Channeling Tom Hanks

Going on two months ago, I reluctantly sent my entire v-drum kit in for repair, because one of the components on it (the hi-hat) went wiggy on me. Why they made me ship the entire thing, I don't know (heck, it cost the insurance company $280 in shipping alone!). The short version, every time I call to check the status on it, I get the same reponse, "we're waiting on parts, it should take about two weeks, we'll call you". So, as you've guessed, two weeks go by and no call. So I call them, and the cycle repeats- for two months?!?

At what point am I allowed to be pissed off? I mean, I can always revert back to the drum machine to write songs, but that's so... what's the word, limiting.

Instead of whining about it anymore, I thought I'd post some pics I forgot I posted in my flickr account almost a year ago.

(click for full size)

The Saga Continues! A Drumset (non) Update

Like sands through the hourglass...

The saga continues! I called the repair shop this morning to get a status update on my drumset, because two weeks ago they said "it should be complete in two weeks". After giving the guy my work order number he says, "oh yeah- we're still waiting on about five or six parts..."

FIVE OR SIX PARTS?!

Not being an electrical engineer, I can't tell if this is a good or bad sign. If they're going to just replace an entire unit because one piece on the inside is busted (as Americans are prone to do), I certainly would not mind a brand new high-hat, but that's just one part, right? In this case, to need five or six parts, I can only think of what else they might be replacing.

As a floor model, the set was "well-used" when I got it and pretty banged up. While I didn't know it at the time, it is actually missing a few screws here and there too. It wasn't until I downloaded an Owner's Manual that I became aware there should have been velcro fasteners for all of the cables (neither the manual or fasteners were given to me at purchase). A musician friend who owns the exact same kit went down the list of what was missing or "not right". Most noteably, in his words, my kick drum is "thrashed". I didn't think much of it at the time because it played just fine. (Tip: Unless you can give it a good top-to-bottom inspection, *and know what to look for* never get the floor model from Guitar Center!) Again, if they choose to replace or fix the kick drum too, how awesome is that? However, if- and here's where it get interesting, the repair shop is opening up the components and pulling out guts and motherboards and replacing them, my experience in building an rebuilding computers and working on cars and tells me this is a great point for something to go wrong and get overlooked until the entire set is shipped back and I discover the problem three months from now.

Or, I could just be paranoid and going through withdrawals of not having a drumset for almost a month.

Got any "repair center" horror stories? Share them in the comment section below!

Is Obama the New Bob Marley? (Part Two)

A few days ago I posited a theory about the similarities between Barack Obama and Bob Marley. My own observations were mostly a discussion about the surprising number of songs written about the former, with the positive tones and call-to-action like lyrics involved. The themes in these recent songs about Obama are almost identical in content to those of Mr. Robert Nesta Marley. My friends called me crazy but I know I'm right.

Today I stumbled upon a similar discussion from the Trinidad and Tobago News Blog (who knew!). They identified some similarities such as, "Robert “Bob” Nestor Marley and Senator Barack Obama both have one thing in common: a white parent. Bob Marley’s father was British and white; Senator Barack Obama’s mother was American and white..." Sure, that's kind of interesting, but not really what I was going for in my own supposition.

How about this one:

"Like Bob Marley, young white Americans totally identified with Obama’s message about their future. They felt Obama’s “positive vibration.” Like Bob Marley, Obama’s youthful, white –looking, physical appearance was the magnetic force to draw young white Americans to his side. They not only saw themselves in his political mirror but also clothed themselves in his rock star persona a la Bob Marley."

Okay now we're getting into some Thesis quality material! Okay one more...

"Bob Marley’s lyrics spoke to revolutionary change in society between the “Haves” and “Have nots” and exhorted the oppressed/ marginalized to “get up, stand up; stand up for your rights”.

Similarly, Senator Barack Obama’s campaign lyrics/ rhetoric spoke to ” change ” in America after eight years of President George Bush’s failed domestic economic and foreign policie

s."

And "Boom goes the dynamite!" I knew it wasn't just me, I just knew it!

I encourage you to validate my own astute observation skills and visit the Trinidad and Tobago News Blog, where you can read Dr. Kwame Nantambu's article in its entirety. And of course, whether you agree, disagree, or have thoughts of your own, I encourage you to leave a comment!

Related Links:

• trinidadandtobagonews.com/blog
• bobmarley.com
• whitehouse.gov
  

Music That Makes You Dumb (Or Smart, Depending On How You Look At It)

From beatcrave.com (slightly edited for humorous intent):*

"A CalTech grad student has conducted an interesting (albeit somewhat unscientific) study relating music preferences with SAT scores... the results show that the “smartest” students’ favorite musician is Beethoven... at the other end of the spectrum is... Lil’ Wayne!"

Bwahahaha!!

Usually this is where I say "and they spent how much gov't funding for this?" But in this case, the guy is at CalTech, which means he likely dropped a boatload of cash for the priviledge to tell us what we already know. The chart below is pretty interesting!


*Read the post in its entirety at: www.beatcrave.com

The Eternal Question...

Sometimes I'm curious what my life would be like if I were not a musician. Would it be more or less boring? Would I be more productive in other pursuits, or just sit around and play video games all night?

The song I'm working on right now was "done" at least a month ago. Or so one would think. As a timberlake-esque pop song, it features lots of keyboard, drums, boy-band harmonies, and is just okay... (I do not attempt to compare myself to J to the T). Weeks after completing that project- i.e., a few nights ago- A few drinks in and screwing around on the bass guitar, I gave birth to a fat-ass funky bass riff! A riff so fat it needed to be recorded immediately before I forgot it!

The process is simple enough: Drum loop for tempo, hit record, lay down a fat groove. "Now that's fat!" I said.

Inspiration comes from odd sources and can vary from person to person, and even song to song. Being either lazy, uninspired, and/or drunk at the time, instead of writing new lyrics, I opened up my "Lyrics" folder and randomly chose the aforementioned timerblake-ripoff, and sang the words over the drum and bass tracks. You know- just to create a feeling for whatever this song would turn out to be.

I was about to go to bed and thought "just a quick rhythm guitar track- with some wah-wah and phaser- you know- just to get a feel for where this track is headed"... I laydown a 70's porno guitar groove and should really be getting to bed now. But noooo... There are some things you just can't do with a drum machine, so of course, gotta throw down some funky licks... "just so I don't forget what I'm aiming for"... (he said).

Now it's who-knows-what-time in the morning and I still have work tomorrow. But, let me just lay a little lead guitar in there- so I know what vocal harmonies I want to put it later when I write some real words for the song...

Hit save, rewind, and play...

WTF?! My pop song is officially a funky rock jam!? I mean, seriously- "why write new words at this point?" I thought. I mix down the rough cut and pop it onto the iPod, and finally go to bed. The next day I'm listening to it all day at work and at the gym and can't wait to get back into the studio to work on it some more, which basically means, re-record all those tracks over again, while sober (lol).

Three days later (I do have a day job, after all) and the song is finally DONE!! Embellishments, mixed, mastered, EQ'd. Perfect!

Then as I'm driving to work today, listening to my masterpiece, it hits me: "Conga drums would be sick right here!"

Which bodes the eternal question, "When is a song ever "done"?"*

Look for "You Got It Goin' On" in an upcoming release of "The Bushfinger Music Project GarageBand Show"

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*(quote borrowed from Lars Ulrich - St. Anger DVD)