So, I did February Album Writing Month (FAWM) last year, and really enjoyed it. The thing is, by writing something like 16 songs in one month, I really burned myself out. And I’ve had a lot of things going on in the past year, including moving, starting a new job, and doing a lot of bicycling and photography. I have hardly worked on music at all since FAWM last year.

I’m trying to get back into doing that, including, hopefully, working some new elements and influences into my music to take it to the next level. I’ve been pretty into folk music lately, and I would really like to incorporate some things from that, more acoustic instruments, and possibly more songlike structures. I’m also thinking about doing some more vocals. To date, the only song I’ve added vocals to was Last of the Lost (can be found on my DMusic page).

But I’m having a bit of a hard time getting back into it. I’m rusty with actual playing keyboards and guitar, and trying to learn some mandolin technique at the same time. And synth programming is something that you get accustomed to doing; I need to reacquaint myself with it.

I’m hoping that things will come back to me fairly quickly, but so far, the little bit I’ve tried to do has been difficult. I need to get back to where I can just sit down and work on music. I’m going to try to do FAWM again, and hopefully, that will help get me back in the swing of things.

One thing I hadn’t thought about that I noticed last night was that I was playing guitar for a while, and when I stopped, I got this huge nicotine craving. I always used to smoke a lot when I worked on music, but I’ve never smoked in our new apartment — which made me realize how long it had been since I worked on music!

Way too long, if you ask me.

Sarah and I went to see Bob Jones Band again last night at the Pine Room Tavern in Nashville, IN. We went to CVS beforehand so I could get some prints made of some of the photos I took of the band. I brought my camera, but ended up leaving it in the car because the lighting was pretty crappy in there, and I didn’t really want another round of lame flash photos.

Bob Jones saw us come in and waved. The band sounded good, although their pedal steel player was missing. I’m not sure whether he’s usually part of the band or not. I figured they’d take a break after a while, since they did last time, and sure enough, they did.  I went over to talk to Bob Jones and give him copies of the photos.

Bob Jones said he was glad we came, and opened the envelope to see the photos. I explained that there was a CD in there as well, and tried to explain that my camera is a digital one, so there was no film, just the CD, and he had no idea what to do with it. That’s OK. That’s what prints are for. He had a lot of fun looking through the photos and at several points made exclamations to the other band members about various shots. They all seemed pretty impressed.

Actually, I was quite flattered. The guys in the band and their ladyfriends seemed damned impressed with my shots. I really didn’t think they were that great; I’m not good at flash photography, and all I have is the flash that’s built into my camera, so there are lots of hard shadows and other problems. But they didn’t seem to mind any of that. I guess I did get some good shots of their facial expressions and playing, which is what is most important, but I really feel like the flash just sucks most of the atmosphere and character out of the shots.

If anything, maybe they were too impressed. Dean (?), the bassist, apparently has a son who is getting married soon, and they asked if I’d ever done wedding photography. I explained that this is just a hobby for me, but they told me I’m way too talented just to do it as a hobby. It seems like they want to hire me take photos at Dean’s son’s wedding. Which is really cool in theory, but I have no idea how to do that sort of thing, never having done it before. I really don’t know if I think it would be awesome or if I’d just feel terribly out of my element.

This is something I need to think about, because Bob has my phone number — he had put the paper I wrote it on inside his guitar the last time I gave it to him, and I wrote it on the envelope these photos were in; I believe Dean’s girlfriend/wife/whatever copied it down, too. So I expect a call from them, and I have no idea what to say. I might be willing to do it, but only if they are completely clear about the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing in that context, and the results may or may not be great.

Dave and I did another road ride yesterday. We did a bit of a different route from what we’ve done before, going from his house and along State Road 45, but not taking Lanam Ridge Road. Instead, we stayed on 45, which took us down some great hills, reaching a top speed of 35.5 mph. Then, instead of taking South Shore Dr. back, we turned onto County Line Road, which is actually a gravel road.

There were a couple of tough climbs on County Line Road, but nothing as hard as the last climb we usually do back up to Dave’s house. It was pretty cool to circumvent that killer climb, and instead do the last portion of the ride downhill. We only went about 12.7 miles overall, but it was a fun ride. Sometime I’d like to do the Lanam Ridge route, but then take County Line from there to avoid the climb back to Dave’s house. This would also add a few miles to our usual ride, probably putting it around the 18-20 mile mark. That’d be a pretty good ride.

I really kicked some ass, doing very well on the climbs and keeping my speed up overall. I think Dave was pretty impressed. Somehow, I’m better at road riding than mountain biking. I guess it’s just because I’ve done more of it. This really makes me want to get a road bike soon.

I’m a little late in writing about this, but on New Year’s Eve, Sarah and I went to see the Bob Jones Band at the Putter Park in Ellettsville. Bob Jones owns what was once the Honey Jones Trading Post, which Sarah and I photographed on one of our outings (Read her post about that experience, or read my post about some of the photos). At that time, he invited us to come out to this show, and take some photos, since they have an album coming out soon.

Bob Jones saw us before the show, and it took him a minute to figure out where we were, but he remembered. I guess it’s hard to place someone who you caught taking photos on your property — I’ll give him that. “I’ve seen you somewhere before,” he said. “Oh! at my house!”

Anyway, we showed up at the show, and I brought my camera. I used to take photos of (mostly metal) concerts when I was in college, so I have some experience at this, but the lighting was far from ideal at the Putter Park (yes, it’s a miniature golf course/bar). There were just a couple of dim lights over the band. I told Bob Jones that the lighting was poor and that I’d have to use a flash, and he said I could do whatever I wanted … heck, even come play with the band!

Bob Jones Fiddlin’

Bob Jones plays the fiddle, mandolin, and guitar — or at least, those are the instruments he played that night. I don’t know if he plays other things or not. He also sings. The band plays country, folk, rock, blues and bluegrass music, some covers and some originals. They played one original song Bob Jones wrote about when he was in the Monroe County Jail and nobody would come bail him out. I couldn’t make out many of the lyrics, unfortunately.

Bob Jones Fiddlin’ — with a wire hanger! Also notice the enthusiastic bassist. He looked like that all night, I’m not sure why he plays if it makes him so miserable.

The rest of the band consisted of a bassist, drummer, electric guitarist, and another guy who played pedal steel guitar, electric guitar, and harmonica.

Pedal Steel Guitar

Guitar solo

Drummer

Blues song

Grin

Pedal steel guitar before the show