Scared Str8 by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9EROkoblnw&feature=youtu.be

Grandiose Delusion by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCxK70MGX_4&feature=youtu.be

This one required a tricky bit of editing. The end section was previously in the middle. The original end section I spliced onto the beginning.
The song is dedicated to all the women I've known who foolishly thought they could do better than me.

in the music room

with Les Paul guitar and my painting Mazeppa

Ego, My Amigo by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYyVy-WAsP8

Burnt Norton by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmeGSQjkVtY&feature=youtu.be
my reading T.S. Eliot over some music I composed

Vexations by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MdqahXFaCE

Student Loan Blues by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3raXpw5ACrY&feature=youtu.be

Sonic Palette

Here is a pic of my guitar effects board which I just wired together.
From upper left to right:
octave multiplier, compressor, flanger, delay/echo, fuzz box, chorus/vibrato, leslie speaker effect, phaser, wah pedal

Gibson Les Paul Traditional Plus

I had been considering getting a second electric guitar for a couple months.
Although I never intend to part with my telecaster I, like many before me,
had been seduced by the mystique of the Gibson Les Paul. All my
guitar heroes like Jimmy Page, Marc Bolan, Mick Taylor, etc. had become
synonymous for preferring the Les Paul.
I went to a music store where I played one but it was horribly out of tune
and connected to a dirty amp so I couldn't get a feel for the sound.
I was strongly considering two other Gibsons, both hollowbodies,
and ES 335, and a Herb Ellis tribute.
Speaking with a salesman I learned that the Gibson factory had recently
been raided for illegally importing Brazilian rosewood, which they use for the
fretboard so with it looking like they would substitute an inferior wood I
took a gamble and ordered a Les Paul in honeyburst finish. With few exceptions
I dislike painted guitars. I believe that any instrument made of wood should
have a natural finish that shows off the wood's natural beauty. I also prefer the more time consuming and labor intensive lacquer finishes to polyurethane.
Bonding with a musical instrument is a mysterious thing. It's unpredictable but happens almost instantaneously the moment you strum a few chords.
When the Les Paul arrived I opened the case fully expecting I would probably be returning it for some cosmetic flaw of other issue given all I had read regarding Gibson's questionable quality control of late.
My fears immediately vanished when I inspected every inch of the flawless body and neck.
It was the most beautiful finish I had ever seen on an electric guitar. Once I plugged it in
I understood why this model has deserves its incredible reputation. I seemed to play
more effortlessly and then there was the sound, the tone of those dual humbucker pickups
resonating in that solid mahogany body. It made me swoon and feel like Peter Green!
There are few things manufactured in America anymore, and manufactured well, but thankfully
Gibson hasn't lost its commitment to craftsmanship.

The Hollow Earth by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u28b39Ptto&feature=youtu.be

Swinging on the Riviera by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SSBeqI9X1E

Beyond These Four Walls by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xxSEkRq08g&feature=youtu.be
first song written with my beautiful new Les Paul

Robert Fripp quotes

"I'm not really interested in music. Music is just a means of creating a magical state."
"Me and a book is a party. Me and a book and a cup of coffee is an orgy."

Les Amants by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgkAHa81VVI&feature=youtu.be

The Cenacle by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAk-3hDEieY&feature=youtu.be

Valentine's Day Groove

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVbk-khfq9c&feature=youtu.be
electric guitar thru BBE Soul Vibe Pedal
Vox Continental organ thru Leslie speaker
drums

The Girl from Montenegro by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYJDCF-mar8&feature=youtu.be

Le Menage a Trois by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Wk54gSQ7Fk&feature=youtu.be
Electric guitar thru my new Boss Space Echo which then switches to fuzz box, drums, and D6 clavinet.
The photo is from the French film Les Valseuses

Le monde est fou

by the great Francoise de Roubaix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6z2LXcMNyI&feature=related

Oral Majesty by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFgeUxLHBZQ
I'm trying out my new Electro Harmonix Soul Preacher effects pedal here
with a funk riff I started playing that reminds me of various European soft core porn
film soundtracks from the 70's that I collect, with a hint of Melody Nelson.

Song for Akseli Gallen Kallela

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCYCSA2nLPM&feature=youtu.be

Many a Jewel Sleeps Buried by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPe8JnuDYus&feature=youtu.be

- Maint joyau dort enseveli
Dans les ténèbres et l'oubli,
Bien loin des pioches et des sondes

-- Many a jewel sleeps buried
In shadow and oblivion,
Far from the miner's pickaxe and drill

from Le Guignon by Baudelaire

a spot of bother by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV4A0Imo308&feature=youtu.be

New Toys

My old Vox amp had served me well but after hearing the vibrato setting on the Fender Deluxe Reverb I decided to upgrade immediately.
This particular model has been used on countless classic records and is built like a tank.
Although I don't play very loudly I cranked the volume up to just 7 yesterday and nearly blew the roof off my house.
My other new amp is intended for my acoustic guitars. It's an AER from Germany. It renders the cleanest sound I've ever heard from an acoustic amp.
I think both will serve my needs for many years to come

I Killed the Vicar by les Niobides

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wPPNM8w5mE&feature=youtu.be
Title is a British expression I came across in a book that I feel fits this piece somehow.
I play electric guitar(thru an mxr phaser, the same kind Jimmy Page used on Achilles Last Stand), synth, piano, and drums on it.

Things that inspire me

the first single I ever bought was The 2000 Pound Bee by The Ventures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww4y0MCjGi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlez9pYaTto&feature=related