Are You a Gear Head?

Gear

We’re talking about musical gear, of course.  While I don’t claim to be a massive collector of vintage guitars and pedals, I have had a Gear page on this website for quite sometime.  Only recently did I start thinking of adding links to songs that feature all the various pieces of gear listed there.  It turned out to be a lot of fun hunting down specific examples of some of the pieces.  I even had to refer to recording session notes on a few of them in order to figure out which pieces of gear were used. Why don’t you check some of them out? Click here: Gear page.
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Have you played your guitar today?

We human beings are funny. Or maybe it is just me. When I’m busy working, I often wish I had more time to play guitar and write music. But when work slows down, I seem to completely lose the desire to play.

Maybe it has to do with priorities. Maybe it has something to do with mental stimulation. All I know is this: I’m looking for a job or at least a new consulting client – and my fretting fingers are rapidly losing their callouses.

I forced myself to pick up my Martin acoustic and strum it a bit yesterday after re-soaking the humidifier device in it. At least performing humidifier maintenance forces me to open the case and look at the guitar. That was the first time I touched any of my guitars since recording a song a month ago.

Creativity is not something that can be forced, but practice (exercise) is. It is requires discipline. That discipline seems to go right out the window when I am looking for work. I’m going to have to try harder to play a guitar at least once a week. Especially while I have plenty of time. So I will try to take a deep breath….relax…and play something! It might even help lower my blood pressure.

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The Joseph R. Ellis “Encouragers Club” is now accepting new members!

Not all of us are rock stars.  Heck, I don’t even want to be a rock star (especially at my age).  But I do need your encouragement.  Knowing that somebody is out there enjoying the songs I created would be a big incentive for me to create more music.  All I have to go by are play counters and comments left via social media (I don’t play live).  But here’s a new way for you to offer support and encouragement – Join the Joseph R. Ellis “Encouragers Club” over on bandcamp.  Here’s what you get:

  • 3 of my most recent albums from my back catalog on bandcamp
  • Exclusive access to the Joseph R. Ellis fan community.
  • All the new music I make, streaming instantly on your mobile device via the free Bandcamp app, and also available as a high-quality download.
  • Exclusive access to “members-only” content (new song demos, previously unreleased tracks, etc.).
  • The satisfaction of knowing you’re supporting me in a sustainable way.

You get all this for $5 / month!

Hop on over to https://josephrellis.bandcamp.com/encouragers-club and see what it’s all about!

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

-Joe

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