Hey Gang!
I have been a little off the internet radar lately, and I must apologize for a lag in posts, emails, youtube videos and all that good stuff.
It has been a VERY busy time for me actually. I will quickly get you up to speed, and I promise to post & blog from the road over the next few months.
Here is the God’s honest transparent news update that I’d give you if you were drinking a coffee with me right now.
#1 – My Mom
Well gang, my mom is getting older and I’m the only family she’s got. August 2013 was basically centered around getting her into a hospital for the care she urgently needed. She is in rehab getting antibiotics for an infection that won’t quit.
This meant an unexpected overseas trip and seeing her daily for a few weeks. She’s getting better which is good news.
Now that her situation is normalizing, I can get back on track with the touring, planning, blogging and music creation. I’ll keep you updated.
New “Fingerstyle Favorites” Guitar DVD Shot & Edited
This July 2013 I shot the newest AR Guitar Instructional DVD – and realistically I am planning on a February 2014 release. Not enough time right now to get this pup out before Christmas.
It’s impossible to be on tour and also keep an eagle eye on the production side of things, so the DVD release is backed up.
As Holiday madness kicks in after my tour, I can curl up with a warm hot chocolate, a candy cane and get to the final production stages on the DVD.
It has songs that many of you asked for, hence the name “Fingerstyle Favorites.”
Lessons will be – “The Hippie Dance”, “Jill’s Song”, “Rolling With the Ashes”, and “Harlem”. I’ll also have to think about which free bonuses I can add on.
Youtube – Lessons & Originals will be my focus in 2014
For now gang, I will be focusing on lessons & originals on Youtube.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5LdlFg0QtM]
Artistically speaking, I have a ton of covers – many of which I have not even played live. These covers have helped get the online eyeballs, but my inner musician & composer now needs an outlet.
Practically speaking – I never know which newly uploaded cover tune could get flagged for copyright infringement and put me in bad standing on Youtube. I’d rather not flirt with that.
It may be a slower go with originals, but I don’t need a gazilion more views…I need to fulfill my soul, and create content that I own!
Web Security, WordPress and all that Jazz
I have always hand coded and administered adamrafferty.com (since ’96) and for over a year have been looking into a facelift and better functionality – especially something “responsive” so that my site wil look good on tablets & phones.
I painfully learned that WordPress (for websites) is very insecure and a #1 target for hackers. Look on youtube, you can see how they do it!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrOMFz46BLQ]
This sucks, as I had been re-vamping my site using Genesis & WordPress. WP is awesome, but very vulnerable.
In any case, I have found myself becoming a student of this stuff and appalled at how people “hack” others sites for fun.
It’s time to stop writing my own code. I don’t know if I am sold on Bandzoogle or Hostbaby as I am a snob for certain features. I want a good looking site that is bullet-proof and easy to maintain – and get THIS blog you are reading under the main domain of my website.
I may go for a hosted CMS like squarespace.com or lightcms.com. Let them do the heavy lifting with the code and I can focus on content.
Any suggestions?
Marketing Activities 2014
I spent a good deal of time this summer studying something called “marketing automation” which offers the promise of closing more sales, but basically it’s an oh-so-advanced spam machine.
Then I started getting pissed off when I’d do a google search and suddenly have ads (related to the search) blasted at me within minutes. It’s not clever, it’s annoying.
Of course I’ll always market my recordings & DVDs but will do so with integrity. I’d rather be a purple cow and tribe leader than a short-sighted “internet marketing” noob.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ammimNTfaG0]
Spring Tour 2014
Just today I have started looking at March, April May 2014 and taking gig offers so it’s been a morning of admin work and emails – but fun ones. I get to see my musical family once a year and make the rounds.
Thank You
Life is good, and I thank you unendingly for being a friend and fan. I have the coolest job in the world – I play music, travel and see my friends.
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Hi Adam, thank you so much for the very transparent update & insight to what you’re up to.
Your work is a real inspiration to mine & I hope we cross paths again soon. I’m delighted to hear more of your originals for sure! Can’t wait. Thank you again.
Best wishes from Malaysia,
Az
Az – great to hear from you my man. I hope to come to KL again soon. I need to email Kuah!!!! All the best – AR
Thanks for the update! I can relate to the “…need to fulfill my soul,” and that to me leads to the best kind of of music! I can’t wait to hear more. I’ve heard many good things about squarespace but can’t personally attest. All the best to you in this new phase of your career.
Thanks Rich!
Thanks, Adam! Totally righteous stuff, as always!
Hope your mom is feeling better soon.
Wishing you success w/ all your efforts, yell for help if needed.
Best to you and yours,
Jim M.
Nashville, TN
Thanks Jim!
Hey, Adam! Good to hear from you again. Hope your mom’s doing better – I’m praying for a total recovery and then some 🙂
Also, thanks for checking out my YouTube page after CAAS. (I responded to your Youtube comment on Facebook; not sure if you saw it or not.)
Anyways, hope to see you around soon!
-Kirbs
Hey Raff, Its always great to hear what’s going on with you. You have been a huge influence over the last 20 years of my guitar playing lifestyle whether we have been in touch or lost contact momentarily in this massive cosmic voyage. I’ve kept on your playing through Youtube and it just gets better and better. I am excited to see what 2014 brings and I hope to see you soon…
~John I
Ianucci? From Boces? SSSSUP DUDE!
That’s me Raff… It feels great knowing you remember me. You truly impacted my life with the guitar and music like very few could. I gotta come see you soon, it’s been to long. It’s funny, after so many years of studying and playing jazz and rock I finally got the chance to go to Nashville on a last minute trip. I wanted to see some live music at the Ryman and Jon butler just happened to be in town playing their. About a yr before that a very good student brought me “Ocean” to learn and it kicked my ass but I fell on love with the style, music and technique. I had been watching your YouTube videos as well all through the years. So lately I’ve been trying to get that style together but it just hasn’t clicked yet. I gotta come see you for a lesson and some guidance. Let me know if you are around, I could use an education and an ass kicking- lol Hope to hear from u soon John Iannucci
Sent from my iPhone
Hi Adam,
And seasons greetings early and l hope your mother continues to improve toward good health. Have to checked out Wix,com. They offer anyone a free website to build from scratch. They are users forums and tutorials on the site. l don’t know what their security situation is, but l am sure there is something on their site that addresses that. l am a customer who has bought your Virtuos Hanon exercises and How To Create Single Note Jazz Guitar Lines… you know the rest of the very long title. l have not gotten to that book yet. Just trying to ingest the Hanon stuff is still ongoing. Sadly for me l only can really practice on weekends. So l guess l am not really a guitar player anymore. it’s a hobby and therapy and a gift that l have neglected. However, l and daughter did perform a song at my son’s wedding in August. “Let’s Stay together” by Rev. Al “Grits” Green. lt got me practicing and focused on learning one song well enough to comp for two singers. And while l came up with all kinds of ways to play the song as a solo comp. l arranged it differently for comping for two singers and it came out very well ! thanks for all the free lessons. l promise to practice more. ltend to want to create some music as a oppose to practice, practice. Some much music, so little time ! Love! Washie
Wash!!
Thank you! Please do me a fave….don’t get lost in teh Hanon, it;s only technique. Please start the other book! Dr’s orders!
AR
Maestro,
‘Been quietly following your exploits quietly for a while now. I myself (was) classically trained, but with children and being an architect, it all fell to bits. You have brought life to my guitaring again. Thanks!
I’d dearly love to see you take on Joe Sample’s compositions. If you managed to make spiritual Lennon-McCartney’s ‘Yesterday’ (plus the interesting morphing – haha), Joe’s songs would be spectacular. Just playing the chord progression for ‘When I Get Over You’ gives me goosebumps. Its very Bach ‘Air’. See what you can do.
Perhaps one fine day I get to meet you in KL (yes, another Malaysian here but in Qatar). Till then, keep up the good work.
Adam, I am so glad to have found your blog — I’m sure I’ve been praying for you for at least 40 years! I hope your mother is much better by now.
Love and prayers,
Sister Mary Winifred
As much as I dig your guitar perspective, good on ya for tackling some marketing (and integrating Seth Godin, to boot). Musicians, largely, can want to scoff at marketing and focus on ‘their art’…but it’s the integration of art and marketing that makes a real online career today. And it can be a lot of fun too….good stuff and continued success….
Adam, thanks so much for all the great stuff you’ve put out there. I originally found your stuff on youtube and have since added just about all your stuff to my Christmas list this year. Thanks for what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. I can dig the Seth Godin stuff; way to serve. Any chance of you coming anywhere near Austin in 2014?
Adrian thanks so much man. I dunno if I will make it out that way – hopefully later on in the year!!! Take care and keep groovin!
Hi Adam,
I work with network and system security and wanted to offer my 2 cents worth about your website hosting question.
Websites are not judged by the public based on who does the coding or how well it is done, but on the quality of the content.
Has anyone ever said to you
“You know Adam, you play that guitar really well, now if you just wrapped your own guitar strings…now that would be original” ?
Of course not right?
For that same reason I would recommend that you contract out your web hosting/coding to a reputable company and then manage the content yourself.
On another subject, I have been working through your instruction DVDs and really enjoy what you do.
You make it look effortless and fun.
Do you have plans to come back to the USA anytime soon?
Your friend
Bill Whittaker
Bill
Thanks. I actually just switched to wordpress & WP engine as the host….no plans to switch again anytime soon, but is there a problem here for you on my site? Please let me know what you have in mind / if something is missing / slow – etc. – AR