Day 84: May Flowers

2026-05-01

Hello! It's May now!

Last night, I performed at a school concert with a jazz band, where everyone gets to watch me struggle with my cheap old electric guitar. Seriously — the thing's nearly a decade old at this point and the plug is loose; no amount of tightening seems to stick for more than a day or two.

The idea of soloing is confusing and I don't remember how I learned to do it. This is a perfect example of things that are easier said than done, because the only description I've got on guitar / piano solos is: know which musical scales sound right for your solo section, and fit a bunch of stock phrases that sound coherent together. This requires listening to a lot of jazz music. And knowing your scales.

The last time I was playing for a music performance, I learned thirteen songs to play background music for about an hour. This time, I only needed to know four songs (some of which overlapped with the previous setlist), but it's an actual concert where actual people are actually paying actual attention to you, actually.

Despite all the busy goings-on of the art world, I go on simple photowalks around town and take pictures of anything interesting. This photo is from one of them! I walked a lot further than I should have (I was rushed for time by the end of it) and I even got myself lost once.

I think I should get myself a pedometer — those simple and cheap things that latch to your belt and count your steps. I wonder how many steps I would have collected during a music performance.

Finally, badly-drawn horses. It's great to see weird and unconventional websites. I wonder if my horse is still riding off into the sunset.

Cheers,
David