Day Ninety Five & Weekend Report

The weather was just awesome this weekend, anytime I'm not sweating and swatting mosquito's I'm a happy man.  Friday evening The Gang played at the Sebastian Library, we were competing with the annual Sebastian Clambake, but we had a great crowd just the same.  These old fish haven't started stinking yet!
  Saturday we played at the Barberville Fall Jamboree in beautiful Barberville, Fl.  The air was cool and delicious and the sun was shining all day, it just doesn't get any better than that.  The head honcho caught us as we were coming through the gate and asked if we'd like to do an additional set, I'm a pushover, so naturally I said yes.  It gave us about an hour to find everyone and fake our way through a set, it went just great.  The depot stage was being run by our friend Steve Waters from M. T. Pawketts productions, and he did a fantastic job with our sound,  Thanks Steve, your our hero.  Our last set was at 4:00 on the family stage and since we had some special guests show up, Paul and Kay's grandsons, we closed the set with our new crowd pleaser sing along, Yo Ho.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Autumn would be the perfect time of year if it weren't for those pesky holidays.
  
  

Day Ninety Four

Hallelujah, we had rain today!  According to the National Weather Service this has been the driest October on record here in the sunburn state.  My garden is rejoicing in the gloriousness of it all, I can almost hear my beets singing.
    I should be preparing for tomorrow nights gig at the Sebastian Library right now, but first things first.  The blog must go on.  Speaking of that, I'll probably be MIA for tomorrow's edition.  The troops are coming over for the library gig and I'm sure will be deep into music land until we retire.  We are also playing Saturday at the Barberville Fall Jamboree, it's a two day festival but we'll only be there for Saturday.   The weather should be great, so get out and do something fun.

                                        
Until next week, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.
David Letterman

Day Ninety One and the Weekend Update

I'll start off with Friday's adventures.  I worked all day in Cabinet Land, not much adventure there.  Friday evening we made our way down to Vero Beach to hear our good friends The Frank, Patty, and Gary Trio, they were playing at Bodega Blue.  Frank can play almost anything with strings on it, and he does it all well, Patty is a great vocalist and guitar player and Gary plays bass with Patti and Frank when he's not playing with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra.  The did a great job as always.  The place has some really tasty food and a beer selection that would blow your mind.  They have a great line up of musicians passing through their doors, make sure to check it out if your in the area.
   Saturday, Bob "Guitar" Bronar and I worked on getting the kinks out of our sound system.   We have two eight channel boards and when the entire Gang shows up we need to link them together to have enough channels for everyone.  We've never been able to make this work as intended, but with a little patience and a lot of head scratching, we figured it out.  Now we have sixteen channels to work with, bring on the pips.
   Sunday brought in some cooler air, so I got out in the yard and did some bush whacking.  After avoiding most outdoor activities for the entire summer, it was in need of some reigning in.  I wore myself out dragging giant palm fronds out to the curb. I did my best not to get stabbed by those deadly thorns from the Canary Island Palms, I think you could really do someone in with those things.
   I guess that's enough for now, until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

   A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D.  Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B.  ~"Fats" Domino

Day Eighty Nine

Today was crown molding day, oh man, what a pain!  That stuff looks great but it can be a bear to put up.  Especially when it's all pre-finished, things have got to go together right.  The customer not only wanted it on the cabinets but wanted it to wrap around the entire kitchen.  Needless to say, I'm in recovery right now.  I'll probably dream about some kind of man eating mitre saw tonight.  Watch those fingers!
    I've had absolutely no time for music lately, and it's starting to piss me off.  I was on a real roll during the summer sabatical, wrote a couple tunes and got myself up to speed in the studio.  Now I'm back to work and I have to say, I sure do miss the good old days.  Oh well, this prosperity can't last forever.
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

 Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Day Seventy Eight

We're getting all geared up for the Lake County Folk Festival this weekend in Beautiful Downtown Eustis.  We've been visiting Eustis now for a number of years and for some unexplainable reason the folks there have taken a real shine to us.  And I'd have to say the feeling is mutual.  The town is a hub of musical and artistic activity, and home to a bunch of friendly folks we've come to think of as family.  There's always something going on in the historic downtown area thanks to a little organization called "Eustis Main Street" run by our good friend Wayne Carter.  Wayne is also an official Harmonizing Ashley Gang Member, so you know he knows how to get things done.   We always look forward to a visit to the best small town in America, Eustis, Fl.
Until tomorrow, or maybe monday, here's your daily dose of wisdom:

The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you're doing, someone else does”

Day Seventy & Weekend Update

A good time was had by all at our weekend shows, at least that's how I remember it.  If anyone wasn't having  a good time they failed to mention it.  Saturday evening at  the European Street cafe in Jacksonville flew by in the wink of an eye.  It's a great room with a great staff and the perfect place to hear all kinds of great music.  Ray Lewis books the talent there and works his butt of to put things together, thanks Ray!  Our good friend Larry Mangum loaned us his mixer and amp and helped us get the sound up and running, thanks Larry!  And a big thank you to all the folks who came out to hang out with us.
   Sunday we meandered  south to the world famous Osteen Diner, in where else, Osteen.  Talk about a well kept secret.  This is a great little place off the beaten path.  Great food and a list of cakes and pies that will blow your mind.  Rumor has it that the strawberry rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream was worth it's weight in gold.  I resisted in an attempt to keep my boyish figure in tact.  We had a small but appreciative crowd and we really enjoyed the afternoon.   Barry Brogan opened up for us with his shiny chrome guitar and old time blues, thanks Barry!  Our good friend Joe Waller helped us get set up and made sure all systems were go, thanks Joe.
   It's plain to see we probably wouldn't survive out there without all of our good friends helping us out and lending a hand.  Thanks everyone for being there for us, we appreciate it more than we can say.
Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

“Friends are God's way of apologizing to us for our families.”

Day Sixty Five

Today was full of adventures!  I did my darndest to get something going on Reverbnation.com, and I'm just hoping that I don't piss anyone off in the process.  I have to say that from a musicians perspective they have  an awful lot of great features for promoting ones music.  At the same time, they offer so much it can be a daunting experience getting the thing up and running.  But I think given some time and patience I can make  some magic with it.
       At this point I'm #7 on the Sebastian Folk Charts?  Now that would be impressive if I lived in Orlando Or Jacksonville, but in Sebastian that's nothing to write home about.  Heck, I didn't even know Sebastian had a folk Chart.  I'm guessing that there are 6 other people in the area who were brave enough to admit they play folk music.   I took a look at my fellow local folksters  and didn't see anyone I know.  It may be an elaborate  conspiracy, put in place by the FCC to keep me on the bottom of the charts and off the radio.  Damn that Obama!
    Until tomorrow, here's your daily dose of wisdom:
   “You have woken up the sleeping giant. … I’ll have a pitch-off with you any time Vince. …”
-  Billy Mays 

Day Sixty One

My mission to create a corn hole game has been completed.  My son in law is a Michigan fan so I themed them up for him.  I'm not a big sports fan, actually I'm not a sports fan at all.  I know that might be considered  un american, but I never understood the obsession with sports that runs rampant in this country.  It's part of my mental disability, I may have been dropped on my head as a baby.   I don't care much for apple pie either.  

I didn't have time for any musical activities today.  I still need to get that door bell out of my guitar track from yesterday.  That UPS guy has got it in for me.  This afternoon I decided to shut my eyes for a few winks, and wouldn't you know it, that darn guy shows up with a delivery and rings the damn door bell. 

I think I'm going to disarm that thing, it's really disrupting my creativity.

  Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

Most of us are open-minded about new things - as long as they're just like the old ones.

        Unknown 

Day Sixty

I was abducted by aliens!  Yes, it's true, what other reason could there be for not posting on Friday.  Fortunately they returned me in reasonably good condition, they decided I was to old a specimen to do them any good.  So after a couple minor probes and a spin around the earth they dropped me off at home.  I  don't  think I'll report this to the authorities, they have a way of making you look crazy when you try  to explain things like this.  I've seen enough movies to know the drill.  
   The weekend went well, and I squeezed in a little music.  Bob "Guitar" Bronar came over and we worked off some of the rust, and there was plenty.  We're going to be doing a dynamic duo gig in October, so we thought it would be a good idea to work some material up for that.
    Today I managed to sit down and record a new tune.  It gave me some trouble initially, but I managed to tame it.  When I finally got everything done to my satisfaction I was listening back and heard this strange tinkling noise in one place on the guitar tracks.  Apparently the UPS guy dropped off a package while I was recording the guitar part, and rang the door bell.  Thanks Mr. UPS!  I couldn't hear it ring because I was wearing headphones at the time.   I guess I'll have to do it again tomorrow.
   Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

  Every path has some puddles.
   Hillbilly Wisdom

Day Forty Six & Weekend Update

Sorry I didn't have a Friday report, but the band was playing a gig in Eustis that evening.  So I'll just have to squeeze four days worth of crap into one report.
      Friday we played the State Theatre as part of a fund raiser for the Lake County Folk Festival along with Jonathon Hodge, fiddle player extraordinaire accompanied by Larry Dolamore and Cyd Ward, super songstress, doing the solo thing.  It was a fun evening and we wrapped it up with one of those super sonic everyone on stage Ashley Gang sing alongs.   Good times.
    Saturday we hung out at our favorite retreat, Joel and Margie's house of refuge, and ate ourselves into a coma.  Then prepared for our gig at Olivia's Coffee House.  Another wonderful evening of music, car crashes and a lot of laughs.  The folks in Eustis spoiled us rotten, no wonder we love that place.  Make sure to check out Olivia's if your ever in the area, they're not just a coffee house, they have some really great food there as well.
    Then there's today, back to the grind.  I'm still working on the Palm Beach project, but it's nearing completion.  The bad news is once it's done I'll have to go back to the devils lair to deliver it, lord protect me!
   The new microphone arrived today, it's a beautiful thing.  I set it up and ran a test track to make sure it was in good working order, all is well.  I'll need to work with it for a little while to get familiar with it's sound characteristics, but I think it's going to get me a little closer to recording nirvana.
  That's it for now,  here's your daily dose of wisdom:

"If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?"
- Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Day Thirty Nine

Is it Thursday already?  There should be a support group for people returning from vacation, it could help ease them back to reality.  Maybe I'll start one, it could be fun messing with their heads while they're still unable to defend themselves.  All these great ideas and no marketing skills, it's a real shame.
    I managed to put out some promo stuff on the infamous facebook page today.  I hate to bug the crap out of people with an onslought of promotional stuff they could care less about, but I guess that's how you get their attention.  As I said, my marketing skills are not my strongest asset.  Which makes me wonder, what is my strongest asset.  I don't really know, I'll have to ask around.
   I also sat down and recorded one of my latest creations, I think it went pretty well.  I wont really know until I've gone through the cooling down period, an essential recording technique. What sounds like gold on Monday might be aluminum foil by Wednesday.   I'm kind of leaning towards some drums and bluesy guitar for this one, or maybe saxophone.  We'll see how things develop, and if it passes the aluminum foil test. 
  Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

My ultimate vocation in life is to be an irritant.


-- Elvis Costello

Day Thirty One & Weekend Update

We played a gig in Rockledge on Saturday night at a little place called Bluesboro Studio.  It's a great venue with a funky vibe and an awesome stage and sound system.  We had a great time and were treated like folk dignitaries, we can't wait to go back.  The entire staff was wonderful.  These days it's hard to find a place that doesn't have 47 TV's stuck to the walls, and some poor musician trying to sing over the noise of the crowd.  This place is different, it's all about the music.  Check out their site and go to one of their events if your in the area, you'll thank me for the tip.
     Monday, need I say more.  I accomplished almost nothing today, but at least I didn't get any further behind.  I had to take care of some business things in the morning, and then pick up some supplies for my tuesday project.  I'm going to be creating a super custom rolling TV cart for one of my favorite clients.   Yes, back to cabinet land once again.   Maybe I'll get in some musical activities tomorrow as well, one can always hope.
    Until tomorrow, here's your daily words of wisdom:

"I think I've discovered the secret of life, you just hang around until you get used to it."
    Charles Schultz

Day Twenty Seven

I had some time to work on the pirate song today, I think the kids are going to love it.  I'm still refining my recording process and a song like this is great to experiment with.  My concept is to record the song all the way through doing the guitar and vocal simultaneously, like a live performance.  Then I set up two new tracks and record the guitar part in stereo with no vocal track while monitoring the original tracks.  This way I can follow the original tracks so I don't get lost, and when I'm done the two new tracks are just the rhythm tracks with no vocal.   After that I can re-record the vocal a few times and piece together the best takes.  While it may sound like a pain in the ass, the Logic program makes it quite easy to accomplish.  And the results are well worth the effort.
   In other news today, my lawn was diagnosed to have chinch bugs!  Yes, those little bastards have been doing a number on my yard for some time now, and I just couldn't take it anymore.  I called in the cavalry!
I hate the idea of squirting poison all over the yard, but at this point, it's me or them.  And I'm not going anywhere.
   That about wraps up another day in the life.  Until tomorrow.
 
Your Daily Words of Wisdom:

Johnny Mercer: "I could eat alphabet soup and s**t better lyrics." 

  

Day Twenty Six

Another exciting day in the life of a renaissance man.  With a couple upcoming shows to play, I've been feverishly working on musical pursuits.  Friday morning we are playing a kids show at the Library here in town.  Yes, a kids show!  Normally we avoid these type of gigs, as It's a pretty sure bet that at some point I will say something that is probably not rated PG.  On average, I will put my foot in my mouth at least once every hour during a show, I'm sure while playing in front of young impressionable minds, the average will go up considerably.  On the bright side it's only an hour show, What could go wrong?
   It turns out this is Pirate week at the library, an annual summer program event.  I didn't initially think anything of it, we were assured we could just play our usual fare.  But as I have seen this slowly unfolding with several promotional blurbs in the newspaper, I think we've been had.  Every add I've seen so far claims we have added pirate songs to our repertoire!  Holy Sh....!  After scouring the internet for appropriate pirate songs, and finding most of them having to do with murder, drinking and looting, I knew the only option was to write one.  So I put on my writers cap and got to work, I think it's going to work.  I wrote it yesterday, made a rough recording today and sent it off to the band.  It just doesn't get any better than this
   Wish us luck.  Here's your daily dose of wisdom.

English Proverb
 

A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.

Day Four

Another day in paradise! Today I talked with my favorite web designer, we're working out the technical details of the new web site. It's amazing how many stupid ideas I can come up with and never even break a sweat. She usually gets me back on track quickly by telling me what a dork I am. I guess we all need reminding of that once in a while.
I worked a little bit in the studio on a guitar part for the song I recorded on Monday. It usually takes me a little bit of screwing around with a tune before I really know where it's going. I think I'm still in the screwing around phase on this one.
I received a contract for one of our July gigs today, yes, a contract. We don't usually have this kind of paper work to deal with. We normally tell people we'll do something, and they say OK, and that's it. I'd say we have a pretty impressive record when it comes to showing up and doing what we said we'd do. But a contract makes it feel like your really important, people assume you have a legal department that takes care of these kind of things. That you have attorneys on retainer to cross your T's and dot your I's. Truth is, we just sign on the dotted line and hope for the best.
So I think I'll head back into the studio and do some more noodling. You never know when the noodle God is going to smile down on you. But you better be ready.

Day Two

This is going to be worse than I thought!! Just kidding, I have survived day two with only minor injuries. Let's see, I registered the new domain for the studio,
"Pretzelstickstudio.com". I need to get my fantabulous web designer involved now. Fortunately for me, my favorite daughter, Chrissy, is the worlds finest web designer.
www.bringthebling.com
My next mission was to meet with a perspective client about the details of a recording project. I sensed a definite fear of commitment on his part. This is going to be like nailing jello to a wall. But I shall draw on my many years of experience in dealing with the artistic type, and tell him, it's time to either shit or get off the pot. An old saying my dear Mother used to use. It always worked on me. I'll let you know later how this worked out.
I also confirmed a gig for the band, (The Ashley Gang) in August, and made contact on another one for July.
I managed in between all of this to sit down and record some tracks for a new song. I think it's going to be a winner.
Until Tomorrow