|
|
IN INVENTORY:
A Fretless Cortobass & a pre-owned Skyrider (cool!)
One of Jake's hand made guitars (wow!)
One of 3D's hand built wonders too!
(...and a few of my personal guitars I'm offering up to new homes to fund other
fun...)

2012
February 3rd
I get very excited to see the blooms and blossoms of an early Spring...
I feel it inside myself. They told me growing up "You
are who you surround yourself with," so these days I try to keep
blooming and blossoming around me.
In other chapters there were times
that felt like a long slow Fall; the doom of the coming Winter. And
believe me, you're never far from its cold breath on your heels anytime here in
the second half. Let's face it, life is a precarious thing. It goes fast. This
has been a week where many things got me thinking of the past; those passed;
that which has been passed. That which has been passed on. Those bits of it all
that stay with you... and of you that went with them.

Everyone's life is full of challenges and changes, some good, some
mixed... you know, today I got down about the beautiful old country 2-lanes
lined with trees all becoming these big long black scars with turn lanes into
subdivisions... I mean does it all have to become suburbia? Everywhere? I
couldn't have picked a further out place 20 years ago without a case of
ammo and a 4x4. But there's that time thing, and that change thing, that
perplexing pair of ponderous persnickatives. (I just made it up, don't worry
about it.) The serenity prayer does not include "...and the opportunity
to choke the living shit out of those who perpetuate change I don't like!"
It just IS...

...and then I looked next to me in the truck.

How am I not going to smile at any given time? I mean, I make guitars! I
might even be making yours. Or I may get the chance to when the time is right.
I'm very blessed to be able to have the chance to do what I do. Because in here
it's a perpetual Springtime. It's a garden. Cutting & gluing, shaping &
oiling... these are our planting of shoots and weeding & feeding. To be
surrounded by perpetual manifestation is part of what keeps one young, I
think. Making a musical instrument, a tool of creation, is like taking all
that's good and seeding this amazing bloom that will perpetuate its goodness
into the unknown wherever it goes. Whatever comes, whatever it faces, it
"IS" too. Touche, material world! :)
Got an interesting call about a 25th high school reunion up in
Massachusetts. Some folks would need therapy after a call like that... I mean,
25 years!... but to me that number means nothing. I'm not attached to numbers;
their passing as markers of anything real; the tallying and thinking of them.
Only as Birdsong has gotten a little bigger do I even know what day it is. But
just try asking me what date it is. What time is it? Time to put oil on
this next body; time to get the bank info to the client in Australia. Time to
clear the air. Time to tell someone you care. Time to make sure the bread on
Birdsong's table makes sure there's bread on my helping hands' tables. Time
to be here now. Time to not wait, not put off, not just drive on by again.
Time to DO something, to manifest it... to allow it to manifest you.
Sometimes you don't know whether to laugh or cry; other times you gotta
laugh to keep from crying. It is a blessed soul who looks around him and
tears up because no matter what's going on there's the feeling there's nothing
to really cry about. And that is a hard fought hill; a plateau some never take.
Is it the wise one who assumes to see the Spring again and does not
pause... or the one who, with a nose full of new flowers, breathes it in and
perpetuates its inspiration into beauty? I don't know, but I know where I stand.
Like so much in life you're gonna wake up one day and know what side of the
fence you're on.
Listening to:
Jorma Kaukonen River Of Time
Ron Carter Where?
The Dum Dum Project Export Quality
~
January 27th
Strange things happen in small, God-fearing towns.
There was the punk rock band the Licentious
Nicolatians, taken of course from Revelations 2:6, "You hate the
deeds of the licentious Nicolatians just as I do." Well the problem
with this name was it was way to much work to pronounce... the problem with the
band itself, there was nobody with mohawks and safety pins through their face
anywhere near this part of Texas. So a fan base was going to be hard to come by,
kind of like grapefruit, which simply don't grow here. It was an example of that
which is not. There is that which is, and that which is not and
this definitely was not.
And honestly the boys themselves couldn't muster up that urban jungle
anarchy of street lamp hopelessness and concrete rage between bites of venison
sausage and nights of youthful folly in the crop fields. No, their rebellion was
destined to be a quieter one. They would sneak out and get drunk on Milwaukee's
Finest... Light... . The hard stuff, yeah. Watch out, it may gateway to
Budweiser! It was the beer of quantity over quality; if you could afford a sixer
of Coors Banquet then by golly you could get a twelve of Milwaukee's Finest
Light! Of course it was about a third as potent, but what the hell you were
young and young people can make any math add up. It's part of their logic of
illogic, part of what makes youth so exciting and full of great ideas.
Like this punk band out in the middle of nowhere by kids who didn't even
know they were poor, had most of their teeth, and who could sing along with The
Carter Family's Greatest Hits. Try as they may to rail against the
establishment, they'd hold the door for you at Country Boy Grocery, call you
"Ma'am" and "Sir", and give the little small town wave to
the passing cars and pickups on the backroads... using their whole hand. Nice
boys. The Licentious Nicolatians were way ahead of their time in a place very
behind the times that wasn't necessarily pushing for change. You'd think that'd
make them at the right place and the right time but you'd be wrong.
Crop fields are Kryptonite to punk rock - you almost never see those two
come together and there are reasons for this far beyond any explanation I could
give. Some things are like magnetic forces and should just be accepted as workings
of the universe and treated as such. So try as they might to absorb and
adopt that particular blend of snottiness and snobbery the downtrodden and
alienated English youth brewed so well, the rage of those amphetamine-fueled,
sick-of-it-all, and safety pinned, well... to put it bluntly, these kids
couldn't scare a fart out of a poodle.
Not that their hearts weren't in it, mind you - but alongside "God
Save The Queen" and "Anarchy in The UK" such original
compositions as "The Man Needs a Big Ol' Whoopin'", "Dadgum
Liars" and "Bowling Club Riot" didn't quite bottle the
same fizz if you catch my drift. These were less than effective manifestos for
the dissolution of perceived hierarchical hegemony at the hands of brick
throwing squatters. This was most definitely not the soundtrack to the new
rebellion. Heck, the only squatting going on around here is when your girlfriend
has to pee and you're five miles down the dirt road from her house.
Listening to:
John Williams Spanish Guitar Music
Lots of John Scofield
Bill Frisell recordings a cool client sent me
Smashing Pumpkins Gish
~
January 20th
Well hi everybody! Ahh, back in the swing of
things... cases coming, necks in process, hardware order in... and here are some
pics 'n musings about some of the cool things going on in the workshop.
Here's a client's set-neck "Benchmade" Fusion of solid burled
Mesquite with matching fretboard & headstock overlay, a really customized
piece we'll be getting into the detailed stuff on shortly. Note the little pearl
& turquoise inlay...

Here are a few artistic shots from the shop. I don't know, I see these
differently than you may. To some it's a dusty shop. For me, I look at these
tools and benches and they're full of meaning, memories and potential. I see a
dream happening in these pictures...

This is cool - every so often we build a Birdsong guitar, and every so
often I get a client who just lets me run with it design-wise. This is
both...
Mesquite, oddball pickups, Mahogany neck... I'm in my element here. :)

And this? This is where the dream began my friends, my first guitar... an
early 1980s Cort Model X. It's going back together in the spare moments.

No thousand words today, just a few pictures (and a few more on the
client page). Thanks for being with us!
Listening to:
John Williams Spanish Guitar Music
Ratt Ratt EP
Neil Hagerty Neil Michael Hagerty
And some Coltrane.
They do say variety is the spice of life...
~
January 13th

Yeah, yeah, I only mention it because I have to put this up here to be fair
to the other guys who get ridiculous photoshopped headshots on their
birthdays. Fair is fair, and here I go into the big 43... Richard Petty's
number, and the number of "Richard the Test Bass", an old
Cortobass that has been routed and drilled and... gosh that's a whole other
update!
A quickie update this week,
I've been shuffling around computers to be able to do
different things in different locations as needed, to be able to be as efficient
as possible and go with the flow... the magical rightness of task-to-task,
moment-to-moment. There's something special when it's "on", when the
right things happen at the right times and it all feels great and hands you off
to the next thing; they call that "in the zone" in sports, you just
know that ball is going in; it's akin to tone leading in chord-melody jazz.
There's that one note in that perfect chord that so perfectly sets up the
next chord to the ear, and after a progression you sit back and feel like you've
just tasted a plate full of delicious food in the best order you could have possibly
tickled your taste buds in. Rightness. THAT is what, when it comes, you riiiiide...
it goes into the instruments (or whatever it is you do), it factors into
your relations in day-to-day life, and it tethers you ever so sweetly to the
path you feel you should be walking... as it lays down smooth stepping stones
before your feet in perfect rhythm. Those moments are gold; those days sancrosant.
Then you bash your knuckles on an exhaust manifold changing spark plugs.
But even that, that would be noble in the moment because what doesn't
kill us makes us stronger. And you know you've felt it, when you're on target
and headed for the goal and it's happening to a rhythm you somehow found and
locked into, stepping to a beat only you can hear, the music is playing the
player... you'd have to kill me to keep me away from that next step. The
little inconveniences and momentary troubles of a body in life? I scoff at them
when the groove is grooving. You'll take me down at a full run. The mind-benders
of a business day, that number-crunching flipside of getting to do what you want
to do, that blood-sucking insurance company would have to hire a Sicilian hit
man to make me pay more attention to it than... the magic. The
process. The dream. When it's rollin' it's rollin' and those things that wash
out less permanent inks and unthread weaker fabric... not today, not today.
I try to see every day in that light. To be open and inviting to feel and
lock into that groove of the day or the hour or the moment. She puts out her
hand but really wants a hug. A blues lick would fit but so would a blast of
atonal feedback right before the chorus kicks in. That sweeping bend through the
hills? It says 50 but it really wants 65. With "Back In The Saddle"
through 6x9s. And mirrored shades. Ride it. Seize the moment.
Listening to:
Aerosmith Greatest Hits (the red one, the old stuff)
Acoustic live Jerry Garcia band
Classical lute music
~
January 6th
If you fire up an even remotely virile old American car with a rumbling V8 and
mix that with the opening 30 seconds of Van Halen's "Unchained" and don't feel
anything bubbling to life inside of you... you'd better check your pulse. That's
what I feel like with the keys to the Wingfeather workshop, home of Birdsong,
the revived SD Curlee, and much other activity concerning carved & strung items of power.
Speaking of power, I know, one can only imagine the wild, sordid
parties the guy behind a world famous electric guitar & bass company would
be involved in on New Years Eve... the debauchery, the hootenanny, the chandelier
swinging post-arena concert endorser suite throw the TV out the window drive
into the pool with the groupies sort of fun that's all over the place in this
business. Grab the marching powder & hit the limo... well, here's a shot
from the campfire at the homestead, with Jamie's Ancho-pepper Tortilla soup
cooking and a cold Birra Moretti La Rossa on the table. Jamie, her dad (in town
from New Mexico), Maggie the Blue Heeler and I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else; those other
guys can have all that other stuff. I'll take the cast iron over a flame and a
crisp "Winter" night. Give me good food, good company, and peace under
the stars.

You were there with us too, as it was all fueled by Birdsong
cutoffs. I can think of no more reverent way to handle the leftover bits 'n
pieces...
The new year brings a clean slate, at least for intention, and a
chance to hit the ground running. Call me naive, but I can't help but feel
energy-wise, all-that-stuff-between-the-atoms-wise, cosmo-celestial-Great-Mystery-wise,
that being in motion next to the tracks of the hoped-for train might just
influence the energetic flow of... oh, say, your butt getting on it as it
rumbles by! Even if you have a ticket, just standing there waiting 'til the
train is in front of you to figure out what's next... uh-uh. I tend to be
running my little legs off in the direction I already want to go.
Don't wait for the bus; start walkin' and jump on as it comes by.
If it doesn't show up, walk there yourself. The year is yours and I wish you all great
things... right now I have some great things to prepare for their
strings, so I'm done chattin' for now and it's back to the Birdsong benches.
Tuned up, head down, dug in & on it like... well, insert your own
semi-appropriate analogy here. :)
Listening to:
Van Halen Fair Warning
Aerosmith Aerosmith
Paul Desmond Live (has my favorite guitarist on it - Ed Bickert)
And some Dead & Jerry Garcia band live stuff - acoustic and electric
**************************************************
December 16th
Moments...
we collect them as we go, and then they're gone; they collect
us as they go... and then we're gone. They're what we look back on as we
go, and they're how others look back on us. If you're aware, you see the moments
as they happen and savor them as they pass. You don't let too many get by you.
Seeing them coming is a skill, and there's a talent to lining them up.
You start with meaning as your clay, and shape it... often times
fired in the kiln of service or devotion... and there it is. The right hug at
the right time, the right words, the right instrument into the right hands, and
it's more than just what it is. It's got the "moment magic" all over
it and some of it gets on you and whoever shares it with you. That's some good
dust; cultivate it, savor it, and pass it around.
Moments are what matters. They're the notes that over time build and layer into
the chords of our life, our song. Whatever symphony we sing it's made of notes. Our
symphonies are of wood and wire, and there are moments during the creation
process that are magical to me... every moment doing your calling is meaningful,
even if some can be challenging, but some are magic. Rounding the edges after
routing, when the shape "softens" and becomes an instrument body; the
first rubbing of oil into the bare wood, when something leaves my hands and
enters the instrument; the call from the client who sounds like they got into
the funny mushrooms after they get the bass... a mix of incredulousness and a
little bliss. When you can do what you're made to do, what you want to do, what
you're supposed to do, with good friends, and it feeds you, AND it
gives others moments... that's a rich life. I'm very grateful.
Because like individual notes that become chords and melodies and songs
and symphonies, the moments that become days in chapters of our lives are, more
often than not (and this is coming from a real loner, believe me), so much
better when shared. And this being a season of Holiday blessings and gratitude
and sharing... I want to thank you all for sharing your lives and music and
dreams with us while we build your basses; for being a part of our lives and
music and dreams. 2011 was amazing...
This is last news update of the year. I'll
keep updating the client page, as I'm not going anywhere this year...
staying close by, working on builds, keeping things quiet. So continue to call,
order, ask, check in, and communicate.
There are some GREAT deals I just put up in inventory
in honor of the Holiday season.
Also please check out what the other guys who spend
themselves here are doing in their own music gardens - Jake,
3D, Brady.
If you see anything you'd like, just get in touch! I know 3D has a couple
of things up on eBay right now, a
Bbox (he builds them now) and one of his great
short scale guitars.
We want to thank you so much for this amazing year now just about
over; we want to wish you all the best in the coming year, nervous Mayans aside.
MOST OF ALL I want to wish you - YOU - and your circle a wonderful
Christmas. May you be blessed beyond
all reason. And may you realize that despite life's challenges, you
still probably are... and that realization is perhaps the greatest one of all.
For those of you who celebrate different Holidays or Holy days or maybe this one
differently or any or all of the above, whatever your path know you share in
these wishes of communion, connection, and celebration too. On behalf of all
of us, you have our love and warmest wishes.
Count your blessings, share them, and savor the moments.
(We'll keep working on the instruments for the soundtrack).
Listening to:
The Allman Bros. The Fillmore Concerts (disc two)
Soundgarden Superunknown
Rolling Stones Flashpoint
Pat Boone In a Metal Mood
(You think I'm kidding, I know... I know.)
~
December 9th

Well it sure was foggy coming out of the hills this morning. You don't picture hills or fog when
you think of Texas, I know. But where I live, we have plenty of hills. Heck they
even call it "The Hill Country"... coincidence? I think not. Most of
the time the scenery is beautiful, but sometimes it does get foggy and you're
not quite so sure where you're going, even on roads you've ridden for years.
That's when it helps to have a set of taillights to follow and a good old truck
that knows the way.
It's like having tools that already kinda know what they're doing. Like
an old wrench. I've got a toolbox full of old tools; I don't much go for new
stuff. To be truthful, so much of it is cheap shiny crap just waiting to break.
I got news for you... if that adjustable wrench is 50 years old and been through
a dozen sets of hands and it breaks? It was you. It wasn't the tool. Yeah, they
wear out and maybe something'll snap at some point. But generally stuff
that was made to work back when stuff was made to work, back when we made
things, it stays working.

I love old tools, and that's partly why; but it's only a small part. A
big part is this - when you step into your workshop, you're not just stepping
into it for mindless entertainment. Even casual crafts... you bring something to
it and give something with it beyond the wood and the work. You are
aligned in this with all craftsman and craftspeople through history. We build,
we beautify, we transform, we who manifest. And anyone really into
it has a reverence for their tools as well as the time & opportunity.
Whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we choose to pick up the legacy or
not, it gets on us with every shave, with every cut, with every sanding
stroke. Embrace it or not, my friend, but there is a torch and you're carrying
it.
All any good craftsman would want would be to keep their tools working.
Yep, keep that old truck running; keep my tools working; remember me by finding
joy in what I've built. Those things helped to manifest and become now
carry the echoes of the life that was built into them by the craftsman. And the
tools? They change hands but they never forget.

We obsess over the new, the shiny. Perhaps it's our real fear over not
being those ourselves anymore... just toss it away. What do I need Grandpa's
hammer for? Why bring that old vise back to life when I can get a new one? Why
fix that old truck... because someone's got to do it or everything that
ever meant anything about simplicity, craftsmanship, knowing how to do things,
having a command over the systems in your life, caring enough to give yourself
to the workshop processes, about making things strong to serve long after you're
gone... will all die with you. As will your fathers', and your grandfathers',
and these are intentions - if not skills - that must stay with us or we will
continue to diminish as humans. Give me that old hammer - I'll build a temple
with it.
It might look like a shack, or a bass guitar, or a bit holder, but it's a
temple.
Oh sure, what was had its problems - the back thens were no
picnic - even now nostalgia sure ain't what it used to be. But the best of
what was is left for us to pick up and continue working with as we take up
the walk ourselves. To build and beautify as we go; to transform and be
transformed; to absorb the best of our teachers' and elders' work in with our
own assignments and tasks and callings. We pick them up as shovels, as pliers,
as saws. And we keep them oiled. And we keep them working... and they teach
us. Pick up an old tool that has done things and if you can't feel something
transferring into you, you'd better check your pulse.

And you can talk 'til you're blue about how it's the craftsperson not the
tool... but you'll never convince me that what's punched in with someone's
Grandpa's old number punch set - my fingerprints gradually and respectfully
replacing his as they rub off into my fingertips - my younger hands now gracing
this tool once more with purpose - I am living for this man too, whoever he
was, now with me in the workshop - that what's punched in in that
moment isn't a little something more than with the cheap import set from Shmuck's
Discount Megashop.
I won't buy it.
But I will buy Grandpa's hammer off the yard sale table.

Listening to:
The Allman Bros. The Fillmore Concerts (disc one)
Bucky & John Pizzarelli Passionate Guitars
Tool Lateralus
~
December 2nd
It's raining today, and two things always come to mind when it rains.
Ok, three. The first is that in an ideal life's plan, one can reserve the
right to sleep in on slow, gray, rainy mornings. Not reality always, but maybe
something to strive for when it's not necessarily "do or die trying"
time. The second is the thought of anyone nutty enough to drive Chrysler
products from the '70s on a daily basis... will my windshield wiper linkage
stay together? See, they have these little plastic grommets that... oh
nevermind, it's too stupid to go into. What, bushings & bolts were an
extravagance? They saved a whole 50 cents per vehicle though, yeah, great. Thank
God for Rain-X. The pisser about windshield wipers is that they only break when
you need them.
The third, and the main thing, is that rain means stuff is gonna grow.
Rain is life. In Seattle, it might be more of a pain in the ass... but if
you live where I live and you saw what I saw this year with the drought &
wildfires, it truly jolts you back into a reality where you can see the rain for
the miracle it is. Perhaps that's the silver lining in any tragic situation. It
steals our illusions. Our comfort, our balance, our faith for a moment
perhaps... but to really feel the rain and not just get wet, that's a blessing
in the middle of it all.
Things grow. It's what seed does in good soil; to grow is designed into
nature, it's built into the universe. When they doubled the size of the little
town cafe I hated it. But now after a few years, when the same smiling waitress
with the stretchy coiled key ring around her arm says "Sweetie, can I get
you a warmup?" and heads towards someone with the coffee pot, it's not so
bad. In fact, now at our little town cafe you actually get what you ordered and
it's consistently good! So growth helps a bit too sometimes. Helps bring out the
"A game" in those involved. The verdict's still out on the big black
scar of a highway that used to be a winding tree-lined "Ranch road"
into town, but you know that big bypass they put in cuts 15 minutes off
of my trip home at the end of the day. So growth is... growth. It is what it is.
I guess it's all just a matter of perspective.
Growth in terms of how much we grow as we go means we mark the
miles a little differently... we had a Birthday in the house this week, the
Birdsong house that is, Wingfeather workshop, sawdust, whirring sanders... Brady
Muckelroy does neck work & sanding for us when he's not working on his own
stuff. I've known him for years and a better guy - or bass player - you'd be very hard
pressed to find. He was the main act at the Birdsong Gathering back in '07... good times.
And now he's with us, core inner circle, helping us as we help him. From a place
like that, we grow together. We help each other grow. We tie our life rafts
together and stay afloat in the hard times, and we contribute to each others'
momentum in the good.
So from all of us...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRADY!!!

I think about growth a lot these days.
It certainly brings challenges, but it brings life. Often it's grow
or die. Without growth,
this great workshop where Birdsongs, the revived SD
Curlee basses, Muckelroy basses, 3D's
amazing little guitars... so much wouldn't be happening, or at least not in
the organic, natural way it feels. It's like a garden in here, just a bunch of
seed in fertile ground. Growth happens... it has its surprises but these hone us
and prepare us for that next level. Our decision is to step up or not;
the growth? That happens when the right stuff comes together.
You know, people sometimes ask me why I grow my beard. I tell them "I
don't, it does it by itself. I just don't do anything to stop it."
Listening to:
John Coltrane Lush Life
James Brown 20 All Time Greatest Hits (Heh! Haaaiiieeee!!! Can we hit it
'n quit it?)
Laters...
~
November 23rd
Thanksgiving week update... the mercy run to Bastrop, TX
We have inconveniences and challenges. But this?
I was not sure the words would come. Me, gift of gab, master of analogy,
talk the balls off a brass monkey. It took a while.
Mostly very early this morning. I slept ok for a while but had to have the
radio on; the silence in my head was way too loud. I fell asleep to... well, I
can't remember. I was really tired inside. But I woke up to Journey's
"Lights" and my friends if that buildup into the solo doesn't get you
up a few notches you might just have to check for a pulse. I felt mine come back
and I rose. But how to describe wildfire ravaged Bastrop to you good people of
the Birdsong circle, many of whom made the mercy trip over possible... that
would be the tough part.
Setting out to be a little hole in a gray sky...
I met some great people, the outpouring of help the area received since the
fires was tremendous, multicultural, inter-religious, and... see, the words fail
me. The goods are too good to describe; the bads are... incomprehendable
to anyone who has never seen a whole area wiped off the map by something beyond
human containment, in person, after the fact.
First stop was to offer respect to the brave men & women, volunteer
firefighters, who battled the blaze.
The town center looked fine. It wasn't hit. The damage there is
once-removed; under the skin, in the head, someone they know. Or knew. But you
could drive through and not even know anything happened, if you missed the
signs. Outside of town, miles and miles of orange foliage. It took me awhile to
see it for what it was; back East this time of year there are miles and miles of
orange foliage and bare trees. But not here. This wasn't Winter tree behavior...
these are dead.
Signs of all kinds were everywhere that the town was taking care of their own...
And you see a burned out area but then you notice odd things. What's that
burned out truck doing there with nothing around it? Oh, it's all that's left.
Hey, that's a slab over there. Oh my God, there were five houses here. And it
goes block after block after block. I saw parts of two areas, Tahitian Village
subdivision and the "Circle D" area. I saw maybe a hundred places,
it's hard to tell now... but this place lost 1700 homes. What the hell is a pool
doing on an empty lot? Oh Lord. The brain can't make sense of it. Of anything it
sees. You know what happened but inside the aftermath your brain just runs
itself in circles.
...and that strength & endurance would prevail.
I set out at sunrise in trusty steed Joe the Truck and arrived mid morning.
First stop, the Volunteer Fire Department. Some lost their homes while they were
out trying to save others'. They will have extra somethings on the Thanksgiving
table thanks to you. The emergency food bank got swamped and its resources
stretched, as the new needy combined with the regular clients they served... it
was the same story at the family crisis center and among all those who serve in
such ways. The Birdsong family helped towards replenishing these shelves and in
some cases directly to a family's table.
This was a neighborhood...
The pictures cannot convey the same level of realness as standing in the
middle of it, surrounded, with senses assaulted by what is there... and what is
not. At some level inside the head it makes no sense. It's disorienting. It's
surreal. I'll share two things - one, I arrived after an all night rain and it
smelled like a wet campfire. Two, there was no life - other than some
rebuilding, some hauling out, and Police patrols. There were no birds, there
were no squirrels, there were no deer. No barking dogs, no horses, no visual
cues or aural soundtrack one takes for granted in a rural area. Hope, faith, and
an understanding of the cycles and circles all tell me this will reseed, this
will grow back anew, this will be reborn. But surrounded by so much still,
quiet death, the mind spins.
...full of life, dreams, and people.
The wildfire was random - surreal scenes. A lone pool stands amidst
three burned out lots. Three houses saved but fifty feet to the side a burned up
trailer, exposing its cargo of burned up minibikes. The hilly terrain and random
home placement on lots, a fire fighter's nightmare. But as they do, while
everyone else was running out, they ran in. Most who lost homes will get help,
most at some point will have homes and lives again. Will they ever really heal
inside? I don't know. But if they're hungry and hopeless, the odds get kind of
wonky.
"Thanks to the bravest... firefighters and law enforcement... while we
were going out, you were coming in."
And on it went, all day. Someone now has funds for a few more tools;
a displaced family now has food for a month; the address of an unapproachable
rebuilding tent-dweller is noted for some good mail; random acts of kindness
were passed along wrapped in notes of encouragement... we today, Birdsong
brethren, are those anonymous hands helping up those who suffered - and
suffer - the effects of almost unspeakable horror. They left all they had with
minutes to gather what they could, and scattered. Finding them is difficult and
much like all those who serve these people, you go in knowing I can't fix it
or save them all. But at the end of the day you have to coat that pain in
your heart with the knowledge of what would not have been done today if I had
not helped it happen. Otherwise it looks like a drop in the bucket...
Block after block after block. Some cleared, some not. What do you even say to
this person?
...but for the individuals whose hands and tears and hearts were touched,
and to those steeling themselves to serve these individuals' and families' needs
against all odds, I can assure you every dollar - and as much or even moreso, our
intent and the fact we care enough to do this - was a little
miracle. We helped this happen, folks... YOU helped this happen.
...you look and it just doesn't make sense..
It can't fix it all but it can help re-seed.
Miles of this... it's surreal. Your body starts saying "This is not
normal."
Raffle entrants, givers of donations, and well wishers - we
HELPED, we MADE an impact, we MADE a difference! They are EXTREMELY grateful to
you and wanted me to be sure I told you. Their Thanksgivings will look
different, and hope has been seeded where needed.
And I can tell you, if this is all Birdsong ever does outside of the
whole bass-making ceremonies and their ripples into clients' lives and outwards
from their hands, I am satisfied. And I thank you from the deepest depths of my
right now honestly kind of bruised up heart for the opportunity to serve you
all, and in this case, be the bearer of your little miracles to these good, good
people. Gather the circle, whether yours be 1 or 100, and be
thankful.
God bless these people and their suffering. I wish I could go back with
TEN thousand... please include these families and individuals in your prayers.
THANK YOU
From all at Birdsong Guitars and our circles to you & yours, we wish you
peace and a wonderful & safe Thanksgiving. Take nothing for granted; leave
no love unspoken.
Special thanks to the Petersen family, Bill Owens, Larryland Music,
Bastrop Volunteer Fire Dept., Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry, Bastrop
Family Crisis Center, Children's Advocacy Center, and all those who gave
directions, provided leads, and took the time to talk.
PLEASE keep these people in your prayers & thoughts too.
If you feel like continuing & giving directly over this Holiday season,
please visit:
Bastrop
fire dept.
bastropfoodpantry.org
family-crisis-center.org
childrensadvocacycenter.org
They are all struggling with resources due to effects of the wildfires.
Again, thank you.
~
Week of November 13th-19th
I'll be out of town from Tuesday through
Friday - I'll return all calls and emails over the weekend. The guys will
be in the workshop working, but I have to go pay respects to my Sicilian
grandmother, Stella DeSisto, up near Boston. Think good for her, she was a good
lady. Death gave up trying to take her 'til she was 98 years old. She was tough
but her heart was oro puro and her artichokes were the best; we cooked
two last night in her memory. If you like my basses, thank "Nana" - go
get an artichoke, stuff it with Italian bread crumbs, grated parmesan, olive oil
and a little salt & cook it. When you eat it, look at each other (or
yourself) and say "Mangia, mangia!" ~Scott
11.11.11
I'm updating today at 11:11 AM too, just because it seems like the right
thing to do. I mean why not? I'm a numbers person, if I don't do this my head'll
explode.
I want to thank all the veterans and their families for their service and
their sacrifices. All at any point on the political spectrum with
humanity & heart owe a debt and thanks to our brothers and sisters of the
Services. If not for them there could be no discussions or other perspectives -
there would be no disagreeing with anything. You'd just disappear. Let us all
try to remain civil in these nutty times of partisan games and the bad script
all that has become - let us be together on our common ground of respect for the
soldiers, ordinary people called to extraordinary service - and work from there.
I salute you from the bottom of my heart.
The last pledges are on their way in from the fundraising, so I'm
starting to make plans to head to Bastrop county and do some good... it's all
thanks to you, and any part I'm playing I'm just doing like I'm guided. We try
to play our instruments well, and so do those Greater Hands however it is we
perceive them. I couldn't just quietly do it, I don't have those kinds of
resources... but I have a big family and together as we could we contributed to
some betterment in the world. I'm just a big tool, that's all. Just a big tool
trying to be a sharp blade and make the cut.
Speaking of Greater Hands and big tools, I was drivin ol' Joe the Truck
home from the shop (I've been stretching his legs a bit) and I looked off to the
left and one of the churches on Ranch Road 12 (soon to be superduper 4-lane 12,
like every old road around here) and there's a big pile of rocks in the parking
lot. It's a big pile of rock that used to be their sign! The fence by the road
was down and there was stone everywhere. Turns out a guy fell asleep
comin' around the curve, hit the ditch, went airborne and just Dukes Of
Hazzarded right on through the sign and over to the brush clear across the
lot. He's going to be ok, but I don't think the same can be said for his shorts.
I mean, is there a good time during any of that to suddenly wake
up? I have my doubts about the "falling asleep" part... I suspect
distraction. I'd want to hear the other end of that conversation... I bet
something extremely ironic was said in the moment.
Here's the kicker - it was a 2011 Mercedes C55, the guy spent $105,000 on
it. My day? Hey, my day's going just fine thanks.
Some things you simply can't sleep through or do distracted. I've seen
custom basses like that sign. "Man, he almost made it." You can
snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a heartbeat in the workshop, and as
the build goes on the stakes get higher. It's like driving faster and faster on
a windy country road. You have to have experience, know your particular car, be
familiar with the particular stretch of road, and pay attention. Then it's a
blast, with the full understanding things can still happen... but you know
you've at least minimized the variables, and you have a good chance of saving it
if things get squirrely. A risk, but a calculated risk. Working these basses is
like driving someone else's Mercedes. In the shop you bring your A game, keep
your wits about you and pay attention. Always. Because wood drills very
easily and shorts are expensive.
And on the rare occasion you do meet that tire in the road, the
patch of sand, or the hood unlatches... at least in the workshop nothing eases
the self-flagellation over miscut nuts and broken Rosewood like Vivaldi's Concerto
in C major. Driving $105K through a church sign? I'd buy some beads and
start doin' laps.
"You've just jumped your hundred thousand dollar car through a stone
sign and used the Lord's name in a rather extreme manner, while airborne,
landing in a church parking lot. It's Miller time."
Your brother from another mother,
Listening to:
Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers
Michael Manring Soliloquy
November 4th
Old friend, tell of your travels...

In our shop right now
is the one and only "Painted Birdsong"... not counting the shoddy
and well-loved hot rod black Rat Rods that happen occasionally. It is a part
of Birdsong history and I get emails about this bass whenever it turns up. Have
for years. It's real, and though we didn't paint it it WAS painted during
the build and sent to the client that way. All I'll say is she was a sweet lady,
but very persistent and she just wore me down 'til I gave in. Women do
have that power, don't they? A guy who's being a pain in the ass you can
basically tell to get lost; but a lady? A friendly lady who just reeeeeally
needs a white bass who simply won't take no for an answer? Gentle pressure won
this for her and it shows she played it. It changed hands a bit since its birth
in 2008 but it's back home now, getting a setup & checkout... and IT IS FOR
SALE. Check out inventory for more pictures of this incredibly rare piece.

Well, the fire bass has a home!
High bid was from a man known to us as "Bass Daddy", a generous and
enthusiastic Birdsong player & collector from Michigan. Thanks to him,
thanks to Mr. B who won the raffle in the first place then graciously requested
we "sell it and give the money to those people." Done, sir. And
again thank all of you who donated to the cause with your entries. I hope to get
over to the wildfire-decimated area in the next couple of weeks and do some real
good. I'll fill you in after it happens. The bass? We're thinking Maple
fretboard, Bloodwood headstock & gold. Sexy...

Whether it occurs to us
or we decide to acknowledge it or not, every one of us is getting along as we
are by the generosity of others. Sure, we work it and walk through the doors and
play a smart game; but very often the path is shown, the doors are opened, and
we're helped up from life's tricky moments by others. Nobody HAS to care about
what anyone does enough to contribute to it. It's not a BIRTHRIGHT that your
"great idea" creates a following and clients. If you're even reading
this chances are very good we were born on second base so let's not fool
ourselves into thinking we hit a triple. It's not easy and nobody's trying to
diminish good work or stellar results... just sayin' what I'm sayin' to take a
minute to honor those behind the scenes who somehow come along when needed to
help make things happen. They sacrifice moments and resources in shows of
game-of-life sportsmanship. Somehow they find us and guide us from the wrecks;
lead us back from the edges; give up their seats and pull strings. I'm lucky in
that I meet most of the folks on my path who help me walk it. You might never
even see the face of the person who anonymously did something - big or small in
the moment - that when viewed in hindsight changed the course of events
entirely. How did that happen? Who are these people, planting these
seeds, hiding them in their work, sending off little golden nuggets of heartfelt
help, holding open our doors, setting us up for better shots? They're you and me
after realizing all the seeds, work, doors, nuggets, closed deals and hit shots
aren't all ours. We run with them, yes; as hard and smart as we can. We work it
and mold it and shape it and fine tune it. But the baton of a blessing is
something that is handed to us, so often through the hands of others. Then down
the track a ways, we hand it off to another...
And as for those other sons of motherless goats
who do nothing but complicate efforts to do good
and cause decent folks problems with their blind adherence to the technicalities
in the fine print of life they are conscripted to uphold and enforce in the face
of logic and human decency, (now there's a sentence for you!), they can
all - each and every one of them - go take a long walk off a short
pier... and hug an octopus. So far as I'm concerned, if corporate fine
print's gonna be their Scripture, they can take it on down the road. Mine says
to help others in need and help others help them to help it happen. Be of
service. Stand your ground and stand up for something meaningful. So our
invoices have a new logo on them and we're now even able to take your credit
cards over the phone. Sad to say after so many years but if they're gonna line
up on that side of the fence... PayPal, eat me. :)
I found a great YouTube clip of my favorite guitar player EVER, Ed Bickert.
If I could only stack chords and melody like this guy... I'd give up all my rock
chops to play like this, believe it or
not. Ok, and a little of this right here
even at a meager level of competence. Amazingly cool.

Hey, anyone up for something out of a single piece
of Korina? Some amazing old Gibsons were made of this stuff, it's similar to
Mahogany but golden in color. Let me know... I scored one piece and one piece
only! Also, I have several amazing quilted Maple tops. I don't usually do these
because everyone and their uncle does, but these are gorgeous... and here.
So let's get it on! Quilted on Zebrawood anybody? Thick Quilted top on Swamp
Ash? Quilt front and back on thin Bloodwood on a Walnut core? Now there's
something you won't see every Tom, Dick and Harry playing!
I am grateful for you all with every rub of oil, cut of wood, and first
note of a new bass.
Your humble servant,
Listening to:
Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers
Michael Manring Soliloquy
John Mayer Where The Light Is disc one
Tower Of Power The Warner Years
Grateful Dead Steal Your Face Vol. 2
Thelonious Monk Monk In Tokyo
~
October 28th
Ok, raffle name picked!!!
I called the man who won the bass (I announced his name in the video, but he wishes to
remain low key about it, please respect this) and he generously requested we
sell it and "give that money to the people." And so, we now get a
quick video of Scott figuring out how to handle this...
At 1:30 I stop flusteredly umming around and decide... it's up for bids,
starting at $2000 for the bass with pretty much any options. Just like the
fund raiser, every penny gets added to that pile and goes to the fire
victims.
Next Friday I'll
announce the highest bid, and bidder (unless they request their name not be
public). It'd be awkward for me not to have a name to give with the result of
this fund raising effort, but understand often times as a high-end bass
maker,
we do work with some high-income clients & collectors who prefer to buy and give
anonymously. I respect that, I appreciate all your trust, and I'll let you
know the result.
SO OK ALL YOU HIGH ROLLERS... THE BALL IS NOW IN YOUR COURT! :)
If you wish to enter a bid, call me at 512.392.4400 or drop an email to scott@birdsongguitars.com
with "Fire bass bid" in the topic. Remember, you get to pick how the
bass is finished up. It's a thick Bloodwood top on a gorgeous Walnut back, with
hardware, fretboard, and any and all custom Birdsong touches available to the
winner to choose from. THANK YOU!
I'll also be going to Bastrop county not far from here in a couple of weeks to
do the deeds... to seed as much hope in groceries and clothes funds and
anonymous little blessings (that, believe me, to someone in crisis can be a real
turning point) as possible. My eyes & ears over there are great folks very
involved in the community; the "big" help is leaving and we can get
a clear look at where the real desperate need is. I'm so grateful for all
your help in helping them, as I'm sure it's going to be quite a scene anywhere
1600+ homes were lost. That's epic. I'm bracing myself. I'll have a report for
you when it happens...
So what an amazing day, yet MORE generosity from the Birdsong family! I love
building instruments for you all. To all who donated & didn't win, we all
thank you - clients or not, you're all family to us. And you are helping to
make a difference in people's lives, good people, in some very trying times.
When that happens, EVERYBODY WINS.
I'm reminded of the words of "Chip" Monck, announced to the crowd
from the Woodstock stage. Think what you want of the source, but truth is
truth wherever you find it and truer words were never needed more than now: "The
one major thing you have to remember... is that the man next to you is your
brother, and you'd damn well better treat each other that way because if you
don't, then we blow the whole thing."
Play nice!
Listening to:
Jim Hall Live
Ed Bickert Out of The Past
Bucky & John Pizzarelli Passionate Guitars
Wow, cohesion in the listening list! That's a first... perhaps I'll go put on
some Foo Fighters and Hound Dog Taylor to bust it up a bit!
~
October 21st
So much going on we're going into a table!
![]() |
DRAWING next Friday on the Fire Bass build! Thanks to all who helped out... there was quite a fallout with PayPal over my efforts to raise funds. For those who care to know, I'll have a page up over the weekend (linked here). But I refuse to let it tarnish the good we're all doing together, and you shouldn't either. We raised $4000 for the Bastrop wildfire victims! Over 1600 families lost their homes; if I lose a PayPal account over helping them out, so be it. Sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done and clean up the mess later. |
![]() |
The Fusion in inventory is still available, and looking beautiful in its Walnutian Glory... |
![]() |
Wyatt still has his VERY special Birdsong up for consignment and the price has dropped... |
![]() |
I've got an incredible (but not incredibly
expensive) Jazz box up for sale, an Ibanez Artstar - DO NOT confuse this
with the more recent Chinese "Artcore" series... this is a
phenomenal guitar in excellent condition (just a little wear on the gold
pickup covers), just set up in-house with low action & new flats. I
customized it with Rosewood knobs & truss rod cover. It was bought
new and gigged by a working Jazz man and was the last guitar he sold
when he couldn't play anymore. If it were Japan instead of Korean
there'd be a "1" in front of the price... $500,
including plush hardshell case. Contact for more pics or to purchase (512) 392-4400. You will NOT be disappointed! |
![]() |
Just wanted to show off a beautiful solid Quilted
Maple Sadhana client build that's going out Monday... More pics on the client page (look for 11S-054) |
![]() |
Bluesboy came by, great player over by Houston and a heck of a good guy; I've known him since he was a client of our friend Uncle Johnny Kirtland. When Johnny died part of how I honored my woodworking mentor was to take on the upkeep of his instruments in the world as my own. So I got to work on the "Phoenix" a bit; it's nice to see old friends. |
![]() |
The two sisters are done, one a second Birdsong for a client in Georgia and the other a third for one in Hong Kong! One since they were a tree, together through the build process they became musical instruments. Now they go their separate ways, good vibes of Tulip and Bloodwood to far ends of the Earth; may they radiate out and meet in the middle. |
Whew!
Time to call it a day.
"A day."
Listening to:
Jerry Cantrell Boggy Depot
George Benson The Other Side of Abbey Road
Jim Hall Live
Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers
~
October 14th
Wow! A surge in the raffle,
that's great - I appreciate you and thank you so much, times are tight for
everyone but we still have homes and computers... and hope. That's the biggie.
Life kicks you right square in the applebag (or equivalent) sometimes, it's part
of the walk; and it can knock the wind right out of you. There goes, basically,
a lifetime of inertia in some cases. With all the whatevers that will be
helped with (I have no idea what I'm going to find next month when I go to the
burned out neighborhoods) will come heaping helpings of hope. Very
excited - we're just over three grand, I'm shooting for 4 but hoping for 5, and
every penny will help reseed these folks' & families' lives. Bless you all
who have given, and all moved to do so for the next couple of weeks, in advance!
So... let's see what's going on
around the workshop. Shall we? Let's go to that magic kingdom! Let
me put on my sneakers...
![]() |
Here's Jake's main workbench, this is where most of the routing gets done. Right now there's a neck being carved on it. Is it a Birdsong "Benchmade" or an SD Curlee? I see a shorter heel and darker fretboard, so it's a Birdsong. But where's Jake? |
![]() |
Here he is! Deeply involved with a... uhh... a clamp or two over on the glueup bench I'd say. Those look like neck blanks going together. He mumbles alot, but that's - contrary to what one may think - how I know everything is going well. It's when he gets quiet I worry. So long as there are steady under-the-breath comments and threats I know amazing things are in progress. Few finding themselves Captaining growing guitar companies ever have a right hand man as good as this guy. |
![]() |
Heading into the "clean" room where finish & assembly takes place, here's Brady at his bench. Our little Wingfeather workshop is also home to Muckelroy basses, bigger 34" full-scale builds by Brady. Having a guy with ears & playing skills like his build a bass is a big deal! He does repairs too and is one hard workin' guy... here's the morning shot with his latest bass build in Cherry (it's available, contact him through his website, www.bradybass.com)... |
![]() |
...and the afternoon shot where he's just putting the finishing touches on an immaculate refret on a Strat neck! |
![]() |
Then here's my pile... I mean, bench, after a day. Much like an archeological dig, you can get a good idea of what goes on in the daily life of the inhabitants of this particular region. Bags of parts to put into the gray box, looks like I mounted a neck or two, installed some hardware, loaded some pots & jacks, put in some string ferrules 'cause the red handled "ferrule bopper" is out, did some wiring or woodburning, blue-taped a couple of cases so I know which bass is destined for what case (and thus, the right extras & paperwork already in the case go with the bass they're supposed to)... and the ever-present notebook with a list of a whole bunch of crossed-off tasks, parts we now need, and people to call back! This is proof "stuff happens here", like a messy mechanic's shop... that dude's actually fixing cars, not sitting around polishing his tool. |
![]() |
Early the next day it'll look like this... cleaned up, with a project and another list. Here we see Hy5 #40, with the "Jazz scroll" option, about to be drilled for control holes & fitted with pickups. I like to hold off drilling the control holes on rear routed basses until assembly. It makes for less runs during finishing. Sure, it takes a certain fortitude to take a 3/8 spade bit and shove it through an almost finished bass a few times, but like my car wrenching guru Cap'n Camshaft said when I asked him about a particularly intimidating looking repair, "This is what I do, and I'm good at it. So I can either get on it or pack my tools and go home." |
![]() |
And Jake's workbench had that same bass a short while ago, being fitted for a control cavity cover plate. Other than the brass ones for the SD Curlees which are water-jet shaped (hand finished & polished), we make these entirely too. Trace, cut, edge, fit, drill & countersink, reinforce around the screwholes with a splash of #10 super glue, sand, finish, copper, install... geez. There's more hand work in that than most complete factory guitars! |
![]() |
Now over on the corner of Jake's bench
is some salsa & chips graciously brought to the shop by his better
half Shannon... and let me tell you, not only can Jake carve a neck, the
boy can make some salsa that'll knock your socks off. I mean your tongue
will slap your face silly if you don't get that chip in the ol'
piehole fast enough. Just strap it to my head with a taste-bud IV tube and I'll keep goin' 'til I pitch off the chair. |
![]() |
Here's the finishing table with some cover plates (Rosewood, mystery wood, Bloodwood & Walnut) being oiled... |
![]() |
...and here's Scott getting shellacked! No, no, just kidding. But this is a good end of the day shot back at the homestead on the porch, and I am hoisting a frosty cold Shiner Bock. I am hoisting it to YOU, whoever you are, wherever you are, whether we've spoken or not, whether we've ever known each other or worked with each other, whether you want a Birdsong or an SD Curlee or just like checking in and being along on this ride with us. We love you. |
And in about an hour, that's where I'll be. It'll be dark out, but the
porch lights will be on... I'll probably have a Hot Rod magazine in my lap, an
Australian Stubby-tail Blue Heeler chin on my chest, and I'm not positive what
beverage I'll have within reach but you can be sure it will be both suitably
chilled and refreshingly flavorful. Fridays are crazy days but we
spin ourselves in pursuit of excellence and spend ourselves in the spreading of
good seed. All good things to you!
Cheers!
Listening to:
Archie Shepp Four For Trane
Grateful Dead Shakedown Street
Herbie Hancock The New Standards (fantastic, go get it...)
Beck Guero
~
October 7th
You know what they say...
"...time flies like the wind, and fruit flies
like bananas." Here we are in beautiful October, there are actually days
now we don't need the AC. This is wonderful... in fact we've been known to sleep
out on the porch at the homestead around now. I never used to like the Fall
because, after all, it means Summer's gone and we know what comes next. Probably
leftover trauma from my early years in the Northeast. It's not bad here in
South-central Texas... if it only rained enough to actually grow stuff and fill
tanks, it'd be darn near pretty good enough.
Facebook, it's the new frontier.
So Birdsong is finally on Facebook... I mean
now for real, with more than just a page that says
"Hi. We don't know how in the name of hell to work this thing, so don't
bother getting in touch. Thanks!"... both cofounder, wife & co-pilot
emeritus Jamie AND head luthier Jake are pitching in to monitor & post and
make us a little more accessible. Go "friend" us... whatever that
means. :)
Stuff in Yard Sale
It's time once again to clear out the clutter in the Birdsong shop, so
there's actually some cool stuff in the Yard Sale (bottom of the inventory
page) well worth checking out. There'll be more in the updates to come as
well, as more boxes of "forgotihads" are opened. They just collect
around me; always have. It's nifty stuff though, and you know darn well it's
gonna beat that barf stained bib, chipped "We Love Beavertown" cup and
Celene Dion cassette from that last yard sale you went to!
The Fire Bass
Ok, entries are slowing down on the raffle to help the Bastrop wildfire
victims and I'm only about halfway to where I want to be. Certainly not
complaining, very very grateful (I tend to be a "cup half full" kind
of guy) BUT if you have food, cars, and a roof overhead you HAVE $20 to donate
to someone that lost their house. Is there beer in the fridge? Smokes in
the purse? Subscriptions in the mailbox? You're doing pretty good. Now cough it
up - it's the most Christian / Buddhist / Judaic / Hindu / Eastern / Western /
tribal circle / brotherhood of man / anyone I missed / just general all-around
good person thing you can do...
***Golden Rule cosmic smiley face stamp on the forehead - one
size fits all!***
And if nothing else moves you, would you buy this bass
for 20 bucks?

This isn't the lottery, there aren't millions of tickets. It's $20 and
you have a decent chance of actually winning the thing! And I've
set the whole thing up so every penny you give gets passed along... no middle
men, no administration costs, I'm even eating the (insert
name of former preferred online pay service) fees. EVERY RED CENT
entered for the red bass goes to folks who need them, like for
real, like "oh crap - everything I had is gone." And my
reputation will tell you if I say I'm gonna take it there myself, there will be
four tire tracks and a wisp of blue smoke from old Joe in the air and the
cavalry will be headed down the road, brothers and sisters. I'd like to draw
later this month and take the trip about this time next month. Thank you so much
to all who have given and entered!
Next week, I'm going to give you a tour of the tables, a briefing of the
benches, a... a.. a sighting of the stations! Should be fun, who knows what'll
be on them and whose meaty forearms or epic beard will sneak into the shots.
Right now it's off through the hills in the land shark!
Listening to:
The Ed Bickert Trio Out Of The Past (my favorite guitar player ever -
check him out on the Paul Desmond stuff too.)
Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel
Fu Manchu King Of The Road
~
September 30th
From the desk of Scott...
I always tell people
who think I work for myself "Not really, I really work for the coolest
people on the planet." That'd be YOU.
The fund is coming together,
we're about a third of the way already to what I'd like to have to offer. I
want enough to spread around over there, there's so much loss to help with and I
really want to plant as much "good seed" as possible. Thank you ALL,
especially all 30 or 40 of you who have pitched in so far! Some of you for
multiple entries - remember, for every $20 your name is put in the hat once, and
it multiplies along with whatever you kick in.
MAJOR Birdsong collector piece
up for grabs in inventory...

"Wyatt's bass" from 2007. There is no other Birdsong like this,
and if I had what the guy needs right now it wouldn't have even made it up to
the site. One of my personal favorite builds EVER... details.
Here are some sunrise pictures from the drive in this morning...

So magical.
You mean I get to build instruments, know all these great people, AND get
to see this in the morning?! I should just genuflect my way out to the
homestead tonight. But that'd look really strange and it's a hell of a walk.
:)
Listening to:
Ramones Rocket To Russia
Pelican What We All Come To Need
...and some Sonny Rollins
~
September 23rd
Last week's missions
were accomplished. I'll tell you a little because I do feel I work for
you... so lest you think I just bailed to the Bahamas or something, I'll
tell you: I was working on "Two and a half men"... no, no, not the
TV show; two and a half men... I'll tell you about them.

Man number one was one good man who passed away. Jamie's stepfather Toni
Marchetti battled the "Big C" with good spirit and his usual vigor but
his time came and I had to go out of town for a few days to pay respects to him
& be with the families. Toni was a highly noted rice scientist, sang
barbershop quartet, grew gardens & made birdhouses. I'll never forget going
to my first Marchetti family gathering... the man had strong, strong genes of a
pure strain, and I walked into a house full of men & women, boys & girls
of all ages, that all looked just like him. Rooms full of laughing,
joyous people. This time there wasn't quite as much laughter; but a room full of
very grateful people for having had him in their world; some his lineage, but all
touched by the man's goodness. He will be missed.
Man number two is another good man that did NOT pass away, through tours
of duty, a lifetime of wild hot rodding, and unfortunately some strokes. An
early Birdsong family member we bonded with that, since I was going out of town
for a few days, I carved some extra time on the way out for a leeeetle detour
to spend an afternoon with. Jerry has three purple hearts and one of pure gold;
his health confines him to a care facility and he doesn't have a whole lot of
family nearby. It has been on my personal bucket list to go sign the man out,
put him in the passenger seat of something old & American with V8 power (preferably
Mopar), toss him my spare mirrored shades, and go tearin' around town to his
favorite places. Give him an afternoon to remember.
Of course the facility he's at happens to be in Wichita, Kansas...
so I saddled up the '79 300 with the 360 cop motor in it, and with ears on, some
great live Grateful Dead blasting and high beams a-blazin' that detour was
taken. And I mean taken; I believe the modern day vernacular is
"owned." A large stretch of Interstate 35 was devoured by a great
white land shark 18 feet long with gills in the side. It had to be; this was the
moment. The circles all lined up. If not now, when? One should only put off
bucket list stuff for so long, and I think the universe might just give you
a little bonus point or two for knocking one off the list on the way to a
funeral. So Jerry had a great car-fun-filled day, and a couple of days later way
over in East Texas, Mr. Marchetti had a beautiful service. So that was that. Oh
wait, that's only TWO...
The other half a man? Well, that's what I feel like to be around guys
like Jerry and Toni. I'm that half man, striving to accomplish and mean even
half as much to even half as many. So I worked on him too as we cannonballed to
Wichita in said land shark, more formally named the "USS Ricardo Montalban."
Half man got some windows-down, stereo-on, V8-taching-3500,
run-with-the-truckers highway soul medicine. It helped me bring my best to the
good people and the heavy situations, and it helps me stay tuned up to give YOU
my best.
So on the one hand I wish I could say it was a vacation, but it wasn't;
they were missions. Honored to be a part of them... and speaking of bringing
one's best to good people in heavy situations, as you probably noticed above,
we're doing a special thing for the local wildfire victims. Check it out &
please enter to WIN. You're really going to help someone who needs it, who lost
a home. EVERY PENNY you spend on entries I'm personally going to pass
along to hurting individuals. This is really going to happen and I
don't care if the Taxman won't cut me a break 'cause it won't be a legitimate
"donation" through some organization or whatever. Don't care. It's not
about that. I'm going there in person once we have enough to do some real
good, I'm going to look these people in the eyes, and WE together will reseed
their gardens with HOPE. And someone's going to win a kick ass Birdsong
bass for stepping up! I'll keep you posted...
Lutherie (making musical instruments) is like life. There are terrifying
moments, difficult times, and hours of monotony in-between the magic. Some of
that magic is really seeing how far you've come despite how far left
there is to go, or those ten extra steps that just came along with the latest
challenge. It's the realizing in the moment that something's happening through
you. Something of good (ideally) is becoming, something of help is
manifesting; something beautiful is coming alive. You keep walking; you keep
carving. You surround yourself with meaning, you sanctify your sweat by devotion
to some high standard, you build it one step at a time and - whether it's a
rebuilt home, or a child with light in their eyes, or a business, or a piano
concerto, a hot rod, your service or the homestead fence or that plate of food -
or a bass guitar - you sing your song. Work from inside you
outwards; from your essence. Material food comes from the outside and goes
inside to feed you; what you bring from inside of you outward into whatever you
do feeds the world in a much deeper way.


Listening to:
The Grateful Dead Soundtrack To The Grateful Dead Movie (all 5 CDs)
Cal Tjader Soul Sauce
Sonny Rollins' 1st 2 albums
Bedouin Soundclash Sounding a Mosaic
Zen Guerilla Trance States In Tongues
"Thank you, mighty land shark."
~
Update for week ending Friday Sept. 16th

MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN BIRDSONG:
Greetings fair citizens of the Birdsong Nation ~ there won't be
an update this week, as late in the week when I usually do it, 2 important
missions will have me away... and right now I'm busting tuches ("tukhuss",
butt for the non-Yiddish portion of our
circle) on basses. Thank you all for your patience, be well, and remain cool.
~S.
September 9th

For those lost
For those who gave
For those who serve
~
September 2nd
In related-to-Birdsong news, woodworking side o'the shop HMIC Jake Goede has
an amazing guitar from his workshop... Claro Walnut on chambered Alder (with a
little real wood character, like we like it!), Maple & Walnut neck, with white
Ebony (sliced out of the light part of an Ebony board) fretboard & hand made
tailpiece, gold hardware & gold handwound pickups... it'll be $2295 when
it's done, or you can reserve it for half down... it's about a month out. It's
going to be a beauty, that's for sure! I'm happy to handle the transaction
through Birdsong while he's getting a new site together... hey, what kind of man
won't help a brother out? The guy helps sweat MY dream into being every day at
Birdsong. AND I have a couple of his guitars AND they are amazing AND Jake's a
hell of a good guy. Want all of that mojo goodness with six strings? Here you
go.


Jack of all trades 3D who makes the Bboxes these days has three more up
& ready for purchase on his site... check out www.dddodd.com.
Check these out!
Meanwhile I, Scott, nutty professor & head cheese have a
couple of non-Birdsong instruments for sale... here's the first one, a Stanley
Clarke Spellbinder II prototype in near mint condition, with paperwork from the
original builder. It needed some fret & wiring work to make it all the way
right, which we took care of. Plays & sounds GREAT. $2500
or make me an offer, I need parts to bring an old Road Runner back to
life! "Meep, meep!" More pics of the bass on the inventory
page...

So I'm looking through the email...
Evidently I'm overweight, because I have nine hundred caring individuals
offering me plans to lose up to 5 pounds a day. Problem with that is I'd be just
a pile of sweatpants, old Birdsong shirt & mirrored sunglasses in under a
month. But on the bright side, there are a handful of folks all over the world
who'd like to include me in on their little bank transfer schemes for several
million dollars, so that's looking up. (Sarcasm mode turned off). You, sirs,
have obviously mistaken me for a moron. An abundance of offers of cheap
meds, and my favorite "replica watch" SPAM ever: "Your life may
be complete shit but at least you can have a decent watch"... now that's classic.
If it all were like that, I'd read it for entertainment. That's just prime.
Lots of stuff in Greek I'm evidently going to miss out on... and all
sorts of fake scam payment issues and cancellations from transactions and
companies I don't have anything to do with, guess that'll all sort itself out...
Ahh, inquiries, and happy new Birdsong clients! Yaaay!! Hmmm... offers of
incredible apps (I don't even understand those, sorry - my phone is still a
telephone), a one day project management seminar... promo offers from every
company I've ever bought car parts from...
...and news that Jim Erickson died.
Most of you don't know Jim Erickson, but he was one of those people you know for
a time and the little things they share with you, by the time your path is 20
years on, are epic pillars of what got you where you are. They were just little
things...
The way of laying out the pentatonic scales (major and minor) up &
down the fretboard using simple patterns that can be absorbed by a student in 5
minutes - that I taught to HUNDREDS who probably thought I was some sort of Guru
gifting them the magic key to instant lead guitar enlightenment. That was Jim's,
he wrote it out on scrap paper for me when we worked at The Music Store in Round
Rock TX together years ago. In fact, his whole approach to giving lessons
was my blueprint.
How to keep track of the "one" in Jazz... because if you turned
him loose on guitar, or drums, or anything else for that matter, that downbeat
was out the window in the first four bars. He LOVED to take it "out"
be it beat, rhythmic accent, chords, leads... and I think some of that stuck
too.
And... how to laugh most of the time even amidst chaos. I learned it by
watching him juggle a shop counter, lesson schedule, and nutty people around him
simultaneously. An invaluable skill!

A teacher without actually having been a formal teacher to me; a valued
musical influence without having made music together beyond him laying down some
empty drum tracks for me to layer stuff on, and the occasional no-show in his
schedule where I'd jump from behind the counter into his lesson room and say "Ok,
show me something"; a true inspiration in areas of life that would
sustain me in many ways in the years to follow.
He always had production companies & educational things going on,
bent on helping musicians and artists get it together. He'd worked for record
companies. He'd done it all. And he played all the time, and could play
anything. Here's a bit of him on jazzy guitar: http://www.balconytv.com/v/the-judith-miller-band
Jim Erickson, born near Detroit, died in Round Rock Texas, sleep easy my
friend. You lived well, filled the world with music, and went quickly. Your work
is now your students'... My last student, we recently finished his
debut CD, and he just left today for Berklee in Boston to make music his life's
path; so shoes will be filled in the universe's own ever-compensating way and
there is peace to be found in that.
Are you ever really gone if your work is carried on?

Listening to:
Mark Deschner Day After Yesterday
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Zuma
Bruce Springsteen Nebraska
Jim Erickson's drum tracks which I will have to do something grand with now!
~
August 26th
PRESS UPDATE: Interview in www.notreble.com
Local bulletin board...
Brady Muckelroy
has opened a guitar & bass repair and music lesson shop in Buda,
between Austin & San Marcos. More info here: www.bradybass.com
A local man named Brian emailed and needs a bass player for his country
band in Lockhart, just outside of San Marcos. If that'd be you, check in &
I'll forward his info to you.
Sarah Jarosz,
from Wimberley, the little girl with the mandolin in the Friday night
bluegrass jam out back of the catfish place... made the cover of Acoustic
Guitar. Congrats Sarah!
Our own Jake Goede, head of the shop at Birdsong, has his latest guitar
coming together of Claro Walnut & Alder, Maple & Walnut neck, with white
Ebony (sliced out of the light part of an Ebony board) fretboard & hand made
tailpiece, gold hardware & gold handwound pickups, and... uh... oh you want pics?
Tune in next week!
And we here at the little workshop
just received 2 Fusions as part of a trade-in deal... a 2010 and a 2011,
including "THE" Maple ad bass seen in Bass Player!

MORE INFO ON THESE ON THE INVENTORY
PAGE... $1750
each first come first served starting..... now! Email
me (scott "at" birdsongguitars.com) as I'm out of the shop this
weekend.
I consume music like food.
I have lived & breathed it for going on 30 years now; before I had
even notion of a "daily practice" it WAS my daily practice. When I had
no social circle, it WAS my social circle. When I didn't really have much hope
or direction, it FED me hope and LED me... I feel like a building with rooms
full of gifts now and music is the mortar that holds the bricks together. So the
other day on the way home I wanted to get a book on the Grateful Dead
experience... sometimes I get a hankering for specific tastes, like "Wow
could I go for Chinese food!" and the flavor was "Tomorrow early
morning on the porch reading another's perspectives, feelgood sunrise music, and
something having to do with the Grateful Dead." It might have just as
easily been "Sacred chanting from India, strawberries, and the latest Hot
Rod Deluxe" or "Coltrane and orange juice with a side of Telecaster in
the lap." Some of the combo platters of my days might seem bizarre to
others, but they're all perfectly normal to me and I like to think the results
speak for themselves. It's like Keith Richards says about getting the chemical
recipe right for you, only without the groupies and smack.
And the Dead hold a fascination for me that I came to later, through the
Doug Irwin guitars I always thought were wondrous supernatural bits of luthiery,
whatever that fat guy was noodling out of them. (And here come the emails...)
Hey I like Garcia just fine and good Dead is great music, but I came of age
around young people that would start twirling at a 10th gen cassette of him
passing wind through a kazoo. And I don't roll like that. So later, once removed
from any kind of scene, I came to appreciate the music and the intent. And the
Irwin guitars. And the scene, from a distance... I like other cultures. So a
book about recollections of that culture hit the spot, now I just needed some
feelgood music. I have to have my feelgood music and it could be anything from
Nirvana's "Bleach" to Segovia, Mazzy Star to Mariachi music. I know
what I need when I see it. I was going to head to Sundance Records on the way
out of San Marcos (Texas that is, sunshine, funky old record shop, seeker in old
and burbling car), where the Muse has fed me for the past 22 or so years. But on
my way out of Half Price Books, I was stopped in my tracks. There sat a box set
of Dixie Land Jazz. I said to myself "Self, that'd hit the
spot."
Going closer, it was a 10 CD box set of original, funky old recordings...
10 CDs... for $8.48. Now I don't know about you, Dixieland Jazz might make you
want to run around in circles 'til you keel over or whatever, but I like the
stuff. It's just about impossible to feel bad while it's playing... not that I
felt bad, but you don't wait 'til you're sick to start taking the vitamins, you
know? So that little box was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD and I've been groovin' on it
since. Lo-fi sound and every cliché muted trumpet and splash cymbal hit you
could want. The real old recordings. Not like those "Ktel presents your
favorite 70s hits performed by Peter Heathen and the New
Amazingness!" where you missed that last part, bought the damn
thing and went "Hey, that ain't Steve Miller!" No no no, these are the
real deal. It's GREAT and it's good to know a bargain is still out there that
doesn't involve sweatshops and big disappointment when it magically turns into a
pile of cheap crap upon actual use. This is exactly what it said, and a supreme
bargain I wanted to share. I hope you find whatever your equivalent is... or it
finds you!

And lo it cometh to pass, mana once moreth doth hath landeth in the palm of
thyne hand, oh weary pilgrimeth...
Hey, the first person to email me the correct brand & model of the
amp in the picture will get a couple of pieces of Birdsong memorabilia sent to 'em...
And to all of our friends & relations up the East Coast,
batten down the hatches and we'll keep you in our thoughts.

Listening to:
Dixieland Jazz out the keister!! Yipee!!!
...and a bunch of Sonny Rollins
~
August 19th
Had a great conversation
with a client about "simple systems that work"; like eating
right and working yourself physically, you feel better; it's a simple system
that works. A Birdsong is like that, there's a deliberate influence of a sort of
a kind of circular all-seeding all-feeding oneness to things. Which is
influenced by the sort of a kind of circular all-seeding all-feeding oneness to
life when it's set up as... a simple system. It can't help but come
through.
Like an old truck's durability (a simple system of strength) or a sports
car's ergonomics (a simple system of controls). Sometimes the whole shebang is
one bigger simple system, a soup of simultaneous synchronicities coming
together... that circle is what I shoot for, how each part works, then how they
work together, then how that new whole functions as a component in the greater
whole of the player and the context.
And then we "Google Earth" back a few more notches into the
still bigger picture, the system of purpose and meaning, the system of "am
I doing with the tools I was handed honorable work" - that's a system.
You're gifted with insight, you're blessed (or lucked into, however you see it)
with tools, you're honed to notice opportunity, and the fuel is your action and
the integrity your intent. That engine either runs or it doesn't... and if it
runs it powers other things... and a simple system made of strong and selected
components put together with a goal in mind might just have an advantage over
something more haphazardly slapped together. Sometimes it just FLIES.
So next time you look at some little circle of cause-and-effect, or
notice a good machine, or pluck the string and feel its vibration... think about
it. A simple system that works. Dress it up however you want, but anything with
that concept at its core is bound to serve well.

Listening to:
Mark Deschner Day After Yesterday
Allman Bros. The Fillmore Concerts, disc 1
The Wallflowers Bringing Down The Horse
Bad Company 10 from 6
~
August 12th
When you spend
as much time and devotion outwards towards musical pursuits
as I do, it's good to replenish. Here are a few ways the music is refueling me
this week...
Helping other people's music to happen is the core of my existence. The latest
humble service in the "Producer" hatted moments is the debut album by
Mark Deschner ~ I got to see him perform at his CD release party this week, and
the kid's just got it. I politely (I hope) deflected all the praise over the
album's sound and Mark's blossoming as a musician and writer... all I did was
water good seed in fertile ground. I mean, no matter what your station in life,
if you have a cup of water that somehow keeps filling up and you walk along and
see a good seed in fertile ground, what are you SUPPOSED to do? To me, that's
easy math to add up. So I water where I can, and I'm a honored to be a little
part of helping to happen whatever beauty then enriches other lives. "Day
After Yesterday" is the CD; great songs, kick butt guitar playing, in the
John Mayer vein. I play drums, some bass & a little guitar on it... all
the bass on the album is Birdsong Cortobass. In fact, it's the very 2007 in
inventory right now!

Remember his name, and if you want a CD I can ship you one (or two, or
whatever). Use the "Buy It Now" button below, $15 each includes
shipping in the continental USA. He's off to the Berklee College of Music in
Boston in a few weeks to start his own life and I wish him all the best. It's
all about the ripples.









All content of this site is copyright 2010 Birdsong Guitars. Legal page.