Guitarist, Composer, Instructor
San Diego has it’s mojo back folks! We are back to warmth and sunshine once again.
To all my back east/frozen tundra friends and followers hope this tune will warm you up, as well…lol
Click the album cover photo to hear Sunny & 70 and other tunes from our debut CD.
“It can be tough being 7/8 in a 4/4 world…but, I would never change it!”
Mike Slayen~me
I still haven’t had anyone book me to play guitar for their Elusive Daring Crazy Adventurous Wedding I wrote about last year. Maybe 2013 will be the end of my wait.
You know the type of wedding I am talking about? The ones you see at the end of the news every now and then… A couple gets married on a zip line, under water or in a hot air balloon.
I used to work for a hot air balloon company back in my college days. They really aren’t that adventurous. You take off, float over a scenic landscape, watch the sunset, drink champagne, land and head out to your dinner, etc. It really happens that way 99.9% of the time. Actually a cool way to start off a marriage. But, this wedding………….not so much!
Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt as this high-flying wedding ceremony was abruptly brought to an end in a San Diego neighborhood.
This story aside, I am not deterred in my quest to play your wedding with a twist. If you have an idea let me know and we can set it up!
Here is a fun video for your Monday morning…at least for those of you who are a fan of both Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. Pretty clever how they intertwined the two songs, “Whole Lotta Love,” and, “Helter Skelter.”
It’s almost 2013! This compels me to create a few lists from the year in review, my first as a blogger.
My last post was my top 10 posts of the year according to WordPress stats. The 10 listed on this post are MY favorites…according to ME.
There were many, but, these are the ones that stood out in my memory as either being fun, rewarding or challenging to write. Some were very popular, some were not and some were early before I had much following. Hopefully this list will supply my followers with some new insights into this blog 12 Notes & the Truth!
These first two are important to me as both guitarists were HUGE in my inspiration to be not only a guitarist but a musician.
1. Van Halen Week in San Diego – Concert Review
2. Michael Schenker Said No to the Rolling Stones, Ozzy, Aerosmith…
This post was cool because I found a new guitarist, influence and a historical perspective I never knew. I knew of Jose Feliciano, but, not much about him. An amazing musician that really took an unfair career hit with his version of the Star Spangled Banner. A great version in my opinion and better than many of the renditions today. Expect more posts on Jose Feliciano in 2013!
3. National Anthem, Jose Feliciano-Play Ball!
These next three are my favorite attempts at ‘writing.’ Some of my posts are just that…posts. These three were more of a personal perspective on guitar, myself and my musical past.
4. Beware of the Pick Gremlins! Important as ALL guitarists know there has to be Pick Gremlins stealing our picks! How else can they disappear so quickly?
5. Function of My Dysfunction An insight into my mind…
6. Band Logos and Dreams What did I study in school? Drawing band logos on my book covers and folders.
Sports has been another major interest throughout my life. So it is nice for me to be able to combine the two. I thought these were pretty clever, tongue in cheek ways of combining music and sports. They are also an exercise in creativity much like composing music.
7. A Musical Tribute to the 2012 Olympic Games in London
8. 2012 NFL Predictions ‘Rock n Roll’ Edition
Playing a fair amount of weddings every year and working with so many great couples I really enjoyed blogging about different musical aspects involved in making the ‘Big Day’ special.
9. Weddings
Yeah, I had to delve into the ugly Presidential campaign of 2012. I feel I gave both a fair ration of disrespect as I feel ALL politicians deserve. Much like the sports posts above it was a fun creative process putting this post together.
10. Presidential Campaign 2012, Romney v Obama (Scherzino Falsetto)
Thank you to everyone who visited the site this year. Since starting in March there have been just shy of 10,000 views.
Here are the top 10 blog posts by numbers of viewers in 2012.
1. American Idol Live! Tour, San Diego Concert Review -July 26, 2012
You can’t deny the power of this show. Love it or hate it, it has mass appeal! I was a devout hater for the first few years but have been won over by the talent of some of the kids!
2. Van Halen Week in San Diego – Concert Review
Van Halen, the reason I play guitar = the reason I am here 30 years later playing and writing about music. So glad to see their resurgence in 2012.
3. Scorpions & Tesla in San Diego, Your Concert Review
The Scorps were one of my favorites growing up. To this day one of the best concerts I ever saw in ’84, awesome to see them still at it and popular as ever.
4. A Musical Tribute to the 2012 Olympic Games in London
This post had a lot of global appeal as all countries are included. I thought it was pretty creative.
5. This Performance May be Why the Term ‘God Bless America’ is Used as a Curse Phrase
The cyber world is truly made up of puppy, kitty and cute kid videos…and unfortunately people like to see a good train wreck as well…which is what these poor singers gave during a World Series game in San Francisco.
6. Michael Schenker Said No to the Rolling Stones, Ozzy, Aerosmith…
I am truly grateful to see Michael Schenker is so popular over the globe. I have always been a fan(and feeling on an island) and glad to see this post has been so popular over the year.
7. Mick Jagger on SNL Season Finale May 19
The Rolling Stones just don;t go away. Another post that I have been surprised got so many hits throughout the year.
One of my favorite bands. The title sounds negative, but, I wrote this as a tribute to how good they are and wondering which early album did not hold up in AC/DC fans minds.
9. Van Halen Week in San Diego – 10 Facts You Might Not Know About Van Halen
Again awesome to see them have such a big year in 2012.
What a great title to get people to your blog, and I guess it worked. I was honored to play guitar for Rachel Sterling’s wedding over the summer.
Becoming a blogger this year has been a lot of fun. There were certainly some surprises for me along the way some include;
-That just under 10,000 viewers would visit, read & reply to this blog.
-How many cool people I have hooked up with to chat about music.
-That no matter what your opinion….someone will STRONGLY disagree. Although I had very few negative comments over the year they are venomous when they disagree…a small taste of what those in the public eye must endure daily…like actors, athletes and musicians. Actually my first negative comment oddly felt kind of good. That what I had to say touched a nerve with someone…like I was doing something right here. Although, personally, I would prefer an adult exchange of ideas. I never did censure any comments even those lame spam ones that get through.
-One of the most mind-blowing aspects is how many views I received outside of the U.S.
Here are the top 10 countries to visit 12 Notes & the Truth! since it was unveiled in March.
1. United States-Obviously
2. United Kingdom-Makes sense as the U.K. is English speaking and very much Western in music and culture
3. Canada-Ditto #2
4.Philippines-From watching my stats throughout the year it seemed to line up with my American Idol posts. I think Jessica Sanchez may have been a part of the attraction, as well. There was also a wedding photographer from the Philippines that traded links with my site.
5. Germany-I did write a couple Scorpions posts and am a huge Michael Schenker fan, both of whom are native sons to Germany. I never saw a direct correlation to my stats however.
6. Australia-Again ditto #2 & #3
7. India-A welcome surprise how high they ranked.
8. Brazil
9. Mexico-Not as much a surprise due to their proximity to San Diego even though they have a very different culture.
10. Netherlands
Ranking just outside of the top 10 were; Spain, France, Russia, Italy, Greece, New Zealand and South Korea.
Some countries that visited which surprised me were; United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Algeria, Lebanon, Maldives, Kenya. Not surprised that the folks there are interested in music and culture of America and the West. More surprised that their interests brought them to my humble blog.
Some of the global appeal I think relates to previously mentioned posts about Michael Schenker, Scorpions and American Idol. Others include my sports posts on baseball, the NFL and the Olympics and I would like to think just a general appeal to music lovers.
Here is to a great, prosperous and musical 2013!!!
Thank you to everyone who has stopped by the blog this year!
Thanks to all who follow the blog, Facebook and Twitter!
Thanks also to all my students, clients and colleagues for everything over the years!
It’s been great to chat with you all about one of my favorite things…MUSIC.
Here is to you!
Mike
A sad note this Christmas, on the 24th actor Jack Klugman passed away at age 90. Some may remember him as Quincy, M.E. but, to me he will always be Oscar Madison, the slob from the Odd Couple.
I loved this show as a kid, good clean fun. However, I have to say it was the theme music that I could not wait for each episode. Remember back in the day all TV shows had a theme song, not just a 10 second clip like shows get today. Each show was identified by its theme. Before I knew any rock bands, my love for music as a kid was fueled by what my parents listened to and TV…so the connection was there. Some other favorite theme songs were, Happy Days, Barney Miller, Sanford & Son…the list goes on…..
RIP Mr. Klugman thanks for being a part of my early music influences!
The biggest question regarding this song is the title. Berry sings, “Run Run Rudolph ,” but the title is actually Run Rudolph Run, go figure. Even the video clip shared below is titled incorrectly.
Anyhow it is one of the great, fun Christmas tunes around.
Enjoy!
Mike Slayen ~ Guitarist 