Well, my monthly solo gig is gone now. “First Saturdays with Brian V. at 360 Uno” is no more.
360 Uno is shutting their doors for good in late August and my gig this Saturday was cancelled.
It’s a weird thing – there were things that were kind of terrible about those gigs – I never felt prepared enough, the crowds were largely indifferent about my presence (because it was a restaurant situation with sort of old people and families, not a “bar” bar), the setup by the front door was kind of awkward, etc. The staff and how I was treated as a performer there more than made up for it. I got to play all kinds of different songs, take chances, and scratch other musical itches not scratched by Chandler and The Bings. I played my own music almost every show. I played a PILE of Sloan songs for Canada Day on what is now officially my last performance there.
My lovely and talented friend Mandy Prater got me in there, and it was a great situation for me. I just need to find a new place for it – try to set up a monthly gig somewhere. This time, perhaps, a lot closer, and at a BAR bar, so patrons will be more engaged and I’ll play better – I feed off the crowd more than I ever thought I did. That’s a lesson I learned.
Another lesson these gigs taught me is that I am a pretty ham-handed guitar player. Made me really want to get my technique together to execute melodic stuff a little better than just bashing out rhythms all the time.
Thanks to all my friends (and family) who came out and had some pizza or wine or gelato or whatever and enjoyed a show. I loved that you were there more than you can ever imagine. And BIG BIG thanks to Jamie and all the staff there for being so delightful to work with and always making me feel welcome. Good luck to all of you in the future. You deserve all the best.
If you have any ideas of where I can play in the 78748 area, I’m down…
It’s Tuesday. It’s a Museday. And it’s literally MUSE day!
My hetero life mate Ned (the Roman Holiday fella) and I are going to see Muse tonight (thanks to Heather for giving up her tickets).
They are one of the best live bands in the world. Their shows push the limits of live show technology and they really throw a LOT of money into the presentation. AND it’s at the brand-spanking-new, designed-to-sound-good Moody Center here in Austin. So it should be an epic experience. I’m very excited.
Speaking of being excited, the next seven weekends in a row I get to play some live music!
March 4th I’m with those Chandler and The Bings fellas up in College Station, TX at Brookshire Brothers. Yes. The supermarket – they have an awesome live music venue there. We’re stoked to be part of their concert series. Then a solo show on March 11th at 360 Uno (thanks to Mandy Prater for swapping with me). Then, more Bings shows, including St. Patrick’s Day at Picks Bar in San Antonio, a private event for the owners of Picks Bar on Sunday the 26th, then back at 360 Uno solo April 1st (I have to figure out if I’m doing some sort of April Fool – maybe I’ll just learn the Soul Asylum song), back at Picks Bar on April 8th, and then a triumphant return to Joker’s Ice House in Killeen on April 15th. Damn. We’re all over the place!
So that’s my next few months. Work making fun audio things for clients for the day job. Learning new songs for the solo project. Trying to manage my blood pressure and lose some weight, still. And spending as much time as possible enjoying the wife and family.
I hope you get to do the things you love. I’m grateful for all of it.
And I’m grateful for you. Thanks for reading and peace be the journey!
TMS
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 71): Taylor Hawkins, Mastery, Confidence, BIG NEWS!
I thought he was rad from his time in Alanis’ band, fell in love with him when he joined Foo Fighters and he and Dave clearly became hetero life mates (a la Jay & Silent Bob), and always respected him as a musician and singer.
Foo Fighters were an okay band when he joined, then Taylor asked the question, “But what if we were a GREAT band?” (People who know me know I relate to this “join the band and push them to be awesome” sort of mentality) And he kicked all their asses into shape and gave us one of the greatest live rock bands this country has ever produced. Foo Fighters only became a great band because of Taylor Hawkins.
The world of music is a lesser place without him in it. He was a kind and generous person and musician who carried the same exuberance and love for music as his best pal Dave, and they together kept rock on people’s minds by playing great arena rock shows and being ambassadors for the music and musicians they loved.
Taylor Hawkins was truly one of the greats, and I’m glad he and Foo Fighters got into the Rock Hall when they did so Taylor could feel the love and respect from his peers he so richly deserved.
Rest in peace, timekeeper. Thanks for all the music and laughs over the years.
On to more typical things…because of Taylor Hawkins’ untimely passing I had a hilarious thing happen at the Picks Bar show on March 26th. A “lady” came up mid-song and held up a napkin with “FOO FIGHTERS FOR TAYLOR” written on it, and stood there holding it until the song was over and I talked to her. I explained very earnestly how much I was sad about Taylor’s passing and how we didn’t play any Foo Fighters songs and we didn’t want to mess them up in tribute. And this asshole walked away like I farted in her face. Cut to the end of the next song (which I was singing lead on), and she walked (alcoholically) by me and flipped me off very enthusiastically as she left the bar in a huff, the man with her pulling her hand down trying to keep her from embarrassing herself. It was crazy and ultimately hilarious, though it’s always unnerving when someone has real anger toward you, even if it comes from them being a drunk dipshit.
I’ve been overdosing on Foo Fighters music, deciding that Chandler and The Bings needs to add one of their songs, “My Hero” being the leading candidate (“Everlong” being a close second, but losing out because it’s in Drop-D). So I basically went through and learned all the parts on bass, guitar, and vocals so I could make sure we do it justice (teaching guitar parts as necessary). And at our private party last night, we did just that during soundcheck. All we need now is to go through some of the stops and for Jay to nail down the drum parts and it’ll be ready for prime time (and is likely to appear at the Speakeasy show on May 6th). Mastering the parts really made me feel good, and reminded me that when I focus, I’m pretty dang good at this stuff.
Of course the soundcheck lesson and my overall satisfaction with my bass tone and in-ear monitors at last night’s show really made me confident. Things just fell where they were supposed to – I played very accurately and my notes were generally very strong and true – more than normal. That level of connection with what I’m doing on stage just fosters even more confidence, and I kept getting better and more determined to rock faces off as the night progressed. It was lovely.
Well, cool shit is definitely on the horizon now, because I’ve started to realize that I need to get off my ass in life in general. So more live streaming, more Bathroom Schizo videos (this time I’m serious) and more content in general.
On the gig front, more Bings stuff is coming, and the BIG NEWS (buried the shit out of the lede here): I have the first of hopefully a LOT of First Saturday shows at 360 Uno coming up on May 7th, and I plan on really taking those up a notch. I might even add some tracks and stuff…we shall see. (Of course they’ll be tracks of me playing other parts live…)
So every first Saturday of the month, I’m playing 360 Uno. How cool is that? I love regular gigs! (thanks to Mandy for getting me in there and Jamie for booking me and Laurel for being, well, awesome always)
Headed to bed. Peace be the journey! TMS
Museday Mumblings (Vol. 69 – nice): Stuff Since The Last One
I guess that’s a weird way of saying this is more of a status update than anything, but I’d just like to muse a little about what the past month’s been for me.
Like I mentioned in my last post, I had some really good band shows in January (the solo gig was more iffy). After that, kind of nothing whatsoever was happening with the band for a variety of reasons, which was kind of weird but ultimately very okay. There’s a lot brewing in the other band Pat and Jay are working on, so I kind of knew that was the deal. Which is fine.
I did a setup-cleanup-restringing of the new bass and got it sounding great and in tune all the way up the neck, and I was very excited to play it at the band shows this past weekend. So I strapped it on for the second set…
…and I hated it. Seriously. HATED IT.
I don’t know if it was the choice of strings, the non-maple fingerboard, or the fact that I didn’t adjust the truss rod when I did the setup because things seemed fine, but it played like garbage for me at the show and just didn’t have the right presence sonically. I played maybe four songs and swapped back for the other one. What a disappointment. I was really digging it at home. Maybe it’s just better as a sit-down, studio bass. Not sure. I’ll figure it out, or if not, I’ll let it go. No big deal – there’s no real emotional attachment to this one yet.
The Speakeasy show with Chandler and The Bings went SPLENDIDLY – lots of energy and fun – and a packed house, which included my lovely wife Erin! I was so excited to have her there and seeing her face always makes me feel happy and loved. (Thanks to her friend Christopher for being on toddler duty so she could come.)
The solo show at 360 UNO was just as much fun as the CATB show – Using a “new old gear” setup I brought my Line 6 X3 Live pedalboard back into the fray, designed a patch that ran my vocals and guitar, and it made setup even faster. And I added a Bluetooth page turner footswitch so that I never have to reach up and scroll on my iPad.
I also recorded the show. I was trying to get a decent video of the show to share, but the video looked like total garbage, so I’m sharing the audio with you, if you’d like to have an idea of what my shows are like. It’s pretty good. Some clearly iffy vocal moments (just had a gig the night before, which usually makes things dodgy) and enough guitar clams to make a chowder, but I was happy with it and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it.
Here it is in its entirety:
I didn’t take a break, so it’s two solid hours. Feel free to skip around. Comments are welcome.
Here’s a list of the songs I played (with timecode, for the aforementioned skipping around…):
0:00:24 Hurts So Good 0:03:52 Bad Moon Rising 0:06:02 Learn To Fly 0:09:57 Bus Stop 0:13:14 Lodi 0:15:58 Daydream Believer 0:19:12 Just Like Heaven 0:21:52 Ain’t No Sunshine 0:24:13 Stray Cat Strut 0:27:07 Hold Me Now 0:31:27 Happy Together 0:35:12 What’s Going On 0:38:48 The Way 0:43:16 Every Rose Has Its Thorn 0:47:34 Wanted Dead Or Alive 0:52:42 Can’t Buy Me Love 0:54:52 Santeria 0:58:19 Plush 1:03:30 Wonderwall 1:07:39 Drift Away 1:11:43 Crazy Little Thing Called Love 1:15:03 Hey Jealousy 1:18:42 The Middle 1:21:59 No Such Thing 1:25:31 Always Something There To Remind Me 1:29:01 Tainted Love 1:32:08 I’m A Believer 1:35:22 I Melt With You 1:39:52 Interstate Love Song 1:43:33 Get Back 1:46:56 Out Of My Head 1:50:34 Walking On A Thin Line 1:55:47 Blitzkrieg Bop 1:58:14 Baby One More Time
More Bings stuff coming up, then a Florida trip – hoping to coordinate seeing a lot of my Jax friends. Have to figure out a venue to be hanging around in on Friday or Saturday night or something for when I’m in town.
Enough from me for now. I was going to rant on some big concept, and I still have a few ideas I’m going to explore in the coming months, but for now, just an update.
Take care, have a great week, and thanks for reading!
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
Can’t make it to a show because of geography or other reasons? Here’s the live audio from our show on July 20th at Craftsman in Austin.
Set 1:
Set 2:
Set 3:
Featuring my bass playing and backing vocals all night, and my lead vocals on All Star, Hey Jealousy, When I Come Around, Creep (kinda), and Friends In Low Places (and part of It’s Gonna Be Me).
I love playing with this band!
TMS
The Dangerfields are in peril, but ROMAN HOLIDAY IS BACK!
So The Dangerfields might be a dead concept, with Shawn moving back to Jacksonville, but with that news also came the news that Roman Holiday is coming back from the dead!
I’m so excited to play with my musical brothers Ned and Lee again all together as a trio. Our first practice back really didn’t feel like three and a half years had passed since last we played together. We just sounded like us. It’s so weird. But good weird.
So look out for more news on that front in the coming weeks. We should have some shows booked soon, hopefully for the next few months! WOO HOO!
#leadwithlove,
TMS
The Dangerfields, Solo shows, keyboard, fitness, etc.
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:
So my new trio, The Dangerfields (www.facebook.com/TheDangerfieldsATX) played their first two gigs these past two Thursdays. And rough as they were at times, they were fun. According to most of the people who have talked to us, we’re a lot of fun. And that’s great. Of course, it makes me think of my “wow, you guys are having fun up there” saying I use when a band sort of sounds like shit but are having a good time. Our show at the Oasis was hot and the load-in was tough, but it was great to get in front of a crowd for the first time. The show at Hanovers was even more fun, because people were more engaged than the Oasis show. So I’m pretty psyched that this is happening. Thanks to Lee and Shawn for rocking out with me.
Audio from the Hanovers show:
Set 1:
Set 2:
Set 3:
I’ve still got my regular plate of solo shows over at Scoreboard (8/26 and 9/9) and up at Quinns (9/29), and I’ll be playing a benefit solo at the Rusty Rudder up on Lake Travis on 8/28. It’s a great cause – we’re raising money for the victims of the Louisiana Floods. Here’s all the info.
That’s my quick update. THE DANGERFIELDS ARE REAL!
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.