David T. Music And Stuff

Hi, friends and family,

I apologize for such a long hiatus from this blog. I have had a touch of writer’s block, I suppose. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with all the creative impulses going through my head . . . I know . . . Sounds crazy . . . But, can I blame this on my mother??? Mom encouraged me to be creative. She taught me that I can do anything I set my mind to. After teaching me how to draw a box using perspective, mom began encouraging me in artistic directions. As a young teenager, I became obsessed with learning how to play guitar and sing. Mom didn’t like my fascination with rock and roll but, she didn’t discourage me. Using my older brother’s 12-string Harmony guitar, I learned how to play using the music books that show the ‘chord blocks’ and playing with the records from The Beatles, The Monkees, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Doors and The Rolling Stones, not to mention being heavily influenced by Motown. The best thing that came of my early self-training was learning to play ‘by ear’. I can hear a piece of music and play it, quickly finding the key and determining the notes and chordal patterns. I wasn’t held back by having to learn the ‘language’ of written music which can be frustrating for beginning musicians and can cause creativity to be stifled. Later, I taught myself to sight read music in a rudimentary way. It is often required in the studio or with large bands. It really came in handy when playing Gospel.

At the same time, I became fascinated with modeling. Plastic car, boat, airplane models. Wooden ships and airplanes. Clay automobile modeling . . . You name it! Building something with my hands that was ‘fireplace mantel’ worthy was a very powerful feeling. I also became fascinated with automotive and architectural design. I have some very good drawings of homes and autos that I drew at that time. The funny thing about the cars I imagined and drew is that they actually look like cars we are driving, now. I designed them in the late 60’s.

I dictated all this personal history to show where my mind is at most of the time. I rarely listen to music at home or in the car unless I have a specific goal; a song I’m learning in my head (yeah, I can do that) or a musical style I’m trying to master. I always have a song, melody or rhythm in my head. I don’t need to hear music to have music in my life . . . It’s just there. I learn or memorize song parts in my head to put myself to sleep, usually.

So, here’s my excuse for such a long hiatus from this blog . . . My mind was overwhelmed with creativity. I have several . . . Okay . . . many instrument building projects going, now. Some are custom jobs on already built instruments and others are full builds starting with guitar parts or pieces of tonewood I have been collecting. Some are prototypes of instruments I will be producing. I’m outfitting my garage and basement with instrument building tools and slowly putting together an instrument repair shop as a ‘retirement’ career. Soon, I will be putting some of my basses and guitars on sale. Oh! And I play all the instruments as often as I can. I have the most understanding and supportive wife anyone can imagine!!!

Oh yeah! I started this blog to share Sue’s and my trip on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise. One word . . . Legendary! We left San Diego, California after a day of exploring parts of the city: Nice place but, the airport is too close to downtown. The noise distracts from the beauty and culture of the place. We sailed for two days to Cabo San Lucas on the Mexican Baja. On board the ship we were treated to some of the best music in the world. Taj Mahal, The California Honeydrops, Tommy Castro, Booker T. Jones and the Stax All-Stars! The list of major R&B artists was overwhelming. And, I brought my Custom Super P-Bass and Kala U-Bass to jam at the Crow’s Nest in the Pro-Am Jams. It turns out I was one of only four bass players who made themselves available for jamming besides some of the paid entertainers including, Peter Albin, the Bass Player from Janis Joplin’s Big Brother and the Holding Company who is still with the group, so I was compelled to play a lot while pro and amateur musicians came, played and moved on. What’s funny is that while I brought the Super P-Bass prototype to show off and get feedback about the design, the sound technicians and many of the musicians wanted me to play the Kala U-Bass almost exclusively. They really loved the sound and novelty of a little tiny instrument that sounds as big as a full-size upright bass. The damn thing stole the show!!!

At Cabo San Lucas, Sue and I went for a fun and relaxing sailboat/snorkeling excursion. We then sailed overnight to Loretto. What a beautiful town! Relatively commercial-free compared to other ports where you walk off the ship and straight into a giant outdoors mall. The town is very pretty, laid back and has the beautiful 1600’s church of Our Lady of Loretto. I, and some of my brothers went to Our Lady of Loretto Catholic School/Church in Redford, Michigan. That was my first and second grade in 1960-1961.

From Loretto, we sailed to La Paz where we took a bus on a winding road through hills dotted with scrub-pine and beautiful cactus forests (that’s what I called it). Sue and I then boarded a small boat with four others that took us out into a large bay where Whale Sharks feed. Whale Sharks are large sharks that behave like whales. They are not mammals like whales, but they feed exclusively on Kelp. We didn’t just observe the Whale Sharks. We went swimming with them! The boat pulls up close to where they are feeding and you jump into the sea and chase them, wearing snorkel and fins. Oh . . . My . . . God!!! What a workout! The Whale Sharks don’t necessarily wait for you. You have to chase them down!

It is really an other-worldly experience to get up close to an animal that is that big. Something I will never forget. The Whale Sharks are quite beautiful and majestic. And they really don’t pay much attention to you because they’re busy siphoning Kelp into their large mouths so, there’s nothing to worry about. The excursion leader said “There will be no ‘Jonah’s”.

After swimming with the Whale Sharks our boat took us to an island where Sea Lions hang out and we swam with the Sea Lions. The coral around the island is beautiful and has lots of wildlife/fish varieties. The young Sea Lions are playful and curious. The male Sea Lions were watching us real closely, though. You don’t want to get too close to a pup. Then, after that, we went to a beautiful private beach to relax and enjoy some Mexican food under the sun. We slept very well after getting back to the boat, then got up and ate and listened to awesome music and I played at the Crow’s Nest some more . . . No rest for the wicked!!!

Here’s some photos from our trip. I hope you enjoy them. I’ll post some video of me playing on the cruise once I have a chance to edit it.

Thanks for reading,

Love to all,

David T

p.s. Comments are very much appreciated.You can write comments below each story.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•