Notes_Norton

Abilene — George Hamilton IV Notes ♫

New York State Of Mind — Billy Joel Notes ♫

Miami Beach Rhumba — Irving Fields with The Campos Trio Notes ♫

Arizona — Mark Lindsay Notes ♫

Rocks In My Bed — Duke Ellington Notes ♫

Who Are You? — The Who Notes ♫

Birdland — Weather Report Notes ♫

Walk On The Wild Side — Jimmy Smith Notes ♫

I remember those days. It was a good time to be an American, and I'm glad I got to see that. Even the German Chancellor drove a Cadillac (not a Benz). I think the glory days lasted until the moon landings. Then “our” corporations found cheap labor overseas. And our government relaxed the antitrust laws, so by consolidation, the corporations became cartels, and quality no longer mattered, as there was no real competition. With a corporation, the only thing that matters is profit. So we consumers just do the best we can now. Made In America, doesn't mean the best in the world anymore. That was too expensive for the corporate cartel age. Notes ♫

St. Maarten was a lot of fun. We'd also pull into St. Thomas, and we'd go to Red Hook and take the ferry to St. John. I really love the wildness there. We never got down island, but we enjoyed the ones we visited. But they were short ports for us, which is the reason I liked San Juan better. We got 12 hours on P.R. We were there in the late 1980s, before smartphones. So translation was by phrase books, baby talk, and gestures. As soon as the ship got close, we tuned to the salsa radio station "Zeta Novente Treis" and we recorded some songs we liked. We especially liked a Gillberto Santa Rosa song, No Me La Llames, from this album: (It's a great album) We went downtown, far away from the zona turistica to a department store that sold appliances, records, and quite a few other things. Some baby-talk Spanish, friendly people on the street and the phase book helped to find a store that sold records. That was the easy part. We played the cassette we made of No Me La Llames, and they showed us blank cassettes, then a new player, and we eventually had 3 or 4 store clerks trying to figure out what we wanted. Finally, one guy guessed and brought the album, and played the cut. PERFECTO! They sales folks were all very nice, very helpful, and happy when we found our prize. We ended up buying 5 LPs that day, with recommendations from the staff. They were all winners. I'm sorry this is so long and OT, but PR is part of the USA, and it's a wonderful place. All the LPs were from Puerto Rican groups, so we bought American. BTW, when we went to that street festival in Bayamón, Gilberto Santa Rosa Orquesta was the headlining act, and played for well over an hour. The street was full of Puerto Ricans, and back then, those who were salsa fans were mostly the dark skinned folks. At first, they gave these gringos a wide berth, but when they saw we were enjoying the music, before we knew it, the joints were passed our way and the smiles spread like sunshine. Notes ♫

When A Man Loves A Woman — Percy Sledge Notes ♫

We pulled in to San Juan weekly for 8 months. I met a few P.R. Musicians, and I learned a lot about salsa music, and traded pointers about North American music. San Juan was my favorite port in the Caribbean, at least from the ships I gigged on. It was a long port, didn't have to get back on the ship soon, and being a big city, there was something to do every week that wasn't a repeat of the week before. Notes ♫

It always amazes me that after bands have 'made it' and they all have more money than they dreamed of when they started, and more money than they need, how often they squabble about it. But I've never been lucky enough to get there, so perhaps I just don't understand the situation. Notes ♫

Walking On Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves Notes ♫

In all my years on the planet, I've never-ever done the "Black Friday" thing. I also remember when the day didn't have that name, it was just a busy shopping day. The idea of going out and competing with a herd of stampeding shoppers has never appealed to me. But then, I'm not much of a conformist anyway. Mrs. Notes and I don't buy each other Christmas or Birthday presents. Anything we want and can afford, we just buy (thankfully we don't want much). Instead, we save our money and buy ourselves a vacation. So far we've been to: All 50 US states, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix & St John (USVI), more than half the Canadian provinces, 7 Mexican states, Bahama Islands, Bermuda Islands, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Gibraltar, The Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Czech Republic, Austria, Australia, Russia, Japan, and China (From the Great Wall down to Hong Kong). We were planning Madagascar when COVID hit. It's next on the list as soon as they have recovered from the last cyclone that hit. To us, the experiences and the memories are more valuable than the jewelry, new cars, giant TVs, fashion items and other things that we do not have. Plus, nobody can steal them, and we possess them until either we die or go senile. I don't suppose that's the best way for everyone, but it's the best way for us. Regarding buying USA, I do that when I can, and I buy locally when I can, but value and quality go into the decision. IMO my USA made Parker Guitars were built better and with better materials than the Parker imports. I patronize local businesses because my band http://www.s-cats.com is also a local business (do unto others). But my saxophone was made in Japan. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Stormy Weather — Jazz standard first recorded by Ethel Waters Notes ♫

What part? In the late 1980s, I gigged on cruise ships and went to San Juan PR once a week. It was our long port so I didn't have to get back on the ship unitl late. I loved the Salsa music there, met a couple of local musicians, and had a great time. Rented a car and went to El Yunque one day. The mayor of Bayamón wanted to get re-elected, so he threw a street party with 12 of the top Salsa bands. One of our PR friends drove us there, and let us know how the best way to get a cab back. I met a lot of nice people there, and they are part of the USA. Did all 3 of the US Virgin Islands too. Plus, I've been to all 50 US States. I've also been abroad, but that's OT in this thread. Notes ♫

Here Comes the Rain Again — Eurythmics Notes ♫

How do I relic mine? Little by little, one gig at a time. I gig for a living, and actually wish they wouldn't wear down. Notes ♫

Nothing but flight cases for me. IMO the gig bag offers hardly any protection for the guitar. A lightweight, plastic, SKB ore equivalent flight case can save your guitar. Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Summer Rain — Johnny Rivers Notes ♫

I paid more for my two Parker USA guitars. They make them overseas for a lot less, but in this case, the quality of materials used was better in the USA models. Gigging for a living, and 13 years later, there is no noticeable fret wear (Hardened stainless steel frets on an ebony fretboard). Sometimes (not always) you get what you pay for. Unless something tragic happens to these, I probably gig with them for the rest of my life. Notes ♫

Right Like The Wind — Christopher Cross I like the backing band on this cut. The drummer is awesome, good groove, doesn't get in the way, tasty fills. The arrangement is nice, too. Decent song, but it's the production that grabs my ears. Notes ♫

I have two priorities when I buy something, if possible USA Made From a small business instead of a huge corporation Of course, sometimes you don't have the choice. There are no good saxophones made in the USA anymore, and no Mom&Pop music stors around here that carry saxophones at all.

Blow, Wind Blow — Muddy Waters Notes ♫