The Music Of JC Harris

positively the most intelligent progressive rock on this here planet

positively the most intelligent progressive rock on this here planet

JCHRants

A compendium of musings on music and this business we call show

Nobody Expects It. Even Though It Keeps Coming Back.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Monty Python. No more gigs this summer. Sinus disease. Women are better. Running out of CDs? What to do! At the home. Previews.

JCHNOBODY EXPECTS

Roger CortonThe Spanish Inquisition!

JCHI love it. For our generation it’s like ‘Shave and a haircut. Two Biiiits!’. It’s like an irresistible reflex.

RCIt’s a given. But as much as I love Python, why are we talking about this?

JCHBecause it never really dawned on me how multi-layered that skit really is. I mean, I’d almost forgotten about Graham and Carol. With each ‘take’ they get less and less engaged with the whole business. Even though it’s THE SPANISH INQUISITION! They’re just tired of the whole thing.

RCLook. Spit it out. There’s a point in there somewhere, right?

JCHOK, ya got me. It looks like there will be […]

Why Is Progressive Rock So Unpopular?

The question of why Progressive Rock is so universally mocked these days was recently asked on Quora. And hey, I figured it deserved a thoughtful answer.

Invent Your Own Language!

While Rog is away, I culled this from the editing floor of our previous rants on ‘Creativity’. I went off on a jag about ‘language’ and improvisation. I don’t think readers understand how much editing he does on each of these little chats. As we all know, even the most interesting conversations can sound pretty crap to the outside world in their ‘raw’ format. Our average conversation lasts fifteen to twenty minutes, but somehow he manages to squeeze them down into the 800 or so word rants you see–blissfully free of my fits of profanity, inanity and ‘like, um and ya know’. I should be a lot more appreciative. But what to give the guy who has everything? 😀

JCHI had this friend back in Detroit I went to votech with. He had this gag when we were studying hard stuff. He’d start acting all (sorry) ‘retarded’. Spastic twitching, etc. And he’d say “Myyyyyyy braaaaaaaain hurts.” You know… like how computers in movies used to actually smoke […]

Letter To The Editor Of Guitar Player On Creativity

After all my ranting about ‘creativity’ recently, I get back from Vancouver (which was great, thanks to all!) and find the latest Guitar Player in the box. And in his August 2016 editorial, Michael Molenda asks why so many guitarists struggle to find a creative voice. Coincidence or conspiracy? Who knows. But I wrote him to give him a piece of what passes for my mind on this.

Dear Mr. Molenda,

With one side trip, I’ve made my living as a musician now for 30+ years. I made the money that put the kids through school and paid the mortgage as a sideman and a teacher. So for the past 15 years I’ve done my own far less lucrative thing in the (cough) genre of progressive rock. I’m boring you with this because when I went down that road I took a serious pay cut to do music I found to be much more ‘creative’. I feel I have some skin in the game of ‘being creative’.

If you haven’t read it, […]

Creative Strategies Number Four – Why It Matters

Part 4 on practicing creativity. AKA ‘our longest rant ever’. Why consciously practicing creativity matters. Jaron Lanier. Bernie Worrell. Mining for sapphires. Light pollution. Wilt Chamberlin. Malcolm Gladwell.

Roger CortonWe haven’t had enough talk, talk talk yet about ‘creativity’?

JCHNo. No we HAVEN’T. I promised last time that I was going to explain why this matters so much…

RCTo you.

JCHAnd should matter to you.

RCI am usually reluctant to use the word ‘should’.

JCHWhich is why I’m where I am and why you’re… er… never mind. (laughs) But assuming that someone cares about what I care about than yes, I am going to finish up my…

RCLecture is the word I think you were going for.

JCHAs Fred Flintstone used to say, “How very droll.” OK, here we go. I think it matters for music in general but for progressive rock in particular because, frankly, most of it STINKS.

RCMost of what?

JCHMusic, […]

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