Monday, December 17, 2012

Facial hair

Why not? Not that you give a crap but just in case you stay up at night wondering. So I'm experimenting with this beard. Never really grown one out and not sure why. I'm 33 and this is the first time I've grown anything resembling a mustache. That's weird when I think about it. I guess I never really thought that area was thick enough. I mean this is about 4-5 days out. My mustache is still a little on the Denham Springs side if you ask me. Ahh, whatever. With little mustache comes little responsibility right?

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Something a little more tangeable

I wanted to post something a little more tangible for my first blog post from my new place. My uncle Ross made this fantastic preset for the Avid Eleven Rack. He's been trying to get this Van Halen "Balance" tone. You remember that album don't you, I think it was 1996. I think this is as close as one can make the guitar tone without an Eventide Harmonizer. I recorded this 12/4/12 hastily. There is no post processing, layering or panning. Enjoy.


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Only 2 Nov. post!

Sad, I only made 2 posts this month. I really slacked off on my goals this month. I got a lot done at work. Went through a lot of shit with Ebay. Don't ever try and ship a heavy bulky guitar amp. Had it out with my roommate. Found another place to live (My next post should be from my new place). I joined Facebook, never thought I would. My mom had gallstones removed. I was ok at going to the gym. This is probably the first year I did not participate in Thanksgiving. I stayed home, studied music theory and relaxed, it was wonderful. Had to sell my dslr camera. Shit comes up and I just can't seem to hold on to those things. Hopefully I can get a decent camera later. I took a crap ton of pics with the girls at dogfest before I sold it.

I look forward to setting up my new living room with some basic workout equipment (tall wooden box, heavy logs, etc). Not looking forward to Christmas. Looking forward to writing some music with my friend Joey. Looking forward to the work's Christmas party in Lafayette. Times like this I like to look to my brother Joel and remember not to take shit so seriously.


This guy got his money's worth.


I LOVE Bostons! Seriously, Look at the coat on this bitch!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Corks and Canvases

Went to my first "team building" exercise last night and it was actually a lot of fun. I really like a lot of the New Orleans style paintings so this was my chance to make one with the help of the instructor which was really helpful. I quickly realized I'm not an artist within the paint medium.  It was nice to have fun with people from work though.












Saturday, November 3, 2012

Halloween Barley Oak

A few pics from Halloween the other night. Don't ask me what I was, I threw together what I had which was a fire retardant suit and a skull mask. It worked though. It helped that the Viking was 6'9". We had the Gwar/ Slipknot vibe going. Had a lot of fun with these guys though, talking about cars, work and whatnot.












Thursday, November 1, 2012

Guess what I am?



My sister spotted this critter the week before and was unable to identify it because it darted off so quick. You get too close to this thing and there is no mistaking what it is. My roommate almost stepped on it when walking out the door. Bushy tail and squat stature, yup, this is a skunk. This is the only pic I could get of him before he scurried off into the night. My neighbor has been driving around the field/back yard in his dually armed with his trusty shotgun blasting these little bastards into oblivion because apparently skunks carry a disease that kills horses and it's not rabies. Although rabies would kill horses too.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Call Me No One show

So I finally got around to posting this vid taken with my iphone 4s. It takes ok video in the dark. This footage is from 2 months ago.

  CMNO

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Fake Seymour Duncan pickup

I'm a big fan of Seymour Duncan pickups. Dimarzio lacks a warmth that I like in Duncan. I really dig Clint Lowery's tone on the side project Call Me No One. He has this half cocked wah pedal tone. I was advised through a few forums that Clint uses a Duncan Sh-11, basically an sh-5 with alinco II magnets. It gives you the vintage tone you want with more hotness. I'm all about the hotness. Becareful what deals you snatch up on ebay. This is not a Duncan pickup. It's a micro-phonic turd! Be careful of the turds you bid on on eBay.

 I understand having Clint's exact gear will not allow me to write songs like Sevendust. CMNO's guitar tone is so deep it rivals that of Dean DeLeo (STP). I have learned lately (this evening) that I don't like tube amps as much as I like a computer replicating a tube amp sound. Tube amps sound like chicken pot pie when cranked wide open. It's delicious yes, but you don't know where the chicken ends and the veggies begin. Most of the tube amps I've heard have a signature sound. Fender bassman's do country and blues like no one's business. Mesa's own the hard rock and metal industry with an iron fist. Peavey owns a sliver of the classic rock and metal industry because they can't produce a clean tone to save their effin' life! That's right, I said it, Peavey can't get the basic clean tone down. There was a part of me that was hoping that my Eleven Rack's 6505+ preset would look retarded in the light of an actual 6505+ tube combo amp. I post this embarrassingly with my tail between my legs. In the words of Mr. Anselmo, Peavey "can lick my sack."

Saturday, October 13, 2012

6l6 replacement

First time having to re-tube an amp was a learning experience. I just got a Peavey 6505+ off eBay  I prepared for the worst (the tubes might be dead). Most new guitarist learn how great tube amps sound but don't realize that tubes have to be changed out fairly often if you crank the amp a lot. They can last anywhere from 6 months to 3 years. I dream of having a tube stereo in my living room one day. They just sound too damn good! The Peavey 6505+ combo amp comes with Ruby 6l6gc power tubes. The original owner claims he bought the amp new, 2 years ago. When I got the amp it produced this nasty BLAT sound when you played hard and loud. The notes sounded overly compressed and indistinguishable for a second then level out and sound normal. Everything online told me it likely needed to be re-tubed. Some tubes glow completely blue when going out. Ruby 6l6gc's I have learned have a blue and orange glow normally. I have to assume the original owner wouldn't change the biasing from the factory setting, you never know with some people though (tech support has taught me this).


When getting a tube amp it's a good assumption that the previous user cranked it all the time and burned up the tubes. You would do the same. Tubes only sound better (warm analog sound, like record player quality) as you crank them. I replaced the 2 power tubes and one preamp tube. Problem solved! The overly compressed sound went away. Amp sounds more responsive! I have 5 preamp tubes and 2 power tubes. I bought 2 power tubes and 3 preamp tubes, all for about $130. Worth it. I replaced these tubes (pictured below).

I mean how cute is this?

Can't get enough of these pics I took of Joaney, 3 weeks ago. This is really who she is. I always had this same scowl on my face as a kid.

If you play guitar, you know how big these guitars are. She's my little sunflower.

Monday, October 8, 2012

Birthday 3

Spent some time with Joaney on her 3rd. I owed her real cookies to
make up for last years crumby cookie cake debacle. She seems to like
plain sugar cookies the most, go figure.

Drunk

Drunk cougar birthday parties are fun to be a part of, even when ur not invited.

Locked out

So I'm locked out of my facebook while they are confirming my identity. Weird but I know facebook is not big on anonymity. I've been keeping myself very busy. Bought a combo amp to play some live shows with. Met some guys who are forming a cover band and tried out for that. I've learned about half the set list. The set list is simple and fun stuff like:
Sublime - Santeria
Silverchair - Tomorrow
Joan Jett - I love Rock and Roll
Theory of a Deadman - Bad Girlfriend
Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome
Metallica - Enter Sandman

Lotsa good stuff from the 90's mostly. It's been a lot of fun learning these songs, whether I get into the band or not. If things don't work out with the band I might jump more into Crossfit. I don't like sitting still and enjoy meeting new people.


Friday, September 21, 2012

6 again

This is a little better. I can't smile when I'm so focused on keeping
the camera steady.

iOS 6

I love this panoramic feature although it can produce some creepy pictures.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Paleo lifestyle

Let me start by admitting I don't have all the answers or have it all
figured out. I do have very strong beliefs based on what I have
experienced, read, heard and seen. It is appropriate to add to the
cliche that one should not discuss politics, religion and now diet in
public. I'd actually much rather discuss politics or religion but I
have interest in neither.
I will try to keep this short since I'm about to go to work and I'm on
my phone in a dark parking lot at 5 am.
If you are having problems sleeping, with joint pain, type 2 diabetes,
asthma, allergies or just about any autoimmune disease, please look
into the paleo diet and exercise. The diet is a huge part but just
because you are losing weight, doesn't mean you are getting healthier.
Cancer victims lose weight, we have all seen it. Sugar and grains are
killing you very slowly. I don't want you to buy into the idea that
you need statin drugs because you have "messed up genetics" and you
are screwed by default. I know you can reverse all of these problems.
Wether you believe in god or evolution is irrelevant for this diet to
work. I know we are magnificent beings that we're not designed to
break down as soon as we stop growing. I will make another post soon
with links showing how sugar addiction can be stronger than crack
addiction. A former crack addict in "The Paleo Solution" book actually
says this somewhere around page 210. Its so important to keep your
blood sugar stable though. I would challenge you to do it for just 2
weeks. Get some blood work done before and after and don't even
workout if you don't feel like it and I think you and your doctor will
be shocked at the results. I care about you and wish you the best
health.


Sent from my iPhone

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Storm


We are all safe. It looked like we were gonna flood there for a minute. They did a controlled break on the dam to relieve some pressure. My roommate told me the power is back on at our house in Loranger. My g/f and I stayed in Baton Rouge last weekend at a hotel since the power was out at both of our houses and just as kind of a date night we had been planning anyway. 
It's funny cause when I was at my house 2 days ago when the power was out I had a 220 watt ac adapter running from my little Honda CRV, powering a 32" tv with rabbit ears and a small box fan. I had my iphone as my halfass comm. device and I was thinking, "this isn't that bad as long as i have these three things running." Of course the sun hadn't come out and heated things up yet like it is starting to now.

Here's some of the puddles i was driving through to get to my house. And my dog waiting to leave the flood zone.




This was all last week and I just got around to publishing it. I just moved to a new place in the country. My new roommate is also a coworker of mine, cool guy named Lee. There isn't a Whole Foods anywhere near here but I think I may have found a slaughter house that produces grass fed beef.
We just got the internet hooked up in the house and the fridge was delivered yesterday. No more living out of a dorm fridge.

Friday, August 31, 2012

I, who does not laugh at Isaac

What a crazy weekend for us Louisianians. This is my last day at work before I go on vacation for a week. By vacation I mean going home to my new place and hoping that it doesn't flood. I have the little bit of expensive music equipment I own in my car. My dog is on a leash in my backyard with some water. My neighbor already admires Pete and has a boat so I'm pretty sure my neighbor (good guy mike) would throw  Pete in his boat if things got bad. I'm so tired as I am sure most of my coworkers without power are. I was really counting on getting a shower (a hot one at that) in the gym at work. Gym at work is closed today, hopefully Lori's (gym manager) family is ok. Most of the roads leaving Loranger were blocked by water. Hopefully I can get back in the way I came out.
Lets hope the worst is over. I just moved to Loranger this last weekend, how very ironic.