Forgot this- Big Time - Student of The Week

http://takelessons.com/blog/2013/06/student-spotlight-6212013/

http://takelessons.com/blog/2013/06/student-spotlight-6212013/

Student Spotlight – 6/21/2013

June 21, 2013 | 0 Comments
Thank goodness we made it to Friday again and it’s time for us to check out the super talents of another TakeLessons student! This week, we’re catching up with Dan M. who is currently taking banjo lessons with Glenn S. in Long Beach, CA. Dan is 60 years old and he started playing banjo 7 years ago. Even more exciting, Dan writes his own original songs and has many opportunities to perform! Keep reading to learn more about Dan and see live video from a recent performance…
Dan’s favorite artists include Mary Chapin Carpenter, Elephant Revival, Chick Corea and Bela Fleck and he says that his favorite thing about music is, “that people are willing to listen to me.” We certainly are! Check out this video of Dan singing his original song “How Long Has it Been”:
Who wants to be in the spotlight next? We’re featuring students every Friday, and YOU could be next! To participate, send us an email at social@takelessons.com. We’re looking for photos and video clips of you performing, you with your teacher, or any other action shots that show just how important music is to you! For the full guidelines please click here. And in the meantime, don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Alone

I'm certainly not alone in my life these days, but I am playing alone now and it looks like I'm going backpacking for a week for the first time by myself. I had two periods in my life when I lived alone. 1972 to 1977 and 1982 to 1987. There were friends and lovers in those times, but on Sunday I was back at the apartment or the house or where ever I was living and doing laundry or painting (I used to like the light in my little apartment in Venice in the afternoons and so refused invitstions so I could lie on the floor on my belly and work on oil paintings.) In my hitchhiking days I used to sing and whistle on the side of the road. I can recall cleaning the windows in my studio apartment in New Orleans singing at the top of my lungs.The neighbor stopped by and said I seemed to be enjoying myself. I spend hours a day by myself- at work -at home- practicing, writing, balancing the books.

I'm actually looking forward to the silence of a week. It's supposed to be very pretty up there. I'll bring back videos.

12, count them, 12 steps

The major temptation of being a musician late in life is one of wanting to play all those songs you loved as a teenager. Mine are that first James Taylor album, Tom T. Hall from the 70s. Crosby Stills & Nash, Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Dory Previn, Jerry Jeff Walker, Gordan Lightfoot, Paul Simon. There needs to be a 12 step program to prevent this abuse and addiction. Our children would be happy.

Me Friday Night

Pulled out a bunch of old songs from the 1800s last night. Come hear me do the oldies but goodies! Down By The Ohio, In The Pines, Under The Weeping Willow Tree, Sitting On Top of The World

Craig's List Fantasyland

So I answered an ad yesterday- A 50s something guitar player who was interested in jamming- playing- performing- he liked folk music.

So I email him - let's rehearse sometime and see what we can do.

He answers sure, I live in Hollywood, but have no place to rehearse.

I answer Well, I live in Westchester, and I have lots of rehearsal space. My weekend is kind of booked, how about a week night?

He answers, sure, but I don't have a car and getting to Westchester on the bus might be hard.

Joined Songladder

Where Are You Going

https://www.facebook.com/JosephDStrongJr

He's my main character in the new book to be published this summer. Come and check it out.

Craig's List Fantasy Land Part 2

So, I received this email a week ago:

 

hey dan we need bands for a new country and rock website let me know if your band and any other

bands want to be on the website.  It will be like itunes and viewers can download music for 99cents.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan McNay
To: promoteshows
Sent: Wed, Oct 10, 2012 1:16 pm
Subject: Tall guy you met today/ the band info

We do bluegrass and folk and a little country western as well as original material. We've been performing at the Melrose Trading Post, the Brentwood Art Fair, at Long Beach & Manhattan Beach etc etc...

Back in October, there was a come-on for a show that was being put on in a Proud Bird banquet hall - that's a half a mile from me- I went over to meet them and see the hall and resent this to them because they didn't remember seeing it. 

It didn't work- they didn't want to give us any time to play- they wanted bands to show and do ten minutes and get off.

I responded to the guy now and said send me your site info so I can look at it. 

Nothing

Craigs List Fantasy Land

So I got this as a response for my response to a Craig's List come on for song submittals. 

Dear Dan,

Congratulations, your song “We Outgrew It” has been preliminarily accepted to be included on our next Music Row Library CD here in Nashville.  We base this judgment on the commercial appeal of your song and how it will stand up against other songs in the marketplace.

The good news is, your songwriting skills are apparently very commercial / marketable;

however, the current quality of the recording of your music is not up to commercial standards here in Nashville and will need to be re-recorded if you wish to be included on this Compilation CD.  There are obviously several options available to get your music recorded to industry standards but before you re-record your music please call me so I can discuss the options with you. 

Our Music Row Library CD is delivered to over 300 music row executives, industry professionals, music publishing companies, record companies, song pluggers and more.  It’s a fantastic way to get your music heard by the professionals here in Nashville and get your foot in the door.  In the past, we have helped Taylor Swift, Gretchen Wilson, Tim McGraw and many others “get their foot in the door” and we are planning on helping many others as well.

Please call me at your earliest convenience to discuss your music.

Sincerely,

Mark Johnson

Talent Scout (MRC)

(618) 288-1993



So I did a Google Search and found his phone number was in Illinois, not Tennessee. I sent him this:

 From: 03cdfc586cf033e284b98ea38b885733@reply.craigslist.org
To: prnbq-3820333603@comm.craigslist.org
Subject: Re: MUSIC PRO'S ONLY PLEASE (with GREAT music needed)
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:14:31 -0700

This is who you are?

Mark Johnson is head of MRC’s Business Planning and Operations. In this role he is responsible for managing the day to day operations of the MRC platform as well assessing business opportunities as they relate to the future direction of MRC. He is also responsible for the management and direction of banking relationships supporting MRC asset acquisition. Prior to joining MMA in March 2005, Mr. Johnson was employed by Trinsic Technologies, a national voice and data technology enterprise as the company’s Secretary and Treasurer. During his tenure, the company completed its successful initial public offering in 1999 and subsequently raised funds through both debt and equity transactions. Mr. Johnson has 26 years of experience in real estate lending and corporate finance, primarily in banking. At the time of his departure from banking in 1998 Mr. Johnson was in charge of real estate credit policy for Wachovia in the Washington Baltimore area, responsible for commercial real estate loan structuring and approval for the Capital Region. Mr. Johnson has a B.A. from the University of Virginia and is a member of various non profit and charitable

And why do you have an Illinois area code when you are in Nashville?
If you are legit, please direct to your firm's website and email me your Dunns number.

Thanks

Dan McNay

This was his response last night at midnight LA time. (which makes it about 2-3 in the morning in Carbondale)

  LOL! LOL!!!  NO SIR :)  www.marksmusic7.com

PS I HAVE TWO HOUSES, one in IL and one in TN

Mark Johnson

618.288.1993

You can search the www.marksmusic7.com and find out its a my space account. I'd call him just of the entertainment of listening to his come-on about how he will re-master your song for $XXX.XX and how the promo CD will be so wonderful. And thousands will see it. But apparently he has not produced one before that I could find.

You'd think if you were really a good con, you would at least create a web site that would make you look legit.

Me at Make Music Downey

Five songs in a very cordial  (very hot) Downey Music Center. Fun was had by all. a few folks showed. It only sat about 10. Did five of my songs and moved on. Diane and I went off to Killer Shrimp for dinner in Marina Del Rey. Got a call last night asking if I could come play this morning at the Motor Avenue Farmer's Market. Of course. Had an even better Sunday morning singing and playing. Videos to come. 

Weddings I have been to

We ran off 25 years ago and went to Vegas and didn't tell a soul. On this day 25 years ago, we went and got the license, then drove around Vegas with a Russian taxi cab driver and checked out chapels, with the cab driver getting out with us at each one and giving us his opinion. We found one and took a limo the next morning to make it official. It was a funky place made to look like a garden with astro-turf grass and a indoor rock gardeny fountain. I recall how nervous I was- more nervous than the other two times. A couple of friends sent us a basket to our hotel room, because they sensed something was up. We were saving to buy a house, so we figured this was a better plan. We had a reception later in LA when everyone found out. And we're still at it.

Aurore

                                                      George Sand for the beginners

Paris Reading

 

Sos, knowing I had a 10 hour flight to the Paris I wanted, I took three books. Rilke's little book about Rodin, that I had searched for and finally found and finally read on the plane. Rilke worked as Rodin's secretary so he knew him well.  I also brought the above, George Sand's novel about her affair with Alfred De Musset in Paris in the early 1800s. Sand was much more interesting as a character than as an author- all the books are humorless and overwrought drama. The third was a paperback titled Henry & June, which was Anais Nin's diaries about her affair with Henry Miller in Paris in the 1930s.

Needless to say, I read the Sand after Rilke. It was humorless and overly dramatic and De Musseet comes off as bipolar. All sorts of strum and drang

  about stupid and silly lover misunderstandings and a lot of hysterical encounters with people fainting.

I skipped the last 1/5 of it because it was just stupid and I really have a hard time identifying with characters that are insanely neurotic. 

So I came back and finished reading 300 some odd pages about Nin & Miller, who were also crazy but at least there was a lot of hot sex in it. 

So I ordered the below book: The Cofession of a Child of the Century by Alfred De Musset (not this movie version- which might actually come off better) It's his version of his affair with George Sand. Anyway, De Musset is still bipolar and still incredibly self centered and histrionic.

I skipped the last 1/5 of this one too, because it was just so much of a waste.  

There is a pornographic lesbian novel that De Musset wrote that is supposedly his fantasy of his affair with Sand. I might go looking for that out of a sense of one's duty to get all sides.

Only read this stuff if you're goth and want to commit suicide often.

A Jack Kerouac Song

Me in my Paris hipster hat and my Paris shirt channeling ole Jack. Everyone should have a song about the road.

Bears

All the way from Paris- getting the second back for the summer today!

Got a B?

Well, a real adventure in banjo- my B string broke halfway through the morning- with still an hour and half to go. I had no spare. One can play without it, if one can fudge. I kept carrying on, figuring if it just wasn't working, I'd stop They kept throwing money in my banjo case throughout it all.  Even played a request for Cotton Jenny which I hadn't played for a while and I told the guy I had broken a string and may not hit the exactly the right notes. He liked it. This either says something about my ability or we can just mark it off to being a banjo. Made fifty bucks, sos there's fifty people who liked it, sans B.

Another Farmer's Market called me while I was here, wanting to know if I could make it over to theirs this morning. I leave my phone in the car when I play. It would've made me laugh though-had I got the call.