Spencer's Cousin

I have a dog that I think is related to this animal. The resemblance was so remarkable it took me a second to determine whether or not to post here or on Potspoon! today! I refer to the dog as a Sabre-toothed chihuahua, and this is refered to as a sabre-toothed squirrel. Pretty similar in looks though I'll admit, Spencer does not have rodent teeth, he does have an under-bite with pretty large fangs.

Fig. 1 artist illustration of squirrel.

Fig. 2. Spencer

See what I mean?

Things You Learn Being in a Band Part 2

If you think you have enough extra  _________ you should bring one more (or refill or whatever).

This applies to just about everything: drumsticks, rolls of duct tape, guitar picks, beer for a party, gas for a road trip, underwear for a vacation, sunblock for a beach day... you get the idea.

Guitar strings are notoriously manipulative like that. You will have sets for months, but being the good little guitar owner you are, you change your strings. You get down to the last two spare packs and even with new strings on your axe you break two B strings in one show! What the heck?!?!? Now you have new strings and 2 new incomplete sets! Should have brought an extra set.

Fig. 1 The picks I use mostly. See duct tape post for proof.

Guitar picks are the same, too! It must be a familial thing. You are great about not losing your picks. You get rid of them only after you have worn them down. You still have five and that should be enough, EXCEPT this show is particularly sweaty and the playing is a little more aggressive and the picks start flying. Like crazy. Should have brought a few more, buddy. And don't even get me started on the plight of drum sticks, snares, 1/4" cables, extension chords, 9V batteries... The list goes on.

Real life examples abound as well! Let's say Jedediah gets invited to a swanky party and all he has to bring is ice. He brings two bags and half of one gets dumped on the deck accidentally and there are way more people than were expected. Way to go, Jedediah. You should have bought one more bag. Seriously, they're like, what, $2?

I suppose the moral of this similar to the girl and boy scout motto: be prepared (or always ready or some derivative thereof). Even when you think you are prepared, just remember, you might just want to reconsider that one last roll of film that you unpacked (yes, some of us still enjoy film) and just stick it in your camera bag.

Be prepared.

Things You Learn Being in a Band



Fig 1. Basic Silver Glory



You can NEVER have too much duct tape. Seriously.



From taping down cables to holding your guitar strap in place to ghetto rigging a cymbal stand to keeping your picks in an easy to reach area... uses abound. This is just scraping the surface. There are so many uses for this stuff. I feel compelled to carry a roll with me at all times now.



Fig. 2 My pick holder.... duct tape on a microphone stand.



I have always had a bit of a crush on the stuff and I know duct tape fixes EVERYTHING, but the random things we use it for when on stage (although we really have only ever been on an actual stage, what, twice?) is pretty amazing and only serves to verify duct tape's awesomeness. Did I mention it comes in a bunch of colors now?? Yup. Awesome.

Need to fix a broken city duct? No worries. Gotta secure a poster? Piece of cake! Leaky car roof? Easy. Wardrobe malfuction? Got ya covered. Need something to wear? Yeah, it can help there, as well. There is even a festival dedicated to the awesome staple in Avon, Ohio.

Is there anything this stuff CAN'T help with?









A Song and Dance

I honestly cannot believe it has been so long since I have posted anything anywhere! My life is in this bizarre state of flux and I am waiting for it to stabilize but right now I feel the desire to type. So I am. I started by thinking of how drastically my life has changed in the past few months when my posts started to die down. New living situation, new job, social revamp, new hairdo, missing my doggy... it has been insane. How I have managed to survive is beyond me.

Somehow through it all I managed to maintain my sanity. Well, I maintained what little of it I had to begin with. The holidays were a bit not what I expected, but it seems ok now that I am on the far side of things. I loaned my tree to a much deserving friend. I feel more like myself than I have in a while and more alone than I have in a while. I guess that is to be expected.

In the end, though, I am lucky. I still have my studio, although I seldom visit. I have a good paying job so I count my blessings there. I still have my health, although I am a bit sniffly now. I still get to play music with some pretty amazing (albeit occasionally drama infested) musicians. Aren't all bands drama? I guess I kind of like it though. Keeps me on my toes.

Speaking of toes, every time I say "my toes" I think of mitosis. It's the science geek in me. "Mitosis" cold! Ok... maybe I am the only one who thinks that is HILARIOUS, but I do. Like my super cool math shirt... if you have to explain it, it's not so funny. Oh well.

On to yet another tangent. I would really love it if someone, ANYONE, would give me some advice on some great recent albums to buy, I think the last time I bought an album the year it came out was "The Beekeeper" and I do have some (SOME) more recent ones than that, but I bought them like 2-3 years after the fact and I still have no clue what's current. What's good, guys? Give me some feedback. I need some ear candy badly. I am craving something different and new. Who better than an audience spread the world over

to give me something different to listen to, right? There is something really cool about listening to people tell you why they love such and such album. So much of music is how it speaks to a person and how it moves a person. It can be just the rhythm that gets you dancing or in a trance. It can be vocal harmonies that send shivers down one's spine. It can be a lyric that pierces your very soul. Whatever it is, I want to hear it. Really.

Anyway, this little note seems to state nothing of importance, and I am still trying to figure out why I posted this random picture, so what is new and exciting with you?

Something New!

I'm so excited. My hubby got me this awesome pair of knee high Chuck Taylors. They were replacing my super-awesome-limited-edition-2004 Peace Chucks that are finally falling apart. I didn't think they would be this rad. Normally I am not into fancy new things, but these are pretty rad. I am gonna paint them up Mimi style! He says he bought them for when I rock out. He's a great stylist. :D Awesome! And we got the after Christmas super cheapo price. I'm in love. These will last me another 6 years.

Do you have any rad shoes?

Oh no! I'm SICK!

I feel like ground beef today. Or oozing garbage. All of my muscles ache. I have no voice. I'm so tired and shouldn't be. Argh... tourists and their germs. I am pretty sure it's the flu. Gross. I was feeling pretty horrible about the fact that I was getting one of the most painful flus I think I have ever had 'til I saw something adorable on ThinkGeek.com.
If you can't tell what it is, it is a plush microbe. This is the latest addition to the family, the H1N1 flu microbe. Cute, huh? I love plush microbes. They come in oversized petri dishes and are just too freaking cute, in that really disturbing, science geek sort of way. I am a really big fan of the common cold plush, krill plush, and herpes plush (it looks like a flower, I swear). All of them come with pictures of the actual microbe and information on it. What will they think of next?

What sort of cooky thing do you think is fun?