Calliope is my muse

[Mousetoescamper]

Calliope is my 14-year-old torbie (tortoiseshell-tabby) who’s been with me since she was a kitten. What some might call her cacophonous caterwauling is mellifluous meowing to my ears. She's the inspiration for Calliope, a ragtime/blues guitar piece I wrote.

KALLIOPE (Calliope) was the eldest of the Mousai (Muses), the goddesses of music, song and dance. She was also the goddess of eloquence, who bestowed her gift on kings and princes. In the Classical era, when the Muses were assigned specific artistic spheres, Kalliope was named Muse of epic poetry. In this guise she was portrayed holding a tablet and stylus or a scroll. In older art she holds a lyre. Kalliope was the mother of the bard Orpheus. When her son was dismembered by the Bakkhantes (Bacchantes), she recovered his head and enshrined on the island of Lesbos. Her name means "beautiful-voiced" from the Greek words kallos and ops. (theoi.com)

For anyone interested in vintage musical gear, the guitar amplifier is a 1960 Gibson GA-8T Gibsonette Tremolo that my parents bought for me in 1971. It was paired with a Gibson ES 140 3/4 guitar. I sold the guitar many years ago. Steely Dan’s Walter Becker owned two of the amps, one of which was recently sold online.

The photo was taken with my iPhone 6s and has been de-colorized.

[rubbersole]

1. I have a 1965 Gibson Skylark amp...

..in mint condition with its plastic case/cover. Used it in all my garage bands before I got a vintage Martin and stayed acoustic until my missus got me a Les Paul for my 60th birthday. Pulled out the Skylark and use it a couple of times a month. Arthritis in my hands is the newest obstacle to reclaiming my youth 😜. Your picture of the record cabinet is awesome. Pet the kitty for us.

[Mousetoescamper]

3. I've come across a few Skylark amps through the years. I had GA-15 Explorer; a sweet little amp

that I used for garage-band gigs until it was stolen. The GA-8T still sounds great. They're now selling for $1,000-2,000. My parents probably paid less than $150 for the amp and guitar in '71. The ES 140 3/4s are now going for $3,000-5,000. Should have held onto that one! It was what we used to call a "cheese-cutter" because the high action made it painful to play. I sold it after buying a new Les Paul Deluxe goldtop, pictured below, in 1972. Vintage Fender amps are ridiculously expensive. There's a dealer on Reverb.com asking $28,750 for a 1957 Fender Super Tweed formerly owned by Dwight Twilley. It looks like it was used as a cat's scratching post! Vintage Gibson amps are still a bargain.

Sorry to know that you've got arthritis in your hands. I'll probably have it before too long.

Always happy to pet the kitty!

Thanks!

[rubbersole]

5. Nice guitar!

I've got a good friend that has a Strat he's had for years. He played my Les Paul one afternoon and went out and bought one (Epiphone). Says it's the easiest guitar he has ever played. His Fender keeps his golf clubs company in his closet. 😄

[Twoflower]

2. I also have a cat named Calliope, she has a sister named Terpsichore. They are both fully black.

We call them Oppy and Cory.

[Mousetoescamper]

4. You named both of yours after muses. Cool! Calliope's mother, who passed in October, was named

Penelope, after "long-suffering Penelope," the wife of Odyseuss in the Odyssey.