[Video] Adapting Picking Patterns, or Radiohead’s Got Rhythm

When I was a young man in university, I thought I was an alright guitar player. My friend Pat, who was learning to play guitar at the time, came back from one of our work stints having added Radiohead‘s Street Spirit to his repertoire. I would be damned if I could have some young upstart thinking he was actually better than me, of course. Naturally, I got him to show me how to play it.

Radioheeeeeeeed

Being a new guitar player, Pat played Street Spirit with a pick / plectrum, and with all down-picks. As we say in the sciences: an elegant solution, this was not.

[Video] Tonight You Belong To Me

Last night I decided I had spent enough of my life without ever knowing what chords were used in Bjork‘s Like Someone In Love, definitely a #firstworldproblem. After looking that up, not being satisfied with anything I found, and starting to put together my own arrangement, I went to bed.

The Bjorkster

This morning I woke up, and thought about how if I ever succeeded in an arrangement of Like Someone in Love, I should totally put it on YouTube. And then I remembered I’d already done one for Tonight You Belong To Me, which is SO much easier.

Here’s my arrangement of Tonight You Belong To Me, at my preferred tempo. The original is by Billy Rose and Lee David, made famous by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in the film The Jerk.

Why Mid-Level Bands Can Make Money

I came across this article from Metal Injection this morning, which is meant to represent the troubles experienced by mid-level bands as they work to make their living under a “music for free; money from tour” model. Written by Shane Blay of Oh, Sleeper, Shane’s breakdown of band finances shows how little money his touring band makes on the road.

This does not represent my experience on the road at all, and fortunately, it is not the only way to tour. Any band can make a few small changes to guarantee they are able to come out ahead, and keep themselves on the road.