My regular music activity is participating in open jam sessions several times a month at a few local venues, but I also take on a solo guitar project a couple of times a year. Most recently, I put together a "Beatles Suite" consisting of four well-known songs. It was for a community event that involved a variety of acts, for an audience of around 120 people.
The above is the complete 15 minute performance. Here's the tunes and times for those who'd like to skip around:
00:00 Intro, "Free as a Bird" and transition
04:00 "Blackbird," with modulation and transition
08:45 "Lucy in the Sky," with transition
11:15 "In My Life" and ending
I've performed these tunes live separately on a number of occasions, but this is the first time putting all four together.
The guitar is a 1980s Kawai "Moonsault," or which I affectionately refer to as my "Moon Guitar." It has active electronics with four switches: boost, distortion, coil tap and out-of-phase. I favor the out-of-phase clean tones, for the most part. It's run through my "Mad Professor" board (compressor, chorus, delay, spring reverb). The pedals, which I tweaked a bit at a soundcheck a few days before the event, are set and forget, although I turn the delay on and off for certain sections. The amp is a Henriksen Blu Six, single channel with 120 watts, which was more than sufficient for the venue auditorium.
Although I was a work-a-day musician decades ago, today I'm not a full-time musician and this was the largest audience I played for in a long time. It took a couple of months to put this set together. Performing was a bit nerve-racking, but the organizers were supportive and the audience, which included a few friends and students, was very appreciative.
This recording was done on a smart phone by an audience member. I hope you enjoy it!
