Lunch Report Mon Aug 02

Hi there kiddos. Welcome to another exciting week of Lunch Reports. Thanks
to Kit for the nomination. It's been a long time since I last did LR duties
so I'll start with a short intro. I'm Jeff, a 48 year old computer nerd by
day, basement shredder by night. Note that I am using the term "shredder"
here VERY loosely When I was younger I played in a few bands but these
days I'm content with with playing and a bit of recording in my plushly
appointed man cave. I've been checking out the GbL page here on and off for
many years so forgive me if I repeat any topics from previous reports.

On the lunch menu today is penne pasta salad with some tomatoes picked fresh
from the garden with some cold green tea to wash it down. Desert/afternoon
snack will be some greek yogurt with sliced mango and blueberries mixed in.

Q1) Useless trivia. At the time I was signing up at this forum the wife and
I were knee deep in the movie Repoman and all it's glory. I needed a handle
and wanted something other than "Jeff". It was either gonna be Repoman or
Otto. So if your handle is anything other than your name where didja get it
from?

Q2)
Sometimes I wonder how my playing would be different if I was just starting out. Back in the stone age
song tabs or chords were pretty scarce. Some say there's pros and cons to these. There are so many
online tools now it boggles my mind: online lessons, video tutorials, reams of tab, etc.
I played the Rock Band video game once or twice and while it was fun I can't see myself buying it or
playing it over and over. Is technology changing the way you play? Was it the major force in your learning
curve? Is Rock Band and its like a blessing or a curse? Will it encourage or discourage kids to play a real
guitar? Discuss....

Rock Band 3

On This date in music history:
He really was a Superfreak
1991 - Rick James and his girlfriend Tanya Hijazi were arrested in Hollywood charged with assault with a
deadly weapon, aggravated mayhem, torture, false imprisonment and forcible oral copulation. James was
released on $1 million bail.


"It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes."

Jeff

My handle, well it goes back to some younger also computer nerd roots. It was a name of a character in everquest, thought of very quickly by a guildmate, when the moderator was removing my old name for 'multiple infractions' (it was MrMiyagi Waxonwaxoff, haha). Kind of stuck there after, with the addition of sir to remove ambiguity, it is a gaelic something or other, never been able to get a clear idea of meaning, but someone has suggested something odd like island of women once upon a time or nonsense.

Rock band and those games frustrate me, mainly as I cannot play stuff on them I can on guitar. I think they are a curse, the amount of time kids spend practicing them to do well, they could have broken the ground on a real guitar (I saw broken the ground as it is likely the times equate to barely more than that, given the simplicity of the game). I use a lot of MIDI in my practice regimes, MIDI and loops. I set up exercises, and I loop the metronome through them. Everytime it goes round it gets faster (2-4% depending on the exercise). I found this to be very effective for building picking and finger speed and accuracy. I am also a hack shredder , but that is alright as I do not learn shred to shred, just to build precision and speed to get that airiness playing slower.

Edit: Went back and looked at your rock band link, hadn't kept up on that stuff because I play real guitars but it is interesting. I however feel that the more realistic approach will destroy what draws a lot of them to the game. I mean they feel the need to post youtube videos of themselves playings the songs on 'expert' and doing well. It is giving them the illusion they aren't just the ultimate in poser technology. Take that away and make them feel unable to 'play well' without grueling hours, and I feel it will lose their attention. For those who do want to play real instruments though, it could be an interesting practice tool.

Video Lessons, and instructional videos are something I have used on more than a few occasions. Sometimes they have helped me get around a hurdle by showing me something I was missing, or presenting a different approach. I am currently working with chicken picking ones and a very interesting one (very large too, 100 pages or so of PDF and 280 min video) called Fingerboard Breakthrough. It is all about Chord construction and whatnot, I have only gone through the first 2 lessons and it is very interesting, giving me things to think about I have never realized, playing jazz chords, how chords change shape moving across the strings opposed to up them, etc. Something to round me out and improve my composition hopefully. The first video is free to watch, rest are all just the beginning sample, but it gives the breakdown and ideas. I thought it was really cool.

Last edited by sirmyghin on Mon Aug 02, 2010 9:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

I am replyman. I wouldn't listen, heed or seek advice from me. However, I will always have an answer. I do reply to threads more than start them, so "replyman" came to be.

Technology has made it easier to record and produce music/media. Initially, the concept of putting your music out there for "everyone" to hear was great. Now it is clogged.

"Rick & Tanya", a match made in heaven... However, that is pretty tame by today's standards.

Last edited by replyman on Mon Aug 02, 2010 2:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.

In the words of Guy Clark - only two things money can't buy - true love and home grown tomatoes. We have three varieties growing in the garden this year.

I loved the movie Repoman. My moniker pays homage to Frank Zappa (did you ever wake up with a Zombie Woof behind your eyes) and my favorite dog who I named Zomby Woof.

Never played that Rock Star game but then again I can my analog brain does not do well with computers. I ain't sure about the benefit of all this stuff young 'uns have at their disposal today. I can see where it makes things easier but then again, there is something to be said about learning to play by ear. I am kinda sick of folks on forums asking what kinda guitar they should buy. You just want to grab them by the scruff of their neck, look them straight in the eye, and scream why don't you go out and play a bunch. I will say though I am jealous of the el cheapo guitars they can get hold of. Back when I started out a cheap guitar meant tuners that kept slipping and an action so high you could pass your hand between the strings and the board.

Oh man. I could use a computer nerd today. Despite having a well-regarded anti-virus program, one of my machines has contracted some variant of a Google redirect trojan. I've dealt with customer service at my antivirus company, run a suggested antidote, with no luck. If you can tell me what the process is called whereby I sort of put my computer back where and how it was a couple of weeks ago before I got the bug, I think I can use the internet to figure out how to accomplish it (I've had to do it before, but I don't know much about computers and have just forgotten what this process is called). Little help!

Regarding home grown tomatoes, funny you mention that as well. We have no sun, but our neighbors do and we garden next door and share the produce. Well, yesterday, they had some company. Our neighbor told one of the guests (her son's girlfriend) to help herself to some tomatoes, which is fine. Do you know what that pig did? She picked every last ripe tomato - about twenty pounds worth. I caught her finishing loading a shopping bag. She said they'd grow back!!!! Who would pick an entire garden if given the opportunity to help oneself? There's a widow on our block to whom I bring a fresh tomato or two every day, and we bring produce to a local men's homeless shelter. All gone. I can't believe some people!!!!!! What a pig!!!! Sorry for the rant. What was your question? ;+) - ed

Zapco...........
Regarding your computer problem, I believe you are referring to the 'system restore' feature. This won't necessarily solve your problem, but you can try.
Go to:
Start
Programs
Accessories
System Tools
System Restore

From there you can choose a prior date to restore your system to.
Whatever virus/trojan you have picked up will still need to be removed. It may have altered/corrupted your registry. Some of these are so insidious that you won't even be allowed to do a system restore.

Good luck.

By the way, Suave Eddie isn't my name....it's not even Eddie.
I worked for 30 years with the phone company. You've undoubtedly seen those big green utility boxes by the side of the road. The insides are covered with employee's graffitti. On the top of one of these boxes I once saw the name "suave eddie" written...this was on the outside of the box, probably not done by an employee. From then on I secretly signed into each of these boxes with that moniker.

Sometimes I wonder how my playing would be different if I was just starting out. Back in the stone age
song tabs or chords were pretty scarce. Some say there's pros and cons to these. There are so many
online tools now it boggles my mind: online lessons, video tutorials, reams of tab, etc.
I played the Rock Band video game once or twice and while it was fun I can't see myself buying it or
playing it over and over. Is technology changing the way you play? Was it the major force in your learning
curve? Is Rock Band and its like a blessing or a curse? Will it encourage or discourage kids to play a real
guitar? Discuss....

When I started out in the mid-60s I had a Mel Bay chord book, and eventually added some Beatles song books. They definitely helped, but I also started to learn to trust my ears. Now we have slow downer to play mp3 at slower speed to pick out the fast parts; back then I play my 45s at 33 for the same effect. I almost never use tab sheets because I found them mostly inaccurate and I also find I often play in different positions than the tab shows. I do use chord charts, but they typically get me half-way there since they are often wrong too if I trust my ears. They are a good starting point though most of the time. I'll use them and work out the difference between what I hear and what the chart shows and mark down the differences. My lessons with a theories teacher helped a lot to develop my ears so that I can much more easily figure out chord progressions. Video lessons are hit and miss. I have found some really good one. I have a set of "Beatles To A Tee" which I thought is quite cool.

We have a Wii and Guitar Hero. My kids play it but I have never even picked it up myself. Playing Guitar Hero does not seem to motivate my children to learn how to play an actual guitar though, much to my disappointment.

Kit

I got bassman as a handle because obviously I play bass and it seemed appropriate. I was amazed to find that it was available on the old G&LDP when I first signed up for a handle back in 2001.

Starting out- The best move I made when I started playing was to sign up for lessons with a professional teacher who understood and taught music theory along with the bass lessons that he taught out of a book.
That saved me lots of time and placed me ahead of the crowd when it came time to play in a band.

Guitar Hero- I can't do it, and anyone that I know, who is a good musician, cannot play that game well. I think that it is its own skill, and I think it is of dubious value, but I don't want to sound like an old geezer complaining about them damn kids and their computer games.LOL

Welcome back RepoMan. At least I am sure this forum will hold your attention for the entire week

Q1) So if your handle is anything other than your name where didja get it from?

Well, my real name is Jos van Schagen. Practically unpronounceable for any other tongue besides Dutch (even German friend mess is up). So a good friend of mine at here at the UW someday started singing "Yo Yo Yo What's Shakin (repeat 3 times) He's my dearest friend". And the name stuck.

Q2) Is technology changing the way you play? Was it the major force in your learning curve? Is Rock Band and its like a blessing or a curse? Will it encourage or discourage kids to play a real guitar? Discuss....

My age is more changing the way I play. I always tended to dig in to the note to 'create' volume at the sacrifice of technique. Now I play softer, allowing way more dynamics, speed, and accuracy. I never played Rock Band and after I heard Steve Perry state that he sucked playing his own songs, I never fely enticed to try it either.

Hey Ed, regarding your tomato problem, I can relate. When I was about 19, I grew my very first garden. It wasn't huge, but it was productive. The same summer I told a drummer friend that he could pick a few beans, brocoli a tomato or two, etc. for a meal for his family. Well, one day I got home and found the entire garden had been picked over. Everything had been taken. When I asked the guy why he took it all, he just said that I told him he could help himself. Of course, helping oneself to a meal vs half of a winter's supply of food are two different things, aren't they. I've never been able to figure out this kind of behavior, either. Anyway, sorry for the rant.

The music industry has indeed changed in a big way over the last few decades, but I don't think I've really changed much with it. I still learn and write music the same way I always have, and our band doesn't ride with the changes much, either. There are some advantages, though. Accessiblity to music is much easier than it used to be. Recording processes are ten times easier, and it sure is nice to be in contact with other musicians through computers and cell phones. Other than that, my life has remained pretty boring.....LOL.