Biscotti Blues

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_10]: Joey, wanna a biscotti?

[00:00:04] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh, where you gonna get a biscotti?

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER_10]: Down at the...

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_10]: Two Cat Kitchen

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_08]: It's time for us to pitch in

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_08]: And start another Two Cat Show

[00:00:14] [SPEAKER_08]: Down at the Two Cat Kitchen

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_08]: We're starting on a mission

[00:00:19] [SPEAKER_08]: To put you in the culinary know

[00:00:23] [SPEAKER_08]: You've got the finest recipes

[00:00:25] [SPEAKER_08]: Whoever will find

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_08]: Guaranteed to show you

[00:00:29] [SPEAKER_08]: All a mighty fine time

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_08]: Here at the Two Cat Kitchen

[00:00:33] [SPEAKER_08]: Time for a new edition

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_08]: Of the Culinary Two Cat Show

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_09]: The Culinary Two Cat Show

[00:00:47] [SPEAKER_10]: Welcome to the Two Cat Kitchen

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_10]: The show that mixes musical mayhem

[00:00:51] [SPEAKER_10]: With culinary calamity

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_10]: Dave Cienco is here to help with the mixing

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_10]: I'm ready to roll

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_10]: Each show features new songs

[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_10]: A brand new recipe

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_10]: And a special musical guest

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_10]: Who's our guest today?

[00:01:06] [SPEAKER_10]: Mike Ayula, guitarist extraordinaire

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_10]: Each episode of the Two Cat Kitchen

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_10]: Also features an informative segment

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_10]: What do we have for the people today?

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a complete surprise

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And you'll find out later in this episode

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_10]: Whoa, I can't wait for that

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Me either

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, have you heard anything from the Coconauts lately?

[00:01:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, as a matter of fact I haven't

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Let me go down the hall and see what's going on

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_10]: Well, what did you find out?

[00:01:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I'll tell you

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER_02]: The scene down there is interesting

[00:01:55] [SPEAKER_02]: They got their hands on a load of biscotti

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I think we're gonna need to call the biscotti police

[00:02:01] [SPEAKER_10]: That sounds like trouble to me

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_10]: Biscotti and the Coconauts

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely, could be a problem

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, I think it's time for a musical number

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_06]: Wandering down the boulevard

[00:02:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Where the lost souls go

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_06]: Living life from day to day

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Got nothing to show

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_06]: Need to find a way

[00:02:49] [SPEAKER_06]: To turn it around

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER_06]: Hanging out on the wrong side

[00:03:01] [SPEAKER_06]: Of town

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Down at the Calico Cafe

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_06]: They got nothing to say

[00:03:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Hang the heads in hope

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_06]: For a better day

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_06]: Waiting for a dream

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_06]: To come down

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_06]: Hanging out on the wrong side

[00:03:53] [SPEAKER_06]: Of town

[00:04:07] [SPEAKER_06]: Please don't try to tell me

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_06]: What it's like to be free

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_06]: Should be following all the signs

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_06]: But I'm just too blind to see

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_06]: Stepping into the cool night

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_06]: And trying hard to find

[00:04:42] [SPEAKER_06]: Another way to move on by

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_06]: Leave this place behind

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_06]: Just another path

[00:04:58] [SPEAKER_06]: To lead me down

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_06]: Hanging out on the wrong side

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_06]: Of town

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_06]: On the wrong side of town

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_06]: Please don't try to tell me

[00:06:21] [SPEAKER_06]: What it's like to be free

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_06]: Should be following all the signs

[00:06:27] [SPEAKER_06]: They all say I missed a chance

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_06]: And I just can't disagree

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_06]: Stepping into the cool night

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_06]: And trying hard to find

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_06]: Another way to move along

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_06]: Leave this place behind

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_06]: Waiting for a new dream

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_06]: To come down

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_06]: Hanging out on the wrong side

[00:07:18] [SPEAKER_06]: Of town

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_06]: On the wrong side of town

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_06]: On the wrong side of town

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_06]: On the wrong side of town

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_10]: Please don't try to tell me

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_10]: What it's like to be free

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Please don't try to tell me

[00:08:18] [SPEAKER_03]: What it's like to be free

[00:08:47] [SPEAKER_10]: Please don't try to tell me

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_10]: One person to be responsible for

[00:09:20] [SPEAKER_10]: One person to be responsible for

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_10]: One person to be responsible for

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_10]: One person to be responsible for

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_02]: You're sure I can't audition, are you? Why don't you take your drum and go home, fella?

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_10]: You're sure I can't audition, are you? Why don't you take your drum and go home, fella?

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, well that's great. And yeah, so you do

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_10]: Your solo guitar and some singing

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_10]: How do you come up with

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_10]: Your material for what you're doing? Like if you're doing a gig

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_10]: Like I say you're doing a... So you must have enough material to do like a three hour gig, I guess, right?

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_10]: I do, yeah. So you've worked out your material. How did you come to it?

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_10]: It's just stuff that caught your fancy?

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, well so a lot of the instrumentals, that's just stuff that I really

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Enjoy and wanted to learn anyways so I have that

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_03]: And then the songs that I'm singing, it's just

[00:11:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Like I said they have to have a low range, very limited range. They're like oh I do a lot of Johnny Cash

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Gordon Lightfoot or things like that

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_03]: And so those types of songs

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_03]: I tend to like older music from the 70s

[00:11:55] [SPEAKER_03]: 60s, 50s. So it just tends to be that kind of thing

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah. So here's another question for you. I know I've

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_10]: Been in different band situations and there are some...

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_10]: If you're doing a cover of someone else's song, there are some people that

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_10]: Think that it has to be done in the key that the original

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_10]: Person did it in. And if you don't have the vocal range to do that, then you're out of luck

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_10]: You're not doing that song. Other people feel that

[00:12:23] [SPEAKER_10]: You can change the key to fit your voice. So where do you fall on this?

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_03]: If I didn't change the key of some songs

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_03]: I would just be a Johnny Cash tribute show

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_03]: So I change the key quite a bit

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_10]: So you don't feel that it has to be in the original key?

[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_03]: I can respect that point of view, but I just couldn't do it

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Do you get a lot of people coming up because of that repertoire? Do you have a lot of people

[00:12:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Approach you and say, can you do this artist or can you do that artist?

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_03]: I've had that a little bit so far and it's a lot of... nope

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't do that, right?

[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_03]: I am trying to branch out a bit though and learn some more modern

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Do you think you get

[00:13:09] [SPEAKER_02]: People who are listening kind of pigeonhole you into a country

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Vain because from what I've heard and what I

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Understand of your music, you're going much broader than that

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_02]: With your finger style and some of the other things that you do

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_03]: I think my voice naturally lends itself to country music, but some of the

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Finger picking stuff I do

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_03]: If a song has a good melody, I think I can squeeze it into

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_03]: My style, the version of Billie Jean that I do

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Great. Good for you. Have you done any ensemble work

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Before this solo career you're on right now?

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Briefly about 15 years ago I played

[00:13:53] [SPEAKER_03]: I backed my dad up. My dad plays music. He plays 70s folk

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Kind of stuff. I've stole a lot of his set list too

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_03]: But I played a lead guitar for him for a little bit

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_03]: That's pretty much it though

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_02]: He had a band, an ensemble?

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_03]: No, just me and him. Just the two of you?

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know if that counts as an ensemble

[00:14:20] [SPEAKER_02]: One more person

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER_02]: That's great. He probably really enjoyed that

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_10]: That is a great experience to be able to play with your dad

[00:14:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe we can get your dad on Two Cat Kitchen sometime

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_03]: He'd have to drive down from Vermont

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_03]: We have the mobile recording capability

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_10]: Road trip

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_10]: With that in mind, how did you get

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_10]: Why guitar? Why did you gravitate

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_10]: To guitar? Any particular reason?

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_03]: That's back to my dad again

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I was about 13 or maybe a little younger

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I was hoping for a Lego set for Christmas

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I opened my first present, it's a guitar. Frankly I wasn't excited

[00:15:10] [SPEAKER_03]: My dad wanted a backup guitar player

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_03]: He forced it into me but I grew to like it

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Did he also tell you you would have to move out if you didn't join the band?

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_02]: There were stipulations

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_10]: That's interesting

[00:15:30] [SPEAKER_10]: It sounds like you

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_10]: What kind of music was your dad into again?

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Folky stuff. He did lots of Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_03]: Cat Stevens

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_02]: The 70s song book

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Exactly

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_10]: That explains where you get your choice of material

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_10]: We're in the folk vein already

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Unfortunately I like that music

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Tell us a little bit about the fingerstyle work

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_02]: It's really sweet

[00:16:13] [SPEAKER_02]: How did that come along?

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_03]: That was the next step in my guitar journey

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_03]: I was doing backup lead stuff for my dad

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_03]: I found this guy, Tommy Emanuel

[00:16:27] [SPEAKER_03]: He has a thumb pick and he does mostly instrumentals

[00:16:32] [SPEAKER_03]: He takes popular songs and rewrites them as

[00:16:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Guitar instrumentals. He plays the Beatles' Day Tripper

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_03]: He plays the guitar, the main riff, and he also plays the melody over that

[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_03]: It's all in one go. Kind of like a piano piece

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER_03]: I got very interested in that

[00:16:50] [SPEAKER_03]: I've been trying to copy him as much as I can

[00:16:53] [SPEAKER_03]: I have his model guitar too

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Did you study? Did you take lessons to

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_02]: refine that style or learn more?

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_03]: I had taken some very brief guitar lessons at one point

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_03]: But it was before that style

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER_03]: YouTube is my friend

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_02]: YouTube is a great teacher

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_02]: That's great

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_10]: You were living in Vermont when you first started playing

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_10]: Did you have any

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_10]: Vermont influences on your style?

[00:17:38] [SPEAKER_10]: I never lived in Vermont

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_10]: But I imagine there must be a lot of acoustic guitar players

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_10]: up there

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_03]: There was a family band that had been

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_03]: playing country from the 50s and 60s

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_03]: for a long time

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_03]: They would throw me a solo

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I would be like, okay, take a solo

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I would mess it up horribly every time

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Cut your teeth

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_03]: That was helpful

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_03]: They were pretty big

[00:18:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I never got so much into them, but they were everywhere

[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_03]: They influenced you eventually

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Everybody was into them in Vermont

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_03]: It was one of their last concerts in the town

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_03]: They ended up coming back and playing more

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_02]: You didn't go out and get the fish tattoo?

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_03]: No, I didn't get the fish tattoo

[00:18:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Left that part for someone else

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_10]: We're going to take a quick break here and we'll be right back on the Jucat Kitchen

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_10]: We're back at the Jucat Kitchen

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER_10]: and Mike, I'm glad to hear that gigs are going well

[00:19:28] [SPEAKER_10]: but you also have a different style of music

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_03]: What do you do?

[00:19:34] [SPEAKER_03]: The dozens of dollars from the gigs don't pay the bills

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm a web developer for college

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_03]: in Connecticut

[00:19:48] [SPEAKER_03]: It's creative

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_03]: because you get to design what the website will look like

[00:19:52] [SPEAKER_03]: You get to work on the functionality of the website

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a nice combination of creative and technical thinking

[00:20:00] [SPEAKER_10]: You have training in web design

[00:20:05] [SPEAKER_10]: or just computer science

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Mostly computer science

[00:20:09] [SPEAKER_03]: There is a designer that I work with as well

[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_03]: I can help a little bit

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_03]: The great part about it is it's a college

[00:20:22] [SPEAKER_03]: Right where I work there are buildings for

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_03]: musicians for students to practice

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_03]: On my lunch break I can take my guitar over to the practice rooms

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Right on the job

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_10]: So you're near the music department?

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Close enough to it that I can go right over

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_10]: It sounds like you handle more the logistics of the web design

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER_03]: The designers usually design

[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_03]: They have an idea of what it will look like

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_03]: I make that vision come true

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Do you ever wake up at night and think click here?

[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, if a particularly hard design

[00:21:09] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm trying to implement is stuck then you start to dream in code

[00:21:16] [SPEAKER_10]: Have you done anything

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_10]: music wise at the college?

[00:21:20] [SPEAKER_10]: Do they have any open mics or folk nights?

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_03]: I haven't connected the two parts of my life yet

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Possibly

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_02]: While you walk around with a guitar on a college campus sooner or later

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Someone is going to start a conversation

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, it's a guitar

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_02]: In the 80s I played in a jazz fusion band

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_02]: The fiddle player who played electric violin in the band

[00:21:52] [SPEAKER_02]: actually met another guy who was the bass player in the band on a bus

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_02]: coming from campus and he pointed at the violin and said, you play that thing?

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_02]: He said, I'm trying. Do you want to come jam with us?

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_02]: That was it. He was a monster player

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_02]: He was classically trained and he was always curious about jazz

[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_02]: He never really had the opportunity to perform with jazz

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Once he got into it, there was no stopping him

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02]: You never know. Keep walking around with that guitar and you might be in the next fish

[00:22:23] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh boy, I couldn't jam that long

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_02]: They get help. They get medication for that

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_02]: More than Red Bull

[00:22:56] [SPEAKER_10]: We're back at the Two Cat Kitchen

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_10]: Mike is with us. Mike, welcome back and you have a song for us

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_10]: I do, yeah. It's Deep River Blues

[00:23:04] [SPEAKER_10]: Deep River Blues. Wow. Yeah, I'm familiar with that song to some extent

[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_10]: Where did you hear it? Pick that up from

[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_10]: I've been listening to it for a while

[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_03]: So my version, or the one that I've heard is Tommy Emanuel

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_03]: He's mostly known for his instrumentals but he does cover this song

[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_03]: and he sings a bit on it too. Wow, okay great

[00:23:23] [SPEAKER_10]: I know this song is particularly attributed to Doc Watson

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_10]: I think in the folk realm here in the US

[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_10]: But a little bit different version. Alright, let's check it out

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Let it rain, let it pour

[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_03]: Let it rain a whole lot more

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Cause I got them Deep River Blues

[00:24:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Let the rain fall right on

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Let the rain sing its song

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Cause I got them Deep River Blues

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Let the rain fall right on

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_03]: My old gal is a good old pal

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_03]: She looks like a waterfowl when I get them Deep River Blues

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_03]: And there ain't no one to cry for me

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Fish go rolling on a spree when I get them

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_03]: Deep River Blues

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Bring me back

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_03]: my old boat and I'm gonna sail her

[00:24:53] [SPEAKER_03]: If she'll float cause I'm getting water in my shoes

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Well I'm going back to Muscle Shoals

[00:25:01] [SPEAKER_03]: As time's getting better there I'm told and I got them

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Deep River Blues

[00:25:17] Yeah

[00:25:26] Yeah

[00:25:29] Yeah

[00:25:30] Yeah

[00:25:32] Yeah

[00:25:34] Yeah

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_03]: So let it rain, let it pour, let it rain a whole lot more

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Cause I got them deep river blues Let the rain fall right on

[00:25:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Let the rain sing its song Cause I got them deep river blues

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Well I got them deep river blues Said I got them deep river blues

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_10]: Deep river blues, wow that was great. Thanks Mike. And so yeah it was a little different than the version that I've been familiar with, the Doc Watson version and you said you got that from the playing of Tommy Emmanuel.

[00:26:29] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah and so tell me some of the backing guitar parts and some of the instrumentals, I noticed a little more chord based maybe than what I'm used to hearing with Doc Watson. Doc Watson I think was more of a kind of a melodic finger style guy

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_10]: But you kind of went, did some really interesting like chord runs and things. How do you come for that?

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Well it's mostly due to the fact that my left hand is very slow so the chord runs are easy for my left hand because I can just keep it in one position and rely on the right hand to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh that was going on, okay. Wow that's interesting. Yeah but then again getting the timing right on that I think was probably pretty hard right?

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, yeah. But that's your kind of thing right? Because I've heard a little bit of Tommy Emmanuel's playing and from what I've heard he's like multi note straight ahead like whoa fast. But maybe he does some chordal stuff too.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah he does, yeah I mean he's got it all. His left hand is fast and his right hand. But yeah I rely on the right hand a lot. I use a thumb pick and yeah just a lot of that kind of rhythmic kind of playing.

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_10]: But you don't use finger picks? No I don't. Do you think that makes it a little bit so you can play a little quicker with your right hand if you don't have the finger picks?

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah and it's a whole other technique that I haven't quite mastered and it's a softer sound too that I kind of like.

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah I like that too, yeah that's great. Alright well we'll be right back here at the Two Cat Kitchen.

[00:28:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So Mike let us ask you the question we ask all of our guests here on Two Cat Kitchen. What is your earliest musical memory?

[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_03]: It's got to be my dad just playing guitar in the house. Just always playing guitar and making up songs about just on the spot you know.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_03]: Just singing a song about me just with a fast rhythm so I could dance to it as a little kid. That's probably it I think.

[00:28:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah that's great. So you had the opportunity to grow up in a musical home? Yep.

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And did other musicians come through or do you have other relatives who also play music?

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER_03]: My uncle used to play banjo. He was very good at it. He doesn't as much anymore but other than that I think that's about it.

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So it kind of gave you the foundation and exposure? Yeah it was a normal thing to have around just music all over the place.

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_10]: Did your dad listen to a lot of music like recorded music? Oh yeah you mentioned some of the artists he was into.

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_03]: For as much music as he played. He mostly listened to Gordon Lightfoot almost 90% of the time and then also George Jones the other 10%.

[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_03]: So he had two artists that were in heavy rotation.

[00:29:22] [SPEAKER_10]: You can't go wrong with those two. Those are two fantastic musical personalities I think.

[00:29:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Now did you go off the ranch at any point as a young adult? Did you play like Def Leppard or Aerosmith?

[00:29:40] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah I got into Led Zeppelin. That was the hardest stuff I got into I guess.

[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_03]: Led Zeppelin was good. I kind of followed suit. I like the acoustic stuff a lot.

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Good that's great. Excellent.

[00:29:58] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah it's funny I never really...well I was mostly a bass player I guess but I never...

[00:30:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Did you get any solo gigs as a bass player?

[00:30:08] [SPEAKER_10]: I never...thank God no.

[00:30:10] [SPEAKER_10]: That's how bass players and drummers stick together I guess.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_10]: I know it's like a fear of being alone.

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_10]: But yeah I didn't play a lot of...I mean yeah I didn't play a lot of guitar when my kids were around I guess.

[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_10]: Now that I think about it I don't know exactly why but I think I felt that it was like probably an imposition on people if I did so.

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER_03]: I have a four year old son and he...I think he's not a fan of the guitar.

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_03]: I think it's because I'm not paying attention to him when I'm playing as much as I should be.

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_10]: Interesting. But your dad obviously didn't feel that way.

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_10]: No it worked out for him. I was a good audience you know.

[00:31:01] [SPEAKER_02]: It is nice though. We have grandchildren now and my son plays guitar.

[00:31:07] [SPEAKER_02]: He plays like reggae kind of scar, Jack Johnson kind of style.

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And he's got gigs so my boys grew up watching me perform with bands and brick and I played in a number of bands together still do.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_02]: So they always come to the show so they kind of grew up around that.

[00:31:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And now I'm watching the grandchildren have that same experience when Ben and his band are playing a festival or something.

[00:31:34] [SPEAKER_02]: The kids are there and they're very interested in what's going on.

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Something about the drums though. I'll just throw that out there as a drummer. Little kids, they're very curious about the drums.

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_03]: The few times my son's been interested is when I've given him some kind of drum kit to play or something, some percussion to play.

[00:31:53] [SPEAKER_03]: That does win them over yes. Maybe that's it.

[00:31:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I always get a kick on band breaks. Like the band's going to take a break and we'll be back in 20 minutes and everybody gets to go and leave the stage.

[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And I've got a line of little kids waiting to try.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_10]: I always felt bad for you about that.

[00:32:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Little kids will be lined up.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Can I try? Can I try? You bet you can, sure you can.

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Someday you'll be a big drummer too.

[00:32:19] [SPEAKER_10]: Nobody wanted to play the bass.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_02]: My youngest son actually picked up the banjo at one point.

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It was almost a threat. If you don't buy me a car I'm going to take the banjo.

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_03]: Not quiet instruments.

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_02]: But it is. When it's done well, it's quite an instrument. It really is.

[00:32:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Similar finger picking stuff to what I try to do on the guitar in a lot of ways.

[00:32:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I've been meaning to pick up a banjo really.

[00:32:52] [SPEAKER_02]: That's really cool. That's great.

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_10]: I just watched a little bit of talking about YouTube, a banjo, a bluegrass banjo instructional video on YouTube.

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_10]: It is a little bit different than fingerstyle guitar I think because they were explaining the three major pattern of roles.

[00:33:14] [SPEAKER_10]: That weren't difficult necessarily, but different. I thought different than fingerstyle.

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_10]: A little bit of fingerstyle I know.

[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_10]: But maybe you tell me a manual style that's a little bit different, closer to banjo.

[00:33:26] [SPEAKER_03]: There were some similarities. I had a friend showing me a few things on the banjo.

[00:33:31] [SPEAKER_03]: There were a couple overlapping things. A few things.

[00:33:36] [SPEAKER_10]: Maybe I just don't know. I don't really know a lot about fingerstyle.

[00:33:41] [SPEAKER_10]: It just seemed like banjo was definitely a thing of its own.

[00:33:46] [SPEAKER_10]: It is a thing of its own.

[00:33:48] [SPEAKER_02]: It is. It's very unique.

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_10]: We won't spare the listeners any banjo jokes at this point.

[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_10]: Alright Mike, so I think you have a recipe for us.

[00:33:58] [SPEAKER_10]: We're going to take a quick break and then we're going to come back and we'll hear all about it.

[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_10]: We're back at the Two Cat Kitchen and it's time for tonight's recipe.

[00:34:28] [SPEAKER_10]: Mike, what do you have for us?

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_03]: So I have a recipe from my grandmother, Italian grandmother, for biscotti cookies.

[00:34:36] [SPEAKER_03]: Biscotti? Wow. You cannot go wrong with biscotti.

[00:34:39] [SPEAKER_10]: Crowd pleaser.

[00:34:41] [SPEAKER_10]: I have a question though. What is a biscotti?

[00:34:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, it's Italian, I can tell you that.

[00:34:49] [SPEAKER_03]: It's a cookie. They're light. They're kind of lighter.

[00:34:55] [SPEAKER_10]: Is it a cookie or a biscuit?

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of a crossover.

[00:35:03] [SPEAKER_10]: What is biscotti in Italian? Is that biscuit?

[00:35:06] [SPEAKER_03]: You know what? I'm going to say yes.

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_03]: Your grandmother would know, I think.

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_02]: She'd probably get a smack on the head.

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_02]: That's a matter of you.

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_10]: Maybe I shouldn't have asked that but I'm just curious.

[00:35:24] [SPEAKER_02]: The other thing, I see people like dip biscotti.

[00:35:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Or dunk.

[00:35:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You can dunk biscotti.

[00:35:31] [SPEAKER_10]: Biscotti in general and your biscotti as well are a little bit hard.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_03]: Hard outer layer kind of shell.

[00:35:41] [SPEAKER_03]: They go great with coffee.

[00:35:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And eat a lot of them pretty quickly.

[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_03]: They go down quick.

[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_02]: We call that easy eating, like easy listening.

[00:35:53] [SPEAKER_02]: They go down easy.

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER_10]: What are the ingredients for the biscotti that you made?

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_03]: We've got six tablespoons of butter.

[00:36:06] [SPEAKER_03]: Now we're talking.

[00:36:11] [SPEAKER_03]: That's got to be good.

[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_03]: We can just stop there.

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_03]: Two third cups of sugar.

[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_03]: Quarter teaspoon of salt.

[00:36:22] [SPEAKER_03]: One to two teaspoons of vanilla extract.

[00:36:26] [SPEAKER_03]: One and a half teaspoons of baking powder.

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Two large eggs.

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER_03]: And two cups of all purpose flour.

[00:36:33] [SPEAKER_02]: That's one that always got me.

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_02]: What is all purpose flour? Is there a different kind of flour?

[00:36:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Is it like a uni purpose flour or is there non purpose flour?

[00:36:42] [SPEAKER_10]: It's funny you should ask that.

[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_10]: I happen to have some familiarity with flour.

[00:36:46] [SPEAKER_10]: I have absolutely no idea what it is.

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_10]: I think that there are certain specialty flours

[00:36:54] [SPEAKER_10]: that have different amounts of gluten in them.

[00:36:58] [SPEAKER_10]: I think that's the key.

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_10]: I think that if you want to make bread

[00:37:03] [SPEAKER_10]: you need a flour with a lot of gluten in it.

[00:37:06] [SPEAKER_10]: Relatively speaking.

[00:37:08] [SPEAKER_10]: We're talking about amounts that vary by 11% to 13%.

[00:37:14] [SPEAKER_10]: It's not a big range I don't think.

[00:37:16] [SPEAKER_10]: I know for bread you want a high gluten content

[00:37:24] [SPEAKER_10]: because it helps to develop the breadness.

[00:37:29] [SPEAKER_10]: The plasticity.

[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_10]: The breadnicity.

[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Are we going to get calls from the flour coalition?

[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll get a lot of emails on this.

[00:37:40] [SPEAKER_10]: You'll be told.

[00:37:42] [SPEAKER_10]: I think that a pastry flour needs a certain level of gluten.

[00:37:46] [SPEAKER_10]: It's a good gluten to be useful in pastry.

[00:37:50] [SPEAKER_10]: But an all purpose flour is in the middle.

[00:37:54] [SPEAKER_02]: It's like a utility infielder.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_02]: It does everything.

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_03]: As long as it doesn't have soy in it

[00:38:02] [SPEAKER_03]: I'm quite happy with it.

[00:38:04] [SPEAKER_03]: I have about a million food allergies and soy is one of them.

[00:38:07] [SPEAKER_03]: It is in some flours actually.

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_03]: You never know what's in the flour.

[00:38:11] [SPEAKER_10]: Soy is sneaky.

[00:38:14] [SPEAKER_10]: It shows up.

[00:38:16] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll probably get a call from the soy coalition.

[00:38:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Soy farmers America, we're not sneaky!

[00:38:25] [SPEAKER_10]: Those are very

[00:38:27] [SPEAKER_10]: wholesome and excellent ingredients.

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Butter and sugar baby.

[00:38:35] [SPEAKER_03]: You heat the oven to 350 degrees.

[00:38:38] [SPEAKER_03]: You get a baking sheet

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_03]: and you line it with parchment paper.

[00:38:43] [SPEAKER_02]: How does that stuff not burn?

[00:38:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't get it.

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_10]: It's paper by definition.

[00:38:51] [SPEAKER_10]: It's parchment paper.

[00:38:55] [SPEAKER_10]: I know that some parchment paper

[00:38:59] [SPEAKER_10]: has some silicone content in it.

[00:39:03] [SPEAKER_10]: What are you laughing at?

[00:39:05] [SPEAKER_05]: How do you know these things?

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_10]: I have some familiarity

[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_10]: in the

[00:39:13] [SPEAKER_10]: baking world

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_10]: but also the baking materials world.

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER_10]: I happen to have access

[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_10]: to a box of parchment paper

[00:39:23] [SPEAKER_10]: and it says, guaranteed not to stick

[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_10]: high silicone content.

[00:39:30] [SPEAKER_10]: So I'm thinking it has a lot of silicone in it.

[00:39:32] [SPEAKER_10]: Maybe that's why it doesn't burn.

[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Wouldn't have worked out with a conger.

[00:39:38] [SPEAKER_10]: Only to 450 degrees.

[00:39:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Only to 450 and then what?

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER_02]: No liability over 450.

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_10]: So you're using parchment paper?

[00:39:51] [SPEAKER_10]: That's a good thing. Do you have to grease the pan

[00:39:53] [SPEAKER_10]: as well as parchment paper?

[00:39:54] [SPEAKER_10]: Otherwise it's going to stick.

[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_10]: You see that on the baking shows.

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_10]: I watch a lot of baking shows.

[00:40:02] [SPEAKER_10]: They'll look at the bakers, the contestants making it

[00:40:06] [SPEAKER_10]: and they'll say, so-and-so is using

[00:40:09] [SPEAKER_10]: parchment paper but they didn't grease their pan as well

[00:40:11] [SPEAKER_10]: and that's going to be a problem. It's going to stick.

[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_10]: Sure enough, whatever it is they're making comes out.

[00:40:17] [SPEAKER_10]: Even with the parchment paper you can see them struggling with it

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_10]: saying, it's sticking to the paper!

[00:40:22] [SPEAKER_10]: Because they should have greased their parchment paper.

[00:40:25] [SPEAKER_03]: It says parchment or lightly grease the pan.

[00:40:29] [SPEAKER_03]: I think these biscotti have enough butter in them

[00:40:32] [SPEAKER_10]: that maybe it doesn't sound like a concern.

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe they should turn these,

[00:40:37] [SPEAKER_02]: have hockey announcers announce these food shows.

[00:40:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Checked into the board.

[00:40:44] [SPEAKER_02]: I would watch that.

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_10]: It is a little disappointing with some of the shows

[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_10]: I must say, not to get too far on a tangent here.

[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_10]: Some of them you kind of root for some certain contestants.

[00:40:57] [SPEAKER_10]: They seem to set it up.

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_10]: Early on in the contest the hosts

[00:41:02] [SPEAKER_10]: will make some comment about how your favorite

[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_10]: contestant is doing something wrong.

[00:41:09] [SPEAKER_10]: They say, that could come into play

[00:41:12] [SPEAKER_10]: in the end.

[00:41:13] [SPEAKER_10]: You're thinking, that's like the kiss of death

[00:41:15] [SPEAKER_10]: because obviously it's going to come into play.

[00:41:19] [SPEAKER_10]: Your favorite contestant is not going to make it

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_10]: because the hosts or the judges

[00:41:26] [SPEAKER_10]: have picked up on something that they're doing wrong.

[00:41:28] [SPEAKER_10]: It seems unfair to me.

[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_10]: Why not wait until the final outcome?

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And then disappoint you.

[00:41:36] [SPEAKER_10]: But it always comes back to,

[00:41:39] [SPEAKER_10]: well, you didn't grease the parchment paper.

[00:41:42] [SPEAKER_10]: That was in episode 1 and we're in episode 12.

[00:41:46] [SPEAKER_02]: We let you hang around all this time

[00:41:48] [SPEAKER_02]: because you failed to grease.

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_10]: What else happened?

[00:41:54] [SPEAKER_10]: We got the parchment paper down.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_10]: What happens next, Mike?

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_03]: You got greasy parchment paper,

[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_03]: you just kind of mix it all in a bowl.

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Mix everything up, mix all the ingredients.

[00:42:05] [SPEAKER_03]: Mix it all up and then you throw it onto the,

[00:42:11] [SPEAKER_03]: onto a cookie sheet,

[00:42:13] [SPEAKER_03]: I guess that's the parchment paper,

[00:42:14] [SPEAKER_03]: and you shape it into a log.

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_03]: A log?

[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_03]: This is the terminology we got.

[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_03]: You shake it, shape it into a log.

[00:42:27] [SPEAKER_03]: A single log?

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_03]: A big log.

[00:42:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe not that big.

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_03]: Maybe like a,

[00:42:34] [SPEAKER_03]: I don't know, like a log.

[00:42:42] [SPEAKER_10]: Any diameter given?

[00:42:44] [SPEAKER_10]: No shape, no, maybe like a...

[00:42:46] [SPEAKER_10]: Well you know what size the biscottis are.

[00:42:49] [SPEAKER_03]: I would say it'd be like a 10-year-old tree or something like that.

[00:42:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Not very big.

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's not like a Captain Kirk, you know, star date log?

[00:42:58] [SPEAKER_02]: No, we're talking...

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_02]: A physical log.

[00:43:04] [SPEAKER_03]: Then you bake it for 25 minutes,

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_03]: and then once it's cooled off,

[00:43:10] [SPEAKER_03]: you can put some glaze over it.

[00:43:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Glaze, man.

[00:43:15] [SPEAKER_03]: She usually does an orange flavor or a lemon flavor on top of it.

[00:43:22] [SPEAKER_02]: That's probably got sugar in it too.

[00:43:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yes, there's more butter and sugar I think involved there.

[00:43:29] [SPEAKER_03]: Then you just eat like 10 of them with a cup of coffee,

[00:43:32] [SPEAKER_03]: and then you're good to go.

[00:43:36] [SPEAKER_03]: When do you cut them into pieces?

[00:43:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, you slice them into like...

[00:43:41] [SPEAKER_03]: The way that she slices them is kind of like half moons.

[00:43:45] [SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah.

[00:43:47] [SPEAKER_03]: Does that happen in the recipe,

[00:43:49] [SPEAKER_03]: or is that just left up for...?

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Let's see. Once it's cooled...

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_03]: And then it just says slice the cookies to the desired size.

[00:43:57] [SPEAKER_03]: I know what they look like, so I know what...

[00:43:59] [SPEAKER_03]: You've got to know what you're doing with this recipe.

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_03]: So maybe like an inch and a half wide.

[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_03]: That's what I would think.

[00:44:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Did you ever have a problem with the glaze?

[00:44:11] [SPEAKER_02]: People eat the glaze before you have time to put it on?

[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Cookies like they taste it and it needs a little more lemon,

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_02]: then they taste it again, next thing you know the glaze is gone.

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_03]: You eat it while you're making it.

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.

[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_02]: That's risky business with glaze.

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Glaze can be challenging that way.

[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_03]: And don't play guitar while you're making these.

[00:44:34] [SPEAKER_10]: Words of wisdom here, because time kind of stands still

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_10]: when you play music.

[00:44:40] [SPEAKER_02]: You might need to hire the glaze police to come in

[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_02]: and kind of keep the situation under control.

[00:44:45] [SPEAKER_03]: The fretboard gets messy. You can slide quicker, but it's not worth it.

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_10]: I can tell you from experience

[00:44:52] [SPEAKER_10]: that when you're playing music while baking,

[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_10]: when the timer goes off, you don't hear it.

[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_10]: It becomes part of the music.

[00:45:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Nice bell accompaniment.

[00:45:04] [SPEAKER_10]: You do hear the smoke alarm.

[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_10]: That's when you realize the parchment paper does burn.

[00:45:11] [SPEAKER_10]: Give it enough time.

[00:45:12] [SPEAKER_10]: I think it's done, honey.

[00:45:15] [SPEAKER_10]: Well that's fantastic, Mike.

[00:45:18] [SPEAKER_10]: It sounds like a great recipe and I think we're going to

[00:45:21] [SPEAKER_10]: actually be able to go and test some of the cookies.

[00:45:23] [SPEAKER_10]: We're going to head off and do that.

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_10]: Going off to glazeland.

[00:45:29] [SPEAKER_10]: We'll be back.

[00:48:54] [SPEAKER_10]: That was Billy Jean and Mike Aula.

[00:48:56] [SPEAKER_10]: Mike, great version.

[00:48:58] [SPEAKER_10]: Tell us, how did you come up with that arrangement of the song?

[00:49:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Thanks. Yeah.

[00:49:03] [SPEAKER_03]: I had found a classical player online who had a very slow down

[00:49:07] [SPEAKER_03]: kind of pretty version of it.

[00:49:09] [SPEAKER_03]: They took the rock out of it kind of.

[00:49:12] [SPEAKER_03]: So I took that and then I just re-added the rock to it.

[00:49:16] [SPEAKER_03]: So kind of the rhythmic element.

[00:49:17] [SPEAKER_03]: The rhythmic, the guitar tapping and the drive to it.

[00:49:23] [SPEAKER_10]: Yeah, that really makes it come alive I think.

[00:49:25] [SPEAKER_10]: Thanks.

[00:49:25] [SPEAKER_10]: So I have a question for you, a little bit of a technical question.

[00:49:28] [SPEAKER_10]: That song has kind of a characteristic, I think it's the

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER_10]: bass line, right?

[00:49:34] [SPEAKER_10]: It's one of those things that really makes the song

[00:49:37] [SPEAKER_10]: characteristic. Now when you're playing that in your arrangement,

[00:49:40] [SPEAKER_10]: are you consciously separating that part out from the melody

[00:49:44] [SPEAKER_10]: for example? Or are they all becoming like, what are you thinking

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_10]: when you're actually playing it?

[00:49:50] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, again that's that Tommy Emanuel school of thought there.

[00:49:56] [SPEAKER_03]: I learned the bass part down enough

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_03]: so that I don't have to think about it.

[00:50:00] [SPEAKER_03]: And then it becomes like a

[00:50:03] [SPEAKER_03]: second habit to play it. Then I play the melody over it.

[00:50:07] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh okay, so in other words

[00:50:08] [SPEAKER_10]: the bass line kind of part is going on autopilot.

[00:50:12] [SPEAKER_10]: And then you're concentrating on everything else that's happening.

[00:50:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I couldn't even tell you how I'm playing it anymore.

[00:50:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I learned it just so I could forget how to think about it.

[00:50:21] [SPEAKER_10]: Well what made me think about it was that it comes in and out

[00:50:25] [SPEAKER_10]: at different points, you probably don't even think about it.

[00:50:28] [SPEAKER_10]: It's really interesting how it,

[00:50:30] [SPEAKER_10]: little pieces of it, sometimes you have to leave it

[00:50:33] [SPEAKER_10]: just a second to do something else. It's kind of a very interesting,

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_10]: great arrangement. Thank you. Nice job.

[00:50:38] [SPEAKER_10]: Alright, so we'll be right back here at the Two Cat Kitchen.

[00:51:07] [SPEAKER_07]: It's the Two Cat Comedy Hour.

[00:51:17] [SPEAKER_10]: We're welcome and it's time for our first ever

[00:51:20] [SPEAKER_10]: Two Cat Kitchen Comedy Hour.

[00:51:22] [SPEAKER_10]: It's our musician joke show.

[00:51:24] [SPEAKER_10]: Glad you could join us for this. I'm here with

[00:51:27] [SPEAKER_10]: Suzy Chakmakian. Hello Suzy.

[00:51:30] [SPEAKER_10]: And Dave Sanko is here as well. Hey Rico.

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER_10]: Hey we've got some musician jokes for you. I hope you enjoy these, Dave.

[00:51:36] [SPEAKER_10]: Have you heard any good ones lately? Well I've got a couple here Rick

[00:51:39] [SPEAKER_02]: that I'd like to start off with. First one is

[00:51:41] [SPEAKER_02]: what's the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

[00:51:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Good one. I don't know.

[00:51:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Who cares? Neither one's a guitar.

[00:51:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, how do you know when the stage is level?

[00:51:56] [SPEAKER_02]: The drum is drooling out of both sides of his mouth.

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:52:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey what do you call a drummer who breaks up with his girlfriend?

[00:52:06] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh yeah I know it's coming. Yep. Homeless.

[00:52:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, how do you get a guitar player off the front porch?

[00:52:17] [SPEAKER_02]: I'd like to know. For crying out loud, pay for the pizza.

[00:52:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh no.

[00:52:29] [SPEAKER_10]: Okay St. Peter is checking in new arrivals in heaven.

[00:52:32] [SPEAKER_10]: First person comes up and he says what did you do on earth?

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER_10]: I was a surgeon. I helped the lame to walk.

[00:52:39] [SPEAKER_10]: And St. Peter says well go right on in through the pearly gates.

[00:52:43] [SPEAKER_10]: Next person comes up. What did you do on earth?

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER_10]: I was a school teacher. I taught the blind to see.

[00:52:50] [SPEAKER_10]: Fine. Go right on in through the pearly gates.

[00:52:54] [SPEAKER_10]: Third person comes up. What did you do on earth?

[00:52:58] [SPEAKER_10]: I was a musician. I helped make sad people happy.

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_10]: Okay, you can load in through the kitchen.

[00:53:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh me.

[00:53:13] [SPEAKER_01]: I apologize to all of the violinists out there.

[00:53:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Why are violinists fingers like lightning?

[00:53:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Don't know.

[00:53:21] [SPEAKER_01]: They rarely strike the same spot twice.

[00:53:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's another one. How can you tell if a violin is out of tune?

[00:53:31] [SPEAKER_10]: Good question.

[00:53:32] [SPEAKER_01]: The bow is moving.

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_10]: It's worse than the guitar jokes.

[00:53:39] [SPEAKER_01]: And now equal opportunity. We're going to make all the violists sad.

[00:53:44] [SPEAKER_01]: What do violists use for birth control?

[00:53:47] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh, I don't want to know but what do they use?

[00:53:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Their personalities.

[00:53:54] [SPEAKER_01]: Oof. Big oof.

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_01]: How do you make a violin sound like a viola?

[00:54:00] [SPEAKER_10]: Don't know.

[00:54:01] [SPEAKER_10]: I always wondered that.

[00:54:02] [SPEAKER_01]: You sit in the back and you don't play.

[00:54:05] [SPEAKER_10]: I guess if you're a violinist you would know that.

[00:54:09] [SPEAKER_10]: Some of these, yeah. And we did not write these jokes by the way.

[00:54:16] [SPEAKER_02]: They're collected from all over the world.

[00:54:25] [SPEAKER_02]: A drummer, sick and tired of all the drummer jokes, decides he's going to change his instrument.

[00:54:33] [SPEAKER_02]: After some thought, he decides on the accordion.

[00:54:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So he goes to the music store and says to the owner,

[00:54:40] [SPEAKER_02]: I'd like to look at some accordions please.

[00:54:43] [SPEAKER_02]: The owner gestures toward a shelf in the corner and says,

[00:54:47] [SPEAKER_02]: All of our accordions are over there.

[00:54:49] [SPEAKER_02]: After browsing, the drummer says,

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I think I'd like the big red one in the corner please.

[00:54:55] [SPEAKER_02]: The store owner looks over at him and says,

[00:54:58] [SPEAKER_02]: You're a drummer aren't you?

[00:55:00] [SPEAKER_02]: The drummer crests fall and says,

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_02]: How did you know?

[00:55:05] [SPEAKER_02]: The store owner says,

[00:55:06] [SPEAKER_02]: That big red accordion is the radiator.

[00:55:13] [SPEAKER_04]: The bass is longer.

[00:55:17] [SPEAKER_10]: Hey Suzy, what's the difference between a bass and a viola?

[00:55:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know, what is the difference between a bass and a viola?

[00:55:24] [SPEAKER_10]: The bass burns longer.

[00:55:26] [SPEAKER_10]: How do you make a bass sound beautiful?

[00:55:29] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:55:29] [SPEAKER_10]: Sell it and buy a violin.

[00:55:33] [SPEAKER_10]: Why are orchestra intermissions limited to 20 minutes?

[00:55:36] [SPEAKER_10]: I have noticed this actually to be the case.

[00:55:39] [SPEAKER_01]: Why is that?

[00:55:40] [SPEAKER_10]: So you don't have to retrain the bassists.

[00:55:43] Hey!

[00:55:44] [SPEAKER_10]: Why did the bass player get mad at the drummer?

[00:55:48] [SPEAKER_10]: He turned a tuning peg and wouldn't tell him which one.

[00:56:01] [SPEAKER_01]: So here's a story for you.

[00:56:03] [SPEAKER_01]: A trombone player and an accordion player are playing a New Year's Eve gig at a local club.

[00:56:08] [SPEAKER_01]: The place is packed and everybody is absolutely loving the music.

[00:56:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Shortly after midnight the club owner comes up to the duo and says,

[00:56:15] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys sound great! Everybody loves you.

[00:56:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Are the two of you free to come back here next year to play?

[00:56:20] [SPEAKER_01]: The two musicians look at each other, then to the club owner,

[00:56:24] [SPEAKER_01]: and the trombone player says,

[00:56:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Sure, we'd love to.

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it okay if we leave our stuff here?

[00:56:30] [SPEAKER_05]: Oh yes.

[00:56:33] [SPEAKER_02]: What do you say to the guitarist in a three-piece suit?

[00:56:37] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:56:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Will the defendant please rise?

[00:56:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, what do you call a building full of guitarists?

[00:56:46] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:56:47] [SPEAKER_02]: A jail!

[00:56:48] Oh no.

[00:56:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Why do only 10% of guitar players make it into heaven?

[00:56:55] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:56:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Because if they all went, it would be hell!

[00:56:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh no.

[00:57:17] [SPEAKER_10]: Well we hate to admit it but we have some lightbulb jokes here.

[00:57:22] [SPEAKER_10]: How many tuba players does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_10]: Three. One to hold a bulb and two to drink until the room spins.

[00:57:29] Oh no.

[00:57:31] [SPEAKER_01]: How does a soprano change a lightbulb?

[00:57:34] [SPEAKER_10]: Oh, God only knows.

[00:57:35] [SPEAKER_01]: She just holds on and the world revolves around her.

[00:57:40] [SPEAKER_02]: That makes sense.

[00:57:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.

[00:57:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Hey, how many lead guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:57:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.

[00:57:49] [SPEAKER_02]: None! They just steal somebody else's light.

[00:57:52] Oh.

[00:57:54] [SPEAKER_10]: How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:57:58] [SPEAKER_10]: None! The piano player can do that with his left hand.

[00:58:01] [SPEAKER_10]: How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:58:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh gosh.

[00:58:04] [SPEAKER_10]: One. The guitarist has to show them first though.

[00:58:09] [SPEAKER_10]: How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:58:12] [SPEAKER_10]: Don't bother, just leave it out. Nobody will notice.

[00:58:16] [SPEAKER_10]: How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:58:18] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know.

[00:58:18] [SPEAKER_10]: Six. One to change it and the other five to fight off the lead guitarists who are hogging the light.

[00:58:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, this is personally offensive. You're going to love it.

[00:58:37] [SPEAKER_01]: How many altos does it take to change a lightbulb?

[00:58:40] [SPEAKER_01]: How many?

[00:58:41] [SPEAKER_01]: None! They can't get up that high.

[00:58:43] [SPEAKER_01]: As a short alto I am appalled. I am doubly appalled.

[00:58:48] [SPEAKER_01]: It's personal.

[00:58:49] [SPEAKER_01]: It's personalized.

[00:58:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:58:51] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, in the 22nd century, how many guitarists will it take to replace a lightbulb?

[00:58:57] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.

[00:58:58] [SPEAKER_02]: That's a good question. I don't know how many.

[00:59:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Five. One to actually do it and four to reminisce about how much better the old bulbs were.

[00:59:21] [SPEAKER_10]: It's time for our top ten. Suzy, what have we got?

[00:59:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Top ten ways you know you're too old to play gigs. Number ten.

[00:59:28] [SPEAKER_10]: It becomes more important to find a place on stage for your fan than your amp.

[00:59:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Number nine. You love taking the elevator because you can sing along with most of your playlist.

[00:59:40] [SPEAKER_01]: Number eight.

[00:59:41] [SPEAKER_02]: You need your glasses to see the amp settings.

[00:59:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Number seven.

[00:59:46] [SPEAKER_02]: You've thrown out your back, jumping off the stage.

[00:59:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Top ten ways you know you're too old to play gigs. Number six.

[00:59:53] [SPEAKER_02]: The waitress is your daughter.

[00:59:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Number five.

[00:59:56] [SPEAKER_02]: You stopped the set because your ibuprofen fell behind the speakers.

[01:00:03] [SPEAKER_01]: Number four.

[01:00:05] [SPEAKER_10]: You find your drink tokens from last month's gig in your guitar case.

[01:00:10] [SPEAKER_01]: Top ten ways you know you're too old to play gigs. Number three.

[01:00:13] [SPEAKER_02]: You check the TV schedule before booking a gig.

[01:00:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Number two.

[01:00:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Your gig stool has a back to it.

[01:00:20] [SPEAKER_01]: And the number one way you know you're too old to play gigs.

[01:00:24] [SPEAKER_02]: You're related to at least one member of the band.

[01:00:46] [SPEAKER_07]: It's the Two Cat Comedy Hour.

[01:01:00] [SPEAKER_10]: That's all we have time for, for this episode of the Two Cat Kitchen.

[01:01:03] [SPEAKER_10]: We'd like to thank our musical guest Mike Ayula.

[01:01:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I had a great time guys. Thanks for having me.

[01:01:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you Mike and we appreciate you being here.

[01:01:11] [SPEAKER_02]: We also want to thank Sarah Grady and the Coco Notes for their musical entertainment.

[01:01:16] [SPEAKER_10]: I'm Rick McKinney.

[01:01:18] [SPEAKER_10]: I'm Dave Cienco.

[01:01:20] [SPEAKER_10]: We'll see you next time here on the Two Cat Kitchen.

[01:01:23] [SPEAKER_09]: The culinary two cat show.