Most people who meet me would be shocked to hear that I’m that old, because I’m a fairly childish adult. I’m a goofball. I look pretty young (no gray hair except a little white in my beard, face is not super wrinkly). I think being funny, making people laugh, and laughing are more important than just about anything. But this past year I’ve been thinking a lot about how advancing in age changes my perspective on things. Like songwriting.
I started writing songs in my teens when I lived in Bakersfield. Mostly just words to 12-bar-blues progressions. One song I wrote I accidentally stole the progression to “House Of The Rising Sun”. As I got more comfortable with the idea of singing, I wrote more songs. So by the time I was in my mid-20s, I was writing a LOT. I think I had gotten to about 100-150 songs at that point. Pretty much none of them good, but I wrote. My first child was born when I was 27. Almost 20 years ago. In the first few years she was around, I maintained my clip, and got close to 200 songs. But by the time my oldest son was born, my songwriting had slowed to a trickle. Maybe 3-5 songs a year. By the time this blog started, it was 2-3 songs a year. Then a divorce and some isolation, and the pace slowed further, maybe 1-2 per year. And now, I’ve written basically one song in the past four years (a tribute to a favorite artist of mine who died from complications from COVID-19). I don’t really even feel comfortable calling myself a songwriter anymore. I think I’ve ranted about that before on here earlier this year.
Finally getting to the point where I accept the change in who I am based on the change in what I do has been a long time coming. Up until a few years ago, deep inside I still saw myself as someone who might write that hit song or have that band that would “make it”. But I always knew that I cared more about my kids than success in music. It was also a convenient dodge from actually being brave and sacrificing comfort to follow a dream.
But maybe the truth always was that I’m nothing more than a talented hobbyist at all this. I consider music to be an integral part of my identity. I can’t imagine living without music. But I will say, during this 47th year of my life that is now coming to a close (because that’s how birthdays work), for the first time I’ve really thought about the fact that maybe on some level I feel kind of too old for this shit. Or really, adjusting how my identity relates to this shit. But maybe it’s just more that my field of fucks is completely barren. I only want to do what I want to do. I want to play with my boys in Chandler and The Bings. I want to start doing some cool livestream concerts with my new switcher and camera gear (I GOT THE SWITCHER THINGY FOR MY BIRTHDAY THANKS TO MY INCREDIBLE WIFE…YAAAAY!!) And that’s where I am.
If I had nothing but free time, I might tackle some really deep musical study/development – maybe finally learn how to sight-read music. But for now, my musical pursuits remain humble. We’re going to keep recording cool studio covers with the band until we can start playing some shows again…and hopefully after we start having shows again, too.
So to mark the beginning of my 48th year on this rock, I’m just going to look forward to trying to record some of my music, some of my cover music, and just enjoying playing. Thank you for reading.
TMS
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 17): Ever have one of those weeks? Also, TOTO.
So have you ever had one of those weeks where you were never really able to focus? Never really able to give everything the attention it deserves? This past week was one for me. That’s why this mumbling is coming out on Friday. Getting from day to day has been very difficult. Just trying to keep all the plates spinning. And I failed a LOT this week. But I had my reasons. My 17-year-old started virtual school this week. My sleep has been impaired. The state of the world has been very distracting, dealing with the cognitive dissonance of otherwise-intelligent human beings playing fealty to a wannabe dictator, excusing his disgusting transgressions (which were caught ON TAPE) and spewing nonsense they don’t even realize is racist as hell based on their fear of “the other” and their imaginary notion of what a leftist or even a centrist is and what they believe. It’s really broken whatever faith I had that people will eventually accept reality when it is presented to them. But we’re not going down that rabbit hole with this post.
We’re going to talk about TOTO.
Yes, TOTO.
The classic band from Los Angeles that (in its most-popular version) featured the talents of Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, David Paich, David Hungate, Mike Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, Lenny Castro, and Bobby Kimball.
The classic band from Los Angeles that had at least one member playing on about 90% of the pop songs produced in Los Angeles between 1975-1992.
The classic band from Los Angeles that put out one of the best career-spanning recorded concerts I’ve ever seen (2019’s “40 Tours Around The Sun”).
Now, the band kind of isn’t a band right now – but they did one of my favorite silly Quarantunes, even if it isn’t one of my favorite songs of theirs:
And as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, they are a huge hit with my toddler. His favorite song is Rosanna – and specifically this version (he calls it “Boo Nana”):
Honestly, I was a little put off the first time I heard this live clip, because it isn’t exactly like the recorded version, but I’ve grown to love it. Drummer Shannon Forrest doesn’t play like Jeff Porcaro, but man he’s got such a great feel that it’s so close, and adds his own personality in a way that doesn’t detract from the song the way other drummers I’ve heard play it do. And Joe Williams’ vocals ain’t Bobby (who is? Bobby isn’t even Bobby anymore…), but they are solid.
Now, historically, my experience with TOTO pretty much started with Rosanna, lingered a bit with Africa, and ended with Hold The Line. Until I started down this path to greater appreciation of one of America’s most underrated bands and realized one of my favorite mid-80s “lite” pop songs that I never knew the band name was in fact TOTO!
And, of course, as all great smooth pop songs from the 70s and 80s do, it features great backing vocals from Michael McDonald. This is the only song I felt was a glaring omission from the “40 Tours Around The Sun” show.
So then I was thinking – what else is there that I didn’t realize was TOTO?
Turns out, not much. But man was it fun going through the albums. Talk about a diverse band. They can play anything. Their wheelhouse (really, their superpower) is polished pop music with prog and rock elements, though. Want a super 80s-sounding pop song with a shreddy/proggy multiple-instrument riff breakdown? Check out “Stop Loving You”.
Praising the individual members of TOTO would take many posts. I already did a whole post on Steve Lukather, but I’ll briefly muse about all the others. First, David Paich – Great songs and arranging – especially vocals, hooky keyboard parts, awesome hats. Steve Porcaro – innovative use of synths and fantastic playing/songwriting/arranging in general. Bobby Kimball – brilliant, passionate, soulful vocals. Joseph Williams – loves the band as much as the fans, always brings the heart and soul to his vocals. David Hungate – solid, grooving, clever bass playing that always suited the song. Mike Porcaro (R.I.P.) – tasteful, perfect, tight bass playing that always served the arrangement. Simon Phillips – brought his personality and musicality to all his drum parts (1992-2014). Lenny Castro – authentic Latin percussion with NYC attitude – an all-time great.
And of course, the ultimate drumming legend, Jeff Porcaro (R.I.P.) – FEEL. TOUCH. TIME. PERFECTION. Always. One of my favorite drummers – maker of “named” grooves (like “the Rosanna shuffle”).
Big praise goes to the “40 Tours” band, featuring the “main four”, including Steve Lukather on guitar/vocals, David Paich on piano/vocals, Steve Porcaro on keyboards, and Joseph Williams on vocals, the legendary Lenny Castro on percussion, and then the “new guys” – the amazing Shannon Forrest on Drums, Shem von Schroeck on bass/vocals, Warren Ham on sax/harmonica/vocals, Just singing their praises to thank them for always being awesome.
I’m happy so many people have gotten to learn about them because Africa went viral a few years ago. Weezer’s covers sucked ass, but they tried. I know a lot of people liked them. I just thought they were hack…like a lot of that Weezer covers album, actually. I know they did their best, but I guess their best wasn’t good enough.
To close, I’ll just share another one of my toddler’s favorite videos – probably the video that made him love Rosanna more than anything (he calls this “Rick Nana”), Rick Beato’s “What Makes This Song Great?” Episode 9:
And that’s it for now. TOTO in toto. Well not really “in toto” but that’s what I’m talking about. TOTO.
The classic band from Los Angeles that actually played most of the songs from your childhood if you’re an 80s or 90s kid.
It’s going to take a lot to drag me away from you, TOTO.
(hee hee)
Black Lives Matter, wear your mask, wash your hands, keep physical distance, etc. Also, if you’re in the USA and eligible to vote, vote for decency in November. That means pretty much anyone but Donald Trump.
TMS
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 16): Living Colour’s “Time’s Up” is 30
Living Colour’s album “Time’s Up” is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s the album that fully convinced me it was okay to play whatever the hell you wanted (likely creating “The Musical Schizo”). And it taught a little privileged white kid in Bakersfield, California (me) countless lessons about the experience of being black in America. It came out August 28, 1990. It is a classic, and features diverse and wonderful songwriting, virtuoso playing, and timeless production. Sadly most of the themes it covers have barely been dealt with in 30 years, but it set me on my path to be anti-racist and opened my eyes to a wider world both in thought and spirit and in musical groove and harmony, and I’m a better person and a better musician because of it. Thanks, fellas, and happy anniversary! (more below)
Corey Glover – vocals Vernon Reid – guitar Will Calhoun – drums Muzz Skillings – bass Ed Stasium – producer Paul Hamingson – engineer
Notes on each track:
Time’s Up – full-on NYC hardcore, Living Colour-style. Like Bad Brains went to jazz school. RIPPING bass playing on this one.
History Lesson – more of an ambient piece with samples, but definitely included a lot of little bits of history I never knew.
Pride – Will Calhoun with THE POCKET on this one. He wrote it, and it’s a direct message to white America in how they relate to black people and about how history is whitewashed to make things look less terrible for the white conquerors of “primitive” societies.
Love Rears Its Ugly Head – One of the best “love” songs ever. Featuring one of the coolest guitar riffs ever and the biggest dynamic shift from clean and funky verses to “big rock” anthemic choruses. Also one of the jazziest guitar solos I’ve ever heard in a pop song.
New Jack Theme – Crack ravaged urban communities in the late 80s. This tells that story. In the context of a manic rock song with some really great riffs and clever production.
Someone Like You – Direct lessons of the urban black struggle in this country. Doesn’t pull any punches against anyone who hasn’t helped change things. And the second verse always made me profoundly sad. Moreso now since we’re still dealing with the same bullshit and people STILL refuse to accept the reality of structural racism against black people in this country. Black Lives Matter.
Elvis Is Dead – seems like a silly concept on its face, but directly addresses the sad reality of the whitewashing of music – about how black music was only palatable to certain white people when it was delivered by a white face. And how even though black people are the reason for so much of Elvis’ great music (and he personally always acknowledged his influences, mind you – so this wasn’t really Elvis’ fault), the white racists who loved him still refuse to accept that reality or black faces in general. Featuring a great cameo from Little Richard and an amazing sax solo from Maceo Parker.
Type – First single, probably the song you might know from the record (along with Love Rears Its Ugly Head). Slamming guitar riff with really cool harmonics (I like to think that Billy Corgan got the idea for the harmonics in the “Zero” riff because of this song…but who knows), and that perfect Living Colour blend of funk and hard rock, with an atmospheric, melodic, almost poppy-sounding chorus. “We are the children of concrete and steel…this is the place where the truth is concealed…this is the time when the lie is revealed…everything is possible, but nothing is real.”
Information Overload – Could have easily been written in the age of the internet, but instead was amazingly prescient. With one of the most discordant, ridiculous, noisy intros on a “normal” rock song EVER. (Oh, that Vernon…always painting abstract art with sound…)
Under Cover Of Darkness – Jazzy and sexy and nothing like anything else on this record. Amazing groove, amazing guitar solo, and a really great guest feature from Queen Latifah.
Ology – a crazy bit of bass exploration from Muzz Skillings. Incredible use of different bass tones (including overdrive) and techniques to support the groove and the melody. A nice and inspiring (to bassists) little piece of music.
Fight The Fight – Another song that sadly tells the same story that hasn’t really changed much since 1990, touching on the structural privilege of being white, and of being from means. It’s a lot easier to buy a ticket to the party of the “American Dream” when someone can front you some of the cash. Money begets money in our society, and those of us who started with none of it will most likely struggle to even get by.
Tag Team Partners – A little quickie beat box/vocal improv groove featuring Doug E. Fresh.
Solace of You – A beautiful, African-inspired song that is inspiring and hopeful and, to me, reminds you to dig deep into your essence when the outside world is pulling you away from who you know you are. Featuring one of my favorite guitar chord riffs EVER. And the first time I ever heard someone slide a natural harmonic. (Bass nerds will think that’s pretty cool – it’s a great little trick that only works really well on a fretless bass.)
This Is The Life – Super atmospheric intro kicks into a heavy verse with another killer Vernon riff, segueing into a melodic chorus. Corey adapts his vocal to fit the vibe of the different parts of the song perfectly. Admonishes you to appreciate the life you have and work to make it the best it can be instead of living in a fantasy or being upset about what your life is not.
Wear your mask, wash your hands, don’t support fascists, Black Lives Matter, and be GOOD to each other.
Thanks so much for checking it out, and peace be the journey!
I think we all have feelings like that sometimes. Most people aren’t indifferent to themselves, for the most part. There are things we like about our personalities, and things we sort of hate or are embarrassed by. There are things we have done that we are proud of, and things, well, not so much. Now, since this tends to be a music blog, I’m going to focus on this part of my life as an avid navel-gazer.
I’ve been in a bunch of bands over the years. I’ve written a bunch of songs. There are good and bad things about all of the stuff I’ve had a hand in creating. Nothing is perfect, but nothing is perfectly bad, either. Does it all deserve the attention I still pay to all of it? Meh, I’m not so sure.
I have an issue with nostalgia. I would say it used to border on an actual complex. I desperately longed for the simpler times in my life. Being a kid, being in high school, being in college, living in those first couple of years out of college. You know, the time before my sense of duty and responsibility to my family replaced my youthful self-absorption. The darker times of having the past on my mind all the time really forced me to start understanding how thankful I need to be about NOW. Well, maybe not 2020 now, but you know what I mean.
But let’s get back to my nostalgia “Stan”-ing – my mind is frequently consumed by my old musical endeavors. From Magic Garden to Porque to Waffle to Soup Kitchen to Shaft to Jive Town Jimmy and the Knights of the Purple Cadillac to Joe Rey to Neon Logic Band to Slaphappy to Pale Manacle to Three Piece Suit to Wok Five to Al Naturale to The Remedy to Big Al and the Kaholics to Schizophonic to Dial-9 to C5 to The Extractors to Roman Holiday to Capital Suspects to Audio Time Machine to Nudge to Flext to The Dangerfields to Chandler and The Bings. (This paragraph is apparently a blog manifestation of “This Is A Call” by Foo Fighters. But anyway…) I listen to these bands regularly (well, the ones I have recordings of). They all feature me on some instrument, some of them with me also singing.
Here’s a demo of some of this stuff:
This is a singing demo that I’d use to send to people to prove I was worthy of being their bandmate. And it’s OLD at this point – the newest stuff on here is from 2005.
Here’s a list if you are going to listen through:
Soul Man – performed by Schizophonic (with me singing and playing guitar) What’s Going On – performed by Schizophonic (with me singing all vocals and playing guitar) Hot Legs – performed by Slaphappy (with me singing and playing bass) Should I Stay Or Should I Go – performed by Slaphappy (with me singing and playing bass) Just Like Heaven – performed by Slaphappy (with me singing and playing bass) Rebel Yell – performed by Dial-9 (with me singing and playing guitar) Always On The Run – performed by Dial-9 (with me singing and playing guitar) Roadhouse Blues – performed by Slaphappy (with me singing and playing bass)
A co-worker of mine at iHeart is also a musician, and we were sending songs back and forth on Friday, sharing our experiences in bands. He had very kind words to say about this, and was shocked when I told him how old it was. But it’s not like I hadn’t listened to it in years. I probably last listened to it a few months ago. At most. Because I tend to live in the past a little, even now.
I have playlists of all the videos I’ve found from various music things I’ve done over the years that I could find on YouTube. No bullshit…
I think you get the idea…and this is just the surface of all of it. I have hours more stuff on my computer of many different bands, going way back, that I don’t share usually because someone doesn’t want me to or I just haven’t gotten around to posting it.
I will sometimes sit and think about how it would be if I had to just go play a Slaphappy show from 2002 as me right now. I mean, I think I’d remember most of the songs, because that’s just how my brain works, thankfully, but I find the very notion of it so exciting.
In the end, I end up getting kind of depressed, because I know it’s not possible. Even the reunion show that Slaphappy played about five years ago was fun but still ultimately a bit of a let down because I feel like it meant way more to me than the other guys. But that’s probably just me. (You can listen to that show here.)
So how does this all relate to navel gazing? Well, most of the time I’m listening to my own stuff from the past, I’m thinking about me. Where I was. How I felt. What was going on in my life then. How much I miss the guys and/or gals. I wonder what happened to that fan who used to come to all the shows. Thinking about what equipment I was using at the time. Just non-stop thoughts about all of it as I consume what is ultimately not that important.
I get shit sometimes from my wonderful wife and my friends for being mean to myself or disparaging my abilities, but I’m just being realistic most of the time, not trying to crap on myself. I am actually generally proud of what I’ve done based on how hard I’ve worked on things.
And this doesn’t even cover how much time I spend listening to my old songs. I mean, other than the Adam Schlesinger tribute from earlier this year, I really haven’t written anything in years. So I cling to the past, when I actually wrote songs. I believe I have about 150-200 in total, written from 1991-2015 (but mostly between 1997-2001). Not that they were particularly GOOD songs, but they…exist? You can listen to some of them over here on the main part of the site.
Tracking back to the point here…navel gazing.
A blog is kind of the ultimate tool for the navel gazer who likes to write. And I’ve definitely utilized this blog for a lot of navel gazing. But I have to say, it’s really nice sometimes to go back and read what I wrote years ago. It feels like a window into my mind at the time. It’s nice. But even THAT is navel gazing on some level – and it definitely feeds the nostalgia spirals if I let it.
So, what to do?
Well, like pretty much everything in life, moderation is key. I don’t think it’s fundamentally wrong to do some navel gazing from time to time. But if that’s the only way you’re self-analyzing or experiencing your existence as a creative person, you’re definitely doing it wrong. I definitely do it wrong. A lot. But getting this out there will hopefully inspire me to do better.
I really wish it were easier for me to just stay here in the now and make things. Or at least take the things from the past and work them into something new. But it just isn’t. And being fully honest with myself, it’s a convenient excuse to never really get anything done.
It’s a whole lot easier sitting there huffing your own ancient musical nostalgia farts, as it were, than being HERE and creating something.
Okay, that was a satisfying bit of navel gazing. Off to bed for me.
(I’ll probably get on the Internet Wayback machine and look at old versions of websites on my phone as I lie in bed…)
Love to all! Black Lives Matter. Be nice. Don’t support fascists.
TMS
P.S. Here’s a bunch of old photos from my past bands, because it’s fun:
Slaphappy 2000Three Piece Suit 2002Slaphappy 2004Dial-9 2005Schizophonic 2005Roman Holiday 2009Roman Holiday 2012Roman Holiday 2012Capital Suspects 2012Capital Suspects 2012Audio Time Machine 2014 (photo by Cecily Johnson)Nudge 2014 (photo by Cecily Johnson)Chandler And The Bings 2017 (photo by Michele Warner)
Chandler and The Bings 2018 (photo by Charles Warner (I think))
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 14): Just let me WORK, for F—‘s Sake!
I’m sure we’ve all been there. We think we can just hop on the computer and knock something out in two minutes. We think that because we got a NEW computer, that our issues are solved. But every damn time you just want to quickly get something done and walk away, something doesn’t load right, or it won’t save right, or that network resource isn’t showing up the way it’s supposed to, or sometimes it’s us – we just can’t perform what we need to perform at the moment – we can’t talk, type, sing, play, draw precisely, edit, whatever. It happens to me all the time.
Now I’m sure the Apple crowd will chime in and say, “my Mac just works”, which is nice. For you. But I don’t have that kind of money, so I live in PC-land. And Macs are just as susceptible to software not initializing properly, crashing, network issues, and all the other crap. About the only real benefit you have is that you won’t have driver issues. In theory. But we’re not talking to you right now, so you can go watch the rainbow ball spin while ProTools crashes on you again because it sucks at managing memory.
(Wow. Someone’s got a chip on his shoulder. Sorry about that. I do actually have a strong fondness for Macs, and I might make the switch if I had a lot of money. It’d be worth it for the more-stable drivers.)
Anyway…back to the point of all this (was I even near a point?) – I just want things to work so I can do whatever work I want or need to do. And they sometimes, if not most of the time, don’t. In the past (and occasionally in the present), I would get REALLY MAD about these developments. Now (most of the time), I’m pretty chill about it, but just sad and frustrated that the thing that should work doesn’t work, especially when I’ve set it up correctly and it’s a new piece of gear. It happens to even the best stuff, unfortunately.
One interesting “opposite-day” thing in my “SHIT DON’T WORK” world was when I made the transition to Windows 10 on my new machine with a very old but awesome piece of gear I use as my interface – the Edirol (Roland) M-16DX Digital Mixer. Turns out it’s WAY more stable on Windows 10! The driver in Windows 7 would crash ALL THE TIME, and now I never lose connectivity. It’s great. I really thought I’d have to buy a new interface/mixer, but I didn’t. So that’s more of a “SHIT DOES WORK” for once. But those moments are rare, unfortunately. ESPECIALLY when you’re in a hurry, it seems.
A few weeks back I was trying to get my day job work done – I had to take a break right around the time I usually wrap up to get my kids, so I came back home to finish up (I had about 20-30 minutes of work left) and everything was jacked up. The network didn’t work – figured it out and fixed that. Took about 30 minutes. Then the system I use to organize all my work simply wouldn’t load any data. Tried everything to figure that out – literally for two hours, when all I wanted to do was go to bed – and it never came back on-line so I had to give up and punt until Saturday. The next day – all was perfect. Everything worked. Took me 20 minutes to finish.
And this isn’t restricted to computers – sometimes, your baby can break. Yeah – if you’ve got a little kid, it’s a crap shoot. Sometimes (like my dude the majority of the time), they sleep consistently and well. And other times, often when it seems creativity is striking and you really have to get the ideas down…every five minutes he’s crying or calling for me. It’s like every time I hit record, it sets him off. Like he KNOWS… So I run to him and help and hope that it gets better. Sometimes, they settle, and sometimes, forget about getting that idea down. It’s not happening. That was Sunday night here. Still haven’t gotten the idea down…because it’s gone. Ah, well. If it’s truly great, I’ll remember it.
In other news, my brain is broken. I hopped into the studio Sunday night thinking I’d be rocking out some new tracks for the two new songs we’re working on for the band, and then I went to the shared folders and saw that I’d already recorded my parts. I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t remember that at all…but it was WEIRD. I had apparently completely blocked out that on March 31st I had recorded the two songs. The parts were good takes, too! Only had to fix one little thing before I sent them up to Jay for mixing. So that’s nice. Like past Brian paying present Brian a little gift… (“yeah, I got you, boo…”) These new ones will probably blow your mind and make you laugh. I can’t wait to get them all done and out to everyone.
AND I can’t wait to get my own music recorded! I have no excuse now. I have great beat-making software (that I just have to figure out how to make my MIDI controller run), so I can create awesome drum tracks (when I’m not physically playing the drums on my little electronic kit, of course) and get my songs together finally. I’m going to release an album this year. Even if it’s December 31st, I’m making that shit happen. Consider this gauntlet thrown down!
Okay, that’s enough for now. Go check out my song on Spotify or whatever (it’s pretty much everywhere) and give it some plays or buy it on iTunes or Amazon. And go check out the Chandler and The Bings tune on Spotify or whatever as well. If you’re feeling really brave and want to dig into my OLD demos…those are on the main part of this site (which is going to be redesigned soon…)
Black Lives Matter. Wear a mask. Physically distance. Wash your hands. Love ALL people instead of letting the hate and tribalism consume you. Learn how to think critically.
Peace be the journey!
TMS
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 13): How to get through when you can’t do what you do
So live music has been dead since basically February for me. Chandler and The Bings did do one livestream concert at a venue with essentially no audience in May, but it didn’t go well even though we played well. Anyone who watched the show saw the sad results – audio problems, inconsistent video-audio synchronization, etc. And it made me so frustrated, because we played REALLY WELL and it didn’t make it through the internet tubes to the audience. Earlier we had done some live streams by ourselves at our respective houses with acoustic guitars, with varying results in quality (most looked and sounded okay at best).
As a result, I’ve been investigating options for setting up a workable live-streaming setup on a budget. I figure if you can gather together a few cameras that can do a live HDMI output (GoPros, fake GoPros, old point-and-shoots, etc.), get one of those switchers like the Blackmagic Designs ATEM Mini, which can output to a computer like it’s a webcam itself, and run our usual BingsNet system as the audio source, we could come up with something that looks good and sounds great.
The desperation of not being able to play together as a group and connect with people, even if it’s just over the internet, has driven me into the world of video production. Now, I haven’t had the funds to get the switcher, so as of now, we can’t really do anything, but I know it’s possible…and that’s the cool part.
We expended so much energy getting the studio song together, it was a nice distraction from actually physically playing shows together, but every time we talk, we talk about how much we miss playing live. I mean, come on. If your audiences were like this, wouldn’t you feel the same?
So finding ways to get through when you can’t do what you do is a tricky proposition. We’ve tried a lot of things, and they’ve served as reasonable distractions. But they don’t replace the thing that makes us love this so much – the crowds. And that’s just not something that is going to be real for a WHILE for us, because there’s no way we’re doing shows until this virus is close to gone or people can be vaccinated and protected.
The next step? ANOTHER song in the studio. Me investigating ways we can do actual shows using a video setup and streaming it over the internet. We can all stay six feet from each other and we’ve all been very good about avoiding contact and sheltering in place (as much as that’s possible for some of us). We will find a way to get through.
As for straight-up Musical Schizo things, I’m planning on doing a new run of Bathroom Schizo videos (yes, the Friday Flush WILL return soon!), and if I am able to get the switcher and get the multi-cam thing working, it’s going to be FUN. Multiple angles in the bathroom! As I’m writing this blog I decided it’s worth it – I’m selling some stuff I’ve been hoarding to try and raise fundage for the switcher. Yeah. Gotta make it happen.
As a reminder – Black Lives Matter, wash your hands, physically distance, wear a decent mask over your nose and mouth, and stay home if you can.
So Chandler and The Bings’ new song came out last Friday, and we’re all terribly proud of it. It really captures the overall essence of the band, though with the notable exception of not enough Alon mojo on the song. (Our next two should take care of that missing element.)
Now that it’s done and out in the world, I also created another thing to go along with it. I shared it with the boys, and am posting it here only because few people read this, and the ones that do are generally people I trust.
It’s a little video taking you through the song from a bass perspective, with some additional commentary. It’s more of an experiment than anything, but I figured I’d share it here, because I DID A THING. Yes. Created something. And it wasn’t terribly hard to do, which was nice.
I hope you enjoy it, and I hope that this blog finds you safe and healthy. C U Next Museday!
Black Lives Matter. Wear your mask. Physically distance. Wash your hands. Lead with love.
I don’t really have much to write about this week. I do have something I’m pretty proud of that comes out at midnight Eastern time on July 31st (11pm central on the 30th).
Yes, the silly 90s cover band done did a thing. We properly recorded one of our songs and are releasing it as a single. It’s the *NSYNC classic “It’s Gonna Be Me”. I’m super excited for you to hear it. I play bass on it and sing harmonies and some lead parts (including the second verse). It was mastered by one of my guitar heroes, Ty Tabor from King’s X, who owns a studio called Alien Beans. So pick your favorite digital service and stream it (or buy it if you like). For the nerds out there, I used my cheapo Sterling SUB series StingRay5 (best $320 I’ve ever spent) into my Line 6 Helix (best $1500 I’ve ever spent) running a combo DI/Amp modeled patch.
Anyway, we worked really hard on it and we’re going to do more – this is just the start. Please check it out on Friday, and if you feel like being super nice, share it with everyone.
If you want a deep dive into the process, three of us did a livestream where we talked about it. You can check it out here:
Black Lives Matter, wear your damn mask, stay physically distant (but not socially), and peace be the journey!
I have battled depression on and off during my life, and until recently wasn’t terribly good at managing it.
Being someone who’s not necessarily anti-drug, but definitely wary about piling on prescription meds to manage my day-to-day life, I’ve managed to be mostly successful treating my depression with something surprising: Gratitude.
Yes, gratitude. It’s kind of ridiculous how much just taking stock of your day in a positive way can change the way you relate to your depression.
I’m sure some of you might be reading this and thinking, “What? Bullshit.” And for some people, yes, this won’t work right. But I’m going by how it’s helped me.
You see, every night, when I brush my teeth and floss them, I take those five minutes or so to think about how I am thankful for my life. Focusing first on all the ways I’ve learned from the bad or mundane things, and then closing with all the ways I appreciate the good things.
My wife (hilariously) coined a term for it: She calls this a “Gratitude Adjustment”. I laughed for days at how simultaneously cheesy and perfect that phrase is to describe it.
Spending the time each day to acknowledge life for all its pain and gifts allows you to accept life for what it is – a gumbo of good and bad things, that ultimately is very tasty if you can get past how it burns you.
I know a lot of my fellow musical travelers, with our sensitive souls, have had a hard time with all the lost gigs and missed opportunities to ply our craft in front of adoring throngs since this Coronavirus pandemic started.
Finding ways to shift that “performance” energy to live streams and creative pursuits has been helpful, but it hasn’t gone all the way for a lot of us. That’s why I’m sharing this sort of “hack” that’s worked for me.
Whatever your evening routine, take five minutes of it, and focus your thoughts on all the things that make life life. Acknowledge that they are all real, and be thankful for the life you have, even if it isn’t perfect. Keep yourself humbled and gracious, and appreciate the fact that you are still here, and eventually you’ll get to go see your friends again, whether they be the aforementioned adoring throngs, or just your buddy who loves to shoot the shit about music, sports, politics, or whatever.
Practice gratitude. Give yourself a gratitude adjustment. 😉
And if you are unsure whether this can work for you, it never hurts to try. And honestly, science is on the side of this as a way to keep that dark cloud from blocking all the sun. Kurzgesagt made an amazing video about dissatisfaction (which I call “dark cloud fuel”) you can see here:
I hope you enjoy your life, and realize how precious it truly is. And I also hope you know that you are loved, even if you feel worthless, hopeless, and completely dissatisfied with your life.
