November 13, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: November 13, 2018, locked out by google
Five years ago today: November 13, 2014, list of what women don’t like.
Nine years ago today: November 13, 2010, can’t vs. don’t want to.
Random years ago today: November 13, 1982, typical rant for back then.

           Since nothing much goes on in this climate that concerns me, here’s a picture of the post office Tallulah Falls. It’s another of those touristy towns where if you want any fun that doesn’t cost you and arm and a leg, bring everything you need with you.

           One of the respondents sent me this song list. I usually ask for their favorite or top- ten tunes. Take a peek and you’ll notice the guy has been down the same road as myself. I can already play nine of these, and half of those are on my active sets. There is more to this list than just the contents. He obviously doesn’t balk at singing “chick songs”, plays tunes with stops, and knows how to arrange and fake. I can use these abilities.

                      Folsom Prison Blues
                      Sunday Morning Coming Down
                      Harper valley PTA
                      Hey Good Lookin’
                      Hello Trouble
                      The Race Is On
                      Big River
                      Love Me Tender(Elvis)
                      Little Sister
                      Cocaine Blues
                      I Could Always Be Alone With You
                      Always Late With Your Kisses
                      Cash On The Barrelhead
                      Walkin’ The Floor

           I talked with this guy later and our song lists already contain more than enough material that we already know to gig. He’s a good 25 years my junior and had a day job. I can work with that. He sings and does some production work. What got my attention was some of the comments in his e-mail. Without being asked, he broached several issues that are relevant to audience-oriented performers. This is rarer than most people think it is. I’ve concluded to bump this guy to the top of the list. Read on, we have a phone conference scheduled for six hours from now.

Picture of the day.
Banashua Bridge death trap.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           This is important enough to draw comments from me. A Judge finally ruled a limit on what Customs can search. They can’t go through the contents of your computer memory without a warrant. That’s a major victory for personal privacy. I’m hoping this sets a precedent on other searches. The police and authorities already have many more times the power they need to enforce the law. They just don’t apply it evenly or properly. The police in particular are constantly gnawing away at any restrictions on their behavior. They don’t want to outright say it, but their goal is to be allowed to break the law in order to get convictions. This is euphemistically knows as “creative law enforcement”. They already break the law much of the time, so the end goal of even more power is a police state.

           The deliberate police policy of keeping their methods secret is not, as they claim, to keep the edge on criminals who might otherwise devise ways to evade the law. The secrecy is to cover illegal behavior by the police themselves. To me, the greatest defect in American law is that the police are already allowed to lie to get evidence. Your partner confessed so you better give us your side of the story, type of thing. Never, never talk to the police about a crime, even off-duty police. Silence is neither false nor misleading. You cannot be forced to talk—and remember the police take advanced seminars on getting you to break silence. If they can trick you into saying one word, you are on the way to being convicted.

           One might ask when I became suspicious of police tactics. It was from reading about the Katz case, where the police tapped a pay phone without a warrant. Katz was recorded talking gambling information, but challenged that the recordings were therefore inadmissible. The police howled. Did they back off? No. The police knowing the Court of Appeals was and is firmly on their side, argued they did not need a warrant because they did not physically intrude into the phone booth. What they were really saying is the police should not have to regard any expectation of privacy.
           Fortunately, but don’t quote me on this, the Supreme Court, knowing they will go down in recorded history and probably no other reason, ruled otherwise. Rather than mix it up with the police, which they are loathe to do, they declared the Constitution does not stop protecting people just because they are in a phone booth. Sweet.

           For those seeking more background on this, you can look up the Reid Technique (no link), popularly known as “the third degree”. One of the most sordid police tactics is lying to get a confession. This usually takes the form of tricking the suspect into confession to a lesser crime in order to make the interrogation end—falsely thinking the matter can be corrected later. Also, the police will attempt to trick you into thinking you have no right to remain silent unless you are arrested. Wrong, as this blog states, your right to remain silent begins at birth and ends at death.
           Another unfortunate lapse in the US system is that there is nothing that makes it illegal for you to confess to a crime you did not commit. It happens all the time with the American legal blackmailing system called plea bargaining. Police sting operations are permitted and there is a rise in courthouse arrests. This is where a suspect shows up for a different reason, say a parking ticket, and gets nabbed. Courthouses are supposed to be sensitive locations, like hospitals and churches. One exception I recognize is arresting illegal immigrants this way—the protection is only for legal Americans. Much as the liberal progressive Democrats hate what it does to their voter base, illegals can be arrested any time, any where, and in any way possible.

ADDENDUM
           I believe I’ve remembered my "guitar player type" list. Or at least pretty close. I think there was a type E but that one escapes me, as these are in the order I encountered them, not by count. The most common type is B1, the guy who says he wants to join your band, but thinks he is so fantastic you will joint his. Type B2 is the opposite tack on the same theme, he makes it such a struggle to learn your list that you finally ask him what he can play. Bingo!

                      Type A – the Rocker
                      Type B1 – the Recruiter
                      Type B2 – the Slow Learner
                      Type C – the Jesus freak
                      Type D – the Memorizer

           I got off the phone with the guitar player. I pegged it right that he is as fed up with the guitar-player syndrome as I am. It’s encouraging he has drawn the same conclusions. For instance, he talks of getting bored with blues jams, mainly because of attitudes, not the music. He mentions that he plays standing up, as I do although my playing improves significantly if I sit. He’s learned bigger bands require more time and effort than they are worth. He notes he can meet his cash needs just soloing, but seems in full recognition that very few people who play the bars in Nashville come anywhere close to specializing in it. Return tomorrow and I’ll give you a list of the tunes we already play in common. For those unaware of the numbers, it takes 32 songs minimum to play a gig without repeats.

           The guy has a full schedule, so I’m trying to corner him for Saturday. Part of the role for this blog is to record details as they arise, without regard to their future relevance. Today that means two things. One, I think this guy might be a medical doctor. Two, there is a private recording label with the same name. There is some hefty reasons he is fed up with the standard music scene. A Nashville history search shows he likes playing coffee houses as much as I do (they still have such things in Tennessee, boo-hoo Starbucks).
           There’s more. Remember when Marion lived in Bothell, Washington? That’s where I remember hearing this guy’s name before. It’s an obvious stage name, but sounded German. If he’s now in Nashville, he must have a circuit. This means if he is serious in his e-mail communications, he is about to finally meet another musician on the same frequency.
           I’ve downloaded four songs by a performer I think may be the same guy and will have them ready for Saturday.
           Last, yes, I am very aware of the huge number of coincidences here.

Last Laugh