DClog

Moon River

Two years ago I posted a short video made while experimenting with Windows Movie Maker. The video was made using a cheap webcam and featured me playing a simple arrangement of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on my acoustic guitar. According to the webstats that video gets viewed about a hundred times each month. The quality is pitiful and the performace is not particularly good, but if you go to video.search.yahoo.com and type in "rainbow" it comes up on the first page - that's probably why it gets so many visits.

This afternoon while messing around with the Fuji FinePix digital camera I figured out how to make it function as a webcam while in it's cradle. Picking up the nearest guitar, a modest student model Yamaha classical, and loading up Windows Movie Maker, I recorded an arrangement of "Moon River". The arrangement is a "work in progress"... but the Fuji camera makes a better picture than the old webcam.

6MB Windows Media Video file (Right Click and Save As...)

"Moon River" (a .MP3 file) sung by Audrey Hepburn in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S (1961).
music by Henry Mancini, lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Wired Rants

Is it just me or is Wired News getting a bit more outspoken regarding civil liberties and political topics. Check out these recent stories.

Court Filing Confirms Spy Docs

Security vs. Privacy: The Rematch

What If They Gave a War...?

I like it.

DaVinci Code

We watched the first showing of the DaVinci Code Friday morning. It had been a long time since reading the book but the movie seemed to follow the original story accurately. I thought it was well done and this fictional story translated to the big screen in an entertaining way. It's a good movie and I can recommend it.

Peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer networks still rule. The heart of the internet, the very reason it was created, is to share resources. Gnutella is a "pure" peer-to-peer network and my current app of choice is FrostWire.

Many internet users have little or no idea about the workings of Usenet or IRC. The newsgroups, as they are commonly referred to, are a resource for nearly everything under the moon. Usenet pre-dates the "web" and is the result of real people networking, sharing their interests for better or worse, much like the old BBS (Bulletin Board System). Meanwhile web surfing is little more than a highway cluttered with billboards and advertising. The web has been redeemed slightly by the popularity of blogging, eBay and MySpace because it brings real people, again for better or worse, back into the frame.

When I was growing up people talked about AI (Artificial Intelligence) like it was some big scary thing and that thought spawned movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator and Matrix, just to name a few. However what was/is not Sci-Fi but similar is IA (Intelligence Amplification) where a person networked to millions of computers and the resources they contain has increased power. Knowledge equals Power in the information age.

File sharing is a by-product of this IA so now the music, movie and software industries need to develop a new business model, NOT impede the progress of peer-to-peer networking.

I say, learn to use the internet, not just surf the web or e-mail your friends, there is a whole world outside your neighborhood.

May 18, 1979

Standing outside the Gwinnett Courthouse following the legal union (unoffically together since 1974).

Prism Catalyst Kite

For the first time in many years I added a new kite to my collection. Modest by most standards but fun to play with.

Rachel called me from work yesterday to remind me it was her last day as an REI employee. She asked if I wanted anything before she left, so I asked her to grab this kite which I had looked at the other day.

This kite is relatively cheap compared to most stunt kites.

Mother and daughters are at the Braves game today celebrating Mother's Day, so if the weather is good I'll go fly a kite.

Childhood Snapshots

While digging around looking for pictures of my previously owned instruments, I discovered lots of interesting old photos. A more interesting project than my past guitars would be a bio featuring photos and recordings of all the different bands and musical collaborators throughout my career. Unfortunately I have probably kept more recordings, articles, videos, photos and memorabilia than I have time to sort through.

Also found were some photos from my childhood which happen to be in my possession. Most of this family's photos were archived by my Mom and are in my Dad's possession. More snapshots from childhood.

photo circa 1962(?) Allan, Judy & 5 brothers. Columbus OH

photo circa 1975(?). 5 brothers, Allan, Judy & Lisa. Chamblee GA

My Guitar History

1969 Apr. First jam session. Dan playing bass! West Chester PA

The very first real professional electric guitar that I owned and bought new was a 1973 Gibson ES-150. I just did a search online about that model and discovered that MY FIRST GUITAR (looking a little worse for the wear) is available on eBay right now... unbelievable! It is currently residing in a store in Chicago. My old blonde Gibson!

Photo: circa ~1974. Bearded & bispecled Dan w/Gibson ES-150 and Acoustic solid state amp.

Photo: circa ~1974. Upright piano, Yamaha Classical (2), Gibson L6-S, Sitar, Gibson ES-150.

Photo circa 1973. "Unit Structure" Dan (w/ES-150), Keith & Chuck

My beloved ES-150 guitar left me about dozen years later when I traded up to a Gibson ES-175. The ES-175 is a classic jazz guitar which I eventually sold to a former student when I needed the money, hoping to buy it back later, however both he and the guitar were not to be found when I wanted it back.


Photo October 14, 1982 Babenhausen Germany - Dan (w/late 70's Fender Stratocaster)

Photo: circa ~1980. Polytone Mini Brute II, Mesa Boogie Mark II-B, Home-made Custom Stratocaster, Ovation acoustic, Gibson ES-175

My first Fender Stratocaster was a late 70's model with an ash body and natural finish, now a collectable, but it was sold when I built a custom Strat-type guitar. During the 80's I played this home-made Strat (not Fender) which featured a hand-carved neck commissioned from a top Atlanta luthier, EMG pickups, Alembic StratoBlaster Preamp and other special tweaks. I also regret parting with that instrument but it has passed through the hands of several great players and continues to be played by a professional musician here in Atlanta.


Late 80's & early 90's "Dan Coy Band" - Russ, Paul, Octavia, Bill and Dan (w/Ruthie's Ukelele). This band, with mostly this lineup, worked about 7 nights a week for almost 10 years and were voted "Best Jazz band in Atlanta" several years in a row.

For the next couple of years, around 1990, my main guitar was a white Charvel/Jackson Soloist Pro which is based on a Strat-type of guitar but with a Floyd Rose locking tremolo system and humbucker bridge pickup - good for more heavy/shred stuff. I also owned a purple Charvel/Jackson Soloist Pro with a Kahler tremolo system, at the same time, but it was just a backup guitar. Locking tremolo systems did not allow for quick string changes if a string ever broke, so a backup guitar was needed. These guitars were a pain to maintain and eventually went away.

For about a year I didn't play a solid body guitar and my primary guitar was a Gibson ES-347 TD produced in Kalamazoo on November 20th, 1991. A semi-hollow body design which was pretty good at both jazz and rock styles but great at neither. The ES-437 got "eBay-ed" several years ago along with a backup Epiphone Emperor Regent sunburst. You can hear me playing the ES-347 guitar on the song "BnG" at www.myspace.com/danielcoy.

1991 Gibson ES-347 TD

Missing the sound and versatility of the Strat, in 1994 I bought a new Fender American Stratocaster, which has served me well for about 12 years now. Customized with Sperzal locking tuners, jumbo frets and Vintage Noiseless pickups, this is a fine instrument.


1998 Dan Coy Trio "DC3" - Paul, Dan (w/Epiphone Emperor), & Dave (w/Fred)

1998 Dan Coy Trio "Nothing But The Truth" cover art w/1997 Epiphone Emperor Regent

Photo circa 2000. Dan Coy Trio "DC3" - Dan (w/Epiphone Emperor), Paul & Dave

For the jazz side of my musical personality I bought a new 1997 Epiphone Emperor Regent natural finish, which I recorded my first CD with and then retired that instrument about three years ago when I got a good deal on a new (reissue of a 1950's) D'angelico New Yorker, my current jazz guitar.

Yesterday I bought a modern recreation of a classic Strat. An American Flame Top '62 Stratocaster FMT. Features an Alder body w/flamed maple top, 2-color sunburst finish, Texas Special pickups, 5-way switch (not original on '62's) and vintage tuners and tremolo. This is a nice instrument with a great vintage sound and feel.

2006 May. Fender ('62 replica) American Flame Top Stratocaster

There were several other guitars that came and went over the years (Gibson L6-S, Gibson ES-330, Roland Synth Guitar, Casio/Aria MIDI guitar, Ibanez Explorer, Fender Telecaster, Ovation acoustic, Takamine acoustic, Yamaha classical, etc), but they never became intimate friends like the guitars mentioned above. My collection of amplifiers is another story and maybe I'll recall that later.

WMJS concert photos

Message From Charles:

...
Also thought you’d enjoy browsing thru shots of our previous Dan Coy/Mack McKibben Sunday afternoon concert on the lovely covered patio of Doyle’s Cedar Hill Restaurant. You can see the 25 photos of this event by clicking here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/middle-c/sets/72057594119397193/ . At the top right of the ‘set’ page that opens up, you’ll find a ‘View as Slideshow’ click that’s a great way to view them all—or you can simply click on each picture in the set to open it up on its own page, to see it closer up. The event was truly a memorable afternoon for all.

We’re in the process of planning another great ‘jazz dinner’ event at Doyle’s in June and July, to feature wonderful jazz artists from Atlanta and Asheville—so keep an eye out for our upcoming announcements, and be among the first to make a dinner reservation at Doyle’s—the patio fills up fast!

Looking forward to seeing you at another great WMJS concert soon!

Charles Milne, President
World Music & Jazz Society
website: mapaa.org/html/jazz_society.html