bitflipper

Yesterday was my birthday, so my oldest friend in the world treated me to dinner and a show - Booker T Jones at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham, WA. As we're all aware, you never know what you're going to get with nostalgia acts. I am actually a little fearful of going to see the heroes of my youth, lest they disappoint me. I'd rather remember them as they were at their peak than as somebody just continuing to do it because they've got bills to pay and can't do anything else. So I didn't know what to expect going in. How do you stretch Green Onions into a 2-hour show? I was afraid it might just be another legacy act getting a patter of applause from polite boomers. Of all the scenarios I anticipated, what I did not expect was a frickin' transcendent experience. My first clue that the show wouldn't be anything I'd expected was the intro to the first song, before Booker came on stage. The band was frickin' amazing - just bass, drums and guitar, no backing singers, no horn section, and most notably, no damn backing tracks. And the guitarist was truly phenomenal. Not just technically - he did have some impressive chops - but he had dynamics and soulful inflection to rival David Gilmour. The whole band had lift-you-outa-your-seat dynamics, but it was the guitar picker who stole the show. I wondered "who is this guy, and why ain't he famous already?" Then he steps to the mic and introduces Booker as "my dad, Booker T. Jones". I realized that this guy, whose name is Ted Jones, probably grew up sitting in the recording studio watching his dad produce hundreds of artists and soaking up decades of wisdom. Every song of the night was an absolute treat. At one point, father and son did a duo, both on guitars for a cover of Purple Rain. Holy guacamole, it was so good, and I don't even like that song. I don't know what to call their style. Progressive Blues, if that's a thing. Imagine if Pink Floyd became a blues band and stripped down the show to its essence. Whatever it is, I came away from the experience absolutely chuffed to be a musician. After all, Booker is way older than me and if he can still do it, I've got no excuses. Then again, I doubt he helped carry in his B3.

My story had a happy ending, everything eventually arrived. I'm guessing a PA system is a little harder to lose than a Tonex pedal. Good thing I got them when I did, as the price has risen since then, as with all imports.

Brian Hunsacker used to be a regular on the old forum. Back then, when I saw that he was local to me I contacted him and thus began our long friendship. I once helped record his band at a live gig and even though that band's aggressive metal wasn't exactly my cup 'o chamomile I was impressed by his guitar and vocal chops, as well as that of the co-guitarist. Also turns out he speaks Chinese, which he once showed off when we went out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Since then, Brian has moved to Texas and refuses to let the dream die. Let's give my buddy a few more views.

I genuinely thought this was a joke at first, when these guys appeared with wigs, generic metal grimaces and dimestore KISS makeup. And it is. But holy guacamole, what a great production!

Unusually high level of playing for a genre generally not known for virtuosity or creativity. Then again, they've been at it since 1994. Who knew there was such a thing as a surf guitar festival? I'd go! https://youtu.be/kGNK_ttKyqw Note: YouTube denied linking the video. Haven't seen this message before: "The link could not be embedded because youtu.be does not allow embedding of that video."

That is a beautiful bit o' kit there. Does anybody even make high-end cassette decks any more? Back in the day I was more likely to use TDK over Maxell, but only because it was a dollar less. I'd found that I got better results with cheaper tape, even though it would be decades before I knew why. For reel tape, though, it was always Maxell because it was the only brand the sole retailer in my city sold on large reels. In the 70's they were about $80 apiece, a major investment. I still have those reels in a box here, but long ago gave away the deck (3340-S, of course) that could play them.

I've long ago let go of mainstream rock and pop music. Or I should say mainstream rock and pop left me. So very little of it holds any appeal anymore and I'm tired of the classics I've heard a thousand times. These days, on most nights when I'm lying in the dark listening on headphones it'll be something from the 19th century on Deutsche Grammophon rather than In the Court of the Crimson King. So I am absolutely thrilled whenever I find something from this century that scratches the same itch that vintage ELO used to do. That only happens once in a great while. The Foo Fighters' Medicine at Midnight was one recent discovery that made me happy. I'm not even a big fan of that band, but Mr. Grohl and company stretched their vision on that one. And now there's the new Styx album, Circling From Above, to add to my small collection of modern classics. Always a good band, over the decades those guys have continued to grow while never forgetting the value of a good melody. Virtuoso dueling guitars on top of dreamy synths, and of course their signature fat vocal harmonies. Fell asleep to it last night and woke up with a smile this morning.

Should note that the crossgrade price is available for "any paid iZotope product". That means most of us here will qualify for the $37.90 price. I already have this functionality (mostly via Meldaproductions stuff), but not in a single plugin. It might be a fun one to play with. I like to put a little distortion on the upper mids for vocal tracks. This would do that, it seems.

1,023. That's how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. Prove me wrong.

Best cowbell intro?

Best use of a cowbell in psychedelia:

Been down a Molly Tuttle rabbit hole today...an apt analogy since I started this morning with her band's imaginative rendition of White Rabbit. You don't even have to like Bluegrass to appreciate the musicianship and creativity of this band.

Just in case you weren't convinced that Brian was a frickin' genius...

25 bucks for the Purple Audio MC77 1176 emulation. That's a good deal. Been my go-to FET-style compressor for years (after switching from my previous favorite when they went to the dark side with Pace). It's a good emulation but with features that an "authentic" 1176 won't have, e.g. wet/dry mix.