A little tune I composed for an HD video of winter scenes being produced by The AVS Group. Thought you might like it, Dave.
Showing posts with label Weary Wolf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weary Wolf. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Wolf Den: LBD Preview
From Contributing Editor Clay Riness
Editor In Chief, The Weary Wolf Journal
This was largely a test...to see if I could embed an MP3 player into a blog posting. It worked beautifully! For starters, here's a first taste of our new, long awaited project, Little Black Dress, an album of original music I've been working on with friends Terry Nirva and Brett Huus. This is the opening track...so put on your headphones or run the output to your best speakers. And, welcome to our world!
At the end of this post, you can even download and print the lyrics with chords! I love technology!
Listen to "Something That I'm Not"
Editor In Chief, The Weary Wolf Journal
This was largely a test...to see if I could embed an MP3 player into a blog posting. It worked beautifully! For starters, here's a first taste of our new, long awaited project, Little Black Dress, an album of original music I've been working on with friends Terry Nirva and Brett Huus. This is the opening track...so put on your headphones or run the output to your best speakers. And, welcome to our world!
At the end of this post, you can even download and print the lyrics with chords! I love technology!
Listen to "Something That I'm Not"
Something That I’m Not
By
Clay Riness and Terry Nirva
I have watched her rise. I have watched her fall.
I have seen her try...giving it her all.
And I know she cries, and I’ve seen that too.
See it in her eyes. Try and help her through.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
What’s a friend to do when his friend’s in need?
Stand and hold a hand. Let her poor heart bleed.
Wipe away the tear. Recognize the loss.
In the coming years she will feel the cost.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
What would Jesus do? Lay a hand and heal?
What if it were you? What would that reveal?
That was another time, and another place.
Things are different now from the good old days.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
Something That I'm Not
By
Clay Riness and Terry Nirva
I have watched her rise. I have watched her fall.
I have seen her try...giving it her all.
And I know she cries, and I’ve seen that too.
See it in her eyes. Try and help her through.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
What’s a friend to do when his friend’s in need?
Stand and hold a hand. Let her poor heart bleed.
Wipe away the tear. Recognize the loss.
In the coming years she will feel the cost.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
What would Jesus do? Lay a hand and heal?
What if it were you? What would that reveal?
That was another time, and another place.
Things are different now from the good old days.
I am her friend. I am her confidant.
I won’t pretend to be something that I’m not.
© Copyright 2004 Clay M. Riness, Terry Nirva, Brett Huus
Something That I'm Not
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Wolf Den: Old-time Dance 101
From contributing editor Clay Riness
I had this idea during the night. I was thinking about all the great many fiddle tunes I have learned in my life and remembering so many wonderful dances I was privileged to play for with bands like the Dry Bone Road Gang, The Coon Busters, The Original Chinquapin Hunters, and as a guest with The Mastadons, to name a few.
I am an old-time fiddler, not a bluegrass fiddler. The difference, you ask? Bluegrass is a younger genre, and much more improvisational by nature, and more a performance music. Old-time is older, comes from all manner of ethnic cultures, but is often most acquainted with the eastern mountain regions of the US and has it's roots in the Scotch Irish tradition.
Old-time tunes are more structured and repetitive, like the dances they accompany. A "square tune" is one considered 32 bars long, and many of the dances are divisible by 32 bars, so that when the you've finally danced with the last of the opposite sex on the dance floor and have returned to your original partner, you go through all the steps once more and the dance ends right along with the tune.
A "square" consists of four couples, facing each other like the corners of a square. It is not clogging, which is a step dance rather than a set (sets of couples) dance, and is also the grandfather of tap. Contra dance is a form of old-time set dance, sometimes utilizing line dances, reels like the Virgina Reel and circle dances.
Old-time dances area always fed by a live caller and fueled by live music. There is something of an atrocity called international style square dance, in which older people, like those who live in The Villages, dress in costumes and dance, or rather walk, to a caller who calls out random steps, sometimes singing them. These so-called square dances, although certainly a social event, but then, so is BINGO, are never danced to live music. They use...gulp...records. It's kind of like putting peanut butter on salmon. It's edible, but many think it's just wrong.
My guitar partner and I offered to play free of charge for the local square dance club some years ago. They had us in and we played tunes for them as they walked around, but in the end, they said thanks, but they liked their records.
Here's a good example of an old-time dance:
Here's its geriatric counter part:
Not exactly music in the Scotch Irish roots tradition.
Now, please don't think I am trying to be disrespectful toward Twirlers, Whirlers and international clubs around the world. I am simply an old-time fiddler who is used to the Holy Trinity...dancers, caller, live music. I know that international dancers are having good, clean fun...just like old-time dancers. It's just different. Way different.
Finally, here's an example of some of the best old-time dance fiddling you will hear...Bruce Molskey playing a tune called Old Sledge:
That ain't no bluegrass. That ain't no country and western. Baby, that's music from the mountains. Don't it make you want to dance?
For more of what's on my mind, please visit my blog the wearywolfjournal.blogspot.com
I had this idea during the night. I was thinking about all the great many fiddle tunes I have learned in my life and remembering so many wonderful dances I was privileged to play for with bands like the Dry Bone Road Gang, The Coon Busters, The Original Chinquapin Hunters, and as a guest with The Mastadons, to name a few.
I am an old-time fiddler, not a bluegrass fiddler. The difference, you ask? Bluegrass is a younger genre, and much more improvisational by nature, and more a performance music. Old-time is older, comes from all manner of ethnic cultures, but is often most acquainted with the eastern mountain regions of the US and has it's roots in the Scotch Irish tradition.
Old-time tunes are more structured and repetitive, like the dances they accompany. A "square tune" is one considered 32 bars long, and many of the dances are divisible by 32 bars, so that when the you've finally danced with the last of the opposite sex on the dance floor and have returned to your original partner, you go through all the steps once more and the dance ends right along with the tune.
A "square" consists of four couples, facing each other like the corners of a square. It is not clogging, which is a step dance rather than a set (sets of couples) dance, and is also the grandfather of tap. Contra dance is a form of old-time set dance, sometimes utilizing line dances, reels like the Virgina Reel and circle dances.
Old-time dances area always fed by a live caller and fueled by live music. There is something of an atrocity called international style square dance, in which older people, like those who live in The Villages, dress in costumes and dance, or rather walk, to a caller who calls out random steps, sometimes singing them. These so-called square dances, although certainly a social event, but then, so is BINGO, are never danced to live music. They use...gulp...records. It's kind of like putting peanut butter on salmon. It's edible, but many think it's just wrong.
My guitar partner and I offered to play free of charge for the local square dance club some years ago. They had us in and we played tunes for them as they walked around, but in the end, they said thanks, but they liked their records.
Here's a good example of an old-time dance:
Here's its geriatric counter part:
Not exactly music in the Scotch Irish roots tradition.
Now, please don't think I am trying to be disrespectful toward Twirlers, Whirlers and international clubs around the world. I am simply an old-time fiddler who is used to the Holy Trinity...dancers, caller, live music. I know that international dancers are having good, clean fun...just like old-time dancers. It's just different. Way different.
Finally, here's an example of some of the best old-time dance fiddling you will hear...Bruce Molskey playing a tune called Old Sledge:
That ain't no bluegrass. That ain't no country and western. Baby, that's music from the mountains. Don't it make you want to dance?
For more of what's on my mind, please visit my blog the wearywolfjournal.blogspot.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
The Wolf Den: Greetings From Wolf Land
From contributing editor, Clay Riness
When Zeman asked me to be a contributing writer to The Zemmy Show, I had to stop and think about it...for about three seconds. I am, therefore I blog...that is what I have come to believe.
There are all manner of things that can wow me. Some are food, some are music, some are comedy and parody, some are writing. Whatever. I am often wowed, but I am not always easily wowed.
As my first installment here, I would like to show you someone that wowed me, Pete Huttlinger. He's a national fingerpicking champion on the guitar, or something like that. By now, this arrangement has reached tens of thousands on the net with its wow factor, but maybe you haven't yet seen it. I hope, if you haven't, that you will remember me fondly for having introduced you to him.
Meanwhile, I would love for you to drop by my own blog, The Weary Wolf Journal, hence increasing traffic and potentially making me world famous. You can see what's on my mind there at: www.wearywolfjournal.blogspot.com
Drop by for a visit, won't you?
Clay
When Zeman asked me to be a contributing writer to The Zemmy Show, I had to stop and think about it...for about three seconds. I am, therefore I blog...that is what I have come to believe.
There are all manner of things that can wow me. Some are food, some are music, some are comedy and parody, some are writing. Whatever. I am often wowed, but I am not always easily wowed.
As my first installment here, I would like to show you someone that wowed me, Pete Huttlinger. He's a national fingerpicking champion on the guitar, or something like that. By now, this arrangement has reached tens of thousands on the net with its wow factor, but maybe you haven't yet seen it. I hope, if you haven't, that you will remember me fondly for having introduced you to him.
Meanwhile, I would love for you to drop by my own blog, The Weary Wolf Journal, hence increasing traffic and potentially making me world famous. You can see what's on my mind there at: www.wearywolfjournal.blogspot.com
Drop by for a visit, won't you?
Clay
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