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Showing posts from July, 2014

RFSC #30

So all throughout my blog blackout, Radio Free Song Club has been chugging along, putting out podcasts of wonderful songs by exceptional songwriters. # 30 has just gone up today, for your edification and enjoyment. Be sure and pick around--pretty much every episode has had incredible songs to present.

Anathema

The struggle We decided to bring bicycles to Lake Arrowhead last week, anticipating much family riding (like at our Chincoteague camping trips). We bought a brand-new fancy bike rack for the minivan which we felt would be a worthy investment as there are more bicycles to tote now. How exciting! The day we left on the trip, I extracted the new bike rack from its box and began the process of mounting it. In small letters in the instructions I discovered that, in order to mount children's and women's bikes on it, there was an (optional, unadvertised and, you guessed it, unpurchased) crossbar needed. So it went back in the box, and the old one went on. I am convinced that the ultimate anathema to anyone preparing for a family vacation is fitting bikes on a car bike rack. After our week with the extended family, we had planned to leave Lake Arrowhead for home at 7:30 a.m. so as to arrive in time for pizza/movie night in the air conditioned comfort of our own home. G

The new bass

I took the leap and got my first Fender Precision Bass a few weeks ago. (This, from the guy who's not really doing music anymore, right? Yeah. You can see how THAT is going.) A whole world opened to me by doing this. After a couple years of bumping along on a pretty-but-ultimately-not-completely-convincing Squier Modified Jaguar bass, I saw a blue P-bass hanging in my local Guitar Center at an unbeatable price. They gave me next to nothing for the Jag, but it really was of minor consequence; I knew I needed to upgrade, so I did. First, I found that I could actually 'walk' on the P-bass with almost no effort. Having tried to do that with the Jag, I had never been able to feel comfortable without using a heavy pick or my thumb ( ala Brian Wilson). The spacing between the strings on the P was so much more natural, and I was capable of effortlessly using my fingertips and coming out with a consistent and rhythmic sound. Can popping be far behind? Well, maybe not--the flat