Karaoke last night at the Upper Deck was fun, for me anyway, though not for other men. By that I mean the majority of pretty girls in the place that were singing all knew me on a first name basis. (Read that back to me, you didn’t quite get it right the first time.) It never hurts one’s rep to be approached by sexy women and, significantly, not any others. I encourage this behavior by talking to only one woman at a time even if a prettier one is standing by. That’s correct, each conversation is individual. And I’m impossible to distract.Today I learned when buying a used sidecar, look at the muffler. I knew the sidecar windscreen caused water to blast on your right leg, but I hear it also splashes the hot muffler, causing it to wear out faster.
Did you hear about the California student whose name is on the no-fly list? He walked across the border from Mexico. There you go. I talked to Alman, the drummer, who wants to proceed with playing out before we rehearse the total set. He is also a fan of slow music, referring to all-fast music as “polka bands”. He forgets the audience can play the slow stuff on the juke box during breaks. But, to get back on stage, I’ll play the droners. We also discussed the limited value of three-part harmonies. I think they are a studio technique that is not productive in a part-time stage band.
He also has an interesting take that during the summer, you get more work because the other bands take the season off. I don’t use that philosophy when hitting on women and I doubt it’s usefulness for playing finding band work. But, we agree there is plenty of material already and we need only polish it up. Either way, now I have a digital recorder.
My half-year review shows that it is time to get out of the computer business. The rules that applied to my partners have now finally affected me. If you need a reminder, we all made the same money, but I was software so I didn’t have the expenses they did. But the cash has tapered off to the point where even that isn’t worth. I’m okay with the odd special project. It was a fascinating career while it lasted but I lost money four months in Q1 and Q2.
Concerning what I’m about to say next, I remind the reader of my guaranty that I will delete, edit, or retract anything that is shown to be inaccurate. But that does not, repeat, does not extend to situations where my take on a given situation is just as valid as those who can't get the facts straight. It’s plain dumb to expect a retired accountant trained in classical piano to look at a gig the same way as some half-educated flunky. And that is that, Zack-boy.
Tell you who else is losing money. Cowboy Mike. We are polar opposites when it comes to music. He hasn’t learned a new song in thirty years, doesn’t work the crowd, and has not improved one iota since I met him in 2005. Now he’s getting territorial and choosing sides. Oddly, we’ve discussed making money in a band and he’s going about it the wrong way. Like most musicians, he does not, or through lack of education, cannot track his own expenses and thus has no clue about his net.
He teams up with other third rate performers and plays obscure places for tips only. (So do I, but I make money at it.) The sad thing is these types think they are making extra pocket cash but in reality they probably don’t cover the gas money to get to the gig. Shown nearby [without the amounts] are the 25 data entries of my expense tracking for April and May this year. AC is my pro-rated business share of the electricity used to air condition the room I practice in. Hey, Mike, this is what professionalism looks like.
So I stopped at Sweeney’s. Around four women instantly recognized me but all had dates. The band was excellent although they were like listening to a recording session. It is a little pricey but bingo took care of that. I was surprised at the number of people from this neighborhood who hang out there. I got the manager’s card. It’s less than a mile from where Mike plays to an empty room that, if I can help it, will get even emptier.
Old stewardesses (I remember when the average age was 19, not 44)
Specialty meals (Religious? Allergic? Bring your own damn food.)
Noisy passengers (Includes cell phones, babies, snoring.)
Loud earphones (And bad taste in music. They’re partners.)
Pilots who make announcements while you’re trying to sleep.
ADDENDUM
The mixer recorder arrived, minus the manual and original packaging as described in the sales blurb. It also (as I suspected when the spec was missing) uses an off-brand memory card, so they got me on that. Now, beware of Guitar Center’s new “policy” of showing ID to buy things, even for cash. They say it is to prevent fraud if the article is returned, which sounds like an excuse and tips off bad guys where to find the lax security. (Besides, they issue a refund check, not cash, so they are lying in the first place.) But when you go to the checkout, the clerk asks for ID a second time and proceeds to write down your information.
That, Guitar Center, was not part of the deal. Many people, myself included, pay cash to stay off databases and you should respect that. I had to move fast to snap my card out of her hands. Of course, they try reverse psychology on you, but the fact is, even if you have plenty to hide, it isn’t any business of Guitar Center, “The Drop-Out Company”. Exercise constant vigilance, showing your ID momentarily is NOT the same as letting them record it for later use.And don’t buy their story that all the data they collect is already public information. Not true. If it was, why are they recording it again? Very few honest people ever need to know your middle name, current address, and birthdate. If they need to see your ID again, they can ask you in person again. Unless, of course, they’ve got something to hide. Like an agenda. Myself, I figure I got lots to hide and hopefully I always will. In reality, you only need to hide it from ass-clowns like Guitar Center.
Later, I apologize a little, for the Boss does specify an off-brand card on page 5 of the manual. My mistake, I didn’t know “Compact Flash Card” was an off-brand name. (Right? “This unit uses a compact flash card”. I forgot to duck.) Now, about that off-brand card. It uses WAV files, which are huge.
The time listed in the advertising is 65 minutes. But that is if you are recording only one channel, which defeats the purpose of buying a mixer. Using a minimum of 4 channels, divide the time by four. Or about the length of a single song with their standard 128k card. Their maximum 1GB card would thus manage 8 simple songs. Worse, this unit records one song at a time, that’s it. Then you have to export it to do another. As far as I can see, there is no way to export the tracks, only the mixdown (final stereo) versions. Way to go, there Boss BR-600 people!
But let’s look at a few things they did get right. One, the system is around 30% easier to use than the nearest Tascam competitor. The LCD screen is better designed and shows all eight channels at once during record and playback. All equipment jacks are standard, that’s phono plugs for instruments, 1/8” for line inputs, and RCA for outputs. The controls are somewhat intuitive and designed to prevent errors, for instance, the nice flashing buttons that warn if a track is not vacant. It is evidently a 5+ generation design.
I was able to produce a four channel recording within a half-hour but it is doubtful a complete beginner could. There are too many things to watch for and I had to reboot the system, a move that could cost the unwary a world of hurt. But, I have an amateur recording ready for mixdown and am confident I could run a 24 channel board. I will have to invest in studio microphones soon.
