Not sure how I've managed to not mention this yet, but I might as well before it's too late.
This weekend marks the return of one Bob Geldof to the Massive Concert for Chairty scene with the Live 8 shows. Since one show was too puny, I guess, Sir Bob plans on having eight shows (simultaneously, I think) around the world. Very cool, I think. U2 is going to be doing a set in London before heading to Vienna for their own show that night. Apparently, the ban will be coming out with Paul "Safe Superbowl" McCartney, dressed in the Sgt. Pepper outfits, and playing said song. Kinda silly, I think, but then again, this is the same band that spent over a year doing shows with a 40 ft. lemon/mirrorball, so who am I to argue?
But even cooler, I think, is that somehow, someway, Saint Bob mam=naged to get Roger Waters back with Pink Floyd to do a set later that day. I don't know what he did. or how he did it, but I'm glad he did. For anyone not in the know on all things Floyd, Waters left the band in 1984, and it wasn't a pleasant split. Much name-calling and general unpleasantness ensued. So I'm glad all differences have been put aside, for a day, at least, and we can hear The Floyd* together, if only for a little while.
There. Now I've posted and can make all of you stop scrolling down past that huge gap just to read the comments on that last post.
Dave
*Yep, it's so cool, I'm giving the band their "the" back, which they hadn't used since like, 1969 or something, I think.
Tuesday, June 28
Monday, June 27
Life's Been Good
I can't complain, but sometimes I still do.
Fantastic news arrived in my e-mail this afternoon, announcing that "Band Scramble Returns." I shall henceforth refer to it as "Son of Band Scramble," unless I forget and call it something else. But that's as may be. I've been itching to to get back on stage since the last Scramble. Time hasn't really let me pursue the open mic night approach, so this is good. Here's hoping my band does slightly better than last time out. And by that I mean "not last out of last." I sat down to watch the DVD of the last performance to get an idea of the drums for one of our songs I was trying to re-record. As I was watching, I was struck with how much our lead singer, um, wasn't really good. Or, to better state it, very unprepared. It wasn't the lyrics on paper that was it; at least two other singers had the lyrics scrawled down for ease of use. No, it was more of a sense that the lyrics were jotted down about 45 minutes before we started. Since the lyrics were iffy at best, he decided to make up for it by gadding about like Bono circa 1992. That worked for Zoo TV, but not quite in our setting. Sorta like Liberace singing with the three tenors, maybe. Or something. You get the idea.
I should mention I saw an SUV with the license plate "ZOO TV" last week on the way to bowling. It was far more exciting than my performance that night.
Back on task: Frederick's Music Lounge, August 27 will be the Son of Band Scramble. Woot. Assuming you're of the > 21 crowd, bring yourself, friends, enemies, and grandmothers for some kinda music.
I would also like to have a moment of silence for Kelly's car.
Yeah, that was a good moment.
I'm not feeling too inspired to write anything at the moment, so....I think I have to go...place.
Dave
Fantastic news arrived in my e-mail this afternoon, announcing that "Band Scramble Returns." I shall henceforth refer to it as "Son of Band Scramble," unless I forget and call it something else. But that's as may be. I've been itching to to get back on stage since the last Scramble. Time hasn't really let me pursue the open mic night approach, so this is good. Here's hoping my band does slightly better than last time out. And by that I mean "not last out of last." I sat down to watch the DVD of the last performance to get an idea of the drums for one of our songs I was trying to re-record. As I was watching, I was struck with how much our lead singer, um, wasn't really good. Or, to better state it, very unprepared. It wasn't the lyrics on paper that was it; at least two other singers had the lyrics scrawled down for ease of use. No, it was more of a sense that the lyrics were jotted down about 45 minutes before we started. Since the lyrics were iffy at best, he decided to make up for it by gadding about like Bono circa 1992. That worked for Zoo TV, but not quite in our setting. Sorta like Liberace singing with the three tenors, maybe. Or something. You get the idea.
I should mention I saw an SUV with the license plate "ZOO TV" last week on the way to bowling. It was far more exciting than my performance that night.
Back on task: Frederick's Music Lounge, August 27 will be the Son of Band Scramble. Woot. Assuming you're of the > 21 crowd, bring yourself, friends, enemies, and grandmothers for some kinda music.
I would also like to have a moment of silence for Kelly's car.
Yeah, that was a good moment.
I'm not feeling too inspired to write anything at the moment, so....I think I have to go...place.
Dave
Monday, June 20
Illinois Nazis. I hate Illinois Nazis.
Today, friends, is the 25th anniversary of The Blues Brothers. Wear a suit with a thin tie, wear your sunglasses in the dark, or maybe drive like a madman through a mall.
And just for today, everyone can be 106 miles from Chicago.
Oh, we got both kinds: country and western.
Dave "Guitar" Murphy
And just for today, everyone can be 106 miles from Chicago.
Oh, we got both kinds: country and western.
Dave "Guitar" Murphy
Wednesday, June 15
In Your Honor
I'm only a day late in my less-than-official-but-more-or-less-the-norm-now weekly post, but it feels like it's been two weeks since I posted last. Taking a week off from work will do that, I guess. I'm pretty sure it's Wednesday, but I'm so out of my normal routine, that if someone told me it was Friday, I probably wouldn't put up much of a fight. I only know it's Wednesday because I had bowling tonight. The less said about that, the better.
I don't really have a topic, though, since I've been all over everywhere the past few days, so I guess I'll fall back on an "update of events" post. Since we last met...
Saturday--Wedding for Steve Edler, better known in certain circles as "The Ass-Kicker," and in a smaller circle, "the guy who should be drumming for The Fifth Statement, but decided to do something else instead, like teach." I think he's afraid of the awesome repsonsiblity of being in a band with Tom, but what do I know? Um, yes. Wedding. It was a nice, if short, wedding, and it was good to see the friends again. Seeing as how I have a wedding to shoot Saturday, it was a good time to study the photographer Edler used. I think I mentally yelled at them more than anything because they didn't do things like I thought they should. Anywho, congrats to Steve and Beth, and maybe when they finish the honeymoon he can start drum lessons.
Sunday/Monday--Time for the second annual "Torture the Cats Weekend with a Trip to the Vet." Much less yelling, bleeding, and screaming than last year (on my part, at least). I can't say either cat enjoyed being locked in a kitty karrier for a 2+ hour car ride, but they survived. Shots were administered, and everyone seems fine, or as fine as my cats can be. Sandwiched around the trip to the vet's was a nice time with the Walls, in which lots of nasty made-from-scratch food was forced onto us. It was all Janice and I could do to hold out until Monday afternoon when we could hit McD's for some real food.
Tuesday--Spent $254 on gear for Saturday's wedding shoot. Thank God for being paid a portion of my fee up front. New Foo Fighters album was released, to much joy on the part of me (and the guy in front of me at Target, who got the album as well). I had a hunch it was going to be good, based on the first single, and I'm pleased to report it's very, very good. Like, Go Buy it Now kinda good. Finally, the Guitar God Trifecta (Satch, Vai, and EJ) concert series was completed with a show at Mississippi Nights by Eric Johnson. A good, solid show, although it didn't do it for me like Joe or Steve. I decided it would be fun to hand out some awards for the three shows, so let's see what I can remember.
Best Show: Joe
Best Guitar: Joe
Best Cover: Joe, for "Sleepwalk"
Best Hair: Steve
Best Drummer: Joe/EJ
Best Bassist: Matt Bissonette, with Joe
Best Rhythm Guitar: Dave Weiner, with Steve
Best Off-the-Cuff Remark: EJ's "Beefthra" bit.
Best Singing Voice: EJ
Best Opener: Kaki King, with EJ
Best Move: the EJ "up on the toes"
Best Encore: Joes, with "Always With Me" and "Satch Boogie"
Best Dressed: Steve
Best Outfit: Steve's "cyber-man" look complete with light-up guitar
More were awarded, but I forget the rest. Looks as though Joe is the winner overall, but that doesn't take anything away from the other two guys, of course.
Today--Photo shoot with Kelly Lynn at Forest Park. Odd being on the other side of the lens for a change, but it was fun. Apparently Janice and I are good in front of a camera. We'll be selling autographed 8x10 glossies soon, so get your orders in ASAP before they're gone. Many thanks to Kelly for putting up with a couple goofballs. Follow that up with some crappy bowling, and you're more or less caught up with everything.
For the rest of the week: VI Flags tomorrow and a night at mum's, yard work or bowling practice Friday, and a wedding to shoot on Saturday. Sunday closes with dinner at dad's. Whew. I may need a week off from my week off. Not much is happening at work, apparently, so I see no reason to go back just yet. Maybe in August or something for a few days. We'll see.
No topic came to me in the course of writing, so I guess I'll call it quits.
What's mine is yours and yours is mine. There is no divide.
Dave
I don't really have a topic, though, since I've been all over everywhere the past few days, so I guess I'll fall back on an "update of events" post. Since we last met...
Saturday--Wedding for Steve Edler, better known in certain circles as "The Ass-Kicker," and in a smaller circle, "the guy who should be drumming for The Fifth Statement, but decided to do something else instead, like teach." I think he's afraid of the awesome repsonsiblity of being in a band with Tom, but what do I know? Um, yes. Wedding. It was a nice, if short, wedding, and it was good to see the friends again. Seeing as how I have a wedding to shoot Saturday, it was a good time to study the photographer Edler used. I think I mentally yelled at them more than anything because they didn't do things like I thought they should. Anywho, congrats to Steve and Beth, and maybe when they finish the honeymoon he can start drum lessons.
Sunday/Monday--Time for the second annual "Torture the Cats Weekend with a Trip to the Vet." Much less yelling, bleeding, and screaming than last year (on my part, at least). I can't say either cat enjoyed being locked in a kitty karrier for a 2+ hour car ride, but they survived. Shots were administered, and everyone seems fine, or as fine as my cats can be. Sandwiched around the trip to the vet's was a nice time with the Walls, in which lots of nasty made-from-scratch food was forced onto us. It was all Janice and I could do to hold out until Monday afternoon when we could hit McD's for some real food.
Tuesday--Spent $254 on gear for Saturday's wedding shoot. Thank God for being paid a portion of my fee up front. New Foo Fighters album was released, to much joy on the part of me (and the guy in front of me at Target, who got the album as well). I had a hunch it was going to be good, based on the first single, and I'm pleased to report it's very, very good. Like, Go Buy it Now kinda good. Finally, the Guitar God Trifecta (Satch, Vai, and EJ) concert series was completed with a show at Mississippi Nights by Eric Johnson. A good, solid show, although it didn't do it for me like Joe or Steve. I decided it would be fun to hand out some awards for the three shows, so let's see what I can remember.
Best Show: Joe
Best Guitar: Joe
Best Cover: Joe, for "Sleepwalk"
Best Hair: Steve
Best Drummer: Joe/EJ
Best Bassist: Matt Bissonette, with Joe
Best Rhythm Guitar: Dave Weiner, with Steve
Best Off-the-Cuff Remark: EJ's "Beefthra" bit.
Best Singing Voice: EJ
Best Opener: Kaki King, with EJ
Best Move: the EJ "up on the toes"
Best Encore: Joes, with "Always With Me" and "Satch Boogie"
Best Dressed: Steve
Best Outfit: Steve's "cyber-man" look complete with light-up guitar
More were awarded, but I forget the rest. Looks as though Joe is the winner overall, but that doesn't take anything away from the other two guys, of course.
Today--Photo shoot with Kelly Lynn at Forest Park. Odd being on the other side of the lens for a change, but it was fun. Apparently Janice and I are good in front of a camera. We'll be selling autographed 8x10 glossies soon, so get your orders in ASAP before they're gone. Many thanks to Kelly for putting up with a couple goofballs. Follow that up with some crappy bowling, and you're more or less caught up with everything.
For the rest of the week: VI Flags tomorrow and a night at mum's, yard work or bowling practice Friday, and a wedding to shoot on Saturday. Sunday closes with dinner at dad's. Whew. I may need a week off from my week off. Not much is happening at work, apparently, so I see no reason to go back just yet. Maybe in August or something for a few days. We'll see.
No topic came to me in the course of writing, so I guess I'll call it quits.
What's mine is yours and yours is mine. There is no divide.
Dave
Tuesday, June 7
Shove it, brother, just keep walking
I have just discovered that iTunes, the service, is pretty cool. As an audio player, I'm not as keen on it as Windows Media Player. There are a few little details the one does better than the other. Also, my version at work doesn't like CDs too much. They play fine, but if I leave a disc in too long without ejecting it, or keep pause on too long, the disc starts skipping for no good reason and I have to restart my computer. But the music downloading part, on the other hand, is pretty cool. It's very handy for a case of "well, I like that song, but I don't want the whole album."
My list so far:
"Ooh La La"--the Ditty Bops
"Decent Days and Nights"--the Futureheads
"Just Keep Walking"--INXS
"Mansized Rooster"--Supergrass
"Lady With the Spinning Head"--U2
So I have a blugrass combo, two British bands, an Irish band, and an Australian group. Nice and diverse, I think.
I must exercise caution, since it's so easy to download a song. Point, click, hey! Only $1! Gotta keep an eye out though, or those dollars could add up in a hurry. Good thing I'm off work next week.
Thanks to Janice "Eagle Eyes" Koziatek I now have my own copy of Godzilla: Save the Earth for the PS2. I can go about being even nerdier than usual now.
Have I mentioned I can identify any critter from a Godzilla movie based solely on the noise it makes?
Let's talk kids for a moment. I think they're quite fine. Cute, even. I wouldn't mind having some one of these days. But in my line of work, they can be a bit of a drag. Shooting for the Nor Co Journal, they just eat that stuff up. want to get something published? Just send them a picture of a cute kid and you're in. Annual Report here at Ye Olde Library? Let's get as many cute kids as possible! It'll appeal to the suits! (Note: I highly doubt anyone, save for our auditors, really do anything with the AR. And they skip right to the hard data) I think all of the stuff I shoot at work falls into two categories; author visits and cute kids.
Aside: I have just been told I'll be shooting an 80-year old volunteer for a poster we're going to be doing. He speaks like 5 languages and translates materials for our Special Collections department.
Kids: it's kinda easy then to fall back and just go with what the people want. The trick then, is to keep myself sharp and try to shoot something that isn't cute, precocious kids, especially with the Journal. What good is my portfolio if I have a majority of kid pictures? My new rule is to only shoot kids if the opportunity is too good to pass up. With the library, it's hard to avoid, since we have so many kids' programs. I just have to deal with it. And, as my boss pointed out, "for someone who generally eschews shooting kids, you've got a knack for it." So it'd be silly not to play to a strength. I just can't let myself get lazy. Look for fresh angles and new ideas.
It doesn't come up much round here, but the Cardinals are really good. If I were better at writing about sports I might discuss it more often, but I can't get into it much. I did attend my first game of the season last night, a 7-1 triumph over the BoSox. Complete game by MattyMo, excellent defense by Grudz, a suicide squeeze, and some timely hitting from the bottom of the order. Most amusing moment: the scoreboard showed a news item that "Prior to the game, the Cardinals disabled Roger Cedeno." I know he's been a bit off (read: pretty awful) this year, but man, did the team have to go to such extremes? Did they hire a hit-man to come and break Rog's kneecaps? I give Cedeno a lot of crap for sucking, but I'm more than willing to eat some grilled crow if he comes back and starts performing.
It was interesting, at one point, watching David "I'm Such a Jett" Eckstein slide into third with a two-run triple. In the Grand Scheme of Things, what happens on that field doesn't matter. A bunch of guys get paid $many to play a kids' game, and for some reason, we like to watch. Maybe it's some sort of "community" thing. Or not. I don't know, really. And yet, I realized I don't care. I do know, though, that I was happy to be there watching the Home Team win.
Rooster!
Dave
My list so far:
"Ooh La La"--the Ditty Bops
"Decent Days and Nights"--the Futureheads
"Just Keep Walking"--INXS
"Mansized Rooster"--Supergrass
"Lady With the Spinning Head"--U2
So I have a blugrass combo, two British bands, an Irish band, and an Australian group. Nice and diverse, I think.
I must exercise caution, since it's so easy to download a song. Point, click, hey! Only $1! Gotta keep an eye out though, or those dollars could add up in a hurry. Good thing I'm off work next week.
Thanks to Janice "Eagle Eyes" Koziatek I now have my own copy of Godzilla: Save the Earth for the PS2. I can go about being even nerdier than usual now.
Have I mentioned I can identify any critter from a Godzilla movie based solely on the noise it makes?
Let's talk kids for a moment. I think they're quite fine. Cute, even. I wouldn't mind having some one of these days. But in my line of work, they can be a bit of a drag. Shooting for the Nor Co Journal, they just eat that stuff up. want to get something published? Just send them a picture of a cute kid and you're in. Annual Report here at Ye Olde Library? Let's get as many cute kids as possible! It'll appeal to the suits! (Note: I highly doubt anyone, save for our auditors, really do anything with the AR. And they skip right to the hard data) I think all of the stuff I shoot at work falls into two categories; author visits and cute kids.
Aside: I have just been told I'll be shooting an 80-year old volunteer for a poster we're going to be doing. He speaks like 5 languages and translates materials for our Special Collections department.
Kids: it's kinda easy then to fall back and just go with what the people want. The trick then, is to keep myself sharp and try to shoot something that isn't cute, precocious kids, especially with the Journal. What good is my portfolio if I have a majority of kid pictures? My new rule is to only shoot kids if the opportunity is too good to pass up. With the library, it's hard to avoid, since we have so many kids' programs. I just have to deal with it. And, as my boss pointed out, "for someone who generally eschews shooting kids, you've got a knack for it." So it'd be silly not to play to a strength. I just can't let myself get lazy. Look for fresh angles and new ideas.
It doesn't come up much round here, but the Cardinals are really good. If I were better at writing about sports I might discuss it more often, but I can't get into it much. I did attend my first game of the season last night, a 7-1 triumph over the BoSox. Complete game by MattyMo, excellent defense by Grudz, a suicide squeeze, and some timely hitting from the bottom of the order. Most amusing moment: the scoreboard showed a news item that "Prior to the game, the Cardinals disabled Roger Cedeno." I know he's been a bit off (read: pretty awful) this year, but man, did the team have to go to such extremes? Did they hire a hit-man to come and break Rog's kneecaps? I give Cedeno a lot of crap for sucking, but I'm more than willing to eat some grilled crow if he comes back and starts performing.
It was interesting, at one point, watching David "I'm Such a Jett" Eckstein slide into third with a two-run triple. In the Grand Scheme of Things, what happens on that field doesn't matter. A bunch of guys get paid $many to play a kids' game, and for some reason, we like to watch. Maybe it's some sort of "community" thing. Or not. I don't know, really. And yet, I realized I don't care. I do know, though, that I was happy to be there watching the Home Team win.
Rooster!
Dave
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