Morning earworm: Don't Let the Rain Come Down, the Serendipity Singers. It's Pledge Drive time again in PBS world, and I made the mistake of watching their Brief History of Folk Music the other night. Amid the protest songs and no less than three different versions of Turn! Turn! Turn!, we were subjected to this silliness from the early days. Please make it stop!
http://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Don_t_Let_The_Rain_Come_Down/22T8DP
It seems Grooveshark has changed their interface - and as with most upgrades, it doesn't seem to be an improvement. So it goes.
Hoping for a quiet day today, occupied mostly with laundry and packing. I generally go for this on gig days anyway, because I'm just that way; adding the final travel arrangements to the mix shouldn't be too much trouble. Fortunately, tonight will be relatively early - with a good load-out we should be out by midnight, which would ideally get me to bed around 1:30, enough for an early rise and out the door by 7:00. If the gods of travel and traffic smile upon us, we should make the room around 14:00, which would allow a brief nap before navigating the public transit connections to the show, with enough time for a bit of touristry and dinner beforehand. With that many Crafties in one place, I imagine there will be some sort of gathering afterward. The big question currently is Sunday - there is a good chance that the Wife may not have to work Monday, which would allow us an extra day there. There is also a rumor that TG will be holding a workshop on Sunday, which would be uber-cool, but potentially involve stranding the Wife for part of the day, which is not so cool, though she could potentially attend as well. We'll see what happens.
The quality of the question determines the quality of the answer.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Reward For This Work Is More Work
Morning earworm: Acid Rain, Liquid Tension Experiment - this is why I have a 7-string.
In an unusual burst of ambition, I got most everything done yesterday that I have been dragging on for the last week - the work room in the Bunker is cleaned and organized, the bass loops on Shape have been recorded. I now find myself faced with a bit of "Now what?" Been procrastinating for so long that the next step has become obscured - lol.
There is plenty to be done today though. Reasonably-priced lodging has been secured for the weekend, and I now find myself poring over transportation options. A cab from the hotel to the venue is going to run around $50 by all accounts; there is a shuttle bus for half that, but it only stops in Midtown, which is some thirty-two blocks from our destination. And apparently the City That Never Sleeps also doesn't run their ferries on the weekends - what's up with that? Guess I check the city bus schedule next. I could always drive, too, but God only knows what parking is going to be like there. But hey - we're going, so I shouldn't complain too much :D
We may do whatever we like, providing we can pay the bill.
In an unusual burst of ambition, I got most everything done yesterday that I have been dragging on for the last week - the work room in the Bunker is cleaned and organized, the bass loops on Shape have been recorded. I now find myself faced with a bit of "Now what?" Been procrastinating for so long that the next step has become obscured - lol.
There is plenty to be done today though. Reasonably-priced lodging has been secured for the weekend, and I now find myself poring over transportation options. A cab from the hotel to the venue is going to run around $50 by all accounts; there is a shuttle bus for half that, but it only stops in Midtown, which is some thirty-two blocks from our destination. And apparently the City That Never Sleeps also doesn't run their ferries on the weekends - what's up with that? Guess I check the city bus schedule next. I could always drive, too, but God only knows what parking is going to be like there. But hey - we're going, so I shouldn't complain too much :D
We may do whatever we like, providing we can pay the bill.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
December Already?
Morning earworm: Closer to the Heart, Rush. Going to be a good day :)
Much as expected, not a lot accomplished yesterday, but for once I'm not complaining. It was, if anything, what a weekend day is like when you aren't too fried to enjoy it. Feeling sufficiently energized now to get on with it today.
An added bonus - the Wife seemed amenable to my spur of the moment idea of a road trip to New York this weekend. Not as capricious as it may sound; my Teacher is playing a rare solo show, and upon checking out, I discovered it isn't quite as far as I had thought - a mere 6.5 hour drive. Considering I have friends flying in from Chicago and even Austin to attend the event, that isn't so bad, even after a Friday night gig in Richmond. We will just be heading up on Saturday, and probably only catch the final show, but it is still worth it. Word on the street is that Tony G will be doing a workshop on Sunday; this too would be worth attending, if it meshes with the schedule. Will have to catch up with some of the other attendees for details.
Signposts are useful when you know where you're going.
Much as expected, not a lot accomplished yesterday, but for once I'm not complaining. It was, if anything, what a weekend day is like when you aren't too fried to enjoy it. Feeling sufficiently energized now to get on with it today.
An added bonus - the Wife seemed amenable to my spur of the moment idea of a road trip to New York this weekend. Not as capricious as it may sound; my Teacher is playing a rare solo show, and upon checking out, I discovered it isn't quite as far as I had thought - a mere 6.5 hour drive. Considering I have friends flying in from Chicago and even Austin to attend the event, that isn't so bad, even after a Friday night gig in Richmond. We will just be heading up on Saturday, and probably only catch the final show, but it is still worth it. Word on the street is that Tony G will be doing a workshop on Sunday; this too would be worth attending, if it meshes with the schedule. Will have to catch up with some of the other attendees for details.
Signposts are useful when you know where you're going.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Distractions
Morning earworm: Sweet Emotion, Aerosmith. There is a story involved ...
A dream during the night; I am sitting in with a band, testing out some new experimental piece of gear. They decide to play this. As I'm adjusting my sound, they take off into it, in the wrong key. Nothing new there, so I transpose and join in, waking up around the second verse. I wonder how many other earworms are dream hangovers like this? It isn't the first time here, either.
Didn't get much done that I had hoped to yesterday, largely by allowing myself to get sucked into an online game. I confess a bit of self-indulgence there; as part of the morning routine I usually go a few rounds on something like Minesweeper or Spider Solitaire as part of the waking up / engage the brain process before getting down to business. Occasionally I will wander over to MSN and hit the Game page, knowing that these tend to take a bit longer to get through. Yesterday I opted for a round of Jewel Quest, which typically goes 15-20 minutes, timing out after 40,000 points on average. Once, a few days back, I passed this and got stuck for over an hour, finally letting it time out at around 170,000. Sure enough, I got that one again. Normally, these free online versions stop at a certain level - apparently this one doesn't. Again, I let it go entirely too long and finally gave up, letting it time out after I hit 300,000 points and squandered nearly two hours. Not my most productive morning.
Time is limited today as well - the Wife is only working a half day, so anything I want to get done in the Bunker will necessarily occur within the next few hours. Not that I am complaining, mind you - the prospect of distraction here is far more interesting than any computer game ;-)
The attitude that life owes us something, if not everything, encourages life to thwart our endeavours.
A dream during the night; I am sitting in with a band, testing out some new experimental piece of gear. They decide to play this. As I'm adjusting my sound, they take off into it, in the wrong key. Nothing new there, so I transpose and join in, waking up around the second verse. I wonder how many other earworms are dream hangovers like this? It isn't the first time here, either.
Didn't get much done that I had hoped to yesterday, largely by allowing myself to get sucked into an online game. I confess a bit of self-indulgence there; as part of the morning routine I usually go a few rounds on something like Minesweeper or Spider Solitaire as part of the waking up / engage the brain process before getting down to business. Occasionally I will wander over to MSN and hit the Game page, knowing that these tend to take a bit longer to get through. Yesterday I opted for a round of Jewel Quest, which typically goes 15-20 minutes, timing out after 40,000 points on average. Once, a few days back, I passed this and got stuck for over an hour, finally letting it time out at around 170,000. Sure enough, I got that one again. Normally, these free online versions stop at a certain level - apparently this one doesn't. Again, I let it go entirely too long and finally gave up, letting it time out after I hit 300,000 points and squandered nearly two hours. Not my most productive morning.
Time is limited today as well - the Wife is only working a half day, so anything I want to get done in the Bunker will necessarily occur within the next few hours. Not that I am complaining, mind you - the prospect of distraction here is far more interesting than any computer game ;-)
The attitude that life owes us something, if not everything, encourages life to thwart our endeavours.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Backfill
Morning earworm: Sleepless, King Crimson. Probably because I am.
It has been an interesting holiday weekend, as always. Seven hours in the kitchen on Thursday, ending in another culinary triumph - Turkey roll stuffed with homemade venison sausage, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, cornbread and venison sausage dressing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. Ended up passing on dessert, which is just as well, as we were stuffed beyond capacity as it was.
Friday and Saturday were both quiet, in the standard pre-gig fashion. I tend to prefer a day of inactivity before playing, whenever possible; part of the pre-game ritual, which is worth a post of its own one of these days. The respective shows were decent, though both began slowly and without a great deal of energy - possibly the downside of taking time off. We did eventually get on track. Hopefully this will carry us through our last three shows of the year over the next two weeks, after which we are off for a month. That time will be devoted to rehearsal and learning some new material.
Yesterday, a Day Off. I'm finding that in my advancing years, a full day of recovery is becoming necessary after a working weekend. Well, maybe not necessary, but certainly beneficial.
Today, a return to the Bunker, addressing both practicalities and creative work. My aim for the day is to lay down a few new bass parts on Shape of the World, which I have been putting off for the last week or so. Beyond that, continued clean up of the work space and possibly some more tweaking on the new live rig. Considering the option of a pedalboard next, preferably with a built-in power supply - I am discovering that my fuzz box eats batteries like crazy, and I am quickly going to go broke unless I plug it in. In other words, back to business as usual here :)
If we can define our aim, we are halfway to achieving it.
It has been an interesting holiday weekend, as always. Seven hours in the kitchen on Thursday, ending in another culinary triumph - Turkey roll stuffed with homemade venison sausage, mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, cornbread and venison sausage dressing, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. Ended up passing on dessert, which is just as well, as we were stuffed beyond capacity as it was.
Friday and Saturday were both quiet, in the standard pre-gig fashion. I tend to prefer a day of inactivity before playing, whenever possible; part of the pre-game ritual, which is worth a post of its own one of these days. The respective shows were decent, though both began slowly and without a great deal of energy - possibly the downside of taking time off. We did eventually get on track. Hopefully this will carry us through our last three shows of the year over the next two weeks, after which we are off for a month. That time will be devoted to rehearsal and learning some new material.
Yesterday, a Day Off. I'm finding that in my advancing years, a full day of recovery is becoming necessary after a working weekend. Well, maybe not necessary, but certainly beneficial.
Today, a return to the Bunker, addressing both practicalities and creative work. My aim for the day is to lay down a few new bass parts on Shape of the World, which I have been putting off for the last week or so. Beyond that, continued clean up of the work space and possibly some more tweaking on the new live rig. Considering the option of a pedalboard next, preferably with a built-in power supply - I am discovering that my fuzz box eats batteries like crazy, and I am quickly going to go broke unless I plug it in. In other words, back to business as usual here :)
If we can define our aim, we are halfway to achieving it.
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