September 11, 2021

Yesteryear
One year ago today: September 11, 2020, this post needs Grammarly.
Five years ago today: September 11, 2016, it wasn’t a pub.
Nine years ago today: September 11, 2012, they got a wind tunnel?
Random years ago today: September 11, 2011, America: food stamp dining.

           I just got the news. Our rhythm player may not make it. A complete shock, since he was fine, really. I guess he’s had a weak system for years. Still, I’m telling you he was fine, he was one of the original members from 22 years ago. You know, let me look in the recycle bin because I discarded what might be one of his last photos. Nope, except for the photo last month, that’s it. I’m especially off balance because musicians age differently, it’s hard to describe. We have a rehearsal scheduled for Monday, he did a third of the singing.

           Here are some purple flowers in the yard. I was going to trim them away, but I’ll let them stay until we hear if he’s going to recover. Wouldn’t you know it, just when I find a band I can work with. Now, I don’t know anybody from New York, either State or City, I intend to do nothing about that. Today, I went shopping, let somebody else do these memorial services. Until I hear both sides of the story, I don’t care for either side or anybody involved. No disrespect, except those who won’t let us hear out the other half of the situation.

           One thing I found was this red box. It’s been painted, so no printing as to what it could be. The store gave it to me to see if I could identify it. Nope, that is an Ohmmeter, but if so, why does it need ten different plugs on the side and what are the dials for? I’ll spend some time on this, maybe it has a use as wag needles are getting rare. I may open it to examine the wiring for clues. Ohmmeters require a power source and have to be tapped into the circuit to measure resistance. It is easier to measure voltage and calculate resistance, so this meter is probably obsolete.

           What I have here is a multi-range Ohmmeter. On the left are plugs of fix resistors, each logarithmically ten times rate more in each step. It is used to bench-test components to ensure overall adequate power supply. But, why all the inputs? The plot thickens.
           Because there has to be a power supply. Hmmm, the diagrams show something internal, but this unit doesn’t weigh enough to have something inside. One knob is to adjust the meter for ranges between the fixed resistors, the other is a coarse range selector. We’re getting there, but I have not had my noon coffee and I have chocolate brownies in the oven, so we’ll have to get back to this.

Picture of the day.
Lost City Hotel, S. Africa.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
           Hmmm, it would seem the 9/11 ceremony was a non-event. One short ceremony for brownie points, and a lot of negative posts. There is little doubt Biden avoided appearing both for the low turnouts and potential for crowd outbursts. On his last similar emergence , Memorial Day, only 7,300 people of his 81 million voters tuned in to watch, ahem. His whole rotten house of cards is crashing down around him, even his master, Obama, must be cringing. Nearly every news source other than the fake news have taken to saying President Trump in their broadcasts. Anyway, phooey on that mess, let’s pick up the pace with what’s important around here. Pause and view this wee mushroom in the front yard.

           The keyboard guy called, it is not looking good for the guitar player. I am the one least connected with the situation, but the agreement was to keep me in the loop. Alas, I think this group is about to become a four-piece the hard way. The other guys are being remarkably professional about this. It’s generally settled the band will continue because it’s accepted that is what the other guy would want. This also hints to me I’ve underestimated the time these guys have put in, but I’m allowed to make those conclusions based totally on what they sound like.

           This band is closer to what I was looking for than any other in Polk, so I have a vested interest that they get up and running. I have strong experience playing gigs when other people are not there, including solo bass experience, right? This could potentially be brought to bear here because nobody relishes the idea of working up another rhythm player. Trust me, there are much better ways to waste time in this territory.
           So, let me take stock of my own contingencies here. That leaves the lead player whom I do not know if he can play rhythm, but if not he’s about to learn. He’s already said he is used to dreadfully weak bassists and reacts positively to my style. He does not yet know I can fill in a lot of the rhythm chops on the bass, but the keyboard player spotted this early. It means he can concentrate on his right hand playing, which is what I like to hear. The drummer sings and plays, so his performance is kind of taken for granted but it’s evident he’s okay with that. The one big rehearsal we had may have been enough to convince them we may not need two guitar players.

           Following on, we’ve tentatively decided to wait another week, giving me time to really nail some of this material. That lead player likes the way I play “hooks” that give him reference points that complement his riffs even when other things go awry. They’ve requested the list of the 23 songs I can sing, they understand it is not quite as “country” as theirs. They’ve flat out said they want me sing but I say to the world, I am not a confident singer and don’t market myself as such. What I did not know was the rhythm guy got a lot of the gigs, because I talked with him about this and his approach was rather seat-of-the-pants play Legions and trailer parks. Read the addendum for an insight into how I approach management, should it come to that.
           My intention is to keep up the momentum with this band. I’ve just listed what I think are the band assets and what I can bring to the table. There are always enough negatives along the way, no sense dwelling on them. Work with me here as this could be a real opportunity for my style of bass playing as well as what I know to be a demand in this area that no other bands are meeting. Except for some repetitious stage chatter, none of them have anything like the audience appeal I feel is part of a good show.

ADDENDUM
           My band management style. Very indirect, but very to the point. Most guys, included the current people, shake hands and make friends and ask for gigs. What I’m about to tell you, they have no inkling of how I operate on a different plane. Here’s what I know before I make any contacts.

• The paydays at every major local employer. • Names of every band that plays country music. • Every club that hires and how much they pay. • Websites and advertising of every band that has them. • How much each club pays for special holidays. • Which banks and ATMs are near each club. • Demographics for every club between Plant City and Haines City. • Contact list of most places.

           This is only the surface, and some of it is estimations. The point is my non-musical approach to knowing where to find the good places to play. For example, lots of these clubs want web samples and demos, which I believe are needlessly expensive and misleading. I prefer to get into new clubs by letting them know I handle last minute cancellations. If a site insists on knowing how we sound, hand them the contact info of another club manager.
           I’ll even tell you why that works. Because circuit bands are generally the same-old, so bar managers will often hire the cheapest band and why not [if they all play the same thing]? The trick is to not just play music, but put on a good show. This is a band with that potential. I know a good band in the making and I fear the news soon will not be encouraging over the next short few days. At all.

Last Laugh