MORNING
To complete the morning, here is the final end of Tobacco Road, the original. It lasted 99 years says the report. My connection? I played there. It was back in 2002, and I had just come from a job interview. I was wearing a suit and tie. We played upstairs, not in the actual bar, but yes that means a lot to me. I’ve lived a life surrounded by guitar players who thought they were better than me who never played the places I did. (Right Campbell, Horcoff, Rasmussen, Gardy, Reinhardt, Allen, Bennett, Lance, and Vanoli?) And no, Ken and Wallace, just showing up at a place is not the same thing.
And you know why? Because anytime I felt like it, I could do what you are doing. I’m as capable as anyone of activities that don’t require any brains or talent. And the only way your type get on stage is become the janitor. There's just something about it all that makes me kind of proud to be on this side of the fence.
There was no protest at Cosby’s performance last night. An Orlando radio show even offered $200 gift certificates to anyone who caused a disturbance, but even that fizzled. You know what I’d like to see? A celebrity sue these accusers for slander. Of course, I’d like to see police sued for false arrest, probation officers sued for crimes by parolees, and the system changed to permit only those activities that are expressly permitted by the Constitution. But that’s just me.
I’d like to see law and order, but a little less law and a lot more order. No, you can’t let your dog bark all night, you can’t bother people with begging, you can’t collect welfare and live in the city, you can’t fight for the Taliban, and you can’t false advertise. But you can rent your house to whomever you please and hire the best candidate for the job. You can also help all the downtrodden you want, but you may not compel your neighbor to do the same against his will. I’m a Libertarian, though not to any ruinous extremes. The bank should have to pay me to wait in line.
NOON
My horoscope said not to overspend today, whatever that means. Shows you those people are guessing, playing the odds. In the same vein, I watched some material on decolonizing Earth, the situation where 1% of humanity is chosen to leave on a spaceship, the remainder will be left to their fate. The only thing for sure is that crowd is cranky as hell now, just you wait till they find out. But hey, Patsie, it is fair to say there are certain social groups of that are self-disqualifying. And that really is case of "to say the least", you silly ass.
No matter who you chose, the rest will say the criteria is biased. Yet there are droves of terrible examples of mankind that all of us can get along fine without. Since a Mars settlement must necessarily be automated, we don’t need laborers. And it would not bother me an iota if today all the politicians, queers, tax collectors, prostitutes, jocks, welfare cases, religious fanatics, and C+ programmers dropped dead on the spot.
But keep your sentries posted. You can bet when it finally dawns on all the jocks they are not on the list, they are going to try rushing you. Myself, I think if the planet really had to choose a full 1%, I’d at least make the short list. Somehow I know, however arrogant I sound, that there are not 99 people around me who, with their resources, stand a better chance than me. I’ve got a lifetime history of making do with the resources at hand. And that’s a quality Mars will need in abundance.
Is the Earth really doomed? We know America is on the way out. And that’s no conspiracy theory. Actually, it is rather easy to cook up conspiracies. Without really trying. Let me give it a whirl. Okay, how about this one? The USA is not the first group in the New World to become reliant on a corn crop and lack adequate curbs on Spanish-speaking immigration. That was the Mayans and look what happened to them. Hmmm, not bad for a first try.
NIGHT
Shut my mouth, bingo tonight was at near record levels. And there’s more. Since next week is the last (unless that changes, too), a large contingent of the Moose crowd told me they had been coming yo bingo because of the excellent music show. The assumption had been they were there because one of the other staff was a friend. I know—so now they tell me. I’d suspected it all along and that they never said anything in case it led to a price rise. That’s fair.
Great show it was, but it’s done. I’ll never find another Jimbos. It’s a California style of working class pub that has been squeezed out of business by the restaurant and family type establishments. I’m curious what will replace things, since the landlord has been exceptionally difficult about passing the business on to another such pub. Odd, that is, because the location would do well with even a sign on the roof, which the landlord refused to allow.
Last for now, watch for the new scam at the gas station. The goof approaches you for directions, but he is actually scouting you for your reaction. He’s after money. Do you know directions to, always, some place fifty miles up the road? If you do, he is “shocked” that he doesn’t have enough gas money to get there. When you call him on the bullshit, he acts offended since he was only asking for directions, right? Wrong. As a rule, I don’t like high school dropouts and their antics. If he really wants directions, ask inside.
Myself, I got out of bingo late and had to buy a 7/11 coffee at midnight. I considered a burger until I saw the ingredient label. Drop back in a day or so and I’ll go over it. But I’m struck solid by these people who fortify junk food with vitamins. What’s the philosophy? People collapse their arteries with junk food so add artificial vitamins for mental balance?
ADDENDUM
Here’s a cute link, It’s Impossible to Sing and Play Bass. This guy does a credible job of presenting his point, he certainly spells out the details. However great he is, do notice he is basically pulling off a Paul McCartney. Whenever he sings, he carefully arranges things to make sure he is not playing anything complicated at the same time—the song is deftly arranged to disguise that. But this dude is good.
But I notice the McCartney influences, which by the way I do not have. I have never been a McCartney fan much. So I quickly notice when the man in this demo (Leonhart) employs any of the tricks I did back when I was developing my style. (Remember, I only learned to sing in 2009 and that alone was monumental for me.)
He plays only strictly timed runs on the beat when doing most fills. When he syncopates, he plays notes in unison with his lyrics. Most all, he is chanting to his own lyrics, which is also cheating. It is a different proposition to take somebody else’s music, written without your limits in mind, and properly present it with full lyrics and no stilting of the bass line. Trust me, I know precisely how difficult that is.
Before any of you run out and try it, here is some advice. If playing bass can be considered one thing, then singing and playing bass simultaneously is doing at least four things at once. And before you get any ideas of doing this on stage, in a crowded and critical environment, know that it gets even worse. If, on top of that, you expect to get out there and perform a truly top-notch show, I think you get the idea.
To go beyond even those considerations and cut a hit record featuring such bass and vocals has yet to be done. For that matter, in five years I have never found a guitarist who fully understands the concept and plays his role properly. Few of the “bass greats” do any real solo work. There are reasons for all this, the main reason being it is impossible to sing and play bass at the same time.
This guy is so good, he could fool most anyone. But I challenge him to sing play “Spiders & Snakes”. Right here, on my stage. Because when he’s done, I’m gonna show him how.
Today's Togla Treat:
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