Friday

02006-11-17 | Uncategorized | 4 comments

Adam Solomon Says:
Oh no! I hope the hard drive is still safe? That must have been quite a scare, but one of the most important things, I’d imagine, is to make sure that the pictures, music, etc., remain safe.
With regard to the opening six solo shows, do you have any idea as to what the differences between them might be, with regards to day/time, knowing how you play over a night?

I would not leave a computer with a stranger without erasing the data on the HDD first. I use CMS software to backup my data and before I dropped off the laptop I erased the HDD and wrote zeroes over it. Because of the difference in operating systems (PowerPC G4 PowerBook versus Intel MacBook Pro) I won’t be able to restore from my backup. Instead I will have to bring the data in manually, which will take a little more time, but a spring-cleaning might be in order anyway.

Regarding the 6 shows at the Blue Note, I have no idea which might be better. Sometimes the first show is great, sometimes one relaxes more during the second show. Then there is the audience which is different from show to show and no small factor in the performance. The guitar itself can change depending on the humidity. The artist’s chemistry may change from sober during the first show to inebriated during the second show – and who knows which will be better. And one day the nails might have the perfect length and the next it’s just a little off… See this quote from Paco:

I could not live without the guitar, but at the same time this is no way of life, because it is such a difficult instrument, so ungrateful; you dedicate your whole life to it, hours and days, and suddenly you come up on stage, and that day you feel in perfect shape for playing, and still you don’t hit one single string right, and you cannot figure out why… it depends on so many things, on how long your fingernails are… I am talking about tenths of millimeters, and you ask yourself. What is going on? Where am I failing? And it could be a badly polished nail… it’s a f!@#er of an instrument.

4 Comments

  1. Adam Solomon

    Ha, I found that interview…you neglected to include what he said next:

    “Once I was drunk, in New York, and I went up on stage in a jazz club to play the electric guitar, and when I got down my nails were all broken by the steel strings …and now …never again.”

    :)

    Reply
  2. vic

    right on paco

    Reply
  3. Miguel de Maria

    As a flamenco/classical player myself, it’s incredibly comforting to me that even such a master as Paco experiences some of these feelings! Golfers also often comment that the game is so difficult and unpredictable that “control” and “mastery” is fleeting!

    Reply

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