Holy Christ!

Been a long time. But mostly i'm saying holy christ because of how i feel right now... which is a odd mix of inspired and nostalgic all wrapped into one!

Went and saw some music tonight. Not the usual. Not the "next years best new band playing at the Doug Fir for the 8th time this month"/the flavor of the minute (Minden). Not the super hip Rontoms or Bunk Bar show. No. This was legit. The real deal. Some middle of the road bands playing what, i'll be honest, is a shit-hole of a venue. The only bar I know in Portland that really does NOT seem to serve food (an Oregon law). On a side note, i've been at this bar in the last year or two and witnessed them close early so that everyone could legally (?) smoke inside... Ya, fucking rebels!

Anyway, this show tonight brought back a lot of feelings. Reminded me of when I 1st moved to Portland... 10 years ago!!! My 1st gigs were playing Mississippi Pizza once a month. Oh, and in case you weren't in town back then, the only other business on Mississippi Ave. back then was the Rebuilding Center. (!) I played with a singer-songwriter and we'd play for family... not even friends came out to North Mississippi Ave. back in those days! But to be fair, I'm sure we weren't very good either.

And while a lot has changed. For me. For this city. Some things don't change. There will always be shitty venues. And there will always be young bands trying to do something. Even if they have NO IDEA what that something is.

At the same time, while I was out seeing this show, earlier in the day, I had somehow remembered my days spent playing hump night @ The Green Room. I'm telling you, I don't know when Wednesday's have ever been so fun! EVERY Wednesday! From 9-ish to 1-ish. Rock'n Roll. Dancing. People Singing along. Pretty fucking glorious. Not in the glamorous sense but in the "this is why i do this" sense. What more does a guy like me need in life but to play drums in a Rock'n Roll band that people can have a good time to? Seriously!?

More? More.

i swear to ghad...

i'm'a gonna' git bett'r!

in the meanwhile, a few thougths.

playing holocene tonight in pdx w/ Sean Flinn & The Royal We. Excited because i haven't played this venue before and there are fewer and fewer that i can say that about in this town : )

everyone's been freaking out about the new sallie ford and the sound outside video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xC2dS_RZiM )  . and while its more than likely true, you can't do anything that hasn't been done... i much prefer the Red Hot Chili Peppers video for Dani California (  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb5aq5HcS1A&feature=artistob&playnext=1&list=TLOsev-_gpZuY ).

and finally, a ufc fight this weekend means i'll throw my hat in the ring with my pics on a few fights:

• Light Heavyweight bout:  Quinton Jackson vs.  Matt Hamill^{[1] - Rampage is his own worst enemy, as are a lot of fighters... if he doesn't beat himself i predict Jackson via TKo.}
• Heavyweight bout:  Frank Mir vs.  Roy Nelson^{[1] Mir is another one who's his own worst enemy. I like this fight a lot. I think the two have fought before, though i couldn't find anything on wikipedia and don't have time to search it out right now. At any rate, Big Country is kind of a bad ass. That is, he's fat and seemingly out of shape and yet can always go the distance and can also come back from getting the shit kicked out of him. I really can't say Mir has more tools in his bag, despite what others are saying. I think Roy is affective on the ground and you'd be dumb to take him there thinking otherwise. I also think it's ill advised to stand with the guy. This ones hard for me to call.}
• ^{Mir if things go his way... if they dont go his way for more than 10-15 seconds... Nelson via TKO}
• Heavyweight bout:  Stefan Struve vs.  Travis Browne^{[1] gotta go w/struve here as im not familiar with Browne and Struve can also come back from big beatings. A good fight with two big dudes. Struve via decision}
• Welterweight bout:  Thiago Alves vs.  Rick Story^{[1 Alves via TKO . Alves always has long spells between fights and then also has a hard time making weight. should be interesting to see what happens with him.}

there you go.

rock'n roll!

pretty, pretty, pretty good.

So i'm happy to say that things have been going pretty, pretty, pretty well.

I'm feeling good.

I recently played my last gig w/Super XX Man. A bitter-sweet moment to be certain. I had been a fan of the band since 2004. Scott, (mr. super xx man) and his family are fallowing big opportunities all the way to Melbourne Australia.

Shortly after learning of Super XX Man's relocation, i responded to a Craigslist ad posted by Sean Flinn & The Royal We. I had a couple 3 hour auditions w/just Sean and I (!!! : ) Then a rehearsal with the band and played a great house show in NE Portland. One more rehearsal and we played The Doug Fir Lounge on a Saturday night.

The audience was really into it and beyond that, both shows just felt realy good. Like the kind of good when a great band is playing great songs and people are responding!

I'm excited. : )

more?

Wow!

I'm gonna get better at this. Honestly. I mean, how can i not get better, right?

I can't pretend that i'm going to be able to cover everything that has happened musically in the last 2 1/2 months but i'll try and hit the highs (and lows).

NAMM
Back in January, I went down to LA to attend the 2011 NAMM Show. Wayne was able to get us passes for the entire event (4 days) through a Fender connection. I flew in LAX early Thursday morning and we drove down/out/over to Anaheim. Spent the day walking several miles looking at re-diculous amounts of gear.

At first, I was walking around in a bit of a daze because of all the cool Stuff. I was often passing right by drumming legends and super-stars because i wasn't prepared to have to be looking at all the cool instruments AND people! After a couple hours, I started being able to spot people. The short list is: Peter Erskine (Weather Report and Steely Dan (among countless others). I've played his signature "Ride" stick for years and saw him 2 or 3 times. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers). There was this ridiculous line to get your pic taken with him, which i thought was dumb. So, since i was standing 5' from him I just snapped his pic while he was standing with this awesomly dorky kid/dude. Alex Acuna (percussion great - also played with Weather Report).
Then, at the end of the day as we were leaving we saw a jam session with bass greats Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey. Wayne spotted another bass heavyweight, Marcus Miller standing right in front of us. Then I spotted bassist/producer et.al. Roscoe Beck who i'd just seen a month before playing with Leonard Cohen. Very cool!

We opted to not make the treck out to Anaheim again and instead spent the next 3 days taking in all that LA had to offer us in music stores, burgers, bars, and the like. Got to hang out with Arthur and just chill which was very awesome!

Drum Makery (Mackery? ; )
I had high hopes of coming home from NAMM all inspired to make my own drums. Finances have proven to not've materialize for this project like i was planning. Long story-short... had some 401k action that i thought i could utilize but i was wrong. : (

more?...

back at it

Well well well, look who hasn't posted in a bit. Sorry for that...both of you. : )
Been a little preoccupied w/being morbidly poor, the holidays, and what not.

Shows:
Shell and I went and saw Leonard Cohen a few weeks back. A tremendous show. A tremendous showman! He and the band were great and it actually sounded really good in the Rosegarden. Hadn't been to a show there before and wasn't really sure what to expect. The down side was that we paid $100 a ticket and were still far enough away that it made more sense to watch the giant TV screens than to watch the stage itself... Odd.

Last night I headed out to the second annual Amigo/Amiga holiday party at the Doug Fir. Had to work till 9 so i didn't make it down there till quarter after 10.
Met up with a few old and dear friends and had a great time catching up and listening to the brilliance of Drew Grow and band.

Also, ran into one of my favorite PDX musicians/music fans.

A great night!

Thanks,
-adm

the list... cont.

Well, a bit of a slow week after last weeks 'bender'. Shell and I went and hung out with some friends a couple nights ago and managed to finally see The Don of Division Street and From Words To Blows.

The Don reminded me at times of Blue Rodeo (especially Jim Cuddy) and at times Jaycob Van Auken. It made me sad that i'd never seen them (The Don and JVA) do their weekly residency @Biddy's back in the day. It also made me sad the JVA doesn't play anymore.

From Words To Blows is a all-star line-up and brainchild of Jessy Emerson. The style is particularly interesting in regards to what you might normally see him doing... namely playing bass for singer-songwriter/roots rock types. This band sees Jessy taking the lead both as vocalist and guitarist. I've known Jessy for several years and played with him in Stephen Ashbrook's band but it was refreshing to see him step outside his normal role and do his own thing. Indeed, inspiring!

*Note* The same could be said for The Don except the style wasn't as divergent as what he normally is involved with (not a bad thing : )

At any rate, it's Thanksgiving. I'm updating this while I update my Itunes library with all the music I've picked up recently. After the post about my music list I went out and got myself a bunch of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers albums! Damn the Torpedoes, Into The Great Wide Open, Full Moon Fever, and the self titled first record from '76. Great stuff! Only one of these was on the list, but I bought Runnin Down a Dream a few months ago and new I was going to need more. If you haven't seen Runnin', do yourself the favor. Even if you're not a Petty fan, you'll dig it.

Also, being updated into my music bank today is:
-the latest Norah Jones,
Etta James (At Last),
Kool and The Gang (The best of 1969-1976),
The Meters (Rejuvenation)...AMAZING!
James Brown (Live At the Apollo, 1962)... HOLY SHIT!
and David Johansen (Here Comes The Night)... Dave might be my new sleeper obsession.

Hope y'all have a great Thanksgiving!
-adm

the big list

Well as some may know, I love music. Big fan. I love playing it. I love seeing it. And I love listening to it. I own a decent catalog of music but I recently made myself a list of albums I need to own to not only be a better musician but indeed a better person.

The list as it now looks:

The Bee Gee's - Saturday Night Fever
Jackson Browne - The Pretender, Late For The Sky

Ray Charles - The Genius Of Ray Charles, Modern Sounds of Country and Western Music, Birth of Soul
Eric Clapton - Slowhand
Sam Cooke - Portrait of a Legend ('51-64)
Elvis Costello - This Years Model

The Drifters - Golden Hits
Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind, John Wesley Hardin, Basement Tapes, Desire, The Free Wheel'n, Bring It All Back Home, Blood On The Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited

Elvis - From Elvis In Memphis, Elvis Presley, The Sun Sessions

Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul, I Never Loved A Man...

Marvin Gay - Let's Get It On

George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
Buddy Holly - The "Chirping" Crickets, 20 Golden Greats
Howlin' Wolf - Rocking Chair

Michael Jackson - Bad, Thriller
David Johansen - any/all
Elton John - Honky Tonk Chateau, Greatest Hits

John Lennon - Imagine, Plast Ono Band

The Meters - Look-ka Py Py
Minutemen - Double Nickles On The Dime
Joni Mitchel - Cart and Spark, Blue

Willie Nelson - Stardust
Randy Newman - Good Old Boys, 12 Songs, Sail Away
New York Dolls - self titled

Pavement - Crooked Rain, Slanted and Enchanted
Tom Petty - Damn The Torpedoes
The Pretenders - self titled
Prince - Dirty Minded, 1999, Sign of the Times, Purple Rain
John Prine - John Prine

Otis Redding - Dictionary of Soul, Dock of the Bay, Otis Blue
Lou Reed - Berlin, Transformer
Smokey Robinson - Going to a Go-Go
The Rolling Stones - Some Girl, Tattoo You, Sticky Fingers, Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Exile on Mainstreet
The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes
Diana Ross and the Supremes - Anthology

Frank Sinatra - In The Wee Small Hours
Snoop Dog - Doggystyle
Harry Smith - Anthology
Patti Smith - Horses
Bruce Springsteen - Ashbury Park, The River, Nebraska, Darkness and the Edge of Town, The Wild..., Born in the USA
The Stooges - Fun House, Raw Power

James Taylor - Sweet Baby James

Van Halen - Van Halen
Velvet Underground - self titled, White Light/White Heat, Loaded

Jackie Wilson - Mr. Excitement
Wings - Band On the Run
Stevie Wonder - Song in the Key of Life, Intervisions

Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

That's it. The long and appallingly shameful list!

Most of these came from Rolling Stone Magazines list of top 500 albums of all time. And in my defense, i do own music by most of these artists...just not what some might call their most important works : /

I think at one time, my plan was to buy 3 a month but i've fallen off that plan the last couple months. I'm definitly due for a new wave of old classics. Any suggestions? : )

Be good,
-adm