Month: March 2009

Latest Drum Project

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Here’s a restoration of an early ’80s Ludwig Supraphonic. This was the snare that John Bonham of Led Zepplin used to get his classic “crack.” The Supra was made of seamless, spun metal. The vast majority of the time, that was aluminum, as it was cheap. But, Ludwig used whatever they could find, and whatever was cheap on the market that week. Brass Supras turn up, and they’re highly collectable. Sometimes, some steel would make it into the cauldron too. Most, though, were “Lud-Alloy,” i.e. aluminium. Bonham prefered the aluminum versions, and the 6.5″ depth. I’ve owned plenty of Supras over the years, but all in the more common 5″ depth. This is the first at 6.5″.

Before.

After. After without the flash.

Friday Fill-In #117

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Janet says “This week, I took the first sentence in 6 of my favorite books…you fill them in…with the right words or even better, ones of your own.

1. “In a hole in the ground there lived Larry the lizard who liked lemonade, and spent his afternoons lounging.”

2. “Some folks call it a sling blade, but I call it a Kaiser blade, but that ain’t no matter.”

3. “After dark the rain began to fall again, the storm drains backed up. There’s only so much the sewer system could take.”

4. “He was an old Spanish fish from the hold of the Spanish galleon.”

5. “There was a hand in the darkness, and it was connected to the arm bone, and it was connected to the shoulder, and that was connected to the bank president’s mistress.”

6. “Accidents ambush the unsuspecting, and so do snipers.”

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to, well, nothing in particular, tomorrow my plans include serving at the church spaghetti supper, and Sunday, I want to resolve to have a better week than this one!

My Wife

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I dont think Ive mentioned lately how much I love my wife, amd how thankful I am God gave her to me. Its nights like tonight that remind me of that fact. Im a complete hosebag, and shes so wonderful. Thank you, Susan.

B

Hardware Store Urinal

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On Sunday afternoon, I needed to get some caulking compuound to re-caulk the bathtub. On a side note, what’s the deal with my caulking skills? I think this is the fourth or fifth time I’ve had to recaulk the tub. We’ve owned the house 12 years. I’m recaulking the tub like every two years! Anyway, the local store I like was closed, so I went to Lowes. Matthew came inside with me, while Susan and Nat waited in the car. (Julia was staying at my Mom’s house for the afternoon.) We paid for the caul, and Matt said he needed to use the bathroom. So we went inside, and he walked up to the little urinal. “What’s that little pink thing in there?” he asked, pointing to the little freshening hockey puck in the bottom. “That’s to make it smell nice,” I said. He proceeds to stuff his head deep into the urinal. He takes a big whiff, and says “Yup. Smells pretty!”

Lisa’s Shopping MI-5

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I think it’s been three weeks since I did an MI-5. One of those weeks I was the author! I hope to get those weeks done at some point. This week, though, I’m back on the bandwagon!

Lisa said: I’ve been shopping a lot this week, so this week’s 5 is inspired by several of the stores I have been to:

1. TJ MAXX – I have no idea what the “TJ” in TJ Maxx stands for. Do know of someone who goes by his/her initials, instead of his/her full name? What is their full name? Why do they prefer initials? Tell us a little bit about this person.

TJ Kierstead was a guy I went to high school with. He played bass in a band I was in. I also remember going to Massachusetts with him in a small U-Haul to pick up some things at his mother’s house. We listened to Johnny Winter, AC/DC, and Van Halen all the way down. If I recall, TJ was short for Thomas Justin. Many people called him “Teej.”

2. TARGET – Tell us a story about target practice, hunting, or some sort of “shooting” activity.

I love shooting. I really wish I had opportunity to do it more. You can see some photos of me at the range here and here. (My boss, JP, took some GREAT shots at that second link.)

3. DOLLAR TREE – What’s the best bargain going nowadays? Is there anything you buy that is really only $1.00 (or less)?

The dollar menu at McD’s is cheap musician eats when your on the road. I’d really prefer not to eat there, but cheap is king to me.

4. BIG LOTS – What would your perfect house lot look like? Would it be big? Smaller, with less lawn care? Water feature? Stone wall? Fenced in yard? Wooded?

It would need to be near the ocean. Right on some rocky coast would be nice. Some woods is good, but not too much. Definitely put me down for a stone wall. Love ’em! And, I’d take an old graveyard on the property, too.

5. WENDY’S – When you have an “all-day” excursion planned, do you prefer to sit down and eat a meal at a restaurant, or do you prefer a drive-through type experience in order to save more time for other activities?

As per #3, I’d prefer not to eat at a fast food place. I’d rather go to a restaurant we don’t have around home. Since the kids are probably with us, it would probably be a chain restaurant like Bugaboo Creek, Macaroni Grill, or something like that. That way, the kids can get their chicken strips, but I can have something that doesn’t come in a box, or something I don’t have to unwrap. Hurray for plates!

Friday Fill In #116

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1. Why do we have to work on Fridays? (Shouldn’t we just add that to the weekend too?)

2. Brushing twice daily and flossing are now habits.

3. I have gotten up earlier than normal this entire week.

4. I had never heard the phrase “raspberry butter spread on yak hide makes a tough treat surprisingly delicious,” and it doesn’t surprise me.

5. I hope pepole can avoid the potholes on Union street–instead of hit them–the way I always do.

6. How as I to know and not to wonder if perhaps this was a typo or %and ee cummings POem LEt out TO pla7y?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to a cheeseburger “bar” for supper, tomorrow my plans include the Family Fun Fest and a gig in Bangor, and Sunday, I want to rest a little, scoot a little!

I Was Hit by a Deer!

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It was on the way home from choir practice last night. Susan, the kids, and I were all in the van, heading north on 73. Right at Ginny Doyle’s house, I noticed a car pulled over quite a ways on the shoulder. He was heading south, his headlights coming towards me. I thought perhaps he had broken down. All of a sudden, I saw a deer in the street, down on his front legs–almost like he was praying. I headed towards the right ditch. He took that exact moment to try and get out of the road. He sorta hurled himself forward, and ran smack into our front driver’s side fender. I looked in the rearview side mirror, and saw him act all crazy, like he was trying to get his footing. He then ran into the woods. I got out and checked for the deer. He was not to be found. I didn’t see any blood in the street, and there was nothing on the van. In fact, you couldn’t see any evidence on the van at all. Not even scrape marks in the dirt or anything. I’m hoping he survived. I think probably the poor guy had been hit twice: once by the first car coming the other way (and that would explain why he had moved over, and why the deer wasn’t on four legs to start this encounter), and a second time by us. Or rather, he his us after the other guy hit him. That other person, though, decided not to stop. They apparently didn’t stop for the deer, and they didn’t stop for us, either.

Oh, and one other thing. Nat said to Susan after the accident “Mom, you’re the best screamer!” I asked Susan if she screamed. She said she screamed so hard her throat hurt. I don’t remember that at all, and I was sitting right next to her!

Singers who don’t Play

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I’ve noticed something. Singers who don’t “play” an instrument always seem unnatural during instrumental portions of songs. It always seems they don’t know what yo do with their hands. They tend to go over to some other musician, and feign like they’re playing some instrument. Here’s my idea: Pick up a cowbell, or tambourine, or maracas, or an autoharp, or something. It seems a shame to have a musician on stage who’s not actively making music at that moment. Or maybe, as a drummer (and drummers are always busy doing something), I’m just jealous.

Amy’s Springtime MI-5

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1. Now that it’s warmer (or when it gets warmer if it’s still cold where you are) what are you looking forward to doing outside?

Absolutely! Scooter riding is high on the list, as if you haven’t read. (Maybe you haven’t read; read a few posts down.) Also, I’m looking forward to getting the grill out. Since it’s a little warm here today (about 40, I guess), I’m planning on getting the grill out of the garage, and having some steaks tonight!

2. Are there any special memories or moments that you associate with spring?

No, not really. We boys always got bolos from Ma on Easter, and that’s turned into a bit of a tradition.

3. It’s definitely greener here now. Is it green yet where you are? What are some of the first signs of spring you have seen or look forward to seeing?

It’s not green here yet. In fact, the snow isn’t even all gone yet. I did see someone putting daffodils in a vase today, so spring should be coming soon.

4. Do you have any spring cleaning rituals?

Only that we like spring cleaning, and it’s nice to open the windows and have the fresh air blow in. It’s rather dusty right now in the Batty household, so some spring cleaning will be nice.

5. Are you Irish? Do you take part in any special St. Patricks Day celebrations?

There probably is some Irish in the blood-line somewhere along the way, but I don’t really consider myself Irish. Ma usually makes corned beef and cabbage on the 17th, but I don’t really care for “boiled dinner.” I like corned beef sandwiches, and corned beef hash, but just a boiled dinner doesn’t appeal to me that much.

The Interesting Weekend Wrap-Up

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The weekend started Friday night at the Black Bull. Blind Albert and I had a duo gig there, 9:30-12:30. A new guy who’s moved into the area sat in with us. Frank Sambiase moved up here from CT, I think. He’s been jamming with the local cats, paying his dues, looking to make in-roads with the locals, trying to get gigs. He did a great job with us, and I really like his playing. And, it was a treat playing with two guitar players. Rarely do I play in a band that has two guitar players; the local clubs don’t pay enough money to have bands with lots of members. Usually, I play in trios, or quartets with a horn. It was nice to have that extra voice, and it added a lot to the sound.

I got home from the gig around 1pm, maybe a little later. As I was getting ready for bed, I noticed I didn’t have my watch on. (Pay attention, this will mean more later.) At my gigs, I take my watch off, and put it in my stick bag. I don’t like to wear a watch when I play. I also take my wallet, keys, and phone out of my pants pocket, and put them in the bag. Anyway, I had left my watch in the stick bag. Since I knew I’d want to wear my watch in the morning, I went out to the car, got my bag, brought it inside, got my watch, and put it on the table.

Saturday morning, I “slept late,” and got up at 8:15. I made blueberry muffins for the family. I washed some dishes, took a shower, did the usuall Saturday AM things. It was pretty warm out, and thoughts of my scooter danced in my head. With my plastic snow shovel, I was able to get enough snow away from the garage door to get it open a crack. Once inside the garage, I was able to get a metal flat shovel. And with that, I was able to chip enough ice away to get the door open! Scoot, here I come! But first, I had to make a trip to the dump. OK, I did that, back to the scoot… I put the battery in, which had been in my garage on the battery tender. I siphoned out the stale gas that was in the tank, and replaced it with fresh gas. I jumped on the kick start a few times, with the key off, just to get some oil into the cylinder. Then I touched the electric start. She roared right to life! I let it warm for a little bit. Susan was running errands with Julia, so as soon as she got home, I went for a ride. I went down to the Keag Store, down Dublin Rd, a left onto Ash Point, South Shore Dr, downtown Owls Head, North Shore Dr, then Rt 73 to home. It  was a nice ride, but the roads in Owls Head are tore up! That was a bone shaker of a ride.

After my ride, I took a quick nap. Then I headed out to Winterport for my gig that started at 8pm. I had the mushroom/swiss burger, which was delish. I brought my gear inside, and started to set up. Then, it hit me: where’s my stick bag? Yup, you guessed it. I left my sitck bag at home from the night before! Panic started to set in. No sticks! But wait! Didn’t I stash a pair of sticks in the spare tire compartment? If I did, they weren’t there. God’s provedence was with me, though. The week before last, we played a gig and had a hand percussionist sit in. I have a big bag of hand percussion items, so I brought that bag for him to borrow. I hadn’t taken it out of the car yet. Inside was a pair of sticks! They weren’t my regular size, and they were pretty beat up, but at least I had some sticks! The gig was well attended, and people danced all night long. I broke one of the sticks, but it was just the tip, so I was able to complete the gig. The sitcks went into my cymbal bag, so now I’ll have a back-up pair! When factoring in the time change, I got home a little after 3am.

Sunday was pretty typical. Church in the morning. Lunch at Mom’s. In the afternoon, I was able to take another quick scooter ride. It wasn’t as long as Saturday, as it was a little cooler. I was able to fit a 1/2 hour nap into the afternoon, too. In the evening, it was back to church. After that, I went to McDonalds for the boys supper, and to Subway for me and the girls. Chicken bacon ranch, of course! The kids went to bed, and then Susan and I had a little snuggle time on the couch before we went to bed.