Rain

Good observation, indeed. 

I was thinking about cell phones too when I replied, but it was somewhat the opposite. In my line of work for example, I often see people who leave their home with only their cell phone because they have an app for everything - to unlock the door, to start their car, to make payments, etc. Of course, if I hear from them, it's because the software failed for one reason or another. Same with people who think they "should be ok" to make it to their destination on what's left in the tank... 

Me, even if I have an app to unlock the door, I always take a key with me, and the garage door opener, just in case. Likewise, although I can use my phone to pay, I always carry at least one debit and one credit card with me - and I'll always check my bank account just before leaving, even when I know there's plenty of $ in there. And that's just going to the grocery, a few minutes from here. You should see what travelling out of town looks like... Almost like luggage + backup luggage. I even carry a spare cell phone...  🤣

That part about the one way rental really got to me. The crazy stupid things that you do when you're young, the chances that you take...

Nowadays, I have contingency plans for my contingency plans and back ups for everything before I leave the house even if it's just to do groceries. 
 

3 hours ago, Shane_B. said:

There were 2 horror movies in the 80s called House and House 2. George was in one and the guy who played the mailman was in the other. Both are great movies. Fun horror. Almost comedies. They weren't B movies and both were done very well. Sad to see him go. Famous actors of the day were in both House movies. William Katt was in the one with George. He played The Greatest American Hero.

There are actually 4 House movies. 3 and 4 are terrible. 1 and 2 are great.

I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder. I'll have to watch them again. Manfredini (Friday the 13th) composed the music for at least those first 2, maybe more.

Such a sad news to wake up to tonight...

I never got to watch Cheers until 2020 but when I finally did, I immediately understood why the show was so beloved.

Farewell, George Wendt. And thanks for all the laughs.

This one... The Fragile, by Nine Inch Nails.

It came out at a time when I was transitioning from guitar oriented, hard tock music and starting to experiment with synths and samplers. The album itself was a huge inspiration. Sonically, it covered such a broad palette - from extraordinarily delicate acoustic sounds to harsh electronic noises. Just like the Mr. Bungle album, it gave me a sense of freedom.

But the influence was made even deeper when I happened to buy an issue of Keyboard magazine detailing how the album was created, how Reznor rented this old funeral home in New Orleans where he and the guys who worked on the album each had their room with a DAW, with the main studio downstairs and a server so that while one guy was recording their part in the studio, another guy might be in their room experimenting and then uploading the resulting audio on the server. Reznor also hired a guy to build a huge library of long, evolving sounds that he could further mangle. The whole process seemed absolutely fascinating. And the fact that they were using Logic as a front for the Pro Tools hardware didn't hurt.

Also, who wouldn't want to live in an old funeral home, right? 🤣

In a sense, this one belongs on my list precisely because it is such an brilliant mishmash of so many of the things that I love - going from traditional eastern music bits to surf to metal - and yet it remains coherent. It gave me a sense of freedom in the way I think about the music I write.

34 minutes ago, Starship Krupa said:

I have a ticket to see Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass and Other Delights tour in Los Angeles this November, which will require me to drive about 7 hours each way between Oakland and LA)

 

 

You're amongst friends. 😁 I'm also a huge fan. Well, maybe not quite as much as yourself. A 7 hours drive, man...

On 5/5/2025 at 5:31 AM, Shane_B. said:

I'm so far behind the times. I just discovered last night that Presonus was bought by Fender a few years ago.

Well, you're at least 5 days ahead of me. 

I too seem to remember a time when I was up to date on almost everything, constantly looking for new plugins and new gear. Nowadays, once I'm setup, I don't want to mess up with a working configuration or to try things. I went against my better judgement last fall and upgraded Logic to try the new Quantec reverb - hosed my DAW and it took me several days to get it back up and running. And it's still nowhere near as solid as it was because I had to upgrade to an OS that sucks.
 

14 minutes ago, T Boog said:

My top 10 most influential albums in order...

1. Slayer, Reign in Blood

2. Leif Garrett, I Was Made For Dancing 

3. Venom, Welcome to Hell

4. Spice Girls, Spice World

5. Napalm Death, Scum

6. Debbie Boone, You Light Up My Life 

7. Cattle Decapitation, Bring Back The Plague

8. Boy George, Boyfriend

9. Morbid Angel, Heretic

10. Britney Spears, Oops!... I Did It Again

 

A study in contrasts. 

Glad to see a fellow Venom fan in the old CH. 

The lists of artists who’ve inspired me is too long to even start, but in terms of specific albums that were corner stones, it’s a surprisingly short list. The Beatles are arguably my biggest influence in many ways but I could not pick one album. Same for The Cure or Depeche Mode… 

If there had to be just one album on which everything hinges, it would be KISS Creatures of the Night.

I grew up in a very peculiar environment and it wasn’t until 6th grade that I realized that there was a world of music out there besides Elvis Presley. Then one afternoon after school, a friend brought his older brother's copy of Creatures of the Night...

In many ways, it set the blueprint for everything I’ve ever done musically, even if one would have a hard time guessing. It’s dark, heavy, focused, coherent and with drums as loud AF.

It also spoiled me a little for a bit because I was expecting all heavy metal to sound like this, with ridiculously huge drums. It was kind of a let down when I borrowed a friend’s copy of Love Gun. 🤣

2 hours ago, T Boog said:

That's a great analogy Rain. 

And yeah, Ace Frehley had already established himself as a great player and a great songwriter too. Ace was definitely the lead guitar sound of Kiss and he influenced many guitarists.

 All of my favorite Kiss songs have Ace on lead. And I loved Frehley's Comet too. I also heard that Ace didn't like their later producer and was planning to quit anyway.

So yeah, although Ace was no Ed Van Halen, he was def an original and a perfect fit for Kiss. Long live the Spaceman  😉

I totally agree.

I'm a huge fan of his. In fact, even if my own music has practically nothing to do with KISS, I have this little Spaceman plush an ex gave me  that's always around when I record guitar, to remind me of what really matters. 

I had the chance to play with a few guys from his bands here for KISS Night - guys who'd been on the Bad Boys tour with him and Peter in the mid 90's and his current drummer. Heard some pretty cool stories.

The last year I went, Bob Kulick was there too, and I happened to be on the rehearsal call sheet the night he came in. It was pretty awesome to watch him play All American Man live in the rehearsal studio with just 5 or 6 of us.

Las Vegas has been synonymous with KISS from the day I landed here and I got to meet and play some pretty cool cats and old heroes because of them. I even got to hang out with Peter Criss' first wife. Her book is a must-read for any KISS fan.

I guess it's kind of subjective where we draw the line - but ultimately it's got to do with the musician's ability vs efficiency. Kind of like Michelangelo who had students handle some less important parts of his paintings. There is no question that he had the talent. Same with Gilmour. 

Personally though,  I would feel uncomfortable if I was credited for someone else's performance. I've no problem with Bob Kulick or Dick Wagner subbing for Ace Frehley on this or that solo on a KISS album, and it's been made public since, but I prefer when bands are more upfront about it and list who played what on each song. 

As for I, I tend to be a lot more scrupulous. To this day, I never could bring myself to punch in or even to do comps. I feel I should be able to at least get through an entire section in one take, whether it's a verse or a chorus or a solo. 

Reminds me...

My band had booked some time in the studio. My first time in a studio. When the time came for me to record my parts, everything went fine except for one lead that I just could not cut. It was the simplest thing, just a few bars of the most basic pentatonic lead you can imagine but I could not nail it. Take after take after take.

The engineer/producer said he wanted to try something. He had me plug my guitar into the other guitarist's rig - a MesaBoogie - which had tons more gain than my own rig which consisted of a tube overdrive into a 59 Fender Bassman. And with a classic single coil Strat.

I immediately nailed it. One take's all it took. 

Only, to this day I cringe whenever I hear it and feel like I cheated, because of all that gain. And it's not MY sound. From a producer's perspective though, I totally get it. 

Knowing me, we'd still be at it 28 years later...

On 5/1/2025 at 9:05 PM, Amicus717 said:

My turn...men's league hockey tournament in Montreal in 2008.

I don't remember why my men's league team chose Philly colors. And we were too cheap to put on a logo. But man, did we have a great time playing together! More than a few of my team-mates were dudes I played with since we were in grade school.

I don't think any of us are limber enough to get back out there, these days. 

 

The Leafs won the series against a really pesky Senators squad tonight, and it took longer than we all hoped, considering we were up 3 games to 0, at one point. Whew! I'm thrilled, but now we get the Florida Panthers, and that's gonna be a tough hill to climb. They're basically the Sens on steroids. This one's gonna be a grind.

 

My Leafs jersey's the only one left out. Go Leafs!

On 4/14/2025 at 11:46 AM, craigb said:

That's one thing I was grateful for!  I never took a puck to the teeth.  I played when I was young, so I was tall and thin back then.  Although I was the fastest on the team, when I got hit I semi-glazed over and seemed to always hit the ice chin first!  LOL.  Once I finally bulked up for other sports, I would have probably been put on defense.  My transition was from a 6' 3" 160 lbs. to 6' 4" 225 lbs. 

Found this photo, dating from 1986 - the year Les Canadiens won their second to last cup. They were still "Les Glorieux" back then. With my mother, brother and grandfather (who visibly didn't care for photos) - grandma was taking the picture.  I would have been 13 or 14, sporting what looks like some kind of mullet, and my precious Guy Carbonneau jersey (my hockey hero at the time). I wore number 21 for several years because of him.

From memory, my mother was 5'7", so judging by that pic, I was somewhere close to  6'. I always had good shoulders, but I was very skinny...

Indeed, fantastic game tonight.

TBH, I have more hope for the Leafs than I have for the Habs this year, but as you say, they have a pretty good core of young players and a lot of potential for the future.
 

And on the topic of hockey... How cool is that? I'm a big fan of both guys.

23 minutes ago, Amicus717 said:

You will find no who here agrees with you more than me.

I played a lot of hockey over the years, but my body can't handle it anymore -- too many accumulated hurts, although nothing as dramatic as a broken nose or lost teeth. Just a lot of wear and tear on my knees and shoulders, and one really bad ankle tear. 

But I did almost get into a fight with Dave "The Hammer" Schultz at a Pro-Am tournament in 2006. That was fun. 

 

 

Living in the desert has done wonders for my knees and joints in general, but at my age, it's better that I forget about ever putting the skates on again. 

The Hammer, man! That must have been something! lol

All the best for the playoffs, brother. I'll be rooting for the Leafs and the Habs from Vegas. My US team (Boston) has a few tough years ahead I expect. But it's great to see the Leafs come out on top of the Atlantic Division. And the Habs somehow manage to make it into the playoffs. 

This popped up in my memories. 

1982, division finals – Boston Bruins vs Québec Nordiques. A young Rain on the edge of his seat, furiously biting what’s left of his nails.  At least for the playoffs, I was allowed to stay up late even on school days. Because, Canada… It was a tight series but Québec ultimately won the best of 7 before being beaten by the NY Islanders. I finally got my Boston jersey the following year - my first jersey.

So many shades of brown and orange... 😆

11 hours ago, craigb said:

That's one thing I was grateful for!  I never took a puck to the teeth.  I played when I was young, so I was tall and thin back then.  Although I was the fastest on the team, when I got hit I semi-glazed over and seemed to always hit the ice chin first!  LOL.  Once I finally bulked up for other sports, I would have probably been put on defense.  My transition was from a 6' 3" 160 lbs. to 6' 4" 225 lbs. 

I could never break through that 160 lbs ceiling even as an adult. Then we moved to the US. The portions down here, man... That was probably the biggest shock. lol

I also quit smoking and reached 40 around that time.

I try to maintain a weight under 215 (for almost 6'3") - which became a little tougher when I started dating a Mexican girl, because, well, Mexican food isn't exactly lean and healthy.  When I workout a lot, it's usually between 200-205. 

We've lost a fantastic drummer today. Binks died at the age of 74.

He contributed to 3 of my favorite Judas Priest albums and to one of my favorite songs of theirs (Beyond the Realms of Death). I'll be blasting those classics tonight.

4 hours ago, craigb said:

Oh, and I did break my nose (more than once) and have over 230 stiches in my chin (not all at the same time) from my hockey playing days!

You are one dedicated man, my friend.

Me, I must be the luckiest guy in the world. 

My brother left most of his front teeth on the ice. For a while, he seemed to be coming home with a concussion every other week.

Me, besides the occasional fat lip and that broken arm (the result of a fall), nothing serious really. 

Actually, I suffered most of my sport injuries and concussions during warmups of when I was on the bench. I was safer on the ice or on the tatami. 

dupe

2 hours ago, Marc Cormier said:

Those games were a TON of fun.  The game is on YouTube and you can see Reggie Lemelin's F-Bomb clear as day.  Last game I played was for the NY Rangers when one of their alumni goalies had to cancel last minute.  The Cup was sitting in the locker room between me and Sergio Momesso.  Sitting there in our skivvies looking at the thing.  Sweet memories made harder knowing i was playing some of the best hockey of my life last fall. 

What a drag to have to stop taking your love of the Bruins onto the ice at such a young age.  That had to be so tough.  I can't even conceive of it.  What a blessing to have these instruments that give us voice, that speak back to us as much as we speak through them.   And girls.  I married one and now have three more.  I miss the locker room even more now!!!!!

I will truly miss this place if it ever goes away. I get to talk music AND hockey, with people who are passionate and dedicated.

Man, that must have been something. Thank you for sharing.

My memory isn't quite what it was but if I remember correctly, Momesso was on the roster when Montreal won the cup in 86 but he was injured so he missed the playoffs. 

I've always been a fan of both Montreal and Boston (and Quebec in the early days), but I took a special liking to Montreal when I realized how much my father hated them.  Teenagers, you know... I went from a Pete Peeters jersey to a Guy Carbonneau one. 

Peeters was my first real hockey hero, he had such fantastic season with the B's that year. Along with Daniel Bouchard, he was my biggest non musical hero, and I wanted to be a goalie but I just wasn't cut for it.  I worked better as a defensive center, so Carbonneau became a huge influence. But I Bruins'ed it up a little. 

Man, hockey is awesome. 

1 hour ago, Canopus said:

I found an interview with you on YouTube where, in the first 23 minutes, you talked about your story and the NHL alumni experience. Great story!

 

That's fantastic! 

I'm not as brave as you guys. One broken arm at 16 is all it took. Actually, I finished the game with the broken arm,  but that was the end of it for me. I remember sitting on my bed with my left arm in a cast from above the elbow to my knuckles, and trying to figure out a way to play guitar. Those were some of the longest, most depressing weeks of my life, and I figured: never again, guitar is the most important thing. One of the 3 G's: Guitars, Girls and Girls. 😁

But I loved hockey and I truly missed it. Still do. That being said, it's probably a good thing. I idolized the Bruins and I modeled myself after them, even if I did not have the physique or the strength. I used to go after bigger guys I would never have gone against off the rink, and hit them dirty. I'm lucky I got away with a broken arm (due to a fall). Plus, I had Bobby Orr-grade knees, so...