Something for the skaters and musicians -

Two new videos to share. The first is another skating compilation from the last few weeks on the east side. Lots of footage from the Beech and a fun session at the garage mini ramp. Skating continues to be the driving force in my life that pushes me to create, challenge fear, take hits, progress and simply have fun.

The second video is a solo guitar performance I recorded today. It's a Doc Watson arrangement of an old tune from the 1900s called Warm and Windy. This style of guitar is called Travis-style thumbpicking made famous by Merle Travis. In this style the guitar gives the effect of two instruments, a bass and a guitar playing together. The thumb holds the bass line with the other fingers playing the melody. The secret to this method is syncopation. It's no different than what the great ragtime pianists like Scott Joplin were doing. It's an amazing thing to play on guitar and extremely rewarding. I gravitated to this style when I was younger after realizing the limitations of strumming or playing single note lines. Hope you enjoy.