Life Update, and Pat Metheny Appreciation
A quick update on goings on, and excitement for a big concert!
Hello there ladies and gentlemen! Hello there ladies and gentlemen!
First off, my deepest apologies to all you Marshall Artists for not having anything for you to read the past two months since my JoBoxers article. Especially after such a prolific start here on Substack earlier this year, I am especially frustrated to have had a prolonged dry spell. That said, it has not in any way been due to laziness or lack of creative inspiration.
Simply put, life has been hectic in all regards the past two months. My personal and professional life have been rife with changes and challenges, including the arrival of a new roommate at my condo and a demanding schedule at work. This past week, I did a presentation for the Sacramento Suburban Writers Club where I not only gave in-depth writing advice, but also read aloud the opening chapter of my novel, Ellwood’s Odyssey. I’m still flying high from how well it was received! I will share the video of the event here when it’s uploaded by the club.
And, of course, the almighty Interstate ‘85. I am proud to say I finished its last “pain in the ass” chapter recently (Chapter 4, “Comeback October”). All that’s left are key passages of some World Series games and the final chapter. Those will be beyond easy to write! I have given myself a hard deadline of having the entire book finished no later than December 17, which I will easily meet. As we speak, I’m writing the chapter about Game 7 of the World Series this week (most famous for Joaquin Andujar’s meltdown), and it’s clicking into place with ease.
As for Marshall Arts, I will do my best to ramp up content again when time allows. Needless to say, that will happen regardless after the book is finished, as I will have more free time and am planning on taking at least a year off before writing my next book. I still want to get to my first installment of Timeless Television as promised in my last article, among other things.
I may also have my first Dodger-themed post sometime soon, in which I will make a key point in the matter of comparing Dave Roberts to Tommy Lasorda. Especially after the Dodgers’ humiliating NLDS exit against the Diamondbacks, I’ve been reflecting on my past decade of following my team with a lot of mixed (honestly mostly negative) feelings. I feel that piece will help articulate them in a more meaningful way than just ranting on Twitter.
For now, though, I don’t want to dwell in acid over a baseball team. Rather, I want to take a moment to earnestly appreciate an artist I’m excited to say I’ll be seeing soon: Pat Metheny. The jazz guitar pride of Lee’s Summit, MO (fittingly, a suburb of Kansas City) is coming to the Crest Theater here in Sacramento on November 1. I got tickets for my mother and myself as a birthday gift to her, and I am counting down the days!
If you don’t know who Pat Metheny is, that’s something you will want to rectify immediately. A winner of 20 Grammy Awards, Metheny is universally recognized as one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all-time, having been in the spotlight for almost half a century now. His playing style straddles everything from fusion to progressive to Latin, rattling notes of byzantine complexity from his signature hollow-body guitars with an ease that boggles the mind.
I will assuredly do a Song of the Day post on the day of the concert with more about Metheny, but for now, enjoy this clip of him covering “And I Love Her” by The Beatles. It’s easy to extol Metheny’s virtues through his more complex original work, but honestly, the flourish he displays with a straightforward acoustic cover of a pop classic might be the most apt measure of his virtuosity.