Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Music and a Unicorn

Last night James Corachea played the first show at Cat's Art MusikCircus and Cat had put out a stage that looked very much like the English countryside to me.


James Corachea doesn't live near Cornwall now but he enjoyed playing and shooting videos there.  Here's one called "To Feel Your Embrace:"



He's not some burnout masquerading as a young man, he really does look like his avatar!


While James was playing last night, I remarked that 'he even changes keys.  This will never work in rock and roll.'  He doesn't talk much but he seemed amused and he said that was a tough change to manage.  I'm not surprised as visualise it:  he uses an alternate tuning for the guitar for many of his songs and what that means is all the notes move.  So he already does a logic shift in his mind to know where the notes went for whichever key he is using but then he does another one in the middle of the song.  This is not a young man who goes out there to bang out chords and sing Neil Young songs.

Meanwhile, Yevette Nishi was juggling while she listened:



The MusikCircus isn't simply about clowns with red noses driving tiny cars but rather it's about freedom so why not juggle or walk the tightrope while one listens!


Something that fascinates me in James' play is how he manages a polymelodic style without using any effects at all.  He stands up with his guitar in front of a microphone and plays beautifully intricate pieces and without any devices.  While I have no aversion at all to using whatever equipment is necessary to deliver the sound one wants to make, James doesn't use anything and that's highly-impressive to me.

The schedule isn't fixed and James plays at the MusikCircus about every two weeks.  You can always find out for sure by checking the Calendar tab at the top of the blog or by visiting Cat's MusikCircus Web page (both link to the same calendar).


On a really good night, Lefty Unplugged will play after James and then we get two hours of highly-creative guitar playing!



Lefty has talked about the magic at the MusikCircus and that it's not just him, we all bring it.  Quite right he is:


Agleos is the Unicorn (das Einhorn auf Deutsch) and who knows more about magic than a unicorn!  (Agleos is April Turner, an excellent German artist, and you can see her work on Facebook)


Where Lefty excels is in starting into a song and then going on a journey with it.  His improvisation is brilliant and that's goes to his lyrics as well as his guitar playing.  The man is not only a songwriter as he really is a poet and I do differentiate the two as it's easily possible to write lyrics that rhyme but really aren't poetry but Lefty goes far beyond that and unicorns know this.  That's why they come.

Something I admire tremendously about his work is the humility with which he gives it.  He's not simply striking a pose for the camera as I see him all the time on Facebook and he loves every living thing in this world.  For some, finding friends on Facebook is about the same as collecting stamps but with Lefty it's all about life, just as is his music.


And it was lovely dancing with Cat!


I love her outfit!  What good is basic black when there are so many colors in the world!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

hi there ;) lovely blog here....thank you
greetings to all they are here make the world happier...wiser and magigal
the unicorn ;) Agleo Aka April Turner

Unknown said...

Thank you ...
magical waves from the Agleo = Unicorn