Just when I thought I was out? They pull me back in. Is working on two projects at the same time cheating? Is re-using material in another project ethical? Pacino. Rossini. The Lone Ranger. A Clockwork Orange. Laziness. Michelangelo. David. Trailers?

Roger CortonSo after last week’s digression into finance, we agreed to get back to ‘music’. How’s the new record going?

JCHWell, I keep getting pulled back…

RCLike Al Pacino

JCHUh, yeah. Just like that. I keep getting pulled back and forth between the new record (Progress) and the new opera.

RCWhich we keep meaning to discuss.

JCHBut something keeps pulling us…

RCYeah, yeah, yeah. But let me get this straight. The new record is due this winter. The new opera isn’t supposed to be for a couple of years. Doesn’t this smell of the kid who in school with poor study habits? I’m imagining one of those Disney animals that are […]

Second details on an upcoming new album called “Progress”. Calculus or just derivative? Chaplin vs. Lucy and Ethel. Jon Anderson. Fusion guitar shredding. Guitar quartets at 120db. Self-driving cars and a total loss of control.

Roger CortonIn our last action-packed episode, we started talking about your new album progress, and the concept behind it. You said that you thought that “progress” was inevitable, or at least that we all think it is inevitable. We are so indoctrinated to the idea that progress is good that we can’t imagine life any other way. You even compared it to gravity; a hidden force that we all assume is ever present.

JCHWhat a concise summation, dear friend. I salute you.

RCAnd I salute your salutation. You also hinted at the music. Care to comment on that?

JCHSure. When I started thinking about this record, I fretted and fretted and fretted and fretted.

RCAnd not on the geetar.

JCHCute. As I was saying, I […]

First details on an upcoming new album called Progress. Genesis 1:28. Star Trek. The Organians. Klingons. Nietzche. Chinese island builders. Brave New World. The irony of a static music culture in an ever-changing world.

Roger CortonSo it’s time to start talking about the next record? I seem to recall you first hinting at this way back last July.

JCHYes. It’s a concept I’ve been thinking about for a looooong time. The working title is “Progress”.

RCAnd is that title ironic? I also seem to recall you going on about how much you hate how sarcastic and ironic the world has become. First the price hike and now this. The hypocrisy of it all.

JCHPerhaps you’re right. I’m less argumentative than I used to be.

RCYOU?

JCHMe. Perhaps it’s age catching up with me. But the idea of the record is definitely to question the idea of progress.

RCExplain, please.

JCHIt dawned on me one day that my […]

Just got off the phone with Rog and y’all should have just received an e-mail with some final details. I’m about to head out the door and I can’t wait to see everyone on Saturday.

It takes a ton of effort from people who don’t get paid to make these shows happen. Saying ‘Thanks’ as many times as I do sounds phony, but I don’t quite know what else to say.

And I know it sounds all chick-flick sentimental, but the support I’ve received over the years gets me all choked up whenever I think about it; which is a lot. My wind pipe is a mess.

One last thing: I haven’t gone into this for a while, but the state of the music biz continues to deteriorate. There are literally only a few dozen people out there who make a living selling creative music. And I meant that literally. Ninety nine point nine nine nine percent of professional musicians now do not make any kind of […]

Epic is out. So now what? New Year’s Resolutions Niagara Falls. Detroit goes to high school. Summer Tour. Progress. Quotes from Hamlet. And Macbeth?

Roger CortonHappy New Year!

JCHBack at ya, mate.

RCSo. Now what?

JCHThat’s an excellent question!

RCAnd the topic of today’s little side show.

JCHHey, that’s my line! So let’s go down the list…

RCWell to begin with, we just released Epic, right? As you say, that’s not chopped liver. We need to keep talking about that, man.

JCHWe will. We will. But we’ve also got Niagara Falls in THREE WEEKS!

RCAnd then there’s Detroit for high schoolers in April.

JCHWell, I dunno if that’s of public interest, but yes, I’ll be heading for Connecticut to see a concert performance.

RCBasically that means a stripped down version?

JCHA concert version simply means that the singers don’t act. They simply […]