be humble

Friday night I had a gig in Humble Texas at the Twin Oaks Tavern. It was my first time to visit this particular establishment.

It is located in the Historic business district area. There is an Antique Store, a Cybercafe Skatepark type place, a few other businesses, and also the Humble Cafe.

I had arrived early and was already set up since I was trying to beat the 90% chance of rain. As far as transporting/loading/un-loading my equipment, I can function in the rain but it is much more work. & they were also talking about Thunderstorms, High winds, etc.

I noticed that the Humble Cafe had a pretty good crowd so I took that as a solid endorsement from the local community. I stepped on over to the Humble Cafe. I took a look at the menu and decided to break my fast on Hamburgers and also french fries that I have been able to maintain for almost a week and a half now. Acutally, before that, It had been several months since I have had a Hamburger & even longer since having one from fast food corporation.

I ordered the Humble Burger with no onions or mayo. Mustard, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, all on a freshly baked roll type of bun.

After that I took a short nap in the truck. I was actually parked right in front of the Twin Oaks Tavern and also underneath one of the actual Twin Oaks that it named after.

So there you have it. Mystery, Drama, Humble Burgers, No Onions, & Oak Trees all in one story

You find another blog in the internet that offers all that, then you know you are spending way too much time on the internet.

All Mixed Up

Here is a picture of a Mixer that I just bought at H&H Music. It is small as far as mixers go and only has 4 channels but it is still a huge thing for me. I really should have bought it long ago. The biggest thing it is going to do for my live sound is that I can individually adjust the volume of the Bass and Snare Drums. Before this I was running them both through the same channel and could only adjust the volume by moving the Microphones farther and closer to the source. The other thing will be that I can shape the sound of the two different drums by individually adjusting the Bass, treble, and mid range dials. Also, I am now able to add a microphone to the symbols.

The third big advantage is that I am no longer using the adapters and am able to have the balanced cable connections.

Yipee

Robert Johnson Photograph Expert

If I had a collection of every picture ever taken of the Beatles and had studied the content of the images then I think it would be fair to call myself an "Expert" on Beatles Pictures.


I have done that with Robert Johnson Pictures. I even named the pictures. The one on the left is called "Hat" & the one on the right is called "Cigarette". I don't bother to reference Robert Johnson in the individual photo anymore than they use J_FKs Name when they mention the Zapruder film.

As far as the general public knows there are just two known photos of Robert Johnson in existance. I personally think there is probably at least one more sitting in a photo album somewhere and the person who owns it has no clue of how much money it would be worth.

I was listening to Mr Robert Johnson on my record player a couple of weeks back & also took the time to read the back of the Record Jacket. I already knew that he had only recorded about 30 songs but I never realized that he had recorded them in Texas or if I did, It never really hit me. According to the liner notes of the Columbia release: "Robert Johnson/King of the Delta Blues Singers" He did five sessions. Three in San Antonio in 1936 and two in Dallas in 1937.


As much as people think of him as a guitar player & he obviously was a gerat one, I think the name of the Record is correct. He was really a great blues singer. His recordings have been the biggest influence on modern blues and rock & Roll. If you listen The Rolling Stones, Elmore James, Eric Clapton or Led Zepplin versions (& others that have covered him also) It is clear that what is copied most often is the vocals, lyrics, phasing, & fill comments. There was a blues revival in the 60s and many guitar players since then also have copied his playing but it did not have the mainstream influence as the vocals.

This may all be old news to you but it is something that I am just now picking up on.


With all that said, I have decided to try and take the time to work on learning more Robert Johnson on guitar.

Thanks

I have mentioned before that I didn't want to use my website or blog to blow my own horn by talking about people that come to my shows when all it would reall seem like I was doing is talking about how much they liked me.

Still, since I make the rules here, I can break them also.

Just in case anybody is reading this blog, I would like to mention how much I appreciate the people that have actually driven accross town (or even walked across a street) to come to one of my gigs.



Thanks!

Here is your tip Asshole

One of the things I used to like about Luby's was that you didn't have to give a tip. I don't begrudge anybody making a living but part of the value part of eating at certain establishments is that it is a good value. If you eat a 5 or 6 dollar meal and then have to give a tip, It raises the price of the whole dining experience about 20%. Still, If I go to Luby's and get all of my food on a tray and drinks also, I don't really feel like I want to meet my "server" when they come up to the table and tell me thier name, etc. I am sure they are all nice people but I just want to eat my lunch and leave.

The Chinese buffets are about the same except they do bring you a fortune cookie with your check.


What about Sonic? You park your car, Push a button, Order your food & they bring it to you in a bag. How much tip should someone get for bringing it out to the car? I have brought up the tipping at Sonic issue with several folks I know and find that poeple are about split on tipping at Sonic (at all)

If the person at Sonic is going to get a tip, then why not give one to the Cashier at the Grocery Store or Walmart? That is a hell of alot more work that carrying a bag of hamburgers out to a car.


My general rule on tipping at a restaurant is that if they take the order and bring it without too much of a wait or mishap & also keep the drinks refilled (or even just bring me a big ol glass even better) they deserve the standard tip rounded up to the nearest dollar. If they have good waiter/waitress skills and make the dining experience even better, then they deserve more. Also if it is a cheap meal but the service is good, then the tip should not be limited to 15%.

Part of what really sucks about getting bad service is sitting there trying to decide about how to handle the tip. It makes me feel like a mooch not to leave something but at the same time why should I pay extra to get treated like crap?

I like to ride my bicycle

I was driving down my street the other day and saw a garbage sale in progress. I found a ten speed bike that I liked and asked the guy how much? He said $20. I was happy with the price but also didn't want to deprive him and myself of the fun of haggling a little bit. I found a few screwdrivers and some wire cutters and told him that if he threw them in he would have a deal.


The bike is a Raliegh and technically it is a womans model but I don't need a bar on my bike to prove I am a man. It is a mauve color and has some nice features like center pull brakes, quick release front wheel, a decent seat and some nice shifter mechanisms. It also has brand new tires that don't leak. Whoever set it up knew what they were doing. All of the brake and shifter adjusments are just right. I took a few minutes to adust the seat height and handlebars and was ready to cylce.

Yesterday I rode for about 20 minutes and tonight I went about 25. Since I rode after tonight dark I wore my reflective safety vest. I guess I am really getting to the age where I don't care what people think. The only thing I need now is a safety helmet which I plan to buy very soon.


Not much else to report except I did notice it is big trash day tomorrow and one of my neighbors is throwing away a couple of sections of chain link fence and also a chain link gate which I think will work well around our patio for the dogs. I have to sneak over there in a little bit and try to get it without getting noticed. Maybe I still do care a little bit what people think.