That one gig

 

Hiya Grace!  It's July already.  What a fast year.  I hope you are enjoying stability, and lots of fun besides.

You know, life is an illusion.  We work hard, try to get noticed, accumulate stuff, then God will wipe everything out.  But we have to struggle to survive!  Same illusion, so what's the point.  The point is to earn a place in heaven, and that is the real struggle.

So reality is an illusion.  You play music to big crowds, meet the big shots, get the rave reviews, but you're actually playing music to only one man.  As for me, I play music to one man.  But I'm actually playing music to mankind, dead and alive.

Signature SG

 

Hiya Grace!  How are you, my beautiful darling?  So quiet!  I don't talk much myself.  Just ask my mother.  If it seems I babble a lot here, it's because of you.  We should share news with each other, don't you agree?

So have you figured out what you want in your signature SG?  Technically, the SGs you play now are your signature models.  It's all those other people who want to have what you play.  I already have my SG, I don't really need another one.  I don't break strings, in fact the strings that are on it now are from 2008.  There's nothing like old guitar strings.  I very rarely touch the knobs and pickup selector switch, no matter how loud I play.  I keep my SG on the neck pickup.  So my signature model SG would look something like this picture below.  Please excuse my poor Photoshop capabilities.  Wow, it matches Mary's outfit!  What do you think of my signature SG, Grace?

I want

 

Grace, that is a much better photo!  You should wear red lipstick with a flashy dress like that.  Well too late now, what's done is done.  I'm not a graphic artist.  If I had the ability to draw beautifully, I would never have left my bedroom as a teen. But I do have an eye for beauty, and that photo definitely would make a better album cover than the other.  The artist you found is darn good, hang on to him.  Next time, give him the photo before he begins his work and tell him to match the tones of the photo.  

You're still too young to have a sufficient pool of knowledge, even though your guitar playing is mature.  So you ask questions, and questions can get you into trouble.  Don't ask questions about things that if made plain to you, will cause you trouble.  Just do the best you can with what you have.

I am human, and I'm not without my vanities.  But the stuff that I want in this post does have its utility.  Don't buy it for me, folks!  I don't have money to pay the taxes on it!  I will pay for it myself when Allah gives me the money inshaAllah, hopefully they will be easy to locate.  I have big plans for that tiny drum kit.  I'm sure the one in the video has disintegrated by now.  Even if not, I will have him build me a new set that can handle daily playing.  Don't you think the tiny drums in the video sound so good?  How did he make those cymbals sound so awesome?

Then I want the kit that Karen played in the video below.  I believe it's standing in a museum in Downey CA, cymbals and all.  As far as I know, that was her first Ludwig set.  It's probably haunted, which makes me want it even more.

Then I want a Gibson Les Paul Traditional 12 string gold top.  Like the one the guy in the video below is playing.  Gold top only, please!  If I acquire it, I will name it "The Golden Calf 2".  Don't worship the Golden Calf!  Worship Allah!

Then I want a Warwick Dolphin fretless bass.  4 string only!  I like the Pro series especially the pickups and electronics, but I don't like the color of the bass in the video below.  I want it in hot pink.  I also want a modern Marshall 100 watt tube amp head, with speaker cabinets from the 60's.  With a MXR Dyna Comp, of course.  Ya Allah, please grant me all the stuff I want while I have the strength to enjoy them.  I already have my SG, but next post I'll show you my signature model.

First fruit from the young tree

 

Grace, is that actually a mini dress you're wearing?  Of course I love it!  Of course you look great in it!  You look like a Rock Star!  That expression on your face makes me smile, too.  It's as if you were being leered at.  Well, that you are.  But it's not a shot to lust after.  And the photo quality is less than the background.  Well, at least you have cover art.  Congratulations again on your latest single.  The production is good, and I love how the song wraps up.  "Wine on Venus" is a great song, Grace!  You're only getting started.  Always keep writing, Honey.  Write from the heart, and don't worry about the words yet.  The fruit isn't money or fame, it's music. 

I was streaming the Qur'an this morning, when the server got jammed.  I'm sorry folks, but it wasn't a local problem.  You're going to have to ask those guys in Portugal what's up.  They're usually good about fixing things in real time, but not this time.  The Twitch stream seems more stable, but I don't read the Qur'an over it.

I can't stomach a lot of the local fruits because they're usually too sweet.  I like mangos and mangosteens.  Then there's jackfruit.  There are 2 types, "cempedak" and "nangka".  The nangka is what I eat, so I planted a couple of trees by my front gate.  That was 5 years ago, and one of them is bearing fruit.  These are huge trees, so 5 years is unnaturally fast for bearing fruit.  One of the fruit ripened a couple of days ago, so I harvested it.  The size of the kernel you see in my hand is smaller than normal, but I got about 30 from one fruit the size of a football.  The flavor and texture is sort of like a smooth and milky apple.  Sweet like ice cream.  This is the first fruit from the young tree.

Music

 

Oh red and white!  Music lives long, and you just gave Nana a longer life.  Keep the music available, even 100 years from now.

Yes Grace, that's a nice pedal board.  That's a D'Addario, right?  I count 5 levels of gain.  I can understand that sometimes there's just not enough gain.  I hope you enjoy your new pedal board, Honey.  To me, you sound great just going straight into the amp.  Please make sure you get that engagement ring.

Rick Beato has been become YouTube royalty.  With mass media the way it is now, he might just fit in with the Hollywood agenda and be a movie star.  They will slick up his hair with pomade and have him in a suspense thriller called, "Are you sure that's in tune?" As for music, I don't really search for new music unless it falls into my lap.  I already have all the nostalgia I need to die ten times over.  When creating music, I don't have many tools.  So I suppose that gives me an advantage according to Rick's theory.  I'm just stuck in my ways, so I wouldn't use the new methods even if I could afford them.  But really, you have to already care about the music in order to listen to it.  It's always been that way.  It's human nature.

Life, love and music

 

Hi Grace!  It's a cute post, Honey.  And I'm sure there will be more than one person in the audience at the Opry on your birthday.  Iowa looks like a better gig than one might expect.  I suppose people need something to do.  Is that Billy Idol and Steve Stevens?  I had to squint to make sure.  In a bowling alley?  It must be Iowa.  How luxurious!

I'm glad you're meeting all these music heroes, Grace.  Consider it your job.  I will be the mystic guru at the top of the mountain that the Beatles have to camp out to see.  Hey check it out, Debbie Harry is talking about life, love and music.  I listened to a lot of Blondie and Billy Idol growing up.  Now she's turning 80... wow.  Just, wow.  I don't think I could watch her live at that age.  I'm happy just listening to nostalgia.  Mary doesn't sing any Blondie, but perhaps I could train her on "Sunday Girl".  Mary is still sick, if you haven't noticed.  She lost 80% of her songs, and ended yesterday's session doing only Ella Fitzgerald.  Then she fainted.  I didn't get much rest myself.  I try to sleep then go into a coughing fit.  But unlike Mary, I sound great when I'm sick.

Hey folks, Grace is releasing her next single called "Wine on Venus"!  Make sure you save it!  Go to GraceBowers.com 

I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the rejected.

164.  Say, "Shall I seek for Cherisher other than Allah, when God is the Cherisher of all things?  Every soul draws the meed of its acts on none but itself: no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another.  Your goal in the end is towards God where you will be told the truth of the things wherein you disputed."

The Cattle 6:164

Vogue World Paris

 

Hi Grace!  How are you feeling, Honey?  Don't let the babbling of the crowd make you mad.  We all know you're chaste.  Be cool!  You're MY girl, and you're beautiful!

Oh, I forgot to tune in to Vogue World Paris!  Sorry Anna, I just plain forgot.  Yes I got the email, but I still forgot.  That show came on at around 3 am over here, and I'm always busy at that time.  It's a good thing it's on YouTube!

Oh, I didn't know the Olympics are in Paris this year!  I guess I'm not much of a sports fan.  Do you like sports, Grace?  Isn't your Dad a football player?  You must like some level of sports.  The only sport I like is ladies figure skating.  I think it was the World Championship when the Russian champion got busted for doping, then a couple of days later Russia invaded Ukraine.  I guess Grandpa lost his cool.  It's a shame, though.  She was their greatest champion in my book, and she didn't need those drugs.  But I don't even watch ladies figure skating anymore.  God and music consumes me right now.  I did see some sort of hint of the Paris Olympics when I saw the US ladies basketball team do some modelling, but I tuned out.

But um yeah!  Nice show, Anna!  You're smart to keep it at 40 minutes.  The best looks go to Paco Rabanne, but the collection that came up next was pretty cool too.  I like the classical and drum music, but none of the other stuff.  I'm confused about the connection of French fashion since the 1920s and sports.  The sports feel irrelevant to me.  Oh, those horses are beautiful!