Eternal Levitation

One video off of the DVD. See 3 more at my Youtube page.

the painting

The lovely painting of the two nude women is by Janae Corrado who I commissioned to paint two characters of her choosing for Opium & Absinthe. Janae Corrado Art

Coming extremely Soon

Opium & Absinthe

releasing a record is expensive

An album release date isn't just decided by when the music is done.
For those of us without record label backing, releasing an album requires a lot of our own money. Which means sacrifice on many levels.
Keep that in mind when you listen to independent artists.
Thanks.

swimming, album

I'm an avid swimmer, and one of the things I live for is swimming in fresh water lakes/ponds. I just got back from a swim at Snook's Pond in invigorating 55 degree water. The mild current set sun beams off the floor of the pond in strobe patterns that elevated my mind as I swam.
It's probably safe to say that there aren't many, if any, other swimmers out in mid-September in Syracuse, and the solitude enhances my peaceful feelings. It may not be for everyone, but this experience is what keeps me sane.

I have one tune to go on my album, and then I'll proceed to mixing and mastering.
This album is a true summary of who I am, in all of my weirdness. I've released a lot of albums, but this may be the first to capture that.
Look forward to sharing that with you, whoever you may be. 

no shortcuts

It's a beautiful thing to still have your integrity intact. I feel pretty good.

Halfway there

I've reached the mid-way point of my upcoming album. Things are going remarkably well and hopefully the end product will be something that no one could have predicted...like a good magic trick.

What a different place the internet was in 1999

So I was looking for the best possible way to remove hissing noise from a song I recorded, and I came across this discussion board from 1999. All of my questions were answered. This type of discussion is rarely seen on today's internet. Folks, this is what the web used to be like: http://orf5.com/tape_hiss_nr.html
-Ben

New York's bats are dying

http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/45088.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100216-bats-white-nose-fungus-tennessee/

The Best Summary of Today's Mainstream Music that I've read

from today's NY Times...by Simon Reynolds
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/arts/music/new-pop-music-sounds-like-its-predecessors.html

hard work ahead

finished stringing my mandolin harp and now can get to work on my magnum opus.

Restringing a Mandolin Harp is rather hard

For the last couple weeks I've been trying to restring my mandolin harp (also called Fretless Zither). In my next recordings this instrument will be a central focus, so I'm trying to get it in tip-top shape.
One major obstacle: Mandolin Harp strings do not exist since Mandolin Harps are no longer being built (and haven't been for quite some time). So I've been forced to mix and match guitar, auto-harp and other miscellaneous strings to get this thing sounding great. I've even considered using piano wire at times.
 It's a good thing I have no social life right now because this is taking up a great deal of time and effort, not to mention money. When I am finished stringing the Mandolin Harp, I'll be an authority on the subject.

Show with Hammell on Trial- my only solo show for several months so check it.

I am one of 3 opening acts for Hammell on Trial at the Lost Horizon in Syracuse, NY. Hammell on Trial
Friday, June 24, 2011 @ 8 pm.
http://www.thelosthorizon.com/events/hamell-on-trial-2/

I will be playing some never before heard or seen music. Consider this show a sneak preview.

Ben

Gil Scott Heron

I just learned that he passed away May 27th. I saw him perform live just last year, and he was phenomenal. To my ears, he stole the show at the Syracuse Jazz Fest. The guy came out and jammed solo on a Fender Rhodes Organ, and he had one of those gravelly blues voices that helped me recall a past that I didn't live through. I can honestly say that he was one of the coolest and most humble performers I've ever seen. Hats off to a master.

respect what you're playing with

i've been contemplating why I like electronic music from a decade ago better than what I hear now. The reason is not nostalgia. I think the obvious difference is in sound and substance.
Just a short while ago people were respectful of technology because the capabilities were so new. People who made music with computers were even a little intimidated by the tools they were using. So they were sure to tread carefully.
Now technology is so passe, and everything is taken for granted. So to me, you're not going to have a great influx of new music until people respect the tools they are using.
So maybe people need new tools.

Interdimensional Vortex

sorry folks

I'll get back to blogging about music real soon.
I am about to start working on a MAJOR Music project.
It's gonna be a tough one to pull off, but it should be a fun ride. Gimme a few months to assemble things, and I'll be good to go.
peace friends
5/6/11

Landfill Gas

After many weeks of researching alternative energy, I have stumbled upon this very promising solution. One that has already been put into action by Waste Management. This is the use of Landfill Gas
a fuel that is composed of garbage from landfills.
This gas is still found to have air contaminants. But I find it to be a hopeful solution due to the endless trash that we humans produce.
Turbines using Landfill Gas

Energy from Sound

I have been thinking so much about the energy crisis and depleted natural resources. As our Earth's population increases, noise levels have increased considerably. More people=more sound. If you know anything about the physics of sound, then you know that all sound consists of waves of different sizes. Waves vibrate, they have energy.These waves vibrate our ear drums and our brain interprets the vibration as sound.
I am now pondering why sound has not been used as a source of energy. There is no doubt that these vibrations can be gathered. For example, in a big city there is a great amount of sound which could be collected to power generators. Or in a factory much of the noise from machinery could be collected. Please let me know if there is any reason why sound cannot be utilized as an energy source.
Thank you.
Ben

Social Networking

At this point in my life there is a whole bunch of shit I want to get accomplished and most of it doesn't involve social networking. That said, anyone who wants to get a hold of me can email me at bendelagarzaguitar@gmail.com . You can also hit me up on youtube, which I still check on pretty regularly.
Thanks much.
-Ben

Matamoros *update*

Mexico has a culture that has been scarred by the drug trade, intimidation, rampant murder and brutality.
And if the people want to turn things around, a good start would be to change the names of some of the towns. Right across the border lies Matamoros, a poverty-stricken town that I visited in 2007. It is also home to the many atrocities I mentioned. The name "Matamoros" means literally: Kill the Moors. The Moors were a religious group, an Islamist sect, that the Catholic Church attempted to eradicate during the Inquisition. Can you imagine if there were a town in the US called "Kill the (fill in blank here)". That's the kind of label that promotes a violent culture. Would changing the name of a town stop the murder? Probably not. But it would be a good start.

*update*

I thought that the US would never name a town after the murder of a group of people.
Well, I was wrong. In fact, there is a town with nearly the same name and meaing in Pennsylvania. It was actually named after the town in Mexico:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matamoras,_Pennsylvania
The fact that it's in Spanish doesn't change the fact that it means: "Kill the Moors".

"Naila" performed by Colleen Kattau

I'm hidden for much of the song, but I have a solo at 2:57.

NYC Show

Thanks to any and all who came out to hear me and Colleen last night at El Taller Latino Americano in the Bronx. It was a blast, with many talented musicians on the roster. I did the NYC 180 where I drove to the city, played the gig, and immediately drove back to Syracuse after the show. My brother Dave came along for the ride, and for once we encountered worse weather Downstate than Up. Thankfully no snow back home.

I look forward to future trips to the Big Apple. Great city and people. Muchas gracias a todos presente anoche.

frigging OIL

the root of so many problems: the US addiction to OIL.
Rising gas prices= inflated prices on everything else...raise the price on gas that drives the milk to the store, and you have to raise the price of milk. and that carries over to all the other products.
You have the top 1% of the wealthy elite in the world with their oil interests, and they are willing to take whole countries to war keep their wallets fat.
We need to STOP making cars that are powered by GASOLINE. Keep the ones that people own now, but just stop building these environment-destroying vehicles. There are ingenius methods of renewable energy. We have the ABILITY to power cars with just about anything. Solar power, vegetable oil, Dirt for God's sake.
The reason we are NOT doing this is because the wealthy elites don't want to see change. Because it challenges the infrastructure that has fueled their undeserved financial superiority.

Okay, that's my rant. Man, do I get pissed sometimes.

from where i'm standing, things don't seem to be improving

maybe you already noticed this. But the music industry has been doomed since the dawn of the millenium. And as image keeps trumping substance more and more, the scale keeps tipping further and further away from quality. Musicians exploiting themselves, the industry exploiting musicians, society exploiting itself. When will the end come to the downward spiral?

Driving

The only place that I can truly listen to music is in my car. The internet is not the place for uncorrupted listening...too much noise and chatter. I have some revelatory moments listening to music while I'm driving. peaceful time to myself and never had a case of road rage. I just wish someone would build a good solar-powered car so I could drive around guilt-free. Not that there's really any sun in Syracuse...

kind of depressing, but for the most part true

Just googled "Syracuse Music Scene" and came up with this article by a woman who wrote an article on me for the City Eagle in 2007. This blog was written a while ago, but it remains relevant.

The Syracuse Music Scene

a classic review of my former band

An oldie, but goodie. 2002 review of my former band, Ownership of the Head:
Ownership on Jambands.com

The Mandolin Harp

The instrument which I have been calling the fretless zither is also called the mandolin harp. I don't know which name is more prevalent, but I think I prefer calling it a harp since it sounds more like that instrument than a traditional zither. The beauty of playing such a rarely touched upon instrument is that you can call it whatever you want!

Show with Harry Belafonte

Hi-
I am playing a set with Colleen Kattau at the Syracuse Stage. This is a Harry Belafonte concert, though he does mostly spoken word and not singing now (he is rather old). Here is a link to his wikipedia entry:
Harry Belafonte
And an article regarding the concert:
Syracuse Concert

Zither joined by Guitar

My most recent composition with many, many steel strings at the tips of my fingers.

the band I'm in

Just so you all know, I play in Colleen Kattau's band. We are named simply "Some Guys" by Colleen. Members of the group can vary from show to show, but lately it's been Jamie Yaman on sax, Mike Brandt on bass, and me playing lead guitar. Colleen is a long-time activist and free spirit with a spectacular voice. Come check a show. We've been lighting up the stage lately.