Review: Trace Bundy at World Cafe Live

If you've ever seen Trace Bundy, you know it's more than just a guy playing guitar. Everything around you is part of the experience. It's not just music; not just stories...

Which is why I'm going to start this review off with a review of my meal. See, the Trace Bundy experience leaves you remembering the details. You've got this journey leading up to one of the most exciting shows of your life. The details get you there.

And understanding what a show I was in for, I decided to start the night off with a good meal. Not that you shouldn't ever not eat well, but World Cafe Live does a pretty good job at good food.

The Meal
I got the halibut fillet. It was served over sauteed broccolinni, topped with a chilled corn relish, and roasted yukon potatoes on the side. A savory garlic butter sauce topped the dish.

The flavors were great. The richness of the garlic butter tied together an otherwise light dish. The halibut was good, not great. Despite being cooked perfectly, melting in your mouth, half of it was under-seasoned and rather bland. The potatoes and broccolinni went very well with the dish, but the star of the show was the corn relish.

Yes, the corn relish. To start off, it was chilled. That helped to set it apart from the rest of the dish as not only a textural element, but also a contrast in temperature. To top it off, it was slightly charred. This brought out a lot more sweetness than you would generally associate with it, as the sugars in the corn had started to caramelize. The end result was this sweet, zesty, slightly acidic element sitting atop a plate of much more savory-oriented food. I wanted more.

To end the meal and start off the show, I got creme brulee. It was good. Actually, it was the first creme brulee I've ever had. I can't compare it to others, but can say that I enjoyed it. I was looking for a little bit more egg flavor, but then again, I don't know if that's what it was supposed to taste like or not... Regardless, it was quite enjoyable. Trace actually asked for a bite of mine when he saw it (he was joking), and then got one of his own after the show.

Now on to the show:

The Show
For this we'll have to back up. Earlier I mentioned that every Trace Bundy show includes the journey you took to get there. Well, our journey didn't begin with dinner. It began with buying the tickets. See, originally Kelly was going to go, so I got two tickets. And originally Andrew was going to bring Jean and Joe, so he got 3 tickets. Our dinner reservations were, therefore, for 5.

Well Kelly dropped out. She was off to a bachelorette party early the next morning. And Joe dropped out. He was headed to a wedding early the next morning. And then there were 3. We exhausted our list of people who may be around/may want to go and ended with 4, adding Casey.

It was unfortunate that we didn't get a 5th. Or was it? Once we got there, they seated us at our table for 5, which was really a table for 6. But we only needed 4... A few minutes and some of Andrew's charm later, we were relocated to the table for 4, sitting front and center.

Here's a picture Trace took on his phone of the crowd. Note that we are the closest. #win

Now we get to the actual show.

This was the last show of Trace's CD release tour for Elephant King. His last show at World Cafe Live was a year and a half ago, right before his son was born. Right before the show after that (the D.C. show I was at), his wife had gone into labor. Seemingly irrelevant to the show, but I guess when stuff like that happens in your life, you remember the details. Trace's memories of Philly, in this case, were good ones; a great way to start off the show!

So as the show progressed, there were a handful of things that were the same as the previous shows: the medleys, the iPhone version of Superstition, and some of the stories. I knew what was coming. Part of me wanted to think that it was gimmicky. But it's not - everything that was the same was just as good, if not better, than the first time. The version of Superstition, for instance, that he plays with a guitar app on his iPhone - way better this time. After another year and a half of practice he went from looking super nerdy, sitting and playing his phone, to standing up and rocking out.

And the stories... he's just a great story teller. Take his opening song, Patanga, for instance. What is the meaning behind it? The beauty of a made up word is that you can make up the meaning ...which is what he does every single time. Maybe a few of the times he uses the same stories, but it's unlikely that you will ever hear the same definition/story of Patanga twice.

The stories go from complete nonsense of how Patanga is the film on top of SPAM to how he had a nearly-fatal climbing accident 10 years ago and how the song, Traverse, is partially about that. And they touch everything in between. Elephant Kings. Ninjas. The baboon guard. A monkey referee. He has the imagery of the great song writers, only he builds it into the dialogue surrounding his compositions.

It takes a lot to be great. Some people say 10,000 hours. But that's only to be good at your instrument. To be a good entertainer. To make people laugh To make a dining room fall silent. That's something you don't just have. I'd like to think that I have some pretty good stories surrounding my songs, but I don't have near the delivery. When you see Trace Bundy live, you see a real person. Rock and pop stars are so disconnected from reality that you don't get them. Singer/songwriters are generally more real, but they're a dime a dozen; it's the same thing time in, time out.

With an instrumental act, you've got to work hard. First, you've got to be able to hold people's attention with your ability. If you don't have the chops, you're going to fail. But in order for people to listen, you have to get their attention. And you get peoples attention by relating to them. You relate to them with songs like Joy and Sorrow; telling about how there is this dichotomy that governs life, making you feel joy when seeing your newborn son, but sorrow when he pees into your eye...

And then you do things for the people. Stories about your life experiences are great. Stories that are just stories are too. But something that people like, for whatever reason, are covers. And Trace does a few. He turns them into feats of finger ninjary, doing the one-man-band bit on Oldies, Zeppelin, and Eminem.

But in the end, for me, it comes down to the music. He's brilliant. And for once in my life, I made the brilliant decision to write down the setlist. Since you most likely weren't here, you can watch the videos sans-stories (for the most part), on youtube:

Patanga

Pachelbel's Cannon

Elephant King

Oldies Medley

Superstition on iphone

Overtime
     Couldn't find a video
Tres Capos
     Couldn't find a video
Traverse

Dueling Ninjas

Joy and Sorrow

Lose Yourself Kashmire

Hot Capo Stew

U2: Where the Streets Have No Names

What's Trending

I’m a bit of a nerd. Sure, there are the occasional LAN parties, but they’re few and far between. Beyond that, though, I mean, c'mon, I’m an engineer. It’s to be expected. I analyze EVERYTHING. I track changes and try to make informed decisions based on statistics. Wouldn’t it make sense that the more informed decisions you make, the better your decisions can be?

I have spreadsheets for everything. I track my weight, my 401(k), my schedule, etc. There’s just something about organizing data into a palatable form that makes so much sense. A single number means nothing without it's context. By analyzing data, you can see patterns and can predict response based on decisions you make.

And, of course, this flows into my music. I track how many CDs I sell at each show, how much I get paid at venues, how I do on tips, and I even track what elements I am using in each song. The last point there has helped me in writing/forming album 2 and has helped frequently in creating set lists (whether they are pre-planned or made up on the spot).

So I’ve got all of this data. And I organize it on my own. It’s not nearly as daunting as it may sound, but it is nice to have the work done for you every once in a while. Such is the case with this blog. Conveniently, blogger tracks everything from which posts get the most views to where the viewers are geographically and what internet browser they use.

Most of these trends make sense. Sometimes my writing is better or sometimes I get some views from friends mentioning my blog, etc. My Kaki King post, for instance, was mentioned by my friend, Ken Mueller. Compared to most of my other posts, it blew up! Likewise, I reviewed a Kyle Rictor show and, after he posted a link of it, it started to get a lot more traffic.

But here’s one that doesn’t quite make sense. A while back I wrote a post on my new Adamas guitar. Since then, it’s gotten more views per month than most of my other posts ever do. And it’s consistent. A few views per day, usually. So either Adamas guitars are booming right now or I really hit on something with a review of the guitar…


So I think that will be up next on the agenda... Reviewing some more gear. Specifically, my guitar collection. It'll help introduce everyone to the family and will give me topics that aren't just calling everyone out for not trying hard enough.

PRG Rope Burn

This past weekend, Kelly and I went to the Philly Rock Gym Oaks and competed in their Rope Burn competition. It was actually her idea. The comp was open to all skill levels, so we went in as novice, expecting there to be tons and tons of competition. After all, neither of us had ever competed before and when the guys ahead of us said they climbed 5.10s and 5.11s, they were only placed in as intermediates. We may have climbed a few 5.10s, but not more than a handful and definitely no 5.11s.

I’ll get right to the punch with this one – we both won first in our level and were told we should try intermediate next time. Kelly would have placed in intermediate with her score, but I would have fallen short by a few hundred points… It’s something to work towards, but not too bad all the same.

It was a great experience and definitely a new view of climbing. One thing that really stood out, though, was the number of young climbers there. We’re used to Reading Rocks where the kids there are either with boy/girl scouts or birthday parties. The regulars are college aged and older. Naturally, we figured there’d be tons of adults in the comp. Instead, we were outnumbered by the youth – and those were only the youth that had made it to the final round. We later found the score sheet from the youth comp, which was 2 pages of names in about 8 point font; probably about 150 kids or thereabout.

I think it shows an interesting shift. When I was a youth, kids played team sports. Unless you were practicing with your team, you really weren’t able to practice the sport. Sure, you could practice juggling a soccer ball, but without others, you couldn’t practice playing soccer. It’s not quite the same.

With things like cross country it’s a bit different. You can run on your own and, ultimately, no one cares about your team’s performance. And maybe that’s a good comparison because I think that these kids were also on teams, where there was a team score, but you worked for your own individual score. The team performance is a great measure of the caliber of your training, but that’s all.

What it seems like is that we have this changing definition of what a team is. We now have climbing teams in the way that we have snowboarding teams. You’re no longer reliant on the rest of the members of a team to be successful.

And that’s what we’ve seen in music in the past decade. You no longer need ANYONE. Whether you’re a band or a solo act, you no longer need a “team” to succeed. As technology has advanced, more and more is able to be DIY. You can record in your bedroom, do your own publishing, book your own shows, and publicize your own material. It’s a full time job, but it’s the full time job of an individual, not of some corporate entity.

This aligns well with the ever fleeting need for a label. It used to be that that was the only way, but now it’s common knowledge that you don’t need them. They can enable a lot of neat things – organizing tours, collaborations, etc – but are not necessary. You can succeed without them.

But to succeed, you have to dedicate your life to it. While we were there, we talked to the one kid’s dad about the youth programs. They were from North Jersey, but would travel all over the place to compete. The previous weekends, they had been up in Massachusetts for competitions. For climbing competitions?! On top of an almost certainly grueling training schedule, this kid is traveling up and down the east coast. And all of the kids there were pretty much like that from what I could gather.

These kids are competing. So are you. You may not be lined up next to your competitors, but know that you’ve got every other musician out there vying to flood peoples’ airwaves. And there will always be someone who will do it for cheaper or for free. You have to be the best. And that takes no team.

Guitar Lessons

You won’t get better if you surround yourself with mediocrity. Sure, if you’re any good, you’ll stand out in a mediocre crowd, but you’ll stagnate. And where does stagnation and mediocrity get you? Nowhere.

The key is to continue learning in whatever you do. And you need to learn from the best. The guy down the hall in your college dorm may have put together this really catchy tune using garage band, but you’ll be hard-pressed to learn much from him. Using garage band is great, but to be a recording engineer, you need a lot more. Likewise, his one song won’t help to teach you how to compose. The I, IV, V and gritty vocals won’t quite get you to the top.

Now I’m not saying you need to necessarily take music theory classes or even lessons, but you do need to be immersed in exceptional talent in some way.

In my time at Messiah, I listened to tons of mediocre singer/songwriters who played all the same songs, all the same way. Of those, there were a few gems who were inspiring; who could teach you something. And you could learn something from them. Those were the people I tried to surround myself with, musically. The few collaborations I did in my time there, especially, were huge growth experiences.

Since then? I’ve got a single room in a city that tries, but doesn’t do anything great. I’ve met a ton of great people at open mics, but I can’t walk down the hall at 2 am to find someone to give me a hand with a new composition. I’ve played guitar more than I got to at school, but there’s been something missing.

Within the percussive fingerstyle genre, who do I really have to look to? Trace Bundy, Andy McKee, Antoine DuFour? Since I can obviously just stroll over to their respective houses and soak up their imparted knowledge and skill… Right. It’s not that easy. It never is.

Then one day I get this email. Along with hundreds, if not thousands, of others… I mean, it’s mass fan-mail. This guy I had a gig with a couple years back had some slots open for lessons.

Now those that know me …like really know me – know that that would never entice me. I’ve recently talked about taking cello lessons or jazz lessons, but regular guitar lessons? I took lessons eons ago and quitting them was one of the best things for my progress. They were great to start, but I was just sitting there learning other people’s songs that I didn’t want to learn. That’s not me. So why would I want to take lessons ever again?

Well, see a few years ago I played a gig with a guy by the name of Trevor Gordon Hall. A percussive fingerstyle guitarist who loops, uses distortion, and does everything with tonal perfection. I’ve never known anyone to have better tone. Ever. Hands down. Ever. I have never met a single guitarist with better tone than this guy. EVER. If you follow my blogging at all, you’ll see his name pop up every once in a while with regard to innovation and tone.

So lessons with Trevor? He’s right outside of Philly; actually only 5 minutes from Kelly’s parents place… So I gave it a try. I’ve had two lessons and feel I’ve made years worth of progress. I’m doing things I didn’t know I didn’t know. And I’m practicing?!?! For the past 8 years, my practice has consisted of me writing new material. Practice wasn’t working out kinks or getting better, but writing new, exciting things. That’s how I practiced. Over the past two weeks, I’ve practiced only finger exercises, fingerpicking technique, arpeggios, sweeps, and scales.

It’s enlightening. It really is. This guy makes me feel like I know nothing about playing guitar. Every time I sit down to practice I can see and hear where I am getting better. Whatever is going to transpire of this will blow minds. In the meantime, I’ll be locked in my room.

Customer Service (8thstreet.com)

I recently got a new job. I’m still working for Alcon, but am on direct, no longer a contract. People celebrate things like this in different ways. Obviously one of my ways of celebration relates to guitars. And no, I did not get another.

My current tone enhancement efforts are to upgrade my cables. People will contest the notion that there is any difference between types of cables, but I can hear the difference. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I’ve been using Monster Standard cables for ages now. They work really well and are reliable, but a few months ago I picked up a Monster Acoustic cable… and wow. The difference is subtle, but the difference between good and great is achieved subtly.

So I wanted to pick up another. I’ve got an input and an output to my board, so it would make sense that I would want two.

I turned to amazon. As it turns out, they’ve got the best prices on most guitar equipment. I won’t buy a guitar off amazon …ever, but strings, cables, etc.; yeah that makes sense. My preference is for 10-15 ft cables, so of the 12 or 21 ft options, I chose the 12.

A day later, I get an email from 8thstreet.com. They’re the company that I bought the cable from, through amazon. Turns out the 12 ft isn’t in stock and will take a few extra days.

Thanks for telling me. Seriously, it’s nice to know when a delay is expected. I don’t want to wait day after day for something that won’t come for another two weeks.

But they take it a step further. Because they know that the customer is more valuable than the product. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling if you don’t have customers. They take it a step further by offering me a second option. I can either wait for the 12 footer or they can send me the 21 ft cable at no extra cost. The 21 ft cable retails for twice what I paid for the 12 ft cable.

I opted for it because I want the cable sooner rather than later. And I always like to have extra cables. And because I like having extra cables, I will likely pick up a 12 ft cable later. And it will be from 8thstreet.com.

And here’s a quick review of the cables on amazon!

Video - Debris of a Brainstorm

To continue with the song explanations, here's Debris of a Brainstorm. This is off of my debut album, Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe, along with one of the earlier videos, Ice Mountain.

The idea behind Debris is that it's sort of how most of my compositions have been written; that is, phrase by phrase, pieced together. So often in the process there are tons of little experimental licks that don't make the cut. Most of the time those are lost. And I don't care. I believe that the best licks, the best songs, the best albums are those that you remember. Those you forget? You lose them. So what?

This song is a culmination of parts and ideas that weren't quite lost. It's in a different tuning from anything else I've written (C-G-C-G-B-E), but really builds off of ideas from previous brainstorming sessions, primarily those from Horse in the Clouds. If you're familiar with that one, it was my first lap-tapping song and is the first track on the debut, largely inspired by the movie, August Rush.

While writing Horse in the Clouds, I had lots of ideas and just no great way to cram them into one song. So I went back and forth between the two different tunings and worked on them simultaneously, really only intending on finishing one piece. After Horse in the Clouds came, when a second tune came, it was obviously the "debris" of the "brainstorm."

Because nothing else I've written is in this tuning, it doesn't get much play time these days... But I do really enjoy playing it and usually, I like to think, other people like it too.

Enjoy!

Video - Muscle Memory

So this one has actually been up for a while... But I want to give stories behind all of my work, ya know, make them a little more real. What better way than to explain the song and give you a point of view of me playing it? I'm convinced that it would be easier to learn to play guitar this way, but that's not what this is about.

This is actually one of the songs that will be on album 2, but one that's familiar enough to throw up here for everyone. As a matter of fact, this almost made it onto Deconstructing the Temporal Lobe, my first album, but it wasn't in a polished form at that point. And actually, this had a different name at that time as well.

So how did it make it to the second album and get a new name? It started roughly a year after the first album, when I went back for another recording session with Jeremy Bentley at MR.STUDIO. I recorded the song in that session and ...that was it. Fast forward a year and I'm thinking about the next session and a full album. So I go back to listen to what I already have ...and have no recollection of this song?

It was bizarre. I had a general idea of what tuning it was in, but that's it. So I had to basically deconstruct the whole song and reteach myself. It was difficult, but eventually I remembered the shapes I was using, how I was plucking the strings, etc. Hence, Muscle Memory.

It's nothing technically dazzling, super complex, or obtuse like much of my work. Instead, it's just a well rounded, very agreeable composition. Easy listening without needing to think to appreciate it. Hope you enjoy!