Making music is obviously a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun as well. This weekend I’ve been thinking a lot about what it is that drives us to make music, and what it is that we find … Continue reading The Avocado Jams! Finds a Reward

So first of all, I want to thank everyone that posted music to our listening last week, and everyone else that listened and posted comments, upvoted etc. That was a lot of fun! I think I’ll try to do it … Continue reading The Avocado Jams! Has a Bit of Writer’s Block

WOOHOOO! Alright! Today is the deadline for the first Avocado Jams! songwriting challenge! (I have a lot of exclamation marks and I’m not afraid to use them!) Two months ago I issued a songwriting challenge to our little community. The … Continue reading The Avocado Jams! Throws a Listening Party!!!

Over the past few days, we’ve had some discussion in various threads about teachers and their ability to both inspire and discourage. I’ve had a variety of music teachers over the years, and I can say that I’ve encountered a … Continue reading The Avocado Jams! Gets Schooled

Well, I hate to say it but I don’t really have any big ideas for this week, so I’m just going to share a couple of things from my inbox. Sweetwater had a cool story about recreating the Phil Collins … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! just kind of phones it in

Many years ago, my brother-in-law and I had the brilliant idea of putting together a record label to release some albums from our noise project. I did some research, filed some papers, wrote some checks, and boom! My label was … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! gets down to business

So I’ll admit that reading music has never been my strong suit. Piano lessons as a kid have ensured that I can distinguish a treble clef from a bass clef, though forty years of neglect haven’t really helped my skills … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! tries to decipher all these notes

Originally I had planned to write a bit about music theory or something else somewhat dry and probably uninspiring, but I’m getting my first shot today and have been thinking about how Covid has affected the entire music industry. I … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! prepares to get jabbed

I have to admit that I’ve never had a good practice routine, except when I was a kid and had to practice piano for half an hour a day. Even when I was finally allowed to switch over to snare … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! ponders how to get to Carnegie Hall

So tell us about your rig! What’s your favorite piece of equipment, that one thing that really defines your sound? Is there an instrument that you have your eye on but haven’t picked up just yet? Something that you’ve recently … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! has Gear Acquisition Syndrome

So I’ve had this idea kicking around in my head ever since I thought of starting this little weekly feature, and what the hell, I’m going to give it a shot. Back in 2007, I came across this thing called … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! Issues a Song Writing Challenge

Last week we talked about recording, so this week I want to talk about the flip side, playing live! In front of people! It’s kind of weird to imagine these days, but I’m pretty sure that used to be a … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! Comes Alive at Budokan II

So this week I thought we’d talk about one of my favorite subjects…recording! I love everything about the process, whether at home or in a real, honest-to-goodness studio (something I’ve only done a couple of times). I took a class … Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! Hit the Record Button

Let’s talk about those musicians that inspire us to turn up our instruments and make us sing until the neighbors complain! Continue reading The Avocado JAMS! (The Musical Inspiration edition)