the bass, and I'm not sure I heard Alceus' guitar.
He's using some kind of wireless system, but the sound just isn't there.
I'm not putting the musicians down, I'm sure it sounded better live onstage.
It's the quality of the recording that's just not there, and I'm not surprised by that.
Sure, I'm getting off on the video for what it is,
but here in North America, especially around Niagara Falls, even outdoor venues are better equipped.
Some recordings being sold are mentioned on the packaging as being a live version,
but they don't sound any different from studio productions.

I'm watching Alceu with myself in mind. I can see he colours his hair, the white growing out.
It looks good in the video, but I gave up doing that maybe eight years ago.
I get a lot of comments about how white my hair is, a Scottish thing I know,
but I'd look younger than Alceu if I coloured mine.

Please consider doing a Portuguese and English version.
I see world music, bands with foreign flavours, and fresh, vibrant and emotional musicians,
as being what is most desirable now in North America, the culture over here never really coming together.
When I say not coming together, it's the technology of different cultures that separates live musicians.
And the technology is more about making media celebrities, not about live bands.

If I'm in the building all day tomorrow, I'll stay in and see if I can get my trans-video recording set-up going.
If that sounds like a plan, I should be able to get it going.
I got a new email from Matt, one of the owners at the Toronto music store I bought my left-handed mail order guitar from.
He said I had awesome riffs, and he's a bassist in a band in Toronto. The door is starting to open for me again.
"onacarom" replied with a personal message for the first time here, so I feel more open about his poetic videos.
I gave myself a good, hard look in a mirror today, moving a piece of furniture outside when it wasn't raining.
I can see myself onstage, and it's taken a lot of recovery to be able to say that.
We live in the land of the new rising sun.

 

[alcaponedudu]

John Watt! How are you, my friend? Nice to see you're doing alright. Very good news about your contact with that bassist player. It really sounds promising.

About the song I told it's instrumental so there's no portuguese/english dilema. What I said was just about the title. But I think it will not have lyrics. Never say never though. Something might hit me and I start writing all of a sudden. Who knows?!

Alceu is a very perfectionist musician. He's notorious for it. The press doesn't really like him and some people too because he's very into his art. I don't know what happened in that video. This guy really got his thing together with a career of more than 40 years. He's very known aswell as a big carnaval feature. He's got a show specific designed for it. He does this thing around february or march (depending on the year) and then just disappears. The guy is a legend.

Tomorrow we're going to cut another demo. This one got a huge radio potential in my opinion. Easy melody and all that stuff. I didn't plan it but it happened. The content of the lyrics might be a problem and you will understand when it eventually sees the light of the day.

 

[John Watt]

Yes, alcaponedudu, I was down about the recording of that concert,
but it also could have been about the way it was uploaded on YouTube.
Sometimes I get a pop-up saying my video is somehow needing some kind of YouTube enhancement.

If there's one time I back off and stand in the background without saying anything,
it's when other musicians start getting into their original songs, singing them or playing a recording.
We both know what it's like to come up with a song, which can happen in many ways.
When musicians try to be as complicated as they can be with the music, thinking it's the best,
it usually isn't a good song or something people could dance to or get into singing themselves.
I would name 60's to 70's bands like "Gentle Giant", "Genesis", "Yes" and "Rush" as getting into elaborate timings,
being rational about their sound, not going with the emotional or having any kind of rhythm.
That helped to bring down the rock band bar scene, all those traveling bands playing six-nighters,
because they would start thinking they were great bands because they could play those songs,
expecting people to sit there for eight to fifteen minutes just listening to them.
I never did that.

I'm getting off on you saying "easy melody", because that's a sign of a good song.
An easy melody might be easy to write, if you are happy with it inside,
because you can sing it up and the band can jam it up, being the best a band can be.

If you look for www.johnwatt.ca right now you can't find it.
It was interfered with on the provider level, tech working right now to restore it.
It's still out there, but the "main page" that I changed to "title page" had the link removed.
That happened on election day. If I was more paranoid I would have lost sleep about it.

I've got www.gigsters.ca activated as a build with two months of hosting paid for,
so I've got to put something up today so I have something to show for it.
I'll try and do that when I take a break for lunch from my apartment painting job.
johnwatt.ca was built using Easy Wizard Pro, what is being discontinued,
so I'll be trying a new build called "Online Presence Builder".
That's more about having options for computers, cell phones and devices.

Sade is like Alceu when it comes to being out in public.
She puts out an album that makes it big all around the world, with wonderful videos,
doing a big global tour, and then she disappears for another seven years.
If, and that's a big if, if I have the radio on while I'm doing something,
I have a local station on, so I can hear what other people are listening to,
and hear the local news and advertising.
That's like going into a bar and looking at the jukebox to see what they like.
I don't get enough peace and quiet in my life, always looking for that.
That's when my mind is at it's most creative, without any distractions.
But then, I've never even tried to write a song with anyone else.
Don't tease me about your new song. I really want to hear it.

 

[John Watt]

I finally used this new side table to re-arrange my computer desk,
and got my Altec Lansing powered speaker system set up, a big improvement.
As far as I'm concerned they're recording quality.
The right speaker wasn't working right away and I had to play with the wires.
That got me a little worried. I couldn't replace anything now.
A man from Thorold phoned me up one day saying he heard about me,
and wanted to help me, describing his selling of electronics.
He came by with this sytem to deliver it for only $40, really nice.
The "sticks" have a 3" speaker that faces down, reflecting sound,
with four smaller speakers up in a row.
The bass cabinet really kicks it, with the speaker and the port facing you.
I have to turn the bass down from the middle position to get a good mix.

I can use my mouse pad for the BOSS amp, between the bass and right speaker.
I say mouse pad, but I'm just using a sheet of white paper on top of the desk.

Today has been a long day, a very mellow day, so I'm not going to play tonight.
That's the only thing left to do, finally, make the video I've been promising for so long.

 

[John Watt]

alcaponedudu! If don't get some kind of video together for you this weekend,
I'd be sure to manda bala, right away.