Hi friends and nosey people,

I hope you had a good Christmas.

I had to work a coupe of hours on Christmas Eve day and then I had business to take care of. I had been hearing some noises from the fireplace during the night and I realized that something had moved in. It was starting to bother me a little so I finally decided to take care of the problem .

I went to Home Depot and bought some wire mesh material to put around the top of the chimney where the end cap vent type thing is and also picked up a fire log at the grocery store.

I went home & lit the fire. I wanted whatever was in there to have a chance to get out so I waited about an hour before I went up and put the screen material around where it was getting in.

I went to my garage and got the ladder which I keep hanging sideways on the wall on a couple of large nails.

First I leaned it on the patio cover that I built a few years ago and then climbed up and pulled the ladder up and leaned it on the chimney and climbed up there and installed the screen material with some bailing wire. It took a few minutes but I wanted to be careful not to fall.

Now is when the plot thickens.

When I came back down fromt the patio cover I found a hunting arrow that was very loosely lodged in the ground. I figured that some idiot was doing target practice and shot it over the fence by mistake. I climbed back up the ladder and again pulled it up on the patio cover so I could climb high enough to get a good look. I then walked around on the top of my roof also but still didn't see any sign of a target or where it may have come from.

I then climbed back down & when I got off the ladder the second time, I found a second arrow in about the same spot but it wasn't lodged in the ground from the same agle. I figured that I would have seen it before so someone was shooting right now and was either playing a sick joke on me or just a bad shot.

I decided to take the arrows and walk around the block and start looking in back yards and knocking on doors. I won't lie, I was pretty fired up and wanted to have a word with whoever was shooting arrows in my back yard. Those Muther F#@%ERs!

I changed clothes real quick so I would look presentable to the neighbors from around the block since I had never met any of them and I went out through the garage and opened the garage door and got in the car.

Then I rembered something. Sometime back there was a guy at work that was going to throw away some arrows and he gave them to me instead. I have a bow that I keep up on the garage wall above where the ladder is. The bow was still up there and the third arrow was also.

Apparantly the arrows had fallen onto the ladder and had fallen off one at a time when I was raising and lowering the ladder.

I calmed down and went back inside and had a diet coke and enjoyed the fire for a few minutes and haven't heard any critters since then.

Happy Festivus, Good Golf, Good Tennis, Bow and arrow target practice, Or what ever blows your skirt up.

THanks,

Marc

2001, A Technical Odyssey

2001 may sound futuristic to some folks but not to the kids thesedays. That is about when my computer was built and I have a dial-up connection.

I don't have an Ipod or a Zune. No Blackberry or DVD Burner. No Cable TV either.

It is one of my soon to be New Years resolutions to get caught up with some of the current technology.

I want to have a new computer so I can do some home recording to make a new CD & I hope to get a faster Internet Connection also.

We will see how it goes.

I did just get a digital TV a couple of weeks ago when my 14 year old Toshiba went out. I bought an off brand one this time and it seems to work just fine. I never new there were alternative broadcasts for Channels 2, 11, 13, & also the pbs station.

I do want to thank Micheal-Ann & Gordy for helping me by converting my DVD tracks so that they can be uploaded to Youtube and other Internet sites. Very kind people in deed. Also, Eric who offered to help also. He is the guy who converted the songs on my CD to MP3s so I could put them on the Myspace Bands Page.

Hollywood!

Hello,

I just wanted to say "Hello to all the little people"

You know, Tiny Elvis & the rest of you.

I bought a DVD recorder at Wal-Mart and I am going to hook my Video Camera up to it and also a mixing board with some Condensor Microphones and make a DVD. That is my plan anyway. I was going to buy a Digital Camera but I thought it would work better this way & also I can record straight to a DVD. The DVD will hold up to an hours worth of recording so that should be plenty for 10 or 12 songs plus a few bonus tracks. It will give me an excuse to goof around with the video camera and pretend like I am working on a "production"

I went to Guitar Center last night and bought a couple of Microphone Stands and some cables & I was lucky enough to have a couple of friends who were kind enough to loan me some Condensor Microphones.

I am going to experiment with it. I may just try running my main mixer right into the Recorder but I want to try using the condensors so I can catch the sound of the maracas and also use the Reverb Tank on the Vocals as well as use the Overdrive on the Harmonica.

My plan is to learn the best way to set it up by recording at home first and then carry everything to a couple of live shows & record a little bit like that.

If all goes well I think I will by myself an Island. Otherwise I may need to borrow a couple of bucks next time I see you.

Thanks.

"It is what it is"

I have had a hard time buying G strings lately.

NO, I have not been lurking at Thong stores. I use a 17 gauage G string on my main Fender electric guitar. I bought it new in 1988 but I have not named it yet. BB King calls his guitar "Lucille" & Stevie Ray called his "Number One", At least that is what his guitar tech called it in the articles I read in the guitar magazines. Billy Gibbons calls his 1959 Gibson Les Paul "Pearly Gates" & usually just refers to it as "Pearly". He has used that guitar on probably every album they have ever done. He uses other ones also but that one is his main axe.


I had been trying to swing by a Guitar Center on the way to a gig (to save gas) since November 1st when I was on my way out to the Balinese Room to play the opening day of the Biker Rally at the Seawall Bar. I had never been to the Gulf Freeway location so I looked it up on the Yahoo Maps and was sure I could find it with no problem. It turned out to be on the East Side of the Freeway & after about 15 minutes of driving around on the west side, I just gave up and went on out to Galveston.

Then on November 4th on the way out to Pinehurst to play the First Annual Fin, Fur, & Feather Festival, I stopped at the Guitar Center on the North side at 45 & 1960. I went in and there was a kid there with a nut in his ear, like one that goes on a bolt. When I walked up to the counter, I asked him if he had any 17 Gauge strings & he didn't say a word but he did pick up the phone & dialed over to another dude who was working at the entrance and say in a growly type voice "Whatsuuup?" He then looked through the string box with the individuals and told me "No, No 17s". He did find one 18 so I said OK on that and asked for a set of GHS Boomers since I didn't want to be that thin on strings & he looked at the other dude & who reached up and got the strings. I then asked him if they had any EL84 Groove Tubes since I needed a matched duet. He checked the computer and said they were out. I then asked if they had any 12AX7s which are some Pre-Amp Tubes that I have been needing & he found them on the computer and said they they did have some in stock. I asked him how much he was going to sell them to me for & he said that they wer $15.99 each. I told him that I knew the list price but I was asking what kind of price he would give me. He then said that the manufactuer would not allow discounts on that item which is a standard line that they have started using but is only true in some cases and not on the Groove Tubes. I know that since I always get a discount when I buy them. I told him that & He said "It is what it is man" So I told him to forget it and started walking off. I got about halfway to the door and then turned around and went back and told him that I had worked in retail sales for some time now & I know about everything being "All hip and cool" but at the same time I felt like he was rude to me. I let him know that there is nothing Uncool about saying hello to a customer. He just looked at me and then I left.

Then last Thursday I stopped by the Westhiemer location on my way to the Gig at Sweet Mesquite and Paul helped me was very cool. Sold me the 12ax7s for $12 & strings for 75 cents each. They were also out of the EL84s but he said I wanted he would call me when they came in. I had been helped by Paul last time I went to the Guitar Center on Westheimer & I purposely went to him this time. Thanks Paul.

I had just put some new EL84s in my Fender Blues Junior. They are the power tubes and the Blues Junior burns them pretty hot so they wear out a little faster than other tubes in other amps. I keep a back up set & those are the ones I just installed. I am now using the ones I took out as a back up set so that is why I am looking for new ones. The ones I put in are rated at "5" but I really prefer to have "4s". It is a rating system that Groove Tube uses & will tell you how easy the tubes will break up or distort. I don't use any effects or pedals so I like to have some tubes that will give a little bit of distortion. I am now wanting to try some 3s but I will probably end up with 4s which work just fine & are easier to find.

Last night I put the 3 12AX7s in the blues Junior so it now has all new tubes and it does sound better. I had been noticing that it was starting to sound harsh and the tone was harder to find. I kept making adjustments during my sets & still not finding the tone. It was particularly noticable when I plugged my acoustic guitar in. There is no substitute for tone & these tubes really do make a difference so I am happy about that. It already sounded better last night but it usually takes a few hours of playing time for them to "burn in". Normally I would just leave the amp on for a couple of hours but it was late last night & I will use that as an excuse to practice a little bit of straight up guitar this week since I need to get back to working on scales and riffs & stuff like that.


Thats all for now.

Remember that we are all going to die at some point so go ahead and enjoy your life. Do whatever it is that you want to do.


Later.

Pipe Dreams

I used to have a cassette tape called "Bach Large Organ Works" that somebody gave to to me back around 1980. I would listen to it from time to time & have always like that sound.

Last night I was listening to the radio & decided to check out KUHF, the local classical music station, which is 88.7 on the radio dial in houston.

There was a program on called "Pipe Dreams" which is archived on the internet & you can hear it by clicking this link: http://origin-pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2007/0743/

It is a weekly show & hosted by Micheal Baron.

He plays a series of live recordings of Notable Organists playing notable pipe organs which are located mostly in old churches.

Very cool show. Check it out.

The main web page is www.pipedreams.org & it looks like they have an archive o fthe weekley shows going all the way back to 1995.

Down at the Balinese (revisited)

Thursday Night I went over to the Continental Club to meet my friend Eddy to check a band called the B Side Players. They are a touring band that plays Latin, Reggae, & world type music. It is a nine piece outfit with a couple of horn players, a drummer, a percussionist, a conga player, keyboard player, bass player, a back up singer, and a lead singer who is the lead vocalist. They are a good band it was relaxing to get to hear them play.

Little Joe Washington stopped by for a minute & talked to the bartender but he left right after that. It was good to see that he is looking OK.

On my way over there, I took a wrong turn on Main street and was sitting at a light and I noticed 4 young blonde headed girls that jumped out in the street and stopped a car that was taking a turn onto Main. I then noticed that a dude had passed out in the street and they had pretty much just saved his life since the car was about to roll right over him. It was good to see that some people still give a shit. They ended up moving him off the street and I doubt he will ever know that somebody cared enough to look out for him. He seemed a little upset to be interupted from his nap but it didn't take him long to get back to sleep.

The Lone Star Biker Rally is coming up next week and I will be playing on the Opening day at the Balinese Room Seawall Bar. I had played there once before when Jon Steel put on a slideshow featuring his surf photography & there was also a band called Herbn'Pipeline (urban pipeline). I was the opening act & it turned out to be a very cool gig. I think it is going to be the same lineup this Dec 21st down in Corpus Christi at the Executive Surf Club which I hear is very nice. I am looking forward to that gig.

The Balinese Room is probably mostly remembered these days becuase of the ZZ TOP song "Down at the Balinese" which was on the Fandango Album. It has an interesting history and was once a hangout of Howard Hughes and Frank Sinatra used to sing there also. You can read about it on Wikipedia.

The Lone Star Biker Rally is a big event and the Island will be crowded so I am thinking there should be alot of business. I guess I will find out on Thursday.

Saturday November 3rd I have another interesting Gig up in the Country at a private party & will be the opening act for a country singer named Davin James. I have never heard him before so I am looking forward to that.

I am also looking foward to playing at the Gravity Bar tomorrow. The weather should be nice & I really enjoy playing at the Gravity Bar. Part of the fun for me is that I never know what or who to expect. There are usually some tourists & it is interesting to meet poeple from different parts of the country. I consider the Target Market there to be Humanity. If you are out that way, Stop on by.

Thanks,


Marc

Gravity is Heavy

Last night I played until about 8:10pm at the Gravity Bar. Carl Smith was sitting in again on Upright Piano and it was a fun gig. At 8:30 (or so) They have an open mic that is hosted by Todd. He is a cool guy and a good musician also. He also plays every Friday night at Boudreaux's on the Bayou which is also located on the island.

I ended up being a little slow loading up my equipment since several of the local musicians that participate in the open mic were there & it is nice to be able to say hello and see how things are going. All different kinds of people. There is a lady who looks completely like hippie. A dude who is a street musician and a preacher & couple of other street musicians who I have gotten to know a little bit over the past year or so. I don't know them that well but fellow as fellow musicians we usually will chat for a bit and talk about how the day went & so on. All of them are nice people.

The open mic started a little late as it usually does and there ended being quite a good crowd and quite few musicians. It turned out to be a really cool night. It was kind of like what you would expect in Grenich Village in the 60s or something except nobody was reading poetry. It was very relaxing to me to get to hang around a little bit and get to hear some good music. The sound system was set up well and everybody seemed to be "on". I really enjoyed the whole thing. There was alot of energy & everybody seemed to be in a good mood & very supportive of each other. To me it really doesn't get much better than that.

Don't mess with Karma

Lately I have been thinking about what I call the Punk Rock Vibe (PRV). It is a state of mind that I would try to bring to a live performance but it is also sort of like Enlightenment from the standpoint that with the true PRV, A person would not care about what other people think so much.

It worked for Bob Dylan when he decided to go Electric. The folk crowd would boo him for playing electric music but he did it anyway.

Of course Bob Dylan was already famous when he decided to not care. Before that I think he did care. He would make up stories that he had been playing music and learning from all these obscure blues and folk artist when in reality they were just poeple that happened to be on a collection of records that he stole from another dude that condidered him to be a friend. I am not saying this to trash Bob Dylan either. I am a Bob Dylan fan and would be honored if he stole something from me.

I think part of what the PRV is about is not Selling Out.

It is hard not to sell out at some level if you want to play live music and make money. I guess the money part is where you have to sell out.

I guess the true PRV could be attained by playing live music in the forest and if your guitar fell over and you had your ears covered up then it would be a question if it really fell over or if maybe you were just drunk and they found you playing guitar in the forest. You see what I mean? It isn't all that simple.

Don't shoot the piano player

Hey Sports fans,

I used to be more of a sports fan myself but when the Houston Oilers left town it made me realize how much of a business it is. Now when I see professional sports, I see millionaires that will be millionaires even if there team loses. They aren't gonna be worried if I am broke so it is hard for me to worry about them winning or losing.

In other news a spider bit me on the ass. I don't have that much of an ass to go around so I don't really appreciate it. I used to be more towards the catch and release policy with spiders in the house but now I have an urge to stomp on them. I did resist the urge this morning. There was one walking acroos the living room floor and I put it in the back yard. It may find it's way back in to the house and bite me but I just don't enjoy killing things. Even spiders.

This past Sunday at the Gravity Bar was a little different. There is a guy named Carl Smith who plays piano at various bars on the strand and he brought one of his pianos to the gravity bar and now plays there from time to time. He came in on Sunday at noon and played while I was setting up from noon (opening time) to about 1:15 when I started. He plays a real piano, Not electric keyboards. I had never heard him before but I enjoyed what he was doing. He played some Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Tunes and even though he didn't have a PA system he did a good job on the vocals. He really has the Jerry Lee Lewis vocals down.

The Gravity Bar has very big doors all the way across side that faces the sidewalk where poeple are walking by and Carl had his piano at the west side on a small raised area where there are some couches. It is right next to the sidewalk. My stage area is about 15 or 20 feet west of that also near the strand sidewalk.

They had all the doors open this past Sunday since it was pretty nice weather. Carl had offered to sit in with my one man band so after I played a few songs in my first set, I invited him to play along.

It was kind of cool to have two separate stage areas with music coming from two directions. I also like the fact that it was a traditional piano which gave a kind of honky tonk sound and a little different type of effect on the vibe.

I started at about 1:15 and ended up staying until about 8pm. I started out by playing a few tunes, Then Carl joined in and then Carl played a tune or two by himself and then I played a couple of tunes and then Carl joined back in and so on. I liked being able to mix it up where it was really three different types of presentations rolled into one.

Carl ended up staying until 8 pm also and he seems like a cool guy. He told me he would be back next Sunday and I told him it was cool with me if he wanted to do it again.

"Show some Respect"

Loyd's comment on the last post about Benny Valereo made me think of something.

Benny Valereo Passed away back in January of 2006. I had posted something on this blog right before the funeral.

Benny was a Texas Blues Guitar player & he regularly hosted blues jams here on the west side of town. That is how I knew him.

I wrote out a post about him about the time he died & he is someone that I find myself thinking about from time to time.

Benny was the kind of guy who would not hold back when he talked to people. There was nothing phoney about him. Not from my perspective anyway. Whenever I played at his blues jam it would usually be Danny Velereo, Benny's brother playing bass. It was always a cool feeling if Benny would walk up to the stage in the middle of the set and pick up his guitar and start playing along. Hanging out with him & Danny was always a good feeling. They would sometimes play a game of pool & they seem to be pretty serious about it.

Speaking of Pool, There was one time when I first started my One Man Band that I had a one-time kind of gig at a place called Forgetabout it II. It had previously been called the Landing Zone and before that "The Horseshoe" I think it was the first place I met Benny & his band.

When I first got the the gig, There were a group of pool players sitting in the spot that was going to be the stage area for me so I let them know and they moved there chairs a little bit. I brought in the rest of my equipment and went ahead and asked them if I could go ahead and set up. The pool tables were right behind the stage area and they were there for a pool tournament.

There was one guy that was more vocal than the rest but as a group they made it known that they didn't care for live music during thier tournament. After I played and took a break they started being a little nicer. The one guy who was giving me a hard time came up and told me that he thought I was going to be too loud and he didn't really apologize but he started talking to me and being a little more friendly. It turned out that his daughter had been one of the musicians who I knew from Benny's jam and I had jammed with her several times.

Benny had showed up at this gig and was pretty quiet for the most part. He drank a couple of beers and kind of stood off to the side and just watched. During my break I told him how the pool players were being rude to me and then they seemed to warm up a little after I started playing.

He told me that he had had a word with them. I asked him what he said to them & he said that he had told them to "show some respect".

I think that was the only time he saw my one man band but it meant a hell of alot to me that he had taken the time to stop by & also that he was gave enough of a shit to look out for me at my gig.

Toad Herder

Hello,

I have been kinda busy lately so I haven't been keeping up my blog entries and I know that the masses and throngs are going to revolt and tear down the castle walls if deprived any further.


I saw two butterflys yesterday and I liked that since it seems like butterflys have not been around that much for several years until last year. This is not a scientific report, just what I noticed.

The other thing I have scientifically deduced is that the toads are back again also. I don't know where they went but last year I started seeing them again and this year I have quite a few in my yard. It makes it kind of time consuming to mow since I don't want to chop them up. I try to mow in a pattern where I start at one side and work towards the side where they have somewhere to go.

As I mow, I have to watch for them hopping and usually just see the grass moving so I know to look out for them.

Toads seem like peaceful creatures and I wish them all the best.

Last night I stopped over at the Abbey Pub to listen to John Richardson, Larry Evans, Dennis Clapp (Applehead), Robert Taylor play the opening set of the Blues Jam. I didn't sign the list and wasn't feeling like playing since I had several other things to take care of. When I walked in they were on stage but not playing. Larry told me that his bass amp was out and asked if I could let them borrow mine. I live about a mile from the Abbey Pub so headed home real quick to get my amp but according to the DPS officer that was stationed near by, I was a little too quick. Actually I went into the light on a yellow and it turned out to be a fast yellow. It was a close call but technechally I did run the light. I was hoping that he would see my driving record and give me a warning but I didn't want to argue with him since I knew he was doing his job. He let me know right away why he pulled me over but he then made me stand back behind my van while he walked around front and looked in it with his flashlight. He then went to his car and pulled me up on the computer. It isn't fun to stand out in front of a police car with the lights flahing and the headlights shining on me but I don't think the guy was trying to treat me bad or anything. It just sucks to get a ticket.

I have to go see Judge Yoeman before December and I am hoping that he will give me a break but I have no plans to make up any stories or call the cop a liar. I have been to Judge Yoeman's court before when he performed a marriage ceremony that I attnended.

I went on home after the ticket and grabbed my amp and carefuly drove back up the Pub.

After that I went back home ate a bowl of Cheerios mixed with grape nuts and then went to bed. I think I had some dreams but I don't know if I remember them. I think you are being a little nosey at this point. You don't need to know all my business.


Long Live the Toads!

George Martin

I caught the end of Little Stevens Underground Garage last Sunday night on the way home from Galveston & Then they had a broadcast of a David Gilmore (Pink Floyd) Concert and some interviews. David Gilmore was talking about his approach and how he tried to keep it fairly simple musically & focus on the vibe. That isn't exactly how he said it but it was something like that.

I was driving along today listening to 93.7, The Classic Rock station and they played Eleanor Rigby.

I have heard the song quite a few times but for some reason it struck me how good it is. The song itself AND also the the arrangement. Paul McCartney came up with most of the song but George Martin ("The Fifth Beatle") did the arrangment for the strings and it is very good.

I was noticing that he used the approach that David Gilmore seemed to be talking about. Not that the arrangment is overly simple but it is just very good. Really perfect for the song.

Stay Grounded

Last week I was setting up for my gig on Thursday night and I noticed my 15 watt Fender Tube guitar amplifier was not comeing on. I fooled with it a little bit and then I decided to go with plan-B and use my back-up amp.

When I got home I took a look at it and realized the plug was not any good. I replaced the plug with one from Wal-Mart ($2.97) and the amp worked fine.

The very next night, Friday, I was again setting up and this time I noticed that the amp I use to power my PA was not coming on. I got a screw driver and took a the plug apart and found a loose wire and re-connected it.

I also found that the ground wire had come loose and re-connected it.

That explains why I have been getting shocked by my microphone lately.

"Aqualung my friend"

Back when I was in 6th grade, I heard one of the other students was repeating the lyrics from the song "Aqualung" and talking about the record so I went to the record store near Westbury Square called Evolution Records and bought it. Evolution Records was a Hippie type shop and I thought it was one of the coolest places in the world at that time. They always had a hippie dude working behind the counter and insense burning. That and all the Rock records (now classic rock) displayed on all the walls. They had some black lights and lots of posters which they sold also.

I listened to it quite a bit and when the band "Jethro Tull" came to town about a year or so later I went to the concert. It was in the Sam Houston Coliseum which was right next to the Music Hall in downtown Houston. It is the same place the had Houston Wrestling with Paul Bosch, The guy from the I W marks commercial who wears the earing and says "If I.W. Marks can make my ears look this good..."

When I went to the concert I thought it was absolutely the coolest thing in the world. I went with a Junior High School friend named Paul Coke. One thing that struck me at the time was how much the band sounded like the record. Very good sound quality compared to other rock concerts. It was the tour associated with the next album after Aqualung which was called "Thick as a Brick"

Ian Anderson is a great songwriter and musician and I still feel like those are the two best Jethro Tull Albums. Not that the others aren't good but they don't have the same feel. To me anyway.

The song "Bungle in the Jungle" was a pop hit at the time but it didn't sound like what I expected Jethro Tull to sound like. The later albums are very good also but they are more Ian Anderson as a Solo Artist compared to the early Jethro Tull which sounded more band oriented to me.

Aqualung was big album as far as impact on Rock. It had sort of a metal sound but also was folky at the same time. There is alot of Acoustic Guitar and each song is very strong on it's own. The whole album seems to fit as group and there are quite a few refences to the church and how they got it wrong. It was sort an early attack on the "moral majority" mentality.


The reason I was thinking about Jethro Tull & Aqualung is that I was driving home from a gig last week and they played the album at midnight.

I still have the record. Not the original one from when I was a kid but I bought another copy at a used record store about 10 years ago.

It is my Internet Album Pick of the week.

Musical Musicians

There is a pub down the street from my house where they have a blues jam every Tuesday. Last night I stopped by & listened to the guys play for a little bit.

I find it very relaxing to listen to live blues & even more when you know the people playing it.

"Applehead" was jammng for a while with the band & then brought up a young guy that they call "Sparky" . Applehead and Sparky are real people by the way. That is just what everybody calls them & they don't seem to mind. They are some young guys and both excellent musicians.

About that time the band took a break and they cranked up the Juke Box. It is a sports bar and they normally have the Juke Box pretty loud & they had some hip hop sort of stuff coming out of it so I decided to go ahead and head back home.

As I was walking out, Larry Evans walked by and said "come on lets play" So I went ahead and grabbed my guitar and set up.

When I jammed, Larry Evans was playing bass. John Richardson was on drums. Sparky was playing guitar also.

On about the second tune or so I looked back during the middle of the song and there was John Richardson playing Bass and Larry was playing drums. They had switched without me even noticing.

The jam continued & then John & Sparking switched & John started playing Guitar & Sparky was playing bass. The amazing thing is that the music really was steady on each different configuration. Blues isn't the most technically dificult music to play but they also kept the feel going which is the big deal.

It was a hell of a good time

My hands are clean

The other day I was in an eating establishment grabbing some coffee & a breakfast sandwich on my way out to Galveston to play a gig.


I placed my order at the counter and then I decided to use the restroom.


I was washing my hands and noticed that there were not any paper towels but they did have two of those air dryers.

There was a dude at one of the air dryers so I used the other one.

I really didn't pay much attention to the guy but then I noticed something seemed strange.

Seemed like he was kind of lingering. His hands should have been dry but he kept waiting.

We didn't speak and I didn't look directly at him but I knew he was up to something.


Then I figured it out.


The door to the batroom opened inward and someone need to grab the handle to open it.

He wanted me to open the door and get germs on my hand and then he was going to get to walk on through without having to touch the door handle.


One problem for him was that he didn't know who he was dealing with. I kept on drying my hands & then the dryer ran out of time so I pushed it again.


At that point he was just standing there waiting so I quit drying my hands and just stood there also.

He had washed his hands first so it was up to him to open the door. That was my thinking.

We stood there for several seconds and he finally accepted defeat and just walked on over and grabbed the door handle.


Besides that, Not much else to report.

The Bo Diddley Beat

Week before last I was at Guitar Center on my day off from work. I was browsing in the Percussion section & found a pair of small maracas fo $10.

When I got home I tried to figure out a way to play a maraca along with my one man band. I really wanted to figure out away to use my hand since that would give the natural sound.

I experimented for a while and really couldn't come up with a way to hold it and still be able to play gutiar. I took one of them and sawed the handle off and put some tape on it to make it easier to hold & it was much better.


I have played two shows now using the additional sound and I am very happy about it.

I am able to hit percussion sounds on parts of the beat that I was not able to hit with my bass drum/snare drum configuration.

I think this is a biggest one-man-band break through than I have had since maybe adding the Bass Drum.


Thanks for tuning in.

The Hightailers / Gravity Bar

This past Saturday Night I did a gig with the Hightailers. I know Little Screaming Kenny from the Shakespeare Pub Blues jam and set up the gig with my good friends at the Gravity Bar in Galveston.

It was a great gig. Everyone in the band was very cool. They also have a group of friends that came the show also & they were very cool also. Basically they are a bunch of hippies. I mean that in the best sense.

At about midnight I was sitting at a table off to the side kind of relaxing and listening to the music & they all were out on the dance floor. It was like going to church. You would have had to have been there.

They play every Thursday at the Last Concert Cafe. Check em out. The poeople are nice and the music is top notch.

Update

The guitar seems to sound good. Better than it did before it broke in two.

About like it used to before I dropped it the other time.

Red Guitar

Whats up Dog?

I posted this picture over a year ago. Nickel (the boston dog) came to work with Sean who used to work at the Vintage Bar where I used to play. They had a fire a few months back and now they have shut down. I spoke to the owner, Tina, a few weeks ago. She has always been very kind to me and never turned me down for a gig when I needed one. I wish her the best.

About a year ago, I taped an electric guitar pick-up in the red guitar in the picture and started using it in my show.

I bought the guitar over 20 years ago from Rockin Robin on Shepherd. It was in a washtub of discounted items. It had a crack in the neck so I glued it back togeather with Epoxy. I use it to play slide guitar and sevaral other tunes in my live show. I used it to record a couple of the songs on my CD also. "The Houston Bars" and also Robert Wilkin's "Rolling Stone". I like the Guitar. At one point it was the only guitar I had.

Last Sunday at the Gravity Bar in Gavleston I played for about an hour & then I played a couple of tunes on it. WHen I went to put it back on the Guitar Stand, The whole stand fell over and the Gutiar Cracked in two in the same place. The break was on the HeadStock right where it was originally cracked about 20 years ago.

I had noticed lately that that the guitar was not sounding quite the same so I am pretty sure it was already cracked or weak or whatever. I have dropped guitars before and not broken them & am pretty sure it was already needing to be worked on.

It did kind of throw me off when it happened. It took me a while to get relaxed again but I did stay pretty well focused at the time. It did shorten my list of songs. There are some songs that I can play on Electric that I normally play on Acoustic but there are several that I really needed the Acoustic. Originally, I was hired to play for 4 hours at the Gravity Gig but as the weeks went by I started playing longer each time and now play about a 6 hour gig.


Yesterday I went to Home Depot and bought some small nuts and bolts and washers. The Bolts are one inch long and are the skinniest ones they have. I drilled some holes through the Headstock and then appliedCarpenters Glue and bolted it togeather. The Elmers Carpenter Glue Label says to let it sit 24 hours before using.

I am going to string it up when I get home but it looks like it worked pretty well and I am hoping that it will work out OK. I think it will since the break was on the Headstock and will not affect the fretboard or the spacing of the frets from the nut.


This post is officially over.


Bye!

One Man Yoda Band

My friend at work, Arnold, Gave me this today. It was a model of a stage set up for KISS but I converted it to a One Man Band and put it on my desk.

What a cool thing it is.

Thanks Arnold.

Austin City Limits

I usually dont watch Awards Shows but I am relaxing here at home watching the Grammys. They just gave the best pop vocal album to John Mayer.

I am not going to watch the whole show since I got stuff to do. I am thinking about heading over to the Shakespeare Pub to check out the Blues Jam with my old friend "Spare Time" Murray. We don't hang out or anything but he has been hosting that blues jam for quite some time now. I think it was around 1994 or 95 when I first went over there and checked it out. I didn't really have much experience playing in front of people and he was always cool about letting me get up and jam.

But back to the Grammys.

I can't figure out why the sound is so poorly done. When the Dixie Chicks sang the mix was terrible. Seems like they are trying to capture the feel of the big room and making it sound like there is an Echo.

They need to get who ever does the sound for Austin City Limits. I remember when Tracy Chapman was on that show. That is the way sound should be done.

Well, Thats my beef for now.


Later

Get in the Road

I always liked that song. It may be called "in the Middle of the Road" The Pretenders were one of my favorite 80s bands & that song in particular. I love the lyrics and also the delivery.

Come on Baby
Get in the Road!
Oh yeah baby
in the middle of the road

Then she does the meow & breaks into the Harmonica Solo.

It is not a blues song but at the same time it is. To me anyway.


Last night I got to meet another cool person. Tre Ridings came out to the show at Molly's Pub to do what he does. He is a professional Photagraper & he is (professional). He had a job to do and it wasn't his first time to do it. When they want pictures of the big Rock Stars, He is a guy that they call. They also called him to take pictures of me.


The story and the pictures are for a "local bands" feature but I don't think he would have done it much different if I was a major rock star.

He took photos in two settings. Quite a few of me doing the One Man Band Show and also some out by the Street. That was his suggestion. Right next to the street in fact. He told me to bring a guitar and had me sit on the curb & also took some standing up. He told me where and how to stand and sit and also where to look. Being Saturday Night, Westhemier was busy and I really liked the idea of being out in the road. That is what the Blues is sort of about anyway. Or maybe not so much what it is about but it just kind of fits.

Again, I am not going to lie, It was cool experience.

Look for the pictures in the Feb 22nd Weekend Preview Section of the Houston Chronicle and also on thier Web Site. I will post a link when they get it on there.


Adios Amigos!

Don't make friends with the band

I can't remember the name of the movie but I did like it alot. It was about a high school aged kid who became Rock & Roll reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine. One of the things that one of the other Reporter Dudes told him was "Do not make friends with the band" but he ended up kind of breaking that rule.

I always thought that would be one of the coolest jobs in the world.

Yesterday I met with the hip and cool Sara Cress who covers the live music scene for the Houston Chronicle. She recorded the interview and she told me that there will be a PodCast whre people can hear it on the Chronicle's Handstamp Website. The print portion will be in the Preview Section of the Thusday Paper on Feb 22nd. I will get back to you with the details as the become available.

I am not experienced and being interviewed and I was a little nervous about it but she seemed to know what she was doing. We shook hands and sat down at a table and she turned on the recorder and started asking questions.

It would have been what many people consider the perfect date. We just talked about me. Actually I did most of the talking and she never interupted. Seriously though I could tell that it wasn't the first time she had done this. I already knew that but it did make the whole process alot easier to have a real Rock & Roll Reporter asking the questions.

I am not going to lie. It was a cool experience.

Endangered cranes also victims of Florida storm

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/03/whooping.cranes.ap/index.html

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- All 18 endangered young whooping cranes that were led south from Wisconsin last fall as part of a project to create a second migratory flock of the birds were killed in storms in Florida, a spokesman said.
The cranes were being kept in an enclosure at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Crystal River, Florida, when violent storms moved in Thursday night, said Joe Duff, co-founder of Operation Migration, the organization coordinating the project.
The area of the enclosure was unreachable by workers at night, and all the birds were found dead, Duff said.
"It's very traumatic to the whole team who put so much time and effort into these birds," he said Saturday.
He speculated that a strong storm surge drew the tide in and overwhelmed the birds or they were electrocuted from lightning strikes reported in the area. The official cause of the deaths was not immediately known.
The thunderstorms and at least one tornado that hit central Florida caused widespread damage and killed at least 20 people.
For the past six years, whooping cranes hatched in captivity have been raised at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in central Wisconsin by workers who wear crane-like costumes to keep the birds wary of humans.
Ultralight aircraft are used to teach new groups of young cranes the migration route to Florida. Then the birds migrate north in the spring and south in the fall on their own.
Duff described the loss as an "unavoidable disaster" for the whooping cranes project. Ironically, for the first time in six years, an entire group of young birds reared at the Necedah refuge had made it to the Florida refuge without the loss of a single crane.
The various groups and agencies working on the project had seen the size of the flock grow to 81 birds with the latest arrivals, but the loss of the young cranes drops the total back to 63, and there may have been additional losses.
Operation Migration is part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. Partnership officials and Duff said the work would continue. Chicks are expected to hatch in two months, he said.
The whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America, was near extinction in 1941, with only about 20 left.
The other wild whooping crane flock in North America has about 200 birds and migrates from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast. A non-migratory flock in Florida has about 60 birds.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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B.B. King Released, Back to 'Old Self'

By MONICA RHORThe Associated PressSaturday, January 27, 2007; 10:09 PM


HOUSTON -- B.B. King was discharged from a Galveston hospital Saturday following treatment for a fever and was "back to his old self," a spokeswoman for his management agency said.
The 81-year-old, Grammy-winning bluesman was "feeling fabulous," said Tina France, vice president of Lieberman Management of New York.

King had been scheduled to perform Thursday at the Grand Opera House, but was admitted to The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said Paul McCarthy, a hospital administrator.
King still plans to perform Tuesday in Fort Worth, France said. Concerts that had been scheduled before then in Galveston, Orange and Tyler will be rescheduled for June, she said.
King, who has a history of diabetes, had a 100.4-degree fever following a bout with the flu, and monitoring was required because of his age, said France. Doctors treated him with antibiotics, she said.
He was kept in the hospital's elderly acute care unit as a precaution, said John Koloen, a spokesman for the hospital in Galveston, about 50 miles southeast of Houston.
With his trademark guitar that he named "Lucille," King is one of the nation's most influential and best-known blues musicians. His long list of hits includes "The Thrill is Gone," "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "You Upset Me Baby," and he was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987.
He has become a spokesman in the fight against diabetes, and in December President Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

BB King

I played the gig last night & it was real busy.

I did a warm up set at 7 pm and we had quite a few poeple come in that were early for the BB King Show.

I played until about 10 til 8 & then I was going to wait till 9:30 & do my normal show & try to make sure I was playing when the BB King Concert ended so I could get some of those folks to come in. We had the doors to the club open so they could hear the music on the way to the parking lot.

After I played my warm up set, I walked over to Grand just to check out the scene & there was dude there holding a guitar. I asked him if he was going to get BB King to sign it and he told me that they had just taken Mr. King to the hospital. I checked the news today and am hearing that he is in good condition & they are expecting him to get realeased soon.

But at that time, It was kind of a drag. A real downer.

I went ahead and decied to go ahead an play some more since all the people were there and the place got packed. I did my best to put on a good show and be professional but I had this wierd kind of feeling. I normally am pretty happy if the house is packed but in this case it was hard to be happy when knew the only reason it was so croweded was because BB King was sick.

The other thing that kind of wierded out the vibe was that the a good portion happy Hour Crowed was still hanging around & I don't think they really appreciated the club being so busy. The happy hour folks (at any bar) can be kind of lould after a couple of hours of being happy and these folks were no exception. They provided a wall of noise that was not the exact backdrop of sound that I was looking for. I don't like to play loud and it kind of takes away the part of the show where you are able to bring it down and to more intracate things or play a slowers song with feeling type of thing. Still, They were spending money so I couldn't complain.

When I first drove up to the venue BB Kings Bus was parked in front of Whisky's Pub and the door was open. I was going to ask the dude standing there if he could get Mr. King to autograph the album cover I brought (Live at Cook County Jail) but he kind of gave me a look that made me feel like he wasn't in the mood to be aproached. I realize now that if BB was sick they probably didn't want to be chatting with folks. I can understand that. I want to be clear. It wasn't anything unfriendly but he just wasn't making eye contact when I looked at him & I didn't want to bother anybody just to get an autograph. I had been secretly hoping that with me being there all afternoon setting up that the opportunity might come up.

I did get to briefly meet James the Blueshound and his lovely wife Colleen. He came up the stage and gave me sticker & I did get to say hello and shake hands but I was pretty busy trying to do the show. They are nice folks. I know them from my email contact mostly. I had talked to James on the phone before. They do the concert caledar for KPFT and list all my shows as well as anybody elses who sends them in. They are really cool about it and do a great job. In the past three years I have come to really appreciate the work that they do. You can hear thier show "Howling the Blues" every Sunday from 2-4 on 90.1 on your fm dial or 89.5 in Galveston.

I did see a couple of other famiar faces in the crowd also.

The thing that hit me the most was the guy who brought the guitar to be autographed. He had a look of real disappointment on his face when he was telling me that BB King was sick. BB King is truly a blues legend. A guy that can bring more than just a blues show. He is a salesman of the blues and also someone who can reach out to people and get through. He makes em feel good.


I know he is 82 years old but I am hoping that he is out touring the country playing blues for several more years.


I wish him well.

BB King

Everybody knows who BB King is. He is known as the "King of the Blues".

I am not going to try to do some kind of review on him since it would be lame.

Tomorrow I will be playing next door to his gig. He is at the Grand Opera House in Galveston and I will be right next door at Whiskys Pub. I don't think there will be any competition since he is afterall BB King. Poeple have lined up in advance and bought tickets for his show.

His show starts at 8pm so I am hoping some of the blues fans will stop in and check out my show also since I will be playing until about 1:30.

I am going to bring the record jacket for "Live at Cook County Jail" Just in case I get the chance to ask for an autograph but I doubt I will get one since I am not big on bothering people. I know they get people coming up to them all the time telling the same things. Not that I wouldn't want to meet him but if I get the chance I will wave or say hello. That would be cool enough. BB King is now 80 years old and he is still traveling around the country doing what he enjoys doing. He is a true traveling blues man. I will probably bring my camera so I can take a picture of his bus.

Hopefully it will not be raining. The last three gigs I have done have all been on rainy days. It didn't keep the people from coming out Saturday Night but Sunday was slow and once again I found myself loading and unloading my equipment in the rain. I learned a couple of years ago that I need to bring extra clothes, socks, & Shoes so I can have some dry clothes to change into. A couple of years ago I was doing a gig at a place called Sports and More on Barker Cypress & I got wet when I was unloading my equipment for the gig and I ended up getting sick and staying sick for several weeks.

Looking at the clock I see that our time is up for today.

Thanks,

Marc

Weather Report

Currently we have rain and drizzle with a a chance of catching a cold.


There is a low pressure system moving our way bring some cool air and a chance of continued precipitation. As the front moves in expect the moisture coming up from the Gulf to destabelize the atmosphere.

There is a 47% chance of rain for next Tuesday but we have no Idea if it is going to rain tonight or not.

Also, If you want some very important news that may save your life you need to tune in tomorrow at 4:00.

If you have to work tomorrow at 4 then it is just too bad. You are going to die.


Just remember that our News Team Cares about Texas. We love you.

Hollywood Marketing

Have you ever been watchng a movie at a friends house & then all of the sudden they get to the Sex Scene. To me it is kind of wierd. You gotta pretend like everything is normal I guess.

Why the hell do they have to have the sex scene anyway?

Why don't they show when Angelina Jolie takes a dump?

Do all the Movie Stars use some kind of new colonics or something where they never have to take a dump?

How can you possibly just sit through a movie where the stars are not allowed to crap?

That is just cruel!

Whooping cranes make a strong comeback

http://www.physorg.com/news86461276.html

The yearly migration of the whooping cranes has returned them to Texas's Aransas National Wildlife refugee with 237 of the birds returning.


These numbers combined with the number of birds currently in captivity brings the total population of the birds to a record 518, making it the first time in 100 years that their population has totaled more than 500, The Washington Post reported. The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America and was on the brink of extinction 70 years ago when they numbered 20. U.S. wildlife officials call the birds' new population a comeback story that shows has a good conservation effort can save a species. "The whooping crane continues to mirror the success of endangered species recovery when man sets his mind to it," said Tom Stehn, the national whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Copyright 2006 by United Press International

2007

Well, it is 2007 & it still feels about the same to me as 2006 except it is a little cooler.

Last Gig of the Year

Tomorrow I will be headed out to Galveston to play at the Gravity Bar.

I am there from 2 to 8pm & then they have an open mic night.

I am hoping it will a busy sunday since the weather is supposed to be nicer & it is a 3 day weekend.


Who knows?

I will find out tomorrow.

keeping up with stella

My guitar amp was sounding kind of weak. I thought it was being drowned out by the bass amp that I just started noticing the high notes were sounding really weak so I decided to swap out the tubes.

Not all the Tubes. Just the two power tubes which in this case woud be Groove Tube EL84s. It is a small amp and just has two power tubes and I think 3 pre-amp tubes. I left the pre-amp tubes alone but I had a set of Groove Tubes with a 5 rating. I had been using 4s but they were out last time I went to buy some so I went with the 5s.

They rate them between 1 & 10 with 10 being the cleanest. The lower numbered ones break up easier and provide a little better blues tone. The heavy meatal players would like the higher rated ones.

Groove Tube is a company buys a bunch of tubes and tests them and matches up the sets. I have been using the EL84-S version. They have some that are called R's also which are made in Russia and I like them in my Pre-Amp Section of this amp. The Russian made ones are a little cheaper but since I have been happy with the sound, I have been trying to stay with the same tubes.

I try to buy a set as soon as I replace them so I will have a back up set in case one goes out.

I know most people aren't going to be that interested in my tubes but so what. I got nothing else to talk about right now except maybe my bass amp cabinet that I just put togeather.

My Carvin 15" 600 Watt Speaker came in the Mail (UPS) and I put in in a Speaker Box. I had an old Radio Shack 15 inch PA Speaker but it was worn out so I decided to make a bass cabinet out of it & see how it s0unded.

I did put some strips of 1x2' wood in it to reinforce it and break up the midrage coloration & I also stapled some fiberglass filler on the walls to deaden it a little. I have a book about making speaker boxes that I bought at Radio Shack several years ago. It has all kinds of formulas for figuring out box and port size but I just decided to try this out and see how it sounds. If it doesn't work I can always build another box.

It sounds pretty good at home & I will find out how it works at the gig this weekend. I will keep my other bass cab sitting on top of it and experiment by switching back and forth to see how they compare & also try using both at the same time. The Gravity Bar is an open air type place so I can get away with it being a little louder at the source and still not blowing everybody way.

I am also experimenting with using my other Twin Reverb as a guitar amp & have been experimenting at home usine a dual amp set-up. I can use both amps or either one by itself and I like having the extra options but I may not do it at to many show since I already have alot of stuff to haul around. I will know more how I feel about it after I play a few gigs.

I wish my Blues Junior had the tilt back legs like the Twin Reverb. I am thinkin about making a stand for it so I can tilt it back. They sell em at the Guitar Store but I don't want to spend any more money than I have to right now since I have had to buy several things lately.

Is all this keeping you on the edge of your seat?

I didn't think so.

It is not good for your back anyway.

Well, I just made some pop corn so I think I will eat it now.


Keep the faith.

More Amazing News

That's what you want so that's what you get.

The first big news is that I built a cart.

Excieted?

Well, There is more.

It is collapsable. The walls will fold down so I can load it in my truck.

Keep your cool here. I know that is alot of news but Somebody has to live in my world.

It should make it much easier to load up my equipment and since I used hinges for the sides, I can more easily fit it in my truck.

I started thinking about it when I played at the Balinese and the actual club is a long walking distance (Relatively) from where I Parked (on land).

I bought one of those furniture movers with four caster type wheels. They swivel and roll. I took the wheels off and put them on some 2x4s and put a piece of plywood on top of that. Then I used hinges from Home Depot to connect the side walls. I connected the front and back walls with hinges so that when you fold the side walls down then the front walls fold down on top of them.

I will keep you updated on this exciting information. Email me if you have questions.

Since I had bought a more powerful bass amp I decided I needed an additional Speaker Cabinet for it & I purchased a 600 Watt Speaker from Carvin (carvin.com) I am going to put it in a PA speaker box that I already have and see how it sounds. I will probably use it and the speaker box that I already have. At least in bigger venues anyway. My current speaker is rated at 400 watts so I will be a little less worried about the 600 watts speaker getting fried by the 450 watt amp. Probably wont happen but if it did I would be dead in the water and you know we don't want that.

I also stopped by Radio Shack and bought some connectors to make a new speaker cable. I already have some speaker wire so I will probably solder that tonight depending on how I feel.


There you have it. Enough Exciting news to keep you going for weeks.

I am playing my third anual Eve of Christmas Eve (Dec 23rd) Concert this Saturday night at the Stag's Head Pub. Stop on by if you get tired of the corporate hype and have an ale or soda pop. They make some good food also. It is an authentic English Pub with barstools and everything.

Return Policy

Hey,

It's me again.

Marc.


I took it easy today except for unloading my equipment and also driving over to Guitar Center.

Last night at the Balinese in Galveston my new bass amp went out again. Just went dead.

Luckily it was when I was setting up and checking my sound so I had time to go out and get my back-up amp. It is a guitar amp but I can use it to power my bass cabinet in a pinch. And I was in a pinch. I was playing as part of a presentation that included a Photoagraphy Slide Show by Jon Steele and also a live performance by Herb'nPipeline, a rockin Reggea band from Corpus so I had set slot of time and no time for major equipment failure.

I have really only heard good things about the GK amps but after the same thing happening two times in less than 3 weeks, I decided to return it and get another brand. I went with a Behringer 4500 which is a 450 watt model. More power than I need but hopefully not more power than my bass cab can handle.

I will keep you up to date on how it all works out.

The gig at the Balinese turned out to be a good one. They moved at the last minute to the Casino Bar which is where there used to be a casino and I think Howard Hughes even hung out there.

Everybody was very cool. Jon Steele is a very positive guy and did a great job putting the event togeather as well as bring a hell of a slide show of his photagraphy. He travels the world and takes pictures of Surfers and waves. His work is featured in the Surfing Magazines.

The band Herb'nPipeline turned out to be some cool guys also. The bass player even offered to loan me his amp when he found out that mine had just gone kaput.

They played good music and all were very supportive.

It was an overall great event and I thank Jon Steele for inviting me to participate.

The only drawback to playing at the historic Balinese Room is that it is a long way from the Seawall out to the end of the pier where the clubs are. It is a long hallway or you can take the outside route and walk just above the crashing waves. It was foggy out there last night and too wet to go outside.

I need to build a cart that I can carry my stuff with. I used a furniture mover cart last night and just set a large plastic tub on it and threw stuff in that.




OK . I am starting to ramble.

The time has come to be gone.

Howdy

Hey,


I don't know who is reading this but I hope you are doing fine.

It has been a while since I typed antything out and posted it here. I have been busy mostly with stuff & also some things. Not to mention other stuff also. So you can see how busy I have been. Right?

I went and saw the Casino Royal James Bond Movie. I liked it OK. It is a good movie but I was disapointed that they didn't have that many gadgets. They had a car but didn't really show too much in the way of cool buttons or switches. Also they didn't have a cool watch or a briefcase. No special Shoes. Nothing like that.

My new bass amp that I wrote about in the post just below this one went out on me about a week ago. Last Sunday, I played one song at the Gravity Bar and then it just died. No smoke, Sparks, or anything else dramatic. It just went dead. The light would not even come on.

I went over to Guitar Center on Monday and found Jeremy, the dude who sold it to me, and he swapped it out for another one. I think it was just a fluke. Everybody says that Galian Kruger makes good products so I am just thankful that they were cool about it. I had bought about 32 days ago and the return policy listed on the receipt sad 14 days. It does have a 2 year warranty but I would have had to buy another one while warranty work was done and then I guess just return that one. Luckily I had an extra Twin Reverb that I used as a back up and it worked very well. I am not sure that it doesn't sound better than the GK but I don't want to use it for a bass amp. I like having it as a back-up for my guitar amp, bass amp, and PA. I had hooked it up to my Bass Speaker Cab and there was no problem.

I am headed over to Mollys Pub later tonight and then tomorrow I am playing a set at the Balinese Room in Galveston as part of a Presentation by Jon Steele, a Well known Surfing Photographer. I am not sure what to expect but it should be fun. I am opening for a Reggea Band called HerbnPipeline (Urban Pipeline) which is somewhat of a rocking Surf type band. I will find out more when I get there.



Thats about all the news I got for now.

Except last night I was outside on my driveway and the geese were flying over. It was foggy so I couldnt see them but they were low and honking quite a bit.

If I only had a Brain

I decided to practice a little last night for the One Man Band Show & I went to turn on my Bass Amp & It made a clicking noise but no sound. It would work for a second right when turned on but then something inside it would click & it would go dead.

I can't afford to worry about things not working so I decided to buy a new amp to replace it. I can still use the Cabinet from my Carvin Amp but will power it with this thing I bought today at Guitar Center. Jeremy over there in Guitars at the Westheimer Location helped me and was real cool about everything.

I took it home and plugged it in and it seems to sound pretty good. It has a button to push for active pickups & I like that & it has more tone controls than I had before. It also has a direct out that I can run to a PA System if I play in in a large venue that has it's own sound.

From what I could tell today, It does sound better than my Carvin. The Carvin was a good amp though. I bought it 3 years ago and it has seen quite a bit of work. Nearly 200 gigs & also used it to practice on also. It was a good value and I am not mad that it wore out. I may send the chassis to them and see if they can repair it.

The new amp is also slightly more powerful & has more effects. I don't know if I will use them but it basically has more features and was a good match to my existing speaker Cab.

Thats all I got for now. I will know more better how it sounds after the gig Saturday but I am pretty optimistic at this point.

2 votes for Kinky

I had the day off today from work so I decided to go ahead and vote early.


I heard the Repulican Radio DJs all talking about John Kerry but for some strange reason I didn't see his name on the ballot.

It felt good to vote so we celebrated by heading over to Katy Mills Mall and buying a couple of slices of Cheese Pizza. I have eaten there a few times before going to the movies & I know the trick is to ask them to stick it in the oven for an extra minute or two and burn the cheese a little.

We went over the the Movie Theater but I didn't see anything that was starting anytime soon that I wanted to see. We walked around the mall & went into the SPCA and looked at some cats & that was about it for our voting celebration festivities.

I also took a few minutes to fill out my KPFT listener ballot to elect board members. That was a little less fun. They had a statement from each canditdate and it didn't sound like any of them are hugely big on music.

All that voting has made me tired.

I guess I better take a nap.

Maybe I will eat a peice of chocolate.

No, I think I will wait til after I wake up.

Maybe I could have one peiece now and one when I get up.

Now you know what it is like to be wired into my brain.

If you gotta know all my business, I am planning to practice a little & then load up the equipment for tomorrow's gig in Conroe.

The Space that Belongs to Me

Hey,

I opened up a MYSPACE Bands Page.

I never thought I was a MYSPACE kind of dude but they allow songs to be posted for free & I thought I would try it out.

If you want to check it out go to www.myspace.com/marctwymanonemanband


I have four songs on there from the CD if you want to hear em.

OK,

Now get back to work!

The Positive Side

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." (Dr. Hunter S. Thompson)

I got that quote from the Blog for the Gavleston Music Scene web page. I don't know if it is completely acurate but I like the way it sounds.

This past weekend was a good one on the Strand. First of all, my old artist friend (that I am not really friends with) walked by and stuck his head in the Gravity Bar when I was playing. I spoke to him but he seemed a little shy to say anything back. Still it has been a while since I saw him and it makes me feel good to know he is still out there doing his thing.

Got a chance to chat with some of the other local regulars also & that was cool also.

There were a brother and sister that showed up right when I started playing & they ended up hanging out for about 4 hours. Roger & Lisa. They are from East Texas and Lisa told me that she had just lost her husband a month and a half ago & Roger brought her out to the island to help them relax. Seems like a pretty decent thing for a brother a brother to do but I got the impression that they enjoyed hanging out togeather anyway. They turned out to be "Good People" Roger had a few drinks along the way & was making quite a bit of noise & I think quite a few people actualy came in since it sounded like a real party. After about 4 hours he seemed like he had enjoyed a fair number of beverages and he started getting even rowdier. When ever someone would leave he would yell at them to "Tip the Band" at one point he went out in front of the bar and started hawking or whatever it is they call it when carnival people advertise on the street. He was actually giving people hell if they didn't come in.

He was trying to help me do good. I guess it is his nature. I never met him before and I really don't know him but I was touched by what he did. Not because I wanted him to harrass customers but becuase for whatever reason he was trying to do something to help me. It was cool thing to kind of hang out with these folks and it made me feel good that I could make them feel good for a few hours.

I was glad to have a good gig since last week was real Cloyster Fork if you know what I mean. I was playing downtown at a place that I will call the Dancing CockRoach & someone that was sitting at a table with the owner requested that I play a particular song & since I didn't know the song and never want to learn it I responded with some of my well test marketed humor. They didn't get it I guess and by the next song they told me to get the hell out & were extremely rude about it. I was scheduled to start at 10 and by 10:25 the show was over.

Instead of not paying me, They wanted to make the Phuc U official by telling the manager to pay me $5.

The funny thing is that these people loved to do news stories about how they were helping the New Orleans Musicans.

I guess they don't feel the same love to Houston Musicians.

Still they had been drinking & maybe it was just the liquor talking.

I did get to meet a very nice guy named Oscar who works there. He worked in the Kitchen and he gave me a tip and also offered to make me some food. He seemed upset that I didn't take him up on it. I really wasn't hungry at the time but what a hell of a nice gesture.


This my friends is why I lam on this Quest. I don't actually have a destination that I know of but I am loving the journey.

Out here there are no stars.

This is the land where the Pharoh died.

LC & KW

I normally don't watch the smooth jazz show that comes on channel 11 sometimes but I had it on earlier with the sound down & I noticed they were featuring guitar players.

I turned it up and it was Larry Carlton & Kirk Whalum doing a song called "Cold Duck"

I have a couple of Larry Carlton LPs but I would have never recognized him. He used to have long hair & now it is short and gray. I always thought he was a good guitar player but I never realized how he could really rip it up. He was doing some strong shit. It was a funk jazz kind kind of sound coming from the bass & drums. They had a keyboard player also but Larry was playing some serious blues riffs and his technical ability is amazing. Very Clean but still mean.

Kirk Whalum was wailing also but I didn't turn it up in time to hear most of what he did.


Thats all I got right now. Got work to do.

Memorial Drive

I stopped by the Shakespeare Pub Sunday night for a couple of hours. Not a whole lot of customers but there were a few musicians. I played a few tunes with the house band members but it was not the House Band set. Little Screamin Kenny was showing me a guitar that he is thinking about purchasing & he wanted to play it so he sat in. Spare Time Murry is also the host of the jam was playing bass guitar and MC, Matt, was playing drums. A dude named Flash came up after a while and played keyboards.

It was kind of a fun jam. I started out with a Screamin Kenny Standard, "Too Tall to Mambo" I had never played it before in a band setting but I knew the words from hearing him do it quite a few times over the years.

It was louder than what I would normally play & there was no monitor so it was kind of hard to hear the vocals but I am better at dealing with that than I used to be. It is just kind of wierd to have to imagine what something sounds like instead of actually hearing it.

I was playing through my 15 watt Fender Blues Junior & it wasn't really cutting through real well with all the other bigger amps but there was planty of music coming from all the other guys that it wasn't a big deal. It was probably louder than it sounded to me since I was standing in front of the drums.

There was a dude who played before me that just plugged his guitar into the house amp with out turning any dials or tuning it up. It was kind of funny that he almost didn't play becuase he couldn't get his guitar case open. Thats the kind of entertainment you can get at these jam sessions. I find it better than TV.

Even when a jammer is really bad. It can be entertaining. It is more entertainment if the are really bad or Bad enough to be good.

I know when I first started going to the Jam Sessions over 12 years ago, I probably provided some of that type of "good" entertainment.

I have seen some pretty good players show up at Jam Sessions. Over the years at the Shakespeare Pub I have seen Chris Duarte, Michael Williams, Carollyn Wonderland, Joe Guitar Hughes, & quite a few other notables.

OK I gotta go.

Carvin Amplifier

My fellow Earthlings.

How do you do?

About 3 years ago in December I sent off for a Carvin Bass Amplifier. It is a relatively small amp. 100 Watts and a 15 inch speaker. It has been a good value and I have gotten good use out of it. I use it to practice and have used it for all fom my live One Man Band Shows & also about a dozen full band gigs also.

The bass guitar that I use has active pick-ups. I didn't plan to have active pick-ups or even think about it. It just happened that the Bass Guitar that I ended up with has em. There are some electronics inside the guitar and it uses one of those square 9 volt batteries. I think it is becuase of the active pick-ups that I get feed back when the bass guitar is close to the amp. It wouldn't be as much of a problem if I played the regular way. At least I don't think it would. To deal with this problem I have to place the amp at a certain distance and it seems to take care of it. The problem with having the amp off at a distance is that I can not reach over and adjust the volume or tone during the song. & even between songs it doesn't really work to have to get up, walk over, and make adjustments.

It is what is called a "Combo" amp. It has the amplifer and the speaker in one unit.

I decided to build a box tha would hold the amplifer part and run a speaker wire to the speaker. It will allow me to place it on the stage and be able to reach over and make adjustments much easier during the gig.

Today I went to Home Depot and bought a board, some wood glue and some screws and made a box and it seems to work like that just fine. I haven't painted it yet. I was thinking of painting it black but I am not sure I want to take it apart and paint it.

It will be a big help at certian times. One exmaple would be when I start playing & the venue doesn't have alot of poeple but then a crowd starts to build up.

People actually have a big effect on the acoustics of a room/venue. They actually absorb some of the sound or deaden it a little & some situations there is a lot of chatter. In a situation like that I would need to turn up the volume on all the instruments.

I guess the other situation is if I run all the customers off and need to turn it down.

Tuesday night Blues Jam

Seems like they should call it Tuesnight.

Something about the Day/Night combonation.

It doesn't seem to work for Sunday. The Sun/Night clash is obvious so the rule of common sense would apply. I like FriNight & WedNight (pronounced WesNight) but Monday is still going to have to be Monday Night.

I willl see if I can organize group of scholars to make it official.


They have had a blues jam on Tuesday nights down the street at the Abbey Pub. It used to be called Jeff's Sports Bar but he sold it and the new owner re-designed it and tore out the bar and a wall and made open all the way accross the bar is on the side instead of the middle.

I got there after 10:30 & I think what was the House band was still playing but a jammer or two sitting in. There was a dude in the middle of the stage playing bongos but I couldn't really hear him. They had him miked but I think the bongos were not close enough. I found myself watching him play and imagining what it would sound like.

I didn't know the drummer but I met him and he was a nice guy. Larry (from all the House Bands) was playing Bass. He is really good. That is about the best way I know how to say it. The young guy they call AppleHead was playing guitar and Orq Hisown Self was also playing Guitar. I don't know Orq but I am a fan of his music.

Barry Felt was there, a drummer dude I have know for maybe 7 or 8 years from the Blues Jams. I think I met him at the Shakespeare Pub but he used to also hang out the Jam Sessions that the 420 Band hosted in NW Houston.

I got to play a few tunes with Barry & Larry. It was great fun. Barry is really getting good at the blues shuffle on drums & Larry is an absolutely fabulous Bass Player. He has played with some of the best acts around town.

There were a couple of other "Jammers" there. They got up and played guitar & Harmonica & sang several tunes & then it was over.

The Flapper

The other day I noticed that our toilet was running after it was supposed to stop. It is the same age as our house and is about 14 years old has been a good toilet. The only mechanical problem I had ever had with was when the arm inside the tank broke a couple of times. It is the one that connected to the flusher handle. I had replaced it a couple of times & finally broke down & bought the metal one instead of the plastic and it has held up great.

I looked inside the tank and realized that it was time for an overhaul. It had one of those bulb type floats hooked up to a wire arm & the part that is supposed to close up when it gets full had a worn out rubber washer/gasket. I went to my local Home Depot yesterday and purchased a kit with a new type of flapper and float design.

I started taking it apart and when I took a good look at the new kit, I realized that it didn't have enough parts and the ones it did have were not compatible with my old parts. Still, I went ahead and took the tank off and took it outside and washed it out with the hose.

Today I went back to Home Depot to return the kit I had purchased and get a more complete one that had all the parts. I was waiting to speak to the Home Depot associate and there was a lady who had a clogged toilet and was discussing what type of Drano to buy. The guy was trying to tell her that nothing he had was really good for the type of clog she was talking about but I don't think he wanted to say anything bad about the products they had to offer. She kept asking basically the same question over and over and he wasn't really coming out and telling her what he was trying to say so I spoke up and told the lady that a liquid plumber probably wasn't going to do the job & She could try putting a garden hose down the toilet and then get someone to turn it on while she had it crimped & let the pressure build up in the hose and give a few blasts and see if that worked. The Home Depot dude said that sounded like a good thing to try so she finally left.

I got the complete kit and returned the other one and when I got home from work today I was able to complete the toilet overhaul and am now back in business.

My life may not be completely in order but my toilet sure as hell is.

Saturday Day

I haven't seen "Gus", The old artist dude for several weeks now. I hoping all is going well for him. I don't know if he was an actual rent payer so he may have been run off by the powers that be on the strand. Some of the artists actually pay rent to shopowners and have a spot reserved every week. I will be back out there Saturday October 28th. If he is not out there, I will probably ask around a little & see if anybody has seen him. If I do see him, I probably won't talk to him all that much but since I may not be out there on the Strand until next summer, I may spend a few extra minutes bothering him. He seems to not mind the attention as long as he doesn't have anybody looking at his art.

It was my first time to play on a Saturday. Parking is free on Sundays so I assumed it was on Saturdays also. There were some folks putting money into the parking meter receipt/pass dispensor & I told them it was free on the weekends. The guy pointed to the sign that said "Mon- Sat" & I stood there and looked at it like the Dumber Dude from Dumb and Dumber. Then I went ahead and got me a ticket.

It was a good day for the Blues as far as customers during the day at the Gravity Bar. They had a band called D.R.U.M (Devine Rhythm & I don't remember what the other two letters stand for). They set up while I was breaking down. They were playing on the stage at the other side of the Gravity Bar where the actual stage is located. I was set up in an area closer to the strand sidewalk so there was no problem getting in each others way. I heard them do a sound check & They did Bob Marley's "War" & they sounded very good. I would have stuck around but I was exhausted & Still need to drive home.

Thats all for now. I have to run a few errands & get out and about & enjoy the nice weather.

Howdy

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Or whatever the case may be.


It is a nice morning here in Katy Texas. The humidity is down a little bit and it feels good outside.


I just got my CD order back from Dallas. It is pretty much the same CD as I had before but I had a little mastering work done by Rock Romano & I also took one of the songs off that didn't really sound that good to me. I had recorded it using just the guitar only & it just didn't flow. Not that it was bad because it didn't have the bass & Drums. I just didn't get into the smooth rhythm. Maybe I wasn't tapping my foot & feeling it or something but I know it will be better when I do it next time. Besides, If a person is going to record a Robert Johnson song or song of his style, It really needs to be right. I th ink it was towards the end of the day when we did that one & It may have been that I was getting a little tired.

Brandon Shannon had really done me a huge favor and spent an entire Sunday setting up and recording back in December of 2005. He has now moved to Hawai and I need to drop him an email to see how he is doing. I met him when he was the sound man for the Armadillo Palace and he really is a good guy to know & hang out with.


The other cool thing that I had mentioned some time back is that when I contacted a local company here and asked about pricing of Duplicating/printing the physical CD itself, I got an email in response and it turned out to be from an old friend of mine from Dallas. It was complete fluke. I had been in contact with Marvin Shapiro from time to time but probably hadn't talked to him in a couple of years. He was a college friend of mine & we drank alot of beer & also did quite a bit of fishing at the local cow ponds & area lakes in East Texas.

It was great to have Marvin be involved in my CD & he really took care of me this time & I really appreciate his help but mostly it was cool just to have a reason to call him a few times and work on something togeather. If I ever get the money to make a DVD, I am going to ask him to do the camera part of it. It will probably be kind of expensive since I will need a sound recording dude and also the filming part and then have to get the sound part mastered and then edited to get the best parts. I really think that will be the best thing to use to show what I do so people can see the one-man-band aspect but also get to hear studio quality type sound.





Thats all for now.

Politics

I don't really watch that much sports anymore. I was Houston Oilers fan for a long time but when they up and moved it made me realize that it was really a business and the team didn't belong to the city or the fans. It kind of made me think about being a sports fan a little differently.

I was still rooting for the Houston Astros have another miracle comeback this season & I still will watch the rockets from time to time but it just isn't the same.

Yesterday, One of the NFL Players for Tennesse stomped on an oposing players head with his shoe and they had to give the guy 31 stitches. To punish the guy they suspended him for 5 games. http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/cp_f10029A.xml.html


I heard about the story on the news this morning and the newscaster dude said that it was a shame that children had to see stuff like this. I thought it was funny that alot more children were going to see it being re-played on the news in slow motion. It is kind of sickening to me when news people try to talk about caring about children or caring about Texas. They don't give a damn about anyone. If you think they care about you, wait til you are newsworthy & see how much they care. Do you want a news camera there pointed at you when you are being wheeled into an ambulance? Why do poeple need to see that anyway. Isn't it good enough to know someone got smashed up and may die or do you need a picture?

Speaking of caring about children. What about Congressman Mark Foley? He was on a committee to protect expoited children. I am sure he went to church every Sunday. Seems like the people who pretend to be the most moral turn out to be the wierdos.

Thats is another reason to trust Kinky Friedman. With a name like "Kinky" it is almost impossible that he will ever turn out to be a depraved pervert & even if he did he probably wouldn't be breaking a campaign promise.