proto26 3Speak Podcast

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=proto26/915bfa86 Hola, todos! We'll be doing something different from the usual shebang this time! This Three Tune Tuesday is a recording of me and my band performing three dearly classic Mexican songs! The video was originally recorded on "Viejo's" phone for a Facebook Live random special show. I cut out some of the other "less popular" songs along with most of the long, boring commentary and chatter in between, saving only the best parts and jokes. Lulu, the talent, sings the first two songs. We sort of drown her voice out a bit since she's far from the mic except for the parts when she really projects. Next to her is Other-Alex on the guitarrón, our accoustic bass. Viejo is closest and therefore loudest, shredding it on the vihuela. The vihuela is like a guitar but is has five strings and is tuned like a lute. Don't say "virhuela". Remember, he plays the guitar, not the "chicken pox". His phone is about to die. Next, on violin, is Kevin. Unfortunately, the shirt he was wearing is now lost. And then there's me, the first trumpet. The only trumpet. I've been working on some little musical projects lately which led me to stumble upon some old mariachi sheet music and reminisce about those gigging days. Those were fun times. Now, though, we've broken up. Like The Beatles. Some of us continue doing music, whether on the side or as the main gig. I hope you will enjoy these songs. Someday, I hope to get a new band back together. Songs Desdén - C. Valencia, Juan Arvizu, M. José Pufamy Disdain "See my sufferering, hear my soul moan" This song is about a lover who, no matter how much effort they pour into the relationship, is cyclically met with heartache and indifference. They are even seen as the villain despite infidelity on the other lover's part. Profound emotional torment and injustice along with a deep sense of despair plague the singer, and yet they still long for the return of their lover. Si Nos Dejan - José Alfredo Jiménez If They Let Us "If they let us, we'll find a corner close to the heavens" "If they let us, we'll love each other for the rest of our lives" The second song is a love story like that of Romeo and Juliet. It is implied that they cannot be together and so each line starts with "if" and makes many sincere promises of love and escape. Back then in Mexico, in such a situation where the families did not approve of the young couple, it was common for the man to kidnap his lover and they would indeed run away and make their own life together. The family would use the verb "robar", claiming he stole their daughter. Por Qué Me Haces Llorar - Juan Gabriel Why Do You Make Me Cry "Why do you make me cry and make fun of me if you know, all too well, that I don't know how to suffer?" This song is about the sorrow and heartache after a breakup. What more can the singer do but drown his sorrows in alcohol. Viejo, the youngest member of our group, was learning this song at the time. He is a bit stiff still at this point but as I played with him, I watched his skills grow and he took on his own unique style. The song ended up becoming known as "Viejo's Song". One time, early in his career and right before a performance, he told me, in a hushed voice, "I can't sing this song anymore!" I asked him why not and he said it was because he met someone else and was no longer heartbroken. I told him he got this, but it got me thinking, wow... All this time he was singing straight from the heart.

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=proto26/nplapizw This year, the dry season was unusually wet. It rained occasionally but when it did come down, boy was it a downpour. As a result, many people could not harvest their crops due to the high moisture content of the plants. Furthermore, nobody that I know has their own threshing equipment. They have to wait their turn for this man from a few towns over to come with the machine. He does one parcel of land, then the one adjacent and so on and so forth. While some land owners waited for their turn, it would rain yet again. This is good for the people who managed to harvest in early December, which is the normal time to do so. I wanted to come and see the threshing process so I went along with my uncle. This piece of John Deer equipment is impressive to a small scale gardener like myself. It was very interesting and even satisfying for the machine to take up the cornstalks and see the kernels from the window drop down into the collection chamber. Then somehow the bare cobs are thrown out the back. Those are the wonders of modern technology. We harvested about 16 tons, if I heard correctly, from 2 hectares. This corn is for human consumption. It will likely go on to become tortillas. The other interesting thing is that when it's time to harvest, a whole crew of people gather. Obviously the operator of the machine and the drivers of the two freight "buses" that held the harvested corn were there, but also a few other characters. A couple of grown men and their boys tagged along to apepenar, or pick up the ears of corn that don't get sucked up by the machine. Some other boys were following the machine, ready to catch any rabbits that scurry away. They caught a few indeed! I wish I could've joined them in their rabbit dinner. Some scavenging dogs were also on the scene, along with the occasional buzzard-like bird that soared above us. Today, my uncle went early to a town 2 hours away. He took with him a sack of corn from each bus to be analyzed I think. From there, the buyer decides if he wants the rest or not. Hopefully my uncle turns a profit. This year was apparently a very bad one. The price of corn plummeted along with agave and just about everything else. People made more money renting their land out than actually using it themselves. As for my uncle, he plans to rent his own parcel out for the next 5 years or so to his brother. And that's where this story ends. I hope you enjoyed the short video. I am beginning to miss my own garden right about now. I had better start gathering some exotic seeds to smuggle back...

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=proto26/wyztlvoq Welcome to "Adventures in Terminal 5 - Part IV" Today marks the day I finally finish recording (and editing) one of my favorite marches solely on the Bb trumpet. I had to record over the span of many days and some days, conditions were not favorable. Last time I uploaded myself playing this piece, it was on the piano and I had also omitted a part. See that post if you liked this one and also for a little bit of background on the song. (I have since fired my cameraman as well!) Today, you all get the full version of the composition. Enjoy!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=proto26/nwkbvopy I (try to) play the part everyone knows. Colloquially known as "the ice cream song". Think of this as the sequel to my other video in which I play a different classic by the ragtime king. This one, however, is notably more difficult than the last. While being a two-step, in the beginning, it doesn't follow the standard ho-hum ( boom-chuck or umpah-umpah if you will) of most other ragtime pieces but instead follows a strange progression. I cannot sight-read piano music so I like to memorize it instead, focusing my attention on the left hand while the right hand resorts to muscle memory (and the occasional glance). I don't claim to be an excellent piano player; far from it. It was not my first nor my main instrument though I did teach myself. I just have fun learning and playing ragtime and march compositions. The piano itself is not the sharpest tool in the shed, either. Though it is probably sharp, if you catch my drift. I had to fix a sticky E key by adding a small lead weight to it, too. Call me bad, call it out of tune... All that just adds character to my little wonky piano!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=proto26/eoisdunq Sylva is an exoplanet much like Earth. It has diverse biomes such as forests, canyons, and mountains and well as average wind and sunlight. Like with every other planet in the solar system, you must reach the center to activate its core in order to unlock fast tavel. With my sprawling base above ground, with all you can ever need on an alien planet, it seemed all that was left to do was go down. The subterranea is treacherous! One bad step and you can find yourself trapped in a crevice witout oxygen or at the bottom of a ravine. One railroad later (plus a portable oxygenator), and now we have a direct line to the center of planet Sylva. Building it was no easy feat. It took lots, and I mean lots, of aluminum and compounds. Now, with the underground monorail, life is a lot easier. Travel to and from the core only takes a jiffy so ferrying resources from there , like Astronium, is very convenient. There's much to be found in the mantle and core, but for that you would need to optimize the train, send an exedition, disembark, and stray a bit from the railroad. Be sure to refer to your compass if you wander too far. You can find old tech both working and defunct, raw materials, and even some anomalies depending on the planet.