I've changed name

Like a lot of flamenco greats, I've changed name... ;-)
Apparently, I'm told by my digitally savvy friends that I stand more chance of being found if the name involves something people search by. No one, no matter how into flamenco they are is ever going to search I can count to 12. Not for the first time, I was being too clever for my own good. Paco however is searched. And it is entirely true that, even though Paco de Lucia and indeed Paco Pena inspired me, and that I aspire - and practice enough - to be a good flamenco guitarist, I am, as yet, no Paco. Please follow me here:
http://imnopaco.blogspot.com/
Please.

Paco at his best

Watch it first.


It was late. We'd been drinking. I was with my muso, tabla playing mate. I mention that because he knows what he's doing.

We were surfing flamenco on YouTube and clicked on this. And for about 30 seconds, we couldn't figure out what was going on. We started with 'Oh, Paco is so great' to 'wow, this out there' to 'this sounds wrong'. Then we got it. It took us that long. And then we pissed ourselves for 5 minutes. It's done so well. As I said we were drunk, and it was late. So we spent the next hour watching all the other shreds. Clapton is great.

By the way, this, if course, is how I think I sound on those bad days.

Siguriyas

I've been away. But not from my guitar. Now I'm on to Siguiriyas. I love it. I'd sum it up as: strong, driven, beautiful, bittersweet.
The count is like soleares but starts in a different place. You begin with the 2 beats then go to 3s.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 rest.

But I actually count it to 5, which for some bizarre and unfathomable reasons I can do easily with this but not with soleares or bularias.
1 and 2 and 3 and-a four-and-a five. Pause. One...

Equally strangely: counting this way to 5 rather than 12 makes me feel uber flamenco.

Here is someone doing it better than me. (Although I'm not bad at it, so feeling good about my playing. Watch our compadres.)