Making the band, part 2

Last night at the Firehouse Pub blues jam I played with a blues group called Mercury Blues Band. They do a lot of Chicago style blues (Thunderbirds, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, etc). We played a half dozen songs. I felt really at home playing with them. What I hear on the bass seemed like a good fit with thier style.

After we finished playing I stayed on stage to play bass for a few other musicians. After a quick set Chris, the lead guitarist, called me off stage and asked me to go outside to talk with the band. They mentioned that their current bassist wasn't working out and asked me if I would be interested in joining the group. I was stoked!!! They all liked the feel on stage and would like to continue with it.

So here I go starting a new venture!! Starting next week I'll be practicing with the group once a week. They've been doing about 2-6 gigs a month...some in Fresno and a regular gig in Paso Robles. I'm pretty excited about that! =)

I'll be setting up a web site for the group and we'll keep it updated with dates.

The Cosby's

This is too funny.

Good day

Feeling good about today. I got a lot of things done for work. On the way home I passed an on coming highway patrol while driving 75mph. He flipped around and passed me back. At the gym I'm up to 100 laps in the pool (my goal is 200). This evening I figured out some tricky DHTML code and am happy that it's clicking like a clock.

And now I'm going to bed with the sound of rain...good day indeed.

Give me the cheese

American, Blue, Chedar, Colby Jack, Feta, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Pepper Jack, Provolone, Queso Blanco, Ricotta, Romano, Swiss: I Love CHEESE!

Sorry, you can take the boy out of the dairy, but you can't take the dairy out of the boy =)

Tuesday Night Blues Jam

Brady snapped this shot from last week's blues jam over at the Old Firehouse Pub in Hanford. I have been digging playing bass. It's a really fun instrument to play. Cool thing is everybody's either a guitarist or drummer...nobody plays the bass so I luck out with a lot of play time between sets.

Tuesday night blues clip (mpg 423kb)

Stand Up

The Dave Matthews Band is working on a new project due out ths summer titled "Stand Up". I love the album cover...very clean, simple, and classy. AOL has posted a sample.

Tango...Breath...Uniform...Breath

For the last month or two I've been getting back into swimming. To make counting laps easier I've been only counting the opposite wall. So each count is two laps. Thing is I tend to loose track. During each lap my mind wanders off into a soup of thoughts.

Today I tried something new. I based each pair of laps on the ICAO phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie, delta, echo, foxtrot, golf, hotel, india, julliet, kilo, lima, mike, november, oscar, papa, quebec, romeo, sierra, tango, uniform, victor, whisky, xray, yankee, zulu.

I was able to keep better track of the laps. Plus 26 times 2 is 52 laps. That's a nice chunk to work on.

Here are some of my swimming thoughts from today:

• 26 letters times 2 equals the number of cards in a deck - 52. Half the letters in the alphabet equal the number of cards in one suit.
• credit means to increment an account, debit means to decrement. But with the a check card you can use credit or debit to take money out.
• My 1000sq/ft town house feel like the same amount of space as my 1600sq/ft house. Must be the 2 stories.
• Why can SBC switch over my telephone line on the same day as my call with out any service rep onsite but takes 7 days to switch over my DSL line.
• Hypothisis: Reflection and dynamic typing are two language features that can help tackle the problem of software complexity. How can I prove it.

Ahhh...a good swim is good for the body, mind, and soul.

Somebody's Birthday

Two birthday's today...Albert Einstein and Aymiee Lee!

Happy Birthday!!

Welcome to Townhouse 26

Feel free to peruse ...

Time for R & R

... i'm a bit burned out ... need more fuel ...

Actually I need a bit of rest and relaxation. A lot has overwhelmed me recently and I think it's time for some "Richard Time".

Today I stayed home due to not feel to well from a stomach bug. I emailed the guys at work and requested some time off. They understood and were all for it ... Thanks Guys!!!

I'm off for five days and go back to work next Wednesday. This weekend I'm moving from my little appartment to a townhouse in the same complex. I'm looking forward to the move. I also have a bunch of financial issues related to the divorce that I need to take care of. I think after this last wave I should be out in the clear...at least for a while =)

Speedy Sings the Blues

I was practicing some blues guitar with headphones on for a while. When I took them off was hearing Speedy whisling the same tunes!!!

What do you know..."Speedy Blues Bird!!!"

Grocery shopping...arsy's way

Stay away from ...

... the middle isles
... things that come in a box
... things that are frozen
... things that use lots of sugar
... non food items which are generally more expensive


Things to look for ...

... watch the produce guy to find the freshest items
... expiration dates on dairy items
... ask every fish monger for the delivery schedule; compare stories
... buy from the deli instead of package wraps
... buy fresh and healthy
... new beer imports

Fender Bassman 25

I bought a new Fender Bassman 25 from the local White's Music shop. Those guys are pretty good with prices...they've matched what ever internet price i've brought in so far!!

This bassman amp works really well. With my cheapy ibanez bass I can get clean tones. It sounds really nice and has good volume. I would be able to play coffee shops with it and if I play the bigger gigs use it as a monitor. Here are the specs:

Fender Bassman 25 Combo Amp with Tilt Back

An extremely focused and powerful 25 watts @ 8 Ohms drives a high quality 10” @ 8 Ohms Eminence speaker (designed in conjunction with Fender R&D) that will gracefully handle the low “B” of a five-string. The wedge cabinet design sits straight or angles back to point the speaker up where you can hear it. Beyond sounding killer and being easy to use, it’s the details that make the Bassman 25 stand out in a crowd. Tune silently between songs with the Mute Switch and a Tuner Out. Push the Enhance switch to scoop out the mids, and it’s perfect for aggressive thumb-style playing. Rehearse along to CDs through the Aux inputs (with level control) or silently with the Headphone Jack.

The Bassman 60 and Bassman 25 combos feature:

• Active/passive input pad selector
• Gain control
• Bass, Treble, semi-parametric Mid control (Level & Frequency)
• Enhance switch (scoops the mids for thumb style playing)
• Tuner out jack
• FX loop
• XLR line-out (60 only)
• Tuner mute with flashing indicator
• Power amp and Pre-amp clip indicator lights
• Limiter select switch
• Wedge cabinet design

Giant Steps

This is TOOOO cool...and must be the most creative thing I've seen in years:

Giant Steps

Gotta love the inspiration that comes from Mr. Coltrane

Making Guitar Sounds

Over the last few days I've been listening closely to my playing. I've also been experiementing. The thing that I found to stand out the most is tone...to the point where I would say one note with the right tone means more than a melody of five notes.

I also found a technique that I felt added substance to my bends. Instead of just bending the string I begin a circular motion. It changes the tension as the bend is happening. I can hear the difference in the build and decay of the bend. It sounds so much better than a hollow strait bend.

Cool stuff like that excites me!!

TGIF Blues

In addition to Mr Ben's regular celebration I present to you:

TGIF Blues (mp3 1.08mb)

Can't do everything!

For the last 15 years I've always looked forward to the winter time because of the rain. Along with rain comes the best dirt in the world to ride on.

This year I've spent under 5 minutes on my motorcycle. It saddens me but the truth is you just can't do everything.

As I stand now, I'm booked with work, playing a lot of music these days, finishing up my pilot's license, and am dedicating lots of time to my kids. All of which I enjoy and am thankful for.

I don't feel the lost from riding but every once in a while the nostalgia of past trips hit me. However, the season's not over...maybe I'll still be able to get at least one trip in.

My Tuesdays Nights are Covered!

I saw on Cole Fonseca's website (a local and very good blues guitarist) that he plays at the Firehouse in Hanford on Tuesday nights. After work today I dragged Brady with me and after a great steak dinner we head over.

When we get there we settle in with a couple of microbrews and enjoyed Cole and his band. After about 45 minutes he takes a break and points out some other local musicians and invites them up. I was already talking to one of them about music and guitars. He signs me up and next thing I know I'm up playing.

I was totally unprepared and was really off...and quite nervous. Cole came up and started playing bass. We played a couple of blues jams and handed Cole's guitar back. The material was strait blues riffs... very easy to play...but my nerves were to overwhelming. I wish I had a second chance that night.

For the rest of the night various musicians went on stage and played. It was cool to mix up tunes and styles.

Needless to say every Tuesday nights at the Firehouse in Hanford Cole and his band starts of an open jam. Next time I'll bring my equipment and have a few beers to calm the nerves =)

The accident scene

The skid marks are gone from the traffic and rain but you can still see where the car went off the road. Here's what I think happened: When I hit the water and mud my explorer went sideways. When the tires hit the asphalt the car shot strait out to the side. The day after I was able to still see the skid marks and can see that the wheel base was narrow which means my car was really sideways....gosh I still freak out thinking about it!

Beaujolias playing this Friday

Beaujolais is playing at the Musician's Fellowship Auction in Atascadero this Friday. They will cover 1940's jazz standards including some folk and bluegrass styles. They're the group I played with last Saturday night in San Miguel. They are a great group and are all very tallented!