My basses: the high school years

Today's my day off. I dropped some junk at a local recycle place (3 computers, monitor, TV) and of course stepped in the guitar shop next door.

Hanging on the wall was a beautiful orange/white G&L SB-2T. I played it for a few and really liked it. But for $1300 or so? I will just have to slum with the SB-2 I have now.

It got me to thinking, though. What basses have I had over the years? Do I have photos?

Well, lots and yes. But I'm too lazy to look for photos of all of them so off to the web I go.

Ibanez Soundgear.

Me and said Soundgear at my high school graduation.

My first bass was an Ibanez Soundgear that my parents got for me out of a Musician's Friend catalog. I must have been a sophomore or junior at the time. Played it for many years. It ended up being with me at least until 1995 or so. I think I gave it away in the early 2000s.

Kramer Fretless bass. If you look under the bed on the first picture above, you'll see the case for this bass!

Somehow I thought I needed a fretless bass. I got a model like this from a local music shop. I remember the forked headstock and the metal down the back of the neck. I also remember the giant black knobs: clear plastic with numbers inside. The bass was super heavy and I could never get the intonation right. I don't remember what I did with it, but it's not part of my life anymore.

Kramer acoustic bass

Weirdly, friends and I thought we'd be able to busk at markets to "get our music heard." Rather than lugging amplification around, we'd use acoustic guitars. Hence, the acoustic bass. For some reason, I think the one I had was a Kramer as well, but I can't honestly remember. This bass I didn't have for too long.

Hohner headless bass.

I first became obsessed with Rush during my sophomore year. I had heard Tom Sawyer before, but I was 9-10 at the time. When I played in a band called the Roundabouts in my sophomore (?) year, we did some cover tunes (So Lonely by the Police, Jet Airliner by SMB, IIRC) and for some reason, I was reintroduced to Rush. And then when I saw Geddy Lee playing his little Steinbergers and I saw a copy at that same local music store (was it MusicWest? I can't remember), I had to have one.

This little guy was tiny and sounded like crap. Then again, I had a crappy amp (still have it: Peavey Basic 40), and didn't have any clue (still don't) on how to get good tone. I loved the little kickstand you could use to play the bass while sitting down. It also had a XLR output on it for those times when you wanted to go direct to the board. That bass somehow ended up in the hands of an old bandmate. I don't know if he still has it but I'ma gonna ask. Maybe it'll make its way back to me.

Of course, knowing what I know now about basses, I wish I'd have "borrowed indefinitely" the basses I played in my HS jazz band. Every morning, I'd show up for jazz and play either a Fender P or a Fender Jazz bass. At least I think there was one of each. There definitely were 2 Fenders at my disposal. There was a big ol' Fender Bassman amp and cabinet, too. I'm sure they've all been put out to pasture by now.

I think those are the basses I had in high school. It wasn't until I got out of college that I graduated to other basses. I'll write about those next.

Talking about hair

I've been growing my hair out for awhile now. That's not to say I haven't gotten it cut; I get a trim every now and then.

These days, it's pretty long. I haven't measured it, but it nearly hits the middle of my back if I pull it straight. I usually wear it in a ponytail or some sort of bun.

I've always been fascinated with how people can put their hair up so effortlessly. I mean, I can do it too, but it never looks how I want it. Even Haley just twists, tucks and POOF! Perfect bun. The girls at my work, too. They do the same thing and their hair always looks good.

Me? It's hit or miss.

Laurel sent me a link to a video of a woman doing 6 different types of buns. All of them look awesome (though quite girly; I might be able to pull off one of them), and the model makes it look SO EASY.

I just tried twice and it looks like a small bird has made a home on top of my head.

Maybe tomorrow will help. I have a haircut scheduled. I'm planning on having Michele layer it, and probably more importantly, trim my awful sideburns. Ugh.

I'm hoping the layering will allow me to wear my hair down from time to time. Currently, if I do that, it's all one length and looks weird.

What I refuse to become is the guy with the long hair simply for the sake of having long hair. There's a dad in Riley's old boy scout troop who had hair to his waist. He always carried a DSLR around shooting pictures of his sons and the troop. He had no business having hair that long. It was like having a giant spoiler on the back of a Toyota Prius. Totally uncalled for and unnecessary.

I don't want to be that guy. I'm always asking for validation and I think people aren't just telling me what I want to hear.

Map stalking my old houses

I was cleaning downstairs the other day and found a copy of my birth certificate. On it listed the apartment that my parents brought me home to after I was born in 1972. I don't actually remember that home, of course, but seem to remember from pictures I may have seen sometime in my life.

I sent the link to my internet-savvy mom, who confirmed that it was the place I went to first from the hospital. The place is actually for sale and is near the Ohio State University campus.

Not great pictures, but downloaded from Zillow, except for a screen capture from Google maps.

From there, we moved to an apartment about 5 minutes northeast. It appears to be across the street from the OSU School of Law.

I
t looks like these apartments are now mixed use buildings, one of which houses a Jimmy John's (or, if you're feeling fancy, a James Johnathan's). If JJ's was there when I was a baby, we may have never moved.

A few years after that, we moved to Dayton, OH, into a real house! I have very slight memories of this place. Mainly that it was across the street from an elementary school, and also that it had a wraparound driveway. The driveway was at the side of the house, and you'd have to go around to the back of the house to park.

We left this house sometime in '77 or '78. My baby brother was born in March of '77 in Dayton, but I don't recall how long we stayed before moving to Bellevue. From this house, it was to the house I lived in until I graduated from Newport. Mom still lives there now.

After HS, I stayed at the dorms at the UW, then an off campus apartment in an old house. I don't have any pictures of those places handy.

And then, in '95 or so, it was into Newport Hills, to the same house I'm posting from now.

I can't believe I've been here almost 21 years. Hay mentioned that I've moved more than she has, which is true. She's never moved!

At this point, I can't imagine us moving, anyway. We love the neighborhood and the house, too. It would be hard to move and start over. Besides, we wouldn't be able to afford it right now. So, we'll just make ourselves comfortable.

10 years!

10 years ago, I bought a car. I documented it here: link

I can't believe I've had this thing for 10 years. I was pretty stoked when I got it. These days, I'm stoked when I can get the electrical to work.

Since I've had it I've made a few changes. The original owner had put a cold air intake in the engine. When I was out of work, I needed money, so I took that thing out and sold it. I think I got 200 for it. So, actually, I made that one change. I can't think of anything else.

Couple other stupid things about this car. Every 2 years, I have to pay to pass emissions. $150. It never passes (3 things are tested, always fails one), so I pay the $150 to waive it. My local garage said that they think it's a carbon build up inside the engine, that it would cost about $2000 to fix, and even then they wouldn't be able to guarantee that would do it. So I drive around with an idiot light for that.

There's another idiot light for my seatbelt. Something like a seatbelt tensioner is not working. A shop quoted me $200 to fix that a few years ago. Seems like my seatbelt tension is fine; I've never noticed any issues with it.

A few years ago, I started noticing weird grinding noises when I'd step on the clutch. I forget how I came up with the diagnosis, but turns out my wiring harness by the ignition switch was melting. Apparently this is a problem with some VWs and it was a problem with mine. I ordered the parts off of Amazon (it was cheap) and went about fixing it.

That lasted about a year or so. The second harness started melting again. Most of the electric components (wipers, signals, radio, HVAC) would stop working. Most times, a whack to the left of the steering column would get everything back on. But eventually, the whack stopped working. The garage said to fix it, they'd likely have to pull all the wires and replace them at the source. That sounded like a major pain, so I recruited my pal Kyle on New Year's Day 2015 and we soldered the bits and pieces back together. All the wires are now exposed, because to remove the cover from the steering column is a major pain.

These days, it's over 100k on the odometer, having flipped over last May. It starts every day, but the electrical is still suspect. I have to give the wiring harness a nudge to get everything working. I had the oil changed for the first time in over a year about 2 months ago. It hasn't been washed since last summer, I think, when I had the kids wash it. New tires went on shortly after Kyle and I worked on it last year.

It's always gotten me to where I need to go. It still holds all my band gear in the trunk (though it's empty now; stuff is at Cain's house now). It's still too small, with the kids getting bigger. Anytime I need to take them anywhere, we're all stuffed in there. But it's been by my side for a decade now, and it's the longest I've ever owned a car.

I plan to drive it for 2 more years. After that, Haley will be 16 and I'm hoping to give it to her. It's paid for, and it will be fun (will it??) to teach her how to drive stick. It'll be the perfect student car and it'll actually be a cool car for her to have.

Plus, it'll be fun for me to get myself another GTI. Or something.

Riley and I at the Museum of Flight!

Several weeks ago, a customer and I got chatty at work. Turns out that this guy was a docent at the Museum of Flight. I mentioned how we had a membership a few years ago but hadn't renewed and hadn't been back for a while.

A few days later, he came back with information about a program called Connections (link, but enrollment appears to be closed now), which allows students to get free admission until they turn 18, as long as they're accompanied by an adult (who also gets free admission!). I filled out the application, and it was done.

Yesterday, Marci had a thing for Plexus and Haley went on a shopping date with a friend, so it was Riley and I. Since he's still getting over lingering effects of his concussion, we decided to finally go to the Museum of Flight.

It was nice to get some boy time in. Plus, since it was free, that made it even sweeter. Next time, we'll bring the girls, too.

Here's some pictures.

Flattening a penny for .50 cents.

Derp time.

Riley really enjoyed the "jukeboxes" that would play music or news from WWI.

Cool instrument dial photos. Reminiscent of the watches I like.

Digging this paint job.

I'll be honest, taken to crop to make into a lock screen for my phone.

Looking north.

He can't smile normal.

Concussions: they run in the family!

Riley fell down in PE last week and came home complaining of a headache. Fast forward to Saturday and Marci's Mother's Intuition and a trip to the doctor and the official diagnosis was a mild concussion.

I guess in flag football or capture the flag or simple flag raising ceremony, Riley got bumped, fell down and somehow knocked his head on the ground. I, of course, see this as a teaching moment and told him when he falls, to tuck and roll, not simply land on his head.

The suggestions for recovery from concussion are to rest, not stimulate yourself with electronics (tv, tablets, phones, etc) and to take it easy.

Have you ever tried telling an 11 year old boy to "take it easy?"

You'd think we'd have learned our lesson from last year when Haley was playing flag football or capture the flag or something flag-related and took a dive and got herself a concussion also!

Same recommendations for her, but her knock was a little more serious. Though we tried to get her to to go to school, she ended up staying home for a few days and missing some friends' birthday parties as a result.

For now, Riley tried going to school today. I guess he was feeling pretty good this morning, but ended up calling me around 10:30. Luckily I took the day off and he's home now, in his darkened bedroom, listening to an audiobook and taking it easy.

Marci and I have both had concussions as well, in our mid-teen years, but both from car accidents, none of this falling down BS.

Here's hoping Riley feels better soon.

The Navins at the Funhouse, 5/14/16

We had a little show at the Funhouse last Saturday. I think it was the first time we got 2nd slot. Every other show I've played with the Navins resulted in an opening slot.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Stay Up.

A band from PDX opened for us. They were called the Stay Up and were a little power trio. The singer/guitarist reminded me a bit of my old bandmate, Emilio; same frontman type looks. The bassist was a short little dude, playing pick style on a Jaguar bass (I think). Their drummer was all arms and legs, a beanpole of a guy with nice energy behind the kit.

Their music was power poppy and a bit lacking, to me. I think they could've used a second guitar. They definitely could've used some backing harmonies as the singer was the only vocalist.

Cãin said that it was their first show as a band and it sort of showed. They were excited like little kids. The singer was pretty tall and he kept getting in the face of the bassist, which only accentuated his smallness. It was like they were awkward lovers, with all the personal space issues going on.

As the Stay Up was the opening band, they got no sound check or anything. Simply vocal mic and a kick drum mic. Needless to say, it didn't sound that great, which made me a little nervous. Luckily, as we set up, the sound guy did mic the drums, our amps and my DI. We got a little sound check and off we went.

Setlist for the night.

Things started off pretty well. It took a few minutes for me to feel dialed in as I thought my bass was simply too boomy. I'm used to practicing a certain way and I'm thinking I need to practice with my gear set up the way I gig. In other words, I need to use both my cabinets and re-think how I have my SansAmp set up.

On our third song, Never Wanted Nothing, something happened and my headstock hit my microphone, which sent it to the ground. Nothing bad happened and the sound guy was able to get the mic back on the stand. We finished without a hitch.

Laurel and Alex came in during Piano Fire and Laurel took some pictures and shot some video. Super happy to see them there supporting the old man. She had a grin the whole time we were up there.

Mean mugging at the Funhouse.

For this night, of our 11 songs, I was singing lead on 5 originally. But we ended up subbing Hidden by the Sun for Sorry, which bumped me to 6. Also, it meant I was singing 4 songs in a row! That was the first time for me other than in practice, and, I must admit, it was fun! I always feel like I'm singing way too loud, though. I guess I'll trust the sound guy to figure that out.

Speaking of Hidden by the Sun, I think we need to sync up on the vocals on that. Don't know if it's me or Corey, but I feel like our vocals are hit and miss. Either I'm out or he's out and I can't tell. Will need to record a show to find out. Or ask the guys for some tough love.

Walking Through Walls is our newest tune and it's super fun to do. Fast, peppy, fun to sing. I'm feeling like that one is coming into its own. We are still trying to figure out a bridge, but even as it is, it comes across well.

Wallet is a pleasure to close with. Corey really goes to town on the 16th notes on the floor tom. His arm must ache at the end of the song. Cãin had busted a string on the previous song and switched guitars prior to this song. For some reason, something wasn't working right, so he bailed on his guitar for the first half. During the breakdown section, he was able to get dialed back in, but it was pretty cool for him to just sing the second verse without his guitar. 

People really liked what we did. The Stay Up kids were quite impressed and gave us some nice words after. Laurel and Alex were stoked and I loved their enthusiasm for our set.

It's the F-Holes. And the "F" doesn't stand for what you think it stands for.

The F-Holes closed the night and they were solid. They play greasy, gritty, pretty standard bar rock. Sort of like AC/DC meets .38 Special meets Thin Lizzy. I wondered what the guys in the band might do for their day jobs, as all of them are, well, of an older generation. Their set went a little long towards the end, with a 5 minute blues rock jam that sort of turned me and Corey off. But, no matter how we felt, they did rock.

There's a long recap for you, huh? Thanks to Laurel for the pictures (and Corey for the setlist pic).

Next show: June something at the Rainbow with some bands I can't remember right now.

Bubble tea

Bubble tea is an obsession I share with Haley. Marci and Riley like it ok, but Hay and I are always looking for excuses to get some bubble tea.

Haley: It's Tuesday!
Me: I guess that means bubble tea!

Haley: I had band today and Mr. B wants me to try out for All-City.
Me: I guess that means bubble tea!

Marci: Dinner!
Me and Haley: We guess that means bubble tea!

So for Hay's birthday last month, I thought it would be cool to get her some goodies to make bubble tea at home! I visited Seafood City at Southcenter and there were some packets where you just add water and, poof! Instant bubble tea!

Well, I thought that's all you needed. Turns out, you need to buy the bubbles separately.

Anyway, after getting all the supplies, Haley made me some one afternoon. The mix I bought was black tea and though I liked it, she didn't like the "caffeine" taste to it (caffeine has a taste??). But she was happy to boil a cup of bubbles and mix them into a fruit smoothie.

Also, did you know that one cup of bubbles will supply about 2.5 beverages? Either that, or we need to figure out the perfect recipe ratio for bubbles to drinks.

Yesterday we went to a local Asian market, over next to Goodwill in the Overlake area. I actually think it's called Local Asian Market, but I could be wrong. There are fewer places where I can feel Most Asian or Least Asian than a local Asian market. I can't read a dang thing on the signs or posters, but I can flirt with the elderly check-out ladies in their native tongue. I think it throws them for a loop.

I walk in with my white woman and my mixed kids and then start dropping Mandarin dimes all over the place. The check-out ladies are almost always impressed with the broken Chinese coming from my mouth.

Once we got home, Hay got to work. She boiled up some boba and drizzled honey all over them (evidently you do that, or the boba just taste like nothing), which I didn't know and once she told me, it made all sorts of sense because, you know, they sort of do taste like honey!

After our 2 beverages, we had a scoop or two of boba left over. We ended up putting them in the fridge and figured we'd use them in later days.

I ended up using them just now. Though tasty, their bouncy texture was gone and the experience wasn't as satisfying as I would have liked. However, I chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Pro tip: don't save the boba. Use it all! It's just better that way.

I gotta stop reading old posts

I just like getting in the So Yummy Way Back Machine to see what kind of shenanigans I used to get into. I think my favorite ones are the ones about the kids.

I just read something about Haley losing a tooth and writing a letter to the Tooth Fairy. That was dated 2012, so she was 10-ish.

I also read something a few minutes ago from 2009 from when we first met Bella. That was pretty fun, too. Though, for some strange reason, I thought back then that Bella would slow down on a leash as she got older. That hasn't happened.

Saw some posts from when I first started at Microsoft in 2011. Now, almost 5 years later, I'm a grizzled old vet. Reading those early posts, I sound like such a baby.

It's sort of cool seeing those old posts about music too. I saw one about recording with the Scheme in 2012. Though we never officially disbanded, and there are talks about getting together for a few summer shows, I had forgotten when we recorded. David is putting the finishing touches on the songs he, Gregg and I recorded and they are sounding sweet. I even sang backing vocals on them and I think I hear myself on the songs and they seem to sound good!

In the meantime, here's a picture from April of everyone.

Like a car crash, but better!

Now that I've restarted my blogging career again, I like to jump in my time machine and look at stuff I posted OVER 10 YEARS AGO.

There are references to stuff that was the norm back then. Like Myspace.com! LOL!

My kids were babies and my hair was short. I had just started corresponding with a band that I would play with for 7-8 years! I was still working for my dad and he was still alive!

Time moves on, don't it?

I do enjoy looking at the stuff every once in a few years, but some of it is just so...

EXCRUCIATING.

Not that it was poorly written (not me!) or stupid (definitely not me), but maybe I was trying too hard. I think part of it was simply trying to start a blog and figure out what I wanted to write about.

Turns out, now I don't care. I just write about whatever.

Like what happened to me last night.

On the way out the door from work, I will take a handful of cardboard and dump it in the cardboard compactor. I had my backpack, water bottle and the boxes. I chucked the boxes in and then headed for the car.

Two steps from the car I realized I didn't have my water bottle. I had put it in the boxes to carry out, and when I put it in the compactor, I forgot to grab it.

As Haley said when I got home, "R. I. P."

Of course, I posted a quick update on Facebook (which, incidentally, I don't think I was a part of when I started this blog), and got a heartfelt, "Nooooo," from a beloved co-worker.

I had another bottle I got as a birthday gift last year, so this morning, I filled it and off I went to work.

Day was slow, time dragged on. Then Laurel (said beloved co-worker) showed up with something, said it was for me.

New water bottle from REI!

Super thoughtful, super appreciated, totally unnecessary. Then again, she is super cool!

Anyway, stoked for the water bottle, looking forward to staying hydrated tomorrow.

And that's my blog post for today.

Cereal: is there a more perfect food?

You know what I love about cereal? It's the perfect anytime food.

Breakfast? Cereal, please.

What about lunch? I suppose you could have cereal.

Dinner? Ok, maybe not cereal, but it could be done.

Late night snack? YES PLEASE.

I think I may have gotten this habit from my brother-in-law. Only he has the metabolism to eat a bowl of bran flakes, as well as possibly a turkey leg and a few beers before bed and not gain an ounce. Me? I have about a bowl (sometimes 2, if I'm feelin' frisky!) and I call it a night.

I suppose I could do without. My spare innertube is not going anywhere anytime soon. But something about a bowl of cereal late night just appeals to me. Tonight's choice was Honey Smacks. I love 'em. Marci hates 'em. Evidently they give me bad breath.

I'm a big fan of Honey Bunches of Oats, too. Fill a bowl, pour in the milk, and then drizzle honey all over the top of it. DOUBLE HONEY! Genius!

Time to go brush my teeth.

11 months later

It's been almost a year. What's new with you?

What's new with me? Oh, you know. Same old stuff. Working, playing music, being a family guy, watching Game of Thrones, obsessing about watches.

I guess since last May, it's just been life as usual. We did refinance and remodel our kitchen as a result. Finally moved some of the house into the 21st century.

I've sold a handful of watches and purchased a bunch of watches. Most recently I picked up a couple of Wengers for my birthday.

Since last May, my little band, The Navins, has played out at least once every month. I think we took a break in April. We've written a handful of new songs and I'm singing more and more. It's been a lot of fun and we have some great shows lined up.

Kids are getting bigger and just growing up. No major dramas recently. Haley just turned 14 and is pretty stinking awesome. She's a great kid and I'm really proud of her. Riley is still Riley, loving his Minecraft videos and being an all-around cool dude. He recently discovered Marci's old Microsoft Band and he has been obsessed with wearing it all around to see how many steps he can get.

Marci is still working at Eastside Christian, managing our house and running her Plexus business. She stays really busy and I do what I can to handle the stuff to not make her too busy. She is headed to Las Vegas (!) in June for a Plexus convention. She's pretty stoked about that.

Work went through some transition earlier this year with one manager leaving and a new store manager coming aboard. She has really impacted us positively and it really is great going to work everyday knowing I have support and leadership. The associates are pretty much all onboard and we are moving in the right direction.

Kids are gonna be out of school soon. We don't have any vacation plans. Maybe we'll do a staycation again. Or, maybe a road trip. Who knows? Our car's lease is up in August and we've done some research on what we want. Leaning towards a Mazda CX-5 at this point. But we'll have to see what we can do with a down payment.

Anyway, once we get the bigger car, I think it would be cool to take it somewhere.

Ok. See you in a year.

The Navins at Tim's Tavern, 5/23/15

It's the Navins!

First time for me and us playing Tim's Tavern, all the way up just west of the Northgate Mall. I got there for load in and it was a tiny little place. Felt like playing in a friend's basement. Sort of weird location, too; it was just on the outside of a residential neighborhood. In fact, just over the wall to the "beer garden" (enclosed patio space) was a home of some sort.

In the bar, I was cozied up to by some large, hairy man. He kept bumping me and apologizing. Eventually he forced himself onto me, introducing himself as Sam. It was pretty clear that Sam had already been drinking for some time and was quite drunk by the late hour of 8:15pm.

He asked me about my musical influences and told me repeatedly that I was going to be "amazing" tonight. It was sort of annoying and awkward until I went to the bathroom and excused myself from his presence.

The show was supposed to start at 9 and I don't think the first band went on until 9:30. I wish they never started at all as they were pretty lousy. I'll keep them anonymous, but they were rough. A quartet, featuring a drummer, guitarist, 6-string bassist, and a female singer. At first I thought the singer was a barfly, but then she got in front of the band and proceeded singing.

Her voice was Geddy Lee/Fly By Night era shrill. It was up there and it was an assault on our ears. Me and my mates headed for the beer garden, where it was still pretty loud, but at least it was muffled.

Eventually, they finished their 12 song set (mercifully shortened to 10 songs), and we took the stage.

The first song, Never Wanted Nothing, went over pretty well. I felt like it was a good opener and we played it well. However, we started the second song, Take It Away, one that I sing, and it was off to the races.

That seemed to be the theme for the night: all our songs seemed to be played at Mach 1. Normally I try to really pull the tempo back but instead, I just rode it out. There were not a lot of people there and it was like a glorified rehearsal, so we just played the songs fast.

I felt pretty comfortable singing, too. I did screw up some lyrics on What You Do, which I seem to always screw up. I'm trying to throw in some "yeahs" and grunts/punctuations during the songs, too. Some inflections to make it more interesting. Still a work in progress but having fun learning each time.

Overall, despite the speediness of the tunes, I think we played better than we did at the Mix. And people said they could hear everything, too. The Mix had problems with the, er, mix that first show.

Anyway, back to it on Thursday and our next show is in June at the Victory Lounge.

Such a slacker

Been a few weeks.

Haley had a concussion the past week. Apparently she bumped/got tackled/tripped during P.E. and fell down, basically whipping her head and neck. Her head didn't hit the ground, but her brain bounced in her skull.

We had her take it easy the past week or so, but according to one pediatrician, we should not have had her go to school as she was having some headaches. Luckily it's a long weekend right now and she's sort of hanging loose and getting better.

***

I met with a former co-worker recently for a coffee and a potential business opportunity. Nothing worth reporting yet, but it was cool to get back in touch.

***

OH! On Mother's Day the family and I went to our favorite place, Old Navy. In their "impulse buy" section, I spotted a box with a watch and 3 NATO straps for $5.97. There were two types of watches, black and white, and depending on which watch pack you got, you got the straps for that pack. For that price, though? I grabbed both a black and white watch. They are super cheap, but they look great and are of the pilot variety. And the straps fit two of my other watches, so for about $13.00 out the door, I really juiced up my little collection.

***

My hair is long enough to wear in a ponytail or a bun all day if I want. I pretty much do it at home or on weekends, but not super comfortable at work doing it yet. Mainly cause I don't want Ed to bust my balls, but whatever. I did the other day and it was fine.

***

Great update, huh?

The Navins at the Mix, 4/25/15

Show one is under our belts.

Headed out last night, got flipped off by some chick in a minivan just for passing her on the way. Got to the club and had to circle around as the road directly in front of the Mix is under construction and all blocked off.

Loaded in and set up and realized that for the last 5 months at rehearsals, we practice in a circle, facing each other. This was the first time setting up on a stage. But after a moment of confusion, I figured it out. Years of experience, and all. Also, Corey told me where I should be.

We thought we would have a 9pm start time, but it got pushed to 9:30, which was just fine with me. It was our first show and, believe it or not, I actually had some friends come out. I was stoked! David and Gregg from the Scheme were there, as were a bunch of friends who I worked with at a Very Large Software Company.

I was able to catch up with my friends and have a great time before we jumped on stage. We didn't get a sound check, but the sound guy did tell us that his PA wasn't the best and we would have to modulate the vocals by turning down our guitars and playing quieter. So, we had to worry about that. I was also concerned with the inevitable tempo increase. It seems like at every first show, though you're not nervous, you end up playing differently anyway. Other than that, it was pretty much business as usual.

We started the set with "Judy," a song inspired by a horror movie. Or something. All these songs were written before I joined. I know the words and the music and that's about it. I felt pretty good about the tempo. I always seem to mix up notes on this song, though, and through the first verse, it was fine. But at the intro leading to the second verse, yup, there was the screw-up. I hit a D instead of an A. I noticed, but hopefully it wasn't too bad.

And, as we sang the song, it was pretty clear the vocals were quiet. They were barely audible through the monitors on stage; I was told later the FOH vocals were quiet and needed to be increased. When we brought it to the sound man's attention, he scolded us and told us to sing louder or turn down.

So we played on.

The next song was "Take It Away," which marked my debut at singing lead. We started the song, tempo felt good, got to where I sing and I was able to pull it off. I felt pretty comfortable doing it and noticed a few things:

1. Singing background vocals, I never had to be anchored to the mic. I'd sing my bit, then back off the mic. Singing lead, I have to remember to stay by the mic between lines.
2. By being anchored to the mic, I can move around less. However, I always try to be energetic when playing and need to remember to be visually interesting. I found myself forgetting to do so and don't ever want to be static up there.
3. I didn't realize this until the end of the night, but I have to trust the sound guy. I have to sing and not worry about backing off the mic, things like that. The worst thing is to finish the set and have someone say that they couldn't hear you sing/play/etc. The sound guy is paid to make us sound good. I just have to sing.

Through the first two songs, there were a couple mix ups. After the show, Corey mentioned he couldn't hear anything. I didn't notice if he had a monitor or not, but I did notice he wasn't singing some of the parts he normally sings. Or maybe I just didn't hear him.

Overall, it was a nice first show. We all had flubs and screw-ups, but nothing that derailed the show. I felt like I sang pretty well, but I'm gonna pick David's brain to see what he thought. I've given him some feedback about his shows, so I'm curious about what he thought about ours.

We did have some tempo issues. I'm not sure how to address them. I've mentioned it a bunch of times in practice, and even before a few songs last night. But we still sped them up, despite me trying to lay way back to pull back the tempo. I guess there was a guy shooting video so we'll see what that shows, but we always record practice and we always speed up. So it's nothing new. But we're not fixing it, and that's driving me crazy. The guys have told me before, "It's just rock and roll." Which is true, but that doesn't give us an excuse to not be the best band we can be.

After the show, I got to hang with my pals and had such a great time talking to them. These guys are all 10-15 years younger than me, but for whatever reason, I relate to them really well. Maybe it was the battles we went through in our jobs together. But I think it's just that they're all really great people.

A few news bombs were dropped last night, but I won't go into detail here. I doubt anyone is reading, but some things just don't need to be blogged. Nevertheless, the news was all good and inspiring and full of the feelings.

Oh yeah, my friend Alexis took a sweet picture. Check it out.

My other pal, Kyle, took a bunch of pictures too. I can't wait to see them. Next show, May 23rd at Tim's Tavern somewhere up north.

Happy Birthday, Haley!

Apparently tomorrow is Haley's birthday. She is getting quite the haul, it seems. Take a look.

Not bad, if you ask me.

A few weeks ago she had a bit of a fit. We were asking her what she wanted to do for her birthday and she didn't know. She does know that money is always tight and she was being considerate of that, but, in her own sullen way, she said, "we don't have to do anything, it's not that big a deal." Which, when a tween says that, it really means, "WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, BUT I'LL NEVER LET YOU KNOW THAT I WANT TO DO SOMETHING."

I know. I was the same way.

Anyhow, we told her if she really didn't want to do anything, she didn't have to. We want her to be able to make her decisions. Then she said she wanted to do something, but didn't know what. We went back and forth and she lost her marbles. Which led to her screaming that she wanted to turn 11, not 13.

Ah.

Though we cannot stop the hands of time, Haley would love to do that. She's been doing stuff in school to put the idea of college in her mind. She took sex ed last year. Her friends are all maturing and it's just a weird place for her. She's still a skinny mini and is not ready to grow up yet. So, that's why I think she freaked out.

But since then, I think she's embraced the idea of being 13. Or, at least turning 13.

She mentioned her girlfriends have been talking about decorating her locker. And I think she's gonna have a great time at school. We have all the gifts for her tomorrow morning. And this weekend, she has something like 10 friends coming to the house for a party.

She's gotten really good at managing her time. Her classes give her a ton of homework and there's nights she's up to past 10pm finishing up. It used to be that she had to be in bed by 9 or she had a horrible time functioning. Heck, I still like her to be in bed by then, but that simply doesn't happen anymore.

Most nights, she's in bed by 10, but the cool thing is, she's starting to know what that feels like and she knows what to expect. Instead of fighting being tired, she acknowledges it and deals with it.

I guess you could say she is maturing. She still gets mad if I ask her about boys. Like really mad. Sometimes she gets mad if I make a comment about her clothes. And not mean comments, nothing like that. But she is just an awesome girl and I'm super proud of the person she is.

Haley is funny, sweet, caring, thoughtful, nice, silly, compassionate, fun, and so much more. She is so much her mother's daughter at times, it's not even funny. Almost always, that's a good thing. Every once in a while (decision making, anyone?), it can be trying.

I guess this is just a rambling post about my daughter. I am so in love with her, it's silly. She really is the best. See the video a few posts down and you'll get it. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures.

Singing and playing, playing and singing

This little band I've been playing in lately is having me sing about 4 or 5 songs. Me! I've been singing backups for years and this is the first time I've been singing lead.

We're about 5 months in now (wow! 5 months already?) and it's coming along nicely. At first I wasn't so sure. Luckily, one of my bandmates records all the rehearsals and, believe it or not, it hasn't been all bad. I thought I would hate the sound of my own voice; it's not too bad. I just have to listen as if it's not my own voice.

The trouble is, all four of us sing and I'm not sure if we can all hear each other.

There are times when it doesn't sound too bad. Then there are times when it sounds quite rough. Some are nearly in tune, some aren't. It's never perfect, but it's also a lot worse than it should be.

I saw my ex-mates' band, The Pop Cycle, a few weeks ago. It was David's first show with Brett and his mates and it went pretty well. What I really noticed, though, was how much better their vocals sounded than my band's vocals. With this new inspiration, I brought it to my bandmates' attention.

At first, the guys seemed to play it off, like, "hell, man, it's rock and roll, what do you expect?" I told them we should be better, that I didn't want to go out there and sound like crap. I didn't want people to say, "well, the band sounds pretty good, but man, they suck at singing!" I want it all to be good.

So we started practicing a little more on the vocals. It has gotten a bit better. But it's still rough. I think the guys are used to just playing and not worrying too much about vox, as they've been a "garage" band, and all.

Well, I was spoiled by the singing in the bands I've been in in the past and I'm trying to bring these guys up. They can all sing and so can I. We just need to all get on the same page.

Right now, I'm listening to the recording we did at last night's rehearsal. It's, meh, OK, etc. Like Simon Cowell says, "If I'm being honest," well, it's pretty bad. Especially the vocals. Add to the fact that me and Corey are off to the races on nearly every song and, well, you have a pretty rough rehearsal.

But the thing is, it wasn't that bad. Musically, it's pretty solid. But we definitely need to work on:

• Vocals (lead and harmonies)
• Tempos (too much pushing the beat)

I'm guilty of all the stuff I've mentioned, but I think some tough love may be necessary in order for those things I mentioned to improve.

The Walking Dead

I'm a late-comer to The Walking Dead, not having watched it until the past year.

Well, that's not entirely true. I did watch the very first episode maybe before that. I remember seeing Rick Grimes get trapped in that tank, being mysteriously talked to by a wise-cracking voice on the walkie talkie.

It annoyed me then, that wise-cracking voice. You are surrounded by zombies, you are stuck in a tank, and your only chance at salvation is a guy who is cracking wise to you.

It annoyed me so much, I didn't watch any more episodes.

Then some time passed and I decided to give it another shot. Fast forward to now and, yes, I am caught up.

There have been some good moments on the show. I have enjoyed a good chunk of the show. But I can't shake some of the choices they make.

I keep thinking of LOST. Like how much I enjoyed LOST when it first started out. I had all these questions! Why did Oceanic 817 crash? Why is there a hatch on the island? What is the deal with the smoke monster? And so on, and so on. I've forgotten over the years.

But what I remember is, after a few seasons of LOST, I simply gave up on it. I got tired of the way the characters would talk to each other. Not like people surviving on a deserted island with smoke monsters, polar bears, weird stuff, but more like people seeing each other at the mall, or out on a bike ride.

I hated that.

The Walking Dead reminds me so much of LOST. You have Rick's crew, which is Jack Sheppard's crew. You have the zombies, which are like the Others. But where LOST seemed to (at first) have a path they were going down, TWD is simply this:

• encounter zombies
• kill zombies
• experience loss/injury of group member
• encounter new group. Are they friend or foe?
• encounter zombies
• etc, etc.

What's driving me nuts about TWD is it seems like they are introducing characters simply for the sake of introducing characters. Since Michonne showed up, what other character has brought anything to the table? Father Gabriel? Abraham? Eugene? The Latina? Tara? Bob? Sasha? Noah?

It seems like every time someone worthless dies on this show, they're replaced with someone equally worthless. I'm not caring for any of the newer characters; if they're not part of the original crew (Rick, Daryl, Carol, Carl, Michonne, Glen, Maggie), I don't care.

Plus, when does the show progress? Remember the questions from LOST? Here's the question I want to see raised on TWD:

What caused the zombie outbreak?

They acted like they were going to touch upon it at the end of S1, but once the CDC blew up, well, I guess that was that.

There's too much of the finding of new groups (Herschel's farm, the Governor's crew [and GOD did I hate that story arc; "the Governor?" Please, how lame of a name was that?], Terminus, Alexandria, and now the Wolves). Let me guess: once they get past the Wolves, there's gonna be a new, dangerous group that our heroes encounter.

So tired of this lazy story. Bring on Westeros.

Haley and me from 2006

You can't handle the cute. I can barely handle the cute.

Follies 1988

For whatever reason, I guess I'm on a nostalgia trip. It started a few days ago when Microsoft allowed OneDrive users to upload their own music to the cloud for streaming purposes. In other words, music you have that may be indie or DIY, not available to mainstream streaming, can be uploaded and shared to your devices.

Cool.

So I immediately uploaded a bunch of rehearsal tapes that I had from previous bands. Long story short, I was listening to an old band I was in, Starchief, and remembered how great the tunes both Johnny and Brett wrote were.

Fast forward to this weekend. I decided to look through all my old Video 8 tapes from the Sony camcorder days. When I was in bands starting in 2000 or so, I would record a lot of our shows in the clubs around town. The video resolution is uniformly terrible (no greater than 480, I think), but the audio isn't bad and the entire package is quite viewable.

I uploaded a few videos to YouTube in the past year as I had burned a bunch onto DVD a few years ago. Total irony: I took videos off tape to burn to DVD, only to rip off of DVD onto the computer to upload to YouTube. Pretty convoluted process.

Anyway, I got a wild hair to look for that camcorder and after a search, I found it. I've had the videos all along in a cabinet in the basement, so that wasn't a problem. Heck, I even labeled most of the tapes that I have.

I figured it was time to get these onto YouTube to "keep them safe," but in reality, "to get attention from strangers," when I post them onto all social media.

But having them in the cloud would make access much easier than popping in a tape and hitting FF or REW to find the spot you want. Who has time for that anymore??

I have one video uploading now, a show from 2004 with Starchief. I don't remember the venue, or the show, but it must have happened as I have video. And it sounds pretty good, too. So, in another 303 minutes (slow-ass CenturyLink), it'll be in YouTube's hands. Until then, I'm looking at other tapes.

Including a possible cringe-inducing one from 1988, when I was taking Mom and Dad's camcorder all over the place. This particular tape was shot likely in April or May of 1988, during my high school's annual talent show, The Follies.

I haven't watched this video and I don't know if I can stomach it now, almost 30 years later. The opening act was one of the school's Hot Girls, Michelle Mains, doing a dance BY HERSELF to Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal."

And it was criminal.

Just watching the first minute or so, I'm thinking to myself, "Why would ANYONE dance by themselves in front of the whole school? WHAT POSSIBLE PURPOSE COULD IT SERVE?" But then again, she was the Hot Girl, and Quite Popular, so perhaps for her, it was NBD (no big deal).

Hit FF, see another popular senior, Steve Elder, playing "Candle in the Wind" in full Elton John regalia.

Hit FF, see Steve Thomas and Matt Arnold, both fellow band nerds, playing electronic drums and keyboards (respectively) to something so 80s, I could hardly stand it.

Hit FF, see three juniors under the name of DDT for Dave, Darin (I think) and Troy doing some terrible rap act. Oh my god, it is so terrible.

And so on.

Since I was playing bass back then, and no one else really did, I always had a gig come Follies time. This particular year, I was in several bands, IIRC. One of them was a group of senior guys doing "I'll Melt With You" by Modern English. I had my horrible little white Steinberger clone (Hohner, I think), and couldn't have been more out of place.

But when it happened, it was quite fun.

I don't remember specifically which year I did what, but I remember playing bass to

• "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul
• "Fight For Your Right to Party" by the Beastie Boys
• some song by Jethro Tull

There may have been more, but my memory is fogged.

I may have to take a look. Or at least have the kids take a look.