Hey Steemers! I’m back from being on the run from the hurricane for week 2 of OpenMic Night Contest. The house has some warped floorboards, but otherwise everything is okay. My studio survived, which is great because now it can sit silently behind me while I record this song with my phone.

I have to tell you, this song hurts my left hand like crazy. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or because I need to play more (I spend much more of my time mixing and mastering my recordings than I do recording them). I’m not always the quickest when it comes to finding easier ways to do things. It just occurred to me today to try this song with a capo, so I can play it with only one barre chord instead of EVERY chord being a barre chord. That way I’m not squeezing the neck nonstop for the whole song, which is a VERY rough workout for my hand. Well, I tried it, but it just didn’t sound right. It just wasn’t percussive enough without the barre chords being muted by my left hand to get that scratchy rhythm. Far be it from me to sacrifice rhythm for comfort, and only the best for Steemit. So here it is, my masochistic version of Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”. If my face looks pained, it’s not just emotion. It’s actual pain.

Open Mic Night Week 2 entry - Paul Hallman - Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes