Happy 57

"There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why." - William Barclay

left to right, me, Victor Wooten, Michael Johnathon, Morgan

So, another revolution of this celestial sphere - a count of fifty seven for me. This year has been quite the ride as, I suppose, each & every year has been. And the past few weeks have been quite memorable, also, from playing Woodsongs multiple times with the likes of 5-time Grammy winning bass legend Victor Wooten to Grammy winning Blues Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Rush to backing up rising star miss Phoebe White, to continuing to teach my incredible students, to playing my small weekly patio gig where I get to bring folks up to sing & play with me!

Looking back on the year so far, I'm also particularly happy about a few accomplishments, like my interview with Grammy winning guitar god Jon Butcher of Jon Butcher Axis, my 2 movie music pieces ("The Music of Black Widow" and the long time coming "The Music of James Bond" available at SD Universe), and the new songwriting series "Sonic Sorcery" at SD Magazine.

Outside of music performance & instruction, I'm happy to report my workouts continue to be epic, the Lexi Music Awards (despite covid-related challenges) continues to move forward, and the books I've discussed in the past are finally fully outlined.

So, birthday weekend....

on stage at Twisted Cork w/ Greg & Chris

Friday (the day before my birthday) saw a particularly brutal workout - since I knew I had 2 days off - that included an hour of cardio, 30 minutes resistance (weight machine) work, multiple laps of farmers carries (45 pound plate in each hand), and then sets of pull-ups and dips. Post workout meal tasted like heaven! Then I got to pick the kids up from school & the evening was all pizza party and late night of playing & video games.

Saturday (my birthday) I woke and fixed their breakfast, then off to a visit with their other grand parents while I prepped for my birthday cookout. Got to hang out with my youngest son, his wife, and 7 of the grandkids while grilling food for all. Add to that hide & seek, basketball, soccer, and other games. Then ended the day watching the sun set with a glass of fine bourbon.

#ThisIs57 swimsuit edition

Sunday was to see TWO birthday jams, but the patio gig at Ranada's was unexpectedly cancelled (the staffing shortage has caused major problems in so many industries!), but we hit Twisted Cork and bassist Greg Rhodus and I were joined by Chris Jones on drums for a lively open mic jam! Two hours of music with multiple guests made for a fantastic day. The day ended on my back porch with a glass of fine Jamaican rum.

Also blessed to receive hundreds of birthday wishes via text, email, snail mail, social media, phone calls, & the like...including a personal note from a particular author that I rank in the top 10 living authors on Planet Earth, which was, admittedly, an additional thrill.

As I do each year since my 50th birthday, I'm posting an ODIS picture (that stands for "Old Dudes In Shape") as a challenge to my buddies who also post ODIS. Good accountability and keeps us all motivated!

If you are interested in the stories & photos from past birthdays, you can punch THIS LINK, which will list them all.

That's it for now. Gotta get to work prepping lessons, Lexi Music Awards, & the songwriting workshop video series....but check out the video below of my cover of Louis Armstrong's James Bond song, "All the Time in the World" that I shot a week ago.

See y'all soon...in person, online, on TV, or wherever we shall meet!

#StayFierce #SkinnyDevil #FierceAF #SDMLguitar #LexiMusicAwards #ThisIs57 #PirateLife 

a gift from Eddy: Blackwell 007 Rum

Fall Highlights & Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!!

IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING year so far, despite the continued uncertainty in the world due to COVID, and this autumn season has been no exception....so a quick re-cap of a few highlights and some Big Changes in the pipe.

1) TV/RADIO/STSGE: Happy to report that I was called to the Woodsongs stage again as they returned to broadcast (for those unfamiliar, please see Woodsongs description below) for 3 weeks in a row: The first to support 11 year old Phoebe White for her amazing performance....then again to play back-up for the readings of Grammy winning Blues Hall of Fame artists Bobby Rush's new autobiography (and hanging with Bobby backstage for an hour prior to showtime was an incredible experience).....and yet again when 5-time Grammy winning bass legend Victor Wooten took the stage for his performance & interview, and on his last song he invited me to play on his impromptu jam.

Now that's a serious return to the center ring! My thanx to Michael Johnathon & the entire Woodsongs crew for everything!

2) TEACHING: In addition, we've finally returned to live, in-person student recitals and are transitioning back to in-person lesson option for local students (both group & private lessons) over the coming weeks & months....as well as expanding teaching tools for our virtual options (which include Zoom, pre-recorded video, & more) for both local students and my growing call for our of state & even out of country students...as I'm now teaching students in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, and now even Canada.

3) GIGS/WORKSHOPS: I also hope to be booking more live gigs and workshops, but am also currently taping the videos for both the 8-week Songwriting Workshop and the 8 week Improvisation Workshop.

4) DIGTAL TIP JAR & 21st CENTURY BENEFACTORY: It has constantly been suggested to me that I embrace the "subscription model" as an addition to my more traditional biz models. That is to say, I am now offering payment options for anyone who values my work and wants to support it - both one-off "tip jar" model and ongoing "monthly subscription" model.

This is to cover the additional (and unpaid) work that I do, such as the "Guitar Gods" interview series, my "Classic Covers" video performance series, various cost-free lesson articles and "Ask Me Anything" series, and more.

The full list is below, but in summation, 2021 alone saw me publish 20 articles/lessons at Skinny Devil Magazine, another FIVE at Skinny Devil Universe, THREE "Ask Me Anything" videos, and another 28 performance videos. That's 25 articles and 31 videos. So far (it's still October as I write this).

Sooo....one-off via Venmo or PayPal and monthly subscription via Patreon or PayPal!

One-shot support: https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ or www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47 (Pay What You Will)

Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/skinnydevilmusic​ or https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ (Pay What You Will)

And I've just gotten the new PayPal pay button here: 

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=U9PN8H8LM722A

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Addendums:

WOODSONGS: 

Woodsongs Oldtime Radio Hour is taped live at the Lyric Theatre and broadcast on over 500 radio stations worldwide, satellite radio, RFDTV plus about 3 dozen public TV stations across the continental US, Armed Forces Radio, and more.

FULL 2021 content list: 

EIGHT songwriting articles (see: Sonic Sorcery), FIVE one-off music lessons (from "Signature Chords" to the "America the Beautiful" Superbowl performance), THREE Jimi Hendrix style re-print lessons, THREE Zen Guitar lesson re-prints, and one "Guitar Gods" interview (with Grammy winning Jon Butcher) with more in the cue...all in SD Magazine.

At SD Universe saw THREE "Ask Me Anything" music articles, and TWO large works: "The Music of Black Widow" (info & 3 song charts) and "The Music of James Bond" (info & 26 song charts).

Add to that 28 performance videos and THREE music-centric "Ask Me Anything" videos.

The Music of "Black Widow"

"Black Widow" marks the first post-COVID return of the MCU, and it sure did it with a bang. It was the number one movie its opening week and the biggest opening week since "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker", grossing some incomprehensible amount of cash in the US and worldwide.

But we're taking a look at it for the music!

In addition to an excellent and thoughtful score composed by Lorne Balfe (the Hans Zimmer protege who also composed for "13 Hours", "Terminator: Genisys", "Mission Impossible: Fallout", and more), we get 3 songs: "Cheap Thrills" by Sia and Sean Paul, the classic "American Pie" by Don McLean, and a modern cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Think Up Anger w/ Malia J.

So, let's take a look at those songs!

"Cheap Thrills" was released by Sia in 2016 (from her 7th album, and the newest song, compositionally speaking, on our list) and it went right to #1 on the charts in over 20 countries and was nominated for a Grammy Award! WOW! 

"American Pie" was released way back in 1971 and charted in 9 countries (including #1 in 4 countries) and in 2017 entered the National Songwriting Registry (of the Library of Congress) for historical & cultural significance!

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was originally released by Nirvana in 1991, where ushered in the era of grunge (and killed off the 80s hair metal bands that had dominated the rock scene for a decade). The song hit #1 in 5 countries (and charted almost everywhere else) and has since landed on "best of" lusts from Rolling Stone, Billboard, & more, and is a Grammy Hall of Fame song. The Malia J version borrows its pace from the 1990s cover by Tori Amos, but with a modern twist and heavily substituted chords.

Sooo....the song charts:

"Cheap Thrills" Sia w/Sean Paul (2016)

F#m - D - /A - E - /F#m - D - /A - E - /

repeat throughout

"American Pie" Don McLean (1971)

chorus

G - C - /G - D - /G - C - /G - D - /

G - C - /G - D - /Em - - - /A7 - - - /

Em - - - /D - - - /D - - - /

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Nirvana (1991)

transposed to Em for comparison purposes

verse/chorus

Em - A5 - /G - C5 - /Em - A5 /G - C5 - /

repeat

transition

Em - - - /Em - - - /Em - - - /Em - - - /

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" Think Up Anger w/ Malia J (2021)

verse

Em - - - /C - - - /Em - - - /C - - - /

transition

Em - - - /Em - - - /Em - - - /Em - - - /

chorus

Em - - - /C - - - /G - - - /D - - - /

Em - - - /C - - - /G - - - /D - - - /

repeat

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If you find my work useful & would like to support it....

Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/skinnydevilmusic​ or https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ (Pay What You Will)

One-shot support: https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ or www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47 (Pay What You Will)

THANX!

SUMMER NEWS!

QUICK NEWS.....

1) GIGS - Join me every Sunday about 1pm or so at Ranada's Kitchen (496 E High Street in Lexington) for some music fun! If you play or sing, jump on stage and play or sing - with me or without me! I'm easy!

Let me know in advance if you wanna sing or play or if you just have a song request for me to play for you and we'll make it happen for sure!

2) YOUR GIGS - I'm booking Ranada's for Friday & Saturday, as well as preshow for Woodsongs when they begin taping again. Drop me a line for details if you're interested!

3) LESSONS - Zoom & pre-recorded video for weekly lessons still BUT.....live in-person workshops, clinics, student recitals, field trips, and working on a monthly in-person performance class! Message me for details if you or anyone you know wants lessons of any kind!

Songs students are working on for July & August include classics by Rolling Stones, Bill Withers, the Beatles, & more....plus new hit songs from The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Maroon 5....and many in between, from Bob Dylan to Kansas to the Police!

4) SD MAGAZINE - New articles and interviews posted at SD Magazine (like my new "Guitar Gods" interview with Grammy nominated Jon Butcher of Jon Butcher Axis) and more on the way, including songwriting analysis of John Lennon's "Instant Karma" (part of our Sonic Sorcery series), and a bio of legendary artist Link Wray!

Remember, the "Guitar Gods" interview series is at over 80 interviews with unknown gurus to Grammy Award winners....from Steve Lukather to Donna Grantis (Prince) to Tommy Emmanuel to Steve Stevens to Muriel Anderson to Nuno Bettencourt to Steve Morse to Jennifer Batten and many more!

5) NEW ALBUM(s) - COVID derailed some of my recording plans for 2020, but hopefully we'll be back on track soon....with a new EP of old traditional songs and a new EP of all original material targeted for 2022. Listen to my last release from a few years back, called "Public Domain", HERE!

6) VIDEOS - Still adding songs to my "classic covers" series, which is up to over 100 songs now, mostly by request! Latest songs have been lots of blues: "I'm Ready" Muddy Waters, "Baby Please Don't Go" traditional, and "Sweet Home Chicago" by Robert Johnson....with several songs by Prince and NIN on deck! Check the playlist out HERE!

7) SUPPORT - As always, if you enjoy and want to support my work, you can give monthly or just once in my digital tip jars! 

Monthly support: https://www.patreon.com/skinnydevilmusic​ or https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ (Pay What You Will)

One-shot support: https://www.paypal.me/skinnydevilmusic​ or www.venmo.com/David-McLean-47 (Pay What You Will)


More soon...!!!

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.” - BB King

TEACHING Newsletter

HOWDY ALL!

Just a quick note about SDML guitar lessons, EKU's Foster Music Camp, and more!

1) LESSONS: I have private lesson slots available NOW and we're also starting a new GROUP session! Haven't taken lessons for a while and wanna get back in the saddle? Stuck in a rut and need to get out? CALL ME!

2) UKULELE & BASS: In addition to guitar lessons, I also offer bass guitar & ukulele lessons....perfect for summer strum fun!

3) VIRTUAL LEARNING: We offer not only group & private options, but also live and pre-recorded options in case your schedule is crazy or if you now live a few time zones away! We hope to return to IN-PERSON learning soon, but we'll maintain the virtual options for everyone for your convenience! 

Lots of info at our website:

www.sdmlguitar.com 

4) EKU Foster Music Camp: This year EKU will be offering a new COMMERCIAL music camp, and I'm honored to be teaching alongside some incredible folks (like Berklee grad & former Exile & Judds keyboardist Lee Carroll, award-winning producer/engineer Duane Lundy, sax-player to the stars Joseph Carucci) as well as special guest artists! 

The camp is 100% virtual and there are scholarships available! Info at:

https://fostercamp.org/commercial-music-camp 

5) WORKSHOPS: I'm turning the songwriting workshop and possibly the improvisation workshop into 8-week classes for anyone interested (though I'll still be doing the one day workshop format), and using the pre-recorded format so you can access at any time, re-wind to review, and the like! Info on that coming soon!

6) SD Magazine Articles: There are several lesson articles that may be of interest to many of you, from stand-alone pieces like "Signature Chords" (discusses "Prince Chord", the "Hendrix Chord", the "Hard Days Night" chord, & more) to the new series "Sonic Sourcery" (a songwriting series discussing melody, progressions,rhythms,& more, and has SONG CHARTS for each song) as well as up-coming "Guitar Gods" interviews to go along with out 80+ interviews already published! 

Visit SD Magazine at: 

https://skinnydevilmagazine.blogspot.com/ 

That's it for now! Have a fantastic week!!!