Universal 12
My recently acquired Carter Universal 12 string pedal steel guitar
I was recently sent a Q & A session online that is being used in the promotion of a boutique festival the Re-mains are playing on the 25th of November. I found the process both informative and consolidating. A selection of the responses I made, edited, sans questions, are going to make up this journal entry. I’d like to thank Adam Barbuto, the curator of “Not Quite a Muster”, for trying this respectful method of promotion. The passion that some people still have for this branch of the arts is heartening. Here goes >>>> I loathe musical theatre. It was Dad who handed down the unwanted greatest hits LPs and from those I was unwittingly introduced to rock n roll. >>>> I'm just about to acquire a universal 12 string pedal steel – a significant step onward. I think it's going to send me in a new direction. >>>> I rate Joni Mitchell as one of the great guitarists. Anything that sidesteps the conventional wisdom interests me. I also came to love indie and alt players too, chiefly the way they eschew virtuosity for guts and soul. But, I do believe our era is drawing to a close. Something new is beginning to dominate. It's taking form. >>>> The Re-mains might have a reputation as a premiere “country-rock” act, but I feel that comes with a risk of being confused with other acts that we have little in common with. I think we really care about being authentic and being honest about our music. This makes us somewhat strange among the some of the current country-rock acts from the urban centres and others focused on “Americana” and so forth. >>>> I feel the really new and progressive music is increasingly on the outer reaches, more so than ever before and it’s tricky to put a finger on. >>>> I would personally love to see music events have less to do with the booze industry and more to do with art and culture events... just like this one were promoting. >>>> I think I would've tried to be more confident and get stuck into it a lot sooner. I would liked to have told myself that playing music I formulated myself and in cahoots with others would have value and would mean things to people. The beauty of being a musician is that unlike many other pursuits, so long as you have your basic health and a reasonable state of mind, you just get more and nuanced and capable. >>>> An all out riot erupted for reasons barely anyone could understand. The bush was on fire all around. Our bus window was smashed and quite a few nerves were seriously rattled. But we went on after that, driving the brake-less bus back 700 km and continuing in a rental, all the way to Broome and back. >>>> I think they are anti-music. The people that judge and “mentor” those shebangs largely came up in a more organic way and I feel they should be ashamed of what they are doing. It's just a construct by TV producers and unfortunately, too many people don't even realise this or even care. >>>> I pretty much stay away from rock n roll when I'm not actually doing it. I think about it instead.