Why Acadia, You Ask?

Some of you have asked why I have an RSS feed from Acadia National Park. I guess I have never found a place as magical, moving and inspirational as the State of Maine, and specifically the region surrounding Acadia. The combination of ocean, rocky coast, deep forest, granite mountains, clear lakes, country roads and cabin; all in one relatively small area is not found anywhere else I have roamed.

Back in the mid 90's I wrote "Somewhere In Maine" after performing at a music festival in Bath, Maine. More on that in another blog...

But "Acadia Drive" was written about the miles and miles of Park Loop Road that twist through the park, and offer some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the world. We have been to Acadia about a half dozen times now, but have never seen it the way twice.

This last time around, in 2006, was so special because Kim and I took the kids, and they were old enought to begin appreciating what they were seeing. And we did things we normally haven't done, like a horse-drawn carriage ride and a whale-watching trip. It is so humbling to see God's handiwork and realize that it is all going on right now as I type...the huge whales are playing in the ocean, the tides are coming and going out of Otter Cove, the lobster boats are fighting the waves to pull their traps, and someone is getting to see it all for the first time today. Pretty cool stuff.

Rediscovering my Taylor 210

A few years ago Bob Taylor introduced a "Maranatha" limited edition model 210 guitar. Kind of a cool story, really. Bob attends church where most of the guys who started Maranatha Records sometime back in the 70's I believe, also attend. They are now the praise and worship band, and to help make a contribution to the church/band, Taylor created this little 210 auditorium model with the old "dove" logo from the Maranatha brand, and donated a portion of the proceeds.

I missed the launch of this guitar and they all vanished into the dealer network quickly, but I happened on two of them in-stock and brand new at Wildwood Music in Cochocton, Ohio (maybe the best acoustic guitar shop going). It is a fabulous place in Roscoe Historical Village, and is an old house, stacked floor to ceiling with some of the best brands in the business. I had bought my Martin Backpacker from them years earlier and always stopped in the shop when doing gigs at the village music festivals.

Anyway, on the way back from business one day I stopped in, sealed the deal and brought the guitar home. I have always been so impressed with the Taylor tone and despite the fact that this guitar's body is slightly smaller than the full Dreadnought scale of my Taylor 310, the little 210 actually sounds much bigger. But there was something missing in the feel of the guitar, so it sat in case for quite a number of months before I finally got it to J. Thomas Davis Guitars on High Street in Columbus, Ohio, and they put an absolutely killer, open-tuning set up on it.

Now I cannot find enough excuses to play this guitar! It also has the Expression pick up in it which is a bit of a shift for me, but married to my Fishman amp, it is powerful.

There are few better bargains than these guitars, and I am so glad that I actually get to own one of these limited edition Taylors.

Guitar String tests

For the guitarists in the group, recently I got to test out some experimental strings from Elixir. Since I started playing guitar I have always had a body chemistry that ate strings up at an alarming rate - caustic sweat or something nasty! It's all of that Yoo Hoo I drink I guess. But I digress...

A few years ago I stumbled on Elixir strings and am absolutely sold on them. But it gets better! Two years ago they asked me to do some string tests and I actually recorded "Faith. Family. Friends" with the experimental stings on my Taylor 310. They really held tune, remained bright throughout the entire, lengthy recording period, and actually didn't need changing after months of use. Yes, I said months.

Now I really could have changed them sooner, but I was on one of those kicks, like seeing how far the car can go towards empty and still run, and the strings probably overstayed their welcome. But that's not the point.

Point is that they really do deliver long life, exceptional tone, great feel and very stable tuning. Anyway, I have a link to them if you are interested!

Great night for coffee...

What a great night everyone! I really appreciate everyone who came out and to Eric Ahlteen who let us play. To answer the burning question, yes, we are playing there again, but we have not gotten a date that works for everyone yet.

For those of you that don't know, Espresso Yourself is a new coffee shop in an old church, and is located in Powell, Ohio. The place is great with hardwood floors, an open plan, lots or original building character, and a "house sound system". Eric opened the place with live music in mind and it shows.

We had a blast and will post soon on the new date. I think Farrel and I will do our "singer/songwriter" gig there next...stay tuned...