Acoustic Guitar Magazine

I've had a little good fortune here... A couple months ago, Acoustic Guitar Magazine (String Letter Publishing) contacted me through e-mail that they had seen a photo of me that Jane took while I was recording some music. We were staying in a vacation rental in Cambria, CA (down near the Central Coast). It was late in the afternoon and the light was very nice for a photo. Anyway, they asked me for permission to use that photo, my name and a quote for an ad campaign for their 20 years of publishing Acoustic Guitar.

In anticipation of this little bit of free exposure, I changed my website to something a little more streamlined. It was an easy design process through my Reverb Nation account. They are now hosting philbearce.com. Check it out.

phylosophy

I recently made a little money providing lead guitar and acoustic rhythm guitar to a guy in North Carolina for his next Christian CD. It was really a fun project and I really hope that the trend continues and someone else finds me in there. We did this through a website called StudioTraxx.

I used that little bit of fundage to pay for the release of my instrumental album on Tunecore. 'phyosophy' will be released on or near December 31st to iTunes, Napster, and Amazon.com's MP3 site. The new album will have 14 instrumental songs that were composed and recorded for a couple of the internet songwriting challenges that I participate in, namely FAWM and 50/90. If you know me, you'll most likely get a notice that it's available. Heck, even if you don't know me, I'll try to let you know. That's the fun of it. - I have quite a lot more songs (with lyrics) as well, enough for at least two more albums. After this release, I shall start the process or re-recording some of them and putting together new CD's. This time, however, I will bring in other musicians instead of doing it all solo like I have on the past collections. If you're a friend of mine, you probably play an instrument - don't be surprised if I ask you to play on these new albums. Please say, 'yes'.

I Plod Along

I seem to be at par or a little ahead of the game on 50/90! This has been rolling around in my little head for a few days. Jane and I went over to JP's for some playin' and grillin' - and he helped me sort it out a little better. This is what I came up with...

Here is my third song:
(click on the title to stream it or "save as" to download the MP3)

"call me phylo" (c) 2009 Phil Bearce

It's amazing what you can see
When you open up your eyes
Do you find that you were wearing
An elaborate disguise?

And all the folks around you
Walk around in such a daze
Assuming that you'd rather
Just have the good ol' days
_______________________________

The name that I was given
An apostle's I did share
Of the Twelve named: Phillip
It was my Mother's prayer

You can call me 'phylo'
There are structures I must draw
So I can make a living
Torn from the corporate claw
______________________________

But I can make some music
I play a mean guitar
Harmonica and mando
Underneath the evening stars

And when you come and listen
With your coffee or your beer
I'll play for you my stories
And share with you my fears

But also all my laughter
And the joys that will surround
And you'd complete the circuit
As the music comes around

Country Grunge

My band, Country Grunge played a show at Mission Pizza last Friday night. We've played there countless times. Some of those shows were good and some were not so good. Friday's show was one of the good ones. The sound was mixed pretty good and the huge crowd was eating pizza and drinking some beers and raising the noise level to a small roar. But all four of us were in good spirits and looking forward to playing music no matter what. This was the first time we've been in front of people since our show in early February!

We are the only non-bluegrass band they let play there. The owner, Phil Willis, keeps upgrading the equipment and adding to the stage. He's actually bolted the mic stands to the stage, all in a line across the front, since apparently, you can't trust musicians. He will have just installed new speakers, or some H-U-G-E sub-woofers in the corner. It's always something. But he's benevolent pizza guy and lover of live music and that keeps us coming back. And he always comes up right after the show and grabs whatever tips we made, and pockets them. Then he comes back and gives us all a twenty dollar bill and a pizza to take home. You can't beat that.

We didn't get any shows booked for this year at all. Somehow we missed the boat. Although he calls us when some other band either can't make it, or has broken up all together.

We have a few songs that we've recorded at various times at Mission, here are a few:

Better Than Ted written by me
Everything Changes written by me and Tim Ryan
Fences written by Norm Stinson
I Believe Written by Norm Stinson

They're a little rough, but it's live.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with the band in the next few months. Norm is leaving Sony after a long tenure and if he can't get work consulting, he'll move to his cabin and rent out his house here. That would change the whole dynamic of the band. Norm is the lead singer! I would like to continue on, but that would make ME! the lead singer. Oh no, that can't happen. So something will change - I will be playing music, I'm just not sure with whom.

Some new Pale Moon Sky pehaps?

A number of years ago, I was one half of the acoustic rock duo called Pale Moon Sky. I had met Tim Ryan at the local Benicia, California coffee hangout called "In The Company of Wolves". It was owned by a very colorful and lovely lesbian couple, Deb and Deb. We played there on and off for three years on this little postage stamp sized stage, trying like hell to sing over the cappuccino machine. Tim and I wrote some pretty cool folk-rock tunes and we eventually put together a CD called This Feels Like Home.

Tim retired and currently lives in paradise, well it's called Lahaina, Maui, and he is starting to resurrect his musical efforts. I had two songs from my FAWM '08 collection where the melodies just wouldn't come to me. So I sent them to my old buddy in Hawaii and asked if he would take a stab. He was agreeable, and after a couple iterations, we may have a new PMS song comming. We're going to try to produce this tune across the Pacific Ocean. I will post it up as we get closer.

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On another note: I started another blog that no one will ever read. It's called "la cuisine de mi familia", and it's a collection of recipes from my immigrant Italian family. There are two recipes up currently, but I'll post more as I get time. This is the food of my people - which is to say that in no way has your health been considered in the making of these dishes. Back then, that's the way it was - you eats your food, you takes your chances. But oh, how tasty it was. I'm in my late 50's and I've been getting these sent to me ever since I set out on my own in this world.

The Need to Blog?

I don't seem to have a burning desire to write anything here anymore. I've opened this editor a couple times in the last few weeks, stared at it for a few minutes, then unceremoniously closed it again. I'll try to keep my self control together for at least a paragraph.

My band, Country Grunge finally managed to get together again after a long 45 day break. Since we didn't have any shows lined up, it was a nice break. But all four of us missed it. In the interim, we have gotten a couple new shows at Mission Pizza, our old haunt. The new thing, though, is that we're finally recording something. We have recorded in the past, but it's always been a "live' recording with microphones placed wherever they'd fit in the room. Rhys, (bass/guitar), brought in his iMac and we've recorded separate tracks of Normie's tune, "I Want To Test". Here's the file so far: http://grunge.philbearce.com/ Norm and I did the ooohh's and the background harmonies. I think it's good.

I haven't written anything since FAWM really, but I sent two of the songs that I never found the time to demo to my old songwriting buddy, Tim Ryan. He lives in Lahaina, Maui and is starting to get back into music a little. He just sent me an MP3 of his take on the song. Tim and I were called Pale Moon Sky at the very end of the last century - we had a good run. We had one of our songs from the CD This Feel Like Home played on a TV show. It was a good time. I was in my forties.

The next big thing on the horizon is the return of the 'Spring Jam'. "What's that?," you might ask. For ten years, I hosted my own annual event. Some years, it got pretty interesting with country pickers sitting in with punk drummers sitting in with Celtic harpers sitting in with guitar players of all stripes. - Then, along with my first marrige, that all ended. My friend and bandmate, Norm, took up the call, though, and hosted his own Jam in the summers up at his cabin in Twain Harte. - So I'm bringing it back in May. I've invited a couple FAWMers who live nearby, but I didn't want it to end up getting out of control with a lot of folk I don't know. Who knows, perhaps in subsequent years, we'll change it up.

Wow, I guess I found a few things to say. Heigh ho...

New Organic Blues

There are only three days left for FAWM. I've slowed down a bit, even though I have only written 11 songs. Although my list stands at 19, eight of those have been collaborations. I recorded a piece that was supposed to be used for one of my sets of lyrics that had no music. It kept not working for the words, so I just added more layers of instruments. I started with a drum track that I programmed, then added midi bass, the basic guitar changes, harmonica, and organ.

I have had so much fun listening to these five versions (so far) of my little blues piece that I called New Organic Blues. It was called a ”smokey bed track” by devin (FAWM) and it's in the key of Am.

http://fawm.org/songs/1812/ My original New Organic Blues

http://fawm.org/songs/1859/ “Sunrise Mississippi” - Billy Sea

http://fawm.org/songs/2352/ “New Organic Blues” - Todd Norem

http://fawm.org/songs/2502/ “Dearly Departed” – cts

http://fawm.org/songs/3782/ “ A.D.D. Blues” - Errol

http://fawm.org/songs/5032/ “Hanging Around” - devin

I really liked my guitar solo in there.