COUNTRY GUITAR TECHNIQUE

This is the view out of
my friend Guy Erez's recording
studio in the old
Security Pacific Bank Building
at Hollywood & Cahuenga
in Hollywood at the
most magic moments of
the magic hour.

This is looking northeast -
towards the Hollywood Tower
in the bottom right corner -
where Bogart & Bacall used
to spend time, among other
luminaries.

And up above that is
the Griffith Observatory -
which just recently went through
a tremendous overhaul
and expansion - so in addition
to the iconic beauty of the
building is the astronomical
feast which is offered to
all who make the trek -
I used to frequently
ride my bicycle up the mountain
all the way to the observatory,
which is much easier than
it sounds as the road leading
up winds around the
mountains in a very
gradual uphill lift, so that it's
pretty easy to ride -
and you feel so glad when you
reach the top and see
the beautiful view in all directions -
on a clear day you can easily
see the ocean to the west
(& despite what you might
assume, the air quality in
Los Angeles - because of
new regulations in the last
30 years - is much better than
it was, quite noticeably so -
and views that were always
shrouded in smog or
now visible most of the time)
and to the southeast and quite
close are the towers of downtown
L.A. - and straight south is
all of Hollywood.

The Observatory is beautiful itself
to see and experience -
and is historic -
especially for its usage in the culmination of
"Rebel Without A Cause" starring
the late great Mr. James Dean.

The sunset - and the view from
Guy's studio - is something
I know like the back of my
hand - or maybe the palm -
because for more than 10
years I had my office -
as editor of SongTalk,
the journal of the
National Academy
of Songwriters (NAS) -
we had six of the office
spaces at the end of this
hall - including the one in which
Guy now operates. My own
office was next door to
Guy's studio. In the very office
where Guy is was the office of
the boss - the director of NAS -
and the adjoining outer office
was his secretary/assistant's
office.

Now I have been working in
Guy's studio - recording vocals
for my upcoming album
"Universal Cure" on
Trough Records -
and it is so surreal to me
to be working on these tracks
right there where I had
some great times - and
some times of furious
insanity - with the three
different bosses who inhabited
this office while I was there.

It simply blew my mind
when I found out Guy was
there - I knew he was
in the building I was - but not
until I came to see him there for
the first time did I discover that
his studio is in the heart of
that place I essentially lived in
-night and day -
between 1987 and 1997.

What are the chances? And Guy's
son sits next to my son
in school. And they have become
good pals. As have I with
Guy, a tremendous producer,
songwriter and
bassist - he currently is
playing bass in the
Alan Parson's Project.

It's these kind of connections
which convince me that
people who think there is
no spiritual component to our
lives - a transcendent
reality which is connected
to the world we know -
are crazy.

Wieke
December 2010

My sweet friend Wieke is turning sixteen today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HER! :D
Reminds me my 18th birthday is in 2 weeks...
The past half year she has been my model and I am always happy with the pictures of her. She is a fine model and a good friend. I hope she will be both for many more years.

My titles are often from songs and this one is from a song by Apocalyptica, one of the bands Wieke listens to a lot (I listen to it, too). She also plays the cello herself.