Museday Mumblings (Vol. 67): New Methods

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 67): New Methods

So I got me a patchbay. What’s a patchbay? Well, it’s a rackmounted (in most cases) device that allows you to have your instruments and interfaces all hooked up in a way that allows you to easily change their routing as you need. So if you have a bunch of guitar effects things, keyboards, whatever, you can have them all hooked up to the patchbay, and you can very easily plug them in to each other or into whatever inputs on your recorder, mixer, or computer interface you want to use.

So far, it’s not all the way hooked up, but I’m so stupidly excited about having everything hooked up and patchable from one place that it’s occupied a lot of my mental real estate related to music/production/etc. Thinking of the various ways I can get it hooked up, and what I’m going to patch into it, all of that…it’s so wonderful and exciting to me. And that’s very inspiring.

Finding new ways to work can be such a wonderful thing to light the fire around creating music. This new way to work really has opened me up to the possibility that I don’t have to get behind stuff and plug and unplug things to make them all available to me. I can just patch them on the front panel, or if they’re already hooked up to the specific input I need to use, just leave them there. It’s great and I really can’t wait to get it all set up and ready to go.

So find something that shakes up your workflow to get you inspired to get in there and make some music. It’s working for me. (Now if I could only do that with my songwriting…)

Thanks for reading and Peace be the journey!
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 66): Smell that smoke? Well, I’ve been thinking…

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 66): Smell that smoke? Well, I’ve been thinking…

Yeah, don’t hurt myself, right? But seriously, though, I’ve been thinking. Thinking about the good things that have happened since the start of the pandemic two years ago. Thinking about all the music I’ve played since then. Thinking about all the music I’ve made since then (the ONE song…but it’s still something). Thinking about the fact that 2021 was the first year in a WHILE that I was super excited by a bunch of new music. And speaking of that…

I know I just talked about it a little, but I LOVE the Mammoth WVH record. That Son of an Edward really did something special. (and yes, his dad was a bitch sometimes, so I’m using that for that reason) Wolfgang Van Halen played everything on it, sang every note, wrote all the songs. I mean, it was a statement like one of his heroes’ first records (the self-titled Foo Fighters record where Dave Grohl played basically everything). And then he assembled an amazing band to play those songs live and I got to see it. More than any of that, I got to introduce it to another person who loved it even more than I did! (we went to the show together on his dime because he loved the record so much to repay me he bought my ticket).

I love sharing music with people, and love it even more when they “get it” and love it like I do (or more). It’s a way of spreading happiness that to me is so satisfying, because it not only brings joy to others, it makes me feel connected to them because of the shared interest. This friend and I have some things we just don’t connect on because we’re 11 years apart and things just hit us at different ages so there’s a lot of stuff he loves that I at best don’t get and at worst can’t really stand, and same for him with my stuff. When we do have stuff we both love, it’s really great. Nice and bonding, because we both love to have music in common with people because music means so much to both of us.

As I mentioned previously, I also really enjoyed basically everything I could find by I Don’t Know How But They Found Me (IDKHOW). They play in Austin in February and it’s likely I’ll go see them, too. 🙂 The same friend who liked the Mammoth album likes IDKHOW, too, so that’s another one we share (though he’s not the person I got that band from – that’s my buddy Dennis, as I said in the last post).

And last but most certainly not least, I LOVE “An Evening With Silk Sonic” – Anderson.Paak and Bruno Mars’ “holy shit let’s use every single 70s Soul, R&B, and Funk trope in one band that somehow still sounds modern” collaboration. My highlights from the record are “Fly As Me” (can’t get enough of this one), “Leave The Door Open”, “Skate”, and “777”. The other stuff is great, too. It’s worth a listen if you like real people playing real instruments singing real songs with a classic R&B/Soul feel. Instrumental R&B has been sort of set to the side because programming has become so ubiquitous since the late 80s. It’s all very hooky and poppy but it’s also very clear that they wanted to do something truly timeless, and they succeeded. You should check it out.

As for state of the world stuff, well, people are fucking stupid. More stupid than I ever could have imagined. Humanity is an embarrassment. All the knowledge, wealth, and skill to solve major problems, and none of the critical-thinking ability or selflessness among those with more. In fact, those with the most are the least selfless, and billions will die as a result of their desire to hoard their billions of dollars. They have the power to change it all, and, well…don’t. They just make rules so their workers can’t negotiate, so their taxes stay as low as possible, so they are not held responsible for the failures of the designs of their products and systems. Some of them have been responsible for millions of deaths because of their inability to set greed aside and show some respect for getting proper information shared, allowing the amplification of conspiracy nonsense and woo-woo anti-science garbage. They have fomented division like nothing else in human history. And profited every step of the way. Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor. Needs to be the other way around, but since the system is now designed for their protection, it’s unlikely it will ever be. And there’s not much anyone can do to change it other than not supporting people who support the rich like basically everyone in power does these days (save for a few notable rabble-rousers).

Let’s have a good 2022, and treat our fellow humans with compassion and kindness even if they’re stupid pieces of shit who are ruining it for everyone else. We’re all doing our best, even if many people’s best is simply not good enough. Make your best one based on facts, reason, empathy, and compassion, and reject the narratives spewed by corporatists, sensationalists, cultists, fascists, and propagandists. It will definitely help us focus on the real problems with the world, and perhaps make some strides to fix them.

Okay. Brain turning off. I love you all and thanks for reading this.

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. 65): Uh, I Didn’t Mean To Go Quiet HERE…

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 65): Uh, I Didn’t Mean To Go Quiet HERE…

So my last blog title was unintentionally prescient, in that it lead to a rather large gap of content on here. It’s like I took October off. Well, that was definitely not planned. I guess I just was spending too much time living the offline life and just neglecting all my online stuff. I haven’t posted any videos of my little kid recently, either, so it’s not just ignoring this blog.

Anyway…the time since “it all went quiet” has been surprisingly eventful. Chandler and The Bings had a Private Party/wedding reception way out in Hunt, TX (past Kerrville). It was LOVELY out there – I highly recommend you check it out. It’s shockingly beautiful. But with the remoteness and the shocking beautifulness comes a major problem: Deer. Like shit tons of them. Everyfuckingwhere. So I’m white-knuckling my drive home, stopping a bunch of times to miss them walking into the street, and successful every time. Until we reach Kerrville. Which seems counter-intuitive, since they’re actually less likely to be roaming around the streets of civilization. Well, Google took us on a “shortcut” toward I-10 instead of taking us straight through town, and on this dark, two-lane shortcut, I was still driving slowly and watching for the cervine monsters when a big stupid buck with big dumb antlers ran from the darkness at what seemed to be full speed – right into the front fender of my car. Because I was traveling about 30 miles per hour at the time, he dragged his fat body along and managed to fuck up every panel of the right side of my van. He appeared to be fine and disappeared into the darkness.

Thankfully my vehicle was still mechanically sound and drivable, so we made it home from way out in Kerrville just fine, but there’s $4400+ dollars in damage. Thankfully I’ve got comprehensive insurance and it’s only $500 for me, but it’s still a major inconvenience and it’s likely the van will never quite be the same, even if they do a good job. Obviously me and my passenger were completely fine.

Let’s see – then we had a great show at Picks Bar in San Antonio, another great show at Speakeasy, and then I got to play another solo show at 360 UNO. It was a real blast. AND I found out I get to reunite with my old Capital Suspects/Audio Time Machine bandmate Paul Betts and my Yacht Z bandmate David Houston on November 27th with their band The Hellmagnets (aka The Hillnuggets, per Yacht Z parlance). I get to play some bass and sing some on some really great classic rock tunes. That’s going to be a blast.

And speaking of my past resignation Yacht Z – they found a new guitarist/vocalist and are making progress! So excited to see them succeed.

That’s about it for now. I’m going to get back in the weekly groove here soon, probably with some musings on nerdy music shit. I’m thinking of doing some features on one of the most underrated bands in rock history: Chicago (specifically the Chicago of their first six records, that is…) I might even do a rundown of each album and what you should check out. We shall see. Until then, check out this awesome Chicago video from Mr. Rick Beato:

Peace and love and good happiness stuff…
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 64): When It All Goes Quiet…

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 64): When It All Goes Quiet…

So yeah, things are super weird right now. But in a healthy, good way.

After the frenzy of working on Yacht Z stuff, keeping up with Chandler and The Bings stuff, dealing with illness, travel, work that was all of a sudden SUPER FUCKING BUSY, getting my acoustic show back together, and life in general making me feel like I had no time for anything and it was just guiding me through it, I was completely overwhelmed and drained.

But now?

It’s really quiet.

Sure, work is still absurdly busy, with many evenings extending to 7pm or later. But because of making the painful decision to let go of Yacht Z, finally having the solo show reasonably ready, and the lull in activity with Chandler and The Bings due to half of us starting a new and amazing project with their past bandmate and one of our favorite sound engineers (who also happens to be a great guitarist), it’s pretty quiet right now.

I have time for my kids.

I have time for my wife.

There is “peace in the kingdom” for once. (Well, as much peace as a kingdom with a toddler can have…)

I am super excited because 360 UNO liked me enough to invite me back for TWO shows (that I have oh-so-cleverly booked around Chandler and The Bings, so there can’t be a conflict). So be on the lookout for those show announcements, and come check me out – the weather’s going to be even nicer, so it’ll be really fun to hang out on the patio with me and heckle me or whatever.

So that’s the current state of affairs for me musically.

A while back when I was up at 2 in the morning I bought Rick Beato’s Ear Training course, and it’s pretty amazing but I haven’t really had time to dig into it. So I’m going to continue working on that every day.

I found this amazing video by one of my favorite new discoveries where he shows you a daily independence exercise for your fingers on guitar, and I plan on learning that and working on it: Tomo Fujita’s Nightly Routine

I also want to work on this Paul Davids exercise that is an absolute finger crusher. Maybe this one, too.

I’m going to do them all both on bass and guitar because I’d like to be exemplary on both. But only if I end up having time. The ear training is more important to me than anything.

ALSO – I’m going to livestream my acoustic practices, so if you keep your eye on my YouTube channel, or perhaps even my Twitch channel, not that I ever really have used that yet. But my friend Mandy Prater’s doing great over there – check out her shows sometime!

Okay, that’s the musings for this week. Be safe, stay healthy, and remember to be kind to yourself and others.

Peace be the journey!
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 63): Life Choices and Balance

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 63): Life Choices and Balance

I mentioned a few months back how excited I was to be starting this new project called Yacht Z with my eager and wonderful friend and a real murderer’s row of talent to play the great Yacht Rock songs better than anyone out there. I worked really hard at first, making time as I could, then stuff happened during July and August that really slowed my progress, and I just never felt like I had enough time to get things together at the level that was expected. I even blogged about the lack of time. Well, it never got better, and I came to the realization that there was basically no room left in my life for me to be a properly-contributing member of the band.

It crushes me that I can’t do it, because I really love these musicians and want to play with them, but I have to respect my limited time with my family and my responsibilities. I really hope my departure doesn’t completely derail the project, because I still believe in the concept and will be their biggest fan. It just doesn’t fit with my life right now. Toddler + Day Job + Wanting A Happy Marriage are all more important. And I know I’m making the right choice. But I’m really sorry that we all devoted all that time and energy to the project and I had to bail on them. I hope it doesn’t go to waste and they find someone brilliant to replace me.

Striking a proper balance between work and family is hard for everyone. In the world we’ve entered because of the pandemic, a lot of us are working from home now, too, and man does that really blur the lines and make life all smeary. It’s too easy to start taking on work responsibilities during non-work hours. I like working from home, mostly, but I do find it really isolating and odd. I never considered myself to be particularly extroverted. I fake it well from growing up “the new kid” every two or so years from 5 to 18, and generally being a ham seeking others’ approval and trying to make them smile, but it’s very draining, actually, which definitely indicates I’m more introverted than extroverted. But I still feel like I need a little camaraderie.

Had a really fun show at Speakeasy with the Chandler and The Bings boys, and then Saturday evening, BRIAN V. RETURNED…to play to his daughter, his friend, and his other friend, and then a few people who showed up five minutes before the end of the show (so he extended it another half-hour – worth it for the amazing tips…).

It wasn’t particularly well-attended (UT football game was happening at the same time) but it was FUN and my voice held up super well. Here’s a little footage of that from my YouTube channel (GO SUBSCRIBE AND RING THAT BELL SO YOU’LL BE NOTIFIED WHEN I POST NEW VIDEOS)…

Brian V. at 360 UNO – A Couple of Songs for Erin

And speaking of the YouTubes, here are a few musical things I enjoyed this week on that wonderful platform:

Walter Ino’s YouTube Channel – based on the songs he covers on his channel, I feel like we have quite a lot in common musically. AND I didn’t even realize it until I saw a couple of familiar faces in his videos, but he’s in a band with an old internet pal of mine, August Zadra, called Waiting For Monday – they released their debut in 2019 and it’s like arena rock for a new age. If you like the Journey-Boston-Foreigner-Styx era of radio rock, you’ll almost certainly love that band.

Phil X visiting Rick Beato (with Rhett Shull hanging out as well) – just a silly but kind of informative video of Phil showing some crazy Bouzouki licks he’s adapted to guitar, and some other neat stuff. It’s fun watching Rick and Rhett react to Phil’s shredding.

METAL – speaks for itself. (HAHAHA)

Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves and the people around you. It’s been a haul and we all deserve some kindness. Sorry again to Heath, David, Chris, and Matt – I hope it works out where we get to play together at some point when I have proper time to devote to it.

Love y’all…

Peace be the journey!
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 62): OUCH

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 62): OUCH

I’m turning 48 this Thursday.

I feel EVERY SINGLE second, minute, hour, day, month, and year of this age. Often, I actually feel older.

The majority of the reason for this is purely my fault. I don’t take care of my physical health. It’s something I’ve struggled with my entire adult life, because I really don’t get the same “kick” from exercise that most people do. It doesn’t make me happy to work hard physically – it just makes me want to lay down. Even in my most “exercisey” periods of my life (shut up – I’m going to use “exercisey” if I want to – I know it’s not really a word), I got smaller and more fit, but it never really made me feel any better than sitting on the couch (and before you suggest it, I REALLY don’t like people trying to motivate me, so having a trainer isn’t likely to help me over that hump to the “I LOVE TO EXERCISE” feeling that so many get). So I’ve just gotten fat and old. Of course, I hide it fairly well, since I’m of above-average height and my limbs are slim and athletic, but I’m a solid 65 pounds overweight based on my height. Even factoring in the fact that my family tends to run a little heavier than most people anyway (we measure a good 10-15% heavier than people who look exactly our same size – and it’s true of my dad and all my brothers, too), I’m still a solid 45-50 pounds overweight. The stress this is putting on my body is really becoming apparent. I hurt. Often…OUCH.

So that’s a long paragraph about my fatness. Why is that popping up here on this blog? Well…because I just spent the last 90 minutes singing and playing guitar standing on the comfortable carpet in my office, and my back and legs are killing me. I’m actually considering sitting down to play Saturday’s acoustic gig – which is something I just DON’T DO. And of course, I won’t sit at the show unless I must (I had an unfortunate gig back in 2015 or so that necessitated a “lean on a stool” performance because of a tweaked back, and that’s the only sit-down gig I’ve done since the “Brian V.” era started). So…OUCH.

Worse, my voice started shitting out on me about 20 songs in – you could hear it getting tired and raspy. Not good. Also…OUCH.

And I was having trouble matching pitches I played on my guitar while doing the “sing the guitar melodies you’re playing” thing I like to do to help keep my voice and hands in sync. With my voice, I was physically doing what would normally feel “right” for those notes, and I was just missing them. Sometimes a complete half-step off. It was very disconcerting. It’s been kind of an ongoing thing for me, though. So that’s more of a brain or spirit “OUCH”, but still…OUCH.

Well, I’ve got a physical on the 29th where I’ll address all this stuff with my doctor and maybe get another referral to an ENT who has specific skills related to those of us who depend on our voices for a living (my day job depends heavily on my voice being healthy, too).

Not trying to be a bummer or crap on myself or anything, just musing honestly about my health and how it relates to my music. I’m going to get better. I think. Because honestly, I don’t know how much more I can take of always being so wrecked when I play music. There will come a time when it won’t be worth it. But wouldn’t it be better to just lose some weight and give my joints a break? Then we can stop dealing with the OUCH.

Peace be the journey and take care of yourselves better than I take care of myself.

And please come hang out with me Friday the 17th with Chandler and The Bings at Speakeasy in Austin OR Saturday the 18th at 360 UNO up in Westlake for my solo gig.

TMS

A quickie about me…

A quickie about me…

I talk a lot about my musical stuff here, and that’s obviously the point. But I’m going to go a little into my personal philosophy here for this one, and promote a new thing I’m doing. First, my personal philosophy.

I believe my fundamental purpose in this world is to be a kind person.

It sometimes doesn’t happen, because I am a human being, but I do my best. I want to leave this place better than it was when I got here. I want every interaction I have with people to leave them better in some way than when the interaction began.

In The Before Times, when I was in the office every day, every time I talked to my coworkers I would always make sure I learned how they were, then figure out a way to lift them up and make them feel better. On my best days, I’d leave them laughing and happy and feeling good.

I still do that in the limited contact I have with people now, which mostly consists of people I meet at my live shows and the occasional video meeting for work, or randomly at the store. I had some random dude start talking to me like we were old friends and used the same sort of techniques I’d use on my coworkers, and it worked great – he was happy and laughing when we parted.

I treat people with respect for their humanity, and approach them with kindness and love. I used to call it #leadwithlove but found out there was a leadership/marketing company already using that for a sort of different purpose, and I didn’t want it associated with them. But I’ve been looking for subtle ways to put a little more happiness and gladness into people’s lives, because it’s what I love to do. I love to be a nice person who makes people glad they met me.

In that spirit, I’ve launched a new endeavor, which will consist of some social media stuff and perhaps even a second blog focused on happy stories and spreading news of kindness and goodness that will hopefully make you glad you followed us. So check it out – it’s called “The Gladapult” and can be found on Twitter and Instagram – @gladapult and on Facebook as well (just search it – it’s the only thing that will come up because I literally invented the word – obviously a portmanteau of “glad and “catapult”).

Thanks for reading, and look out for a new Museday Mumbling this week.

Take care!

TMS

P.S. If you have any great personal stories that might make people glad, no matter how trivial, please feel free to share them with me and I’ll GLADAPULT them out there.

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 61): 10 Things I Didn’t Hate About 2020-2021

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 61): 10 Things I Didn’t Hate About 2020-2021

A few things that I’ve consumed “in these uncertain times” that I liked:

  1. Greg Renoff’s two biographies – “Van Halen Rising” and “Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer’s Life In Music”
  2. Toto/studio legend Steve Lukather’s autobiography – “The Gospel According To Luke”
  3. Wolfgang Van Halen’s album Mammoth WVH and…
  4. Mammoth WVH (the band)’s live show here at Emo’s in Austin last Thursday. Kid can PLAY…and he has a GREAT band. (Also weirdly met and had a nice chat with the guy from #1 on the list here (Greg Renoff) at the show. Crazy.)
  5. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian’s autobiography – “I’m The Man”
  6. Ex-Black Crowes’ Drummer Steve Gorman’s amazing book – “Hard to Handle: The Life and Death of the Black Crowes – A Memoir”
  7. Pink Floyd/Toy Matinee/studio bassist Guy Pratt’s autobiography “My Bass and Other Animals”
  8. Former Van Halen manager Noel Monk’s Van Halen autobiography “Runnin’ With The Devil”.
  9. Pat Benatar’s “Between a Heart and a Rock Place” autobiography.
  10. Toto’s “40 Tours Around The Sun” and “With A Little Help From My Friends” Blu-rays

I’m sure there’s more stuff I am forgetting that I’ve actually talked about on here, but these are the things I’ve read or listened to that come to mind right now as stuff that’s been enjoyable. There are TV Shows and Movies and stuff that have been pretty great, too, and I may make a list of that stuff as well (music-wise, I liked that first Billie Eilish movie and the Beastie Boys story on Apple TV+).

Anyway, take care, be safe, etc. Same old shit since March 2020. How the fuck are we now almost 18 months on and still dealing with this crap? Oh, that’s right, because America is STUPID and CHILDISH and SELFISH. And politicians care more about POWER than PEOPLE. That’s a rant for another place.

Peace be the journey…
TMS

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 60): BRIAN V. IS BACK!

Museday Mumblings (Vol. 60): BRIAN V. IS BACK!

Yes, my solo-guitar-and-sangin’ alter-ego has a gig on the books!

I’ll be entertaining folks at 360 UNO on September 18th from 6:30-8:30pm. Playing all your classic “Brian V.” favorites.

(MEGA THANKS to my good friend and Twitch superstar Mandy Prater for the hookup…)

Hopefully my voice will be solid and the extra work will benefit my other bands as well. I’m probably going to purposefully play mini-sets of songs from each of my bands, some I don’t even sing in those bands, so it should be a fun time for all. Going to post a flyer and all the details later this evening, but I’m super excited.

My summer has sort of driven me into a place where I just don’t feel like writing much. I just don’t feel like doing much of anything. But I will get back in the groove here with some rantings and musings about things. I have a lot on my mind, and probably have some stuff you might find interesting and might want to engage with, too. Just have to get them all together. Of course, with this, Yacht Z learning, Bings gigs…I mean, when is there time? Here’s hoping I manage to squeeze it in.

Take care, get the damn shot if you haven’t, and be safe out there.

TMS