David Guilbault

AMP FEVER

In addition to performing as a singer-songwriter, I am now the lead singer and rhythm guitar player in a cowboy surf lounge music band called "Vacant Stairs."  We're kinda like Dean Martin meets The Ventures out on the open range.

This has caused a need for AMPLIFICATION.  To that end I have been buying some vintage amplifiers.  I am a big fan of solid state amps made in the Eighties by the Acoustic Control Corporation out of Van Nuys, California.  These amps have a nice clean sound.  And their look fits in with my taste for a Mid Century Danish Modern vibe.

Right now I have four of their amps.  One is for quiet practice at home.  Another lives in the band's rehearsal space (so I don't have to schlepp it up and down stairs with my hinky back and weak knees.)  The other two are for gigging - two different sizes depending on the venue.

They are the G60-212 (Model 111), two different versions of the G60-112 (Model 109), and the smaller G20-110 (Model 105).

 

For the fun of it, and as a learning experience, I am also restoring/modifying a vintage 12-watt, hand-wired, point-to-point Gibson Kalamazoo Reverb 12 amplifier.  It has three 12AX7 tubes, running the preamp stages, the tremolo oscillator and the reverb driver.  Two EL84 tubes are for power output.  You can follow the progress of my work on this amp on AudioKarma.

 

For my performing songwriter gigs, I'm still using a great amp for acoustic guitar by Ultrasound, the model AG50-DS4.  It has two inputs, one for mic and one for guitar, so I use it as a PA for small venues.

 

Then there is the mighty Shure Vocal Master.  This is a Sixties vintage PA system that The Doors used, as well as many other professional acts of that time.  It has inputs for six microphones, each with its own controls for volume, bass, treble, and reverb.  The reverb comes from a spring reverb tank.  It puts my vocals strongly out front of the rest of the band, not lost in the mix.

 

Lastly, I use a Roland Cube Street for busking, which has inputs for guitar and microphone, lots of cool digital effects and amp modeling.  I also use it with headphones to practice silently at home.

 

 

Luckily I have an old Volvo station wagon to haul all this vintage gear around.  And I've only thrown my back out once, which put me down and out for over a week.  I don't need groupies, I need roadies.  Maybe groupie roadies.  Hmmm.

HALF WAY THROUGH

Hi again folks, Well, I'm half way through the allotted time to reach my fundraising goal on Kickstarter, but have raised only 1% of the funds. This is turning out to be a very humbling experience.  Perhaps I have been too ambitious. But, in order to produce all the work I envision, I really do need $25,000.  As I am retired and on a fixed income, I need to rely on the support of fans, friends and family to collect the money needed to produce a studio-quality record album. Back in the day, record labels would front the money for developing artists.  Those days are long gone.  Now, almost every musical act is self-supported.  Other acts have broken this process into its parts, launching separate fund-raising drives for recording, mixing, mastering, producing and marketing their albums.  That is a laborious and time-consuming process which too often ends up with some or all of those elements suffering. While I'm a bit discouraged, I am still hopeful I can gather the resources to produce this album and accompanying book with a burst of creative energy in a short period of time, rather than over months or years. To that end, I am again seeking your help.  I really, really do hate asking for money.  But, I can't do this without your financial support.  Would you take a look at my proposed project, become one of my backers, and help my songs find their way into the world?  You could also help by spreading the word through your social media sites. Thank you again for being a fan, and taking a personal interest in my music.  That alone means more to me than you could know. Cheers for now, David. P.S.  One element of my "body of work" project is the "Ten in Twos" demo CD.  That's where I give five different musicians two of my songs each to record. I play a guitar track and sing the vocal track.   All the other tracks are from these superb musicians, who are acting as producer, engineer and multi-instrumentalist.   I've let go of the songs so they can produce them any way they hear and feel.   I was going to wait until we had all the music finished. But, I thought I'd share with you the first song completed by Andy Zadrozny, called "Something to Lose."   I wrote this song 40 years ago, and it has always been one of my favorites. The first cut is the way I recorded it alone a few years ago.  The second cut is Andy's recent production.   Demo Version: "Something to Lose" Produced Versions:  "Something to Lose"

 

Dear friends and fans,

I have been writing songs since I can remember.  They are stories of life, loss and love.  But, only a few of them have been recorded.

It is now time to memorialize my “Body of Work” (some 100 songs) before I pass from this life.

Truth needs to be told.  Through the art and craft of songwriting, and driven by an insatiable, adventurous curiosity, I've gathered insights and experiences that have found their way into my music and lyrics.

To help these heartfelt, honest songs find their way out into the world, I am looking to produce recordings of my complete catalog of songs.

This project starts modestly, with me recording ALL MY SONGS on a home digital recorder - just my voice and guitar.  And it concludes ambitiously, with a professionally produced double vinyl album (with enclosed download card) of my 20 BEST SONGS.

To that end, I have started a Kickstarter project to raise $25,000.  I invite you to go to my page for complete details of the project.

The concept is simple.  Fans can donate any amount from $10 to $1,000 in support of the project.  Your credit card is charged ONLY if and when I meet the goal.  If I fall short of the goal, the project is cancelled, and no one is charged.

In return for your donations, there are "rewards", much like what you receive if you pledge to PBS.  You can go to the Kickstarter.com page to see those rewards - stuff like download cards, CD's, vinyl records, and even online or in-person concerts.

I have 60 days to raise the funds to finally achieve a lifelong ambition.  I know we live in difficult economic times, and that you might be struggling, along with most of us, to make it in this world.  But, we all need a little music in our lives.  I would be honored if you helped me share mine, and became one of my "producers."

As always, I hope all is well with you and yours.

Cheers for now,

David

POULSBO ARTS FESTIVAL

SPRING TOUR

 

 

 

 

RESCUING MUSIC

Good day today.

I just bought over 300 78rpm records from a  man on Craigslist who was selling his late father-in-law's collection. These platters have found a good home.

It's mostly the usual big band fare (Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Artie Shaw) and pop vocalists from the Forties (Dick Haymes, Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford).

But I'm excited that there are also some of my favorites (Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Mills Brothers, Ames Brothers, Louis Jordan, Eddie Fisher, Perry Como, The Weavers, Cab Calloway).

And there are some I am looking forward to discovering or re-discovering (Theresa Brewer, Johnny Ray, Stan Kenton, Carmen Miranda, Les Baxter, Perez Prado, Louis Prima).

The records were in the seller's car trunk and I have to let then warm up before I try and play any of them. Then I'll clean each one with The Disc Doctor's Miracle Record Cleaner.

Soon I will launch my podcast, "The Dirty, Scratchy, Moldy Record Show" and play some great music that might otherwise have been lost to history.

Good day today.

I WALK ALONE

To all the lonely hearts who feel unloved today, I feel you.  This song is my valentine to you.

"I Never Thought" by David Guilbault

D. G De G

For the past two years I have been gigging (mostly for meager tips) as the duo TuTone with guest guitarists.  It's been great fun playing with Hal Colombo, T-Bone Savoy, Terry Kingen, Antony De Gennaro and Alek Vila. I thank them all for helping me learn how to feel comfortable and authentic on stage.

It's time to up the ante. So, this year, I am forming a professional performing duo with Antony De Gennaro.  For now, we're calling ourselves "D. G  De G".

We'll be performing a mixture of my songs, Antony's music and covers of hits from songwriters that speak to us about truth. To that end, we'll be working on an entertaining and honest repertoire over the next couple of months and will record some demos. Then, perhaps a full band and tour.

Below are a few videos we'd like to share from our first unrehearsed 2011 gig, January 8th at Egan's Ballard Jam House in Seattle.

I'd like to thank my friends and fans for all the love and support they have shown me over the past two years. Better shows and recordings are in the offing. I hope you stay on this musical journey with us. See you then. Cheers for now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FIRST GIGS OF 2011

45 RPM

I love discovering new music.

Tonight I have been cleaning and playing lots of 45 rpm records I got at Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul thrift shops.  My astonishing discovery tonight was coloratura soprano Erna Sack.  Sack can hit C above high C.  Oh, my goodness, gracious.

Another new artist was Gia Miaone.  She was Louis Prima's fifth and last wife.  Listening to them sing together was a musical treat that put a smile on my face.

Earlier this evening I spun records by Brian Hyland, the Bee Gees, John Travolta, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Fats Domino, Xavier Cugat, Queen, Glenn Campbell, the Carter Family, Janis Ian, Heart, Nillson, Wham, Cher, Libnda Ronstadt, J. D. Souther, Tom Jones, Jay and the Americans, Connie Francis, the Turtles, Neil Sedaka and Elvis.

Right now I'm listening to the plaintive cowboy harmonies of the Sons of the Pioneers.

SORRY, YOKO

Ok, I have to admit it.  I was a Yoko hater.  Never much liked that she inculcated herself onto some of my musical hero's albums.

But, last night I watched the documentary on Lennon's and Ono's time in New York City.  It was fascinating and revealing. 

There is an interesting quote in which John says that he heard the B-52's on the radio and that it sounded like Yoko, that they were using her voice.  He went on to say that maybe it was time for the public to catch up to her musical art.  He was right.

I listened to "Double Fantasy" again today after maybe 20 years.  Yoko's contributions are strong and unique.  Now that I know the background to the songs, I appreciate the album all the more.  Together the interplay of the two songwriters' works tells the story of their lives at that time and just before - the good and the bad.  The album is such a raw and truthful story of love, betrayal and redemption. 

Good artists are usually ahead of their audience.   So, Yoko, please accept my belated apology for ignorantly dissing your music and your life.  You are your own artist.

And it is so very, sadly prescient that the last lines of the album are "Hard times are over."

TO JOHN LENNON

Tonight I am tipping a glass in loving memory of John Lennon, who was there for nearly every chapter in my life.

On August 8th in 1980, when John Lennon was murdered, I was producing a two-hour live show on CNN, called "Take Two". We, of course, devoted the entire program that day to the news of his killing, his life and his music.

A year later, on the anniversary of his death, I produced a half-hour tribute that aired on WTBS. My budget was zero, so I literally had to beg, borrow or steal any and every piece of footage I could get my hands on. This program is raw, as these were pre-digital days, and the source tapes I used were of poor quality. You can watch the program on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/4597917. This file was digitized from an old VHS tape copy.

I had to put the show together quickly with whatever I had at hand, so I tried to tell a story using just John's words. To this day, I miss the man and his music.

So, bless you John Lennon and thanks for all the grooves. There has never been anyone better. Your music lives on and your legacy grows

FAVORITE ALBUMS

Tom Rush - The Circle Game

Van Morrison - Poetic Champions Compose

The Beatles - Rubber Soul

Gram Parson - GP & Grievous Angel

Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks

Beach Boys - Dart to the Heart

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town

Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach - Painted From Memory

Guy Clark - Dublin Blues

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This is Nowhere

Elvis Costello - My Aim is True

Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years

Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours

Bonnie Raitt - Luck of the Draw

Bonnie Bramlett - Lady's Choice

Rosanne Cash - The Wheel

The Pretenders - Isle of View

Johnny Mathis - More Greatest Hits

Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin

The Temptations - With a Lot o' Soul

The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks, 1964-1971

Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out

Chad Mitchell - Himself

STILL TRUE AS BLUE

NEW SPRING SONGS

MARCH GIG

TACOMA DEBUT

NEXT GIG

 
 

MUSIC EMBODIED

I just saw "This Is It", the movie culled from rehearsal footage from Michael Jackson's planned final live tour.  Even in checked practice performance, minimizing his dance moves and saving his singing voice, you can not take your eyes off  MJ for a second.  Even modulated, he is the embodiement of his music, his precise movement and vocal phrasing becoming the emotions of his signature songs.  Even with all the visual spectacle going on around him, his charisma commands your attention.  Let there be no doubt, Madonna and Britney and Justin and Miley and all you other pretenders to the throne with your manufactured spectacles, Michael, even dead, is still the King of Pop. His tour would have been truly spectacular.

GIG TONIGHT

AN AQUARIAN EXPOSITION

It was late summer, 1969.  I had been to lots of outdoor music festivals.  I had already seen Jimi and Janis and Jim, the Who and The Band.  I lived in upstate New York and heard there was going to be "an aquarian exposition" down the road in White Lake, N.Y.  "Naw," I thought, "I'm festivaled out."   So, I decided not to go.  Thus I missed the epochal event of my generation.

And, while we're at it, RIP hot-lickin', guitar-inventin', multi-trackin', music-changin' Les Paul.

PHOTO CREDIT:  Jennifer Taylor, The New York Times

BUSKING IN SEATTLE

I have to believe from my experience that Seattle's announced commitment to support music is a bit disingenuous.

I notified the Parks & Recreation Department a few months ago to get a permit to perform in the city parks.  They informed me that there were no more available this year.  My understanding was that "sanctioned buskers" could perform in the parks from noon until 2p, and that anyone could perform other times.

So, I have performed twice by the pergola in Pioneer Square near where I live.  One of the security guards for a tourist tour that starts there told me I was the best performer they've had there.  The audience has been supportive and mildly generous.

But, today the Park Rangers told me I couldn't play without a permit, couldn't sell my CD's and couldn't use amplification.  Yet, the so-called "official buskers" can plug in their instruments and plug their recordings. You'd think I'd be able to scratch out a few dollars singing for my supper.  But not in this "arts" town.

Firstly, I don't understand why a busking permit is needed in any event.  And I certainly don't understand why the number issued is limited.  In this town, you have to know who to know and when to know them in order to be "official."

I'm just trying to live and eat and spread my original music.

I also tried playing a few blocks away in Occidental Square.  But one of the managers from the art galleries that line that pedestrian park asked me not to set up and play.  Another so-called art patron preventing an artist from performing.

It's all very frustrating.  I live in Pioneer Square and you'd think I could share my music with my neighbors and accept their gratuities.  For all its progressive posturing, this is a town of draconian restrictions.  Next the panhandlers in this town will have to be licensed.

Oh, well, such is life in Seattle.
Cheers for now.  David.

NEXT GIGS

KEEP ON GIGGING

 

SHOW TONIGHT

GIG TODAY

STILL THE TRUTH

A TRIO OF TRUTHS

Hi folks, friends and fans. I invite you to come see me perform at Egan's Ballard Jam House this Tuesday, April 7th at 7p, along with fellow singer-songwriters Kate Graves and Sean Bendickson.  Cheers for now. David.

THE A GALLERY

Hi folks, fans and friends.  I invite you to stroll into the A Gallery this Thursday night during the Pioneer Square Art Walk.  I'll be playing another set of originals, beginning at 5:15p.  Cheers for now.  David.

Photo: Colin Nelson

SONGS INTO THE WORLD

GUITAR RIFFS

Nashville super group Sixwire riffs through the years at the Taylor Guitar booth for NAMM 09.

LOUNGE GIG TONIGHT

I have a gig tonight at the Columbia City Theater Lounge in Seattle.  I'm sharing the bill with Curtis Seals, Kelly Vance, Dustin Darnold and Issac Barham.  Show starts at 8p.  My first set of two is scheduled for 8:40p.  The address is 4916 Rainier Ave. South in Columbia City.  Those of you in Seattle, please come on by.

BROTHER BRENT

R.I.P. DEWEY MARTIN

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Stephen Stills, Neil Young and Richie Furay have issued a statement on their former Buffalo Springfield band mate Dewey Martin, the group's drummer, who died last week at age 68 at his home in Van Nuys.

"Dewey wasn't intimidated by any of us; he was the older guy in the group and helped glue the band together," said the statement issued Sunday and signed by all three musicians. "He had that strength. The rest of us were all still babies, and just starting out in a band. We had a lot to figure out. But Dewey had been around, playing on sessions and working with a lot of great singers. Plus he was one hell of a drummer."

- From Randy Lewis, L.A. Times Music Blog

YA GOTTA LOVE INGRID

Can anyone listen to and watch Ingrid Michaelson without smiling?

TRUE AS BLUE

COFFEE HOUSES

Back in the Sixties, the folk music artists of the time played in coffee houses in Greenwich Village and across America.  There they found attentive audiences for their social protests.

Nowadays, a singer/songwriter can expect the spare caffeinated crowd in the local java joint to be deeply distracted, lost in their laptops.

Such was the case this past Sunday afternoon as I played a charming old coffee house in West Seattle.  Two of the audience members actually put in their ear buds when I started playing, never averting their eyes from their computers.

Of course, they didn't come to have me interrupt their quiet online solitude.  So, we managed to coexist - they in their digital screens and newspapers, and I on the stage, playing over the sounds of the espresso machines.

Luckily there was a window to my left through which I could amuse myself as I played my original songs.

Here's one of them, 'Careful of You'.  (Friends came in the door just as I was finishing my first set.)

I won't mind if you get lost in your Internet browser as you listen.  Just happy to have the songs heard.  Enjoy.

(NOTE:  Slow video load and low audio level.)

LENNON REMEMBERED

On this day in 1980, John Lennon was murdered.

At the time, I was producing a live, two-hour talk show at CNN, called "Take Two."  We devoted the entire show that afternoon to Lennon.

A year later, I produced and directed a documentary, "Lennon Remembered", a half-hour television tribute produced at CNN and broadcast on Superstation TBS, strung together, on the cheap, with bits and pieces from 'here, there and ev'rywhere.'  It featured the musician and man, in his own words.

Below is that program (digitized from an old VHS copy), in remembrance of the singular artist lost on that tragic day.

PURE AND SIMPLE

Neil Young performs his song, 'Cowgirl in the Sand' at Massey Hall in 1971.

THE WAY YOU MOVE

Not a day goes by, I don't think about you.

FINE AND MELLOW

Billie Holiday had one of the saddest voices I've ever heard. Here she performs her composition 'Fine and Mellow' in 1957 with Lester Young (tenor sax), Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax), Ben Webster (tenor sax), Gerry Mulligan (baritone sax), Roy Eldridge (trumpet), Doc Cheatham (trumpet), Vic Dickenson (trombone), Danny Barker (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), Mal Waldron (piano) and O.C. Johnson (drums). 

This jazz greats' track is intoxicating. Play it more than once if only for Roy Eldridge's searing trumpet highs. According to a comment on YouTube, the solo order is: Holiday, Webster, Young, Holiday, Dickenson, Mulligan, Holiday, Hawkins, Eldridge, Holiday.

"Love will make you drink and gamble, make you stay out all night long.
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong."

- Billie Holiday

ARCHIVAL REVIVAL

Before there was digital, for years I kept a VHS tape in the VCR to record any music that aired on broadcast TV.  I've been going through those tapes and have converted a few of my favorite performances into digital files.  For your watching and listening pleasure, I will be presenting clips from my collection, 'Archival Revival.'  First up, one of my all-time favorites, Tom Rush performs his songs 'No Regrets' and 'Rockport Sunday.'  Enjoy.

You can buy Tom's music directly from Tom on his website. Please do.

CHANGING MY TUNE

I am just so happy and relieved that Barack Obama is going to be our next president.  I can stop worrying so much about my children's future and the terrible, terrible course this country has been on under the dangerous, arrogant, belligerent buffoonery of Bush/Cheney/Rove/Wolfowitz/Rumsfeld/Kristal.

So, in this blog, I'm going to 'change my tune' a bit and spend some time on my first and true love - songwriting.  Here are a tip of the hat to Johnny Cash:

FROM THE BOSS

Bruce Springsteen at a Vote for Change rally in Philadelphia:

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. ...

Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back."

 - Bruce Springsteen

THE SHAPE I'M IN

I just came from a free concert by The Levon Helm Band in a small park in Stamford, Connecticut.  The twelve piece band played an Americana blend of rock, blues, country, bluegrass, hillbilly, swing and jazz.

I've been smiling and dancing and choking back happy tears.  To hell with the politicians.  We should just turn the whole damn deal over to the musicians of the world.  We'd all be smiling and dancing and choking back happy tears.

Photo Credit:  Rahav Segev, The New York Times