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

Rants By Topic

Apparently I Lied. Astoria, Oregon. September 3


So sue me. Or, better still: buy some tickets and come see a really big shoe! I think we’re gonna have one more show in Astoria, OR. If yer interested? You know what to do.

OK, so maybe you don’t. Click here and fill out the form. You’ll get the details on tickets.

Where is Astoria, you may ask? (What is Astoria, you may ask?) Why it’s the beautiful little town off I-5. The very gateway between Washington and Oregon along the mighty Columbia River. And mere shouting distance from Portland.

Anyhoo, never say that whining over the Interwebs is pointless! As Rog and I discussed in our last rant, I can’t schedule any fly dates until the doctors figure out what is wrong with me head. (I heard that remark.) But Astoria (like Vancouver last month) is close enough to get to by land. Huzzah! And a fan in Astoria actually read our rant and has generously offered the use of a very nice venue with 75 […]

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 no tour this summer.

RCWhat? Why?

JCHBecause, Dear Readers, my nose is […]

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, […]

July, 2016
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