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I am the Ghost in the Machine
As I prepare for touring as the electric harpist in Steve Vai’s “Story of Light” tour, I’m in a time machine. One minute I’m back at U.C. Berkeley, throwing myself on the floor during a practice session and sobbing “Why do I always have to work twice...
Where the heck are we???
Two things stick with me from Mark Twain’s “Diary of Adam and Eve”: that God created death to cure Adam’s existential depression and that Eve’s job was to name the animals. One of the biggest challenges in my rehearsals with Steve Vai is not knowing the names of the...
Field of Musical Landmines
Rehearsal started late today, which gave me a chance to work on some of my parts in the hotel. I still only have playable parts for a few of the tunes, but the list is growing. The way this works, Steve’s figuring out what I’ll play as we go along, I try to...
A B3 Boost & Father of Kiss
Rock Harp Diaries … Sunday, June 4, 2012 10AM -I emailed Larry Luddecke last night for an emergency Skype Hammond B3 lesson for one of the tunes I’m playing on tour with Steve Vai. I can play keyboard – but know nothing about various...
A Moment with Maeve
‘I can’t believe that!’ said Alice. ‘Can’t you?’ the Queen said in a pitying tone. ‘Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.’ Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said ‘one...
Tucker Stilley – New Jack Rasputin in Cambridge
I had coffee last week with Rachael Solem, who’s hosting an exhibit of artist Tucker Stilley’s works at the Harding House in Cambridge, MA. I’d gotten the postcard, an image of human eyes looking out of a page of colors, but I didn’t really...My Vai Class Homework
To explain how this video came about from the beginning, I’d have to go back to my near-disastrous debut with the Boston Pops which was saved by emergency musical intervention — and that’s a story I’ll tell you sometime — but in short,...
Beginning in the Middle
I started playing harp as an adult. Well … full disclosure? I had 6 or 7 lessons when I was 13, then took a 9-year hiatus and started seriously when I was 22. And, this morning, I learned that Mason Williams, the man who wrote and recorded one of the most famous...
