ANZAC Day 2014

This year, for the first time in a few years, I did not go down to the Dawn Service at the cenotaph for ANZAC day.  Not sure why really?  It has beed a really busy week, and I think I was really tired and worn out.

To try and make up for this though, I thought I would record this arrangement of 'Waltzing Matilda', which is considered Australia's "unofficial" national anthem.  In my mind, this song would have been sung or played on battlefields all over the world by our troops.

Played on my Australian made Maton guitar too.  This brilliant arrangement is by Larry Pattis.

Livin' easy... Livin' free...

Bonn Scott

That was the anthem for Bonn Scott, who died 34 years ago today.

AC/DC were one of the first 'real' rock bands I heard when I moved from the conservative (non dancing, non drinking, non rocking) country of Malaysia to Australia in 1978.

I was just an impressionable teenager, and to be quite honest, I didn't really take to Bonn's voice at the start.   Perhaps it was just *too* different.  I wasn't really intelligent enough to work out what a good lyricist he was.

It was the guitar work of Angus and Malcolm Young that really drew me in though.  The first time I heard the clang of those open chords through a driven Marshall amp, I was hooked.

I was away in boarding school when the news of Scott passing away hit the world.  I was still not a huge enough fan that it affected me too deeply.  Like most other people, I assumed that the band would just fold and the members break away to start other projects.

However, "Back In Black" then became the craze.  EVERY kid in the boarding house had a cassette tape of that album, despite the fact that 60 kids crammed into one building could easily just share one or two tapes.

It is the only album that I have bought more than once.  Five times at last count.  It is about the only album that I can listen to from start to finish and not get bored.

It was the album that defined my youth, and started me on the path of playing guitar.

I will admit though, that it has only been in the past decade where I have really gone back over AC/DC's back catalogue and really been able to appreciate what a great lyricist Bonn Scott was.  It must have been a great blow to the band to lose him at his peak like that.

They are all in their 60's now, the rest of the band, and lately news of their health problems has delayed their tours, which is sad.  I don't think we will ever see another raw energy rock and roll show like them, and I am glad I got to see them twice.

A third time would be nice, but not necessary.  I am grateful to have been on the earth when they were around.

2013 Challenge - A Summary

Well, it's 2014 now.  Wow that time has flown.  This time last year, I started this blog, and set myself the challenge of learning and recording at least one new acoustic fingerstyle piece each month and posting about it on here.

I may have fallen just short of my 'one per month' target, but I think I can be excused a little there.  The whole challenge did spur me on to do other related things, such as building my own acoustic guitar, which took up a fair chunk of time, but was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

There are still about 4 songs that I began to learn, but didn't perfect in time my December, but these will still be completed and recorded at some stage.

I have set myself a new challenge for 2014 (which I will post about a bit later), but I certainly don't intend to let my old challenge get stale and forgotten.  I plan to rehearse and perfect the songs I learned in 2013 and get the professionally recorded in a studio some time this year.  I was thinking that perhaps for Christmas this year, I might create a little compilation CD to give to friends.

In the meantime, here is the compilation of all the songs that were a result of my challenge.

A drummer in the family...

I have posted on here about my older son a few times - he's somewhat of a guitar-o-holic like myself.  However, I also DO have a younger son, now 10, who is also a budding musician.

Sebastian started off playing the guitar like his brother, but I could see that the drive his older brother had wasn't quite there.  He took up the bass for a little bit as well, but finally one day came to me and declared that he wanted to play the drums.

Now, as a guitarist, I was one of those people who believed that drumming wasn't a *real* musical talent - Haha.  Don't worry, I am reformed now.

Well, I had a cheap little electric drum kit lying around the place that my younger son would bang away on, and finally, my wife and I decided that for Christmas this year, we would buy him a 'proper' drum set.

We went down to our local music store and picked out a Ludwig 'Breakbeats' kit for him, which is slightly smaller than a standard drum kit, with a smaller kick drum and only one mounted tom.

I've also now discovered a whole new world of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) related to drums.  I've already replaced the snare head, and looking at other techniques to improve the tone of the drums/cymbals.

We've also booked in some lessons for him in the new year, but he has been enjoying banging away on his new kit in the meantime...