First, found my old blog.
Since last post, I wrote two unfinished drafts (both about the A's), never published em. You didn't miss nothin'.
Instead, 2016 has basically turned life upside-down.
My family was evicted unceremoniously by our landlords, using the "moving a family relative' into the house as an excuse. We were great tenants, or so we thought, up until this 60-day-notice letter was slipped into our mailbox. They kicked us out in the middle of our son's school year too, right at Christmas. That isn't legal in Berkeley or SF, but I digress. We lived in that house, with them upstairs, for a dozen years - when we first moved in they were tenants too. But then they orchestrated the purchase of the house, whereby our old landlord co-signed their loan, and the house never hit the market. An ideal circumstance in the crazy Bay Area housing market. Well, they didn't just weasel the house from her, they kicked us out, didn't give us our deposit back due to "wear and tear" to the downstairs.
I could go on and on about the things I asked LL to fix that he never did. I could mention the fact that when they moved in LL's sister into the basement, how our electrical bill went up despite the fact that I specifically asked to make sure her elec/gas wasn't associated with ours. I could talk about the cockroaches that LL wouldn't hire an exterminator for. Or how she begged us to sell her one of our cars, only to really have LL buy it, then trade it in for a newer car when we were under the assumption that LL's sister's old car needed to be replaced; not a new car for the LL.
Weasels.
Anyway, I'm not naming names. But if you've ever had a really shitty experience at a store called Baby World, its because they also own that business chain. I really, really, really, recommend not shopping there. Their Yelp reviews will essentially back up what I'm saying here: that they are money-grubbing, inhuman, cheapskate people. Try returning something you bought there, you'll see what I mean. Also I think they hire family-members illegally from Chile. Not to mention all the permit-less work they did on the house.
Anyway, that was the end of 2015.
2016 began with my Dad having a stroke that put him in the hospital two days before our move was to begin. I can't begin to describe that event, as I was picking up my kid from their house the day he had it. He had been having dizzy spells that he had been going to the hospital before throughout 2015, but was never diagnosed as something (blood clot) that could cause a stroke. Long story short, if you suspect someone has had a stroke, call the ambulance immediately. The immediate hours after a stroke are the critical moments, don't waste any time.
He returned home March 1, after being in the hospital for over a month. He needs round-the-clock care and my sister is helming those duties with my mom and some paid help. He is progressing well, but wasn't in great shape before it happened, so it will be a long recovery process. But he is definitely motivated and we're hoping he'll walk again soon.
Our new house is further from the Rockridge/Temescal area than any other house I've ever lived. Still in Oakland (to keep the kid in his school), our house is bigger and more beautiful than previous. It's lighter, bigger, no upstairs or downstairs tenants, big basement/mancave, and yard has lemon, fig trees, ripe for planting more too.
Our rent has almost doubled. We are looking for a house to buy, but the market is brutal. We're trying our best to help my Dad as best we can. If there is a theme, now two full months plus into 2016, it is CHANGE. Gotta steel myself some more.
On the positive side, gigging regularly with my jazz trio and East Bay Brass Band. EBBB every 3rd Saturday at Woods Bar & Brewery, Telegraph and 17th in downtown Oakland. The trio (name may be changing) every 4th Wednesday at Cato's Ale House on Piedmont Ave in Oakland. More random shows happening with Musashi Trio, Reverse Gravity, old band !Tang, and who knows who else.
Just got my electronic set up working and am excited to add pieces, but still figuring out what I need vs what is OUT THERE... looking for vintage or analog or similarly styled types of pieces.
Also my turntables are set up and my CDs are boxed; most of my crate digging will be through my own collection this year. I realized I have more records than I have heard, so I will make it a point to listen to some albums I have that I've never heard all the way through. Last night I listened to Paul Butterfield Blues Band and a Taj Mahal record that I inherited from my aunt. She had killer soul-jazz, soul-blues, and 70s smooth jazz (before they called it that). Excellent addition to what I have, given that I didn't have any of that kinda stuff.
ANYway. Trying my best to not let the evildoings of others affect me, at home (specifically, our old home), at work (hi boss), or people on the road. Especially the pedestrians. Goddamn stupid-ass pedestrians.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Fans, pitchers, catchers reporting.
I wish I actually blogged every time I thought, "I should totally write a blog about that." Instead, you get this: a random life update.
Tony also had his birthday party earlier this month, and it was fun for all ages at Bladium in Alameda. Rock climbing, basketball, bouncy houses, ... good times.
I can't think of the original reason I came here to write. I hate it when that happens.
Oh well.
Let's start with the obvious - my next gig is tomorrow night:
In the past few months I've decided to re-evaluate what I've been doing musically lately. I'd like to play more jazz and make more money. I know, I know, ... shut up.
One thing I bought as of late is a Korg Wavedrum - really fun drum-based synthesizer with a lot of editable sounds. But now I need to buy an amp, something I've never had to do before. Oh yeah, plus to learn how to play it.
Here's a Japanese girl getting down with one:
The East Bay Brass Band played a couple gigs over Mardi Gras weekend, Doc's Lab in SF, plus New Parish in Oakland on Fat Tuesday. We ended up in the local papers once or twice, that was nice.
Pitchers and catchers have indeed reported to Arizona, where the 2015 Oakland A's are wondering who their locker neighbor is going to be. I have to confess, my excitement for the season upcoming has been tempered by the flurry of off-season trades. I'm still not over the fact that Yoenis Cespedes is a goddamn Detroit Tiger, let alone that Josh Donaldson has a maple leaf on his hat. I'm sure once I've watched the DVR'd 2015 Opening Day introductions a few times, I'll know who most of these guys are. But until then, . . . I guess March Madness is coming up, I'll run the office pool again if anyone is interested. (Journalists.)
For the first time since PlayStation One (PSX), there is a video game console in the house again. In a successful attempt to reclaim her iPad, Mommy bought son (and husband) a Nintendo Wii U. Now, after I get a couple more controllers, I gotta buy the Wii Fit, the Zumba game, and then our whole family will be reunited with the living room plasma TV. Our son is SPOILED, but not rotten.
Here he is being his creative lil self:
Tony also had his birthday party earlier this month, and it was fun for all ages at Bladium in Alameda. Rock climbing, basketball, bouncy houses, ... good times.
I can't think of the original reason I came here to write. I hate it when that happens.
Oh well.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
MY 2014 Oakland Athletics.
This is one day removed from the end of the Oakland A's loss in the Wildcard game against the Kansas City Royals. Probably too soon to be writing, but since no fan I know wants to talk about last night, or last week, or last month, etc, I'm going to do what any run-of-the-mill Comicbook Guy would do - register my disgust on the Internet (before my breakfast burrito congeals too rapidly).
I'll start with the obvious - the Cespedes-Lester/Gomes trade. The reason A's fans like myself can't get over this trade is because having a right-handed power bat in the lineup has been something A's fans haven't had in forever. The other thing Yoenis was that no other teammate could really say was that he was an Oakland player from the start. Sure, he never was in the minor leagues for the team, but he also never wore a different MLB uniform. We watched him through green-and-gold colored glasses. Those laser throws from the outfield, the moonshots over the fence, ... the only time I ever wished I was in Vegas were for both Home Run Derbys he participated in, 2013 and 2014. But I digress.
Jason Giambi was the big hitter when I became a real Oakland A's fan (lefty hitter). I started sitting in the RF bleachers because my good friend liked to sit there - "better chance of getting a Giambi homer," he'd say. Then we saw the parade of past-their-prime veterans who would hold the DH spot, including Giambi's second stint with the A's in 2009. Prior to that, the best success was with Frank Thomas in 2006. Hideki Matsui in 2009. Prior to that we saw guys like John Jaha, Matt Stairs, or Erubiel Durazo. But I digress again.
What can the Lester-Cespedes trade be compared to, in recent team history? For me, it's Matt Holliday in 2009. Beane traded away a couple pitchers and Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado, and it was obvious that Carlos was destined for greatness, even if we rarely saw much of it under then-manager Bob Geren. Matt Holliday went on to become one of the most forgettable Oakland Athletics in history, doing absolutely nothing on a team incapable of doing much anyway. He spent less than a full season with the A's before high tailing it out of Oakland for the 'best fans in baseball' in St Louis.
Insert white people joke.
Jon Lester seems similar to me in this way. He was brought here to do a job, not become part of a team. He had only worn the Red Sox uniform up until his arrival here. Everything he says about staying in Oakland sounds like a sports cliche spit straight out of his agent's mouth into a microphone into a hidden earpiece Lester is wearing. Guarantee he goes to the highest bidder this off-season: NYY or BOS.
Conversely, when the 2012 Oakland A's surprised everyone by taking the division on the last day of the regular season, Beane was humble, saying "This was supposed to be a rebuilding project that would have taken at least a couple years. We're just lucky it panned out this way." Now, I am paraphrasing, but the point is that it DID take Beane by surprise.
Now, fast forward to July 2014, and Beane is trading away the farm for arms. Never mind that Jesse Chavez was pitching well or that the A's had won the last eight games Tommy Milone started; they had never pitched a full season and Beane's confidence in them was nil; especially when a few bumpy starts for each pitcher could provide numbers to prove his theory, that in fact they were on a downward trend. The Samardja-Russell trade was huge in that no one thought Russell was attainable; he had just never been in the conversation. So here we see the prospects Beane covets the most in trades, suddenly having Oakland trade value. But then Lester for Cespedes happened.
The media went nuts. Tons of analyzing and over-analyzing, and after the dust settled, it was "Yep, Billy Beane did it again" - whereby "it" just meant blowing everyone's mind with outrageous deals for players. But what we, the A's fans, saw was 3/5 of the rotation replaced by former Cubs and Red Sox, when the scrappy Milone and Chavez got demoted to Triple-A and bullpen (respectively).
But at the cost of their cleanup hitter, the constant from the past two division champion winners, that undeniable force at the plate, "La Potencia".
Of course, the rationalizing went on - "We wouldn't have been able to sign him as a free agent (in 2016)" ... "The team was on a downward trend before the trade" ... etc etc. Then there were those of us who were so disappointed by losing Cespedes that we lost the faith in August. I say "we" but I really mean "me" and maybe some others. I wanted to believe in Lester, but I couldn't figure out why an every-fifth-day player could be valued against an everyday one. I couldn't figure out why the manager often says "The players write the lineup card," referring to how players who perform well force his hand into choosing who starts and who sits. I couldn't figure out when a player's value turns from team value to trade value.
So, as one is wont to do, I looked for precedents. With the acquisition of Samardja, Hammel, Lester, Gomes, and Sam Fuld at the deadline, I tried to think of the last time the team made so many trade deadline changes - and to me, it was right out of a movie. In 2002, Beane cleared house (*as re-enacted by Brad Pitt) and sent out the message that "If you aren't performing, then you aren't playing for me" (sic). But in 2014, the team was hitting on all cylinders, yet Beane couldn't sit quietly, as he did in 2013 at the trade deadline.
As a side note, the first time I noticed this trend was with Marco Scutaro in 2006. Here was a guy that filled in as a second baseman and shortstop in two back-to-back seasons for the A's, provided some of the most memorable at-bats for this A's fan, but was shipped to Toronto the moment he was a free agent - in favor of Bobby Crosby.
Bobby freakin' Crosby. Well you know where I can go from here.
Daric freakin' Barton. WHY do the A's put so much stock in some players and not others? Don't tell me 'defensive purposes' either. We just turned a catcher into a third baseman, an outfielder to a first baseman, and a first baseman into a closer. I'm never believing in defensive purposes again!
...and to bring it back full circle, Jim Johnson. Here's a guy whose numbers, or track record, warranted a $120 million dollar contract in the mind of Billy Beane. I remember after the first blown save or two going trolling on Baltimore message boards, and finding lots of evidence that a giant mistake had been made.
Could that money have been used for Cespedes? Didn't the same logic (track record, prior stats) preclude the trade for Lester? Did anyone in the A's brass call out Beane for the failure of Jim Johnson?
Well most recently it might have been Johnson, but how about Hiro Nakajima? Maybe the press conference was just for the Japanese media? The guy never set foot on the Coliseum grass, except for Opening Day 2012 introductions. How about Sam Fuld, the guy squeezed off the roster Opening Day 2014 by Barton? Essentially Barton cost us Fuld and Milone, if you decide to view it that way.
It just shows a total lack of self-awareness to not look at the Jim Johnson signing and ask "How can we avoid this in the future?" In the immediate aftermath of the A's 2014 season, Beane maintained that "without Lester, I don't think this team makes the playoffs."
What we, the fans, want is for Beane to admit it - he made a mistake. Boston knew what carrot to dangle under his nose, and he didn't hesitate; he traded away the man who led his 2012 team to first place, despite his understanding of it being "a rebuilding year." They thought they had the premier closer in the offseason signing of Jim Johnson, but despite his absolute zero-return -on-investment, Beane was not held accountable. Even the re-signing of Sam Fuld, which could be obviously stated as "the one that got away," Beane was just Billy being Billy when he got him back, no criticism leveled, no mistake by keeping Barton.
Anyhoo, teams have identities. The Oakland A's identity can be seen in that photo of the team celebrating the division win on the field in 2012, champagne bottles flowing, big sweaty grins, looking like a bunch of castaways who just managed their way off the island.
(months go by, I don't publish...)
Part Two:
I am now editing this in December, fresh off the Josh Donaldson trade, another head-scratcher for us Beane counters. I've had time to separate my immediate feelings from the more complex ones, the ones that don't comprehend the logic behind Beane's constant turnover of players. Actually, I take that back - it's not that I don't understand why, it's more that I just don't like it. No fan likes to see their favorite player traded, sure. But for A's fans, just when you think a guy might be a centerpiece to a larger puzzle whose pieces you may not yet have, Beane just grabs your heart and rips it straight outta your chest. Not just yours, but the players' too. Cespedes cried. No courtesy call for Josh Donaldson. No one but you to explain to your kids.
They must all be assets, numbers on a page, stock chips to be traded. But they're all people too, and when they are treated so well by the organization as players, you just wish maybe they would get treated well on the way out too.
As a fan, it makes me numb. I'm no longer the fan with the guilt trip about how many games I don't go to during the regular season; I'm just a statistic - a 'non-season ticket holder,' if you will.
I'll start with the obvious - the Cespedes-Lester/Gomes trade. The reason A's fans like myself can't get over this trade is because having a right-handed power bat in the lineup has been something A's fans haven't had in forever. The other thing Yoenis was that no other teammate could really say was that he was an Oakland player from the start. Sure, he never was in the minor leagues for the team, but he also never wore a different MLB uniform. We watched him through green-and-gold colored glasses. Those laser throws from the outfield, the moonshots over the fence, ... the only time I ever wished I was in Vegas were for both Home Run Derbys he participated in, 2013 and 2014. But I digress.
Jason Giambi was the big hitter when I became a real Oakland A's fan (lefty hitter). I started sitting in the RF bleachers because my good friend liked to sit there - "better chance of getting a Giambi homer," he'd say. Then we saw the parade of past-their-prime veterans who would hold the DH spot, including Giambi's second stint with the A's in 2009. Prior to that, the best success was with Frank Thomas in 2006. Hideki Matsui in 2009. Prior to that we saw guys like John Jaha, Matt Stairs, or Erubiel Durazo. But I digress again.
What can the Lester-Cespedes trade be compared to, in recent team history? For me, it's Matt Holliday in 2009. Beane traded away a couple pitchers and Carlos Gonzalez to Colorado, and it was obvious that Carlos was destined for greatness, even if we rarely saw much of it under then-manager Bob Geren. Matt Holliday went on to become one of the most forgettable Oakland Athletics in history, doing absolutely nothing on a team incapable of doing much anyway. He spent less than a full season with the A's before high tailing it out of Oakland for the 'best fans in baseball' in St Louis.
Insert white people joke.
Jon Lester seems similar to me in this way. He was brought here to do a job, not become part of a team. He had only worn the Red Sox uniform up until his arrival here. Everything he says about staying in Oakland sounds like a sports cliche spit straight out of his agent's mouth into a microphone into a hidden earpiece Lester is wearing. Guarantee he goes to the highest bidder this off-season: NYY or BOS.
Conversely, when the 2012 Oakland A's surprised everyone by taking the division on the last day of the regular season, Beane was humble, saying "This was supposed to be a rebuilding project that would have taken at least a couple years. We're just lucky it panned out this way." Now, I am paraphrasing, but the point is that it DID take Beane by surprise.
Now, fast forward to July 2014, and Beane is trading away the farm for arms. Never mind that Jesse Chavez was pitching well or that the A's had won the last eight games Tommy Milone started; they had never pitched a full season and Beane's confidence in them was nil; especially when a few bumpy starts for each pitcher could provide numbers to prove his theory, that in fact they were on a downward trend. The Samardja-Russell trade was huge in that no one thought Russell was attainable; he had just never been in the conversation. So here we see the prospects Beane covets the most in trades, suddenly having Oakland trade value. But then Lester for Cespedes happened.
The media went nuts. Tons of analyzing and over-analyzing, and after the dust settled, it was "Yep, Billy Beane did it again" - whereby "it" just meant blowing everyone's mind with outrageous deals for players. But what we, the A's fans, saw was 3/5 of the rotation replaced by former Cubs and Red Sox, when the scrappy Milone and Chavez got demoted to Triple-A and bullpen (respectively).
But at the cost of their cleanup hitter, the constant from the past two division champion winners, that undeniable force at the plate, "La Potencia".
Of course, the rationalizing went on - "We wouldn't have been able to sign him as a free agent (in 2016)" ... "The team was on a downward trend before the trade" ... etc etc. Then there were those of us who were so disappointed by losing Cespedes that we lost the faith in August. I say "we" but I really mean "me" and maybe some others. I wanted to believe in Lester, but I couldn't figure out why an every-fifth-day player could be valued against an everyday one. I couldn't figure out why the manager often says "The players write the lineup card," referring to how players who perform well force his hand into choosing who starts and who sits. I couldn't figure out when a player's value turns from team value to trade value.
So, as one is wont to do, I looked for precedents. With the acquisition of Samardja, Hammel, Lester, Gomes, and Sam Fuld at the deadline, I tried to think of the last time the team made so many trade deadline changes - and to me, it was right out of a movie. In 2002, Beane cleared house (*as re-enacted by Brad Pitt) and sent out the message that "If you aren't performing, then you aren't playing for me" (sic). But in 2014, the team was hitting on all cylinders, yet Beane couldn't sit quietly, as he did in 2013 at the trade deadline.
As a side note, the first time I noticed this trend was with Marco Scutaro in 2006. Here was a guy that filled in as a second baseman and shortstop in two back-to-back seasons for the A's, provided some of the most memorable at-bats for this A's fan, but was shipped to Toronto the moment he was a free agent - in favor of Bobby Crosby.
Bobby freakin' Crosby. Well you know where I can go from here.
Daric freakin' Barton. WHY do the A's put so much stock in some players and not others? Don't tell me 'defensive purposes' either. We just turned a catcher into a third baseman, an outfielder to a first baseman, and a first baseman into a closer. I'm never believing in defensive purposes again!
...and to bring it back full circle, Jim Johnson. Here's a guy whose numbers, or track record, warranted a $120 million dollar contract in the mind of Billy Beane. I remember after the first blown save or two going trolling on Baltimore message boards, and finding lots of evidence that a giant mistake had been made.
Could that money have been used for Cespedes? Didn't the same logic (track record, prior stats) preclude the trade for Lester? Did anyone in the A's brass call out Beane for the failure of Jim Johnson?
Well most recently it might have been Johnson, but how about Hiro Nakajima? Maybe the press conference was just for the Japanese media? The guy never set foot on the Coliseum grass, except for Opening Day 2012 introductions. How about Sam Fuld, the guy squeezed off the roster Opening Day 2014 by Barton? Essentially Barton cost us Fuld and Milone, if you decide to view it that way.
It just shows a total lack of self-awareness to not look at the Jim Johnson signing and ask "How can we avoid this in the future?" In the immediate aftermath of the A's 2014 season, Beane maintained that "without Lester, I don't think this team makes the playoffs."
What we, the fans, want is for Beane to admit it - he made a mistake. Boston knew what carrot to dangle under his nose, and he didn't hesitate; he traded away the man who led his 2012 team to first place, despite his understanding of it being "a rebuilding year." They thought they had the premier closer in the offseason signing of Jim Johnson, but despite his absolute zero-return -on-investment, Beane was not held accountable. Even the re-signing of Sam Fuld, which could be obviously stated as "the one that got away," Beane was just Billy being Billy when he got him back, no criticism leveled, no mistake by keeping Barton.
Anyhoo, teams have identities. The Oakland A's identity can be seen in that photo of the team celebrating the division win on the field in 2012, champagne bottles flowing, big sweaty grins, looking like a bunch of castaways who just managed their way off the island.
(months go by, I don't publish...)
Part Two:
I am now editing this in December, fresh off the Josh Donaldson trade, another head-scratcher for us Beane counters. I've had time to separate my immediate feelings from the more complex ones, the ones that don't comprehend the logic behind Beane's constant turnover of players. Actually, I take that back - it's not that I don't understand why, it's more that I just don't like it. No fan likes to see their favorite player traded, sure. But for A's fans, just when you think a guy might be a centerpiece to a larger puzzle whose pieces you may not yet have, Beane just grabs your heart and rips it straight outta your chest. Not just yours, but the players' too. Cespedes cried. No courtesy call for Josh Donaldson. No one but you to explain to your kids.
They must all be assets, numbers on a page, stock chips to be traded. But they're all people too, and when they are treated so well by the organization as players, you just wish maybe they would get treated well on the way out too.
As a fan, it makes me numb. I'm no longer the fan with the guilt trip about how many games I don't go to during the regular season; I'm just a statistic - a 'non-season ticket holder,' if you will.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
A quick rant about drum gear, specifically...
... RIMS-style mounts.
Back in the late 20th century, a company called PureCussion created what are now commonly referred to as RIMS mounts for drums. It's an acronym for "Resonance Isolation Mounting System" developed by the company Gauger Percussion. It almost came about by accident, as a mounting system for their shell-less travel style kit:
It was a huge deal at the time. The guy I bought my first pro kit from (a Yamaha Recording Custom fusion-style setup) had taken the hex mounts off his toms in favor of the RIMS mounts, just not as far as the floor tom; it made sense at the time, as these were small toms - 8', 10", and 12" toms, all 8" deep ("standard depth").
In the late 80s/early 90s the thing to do was put RIMS mounts on your non-RIMS-mounted drums. This was around the same time drummers started opting for the "virgin" bass drum as well (I'll have a whole 'nuther rant post about those), where suddenly drum companies were selling the idea that the drum shell was sacred, and if you had less screws going through the wood, the more tone you would achieve upon striking. RIMS mounts were designed in such a way that drummers could simply take the existing mount off of their toms to attach to the RIMS, thus saving much cost in buying new mounting hardware or stands. This was also a fairly simple thing to do, and in my case fortunately the guy I bought my Yamaha from had already done it for me. Of course in doing so, this left huge holes behind in the shell where the old mounts were; they were just hidden from the audience by the big mounting plate.
At some point in the late 90s/early 00s, either RIMS licensed the copyright for the mounts or had a lapse in renewing it or went bankrupt because suddenly every company was making RIMS-style mounts. Prior to this you could only get RIMS mounts from Purecussion or a company with exclusive rights to use them, like DW (Drum Workshop). Most companies just cheapened the manufacturing process to make them accessible on more economy-priced drum sets (PDP), while others tried to put their own stylistic take on what were otherwise kinda bulky tom mounts (Tama).
Of course, the first thing you find out using the tuning-rod holding mounts is that it adds significant diameter to your drums, so if you already owned cases, they would no longer fit using RIMS mounts. Fortunately for me back then, I was made aware of this and ordered my Anvil fiber cases an extra size bigger to accommodate the mounts.
Of course, THEN you find out that they dont fit snugly in those cases, and the drums need to be wrapped in towels or similar if you don't want them sloshing around in there. But I digress.
So then you get older. Your tastes change. Suddenly that 22" kick drum is too big for the jazz sound you've (finally) discovered. So on and so forth. You buy some used stuff. You discover vintage drums.
Well buying drums second-hand has taught me that drummers LOVE to customize their drums. Especially back in the 60s and 70s, where if you wanted something unique, you had to do it yourself. Nowadays there's a boutique company for every percussive corner of the Internet. But some drummers still insist on taking their power tools to perfectly fine drums. But I digress.
When I traded my Yamaha Recording Custom kit for a lesser brand bop-style kit that was more useful to me, I knew I was 'trading down' in quality quite a bit: a refurbished Yamaha, possibly Rock Tour or Stage Tour Custom series, that had been refurbished by Thumper Custom Drums, then a bay area boutique drum company. "A poor man's Gretsch" was how it was described. The bearing edges had been re-cut, extra holes professionally filled, die-cast rims added, and RIMS mounts on both the 12" mounted tom and the 14" floor tom.
Well in gigging with the Thumpers, at one point I realized I was having a hard time tuning the small tom. Turns out that when the edges were re-cut, they kept the holes for lugs right where they were, and the rubber grommets of the RIMS mounts were squished tight between the top rim and the lugs which they were seated between. I had to be able to tune my drum - this was not acceptable.
I should probably note that while I have three drum kits that I rotate based on who I'm gigging with, my preference is for one small tom/basic four-piece kit. I also have more than three drumsets.
This is when I realized that, instead of having 4+ RIMS mounts on my various small toms that add significant weight to the drum and require oversized bags, I could have one concert-height snare stand a la Bonham etc to mount my single tom. It didn't take long for me to begin taking all the RIMS mounts off my various tom drums in favor of a single ~$60 snare stand.
Back to the Thumper Customs - the 14" floor tom has a "floor-tom-style RIMS mounts" which means that the RIM goes all the way around the bottom of the drum and the legs for the drum go thru holes in it. It's the only floor tom I have with that style mount.
Now go look at any drum magazine/catalog today. You'll see that there are virtually no floor tom RIMS style mounts by any company. This is due to the bigger size of the floor tom; since it will naturally resonate for a much longer time, manufacturers figured out that they didn't need to make floor tom style RIMS mounts. (Although Pearl came up with some pretty cool ideas, those 'floating feet' come to mind:)
So now only the small toms are given RIMS-style mounts. Think about this. If you had to "desert island" your drum kit piece by piece, I'm sure the small tom would be 3rd or 4th on the priority list, behind snare and kick. Now its become the only RIMS-mounted drum, suddenly special, almost separating it from the rest of the kit.
I am a firm believer of the 'whole sound' theory of the drum set. I like its inter-connectedness. I want the sympathetic vibrations that ring when the other drums are hit. Also every other drum is either touching or mounted off the floor. In this case, why does this one tom drum get so much separate tonal attention?
I don't want the extra weight, I certainly don't enjoy the look of it, and did I mention those things add up in weight??
But the capper - recording. Has a recording engineer ever told you that "Your tom does not sustain enough. It's sounding too choked," or does he throw towels and gaff tape all over your meticulously tuned, rather expensive custom drums? In the history of recorded drums, no one has ever wanted more sound out of them, period. If a producer ever did say that to you, s/he wants the sound out of YOU not the drums.
When I see drummers with RIMS mounts and moongels (head dampening) on their drums, I shake my head. But I digress.
So that's my rant. I've been think about busting out of the $500-second-hand-vintage-drum-set range that I've lived in my whole career, but if it means having to custom order to avoid RIMS mounts (i.e. spend more for less), than I will just wait until the industry comes around to the fact that small toms are just not that significant to warrant it's own, isolation mount.
Caveats:
Back when I first started paying attention to the aesthetic of RIMS mounts, my favorites of all these various manufacturer solutions ended up being Yamaha's "YESS" mounts, which still penetrate the drum shell with two small screws, but effectively look the same as 'traditional' Yamaha hex mounts. I just didn't have confidence that the two screws were enough for strength; that somehow they'd strip out of the shell, although I never once read about that ever happening.
Back in the late 20th century, a company called PureCussion created what are now commonly referred to as RIMS mounts for drums. It's an acronym for "Resonance Isolation Mounting System" developed by the company Gauger Percussion. It almost came about by accident, as a mounting system for their shell-less travel style kit:
For the quiet acoustic gigs or taxi-traveling drummer, this kit used RIMS mounts for every drum, including the kick.
It was a huge deal at the time. The guy I bought my first pro kit from (a Yamaha Recording Custom fusion-style setup) had taken the hex mounts off his toms in favor of the RIMS mounts, just not as far as the floor tom; it made sense at the time, as these were small toms - 8', 10", and 12" toms, all 8" deep ("standard depth").
Doesn't that look like a lot of metal for hanging some tiny drums?
In the late 80s/early 90s the thing to do was put RIMS mounts on your non-RIMS-mounted drums. This was around the same time drummers started opting for the "virgin" bass drum as well (I'll have a whole 'nuther rant post about those), where suddenly drum companies were selling the idea that the drum shell was sacred, and if you had less screws going through the wood, the more tone you would achieve upon striking. RIMS mounts were designed in such a way that drummers could simply take the existing mount off of their toms to attach to the RIMS, thus saving much cost in buying new mounting hardware or stands. This was also a fairly simple thing to do, and in my case fortunately the guy I bought my Yamaha from had already done it for me. Of course in doing so, this left huge holes behind in the shell where the old mounts were; they were just hidden from the audience by the big mounting plate.
Yours truly behind said-Yamahas - that's an A's 2002 Playoffs hat on my head.
At some point in the late 90s/early 00s, either RIMS licensed the copyright for the mounts or had a lapse in renewing it or went bankrupt because suddenly every company was making RIMS-style mounts. Prior to this you could only get RIMS mounts from Purecussion or a company with exclusive rights to use them, like DW (Drum Workshop). Most companies just cheapened the manufacturing process to make them accessible on more economy-priced drum sets (PDP), while others tried to put their own stylistic take on what were otherwise kinda bulky tom mounts (Tama).
Tama Star mount
Of course, the first thing you find out using the tuning-rod holding mounts is that it adds significant diameter to your drums, so if you already owned cases, they would no longer fit using RIMS mounts. Fortunately for me back then, I was made aware of this and ordered my Anvil fiber cases an extra size bigger to accommodate the mounts.
Of course, THEN you find out that they dont fit snugly in those cases, and the drums need to be wrapped in towels or similar if you don't want them sloshing around in there. But I digress.
So then you get older. Your tastes change. Suddenly that 22" kick drum is too big for the jazz sound you've (finally) discovered. So on and so forth. You buy some used stuff. You discover vintage drums.
Well buying drums second-hand has taught me that drummers LOVE to customize their drums. Especially back in the 60s and 70s, where if you wanted something unique, you had to do it yourself. Nowadays there's a boutique company for every percussive corner of the Internet. But some drummers still insist on taking their power tools to perfectly fine drums. But I digress.
"I made it myself!"
When I traded my Yamaha Recording Custom kit for a lesser brand bop-style kit that was more useful to me, I knew I was 'trading down' in quality quite a bit: a refurbished Yamaha, possibly Rock Tour or Stage Tour Custom series, that had been refurbished by Thumper Custom Drums, then a bay area boutique drum company. "A poor man's Gretsch" was how it was described. The bearing edges had been re-cut, extra holes professionally filled, die-cast rims added, and RIMS mounts on both the 12" mounted tom and the 14" floor tom.
Yours truly on the Thumper Customs w RIMS mounts, circa 2009
Well in gigging with the Thumpers, at one point I realized I was having a hard time tuning the small tom. Turns out that when the edges were re-cut, they kept the holes for lugs right where they were, and the rubber grommets of the RIMS mounts were squished tight between the top rim and the lugs which they were seated between. I had to be able to tune my drum - this was not acceptable.
I should probably note that while I have three drum kits that I rotate based on who I'm gigging with, my preference is for one small tom/basic four-piece kit. I also have more than three drumsets.
My Premier Resonator kit in studio
This is when I realized that, instead of having 4+ RIMS mounts on my various small toms that add significant weight to the drum and require oversized bags, I could have one concert-height snare stand a la Bonham etc to mount my single tom. It didn't take long for me to begin taking all the RIMS mounts off my various tom drums in favor of a single ~$60 snare stand.
Back to the Thumper Customs - the 14" floor tom has a "floor-tom-style RIMS mounts" which means that the RIM goes all the way around the bottom of the drum and the legs for the drum go thru holes in it. It's the only floor tom I have with that style mount.
A RIMS mount for floor tom
Now go look at any drum magazine/catalog today. You'll see that there are virtually no floor tom RIMS style mounts by any company. This is due to the bigger size of the floor tom; since it will naturally resonate for a much longer time, manufacturers figured out that they didn't need to make floor tom style RIMS mounts. (Although Pearl came up with some pretty cool ideas, those 'floating feet' come to mind:)
Pearl "Air Suspension" floor tom feet
So now only the small toms are given RIMS-style mounts. Think about this. If you had to "desert island" your drum kit piece by piece, I'm sure the small tom would be 3rd or 4th on the priority list, behind snare and kick. Now its become the only RIMS-mounted drum, suddenly special, almost separating it from the rest of the kit.
I am a firm believer of the 'whole sound' theory of the drum set. I like its inter-connectedness. I want the sympathetic vibrations that ring when the other drums are hit. Also every other drum is either touching or mounted off the floor. In this case, why does this one tom drum get so much separate tonal attention?
I don't want the extra weight, I certainly don't enjoy the look of it, and did I mention those things add up in weight??
But the capper - recording. Has a recording engineer ever told you that "Your tom does not sustain enough. It's sounding too choked," or does he throw towels and gaff tape all over your meticulously tuned, rather expensive custom drums? In the history of recorded drums, no one has ever wanted more sound out of them, period. If a producer ever did say that to you, s/he wants the sound out of YOU not the drums.
When I see drummers with RIMS mounts and moongels (head dampening) on their drums, I shake my head. But I digress.
GAH.
So that's my rant. I've been think about busting out of the $500-second-hand-vintage-drum-set range that I've lived in my whole career, but if it means having to custom order to avoid RIMS mounts (i.e. spend more for less), than I will just wait until the industry comes around to the fact that small toms are just not that significant to warrant it's own, isolation mount.
Caveats:
Back when I first started paying attention to the aesthetic of RIMS mounts, my favorites of all these various manufacturer solutions ended up being Yamaha's "YESS" mounts, which still penetrate the drum shell with two small screws, but effectively look the same as 'traditional' Yamaha hex mounts. I just didn't have confidence that the two screws were enough for strength; that somehow they'd strip out of the shell, although I never once read about that ever happening.
Yamaha YESS mount
The traditional Yamaha mount extended into the drum through a large hole in the shell.
Ludwig Atlas mount
Also shout-out to Ludwig's recent Atlas mounts, which sort of hides in place of a standard lug. I still think it looks too bulky, but companies are doing a lot of innovation in this area and I applaud their efforts - but I already have a basket-style stand that can fit any of my toms accordingly and I don't see myself ever deciding that I would need anything else.
...can you imagine Hal Blaine on his concert tom kit if it had RIMS mounts. His roadies woulda hated him LOL
Monday, July 14, 2014
Monday Morning Murmuring
I had a great idea for a blog post this morning in the shower. By the time I logged in, I forgot what it was. This entry is being written in hopes of jogging my foggy memory.
We're at the All-Star Break. Wow, the A's lead the AL in players chosen. Hard to believe Donaldson was picked over Moss by HR Derby captain Joey Bats, but Cespedes will successfully defend his title, MARK MY WORDS Puig be damned. Moss has tied a record for Most HRs by the Break, previously held by Oakland's Jason Giambi back in 2000.
Have to be a little concerned about the Angels. Only 1.5 games behind the league-leading A's.
Germany won the World Cup, beating Argentina.
...which reminds me how much drum pad shedding time I get during the tournament. My drum journal has notes from the past two World Cups. My drum journal is not regularly kept, big multiple month gaps in between entries. I'm considering scanning or possibly transcribing my notes for a blog. Oh, this blog? Well maybe.
I tried Vic Firth Japanese Oak sticks for this first time. Never liked Pro Mark because I never liked oak. Seems my tastes haven't changed all that much.
I have a gig this Saturday which I have to back out of. I would hope that the band could deal with a sub, but I don't think that's gonna work - which is too bad, given that it's all covers. But I told my wife I would take her to this show that is the same night, and I double-booked myself. After years of taking the gig over my wife's birthday, I am doing the opposite this year. I'll try to blog a review of the show we're going to.
I have a gig this Sunday which we have done for like the past 4-5 years, the Pig Roast gig at Linden Street Brewery (sponsored by Chop Bar). Musashi Trio will play for a bit, it's our bassist's birthday, that's HIS birthday show. But man, that pork is something else. Last year they busted out some oak-barrel aged tequila. They have a bouncy house for the kids too, so it's a great family event.
THEN I have my monthly jazz gig on Wednesday, Cato's Ale House. I had to skip the gig last month, and thought I had lost my regular spot. I went so far as to tell the bandmates that, until one of them called me up and was like "Dude, you're on the calendar. You sure you're out?" So I guess I'll just show up and find out. This is my favorite gig that I have, so despite the midweek earliness of it, I'm happy to continue to do it!
...
I still don't think this is what I was planning to write about while I was in the shower, but oh well. Maybe next time.
We're at the All-Star Break. Wow, the A's lead the AL in players chosen. Hard to believe Donaldson was picked over Moss by HR Derby captain Joey Bats, but Cespedes will successfully defend his title, MARK MY WORDS Puig be damned. Moss has tied a record for Most HRs by the Break, previously held by Oakland's Jason Giambi back in 2000.
Have to be a little concerned about the Angels. Only 1.5 games behind the league-leading A's.
Germany won the World Cup, beating Argentina.
...which reminds me how much drum pad shedding time I get during the tournament. My drum journal has notes from the past two World Cups. My drum journal is not regularly kept, big multiple month gaps in between entries. I'm considering scanning or possibly transcribing my notes for a blog. Oh, this blog? Well maybe.
I tried Vic Firth Japanese Oak sticks for this first time. Never liked Pro Mark because I never liked oak. Seems my tastes haven't changed all that much.
I have a gig this Saturday which I have to back out of. I would hope that the band could deal with a sub, but I don't think that's gonna work - which is too bad, given that it's all covers. But I told my wife I would take her to this show that is the same night, and I double-booked myself. After years of taking the gig over my wife's birthday, I am doing the opposite this year. I'll try to blog a review of the show we're going to.
I have a gig this Sunday which we have done for like the past 4-5 years, the Pig Roast gig at Linden Street Brewery (sponsored by Chop Bar). Musashi Trio will play for a bit, it's our bassist's birthday, that's HIS birthday show. But man, that pork is something else. Last year they busted out some oak-barrel aged tequila. They have a bouncy house for the kids too, so it's a great family event.
THEN I have my monthly jazz gig on Wednesday, Cato's Ale House. I had to skip the gig last month, and thought I had lost my regular spot. I went so far as to tell the bandmates that, until one of them called me up and was like "Dude, you're on the calendar. You sure you're out?" So I guess I'll just show up and find out. This is my favorite gig that I have, so despite the midweek earliness of it, I'm happy to continue to do it!
...
I still don't think this is what I was planning to write about while I was in the shower, but oh well. Maybe next time.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
A's vs Rangers, June 17th.
Last night on a whim I decided to take my son to the game (Free Parking Tuesdays!), and it was one helluva battle with a lot of action, we saw it with a great group of friends from work, and even though we had to leave early (bedtime), we had a great time.
Until I got home.
Now, I have to set this up for you. I'm writing this story for my own sake as much as yours. I made a mistake I wouldn't wish on anyone, so consider this as part cautionary tale, part personal closure - which has eluded me since this discovery, despite my desperation to put it behind me.
Rewind to earlier in the day at the office; I discovered a friend attempting to buy a bleacher ticket online. "Ah, don't do that," I say, with the confidence of a seasoned walk-up fan. "On a Tuesday night, you can get bleacher tickets from the electronic kiosks at the park - save yourself those fees, man." He ended up doing precisely that.
But I'm already getting ahead of myself.
When I told my son Tony that we were going to the game, of course he is super-excited. I couldn't pack our stuff fast enough, we couldn't get out the door quick enough. When we finally were on the road about an hour before gametime, I suddenly got a phone call.
I had a studio job booked that one of our recent graduates was going to work. Hit time was 7pm, right around the same time when we should have been taking off our caps for the National Anthem. That phone call I got was my student employee, telling me he was locked out of the building.
At this point, I've pulled all the way to the right lane and am looking to exit. The two exits I want are both backed up onto the freeway, I need to pull over and make some calls pronto.
The third exit is clear, so I pull off the road and dial up our IT person who oversees the electronic locks on the building. He informs me that the campus PD has control of the outer door locks, and that the graduates from last month have been erased. The good news is that our people control the inside electronic locks, so my student worker will be able to get in to the studio - if he can get into the building.
I start frantically calling other co-workers to no avail, contemplating whether or not I could turn 180, fly home to get my card key, and fly to work in approximately 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure Tony is asking me some questions, but he senses the severity of my situation and quietly hugs his monky pillow while strapped into his seat, no doubt listening to me freak out a bit.
Next is to call back my student, let him know that if he can get in, the studio will be accessible. While conversing with him, he catches a teacher walking through the halls who lets him in. I confirm that he can get into the studio, and crisis is averted! Fire up engine, get back on freeway, only lost about 15-20 minutes of tailgate time.
Finally find our party, get parked, and crack a beer. Tell co-worker party my tale of woe (short version), just happy to be there. The time is 6:50pm.
After single beer, we go to get our tickets, as party has left ahead of us to catch first pitch. I contemplate pounding second beer, except Mommy isn't here, so I can't afford to get too drunk. As we approach the south gate, I see giant lines in front of the metal detectors. WTF, I think. I hustle to the kiosk with Tony in tow, and re-familiarize myself with the odd process of swiping my card last on this machine. Trying to go through it as quickly as possible, I didn't change the Quantity on the Number of Tickets page, so I hit the back button, change Quantity to 2, then NEXT.
Welp, that ticket page defaults to Diamond Level seats. I intended to buy bleacher seats. You can see where this is going.
Right at the "Review" page, the guy next to me tells me something about "The third ticket is your receipt". Now, I'm only one beer deep, and I should have caught the fact that I was about to spend 3.5x the money I had intended; but instead I listen to this guy next to me who essentially distracted me at the moment I should have realized that I was buying the wrong tickets.
Now here is the real kicker - I did not realize I had bought the wrong tickets until after Tony and I had returned home.
We went straight to where our party was in LF bleachers, had a great time with friends, saw the "New Big Three" of Jaso, Norris, and Vogt put on a power display, and by the time we left the A's were up 8-3, on the back of Derek Norris' first of two huge pinch hits, this one a 3-run home run. I maintained my sobriety nursing a second, single beer for about four innings. I bought Tony one of these fancy Rickey Henderson figures (McFarlane Toys) for like $30 - in part because they didn't have a kids' sized Coco shirt, which is what he had originally asked me for - and I figured that would also have cost me about $30.
So, upon returning home and after he finally went to sleep, and I'm emptying my pockets to change my clothes, I throw the tickets on a table and notice the the total on the receipt - $108 for two tickets. I did a double-take. I checked the date, thinking maybe this receipt had been hiding in these pants' pockets from a previous game. Nope - June 17, 2014. I look at the tickets. Sec 114, Row 15, Seats 5 and 6. We spent the whole game (happily) in the bleachers. Had I known I had accidentally bought these tickets I could have gone to Ticket Services before entering the park. Had I discovered it after I entered, I could have given them to my friends in pairs, we could have taken turns sitting in incredible seats on the first deck.
But instead, I discovered it at home, around the 9th inning, after Derek Norris 2nd hit of the game, a 2-run double, making it a 10-5 game at one point. What was a great night at the park turned into a lot of holding my face in my palm at home, trying to retrace my steps, figure out how I could have made such a colossol error and not have discovered it until it was entirely too late.
I couldn't sleep. (I took a shot of tequila.)
I've been trying to shake it ever since, but I am still grinding my teeth and staring into the hole in my wallet, asking the universe what could I have done that would warrant such a slight of karmic injustice.
Did I mention it's my birthday this week?
Until I got home.
Now, I have to set this up for you. I'm writing this story for my own sake as much as yours. I made a mistake I wouldn't wish on anyone, so consider this as part cautionary tale, part personal closure - which has eluded me since this discovery, despite my desperation to put it behind me.
Rewind to earlier in the day at the office; I discovered a friend attempting to buy a bleacher ticket online. "Ah, don't do that," I say, with the confidence of a seasoned walk-up fan. "On a Tuesday night, you can get bleacher tickets from the electronic kiosks at the park - save yourself those fees, man." He ended up doing precisely that.
But I'm already getting ahead of myself.
When I told my son Tony that we were going to the game, of course he is super-excited. I couldn't pack our stuff fast enough, we couldn't get out the door quick enough. When we finally were on the road about an hour before gametime, I suddenly got a phone call.
I had a studio job booked that one of our recent graduates was going to work. Hit time was 7pm, right around the same time when we should have been taking off our caps for the National Anthem. That phone call I got was my student employee, telling me he was locked out of the building.
At this point, I've pulled all the way to the right lane and am looking to exit. The two exits I want are both backed up onto the freeway, I need to pull over and make some calls pronto.
The third exit is clear, so I pull off the road and dial up our IT person who oversees the electronic locks on the building. He informs me that the campus PD has control of the outer door locks, and that the graduates from last month have been erased. The good news is that our people control the inside electronic locks, so my student worker will be able to get in to the studio - if he can get into the building.
I start frantically calling other co-workers to no avail, contemplating whether or not I could turn 180, fly home to get my card key, and fly to work in approximately 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure Tony is asking me some questions, but he senses the severity of my situation and quietly hugs his monky pillow while strapped into his seat, no doubt listening to me freak out a bit.
Next is to call back my student, let him know that if he can get in, the studio will be accessible. While conversing with him, he catches a teacher walking through the halls who lets him in. I confirm that he can get into the studio, and crisis is averted! Fire up engine, get back on freeway, only lost about 15-20 minutes of tailgate time.
Finally find our party, get parked, and crack a beer. Tell co-worker party my tale of woe (short version), just happy to be there. The time is 6:50pm.
After single beer, we go to get our tickets, as party has left ahead of us to catch first pitch. I contemplate pounding second beer, except Mommy isn't here, so I can't afford to get too drunk. As we approach the south gate, I see giant lines in front of the metal detectors. WTF, I think. I hustle to the kiosk with Tony in tow, and re-familiarize myself with the odd process of swiping my card last on this machine. Trying to go through it as quickly as possible, I didn't change the Quantity on the Number of Tickets page, so I hit the back button, change Quantity to 2, then NEXT.
Welp, that ticket page defaults to Diamond Level seats. I intended to buy bleacher seats. You can see where this is going.
Right at the "Review" page, the guy next to me tells me something about "The third ticket is your receipt". Now, I'm only one beer deep, and I should have caught the fact that I was about to spend 3.5x the money I had intended; but instead I listen to this guy next to me who essentially distracted me at the moment I should have realized that I was buying the wrong tickets.
Now here is the real kicker - I did not realize I had bought the wrong tickets until after Tony and I had returned home.
We went straight to where our party was in LF bleachers, had a great time with friends, saw the "New Big Three" of Jaso, Norris, and Vogt put on a power display, and by the time we left the A's were up 8-3, on the back of Derek Norris' first of two huge pinch hits, this one a 3-run home run. I maintained my sobriety nursing a second, single beer for about four innings. I bought Tony one of these fancy Rickey Henderson figures (McFarlane Toys) for like $30 - in part because they didn't have a kids' sized Coco shirt, which is what he had originally asked me for - and I figured that would also have cost me about $30.
So, upon returning home and after he finally went to sleep, and I'm emptying my pockets to change my clothes, I throw the tickets on a table and notice the the total on the receipt - $108 for two tickets. I did a double-take. I checked the date, thinking maybe this receipt had been hiding in these pants' pockets from a previous game. Nope - June 17, 2014. I look at the tickets. Sec 114, Row 15, Seats 5 and 6. We spent the whole game (happily) in the bleachers. Had I known I had accidentally bought these tickets I could have gone to Ticket Services before entering the park. Had I discovered it after I entered, I could have given them to my friends in pairs, we could have taken turns sitting in incredible seats on the first deck.
But instead, I discovered it at home, around the 9th inning, after Derek Norris 2nd hit of the game, a 2-run double, making it a 10-5 game at one point. What was a great night at the park turned into a lot of holding my face in my palm at home, trying to retrace my steps, figure out how I could have made such a colossol error and not have discovered it until it was entirely too late.
I couldn't sleep. (I took a shot of tequila.)
I've been trying to shake it ever since, but I am still grinding my teeth and staring into the hole in my wallet, asking the universe what could I have done that would warrant such a slight of karmic injustice.
Did I mention it's my birthday this week?
Friday, June 6, 2014
What else can I write about
Some more random tidbits from the DrumR throne:
- I have a monthly jazz gig every 4th Wednesday from 6pm-9pm at Cato's Ale House in Oakland, CA. Under the name "Jim Richards Trio", I am generally accompanied by my former college bandmate Lorenzo Farrell on organ, plus a guest third musician, either on guitar, saxophone, etc. I enjoy meeting new people through this gig, networking with new musicians, and generally playing for the sheer joy of it. The audience is as authentic as it gets, as on some nights we've finished songs to raucous applause, only to be greeted by crickets upon the end of the next, less-well-executed tune. They are not there to hear you, but when you get their attention musically, they appreciate it. Also Cato's has killer food specials, so much so that sometimes I forgo the free band meal we get and pay for one of the many daily specials.
- Tomorrow, Saturday, I'll be performing with East Bay Brass Band at Rockwall Winery in Alameda, where they are holding their food truck event "Urban Palette". Really looking forward to that gig, even though I'm more of a beer drinker myself. Hoping the wife and kid can come without getting bored.
- I'll be turning 41 this month. Hoping for an epic tailgate at an Oakland A's game. Due to the nature of the A's schedule, my birthday always ends up on interleague series. I'm learning to get over that.
- I don't go out very much, but I heard Ginger Baker is playing Yoshi's Oakland AGAIN. Last time I missed it. Friday and Saturday 6/14 and 6/15. I have a few of Ginger Baker's jazz albums, as well as some live recordings, and even as Ginger ascends into octagenarian status, his looping groove and thumping toms sound great in a jazz context. He has such regard for the music, even if sometimes he comes down a bit heavy-handed. Also I tend to forget how much of his style is so directly influenced by African drumming. Hope wife will like it, I'm draggin her out to one of these shows.
- I keep listening to this album "Love in Flying Colors" by the Foreign Exchange. Just the combination of tones, instruments and voices, ... just really working well for me for the most part. When I'm not listening to that, I'm listening to Slayer back catalog. Also when it gets hot my reggae collection gets the dust blown off it.
- There is so much television I don't watch - basically all the bigs: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, ... wife is still watching Mad Men, so I get some updates on that. But I really want to see Silicon Valley. The first episode they put online was so good, and I am such a Mike Judge fanboy. (*I saw Frog Baseball in a movie theater! Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.) King of the Hill was the last television sitcom I watched.
- I feel like out of all the things I need to do, "something creative" is atop my list. I love playing drums, I love music, but I feel like my creative juices are getting backed up. Maybe it's all the cover songs my bands are playing. I have this overwhelming desire to build a Franken-something: some type of electronic drum monster, or maybe a bicycle, or maybe some sort of electronic drum monster bicycle. I just dunno.
- I hope when I get my MBPro back, I can still find this blog.
- I have a monthly jazz gig every 4th Wednesday from 6pm-9pm at Cato's Ale House in Oakland, CA. Under the name "Jim Richards Trio", I am generally accompanied by my former college bandmate Lorenzo Farrell on organ, plus a guest third musician, either on guitar, saxophone, etc. I enjoy meeting new people through this gig, networking with new musicians, and generally playing for the sheer joy of it. The audience is as authentic as it gets, as on some nights we've finished songs to raucous applause, only to be greeted by crickets upon the end of the next, less-well-executed tune. They are not there to hear you, but when you get their attention musically, they appreciate it. Also Cato's has killer food specials, so much so that sometimes I forgo the free band meal we get and pay for one of the many daily specials.
- Tomorrow, Saturday, I'll be performing with East Bay Brass Band at Rockwall Winery in Alameda, where they are holding their food truck event "Urban Palette". Really looking forward to that gig, even though I'm more of a beer drinker myself. Hoping the wife and kid can come without getting bored.
- I'll be turning 41 this month. Hoping for an epic tailgate at an Oakland A's game. Due to the nature of the A's schedule, my birthday always ends up on interleague series. I'm learning to get over that.
- I don't go out very much, but I heard Ginger Baker is playing Yoshi's Oakland AGAIN. Last time I missed it. Friday and Saturday 6/14 and 6/15. I have a few of Ginger Baker's jazz albums, as well as some live recordings, and even as Ginger ascends into octagenarian status, his looping groove and thumping toms sound great in a jazz context. He has such regard for the music, even if sometimes he comes down a bit heavy-handed. Also I tend to forget how much of his style is so directly influenced by African drumming. Hope wife will like it, I'm draggin her out to one of these shows.
- I keep listening to this album "Love in Flying Colors" by the Foreign Exchange. Just the combination of tones, instruments and voices, ... just really working well for me for the most part. When I'm not listening to that, I'm listening to Slayer back catalog. Also when it gets hot my reggae collection gets the dust blown off it.
- There is so much television I don't watch - basically all the bigs: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, ... wife is still watching Mad Men, so I get some updates on that. But I really want to see Silicon Valley. The first episode they put online was so good, and I am such a Mike Judge fanboy. (*I saw Frog Baseball in a movie theater! Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation.) King of the Hill was the last television sitcom I watched.
- I feel like out of all the things I need to do, "something creative" is atop my list. I love playing drums, I love music, but I feel like my creative juices are getting backed up. Maybe it's all the cover songs my bands are playing. I have this overwhelming desire to build a Franken-something: some type of electronic drum monster, or maybe a bicycle, or maybe some sort of electronic drum monster bicycle. I just dunno.
- I hope when I get my MBPro back, I can still find this blog.
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