GRAFT & CRAFT

dontcha worry my seeds
just when you thought he was running out of steam
your errant knight is back again
with another cyber missive
set to rattle your cage
dig your ribs
cajole you
console you
get your head nodding in agreement
make you think
soothe you
amuse you
make you weep
wash over you
disabuse you
or otherwise bamboozle you
hopefully not to bore you
see
if i had my way
i would be here every day
pouring a glass of the old mind juice
onto this pixelated page
sharing my snapshots with you
digging deeper into the art of living
but there are only so many hours to juggle with
and so many plates to keep spinning
and some days it just don't work out
for example at the minute
i am on a mission to finish the new albumen
before we leave these shores on august 19th
recording one song per fortnight
sleeve design
t-shirt design
distribution and sales
the lot!
i am also on a major maintenance mission
you know
that disheartening situation
where you have to expend a whole lotta time n energy
just to stand still and actually achieve squat diddly
everything round here seems to need fixing
all my mod cons are coming out in sympathy
i have now fixed
my mp3 player (again!)
my computer
my dvd player
my wahwah pedal
my synth keyboard
my soundcard
my watch
my eyes
i have yet to fix
my hifi cd player
my bubblejet printer
my teeth
my sunburnt skin
today it is the turn of my kawasamy sunburst red
so another trip to the nakwon music emporium beckons
that monstrous hulk of a building in insadong
housing all manner of musical delights and wares
up at the kawasamy service centre
hidden away at the end of a long corridor
the walls are bedecked
with a fleet of signed guitar models
i have the immense good fortune
to be attended to by the sajangnim himself
a serious fellow in his late fifties
i soon see that my baby is in good hands
on his worktable
he places her slender brown neck in the stock
and reseats the pick-ups
fitting shiny new gold screws to keep them in place
i watch attentively
as he pulls out little drawers of components
thoughtfully selecting the right one
replacing the drawers
dextrously wielding various screwdrivers and pliers
his tools of the trade
i explain in my clumsy korean
about my problems with getting the damn strings in tune
he tunes them with a little electronic device
holds her up and sights her carefully
testing the harmonics at different frets
ping! ping! ping!
he adjusts the action
bringing the strings down a bit lower
tests the harmonics again
ping! ping!
he adjusts the length of one of the strings
berates me good-naturedly for my poor guitar maintenance
tells me that i need to change the strings
gives her a final dust down and hands her back
ready to weave her magic melody lines once again
back at home
the family are not yet returned
i have the house to myself
i lay down the rhythm track to my latest ditty
my rejuvenated kawasamy biting and growling contentedly
then feel a pang of guilt
and sit down and write this blog for you