Pynchon and Music

[pynchonoid]

Ding!

We've got a nice enough piano here - a Yamaha upright,
with a surprisingly lively bass (at least when Watson
plays it...) and bright tone, not the six-foot
Bosendorfer I nearly mortgaged the house to buy for
Watson four years ago, but that's another story,
although it is true I had to be restrained to prevent
that rash act....  Bringing more music into our lives
is a big deal for us, since Watson went to college -
not to harp on that, but he used to fill this house
with music every day.  Alice sings in a group at work,
and she just started voice lessons with the group
director, maybe I told you about that, she took
lessons regularly for quite a while, a few years back.


If the truth were known, I can strum a guitar and
fingerpick a bit, remnants of a misspent youth. I've
got an old Dobro, set up to play like a regular
guitar, not with the strings extra high to play like a
lap steel. I like to sing but I can only handle a very
few notes with anything approaching precision.


--- RuudSaurins at aol.com wrote:

> Thanx!
>     ....for the feedback and commentary.  I have a
> good feeling about my 
> projects because they are so thoroughly
> self-indulgent (still keeping that day job 
> to pay the bills) that I feel (hope) that they are
> somewhat original and not 
> too shamelessly derivative (owing to the mountains
> of strong shoulders that we 
> all stand upon in order to get a better and clearer
> "view").  

Nothing new under the sun, E. said, what you're doing
with the music sounds very creative. A new angle, a
novel concept, an attitude, passion - that's what's
it's all about.

I wrote a few songs back in the day, self-pitying
singer-songwriter stuff around the time I was getting
into the Army and getting out of it and all the way
through, and I'm sure it would be fun to do that
again, with a different genre of music, that is, and
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to go back in the
Army. Not unless I get to be a General this time.



>     I admire your initiative in the projects you
> describe.  It seems to me 
> you fouled off a couple of good pitches, but are
> still at bat and ripe for at 
> least a base hit; hopefully knocking one out of the
> park.  It sounds like tough 
> and uncertain work, but if I am not mistaken, Edison
> tried thousands of trial 
> filaments for the electric light bulb, before he
> stumbled across the formula 
> that worked acceptably.  I have always embraced the
> notion behind Kekule's 
> "dream" (leading to the elucidation of the benzene
> ring), and it sounds as if you 
> may be closer to your "A-ha" moment than you may
> realize.  At any rate, 
> dreamers live forever!      
>                                                     
>       truly,
>                                                     
>       ruud
> 


True enough, I got bit bad by the publishing bug 15
years ago and I'm not over it yet.  If I can just push
a couple of things out the door that I've been working
on for the past couple of years, set them on a course
towards publication and (gasp) maybe even a bit of
money somehow, then move onto a couple of interesting
new ideas, I could be back in the thick of it quickly
enough with a break or two.  I don't lack contacts,
that's never been the problem - I worked with a
Hollywood literary agent before (Mike Hamilburg, his
father was a talent agent in the 40s, 50s, 60s, quite
a scene for Dad not to mention Mike growing up
Hollywood) to try to sell a novel I co-wrote with a
friend, and by now several of my brother's friends are
pretty well placed in the publishing and broadcasting
business - I just need to get this new material out
there and move on to other projects. And I will do it,
am doing it.

What I want to do is continue to write my own books
and publish them along with books that I would develop
and write together with another writer or two, bring
in illustrators and designers as necessary.  The whole
Web-based publish-on-demand thing makes it possible to
get into publishing  with no money up front (that is,
none to actually get a book ready to publish and be
able to print and ship single copies as orders come in
online; there might still be costs to write and
illustrate a book, or graphic novel, or two, or
three).  I've got a couple of things cooking with a
couple of other writers, gaining momentum, slowly but
steadily.

The gardening I've been doing outside (and in the
garage...) has just been preparation for this other
work, I hope, and that is not to say I plan to give up
gardening, either!  I've been gearing up for another
publishing push for quite a while, feels like it's
time to take things to the next level.

OK, hit SEND now....

-Doug





 
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