Compare & Contrast ~ Luthiery Laboratories

September 12, 2020

Compare & Contrast

September 12, 2020

What is that skinny white guy doing in Bruno Mars' video?

He's not doing it here, but Bruno Mars can play pretty much any instrument you throw at him. He's like an even-smaller version of Prince.

( turn on the subtitles )

How come people don't spontaneously tap dance any more? There was a time when the big stars in Hollywood were triple-threats - sing, dance, and act. How many Hollywood stars can do even one of those things nowadays?

The willowy brunette that is in every other scene is Eleanor Powell. And a sharp eye will spot James Cagney several times - Hollywood's go-to villain was a song-and-dance guy at heart.

Tim Akers & The Smoking Section
This is what Nashville session musicians get up to in their spare time.

Music, 09/12/20

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Music

No, not my music. I don't play much any more. I spend more time with the band saw than the band.

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September 21, 2020

Zooey & Dusty

September 21, 2020

Hollywood and the music industry are not totally bereft of talent today. Here is actress Zooey Deschanel and her musical partner M Ward doing a wonderful rendition of Dusty Springfield's 1964 Stay Awhile:

Deschanel has a very nice singing voice. And while she's not Eleanor Powell or Ann Miller, she competently dances her way through a clever and stylish video. I can't speak for her acting, the only thing I've seen her in is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; the rock I live under gets very bad TV reception. She was good in that though, so I'll give her all three - sing, dance, act.

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Full-Sized Plans

It really helps to make full-sized drawings before you start a guitar project. But finding guitar-size paper can be a problem. My Home Depot has big rolls of brown wrapping paper outside that are a good size, I tore off a few yards. Below, I've drawn a plan on a nice big piece of cardboard I saved that was the backing for something. But how do you transfer these plans to wood? I don't want to cut up my master, I need some extra-large tracing paper. So I went to Staples, but the closest thing they had was still too small, and $20. So I went to the supermarket next door, and found this baking paper.

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