The Royal Device

http://www.royaldevice.com/custom.htm












My friend Dennis Ginn sent me this web site. The Subwoofer is built using some sort of underground chamber & compression area. Just from looking at the pictures, I can only imagine how many hundred thousand dollars it would cost for a listening room like this one.

Click on the site and check out the pictures. It is crazy.

Wired!

I was supposed to play a gig in Galvetston today. I thougt it was just me playing but I found out the other day that it was going to be a double bill with me opening for a band called Fast Food Junkies. I had never heard of them before but they sounded like a band that I would like. They play Metal/Bluegrass or something like that. They have a web page that explains it which you can find if you Google the band name.

The problem with me doing show with another band is that it takes me too long to set up and break down my equipment. I have to load and set up a whole bands worth of equipment. So when I get done playing, The other band would have to wait to get set up. In reality, they usually don't wait so all my equipment gets intermingled with thier stuff. Not that I would worry about anybody stealing something or anything like that. Musicians are usually pretty cool about sharing equipment & being respectful. I am just used to loading everything in a certain order & know what to watch for with the different pieces (Drums/amps, etc.) & can avoid damage. The knobs on my bass amp stick out too far & get smashed easy. My smaller guitar amp is very tempramental & If I load it facing backwards, My bass drum's tuning keys will be hitting the knobs and also the guitar input which is very easy to damage because it is plastic & not metal like it should be. I always appreciate when people offer to help but I really have to do it myself. The truth is that it is probably just some sort of personality disorder.

One of the things I don't like about being a one man show is that you don't get the band comradery. The cool thing about doing a double bill gig is that you get to meet and hear the band & talk about music like junior high school, stuff like that. Who knows? I never know but it is the adveture that keeps things rolling anyway.

My point is this:

Since I had the day off, I decied to tackle a project I had been dreading for some months now. Our little house on what was the Katy Prarie has a central a/c unit but I decided to add a window unit in the den living area room or what ever it is. A few years ago I bought a 14500 BTU model at Home Depot but I evenutally realized that the wiring in our walls was not heavy enough to safely run it. I only bought the more powerful model becuase it was the most efficient and was Energy Star Compliant or something like that.

Today I added a circuit breaker and ran a wire to the unit. The guy at home depot who helped me was a department manager who had stopped by to take care of something on his day off. I had several questions and needed several items so I told the guy several times that I would figure it out and wait for someone else to come along. I just didn't feel right about keeping him at work but he kept telling me he was happy to help.

I had taken digital photos of my breaker box & also brought a picture we took when the house was being built 14 years ago. It was really helpful when I was explaining what I was trying to do.

I got 70 feet of wire, a 15 amp circuit breaker, a plug for the wall, & a thing made to fish the wires through the walls. I also bought some PVC and fitings so I could shoot the wire out of the top of the breaker box straight into the attic without having to try jamming it through the back of the box with all the other wires.

I took the little plate off of the weather proof box and looked for a replacement that had a hole in it but couldn't find one. I decided to drill a hole in the plate but it need to be almost an inch wide & the drill bits that big are about 20 bucks. Using a tip from the guy in the drill bit section, I taped sandpaper around the drill bit and spent about hour rasping out the hole.

It was a job fishing the wires and hanging out in my attic with sweat dripping off my face but I got it all done and now I am basking in the coolness as my muscles ache.

I is so proud of myelf.

Global Warming

This past weekend was pretty busy for me. I had a gig Friday Night, Worked at my Day Job for 9 hours on Saturday, & then had a gig Saturday Night also.

I woke up Sunday and relaxed for a little while & then spent about an hour or so unloading my equipment from the truck and setting it up in my practice room. After that I headed over to Lowes & Home Depot and picked up some Insulation for my attic and some Wind Turbine Roof Vents (like from back in the 70s) plus a few other odds & ends. The AC guy who checked out our styem and added freon last year recommened that we get the turbine vents. I also bought some roofers caulk/tar stuff, some rope, & some breathig masks to wear in the attic when I was doing the insulation.

My house already had three roof vents so all I had to do was get up on the roof and carefully remove them without tearing up the shingles. The vents I bought are made of aluminum and came in two parts. I went ahead and assmebled them on the ground and then carried them up to the roof and installed them (one at a time). Luckily I didn't run into one of those typical problems that seem to arise when a job is expected to be simple.

One thing I decided to do this time was to tie a rope on front of my house and throw it over & use it to hold onto while I was walking around. It was only rated for 50 pounds but I wasn't putting that much weight on it. My roof has a pretty good pitch in the back so it was nice to have something to hold to help stabelize while I was carrying the Turbines, Tools, Nails, roofing caulk and & stuff like that.

I got the vents installed without falling off the roof and then started working in the attic. I bought several bags of enviromentally friendly insulation. They are kind of bricked up and made to go in a blower machine. I didn't rent a machine so I was using an old broom to break them up and spread them around in the section of attic over my garage. It is an attached garage & shares the same attic as the rest of the house. The garage usually gets so hot in the summer that you could literally pass out.

I got the insulation done & was not exactly nice and fresh so I took a shower & we took the dogs out for a walk except I rode my bicycle.

When I came home from work today, the first thing I did was go to the garage to see if it was any cooler & then I went to the attic. The most noticeable difference was in the attic but the garage was better also.

I was really proud of myself.

I may not save the planet but the way engergy costs are going, I am sure it is going to pay off this summer.

Well there you have it. A few days in the life of Marc Twyman, a dude that sometimes refers to himself in third person.

Now I sleep!


But I will get back up and continue to fight Karaoke and all other forms of pure evil.

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.

WWW.MERLEHAGGARD.COM

http://www.merlehaggard.com/tour-concert-booking-info.html

Above is the shedule part of his web page.


I was sitting here listening to a favorite record of mine & when I say record I mean record. I like the album covers much better than CD Jewel case inserts. This one isn't too fancy though since it is "His Best" which is a collection of his MCA hits. I am not going to do a commentary on Merle but what an excellent job he does. The lyrics, music, mix, the overall feel of the music, not to mention the man himself. He is Merle. What more needs to be said?

I decided to look up his schedule and see that he is playing in Beaumont on March 24th. He appeared at a Rolling Stones Concert in Arkansas on March 9th & has several dates with Mr. Bob Dylan in April. My friend Larry Jackson saw a Rolling Stones Concert in California a couple of weeks ago and said the sound sytem was excellent and it was nothing like the Super Bowl half time show. I was busy taking a nap during the Super Bowl but I hadn't heard the best reviews. Larry said it was one of the best concerts he has ever seen and he has been going to Rock Concerts since the 60s. I have been too two Concerts with Larry; CSN&Y in 2001 and also the Neil Young Greendale show & personally vouch for Larry when it comes to his expertise on Rock & Roll Concerts.


Ok, We will no return you back to your regularly scheduled program.

Galveston

This past Thusday, I had a gig in Galveston at Whisky's All-American Pub. It was my first time to play on the Island. I left early so I could miss the traffic. The weather was great & it has been quite a few months since I had seen the ocean water so I decided to stop over at the Seawall and relax for a little while. I stopped by the Flagship Hotel since it is right at 25th street which is also the street that I need to turn at to get to the venue.

It was really a nice day. There was traffic cruising by on Seawall Blvd and People were buzzing by on bicycles, skates, & other contraptions. There were a few surfers & other people hanging around also but it was still very relaxing to be at the ocean. The breeze was coming from the water so the air was fresh and the sound of the waves was there also. I walked out on the jetty and made a (cell) phone call & basically just looked at the water and the sea gulls for a while. There was dude fishing at the end of the jetty but it didn't look like he was catching anything.

After about an hour, I headed over to the venue and unloaded & set up my equipment & also put out my "Live Blues Tonight" signs and then took it easy for a couple of hours. I brought my own pillow from home and took a nap in the truck & ate some home-made chicken vegitable soup that I had brought in a thermos.

I had no idea what to expect about Whisky's Pub and it turned out to be a nice place with a good stage & they did have blues and classic rock playing on the Juke Box which is always a good omen. Overall I had a good time and everybody was very kind and made me feel welcome.

I am scheduled to be back over there on April 6th and am looking forward to it.

There was a guy there from California who is a photographer for a Surfing Magazine and he took several pictures. If he emails them to me, I will post them here or on my web site.

Also, If you happen to read this before tomorrow (Sunday March 5th), I got an email from the Blueshound his ownself saying that they were going to play a song from my CD on the show which will be between 2 and 4 pm Central time on KPFT 90.1 FM which you can also hear on the web site at www.kpft.org

The Wailing Wailers

Bob Marley & The Wailers or as they were called at the time, The Wailing Wailers. Peter Tosh, Bob Marley, & Bunny Livingston.



I have a CD titled "Bob Marley Reggea Legend Forever Gold". It has a picture of Bob with Dread Locks on the CD Insert but the music is obviously from the early days when the wailers were more of a vocal group. The CD cover doesn't even list a record company.

It really is some good stuff. Bob does not do all the lead vocals but all the Wailers' back-ups and harmony vocal riffs are really great.

KPFT 90.1 Wins 2006 KBA Award for BLues Programing on Public Radio

The "Keeping the Blues Alive" awards were held in Memphis, TN on January 28th, 2006. Pictured from left to right: The "Blueshound" James Nagel, and his lovely co-host and wife Colleen; HBS Director - Jennifer "The Marquessa" Weaver; KPFT General Manager - Duane Bradley; HBS President - Sandy Hickey; "Blues on the Move" DJ's, Mr. & Mrs. V, and Joe Montes of "Smokin' Joe's Roadhouse". Photo was taken by Donovan Allen, HBS Lifetime Member and photographer for the KBA's and IBC's.
HBS is so very proud to partner with KPFT in "KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE" in Houston, TX. In honor of the DJ's, HBS will acknowledge the winners on Thursday, February 16th at Cosmos Cafe, with entertainment provided by 2006 International Blues Winner, Joey Gilmore. Come out that evening for a great night of blues. Go to Calendar of Events for details.

The type and picture above are copied from the Houston Blues Society Web Site http://www.houstonbluessociety.org/

I am happy to see the recognition for KPFT. We are lucky to have a Radio Station that provides Blues Programming and I take my hat off to all the Volenteers that make it possible. Good Job.

John Campbell Friends/Discussion Group

Below are a couple of posts from my achived entry "Train of Thought" about John Campbell (which you can find on this blog)

Please note the link to the discussion group.



Hi Marc,Found your blog doing a search on John Campbell....Great story about John back in Nacogdoches!! Would love to post this on my website - Drop me a note at tom@devilinmycloset.net There is also a community of John Campbell fans that gather at:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/devilinmycloset/


Take care,Tom Geiger
1:00 AM
F. Sage said...
Marc,A group of John's family, friends and fans recently returned from Louisiana and a celebration of John's life and music on his birth date. John died far too soon and the void left in the music world is just beginning to be recognized. I'm inviting you and any of your readers to join our discussion group that Tom Geiger mentioned in the previous comment. We have a lot of fun and many surprises to offer -Captain D

KPFT - 90.1 on your fm dial

KPFT has been on the air in Houston now for almost 36 years. It is a true listener sponsored station.

I first started listening because of the Blues shows on Sundays & other music programs during the week also.

It is a Freedom of Speech oriented station and if you listen enough, You will probably here something that you disagree with. That is really what makes it great. There is no corporate sponsorship.


They are currenty having the fund drive and you can make a pledge by calling 713-526-5738 preferably during a show that you like. You can support the blues programs if you call this week on Sunday before 4 pm.

The web site is www.kpft.org If you are not in the Houston area, you can listen live on the interenet also.

Tone is brought to you by:

Edison's light bulbs employed a conducting filament mounted in a glass bulb from which the air was evacuated leaving a vacuum. Passing electricity through the filament caused it to heat up enough to become incandescent and radiate light, while the vacuum prevented the filament from oxidizing and burning up.
a
Edison continued to experiment with his light bulbs and, in 1883, found that he could detect electrons flowing through the vacuum from the lighted filament to a metal plate mounted inside the bulb. This discovery subsequently became known as the Edison Effect.
In 1875, American, G.R. Carey invented the phototube.
In 1878, Englishman Sir William Crookes invented the 'Crookes tube', an early prototype of cathode-ray tube.
In 1895, German, Wilhelm Roengten invented an early prototype Xray tube.
In 1897, German, Karl Ferdinand Braun invents the cathode ray tube oscilloscope.
In 1904, John Ambrose Fleming invented the first practical electron tube called the 'Fleming Valve'. Leming invents the vacuum tube diode.
In 1906, Lee de Forest invented the audion later called the triode, an improvement on the 'Fleming Valve' tube. Lee de Forest introduced a third electrode called the grid into the vacuum tube. The resulting triode could be used as both an amplifier and a switch.

These type of dudes don't usually get mentioned when people talk about electric blues but they are the ones that first made it possible.

It is a shame that Ben Franklin never got to play an electric guitar. I am sure he would been a real head-banger.

I don't really have a great understanding of how amplifers and tubes work. I am able to make repairs on my amps by looking at them and finding bad connections and re-soldering them. I gennerally have this problem with my Fender Blues Junior which is a relatively newer amp that I bought at Mars Music when they were going out of business. It is a 15 watt tubecombo with a 15" speaker. A "combo" is one where the amplifer section and the speaker cabinet are all in one unit. The problem with this little amp is that the solder connections don't seem to be as good as in the older amps. Basically, "They don't build em like they use to" .

Also, It is a pretty hot running amp for a 15 watt. As far as watts, Tube amplifers are generally more powereful or louder than solid state. This particular amp is set up with the power tubes (EL84's) are being pushed pretty hard and they run pretty hot. This will cause the tubes to wear out quicker. For a 15 watt amp, It can get pretty loud and is powerful enough to use at small to medium size clubs. The problem with a combo amp is that the vibration from the speaker (since it is in the same unit) can cause connections to rattle loose. The tubes also get vibrated and will be more sensitive to becoming "microphonic"

On the Blues Junior, I wonder if the heat from the power tubes causes the solder to fail or if it is just the poor design of the tube socket holder or just a cobonation of several factors including vibration from the speaker.

I have had to open up the back and re-solder the power tube connections several times and also one of the connections on the reverb tank.

I also do have a couple of older Fender amps and have not run into this problem. They also used metal in the input jacks instead of the plastic used on Blues Junior. Still, I do think the Blues Junior is a great amp particularly considering what they cost.

One of the things about tube amps is that when you get the tone you like, It is best to leave it alone until something breaks or wears out. You can replace the tubes with the exact same brand and not get the same sound. That is one thing that I like about the "Groove Tubes" which are tested and rated. You can buy a matched set with a numbered rating (from 1 to 10) and get pretty close to the same tone. The other advantage is that if you use the same number/rating, you don't have to have to have the amp re-biased (if it is not self biasing)


Tubes are only part of the equation when it comes to tone but they are a big part. Another big variable is the Guitar Pick-up not to mention the equipment operator.

You may be asking "What is your point Marc?"

& if so, I would like to ask you something:


What is the cross between an Elephant and a Rhino?


The answer is NOT "What is on second"

Sad News

I heard some bad news. Benny Valerio has passed away.

He has been around playing Texas Blues for a long time. You can find out more about his music on his web site http://www.maneevents.com/texasthunder/


I knew Benny from his Blues jams that he would host out here on the west side of town. He was a hell of a guitar player. As a guitar player and also a person, he didn't hold anything back. You always knew exactly where you stood with him.

Benny and his brother Danny had played music togeather for quite a few years. Danny is a bass guitar player and whenever I saw them on stage, I would always get a mental picture of them playing as teenagers. You could just see it. I don't know the exact way to explain it but it was something of a happy moment each time. Just great to see two brothers who had played music togeather so much of thier lives.

Danny is a great guy and I wish him the best. I know this is a tough time for him.

The Service for Benny will be at 1:00 this Friday the 20th at Houston National Cemetary on Veterans Mermorial.

Telephone pole blues

When the last hurricane was passing by, I noticed that the phone pole behind my next door neighbor's house was damaged. It was rocking back and forth in the wind. I called the power company and they finally came out (today) and replaced it.

They shut down the power for several hours while they did the repair.

I passed the time by playing acoustic guitar. I have the window blocked off in room where I practice to block out the sound so it is pretty dark even in the daytime so I lit a candle to have a little light.

It made me think about what it must have been like for the old blues dudes that didn't have electricity. Also, since I wasn't able to watch TV, Check Email, or listen to the stereo, It made me realize that they probably spent a little more time playing guitar just to pass the time. There wasn't much else to do so I played longer than I would have if the power had been on.

This wasn't like Huge revelation for me but it at the same time it did make me think.

I always assumed that musicians nowadays had an advantage because of all the technology available but it made me wonder if technology isn't more of a distraction also.

I ended up getting a work related call on my cell phone and it blew the whole mood.

The Revenge of George Lucas

I watched most the final Star Wars movie (Episode whatever) on DVD last night & I think it was eve worse that the last two.

The Original Star Wars was one of my favorite all time movies and also the next two in that series.

The acting was much better. The characters were much better and the overall feel of the movie. It was a little bit Disneyish and they had Harrison Ford and Chewbaca making it kind of comical. They Would be about to get shot out of the sky and trying to get the ship in to hyperdrive but it was still not that serious a moment in the movie. It would get a little more serious when Darth Vadar was in a scene but at the same time it was more like Cruealla Devill from 101 Dalmations.

The one I watched last night was all special effects but didn't have any interesting characters and no scenes even close to the Cantina Scene in the first movie and no characters like Jaba the Hut. The Aniken Skywalker Character (Who became Darth Vadar) is not even an actor. I can't believe they used him again after his sorry performance in the last movie.

The other thing that sucked was that even though they went back in time to before the time Luke and Lea (sp?) were born, it seemed like there were more advanced looking robots than in the first movie which was supposed to be chronoligically later. It seemed like they were just trying to make it fit at the end by having the babies born and being named by the dying mom just so they could connect the dots & also the way they handled Darth Vadar becoming Darth Vadar was lame also. The viewer knew the whole time that he was going to fall in the burning lava or what ever it was and get deformed.

There were so many lame things that I don't want to take time to list them all but one thing was when they had the scene near the end with Darth Vadar and his new Master Dude looking out into space and what looked like the frame of the Death Star in it's initial construction stages was out there. It doesn't make sense that it would take the same amount of time it took Luke and the princess to grow up as it would take to build a Death Star. Especially if you have the Dark Lord himself overseeing the project.

There was no art in this movie.

But it is Star Wars so I will probably watch it again some time.

"Retail is for Suckers"

I have found that every thing that you buy at a music store can be discounted.

Even guitar picks.

The thing for me is that I don't like feeling like a mooch for asking so I will try to go back to the same sales people if they treat me right with no hassle.

There is one store close to my house where most of the guys working there will look at me funny when I ask for a discount. There is one dude there who always works with me but I have to individually ask on each item. Last time I went there I bought several items. A drumhead, a set of strings for my acoustic, A package of guitar picks, A key for adusting drums, & something else but I don't remember what.

When I checked out, I asked the dude: "Are you going to take care of me on this stuff?" & he pointed out that he always did (which was true). I started asking about the different items and he said just check the receipt when he was done. Since he had always been good about it before, I didn't want to ask about it anymore.

When he rang me up it seemed kinda high but I just paid him & then he gave me the receipt. It turned out that he had charged me full retail on everything exept the set of strings. I was so irritated that I just decided not to say anything.

Last week I visited two other music stores. I went to one place to get some tubes. I found a guy there who had helped me several times before and always was good about the pricing. This time I felt like he tried to get to me by actually overcharging me on the tubes. I bought a couple of EL84s and also a 12ax7. I was just buying some back up tubes & on the one 12ax7 it was the Silver Series which is cheaper than the ones I usually get & he tried to charge me $14. I told him it sounded a little high and asked him what it listed for & he punched on his computer and said $10 and said he had made a mistake and then he ended up selling it for $8.

I really felt like both of these guys trying to take advantage of fact that I trusted them.

I am not someone who is going to argue about price or feels like anybody owes me a discount. I just happen to know that a person can get a discount at a music store if they ask & at the end of the year it can really add up.

Fast foward to last Friday when I was up on the north side of town to play in Conroe. I took the day off work and went drove up early to miss the rush hour traffic. I took the opportunity to visit a couple of music stores by 1960 & 45. First I went to a big guitar store that is part of a chain where I had bought my tubes that I talked about a few paragraphs up. I asked the sales dude there if they had the Groove Tube EL84s that I was looking for and he found a set. I told him I was a working musician and asked him what kind of deal he could give me. He sold me the "Duet" which is a matched pair for $25. Just a few days earlier at the same store but the other location, The other dude had told me that Groove Tube had raised the prices and the best he could do was $30 but it turned out he was out of them anyway.

I still had some time to kill and was looking for a particular Harmonica that they were out of everywhere so I went west on 1960 about half a mile to check at one other large music store. They had the Harmonica & I told the guy I was a musician and asked what kind deal, etc. and he sold it to me for $18 which was a good deal.

I think part of the problem for me is that once I get to know a particular sales associate, I don't feel as comfortable making a big deal about the price but at the same time it is disapointing that I can get a better deal from strangers.

I guess I could avoid all this and just buy stuff on-line but I have been going to music stores since I was about 13 years old it is something that I enjoy doing. I love it when it is busy and there are several different dudes "testing" out the new guitars playing thier best guitar store riffs.

I did try to give something back to the one guy who did give me the better deal on the tubes. I have been working in Sales a good part of my life. I asked him how long he had worked at the store & he said "3 years". I asked him if he had ever marketed himself? & he just gave me a puzzled look.

I told him that he should consider developing an email list of working musicians (people who buy music stuff) and send them an email letting them know he was the dude to see if they wanted to be treated right. Promise low prices with no hassle.

I told him that my site had been listed on Houston Bands dot NEt and several other sites and no one had ever sent me an email like that & I was assume that no one is tapping into that opportunity.

He did tell me "Thats a good Idea"

I told him "Hell Yeah it's a good Idea"

I don't know if he will do it but he is in the wrong business if he doesn't.

I don't begrudge anybody for wanting to make a living and nobody owes me a discount. If anyone ever really did give me consistant deals at a Music Store, that would be the first place I shopped & I would tell other people about them also.