An update

Sep. 25th, 2023 02:32 pm
ericcoleman: (Default)
It has been a matter of question for some time as to how my guitar playing was going to go. I was having all kinds of problems with my hands. Trigger finger in my left index finger, so playing anything where I had to bend that back was almost impossible. My right index finger and thumb were in pretty much constant pain. I can’t lift things very well, so just putting on a guitar is difficult/.

I worked out what was bothering my right hand, and took out out of the equation. I have very little pain or stiffness now.

I pinged my doctor about the left hand, ready to go talk to the surgeon who has worked on my hands before. My doctor wanted to see me first. I ended up with a shot, something different than what the surgeon has given me before, and ya know … it worked. Playing a D chord hurt … a lot. I had to snap my index finger back straight, and that sent a surge of pain through my entire body. I had been playing in alternate tunings, playing songs that took one or two fingers to play, and even that hurt. Last week I picked up a guitar and ran through some chords. The real problems, D, Am and Dm were all easy. My hands are weak, but that is just a matter of playing every day.

We have our second show this year next month, and that is a real frustration. Not that we have a show, but that it is only our second. I’m still hoping on getting a place to play locally, but that is still elusive.

My old bouzouki has gotten to where it is probably more effort to fix it up than replace it. It needs a fret job, a new bridge, the neck may need to be trued. I have a Sweetwater credit card and don’t have to pay things off for months to years. I have a lovely Gold Tone bouzouki. I hate the strings, they are brutally heavy, but lighter strings are on the way (The strings I used on the old instrument are too light for this). She is taking a bit of getting used to, but we are coming to terms with each other. Lizzie says her name is Angelique.

We went to Wisconsin this weekend to see Alexander James Adams play. We really shouldn’t have spent the money, but we desperately needed a bit of road time. Traveling is so much of who we are, and we have done so little even as the world has become a little more sane. It was worth every penny. We saw great music in a great place. We saw dear, dear friends who we do not see often enough.

Then today I contact my CPAP provider to see how I was doing on the requirements for the insurance.

We owe a fair amount of money for health related things right now. We have monthly payments going out, which take up all the money we would normally spend for things like travel and cons. Today I was told that I was not in compliance, and insurance would not pay for the CPAP. So we’re another grand in debt. So now I feel like a complete idiot for taking a road trip and for buying an instrument.

I’m hoping on being able to get out of all this medical debt in a year, and the rest in two years. We’ll see how that goes.

The podcast is both wonderful and a strain. It gets hard to pick songs. Our library has grown to ridiculous levels. But people are being more vocal about it. There was a great deal of silence for a very long time, and that makes someone who suffers from impostor syndrome, well, get very worried. Thank you to everyone who has said nice things. We need to hear that.

The trike riding continues. We about to the end of the season for that, but we are going to continue for as long as we can.

I worry about diving back into the depression I was in for much of the last several years. We both need to find ways to find joy. We need to play, we need shows. Cons are out of the question generally, since they cost so much. We are doing the two Iowa cons, and those because they have both been so good to us. We need to finish the re-writing of two albums, and see about getting them recorded, but that is more money than we have, and more than I think we can raise. I have two finished songs for my synth project. I need to get those properly recorded, mixed and released. And it’s so hard. Lizzie’s job can be kind of mind-numbing. It takes so much of her energy. Mine is mind-numbing in a totally different way.

I need to get myself playing guitar (or something like it) every day. I need to do the same with my synths. Getting better sleep because of the CPAP has made me sharper. So I am more inclined to be creative. I need to keep that going.

We need to find a local place to play. The problem is that original music has very few outlets in this town, and even fewer for an acoustic duo.

Life continues to be a struggle, but I am more hopeful than I have been. Although it is likely that some that is the anti-anxiety meds. I turn 65 at the end of the year, so all of my medical stuff is going to change. We’ll see how that goes.

So how are you?
ericcoleman: (Default)
I got a message over on FB a couple days ago asking if I was ok. I had been pretty much silent online. It's nice to have someone reach out. I feel really isolated most of the time. Lizzie is pretty much the only person I actually speak to.

The short answer is pretty good. I have gone through a bunch of testing the last month, two scans of my heart and a sleep test.

The first chest scan led to my favorite thing ever said about me. I understand that this is a medical term for everything looks fine at first glance, but if I ever do another solo record, I will call it this ...

Grossly Unremarkable.

It makes me giggle.

The scans seem to be OK, but I talk to the doctor in a month for the real diagnosis. The fact that he has not called me in early is a good sign.

The sleep test came out pretty much as expected. My sleep apnea has gotten worse. I will say that that night was the worst night sleep I have had in months. The night before or after may have had a different result, but, they know what they are doing.

We're taking a beating financially. We have a bit of extra money this month, so I was able to get rid of a lot of the little stuff, but we both still have two very large medical bills hanging out there with more coming.

Helvetica cracked a tooth. He is getting that dealt with in a month. More money going out.

So we are not traveling this year. No cons, except Icon which is local. We probably shouldn't do that.

I can get around a little better but I still can't walk very far. I want an electric trike so I can ride and pedal as much as I am capable of, but wow are they out of our price range.

Lizzie continues to work from home and I work from home part time, so we get a lot of time together. Yeah, we still like being around each other all the time.

I'm trying to get back to playing guitar, but it's hard. We have no shows, we have no way to record either album this year, all that drives the depression that made me stop in the first place. We're looking for local shows, just so we can get back to playing live. I think I have a location. There is an open mic at a coffee shop we have gone to a couple of times and they have a nice space. We'll see what they think. I am uncertain as to whether we can pull in an audience.

My granddaughter turned 3 last week. We have seen her twice in the last couple of weeks, and she is finally getting to know us. She ran across the room and gave both of us a hug. And there is another due in October.

My former father in law passed a month ago. I am sad that I had not seen him for quite some time, I liked him a lot.

I do comment and post on some groups on FB, but I hate it so much.

There was a Toyboat reunion of sorts at Demicon. Mike Nixon was playing a solo show, Random Fractions were playing as well, so Mike thought it would be fun if the 4 of us got together for the last half of his show. We called it Mayday. We weren't too awful, considering we had one rehearsal. I don't expect it to happen again, we're not traveling for awhile, and Cathy and Pat are moving out west sometime next year (I think).

So there ya go. Eric in a nutcas ... nutshell.

How are you?
ericcoleman: (Default)
As you may have read, I bought a new guitar, since I wanted a specific sound for the new project.

It was in my recording/practice studio, which is upstairs where I work. I also do my workouts at work and I found that instead of getting the exercise I need, I was going upstairs to play guitar. So I brought everything home, shoveled out my bedroom, got everything hooked up, drum machine, a couple of synths and got out my stage rig to hook up to the little sound system I have in there and found out that the power supply for my Pod XT was still in my studio ... 30 minutes away. I texted my anguish to Lizzie without really saying what the problem was, that may have been a mistake. The subject line above is what I sent to her. She then called me cause she was worried ... and laughed ... and laughed ... and laughed some more. Sigh ... I got a woman mean as she can be ...

So I got a lot done today, but I still can't play with the toy I wanted to play with.
ericcoleman: (Default)
It wasn't too long ago that I said, fairly regularly, that I would never play electric guitar again.

We can all see how well that worked for me. I bought a new one this week and it has opened up my playing again. I've been very much in that rabid punk strum thing on the songs I play with Toyboat. There is a certain sound needed there, and I can certainly supply it.

I knew that Cheshire Moon needed a more subtle sound and more intricate playing.

I haven't owned a Strat in years, close to 20, and playing her has just sent me off the edge of the world again. I had forgotten how many voices a Strat can have. I'm running all around the neck and swapping pickups around.

So far she has been in two different tunings, Open D (DADF#AD) and DADGAD. It's amazing how that half step changes the entire feel. I approach each differently. Open D tends to be about big chiming chords and finger picking and DADGAD, well, DADGAD is starting to open up in my mind. I'm starting to improvise again for the first time in probably 6 months.

Right now my gear is upstairs here at work, so on my breaks I go and play. I must remember to not ignore my walking and workout. It's kinda hard at the moment.
ericcoleman: (Default)
There is this voice (of sorts) in my head that occasionally tells me what to do. Once upon a time it told me to go into Wal Mart on Black Friday. I did and ran into the younger brother of my best friend in Elementary School, I had not seen him or his brother in 30+ years ... but ... first ...

I knew I wanted a new guitar, there is a very specific sound that I want for Cheshire Moon. That sound can best be made with a Stratocaster. I also knew that I wanted a much more colorful guitar, with one exception all of my stage guitars are black. So the intention was to buy an inexpensive Strat and do awful things to it.

I was heading to Guitar Center, since that is the place I frequently start such searches and I got a few blocks away and that voice in my head said "go to Pro Music" (ok, it's not really a voice, it's more of an urge). So I did, and there she was on the end of the rack. I played her for 10-15 minutes, but I already knew.

So now there are two pretty red heads in Cheshire Moon

Here is the one I met last night



And here is the more important one

ericcoleman: (Default)
I remember a guitar magazine I used to read had tab for this song. In big bold letters at the top of the page it said, more or less, this is just to show how he does it, mostly likely you will not be able to play this ... most likely no one else can (although I'd like to see Joe Giacoio give it a try).

Rootwitch by Micheal Hedges.

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