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Museday Mumblings (Vol. 76) – A Case of The Musedays

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 76) – A Case of The Musedays

Well, it’s a Museday. The last time I posted was in late September. Clearly life is having its way with me right now, as I’m not particularly inspired to even blather on here on the blog.

This series was meant to be almost a meditation – every Tuesday (or so) I’d post about some topic, whether it be musical or otherwise (but mostly musical), and it would keep me creating and creative. But a few things happened over the last year or so that really messed with my desire to share much of what’s going on with me publicly. People who are too sensitive. Beloved friends slightly younger than me who died suddenly. The tennis match-like back-and-forth of worthiness and worthlessness that is being a sensitive artist.

I desperately want to WANT to create. I desperately want to FEEL like people I depend on for music-related things are all on the same page. But time creates distance, distance increases anxiety, anxiety breeds worry, worry breeds resentment. I’m not saying anything is REAL about how I feel about the various things I’m doing or my relationships with music stuff, but it’s definitely making me feel less motivated in general, and kind of depressing me (and thus keeping me from working on stuff).

But let’s take stock. Let’s have ourselves one of them certified, Erin-phrase-coined “Gratitude Adjustments”:

In 2022, I played a PILE of wonderful shows with my boys in Chandler and The Bings. And I played my roles as bassist and singer well in the vast majority of them, which makes me very proud. We had a great bonding experience with our trip to Laredo that was only sullied by a bad stomach bug which led to the very first time I’ve ever left the stage to vomit…and then vomited off the side of the stage out of the view of the crowd. It’s quite a story that’s quite gross, and if you’d like to hear it, I’m happy to tell it in person.

My solo shows were mostly pretty good, and I was VERY consistent this year, basically playing every first Saturday except for July. I love the venue, the staff is wonderful, people tip very well, and I really need to grow this side of my musicianship. I think it would be good for my development to have some bigger crowds to play to, though. So I’m going to work towards that in 2023, stacking up the wonderful venue I already play and maybe even finding some more…

I got some very cool new gear and some of my existing gear got an AMAZING update that inspires me to play more, which is good. I keep meaning to make videos about the guitar and little amp, but that’s another casualty of life in general. Just hasn’t happened yet.

My body has held up pretty well considering I packed on an extra 15 lbs this year. Going to do my best to get that off in triplicate this year, hopefully by my birthday in September. That might be too tall an order, but progress toward healthy living is most important. My health is paramount and I need to stick around for my kiddos.

To close this out:

I am thankful that I can still do this music stuff.

I am grateful that my health so far has remained pretty good (gotta figure out the heart flutter, but…)

I am hopeful that I can stay disciplined and make the necessary changes to lead a more healthy lifestyle.

Now that this is turning into a “Goals” post – completely unrelated to the fact that it’s a new year, mind you – my goals are now to get healthy, get better at playing the songs I perform, get working on my ear training and theory knowledge, get the worthy songs I’ve written recorded, mix the old ones that were already recorded better (and improve the performances if necessary), get some new songs together, release some new music (having one song on the streaming platforms seems kind of sad), get my goddamn ass in gear in general, and get some MONEY.

That’d be nice, right? Rent is EXPENSIVE. Shit, everything is.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I plan to get back in this Museday Mumblings habit again. Have a happy day whenever you see this, and may you stay healthy and safe.

Peace be the journey!
TMS

2021 In Review…And A Look To 2022

2021 In Review…And A Look To 2022

The first quarter of the year was pretty lame. Not a whole lot going on that was new.

Started back with gigs in May. (YAY!)

Joined an awesome Yacht Rock band but punked out because I had to accept reality the playing level expected didn’t fit with my current lifestyle. It still makes me sad when I think about it.

Blogged many, many times but got super inconsistent at the end of the year (depression does that to you).

Made many great improvements to my home studio building on all the great improvements from 2020. Hey, I figure if I live in this room for work, it might as well be decked out, right? Upgraded the live bass rig from a little HX Stomp to the HX Stomp XL, which has more footswitches. Very happy with the change.

Went to California for a family vacation. It was more of a trip than a vacation, because it was the opposite of relaxing, but it was wonderful to be back “home” and see some California family and friends. The Golden State is as much a part of me as anywhere else I’ve ever lived, and I still miss it. If I win a large sum in the lottery, I will buy property there.

Discovered great new music – Mammoth WVH’s debut album is EXCELLENT, as was their live show. I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (aka IDKHOW) somehow escaped me when they were the alternative music press’ retro darling a few years back, but now I know who they are (thanks to my bud Dennis) and dig the SHIT out of their stuff. They’re 80s in all the best ways, but current – if you like the idea of Duran Duran and The Cure having a baby, you’ll probably dig this.

Wrote ZERO songs. Didn’t even compose riffs or anything this year. Not sure why…just not all that inspired. I did do some livestream noodling.

Returned to the stage as a solo act thanks to my friend (and excellent livestreamer) Mandy Prater recommending me to the awesome people at 360 Uno.

And I think that’s about it.

Definitely going to get things set up in the studio in 2022 for easier musical creativity and make it a point to make stuff. I might even make videos of the process since I have that awesome-but-basically-unused live streaming mixer. And Bathroom Schizo videos!

Or not. Since I like to believe I’ll do creative things but I rarely come through because life and my mental state often get in the way. STAY TUNED!

One thing that’s definitely happening in 2022 is a return of the weekly format for the Museday Mumblings. I slacked hard in Q4 and I find that embarrassing.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful 2022!
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 22): King Edward

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 22): King Edward

I am crushed.

One of my greatest inspirations as a musician, a very large reason why I even play, died of cancer on October 6th.

Edward Lodewijk Van Halen – better known to the world as “Eddie Van Halen” or “EVH” – the world-renowned guitarist and founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, my favorite band from about ages 10-25 (stuff happened around then that knocked them down a peg, I’ll get into that later).

Eddie was a master at his instrument, both as a soloist and improviser and as a writer and rhythm player. He popularized so many crazy techniques on guitar that we all consider sort of “normal” now, but few were really doing them in 1978 when Van Halen’s first record came out. He was an ardent tinkerer, assembing an instrument that served his purposes when he realized nothing commercially available would work for what he wanted to accomplish. He had wonderful stage presence, jumping around and smiling, all while playing amazingly difficult guitar parts and making it look easy. He also sang wonderful backing vocals, blending with his bandmates and providing a radio-friendly sound making their vocal hooks sparkle.

Most of this is stuff everyone seems to be covering as they pay tribute to Edward. And it’s all relevant to why Ed was so important to me as a young musician. I’ll boil it down to the lessons I learned from studying him closely, and then go into how it shaped the musician I became. SO MUCH of my philosophy about music is rooted in things I read in interviews with him that I think paying tribute to the lessons I’ve learned is an excellent way to explain why he’s so important.

Lesson #1: If it sounds good, it is good.
What I got from this is that we’re all different. We all love what we love. We should not be ashamed if we like some music or a tone or whatever because if we love it, that’s all that matters. If you like it, that’s absolutely all that matters. If it inspires you, that’s the best thing ever.

Lesson #2: Smile!
Eddie always played with an impish smile. It was never an arrogant smile. It was borderline cocky, but it always was inviting and told you how much fun he was having playing music. I let the music take over when I play, and often that makes me smile. Not just when things are going right…but when crazy shit happens or I swing and miss on something…I smile. There was a time when I didn’t – I used to get mad and scowl, and it looked terrible. Once it was brought to my attention, I vowed to pull a Van Halen and always chill out and grin. It’s been the best thing ever. People love it when I smile while performing, and often mention how much they love seeing me grin when I’m playing – how much more fun and inviting everything seems because it makes them happy.

Lesson #3: Try everything…
There’s a phrase Ed always said about soloing, “falling down the stairs and landing on your feet”. It was always in the context of jamming/improvising. Trying things, taking it way out or just trying something new, and then sticking the landing. That has been a mantra for me ever since. I always look for creative ways to be an ensemble player, to enhance the arrangement without distracting from what’s important, and then as a soloist, I will really go for it but then bring it back for a solid finish/transition to the meat of whatever we’re playing. It’s exciting and fun, and you’re always challenging yourself, and thus setting yourself up for constant improvement.

Lesson #4: Find new ways to do things.
When I first had access to a guitar, I had only played a little clarinet and keyboards. So naturally (and perhaps subconsciously), when I was farting around with the new-to-me instrument, I tried to play the guitar with both hands on the neck. So when I realized it was kind of Van Halen’s “thing”, he immediately became my favorite guitarist. The only person I honestly remembered seeing playing guitar like that was jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan in some movie (looked it up: it was “Blind Date”), and his method was completely different – very multi-fingered and chordal. But after the Van Halen obsession began, I basically sought out every unorthodox way to make a guitar make a sound. I learned pinch/artificial harmonics. I learned natural harmonics. I learned how to tap harmonics. I learned what frets would produce what interval from the original note. I’d do crazy stuff like pull the high E string off the neck and see which notes I could make on the side of the neck (not a Van Halen thing, I just found it fun). Just anything to challenge the “normal” ways of playing guitar. Here’s a little video where I talk about some of this silliness…

Lesson #5: Serve yourself and never pander to your audience
Pretty ironic that a guy who ended up being a pretty seasoned cover band guy who does nothing BUT pander to audiences would say this was a major lesson he learned, but it’s true. When it comes to my own music, I want to be happy with it. I honestly have never done music to gain others’ approval, even in the context of cover bands. I always want to LOVE what I’m doing, and I’ve gotten better at saying “no” as I’ve grown older. I’m sincerely proud of what we do in Chandler and The Bings, because I put my personality into everything. And when creating my own music, I’ve only sought to make the sounds in my head into pieces of music or songs. And it’s cool if other people like the stuff I write, but in the end it doesn’t matter. I made it. I like it. Or at least I’m satisfied that I tried. Ed was ALWAYS on this program. He wanted to play what HE wanted to play, no matter how much fans bitched, or the climate didn’t seem right for whatever music it was. He was going to create what he wanted to create, and that was a lesson that really hit home to me. If you try and satisfy others, you’ll never be happy, but if you work to create things that are meaningful to you and you dig? You win no matter what. Other people liking it is just frosting.

Lesson #6: Don’t be a prick
This is where we get into the darker and sadder side of my love-hate relationship with my childhood/teen/young adult guitar idol. Starting in the mid-90s, a lot of stories came out of him being a dick to Sammy, then a dick to Dave, then talking shit about Michael Anthony. It was becoming more and more apparent that he was just a bitter and angry person. It’s likely his substance abuse problems caused a lot of this behavior, but it still ruined him for me. His treatment of Michael Anthony was the worst, though. Mikey never did anything but support Eddie, play excellent bass, and was a major part of the vocal brilliance of Van Halen. So not only did Eddie go back on the deal they had as a band to split everything four ways and make him sign away his rights to the publishing in 2000 or so, he made him take a major pay cut to participate in the 2003-2004 reunion tour with Sammy. Mike did it for the fans and his friend Sam. A “lost” interview from 1981 or 1982 came out at some point in the early 2000s and Ed spends a large amount of the article shitting on Mike, so this wasn’t something new. He basically didn’t bother to tell Mike about the 2007 reunion with David Lee Roth – just got Wolf to play bass and went with it. I vowed to never give them another dime after all that mistreatment of Mikey. I read Sammy’s autobiography which was very illuminating about a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff that went down “On The Inside”. That basically made me write him off as a bitter prick. But it was 2015 or so, when Eddie did an interview where he claimed Michael Anthony had to be shown how to play all the parts – that somehow he was a fundamentally basic and untalented musician – that was it for me. Fuck Eddie Van Halen. Fuck his EVH gear, fuck his legacy, FUCK THAT GUY. I was done.

Every now and then I’d try to enjoy Van Halen the way I once did, but it was basically impossible. I’d always think about how much of a prick Eddie was, and I learned by his shitty example that I never wanted to be like him as a man. Because, to me, he wasn’t one. I’m sure he was better to a lot of people in his life, and I know this changed while he was fighting his cancer and I’ve heard he mended a lot of bridges, including the one with Sammy. But I think it was most people forgiving him, not him reaching out to apologize. And since I don’t know him or how he really was, I take all the nice stories of his kindness and generosity and mix them with all the bad shit and then put that in the context of what he meant to me and that’s why I’m spending all this time writing about him. EVH could be a prick. But he could also be a sweetheart. I’ve definitely been a prick from time to time, but I’ve never fucked over a bandmate the way he did. Weirdly, though, his death made it possible for me to enjoy his music again the way I did when I was little, because the imprint he left was so good it outweighed a lot of the bad things I was hung up on for so many years. If the people involved could forgive him and mourn him, there was no sense in me continuing to be mad. I really hate when people are offended on behalf of people, and I’m not going to be one of those people.

I’m just going to enjoy his music, and think about how he and the boys made me happy when I was a kid. I’m going to focus on how much he and the band inspired me to become a better musician. And I’m going to fucking smile while I play, jump around, and when I improvise, I’m going to always try to fall down the stairs and land on my feet. Because that’s what Eddie would do.

Rest in peace, King Edward, and thank you for everything (the good and the bad). I love you.

TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 21): A bit about my other great love…

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 21): A bit about my other great love…

Now, y’all know me as your faithful Musical Schizo, but if you zoomed back to when I was 15 years old, and things went slightly different, I might have ended up the Comedy Schizo. I’m sure in the multiverse there’s an alternate 2020 where I am a professional (or at least semi-professional) comedian or comedic actor.

I am a comedy NUT.

And the seeds of that were planted by my parents and their families. Funny always was HUGE in our house. I remember watching the variety shows of the 1970s. Trying to convince my dad to let me stay up to watch funny people on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, or if I was REALLY lucky, to stay up on Saturday Night to catch my favorite show, Saturday Night Live. I can remember sitting on the stairs out of sight (if you are familiar with a split-level layout, with the stairs going up and coming down, you can see how that’s possible), listening to what they were watching, trying to be invisible, and almost always getting busted when I or one of my little brothers laughed at something.

So my earliest memories of laughing at things are Carol Burnett, Johnny Carson, SNL, Looney Tunes cartoons, Tom & Jerry, The Honeymooners, and various re-run sitcoms. This plus the fact that my family was always looking for the next funny thing really made me value what being funny brought to my tribe. Every chance I could I’d find funny things, because I loved laughing and I loved making people laugh. I’d try funny voices and mimic people. One of my earliest obsessions was a (very corny) Rich Little special from HBO in the mid-80s – Night of 42 Stars. I learned how to do the voices of all 42 stars. And I loved it. But there was a lot that really appealed to me in comedy, and I think a lot of it relates to a major thing I love in music. Surprises.

The key to a good joke is surprise. Whether it be a clever and not-obvious way of saying something, or tricking people to expect one resolution and hit them with another, the biggest laughs come from people hearing something completely unexpected. And for me, when I listen to music, there’s nothing that brings me greater joy than some interesting melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic turn, or an accent or timbre that I didn’t expect. Part of the reason I have such a broad appreciation for music is that those surprises abound. Even if you know the fundamentals and you think things are just obvious and pat, inspiring music will take those expected turns and then throw you something cool in that context. It’s done in all genres. And I love it.

There are many factors that easily could have turned me into The Comedy Schizo, but for some reason I never developed the confidence to actually go there. I’ll delve into the psychology of that later. But first, the background.

A big piece of The Comedy Schizo puzzle was film. Or really, movies. Since these weren’t exactly “fancy” and people don’t respect great comedy they do other sorts of films. Growing up in the renaissance of comedy movies from the mid 70s through the late 80s or so, the films of that era really formed a foundation for what I find funny. Trading Places, Caddyshack, Animal House, Ghostbusters, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, Police Academy (not so much its sequels), Airplane, The Bad News Bears, Slap Shot, all the John Hughes movies, all the Mel Brooks movies, Hollywood Shuffle, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Coming To America…it was all huge for me. Later it was Bill & Ted and Wayne’s World, which brought three things important to me together – friendship, music, and comedy. So there was a lot, and I’m just scratching the surface, because I even loved a lot of the crap that came from the 80s movie industry (yes, stuff like Short Circuit, Mannequin, etc.). And most of it holds up for me even still.

TV was massive, too. I also was obsessed with Saturday Night Live, especially when I got to be about 12 or 13 and got to stay up late on Saturday nights regularly. Those people were my heroes. I would catch the earlier versions of the show here and there, so I was very familiar with all the casts from about 1981-1984, with Eddie Murphy, Joe Piscopo, and those people, through that weird and awesome season in 1984-1985 when Christopher Guest, Martin Short, and Billy Crystal were on the show, but I think I watched it every week starting in about 1986. That’s where I was introduced to the brilliance of all the multi-talented people on the show – people who can do amazing characters, impersonations, and sometimes even sing! And I loved watching sitcoms. But more than film or any TV stuff, there was one type of comedy that has always been my favorite.

You see, I love stand-up comedy more than anyone I’ve ever met. I grew up during the stand-up comedy boom of the 80s, which coincided with the rise of cable, so stand-up on TV was everywhere, especially on basic cable. Of course I used to love seeing stand-ups on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I loved all the older comedians like Don Rickles, Jonathan Winters, John Byner, and the aforementioned Rich Little. Their little bits always made me amazed that a guy could just stand up there and make people laugh. I probably liked that they were the center of attention, too.

My dad had a George Carlin album, FM & AM, that was in with all the records I stole from him when his turntable broke (it was me or one of my three brothers who did it – I can’t remember). I got a really awesome Magnavox stereo with a turntable, two tape decks, and a CD player for my birthday/Christmas in 1988 or so. Anyway – about the Carlin album. I’d seen George on the Tonight Show, and thought he was funny. My parents always talked about his “a place for my stuff” bit, and some of his older things they’d mention here and there. I found this record and was hooked. I listened to it over and over. Memorized it. I can still recite “The Hair Piece” to this day. I shared it with all my friends. A few of them got it. Most didn’t. But that was okay. It was MINE. And Carlin became an obsession. Especially after the release of his 1990 special “Doin’ It Again”, and for me, his greatest special ever, 1992’s “Jammin’ In New York”. Here we had a guy who grew up in an Irish-American Roman Catholic family in New York. He would talk in all the voices of my childhood, doing characters and weaving them into hilarious stories. The more I learned about him, the more I heard his comedy, the more the world made sense to the way I already felt about it. It desperately made me want to do the same sort of thing.

And with all the stand-up I watched, more and more comedians with different viewpoints made a huge impression on me. I always felt like my brain worked a little different from most people, and the more comedians I saw “behind the scenes” talking about comedy, the more I realized that my brain was more like the dark, sensitive brains of my favorite comedians. There’s a fundamental ability to completely step back from the emotions and humanity of a situation and see that situation in the most raw and real way to find the root of our interactions and, in many ways, the fundamental bullshit of basically everything we do. Our motivations, our manipulations, our posturing. Having what I call “comedy brain” is a tough way to see the world, but it is a wonderful level of “seeing the Matrix” if you care about living honestly. And the best comedians value that authenticity and honesty and it comes through their comedy. I felt that way. Strip away the bullshit. So finding stand-up really made me feel like I wasn’t such a weirdo for thinking about things the way I do.

So what happened? How did I not end up becoming “The Comedy Schizo” or whatever? Well, I’m probably not that funny, actually. I never felt like I was as funny as other people in my family. But even without that, I’m too much of a chicken to actually let go of the posturing and manipulation that is inherent in people like me who desperately need people to like them. I don’t really have a desire to offend people. I always want people to leave an interaction with me happier than when they arrived. I want those personal five-star reviews! Comedy doesn’t really work with that sort of mindset.

A lot of comedians end up doing stand-up because they desperately want attention – and perhaps adulation. But more often they just NEED to say what they’re going to say, and it has to be in front of strangers. If the audience loves it, great, bonus! But that’s not the point, really, for a lot of them. I don’t think my desire to be the center of attention ever trumped my desire to hide. I’m a weird person in that I feel like I’m inherently an introvert, in that being social and being around other people drains me, but I’m actually very good at pretending to be an extrovert. I attribute that to being the new kid so many times that I learned those coping strategies and techniques to gain people’s favor.

Another big reason I think it never happened is that I put comedy on a pedestal. I love it TOO much. I don’t want to get up there and do it terribly because I respect the craft and the art form. I used to be convinced this was the main reason why I wouldn’t do it. But I’ve come to the realization that this was just a rationalization and a defense mechanism. I know it takes about 10 years of solid stage time to actually get good at it, so I know not to expect anything when you start. I’m just scared.

An important thing to also know about me is that I don’t really have stage fright. At all. In fact, I feel very comfortable on a stage. Especially when standing there holding an instrument. So my fear isn’t even some kind of stage fright.

I think it all comes down to this: I got good at music, and more of my friends were music people, so I did music more. If I had gotten into improv or there was an open mic night in my little college town that was heavy on the comedy, life might have turned out differently.

I’m pretty happy that music ended up being number one for me. It definitely is more lucrative than stand-up if you’re not making stand-up your primary focus.

But I will always love comedy. And someday I’ll get my butt up on a stage and tell some jokes or some stories. Or do some voices. Or all of it. Maybe I’ll even sing some funny songs and put the two together.

Probably not the “guitar comedy”, though. That’s kind of hacky.

Thanks for taking this comedy journey with me. I hope you’re all safe, happy, and healthy, and even if things are rough you find ways to laugh. It truly is the best way to deal with the darkness of human existence.

TMS

P.S. Black lives matter, wash your hands, wear your mask, physically distance, and for fuck’s sake, vote for sanity if you’re American and eligible.

March Home, Young Man…

March Home, Young Man…

Well, things in our world are officially weird.

I mean, we have a major novel virus spreading quickly around the world, and are trying desperately to slow that spread so that the people who are infected get the care that keeps them alive. As I’m sure you know, dear reader, that means that live music is OVER right now. My full-time musician buddies are shitting themselves about when they’ll have another gig so they can pay their rent, and I hope that they implement a temporary assistance program for them. They deserve to be paid to stay home, just like all the people in the service industry (bars and restaurants), movies, and a lot of retail. Fortunately for me, I’m a coward who has never had the nerve to just do music, so my day job is basically the same, and the only change for me work-wise is a positive one, because I prefer working in my home studio to being at the office. Not playing is CRAP, but I will do what I can to help the vulnerable by staying out of circulation.

If there was ever a time for me to hunker down and really get some shit recorded and done it’s now. I’ll have no real band distractions, except for some awesome live-streaming stuff we’re planning. It’s going to be just me sitting in my studio with all my guitars and keyboards. The unfortunate thing? I’m completely stuck because I really don’t have material. I haven’t written a new song in over four years. FOUR. At my last residence, I did not write a single new song. That is mind-blowing to me. I’ve always fancied myself a songwriter, but almost half a decade of not writing makes it clear that’s not really something I am anymore. That’s okay, but I’d really like to change that.

My plan for the next month or two (assuming this shit’s going to be around a while) is to write at least one complete song. I think I’ll document the process over on social media (I’m musicalschizo pretty much everywhere – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MySpace…)

Keep an eye out for that and an eye out for new fun Chandler and The Bings content, because there’s no way the four of us can stand more than a few weeks of not being goofy together and playing some music. We’re going to figure out the technology of a streaming jam. I’m sure there’s some Google thing or Twitch or whatever that should be able to make that happen.

Take care, wash your hands, stay home if you can, do what you can for your friends who are financially hurting because of this stuff, and please stay healthy!

Peace be the non-journey…

TMS

Life and Baby

Life and Baby

The last pieces I wrote for this site were back in March, before my youngest son was born. I had every intention of keeping up with this page more, and turning it into a site tracking the progress of my latest musical project, but baby is more important. This ended up on the back burner. Now that the little dude is 7 months old, and things are sort of normalizing in a way, I decided to pop in and be creative for a second, and maybe write something about what life has been like for me, but the reality is, life hasn’t really changed. Well, that’s not true – life has changed A LOT – but my musical life hasn’t changed one bit. I’m still not recording as much as I want, not getting my songs together for the album I announced over a year ago, and basically just playing shows with the Bings and hitting the occasional jam night when I can (far less frequently now that baby is here). It’s okay, though. I’m pretty happy these days in general. Because of some other life changes, my two older kiddos are living with me full-time, and it’s nice to have those turds around. They’re so good to their little brother, even if they’re incapable of babysitting him. Getting them here has been quite time-consuming, so even more time away from music and blogging. But again, things are starting to normalize a bit and as we get past the unpacking and settling phase for them, we’ll be ready to make some moves on the music part.

As all this is happening, the Bings have gone through some ups and downs, but mostly ups, and now we’ve got a sort of regular show happening on Thursday nights at a place called Stereotype. This past Thursday the evil “I suck at harmonies” monster came back and reared its ugly head, which when added to the fact that I was suffering some horrible back pain due to all the lifting and moving of things, made my night the worst show I’ve played in about five years or so. When I sang lead, things were fine, but outside of that, it was a shit show for me. The good news is that we’ve got another show this coming Thursday, so redemption is around the corner. I’m going to use different in-ears for this show, so hopefully I’ll be able to hear better and thus sing better. We shall see…

You’d think I’d have more to say, but I’m just tired. More to come in the next few weeks. It’s been four or five years since the last set, so I think I’m going to start posting new videos of me singing solo with an acoustic in the bathroom. I just have to decide which bathroom I’m going to use, and what songs I’ll sing. I think Elenore by The Turtles will make an appearance. Perhaps some more gems from my solo acoustic set just for fun. And maybe some Bings songs, too. Maybe I can convince Pat to come over and do a duet with me in the bathroom. That’d be a first.

Thanks for your continued attention and have a wonderful Halloween, All Saints Day/Dia De Los Muertos, and November in general.

TMS

P.S. Ba-by Shark doot do do do do do…Ba-by Shark doot do do do do do…Ba-by Shark doot do do do do do…Baby shark.

The Dangerfields, Solo shows, keyboard, fitness, etc.

The Dangerfields, Solo shows, keyboard, fitness, etc.

Updates:

The Dangerfields are still in progress, and we’ve played one more show since my last post. Okay, that’s not really accurate, because it’s not The Dangerfields, really if Lee isn’t playing drums. But it was a nice try, although an overally unpleasant experience for a variety of reasons. (Kudos to Ernie for filling in and doing a good job) We’ve had a couple of rehearsals since then and the last one was very inspiring – we’re starting to sound like a BAND – which is really good. Finding time to schedule shows around our lives and Lee’s other band is the next trick, but we’ll get to that. So life is good in the world of no respect. 🙂

I booked a few more solo shows at Scoreboard, and I’m very excited to be back there. I’m going to try and make my PA and light rig even more simple for easier setup-teardown, which is a delightful challenge.

I bought a Korg X50 synth at a pawn shop, and it’s already inspiring me with its sounds. I’m excited to become a better keyboardist, and I might even learn some songs on it for the solo gigs. Wouldn’t that be weird?

Finally, I’m back at the gym on a regular basis. Time to get in shape and stay in shape. It’s already making my joints feel better, and once I’ve worked out a way to eat better with my weird sensory food issues on top of the regular gym activity, I’ll get lighter and will be able to start exercising a little harder.

I have been inspired to improve my overall musicianship, but I also really want to tap into whatever emotions are flowing through me now. I’m very happy with my life in general – my work is pleasant, my home situation is awesome, and I feel very loved. And that sort of peace usually keeps me from being all that expressive with music – I just don’t write all that much. I have had some serious moments of worry and pain, though, with family far away, first from Hurricane Matthew (everyone is okay, but it was scary), and then through a friend’s loss this past weekend.

One of my best friends in the world, both musically and non-musically, just lost his brother. I can’t really imagine the emotions he’s feeling, but it’s made me very, very sad, because his brother was always such an encouraging spirit, supporting our musical endeavors and really just showing us “the love”. If I ever had to do a crying scene in a movie, I’d think about losing one of my brothers – the very idea is that level of pain for me, and I wish there was something I could do to help my friend through this horrible time.

I wish there was a way to express it as well as I think Neil Peart and Rush did on this song:

The world will miss you, Darin.

Peace be the journey, all!
TMS

July Update – Solo shows and new band

July Update – Solo shows and new band

So my updates apparently are coming every three months or so now. Time to stop thinking it’s going to be more frequent and accept that I sort of suck at this “regular blogging thing”.

I’ve been playing some great solo shows at a new venue (to me) called “Scoreboard”. I have a lot of fun there. I also just played my first show at Quinns in Round Rock. That was delightful and I kind of killed it, which made me feel like I’m getting good at this solo thing.

The new trio that’s starting up is still in progress, though we grow ever closer to gigs. We haven’t settled on a name for it yet, but it’s definitely been fun putting it together. Once we pick a name we’ll book some shows and force this thing into being. I thought it’d be funny to call it “Roman Candle” since that was the most common mistake people made with “Roman Holiday”, and this is essentially the same stuff (though it will get different as time passes).

On the creative front, well, that’s just stalled. I’m not feeling very inspired, so I’m not writing, but I have been playing some of my existing originals live, and they’ve gotten a good response, so that makes me feel good.

Next show is at Scoreboard on July 9th (this Saturday), and then a break for about a month. Maybe we can use that time for whipping the new band into shape and getting it some gigs. Here’s hoping!

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any good band name ideas you’d like to share. We’re not excited about much of anything we’ve thought of so far.

Peace be the journey!
TMS

So the progress continues…

So the progress continues…

Last night I was able to work up most of my song called “Miserable Bastard” into a full-band arrangement. The bass parts and vocals are just scratch versions at this point and everything needs more work (I want to compose a better bass part that has some more “movement”), but I’m satisfied with how things are progressing.

There’s another song I just wrote (a couple of days after “Way Too Long Of A While”) that I’m still working on, and that one might be next to be recorded…but there are others I still want to finish or rework, so who knows.

I’m just happy I’m getting things together for once. Now I have to get some acoustic gigs and get a new power trio together with Lee (Roman Holiday bandmate/drummer). I miss fronting an actual band.

Thanks for keeping up and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope you all have a prosperous and wonderful 2016.
TMS

NEW SONG! Yep, it’s finally happened…

NEW SONG! Yep, it’s finally happened…

My long personal nightmare is over: I’m writing again! And this is a pretty dang cool feeling…

The first song I’m sharing is a song that is very close to my heart. I decided to try and dig deep and “feel all the feels” as some might say, and this new one is the result. This one makes me cry. It also doesn’t sound much like anything else I’ve ever recorded, so it might be kind of shocking (especially vocally). Go with me here and don’t carry any prejudices – this is 100% from my heart.

It’s called “Way Too Long Of A While”:

It comes on the heels of spending some time with my family that I love deeply and miss terribly because I live over 1000 miles away (or more). It’s actually a fairly simple concept, inspired by my internal conflict of feeling sad because I’m far away, but really loving the life I’ve got aside from the distance from “home” (which to me isn’t a place, but rather the five other members of my family – my mom, dad, and three younger brothers).

Thanks for listening, and watch this space for more!
TMS