I got back into town
late last night.

Have been sitting here
since 6 a.m.
listening to the FIVEHYPNOSONGS
while watching the Sun rise.

i am looking west,
out onto the Channel Islands,
such that
I am really NOT watching the Sun rise,
as it turns out.

Oh, how could this possibly be so?

At any rate,
it is getting lighter and lighter.



All went well up north.

I am like a little kid
waiting for Christmas a.m.,
after being awake all night
in anticipation.

Why?  you should be asking yourself.

Because my new Roland A-88 controller keyboard
should have been delivered on Thursday,
which means I can pick it up today.

Now, to most of you reading this
that means nothing
or almost nothing
to you.

Yet, I think
that it is one
of the MOST IMPORTANT! developments
taking place right now.

How could this be?
(you really should be asking yourself).

Without getting to sound too much like a salesman,
let me briefly explain.

Roland has been making
top-of-the line keyboards
for many years.

During that time
they have developed a technology
to simulate the "action"
on a good grand piano.

(the "action"
is the mechanism
which moves the hammer
onto the string
by means of pressure
applied by your fingers
onto the black and white keys)

The grand
has a very different type of mechanism
than does the upright piano.

It is made
so that one can actually play a rapid tremolo,
which would just simply be physically impossible
using the other type of mechanism.

As one can imagine,
this means that I can push the keys
much more delicately
than I otherwise could.

As in a whispering choir,
or very quiet strings,
steadily building up
to a powerful crescendo,
ever so slowly.

One could say,
that from where I sit,
this is a very big deal.

It is what separates
TRULY GREAT
from, not so.

In the hands of a Beethoven,
or Chopin,
or Rachmaninoff,
or Tchaichovsky,
this can become a truly powerful force
to contend with.

So (you must be asking yourself),
how much do you suppose
a full-size piano board (88 keys)
weighs?

Answer.  A lot. 
or to be more precise,
too heavy.

So, this problem has vexed the poor itinerant
on-the-road most of the time
musician and composer
for far too long.

A piano action of the highest quality known,
but in a box which is lightweight.

Roland engineers
apparently thought
that this was not a good thing
to have to be living without,
and that matters,
accordingly,
should not be allowed
to continue thus and so.

So, there you have it.

Mine is fresh off the production line,
directly from the factory,
as only a handful
have even been distributed
in these United States.

So, from the factory,
to the pro audio outlet,
to me,
as soon as I pick it up.

So, now that I have bored you
back to sleep,
with any luck,
I must leave for now.

Hope to return soon.

w/love

vw

1-5-13
Saturday
6:59 a.m.
Ventura, California, USA