Let The Cluster Begin

      Today is my sister’s birthday. She’s 50. It’s weird how having your little sister turn 50 makes you feel old. However, my daughter is turning 25 on Monday, and that doesn’t make me feel that old. I have no idea what that’s about. We’re in a birthday cluster right now. My sister and my nephew today. My aunt tomorrow. My daughter on Monday. The country on Thursday. And my father on the 8^th. My aunt and my nephew are on the east coast, so it’s not really that big of a deal. I haven’t been in contact with my aunt in a long time. I don’t know that it’s worth getting into. We’ve never really sent anything to my nephew either, so I’m sure he won’t miss it. My wife and I took my sister out last night. My wife was supposed to have plans tonight, but she’s here, with me, sick. She was fine last night, but apparently started getting violently ill early this morning. My sister and I are fine, so I’m not sure what’s going on. Although, I did eat my wife’s leftovers for lunch, and now I just scared myself a little. I’m sure I’ll be fine. My wife was supposed to have a team bonding dinner tonight with her work team. She manages 4 or 5 people, and her boss recommended taking them out for a bonding dinner. However, that needed to be cancelled because she isn’t well. I don’t think the team will care that much. Apparently one of them had to practically be threatened to attend. This woman is not a team player. She’s been with the company 17 years and has never advanced! She should have her own team by now, but she is just not motivated. Come to find out her and the big boss went to high school together, and were in each other’s weddings. I guess some people think there’s some favoritism involved, but she was going to show up to this event. Allegedly. She may have dodged a bullet.

     Last week, the drummer did not show up to practice. I thought it was weird that on Monday he said he was a “Maybe” because his grandmother went into hospice. His mother died when he was young, so his grandmother basically raised him. So, I know it’s not a typical grandmother dying story. However, I do think it’s weird to say “Maybe” on Monday, and then never let anyone know if you’re going to make it. I also wonder if she’s passed yet. I think it would be weird to tell people that someone is going into hospice, but then not tell you when they pass. But you never can tell with someone who’ll leave you with a “Maybe.” We’ve all met her. She was/is a nice lady. I feel bad for him, because he’s running out of old family. Soon he’ll be the oldest of his whole clan. Spooky. The rest of us had a good practice. I thought it was interesting that the guitar player and I, without discussing it, both brought our setup as if he wasn’t going to make it. I guess we both knew what “Maybe” meant. Now, we go about a month before we see each other again. Wagz is camping this week. The 4^th is next week, no one wants to play on the 4^th. The 11^th 2 people are out. Then on the 18^th I come home from vacation with my daughter. I’m assuming we’ll be home in time to practice. I don’t want to cancel if everyone else can make it. It’s practically July and we’ve only practiced 5 times! I’m still getting a lot of playing done, but it’s not the same. Plus, I’m trying to put a show together for this Autumn because as a band we’re turning 20! We started jamming in 2004! I can’t believe it. I would like to put on a really big show, but we’d have to practice first! I’m sure we’ll be fine.

     This past weekend Susan had some family in town. Our niece was in town the whole week. She just turned 18, and graduated high school. She decided it would be fun to visit her grandmother for the week. Her mother came for the weekend to pick her up. On Saturday, I had some friends playing an all ages, daytime show, and Nora, the niece, expressed some interest in going, so my wife brought her, along with our daughter. It was hot! Not Africa hot, but still, hotter than you want when you’re just standing around on asphalt. Luckily, they had pop-ups, or we wouldn’t have made it. I’ve never really spent that much time with Nora. She’s kind of boring. She just sat there. Most people were bobbing and swaying to the music. Not her. She just sat there. I’d like to say, “typical 18-year-old,” but when ours was 18, she wasn’t like that. We had our own issues, but not like that. Anyway, it reminded me of a line in a song I wrote one time: “It seems like people have come a long way to just frown.” I feel bad for her. I think her dad is trying to convince her to join the Army, and trust me when I say: This individual is not Army material. I hope she’ll figure it out for herself. She’s just confused. In more ways than one. But I’ll leave that for a different day. Also this weekend, the country band started recording! I can’t believe how motivated these people are. It feels good. Plus, I’ve been getting lots of accolades for my performances, and that always feels nice. I keep forgetting that even though I’ve been doing this for a long time, a lot of people still have no idea what I do, or what I’m capable of. It feels good to be appreciated. Unfortunately, I do realize that I enjoy when people think I’m good. I’ve put a lot of effort in. I also realize that I like being around motivated, creative, determined people.

Longest Day Of The Year

      Man, I am not feeling it today. I accidentally got drunk last night, and here I am at 4pm, still feeling like crap. No bueno! It really is making today feel like the longest day of the year. I wasn’t even partying, we were just sitting around listening to music. I am not happy about this. I jokingly blamed my wife, but I know it’s my fault. I haven’t had a hangover that lasted this long in a while. Maybe I’m ill. Oh well, if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Sometimes I wish there was a Fitbit type device I could wear that would tell me when I was about to get to “hangover level.” It could work in all kinds of situations. “Oops, too much to drive, I’ll have some water.” Just imagine! I wonder if people had such a device, would they’d listen to it? It could be useful for those of us not ready to quit drinking entirely. My mom has a Fitbit type of device that reminds her to get up and move every so often. I’ve witnessed her silencing it, without moving around. I imagine people would do the same with the “Wearable BAC% Meter.” You heard it here first! This was my idea. Never mind. I just looked it up, and there is already something like that. I’ll leave my exuberant words intact, because that’s what I do, this is happening in real time. And it really happened, so there. Bummer. I’d actually been thinking about it for a while now. We used to have a monitor that you could blow in, like a regular breathalyzer. We used it a couple of times. The idea was that if we could monitor our BAC, we would be able to avoid a hangover, or sleepiness. The problem was/is that when you’re drinking, you often forget about certain things. Checking our BAC turned out to be one of those things. A wearable option may work!

     I’m not buying one of those things. Yet. I started thinking about it when I was imagining developing a TV show. I once saw a show called Drunk History. I thought it was pretty funny, and it gave me an idea. I’ll imagine that you’ve already heard of it, or are willing to look it up yourself, if you’re interested. I was imagining my show being on the Travel Channel, or something like it. The show I was imagining was called “Drunks Cooking.” The concept goes as thus: A group of friends go on a vacation. They get an Air BNB type place. Not only would this kind of be an advertisement for the cool Air BNB, but it would also showcase the city they are in. So, the camera crew would follow this group around, as they hit all the hotspots of that particular city. Increasing the potential for tourism. It’s mostly reality based, people doing what people do. However, they would all have these “wearable BAC monitors.” The producers will have stocked the home with all kinds of different food to prepare. People would not be able to start cooking until their “BAC monitor” showed they were “drunk.” If their BAC went down, they’d have to leave the kitchen. The producers would make sure nothing horrible happened. The group would have no idea what food they would find, until it was time. I think that’d be an interesting show. You’d have to vet out the people, make sure they’re an outgoing group, make sure some at least “say” they can cook. And then watch the whole party come off the hinges. I still think it’d be an interesting show. You heard it here first! I’m not going to look that one up, I’m just claiming it! It’s probably a good thing I don’t have any idea how to pitch a show. I wouldn’t even know who to talk to about it. But, knowing that part of it is actually real now, makes this thought all the more exciting.

     And this is how I entertain myself. I’m excited about band practice tonight. I’m not sure who’s all going to be there, but it will hopefully at least be 3 of us. If the drummer shows up, this will be 3 weeks in a row! That is progress my friends. We are starting to sound awesome again! Last week the keyboardist was out, and we still got together! Just like the old days. It was nice. It kind of reminded me that we are a rock band. I like the keys, but sometimes I’m afraid it makes us sound too “mellow.” I’m not even sure if “mellow” is the right word, but that’s what came out, so that’s what you get. I’m excited. I’m playing a lot these days. I join a new band, and all of a sudden, my old band revs it’s engine up, I love it. It’s taking some getting used to, but this is what I always wanted, and now it’s happening, so I will not complain. About that. My new Punktry band is recording on Sunday! We’ve only practiced 3 times! It’ll be awesome. These people are motivated, and I love it. When I tell people I’m playing in a country band, their faces are priceless. I wish I could snap a picture of their faces when I tell them. Once I explain it, they seem interested, but initially people are shocked. Hopefully they’ll be equally surprised by how much they like it. Our first show could be one month from today. But is definitely on July 27^th. I can’t wait! I can’t believe we’re going from 0 minutes to 30 minutes in 2 months! That is unheard of. But we’re doing it. I’m glad I met up with these people. Not only that, but the Calvins just got asked to open up for a touring act! We’re excited! We opened for this band Daikaiju a couple of years ago. Now they’re coming back and asked for us specifically! This is all really happening!

Building Community

      Where to start? You’d think by now I’d at least have an idea of what to put, but alas, no, I still try not to formulate an idea before I sit here. I try to recall what it was I have done in the past week, although I still battle with the idea that this was not expected to be a chronological record. However, the chronology usually gives me some type of starting point, and hopefully some context, maybe even perhaps a little insight. Although, things are getting pretty exciting. The Calvins had a show last Friday. It was pretty good. We played with a couple of bands we know. One of which was from the North County, they didn’t really bring anybody. Which is understandable. Not too many people are going to drive an hour to see an indie band. We’ve never had anybody follow us up north. They went on first. Literally, I think they brought 2 people. Which is fine, we knew they didn’t have a draw. But the strange thing is, they get all kinds of shows, and they never have a draw! I don’t know how they’re getting so many cool gigs with no draw. We brought them in on this one, just to be cool. The music is similar to ours, so it was a good fit, we just wish they brought more people. Our bad. The turnout was looking abysmal, but then, closer to us going on, people started filing in. We had a pretty good turnout. But, once again, it wasn’t from our friend group. I think only 5 of our “friends” showed up. It was mostly people from other bands, who perhaps, legitimately wanted to see us. I say “perhaps” because sometimes I go to shows just to make an appearance. I wouldn’t necessarily do that to bands I didn’t “want” to see, but still, I’ve played the scenester role. There’s nothing “wrong” with it, that’s how connections get made, that’s how the community gets formed. More on that later.

     The last band wasn’t even punk related. We had played with them before, and weren’t quite sure why they asked us to play this gig, but we accepted. They were heavier than I remember them being. It was alright. They brought about 15 people, who didn’t seem to show up until they were about to go on. They’re a little bit younger than us, so I guess that’s expected. The guitar player owns a famous restaurant in OB, so we thought they’d have a draw just based on who he is, but that was not the case. Maybe if we had played in OB, but not at the Ken Club. All in all, we played well, and the show went well. We actually got paid a little! The weird part was… my wife was not there. She had planned a “girls only” camping trip before we got the gig. I think this is only the third gig she’s missed in 22 years! The first 2 were when we were first dating. One of which was a 3-hour gig at a casino. Needless to say, although I’m going to say it anyway, it was a little weird not having her around. Everyone mentioned it. She is very outgoing, and was naturally missed. It was also weird coming home to a quiet house. She was gone all weekend, so Saturday, instead of doing some yard work that needs done, I decided to go to a show. Harking back to what I was mentioning earlier, a band I like from North County came down for a matinee show. There were 2 other bands I wanted to see, it was a daytime show, and I had “nothing else” to do, so I went. By myself. Another weird thing. I’m not usually social on my own, but I felt this line-up was worth it. I was not disappointed! The first band was a Bad Religion cover band, and they played all my favorites. I was stoked! They were awesome!

     The whole show was rad. I got to see another band I had not heard of before, and they blew my mind! I thought it was cool, the next day the singer friended me on FB. Apparently, we were both feeling the energy. I got 3 new friend requests stemming from my appearance at that show. It was fun. I was able to take it easy and have fun. There were a lot of familiar faces there, and I was glad I went. I want people to know I’m trying to support the community. I want to be a part of this community. And it feels like I am. Especially considering that the new band I’m in is directly related to being a part of this community. But here’s the real kicker: I was sitting there, waiting for the next act to come on, and a guy approached me. I kind of recognized him, but wasn’t sure how. I assumed, the scene. He wanted to buy me a beer. I wasn’t quite ready, and let him know. He asked about the Eruption, which was weird. Not too many people know about them. Then he told me this story: He wants to thank me, because a couple of years ago he saw both bands at 13 Point Brewing Company. He had never really listened to punk rock music, and thought we were awesome. Then, about a year later, so last year, he was driving down University and saw me loading my gear into the Tower Bar. He had never been to the Tower Bar, but recognized me, and since he liked what he heard last time, decided to check it out. I started to remember this from last year, as he came up to me that day too. What I did not know was that since that day, he has been a regular at the Tower Bar. He now loves punk rock music and the punk rock scene. He’s made a lot of friends, and is now feeling a part of a community. And he attributes it all to seeing my band, and coming in to check out what I was doing. Mission accomplished!

Here We Go Again

      80^th anniversary of D-Day. Wow, that seems like a long time ago! It was. On the news they keep showing some of the few remaining veterans, and they are all 100! It’s hard to think about what they would have been like 80 years ago. It feels like the world we live in is still being shaped by the events of way back then. Sometimes it feels like it even goes farther back. Technically we’re still being shaped by what happened to Jesus. It’s tough to think about. The war in the middle east has been going on since the Hebrews found the land of milk and honey. We’re still being shaped by that! And it shocks me still that war is an answer for some people. How can anyone want constant conflict? It makes no sense to me. I know some people get rich off war, but that hardly seems like a good way to go about it. There are other ways to get rich. How can we be this far along, and not trying to achieve peace? I’m lost. It feels like we’re on the verge of World War 3. Or is it supposed to be WWIII? I don’t know. Sometimes I think when we abbreviate or use a different numeral system, it takes the sting out of what we’re actually talking about. World War 2 was supposed to be “the war to end all wars.” Guess what? It wasn’t. How can we be sitting in this same situation again? How are people who want peace not rising through the ranks? Why are people still so enamored by destruction? Right now, Russia is destroying a land they say they wish to possess. Decimating a place you want to live? How does that make any sense?! None of it makes any sense. If the point of fighting is to stop fighting, then we can skip a step. How much more could we accomplish if our resources were put towards helping each other, instead of keeping the war machine focused on newer, better, weaponry?

     Oh well, I guess it’s easy to think those things sitting here on my couch. I’m not running for office. I’m excited because I get to have band practice tonight. That’s right, the drummer is coming to practice! It feels like 100 years have passed. April the 4^th was the last time he showed up. 2 months! That does not sound like someone who’s interested. Plus, in all that time, he hasn’t used the car accident as an excuse. Not even once. Other stuff. Oh well, I don’t want to think about that now. Now I am excited because he will be there. Even the rest of us haven’t seen each other in a while. It’s been 3 weeks since I had a Thursday practice. Yikes! It’s kind of a bummer too, because our daughter has the night off, and we were going to get together for a family dinner, which never happens. But since practice is a go, my wife and daughter are dining without me. I feel kind of bad, but I didn’t want to cancel when everyone else is on board. I really would like to see her. It’s been a while. I think the last I saw her was Easter. Her birthday’s coming up, we’ll get some time to spend with each other. Last I heard we’re talking about a road trip to Laughlin, NV. She’s never been. It should be fun. Hours in the car together will definitely make up for any lost time. I think my family is going too. My sister’s, daughter’s, and father’s birthdays are all very close together. Plus, this year is kind of a trip because my daughter is turning 25, my sister is turning 50, and my mother is turning 75. My mom’s birthday isn’t until December, but we’re going to celebrate anyway. That’ll be in a couple of weeks. I feel weird for choosing band over family. But they get it. I doubt they’ll be too terribly disappointed. I hope I’ll be missed. This better be the best band practice ever!

     In other news, I joined another band. It was kind of cool how it happened. I felt recruited. A few weeks ago, when the Calvins played with the Ramblin’ Outlaws at the Holding Company, a guy I know who plays violin, asked if I’d be interested in joining a country band. It’s more like country punk, but still. I know the lady who’s fronting the band, and she’s motivated, so I said: “If I’m needed.” He had told me about a show coming up, so I wasn’t sure at the time if I was helping them have a show, or if I was wanted in the band. Booking a show before there’s a band!? That’s some next level motivation! Booking a show before songs are even written!? That is what I’m talking about. We’re going to go from zero to 30 minutes of material in 2 months! That is motivation! Unbeknownst to me, at the same show, Knikki, the singer, told my wife that she was going to try to recruit me for her new country band. I thought it was odd that she didn’t say anything to me, but then again, a lot of time, my wife seems to be the one who gets information for me. She’s more outgoing than me. At first, I thought it might’ve been all talk, but then I started getting texts about practice. I ran into Knikki at a party last Saturday, and she seemed excited that I would be at practice the next day. I still wasn’t sure what my role would be, but I’m always excited to try new things. Especially with talented, motivated, people. She sent me some songs they had recorded at practice. It wasn’t bad. I thought I could get into it. So, I went and practiced with them on Sunday. It was fun. It was pretty good. They all seemed grateful that I was there. I wasn’t sure if it was because a bass player was there, or if it was because I was there. I was curious why they didn’t already have one. But I didn’t ask. Here’s to new things!