Jimbo’s was right, it is unwise not to have a recording of my “Not Half Bad” show. It still has to be done right. Not being tired, I was up until 3:30 AM planning the shoot. This should be the best planned two-camera work I’ve ever done, possibly some three-camera if the files prove compatible. This also got me to revitalize a lot of gear I have not used in years. As soon as I borrow an old cassette tape deck, I’m in business. The audio goes through the Gigrack PA.I also put Pinnacle through advanced testing, to discover that you have to be around to turn the thing off or it wrecks your disk, just like a Sony. That is, if you are not present when the input device (usually a camcorder) herringbones or goes into rewind, you just wasted an entire recording session. Why these companies are such dorks is mysterious.
Pinnacle does not have a decent overlay generator. All the good features require buying activation keys. Don’t you hate software companies that do that? I found a DVD disk of the last major practice session with the Hippie with Brian and me. If you want proof why that band didn’t last, watch that recording. His idea of a band is you learning his versions of everything. This was also the only time we really practiced with a drum box and he is really bad at it, constantly complaining the speed was wrong. (It seems to be a generic complaint of those who don’t like drum machines. Second most common is saying it has the wrong beat.) He also continually questions bass lines that are beyond correct.
I will say again, that claiming a drum machine inhibits expression is the mark of a hard-head. Changing speed on stage is probably the least effective and most amateurish of techniques. Following along, you see the Hippie finds something wrong with every last innovation except his own. It was shortly after this I decided I could do better myself. I now play to 100% recorded tracks and have not one of his predicted problems with speed, timing, audience appeal, diversity or presentation.
Marcus called to cancel the meeting this afternoon. Everybody forgot this was Easter. Things are postponed for a week, and he is still reluctant to say what the product is. That could be a good thing. He was in for the shift y’day and made only $45. Those are what is called a “decline” or just a “deek”, meaning the buyer’s credit card didn’t hold anything (was over the limit) but they still bought for a commission of $11.25.
Several forgotten tapes from Venezuela, including shots of my wrecked taxi (hit while parked in a shopping center) are finally burned to DVD. This is still a touchy undertaking that seems to go wrong the moment you turn your back on it. The most recent tapes are from late 1999. There are shots of Ivan and I going over repair receipts. The jerk who hit our car had a rich daddy who took forever to pay. I had to fix his attitude late one night, but even then we only got half the money before I left.
I’ll try to get some stills from these fairly fascinating one-of-a-kind videos. How many Americans do you know drive along the Orinoco in their own taxi with the driver singing “Last Kiss” in Aztec? Too bad I was so broke in those days, there were so many opportunities I had to pass up. The beautiful streets we drove along have since been bought up by Arab merchants. (The Orinoco has some of the last good waterfront property left on the planet.). There are pictures of the fantastic house I did not buy because I didn’t have $8,000 on me.
The rain has kept me indoors for two days, which is when the most tape burns to DVD take place. If it rained long enough, I’d be producing full-length movies. (It has been raining nearly a day and a half.) Strange, [there is] no word from Wallace. Maybe because he’s on his way here to see the new place? If I don’t put a finance package together, then it is entirely possible I’ll be leaving Florida.
Meanwhile, here’s trivia. Apparently a game of billiards, called a “match”, can involve walking up to three miles. Double that if your beer is back over on the bar. Triple that if there is a bass player nearby and you can get in each other’s way. That is is nearly 16,000 feet and quite a hike which means pool is a sport for serious athletes. It explains why their champions have nicknames like “Minnesota Slim”.
Last, when I went to pick up my gear at Jimbo’s today (because it was raining so bad I had to leave it there on Friday), the Troll made two requests for my next show. This is astonishing, no less astonishing than if the Hippie were to ask me for a Periodic Table of the Elements. The requests were for the Spider song and the Henry song. Goes to show you.
