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Valency Releases New Single Today: "Big Apple Pie"

Valency

Valency, for those who don't know yet, is one of the baddest bands in Kansas City. I might be a bit biased because their frontman, Jeremiah Lyman, and I were in Boy Scouts together. You wouldn't of guessed it huh? We are some camping motherfuckers. Regardless.. Chris, Brendan, and Caleb are no slouches. Seriously bluesy and progressive.

There are a few places you can check out their new single "Big Apple Pie":

reverbnation.com/valency

myspace.com/valencymusic

You can see them with The Colorwheel Squares Friday November 20th at Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club. They start kickin' it at 10pm. No mention of a cover, but I usually have to pay $7 bucks to get in. Well worth it considering they have "Guitar Slinger" draws for $1.75 and it's one of the best sounding stages I've ever fucking heard.

Peace y'all

Paul

Philip Toshio Sudo

Philip Toshio Sudo

1960-2002

"Life is a process of learning to live with limits--limited resources, the limited attention spans of listeners, our limited time on Earth. Learn to pack the most into the least." - Phil Sudo, Zen Guitar

Last night I filled out my profile for this blog. It almost felt like an entry within itself. Check it out if you have time. There are some links to some of my music and whatnot.

When I got to the portion of listing the books I liked, a recent read came to my mind. A book called "Zen Guitar" by Philip Toshio Sudo. I enjoyed the hell out of it. They have a copy of it in the Plaza Library here in KC. Also, through the Zen Guitar Dojo there is a link to amazon.com where you can purchase this book used for $1. He has some other books I'll be checking out very soon as well. Titles like "Zen Sex: The way of making love" (Ladies watch out).

Backtracking a little, before I googled zen guitar after it being brought up through creating my profile, I had never been to the ZGD. One thing that I definitely didn't know is that he passed away from stomach cancer in 2002. It's always so sad to be uplifted and inspired by a musician so much to find out you'll never get to see them live.

I went through a similar thing when I was thirteen and after listening to Nirvana for a few months was informed Kurt Cobain had died several years beforehand. I felt like the last person on Earth to know. I think it's so powerful how an artist can feel so alive to me still. Kinda like Heaven is my true hometown and I miss the deceased just as I do my friends and family back in Rolla, MO. Only the journey to see them again is a little more intense than a four hour car ride.

Get yourself a copy of "Zen Guitar". It's a really awesome and fairly quick read. Every chapter starts with a really neat quote from an eclectic-as-hell group of musicians from Stone Gossard to Frank Zappa to Miles Davis. It's really helped me grow as a player mentally and as a teacher. Don't expect it to be an instructional guitar manual. It's mostly philosophical with the performer in mind, but the lessons transcend guitar bigtime.

Also, check out the Zen Guitar Dojo there is more going on there than selling books. Some cool links to forums and a whole artistic ideal that, sadly, Philip never got to see come into fruition completely. I'm going to try to contact someone from the website and maybe host some local KC jams in the spirit of this badass.

Catch y'all later.

Paul

I stole the picture of Philip from the Zen Guitar Dojo's website: http://www.maui.net/~zen_gtr/. Please don't sue me.

House Sitting.

My buddy Tony is having me watch his place until Sunday. He's showing one of his films down in Austin, TX at some film festival. Wish I knew more about it so I could let you all know what it's all about. While he's away I have access to his computer and a sweet Gibson SG. I'm also in good company taking care of his two dogs and his two cats.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Paul Wheeler. I'm a guitar player from the small town of Rolla, Missouri. I inherited the name "Ace" several years ago playing with a band called The River Clams back in '06. It's just kind of stuck. Currently I live in Kansas City, MO. As an artist I've been very passive and introverted. I don't know why. I've just constantly felt like I was stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time. Dealt with a lot of shit my whole life that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Maybe parts of me just never felt good enough. Needless to say, moving to KC was good medicine. The person I was is by far not the person I am now.

I've never kept a blog before. A few of you might disagree and be like, "What about livejournal 5 years ago?", but I wouldn't say I've really committed to keeping a blog. Nothing of any substance. Right now I feel like it's important to keep a strong connection with my fans, friends, and family. If I get signed and they ever pay me to make records, it would be a much richer existence to have more support from the people that actually give a damn than the record companies.

At the moment things may appear very simple, but I'm going to eventually incorporate this site into a place where people can hear/buy music and merchandise, watch videos, and get informed about show dates from a sweet roster of friends I've made here in KC as well as my own.

People generally welcome others in the beginning, but this whole post is just the beginning. I want to sincerely thank everyone for reading and encourage people to stay tuned to what's ahead.

Welcome.

Paul "Ace" Wheeler