Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Flight



I've been battling a nasty cold and unable to keep up with up with internet stuff. But something needs to be posted here, so check out an instrumental rocker I wrote and recorded some time ago and just put on Youtube. I'm playing a Parker Fly Deluxe, so this was obviously shot well before the Dean "Teaser" guitar came about. The level is a little low, so crank your speakers, the louder the better!

13 comments:

Billie Crain said...

*APPLAUSE!!!!* i loved this! 'Classical Gas' came to mind while i listened. i know your piece doesn't sound a thing like it but...were you classically trained or self taught?

i hope your cold is short lived. seems a few bloggers are suffering with various *bugs* at the moment.

William K. Moore said...

Totally enjoyed the riffs and the ride on the melody highway. Younger Nicholas kicks ass on the axe.. Perhaps modern day Nicholas could open the workshops with a couple of tunes to set the mood. Then a break and lunch. What are the plans for making music again - ? I think your family tree might have gotten some cross pollenation from the Metheny orchard.

Nick said...

Billie - glad you like it, thanks. Re classically trained, funny you should mention that - I'll be making a sizable post on that subject shortly, part tribute/part autobiographical. Soon as I feel better...ugh.

Bill - sadly, I don't think any bumblebees made the Flight from Lee's Summit, Missouri to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. But of course Pat was soon to pollinate the entire earth with a new sound, new approach, and a dedication to exploration and beauty seldom seen. BTW, it was his album "Watercolors" that first got me actually thinking about them. Title track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93I4UDbWZiI

Susan Liles said...

Excellent!!! Throughly enjoyed it. Hubby plays every night downstairs learning songs from Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson, also writing his own. Hope you recover from that nasty cold soon.

Nick said...

Susan - I'd have to rate EJ as currently the best rock guitarist out there, though I could say the same for Beck and Gilmour on any given day. I was sponsored by Ibanez way back, and Joe is their big guy. We share the same b-day (July 15) but different years! More interesting guitar stuff coming up here soon.

David Burge said...

Well done Nick, nice melody. I'm familiar with Flight from the CD you sent me a few years back.
The live version's just as tight.

Nes said...

It is having many doors very well abrir (open)
Qué habré escrito?
Saludos

wayne said...

Hi Nick, this is great! and i love the variety of sound and musical motifs in this piece, ...I noticed the single left-hand playing/plucking half way through, that's v hard to do yet you make it look so easy (a sure sign of a master of a musical innstrument)!! The string-bending works very well imo to *find waves/sounds in-between the frets*. Lighting, camera angles work well too. ..Do you still have that axe?? cheers,
wayne

Nick said...

Dake - you should post some Purple Hearts stuff, those tunes are great!

Nieves - not really sure, but it sounds nice to me. :) When are you going to start a blog and show off your beautiful paintings???

Wayne - thank you as always, it could have used an electric violin solo in there! Oh yes, the Parker is a wild axe, the most significant innovation in electric guitars in decades. Among the many unusual feature, the dual pick-up system also gives you a VERY convincing acoustic sound, making it wonderfully versatile instrument.
http://www.parkerguitars.com/

Anonymous said...

Nick-
All of us in Maryland can suffer our clolds and enjoy the snow! More time to read art blogs and listen to great music such as yours.

I have been wanting to send you this link to an artist (pastels & oils) that remind of your magnolia piece.

http://www.sheilaevans.net/2009/02/27/something-new-for-friday/

Enjoy! monica

Unknown said...

Terrific NICK!!!!, I enjoyed your works, thanks for sharing this with us.
Alex

David Burge said...

Hey Nick, Cheers re PHs. I do need to record about 6 other compositions I play on the old axe.
I might get me a mixing interface for the Macbook rather than trying to plug into the built in sound-card.

Nick said...

Hi Monica, nice to meet you and I'll check out the link. Weather sure warmed up, just in time for a cruise in the islands...nothing like good timing!

Amigo Alex thank you for visiting, always great to see you in the neighborhood!

Dake - do that, it could be a second life for the Hearts!