Clark Blogs

Last week I was all pumped up because I had a new direct-box for my studio designed specifically for recording bass guitar. (I know, I’m such a music gear geek…) I was very happy with how this thing sounded, and I went way overboard on practicing bass lines for songs, inventing new bass lines, and trying inhuman, Billy Sheehan-like fretboard acrobatics. My hand & forearm muscles got an incredible workout, maybe too much so.

I had suspended work on writing, arranging, & recording for a couple of days in order to clean my studio up. It had become a mess & was actually hindering my work. I wrote about this in the latest ClarkPlaysGuitar.com Backstage Pass newsletter, but in case you don’t receive that, here’s the gist: Too many weeks of trying to stick to nothing but recording, writing & arranging the new songs, and not picking up after myself! I often find myself so absorbed into the writing & recording process that I don’t have much awareness of my surroundings. Reference manuals get used & not put back, effect pedals get used for experimentation or recording, then aren’t put away, CD’s by other artists get pulled out as an audio reference, then pile up on the floor, and so on. Eventually it gets bad enough that I do notice it, and then I can’t focus on my work. So I declared a moratorium on tracking for a couple of days while I go into what my wife likes to call “White Tornado” mode.

So there I was, telling myself to put the bass & my new direct-box toy away, & get back to cleaning & organizing. In order to accomplish the next phase in the organizing I had to move a bookcase. Not a big one really, & not that much stuff on it. But when I reached down & pulled, it did not move. So I bent my legs some more, grabbed a little tighter, & really put some muscle into it. That’s when I heard the “pop” come from my forearm, and felt the explosion in my left hand, followed by fire running along the wrist & inside of my left forearm. The popping noise sounded kind of like when you pop your knuckles, only louder and.. um, wetter I think. Yeah, gross. Did it hurt? Oh yeah. So much so it made me weak in the knees, literally.

The next few hours are a bit of a blur. I remember there was some issue with my kids, maybe they were fighting or something, I really don’t recall. The pain was blinding. I put my hand in ice & left it there for hours. In the morning I spoke with some medical types who said to elevate it, ice it, & immobilize it. I asked if I had should come in so they could see if I tore a muscle or a tendon, they said no. How will I know what I injured, I asked, & they said if it starts to heal quickly, it’s a muscle. If not it’s a tendon. If it doesn’t start to heal at all, then surgery might be required. Yow. Visions of never playing my guitar again flashed into my head. Those kind of visions are really, really ugly. I need to play my guitar like normal people need to breathe.

But no worries! It’s been 8 days since that happened, & I am much, much better. Still sore, still not able to use the left hand for anything strenuous, but I can play again. There are limitations, but each day is a little better. In fact yesterday & today were good enough that I managed to get several pesky arrangement issues dealt with, and 2 more songs are now ready to start tracking! YES! So once again, I dodged disaster. Yeah, I had a close call, but that’s okay. I can still play guitar.

Clark

I just got home from a quick trip to a big box-store style “home center.” You know, a lumberyard, paint store, hardware store, garden center all rolled into one. I won’t mention the name, but I’m certain your town has at least one of them from the 3 main chains that are out there. I was standing in an aisle looking at something on a shelf when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. This guy is walking right at me, with a 6 or 8 foot long piece of lumber, maybe a 2-by-8, under one arm and several long pieces of metal under the other. They looked like corner-beading for drywall perhaps, but they were absolutely capable of cutting you if the ends were rammed into you, whatever they were.

Anyway, he’s walking toward me at a very fast pace, the ends of these items aimed right at me - and here’s the strange part - he is looking behind himself! I don’t mean casting a glance backwards, I mean totally focused on something behind him, and for long enough that he could not possibly have known what was in front of him. Which, at that point, was me. Having nowhere to step out of the way I essentially shouted at him when it became clear that he would ram me if I didn’t get him to stop. He stopped suddenly, looked at me, & I think he realized what was going on. He muttered “excuse me” with a look that really said “What are you doing in my way you jerk” as he redirected his items & direction of travel. He seemed upset that I was upset with him not watching where he was going. What the bleep?!? And I see that same phenomenon all the time! People in malls, theaters, bookstores, all over the place - walking one direction & looking another, many times crashing into shopping carts or displays or doors or even each other. I think that’s strange.

I think musicians are strange, too. Not in a bad way usually, because I think whatever it is that makes us musicians also makes us strange, and sometimes strange can be really good, really fun. But lately I have run across musicians that are just weird-kind-of-strange, or even stupid-kind-of strange. This guy, for instance: not in a band, but allegedly pretty good at his instrument, gets an offer that would get him on stage a lot over the next several months, earn him a decent income, and give him experience, industry contacts & more. But he turns it down. Without even knowing who the band is, & without knowing many details. Not because he has a better offer, he doesn’t. Not because he has a high paying day job he can’t afford to lose; he works for just over minimum wage in a dead-end position. Not because he’s spent too many nights in motels in his many years of being a road-dog; he’s in his very early 20’s & never even played 2 nights in a row. Not because he wants to do something else with his life; he says music is everything to him. He says his genre is hard rock/metal but here’s the deal-breaker for him: this offer was not the precise mix of influences he sees as the ideal band. He says he wants to be in a band whose sound is 60% of an obscure Norwegian death metal band, 20% old school funk, 10% disco, 5% old school country, and 5% of an obscure German speed metal band. (Okay, I don’t know if I have the percentages right, and I have purposely not named specific artists in his “ideal blend” but the overall lack of congruity is pretty accurate.) And he is dead serious, and states this as if it elevates him to some higher level than the rest of the world. “I won’t settle for anything less” he said. Really.

So let me see if I have this right, I say. You have nearly zero connections in the industry that you say is your whole life; you have nearly zero experience gigging; none touring; nearly zero experience with sound men, lighting crews, stage managers, stage hands, and venue operators; no experience in meet-&-greets, PR junkets, etc; and you refuse to even audition for a gig that will give you all of this? Valuable experience that you could actually use when & if you find your Norwegian/German speed/death metal disco country band? “Why should I settle for anything less?” he says. I think that’s like saying “I want to marry a woman that has Catherine Zeta-Jones’ face from 1994, Charlize Theron’s body from 1998, Madonna’s sense of style from 1989, the money of Paris Hilton, and the brains of Jody Williams (1997 Nobel winner) and I am not going to date anyone until I find that exact woman!” Really, I think it is that weird.

Now, I could draw all kinds of conclusions from this: maybe he just didn’t want to audition to be in a band he thought sucked. (He had no idea who the band was at this point, so that theory is unlikely.) Maybe he really doesn’t want to be in any kind of band, so he created some unachievable hybrid that he knows no one will have. (If this is true, why is he spending money on paid advertising for himself on a “musicians available” website?) I’m sure if I gave it some time, I could invent many reasons why he says what he does, but deep down, maybe he just doesn’t feel like he has what it takes. I don’t know, maybe he’s just strange. People are strange.

I sure some people think I’m strange. I probably am, in harmless, interesting ways, I hope. I watch where I’m going, and I jump at opportunities to further my career, and maybe someone will find that strange. Who knows? People are strange.

Clark

It’s not always easy to be a good friend, I know. Sometimes friends ask things of you at inconvenient times, or ask for something that will strain other relationships, and you just aren’t always in a position to help them out. But if they are a close friend, you give it your best shot knowing they will reciprocate if you ever need something.

Of course, being friends isn’t just about doing favors for one another. Friends hang out, have conversations, share meals, celebrate each others’ victories, mourn each others’ losses, and so much more. But when a friend is in need, you’re there. Sometimes all they ask for is a sympathetic ear while they complain about the boss; or a recommendation for a good dentist; sometimes they need more. And we all end up on both ends of the equation at some point. That’s okay, that’s as it should be.

But sometimes you find yourself constantly on the “giving” side of the friendship. Or on the “needy” side, perhaps. I’ve been on both, and when I find myself always asking the same friend for help I make certain they know I realize what’s happening. I apologize for being so needy, and always find a way to make it up to them. I try to restore “balance” as soon as I can. When I end up on the “giving” side so often that it becomes an issue in other parts of my life I will try to find out what deeper problem my friend might have that’s creating this ongoing neediness. Sometimes you can help, sometimes you can’t.

It’s when you can’t help that the true nature of the “friendship” comes out. Over the years I have had “friends” who needed help often, & I gave & gave until I had nothing left to give. And rather than being grateful for all the help I had given, they became angry at me because I had nothing left to give. A few of these people needed to be told that their problems were something they couldn’t see: a drug or alcohol addiction, a lousy marriage, being totally self-centered, etc. And sometimes when you give people like this the unvarnished truth, when you take the “tough love” approach, they hate you. Eventually, if they are a real friend, things will get better. If they are not a real friend, or so selfish that they won’t admit to being wrong, they are gone forever.

My dad used to tell me that a person will go though life with hundreds of acquaintances but only a very few true friends. Now I find myself telling my kids the same thing. I also find myself telling them another bit of my dad’s wisdom about being let down by a friend. Look at the situation from their point of view. Are they giving you the “tough love” treatment; or are they retreating because you gave it to them? Or are they not really a friend at all, just someone who is using you? Or are you using them? Or are one of you just “out-of-sorts” & moody? My dad always said that these questions are sometimes hard to answer truthfully, but if you do you’ll know whether (or why) your friend let you down.

Sometimes it’s a big thing: you lent them a bunch of money & they don’t pay it back; you get them a job & they don’t show up for work; etc. Sometimes it’s a little thing: not returning your calls; a mean-spirited comment about your weight or hair. Friends let each other down, it happens. And a wise person said something about true friendship overlooking flaws, so ignore the occasional letdown. When the letdowns come often, & I have asked myself the questions my dad suggested, sometimes I find the need to reclassify someone as an acquaintance. It always makes me sad, especially when it’s someone I have known for decades. Sometimes it’s my fault, but not lately.

On the other hand, sometimes someone you’ve thought of as an acquaintance turns out to be a real friend. You may not even realize it at first, so keep your eyes open. Especially when you have been let down, truly let down, and had to reclassify someone. You may have a friend (or two) lurking nearby that you haven’t noticed. And when you do notice them try your best not to let them down. We all could use another friend.

Clark

I just finished recording the main tracks for “Lilacs and Cardinals,” which is slated for my new CD. This started out as a composition for just one guitar, and I initially recorded it that way. One take, start to finish. I actually recorded it several times, keeping each take, looking for the best performance out of the bunch. Ultimately I was not satisfied with any of them. The performances were okay, but something about the starkness of a single guitar failed to capture some aspect of this piece. So, after many days of trying different recording methods, different guitars, different sounds, etc., I trashed it all. I posted about this a few weeks ago, & I have finally gotten back to it.

Earlier this week I began serious experimentation with using multiple guitars, each playing a separate part of a phrase or section, allowing the previous segment to sustain. That seemed to be what I was after, so I broke the piece into 26 discrete phrases. I recorded all of these, alternating or in unison as the arrangement needed. I’ll go back & double some of the parts, to give more depth to the recording. Perhaps I’ll add some subtle keyboard part or another guitar way back in the mix, just to give the recording a little bit of the mysterious atmosphere that can only happen during a live performance.

It sounds easy, when I read back what I’ve written. Working out which guitar was playing what & which track it gets recorded on was a challenge in itself. I ended up making a grid-style chart so I could keep track of it all! And I still managed to erase perfectly good parts by accident, and not just once! Oh no, I did that all day today: record a good take, erase a bit of it; re-record that same part, erase a different bit of it. By the end of the day I was really wishing I had a new computer based recording system, like Pro Tools, with the ever-popular “undo” button. LOL

Maybe tomorrow I will get the remaining guitar work done, & start on another song. I really need to dig in if I plan on this CD being done in September. I’m having doubts about making our target street date, but it won’t be too far off schedule. So I’ll guess I should keep this post short & get back to it for a bit before I snooze out. Stay tuned…

Clark

Wow, what a technology-challenged week I have been having. Issues with my studio computer, the PC in my home office, and with my notebook computer have all conspired to keep me offline for a few days. An audio processing device in my studio, called a MasterLink, uses a hard drive just like the one in a computer. The hard drive turned to toast yesterday, right in the middle of a major archiving project I have been working on in between recording sessions. And there have been some other things acting up, but I won’t bore you with that, I’d like to tell you about our trip, instead. All the tech issues seem to be under control at the moment, anyway.

As I mentioned in a previous post or two, we headed out west, ending up in the Mt Rushmore area. Our first day on the road was mostly driving, ending in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first thing we saw was the “Hot Harley Nights” motorcycle parade, which had literally thousands of bikers. The next day we went to the falls (I’ll have pics up at flickr.com/photos/ClarkPlaysGuitar before too long) and then went to Mitchell, home of the Corn Palace. Really. A building decorated with corn may not sound interesting, but it is actually kind of cool. From there we went to a working archeological dig. It is one of only 3 in the world like it. A building called an “archeodome” has been erected over the dig, allowing work to continue regardless of weather conditions. Quite cool!

As we worked our way towards the Badlands we stopped at the Petrified Garden, and of course, Wall Drug, all of which I actually posted about when we were there. Here is the story from that leg of the trip. I neglected to mention that we visited another working archeological dig while we were deep in the badlands. Did I mention the Badlands were really, really hot?

Then we headed for the Black Hills, some of which I covered here. Truly amazing, beautiful scenery that you should experience if at all possible. After some time there we went on down to Keystone, which is the town next to Mt Rushmore. It was there that my blogging stopped, partially because of a sluggish network at the hotel, and partly because we were just gone all the time! The story of the monument is one of nearly unequaled focus, perseverance, and vision. Most U.S. citizens have no idea of the effort involved in that project, or the controversy that followed, well into the ‘60’s & ‘70’s. But talk about perseverance, the man that conceived, designed, and began the Crazy Horse monument was in a class by himself. For many years he worked on the monument alone. Now, of course, there are many, many people involved in the work, but he was totally solo for a very long time. I hope to draw strength from his example whenever I feel overwhelmed. That thing will be enormous when it’s done. The entire Mt Rushmore monument could fit in the top 25% of this one. Truly a modern Wonder of the World.

One day we went to a cave that is the second largest known cave in the world. We went about 38 stories below the surface of the earth, walked for over an hour and twenty minutes, and only covered about 1% of the caves known length of 140 miles. They estimate that this cave could be over 500 miles long, once it’s fully explored! Then we drove to the top of one of the mountains, nearly 4000 feet above sea level. We also went to yet another working archeological dig where they have found more mammoths than any other single place on earth. What a great day.

We hit some other attractions in the area & on the way home, and landed back in our own beds last Saturday night. After a couple days of laundry, car cleaning, lawn mowing, and catching up on mail & email, we are back into our regular routines. We traveled 2,273 miles, saw amazing things, met some interesting people, ate too much, and joked and laughed the whole time. Life is good.

So I am once again back at work on the new CD, and a couple other things (I’ll talk about them later) in between recording sessions. Talk to you soon!

Clark

Today we drove out to an ICBM (also known as a “minute-man”) missile site, and looked inside the silo. Let me tell you, when you hear the reality of what these things can do - the sheer destructive power, you’ll really want to see diplomacy do it’s job. We really could destroy the world if a nuclear war occurred, literally destroy the planet. Yow.

In a less terrifying vein, we headed up into the Black Hills after that. What a contrast to the stark, harsh beauty of the Badlands. Amazing, wonderful forests on huge hills, some might say small mountains, that is rich with American history & folklore. While in the Saloon Number 10 I was drafted to play a part in the re-enactment of the assassination of Wild Bill Hickok! So much myth & folklore surround this man & his companions, yet the truth is so much more compelling.

Now we are in Keystone, ready to do the Mt Rushmore thing. What an amazing, varied country we live in. The U.S. of A. truly rocks!

Talk to you in a day or so…

Clark

Saturday I loaded the family into the car & set off in a northerly direction. We drove out of Illinois, through most of Wisconsin, then veered to the west into Minnesota. We drove across Minnesota & into South Dakota, ending the day 511 miles from home in Sioux Falls. Wow, what a day. We spent part of the next day around there, eventually hitting the road in a westward direction again. We drove and stopped when we felt the urge to see something or eat, or just to stretch. We saw some beautiful vistas, some strange things (yet cool), and ended up in Wall, South Dakota. Yep, home of Wall Drug.

Today we ventured into the Badlands. Wow! Some of the most incredible views on the planet. If you ever get the chance to see it, by all means, do it. Harsh, unforgiving, yet indescribably beautiful. And hot. We saw antelope, prairie dogs, mountain goats, buffalo, an eagle, fossils, and awesome, majestic formations of the earth. We rode in a helicopter to get our first look, then drove in for an “up-close & personal” inspection. Did I mention that it was hot? And of course we had to scope out Wall Drug, which is really more of a tourist stop than drug store these days.

Tommorrow we will head for the Black Hills & Deadwood, the place where Wild Bill Hickock met his fate, then on to Mt. Rushmore. I’ll blog at you a little more then.

Clark

I’ve written a song I call “Lilacs and Cardinals” for the new CD, which I have mentioned in previous posts, I think, and on Twitter. It’s a quiet piece written for just a single, clean-sounding guitar. I have had a couple challenges in getting it recorded. The guitar I used initially didn’t really fit the sound I had in my head, once I listened back to that days work. So I switched to another guitar. It was closer, but still… something else was needed. Eventually I picked my 1968 Gibson SG junior. (For you gear geeks out there: all original! P-90 pick-up, original tuning machines, pots, knobs, the whole package. yeah. Very cool.) It needed some TLC first: new strings, condition the neck, de-oxidize the electronics, intonate the bridge, bla bla bla. That held recording up for a day, maybe two, but this guitar is really worth the effort.

This guitar is a significant choice for this song, but that’s really another post entirely. Check back for that one. Anyway, I like the sound & dig in to re-record the track. For whatever reason, I’m not having much success playing the song well, & it goes on for a couple of days. Today I got a couple of takes that I thought I might be able to live with, and began thinking about things like the reverb. As I listened back I felt that some aspect of the recording was not what I want for this song. I played around with EQ settings a little, reverb, & some other stuff, but just couldn’t put my finger on what it was I was trying to do.

Using a single guitar to tell a story can be tough. I like to use multiple instruments to get my concept across, and that can even be tough, especially when you’re not using lyrics. I think I have an idea for using multiple guitars in this piece that will still really be playing just what I’ve written for the one guitar. By using space, timbre (also known as tone), and a little street-smart production I think I might get what I hear in my head onto the recording. Of course, that means starting this song from scratch. But that’s okay, because I want to make the best recording for you that I’m capable of making.

So tomorrow I start the new plan for recording this tune. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Later!

Clark

Once upon a time I was in a band called Cheater. I joined this band on a whim. I had become extremely frustrated with my efforts at keeping my own bands together, & had taken a job in a factory. I felt that I needed a break from being in a band, and needed some income, so there I was. Long story short I met the bassist of this band while at the factory & he urged me to just come & jam for the fun of it. At some point they convinced me to join, & after a while I convinced them to add a singer. We became local celebrities and played lots and lots and lots of shows.

This post is not about the history & times of that band. This post is about the hours & hours of board tapes that we made. We got into the habit of making board tapes to analyze our shows; what songs fit well together, pacing of the show, individual & collective performances. Part of the reason we became so popular, I think, was due to this habit. No other local bands were doing this at the time, & really not that many big acts were doing it either. At any given time we had about 12 hours worth of material on cassettes, which we recycled by re-recording over the oldest tape. If we got an exceptional recording we would stash it away & just buy a new tape to replace it. These tapes would get copied & edited into demo tapes that we would send around to new venues as part of our promo packages.

We must have ended up with about 20 hours of recordings by the time the band fell apart. Over time the copies disappeared or were ruined, many of the originals went missing, and I thought only one or two cassettes remained. And those were not our best nights! But much to my delight I found a box full of Cheater board tapes when my wife & I were packing to move almost two years ago. Maybe twelve hours of different recordings. And then of course I lost the box during the move! I knew it was in the new house somewhere, but that was it. For the full lamentation about that whole thing you can read some of my old blogs at MySpace. (At some point they will end up copied over to this blog, but they aren’t here yet…)

So I kept at the unpacking process over the last 18 months or so, and early last month I hit the treasure trove! Wow, talk about flashbacks… Some of the tapes have us playing songs that just floor me! There are really good songs & performances, and some very humiliating moments. And so far I have only gone through about 2 hours of tapes! My first goal is to convert everything to digital so as to not put any more stress on those old cassettes. Some of what I’ve heard already has severe degradation of the tapes, meaning restoring the audio will be a challenge, but I think most of it is salvageable so I am quite happy.

Will I share? Absolutely, if anyone wants to hear it! This will be a slow process because right now my priority is getting the new album done & out there where you can here it; and putting together a new live show for you. As I work through it though, I will let you know & make arrangements for you to hear it.

Time to go work on my new songs for a bit, then hit the sack. I’ll blog at you soon.

Clark

If I were a legendary guitarist like Steve Vai or Joe Satriani, I’m pretty sure I would not get some of the stupid questions or comments I sometimes hear. After all, Steve & Joe & other guitarists of our genre have established themselves, and most people who know who Steve & Joe are at least comprehend what they do. (Although that’s not entirely true, which is a rant I’ll cover in a bit.)

Recently I began the process of assembling a band for performing live after my new CD is done. I was given contact info for a guy that plays bass, & allegedly has some significant time on stage & in the world of hard rock. I suggested he listen to the tunes I have on MySpace, or go to my CDbaby page, or Guitar9, and give the excerpts a listen. Now, keep in mind, I told him I play mostly all-instrumental material, kind of along the lines of “Passion & Warfare” by Steve Vai, or “Surfing With the Alien” by Joe Satriani. He emails me a message saying he would be very interested in helping me finish those songs! These are songs that have been played on the radio, songs that are on a production CD (you know, pressed from a glass master) and shipped all over the world. He wanted to help finish songs that were already finished!

Needless to say he did not even make it to the audition stage. I am left wondering if he has ever listened to the albums by Steve & Joe that I mentioned, or if he bothered to actually read anything on my page at MySpace or at my official website. This sort of thing would probably not happen to Joe or Steve. (Although it could, we’ll cover that in my previously mentioned rant-to-come.)

Another guy who did not make it to the audition phase suggested that if he were to join my band, we would have to change the name & 50% of the songlist would be either his material or covers of his choosing. I asked him point blank if he would make the same demand of Steve Vai & he replied “I dunno, I might. I’m not really sure who he is.” I asked him if he had listened to any of my material & he said “no.” I asked him why I should even consider him for my band & he said “‘Cuz I’m the best bassist around. You’re not going to find anyone around here who can even touch me.” I silently asked myself “What would Steve or Joe do in a situation like this?” then politely thanked him for his time & submission materials. I suggested that he was not the right man for the job, agreed to review his materials on the slight chance I was wrong, & sent him on his way. After listening to the music & watching the home-made DVD, it became very clear that he was not suited for the job. Would guys like Steve & Joe, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, and John Petrucci ever get this kind of stuff?

I’ve had people ask me if my CD was a karaoke CD, ask if anyone else had ever done a rock CD with no singing, and ask if I knew the picture on the CD was not the same as the picture behind the CD in the case. (No, yes, & yes, in case you’re wondering.) I always treat the questioner with respect & answer their questions without any venom, “cuz I’m pretty sure that classy guys like Steve, Joe, Paul, John, etc, would do the same. But deep down, I’ve always felt that they just don’t get this kind of nonsense. Turns out I’m wrong!

I happened across an unedited version of an interview Steve did a few months ago, and I just about fell out of my chair at some of the questions he got from the camera & lighting crew. Questions or comments I thought were just stupid but Steve handled them with grace, patience, & calm. And as I thought about it, it came to me that Steve probably gets way more of this nonsense than I do, simply because of his celebrity status. He undoubtedly fields inane questions about his guitars, amp rig, eating habits, and who knows what else? And much of it from people who don’t understand what he does. Yet he handles it all with class.

Which sort of leads me into my other related rant. I have met boatloads of musicians who know who Steve Vai is, or Joe Satriani, and yet have no knowledge of their music. When I bring these names up by way of comparison to my stuff, I hear all kinds of vitriol spewed. Guitarists slam these guys, & yet many have never even heard an entire track! A couple of years ago, when I was working part-time in a guitar store, I had put “Passion & Warfare” on the store CD player & it was playing all day. Dozens of customers asked who it was, & when I told them Steve Vai, most were shocked. They all described an obnoxious, shredding caricature that sounded more like Yngwie on speed & crack as their “concept” of Steve & his music. One guy even accused me of lying! I had a similar day when I put “Crystal Planet” & “Engines of Creation” by Satch into the player. Really! From guitarists! So go figure.

If guys like Steve & Joe get this kind of nonsense, then I am in great company. I’ve watched them both handle strange things with class & grace, and now I strive to remember that when I get strange questions like “Do you know your riff there is an eighth-note short?” after I’ve labored for days perfecting a really cool riff in 7/8. I take a breath, smile, and silently ask myself “What would Steve Vai do?”

Later, all!

Clark