After an exhuastive research endeavor at the Entermazement Labratories, I have come up with an inovation to dampen the sound coming out of my Fender Blues Junior Guitar Amplifer.
Don't let the name fool you. It can still get pretty dang loud.
It is a tube amplifer. With tube amps you tend to get a better tone by turning them up at least a little bit.
I am using a dampening device that has polyester fibers tightly meshed into a flexible rubber backing. I place the fiber side towards the speaker & prop it up with the vocal mic stand.
It is hard to tell from the stage but it seems to be doing the job.
Another great thing about this device is that it also works well as the passenger side floor mat on my truck.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Warm WInd
If you hadn't noticed, It is pretty dang windy today. Not the cool breeze you would hope for at this time of year either.
Yesterday, I stopped by Bennos on the Seawall to get a Fish Poboy & the wind was coming in from the water pretty strong. It was sunny and not alot of clouds but all of the sudden it started pouring down rain. I have most of my stuff that really can't get wet in the front of the truck but I do keep the PA speakers and a my bass amp in the back but I put them in 55 Gallon Trash bags. I just slip the bags over the speakers & then I put a plywood sign over that. I specifically made it to use as a cover and a sign both.
I still don't like the thought of anything getting wet so I keep a Tarp in the truck also incase it is really bad. I ran out and started putting the tarp over everything and by the time I was done, It had stopped raining.
It tured out that one of the guys working in the kitchen was one of the dudes that I wrote about in my blog a couple of weeks ago that had come in late to Whiskys Pub. I think his name is Marino. He is a musician also and has a gig at the Balanese Room tonight.
It was good Po-boy. I was really just trying to order the sandwich but I guess it normally comes with French Fries, Cole Slaw, & Hush Puppies so I guess I got my carbos for the day in one meal.
On my way out to Galveston yesterday, I stopped by Rock Romano's Red Shack Recording Studio and picked up my CD. He had done kind of a Budget Remaster & eliminated some of the hissing noises, Cleaned up the begining and endings of songs & Did some minor EQ adjustments & took out some of the real low end bass. He also adjusted the levels of all the songs so that they are equally hot. The other thing I wanted to do was change the order of the songs on the CD so that there was a little more variation between tracks. I had all the slow ones togeather last time & I realized it needed to be changed.
It is mostly stuff that most people wont notice but it really does make the CD easier to listen to as a whole & I am really happy with it. There are a couple of songs in particular that it really made a huge improvement. Particularly the cover of "Wi nd Cri es M ary" It had a lot of hissing noise and he took it out using his super computer Pro Tools Skills.
I am not going to put Rock's name on the CD credits when I get more copies made and make a new CD Insert. It would look good to have the name of a known reputable studio on there but it is not really fair to Rock since he was doing just a couple of hours work & not really dong what would be considered "Mastering" the CD & it would not reflect what he could do on a proper budget.
I had given him the Green light to do 2 hours work on it and use his own judgement on what to do instead of me sitting down with him and doing it with him since I figured with the limited time, I would probably end up getting in the way and not much would get done. I am pretty sure he spent alot more time than 2 hours on it since I know just listening to the CD just one time would take up about half an hour alone. He did me a favor and I definitely owe him for that.
Thanks Mr. Romano, You Rock!
Yesterday, I stopped by Bennos on the Seawall to get a Fish Poboy & the wind was coming in from the water pretty strong. It was sunny and not alot of clouds but all of the sudden it started pouring down rain. I have most of my stuff that really can't get wet in the front of the truck but I do keep the PA speakers and a my bass amp in the back but I put them in 55 Gallon Trash bags. I just slip the bags over the speakers & then I put a plywood sign over that. I specifically made it to use as a cover and a sign both.
I still don't like the thought of anything getting wet so I keep a Tarp in the truck also incase it is really bad. I ran out and started putting the tarp over everything and by the time I was done, It had stopped raining.
It tured out that one of the guys working in the kitchen was one of the dudes that I wrote about in my blog a couple of weeks ago that had come in late to Whiskys Pub. I think his name is Marino. He is a musician also and has a gig at the Balanese Room tonight.
It was good Po-boy. I was really just trying to order the sandwich but I guess it normally comes with French Fries, Cole Slaw, & Hush Puppies so I guess I got my carbos for the day in one meal.
On my way out to Galveston yesterday, I stopped by Rock Romano's Red Shack Recording Studio and picked up my CD. He had done kind of a Budget Remaster & eliminated some of the hissing noises, Cleaned up the begining and endings of songs & Did some minor EQ adjustments & took out some of the real low end bass. He also adjusted the levels of all the songs so that they are equally hot. The other thing I wanted to do was change the order of the songs on the CD so that there was a little more variation between tracks. I had all the slow ones togeather last time & I realized it needed to be changed.
It is mostly stuff that most people wont notice but it really does make the CD easier to listen to as a whole & I am really happy with it. There are a couple of songs in particular that it really made a huge improvement. Particularly the cover of "Wi nd Cri es M ary" It had a lot of hissing noise and he took it out using his super computer Pro Tools Skills.
I am not going to put Rock's name on the CD credits when I get more copies made and make a new CD Insert. It would look good to have the name of a known reputable studio on there but it is not really fair to Rock since he was doing just a couple of hours work & not really dong what would be considered "Mastering" the CD & it would not reflect what he could do on a proper budget.
I had given him the Green light to do 2 hours work on it and use his own judgement on what to do instead of me sitting down with him and doing it with him since I figured with the limited time, I would probably end up getting in the way and not much would get done. I am pretty sure he spent alot more time than 2 hours on it since I know just listening to the CD just one time would take up about half an hour alone. He did me a favor and I definitely owe him for that.
Thanks Mr. Romano, You Rock!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Smile
For the past couple of weeks, I have been video taping my shows. I was originally thinking of making a video presentation tape to try to use as promotional propaganda.
I bought the video camera when I fisrt strated the one man band but I didn't like the sound quality of the microphone. It was the cheapest one they had at Wal-Mart. It uses the smaller VCR tapes. The biggest problem is that it didn't seem to pick up the bass guitar sound.
I figured out recently that I could run the sound out wire through my mixer and then into the VCR & that does improve the sound quality a little bit. I can EQ it a little & take out some of the high end sounds & kick up also turn up the bass end a little. I am also placeing the camera closer to the bass amp so that it picks it up better. It would be nice if it had a Microphone input so I could hook up a better mic. One that is designed to capture sounds from the entire room.
It is a little more work to haul one more piece of equipent, set it up, and change the tape but it is very helpful to actually watch the tape & see/hear things from a different perspective.
I just wanted to keep you up to date on the lastest scientific methods here at Enermazement Management, Inc.
Happy Trails (to you)
I bought the video camera when I fisrt strated the one man band but I didn't like the sound quality of the microphone. It was the cheapest one they had at Wal-Mart. It uses the smaller VCR tapes. The biggest problem is that it didn't seem to pick up the bass guitar sound.
I figured out recently that I could run the sound out wire through my mixer and then into the VCR & that does improve the sound quality a little bit. I can EQ it a little & take out some of the high end sounds & kick up also turn up the bass end a little. I am also placeing the camera closer to the bass amp so that it picks it up better. It would be nice if it had a Microphone input so I could hook up a better mic. One that is designed to capture sounds from the entire room.
It is a little more work to haul one more piece of equipent, set it up, and change the tape but it is very helpful to actually watch the tape & see/hear things from a different perspective.
I just wanted to keep you up to date on the lastest scientific methods here at Enermazement Management, Inc.
Happy Trails (to you)
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Week Number 12
Well, Next week will be my 13th week playing the Sunday gig at the Gravity Bar in Galveston. We are kind of taking it week by week to see how it goes but it has lasted longer than I originally expected.
Today was kind of wierd though. I was out in front of the Gravity Bar putting up a "Live Blues" sign and a dude walked up and told me that it was a violation of the Sign Ordinance & I could't put it up. I asked him in what capacity he was telling me that & he said he owned two businesses on the Strand & one of them is a club down the street. He said a group of business owners had complained to the city and I was going to get cited. I told him that since he was the only one talking to me about it that it looked like he was the only one that had complained. He said that the sign didn't fit in and looked bad, etc. I wasn't feeling like really getting into it with him so I didn't confront him with the fact that his bar also features live music at the same time as my gig.
Wierd thing #2: There was another bar down the street (going east) that was having some kind of Bike Run. Not Motorcycles but actual bicycles. They got a group of people togeather and rode from bar to bar along the strand and surrounding area and stayed at each place for a little bit and then moved on. They had very loud whistles that they were blowing as they rode down the streeet. The Gravity Bar wias the last stop and when they got there they were pretty well liquored up & were very loud and were also blowing the whistles inside the bar. The whistles were peircingly loud table by table everybody else (all the paying customers) that was there before they came in, basically exited the bar. Several of the people in the bicycle group were wearing T-Shirts from the bar down the street & It almost seemed like a scene from Cheers where the poeple from Garys bar were visiting. There was this one guy in particular that was extremely rude. I remember thinking that he was the single rudest customer I had ever seen at a bar since I started playing live music. He was coming up by the stage and holding his hands over his ears and making a face and saying something about how my harmonica was too loud. The wierd thing about that was that it was about a tenth as loud as the whistles they had. After they cleared out the bar & were leaving, the one rude dude came right up to me and yelled a derogatory comment at me at the top of his lungs. He had been drinking but I had really had enough of his crap & I just looked right at him & I think he picked up that I wasn't going to take any more shit & he turned and walked out the door. I later found out that this dude was the owner of the bar sponsoring the bike run thing. His bar is called Poor Michaels. What an Asshole. I don't know what he was pissed about. Maybe it is becuase I was playing blues music & his club is supposed to be a blues bar. There is no possible way that a guy who owns a blues bar could possibly be a cool guy if he is out harrassing blues musicians just because they are playing at a bar down the street.
I really am amazed that on the same day, the actual owners of the two closest bars on strand street that feature live music both gave me shit & in such a direct way.
I guess it is thier way of letting me know that they have noticed that my gig has gone well. Thanks Guys.
Still, The whole thing seemed very strange. People are funny animals.
Today was kind of wierd though. I was out in front of the Gravity Bar putting up a "Live Blues" sign and a dude walked up and told me that it was a violation of the Sign Ordinance & I could't put it up. I asked him in what capacity he was telling me that & he said he owned two businesses on the Strand & one of them is a club down the street. He said a group of business owners had complained to the city and I was going to get cited. I told him that since he was the only one talking to me about it that it looked like he was the only one that had complained. He said that the sign didn't fit in and looked bad, etc. I wasn't feeling like really getting into it with him so I didn't confront him with the fact that his bar also features live music at the same time as my gig.
Wierd thing #2: There was another bar down the street (going east) that was having some kind of Bike Run. Not Motorcycles but actual bicycles. They got a group of people togeather and rode from bar to bar along the strand and surrounding area and stayed at each place for a little bit and then moved on. They had very loud whistles that they were blowing as they rode down the streeet. The Gravity Bar wias the last stop and when they got there they were pretty well liquored up & were very loud and were also blowing the whistles inside the bar. The whistles were peircingly loud table by table everybody else (all the paying customers) that was there before they came in, basically exited the bar. Several of the people in the bicycle group were wearing T-Shirts from the bar down the street & It almost seemed like a scene from Cheers where the poeple from Garys bar were visiting. There was this one guy in particular that was extremely rude. I remember thinking that he was the single rudest customer I had ever seen at a bar since I started playing live music. He was coming up by the stage and holding his hands over his ears and making a face and saying something about how my harmonica was too loud. The wierd thing about that was that it was about a tenth as loud as the whistles they had. After they cleared out the bar & were leaving, the one rude dude came right up to me and yelled a derogatory comment at me at the top of his lungs. He had been drinking but I had really had enough of his crap & I just looked right at him & I think he picked up that I wasn't going to take any more shit & he turned and walked out the door. I later found out that this dude was the owner of the bar sponsoring the bike run thing. His bar is called Poor Michaels. What an Asshole. I don't know what he was pissed about. Maybe it is becuase I was playing blues music & his club is supposed to be a blues bar. There is no possible way that a guy who owns a blues bar could possibly be a cool guy if he is out harrassing blues musicians just because they are playing at a bar down the street.
I really am amazed that on the same day, the actual owners of the two closest bars on strand street that feature live music both gave me shit & in such a direct way.
I guess it is thier way of letting me know that they have noticed that my gig has gone well. Thanks Guys.
Still, The whole thing seemed very strange. People are funny animals.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Really, Why the hell not?
http://www.kinkyfriedman.com/I have noticed that Just in time for the November Elections, Gas Prices are Going Down & The Stock Market is at near an all time high.
I have made it a point to stay out of discussing politics lately but I can't see a good reason not to vote for this dude.
What better endorsement could you need than Willie Nelson.
Unless of course you are a terrorist.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Mose Allison
My friend Eddy gave me a CD yesterday when I played a the Gravity Bar. It was an extremely nice gesture.
I got a chance to listen to alot of it on the drive home from Gavleston & it is some pretty cool stuff.
Here is a link where you can hear parts of the songs on that same CD:
http://www.amazon.com/Allison-Wonderland-Anthology-Mose/dp/samples/B0000033AH/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/104-7534978-1738336?ie=UTF8#disc_1
Mose plays piano and does the vocals. It is some good music. Eddy told me he really like the lyrics and I agree.
I had to listen close to tell excatly what it was but he has this thing he does where he kind of scats along with the piano riffs but it is kind of like a growl (sort of) & is not real loud but it sounds cool as hell.
I looked at his discogrophy page and it looks like he has been recording since 1988.
Check him out for your own self.
If you like it, then you might be hip.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Zildjian
Howdy,
I was out last night to put up some flyers at the Vintage Bar for the show there Next Week. I was kind of excited to see that Hamilton Loomis is going to be doing a show there October 19th. I don't know Hamilton but I used to have his first tape which I won by being the right caller during a blues program on KPFT about 10 years ago.
It would be cool to see him in a setting like the Vintage Bar.
After that I had another errand to run and was driving by the Big Easy and saw Jeremiah Johnson's Truck parked out there so I snapped that it his regular night to play ther so I stopped in but they were just going on break. He has a guitar player and a Bass player plus him on acoustic guitar also & they are doing a sort of unplugged thing. I hung around and chatted with the band and waited till they went back on and listened to about 5 songs. It was good music & it always relaxes me to hear good live music. Jeremiah used to host a blues jam out in the Katy area at Einstiens and I went to it almost every Sunday night for about a year. It was good to see what he is up too and as I told him last night, He does good at what ever setting he decides to use. He does alot of good original tunes & he has one in particular that was very good. I don't remember what the tune was called but it was about what someone feels like after they kill someone. It was sort of a country sounding song ala Thunder Road but has a mix of alternative rock with the vocal riffs also. I am going to have to make it over there when I have more time so I can kick back and relax & listen to more of the show.
Today, I stopped by my local Katy area H&H Music store and was very upset to see that it is closing down. They got bought out and they told me that there is a very good chance that it will re-open after the liquidation.
I went in to get some picks and was planning to get two packages which cost about $4 with the starving musician discount. Most of the inventory is already gone so I had to look around and check the sale prices. I looked for a bass amp & also PA Equipment but most of it was gone. I found the 18" Zildjian symbol that I had been eyeing for the past year. It is a 200 & something dollar item (retail) & they had it for just over a hundred so I had to buy it. I really didn't have the money but I just couldn't pass on it.
I is very excited.
I am now going to go home for lunch and see what it sounds like. I would like to get a chance to practice with it a little before playing at Whiskys Pub in Galveston tomorrow but it really won't matter since I am used to hitting the 14" Zildjian Symbol that I alrleady have. I am sure that it is going to sound great.
The biggest thing I need to figure out is what configuration to use. I may just substitute it for the 14" symbol or if it sounds good enough, I might try using it with my drum stick contraption that I wrote about here a month or so back.
Or just come to a show this month and you can see for yourself. I have been playing alot in Galveston lateley but I do have some September Shows in Houston Also. The Vintage Bar on Thursday the 14th and The Stagshead Pub on Saturday the 23rd. Or come on out to Galveston on Sunday Afternoon and check out the Gravity Bar on the Strand or if you are out on a Thursday, I will be at Whiskys Pub tomorrow & then again in two weeks. Check the schedule on my website. If a gig gets cancelled, I will update it there.
So as Marvin Zindler always says, Good Golf, Good Tennis, or Whatever makes you happy!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Gus the Fireman
After about 10 Sundays in a row at the Gravity Bar, I am starting to get familiar with some of the vendors & artists that work on the Galveston Strand every Sunday afternoon. They probably work out there alot of other days but I am only there on Sundays.
There is one guy who does characatures that always will swing by while I am playing and say hello. The "stage" area where I play is near the entrance and the entryway. There is a metal hand rail type devider. He usually comes up there and leans on the rail and gives a smile and a wave.
There is another guy who lives in an apartment up above the Bar & he sells his art right on the sidewalk. He just leans it on the building near the entrance of his apartment. I don't talk to him that much but he says hello and we have chatted a couple of times. One time his painting fell over and I picked it up & he seemed to appreciate that.
There is another guy who is a bass player that lives up in an apartment. He is usually sitting out on a bench at some point and we chat a little but it is his home so I try not to invade his space too much. He has come in and listend to me play and also come by Whiskys Pub also.
There are also the people that give the horse carriage rides. I have chatted with some of them usually about how business is.
The one guy that I have talked to the most is an old feller & a nice guy. He just sets up on the sidewalk and paints and sells his work. He smokes a pipe and has some pretty thick lenses on his glasses.
Since I had changed the format of my show and been doing the marathon gigs, I have not had a chance to chat with him for several weeks. This past week it was real busy all day but I was able to take a break at about 7pm and walked over and visited with him for a little bit.
It was nice to see him and we talked for a minute and I started to realize that he might have had a drink or two. He was pretty well lit up. He told me that he had played guitar with Willie Nelson & he sang me a couple of old country songs. It was a great time. I really was feeling good about everything and told him I had to get back and play some more.
A few minutes later, He had made his way over to the Gravity bar and I ran into him outside. He had decided that he wanted to play a few tunes and wanted to use my guitar. Not one of my favorite requests to say the least but after 3 years of playing in Bars, Clubs, pubs, taverns, pool halls, Ice Houses, & other premium venues, I have learnt how to deal with these type of situations & handled it about as smoothly as I could.
Overall this past Sunday was a pretty good day for the Blues.
I am thinking next week will be more of a challenge since there will probably not be as many people out on the strand but it is not easy to predict those kinds of things. I am just happy to have the gig. The customers are generally in a good mood and there is a wide cross section of what I like to call Humanity.
I have done extensive market research and figured out that Humanity is my target market.
Oh yeah, I hated to hear that the Croc Dude got killed. I liked that guy.
There is one guy who does characatures that always will swing by while I am playing and say hello. The "stage" area where I play is near the entrance and the entryway. There is a metal hand rail type devider. He usually comes up there and leans on the rail and gives a smile and a wave.
There is another guy who lives in an apartment up above the Bar & he sells his art right on the sidewalk. He just leans it on the building near the entrance of his apartment. I don't talk to him that much but he says hello and we have chatted a couple of times. One time his painting fell over and I picked it up & he seemed to appreciate that.
There is another guy who is a bass player that lives up in an apartment. He is usually sitting out on a bench at some point and we chat a little but it is his home so I try not to invade his space too much. He has come in and listend to me play and also come by Whiskys Pub also.
There are also the people that give the horse carriage rides. I have chatted with some of them usually about how business is.
The one guy that I have talked to the most is an old feller & a nice guy. He just sets up on the sidewalk and paints and sells his work. He smokes a pipe and has some pretty thick lenses on his glasses.
Since I had changed the format of my show and been doing the marathon gigs, I have not had a chance to chat with him for several weeks. This past week it was real busy all day but I was able to take a break at about 7pm and walked over and visited with him for a little bit.
It was nice to see him and we talked for a minute and I started to realize that he might have had a drink or two. He was pretty well lit up. He told me that he had played guitar with Willie Nelson & he sang me a couple of old country songs. It was a great time. I really was feeling good about everything and told him I had to get back and play some more.
A few minutes later, He had made his way over to the Gravity bar and I ran into him outside. He had decided that he wanted to play a few tunes and wanted to use my guitar. Not one of my favorite requests to say the least but after 3 years of playing in Bars, Clubs, pubs, taverns, pool halls, Ice Houses, & other premium venues, I have learnt how to deal with these type of situations & handled it about as smoothly as I could.
Overall this past Sunday was a pretty good day for the Blues.
I am thinking next week will be more of a challenge since there will probably not be as many people out on the strand but it is not easy to predict those kinds of things. I am just happy to have the gig. The customers are generally in a good mood and there is a wide cross section of what I like to call Humanity.
I have done extensive market research and figured out that Humanity is my target market.
Oh yeah, I hated to hear that the Croc Dude got killed. I liked that guy.
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