BYOC kits & more!

This pedal is a 'clone' of an MXR Phase 90. It is a kit purchased from BuildYourOwnClone.com. You get the metal enclosure (unpainted), footswitch, knobs, potentiometers, capacitors, diodes, resistors, trim pots, LEDs, jacks, an unpopulated circut board, and wire. You do the rest. I soldered everything together, painted the enclosure, and wired it up. This was my second pedal build attempt, as the 'Lazy Sprocket' below was my first. Didn't turn out as well, or I jacked it up. One of the other. Didn't want that pedal anyway, so it made for good practice. This guy may or may not make it onto my pedal board as I don't have any more room and I don't have any more 9v a/c power cords available on my board.
The picutre below is what the guts of my pedal build look like. Keep in mind, I put every stinkin little chip and wire on that thing.



















The 'Lazy Sprocket' is a fantastic name for this pedal. This kit was actually what I recieved in the mail after requesting the above Phaser. Still, the guy running BuildYourOwnClone.com is a great guy and promptly responded to both of my emails and let me keep the sprocket kit for free, even sending me the few extra parts I needed to complete both kits for the price of one. However, like I said, this pedal is the 'Lazy Sprocket.' Sold as a swell pedal, its swell is so quick and slight that the pedal is extremely limited in its use. Perhaps if the Sprocket weren't quite so Lazy, I wouldn't have farmed several of the pieces out of this guy to soup up the above Phaser.


And this is always good to see again. Doesn't happen very often and, when it does, I usually hate it the next day. I'm not tearing up or throwing anything away anymore. If I'm ever going to do anything with music, I need to write my own songs. Nobody wants to listen to cover songs all the time.

Book 7

The 7th and final Harry Potter book now officially has a name.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

The publisher has not announced a release date yet, though many fans predict the book will be released on 7/7/07. If you're not familiar with the series, that may seem cheesy to you. If you AREN'T a muggle, then you understand the significance of the number 7. Also, this is a Saturday (all of the HP books have been released on saturdays by JKR's request so as not to interfere with school) and is the weekend before the release of Order of the Pheonix movie. JKR has said for sure that two main characters will die in the 7th and final book, and when questioned whether Harry would be one of the two, JKR would not say. With the deaths of Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, and Albus Dumbledore, Harry's headmaster/protector/guide, still fresh in reader's minds, fans can only speculate on who will die. Some speculate that Harry, who's life was saved in his infancy by his mother's doomed attempt to protect her only child from the world's most evil and powerful wizard, must also lay down his own life at He Who Must Not Be Named's hand (or wand). Voldemort's weakness has always been his fear of death and his inability to understand love.

I don't know how things will turn out, but I do know that I will be pissed if Neville doesn't avenge his parents (who were tortured to permanent insanity by Death Eaters) by killing Bellatrix Lastrange.

Still think these are kid's books?

Toys for boys

This admittedly esoteric post is showcase of my favorite new toys. A Keeley mod Blues Driver (note the bitchin blue LED((power light in the middle)) to make it stand out from the standard red) is featured to the right. This pedal gives the sweet overdriven tube amp sound. Nice and clean if played lightly, biting and distorted if you crank on the strings. The Keeley mod itself just replaces strandard Boss pedal componants with higher quality ones. Changes to the standard pedal include a boosted mid-range signal and the 'phat mod' toggle switch. Flip it up for normal pedal operation, down for 'phat' mode. This boosts your lower frequencies (ie: Low E and A strings) for a more even sound. This really opens things up. No longer is one limited to soloing/riffing on the higher strings.

Next up is the pedal that knocked out my Distorion pedal in the contest for pedalboard space. The TS-808 reissue TubeScreamer is one of best pedals used in blues and modern rock as an overdrive effect. This means that regardless of what other effects you've got going on, kicking on this guy 'overdrives' the signal, pushing it up and over the rest of the wall of sound. Great for soloing over already distorted or loud music. This pedal is essentially a volume boost, as the level (right) knob controls just how much boost you're getting while the overdrive (left) knob controls how distorted or crunchy your sound is. This pedal was made famous by Stevie Ray Vaughn among others. Listen to and SRV & Double Trouble recording to hear it featured. This is used in combination with the BluesDriver above for a sweet (and very loud) Hendrix-y sound.

Here is the complete board thus far. My baby. The chain of effects, for my own enjoyment:
Guitar--> A/B switcher (blue)--> Tuner (below)--> Volume/Swell--> Wah-Wah--> Keeley mod BluesDriver (blue) --> TS808 Tubescreamer (green)--> Phaser--> Delay-->Loop Station --> DI box--> Amplifier.

Again, the DI box, Delay, and tap tempo on top are for a Vocal Mic. I recently completed my first pedal build, which will be added shortly. It is another Phaser, slightly less transparent than the Boss Phaser, to be used seperately or for an Incubus-like dual phase effect. More to come...

Strat work

After purchasing a TS-808 TubeScreamer reissue as well as having my BluesDriver 'keeley moded,' I recently decided to do some work to my Strat as well to celebrate my new tone.

I decided to replace my strandard strat tremolo bridge with a hardtail or 'fixed' bridge. (tremolo is that bar coming out of guitars that some guitarist crank on to give a wah-wah effect. its also really hard on strings/tuning/yourguitaringeneral) Having a fixed bridge keeps your string in tune better and increases sustain and improves all-around tone of your guitar. I also cleaned the bejesus out of it and reset the intonation, action, and pickup height. When all was said and done, it looks and sounds fantastic. Still, having your baby torn apart with it little electionic guts hanging out while taking a DRILL to the body and desoldering wires would make anyone a little scared. Here's some pics with the finished product at the bottom:

Before, with tremolo bridge

















During (the scary part)

Don't Stay Home this time...

"we don't have to, cause we don't want to."

Blogging at home... this hasn't happened for a very long time.
Its so damn cold! I used to say that my favorite season was winter. What was I thinking?! I hereby change my favorite season of the year to.... (drumroll) ...Fall! That's right, good ol' leaves-turning-brown, jacket-weather, Football-season, school-year-starting, not-cold-as-shit Fall. Look for him on the next email/profile quiz and/or survey.

So I think I have gig-commitment issues. I'm starting to think that maybe some subconsious part of my mind is preventing me from ever attempting/practicing to entire songs without stopping. I know that I can, and I know the whole song... I just don't. Which leads to apprehension about playing live, ie: never playing outside of my bedroom, as Roscommon says. As long as I just noodle, I'm safe from ever having to play in front of people. I need to break this habit if I'm ever going to progress. Step One: Identify the problem. Step Two: Listen to the Decemberists new album, because apparently, it was the best album of 2006. Step Three: rectify the problem in step one.

"don't break the mold kid, just eat around it, yeah thats what I did..."

Aural Projectiles

Incubus fans:
Go get Light Grenades. Its good. Grows on you like a fungus (amungus). Good overall sonic clarity. Good ambiances, atmospherics, flow, and delivery. These guys keep on changing and I keep on enjoying their music. Songs (and moments) to check out on the new album: A Kiss to send us off (2:40-3:40), Dig, Anna Molly, Earth to Bella part 1 (1:25-1:40), Oil and Water, and Paper Shoes. Get the acoustic version of Anna Molly if you can (b-sides), good stuff. Plus the album art rocks. Check out the "On the iPod" link to check out this album.

Innocent until proven guilty...

unless you're a muslim. Then, apparently, you're fair game these days.
Thank you, Bush Administration, for sending troops to fight for our way of life and our civil rights and liberties which you slowly take away from all of us under the guise of a protective mother. (the mother who, in an effort to keep the child from seeing harm, accidentally smothers its baby in the process.)

Heres is an article from Time Online which is a picture perfect case of why the Patriot Act isn't a good thing. I especially love the quote at the bottom, which the man says, "I started worrying once my wife realized she was being followed and there were mysterious footprints in our house." Scary stuff. Just a little too 1984 for me. The keywords of Bush, Patriot Act, and Muslim are probably enough to get Big Brother to investigate this post. I wonder if that would count as a 'hit' on my counter.

The Edge

The Edge is well known among the world's best guitarists, but is still more noted in guitarists' minds than any music critic. This is due to the fact that The Edge not only has one of the coolest rock-n-roll names ever, he's a divine king of guitar and effect TONE. Tone is a greatly underappreciated factor in guitar. Its what really set apart guitarists after you get past the 'they're good' stage. It makes 'good' become 'holy crap.' This link is an amazingly in depth look at how The Edge gets his signiture delay effect showcased in The Streets Have No Name and others. You'd recognize it if you heard it.

Great American Smoke-Out

Today, November 16th, is the American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout, when smokers are encouraged to quit for just one day.

Click here for some good stats on smoking and its effects.

This just in... Apparently, it kills you.

Who am I?

After recounting a pretty funny blog post on John Mayer's blog to Roscommon, he looked up the mentioned site. Basically, you take a picture of yourself and upload it, and the site matches the profile and facial features to celebrities. Here are my results:

Facts is facts, folks... I'm 73% Alec Baldwin, 72% John Mayer, and 67% Shitbrick.

A Political update

[ Here is ] a good story on what is happening in the Midterm Elections. Basically, the current make up of congress is Republican House of Reps, Republican Senate, and Republican Executive. In yesterday's election, the Democrats won the House of Representatives, and the Senate count stands at 50 Democrats and 49 Republicans with 1 tie in Virginia. The outcome of VA's race will turn the Senate blue or keep it red. The tie-breaker President of the Senate is currently a Rep, so we know how that will go. The above link talks about what exactly happens next in VA.

v2.0

The switch hath been made to Blogger Beta.
"And lo! Caboose looked at his blog, and it was good."

Interesting

Sometimes, I love covers. Cover songs, like, Dave Matthews playing All Along the Watchtower (a Dylan song) or Towncrier playing Wonderwall (an Oasis song) because they don't just imitate/copy the original song (much like I do). Rather, they take a different angle on them, resulting in an entirely new version of the song. I think its interesting how some listeners can really dig one verson, but the same lyrics and chords played just a little different can alter their stance. Or, you can hear a song sung by one artist, find out its a cover, then go out and investigate the original band with a different eye than you would have had otherwise.
Case and point:
Go this THIS LINK and watch "Bold As Love" played by John Mayer. This is a cover song, played with an entirely different approach. The original artist is usually pegged as a drugged-out wackjob who played his guitar way to loud and crazy. However, Hendrix was an extremely talented songwriter, as showcased in this tune.

1,000 words...

Both Homebase and Roscommon got new digital cameras recently, and I have been getting into different modes of photography with my camera of late and so, in that spirit, here are a few guides and how-to's for canon-style cameras.
Basically, Digital Cameras these days come with several settings for different kind of photo. Back in my High School days, we'd have to change aperture sized and shutter speeds manually on our SLR's. Today, there are presets to make this process easier, but only about 2-10 people use them. Here's a quick breakdown.
:Use this mode when you want to obscure the background and make the person you are shooting stand out.

:The Close-up Mode allows you to create impressive images of flowers, still life scenes, and subjects shot at close range.

:The Sports Mode pairs a high shutter speed with the AI Servo AF function, which can continuously focus on athletes, animals, or other rapidly moving subjects.

:The perfect mode for shooting nighttime scenery or people against a sunset.Shooting in this mode illuminates your subject with the flash and beautifully captures the background with a slow shutter speed.

:Use this mode when you want to avoid the reflection of a flash or shoot with the effect of natural light.

:This mode is the one to use when you want an image perfectly focused from near in to far away.

Color Settings:
Monochrome: This is a color setting (look for Sepia/B&W/etc for this setting). "When color data is discarded, light and shadows come to the fore and produce impressive images. The "Monochrome” Picture Style is not a revival of the past but an introduction to digital black and white. Monochrome offers the prospect of profound discovery and is worth the effort to master it."
Neutral: "With low saturation and contrast, the "Neutral” Picture Style leaves richer detail and gives photographers the greatest latitude for creating the finished images they envision."
Faithful: "Rather than the overall impression of a photo, the aim of the "Faithful” Picture Style is accurate reproduction of the colors of the subject. The "Faithful” Picture Style is the optimal choice for accurately reproducing color, showing the details of a pet’s fur, and in other cases when you want to express the subject without exaggeration."
Landscape: "The "Landscape” Picture Style is for communicating impressions engendered by the scenery before your eyes. Blue skies that seem like they could swallow you up. Trees swaying in the wind. More than the colors you saw, the "Landscap” Picture Style produces highly vivid images based on the colors you want to remember. The "Landscape” Picture Style also employs a high sharpness setting to clearly reproduce structures and other distant details. "
Portrait: "People are the most familiar —and the most difficult— photographic subjects. Adjusting the light level and exposure balance can produce vastly different development results. The "Portrait” Picture Style produces glowing expressions of healthy skin color for infants, children, and women. With the reduced sharpness and soft finishing of the "Portrait” Picture Style, you can almost hear the laughter of the smiling faces in your photograph."

Last, but not least, is Focus-Lock. This is a technique that anyone with a digital camera should be able to do. Most every newer camera uses Autofocus or something similar. Ever wander what the box is that appears for a split second in your LED screen when you're taking the picture? Here's how to use it to take better pictures.

These things aren't disposable cardboard cameras, people. To get your moneys worth out of them... everyone should learn these few basic tricks of the trade. Like with any hobby, it'll take practice.

Projects Pending...

After my recent iTrip canabalizing caper, I've suddenly been bitten by the 'what else can i do to tweek this thing up a notch or two' bug. These impulses have cuminated in the following project:













Its called 'Build Your Own Clone.' Its just a sack filled with transistors, amps, diodes, potentiameters, jacks, a/c plugs, LED lights, a footswitch, and a circut board. You get to dump it all on the table a solder together everything to populate the circut board, then wire all the pots, jacks, lights, and switches together. Finally, you get to finish/paint the box however you wish. I just ordered the Script Phase clone, which is the same parts as an MXR phase 90. (also, I will now have two phasers, each with different rates and depth. Mikey E. of Incubus uses this effect. See "When it Comes" or "Pardon Me" for an example)
If this project goes well, I'll proceed to my next project: the Screamer pedal (a clone of the classic Ibanez TS808 TubeScreamer) then possibly the Tremelo. Updates soon. For now, I've got to start practicing soldering.

The results are in.

Above are my results on the iTrip sugury. Results were positive, but I'd use a thicker gauge of copper next time. I've since electrical-tape wrapped these antennaes... for safety's sake.

A political quiz

I could have drawn this for you before taking the poll. I was feeling especially liberal today after reading Roscommon's link the to article by Kevin Tillman and reading about 100 of the comments. Some comments were great, and others made me fear for my country. I especially despise the "if you don't like your country anymore then LEAVE" comments. No, sir, this is my country as well, and you fucking barking at me isn't going to make me do anything but realize you're an imbicile. I'm sorry that I don't feel any safer now that our commander-in-chief has thrown out Habius Corpus (a right written directly into the constitution, older even than America itself) and can now torture his suspects as he wishes without having to document which procedures he's deemed 'humane.' So how's that multi-billion dollar war in Iraq going, Mr. President? Oh. Then I assume the civil and constitutional rights you've destroyed have made us safer? What's that you say? The actions of this country have INCREASED the number of fundamentalists and radicals joining terrorist organizations? So let me get this straight. I'll talk real slow and use small words for you Mr. President... We enjoy fewer rights, are spending BILLIONS on a war outside our borders which we are losing with no end in sight rather than on domestic problems of the poor/homeless/uneductated, AND you've managed to piss off MORE young radicals abroad. Awesome. Sir, I'd impeach you if Dick Cheney wasn't your replacement.

And by the way, you do know what happens to the shoot-first-ask-questions-later cowboy at the end of those kinds of movies, right? Let's just say that they don't make it to the credits. Perhaps a little diplomacy is in order. The way of the gun is only getting us in deeper.

A Case of the Mondays...

"shit naw... I believe if somebody said that where I work, they'd be liable to get their ass kicked." - Office Space.

So on this manic monday, I thought I'd share some insights into my workplace. As a disclaimer, my job is pretty sweet as far as desk-jobs go, especially as Cube-jobs go. Granted I'm listening to my iPod for the majority of the day, so I really can't complain. I'm a 'Commercial Processor;' which means that I get applications for insurance from 'Underwriters' who've provided instructions on how to process said policy. I then take the instructions and application and 'procces' them. Basically, I take paper and spreadsheets and make them actual insurance policies on our system and paper copies in the insureds' hands. You could also call it Glorified data processing. Whatever. Anyways, here's a peak into my plot in the CubeFarm.














Here are a few lessons/tips (yes, from an interoffice email) for all of you others in the Coporate Army:
1. Always carry a document in your hands.
People with papers in the hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with newspapers in their hands look like their heading for the restroom.
2. Have a messy desk.
Top management can get away with clean desks, but the rest of us look like we're just not doing enough work. Build large piles of papers on your desk, to the observer, yesterday's work looks just like today's so its only the volume that counts. If someone is coming to get a document, first bury it in one of the piles so you have to rummage before giving it to them.
3. Have two jackets.
Leave one jacket on the back of your chair at all times, so even when you're away it will look like you're nearby and working. When in fact you're three blocks down at the mexican restaurant.

The Puritanicals at ex-Gabes' Oasis

I made a hasty retreat from work this past Tuesday to drive to IA city to catch my younger cousin's band play a rock show at the hole-of-a-bar which was formerly known as Gabe's Oasis (where Roscommon and I have previously seen Lucky Boys Confusion). After some conversation and a pitcher or two, Scheib took the stage with his bassist and drummer. The show was raw and good. Something like the Horseshoe Spatulas meet Nirvana with a screamo twist. Scheib impressed even me with a pretty kickass solo or three. A very Cobain-ish finish complete with the drum kit getting kicked over with mike playing as loud as possible and breaking a string. Better than sitting at home watching TV for sure.
For your viewing pleasure:

iTrip = iPieceOfShitNotWorth$5

So if you've spent any time around me in the car, you already know that I MUST listen to music. Also, you know that my tape deck recently crapped out, making my tape adapter to CD player or iPod obsolete. I had to resort to the iTrip.
What the iPod/Apple store DOESN'T want you to know is that any and all FM adapters are BULLSHIT. Federal regulations force the manufacturers to seriously limit the antenna and therefore the strength of its signal (something about not wanting to interfere with other cars' radios/pirating radio stations... whatever). Either way, if you've got an iTrip, you already know that if you're not duct-taping the thing to your car's antenna, its sounds like the music was recorded in a microwave. Even if you manage to get a decently clear signal, the quality (highs and lows) of the sounds are 8track at best. Not what I got an iPod for.
After several vows to smash my iTrip with a hammer after setting it aflame inside a pentagram and circle of candles, I did some research to see if there was anything I could do to ah.. 'Tim Taylor' it. Here's what I found.
Article 1-
http://www.surfbits.com/?p=526
>Good step by step, with links to pictures. For my model of iTrip.
Article 2-
http://delicategeniusblog.com/?page_id=113
>This is the best picture-based walkthrough I've seen yet. For Roscommon's iTrip.
Article 3-
http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?threadid=98944
>Not bad, essentially article 2 with better text walktrough. Maybe combine the two.
Article 4-
http://www.instructables.com/id/E308VDYYKVEP287WG6/?ALLSTEPS
>This is the one I'm going to follow tomorrow. This is for the new LCD iTrip which I have.

What all these mods are having you do is using a razorblade to gently open the iTrip, locating the small copper internal antenna, and wrapping another copper wire around the antenna like a spring. Then, cutting a small notch in the the casing to let the newly tricked out antenna stretch out an inch or so. Suddenly, you've got a tiny pirate radio broadcast good for nearly triple the old distance and improved quality of sound. I'll post again after I attempt this mod.

Tell a friend...

Heres a show that everyone I know should be at. Good Band, Cool Venue, Good CD to buy (I know, even though I shouldn't), and even a good opener. Bring a friend!

Towncrier CD Release Show
w/ the Josh Davis Band

http://www.iowatix.com/WebSales/Pages/VenueListPage.aspx?rguid=562e4442-d112-4a3f-a5d3-9b6b237e1405

Ideas/Brainstorming

Open Mic Ideas:
Acoustic only (for now) w/ pedal board. **Possibly Half-tone lowered.

1. Taylor - Jack Johnson
2. Voodoo Chile - Hendrix (yes, acoustic)**
3. Spaghetti Streetwalker - Speechwriters LLC** (slow down)
4. Annie Dan - Speechwriters LLC** (slow down)
5. Typical Situation - Dave Matthews (practice loop)
6. Vacation - Towncrier (learn the words. don't be jerry)
7. Wonderwall or Champagne Supernova - Oasis
8. I Don't Trust Myself w/ Loving You - John Mayer (practice loop)
9. I Shall Not Walk Alone - Ben Harper (learn words)
10. Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty
11. Tomorrow - Silverchair (clean up)
12. Bartender/Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews (don't be dave)
13. The Warmth - Incubus (clean up)
14. Take the $$ and Run - Steve Miller Band

Others:
>Only in Dreams - Weezer**
>Desparation Song - Carbon Leaf
>Promise - Eve 6
>Teenage Wasteland - The Who
>The Remedy - Jason Mraz
...

This just in...

Mountain Dew - "Amp" tallboys will KICK YOUR ASS. Then it'll run around your house 5 times before igniting and leaving only a smoke trail on its way to the moon. This shit not only wakes you up, but also makes you want to -punch the nearest wall, rip out a stud, and gnaw on it for its fiber content. Basically this stuff is Rockstar with an easier to chugg flavor. Put down the crack, addicts... Amp'd MD is all you need.

You don't know AC from fluxin DC!

(wa-doop wa-oo, wa-doop wa-oo)

A fun filled weekend with friends and family. I had some peoples down to the 'partment to catch the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica (yes; its on sci-fi, and no; I don't care what you think is cool and what isn't.) We grabbed some Beaverdale Pizza and Big Gulps to go along with it and had ourselves a rockin Friday night. Frackin' right. Saturday featured sleeping in, watching 3 episodes of Lost in my pajamas until 4pm and then tailgating in Ames. After leaving the grass lots, we hoofed it to Jimmy Johns to kill the time before the Stuart Davis show at the Octagon Center for the Arts. A CD release show, the album "¿what" finally showcased several of my favorite Stu songs previously unrecorded live or otherwise. After getting our fill of sardonic, humorous, and enlightening zen buddhism we again traveled across town just in time to see Jerry's solo show at Loites' favortie coffee shop, Sante Fe. A big thank you to Loites for driving home since I can't stay awake in a car for more than 10 mins. Sunday was also a party. Hy-Vee breakfast with Madre and Roscommon followed by a Target run for a much needed vacuum cleaner. The clean apartment was good, but had a sad turn towards midnight.
See, our apartment is 'infested' with a solitary tiny mouse, whom I affectionately named Ralph (after Ralph S. Mouse from the book The Mouse and the Motorcycle). Sunday, we purchased two kinds of mouse traps; two old fashioned wire traps (finger-breakers) and two neo-modern traps which didn't seem as, uh... gripping. Tragically, Ralph wandered out that night and became entrapped in one of the new-age traps. Only, Ralph didn't die. He merely started struggling loudly and squeeking. Roscommon and I were appalled and for about 5 minutes, didn't know what to do, not wanting to even look at the tragic scene which we were listening to. We couldn't let him go outside, as there was likely an access point into the apt from the outside or basement from which he came to begin with, and we couldn't just sit there and listen to him struggle all night until he starved to death or just gave up. We came to a compromise. Roscommon would use tongs to pick up the trap and still struggling mouse and place it into the sac held by me which I took outside and placed in the large trash can. I came back in a agreed w/ roscommon that neither of us felt very good about what had just ensued. I don't like killing animals (unless they're spiders) and part of me felt very evil for what we had done. Farewell, Ralph, may you find your way to the infinite cheese and peanut-butter fields above.

Put it in a battery an save it for later...

So my cousin has a band. He's younger, played for two years less, and dammit, I'm jealous. Don't get me wrong, you rock Scheib, I'm just really jones-ing for a band right now. If you're reading this, (all 3-4 of you) and you can play bass, I want to know. Tom, you need to invest in a drum set. It'll get you out of the house. I'm even thinking about puting up a flyer or two in my workplace advertising the need of a drummer/bassist. If nothing else, I need (NEED) to starting writing again. Even crappy stuff, my creative drive is currently in neutral and rolling backwards. I think it'd help if I got a second job at Guitar Center. I'm going to look into that.
In other news, I've got a bunch of live music to look forward to this month. Stuart Davis' CD release in Ames this weekend, directly followed by Jerry Lorensen's solo gig at Sante Fe (les' favorite coffe shop). Then Kaki King that next tuesday, with two Towncrier shows the following week. Then, to top it all off, a very halloween Anathallo show at the M-shop on the 31st! I think my need for a band will only be getting worse this month. I need to do something about it.

a shout out to the city of wind

One of my favorite bands is on the rocks. I don't like to hear the word 'hiatus' from a band. Especially when its preceded by the word 'indefinate.' Lucky Boys Confusion, a pop-punk band from Chicago has yet to announce fall shows, and according the the band, they most likely won't be any. Granted they've played for around 9 years, (I remember Bossman and Fred Astaire from Junior year of HS, and they were already pretty popular.) Vikas sealed the deal my Freshman year of college w/ tracks like Saturday Night, One to the Right, and the Power (acoustic only up until a year ago). Commitment could be one of the better ALBUMS in my entire collection. But above all, these guys ROCK a live show. Heavy drinkers, especially when on stage, they thrive on the bar scene. I can only wish to put on a show as bad-ass as LBC. As a side note, I've never disappointed anyone by reccomending LBC, they've almost got as good a track record as Speechwriters LLC.
Favorite LBC tracks (in no particular order):
1. Medicine and Gasoline
2. Saturday Night
3. The Struggle
4. Atari
5. Closer to Our Graves
6. Breaking Rules
7. 40-80
8. Arizona Stand
9. Dumb Pop Song
10. Broken

Take your time, guys. Don't force it.
Here's to you, the good life, and me.

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, etc.

Things I'm hooked on recently:
1. Lost
2. Imogen Heap (of Frou Frou)
3. Pickup Switch setting 5 (towards the neck)
4. Scrubs re-runs on Comedy Central.
5. The Office.
6. Half-Life 2

Things that piss me off recently:
1. Blogger and its inconsistency.
2. U/W's who think I'll do their work for them.
3. Losing an entire post that you really like.
4. Mislabeled iPod songs.
5. Teenagers who tYpE LiKe ThIs on overdone blogs w/ more lights, moving backgrounds, and sparkles than a 4th of july parade. K.I.S.S. (wikipedia it if you have to)

Top 25 Most Played

After Roscommon posted his top played songs on shamROCK, I was compelled (and possibly coerced) to do likewise for Love Is A Stream... So here they are, only 5 months old, my most played singles. (For the record, I also listen to alot of CD's/Full albums at work, so White Stripes, John Mayer Trio, Carbon Leaf, and the like are probably misrepresented here.)

1. Love and Memories - Of A Revolution (OAR)
2. Lay Down - OAR
3. Spaghetti Streetwalker - Speechwriters LLC
4. The Sound of Settling - The Postal Service
5. Follow - Incubus (live @ Red Rocks)
6. The Warmth - Incubus
7. All Mixed Up - 311
8. Gracie - Ben Folds
9. Who Did You Think I Was - JM3
10. Heard the World - OAR
11. Solar Flare - 311
12. I'll bet that you look good on the dance floor - Arctic Monkeys
13. Landed - Ben Folds
14. Speak Easy - 311
15. Amber - 311
16. Homebrew - 311
17. The only difference between martyrdom and... - Panic! at the disco
18. The Struggle - Lucky Boys Confusion
19. Save Your Last Breath - Towncrier
20. Classic Heart-breaking Bitches - Speechwriters LLC
21. Take the $$ and Run - Stever Miller Band
22. Protection - Damon Dotson Band
23. When the president talks to god - Bright Eyes
24. Amber - Towncrier
25. Don't Let Me Go - Little Mojo

Congrats to locals Damon Dotson, Little Mojo, and TC for making the cut with the bigwigs. Next September I'll report back... See you then.

ask the axis (he knows, he knows)

When it rains it pours. Life is a roller coaster. When things are good, its tough to make calls on which opportunities to jump on, and which to pass up. Similarly, when things are bad, it seems like they're never be good again. Work is going really well, a new responsibility and new project almost every week; meeting with supervisors and directors, being offered opportunities to expand and grow after only a few months. Work is work, but at least I don't dread every day of it. There are much worse jobs out there. But. BUT, I feel like I'm leaving a BIG part of me behind. I need to have music in my life. I think I can have both. I will. Then, when I'm at my most distressed about my lack of musical direction in my life, I get an offer (more of a heavy suggestion, request) to be road manager of a band I've become friends with. These guys are really good guys, and of the bands I know, these guys have a chance to really do well. Plus, I could open occasionally, getting priceless experience in both performing and the whole music life routine. Can I balence both? I'd be BUSY (I just typed 'busty' and made myself laugh out loud at work) and that's an understatement. I can't see how I can pass up the opportunity to make valuable connections with Towncrier and the Nadas.
I've been playing alot more lately. Playing with the 'less is more' style. Straight 12 bar blues, pop-style progressions w/ only 3 chords and the like. And the occasional hendrix song. John Mayer makes me realize that I need to practice more.

gonna cut pollution down to zero

After brainstorming some ideas in our new kitchen, Roscommon and I were laughing at my plan to spraypaint "EARTHKILLER" onto the backs of Hummers. Then the idea for the above picture came up. Roscommon made this prototype this morning. Here's the plan:
Take this picture and print it on sticker paper, then affix to the back of your neighborhood Hummer in the dark of night. Civil Disobidience... Thoreau would be pleased. If you can pay $120 a week to gas up a giant 4x4 SUV that weighs over a ton, you can spend the extra 5mins to peel off the 5 inch decal (or, more likely, pay someone else in your employ to do it for you).

DSM

Finally moved compelety into the new apartment in DSM! Diggin the digs thus far... Big place, wood floors, nice kitchen. Miss not having a guitar/music stuff corner or room. The drive to work kicks ass now, though, so theres that. Here are a few pics for the virtual tour...

Also caught two more TC shows; always a good time. These are from the State Fair.

I guess i'm a "townie?"...

Party.