And I’m a mess. I’ve nicely picked up the flu. Probably from the crowd last night, small as it was. But that is fine because, see this fire plug? Yeah, well like me, it is probably warmer than you are this morning. Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha. I saw the weather report on the overhead up at Dunkin. Little chilly up there, is it? Good.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
January 19, 2014
Today's event was rehearsal. While the new lady singer and I have lounges in common, that is not to say we played the same music. We certainly didn’t. There are a number of reasons someone would play a lounge, and one of mine was definitely not to appeal to the generations ahead of me. I’ve had a fine career in clubs without playing totally obscure tunes that have a fringe audience of pseudo-executive types. I mean, who else would even know a tune called “Angel of …” Something or other. Put another way, what can be said, broadly speaking, about a tune I heard for the first time in my entire life just this afternoon?
Later. Montgomery. Angel of Montgomery, as in Alabama. Where do they even find such music? Later I found out it was Bonnie Raitt, who on the suggestion of John Prine, wrote “another song about old people”. Hmmm, since we do other Raitt material, apparently this band is true to its 1950s-60s format. Well, almost. Apparently the singer can bring in new material, just not the bassist. Ahem. And tell me that isn't country music.
There are some differences, such as my lounge bands rarely had a “piano” player like now, or in the other extreme it was just me and a keyboardist. It all means I don’t relate quickly to this band’s choice of guitar-based slow music. Still, the sound is great, it has an edge, and excitement, that is due to the layered vocal harmonies. It makes for about as pretty a presentation as is possible without a soundman present. I’m looking forward to the gig. What’s interesting to me is I now see a pattern of nervousness appear in certain other members before each gig, whereas I have no such apprehensions. My bass lines don’t have to be perfect as long as there is overall musical skill. I do not get stage fright.
No exciting times to report, between the cold weather and the flu, I’m staying put. Lots of chicken soup. I had to smile at the price difference up at the Piggly Wiggly between chicken soup and herb chicken soup. Forty cents a can. The difference is a pinch of Italian seasoning so small the value cannot be measured. What? Oh, my chicken soup. It is home-made. I just noticed the canned prices last time I was up there. I’m one of those individuals who believes chicken soup helps, and no, not just the steam as some theories put it. This flu comes with a very sore throat, so I’ve been wearing a surgical mask for two days—around the house. So I’m not breathing the cold air that arrived, coincidentally I’m sure, around the same time.
The scooter is back in operation after a few teething problems. It might look strange the way I’m bundled up like an Alaskan, but I know how to keep warm on a motorcycle. This cold is comparable to what I hit in the early mornings on the big trip last November. You saw me at the Grand Canyon and that is the outfit I’m wearing. For you prairie types, don’t be bragging it isn’t cold until you’ve experienced the same temperatures at 85% humidity. When it is dry, you can walk in shirtsleeves across the Atacama. But not Florida.
Things bounced around a bit today, I’ve had other priorities. How can I say that? Isn’t this blog my biggest deal? Nope, and neither is sports. At rehearsal today some of the guys are continually glancing over the divider to see if Denver is ahead. Meanwhile, the singer and I are, like, “Denver who?” This ball cap priced at $25 smackeroos is enough sports for me. Sports is one thing, but spending money on it is another. And anyone who says it teaches cooperation should go to a hockey game.
ADDENDUM
I got home early enough to watch some documentaries on telescope design. It is well-known that stars twinkle due to atmospheric distortion, but not so concerning the methods used to compensate for it. In my day, a laser was fired upwards to an orbiting mirror. By measuring the deformation of this known light source as it reflected back to the telescope, a computer could be used to unscramble the image. But I always knew this was only half-effective, since the laser was warped twice (outgoing and incoming) and the images used only the returning beam.
Today I watched a laser that created an “artificial star” 60 miles up. This saves money from having to orbit a mirror, but seems to me the same problem persists. The laser is still ground based and anything results must necessarily have passed through the atmosphere twice. It probably works well enough, but I’m not convinced they couldn’t do better.
