I'm excited to present my latest creation; a stained-glass framed Steemit logo as the banner for a series of music video posts that I'm planning to begin filming this summer.

The Real @therealpaul So Far

Those who follow or accidentally stumble onto this page might expect a certain amount of variety here so far. This @therealpaul page is where to find my artwork in oils and watercolor, pencil and ink drawings, dioramas and sculptures, photography and cartoons, along with strange tales from an imaginary library, fictional adventures of high desert pirates, philosophical flights and poetic, whimsical jaunts into fantasy and humor.

Too Much Variety?

Probably, but it's the way it's going to be around here apparently, because now I'm planning to add another category to the page: music!

I started writing songs in my head back in the early 1980's when I realized that I couldn't stand listening to the radio anymore. I then began pecking around on a piano trying to hear these songs that flitted around in my skull all day, and soon found myself surrounded by real musicians who began teaching me the language of music. I discovered that the best way to learn piano for me was to put myself in front of a room full of people and start improvising. I made a jam band.

It was around 1990, and the jam band was a forgotten genre in those days, so with my new songs and few rules to follow as far as 'what kind of music do you play?', I spent the next 20+ years playing psychedelic improvisational music in and around Arkansas, USA. We were called 'Shindig Shop', and while that band hasn't booked any shows for a few years, I've continued playing the piano in other little groups around here since then.

The Upcoming Video Series

Recently I've been working with one of the musicians who played with me back in the day, and we've decided to film and record some of the odd tunes that I wrote, plus probably some old cover tunes that we've played over the years as a duo consisting of upright bass and piano.

I haven't decided on a name for the series yet, but for some reason I keep wanting a name that suggests a Steemit nightclub, maybe back in the smoking room, where live music and theater seeps through the stained-glass window until the early morning, while something feels a little funny, and the place never closes. A weekly Friday night music post, right here at Steemit.

The Steemit Nightclub Smoking Room Theater Series?

Coming soon to this page-- whatever it ends up being called-- just look for the stained glass sign with the Steemit logo, and that is where I'll play some of my songs and maybe do some theater and play with the video camera.

New Stained Glass Sign

Here's some more photos of the brand new stained glass window that I made last night, this will be the banner background for the upcoming musical theater series.

The iPhone 4's interpretation of the colors in daylight indoors:

Finally some actual sunlight, white balance adjusted for 'shade':

Original Music, Coming Soon to This Page

I'm excited to start filming and playing some music for my new Steemian friends, and I have some songs that mean just as much today as they did when I wrote them so long ago-- songs about bright souls who wander through seedy nightclub districts under broken streetlights, and songs about sunny hills with melodies like faraway memories full of vivid color, while flirting with rhythm and blues, jazz and New Orleans mixtures of Delta Blues with African rhythms, and some experimental doses of improv, plus guest musicians and special tributes and etc and another etc. Just look for the stained glass, and come hear and see.

This Friday night musical series will be fun to produce, and I plan on paying my musician friends in STEEM eventually, but at first I'm going to give them some cash for playing the songs, something I've never been able to do before: pay musicians by the song. The Steemit posts will serve as our tip jar, but we'll be playing for fun and art no matter what.

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thanks for checking out my stained glass, and suggestions for a name for the planned musical series may start pouring into the comments-- all suggestions and comments are welcome. All images above by me

@therealpaul