CD recycling

I'm glad to know someone's thinking about all those gazillions of shiny plastic discs that go into the trash every year. Check out the CD Recycling Center here.

Songwriting software review

The November issue of Acoustic Guitar includes my review of three software packages--Lyricist, MasterWriter, and Finale SongWriter--aimed at aiding the songwriter's quest for great words and music. Read the full article here.

Jerry Douglas on stage vs. studio playing, 2002

"The studio is a different place to play music than the stage. You’re not getting feedback from the audience. Every note you play is under a microscope, but the cool thing about it is, you get more chances if you need them. It goes both ways: I know a lot of recording musicians who say, 'Oh, I can’t play in a band in a live situation--I am just not good at it.' And with a lot of road musicians, you get them in the studio and you start hearing things that you didn’t hear live—maybe some rough edges, a lot of noise, things that you just can’t do in the studio.

"It depends on what kind of music you are playing, I guess, but if you are trying to be smooth and you’re trying to fit into a track, you want to really listen to other people and try to play as cleanly as possible. Try to put the best thing on tape that you can with a low noise ratio. And that’s really hard for a lot of people who come in and don’t know how to sit in front of a microphone, who’ve never played in a band situation sitting down or with headphones on. If you want a consistent sound on your instrument or on your vocal, you can’t be jumping around like you’ve got an SM58 in your hand onstage."

From the book The Complete Singer-Songwriter: A Troubadour's Guide to Writing, Performing, Recording, and Business

New "Nowhere Man" video

Here's my version of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man," taped back in January at the Guitar League in Syracuse, New York. This arrangement, which uses a partial capo (covering three strings) is transcribed in the October 2007 issue of Acoustic Guitar.