ETB Wednesdays at Maggie Mae's have started again.

My bank account is jumping for joy, tho the damage is already done. They were put on hiatus as winter set in as it's a slow time of year. Supposed to start last week but the 2nd cold snap had them cancel it. For the best, I didn't want to leave the house either!

But last night was fun, was already sweating just loading in. Well, it IS February... Had Brandon Burke (Jackson Taylor Band, Son of Fire) fill in last minute, we've had Rob Williamson (Hyde Park Showdown, ex-New Disaster) slated but he came down with the flu earlier in the day. He said he could power through the show if need be, but if a sub could be procured his immune system would very much appreciate it. I don't blame him, a 3+ hour set on drums while fighting the flu would have laid him (and anyone) out the rest of the week. But Brandon has been wanting to fill in for awhile now but was always too busy, so we finally got to jam with him and he did great.

Speaking of great, my new 2x15 sounds fucking AWESOME. My SVT loves it, it's not too bad weight-wise despite it's imposing size and bulk. Already getting beat the fuck up. I love it. One of my better recent gear purchases, and a much much MUCH-needed upgrade, as I've been struggling with inferior gear/tone for more than a year. Will be dropping off my stricken Isovent cab to John Mergilli, see what he can do with it. I have a sneaking suspicion that all he has to do is put the speakers back in, restore the original wiring, and it will work fine. Contrary to the official statement of a local speaker repair place who said everything was blown.

Anyway. Got to use it in the studio session I did with Josh Zee and Trinidad Leal over the weekend. Rough tracks sound pretty damn good. Not too shabby for one rehearsal then hit it and quit it. We nailed the songs live in about 3 takes and my basslines were keepers as-is. Feels like I'm finally getting the hang of bass, heh.

It's been an amazing week + which I will delve into a little further in next day or two.

In the meantime I am diving back into completing my 3rd RPM Challenge album by the end of the month. In trying to do something different this time, I will be making it a split EP: 'Sunrise on the Sea Floor' will be the music I have been comping up with, with possible guest tracks, 'House of Leaves' will be perhaps a 15-20 minute concept song based on the book of the same name. What I have so far is a 11-minute continuous song with 2 distinct movements.

About to go track some drums, and I feel sort of wrecked. Hopefully more from the show last night than coming down with something...