Speaking of fungus, you never really get far enough away from people like my family. When somebody in Hollywood says Harbor Freight, of course they mean the one that is five miles from here on Taft & University. Y’day Guitar Eddie says he saw a mini drill press there for $39.99, “in the back where the saws are set up”. This morning I drove there, and after finding none and bothering the staff, I finally called Eddie at home. Oh, he meant the Harbor Freight on West Atlantic (way up in Palm Beach County) two years ago. Thanks, Eddie. Never quite far enough.Late afternoon made up for the rough start. I jammed with Ray-B at the Wayside, a Tiki bar on the beach. The crowd response was totally positive despite our shaky presentation, but that is my point. It was not anything he or I played individually that made any difference, rather the effect of the show. It was the combination. I think I broke the club manager’s heart when I had to leave to go to bingo. The crowds in this town are starved for something new and different. I understand the reluctance to let go of a solo act, when the fear of loss is greater than the hope of gain.
Being in a duo means giving up part of your own show, part of the individuality and persona that is often years in the making. I’m as reluctant to do that as the next guy. But at the same time, our individual acts have gone as far as they can, trust me on that one. Things will never get any better unless we change the formula. I know Ray-B must have seen the crowd not just applauding, but turning away from their tables and conversations to see what was going on. I would have no problem letting the crowd, the manager, and the tip jar to do the talking for me at this point.
There was a drummer present. He added a layer, but not a dimension. The key is clearly four years of independent development of Ray-B’s guitar work, which is incidentally better when he is not singing at the same time, and the change in my bass playing to avoid repetitious notes, which is incidentally not correct at all. This represents real and progressive improvement beyond what I would expect from the mere polishing of an old stage act during the same length of time. I know this business inside out. Put another way, where others made no improvement in years, Ray-B and I are putting on a better show each time we jam. And I mean better by the elements you cannot learn or rehearse, you got it or you don't got it.
It is always hard to say what sets a crowd in motion, but speaking as a band ex-manager, I know it when I see it. I personally think it would be foolish not to follow this to the limit, you should have seen their faces. And this was not even a showcase, just a series of unrehearsed standards. My music is not outdated by any means, for “Proud Mary” at age 42 is older than 76% of my set list. How do I persuade Ray-B to resume his solo career after we are rich and famous?
Bingo was a success again, considering the noisy room and full moon. My advice to people, even in a bar, is if you see a bingo game going on, even if you are not playing, Shut The Front Door! It was like being back on the farm, where they are dead silent until you call the number. They drown you out. Then silence again. And how about the 2007 version of Excel? They stuck their noses in and messed that up, too. Before, when you wanted to find something, you clicked on the filter. Now, you have to open the filter, uncheck everything, check the one you want, and remember to uncheck it and go back and check everything, because it doesn’t cancel itself any more. Way to go, MicroSoft.
Next Friday is slated for the PCB training session. I bought Acetone, noticing it has an ingredient called Denatonium Benzoate (their capitals). Hang on while I go look that up. Hmmm, also known as denatonium saccharide, it is “the bitterest compound known”. Trivia, cats can’t taste it. It is added to toxic but sweet-tasting liquids such as anti-freeze because humans find even 10 ppm “unbearably bitter”. (I’ve always wondered why Tequila is so nasty.) The plan is to have a lesson on designing circuits, then move on to actually making a printed circuit each using the chemical baths. Everything has to work the first time, we can’t afford a repeat for many months.
I now discover there are at least two approaches to transferring the print to the circuit board. Photo etching and thermal. Isn’t it strange the 15 web sites I’ve visited that purport to teach this subject have never mentioned that? Nary a word. I thought they were all part of one longer process. But then again, when I was a kid, I figured for realism, an artist had to draw the skeleton and muscles of a portrait, like those diagrams by Da Vinci. I’m sure I told you this before, and that a doctor had to start as a hospital janitor and work his way up. That shows you how far back in the boonies my parents kept me.
Oil change time for the scooter. That’s after passing the 3,000 mile mark this weekend. At that rate, it is just not going to last. This is not a Honda. I’m looking to extend the life by routine maintenance but at this rate of mileage, I’m not going to get two years out of it. I’ve got my wrench and my 5W-30 oil and waiting for the shade to move around my front stoop. Later, there, done, and I’m going for a ten mile ride soon on bingo gasoline. Just for something to do, neener.