7/25/2008

Gonna sit down in the kitchen

get me something good to eat - not! But that's the line that opens the Friday Song, as it's known here in Mid MI. And it's Friday.

I can't get out early today and so I will be flying to get get cleaned up, load the stuff I need and get up to the gig tonight. For all of you "real and here" people that read - come on out to Westwood on the Crossing tonight. It's just off the Beltline about two miles west on West River Drive. The address is Belmont, for us that's North GR. Really need the crowd and honest, the music is great - the recordings are pitiful.

Studio time soon! I don't know how but it keeps coming around - almost - then falling off the map. They need it. The CD will sell, even if it's only to locals, it's a start.

And me? I busted butt on the yard, the drive, the patio and then ran out of string on the weed whacker, gas in the mower and can't find my hedge trimmer, the Bad Boy brother has my chain saw and so there is still much to do. But I got it started. Best Girl has been bailing for me but sometimes you just have to knuckle down and do it - like when you forget to write out a check for over a hundred bucks and can't figure out why the numbers don't match in the check book.....

Crap. So I stuck close to home this week and did the chores. The dogs love me for it. And I love the way it looks with the leaves scraped off the cement and the patio cleared of the greenery that didn't really belong there. Now I just have to have a big burn and get the stuff out of the upstairs, porch and garage that needs to be used for some weenies and smores.

There's always more to do. And I'm still getting the tunes from practice and the last live recordings sorted out. The hours are hard to find. Oh yeah, and I forgot to print business cards last night so I'm gonna have to run home and do some tonight before I leave - good thing the printer can run while I'm in the shower.......

Flying by and saying hi to ya'll!

   7/21/2008

Am I Blue?

nope, not really. Just suffering a little let down thing after a great weekend of fun with my friends. I got to see Smilin' Girl, her mate and kids, my neice, MoB and the Band, of course when we went to Woody's. That rocked! The owner was pleased with them again! Gotta love that.

Sunday MoB and I went to the fair for the West MI Blues Society competition and had a long, hot - but fun! - day. He soaked up the music like I soak up water. Man, it was hot weather and hot music. Bless the tent I cowered under most of the afternoon.

The bands were amazing and let us see just what tight is. The people in the bands were sweet, friendly, fun and having a good time.

I was totally blown away by the winner - I didn't think they'd even make the cut. There were so many bands with more soul it just depressed me and MoB both.

But I got a lot of good photos and have posted them on the bands myspace page. The title to this links there! Go have a look.

I gotta go back to work and then home alone again.....not liking it any better but I'm more used to it. Just don't know what will happen next.

For now it's back to work.

   7/14/2008

I hear Even Cowgirls get the blues

Had a good time at the rodeo. The staff there was very good and the volunteer rodies were amazing. They had us on a trailer that just barely cleared the gates. Those cowboys just picked us up and slid us over until we fit through it - wagon and all!


Musically we can do better but we did just fine, really. I'm always my most critical critic. I think I was a little lost being so far from my people like that. I'm used to working accoustic and close up. It was a long ways to the grand stand. Those we spoke with said it was okay. MoB got paid alright so it must have suited them.


Itty girl came along and got to ride on the wagon with us. I let her use my camera for the day. She had fun on the rides and getting a few prizes along with the fair food after we got done. We stayed until they closed so she could enjoy the fair.


Sunday we grilled out for the band rehersal. I handled the cooking a clean up so they could do that band bonding thing. It worked out well. MoB had a new song for them. They liked the bridge riff he worked out in it. The drummer had to leave early but the guitars have things they can work on without him so they stayed and pushed together some vocal harmonies and fancy licks.


It was great stuff. I had the recorder running and they built a song from a jam they started. I just have to dig it out and get the lyrics to them for polishing up.

The weekend ended. That's always the hard part for me. There just isn't enough budget for me to be there all week yet. The house is always emptier when I have been with friends. But I have so much to work on that the hours aren't wasted. I'd be ignoring people or not getting the projects done if I was up there all the time - so it's not all bad...

They are playing at Woody's in Bitely again this Saturday, for any of you in MI that might wanna catch some good blues and great food. It's a nice place. See the website on the sidebar to get the flyer. Check out the new myspace page for the band to hear some tunes. http://myspace.com/mobluzband

I went to the (I hate big stores!) a big store to get some photos printed and ran into a friend I had planned on stopping to see. We got caught up with each other and admired our photos. Saved me a trip, too.

Dropped off some stuff for the band and the drummer came over to show me his Harley, that was fun. It's a sweet looking ride.

Then home again, the hard part, again. But I'm making it and I'm busy and it's fun still.

See ya all around!

   7/11/2008

I wanna go home

I didn't spend the night in Detroit City, that's the good news. :) Hates big cities. I spent most of the night finally burning CD's. My burner is out in my computer so the boss let me take the work machine home and I'm getting the guys some working material. By hearing how they sound they can work up tighter and cleaner. Also we need a demo CD they can each tote around with them to look for gigs. That should get done Sunday, I hope. I have to cut clips for it yet....I'm beat.

It's not physical labor but it keeps me tied to a chair and thinking all the time. My brain is just tired. I finally got to bed about 2:15 this morning. I have to stop crammin' two days into one....

And my house is a disaster area. It's not cluttered and confused so much as dusty, dog haired and neglected looking. The Best Girl is going to mow for me again and bring Grand2 along to whack weeds. I had a lady over to get paving stones and those are out of the way now so I can mow closer to the shrubs, but all shrubs need trimming, too.

I'm coming to the conclusion that if I want to sell the place it should look like someone loves it...oh- that would be me. I gotta make time for chores this week.

It won't be this weekend. I'm heading north for rehersal tonight after work. Due to gas costs I will probably stay over and go to the rodeo from there tomorrow. Sunday is band rehersal and I want to have CD's to hand them so the a.m. will be spent making those. The afternoon will be cook, record and clean up and THEN head for home to do laundry, get stuff ready for work and burn the rehersal CD's so they can hear them.

That makes it Monday, by my math, before I will have time to get after the branch that is down and needs to be chain sawed, the trees that need the branches trimmed up so I quit whacking my head on them or the weeds in my herb garden.....

Conflicts. Wanna go out and play. Wanna have a house left worth something when I am done; either to be in or sell, whatever happens next.

MoB's grandson crashed on his bike this week and had surgury yesterday for a badly broken clavical. He appears to be dealing with it well from all reports, but it put a bit of a zing in the week for the whole family. A camping trip bit the dust and MoB went to down to be with the kids while the crash victim and parents went to the hospital.

It's been a rough week over there. Mine was lonely but do-able. I did it. His was very short on work hours and that has him stressed. In Michigan right now any hours are good, but people still need enough to live on and a lot of them don't have it right now. He just sounded discouraged last night on the phone.

I'm looking forward to getting up there and seeing how I can help. May be visiting the kids to see how "Crash" is, maybe Sunday on the way home. I know there will be grilling and music. Gotta get the "rodeo songs" together tonight.

Do I sound confused and busy? Good, then I represented myself well here today! (LOL!)

Later all, hugs to each of you and do it now, love the one you're with and find a smile in your day.

   7/06/2008

You can't always get what you want

but if you keep at it you can find something that will work just as well.

I have been photo blogging and recording the band to help them build a portfolio of their growth. Only I forgot the camera Friday and then the card for it on Saturday. The recordings have been made into MP3's but the burner wasn't working.

My Best Girl is watching the house for me and I took a couple days off work to extend the weekend. Gonna see #1son and family today for dinner, caught up on Eldest Daughter's blog, haven't heard from Scooter Girl but hear that bunch is ok. The nephew, B1son, got two vehicles fixed for me last week and helped out around the house. I fixed Mom's computer again. I still have the other brother's to add a printer to and fix.

And I've got four hours of wave files to convert.

See me later, right?

   7/02/2008

No Mo' Bluz

Thank you all for the encouragement. I need it. It's so easy to chicken out and stay miserable and alone rather than put yourself in a place where you can be hurt or hurt another. You know you can deal with miserable and alone. You've been doing it. It's a given that you can survive it. That makes it safe.

Both of us were dealing with that. But there is a "like" between us that gave us a promise of friendship from the start. We feel the same about caring for others. We have interests in common.

We both make music, ride motorcycles, fish, and like to think we're funny. I found out that, where I just like shiny rocks, he is a skilled rock cutter. He is sans tools after a sour divorce. They are expensive to replace. I kinda looked into it but it's out of my range right now. I hope they come around for him again. Making carbochons is one of his skills. Then I can find a shiny rock and he can make it pretty for me.

Neither of us knows how to go about dating or getting accquainted. We kind of skipped that part. We just started working on getting the band up and advertised, learning some songs and such, BBQ's with the neighbors and families and just sitting around talking.

There hasn't really been opportunity or finances on either part for "dating". We gotta pay bills and keep gas in the vehicles. The band is getting booked back every where they have played so far and that cuts into weekends - work days are hard to find time in. There are miles between us until one of us can find work and move.

It's a good thing we enjoy sitting around playing guitars...it's cheap until the strings break!

I think the hardest thing for both of us at our age is loosening up and changing our habits again. I know I have some entrenched ones from the mate and I. Some of them changed when he was gone and I have to cop to "I have" some entrenched habits. You get used to doing things a certain way and to put another person in the mix throws you off.

I made a run up last night to drop off some stuff for him. He and his girl were just coming in from fishing when I got there. I pulled over and hauled the stuff to the house for them. Later we had time to go over the website and his myspace I have been managing for him and check his email from the local wifi spot.

He made me smile. He saw a link for someone who built band websites and I said they'd charge for it. He said they wouldn't do it as well as I have. (blush). I was glad he liked what I have been doing. It's really a frustration to me that I can't get the music for sale yet. I don't know how to secure the files. I'm looking into it.

What has been best for me is that I am not alone. I am with people who are caring for each other and the strays that come along like I do. We like each other. It's been - fun.

A small word that at one time I didn't know if I could ever have in my life again. It's not highly romantic.

I wanted to reassure Fred and the rest of you that I'm not going anywhere I can't get back here. I just am really busy getting sites caught up and recording tunes right now. That meant learning new software and such. I been rammin'!

But my blues are fewer and my smiles are bigger and more often.

I'm well aware of how blessed I am to even get a chance to try for the brass ring again.

Thank you.