Friday, March 16, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Twas the night before Redding
1 day to go. Decided to fuel up on some sushi while chillin in Monterey.
The weather is nice down here. No rain and about 71 degrees. Nice. The main event for 2 day is to get rest and gear brain for traveling in a van with 6 other unstable of musicians. I am so wound up I cannot relax. I am tempted to slam 3 or 4 sakes but I fear a hangover to start the tour would be not only bad form but would also invite trouble from the others. So now here I sit at my secret hang out in Seaside California awaiting my sushi reward. Then I will scamper back to my room pull closed the blackout curtains and begin the sleep ritual. Tomorrow requires a 3am awakening to complete my 218 miles delivery route and arrive back in Petaluma in time to get back to the van and begin a long trek to Redding, California for our first gig. A nice kick off show. A 2 hour gig starting at 8 pm. Part of the compensation includes room and FOOD! Alright, my food has arrived! See ya!!!!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Birthday Rain Destruction and Gas
Happy birthday Adrian! The awesome sax player of The Mad Maggies celebrates a secret number of years on this planet today!
Well I survived today by a thread. I had a little incident at 3am when I first arrived at work that ended in a massive turrets outburt. But MF'er if it didn't feel good. I got so much crazy energy building up inside that I needed to bust out in vocal tirades. The rest of the day went fairly smooth except for all the crazy drivers out there! People, rain=slow,,,WTF?!! I passed an accident almost every ten miles. I'm not talking fender benders. I'm talking demolition derby! Some of the cars looked like a Decepticon picked it up and threw it across the freeway. What are these people thinking? Now they are not only super late, but they need a new car, too. That is if they are still alive, holy crapnards!
I think I am ready to go. It seems to me that I have a lot of shit I'm bringing with me on this tour. F! Well, I may have overdone it but it will give GDub something to load...haha! Rock 'n' Roll!!!!!
Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal of $500 (actually hit $800) for gas at the The Mad Maggies Reward Your Fuelish Ways campaign at Rocket Hub. We really appreciate it!!!
2 more days!
Well I survived today by a thread. I had a little incident at 3am when I first arrived at work that ended in a massive turrets outburt. But MF'er if it didn't feel good. I got so much crazy energy building up inside that I needed to bust out in vocal tirades. The rest of the day went fairly smooth except for all the crazy drivers out there! People, rain=slow,,,WTF?!! I passed an accident almost every ten miles. I'm not talking fender benders. I'm talking demolition derby! Some of the cars looked like a Decepticon picked it up and threw it across the freeway. What are these people thinking? Now they are not only super late, but they need a new car, too. That is if they are still alive, holy crapnards!
I think I am ready to go. It seems to me that I have a lot of shit I'm bringing with me on this tour. F! Well, I may have overdone it but it will give GDub something to load...haha! Rock 'n' Roll!!!!!
Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our goal of $500 (actually hit $800) for gas at the The Mad Maggies Reward Your Fuelish Ways campaign at Rocket Hub. We really appreciate it!!!
2 more days!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Mad Maggies meet Photobucket
It has just been brought to my attention that a photobucket account has been set up for the upcoming tour. To access this site and keep up with all the madness as it unfolds, click on the following link and enjoy. The Mad Maggie's Album. This album, I assume, shall be packed full in no time. All 7 of us will have camera. Some of us like to snap and post EVERYTHING......hee hee. There will also be plenty of video footage also.
Well, the rain is here. I am soaked already. Buts I do loves the rain! Bring it.
Well, the rain is here. I am soaked already. Buts I do loves the rain! Bring it.
Monday, March 12, 2012
The Countdown Looms
Four days away from the launch of the 2012 Alive and Squeezing tour. Just finished checking the weather reports for the shows we are playing and it goes as follows:
March 16 - Friday - 8pm - Vintage Wine Bar & Restaurant, Redding, CA
Rain
High 57
March 17 - Saturday - St. Paddy's Day - McMenamin's Edgefield, Troutdale, OR
Showers 48
March 18 - Sunday - 8:30pm - The Central Saloon Seattle, WAFew Showers
High 47
March 20 - Tuesday - 7pm - Old World Deli, Corvallis, ORShowers
High 51°F 60%
March 21 - Wednesday 9pm - Sam Bond's Garage, Eugene, ORShowers
High 52°F 60%
Well, you get the idea. I can only get the 10 day forecast but I'm guessing....mmmm....rain No worries, a little water will separate the witches from the crew! I pretty much got every thing ready to go. Just a few loose ends. I wonder what the infamous "one thing" will be that gets left behind. So long as it's not too important I'm okay.
The hardest part so far is trying to rent a car for my Breezy with a debit card. Not pretty. It looks like it could be a $300 deposit, depending on my credit check. Good luck with that. Enough said, if anything was said at all....it is time for me to shut up. But wait.....
Photo of the day!
March 16 - Friday - 8pm - Vintage Wine Bar & Restaurant, Redding, CA
Rain
High 57March 17 - Saturday - St. Paddy's Day - McMenamin's Edgefield, Troutdale, OR
Showers 48March 18 - Sunday - 8:30pm - The Central Saloon Seattle, WA
Few Showers
High 47March 20 - Tuesday - 7pm - Old World Deli, Corvallis, OR
Showers
High 51°F 60%March 21 - Wednesday 9pm - Sam Bond's Garage, Eugene, OR
Showers
High 52°F 60%Well, you get the idea. I can only get the 10 day forecast but I'm guessing....mmmm....rain No worries, a little water will separate the witches from the crew! I pretty much got every thing ready to go. Just a few loose ends. I wonder what the infamous "one thing" will be that gets left behind. So long as it's not too important I'm okay.
The hardest part so far is trying to rent a car for my Breezy with a debit card. Not pretty. It looks like it could be a $300 deposit, depending on my credit check. Good luck with that. Enough said, if anything was said at all....it is time for me to shut up. But wait.....
Photo of the day!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Firing it back up
Well, a year has passed and , holy shit, if everything hasn't just gotten soooooo much better! When I left off, I was auditioning for The Mad Maggies band http://themadmaggies.com/. Needless to say, I got the gig and had one of the most entertaining and creatively challenging years of my musical career! We played about thirty shows last year including The Santa Rosa Fair http://www.sonomacountyfair.com/fair/sonoma-county-fair.php, The Cotati Accordion Festival The Cotati Accordion Festival and three shows in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (BrewNost(http://www.ncsml.org/Events/20110923/80/BrewNost-2011.aspx), The Accordion Symposium(http://www.thinkingoutsidethesqueezebox.com/) and The Red Baron).
We are now gearing up for a nine day, eight show tour from Redding, California to Seattle, Washington. Maggie rented a cool custom van from http://bandago.com/ and all seven are going to embark on a crazy journey starting March 16th. Out of the gate, it should be an interesting tour. Hopefully I will keep y'all posted on the shenanigans! Of course the new tour will require new equipment. It has been 15 years since the purchase of my last drum kit. Don't get me wrong, that kit is still totally relevant and kicks ass, but hey, I got an excuse to get new gear...carpe diem! So If figured I needed a more compact drum set as to not hog all the room in the van. My current kit consists of i large 20" bass drum case, 2 tom cases (12" & 13") one 14" snare case 1 drum caddy full of 95# of hardware, 1 cymbal bag, 1 bass drum pedal suitcase, 1 stick bag, 1 carpet and 1 fan! Oye! Imagine loading and unloading that every freakin night. Especially after playing for three hours at 2am. Not fun, but that's the glamor of music.
Anyway, you get the idea. Smaller is better....well sort of. What I found was this amazing drum kit made by a true artist. The Man is JT Whitney, and his drums are known as Whitney Drums (Fat in the middle). He has some brilliant ideas and has created a wonderful sounding light weight and down right beautiful kit. If you get a chance, I recommend checking out his sight. http://whitneydrums.com/wp/ I can go on days about the ingenuity of these drums but it is best left to the master, JT, himself to tell you. I went to the site, picked out what I wanted, shot him an e-mail.. He wrote back and told me to call him, which I did, and he was very helpful in assisting me in designing the kit that would be best for me. This was early January. I told him I needed them for my tour in the middle of March. He told me he could do it and holy shit if he didn't come through. He builds each set to order, and let me tell you, so far, this kit is the bomb! All, I mean ALL, the drums fit in one case and weigh 35#!!!!!!!!! No joke! HEAVEN! A big thank you to JT!
I also had to get some more new gear, of course. I bought a new Axis Hi-hat longboard pedal(http://www.axispercussion.com/longboards_L-HH.html) I had to get a travel case for my cymbals(http://www.gatorcases.com/p/4127-1355/gp-pe302) , and I needed sleeves (http://www.cymbag.com/?content=secciones_contenido&idSeccion=1) to protect the cymbals in the case . And no drummer is complete without the proper footwear!!!!(http://www.drumshoes.com/) And that concluded my shopping spree. I wanted a new bass drum pedal, but the funds ran out!! Next time.... So now it's off to the races. Five days till we leave for the tour and I still have a lot of shit to do. So here I go. Later!
We are now gearing up for a nine day, eight show tour from Redding, California to Seattle, Washington. Maggie rented a cool custom van from http://bandago.com/ and all seven are going to embark on a crazy journey starting March 16th. Out of the gate, it should be an interesting tour. Hopefully I will keep y'all posted on the shenanigans! Of course the new tour will require new equipment. It has been 15 years since the purchase of my last drum kit. Don't get me wrong, that kit is still totally relevant and kicks ass, but hey, I got an excuse to get new gear...carpe diem! So If figured I needed a more compact drum set as to not hog all the room in the van. My current kit consists of i large 20" bass drum case, 2 tom cases (12" & 13") one 14" snare case 1 drum caddy full of 95# of hardware, 1 cymbal bag, 1 bass drum pedal suitcase, 1 stick bag, 1 carpet and 1 fan! Oye! Imagine loading and unloading that every freakin night. Especially after playing for three hours at 2am. Not fun, but that's the glamor of music.
Anyway, you get the idea. Smaller is better....well sort of. What I found was this amazing drum kit made by a true artist. The Man is JT Whitney, and his drums are known as Whitney Drums (Fat in the middle). He has some brilliant ideas and has created a wonderful sounding light weight and down right beautiful kit. If you get a chance, I recommend checking out his sight. http://whitneydrums.com/wp/ I can go on days about the ingenuity of these drums but it is best left to the master, JT, himself to tell you. I went to the site, picked out what I wanted, shot him an e-mail.. He wrote back and told me to call him, which I did, and he was very helpful in assisting me in designing the kit that would be best for me. This was early January. I told him I needed them for my tour in the middle of March. He told me he could do it and holy shit if he didn't come through. He builds each set to order, and let me tell you, so far, this kit is the bomb! All, I mean ALL, the drums fit in one case and weigh 35#!!!!!!!!! No joke! HEAVEN! A big thank you to JT!
I also had to get some more new gear, of course. I bought a new Axis Hi-hat longboard pedal(http://www.axispercussion.com/longboards_L-HH.html) I had to get a travel case for my cymbals(http://www.gatorcases.com/p/4127-1355/gp-pe302) , and I needed sleeves (http://www.cymbag.com/?content=secciones_contenido&idSeccion=1) to protect the cymbals in the case . And no drummer is complete without the proper footwear!!!!(http://www.drumshoes.com/) And that concluded my shopping spree. I wanted a new bass drum pedal, but the funds ran out!! Next time.... So now it's off to the races. Five days till we leave for the tour and I still have a lot of shit to do. So here I go. Later!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
It is time to SniqueAway!
How many times have you watched those specials on E! showing how the rich folk vacation? How many times have you wondered why you can't make enough to stay in these lavish places frequented by the rich and famous. Well Robin Leach is now calling your name! Get yer butts to this website and check out the glories of staying in 5-star hotels across the world for cut rate prices! All the hotels on this site are at least 4-star. They sales last about 7 days. That's a week to choose your paradise! Now you too can treat your partner like royalty! Simply sign up to the site and they will send you updates on the best deals on the the best places to stay around the world! It's that easy! Look. I'm a drummer and you can imagine what I make! But I got a suite in Vegas...1200 sq ft!!!!!!, for $200 a nite!!!!! DUDE! I've always wanted to stay in a high roller suite! I can't wait to go! I will update yalls after the trip! Try it and tell yer friends!!! It IS awesome! I do not work for this website but I am doing a Bzz Campaign which allows me to view great sites like this and try them out.
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