FATE

I can usually tell when and if I'm meant to have the things that I want. A perfect example of what I mean ensued last week.
I've been tinkering around more on my keyboard, kindly loaned to me in college by TexasToast, but its small range, tin-y sound, unweighted keys, and lack of a suspension pedal slowly eat at me. I'm sort of a tone (sound quality) freak, and not being able to get the sounds I want is frustrating. So I had decided that I would save up and buy a nice electric piano. That went fine.
Then last week, I had saved enough and wanted to go and get it on Tuesday. That day, however, I dropped my car off for an oil change and checkup. Of course, fate decided that I was not meant to have the piano. I had saved $370 for the exact price of the piano, but my brakes needed work done. The final bill? $370. Plus tax. Why me?

HP5 Trailer

I saw this trailer before Spider-Man 3. Its much longer than the original trailer, and I feel that it portrays the feeling of the 5th installation of HP a little better. Notice that nearly every scene is dark, overcast, featuring black or dark blues... Much like the cover of the 5th book. These are dark times in the Wizarding world, and the environment seems to match. I also like that Harry seems to be finally becoming the hothead that he seems to be in the later books. Movies-Harry seemed a little too passive aggressive for my taste, but this movie seems to show his flippant/no time for childish games anymore attitude. And, most importantly, Snape gets a little more character breathed into his stiff shell from prior movies.
Snape: "You're not strong enough!"
Harry: "You're wrong!"
Snape: "Then PROVE it!"

Finally!

Since college, I've always complained of a lack of a decent practice space to play in. We had Brock's house's basement for the last year, and even though it was tiny, it could still house a massive drum set, two huge (and heavy) amps, and a few chairs. Good times down there. Since graduating, I haven't had the chance to play with drums/drummer, or really crank my guitars. Tom (my drummer friend) bought the sweet drum set we used, but since we all lived in apartments, couldn't ever play it. Now all that's changed.
Tom bought a house. With a basement. With room for a drum set, and amps, and guitars, and even extra space for more stuff. Which means I now have zero excuse for not at least attempting to write some music and a loosely formed band. July 1st, I'll need to invest in some earplugs.

SRV

Listening to more Stevie Ray Vaughan lately. The dude could PLAY. His life, death, and career was so quick and intense that the amount of respect he gets (now) is surprising. He started playing blues/rock before it was popular, which got him and his band boo'ed at Montreaux in 1982. However, he returned to headline just 3 years later to a VERY different response. His career only lasted until 1990 when he died in a helicopter crash (which he wasn't even supposed to be on, he sweet talked his brother out of his seat). Eric Clapton, his good friend who had also shared the stage with him the night before had to identify the body. SRV is eligible for the rock and roll hall of fame next year.

I thought this was interesting: check out the cover of the 'Blues/Rock guitar masters' lesson book I found on the GigaWeb. Recognize the guitar on the cover? See where I'm coming from, people? I think the one on the cover is supposed to be a Rory Gallahger strat, actually. Interesting that he's not even listed on the cover. The SRV #1 relic is way more abused than this guy. Plus the pickguard doesn't match up. But who's gonna notice? (this guy)

Energy Drink follow-up

I haven't gotten the most sleep this past week or so, and after dragging ass all day yesterday at work, I thought a full night's sleep was in order last night. However, apparently I was defaulted on more than 1 good nights sleep as today I was still running on fumes. So, at 8am I thought I'd try my favorite energy drink, Amp'd Mt. Dew to kickstart my day from Reverse to 6th gear without pressing the clutch, pour napalm into the gas tank, and put a mean-teeth-thing on the grill of the car that is my life.
But then, disaster. No Amp'd in Vend-o-land. What to do. After several people (and anybody on MTV Cribs) have harped on me that Monster is the way to go, I thought I'd finally give it a try (and since I didn't really have a choice). Basically, the stuff tastes exactly like Rockstar, only in a different can. I did notice that the Monster can has more taurene in it than my tried and true Amp'd. I noticed just after I downed the last drop, and envisioned myself suddenly Hulk-ing out, turning green, ripping out my hair and screaming while typing a thousand miles an hour at about 10% quality.
Sadly, what actually ensued was much less exciting. The Monster only seemed to wake my mind up (311 reference) and not my body. I was hyper and alert, but my body was still screaming at me to just sit down and not move for the rest of the day. Final answer: If Monster tastes worse than Amp'd and only seems to jumpstart your head, what's the point? I hear that theres an 'orange' Monster, maybe I'll try that next.
Stoppable, any new energy drink discoveries? Still on your diet Rockstar kick?

Summer Concert Line Up

Its summertime, and that means concerts. Well, more concerts anyways. This year already has several lined up, with more to come. Here's the breakdown thus far.

Little Mojo - May 18th
Steph Taylor - May 20th
A Chicago show (no details, there are people who still read this that I'd LOVE to never ever see again...)
Towncrier @ Clive After 5 (gotta love the outdoor shows post-work)
Poison Control Center @ Vaudeville Mews June 15th
John Mayer/Ben Folds - June 18th
Puritanicals - June 23 @ the Picador (formerly Gabe's Oasis)
311 & Matisyahu - July 1st

As always, there are a few that come up last second, and I'm always open to suggestions...
An acoustic Open Mic tomorrow, and several other ideas planned for summer performances.
Stay tuned...

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV

Sometimes music seems to just fit perfectly with your life, attitude, etc. I had mentioned that last week was the DCFC- Plans album... this morning was Coheed and Cambria. The title track and title of this post was enough to make me almost freak out at my desk. (Sometimes I get a little to 'into' the music I'm listening to...) These guys are interesting, read about them on WikiPedia (Quiet, you). They have crazy good guitars and themeatic writing are similar to a graphic novel. The albums are all concept albums like Tommy by the Who, and deal with an overarching storyline. The albums are based on actual graphic novels written by frontman Claudio Sanchez. The whole storyline is described here. While the whole album is listen-able, my guilty favorite is still A Favor House Atlantic. Radio-listeners might remember this one as the "good eye, sniper/I shoot/you run... the words you scribbled on the walls/with loss of friends you didn't have..."
Changing gears....
The more I listen to Ben Folds, the more excited I get about the upcoming John Mayer / Ben Folds concert. Gonna be SWEET. Get a kickass hookup on tickets from a guy at work who used to work at the Iowa Events Center. I had told myself I wasn't going to another Mayer concert unless it was in a small venue (or if the John Mayer Trio reforms). But since these tix are way closer than I ever would have been able to get myself, I'll make an exception. Plus I've never seen Ben Folds before.
Ben's music is so aurally pleasing with the tinkling piano, I often find myself knowing the words but not actually listening to them. His music is amazing in that the songs are quality music and yet the lyrics are so witty and funny that you almost don't notice it. I just caught this snippet of a song that made me laugh out loud. (Peavy amps are usually really old, usually low-end, and made for distortion and metal music rather than clean tones.) The idea that the guy takes his girlfriend with him to a shop to shred on guitars while she sits on the screaming amp looking bored is a sight not all that uncommon in a Guitar Center or Mom & Pops Guitar Shoppe.
"Sara spelled without an H is getting bored...
On a Peavy amp from 1984...
While Zak without a C tried out some new guitars,
Playin Sara with no H's favorite song...
La da da, da da da, la da da..."

John Mayer on Jimi Hendrix

John Mayer is fairly eloquent when talking/writing about music. He's had a few articles in Esquire and other magazines, and his blog usually makes for good reading. Since we both write about similar topics most of the time, this entry on his blog was particularly interesting. For the record, THIS LINK is to a post of my own from back in February which basically says the same thing. I'm just copy/pasting the John's whole post here:
"I was listening to Jimi Hendrix in the car today - which in Los Angeles means that I spent a lot of time listening to Jimi Hendrix today -when, to paraphrase the movie White Men Can't Jump, I stopped listening and started hearing Jimi.
I was zoning out to one of the many CDs cobbled together from studio outtakes when I began to wonder how Hendrix could play guitar for so long and still manage to keep me interested. His extended jams sometimes stretched out for longer than ten minutes, and still it all seemed necessary. ('Jam' doesn't really describe Hendrix's playing because it suggests something of less worth than he was actually engaged in.)
So the question posed to myself became 'how?' How did Hendrix get away with sticking so many landings in his soloing while the rest of the guitar playing world are left saddled in their own self-doubt? Was it the drugs? Well, maybe, but in my experience drugs never elevated people beyond their inborn capacity. Was it because he was the first to have assembled the perfect amalgam of Elmore James and The Big Bang, therefore relieving him of constant comparison to someone before him? This is harder to discount, but it's better covered in what I believe is the real explanation.
Jimi Hendrix, whether by chemical escapism or by the luxury of singularity that discovery offers, never played guitar sheepishly. He was so rooted in 'now' (which unfortunately at its most immediate sounding is still only best known as 'then') that he never read over his own ticker tape while he played. Maybe after, sure - that's where self-betterment stems from - but in the act, when thinking about yourself does you no good, there was no judgment. By not considering the expression worthless, he made it momentous.
And maybe that's one of the many things I have left to learn. Maybe I need to bend a note without concurrently wondering if it's going to reach the right pitch; maybe I just start closing my eyes and bending away. And with statistics showing that over 90 percent of my readership doesn't know what a minor pentatonic scale is, I bet this is worth transposing into non-musical terms. So here goes: close your eyes, get out of your own way, and JAM."
well said, John.

Icky Thump

On the drive into work this morning, I FINALLY caught a song that I've been hoping to hear for a while. The next White Stripes album, Icky Thump, comes out next month and the title track was released to radio a little while ago, but I haven't been lucky enough to hear it. The song wasn't announced-just started playing but from first distorted riff and crashing/booming drums I knew what it was. Shit, son... I cannot WAIT for this album. I couldn't find a good link to the new single to stream, but suffice to say, its bluesy (its the Stripes, c'mon... thats what they do) its loud, its simple, and it kicks ass. I'd compare it to Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine meets Hardest Button To Button. I did find a pretty sweet tabs/equipment/technique page for Jack's music.

Nope found a link- on You Tube

ICKY THUMP

blow your blues/rock/experimental mind to this and try not to nod your head to Meg's freakin drums.

Social D

Nothing like some punk rock on a Wednesday... put on your chucks, dingy white tees, and show off your newest tattoos. (Bad hair dye jobs optional, along with that studded belt you got at hot topic) Social Distortion is one of the classic "punk" rock bands. Often discussed with the early punk movement with bands like Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and Minor Threat. I can stomach Social D a little more than some of the others due to the blues roots in much of their music. (Bad Religion gets its playtime too) This show is going to be interesting, I expect to be one of the younger people in this crowd. I also expect to get my ass kicked pretty soundly, but hey, otherwise it wouldn't be punk.
Maybe they'll do an Avril cover... I hear she's punk.