One year ago today: May 6, 2023, surrounded by temptation, huh?
Five years ago today: May 6, 2019, gnat season.
Nine years ago today: May 6, 2015, a mystery tree death.
Random years ago today: May 6, 2007, gradual switch to MP3s.
To stem the tide of their most productive citizens fleeing the country, Canada is proposing an emigration tax of $25,000 and a doubling of the departure tax for retiring outside the country. I read this while reading Warren Buffets reasoning that A.I. will be the next big scam. I was curious if he meant A.I. outwitting the financial system, but it’s by impersonating relatives and such. Christ, by the time you fall for something like that, you don’t deserve any money.
A pilot error means no great photos from the kava gig two this evening. It was one of the nicest gigs ever and here is an extremely rare photo. That’s the stage at the bar with a stranger playing my bass. I gave my bass a name, but forgot it. Twenty years that instrument and I go back. I’ll supply a bit more information later, I met another group of young people just beginning to learn the ropes of the entertainment field. And when the women talk to me, it’s appreciation. When other guys do it, hey, creepy. Har-dee-har but you know, a lot of the slim gals these days are not what I would have pursued even in my day. Sigh.
I lost footage of the Prez & I when the camera was left on during this fifteen-minute blues jam. It was exactly like the 70s over again, an art that has not changed much. Weird they not only jam the same patterns but also the same tunes. “Pride & Joy” and some Clapton. This guy, who I’ve seen there before, asked to borrow my bass. Yes, on the condition after this he brings his own and participates. That’s a fair trade. I’ve more to say later about these peoples inexperience, but he instantly fell in love with the LongHorn, that’s the model of my bass.
It’s my Danlectro LongHorn in 7/8ths scale. He’d heard us play for around an hour and was astonished at the light weight and “fast” action. How could today’s people not know the sound of a bass is entirely electronic? He fell in love with the bass just holding it, same as once happened to me. Anyway, most of this happened later today.
Later, the Tascam accepts only phono plugs directly and I’m down to one such patch cable. I took an hour to memorize the quirks of recording with this gear, which I have not touched in years. An example is erasing a song. What does that mean to the world? There’s a recording of some music and you want to erase it and record something new in that space. Not with a Tascam. Erasing also deletes the song file from the memory card.
To get the space back, you must create a new file and got through the laborious process of renaming it with that spin-dial system that assumes you are being paid by the hour. I also made a complete backup copy of every song I have on MP3, taking a good while. Scanning the old 80 gig IDE drives, I found Pat-B’s old 2011 song list and sent him a copy.
Confirming all is on for the gig tonight, my plan is to work in the shed a few hours, keeping out of the heat. The Prez is back to norb, he jammed with a Bluegrass group Saturday. As he puts it, the fingers are limbered up. I gotta get us a paying gig before long. And what is with silver? Did everybody stop buying it at once? Or has everybody balanced their holdings and waiting for the panic?
Chinese leech farm.
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The southside thermometer said 94°F, we’re in for it this summer. A few new sprouts on the peach tree. I cut the main box panels for the future recording kit. I’m not much faster, but my designs are getting a lot more sophisticated. These equipment boxes are not replacements for chintzy plastic tote cases, these are like armored footlockers. They are also designed to store the cables, which rarely can be scrunched back into the so-called carrying cartons they come in. Then the wall wart (power transformers) that are heavier and bulkier than the gadgets. These can double the required space. Here’s the skinny biker dude who I think has learned to play guitar starting maybe a couple weeks ago.
I set the Tascam up to spec yet none of the recorded tracks worked right. A consistent distorted static appeared on stage that was not there on the bench. Again, we were the only prepared group who showed up with a PA, or for that matter, equipment we knew how to use. As I said, it does not make sense. It took me major research to set recording levels, all these others have to do is Google it. After five songs, we took a break which we needed already. I timed the camera, but got it wrong and the tail end recorded over top of the beginning, which had all our best material. We’ll have to do it all over again.
I say again, how can they be so unschooled in technique and presentation when they have the free good examples they could want. Our show, and by now we know which tunes the under-25’s recognize, was tonight geared to warming up the room. There was your usual surplus of guitar players, some so bad we did not recognize music we knew. This is the nature of open mics so don’t think I’m moaning, I’m only shocked at the degree others must have deliberately remained unaware of the vast resources at their fingertips.
The “Ain’t No Sunshine” guy was there (center in the photo), also a chubby Oriental guy who played funny versions of Vaughan and Hendrix. At one point they had four people on stage, which occupied seven of the eight available jacks. I even let somebody plug into Taylor’s channel and lent a stranger my bass (this morning’s pic). The unusual act was this lady who played the crystal bowls, which was nice and different although it was reminiscent of feedback.
The Tascam did not behave, all the evening’s tracks had a scratchy sound. It’s severe enough to make the recording unusable. I left the system live to get all of the acts, which all turned out the same. It could be the PA or the connections, because I left it set where I had made very clear recordings here before I left. We played only eight songs, but once more were the best presentation. That won’t last, we have a very attentive audience who catch on fast when they see how it is done. A harmonica player in his 70s showed up and we got him to play a couple. An interesting diversion but he’s not ready for prime time.
There were lots of hippie chicks present, it’s a fad that has never really faded. I’m glad they are making them like they used to. I jammed with several tonight and along with the biker, it’s plain they had never played along with a professional bassist before. It can be a real revelation and it was this effect that originally led me to break away from plain vanilla bass. The biker had a sensitive ear and had to leaved the building during the bowl show. And that folks, is how I spent my Monday evening.
ADDENDUM
Here’s the latest view of the worlds largest solar panel plant a month after a storm showed them who was boss. Even my disbanded robot club knows repairing solar panels is a waste of money. The “storm” that obliterated these panels turned out to be a gust of 31 mph wind. Not one person thought a floating panel farm was a dumb idea.
Thanks for reading this far, I’ll add some observations from the jam that threw me a bit. I was astonished by the lack of shared knowledge that should be commonplace by now. You’ve heard me lament this on my own situation, how there was no source (of knowledge or experience) I when was a beginner. There was no immense pool of bass players and musicians a few search criteria away. And not using the resources is the net equivalent of not having them.
I said astonished because that’s the closest word, these young musicians are reinventing the wheel. They were agog how we played what they played and that’s the result of them not learning basic theory. It’s with full awareness I say that because I know theory is taught wrong, like arithmetic. Nobody tells you what is important or how to apply it. We are talking a stark contrast here, where I looked for it and it was not there versus they know it is there but don’t look for it. I’m stunned that, considering the immense investment needed to “get good enough” that anyone would not use every possible aid.
It’s not that simple, I’m not saying it is. Music you have to dive into, but stage work and theory, take any shortcut that works. Example, I get as much out of applying theory as [I do] a well-schooled guess at how much theory the other guy [often subconsciously] employs.
And a quick note to myself, the few clips from this evening one again reveal our strong points are great intros, tunes with minor chords, and sharp, tight stops. Followed closely by our instrumental breaks that take full advantage of the counterpoint technique we opted for from the beginning. In particular, his style of Bluegrass hammer-ons coupled with bass downs over a chord change, something other multi-musician bands see to avoid.
