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Isn't it great that Hitler's Third Reich was stopped?
Isn't it great that North Korea didn't take over South Korea?
Isn't it great that North Vietnam didn't take over South Vietnam?
Isn't it great that the ethnic cleansing in the Balkans was opposed?
Isn't it great that our brave men & women in uniform stand vigilant against terrorism today?

Whether we call it Veterans' Day (USA) or Remembrance Day (Canada) ... we owe them all a big time THANK YOU!

Yes    "Awaken"     Birmingham, 2003

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd2QM84wFGc

I don't know how many hundreds of times I've sat back with eyes closed, and listened to "Awaken". There is so much going here musically, and it's atmospheric changes and various instrumentations are transcendent (my word for the day). Howe uses three different guitars throughout, and the late Chris Squire does the same, except they're all in one big chunk o' lumber. It's very difficult to refrain from doing a play-by-play on this great composition ... but I will. "Awaken" is from Yes's 1977 album "Going for the One".

That's great work, Bill ... wow! After reading and re-reading, a fifth line might be:

"Just passin' through ... to don't know where, don't know when."

Very good indeed! He reminds me of our folk / country / singer / songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in a lot of ways ... and that's a BIG compliment.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day, New Zealand and Great Britain!

Here in Canada, we don't celebrate this holiday ... but it would be good if we had a reason to. What passes as "democracy" in this country is disgraceful. We have a federal election every 4-years or so, and the politicians can make whatever promises they want to get the electorate's attention. Our most powerful broadcaster (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) is 100% publicly funded, so they promote whichever pro-socialism candidate who offers them the most money, and the sheep blindly follow.

After elected, there are no mechanisms in place to hold them accountable to their promises. The locally-elected candidates for the ruling party are required to support the party line, even if their constituents don't. And since that situation exists, they really don't try to find out what the people who voted for them think. Instead of representing the electorate's interests at the policy table, they spend their time "selling" the government position / agenda to their constituents! So every election term basically gives us a 4-year tyranny.

As a result, voter turnout continues to diminish, so that a full 1/3 of the electorate doesn't vote anymore ...  a number which grows each election. What's happening is that 1/3 of eligible voters are saying, "None of the above." There are times when I'm ashamed of what my country is becoming. Perhaps we need a Bolshevik Revolution or a Guy Fawkes so that true democracy will return ... but I have no hopes this will happen. We reached rubicon a long time ago.

Had to rant ... and this seemed like the right occasion. I think I'll go play my guitar, and see if I can delude myself into thinking everything's okay for a few moments.

That's great fun!

When he went "head top" I was getting a kick out of the stone-faces on the orchestra members behind him, i.e., like they didn't even notice. Then I wondered if he was going to do Jimi Hendrix's "lighter fluid" stunt. Mr. Campbell has too much class for that, and besides: who would dare set fire to a 12-string Hamer? Nice axe!

Thanks for this, TIG!

Good post, Bill ... he uses palm-muting very well, a simple technique that really can add dimension to a piece.

Thanks, Bill ... so glad you enjoyed this.

The comraderie between these two is fun, and reminds me of when my best friend Greg and I get together to jam. He's a better guitarist, but never makes me feel that way. We both enjoy music and that's what counts.

Mike Dawes   "Boogie Shred"   (original composition)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-hJU-68pFQ

More great work from Mr. LongFingers! Some of us use (and enjoy!) instructional material from Justin Sandercoe (www.justinguitar.com) and here's an interesting video of Mike Dawes teaching this piece to Justin. Great musicians at work, and having a good time at it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuS3v9pgEG4

Nice work again, Russell.

This song by Bad Company, Bill's comment about his old band's name, and referring to you guys as the "Harding Trio" got me thinking. How about "Hard Company"? Or are y'all too old for that to be relevant? (sorry ... couldn't resist)

Stevie Wonder    "Superstition"    (arranged & performed by Muriel Anderson)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_9oBWKcBVo

Some of Ms. Anderson's enjoyable style and ability. When it comes to arranging music for this genre, she demonstrates a lot of imagination, and obviously enjoys what she does..

My personal preference is 12's on an acoustic, and 10's on an electric. Anything lighter on an acoustic just sounds a bit too thin (to my ears, anyway). Switching down to a lighter string may also create some fret buzz, especially if the guitar is setup for 12's. The thinner strings may sit lower in the nut, and there can be buzz at the first few frets because of it.