David Rawlings is a machine

If I were to do a top ten (or five....or one) favorite guitar players, David Rawlings would be on that list. Maybe one of these of these days I do that list, but for now just let me say that I could listen to DR and Gillian Welch all day, every day. I've seen them play twice; once, in the rain, when they opened for Norah Jones at the Mann Center, and then again when they played with Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, and Buddy Miller as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue at the Keswick.

There are just a handful of guitar players you hear and can identify immediately, and DR is one of them. It's both his playing style (the lightning-quick single-note runs) and the warm-yet-cutting sound of his 1935 Epiphone Olympic that makes it so notable. I know I recently was bashing Acoustic Guitar magazine, but here's an article/lesson from their website with some video clips of him playing the Olympic.

By the way, let me plug the Fretboard Journal, my favorite publication, and the feature they did on DR last summer.

Here's a recent interview and performance by GW and DR on Fresh Air (NPR).

Maybe I'm not a hoarder

A few months ago I wrote about my borderline hoarding tendencies. Well, I'm happy to report that the collection of Acoustic Guitar magazines has found a new home with a nice fellow from craigslist. I was happy to have them go to a fellow bluegrass picker who will appreciate the collection as a whole, and I've got $75 dollars in my pocket to show for it. I don't think I'll miss them, especially since I haven't looked at them in months/years.

So, what can I get rid of next?

As a side note, in my experience about 2/3rds of the people on craigslist are flakes or idiots. I hope I'm in the other 1/3rd, and was glad that the taker of the magazines was a really nice guy.

Am I a hoarder?

We recently did a marathon of the A&E show Hoarders. Just like when you are taking an abnormal psychology class and think you have all the conditions that you learn about, I'm now wondering if I'm a hoarder. The case for it:

• If I'm interested in something that comes in a series, I typically want the whole series. For example, I've been subscribing to Acoustic Guitar magazine since it the mid-90's and have all the back issues from prior to then. So I have every issue of that magazine. But Acoustic Guitar basically sucks as a periodical now; I don't spend more than 5 minutes looking at it when it comes each month. But I feel compelled to keep subscribing just to keep the collection going. I've thought about getting rid of them (e.g., trying to sell them on craigslist), but I'd only consider that if the buyer would take all of them, and I could cancel my subscription on not receive any more of them. I don't want just a partial collection lingering around here.
• When there is an item of clothing I particularly like, I'll buy several extra sets if I find them on sale to replace the originals in anticipation of them wearing out. Case in point: I've got multiple boxes of Chacos tucked away in the basement and waiting to been worn. The problem, I've learned, is that Chacos never wear out, so effectively I've got more than a lifetime supply. Same thing with shirts, although those are hanging in the closet. If you ever wonder why I'm always wearing the same shirt, it's not that I re-wear the exact same item day after day. It's because I have four shirts that are the same. 
• Some of you have seen the guitar room.

Evidence against me being a hoarder: 

• I was able to let go of my big CD collection and go totally digital a couple of years ago. But I must admit that I'm quickly accumulating a lot of digital music, you just don't see it because it's all on a 2TB hard drive (although that drive is filling up fast).
• I don't have cats.
• I don't save spoiled food.

Does anyone want all of the Acoustic Guitar magazines? Come and take them away! Help me, please.