Silvio, our 12th grandchild, was born at 2:22 this afternoon. 8 lbs 12 oz and all around healthy. Mom and Dad tired, but doing fine. Grandma is bouncing.

In a word WOW!

( My first time on a Concom )

Gibson is about to release a Les Paul guitar that has frequency detecting circuitry in the bridge, motorized tuning machines, and an on board CPU to manage it all. The machines are only slightly bigger than standard mechanical ones.

The guitar tunes itself.

You can select a variety of tunings or program your own. You can also adjust intonation.

Runs about $2200.

From the ad:

# 2 rechargeable batteries charged through the guitar jack
# About 250 tunings per charge
#
# Tunings:
# Regular
# Open E
# Open G
# DADGAD
# Hendrix tuning (1/2 step down)
# Single and double dropped-D tunings
# Custom tunings
# Reference tuning to other instruments

I've just posted a few entries at circleofmusic.

There are two different kinds of participation in lj communities that I think doesn't exist for friending lj users. You can watch a community or join a community (or do both). I point this out because there are several people who I would hope and expect to participate in the discussions at circleofmusic who are listed as watching, but not listed as members. I think you have to be a member to comment.

So please go over to circleofmusic and read, join, and post.

Thanks

Betsy's Back Porch is at Nicollet and Diamond Lake Road.

Note: It is the Diamond Lake Road Bridge over I 35W that is gone and affecting their business. 46th St will get you across.

From Bobb Fantauzzo:

In addition to providing a wide selection of coffee, tea, beer, wine and
food, Betsy's Back Porch offers a wide variety of music. Having a venue to
share their music with the general public in a comfortable,
listener-friendly environment is a great asset to musicians, audience
members and the neighborhood . it would be unfortunate for Betsy's to close
permanently as a result of lost revenue caused by the 35W construction
project.

So show your support and join us on Saturday if you can. Special events are
scheduled; including outdoor grilling, a silent auction and LIVE MUSIC ALL
DAY LONG. The music ranges from folk to pop to rock to blues to classical
guitar to jazz . and there will even be some belly dancing thrown in for
good measure.

Here's the music schedule:

11:00 Jeremiah Bohn - blues
& Chas Somdahl - folk

12:00 Bobb Fantauzzo - jazz / zen

1:00 Mark Bussey - classical guitar

1:30 Patrick Garry - mellow rock / pop

2:30 Mirah Ammal - Belly Dancing

3:00 Laurie Potter - folk / rock / pop

4:00 Howard Krantz - original / folk

5:00 Beth Kinderman - folk

6:00 Positronic Croutons - blues / rock

8:30 Hot Box - pop / rock

Tomorrow, Sept. 29, I will playing set at Betsy’s Back Porch, from 11 to noon. Joining me for this set will be my friend, Jeremiah Bohn of Bluegreen.

This is part of an all day benefit for this wonderful neighborhood coffee house (they serve wine, beer, sandwiches, and a variety of other treats as well). Located at Lyndale  Nicollet and Diamond Lake Road in south Minneapolis, they have seen a large drop in business with the since the nearby freeway construction started. The owner decided to close the business a couple of weeks ago. This benefit is part of community response that will keep them open for now.

Edited to correct address

A happy birthday wish to davidschroth

My office at the University of Minnesota has one of the best views on campus. It overlooks the Mississippi River gorge and beyond that downtown Minneapolis. I regularly see Eagles and Peregrines fly by my windows. The river takes a lazy meander through the area. From my window I can see all or part of six bridges spanning the gorge.

Today it is a surreal scene. One of those bridges is, or was, the 35W bridge. ( There are better accounts elsewhere )

I have gone with the broad theme of music circles so the community will have meaning beyond the task at hand that suggested it. I invite those of you who posted comments about music circles in general during the discussions following Minicon to repeat them again there.

Most everyone I can think of off hand with an interest in this community, has likely already friended me and will see this. But feel free to invite others as you see fit.

So go have a look; circleofmusic

I think my next post there will be about kinds of music circles.

Thanks for the support I have received from so many quarters. It gives me hope. I want this process to be thoughtful. Right now everybody has something to say. I’ve seen that things are calming down in what I am hearing both on LJ and in private email. So lets get started.

There are a few things I would like to start with. Before I start tracking down all those who have made comments in the recent discussions I’m wondering if I should create a group for MnStf Music, instead of running it through my own LJ. I understand that this is just as easy as opening a personal LJ account. I am calling for opinions here.

First ground rule. Let’s keep postings to single topics. They branch enough as is.

Second ground rule. Be mindful of what should be public and what should be private. I expect to carry on extensive conversations in both realms. Talk to me, I will certainly be looking for help before all of this is through, but what is done will ultimately be down to me.

My contact info: somda zero zero one at umn dot edu

Got something to say? Try me. Don’t make assumptions as to what I will and will not get behind. I may surprise you.

OK, so I’m going to break my first rule already. Some of the ideas I’m considering:

Evening concerts balanced by shorter afternoon showcases, maybe an open mike kind of format.

Some non-performance music programming; panels and/or workshops. I’ve been on some things like this at other cons.

One I would really like to do is Jamming 101. (Thanks David Wilford for that name).

Perhaps a discussion (panel) on song writing.

There is lots more, but let’s take this slowly.

Everyone, please no more about Minicon/MnStf music, for the time being.

Over the next several months, I will lead LJ and personal discussions about the future. So much of what I am seeing here is not going to do anything but burn bridges and damage friendships. Much of the anger and attack is founded in a past that may have little to do with how things are and how they can and hopefully will be.

Music at Minicon is important to me. It is no exaggeration for me to claim that I doubt I would be making music at the level that I am or possible at all if not for Minicon. I owe much to this community and I intend to pay back. This fire is not helping. I have sat in music circles with all of you who are commenting, you know me. I am not vested in the past that set your definitions of good and bad for what Minicon music was. I know what it has been for me.

I know also what it is elsewhere. I've performed at and jammed in circles at cons in Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia and others in Minneapolis. I have observed and been subjected to various kinds of exclusionary elitism, deliberate snobism if you will, at ALL of these. But it was not institutionalized at any of them and it is not institutionalized here. STOP, don't tell me about what your perception of the past is. I can't do anything about things past, give me a chance to show you the future.

I will be speaking directly to many of you who have expressed themselves in various places over the past several days. I will also seek out those who have posted who I don't know, to invite input and inclusion. But for now please end this, it is no longer helping. I understand the issues.

I will do all that I can to make music at Minicon a better experience for all. We can do this.

Minicon: Musicians Welcome

Your friend in music, Chas

Do something irrational.

OK. So this post turned out even longer than the last one. I’ll get to some songs next.

I’ve been thinking about music a lot lately. One thing I’ve wanted to do for a while is post the songs I know and say some things about them and how I came to know them. So begins what may be a series of occasional posts on music. Let me know if you want to hear more. If I continue this I’ll title them Music and number them. Makes it easy to skip them. Most everyone who has friended me on LJ knows me through music, so there may actually be an audience for this.

( Really long biographical post )

I'll try not to make the rest of these so long.

Birthday wishes to davidschroth.

Hope you've had happy day.

Went to a new open jam Monday evening at Tillie’s Bean. The acoustics of the place were dreadful. This made it hard to actually jam and nearly painful to sit and listen. Very disappointing. I really miss the Tuesday night jam at Molly Quinn’s. I learned so much there and by and large the musicianship was high. I stopped going when my voice went away. By the time I recovered, they had closed.

(Distraction: There is a Peregrine cruising back and forth outside my window. Stalking something).

Back to the jam. It was good to see a number of the Molly’s regulars, Jeremiah, Wayne, Dan, and Bob. Andy was there as well. I had told Becca, Grey, Nate and Louie about it and they showed up too. Far too much sound for that room to deal with.

Once again, I really miss the Molly’s jam. I used to have a few players over after the Riverview open mike once and a while. It was crowded but fun. Don’t go to the Riverview anymore, but could still invite folks over now and again. Still, not the same.

Sigh!

Many of you know that the college I have worked for for over 30 years ceases to be as of July first. We become a department in a new larger College of Education. All jobs within the newly merged college have been under review. Although I “knew” my job would need to exist in the new world it wasn’t official. “They” have been at this for a year. Wednesday, I finally got my letter saying that my job is being continued into the new college. Just two weeks short of the end. I have many colleagues that have been treated as poorly.

This resets the clock for another year. There will be programmatic reviews that could eliminate the work and thus the job.

So, I have a job for another year. Only one more week with the Grand Jury. Maybe I will be a bit less stressed for the summer. (Maybe not, I still have two lab manuals to write.)

At least I can sing.

I'm at work. Had to tell somebody.

Happened twice last week.

Last Sunday was my mother's birthday. She was 93.

Friday she died. Peaceful. Quiet. Painless. It was time.

( A couple of mom stories: )