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. : )

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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. : (

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