Post #85, woo hoo!

Will keep it brief, not in a very chipper writing mood.

Began tracking on my RPM Challenge solo album "Ocean of Stars" on Wednesday I guess. So far pleased w/drum sounds from garage. Blew out 5 songs in 3.5 hours. Tracking guitar yesterday realized tempos way too fast on 2 of them. That and my Marshall JCM800 finally decided it needs new power tubes. Great. So tracked with my Epi Valve Standard powering the Marshall 4x12. Sounds like ass. Jason from Velvet Brick will loan me his JCM800 for recording and Ironclad gig next week, thanks bro. Will re-track those two songs on drums today.

So my amp injury report:

Ampeg 70's SVT (fully functional)
Ampeg SVT-II (questionable, needs power tubes)
Fender TB-600 (fucked, at Ray Hennig's)
Acoustic B-200H (fucked, not worth fixing)
Ampeg Isovent cab (still in shop, ready by tomorrow)
Marshall JCM800 (needs power tubes)
Epiphone Valve Standard (not gig-worthy)

So I am down to one fully-functional amp, with no money (save credit card) to fix others. I'd have a pretty nice gear collection if the shit actually worked. All this shit I can't afford, plus my cat is getting sick again and I still owe on rent for this month. Livin the dream...

But I will trudge onwards and upwards with the RPM Challenge album. Am not feeling very up to task, but need to focus my mind on something positive and creative cause it has been very hard to focus on anything at all. Much less DO anything creative.

Tonight I am going out, Headhunters and Red 7. Tomorrow BD Riley's w/ETB. Hope we make a LOT of money, and that the guy who personally tipped me $100 once comes back...!



Later:

Picked up Jason's 800 and keeping with the theme it immediately blew 2 fuses. Nice. Spent rest of the day tracking with the Epiphone and getting decent results. New drum tracks much better. Still guitar ampless, and now afraid to borrow anything from anyone. But Jason gave me a spare quad of 6550's he wasn't using, so I at least have tubes to put into my Marshall *phew* That was very very generous of him, what a great guy.

I just signed up for the RPM Challenge again.

RPM Challenge is an online deal where bands/musicians challenge themselves to write/record an album's worth of material during the month of February. Last year I did an instrumental solo disc under the name Red River Day Care. This year I will do the same but under my own name. Would like to press and self-release both as solo albums when I have the money, why the hell not?

Rearranged the garage the other day to set my drums back up. Nice to finally have the fire back. Last 2 months or so I have felt little to no inspiration to do anything creative. But now I feel that musical focus again, and it feels Goddamn good. Have about 4-5 solid song ideas so far, some of it a little ambitious musically. But fuck it, alot of the RRDC album was pretty musically ambitious. Bring it on.

Maggie Mae's w/ETB last night:

Went pretty well. We played great and feel strong. Pretty good crowd as well. Had some fun towards the end of set, played Green Diamond pt 1 as trippy as we possibly could, heh. Had a little band business meeting beforehand and better assembled out game plan. But we have been bumped to every OTHER Wednesday at Maggies. Will suck to lose the money, but let's be honest most of those shows have blown. Hopefully get some weekends there and not be playing several times a week for free. Have a huge push from the new album and CD release and need to capitalize on that.

ETB @ Friends, Monday night

Went OK. Decent crowd at times. Played pretty good. Meow.


Going to go play some drums and do some pre-production arranging. I should probably eat something too, but probably won't.

Full CD release recap w/pics coming soon, I swear.

Too tired to write, this has been a very long week and I am glad it is over.

The ETB CD release last night was utterly amazing, was better than I could have imagined. By doors a line 3 people wide around the corner and halfway down the building. Blistering sets by Tia Carrera and Amplified Heat, and the crowd loved them.

Full recap later. Taking rest of today and most of tomorrow off.

Just wheeled my Isovent cab into Austin Speaker so the guy could check it out.

He called yesterday asking questions about the cab, not only out of professional curiosity (never seen one) but also to help him tailor the speakers to my needs. Not only did I realize that the cab is indeed 600w total load (300w each for top/bottom) but popped the speaker jack plate off the back and noticed a big burn mark on the circuit board. Nice.

So he says that the burn mark isn't anything important and that he was going to glue a big ass capacitor as wide as my wrist into the cab to act as a make-shift crossover to help ease some of the load on the top 10's. This will allow the cab to operate more efficiently, but on the flip side it would now be wired for 4 ohms for bottom 15's and 16 ohms for the 10's, which would not let me run just the top 10's anymore by themselves. That feature came in really handy when playing smaller, quieter Truckers shows. But this cab is way too heavy to lug around as a 2x10 and I can still run just the bottom 15's with my Marshall JCM800 if need be so that's cool.

Long story short, the speaker guy doesn't want this to happen again. Hence the make-shift crossover.

Last night practiced with Shandon at St. Elmo Music Lab. No Tom this time but Jim Ortiz was there so that was cool, haven't seen him in awhile. He was green on some of the songs but with three guitar players tomorrow night (yes, THREE guitar players!) he can hang back on the stuff he's rusty on. Everything still sounded great tho. Finally figured out the horn parts on "Nitty Gritty", wish there was time to do a dual guitar thing with it. I also added some backing vocals on that one and "Viking Girl". Fills things out a bit more. Tomorrow night at Continental Club should be fun.

Was cool cause after practice I bumped into Jrab, Ryan13 and Al Shire from RAZR13 in the hallway. That was cool, always good to see them. They were just getting out and invited me to the Continental Club for a quick beer (Ryan was going home to Houston and couldn't join us). Cool hanging out with them, Jrab is a brother and Al is a great guy. Can't recall the name of the band about to play, but the drummer was Damien from Barfield who is a certified, card-carrying bad ass. Love watching that guy play. Has the funk/Motown syncopation DOWN to where it is physically impossible to NOT bob your head to his beats. Awesome.

Monday night at Friends with ETB was actually pretty good. Really good crowd for a Monday not that tips were great. Fun set, Marshall JCM800 and Baxter's 4x10 sounding better and better. Tried some of the new harmonies that we'd practiced earlier that day, some of them on some of them damn close. That morning we had a long rehearsal at the St. Elmo Music Lab. Even tho we have 3 shows leading up to Saturday's CD release, we want to get in as much practice time as possible so we can sound as GOOD as we fucking can. It's already there but we really want to drive it home for this one and also have a good crowd, and hopefully start doing weekends at Antone's.

Maggie Mae's tonight with ETB. Tomorrow 11am ETB rehearsal, hopefully pick up speakers, gig that night with Shandon Sahm @ Continental Club. Friday ETB gig at BD Riley's. Saturday big CD release at Antone's. Long week already.

Ugh, wtf? Think I am falling into a funk.

Have things I could/should/NEED to do and don't feel like doing anything. Surprised I'm actually writing on this blog right now. Not only things I need to do today, but everything in general. Could be editing pics for 710 book, writing the rest of the King's X fall tour recap, writing about Thanksgiving with the Tessmers. Could be writing music, or just fiddling around with a guitar or bass (still no room for drums in garage yet). Should be eating something. Don't feel like doing any of it and haven't for awhile. But with what's going on in my life right now I try to cut myself some slack. Sometimes it helps, but not usually.

Anyway. ETB picked up a gig at Darwin's for tonight, so much for going out. Which is good, work is work. Saturday night might be cool. They have backline drums and bass rig so that will be nice as well. Haven't played there (if I have played there) since the Velvet Brick days, 2005-ish? We'll see how it goes.

Stayed the fuck in last night. Had been raining and 45 degrees all day. Got wet and muddy helping Richard (ETB drummer) grab the rest of the firewood from the soon-to-be-sold Casa G. Then followed him to Jonestown for a vocal rehearsal with Michael. Crappy drive in the rain, but it was a productive little session. Polished up some existing things and worked on some of the parts Michael worked out solo on the record for "Taildragger" and "Green Diamond pt 3". Cool shit. We'll be at the Music Lab Monday and Thursday 11am-3, in addition to gigs Mon/Wed/Thur/Fri before the CD release at Antone's on Sat the 23rd. Yeah, I think we will be well-rehearsed by then!

But then leaving Richard & Eric's place my van Goldie Hawn got stuck in the fucking mud in the driveway. Nice. For a half hour in the rain Richard shoveled gravel under my rear tires, shoved planks of plywood under them, pushed from the front. All to no avail. And every time my tires spun, gravity pulled me a little closer to Boss Hoss on my port side. Richard finally chained my trailer hitch to the front of his SUV and pulled me the fuck out. Almost backed into the SUV in the process and cleared Boss Hoss by about 2 inches. Then had to drive from Jonestown to south Austin at 5pm in the rain. Took more than an hour. So yeah, I did not feel like getting soggy and cold all over again, then driving home on rain-slicked streets with drunks on the road.

Might put up some posters today, Tessmer seems to have covered a lot of areas. Speak of the devil, just texted and asked that I put them up a few places down here. 6pm load in, 10pm set time. Guess I will be taking a dinner break.

Woke at 10:30, have had 2 cups of coffee w/cream. Ate a plate of spaghetti about 6:30pm yesterday. Was a little hungry earlier but now feel like I could go all day. Maybe that's why I feel like going back to sleep.

Must be the weather (damp, dreary) but I feel like going back to bed at 1pm.

But I need to run to all the music/record stores down south and put up flyers for the ETB cd release next weekend. Had I realized Eric was too tied up with mixing/mastering to print up flyers and handbills would have volunteered way sooner. Got designed them yesterday and went to Affordable Sound and printed up 60 full color 12x18's and 1000 b&w handbills (had to cut them up myself but no biggie) for about $65. Not too shabby.





Last night at Maggie's with ETB went pretty good. Had a really good crowd for about the first half. Then when everyone bailed we did some onstage practice. "Herusha" sounds fucking awesome on the CD but is still pretty rough live. Even did "Taildragger" for once as well. Got the final mastered mix of the CD last night, need to listen to it more to form an opinion.

Keep meaning to stretch out and warm up my hands/forearms not only pre-set but in general but can't seem to get around to it. Def feel it in my body. Even jumping onstage cold my forearms will feel tight first song or two (depending on what we open with) but doesn't really affect my playing, so that's good. Hands are kind of a mess tho. Lots of little scratches/abrasions from moving stuff from the house and reaching into my jean pockets on cold/dry nights. Sometime last week I somehow knocked the skin under the nail on my R index finger back a little. A little discomfort and doesn't affect my playing but now the nail looks mishapen and goofy, heh. Hopefully having 4 days off from playing will help. That and have a small cut on my L ring finger that DOES hurt so I had to adjust quite a bit last night.

Still no word from Austin Speaker, will call them today maybe. Marshall has been running/sounding great. Wireless system is a lot of fun. Strap buttons on bass were getting loose so stuck some toothpicks and wood glue into the holes earlier in the week. Seems to have done the trick.

Tuesday night practiced with Shandon finally. Jim coudln't make it but still had Gary, Trevor and Tom. Sounded pretty good too. Borrowed Tessmer's Super Reverb and it sounded gorgeous. May use it for the Continental Club show next week Thursday. It will be another Sahm Covers Sahm set, 13 Sir Doug tunes. Man that stuff is fun to play. Such good songs too. Will try to arrange to horn parts on "Nitty Gritty" for guitar. See if either Tom or Jim and I can Lynyrd Skynyrd it up. Looks like we will have three guitars for the show so bring it on! My backing vocals have been working pretty well too. Added some upper harmonies on "Groover's Paradise". Looking forward to the show.

Will try to go out this weekend and see some bands on Red River and catch up with that crowd. So busy lately been missing a lot of good shows, and usually too tired to go out when I have a weekend off (like this one). Haven't checked out the new place Encore (old Spiro's). Billy from Elvis on Speed's new band Killa Dilla is playing, might check that out. But also Gary Clarke Jr @ Antone's that night, been meaning to catch a full set from him since the Truckers played with him last year at the Brew-B-Que. So much good music in this town, I love it!

Home, 10:19pm

Staying in tonight cause it's about 25 degrees and will be in the teens over night. Feel like a wuss but need a break anyway.

My mental health day Tuesday was a complete success. Stuck to my goal of doing fuck all the entire day, save for dropping off my stricken speakers and later running a load of clothes and a much-need trip to the grocery store. Cooked myself my first proper meal since probably Christmas.

Last night at Friends with Eric Tessmer Band was pretty damn awesome. Def felt like we were on fire, everything feeling tight and powerful. Pretty decent crowd too tho UT lost the Championship. Didn't even know about it or that they were playing until a text from JB earlier that evening. Shows how much I follow sports. We were set up around halftime as first band ended way early, and had to wait til the end of the game to start.

Picked up the SVT-II from Jesse at Austin Vintage yesterday, blown power tube and a fuse. $12.99 fix. Will need an imminent retube tho, and that will run almost $200 just for the tubes. Asked if when I got around to it Jesse would show me how to bias it. He said sure. Awesome, biasing is one of the main things about amps I don't know how to do, and will save money in the future.

New Line6 X2 wireless system has been working like a charm tho it eats batteries, fun so far. Bass speakers should be ready next week. Have been kicking around the idea of building a 2-space rack to hold just the wireless and the power conditioner, that way I could use it with any amp, rather than pulling the wireless to use with the SVT or on guitar. Have enough scrap wood and all the hardware I need. Just need the time.

Wednesday at Maggie Mae's with ETB was alright. Had people at the end but typically dead most of it. Fun gig tho, played pretty good. No wireless cause I left the damn 6-pack of 9 volts I specifically bought for it in Goldie Hawn 4 blocks away. Well shit. Was informed by Michael that the 2 Ropollo's pizza locations on 6th Street give discounts on slices to musicians playing that night. Went to try and sure enough got a slice of pepperoni for $1.50. Awesome! Sometimes Ropollo's pizza is my dinner...

Monday at Friends with ETB was pretty awesome. Started off pretty loose but picked it back up few songs in. Decent crowd for a Monday and got to try the wireless out for the first time. Worked out of the box, and continued to do so after taking a spill off the railing (this happened Thurs as well and still works). Gary Clarke Jr was there for a bit, stuck around to catch a few tunes, including this weird/awesome jam we just pulled out of our asses. Cool bassline I made up with using the Phrygian/Egyptian scale (not sure the terminology, just know what scales sound like), cool shit. A jam that we will never remember, or ever be able replicate if we did. Taking chances like that onstage is awesome, and with the caliber players onstage with me when we do that at the very least it won't suck, heh!

Back to the subject of food. My mom said I'd lost weight over Christmas and out of curiosity got on the scale. 159, wow. I usually range between 163-167 and only drop into the upper 150's when I get the flu. But with the divorce and trying to do too mnay things at once eating is becoming a chore.

That and all the touring I've done in the last 2 years has pretty much recalibrated my metabolism to run full bore on only 2 meals a day. Breakfast not usually being one of them. Came back lean and mean from the last King's X tour and have pretty much stayed that way. Usually get caught up in what I am doing and leave in the morning only remember to force myself to eat something on the way out the door, as I usually blow it off and eat later. If at all. Weird how stress affects me like that.

Ate a shitload last night before heading to Friends, some Hamburger Helper lasagne with turkey meat, leftover mixed veggies, then after my nap a protein drink and some Wisconsin summer sausage with Triscuits. Probably as much as I've eaten the rest of the week combined, heh. Was stuffed as hell most of the night but I think my body finally told me enough is enough...