Two Things

Since, as a musician, I could either be considered a perfectionist or anal retentive, or both (and frankly, I don't care either way), here are my recent revelations:

1. If it ain't broke, don't fix it

and my friend Dan always says:

2. Sometimes you've got to do it yourself, if you want it done right.

enough said.

for better or for worse....

I am back on myspace:
myspace.com/bendelagarza

actually...

oh shit, so i guess I actually wasn't done. I just threw down some vocals after hearing a part that needed a lift.
yes, we all need a lift sometimes. music is my lift. my emotional face lift, the fork lift that carries my heart around. oh, terrible metaphors. english lanuage, why have you forsaken me?
I'm out-

Recording Done

well, the final recordings were done last night in beautiful Aurora, NY. I drove along Cayuga Lake on the way out there with the fading sun glistening off the waves.

Victor did a bang-up job hammering out a few amazing tracks with his viola de gamba. And I redid a bit of guitar in his first-rate home studio.

So now I'm in my final stages of mixing. I've done the majority of the mixing already, but there are some kinks to work out.
I believe Victor will be mastering the album, but that remains to be seen.

can't wait to share the finsihed product and get out there for some gigs. It's been a while!
-Ben

upcoming gig

Thunderkids and Fun Machine, two bands out of New Jersey who are currently touring, will be playing in Syracuse with me at the Dinosaur Barbecue on Monday, August 13th.
My friend and old housemate, Mike Liska, is in the band Thunderkids. They do a lot of avante garde, textural music. Fun Machine sounds pretty crazy too. Frankly, I'm not sure how Syracuse will react. hopefully people won't throw bottles at the stage.

Divas Festival

I was at an open mic in Hanover Square last week and asked the girl hosting it, Lisa Gentile, if she wanted to try playing together that night. She seemed very hesitant at first, but decided she liked what she heard when I figured the songs out on the spot. I've got a good ear. That's probably my best musical attribute. If you play something, complicated or simple, chances are I can pick it up quickly.

So Lisa asked me to play with her at the Diva's Festival this Saturday Night. I won't be playing any of my own material. I am backing up Lisa for her set at 8 PM. This show (obviously) features all women who are notable CNY artists. Jessie Chick is playing, and she's really great. There are a few others, but Lisa and I will be first I think.

It's at the Syracuse Center for the Performing Arts at 728 E. Genesee St Syracuse, NY. It costs 15 bucks to get in, but this is a pretty major venue and there are a lot of artists, so the money hopefully isn't an issue.

peace
-Ben

TV Show appearance 7-31

I will be featured in a brief segment during an hourlong special on WCNY tv. The show is called "My So-Called Disability". I believe the program will look at mental illness as more of a divergence of thought than as a disability. Anyway, that is how I look at it.
It will be on channel 24 (WCNY) at 9 pm on Tuesday, July 31st. Be sure to check your tv listings to make sure the channel you watch is the right one. Here is a link to the television website:

WCNY tv shedule

A Lingering melody

I wrote an Irish folk song last night.
But I have to admit it was mainly just a melody I heard in my dream. I woke up with the tune still echoing in my head.
I wish I could live in a small Irish village for a while, so I could share my song in the local pub.
I think American bars should do away with stereos and live music, so a bunch of jolly drunks would have to improvise the music (I'm sort of kidding, but sort of not).
Here are the lyrics.

I keep on thinking you were the last one I loved
My prides's a sunken ship
There are those who pass on, and lovers make new
The firelight reminds my heart
But an echoing chime in the back of my mind
searches the skies for truth
The people hold hands as they sway like the tide
singing 'you were the last one I loved'

-Ben

i remember this. I swear youtube has everything

the guest roster

Thad Raczkowski
Elena dlg B
Forsides
Jeremy Fogel
Victor Penniman
?

some things about pleasure and memory

There is far more seratonin in your intestines than there is in your brain (about 70% of the body's). That is why we feel emotions so strongly in our guts (i.e. butterflies in your stomach).

The part of the brain that forms a memory is not the same part of the brain used to recall that memory. Since a "new" part of the brain is formed to remember, memories are never true to their originality. So all miscommunications aside, no one remembers the absolute truth.

Adrenaline is not the main chemical in the body that causes the feeling of a "rush". It isn't epenephrine either. I'd tell you what it is, but I can't remember.

truthful talk

Thom Yorke on the abuse of songs. Notice the E entertainment logo at the end of the clip. That robbed me of purely experiencing this video.

track listing

should be a fall 2007 release. I'm tying loose ends.

Ben de la Garza Bassett
"Listening to Ghosts"

1. Not my Problem
2. A Billion Tragic
3. Running on Water
4. Illegitimate Question
5. 13 Ways
6. Kick the Habit
7. Before Bermuda Froze Over
8. Second Instinct
9. Your World, My Axis
10. The Red Tide
11. Mellow Heart

some old cats who've still got it

I went to the Syracuse jazz fest last night to see Toots Thielmans and Dave Brubeck (they were separate acts). They are both in their late 80s and playing beautiful, soulful and deeply inspiring music.
Brubeck cut an interesting figure, and I sat at his back, about 50 feet removed from the stage. The old man would lay his hands on his lap in an easy and experienced manner, while the rest of his outfit played wildly energetic music. His hands would stay poised there before jumping in to the tune with an enviable melodic line. His triumphant rhythm style celebrated every song.
Toots, for those who do not know, was probably the first jazz harmonica player. He's also my favorite. His set was comprised of mostly ballads and tunes suited to French movie scores (one of which actually was a score for one). very lyrical and hypnotic sound.
It was a great night.

mic check

So I hosted my first ever open mic last night and, aaaah, success. Hands clapping indiscriminately for people of all skill levels and from all walks of life. Blessed encouragement, the foundation of all creativity.

The weather was breezy with a dash of inner warmth. An open mic outdoors was definitely a great idea and one that I'll be pursuing again in the near future (probably July).

bipolar confusion

nothing makes you more frantic than confusion.



and nothings settles better than acceptance.

It'll be on tv, but I'll probably miss it

I haven't watched tv in about a year. The cancellation of my favorite show, Carnivale, turned into a personal protest, which turned into a genuine distaste for television.
Nonetheless, I will be appearing on WCNY tv on July 31st. Aside from a short showcasing of my music, I'll be talking about mental health (both my own and in general). more details to come.

heart of a genius

I've been covering some Michael Hedges tunes lately. He was an extremely nice man who was a pure genious musician. Here he is playing at Kent State U. in '85. I saw hime open for Crosby, Stills and Nash when I was a kid. I don't know how he did it, but he spun around and around in circles very fast, all the while playing an insanely beautiful and complex guitar part. He died on the California coast in a car accident after visiting his girlfriend. I don't know how many people know of him, but this was a great loss for the music world. Time and agin, I think about it.

luck, circumstance, timing, all that

It's difficult to try out a non-practiced genre. It's like starting a totally different religion in the Christian heartland. You've got to sell yourself. But I ain't a salesman, so I'm relying on the music to do that for me. Damn. I hope I hit the nail on the head this time.
peace

the snake in my yard

This is the snake my brother Dave found in our yard a few years back. It was eating a black squirrel. Our family lives outside Syracuse, NY, where giant snakes are not thought to inhabit. But this monster was as big as a python. It dropped twenty feet out of a tree and we stood around watching it engulf its prey.

the perils of climbing a ladder

My dad fell off a ladder the other day while chainsawing, and luckily he's pretty much okay healthwise (I won't even go into why a guy in his sixties is chainsawing on a 15 foot ladder).
Anyway, today, while sitting in a doctor's office waiting room, I read a short article about the increasing frequency of ladder-related injuries.
Emergency room visits due to ladder falls are up 50% since 1990. In short, people are falling off ladders...a lot.
I find this very curious. Are peoples' basic balance and motor skills getting worse? Are people climbing on ladders while under the influence? Or are they just chainsawing carelessly?

my sister

My sister Elena is an excellent singer and is doing all of the female vocal parts on my upcoming album.

Last night she called home from Boston at 2 in the morning ecstatic.
She went to see one of her favorite singers, Ari Hest. She was in the front row watching the concert.
For one of his songs, he let the crowd know that ordinarily Norah Jones sings on it but he would do it alone.
However, my sister's friends screamed up to the stage that Elena should sing it. Before she knew it she was hoisted onto the stage.
She told me that Ari looked at her and said something like "You can actually sing this song?"
Of course, my sister is no joke and was fully ready to perform.
So she blew the crowd away. which surprised many of them. But it's no surprise to me. My little sister kicks ass.

Different Metals

Two days ago I saw silver bullets streak the silver screen.
I saw the silver medal go to all three contenders.
Gold is gloomy and symbolizes too much pain. It uses paper money as its stand-in.
And it hides behind the walls of banks.
Chrome sheens on a new car, but dents too easily.
The gangster's got a mouth full of metal jewelry.
I brush my teeth to avoid getting metal fillings.
My grandma's got titanium hips.
Brass soothes you as you fall asleep on its timeless bed.
Brass horns sing their joy and melancholy.
You may fall asleep kind of blue.
And wake to a solitary bugle.
As one man is laid to rest, trumpets lament in unison.

-Ben

Hasta una hora desconocida

The weather's nice out, I've got music to play and an album to mix. So I deleted my myspace accounts. The internet is a curse and a blessing, but I'm practicing restraint right now.

alternate venues and Altruism

I have taken a temporary hiatus from playing the regular old venues (bars, clubs and the like) in favor of shows at different mental health facilities and locations where people have restrictions placed on them that disallow them from going to a "normal" concert. For those who don't know me, I've had some personal experience in the system.

I am playing at an Art and Wellness Festival on June 9th in Fulton, NY at 1:15 pm in Vorhees Park. The whole thing goes from 11am-7pm. This festival promotes mental wellness and supportive arts for those labeled mentally ill. It is put on by Catholic Charities of Oswego County and their offshoot, Step by Step Clubhouse ( a support center). There is food and lots of other good stuff, so check it out if you're in the area. Jamie Notorthomas also plays.

In the near future I will be starting an open mic coffee house at Hutchings State Psychiatric in coordination with their staff. The facility has received some criticism from my peers in the mental health system. However, I have found that mental health providers are usually kind people, but the sense of entitlement that our current health system allows at times makes for an arrogance that can harm patients. I hope to help invigorate things on some level.

I will likely be the headliner for another Wellness Festival in Syracuse, NY, on the Hutchings campus. This won't be until probably late August or September.

I am also in the process of setting up small scale performances at inpatient psych wards around Syracuse.

Basically, I really want to play for a good cause at a time when I feel our country is on a crooked path. peace to you,
Ben

the rhymes they are a changin'

Hola, soy Benjamin de la Garza, tu presentador modesto.
Yes, friends. I am de la Garza, your humble and most hospitable host (as in you may receive internet hospice on this very page!).


I am here to quietly inform you about my musical endeavors.
And of course I will promote my painstakingly crafted album.
I hope to stand on the shoulders of the great musical spirits, so as to glimpse that coveted musical heaven on earth: those spine tingling, heart warming sensations that captivate, yet free your soul.

Dino BBQ in Syracuse, NY

Here I am on a late fall's night at the dino BBQ in 2006. I was sick as a dog, but a nice woman gave me a ginger ale before going on. Maybe it helped. whatever the case, I felt like I was going to fall off stage. But I staggered into this quaint rendition of my song "Mellow Heart", lyrics not yet included here. Here is a quick clip.