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While waiting for the wood, parts, tools, and ‘all of the above’, as sad as it is to say, I lost some momentum because of the weather. The sun was finally shining and like everyone else in Southern Alberta, I was outside enjoying it. It’s amazing how much we are affected by staying in during the winter season. I didn’t think that wanting to be outside, enjoying life in the mountains, weekend camping, patio drinking would become an obstacle to progressing the build and the

I miss playing full pieces from beginning to end. After weeks of learning notes, breaking up pieces into manageable parts, drilling then repeating over and over, I really miss the feeling of musicality when you aren’t learning notes any more, and I can just close my eyes and play. It’s been a while… All this work is pretty tough on confidence because sometimes progress moves at a turtle’s pace. So I decided to record a piece I learned years ago when I first started to expl

I’ve been using my phone to “selfie-record” myself playing. The aim is to give our followers a taste of some of the music I’m learning. I’m also hoping that months from now, I’ll be able to see the progress and show that all this work is paying off. It’s funny though, you don’t normally see “work in progress” videos of people performing on Instagram. It is usually really top-level people showcasing their skill. Rarely do you see people play the wrong notes, struggle wit

It’s been slow week on the guitar build. I don’t have all the tools necessary to complete binding the guitar. Made the order last week and was hoping that it came this week. In any case, the day job has taken the week over anyway, so even if it came I wouldn’t have had time to use it. So, I continue to wait patiently. We started filming interviews this Saturday. We only had time to do the group interview and then Noel’s personal interview. I’m pumped to share my thoughts

I closed the guitar body this week. While filming, Jonard asked, “what does this step mean to you, how does it make you feel? I straight up told him that it made me sad. I literally strive to make each guitar brace a work of art. Cleaning the glue, chiseling each brace to a perfect symmetry while paying attention the voicing, finish sand every inch. All that effort, then glued and closed off to the world. All the hard work no longer in sight to appreciate. It’s a means

The concert I’m preparing for is not just for me. I’ll be the primary performer, the organizer, and the one choosing rep and putting it all together, but I have no intentions of performing alone. My goal is to produce a concert that is an extension of all the work we are doing now and will continue to do leading up to it. We’ve been unconventional, creative and unique, yet respectful to tradition. We’ve also been collaborative. There are so many other people behind the s

I had a dream earlier this week about bracing the top and back. When I woke up from my dream, I got excited to realize I actually had to do it in real life. I think this means I’m obsessed with this project. Always thinking, always wondering how to do things better, never stopping. This project is me. I’ve been so busy in the shop that I'm just finally finding time this Monday night to write. I love being busy. I enjoy doing incredible things. Knowing the intricacies of

Back from a fantastic vacation and happy that I didn’t fall too behind in my practicing. Mind you, I didn’t process much, but at least I didn’t digress. Feeling refreshed and excited to be back home where I could practice in a controlled environment, I accidentally put in a 3-hour practice session last night. I could have gone to sleep at 11pm, but instead, I went to bed at 2am. I say “accidentally” for 2 reasons. Firstly, when I get into a groove (especially when I’m dri

Earlier in the week, when we arrived at our hotel in Anaheim, CA, the family and I were just chillin' by the pool. I remember stepping away to grab a drink and snacks at the hotel café when I overheard some guitar playing. I followed the sound and came across another family just hanging out in their black SUV waiting to check-in. At the rear, I saw this young boy of some kind of South American decent sitting in the trunk with the gate open plucking away on his classical gu

As the title suggests, I’ve burnt out. My body shut down at the end of the week with a cold. The body and brain are tired from this week's events. A lot going on from different angles of life. But as I mentioned in last weeks post, whatever will be, will be. Even though the week was a bit of a first world struggle, I pushed through it. I started to plan the build more strategically, meaning, what can I do in advance before the shoot and leave what’s important for the shoo