The Basement
General Category => Enter the Basement => Topic started by: AJ on February 24, 2018, 02:50:26 pm
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....I'm on standby for the guy on call so I won't be going far from home. Trip to the grocery store. Going by the UPS place to drop off a cable modem. Xfinity upgraded the cable modem/Internet hub and I just got it installed and setup....Internet is definitely faster now and so that's cool. The upgrade was free but I have to ship the old one back to them...Also free. guess they'll clean the old one up and ship off to a third world country..lol...
playing a bit of acoustic today...just knocking about...
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I recorded videos of "Good Day Sunshine" and "Day Tripper". Still trying to get "Over the Rainbow". I'm building up what I think of as a sort of YouTube demo portfolio. I figure one of these days, these demos will open the door to some sort of gig.
I'm going Sunday to a Freethought Community get together at a food court. We will eat food and casually discuss politics, religion (or the lack thereof) and culture. I learned about Robert Sopolsky at the last one of these.
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Friday, movie night with homemade pizza, it's the classic friday nite at casa Bieke, the whole fam, we watched Detroit
Saturday, brunch, checked out some art galleries and went to classic concert, Stravinsky's Firebird and Prokoview piano concert no.3, good concert, great venue, plus there was a ppiano exhibit, all sorts of classical grand pianos from the past (and for once, it was allowed to touch and play these beuatiful instruments exceptgreat balls of fire)
then went to a light festival in Brussels
today, Brussels again, going to check out an installation with 22 automated electric guitars, about to leave
(https://thebasement.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.wiels.org%2Fwebsite%2Fimages%2Fdbfiles%2F6780%2Flarge%2FSa%E2dane-Afif-Paroles.jpg&hash=b52c7ccbe66dcaf5a7066c16d68603a0f6413e9e)
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22 automated guitars ? Funny. They look like they have movie film reels attached.
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Are the reels setup to rotate? Kind of like those old brass disc machines? Where they pluck a certain string(s)?
Wish I could see this...
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Spent the morning watching an Umphrey's McGee concert while fixing breakfast. Got turned on to these guys a year or two ago. They've become my favorite Jam band ...Ever I think....Don't think the Dead or Phish ever had the level of musicianship these guys have.
This is just a 22 minute clip of them...I watched a couple of complete concerts over the course of the morning.
https://youtu.be/hB_F_DQt6XU
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22 automated guitars ? Funny. They look like they have movie film reels attached.
I counted 12 guitars, not 22, the movie reels are wheels with guitar picks fixed inside and LED actuators
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Are the reels setup to rotate? Kind of like those old brass disc machines? Where they pluck a certain string(s)?
Wish I could see this...
so the weheels had guitar pick attached inside and were triggered by timers and LED actuators, people walking by the guitars will set off the actuator and then after a short while, the wheel would turn and guitar would be strummed, guitars were tuned in open chords and had capos, some amps were set clean, others were distorted, some had vibrato or chorus, some had reverb.
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Are the reels setup to rotate? Kind of like those old brass disc machines? Where they pluck a certain string(s)?
Wish I could see this...
so the weheels had guitar pick attached inside and were triggered by timers and LED actuators, people walking by the guitars will set off the actuator and then after a short while, the wheel would turn and guitar would be strummed, guitars were tuned in open chords and had capos, some amps were set clean, others were distorted, some had vibrato or chorus, some had reverb.
Cool idea for a display...Imaginative at the least....
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oh man! always late for the party...
i played the futujara at first friday in tallahassee last night. terratonz hand pans, out of atlanta, was there and a couple of times we had a crowd of over a hundred gathered around. the guy brought a dozen or more pans, (hangs) and is giving a two hour lecture on history, tuning, making... its at 1:00, im getting ready to go now.
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I'm on call this weekend....So it's a full plate...Of tedium. Can't really commit to anything because when the phone rings I gotta go.
I'm testy....
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I spent the afternoon digging out from the latest snow storm. >:(
Practicing a few scales on the saxomophone right now. Well, I'm on a break at the moment. :)
This evening I shall hopefully finish putting my studio back together. :P
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I played Friday night at my 1st & 3rd Friday ALF gig. I tried out "Stardust" and "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" on them. They still need a lot of work, but I like both of them.
Today I took 2 separate walks for a total (yes I time them) of 1 hr 55 mins. I was listening to Prarie Home Companion. Chris Thile is the host these days. He's a brilliant musician with a brilliant band. He played and sang (with the band) some song he's going to play at the Oscars on Sunday night. On PHC they play a varied selection of styles and genres. Near the end they did a percussive song with about 5 people hand clapping, the drummer played a complimentary part and there was some vocal interplay. Amazing music. First rate players. Great arrangements.
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I spent the afternoon digging out from the latest snow storm. >:(
Practicing a few scales on the saxomophone right now. Well, I'm on a break at the moment. :)
This evening I shall hopefully finish putting my studio back together. :P
First...GOOD TO SEE YOU! ;D
Second...Caught your latest YouTube offering Last week? Week before? Ya sound good as ever!
Are you still playing the Uke?
Guess everybody up Norte is having problems with the white stuff this season. My Niece, who lives in Massachusetts awoke to a basement full of water this morning....Lotta rain and her sump pump failed......
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I spent the afternoon digging out from the latest snow storm. >:(
Practicing a few scales on the saxomophone right now. Well, I'm on a break at the moment. :)
This evening I shall hopefully finish putting my studio back together. :P
First...GOOD TO SEE YOU! ;D
Second...Caught your latest YouTube offering Last week? Week before? Ya sound good as ever!
Are you still playing the Uke?
Guess everybody up Norte is having problems with the white stuff this season. My Niece, who lives in Massachusetts awoke to a basement full of water this morning....Lotta rain and her sump pump failed......
Good to see you too, AJ. :)
Thanks for the kind words.
Unfortunately, I haven't been playing the uke lately. I seem to have picked up a case of tendonitis in my left forearm, and playing the uke really aggravates it. :(
I have decided to try and concentrate on improving my limited piano skills instead. So far, the piano doesn't seem to irritate the forearm (knock on wood). I've been getting together with an old band mate once a week, where we play and sing Everly Brothers and Beatles songs badly. I play the piano and my buddy plays an acoustic. We drink beer, smoke a little magic flower and generally spend a pleasant 3 or 4 hours.
Water in the basement! I shudder to think. :o
All of my gear is in the basement. :(
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Sorry about the tendonitis. It's arthritis that plagues me. I can play guitar, benignly, for about 40-50 minutes before it shuts down the show. if I play more aggressively, or try a lot of soloing(single note runs), it close the show after about 20 minutes.
Fortunately for my Niece, the basement that flooded is in her converted carriage house, and she keeps nothing in the basement of that one due to it's proximity to a creek near her property.
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classic Friday: homemade pizza + movie, we watched Tschick
usual Saturday : went to Brussels, did some urban exploring, looking for art deco and art nouveau architecture
Sunday : have a new toy, SY-300 guitar synth, so spent the day mostly making strange noises
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Sorry about the tendonitis. It's arthritis that plagues me. I can play guitar, benignly, for about 40-50 minutes before it shuts down the show. if I play more aggressively, or try a lot of soloing(single note runs), it close the show after about 20 minutes.
Fortunately for my Niece, the basement that flooded is in her converted carriage house, and she keeps nothing in the basement of that one due to it's proximity to a creek near her property.
**** itis's! >:(
2017 saw me visited by tendonitis and his third cousin, tinnitus.
Both kind of suck. :(
I feel your pain (albeit slightly differently), AJ.
Keep on keepin' on, my friend. It's all we can do. :)
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Sorry about the tendonitis. It's arthritis that plagues me. I can play guitar, benignly, for about 40-50 minutes before it shuts down the show. if I play more aggressively, or try a lot of soloing(single note runs), it close the show after about 20 minutes.
Fortunately for my Niece, the basement that flooded is in her converted carriage house, and she keeps nothing in the basement of that one due to it's proximity to a creek near her property.
**** itis's! >:(
2017 saw me visited by tendonitis and his third cousin, tinnitus.
Both kind of suck. :(
I feel your pain (albeit slightly differently), AJ.
Keep on keepin' on, my friend. It's all we can do. :)
It is indeed all we can do......Plenty of time to do nothing after we perish.
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All's I know is I have 2 more nights on call....Then I may pull a cork outta somethin'.
Been a helluva a week at work and it's just half over.
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Pizza, wine and maybe a little bit of piano practice on the agenda for this evening.
Perhaps a little magic flower, too.
Perhaps? ???
Who am I kiddin,? ;D
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Pizza, wine and maybe a little bit of piano practice on the agenda for this evening.
Perhaps a little magic flower, too.
Perhaps? ???
Who am I kiddin,? ;D
;D Enjoy Brother...Enjoy!
I took off a couple of hours early today and am planning on playing with my Trio tonight...perhaps lubricated by spirits.
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Pizza, wine and maybe a little bit of piano practice on the agenda for this evening.
Perhaps a little magic flower, too.
Perhaps? ???
Who am I kiddin,? ;D
;D Enjoy Brother...Enjoy!
I took off a couple of hours early today and am planning on playing with my Trio tonight...perhaps lubricated by spirits.
Hope you have fun, AJ! :)
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man! i go look at my gig calendar and i got nothin’... i thinks “ i could use some gigs, better get on that”
next morning the phone rings and it begins... in four days im booked pretty solid for the summer? yesterday i turned down a sweet festival gig because of bookings just made days earlier... i need direction.
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man! i go look at my gig calendar and i got nothin’... i thinks “ i could use some gigs, better get on that”
next morning the phone rings and it begins... in four days im booked pretty solid for the summer? yesterday i turned down a sweet festival gig because of bookings just made days earlier... i need direction.
I've got direction....The hedges need trimming...The yard needs to be cut...Tie the roses back up...Clean up the music room/office...
::)
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that goes without saying.. i live on a farm. i laugh when people ask me what my schedule or days off mght be...
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that goes without saying.. i live on a farm. i laugh when people ask me what my schedule or days off mght be...
which is never?
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exactly... i learned that on a farm, the only time off is time you TAKE... there is always work to do... everybody has to eat every day... clean fresh water... a safe place to be... rain. shine. one day is pretty much the same as the next in that respect. 14 horses, 3 llamas, 3 donkeys, down to 7 parrots... 2 cats, 6 dogs... ( the dane is over 200lbs, the two english mastiffs are tiny @ 150-60ish respectively) 2 ring tailed lemurs, and currently the only wildlife in rehab is a cervadae... and she isnt picky, birds of prey can be tricky and time intensive but luckily for them there arent any of those needing attention here... today... so far today... things change in the ring of a cell phone at any time of the day or night... the weld on the steering knuckle, right side of the tractor should be cooled down by now... my altitude has been properly adjusted to therapeutic levels... lest go test this weld, its my first ever. 8)
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I have to say it sounds like a lot of work, but a very holistic existence to me. My wife is a Farm girl, but not me. My childhood was spent in the West Texas desert then Houston for puberty and beyond. I'm a hobby gardener at best and the only thing I seem to have success raising is squash and red potatoes...Tomatoes to an extent. Our only pet is a parakeet named Wrigley...But he is worshipped and loved.
I wanted to name him Jimi Hendrix but was overuled by the others.
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its a good living... my favorite macaw is named Jerri Garcia... she is a Catalina that is wildly tie dyed looking and her colors match most all of my tie dye stuff...
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its a good living... my favorite macaw is named Jerri Garcia... she is a Catalina that is wildly tie dyed looking and her colors match most all of my tie dye stuff...
Cool. Does she have a group of enthusiastic followers that consider her every move and caw God-Like and Heaven sent?
O0
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yes, yes she does!its a small group but a group nonetheless.