New Band!!!

Well the pieces are starting to fit together. I found a really great drummer. We have been jamming for a several weeks now and the music is so freaking heavy it's awesome. We have not picked a new band name yet but have been tossing around some ideas. We have started the process of auditioning bass players and hope to be playing out by February.

I was a good boy this year so I got a "Big Muff PI" for Christmas and I can not wait to try it out at the next practice!!!

New House

Well It's just a rented town house but it's much better than the apartment complex we were living in. I could really tell you some horror stories about that place but I'll save that for another time.

I did not know moving could be so hard. You just do not realize how much stuff you have until you have to pack it all up in 2 days and move it out. We are still unpacking and probably will be for another month LOL.

Surprisingly we did not get any trick or treaters at the new place. We went all out and decorated and bought Lot's of good candy not the crappy stuff that some people give away but no trick or treaters. Things are just getting way to scary now a days I guess. If I had kids I probably would not let them go trick or treating either. It's just not like it was when I was a kid and you could run all over the neighborhood until late and come home with a giant pillow case full of candy.

Damn It's Getting Cold

It is getting cold and rainy. I don't mind the rain as long as it rains at night. I love the sound of Rain when I'm sleeping but during the day it's just a wet mess. As for Cold, I hate it. I really, really hate the cold. I hope the weather is not too bad for Halloween. I got some good stuff planned for the 31st.

Got My Gote!!!!

I just got a Tote Gote. It appears to be a 1960 model. I got it from this nice old guy out in Corbet Oregon. His dad was the original owner and it has been in the family every since. It's in a few pieces. But it looks to be mostly all there. I hope to have it up and running real soon, so I can hit the trails.

Sarah and I had quite the adventure trying to get it home in her little Chevy Cavalier. The Gote was stuffed in the trunk and poking through into the back seat and we had one engine in the trunk and another engine the guy threw in on the deal in the back seat. It smelled like gasoline all the way home.

S(lame)layer

OK I get my new guitar magazine and it's pretty cool because it has a really good article on Jimi Hendrix but! it goes down hill with the sycophant nut swinger ass kissing about Kerry King's new amp. I'm so sick of Slayer they are totally over hyped. They were never that good compared to Metallica (Cliff Burton ERA) They sound like Metallica but with out the cool Riffs and listenable guitar Solos!!! LOL.

They have just over done it with the Satanic Imagery and hype, shit Kerry are you a Satan worshiper or just pretending to be one to sell your music? If you are gong to talk the talk you better walk the walk. I suspect the later. Slayer Knows damn well with out the Dark Side appeal to them that their music would great on peoples nerves really fast and they would call them what they really are: Boring Unlistenable Crap all of their songs sound the same. If you are a good musician you don't need to act like a Tuff guy or a Satan worshiper to make people like you, you just need to write and play great music. Speaking of Tuff guy poser what the heck is with those dumb ass chains that Kerry has hanging off his belt? at least with Zakk Wyled it's actually his wallet chain. And the Spiked arm band? man that's just so Black Metal gone wrong it's not even funny.

People seem to think that by saying that they listen to Slayer that it's intimidating or something. I just feel sorry for you, when I hear that some one listens to Slayer I think they must have had A) a bad child hood B) a punctured eardrum or C) have never owned a record collection with any decent bands in it.

Here is something that a Slayer fan once said on a chat board. The thread was about some sort of family oriented pirate convention. The Slayer fan posts: I ought to go down there and hand out hand bills wearing my slayer t-shirt. Do you really think that is going to mean shit? It's not like some dude in a cheesy t-shirt is going to scare anyone unless he has a gun let alone convince them to come to your showand. He should be wearing his own bands t-shirt while handing out fliers not hiding behind Slayers.

I think Slayer for some kids is like the dark cloths and makeup for the Goth crowd, it's something to hide behind. I don't mean hide behind because they are physically weak but because they want to hide their emotions and feelings.

Slayer fans will say: Well Slayer puts on a super bad ass heavy show. Well so did the Who and they also made great albums and did not have to hide behind a Tuff guy image and Satanism. Hell Pete Townsend just wore work cloths on stage and they were still a hit because the music cut through based on it's own merits.

I'm Still Alive

"I'm Still Alive" so said Eddy Vedder in the Classic Grunge anthem of the same name. So am I, that was the first Grunge song I had ever heard. I was instantly hooked and from that moment forth I had to listen to every Grunge band and song I could. Over the years that song has given me great pleasure and different meaning. I can remember playing shows at the Arnada Cafe with my old band and we would all play pool in the back room and load up the Juke Box, When "Alive" came on we would all start singing some time 2 or three other bands would sing along with us as we played pool. It was one giant Rock N Roll chorus, I wish I could have gotten a tape of that, it makes any Rock Opera I have ever heard sound weak by comparison.

I still get inspiration from that song. I was listening to it today and thinking how awesome that phase 90 sounds on the solo, so I thought what they heck lets try that on my bass and man what a sound, I think it sounds better on my Bass than on my guitar.

Tote Gotes

Tote Gotes, yep that's how it's spelled. They are like those old time minibikes that kids used to build but they are bigger and for hunting. My Dad and Grandpa used to build them back in the 60's and sell them to the local hunter dudes. Every since seeing the pics of the ones they built I have always wanted one. Sarah thinks I'm nuts, she can't understand why I would want some old tote gote instead of a more modern motorcycle. I don't know, I just know I like them and want to get one and take it up to the mountains and see just how far I can get into the wilderness.

check them out at http://www.totegote.org

Painting Guitars

I got out the old B.C Rich Bass the other day and dusted it off. I have had this idea of forming a Bass-Drum duo or even a Bass-Drum-Keyboard power trio. Something super freaking heavy!!!! anyway I thought It would be cool to have one of them psychedelic paint jobs on there like Eric Clapton had on his SG in Cream. Since Sarah is an artist and always looking for a new project I asked her to paint it for me. Sounds simple but it's not. So many choices colors, textures patterns. I just showed her a pic of the Moody Blues Days of Future Past and said "If you can make it look like this I'll be stoked. Now for the really hard part she is going to paint it but I have to do all the sanding and prep work. :-( I hate sanding but it will be worth it.

I have not played my bass in a long time. I'm really enjoying it. I got to be careful not to blast the neighbors away with it but it has been fun. Well got to go grab my Six string and practice, I got another bad ass session tomorrow with Destroyer and Ray!!!!

Making Music Again

I had another really great jam tonight with Ray, Stephen and Bill, we worked on a song Ray wrote and did lots of cool jamming. We even played "Sunshine Of Your Love" Ray and I have been wanting to jam on that together for a long time. I just can not get enough of that old Cream sound. It was a total blast. I'm looking forward to the next session.

Myspace Total World Domination?

What is up with everyone and their brother on myspace? I'll admit I have a myspace page, but I still have a regular dot com that I own and operate. I see many bands now that don't even bother with a dotcom now a days. I guess they are playing it safe In case their band breaks up. That way they do not end up owning a worthless web domain.

What is disturbing is that myspace is monopolizing every aspect of bands online presences from song hosting, video hosting, blogging etc. I got this blog just because I was sick of the lame myspace blog and I just don't want all my eggs in one basket anymore. What if myspace decides to delete you for TOS violation? yep that's right your whole web presence is gone and you are not even used to email anymore because you do all your messaging on myspace.

I also hate the cookie cutter aspect of myspace, sure you can "pimp" out your page but you are only using the same basic codes as a million other dorks and there is really no surprise, you just end up with a slow loading cookie cutter page.

Just my two cents

My Stereo

I was rocking out today to "Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan I had it cranked up through my Peavey Bass Head and Black Widow cab. I guess I have lost all Idea of what was loud until I walked down the hall and to the bottom floor of the apartment complex and realised I could still hear my Stereo quite clear LOL!!!

One time I had this dipwad neighbor that was always listening to his stereo loud at odd hours of the day. Well I decided to join in on the fun and put on "Back In Black" and cranked it to full concert volume for about 20 minutes until things started rattling off the shelves at which point he had tuned off his radio and never cranked it up again.

I don't know if I can ever go back to a "Normal" stereo system again.

Brainwashing by School Teachers

I was reading the new "Guitar World" Magazine the other day and it had a huge article on this Norwegian Black Metal band. I wont say their name because they already get more attention than they deserve. The article was very disturbing. Members of the band had been put in jail for burning down churches and they were all Friends with known murderers and other church burners yet they were getting hyped up in this magazine like a bunch of misunderstood youth. That's just total crap, there have to be at least 10 other Black Metal bands more deserving of this amount of Ink from a huge magazine such as Guitar World. Oh but no they need to waist our time talking about some idiot that used to burn down churches. Note: I do not believe in violence or advocate it, I also do not advocate the destruction of property. So read what I have to say carefully before you go flying of the handle. This guy was totally stupid. Here is why: They don't make you go to church (well except for your mom and dad) you are not in church every day. If you don't go to church you can still get a good job. Are you getting were I'm going? yep that's right if you are going to be mad at some sort of institution be mad at the public school system. If it's so great then why do they make you go? They own you ass from the time you are 5 to 18 for 185 days every year. This is were all the brain washing starts. This is whats dumbing down society. Sure you might be able to spell and do math but are you any better off than the home schooled kid or the private schooled kid, or even the drop out? at least they can all think for themselves. You think you can think for yourself but just about every time you need to think about something in your life that really matters like: politics, money, sex the answer has already been implanted in your head by an over paid school teacher. You don't even know how to think anymore. They screw your mind up so bad that you can only parrot back pieces of information, but you long ago lost the ability to think. Teachers have one of the strongest if not the strongest unions in the world. Wonder why? because they are full of crap. If they are so great why do they have to use our kids as hostages in pay negotiations, why do they blackmail taxpayers? they act like if they don't get their next cost of living increase that little Johnny is going to become a "drugged out sex crazed looser". That's just not true. My Dad worked for 30 years and only ever got one cost of living increase. They do a terrible job of teaching our kids just look at the kids today. Private schools do a better job with less money than public schools ever do.

I was watching a Vietnam Movie the other day "The Green Beret" and they said that when the NVC came into a village the first people they would kill were the school teachers. I used to wonder why. I know now, that school teachers are the propaganda ministers. Everyone worries about some Bogeyman that controls the strings of the masses behind closed doors but the public school teachers are doing it right in front of our eyes. Please note I don't condone violence as a way to stop this. you need to hit teachers were it really hurts them in the pocket book. Stop their pay raises and when most of the pseudo intellectual brainwashing teachers have long since quite we can restock the schools with people who actually care about teaching not making money and long vacations. I could go on and on about it but I'm just saying if you are going to hate and institution and it's leaders hate the public school system.

I leave you with a little paragraph about Eric Hoffer and what he thought of Schools

"Hoffer saw in this exaltation of nature another aspect of intellectuals' elitist "distaste for man." Implicit in much that they say and do is "the assumption that education readies a person for the task of reforming and reshaping humanity -- that is equips him to act as an engineer of souls and manufacturer of desirable human attributes." Eric Hoffer called it "soul raping" -- an apt term for what goes on in too many schools today, where half-educated teachers treat the classroom as a place for them to shape children's attitudes and beliefs in a politically correct direction. This is creating the next generation of "true believers," indoctrinated with ideologies that provide "fact-proof screens from reality" in Hoffer's words. It is the antithesis of education."

I'm Back!!!!

Well I'm back. I'ts been a long time since the Ol' Spookster had a blog. A real blog that I shared my thaughts and opinions with the public. I must admit I have been laying low for a while partly do to my work and partly do to some Health issues I have been dealing with.

The time off has given me lots of time to reflect on things. I used to have a site called "Portland's Loudest News" I gave that up. Some people were really sad to see it go but not me. Too many winey little punks trying to get me to do their dirty work for them. This blog is all me baby and I ain't gonna pull any punches. It's time to stir the pot again.

Stay tuned for more...