The Eric Tessmer Band gig last night at Maggie Mae's was really good. Had a bigger crowd than all of our other MM shows put together! Not that the people were actually watching us tho... But we felt on fire and sounded/felt great. Fairly profitable night as well so that's cool too. Were able to wheel our gear down to Friends for our NYE show tonight. Bonus!

But shit shit shit. One of my brand new Eden speakers is sounding farty. And I believe the culprit is my 600w amp driving a 300w cabinet...! Damn. I play a little quieter with the Truckers so that was never an issue last year, but I've been cranking it up with Tessmer. Hence damaging my speakers. Trying to the the SVT-II fixed so I can gig with it, it is only 300w. But the world is an imperfect place.

Speaking of which, went to drop off the aforementioned stricken amp but Austin Vintage Guitars is closed til Monday. Damn! Went to Guitar Center to return the wireless and spent about an hour and a half there. Certainly worse places to wait. Tried out the new Ampeg SVT mini-stack. Sounded pretty mean! Checking the computer they had another Line6 X2 in stock but no idea where it was ("probably in the back next to the Ark of the Covenant" I joked to Chadd Thomas). South location had none in stock. Let's order it online, damn price is higher on unit and warranty. Guitar Center can't match online price. So they called Houston location and ordered one from there. Then Chadd had to recheck cause they wrote down the microphone unit and not the instrument one. Glad they caught that. But they will send it straight to my address so that is awesome, just not sure when.

This week's Bonehead Move: Got home and set the SVT-II outside the garage door to keep it there til monday rather than my van. Then let the dogs out, ate and took a nap. Leaving the house to load in at Maggies I found the SVT-II still sitting outside after almost 2 hours. DAMN. Did the exact thing I tried to remind myself NOT to do. But at least it wasn't raining and I feel very good about our neighborhood. It was sitting in plain sight the whole time since my roomate's car wasn't in the driveway. I guess the Gods of Rock want me to keep the damn thing.

So now I again need to look into my bass amp situation. I can't keep blowing speakers. And I can't put the still-good original Ampeg speaker back in, as it and the Edens are different Ohms. So I will need to:

1. Gig full time with my 70's SVT (best tone, but I want to save some wear and tear)
2. Gig full time with existing rig and keep blowing speakers
3. Buy either a new amp or a new cabinet (ouch $$$)
4. Pray long and hard to the Gods of Rock that the SVT-II comes back into service.

#4 is the optimal option, as the SVT-II sounds mean but is worth less than the 70's SVT so I won't feel bad about the heavy wear and tear. But it has crapped on me entirely too many times, and one more strike and it's out.

Anyway, 2009 has been a fucking interesting year to say the least. So many ups and downs to put it mildly. 2008 was one of the best years of my life, got to quit a full time job with benefits to tour full time with The Mother Truckers.

2009 had me looking for jobs and not finding anything, which is more soul crushing than the worst string of shows. Had 2 well-paying band situations slip through my fingers one after the other. Then had the King's X guitar tech gig literally fall into my lap. Got to ride around on a tour bus all summer with a band I totally dug in high school. Came home and realized my marriage wasn't working any more. Moved out and tentatively started a new life. Had playing full time with the Eric Tessmer Band happen which is keeping me afloat financially while playing in an amazing and worthwhile project. Recorded what will hopefully be a great record with them. Broke a straplock button onstage at Antone's during a Truckers show in front of Dug Pinnick. Has that ever happened, ever? It has been a crazy year.

Hopefully tonight won't get too crazy downtown. It is a full moon, and lunar eclipse tonight. Should be interesting.


Best wishes for the New Year, those of you following this!