How rare is a Blue Moon? It’s the second full moon in a calendar month, and occurs about once every 2 1/2 years or so. You want to talk RARE??? Once every 20 years or so, we have a Blue Moon on New Year’s Eve. That’s serious magic, friends. This year on New Year’s Eve, you should get yourself down to the Sunset Tavern in Ballard and see The Dudley Manlove Quartet. We’ll be playing a bunch of hits, misses, and some fun new material just for this event. Advance tickets are available and you are strongly encouraged to get yours immediately! This will be a wonderful night of fun with friends and we’ll look forward to seeing you there.
Posted in:
Music,
My Bands
I’m a Comcast subscriber and have made a few postings lamenting the state of their service, including Comcast, You Need Competition
As noted in recent online articles from TechCrunch and AppleInsider, there may actually be a competitor coming. It’s not that I wish Comcast any ill will. They simply provide a service without enough competition or choice, so consumers (like me!) are forced to endure aggravation including
- Overcompressed pixellated signals on the “HD” channels, downsampled to allow space for the hundreds of other channels I will never watch.
- Miserably slow menu systems. Is it truly impossible for Comcast to store a tiny XML file in my cable box? Why do I need to wait 15 seconds for another page of data to arrive?
- High prices without choices. I’d gladly pay 1/2 of my current rate to limit my reception to better-quality versions of the channels I actually watch.
If the Apple TV model actually manifests itself, I suspect we’ll see a long-overdue change in the delivery model. I am willing to pay a reasonable monthly fee for what I consume. If Comcast wants me to be happy with their services and products, they should encourage a little competition.
The music industry missed the digital revolution by remaining entrenched in an outdated model. Apple came along with the iPod: the perfect product at the perfect time, and saved the record labels from themselves. Is it possible Apple TV could do the same for television content? Comcast, now would be a good time for you to innovate…
P.S. After I posted the links within this article, The Wall Street Journal picked up the story as well. Not that I caused it. I’m just pointing out that this could idea could really work if Apple gets into the subscription market. Work out the DRM and I’m in!
Last night The 1 Uppers played at The Hwy 99 Blues Club in downtown Seattle. This was our first performance in this club and we had a great time. Sharing the bill were our good friends Purdy Mouth, who are sounding better every time we hear them. Our set was a 45 minute cross-section of favorite cover tunes and originals. This gig was the first time I brought my new pedalboard to a gig, but the only device currently wired up is my Line6 Pod XTLive. I don’t want to wire up the rest of the board until I receive my newly modified wah pedal and my compressor; both are expected to arrive soon, so hopefully I’ll be all ready to go on New Year’s Eve.
One of the nice things about the Hwy 99 Blues Club is that the stage is pretty good sized. For a six piece band, this is a significant consideration. It’s nice to have a little real estate to wander around in. I put my amp on a chair, which seems to change the character of its sound. Apparently the ground-plane effect from having it on the floor is rather pronounced, and elevating the amp above the floor has an effect on the low end. I’m going to try using a different type of amp stand that allows the amp to safely tilt back. This might help preserve the bass response.
We opened the night with “Three Picks”, a Lloyd Green instrumental that features Jon Hyde on the pedal steel. We also included “Sad Is The Lonely”, which features Kris Geren on guitar. The night went quickly and we enjoyed ourselves. It’s likely we’ll return to this club and play again. In addition to be a great venue, they have great food and a terrific selection of libations.
Posted in:
Music,
My Bands
I have long held the belief that “very few things in the world cannot be improved by the introduction of sea monsters”. It’s as true today as ever. The original Jane Austen text of Sense and Sensibility bears far too few reference to tentacles, Cthulhu, and ravenous water-dwelling horrors. Until now we had to read between the lines and infer the presence of the lurking aquatic menace. Ben Winters has thoughtfully corrected Ms. Austen’s unfortunate omissions, neatly revealing the crucial subplot.
Let the record show that I heartily appove of this book. It’s currently available as a paperback. Even if you don’t like Jane Austen or sea monsters (what are you… utterly devoid of culture?) the book is well worth reading just for the double-takes from fellow train commuters.
In order to help the finer details sink in, the co-author thoughtfully includes some discussion points in the appendix to the novel. Some selected gems:
2. In Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, painful personal setbacks often occur at the same moment as sea-monster attacks, suggesting a metaphorical linkage of “monsters” with the pains of romantic disappointment; for example, Marianne is rebuffed by Willoughby at Hydra-Z precisely as the giant mutant lobsters are staging their mutiny. Have you ever been “attacked by giant lobsters,” either figuratively or literally?
5. Which would be worse: being eaten by a shark or consumed by the acidic stomach juice of a sand-shambling man-o’-war?
8. Have you ever been romantically involved with someone who turned out to be a sea witch?
10. Is Monsieur Pierre a symbol for something? Name three other well-known works of Western literature that feature orangutan valets. Are those characters also slain by pirates?
– – –
Genius, truly. I already have my copy of Pride and Predudice and Zombies, which I’ll be reading next. And after that, I’ll get a copy of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Literature + monsters = better literature.
On Saturday The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at The Triple Door in Seattle. This is probably the nicest night club in the city and has a wonderful staff. We arrived in the late afternoon for a somewhat chilly load-in. Once we got set up and changed into our suits, we spent about 45 minutes taking pictures. We’ve been wanting to do a new promotional picture of the band for some time, and this seemed like a good opportunity for us to take a number of shots. Our friend Kristi was kind enough to come down to the club with her DSLR, and after reviewing the first bunch of her pictures I think we’ll have several very good ones for promo purposes.
The club has a backline of great gear available for bands to use while playing there, and I used the club’s ’65 Twin reissue guitar amp. This is a great amp and I’ve used in on numerous occasions when playing the club. For some reason it didn’t sound nearly as good as it usually does, and throughout the night I kept going back and attempting to dial it in. The tone was strident and flat. My guess is it needs new preamp tubes. My bandmates thought it sounded good, so perhaps this was just my perception of the amp’s tone.
This performance was a private party, booked by a corporate client almost a year ago. We performed three sets of material during the night, starting with a string of holiday hits. Once we settled into our more typical set, the audience began to dance – tentatively at first, but as the night went on the dance floor got more full. Nothing like great food, a few glasses of wine, and a fun band.
My pedalboard project is currently stalled while I await delivery of my Keeley-modded pedals. Rather than hauling the incomplete pedalboard to this gig I decided to remove the Line6 Pod XTLive and carry it in the old case. Since my wah pedal is one of the units being modified, I used to the built-in wah that’s part of the Pod. It’s actually not bad although the sweep is pretty big. It’s also a little strange to have my volume pedal be the wah pedal, since this means when I switch functions the volume is maxed out. I have a volume knob on my guitar, but it has a much different effect on the overall tone. Overall, I’m sure it stuff that others notice much less than I do. I’ve become so attuned to nitpicking about my tone that sometimes I obsess over things that probably should be below my threshold of concern.
One of my favorite things about The Dudley Manlove Quartet is that the band is composed of such wonderful friends. Hanging around backstage with this bunch is always a kick. Once we hit the stage it’s a three ring circus of music, humor and interplay. Playing music should be a joyful experience, and DMQ is a great example of how well that translates into a fun gig.
On Friday the 1 Uppers performed at the Skylark in West Seattle. Among the reasons to visit the Skylark is the tasty Mac & Cheese; at some point I’m going to dedicate a categorical thread to Mac & Cheese, but for purposes of this posting I’ll just say it’s mighty fine. We arrived early enough to get our gear assembled on the stage. Fitting a six-piece band onto this small stage is a bit of a puzzle, but we’re good at squeezing in. Jon Hyde and I formed an impromptu “Fender stack” by putting my Hot Rod Deluxe atop his Super Reverb. We performed a good cross-section of our original material and a few covers, starting with “Three Picks” which features the pedal steel. Also in the set was “Sad is the Lonely”, a fabulous instrumental tune written by Don Rich of the Buckaroos. Kris Geren positively slays this song and it’s always a big crowd pleaser.
We sound checked with “Ophelia”, an original song that we hadn’t fit into the set list. It’s consistently a hit, and a few people told me that was their favorite song of the night. I suppose that’s a good reason to be there early when the band is doing the sound check. One of the surprises at the Friday performance was our countrified rendition of “How Soon Is Now?” by the Smiths. It was fun to see the faces of the audience as they realized what song we were playing.
As always, the band had a great time playing together. It’s such a great joy to make music with friends, and this band is developing a distinctively original sound.
Posted in:
Music,
My Bands
The initial configuration of my pedalboard is underway. I’m taking pictures as I go, so I’ll have a detailed setup story to tell soon. The current status is that I’ve gotten the velcro applied to the pedalboard and to (most of) the pedals. I’m still waiting for delivery of 2 new pedals so progress is temporarily halted until they arrive. I’m expecting that before next weekend I’ll be ready to assemble the full system.
Initial learnings: industrial strength velcro is actually pretty strong. You don’t need much of it. I applied three generous strips of this stuff to the bottom of my Pod XT Live. Then I decided I wanted to move it slightly to the left. Removing it from the pedalboard was a bit of a challenge!
I just returned from getting my H1N1 innoculation. This particular vaccine contains a virus that is “genetically altered”. Mutant DNA = HELLO SUPERPOWERS!
Hey all… passing this along for a friend who is selling some gear.
As you can see from the list below, this is all top-shelf equipment and has been treated with care. I’ve included the seller’s email address at the bottom of the list if you’re interested.
- Raven Labs 2 Channel Universal Stereo preamp –mint condition $500—2 individual channels with EQ, or blend both channels into 1 output http://www.raven-labs.com/pages/products/usip/usip.html
- Raven Labs PMB – II Master Blender:, very small two channel, with eq, mixer/pre-amp http://www.raven-labs.com/pages/products/pmb1/pmb1.html $300
- SWR Henry the 8×8 cabinet (w/case) – $550 with flight case
- SWR Triad 15, 10, horn (w/case) – $550 with flight case
- 2(two) Euphonic Audio Cx3-10 Concert – 3×10”, with horn and tweeter. Full range tower design. With flight cases. $650 each, or take them both for $1100.
- 2(two) Euphonic Audio VL-110 – 1×10” plus horn and tweeter. With flight cases. $400 each, or take them both for $700.
- Switchblade 16 SoundSculpture $1000, 16 channel midi-programmable audio matrix with smooth crossfade between patches. precursor to this model:
http://www.soundsculpture.com/products/switchblade_models.htm#GL
- 2(two) Digital Echoplex’s, with one foot controller. Perfect condition. $800 each or $1500 for both.
- Electrix Repeator $600, the classic four channel looping device.
- Lovetone Meatball – amazing envelope filter, $500 http://www.lovetone.com/meatball.html
- TC Electronic Sustain EQ pedal – the classic $200
- Line 6 Bass Pod Pro rack, great condition $250
- Line 6 Filter Pro Studio Modeler rack, mint condition $250
- Roland VG-88 $250 (without GK pickup)
- Radial Tube Drive Classic $125. Nice stomp box driver.
- MXR Phase 100 (orange) $100
- Sans Amp Classic mint condition $125
- Boss WP-20G Wave Processor (GK pickup in, pickup not included) $125
- Boss AW3 Dynamic Wah pedal — $100
- Electro Harmonix Linear Power Booster pedal, vintage box $60
- Line 6 Pod $90
- M-Audio DMP3 2channel mic pre $40
For more information please contact tgweb@quodia.com
