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The Music Loft, Durham, 1982-2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Well, this past August, around the 22nd, The Music Loft closed it's doors to the public for good. That's very, very sad. Not because another independent musical instrument retailer had to go out of business, or that they were the first discount music store in the area. No. For me, it's personnel. I moved to North Carolina in 1982, the same year The Music Loft officially opened in Durham. And in September of 1984, I started working there.
When I left Baltimore for New York, my goal was to pursue a career in music; preferably as an audio engineer. I had no idea (or desire) to work in retail. But when things didn't go my way, I ended up in Chapel Hill in a job I really hated. After I quit, that's when Jay Miller, the original owner & founder of the Loft took me in. And I stayed there for 22 years. And in those 22 years I learned and grew as a musician. The Loft was like the old time general store in small town America where people came not just to buy their strings & things, but to meet other musicians or just hang out and sit around and "chew the fat." I met many, many of the musicians and friends there that I still play with today. The opportunities were limitless. I was encouraged to play and tour as much as I could because it gave a certain credence that the store was run by professional musicians. I can't begin to tell you how much I learned there except to say that my time there was extremely valuable. It will be missed. By me and all of the surrounding musical universe.
Posted by Ed T Butler at 11:46 AM
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What my Blog is for.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
My initial thought about using this blog space was for any news that concerned me and my musical universe; announcements for new Cd's either I or one of the bands I'm in may release, cool new projects I'm working on, you know, stuff like that. And I was going to put up another site for other stuff I may want to say. You see, I'm not that familiar with the world of blogging, so this was all new to me. I also thought that my website was for getting gigs, like a resume' or a curriculum vitae. That there was no room for anything too personal, intimate, or controversial. I've now changed my mine. From now on, anything I want to say, regardless how some folks may take it, I'm going to use this space. Why the change? Well, for one thing, this is who I am. If you were to meet me in the real world, and we sat down to just talk, I would hope that we could do just that, and talk about anything; without fear of alienation or hurting someones feelings. And I'm sure there are people who won't agree with some or a lot of the things I may say or believe in. That's okay. Diversity is a good thing. So, in the upcoming weeks and months, come on back and we'll talk about anything from novels and comics, TV and movies, race and politics, or anything that I damn well feel like!
Posted by Ed T Butler at 11:13 AM
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Twas The Night Before
Saturday, March 22, 2008
This past holiday season, Jim Crew, Bernie Petteway, and myself (we call ourselves The PCB Trio) released our first self produced CD Called "Twas The Night Before..." (We actually started this project in May of 07. To record, mix, master, create the graphics, and then send it all out for duplication to get back before the Christmas season, you have to start early. And still we didn't get the finished product until after Thanksgiving!) We included a couple of traditional holiday tunes like, "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," and modern pieces like Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here." We treated these tunes in our own style; purposely trying not to sound like the plethora of existing holiday CD's. From a modified second line shuffle on "Jingle Bells," a bluesy rendition of "Silent Night" or an airy and sweeping treatment of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." We had a lot of fun doing this, but it does seem odd when you find yourself whistling or humming Christmas tunes in the middle of the summer. Anyhow, it can be purchased from CDBaby (www.cdbaby.com/cd/jcbpeb). and iTunes. Check it out and enjoy.
Posted by Ed T Butler at 1:47 PM
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