WHAT IS A MUSICAL STYLE? HMM?

My musical work has been described to me (by others) as an interesting mix of styles resembling that of artists like Ry Cooder, David Wilcox, Mark Knopfler, Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, Gordon Lightfoot, Jeff Beck and others. Wow!!! That's a spicy musical recipe. Well,...I'm truly humbled at the mere thought of any such remote comparisons to these musical giants. Personally I just think I sound like me,... whatever that is,... however, all those personalities have certainly influenced my playing and writing.

Indeed,...what is a musical style? That's such a subjective, elusive thing to describe. I'm not completely sure what it is other than it's a label (or labels) placed on us based on the work that has preceded us. Previous bars have been set and we chose to try to go ABOVE them or BELOW them. But I like to go AROUND them. It's not always necessary to try to jump that high,... or crawl that low. There will always be greater and lesser musicians than I,.... so why be up tight. I'll just try to do what I do as best as I can do it. Let's just have some gratitude and have fun with this music stuff and try to inspire each other for the short time we are here on this globe. Chances are only a few will remember us when we're gone, anyway. So piss on the egotistical crap. That's just silly. And for those few that DO remember me when I'm gone,... I would like those memories to be fond. But, that's up to ME to create. Somedays I'm not too sure how well I'm doing, though.

JW
http://www.jeffwyatt.com/

LIVE MUSIC IS STILL BEST

I appreciate and am a sucker for a great musical recording, but nothing beats the live experience and performance of music in my mind.  As much as I love cool recording techniques and layers of tonal textures and colorful percussive backdrops, nothing is more stunning and captivating to me than simply watching and hearing a gifted musician play an instrument with his or her whole heart and soul.

JW
http://www.jeffwyatt.com/

THOSE WERE NICE OLD GUITARS I HAD

As with most older guitar players, I also carry some regret about having parted with some gem guitars back in the early 70's. The ones that give me the fondest memories for their feel, sound and looks include:

1 - my cherry red 1962 Gibson Les Paul (SG style body) which I bought in mint condition in 1969 for $375. The wammy bar was very odd in that it went up and down instead of the standard out and in. The guitar still had the original tags and pamphlet from the factory and a case that looked brand new. This is a very rare guitar today, but I actually saw one of Paul McCartney's guitarists using the identical model in Portland Oregon on November 4th of 2005.
2 - my tan 1962 Fender Stratocaster with big Gibson Frets which I paid about $500 for in 1973
3 - my sparkle gold 1970 Les Paul Deluxe which I bought from my friend Willy Putz for $500 in 1974

Although I'd much prefer to actually have them again, at least I have my memories of playing them, as well as numerous photos of them, which I've placed on my musical website at www.jeffwyatt.com on the EDEN Photos page, just below the EDEN - the band page. But even more important than these old memories are the memories of the fun I had with all the musicians I used to perform with, as those photos show. The old guitars just made those times even more enjoyable and the memories fonder.

JW
http://www.jeffwyatt.com/

HERE'S MY FIRST BLOG - I NEVER THOUGHT I'D CREATE ONE

At the suggestion of my good nephew Blake Wyatt (http://www.blakewyatt.com/), I decided to create this blog as a cyber extension of my website at http://www.jeffwyatt.com/. This blog will be a venue for me to express myself beyond the realm of my website. My expressed views will probably be mostly that of (though not necessarily limited to) a musical nature. If you are so inclined, your comments, suggestions and opinions are most welcome. Although it may sometimes sound as though I think my opinions are the ultimate definitive truth on a subject,.. please note,... I don't necessarily take myself too seriously. We all need a venue for expression and venting,.... and I'm thinking that this blog will be my particular vehicle for such (outside of my regular songwriting, of course). Thanks in advance.

JW
http://www.jeffwyatt.com/