Lunch today was a sandwich nearly identical to yesterday's, with the possible exception that it was made by my wife, not myself. Therefore, it was infinitely better. Or so she'd have me believe. My response to that is, "They all end up in the same place." For years I would say that and mean "my stomach," not realizing the more, ah, final disposition one could infer from such a statement. As it turns out, she and I think differently about such things. I guess that explains why she found my witty repartee so distasteful for so long (even if it was unintentional). But, I digress...the sandwich was similar (turkey, swiss, mayo, mustard, lettuce) but today was accompanied by Cheeze-Its instead of pretzels. I also have managed to consume an apple and an orange thus far. I have a thing for fruit. Still drinking the dregs of this morning's coffee (which I carted back from what I affectionately refer to as "The Crapeteria." Working in a hospital has some drawbacks. One of them is the quality of the food. Unless you happen to like hospital food, I guess.)
I found the answers about traveling back in time to be thought provoking. I wonder if Leo would have let anyone else 'buy into' Fender in the late 50s. We know he didn't have a problem selling to CBS in the late 60s, so maybe. The Bassman amplifier question is interesting, as well. I've often wondered if they considered that amp a 'failure' seeing as it was more revered by lead guitarists than by the target market (or at least it seems that way to me; I reserve the right to be wrong).
The Bassman Question (as it shall henceforth be referred to), has me wondering:
What, if any, product would you say is G&L's "Bassman"?
Has G&L, either pre- or post-BBE ownership developed and offered a model or product that maybe failed to attract attention among its intended victims, er, customers but maybe took off in a different direction and was a raging success? Right off the bat I'd be tempted to say the Rampage, which I always thought of as a "student model." But, really, I think it was intended to be a shredder-ific, one 'bucker maelstrom of sound, so Cantrell's adoption of it--and it's subsequent success in the Jerry Cantrell model--is probably not a good example of what I'm asking about.
If you, like me at the moment, can't think of a single mis-directed, yet successful product, how about taking a crack at this:
Do you think that G&L will eventually have a "Bassman"-type success?
I wonder how much these fortunate accidents (a la the Bassman in question) affect the direction and future of a company. Without giving it too much thought, I'd have to say they can be a boon, but that it's impossible to know. Hrmm. Maybe I'll clear my desk, prop my feet up and contemplate this today.
On a non-G&L note, I am loaning a guitar to my nephew. Well, one of my many nephews. He plays in a band (which sounds a lot like distortion, arrhythmic banging and unintelligible screaming...all the high school girls apparently dig it) and has a couple of inexpensive guitars. His won't hold a tune or intonate properly, and one has a twisted and warped neck. They have a "Battle of the Bands" coming up, and the 'good guitar' that he had borrowed from someone else was withdrawn (I suspect a competing band, but what do I know?) .
So, he called and asked if I could possibly help him out. Having far more guitars than someone who only plays three chords should have, I said, "What? Are you kidding me? Get away from me kid, you bother me!" Errr, no. I said, "Absolutely. In fact, I have this old Hamer P90 Special that I picked up from a gigging musician out of Chicago. It's got some dings and cracks in the lacquer, but is rock solid and sounds awfully damn good. You're welcome to use it, but take care of it and absolutely you cannot sell or trade it." He's coming tonight to get it. It really is a great guitar and I'm a little worried about it disappearing (or worse). But, hey, if I can encourage a kid to play an instrument instead of dealing drugs....
Would you loan out one of your guitars? Any caveats, restrictions or strings attached if you would?
Oh..it snowed here again this morning. I'm soooo ready to move out of Michigan.
Smoke 'em if you got 'em!
