Hershey may not be the worst offender, but I learned of their participation in the obnoxious J-1 visa program. This brings unsuspecting students into factories for “apprenticeships” that amount to indentured labor. Even if Hershey has their own side of the story, what has happened to these students is unacceptable and I am ashamed America still allows such inequity. My boycott is permanent, Hershey, even if you rectify matters, the fact you ever sunk so low is unforgivable.
I’m aware of the economics, that the students may have left worse jobs behind; that if the production is shifted overseas there would be no jobs at all, etc. But for an established industry to rook students into paying thousands of dollars to travel to jobs where they will never earn it back is not the act of patriotic, compassionate Americans. I myself was exploited as a student and will never be impartial to scum-bag employers. Those who refuse to pay a living wage don’t belong in a free country.
That whole thing with Hershey puts me in a bad mood, which is a good time to bring up a music point. People who play rhythm instruments are expected to learn the right chords. That’s your job, not mine. Why should I figure them out and then teach them to you? It just isn’t right to be always asking the bass player what chord you should be playing. I often have no idea what “chord” I’m playing, since bass has no chords. You can play them, but that ain’t bass. I just know I have my part right note for note.
Gold is pulling back. A week ago I calculated that gold was overpriced by $538.33 per ounce. This morning, Barron’s agreed with me. Gold peaked at $1,897 per ounce, hinting at the normal “correction” of 33% means a price drop of $632, making my error a hundred bucks on the safe side. Silver will follow shortly. If money won’t buy gold, it certainly won’t buy food. Let me look at the brochures in my mailbox. Extra large pizza $18.00. Bottle of Scotch $30.00. Good thing I don’t like either of those, but I’m so old I won’t tell you what they cost in my day.
I needed to unwind. I didn’t leave the house, instead caught up on a couple movies. Do you suppose every assassin eventually gets betrayed by his employer and has to go after him? Does every retired Special Forces dude get called back for jobs nobody else can handle? Are the only really exciting women left in the world strippers or hookers? Can I handle another fifty movies like these? Probably. What I do know is that there is an executive order that every US embassy in the world must assist the CIA when requested to do so. It ensures an endless supply of themes for violent movies. Good, because in another 36 months, our economy may be based on making them.
Of course, I honed my base lines for this Friday’s gig. I’ve discovered a novel riff, when I say novel it is based on whether or not I’ve ever heard it before in the thousands of tunes I play. Not to say it hasn’t been done, just that my excellent memory knows whether I’ve heard it before. The reason I insisted JJ and I each learn 15 of each other’s picks is because my method allows that in that time, we will become accustomed to what musical habits we have in common.
I point out this is different from the way guitar players getting “in the groove”. That process always seems to resolve to standardized, predictable riffs hovering at a grade four music level. At the other extreme, as long as JJ turns off the auto-chord, we have already punched out credible versions of Jimmy Buffett and Don Gibson. These are by no means mainstream rock or blues artists and I’m saying we played the parts most other bands would leave out. Some may say this could not work, but it works mighty fine. It just takes more hard work at the beginning.
Want to hear something funny? A lot of people reject this style of practicing technique instead of individual songs. So I have to chuckle when my riffs creep into JJ’s repertoire, the guy who said he didn’t want to play them. The explanation is simple. I play an extra element of what the audience thinks they hear. It isn’t really there, but it causes the other musicians to listen to the original music with a different ear. It then subconsciously shows up in their performances. You should have heard JJ play Spiders & Snakes guitar chop y’day. May I add this is all taking far too long for my liking.
