Takamine Jam: The music of Stacy Lee Denton

[Gary D.]

This story begins with a birth and is followed by three more.

BIRTH ONE. During her first labor and delivery in 1993, my wife Marie
lost focus. Her well-practiced Lamaze breathing went right out the
window and her epidural didn't take, and things got --well,
unpleasant.
In the winter of 1998 she was pregnant with our second child, and
Marie was determined not to lose focus again or people were going to
pay, and since I was going to be standing closest to her I was equally
on board.
This time Marie wanted something to help set the mood, and she thought
music might help. One day, she mentioned how much she enjoyed
listening to my brother Stacy play guitar, and that it might help to
have a tape of his music playing during the delivery. She gave me some
simple criteria: the songs would have to be acoustic, and the tunes
should be simple but with repeating, relaxing rythyms.

I presented this idea to my brother and I could tell right away that
it sparked a creative fire in him. He worked diligently over the next
several months- laying down multiple tracks, coming up with new
compositions, and trying out several new riffs. All of the songs would
be composed using a specail guitar called a Takamine, and he would use
it's distinctive voice to canvass Marie with musical relaxation on par
with any drug.

BIRTH TWO. In December 1998 he presented us with his creation;
"Takamine Jam," he called it.

BIRTH THREE. A month later, Marie and I presented our creation; Hope
Susan Denton, born January 29th, 1999.
The music from my brother's tape permeated the delivery room that
day. Several nurses asked about it, and all of them were amazed and
said they had never heard anything like it before. And it worked.The
distinct, rich, deep cords and base line, and the fine, sparkling,
clear notes of the rythym were perfectly blended. Marie kept her focus
and remained calm. Even when it looked like we might be heading for an
emergency C-section, the mood in the room was one of peace and
certainty that everything was going to be just fine.

Stacy nailed it. The songs were all simple repeating tunes with some
variations and specific tags thrown in. He included his own
compositions along with some clasic guitar standards like Pink Floyd's
"Wish You Were Here", and Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight."

After the delivery I played the tape over and over, and as my daughter
grew and our world changed to digital entertainment, the tape ended up
in my car where my only remaining cassette player resided. Over time,
I moved on to other interest and pursuits, and the cassette stayed
put.

A few years later, a bad flood in the Pasadena area destroyed my
brothers recording studio. Everything was gone: sheet music, original
recordings, and the beloved Takamine guitar.
Stacy was sure that "Takamine Jam" was now lost to the ages, and
inquired about it years later. "Do you still have that tape?" he
asked. I searched around and finally found it, but the Texas heat was
worked it's damage, and the songs were now flat and contained pops and
dropouts- not to mention the hideous tape hiss that now seemed to be
louder than I remembered. For the most part, Stacy's fears were
founded. "Takamine Jam" was a bright memory and nothing more.

A few more years have gone by now, and I have been dabbling with
digital recording and I've learned how to produce my own music. And
just recently, I aquired the skill to take audio tape and make new
digital masters from them. This skill was cemented only a few weeks
ago when Stacy and I reworked a copy of a song on tape that he had
made with a friend who commited suicide several years ago. The
digital copy wasn't perfect, but he was satisfied with the results.
"What about Takamine Jam?" he asked. "I'd realy like to hear that
again. I wonder if it could be saved?" And from that moment on my fate
was sealed.

BIRTH FOUR. Making a master from a tape is one thing. Reparing and
remastering a damaged source tape is a totally unique undertaking and
one that requires comitment to a firm principal; first and foremost
you must LOVE the music you are trying to save.

I copied, spliced, remixed, and remastered. I quit and started over.
I rejected takes and eliminated files. Finally I had digital copies
of all 12 songs from that near- ancient tape. Some weathered the storm
nicely, and I am as pround of this accomplishment as much as anything
creative that I have ever done.
Some of the songs still have a margin of dropout and a skip here and
there, but the overall product is the best I was able to achieve, and
I can't wait to present the finished product to Stacy.
And I'll do just that in a few weeks, but I am amazed at the timing.
.
Just as Stacy presented "Takamine Jam" to us on December, 25, 1998, I
will present to him the new digitally remastered version as a
Christmas gift on December 25, 2008.

A ten year journey for the music, but a lifelong memory for me of one
of the greatest Christmas gifts I have ever had the priveledge to
give, or recive.