One year ago today: August 29, 2018, Boss Hogg studio.
Five years ago today: August 29, 2014, Burger King absconds.
Nine years ago today: August 29, 2010, constant humid drizzle.
Random years ago today: August 29, 2009, never saw it again.
Rehearsal 9:00AM to noon. I was there the full three hours, watching closely and beginning to see the factors consequential to me. The band already breaks a number of rules. First is the band already has more than one dominant personality. That normally means hightail it for me, but here’s situation where they are all equally dominant. That’s pretty damn rare and it has the effect, for this band, of raising the bar. I got around 40 minutes video footage and while that may not sound much, I was not recording the songs. I was recording the rehearsal procedure, not the music.
The piano player instantly spotted my background in classical. He can play on keyboards anything I can produce on the bass. What can’t be reproduced is the touch of a trained bassist. The sound is wrong. At one point I had considered learning to play a keyboard bass, but none of them get close enough to the touch of a good bass. I was impressed by how they were able to communicate over sound and technique between the instruments and it involves criticism. These guys traded comment on a scale that would explode the head of any guitarist I know in Florida. I can now hear the method the other bass guy uses and he is great, but too guitar-fisted to compete with my sound. He can syncopate, but does so like a lead player. This could still be my big chance. He’s incredibly good, but they want him on rhythm. So do I.
So we have a bassist who obviously would rather be playing rhythm, a piano player who grasps what I play, and a guitar player who cares less as long as it sounds good. These guys are also able to identify chords by the sound, while I’m limited to individual notes. I know a 7th when I hear it but most of my other riffs I do by ear without concern of what chord tones they might be.
For the last hour, the new lady singer showed up. I know her from somewhere but it was at a distance. I think I may have seen her on stage somewhere. She’s got that sound most people like but I actually like the other lady’s voice a little more. They went through all the new material that has just appeared on the list in the last two weeks, not enough time for me to go through them yet. I could play them, but not to my satisfaction. The other bass guy, if he switched to rhythm, would be an excellent type for a bar band. As in a duo of him and I. The trick in a duo is how quickly you recover from mistakes – not your own, Hippie, the other guy’s.
He’s already mentioned that as a possibility when the full band is not working full time. I’ll give some space for him to bring it up again, say a week. He’s good enough for a solo, which normally dooms a guitarist because that makes him just like every other guitarist. Soloing with music is a dry existence. If I had a steady gig, rather than solo ever again I’d hire some old Hippie to stand there and play the bongos. He may think the same. If he does, it’s instant shortcut to plenty of work.
Catalonia.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
Tennessee property. Another perfect summer day got me back looking. If you recall my five-year plan, it was in year four that I had a down payment on a house when along came a house for cash at that price. I did not slack on the savings, setting them aside. I mentioned the house “paid” for itself this year, but may have forgot to report I also kept putting that “rent money” aside and I still have it in the bank. Where this fits into the picture is two ways. Statistically and socially.
Socially, I have a natural aversion to borrowed money, and people who borrow it. But I’m barely flexible enough when it comes to real estate that is both a residence and an investment. Just watch out what I mean by investment. My last place is an investment and most people would not have gone for it. Yet if I sell, I’ve tripled my money. There was a lot of work put into the place that doesn’t count because it was for the purpose of learning. And socially, I have a lady that is reliable beyond what most men can dream of. If we throw in together, she has no problem borrowing money. So I looked at what we could afford, and I am conservative with such calculations.
A few months ago the critters and I drove though that beautiful area north of Lebanon Pike on the way to Mt. Juliet. There are small acreages there starting at $150,000. Mortgage rates are as low as 1%. With my down payment, and what the Reb is already paying out, we could own something in 5 years. Yet, I’m more likely to say stay put, save up a lump sum, and see what happens in 2020. What if Trump doesn’t get in? This county would go for a major dump if the commies win. Anyway this is the place I’ve been looking at. It’s on 1.5 acres with a private driveway, surrounded by trees. We would own it within four years. But is that wise? (It last sold in 2012 for $64,000.)
ADDENDUM
But now, if I was a single man, I’d take a harsh look at this property. It is a little further out in east Mt. Juliet. The attraction is $3500 down and 48 payments of $1,000. Owner-financed. One bedroom, one acre, one riverfront. The downside? Something we’d have to find out because it’s been listed for two years. One is that the land does not perk, so no indoor plumbing. It gives you a clear idea of how little I need to be happily retired.
It is on two lots of around a half-acre each. There’s a nearby boat ramp. Electric service only. I can’t find out if there is an HOA, but that could be why he’s got no private ramp. Anyway, this is representative only. I’m not buying this place. When they don’t mention HOA, there is a search filter you can click on to specify your maximum HOA fee. Put it on the lowest setting and see if the property disappears. This one does.
HOAs are okay in concept. But like all bureaucracies, unless restrained they get out of hand. Some of the rules can get strange, like no single party is allowed to own more than three lots and only two of them can abut. One of the worst conditions is that the HOA has to approve every sale and they will not allow a corporation or other business to buy. And they can be freaks about who lives at your place, demanding ID. But don't care if criminals and deplorables move in next to you.
Buried down here is the gritty part that I don’t necessarily discuss with the Reb. The houseboat, but you and I have a rapport. So, can we talk? Okay, read my lips. A houseboat is not a good investment and you never own a thing you can really take with you. Selling these things is a beast, and that is where you might hear the expression, “You have to mow the water.” People get into these things on a one year lease, which is standard, and can’t get out fast enough. And every downturn in the economy, guess what starts getting abandoned. Who remembers the beautiful boats washed ashore in Florida back in 2007-08. Marinas are always one downtick from that.
So, now that I know the berth rents are $400 to $500, time to wait for a hard luck stretch. I don’t know the lay of the land (ha-ha) in Tennessee, but each unoccupied houseboat is likely a burden on the marina. It’s occupying a berth until they can repo and sell, so by now you are thinking what I’m thinking. You let me live there, I’ll pay half your berth rent until you sell it. Then move me to the next unit. Yes, I have references. And if I happen to like a particular boat, we’ll talk turkey. Ah, I heard somebody in the back say other people make marinas these offers all the time. Yes, but they are generally people who can’t afford regular rent. They don’t have a $10,000 security deposit. Actually, I know they don’t even have $3,500, which is what I’d be putting on the table.
