Saturday, March 22, 2008

Easter Joy

I spent Easter with my beautiful daughter Melissa. We went to the annual Easter egg hunt on the spectacular grounds of the "Neighborhood Church" here in Palos Verdes Estates. It gave me a chance to reflect on life and Joy, what makes us feel Joy sometimes and what prevents us from having it other times in our lives.

When are we happiest? I realize now that it is when good things coincide in our lives and where they overlap, we find joy, happiness, peace and comfort.

When the things we love to do and have to do find common ground. I know Joy when I play guitar and can pay my way because of it. I feel truly lucky to be a musician and to be paid for my work.

When what we want, have and need overlap. That is why rich people don't really have a better chance at being happier than the rest of us. Finding satisfaction in what we have worked so hard for is more important than continuously striving to get more. Being a simple man is a good thing.



When love coincides we find Joy. When the people we love, love us. Being loved by one's family is Joy and loving God and being loved by him is Joy as well. I find utter bliss in my daughters smile and embrace.






Friday, March 21, 2008

Strange Phenomena - frettunes.com

Strange Phenomena on frettunes.com - My newest release is up only on frettunes.com. Still waiting for magnatune, iTunes and the rest to list it. This CD is only available for download for the time being. Some reviews are in:

"Again, Chris makes the art of guitar playing seem effortless. A no holds barred, in your face, work of art. And that just describes my least favorite track on the CD. Think 'Texas Flood' meets 'Second Winter'." -Brent Bradley, Podshow Radio

"Listening to Chris Juergensen play brings a smile to my face, it makes me feel good. So much so, I have trouble calling it 'Blues', I prefer to call it near audio perfection." -Eban Crawford, Reaching For Lucidity

"Re-energising the genre, Juergensen's newest release is a typhoon of raw energy, pure and honest blues rock at it's finest. Just what 11 on the dial was waiting for." -Colin Meeks, Indie Launchpad

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Concert/Seminar Featuring Arion Chorus Pedal

I managed to squeeze in a concert in the early afternoon today. We had a great time. I opened with "Row Row Row Your Boat" in E and followed up with "Bah Bah Black Sheep", "ABC Song" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" medley. After that "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with that finger stuff included. For and encore they brought me back for "The Wheels On the Bus" They were interested in what kind of gear I used so I did a demonstration of the Arion SCH-1 chorus pedal for them. The response was that the pedal made the guitar sound "Squishy" and possibly "Juicy." I explained to their astonishment that the pedal had been modded by the nice people at EXOTiC to be made true bypass. They seemed to be impressed by the concept. My daughter Melissa is standing behind me (looking the other way with her mouth open).



Trying out the modded Arion Chorus. Basically makes the guitar sound "Squishy" and "Juicy!"