Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:37 am
Lunch
My wife made some red beans and rice for dinner, and she decided to wrap it in a tortilla which turned out really good. I'm having leftovers of that for lunch today.
Travel Picture
In Grand Cayman there is a sandbar where you can go and play with stingrays, and it turned out to be an amazing experience that may be one of those bucket list items. The history, as told by the tour guide, is that fisherman decades ago came to this sandbar to clean their daily catch. They noticed that stingrays will gather to eat what they discard into the water. Eventually they ventured into the water to find that the stingrays were quite friendly, so they made a habit of interacting with the rays. Someone eventually came up with the bright idea of bringing tourists to interact with the stingrays and an industry was born.
The ray's skin feels smooth, the underside is white in color and feels velvety smooth. They will swim right by you and come into contact with your body and will let you hold them. The stingrays will also eat out of your hand. I am provided pieces of squid as food. I'm told to hold my thumb in my palm and make a fist covering my thumb and with the squid sticking out the top of my fist. The stingrays don't have teeth, they suck the food out of your hand as they glide over your fist. The reason to tuck your thumb in is because they manage a lot of suction, and if they catch your thumb it will hurt, so I'm told.
My Instruments
Being a Beatles fan for life I had occasionally wanted to have a 12-string electric guitar. Rickenbackers are way too expensive for someone like me who just want a 12-string to bust out every once in a while. In 2007 I bought this Daisy Rock DC12 on eBay for about $250. The action was a little high when I first got the guitar. After shimming the neck it now has much better action. I play Beatles, the Cure, Silencers, and other 80s tunes on it.
I had bought a cheap Fernandes bass back in 2004 when I started doing some home recordings. After acquiring that bass I started paying more attention to G&L basses. In 2008 I happened on a super deal through the Portland Craigslist for a USA-made L-2000. I've told the story many times before so I won't repeat it yet once again. It is now my only bass and I use it to learn songs and record with.
Guitar Playing Is Hazardous To Your Health
Just hanging around guitar forums I have read many stories of the dangers of guitar playing. Examples are the danger of getting smacked when a band is playing in tight quarters, the potential lethal voltages in tube amps, jealous boyfriends of groupies. What are your stories? I'm sure BoogieBill, gDub, Spot and others have a bunch to tell.
Living the almost hermit-like life I do the only thing I can think of is a string snapping when I'm tuning that could have taken out an eye.
Maximum Musicality
I had watched "Standing In The Shadow Of Motown" recently and there was a few seconds of footage that I will remember for a long time. A segment showed one of the percussionists picking up a tambourine and playing it for a few seconds, and it was the most musical thing I've ever heard out of a tambourine. In the hands of a player with vision and ability, a musical instrument can go beyond what you assume it is capable of. Interestingly later in the film one of the funk brothers made a comment about the tambourine playing. Watching Tommy Emmanuel play an acoustic is another experience that stretched my appreciation of what that instrument can be made to do.
Kit
My wife made some red beans and rice for dinner, and she decided to wrap it in a tortilla which turned out really good. I'm having leftovers of that for lunch today.
Travel Picture
In Grand Cayman there is a sandbar where you can go and play with stingrays, and it turned out to be an amazing experience that may be one of those bucket list items. The history, as told by the tour guide, is that fisherman decades ago came to this sandbar to clean their daily catch. They noticed that stingrays will gather to eat what they discard into the water. Eventually they ventured into the water to find that the stingrays were quite friendly, so they made a habit of interacting with the rays. Someone eventually came up with the bright idea of bringing tourists to interact with the stingrays and an industry was born.
The ray's skin feels smooth, the underside is white in color and feels velvety smooth. They will swim right by you and come into contact with your body and will let you hold them. The stingrays will also eat out of your hand. I am provided pieces of squid as food. I'm told to hold my thumb in my palm and make a fist covering my thumb and with the squid sticking out the top of my fist. The stingrays don't have teeth, they suck the food out of your hand as they glide over your fist. The reason to tuck your thumb in is because they manage a lot of suction, and if they catch your thumb it will hurt, so I'm told.
My Instruments
Being a Beatles fan for life I had occasionally wanted to have a 12-string electric guitar. Rickenbackers are way too expensive for someone like me who just want a 12-string to bust out every once in a while. In 2007 I bought this Daisy Rock DC12 on eBay for about $250. The action was a little high when I first got the guitar. After shimming the neck it now has much better action. I play Beatles, the Cure, Silencers, and other 80s tunes on it.
I had bought a cheap Fernandes bass back in 2004 when I started doing some home recordings. After acquiring that bass I started paying more attention to G&L basses. In 2008 I happened on a super deal through the Portland Craigslist for a USA-made L-2000. I've told the story many times before so I won't repeat it yet once again. It is now my only bass and I use it to learn songs and record with.
Guitar Playing Is Hazardous To Your Health
Just hanging around guitar forums I have read many stories of the dangers of guitar playing. Examples are the danger of getting smacked when a band is playing in tight quarters, the potential lethal voltages in tube amps, jealous boyfriends of groupies. What are your stories? I'm sure BoogieBill, gDub, Spot and others have a bunch to tell.
Living the almost hermit-like life I do the only thing I can think of is a string snapping when I'm tuning that could have taken out an eye.
Maximum Musicality
I had watched "Standing In The Shadow Of Motown" recently and there was a few seconds of footage that I will remember for a long time. A segment showed one of the percussionists picking up a tambourine and playing it for a few seconds, and it was the most musical thing I've ever heard out of a tambourine. In the hands of a player with vision and ability, a musical instrument can go beyond what you assume it is capable of. Interestingly later in the film one of the funk brothers made a comment about the tambourine playing. Watching Tommy Emmanuel play an acoustic is another experience that stretched my appreciation of what that instrument can be made to do.
Kit
Re: Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:09 pm
That's a pretty sweet looking Daisy rock you've got there Kit. All the others I've seen are those pink fugly looking things. I just might have to keep on eye out for those.
I haven't experienced any real injuries from rock hazards. But 1 bad did take its toll on a couple of guys.
One night the other guitar player tried a "rock star" leap from the drum riser and tore his knee up. A
couple of nights later we did a gig with him on crutches. A few days after that the singer tripped on
the bass players cord and did a face plant onto the stage. Knocked the wind right out of him and gave
him a big black eye.
Haven't been around much the past couple of weeks due to work madness and deadlines. But I'm up to speed
now and the past few days reports looked good.
Jeff
I haven't experienced any real injuries from rock hazards. But 1 bad did take its toll on a couple of guys.
One night the other guitar player tried a "rock star" leap from the drum riser and tore his knee up. A
couple of nights later we did a gig with him on crutches. A few days after that the singer tripped on
the bass players cord and did a face plant onto the stage. Knocked the wind right out of him and gave
him a big black eye.
Haven't been around much the past couple of weeks due to work madness and deadlines. But I'm up to speed
now and the past few days reports looked good.
Jeff
Re: Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 3:55 pm
That Grand Cayman trip looked nice. I visited years ago and did some scuba and snorkeling. No visit to the turtle farm, though...
Daisy Rock: unexpectedly good. That is a fine looking 12. No music hazards for me. Gigs that fell through was my biggest one. I've asked "can I fall through with it?", never worked...
Daisy Rock: unexpectedly good. That is a fine looking 12. No music hazards for me. Gigs that fell through was my biggest one. I've asked "can I fall through with it?", never worked...
Re: Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 4:26 pm
One of my friends had a similar experience with the mantas, and said it was life changing.
I had one of the Retro-12-H Daisy Rock 12-string guitars. I too was impressed with the quality of the guitar. I did have a couple of issues with it and eventually sold it. In comparison to my DanElectro Innuendo 12-strings, it was a bit neck heavy, and would occasionally head dive. (The good news though, was the excellent mini-Grover tuners--makking the guitar easy to tune and giving excellent tuning stability. ) The neck was narrower than the Dano, and it has a shorter scale--so at times I would feel cramped. Finally, it was a matter of tone. The Dano's Dali-esque Strat body featured three single coils, as opposed to the Retro-12s twin mini-humbuckers. The Daisy Rock didn't quite have the 12-string jangle and chime that I was looking for, while the Dano has that single coil bite and brightness. Still, the Daisy Rock was an excellent guitar; I would highly recommend one.
I really wish G&L would make a Comanche 12-string, and I've said this many times. I'd want a wide 1-3/4" or 1-7/8" neck. I think a hard tail saddle lock bridge adapted for 12-strings would be ideal, though the Gotoh 12-string bridge used on my DanElectro (and on the later versions of the Fender Stratocaster XII is pretty cool, too.) I would definitely want the PTB system, and the three Z-Coils. (The middle and bridge Position #2 on the Dano is DA BOMB!) I'd use a heavier ash body to help offset the weight of the neck. We can talk about finish and fingerboard woods, but that would be the basic design. If you could keep the street price under $2K, I think you have a guitar that would fly off the shelf.
You're very lucky to have that bass, Kit. If I'd seen it first.....
Well, I have played with injuries to my hands, including bleeding blisters on my fingertips. It was pretty rough playing guitar for a year or so after I injured by upper back in an auto accident in 1981. And I've gotten zapped a couple of times by bad grounding when I "kissed" my mic. And then just a couple of weeks ago, we played at that festival where my pedalboard went up in smoke--any of the three of us could have gotten killed that day.
But one of the funniest things that ever happened to me (though it wasn't funny at the time!) happened when I was doing a solo gig at a very classy resort hotel bar. I'm up on the stage singing my little heart out, when this very drunk woman came into the bar from the side door next to the stage. She walked right up in front of me, smiled and reached out and grabbed my balls--hard! She only hurt me a little bit, but I was so shocked I guess I let out a blood curdling yell and jumped back a foot. She was an attractive woman, a recent divorcee, and was looking to get a little action that night. Wrong way to get my attention, lady!!! What she got was kicked out of the bar, and sent home in a complimentary police cruiser.
And then there's the time that somebody "showed" me his 4" Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum .357, because he thought I was trying to seduce his girlfriend--one of the bar's cocktail servers. I was definitely NOT, she was nice to me, but ugly as mud. We finally got it squared away, but it was a little tense. And his favorite song was "Okie From Muskogee". I played it A LOT at that gig after that incident!!!!
Bill
I had one of the Retro-12-H Daisy Rock 12-string guitars. I too was impressed with the quality of the guitar. I did have a couple of issues with it and eventually sold it. In comparison to my DanElectro Innuendo 12-strings, it was a bit neck heavy, and would occasionally head dive. (The good news though, was the excellent mini-Grover tuners--makking the guitar easy to tune and giving excellent tuning stability. ) The neck was narrower than the Dano, and it has a shorter scale--so at times I would feel cramped. Finally, it was a matter of tone. The Dano's Dali-esque Strat body featured three single coils, as opposed to the Retro-12s twin mini-humbuckers. The Daisy Rock didn't quite have the 12-string jangle and chime that I was looking for, while the Dano has that single coil bite and brightness. Still, the Daisy Rock was an excellent guitar; I would highly recommend one.
I really wish G&L would make a Comanche 12-string, and I've said this many times. I'd want a wide 1-3/4" or 1-7/8" neck. I think a hard tail saddle lock bridge adapted for 12-strings would be ideal, though the Gotoh 12-string bridge used on my DanElectro (and on the later versions of the Fender Stratocaster XII is pretty cool, too.) I would definitely want the PTB system, and the three Z-Coils. (The middle and bridge Position #2 on the Dano is DA BOMB!) I'd use a heavier ash body to help offset the weight of the neck. We can talk about finish and fingerboard woods, but that would be the basic design. If you could keep the street price under $2K, I think you have a guitar that would fly off the shelf.
You're very lucky to have that bass, Kit. If I'd seen it first.....
Well, I have played with injuries to my hands, including bleeding blisters on my fingertips. It was pretty rough playing guitar for a year or so after I injured by upper back in an auto accident in 1981. And I've gotten zapped a couple of times by bad grounding when I "kissed" my mic. And then just a couple of weeks ago, we played at that festival where my pedalboard went up in smoke--any of the three of us could have gotten killed that day.
But one of the funniest things that ever happened to me (though it wasn't funny at the time!) happened when I was doing a solo gig at a very classy resort hotel bar. I'm up on the stage singing my little heart out, when this very drunk woman came into the bar from the side door next to the stage. She walked right up in front of me, smiled and reached out and grabbed my balls--hard! She only hurt me a little bit, but I was so shocked I guess I let out a blood curdling yell and jumped back a foot. She was an attractive woman, a recent divorcee, and was looking to get a little action that night. Wrong way to get my attention, lady!!! What she got was kicked out of the bar, and sent home in a complimentary police cruiser.
And then there's the time that somebody "showed" me his 4" Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum .357, because he thought I was trying to seduce his girlfriend--one of the bar's cocktail servers. I was definitely NOT, she was nice to me, but ugly as mud. We finally got it squared away, but it was a little tense. And his favorite song was "Okie From Muskogee". I played it A LOT at that gig after that incident!!!!
Bill
Re: Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 4:34 pm
Bill, I figured that you will have a lot of stories about the dangers of playing guitar and gigging. And I was going to point out that one impressive feature about the cheap Daisy Rock is its tuning stability.
Kit
Kit
Re: Lunch Report - Thursday, 7/29/2010
Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:10 pm
Kit wrote:Lunch
My wife made some red beans and rice for dinner, and she decided to wrap it in a tortilla which turned out really good. I'm having leftovers of that for lunch today.
Kit, I loves me some red beans and riiiice! Never heard of the tortilla trick before, but I'ma have to give that a try. Sounds damn good.
Kit wrote:Maximum Musicality
I had watched "Standing In The Shadow Of Motown" recently and there was a few seconds of footage that I will remember for a long time. A segment showed one of the percussionists picking up a tambourine and playing it for a few seconds, and it was the most musical thing I've ever heard out of a tambourine. In the hands of a player with vision and ability, a musical instrument can go beyond what you assume it is capable of. Interestingly later in the film one of the funk brothers made a comment about the tambourine playing. Watching Tommy Emmanuel play an acoustic is another experience that stretched my appreciation of what that instrument can be made to do.
Absolutely. Tambourines are among the most musical of instruments. Right along with John Lee Hooker's shoe. I'm being serious. For a real treat, go check out what some Brazilian percussionists can do with a tambourine. Awe-inspiring stuff.