Luis Arizpe and The Truth: Blog

So, here's the short of the long. Whatever you do, BACK UP YOUR WORK!
I like listening to podcasts, and last week, this one in particular reminded me that I needed to back up my computer(s). So, I'd decided to look into purchasing this on-line service that will back up your information for you (for a "nominal" fee, of course!) without you having to worry nuthin' 'bout it.
Wouldn't you know it? The morning I'm going to look into it, I open my computer and it never wakes up! So, down I go to the store to talk to them about it. I'm crossing my fingers nothing's been lost and I'm only dreaming this whole thing. But, "nnnnooooo!!!" It's all lost. The guy behind the counter tell me I should really think about backing up my work. (uugghhh!!) So, I tell him how just that morning I was going to look into the very same thing. As they're getting me another computer (this one still being under warranty), we're talking about how much memory this computer has and what nots. The dude tells [...]

Be sure to check out this week's FREE blues guitar lessons. We'll cover the blues chords and how you can use them to more effect. It's really fun to take the simplest of things and get as creative with it as you possibly can. Actually, that's one of the reasons why I love the blues so much.
Coming from a punk rock background, I was profoundly influenced by minimalism. For some people, minimalism = "basic". But, that's just so ... cliche. It's more accurate to say that the constraints of minimalism really show off the artist's ability to be creative. Look at it this way, anyone can write a song with verses and choruses and bridges and ramps and intros and outros and interludes and solos and time changes and key modulations ... I mean, ANYONE. But, who can write a really good song with just one chord? John Lennon? Sure, John could.
Blues is minimalistic, musically and lyrically. It's "three chords and the truth" as my friend Chris Taylor is fond of saying. It's a haiku of lyrics married to [...]

Just got back from the Texas Music Coalition's July panel, "Your Visual Presence". It was good to see some old friends and catch up. My friend Nikki Young, CEO and President of Prima Donna Productions was a panelist. The topic this month was getting sharp on your visual presence as an artist. Lots of good information that is very usable - to be sure.
I also ran into my other good friend, Lee Hurtado who is an excellent writer on the happenings in the theater life of San Antonio. Lee and Nikki have been incredibly busy launching and staging Neil Simon's (Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues) "Rumors" which will run for a couple of weeks more. You should get out there and see some good theater! If you haven't seen a Neil Simon play live, you won't want to miss this one!

As of this morning, I have received the good news that we have been accepted to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, or ASCAP. ASCAP is one of the two major performing rights organizations (PROs) that handle royalties. The other being BMI. What that does is establish a high level of credibility. Radios stations will have to report on our air time, if we should be used in movie soundtracks, or if we're covered by another group or performed live - they will collect royalties on our behalf. This is good news of the highest caliber, to be sure.
Also, Michelle Travis and I worked on our photo shoot. Michelle is such an incredibly talented photographer and, being the good friend she is, was able to put me at ease enough to relax. I have a thing about photo shoots - they stress me out, and it comes out in the photos (of course). But, we had a good time and we should see some results soon enough.
I praise God for moving in such a huge way. I can't tell you how humbled [...]

Good day today! I've been working on updating my email list and purging closed email accounts. If you were on the list, but had an old email address, you might not have received it. You can re-join the email list by entering your information again and I'll make sure you get up to speed on all that's going on at Luis Arizpe & The Truth. There's a whole bunch of stuff going on! I've been busy busy busy!!
I also made contact with Steve over at Casbeers at the Church (http://casbeers.com) here in San Antonio and with Kenny over at Tin Roof Steakhouse (http://www.tinroofsteakhouse.com) in Boerne. It would be a great honor for us to play at their fine establishments.
I'm already working on the next guitar lesson's pdf documents and will start filming this weekend, I think. And finally, I'll be doing a photo shoot with my good friend Michelle Travis on Sunday! Woo-hoo! Don't know Michelle? Well, you should. You can see her work at http://michelletravis.com. You really ought to visit her [...]