Celebrities and Politics

I don't know about you, but I'm so sick and tired of popstars and actors telling me who to vote for and what their political opinion is. I love you Springsteen, but maybe you don't know as much as you think you do. And Sean Penn, you've come a long way since Spicolli in "Fast Times" (in which I was an extra and I saw firsthand what an asshole you used to be, and maybe still are), but are we really interested in you off camera? And Micheal Stipe? Go shave your head!
All you country guys on the other side of the political spectrum are in the same boat. Toby, go sell a Ford. Kix ; do what you're good at. Go write a song.
My point is this; Think for yourself and make an informed decision. It's your future.

a new life emerging: Today is your day.

Check out Rick's awesome post. This one gave me pause.

a new life emerging: Today is your day.

Morning Musings

I'm about to head out to my day job. The cats are taking turns drinking milk out of my empty cereal bowl. They always line up (all three of them) when I'm eating cereal, which is rare.

It's so easy for me to take my manifold blessings for granted. I default to grumpiness. I need to learn to be more thankful, and radiate the joy of the Lord., which is my true reality.

The Show

The show rocked. Charlie Quintana is now drumming for them and if I'm not mistaken he played with The Cruzados way back in the day. Apparently he has played with Dylan as well. Good going man. Hey Charlie, I can do anything you can behind that kit!

The show was on the one year anniversary of Cash's death, and the band opened with a great rendition of Ring Of Fire. Also they covered Haggard's "Making Believe" which was totally awesome. I've always adored that song. The two friends that were with me were unaware that that was Merle's tune. I guess they thought Mike Ness pennd it, which he very well could have, talented as he is.

My twin brother Roger reminds me that we saw them in Hollywood twenty-something years ago. I didn't remember at the time, but now it's come back to me. Must've been high! I do recall it now. It was at a run down 1940's ballroom with some other punk acts. Fear was on the bill as well. Boy. Rog remembers everything.

SOCIAL DISTORTION

Going to check out Social Distortion at the House Of Blues this evening. Haven't been to a rousing punk show for years. If it's too loud you're too old, but I'm bringing ear plugs anyway! Gotta save what I've got left. Spent the day tracking guitars on a rough take of my song "Something I Remember" for kicks. Sounding surprisingly good. Later...

Drumming Scoop

Tracking was tedious but positive. Songs were tracked too fast, but the drums themselves sounded pretty good. I’ll chalk this one up to pre-production. I know what I must do to make the drums sound better. I don’t need a hi-hat mic. Don’t need the first rack tom. I want one more overhead. Maybe two cymbal overheads and two large-diaphragms as room mics. Not sure I need tom mics but I’ll figure it out. The toms sound a bit boxy and may need some attention. :

Tracking

Tonight I start drum tracks for my CD. I'm ready to roll. Drum roll! I'll check in after the session for details. Off I go...

9-20-04

I'm reading Ian Whitcomb's 1983 book Rock Odyssey. Interesting stuff. I love the descriptions of Hollywood in the 1960's. Wow. Seedy even then, but my kind of town. I miss the smells of the blooming trees and plants wafting through the air on a smog free day. Hell, I almost miss the smog. Almost.
I played drums on one of Ian's albums just before the book was released. Fun times. Has it really been that long? Somebody slap me!

It’s an absolutely beautiful pre-fall day. The sun is shining, there is a pleasant breeze and it’s cool outside. The sky is opening up for me as it always does this time of year. This is arguably my favorite time of year.

Music’s moving along. I am preparing to record the first four drum tracks for my cd project.

I am pretty well set on the following four to do first:

Famous Last Words

Something I Remember

A Different Light

What Might Have Been

And, if time permits, I’ll squeeze in

Go

Drumming

I got to do some drum practice at Ed's studio today. It's the first time in years that I have sat down behind a kit. I got a good warm-up. Played for about an hour and a half. I am going back in on thursday for further practice and then I'll be booking some studio time. I plan on doing the drum tracks in batches of three or four, finishing up the production at home, and going in and knocking out another couple of batches. The first three songs will determine the course of this project. I think I can pull off the drums. It should be fun. I think I've still got it. The recording of drum tracks seems to always stress me out a bit, but I am determined to make this as enjoyable as possible. I want to flow with it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The time to do this is NOW!

Have Drumsticks, Will Travel

Well. I got some drumsticks. I have been practicing in my head for weeks. It's time to take this thing to the next level. I'm ready to book some time at Ed's Studio (Ed Dennis. Atlantic Spoke Recording), and give this idea of mine a whirl. I have decided to do my own drum tracking. That means blowing some dust and rust off and hunkering down to ROCK the kit. I haven't dome any drum recording or even drumming for lots of years, but I know I've still got it! At least I hope I do. Ed's got a kit already pretty well miked up and ready to record, so, with a few tweaks we should be on our way. I'm getting ahead of myself. I will require a few practice sessions behind the kit to build up stamina, chops, etc. I'll do that first. Then we roll ,er, tape. Well, not tape. Actually nothing rolls anymore. I mean to say I'll fire up my hard drive on my trusty Yamaha AW2816 and we'll take it from there. To say I'm not a bit nervous would be a lie, but I'll be allright. Hey. This is my gig! No worries. This should be a lot of fun. God help me, what have I got myself into!

Labor Day

Rainy morning. I'm smoking a Rocky Patel Churchill 1992 vintage. Good smoke. Maybe a bit early for a medium-bodied cigar, but hey, it's Labor Day and I'm chilling out this morning. How's this for obscure? I'm listening to Flesh For Lulu's CD Big Fun City/Blue Sisters Swing. This is circa 1986. British postpunk I suppose. They Had a release on Capitol about 1987 called Long Live The New Flesh which I liked better. I liked it enough to buy this CD. I forget where I found this. Probably Aron's in Hollywood. Plastic Fantastic was enjoyable as well.

I miss living in Hollywood. I miss it a lot. I'd like to win the Lotto and move into the Hollywood Hills. Also, a condo in Nashville would be cool, since I'm dreaming.

Looking forward to a writing appointment I have with a guy named Chris Yale today...

Can't Sleep

I can't sleep, so I thought I would come downstairs and write random thoughts. Sometimes i feel like an alien on this planet. Sometimes I don't understand why the world is as it is. Other times I understand perfectly. This world is fallen, and we are all in need of redemption. Everybody's looking for a reason to believe in something. What bothers me is that there is so much error out there, it's staggering. I am through with being ambiguous; weary with being all things to all men...a nothing man. I think it's high time I stood up for what I believe in. I judge no one any longer. I'm all about personal freedom and responsibility. I desire truth. I want to live out that truth in love to the very best of my ability. Why is it so hard to drop the facade? Why is it so difficult to be transparently oneself in the midst of a hurting planet?

Rod Stewart

I'm listening to a Rod Stewart Cd called Out Of Order from 1988. Totally eighties sound. Co-produced by the late Bernard Edwards, formerly Nile Rodger's partner from the band Chic. I confess it is enjoyable. I am going through my entire cd collection without prejudice. It's been a while since I've heard some of this stuff. Yesterday I suffered through Phil Ochs in Concert. It had some good moments but I couldn't stomach the anti-Christian statements, although I think it had more to do with politics than Jesus. More about orgainized religion than the Light of my world. I may listen to the rest of the record today. I consider this listening discipline grist for the mill. I am studying songcraft as well as production. My ears are wide-open.

Played Me Again

The guys at The Sound 107.1 Played my song "What Might Have Been " on the Homegrown show last night! It was quite a surprise for me as I wasn't expecting to hear it. I was tuning in to hear the third installment of this new local music show when, second song in, Mixin' Dixon played my song! It sounded pretty damn good due to the fact that it was a good mix that was mastered by Ronny Morris at Digitak Mastering Down in Brunswick, Georgia. He did a wonderful job. I truly appreciate the support of Randy Clemens, the Program Director at The Sound, and Mixin' Dixon, the show's host. This spurs me on to create and record the best material to the best of my ability.
I'm stoked!

Just Thinking

Boy time just blazes by. Seven years ago today my brother Roger and I got to go backstage at the James Taylor concert in Charlotte compliments of our old friend Robert Morales, who was a tech for him at the time. I remember getting a flat tire that night. And beer. Lots of beer.

Old Bandmates

Strange day today. I saw my old friend and bass player Rex Polk today. He is in town for about a week or so with his girlfriend Stephanie. It was nice catching up. He liked my new songs. Strangely enough as I was driving him to the auto shop ( his transmission is kaput) I spotted Terry Rochester, our old drummer, across form the shop. Small world. We chatted for a bit and that was a nice surprise. He was unaware that One of our songs was aired on the local music show. I got his girlfriend Jeanette's cell number. Man, that cat is hard to get in touch with.

After that, Rex and I headed to Ed Dennis' studio to catch up. Ed was our guitar player in Early Train. Felt like a little renunion. It was cool seeing everyone. We had some good times, but playing covers is really not my scene. I spoke to Ed about laying down some drum tracks at his place, which he seemed okay about. I figure after about two or three practice sessions to blow some rust off of myself, I should be more than ready to rock on the drums.
Once again I am in motion. It's a good feeling.

BTW I finally got my car battery. I'm good to go. God has blessed me so much.
/

Old Bandmate In Town

My old bandmate Rex Alan Polk is in town this week. I am looking forward to seeing him tomorrow and play him a few new tunes he's never heard. Rex used to play bass in my old band Early Train. He has since moved to Florida. I have a feeling he'll be returning. He was always a great guy and fun to be in a band with. He has an inimitable sense of humor. It would be cool to do some music with him again sometime.

Long Day

Had a pretty long day at work today. I work retail as a day gig. I was in a pretty bad mood all day that I'm only now getting over slightly. Dark moods have overtaken me in the last few days. I've been thinking alot about the fragility of life especially since my friend Rick Burton died august eleventh. I am, however, prone to these moods once every couple of months. I should just ride them out knowing they will pass, but it's rough not getting sucked into the vortex. I've had a real yearning for a cold beer the last couple of days, but I know for me a cold beer is never a cold beer; it's a ton of beer.

Rick Burton

My old pal Rick Burton died on the 11th. He moved down to Florida and I've been out of touch with him. He died of cancer. I didn't know he was sick. I'm bad at staying in touch with people. This has gotta change...

Here's his obituary...

Frederick 'Rick' Burton

LAKE PARK, Fla. | Frederick "Rick" Burton, 61, of Lake Park, Fla., formerly of North Myrtle Beach, passed away Aug. 11, 2004.

He was an adored brother of Barbara (Robert) Stewart and Joanne Burton Geller; cherished uncle of Zachary Stewart and Samara Geller; devoted companion to his beloved animals, Bojack, Nikko and Howard; and loyal friend to many. Rick was devoted to animal causes, and animals seemed to sense his compassion. Rick owned and operated The Pottery on Route 17 in North Myrtle Beach.

Services in West Palm Beach, Fla.; funeral in Elmont, N.Y.

Sign an online guest book at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.

In Rick's memory, contributions to the Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach, P.O. Box 3369 North Myrtle Beach, S.C. 29582, will be appreciated.

I'll miss you bro.

Betsy's Birthday

It's my wife Betsy's birthday today. Katie, my daughter, and I are taking her out to Miyabi for dinner tonight. Miyabi is our favorite Japanese steakhouse. We all look for reasons to go there. This seems like a darn good reason if you ask me. A sober celebration for me. That's unusual but I want it to become most usual indeed. Baby steps. I am so different when I'm sober. Nicer. Kinder. Less of a complete asshole. What a relief.