THE STREAM (pay no attention to the screaming man behind the screen)

I'll say it again so it won't be missed... Berringer make a shit amp! Ok then here we go. I went out and got a new amp to replace the DUD I got a while back. This one looks like a goer! I have not been a big fan of Yamaha amps but I have some faith in this one. bought it used from Cash Converter, so fingers crossed. I gotta get a magic 8-ball to help with these decisions. So now I'm searchin for a bass player to do some duo gigs with me.

Is it just me or has Fox news made some sort of deal with the grim reaper! It seems to me like every time I tune it in there is a story of someone gone missing, someone's body being found or some kind of death watch. What is the point of an interview that asks questions like ... " So you have no idea what has happened to ...? or "did anything seem wrong the last time you spoke to...? How is that doing anyone any good? I just use Fox as an example but this kind of thing goes on at every channel. I think it's time we took a loong look at the news we are getting ...and not getting. 

"We exist, and are quoted as standing proofs that a government, so modeled as to rest continually on the will of the whole society, is a practicable government." --Thomas Jefferson to Richard Rush, 1820. ME 15:284 Thomas Jefferson was capable of truly stunning thought, but no more than we all are ! As a people our will can be a stunning force for the common good, for our world. I realize that it is way too early in history to even hope for a world without borders or even one where our differences are praised, but neither is this country, this world, made of opposing parties each hoping to rule the others. We have as Americans & as a world learned to sacrifice our common will to those with a "vision", our new "Kings" unfortunately we have also learned to believe that we have no right to self govern. We play right into their hands, becoming more isolated, lonely & pathetic with every liberty that is taken from us, our power & strength being erod...

Ok I'm gonna take the risk of sounding like some flipped out media student here but I have a few things to say about Television. Yes... That's Television with a capital "T". First make no mistake I love my T.V. in fact I have a few of them and I love them all equally and unconditionally, but I don't trust them! Only a fool would! Television brings entertainment, Information and even info-tainment ( if you let it ) into our lives. Television can do good things but we as watchers shouldn't let ourselves believe that it or the people that control it "care" about us! Television should not only be watched but observed, for it has the potential to do us great harm. These days we seem to be so willing to give over so much of our belief to "The Box" and all those that find themselves on it, it is starting to become common belief that there is something special about our celebrities. Nothing could be further from the truth! They are made up of the ...

Come on down to Guitartown! Yeee Ha! Jeez... I just love Guitars! The look of em' The feel of em' The sound of em! Not just mine, but damn near every one I've ever seen, I'm still working towards the day when I can walk into any shop and say " I'll have one of each!" "Now... put em' on the truck!" Just recently i stumbled across this site that let's you put images on stuff, I just put up a few items that i think you'll like . Click on in and check em out!

I can feel that it's about time I started playing again! I've been laying off for too long now. For so long i have been taking my time in getting back, from a injury I though would end it all, but that's all over now and i am back in the pink (if not pink then a lovely coffee brown) . Time to get some while the gettin's good.

It's no mystery to anyone that life can be very complicated. How do you get from here to where you want to be! Yes my friend life is filled with uncertainty. And then, other times... your path is very simple. The hows of your life... the what to do's become very basic. If you're lucky this will happen @ regular intervals in your life, those small moments of total clearity. I have never known anyone that was lucky enough to have a life without ever wondering... am I doing the right thing? That being said... Sometimes the point is simply to groove! It don't matter much what the situation is, could be your life, could be your job. You could be sittin' in with a Jazz combo when it comes on slowly. Suddenly the way is clear. The clouds between your ears part and you can hear the drummer laying some down, then you start to hear the bass, maybe some thick slabs of B3 come next. (Stabbing horn section optional) All this information starts crawling around the bandstand and i...

What would you do if this was the last thing you ever saw? If 2 chain link fences & a box car were all that seperated you from the sweet hereafter? Would you regret the life you've led? Could you find a way to make love to the last 20 paces of your life or cry like a baby? 

Someone once said that a picture says more than a thousand words. I believe this is true but will the words be truth? take this picture for example. Times square looks pretty damn good! You could think of thousands of words to go along with this pic, but i doubt that any would touch on the desperate depravity that will always exist in this area of manhattan. So many people with so many agendas all meeting at this incredible crossroad. They pass, bump, tussle. All alone but flowing together never knowing the strength that lay dormant in their gathering and when they leave ...it's back to the flow of their own lives leaving that potential there, abandoned on the streets of Time Square. 

What ever happened to the guitar solo?  I am not sure if it is an result of getting older but when i listen to music these days i feel something is missing. There's no doubt that music sounds better, the technology has come a long way! I am not looking for a return to the past that way. I ain't givin' up my MP3 player. It's too neat! You'll have to pry it from my cold dead hand! To paraphrase some cold dead guy. Yes, the music sounds better but where are the Guitar solos? I miss them so much! Ok, today's music has "PHAT BEATS" aplenty...but Where is the improv factor? That 8 or 16 or 32 bars of pure self expression? Where is Ernie Isley taking flight and trading endless ideas on "Who's that lady"? Where's the emotional solo's of say stevie ray? Where is the part of the song that says "We've said plenty... But here's how I feel about it!" Some believe the guitar solo to be self-indulgent wanker...

GRAFFITI! This stuff has been around since some caveman etched "cave 57 SUCKS!" on a cave wall. And as it is with most things, handling the idea of someone writing on walls is just a matter of perception and reaction. You can perceive it to be and eyesore or you can see it as an opportunity to experience personal expression at street level. You can react from fear or you can save your reaction for later as you would after a visit to any other gallery! The choice is yours.  

We live in a world of much fashion but no sense. Form but no substance. Passion but no compassion. A time when we have allowed more than one case of ethnic cleansing to go on unchecked has happened to our outrage,the feeling that we are here to do some good globally. This a time when we give our hearts & minds over to men and women that we imbue with powers they don't have. Small people. People that feel nothing for us and worse feel detached from us. Yes there is much evil in the world and what is worse much selfishness. In theory we have joined together in society to enhance the lives of ALL that live within it, our brothers and sisters under a common banner. In practice though, we most often find that banner cannot cover us all. We need a BIGGER banner. Day after day those that we have chosen to administrate make choices that will excise those that in their opinion will not serve the banner, but i ask you who gave them the right to inflict upon us their opinions! Thes...