Gig report: 3/30/2023 Kathy Moore Band at Tim's Tavern

Hit the stage last night with Kathy for the first time this year. Raoul, her and I practiced once a week ago on Tuesday and it went all right. I brought the HOG to the practice and it was just weird, especially with the amp setup.

Yesterday, I spent some time noodling around on the HOG in the basement. Video evidence here: YOUTUBE LINK. It was fun and I liked what I heard from both amps. I decided to bring the Orange and see how it went.

Planets shirts were done so I picked them up as they were sort of on the way to Tim's, which is now in White Center, where Drunky's Two Shoes was. I got stuck in a 15 minute 1st Ave S drawbridge opening backup, but got to the gig in plenty of time.

Literally putting up the new sign when I got there

That's Elvis, the tavern dog

Kathy lives in Anacortes now and it took her 3 hours to get to White Center! Granted, the Mariners were playing their first game of the season, but still, that's crazy. She had also invited her friend, Kate Olson, to play sax on a few songs, and she was kind of winging it as she had not rehearsed with us, but had played with Kathy plenty of times before.

The first band to play was the Palatine Trio. Though there were 4 of them, they called themselves a trio, like a "baker's dozen," I was told. But I think they added a 4th member after starting as 3. They had a really tall singer named Zach, a very youthful bassist named Seth, and a very energetic guitarist named Lawrence. The drummer was mega talented, but I didn't get his name.

Anyway, off they went and though there were vocals, most of the music was instrumental. Seth played a custom Jazz bass, maybe a parts bass, through a SVT 7 Pro and a 410 (I think). He had a bunch of pedals and an effects brain. He had a really deft touch and it was clear he had been practicing his scales. I don't think he missed a note. He chorded, he did arpeggios, he picked. About the only thing he didn't do was slap.

The rest of the band was quite good as well. Tight, efficient, great at counting odd time signatures, but to me, ultimately boring. It wasn't a noodle fest, but it did seem overly complex for complexities sake. And their stage presence wasn't great. They sort of just swayed back and forth and gave us nothing to feel. Kathy liked them, which made sense; she was really feeling the space they were in, but I just didn't get it too much.

I did tell her that I wasn't used to being the second-best bassist in the room. This kid Seth was good. I told him afterward that I needed to take lessons from him and asked if he studied bass. He said yes, I said I could tell. He was super modest and nice, so at least there's that. He was also kind enough to let me use his rig, so I took my stuff up there and got set.

There's the rig behind the singer.

And there's Palatine Trio.

We took the stage and started playing. Kathy forgot to do setlists so I had my phone off the side of the stage to check song order. It was chilly in the space despite the ceiling-mounted heaters. I had my jean jacket on and I was wearing ski gloves before getting on stage, my hands were that cold. I wore my glasses as well, figuring it wouldn't be too hot, and to be honest, I was too lazy to put in contacts.

I was a *tiny* bit nervous about playing just because the kid Seth was that good. But where he excelled in being an incredible bassist, I was a better performer and an OK bassist. There were some moments of bad notes and wrong parts by me. After how tight PT was, I wanted to at least be clean there and for the most part, we were. Part of it is also not fully getting Raoul's style. He played a lot of flashy stuff that he normally doesn't so at times, it was up to me to stay stable and find the one.

Having Kate up there was cool, but I couldn't really hear her. She had a cool matte finish sax. And the pretty decent Thursday crowd was really into the music, so that was appreciated.

HOG-wise, the bass seemed to sound great. When Seth played through his rig, he had a real nasally, mids-heavy bridge plucked sound. Not my thing. I zeroed out his EQ on his amp and used my pedals. At times, I felt my bass had TOO much bass, especially in OMG mode. So I'd dial it back, but it was just loud! No one seemed to complain and the one video I saw in the wild, short clip as it was, the bass sounded really good.

Kate, Kathy, Raoul, some rando

The HOG makes its debut

The night ended with Shaina Shepherd singing with her band. She showed up fresh off of singing the National Anthem at the Mariners game. Pretty epic.

Shaina in the Jr jersey

She really has effortless command of the stage and whatever she's doing. She plays pretty much all the gigs she can and it shows. I stayed for about 5 songs before I was beat and had to head home.

Another successful show with Kathy in the books. Love playing with her and can't wait to do it again. Making connections and meeting people outside my circle is great too, so good times.

Next up: hoping 4/14 for PITO, but looking more like 5/12 with SG and then 5/13 with PITO.

This is a response to a TalkBass thread.

On wall, left to right:

• 1984 G&L L-1000 (acquired 3/2023, local brick & mortar)
• The why: because I didn't want to miss out on the black hardware combo of the bridge and the control plate. Plus it is older and something about that spoke to me (not a birth year bass). I have not gigged with it yet but I'm finding the lower action gives a lot of fretboard clank which gives it a really aggressive sound. Still learning it's sounds, but I am definitely smitten.
• 1996 G&L SB-2 (acquired 8/2007, eBay)
• The why: it was my #1 for years. Something about resting my thumb on that bridge pickup, dialing that bridge volume back a hair, and going for it served me well for years. It looks great, it sounds great and I adore that bass.
• 1999 Epiphone Thunderbird IV (acquired 3/2022, via TB/local seller)
• The why: I fell in love with a band last year called Elle Macho. Their bassist, the mysterious Butterfly Boucher, played a white Gibson T-bird and I fell in love with her sound, playing, and look. Thanks to the Thunderbird Club, a local TB'er had a Epi IV that he was willing to move for a fair price, so I picked it up. I've played it at a few shows with my originals band, as well as recorded it, and it definitely has its place, but recently, I'm thinking it's gonna be on the bench for the foreseeable future.

On stands, left to right:

• 2018 G&L CLF reissue L-1000 (acquired 2/2019, Reverb store)
• The why: If I remember correctly, I mainly wanted this bass for the color and the chrome control plate. I loved how it looked. I already had the SB-2 and I had GAS for more G&L. I ordered via Reverb and it showed up to Seattle in a snowstorm. Since 2019, it's been my #1 by far and until I can get the other L1K figured out, it may continue to be my #1. Lots of great gigs, recordings, pictures and rehearsals with this bad boy.
• 1999 Fender Mexican P-Bass (acquired 1/2022, Craigslist)
• I wrote about it here. Long story short, fell in love with the Etsy pickguard (vain) and the pickup/bridge covers, checked it out, brought it home. I just last week put rounds on it and it is really bright sounding now, but in an awkward position as I have the aforementioned new L1K, so it's relegated to the bench. But I will have to give it a fair shake, as, after all, it is a P and needs to be played.

NBD: 1999 Fender Precision (from 1/26/22)

Originally posted on TalkBass 1/26/2022.

I wanted a P and have been searching. I was gonna go with a LB-100 Tribute, then got a wild hair about wanting a Fender P. Found one I finally liked today, that had some nice upgrades. I contacted the seller via CL and drove 30 miles to check it out today.

He had flats on it and it played really nicely and sounded great through his Kustom amp. Paid him, got an extra pickguard from him, and brought it home.

Say hello to my new 1999 Mexican P-Bass, complete with rattle can finish (debating if I want to DIY to a Fullerton red), upgraded 62 Original P pups, Etsy pickguard, and chrome covers.

Truth is, it was the PG that caught my eye, the rest of it is just gravy.

The s/n indicates original color was a brown sunburst. I'm curious if stripping the black spray paint might reveal it?

Take a look!

Update to add:

I put roundwounds on it last week and it sounds gnarly. Trouble is, I just bought the HOG so the P's not gonna get a lot of playing time. Which means those strings are gonna sound zingy for a bit. But I do need to give it a chance because I think it can sound good.

Gig report: 3/25/2023 Sunset Grooves at the Ballard Elks Club

Last night was our gig for Loyal Heights Elementary School, an auction for them, held at the Ballard Elks Club. We were booked for a two-hour set, starting at 9pm. Trouble was, we had load in at 3pm as the prefunction started at 5pm. Which meant I had to leave around 2:30. :/

I got to the venue around 3:15, with two basses, amp, cab, pedals and change of clothes. I got loaded in and though there was a stage, it was clear that only Dusty and Eric would be up there. It was pretty small and enclosed in brick.

Dusty on stage

This was a show that we had to bring not only our own individual gear, but also the PA and lights. Sort of a pain, but it is what it is. We got all set up and I ran my amp DI to the mixer, but for some reason, despite getting bass to the mains, I got none in my IEMS. I could hear everything else, but no bass. Finally, we plugged the XLR into my Tone Hammer DI and then I could hear it. Weird, but we didn't have time to troubleshoot. I ended up not using my amp and cab on stage as a result.

I used the gold L1K as I'm still figuring out the HOG. Though it is shaping up to be a great addition, I think it might be *too* aggressive sounding for smooth grooves. I'll try again next week at practice.

With that brick enclosure around the stage, the drums reflected quite loudly off the stage, which went directly into our vocal mics in front. This led to some feedback issues, but not too bad. Dennis was on the mixer and did a great job making sure we sounded good. The main issue for me, which he couldn't really help, was hearing the drums back in my vocal mix (I had the drums turned off in my mix). But it was OK and I could hear myself fine.

After setup, it was about 5:30, so we needed to make ourselves scarce for a few hours. Dusty, Jen and I went to dinner at a fried chicken place down the street. Cookie's, I think it was called. Pretty tasty, so hot, straight from the deep fryer. Don't get the mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe get the fries next time.

With dinner done, we had another 90 minutes or so to kill, so off to Jen's we went. Dusty had bought a Yacht Rock board game so we attempted to play that. It was more entertaining trying to figure out how to play it than it was actually playing it. But it killed an hour or so. We ended up getting dressed, posting on Instagram, and then back to the Elks club.

Epic

Speaking of the suit, I found it for $9.99 at Goodwill a few weeks ago. I picked it up, then thought it would be too cheesy for the band. But I asked them about it and they were like, "GET IT." I went back for it and some high school kids had picked it up. The suit was a size M and the boys were likely a size L in the big and tall section. A few minutes later, they had put it down and I grabbed it. I put it on at home and though the pants were a little long, it was pretty much a perfect fit. Some quick research showed a brand called Opposuits as the maker and a retail price of $99.99. Only thing missing was a matching tie, but IMO, that made it too much of the same fabric.

Once we got back to the Elks, I got a quick compliment on the suit and we sort of hung out until it was time to play. Everyone was still in the auction portion of the night and they sounded like they were having a great time. If they started drinking at 5 and we were closing in on 9, not only were they lubed up, but likely ready to throw down. The auction ran a little long and we started closer to 9:30. I had posted the picture of me in the suit above to Instagram and my friend Jeff saw it, said he wanted to draw the suit, so half-seriously invited him. He messaged back and said he was on his way. By the time we started, he showed up and started drawing. Here's one of his pictures.

@drawitinone on Instagram

Overall, I think we played really well. Tempos were good, parts sounded pretty good, as far as I could tell. And the crowd loved it. It was a yacht rock/sailing themed night, and the people came dressed for it. And, oddly, there was a couple dressed as Hall and Oates as well. Not really sailing themed, but definitely fit our vibe.

Eric on keys got a shot from his vantage point

On the last song of the first set, Escape (the Piña Colada song), a woman in front of me (the one right above the bongos in the above picture) started looking at me. At first I thought it was a "rock on" or "awesome" type of look. But her mouth was moving. I couldn't hear her as we literally were in the middle of playing the song, but she ended up coming up to me and asking me if I was Chinese or Taiwanese. I can honestly say that that was the first time anything like that had ever happened to me on stage. What made it even funnier was that she kept asking me questions as we were playing. And then after the song during our break, she kept talking to me.

At this point, it was pretty clear she was quite buzzed, and in talking to her, I learned that we had attended the same high school (7 years apart); that she was of mixed Chinese/Caucasian heritage; that she had a sister who is a professor at Haley's college; that we grew up in nearly the same neighborhood. Anyway, that was quite entertaining and kept me from having a bio break during our break.

We started the second set and just like the first, people were into it. We did have some technical difficulties with battery issues on Jen's wireless mic, but Dennis was on it and got it sussed out eventually. And, due to the late start, we got the 20 minute warning about halfway through the set, which meant cutting about 6 songs. That was kind of a bummer, but at this point, not much we could do. We got to our last song, Don't Bring Me Down, and a woman jumped on my mic and said we had to stop, which was sort of lame, as we were nearly done with the tune, but we brazenly finished up (about 90 seconds later), and that was that.

All that was left was teardown, the lamest part of the night. We got everything loaded and headed out. I got home about 1pm, ate a couple cookies, and headed to bed. Here's some more pictures.

View when we showed up

New bass AAR, pt 3, PITO edition

The HOG made its way to Seattle yet again, this time to play with Planets. As with the Sunsets the other day, no one noticed, but this time, I let the guys know and they oohed and aahed over it for a few moments.

We made our way through our set and this bass just smashes. Something about the action and the clanking on the fretboard made the notes just jump out of the speakers. I played pick, as I do with PITO, and there was attack, clarity, definition and general nastiness. And this is on FLATS.

I'll keep at it and see how it goes, but definitely loving this bass a lot.

New Bass AAR pt. 2

Took the HOG to the Equinox Studios in Columbia City (?) last night to dust off the cobwebs with Kathy and Raoul. My rig for the couple hours was an Ampeg head into an Ampeg 8x10 fridge.

With the HOG plugged into my pedal board, I tried to run the amp with flat settings to see how it sounded. By itself, no band, it was really mids heavy, so I tried adjusting by boosting bass and treble, both on the pedals and bass itself.

As we started playing, sound was just wack everywhere. I tried with pick, I tried with fingers and I felt like I could barely hear myself. Maybe I just needed to turn up and let the others tell me if it's too loud. Regardless, it was hard to hear, buried under the drums and guitar.

I turned up a bit where I could hear enough, but maybe I needed to bring it up more. When the band stopped, I'd noodle a little and the bass by itself sounded great. Full, throaty, a little (hate the word) grindy, and ultimately great. This is on flats, remember, so part of me is interested in trying it out with rounds, just to see how it sounds.

Overall, it's gonna take me sometime to figure out the sound and in the mix with the bands, but I'm happy to take that journey. Will put it through its paces with PITO tomorrow.

New Bass AAR

Took the Hog to SG practice last night and to me, it did not disappoint. I don't think the mates even noticed and I didn't call it out. Using IEMs always makes it different and hard to assess, but via the IEMs, I liked what I heard. I noticed I didn't need as much OD as usual for the harder songs; the lower action of the Hog seemed to give me the clank/grind that the OD would usually provide.

The flats are interesting to play on. They seem "grippy" on my right-hand fingers. I'd feel like my fingers would trip every once in a while and get stuck. I felt like the end of the neck, by the first few frets, was easier to play. Almost like the neck is flatter than on the gold bass. Not sure.

And weight-wise, I almost wish I didn't know it was a little heavier than the gold one. It seemed to feel heavier, but I really don't know. I weighed (I HATE the idea of naming basses, but this makes it a little easier) Goldie and it (I am NOT giving it a gender) came in at 9.8lbs. Supposedly, the Hog is 9lb 10oz.

OK in the moment update. I just weighed everything. I jumped on the scales as is (everything on, etc) with The Hog, weighed in at 174.0. Just me, 164.4, making The Hog 9.6lbs.

I did the same with Goldie, same frickin results, 9.6lbs. Just for fun, the SB-2 dialed in at 9.3lbs, the T-bird at 8.9lbs and the P at 8.3lbs! Pretty surprising.

Anyway, all this to say, The Hog seems to be a fine addition to the arsenal. I'm debating whether or not to put a couple googly eye stickers on the thumb rest holes, or a band aid, or leave them. Who knows? But I'm definitely gonna ride it all week, with my rehearsals and show on Saturday. Old Goldie will definitely get played too, but for the time being, will sit as #2, at least for this week.

NBD: St. Patrick's Day Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day, or, as I like to call it, "New Bass Day."

Even though we are on a fixed income, even though I am unemployed, even though I can only play one bass at a time, today, I bought another bass. No one wants to hear how I justified it; let it be known that I'd had my eye on this bass for a few weeks now.

My #1 bass is a 2018 CLF reissue of a G&L L-1000 bass. I got it in early 2019 and it exceeded all my expectations. I love how it looks, sounds, plays, feels, everything. It's super unique and it is my baby. Over the years, I still love everything about it, but I started getting interested in modding the bridge and control plate. On my bass, they are chrome, and that control plate is one of the things that drew me to that bass. However, I knew that back in the day, G&L offered black hardware. Trouble is, they didn't have it available for sale and I was only semi-seriously interested. As in, I would likely never buy the parts and swap them on my bass.

Then, as luck would have it, a few weeks ago, I was looking at the Bass Shop's website and what do I see? A G&L L-1000, circa 1984, with black hardware! Not only that, but with a rosewood neck (my preferred style). It did have an eye gouger headstock (post-lawsuit), as well as screw holes from where a previous owner installed, and then apparently removed, a thumb rest. Nevertheless, the pictures on the website looked great and all I needed to do was play it.

But, alas, I was not in the market. I already had my aforementioned L1K, a '96 SB-2, a '99 Mexican P-bass, and a '99 Epiphone Thunderbird. I had a Reverend Thundergun that I sold recently, so, technically, my herd was thinned by one. So, instead, I just bookmarked their site and kept an eye on it, checking it regularly.

Fast forward a few weeks and my situation is still the same. No job, no need for a bass, but a tickle in the back of my brain about it. And then, I talked to a bass buddy the other day, who had gone to a shop and had his eye on a bass, only to find that that bass was sold. And that kind of stuck in my head as well. Like, if the Bass Shop sold the L1K, it's OK, it wasn't meant to be, I didn't have it anyway.

But, it's a vintage L1K. And it has the black crinkle hardware. And I already knew what a L1K could do. And I didn't want to check back on the Bass Shop's website and have that bass be gone. I went for a run this morning, had lunch, showered up and gave them a call to verify that it was still there... and it was.

About 35 minutes later, on the warmest day in Seattle in something like 150 days, I was in West Seattle at the Bass Shop, chatting with Jeff and plugging this bass into a little Fender Rumble amp. I brought my L1K to compare sounds thinking that if the 84 L1K wasn't substantially different sounding than my gold one, then there would be no need to get that bass.

Visually speaking, the 84 was in really awesome condition. No real dings or scratches for a bass that is nearly 40 years old. Yes, there are 2 screw holes, but I'm not too worried about those. Also, the main volume knob's chrome is worn, but that gives it more flavor, to me. There is light checking on the back of the headstock, but the mahogany body is in fantastic shape.

There were flats on the bass, but to my ears, it didn't do the sound any disservice. The action is low and a little buzzy, but super manageable and the sound through the little Rumble was really nice. But was it different enough?

I plugged in my L1K, and it had roundwounds on it, and yes, the sound was different. My L1K sounded good as well, but seemed a little more modern sounding. I went back to the 84 and it was girthier. It seemed thicker. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me. I don't think it sounded better, per se, but definitely different, and different enough to warrant a serious think about.

I kept playing it, and even took a LB-100 Tribby off the wall to compare. The LB-100 sounded nice, too, but it really did sound just like my 99 P, so back on the wall it went. I kept A/B-ing the 84 and my 18 and man, it was pretty close. Jeff did say from his vantage point across the room that the 84 sounded growlier for sure. I said that likely to the layperson, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference. However, to guys like us, it made all the difference.

After a few more minutes and more inspecting (seriously, this thing is almost immaculate), I pulled the trigger. Jeff brought out the OHSC (which is in rough shape), threw in a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys, and I was out the door with my 18 and my new 84 L1K.

I got it home and plugged into my Orange Terror Bass and Avatar 212 and put it through its paces. It definitely sounds a little darker than the 18 L1K. I'll be interested to hear it in band context next week, starting with the SGs via IEM. That should be interesting, but then I have Kathy rehearsal on Tuesday, PITO on Thursday and then an SG gig on the following Saturday. I should definitely have it dialed in by then.

Onto the pix! These first three are the pix I saw on the Bass Shop's site in the first place.

The next pix are ones I took at home.

Ratty case, will likely never use it but have it if I ever sell

Looks good in the ratty case

Eye gouger headstock. I wish it was the same
 as the L1K headstock I have, but oh well

The 18 and the 84

Work update time

Yup, still unemployed, but... like the sun outside right now, things are warming up.

RD update: nothing official to announce, but have been seeing folks. Seems like I'll be quiet one week, then have a couple the following week. Like last week, nothing, this week, a few calls setting up for appointments next week. So that's cool.

Other job updates: also nothing official. But...

I took a flyer on a job with a company, applying as a PM for a recruiter. They contacted me pretty quickly and after a quick informational, they wanted to shop me around. I have someone looking to hook me back up with MS if possible.

And then, from last month, an old work acquaintance, HG, had me come to her goodbye party, as she was laid off. Some extended family of hers own/run a local consulting company and she was kind enough and thought highly enough of me to make an introduction. I spoke with their rep yesterday and she is also shopping me around at MS. So that's cool.

And also, last Friday, I happened to look in my junk mail and I had a request for a phone interview for a job I didn't remember applying for. Turns out, it was for an EBC job at Amazon that I applied for in December, before my contract expired. Irony of all ironies. And I find it hilarious that with all my meeting with people and working on my resume, etc, the first place to reach out to me was the place I left and before all my resume edits.

Anyway, that interview is tomorrow and the prep for it started earlier this week. It's for a L4 position, full-time, and should be something I can do in my sleep. However, with Amazon's interview process, nothing is guaranteed, so I definitely need to continue preparing for it.

Let's see what happens. A job would be most excellent.

Gig report: 3/10/2023 Planets in the Ocean at Sleight of Hand Winery SODO

Show 4 is in the books? Sunset, Slim's Central, Substation and now Sleight of Hand Winery, so let's make it 5.

There's a local guy who is a huge PJ fan. His winery is in Walla Walla, but he has a place in SODO as well, where he sells his wine, has tastings and hosts bands. Embers played there in 2021, and Trey was kind enough to have us come back as PITO.

After our last show at Substation, we've been feeling pretty good. Lots of good feedback and it *sort* of feels like there's a buzz? Hard to say; I'm out the outside looking in but it seems like the music tastemakers in town may be talking about us a bit.

For this show, a sort of Seattle supergroup was playing after us. Richard Stuverud (a guy I was unfamiliar with) and the Bad Scene (made up of Kurt Bloch (who I am familar with) and his brother, Al (who I am unfamiliar with). I thought the three of them were a band, I think Richard has his own tunes, the Bad Scene are a separate band with their own tunes, and together they all have tunes.

Kurt was a founding member of the Fastbacks, a band I only know by name and couldn't name a song. But he's been around forever and I've played shows with him before. After some quick research, turns out Al is based in Virginia/DC area and may have flown in for the shows? Anyway, more on them later.

We had this show booked for a bit now, for a Friday, which started early, at 7pm. For whatever reason, I had a little anxiety during the day, not sure why. Maybe due to having to get there by 5pm or so? It ended up being just fine.

Note to self: next time we play SOH, bring some extension cords and a power strip. As it's not a traditional music venue, some of the normal music venue items are not available. But, as mentioned in my previous SOH recap, they make up for what they lack in other ways.

We got a soundcheck and then hung out and waited for the peeps and the other band to show up. Eventually, the place started filling up. I actually had at least 6 people there, and at least one other person who later said he had car issues. But again, more new faces, some familiar faces seeing PITO for the first time as well.

7pm came and we started the night. Robb asked if I wanted to create the setlist, so I did. The room was chilly and I didn't get to warm up a lot but luckily, starting with The Loud Silence, it was all about the groove for that song. In fact, the first three songs, TLS, Perspective and Decisions are all fairly chill, with Perspective being a little quicker. This way, we sort of ramp up and the warm up is built in. Song 4 is Fought a Bear and that's a bit higher energy, especially at the end. With Dust Cloud after that, maybe I need to rethink that for next time. It's fast and with an intricate bass rhythm, so that gets tricky.

I put Holiday Daydream next and maybe that's a good one to put in front of DC, as it's nice and slow. The songs after HD are Splinter, Panick Attack, Nomenclature and Darla's Song. Though PA has some fast bits, the ending is nice and slow. Nomenclature just pounds for the whole song, but since I play with Cass' bass drum now, instead of straight 16th notes, it's a little easier to play.

We got done and tore down. Robb got some nice words from another Fastbacks member, legendary bassist Kim Warnick. There were tons of photographers and people recording videos. As of today, there are some great pics from our pal Mike Mitchell, with hopefully more from another guy who I don't know, but saw with a bunch of pro gear.

After saying hey to Marci and Ann Ross-Clark and Brett and Elba and Aaron and Dawn (!) and Kim, it was time for RSATBS to start and, yikes, they did not disappoint. Both Kurt and Al had black blazers on over striped button down shirts. They sort of looked like college professors, but man, they thrashed like punk rock superheroes. Richard played THE SHIT out of his drums and Cass and I were just watching him and shaking our heads.

Al, the one member of the band without a Wikipedia entry, played an orange Epiphone bass and sang and was solid. He looked so out of place, but it was clear he knew what he was doing. Kurt was Kurt, goofy and wicked and just so fun. And Richard! As mentioned, he was fantastic and really went for it on every tune, it was something to witness!

At the end of it all, we got a decent payout, we played pretty well, and people seemed to really like it a lot. Had a lot of great comments and feedback by the end of the night, all our shirts were sold out. It's rare that I'll play a show and feel like we were not the best band on the bill. Last night, we definitely were the playing second fiddle to Richard and the Blochs. Great night!

Xbox stuff

I go through phases with the Xbox. Sometimes months will pass, and I don't even touch it. Other times, I get on a roll and play almost daily/nightly.

With Game Pass, there's always something to check out. I can't remember the last game I bought, but I am downloading games on a regular basis. Most recently, and I can't remember why, I downloaded Jedi Knight: Fallen Order, a Star Wars game, of all things. I am not a SW fan, but I think I downloaded it on a whim.

When I started it, it became clear that it was my kind of game. Action/adventure, lots of exploration (Tomb Raider and Division style), leveling up (rougelike style), and pretty decent storyline and cutscenes. I liked it so much that I am excited that the sequel is coming out this year... but on Series S/X only. May be upgrade time. :/

After I beat JK:FO, I searched Game Pass for games similar. Of course, there were the TR games, of which I started Rise of the TR again. And as great as that game is, it's not like a book for me, where I can reread it. For some reason, replaying a game doesn't have the same feel for me. Even though I didn't remember much of the first 30 minutes of ROTTR, for whatever reason, I didn't feel compelled to continue.

One game GP suggested was called Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I knew nothing about it, thought it may have been a fighting game, which aren't my scene. I fired it up and found it quite interesting. Aside from a few disclaimers (portrayal of mental illness, be careful; game save data deletion if character dies), there was no intro aside from production credits.

Senua starts on a canoe and makes it to shore and from there, it's walking and running. My first impressions were that it was gorgeous (so beautiful), the character of Senua was so detailed and visually appealing, and the game itself was super linear. There was exploration, but only in places that the game allowed you to explore. It took a minute to realize exactly what I was supposed to do: move forward, look around, examine monoliths, watch the story. Puzzles started appearing in the form of locked doors and visual clues, and a little further in, combat started.

Over the next few nights, I put in earbuds and listened to the incredible atmosphere and voice acting. The story was dark and disturbing and I couldn't help but feel for Senua and her trauma. As the game progressed, there were some pretty scary scenes and environments, and lots of long cutscenes.

Most interesting was once I finished the game last night, I did a deeper dive into the making of it and the story, etc. It was such an engrossing experience that I had a hard time with following and understanding the story, especially from the beginning. Thank goodness for YouTube and recap videos.

In the meantime, this game was released in 2018 or so and a sequel is coming out this year. And with my Xbox functioning, but seemingly on the fritz (the optical drive keeps auto ejecting), a new console may be on the horizon.

This is all without even mentioning HiFi Rush, another great game that came out earlier this year on GP. Fun, beautiful, sounds incredible, but designed for Series S/X and, though it runs on the Xbox One X, it is streamed, which, on WiFi, is only a so-so experience. Yet another reason to upgrade.

What's next on the list now that Hellblade is finished? Unsure. Will update later.

February recap

Let's see.

Tried to start a little business. More of a proof of concept, than anything else. In the month of Feb, I figured if I got a few calls, I'd call it a success. As it turned out, I had 4-5 calls, and made a few bucks. So that's good news!

No jobs have come calling, no interviews. Lame, but not unexpected. I did have lots of people reach out, as well as meeting with some people from the EBC to celebrate a former co-worker's departure. It feels good to see those folks; I'm still held in high regard over there and that is encouraging.

Book-wise, I finished 3, I think I'm at 6 for the year.

Musically, saw a few shows (Square Peg and Close Seconds, both Steve Reeves' bands; Kathy Moore and Thaddilac), played one show with PITO at the Substation (ugh). From that show, though, we seem to be making a name: people asking about us, seeking us out. Have some gigs to announce on the horizon that seem cool.

Not much else going on. Just going through day by day, trying to stay busy, manage our money, make sure we are taken care of. So far, so good still. Let's see what March has to bring.