| It’s been a minor key kinda week around here.First a little bit of music history. I used to love listening to my dad’s Ventures LPs when I was kid. Here’s a bit about The Ventures for you from Wikipedia: “The band, a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar in the United States and across the world during the 1960s. While their popularity in the United States waned in the 1970s, the group remains especially revered in Japan, where they tour regularly to this day…. [Unfortunately, one of the original members, Nokie Edwards, passed away in 2018.] Their first wide-release single, “Walk, Don’t Run”, brought international fame to the group, and is often cited as one of the top songs ever recorded for guitar. [[ Trust me, even if you’re not aware, I’ll bet you’ll recognize it.]] In the 1960s and early 1970s, 38 of the band’s albums charted in the US, ranking them as the 6th best album chart performer during the 1960s, and the band had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100. With over 100 million records sold, the Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time. The Ventures have had an enduring impact on the development of music worldwide. The band was among the first to employ and popularize fuzz and flanging guitar effects, concept albums, and twelve-string guitars in rock music. Their instrumental virtuosity, innovation, and unique sound influenced many musicians and bands, earning the group the moniker “The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands”. Their recording of “Walk, Don’t Run” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its lasting impact, and in 2008 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Their sound certainly influenced the kind of music I love today. I particularly remember one of my dad’s Ventures records that was all science fiction themes, re-envisioned as twangy surf guitar, The Twilight Zone, the Outer Limits, etc. It was so weird, so surreal to a kid with nothing around except endless miles of prairie and farmland. I think my love of the Ventures carried forward into my admiration Eilen Jewell and her band, which features Jerry Miller. Jerry Miller is ranked #68 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Guitarists. His guitar playing is a wonder to behold. Eilen’s music is a mix of blues, traditional, old-timey country and Americana kind of stuff, much of it in a minor key. In fact, one of her albums is called Queen of the Minor Key. But it’s Jerry Miller’s guitar that really raises it all to a quantum leap above so many other Americana singer-songwriters. Everyone is struggling to find their way through the weirdness of these times, musicians among them, so I was fortunate enough to watch Eilen give a free streaming concert via Youtube and Facebook on Sunday. Her husband and drummer, Jason Beek, accompanied her for nearly two hours from their living room, which was a real treat. When it was over, I pulled out my Gretsch hollow body electric, looked up the guitar tab for several of her songs, and just played her music for a while. That was a ton of fun. I’ll never be Jerry Miller, but my wife called from the back room, “Hey are you playing Eilen Jewell?” “Yup.” At the last show I saw them live, at Swallow Hill Music in Denver, I got the chance to chat with Jerry after the show. I told him that him and Mark Knopfler are my two favorite guitarists ever. He was very gracious, and told me about how he used to sit on his couch when was twelve years old with his guitar and play along with the music on television or on the radio. It’s how he taught himself to play. And you know what? His sound goes back to The Ventures. When being a musician is in your bones like that, I think you’re destined to do it. Some people listen to that call, but many don’t, and proceed to live lives of quiet desperation, never quite understanding what is missing. I think it’s also true of writers, artists, all kinds of creative endeavors. The human being is naturally creative. It fulfills us. And some of us are driven to pursue that for a wider audience. That’s part of what my book Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams is about, the idea that you can get this kind of bug at a very young age, yet to discover all the roadblocks the world puts in your path. Writing that book was cathartic for me in ways I can’t quite explain. I never really dreamed of being a professional musician. By the time I was thinking about my future, I was already dreaming of being a writer. Plus, as a kid, I was probably too lazy to apply myself to learning how to play guitar. I remember Dad trying to teach me a couple of times, and I would get excited, but it was hard, and it hurt my fingers, so I gave up. But I played saxophone in my high school band, and I really loved swingin’ to old Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman tunes. I didn’t pick up the guitar with the intention to learn again until I was living in Japan in about 2005 and had gained the mental and life clarity to listen to that little voice. So we need more music in our lives. Go and find your favorite performers and see what they’re up to. Maybe you’ll find them livestreaming from their living rooms because all their shows have been canceled. And because so many of us are shut inside, maybe we’re reading more. Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams is on sale now. Maybe you need a little musical nostalgia. Maybe you have a young performer in your life who would enjoy some adventure and inspiration. |
| Playing your heartstrings at concert volume |
| Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams is on sale now for just $0.99 for the e-book! The trade paperback is cut to $9.99 as well. (That’s as low as I can go and still cover printing costs.) Get it now! |
“Love, loss, music, and magic, woven into an intricate pattern that smells like teen spirit. You don’t want to miss this heart-wrenching, atmospheric, gripping tale of grit, friendship, and a mystical family legacy that might be more of a curse than a gift. And did I mention music?” – Chris Mandeville, Author of the In Real Time YA time travel adventure series
“Logan is a captivating storyteller from word one. Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams is a YA novel full of hope, adventure, grief, first love, self-doubt, self-discovery, triumph, and magic—everything I love in a book.”
—Rebecca Moesta, New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights series
“This is a brilliant read. Wonderful, well-written plot and storyline that had me engaged from the start. Loved the well-fleshed-out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and action with wonderful worldbuilding that adds so much to the story.” – Goodreads reviewer
“The chapter titles! *chef’s kiss.” – Goodreads reviewer
“Maybe it was just at the right place at the right time, but Junk Magic and Guitar Dreams was a novel I couldn’t put down. Otter’s (the recently-orphaned protagonist) struggles really resonated with me, and the creative use of music throughout the novel brought his angst and growth to another level. Logan’s skill with prose really shines when he describes the protagonist and his band’s performances, building emotions and memories that show his passion for music. If you manage to read those descriptions and not remember when the perfect song fit the perfect mood that you swore would never end and never change, you probably were never a teenager. This is a book that I’ll keep in the back of the shelf, but know that whenever I need to relive those glory days (now I’m writing in lyrics, that’s how infectious this book was), I can reach for it like an old friend.” – Goodreads reviewer