Tintin in America

Did any other American kids read these? Or is the movie their introduction to the series?

Also see this article on NYT.

I'm stoked that I have them all loaded onto my iPad :-)

My new favorite guitar store

Most of you know that I like hanging out in guitar stores, but ever since Acoustic Roots in Bryn Mawr closed three (?) years ago, I haven't found a local shop that I love. It's not particularly local to me (since it's 2,800+ miles door to door), but my new favorite guitar shop is McKenzie River Music in Eugene, Oregon. They have a fantastic selection of vintage guitars, and the folks there (Bob, Ted, Susan, and the rest of the gang) are about the friendliest people you'll find anywhere.

I look forward to stopping in whenever I'm visiting my family in Oregon. Thanks, MRM!

A shout-out to an awesome radio station

In my two drives from Corvallis to Eugene this week (see here), and also around town in Corvallis, I've been listening to KRVM, 91.9 FM out of Eugene. It's a great mix of blues, folk, rock, country, etc...I've heard everything from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Lyle Lovett to traditional Native American music. I'm excited to find that I'll be able to stream it on my computer. Along with KPIG, my other west coast favorite, I should have plenty to listen to.

Photo of the week - December 27, 2011

His second Christmas. Tokina 11-16mm DX @ f2.8, 1/50, on a Nikon D90. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Dawg's 1956 D-18

Yesterday I went down to McKenzie River Music in Eugene to play some guitars. It's a fantastic shop with lots of vintage Martins as well as newer stuff by Collings, Bourgeois, Santa Cruz, etc. I played a 1966 Martin D-35 which I liked more than I had expected to, a stellar Collings DS3 with an adirondack top and Brazilian rosewood back and sides, and a nice Brazilian Bourgeois Signature D.

The superstar of the day, however, was a 1956 D-18. What an awesome guitar. Dry, punchy, yet still warm, and really light-weight. Tight-grained spruce in at the center opening up to really wide-grain at the edges. Lots of honest playwear, but it's all original and no structural issues other than the (repaired) era-typical B-string crack and three small cleated cracks on the back. It's had a neck reset so it plays great, and I was surprised that I didn't find the 1-11/16" nut width to be too tight given that I typically prefer 1-3/4".

What's even more interesting about this guitar is its backstory, although there is no formal documentation of this narrative. Apparently MRM got the guitar from a lawyer in California who said he had received the guitar in trade for legal services from David Grisman. Yep, that David Grisman, "Dawg," the fabulous mandolin player. Of course, the guys at MRM have no way of verifying this, but it's a nice story. Then in October of this year, Grisman, who is playing a show at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene that night, walks into the shop to check out some vintage instruments, and they say "hey, do you recognize this D-18?" He confirms that he swapped it for some legal work...So, no official paperwork, but the story according to the nice folks at MRM is at least consistent from two sources, including Dawg himself.

Update: 3.5 years later I visit MRM for the first time since purchasing this guitar. I remind them that I bought the '56 D-18 a few years back, and they launch into the same story about how it came from Grisman to them. So at least the story has remained consistent, which helps it credibility.

Read more about this guitar here.

(click on the pictures below to enbiggen)

pictures from www.mckenzierivermusic.com

Martin Guitar factory footage, 1939

A video from the Martin factory in Nazareth, PA, circa 1939. Music by Norman Blake and Tony Rice. Awesome.

Photo galleries up

Ever since Apple announced that iCloud is replacing MobileMe, I've been meaning to migrate my images over to this website. I finally got my albums made; click here or see the list below to access them: 

• Best of (my favorite black & white and color shots)
• Collections (people, animals, flowers, other)
• Events and trips by year (2011, 2010, pre-2010)

Cavins Guitars

I just reconnected with an old mate from college, David Cavins, who is currently building guitars in Missouri. He's making some really beautiful instruments. Check 'em out...

Jack Lawrence and his 1953 Martin D-28

via fretboardjournal.com.

Photo of the week - December 13, 2011

Ryan Adams at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/15. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Photo of the week - December 6, 2011

Ryan Adams at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/25. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Photo of the week - November 29, 2011

The Bryn Mawr Film Institute. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/30. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Photo of the week - November 15, 2011

Japanese maple. Nikon 50mm @ f/1.4, 1/800, on a Nikon D90. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Looking forward to the Ryan Adams show next month

If he sounds anywhere close to this good it will be an amazing show:

Photo of the week - November 8, 2011

The Keswick Theatre. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/150. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Fujifilm X100 promotional video

Really striking, but if an American company would have released a promo like this (in this country) they would have been villified by the religious-right. It's also interesting to infer how Japanese folks think about photography and their cameras based on this sort of advertisement...Compare this to the Ashton Kutcher ads that Nikon runs in the US...

Photo of the week - November 1, 2011

The Keswick Theatre in the snow. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/45. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Photo of the week - October 18, 2011

Rittenhouse Square. Fuji X100 @ f/2, 1/4000. Converted with Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Lego VW van - Time lapse video

I'm still working on putting my kit together, but here's a preview of what it will look like:

Beatles vs. Stones: A personal revelation

"Are you a Beatles or Stones person?" For most of my life the answer would have been a no-brainer. I grew up on the Beatles. I can't remember a time without the boys from Liverpool. When I was a teenager I could have rattled off the running order of the songs on every Beatles album, UK and US. I'm a Beatles guy, right?

I was driving home from work today and the iPod shuffled onto "Honky Tonk Women" and it hit me. I'm a Stones guy for one single reason: Have you ever wanted to be John, Paul, George, or Ringo? In my 30+ years of being a Beatles fan, I haven't.

I'm not one who likes to dance, wear tight pants, or revel in the spotlight. But when "HTW" started playing one thought popped into my head: "I want to be like them" (or at least Mick, Keith, and Charlie; no comment re: Brian, Ronnie, or Bill). Not necessarily that I want to "be" them (i.e., live their lives), but just for a moment I thought "how cool would it be to be on stage, strapped to a Telecaster, slinging those riffs?" The Stones feel good in a way the Beatles don't.