Homeless

I got in a fight with Jenny's 15 year old daughter. I said she was a spiteful little bitch. I cried and still am. I've lost a family.I tried. I can't cause anymore neartache for her.I must move on.

The studio

I have listened to several others on myspace and IAC and we're ready. I often hope for the best but I must now make my reality come true.Take the music that has lived a sheltered life inside me and turn it into something that other people want to hear. I have good teachers.

Music Lessons

Well it's Friday night and tonight instead of Thursday I have my music lesson. I can't really call it a guitar or keyboard lesson anymore, Jim(my teacher) and I can run the gamut from how to play a scale to finding some bizarre chordal harmonic convergence that can't be explained. Taking lessons is a gift in some ways. To continue to open your mind to the endless possibilities that music has can never grow old. I think of the elder statesmen and women of rock- a lot touching 60 and still at it. Maybe not like they did 20 years ago but still playing. Even the local scene has changed. It's not as unusual to see someone in their 50's in a band with a bunch of 20 or 30 year olds. In the 80's that DIDN'T happen. It just didn't, unless you were a jazz or a lounge singer. Now you can see a great 18 year old jazz guitarist playing with 50 year old veterans. The change it had to come. Well as rock progresses, so do we. What was current a week ago can be replaced in a second by an unknown internet act, it's an exhilerating time to still be playing. Long Live Rock-be it dead or alive.

What to say?

Sitting here, I realize all the nifty little things I thought about all day are missing.Now it's business for a while. Sit and practice. Watch some T.V.. Sit and practice. Not too exciting mind you, but that's often what an evening is. Part of it is to get to where I(or anyone) musically wants to be- a good many nights become that. The final result is worth it though, to make your own music and be creative in whatever style suits you at the moment is something wonderful,and if you get in a half decent band you get your beer for free.(Only AFTER the show mind you). I'm still wondering when the dates for The Who's shows will be coming out.I'm kinda hoping the longer it is, the more chance of catching them after the 4th of July becomes. I still remember the last shows very vividly- still nothing like The Who live. Well off to practice.

Monday and taxes and music

What a better combination than Monday and getting all the tax forms you need to do your taxes. I don't dread taxes as much as some people, and right now it's fairly painless since I don't own a home or have my own business. Our company , which is a small family owned company averages a call a day from the accountant.
Getting back into a band is fun, but a lot work can go into a good band. We'll be starting to practice twice a week for a while. Trying to get the originals together and learn some cover tunes can get to be a lot. On our myspace sight some people are listening to them, so that's encouraging. It's not me yet, but we'll be redoing and adding a couple new ones shortly. I think we,ll have some good tunes to put out there.
Getting older and playing also has some insights. You don't think like you do when your 21. I'm not sure if it's always good. It's hard to keep an edge when your mired in a bunch of daily living sometimes. I guess that's true of any career though and to live by my words,"What you put into something is what you get out"- I'm sure these aren't just my words but they are good to live by. SOOO, I will put my heart and energy into this project and hope the creativity that lives within will come out in my music.And love.

Who the Fuck cares. my thoughts

I hardly ever swear. I never use God's name in vain since my awakening. I thought of my ex wife tonight. I often still do. I read another entry of a loss. A loss I haven't dealt with yet. Any loss can hurt. Any loss can be painful. But you must always work through it. My brother said to me "You get through it, not over it"and that is true, sometimes you can only get through it, not over it. Life is what we make it. What we make is life, if you put only shit in your life and anger and hatred that is all you will ever have. I know not much, but I am learning. I hope for all. I trust my new band will be successful and that is but the tip of the iceberg. I oft pray for my children. I oft pray for the world. I am only 1 person and I often have doubts, but anyone must believe. Belief is the truth, looking around tonight as I saw others, it is often easy to read their thoughts. Maybe this is the ramblings of a madman but maybe it the ramblings of a sane man. Others can figure it out, in the meantime I will write some music and think of you.

Tuesday

Tuesday, finally have a couple minutes to catch up. Well I guess the band thing is going to go. By the time I got back on Sat. from practice we already have a myspace and another sight up. There's a couple songs on the my space but I'm not playing on them yet. There the old guitar player. As soon as my playing and a song or two of mine get up I'll try and put a link to the various sites where you can here us. Had to pick a name. We ended up with Roxxon, not my or anyone else's fav., but it seems better than some. It will be the first time that my own stuff can actually get recorded and put up for others to listen to and eventually we'll work them into our sets.
On other fronts, Ray Nagin? What is he talking about? A chocolate New Orleans- O.K.,let's see someone else say they'd like a snow white Miami or wherever, I'll be looking for him at re-election.
Jesus visited my blog the other day and was going to smite me until he(or she) saw I was cool with Leo Kottke, never figured a great 12 string guitar player would save me from a good smiting but I'm fine with that.
Well, I believe I must practice some of these cover tunes and listen to a new original that was sent over to work on, see what I can do with it. I'll have more soon, plus more on Pete and the way I've been still affected by his music.

Leo Kottke and John Mayer

Listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday the 13th

Not sure why I keep this up, But I guess it is a personal insight for myself. I often read the epic journals of others and feel I'm out of sync, but then again the fact that I have managed to start this and even post pics is a good sign. As the new band develops and I can start to have My music heard for once will it matter? You know what, I don't know! I think a lot about the people whom I have met through this, and found an insight to a lot of other thoughts and that's good. I am not a genius nor am I an idiot, I just decided through the power of the internet and, once again in my life,Pete Townshend,a way to express my thoughts and my joys and my hurts and my faults. No, I don't need a saviour, I need myself. I need only to learn through those around me and to listen and to help as I can. Don't Let Go the Coat? -Be well and to all that still follow, I think some cool music will be out soon. Might have a bit of a clash with the other band members, but I know what rock is.

Cheese

I was just making dinner. A lovely dinner at that. Shepard's pie. It's just ground beef and potatoes and a veggie if you want to through one in.To top it off nicely I like to add a sprinkling of grated cheddar chees. The real kind, not the stuff in a can. Well wouldn't you know it, I got the beef and the potatoes all in the baking dish and I'm yapping away with one of my friends,when oh crap! MOLD!Mold in my cheese. Have you ever tried to take grated cheddar cheese off of mashed potatoes? Let me tell you, not easy. I think my friend enjoyed it thouroughly though. Something to effect of eat it anyway. Well, there you have it. Mold. On my cheese for dinner, it was dated until Feb. too!I think there's a message here, but I'm going to discuss that later!

No Wonder I'm nuts

Too many women- looking at the pic of the current herd of women that compose my family, no parents are involved, I'm lucky to even have balls, let alone sanity. Love them all

Oh my Goodness

Kids

Kinda drunk, well that's the way it goes. How do I explain this?Not fucked up, just stressed. Do you have kids? I do. Started off after posting and had to meet a friend. Asked to go out for a drink.Well I don't swaer but I'm pissed off. My daughter called to let me know my other daughter from N.J. is in town. Well blow me down, I was in the middle of looking at a house for sale. Never get me wrong, my kids come first, but give me a heads up when my out of state kid is in town.Roommate got pissed off at me. Not even sure why, I never told my kid(who is 20 )that I was around. Maybe I'm a shit for not being the father of the year, but I'm also tired of being a shit for trying.What the hell am I to do? This was supposed to continue about Pete Townshend, not my day, but as usual my day intrudes eventually on my thoughts. So tired of being brought down by circumstances beyond my control. It was a day of togetherness, and if I can I'll post pics of the family-as extended as it might be. More soon

Pete Townshend

So, it was 1981 or so and I remember hearing a song in a style I never had before. I had been playing guitar for a couple of years-the Monkees had actually been the reason I picked up a guitar.Their TV show used to play on reruns and I was fascinated by Mike Nesmith. I had just gotten a job, since I had dropped out of high school. This was the end of Disco and the days when bands like AC/DC and other hard rock bands were the buzz,the beginning of the hair band crap that ruled for most of the decade, but here was this song playing on WMMR out of Philly called Don't Let Go The Coat. Not the usual introduction into the Who, but with them I guess there isn't a usual. Entranced and mesmerized by the clear guitar and the words that even today I am not totally sure what they mean, I believe Don't Let Go... is a British term, but the rest of the words were and still are words I began to live by. Who the hell was this genius that had written a song to describe the confusion of life as a late teen trying to find myself? Well, enter Pete Townshend, the Who had already lost Keith by then but the rumble of John Entwistle's unrelenting bass lines shook my soul as I discovered Who's Next, and still the ultimate live album Live at Leeds. Not a lot have ever done better and as I listened and learned of his style and became aware that his passions and life seemingly intersected my life when I needed it. The countless hours of trying to figure out how anyone could use synths like he did in Baba O' Reilly and the end that still gives me goosebumps as Keith Moon gets to the finale of that song-true musical greatness and I discovered it was Pete that wrote nearly all the music, not merely a genius, but a God. I have tempered that opinion somewhat, but only as I have learned that he is a man-Not God, but a man with a huge amount of talent and a need for people to listen. And thus I did and do. Pete Townshend- Long Live Rock! More of Pete and life later.....

More pics explanation

Well I can successfully put these pictures onto my blog, I still have to learn how to put them up with a caption. I figure I'm lucky enough to do this right now. 3 of the pictures are from the farmlands that surround Lancaster, easy enough to figure out. The one shows the traffic problems you must often compete with, the other is just a shot of the farmland and the one is one of the villages that have some rather interesting names.
Not sure what the settlers were thinking when they came up with some of these, the Village of Intercorse is right next to Blue Ball, go figure.There also is Bird in Hand nearby. I guess they might have had a little stress they needed to work out and just picked what was on there minds. I still find it amazing how many people come here to "look" at the Amish or Mennonites when we all live right next to them and work and interact often with them.
Now they're trying to put a slot parlor in downtown Lancaster, the uproar that is bringing is stupid. If enough people want to come and see the local attractions, let 'em plop a few hundred more into our local economy. Not sure how slot machines locally are going to create a problem when you can still travel 60 or 70 miles to Delaware and do it. I don't think I've seen that state fall into the ocean because a few people from PA. are putting their money down.
Lastly, Spooky is my wonderful Kitty Kat that has stuck beside me when a lot of others haven't. So, thanks for the little things that prrr or woof and still make a house a home.

More Pics

Lovely New Year

A cold. That's how News Years started and seems to be continuing. The medicine you buy in the stores usually make you feel worse than the actual cold-at least for me. I think they dump a mixture of alcohol and speed into a liquid and say it's gonna make you feel better. Ha Ha, maybe between the feeling of wanting to sleep 12 hours and then waking up and feeling like there's a small truck parked on your head. At least you can breathe! Until 2 days later when you decide that you don't feel any better anyway. At least they don't charge a lot for it.
So the guys I met are really into the band,talked tonight with the drummer
and I guess we'll get together this weekend to see about playing the originals and learning a couple cover tunes.
Arrested Development,that's one of the few T.V. shows I like and of course it's getting cancelled. Maybe some other of the 30 networks will pick it up.
Happy New Year- It's great to see the Rachel Fuller and Pete songs doing so well.