On Watching Sonic Highways Reminisce on The D.C. Punk Scene Tonight...

I loved that "DIY and if you love it, go with it" ethos. It reminds me of Madison, WI on so many levels. Being that near such a big university, there was never anything I thought I couldn't do.

Ok, maybe I'm never going to be good enough to play a 5k crowd, let alone 50k, but who gives a shit? If you love it, you do it what you can, when you can, how you can. You be creative and wild and woolly and just go with it.

I'm not great at music. But I love it. I can make some horrible noise and some OK noise. I can do my own album art. I can record stuff on a laptop and make CD's if I feel like it.

One of my best friends in high school exemplifies that. He embraces weird, funky, and comedic with a sheer determination and subterranean genius that no ine can deny after they dig in and listen. (Art Paul, that's you.)

So I loved tonight's Sonic Highways for its spirit.

Rock on,

Dan

Totally.

Neil Young's Pono music store has more than 600K songs 'ingested,' downloads are another matter | Network World

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2835694/neil-youngs-pono-music-store-has-more-than-600k-songs-ingested-downloads-are-another-matter.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2014-10-20#tk.rss_all

I Want To See Your Smile | Indiegogo

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/i-want-to-see-your-smile

Aretha Franklin’s version of Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ will blow you away

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/09/aretha-franklins-version-of-adeles-rolling-in-the-deep-will-blow-you-away/

Willie Nelson and Neil Young Come to the Aid of Bold Nebraska

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/26024-willie-nelson-and-neil-young-come-to-the-aid-of-bold-nebraska

This Is The Only Version Of “Stand By Me” You’ll Ever Want To Hear Again. It’s THAT Good! | The Mind Unleashed

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/08/version-stand-youll-ever-want-hear-good.html

In Two Weeks...

Electro Harmonix Micro Synth: http://youtu.be/T7jcnuN9vAw

Led Zeppelin unveil two previously unheard recordings | The Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/23/led-zeppelin-unveil-two-previously-unheard-recordings/

Cyborg drummer able to establish 'intimate connections' and play with the dead | The Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/10/cyborg-drummer-able-to-establish-intimate-connections-and-play-with-the-dead/?onswipe_redirect=no

Classic Albums Live Plays Beatles' "Abbey Road" 100% Live, Note-For-Note...

...with the exact same instruments and equipment the Beatles used to record the album: This is NOT about personas, backdrops, sets, outfits, or fluff. This is about the music, and nothing but the music. This crew played the entire album, studio-quality, for their first set. Not. One. Mistake. Their second set was a wonderful mix of Beatles' ballads and pumped-up psychedelic rocker tunes that had the audience up for a full-on standing ovation. Their encore consisted of my personal Beatles favorite, "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," AND "Twist And Shout." On the last song, the audience was dancing in the aisles. The warmth and richness of being able to hear every sound, combined with the studio-polished perfection was absolutely phenomenal. The only thing better for audio quality would've been being a fly on the wall in the studio for the last take as the Beatles recorded each song. 11/10, I shit you not. And only $45 bucks. My wife gets a total score for catching this one.

http://m.torontosun.com/2014/01/29/classic-albums-live-digs-deep-into-the-beatles-abbey-road

Dan

Cathy's 70's-themed Birthday Party And The Rest Of The Evening...

We had a blast at Cathy's birthday party. I think she had nine lava lamps, probably as many sprigs of lit fiber optics in color, color disco lights, 70's music with a dance floor, 70's band posters, (and Farrah in the red swimsuit) food, and open bar. It was in the wood-paneled basement of the local VFW post. Perfect! We danced our butts off. They even had a vircle dance! People were all dressed up too. One gal had on flower power bell bottoms. A guy had the white Saturday Night Fever dance suit, and the moves to go with it. What a Blast!!

After that, we came home and watched a Dr. Who episode. Then my Honey went to sleep, and I took my rose-red Strat Rosalita down to the underground parking garage for a test drive of my brand new Roland Cube 40XL amplifier.

Friggin' AWESOME!!! BEST. PRACTICE. SESSION. EVER. That amp sounds fantastic! He gets a name: Mario...after Mario Lanza, who my Sicilian grandmother (Noni) loved to listen to on one of those old suitcase record players.

I am just totally thrilled! What a super, super night...I am going to be itching to practice every day now!

Dan

Roland Cube 40 XL amp just came home.

Garage. Strat. First noise...*cheezin grin*

Nearly-Completed Pedal Board

Completed pedal board. The only thing left to do is mount about 8 circular rubber door stops underneath so I can set it down on concrete without damage to the brass.

Rock on,

Dan

Effects Pedal Board Concept

Epilepsy drug turns out to help adults acquire perfect pitch and learn language like kids | The Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/06/epilepsy-drug-turns-out-to-help-adults-acquire-perfect-pitch-and-learn-language-like-kids/

Lou Reed’s death leaves dwindling number of rock icons | The Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/10/29/lou-reeds-death-leaves-dwindling-number-of-rock-icons/

Linda Ronstadt says Parkinson’s stole her voice | The Raw Story

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/24/linda-ronstadt-says-parkinsons-stole-her-voice/

*This saddens me. Linda had an exceptionally pretty voice. - Dan

1963 G.E. RP1530 / RP-1530 Portable Stereo Turntable Manual

Click on images to view full-size.

My grandmother listened to Mario Lanza on this when I was very little.

Guitar Song: Facebook Blues

I just recorded a new song called "Facebook Blues" after a post by my friend Cande about not being able to load her friends list. It was recorded with Audacity 2.02- and I figured out a trick to get rid of the playback audio / sideband delay that was making vocal track recording a real bear. Mute the track you're recording, duh.

Of course I recorded it with my rose-red Strat, Rosalita...and a 4-watt First Act amplifier from Toys-R-Us, $30.00 and the size of a hard-cover book, so really portable for practice or impromptu works like this.

Here it is: http://www.whizzyrds.com/Facebook-Blues.mp3 - 320 kbps audio.

Rock on,

Dan