Blogger sometimes sucks. Scales are important.

I just spent more than an hour on a piece I really wanted to share with you.

And it vanished.

Because sometimes, Blogger sucks nasty, rotten eggs.

I'm traveling this weekend and probably won't have time between that and my parenting obligations to recreate what I did. I hate that. I feel robbed. Totally deflated and demoralized. And, exhausted.

The point was basically this: sometimes when you think you're looking for one thing, you're really looking for something else. Last weekend, I was really caught up in this "why don't I feel like dating" thing, like there's something wrong with that. (Let's face it, people think there's something wrong with that, or I wouldn't feel like this, right?) And so I conducted an experiment using the databases of online matchmaking services. While they have never offered me any valuable social networking except for the one or two genuine friends I made through these services, they are essentially searchable databases that should tell me whether my expectation of running into the kinds of people I want to meet is realistic. So I plugged in some essential criteria, including "play live music."

One of the services turned up not a single person within 25 miles.

The second service turned up a few, but included in that bunch was a former flame who was suddenly FOUR YEARS YOUNGER.

Yup.

So what I learned was pretty simple. I already have what I'm looking for: musicianship, intellectual horsepower, a commitment to the music community. What I want is not to get lost in some relationship right now, but to maintain my focus and be around people who inspire me to sustain that on music because it's as important to them as it is to me.

And I want to be a better musician.

Ain't no dating site for that, unless I create one. But I won't have the time because I'll be practicing and rewriting all my posts that have disappeared suddenly from blogger. Blobber. Whatever it is.

So this week, I practiced a lot. And I am learning that all those different kinds of scales are really, really important. If you don't know your fingerboard, you can't jam with The Grateful Dead. This was not always a goal of mine, but when I got into learning this popular Dead tune, I learned that it's a lot harder than it sounds to just blithely saunter up and down the frets. I had already recommitted myself to practicing, really learning, really getting that muscle memory down, but this was the kicker.

Because if you can't hang with your friends and play a Grateful Dead tune, you're not practicing enough.

I'm so bummed that this didn't come out the way I intended. But I'm going to dedicate this one to SillyHumans and Jawbone, two musicians who I hope might join me in a round of this one sometime. Meanwhile, I just might get some sleep tonight.

Friend of the Devil

I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn't get to sleep last night till the morning came around.
Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Ran into the devil, babe, he loaned me twenty bills
I spent the night in Utah in a cave up in the hills.
Set out runnin but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night,
The first one's named sweet anne marie, and shes my hearts delight.
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriffs on my trail,
And if he catches up with me, Ill spend my life in jail.

I ran down to the levee but the devil caught me there
He took my twenty dollar bill and vanished in the air.
Set out runnin but I take my time
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.

Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night,
The first one's named sweet anne marie, and shes my hearts delight.
The second one is prison, babe, the sheriffs on my trail,
And if he catches up with me, Ill spend my life in jail.

Got a wife in chino, babe, and one in cherokee
The first one says shes got my child,
But it don't look like me.
Set out runnin but I take my time,
A friend of the devil is a friend of mine,
If I get home before daylight,
I just might get some sleep tonight.