Sander Roscoe Wolff

In the process of sorting through the detritus of my life I happened upon a cassette tape labeled “Sander’s Apology.” I had no specific recollection of recording an apology, but did remember making tapes of radio broadcasts when I was a kid living in Santa Monica. We lived in Santa Monica from about 1968-1971. The tape was full on both sides, and contained a few surprises. Here are some excerpts:

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When the organizers of Dung Mummy invited me to participate, I was told they would have a video projecter in the space and, if I chose to, I could provide them with video that they would project behind me as I performed. I’d never really had the opportunity to do this before, and the prospect was thrilling.

Over the course of several days, and in several locations in and around Long Beach, I shot video of water in a variety of settings. Moving water has always had a certain fascination to me, and also felt somehow appropriate for the gentle ebb and flow of the music I planned to do. Much of what I shot was taken at the Japanese Garden at CSULB. One bit was taken at the El Dorado Duck Pond. Another was taken at the beach.

Because posting and hosting streaming video of any quality is problematic, I decided to post some still images gleened from the video.

Here they are:

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With the kind assistance of a volunteer, I recorded my performance at Dung Mummy on my video camera. The performance, in its entirety, was about 25 minutes. This excerpt, about 11 minutes in length, comes from the middle, when I had switched from my gretsch to my Industrial Guitar Indy Rail.

Click here to hear audio. Note: the file is about 10 MB.

If you’re interested, you can see pix of the guitar effects I use and read about what they do.
Enjoy!

Although I had no idea at the time, Jason Savvy (aka Monkey Wrench) was snapping pix while I was performing. He was kind enough to post them, and share them with the performers.

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Haikus for Yous.

Pluck the strings, my heart
Sings of Spring’s promise.
Love blooms everywhere.

Birch, slender and strong,
Sending shoots toward the sun,
Bending in the wind.

Leaves Fall at your feet.
Carpets of color guide you
To home and husband.

Wool socks, soft and warm,
Hug your feet beneath covers.
Winter’s cold forgotten.

Green light shines in my eyes
Running down the wall in all
I call to skies

Arms reach out like trees
Stretching out into the hall
To silver seas

Who knew the blue in you
I didn’t see the green in me

Grass grows inside my shoes
Reaching toward the silent call
From green to Blues

Who knew the blue in you
I didn’t see the green in me
We’ll still see it through
Until we are free
[We’ll see it through
Until you are me]

Dawn comes down to kiss my face
Dancing in the birth of All
A warm embrace

Who knew the blue in you
I didn’t see the green in me
We’ll still see it through
Until we are free
[We’ll see it through
Until you are me]

I didn’t know it but
You did
You didn’t know it but
I did

[Guitar Solo – Verse only?]

Who knew the blue in you
I didn’t see the green in me
We’ll still see it through
Until we are free
[We’ll see it through
Until you are me]

I didn’t know it but
You did
You didn’t know it but
I did
I didn’t know it but
You did
You didn’t know it but
I…

I got a custom case made for my new custom guitar, and decided to have a matching one made for my lap steel. The company that made them, Morris & Holmberg Cases in Santa Ana, did a pretty nice job. They used material I provided them, and painted it with a custom color. Sweet!

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The signal chain for my performance was:

The Gretsch BST-1500 and/or the Industrial Guitar Indy Rail > Ernie Ball VP Jr Volume Pedal > HBE UFO (fuzz/octave) > Analog Man Sun Face (NKT275 with Sun Dial mod) (fuzz) > HBE Psilocybe (phaser) > Marshall Vibrotrem > DOD DFX94 Digital Delay/Sampler > Line6 Delay Modeler > Fender Blues Jr. Amplifier.

I also used a cheap digital voice recorder, purchased in Little India, that I played by holding it against the pickup of the lapsteel. You can hear this about 5 minutes in. Later, I also use an Ebow to create long sustained notes. You can hear this toward the end, around 9 minutes or so.

The set of guitar effects I use is designed to provide me with a wide sonic pallet. Each one adds to or changes the sound in a distinctive way. I sometimes use them by themselves, or in combination with other pedals. With the 7 pedals, there are countless variations possible.

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I was privledged to be invited to perform at the 3rd anniversary of Dung Mummy, a performance event for experimental music, poetry, and other ecclectic creative energy. The event is hosted and organized by the Hop-Frog Kollectiv, a group of adventurous and creative artists from all over the Southland.

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Sierra is a lovely young lady who goes to Lauren’s old school. She and Lauren are friends, and we all enjoy her company when she visits. She’s a wonderful human being, with lots of wonderful qualities such as intelligence, humor, sweetness, cuteness, and our dogs love her.

She asked me to post a pic of her here, so I’m going to:

And here are some more!

We had a wee birthday celebration for Sierra at our house:

Make a wish!

I hope it comes true!