Jay Mathes

Author: jaymathes

  • A Legend Dies

    I cried this morning.

    After I rolled out of bed this morning, I walked in to the kitchen and noticed that a small section of the top sheet of our refrigerator notepad was torn off. I then walked to my laptop, discovering the missing page piece – a note left by my wife.

    Maybe it was the note. Maybe it was the fact that I have Copland playing on the iPod dock. Maybe it’s the fact that the Cubs probably will not ever win another World Series. Or maybe it’s because I’m really more upset with the fact that life is fickle, short, fleeting, passing away – like chaff in the wind.

    I’m going to miss Ronnie.

    My favorite Santo quote: “Awe, jeez…”

    Here’s a link to an awesome photo collection of Santo: Ron Santo’s Life in Baseball.

    Baseball card photo by: Tunguska. Used with permission. Read his blog: http://longflyball.blogspot.com

  • One Reason Why I Love the Guitar

    Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes working on a song I never finished from 2007. Well, back then, I thought the song was done, but when I played through it again yesterday, I knew it was incomplete. What struck me the most was this new outro section that I wrote: simple acoustic guitar, slowly building with drums, steady, rhythmic, then in comes a chorus, singing in unison, music fades out, voices stay strong, then slowly fade. (Photo at left by: Ashley Hodges.)

    But again, what got me was the guitar part. The guitar is the most honest instrument in the world. When played skillfully – and usually on an acoustic, no sonic reverberation can say as much as the guitar can in so few notes. Just one chord – or one note – played just the right way, can convey precise emotions which are not nearly as easy to express with words.

    I’ll try to record the part and post it here sometime for you all to hear just exactly what I’m talking about.