DanvillRob
-
Posts
7,519 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
39
Posts posted by DanvillRob
-
-
4 minutes ago, Phil OKeefe said:
The Doves In Flight is a dream guitar for me. I hope to have one someday!
My only grandson is bound to wind up with a lot of my guitars eventually. He won't be three until July, and he already has his own drum kit (a Ludwig Questlove Pocket Kit), and still wants to play on my drum kit whenever he comes over to visit. He's also fascinated by my guitars, keyboards, and anything else that makes noise. Considering all the people in his family who are musicians (his great-grandfather was a guitarist, his mom is a session singer, his grandmother/my wife is a former RCA artist, and I'm a recording engineer and multi-instrumentalist), he's got it in his blood.
Well, good luck with that…..I wanted my son to play, but he never was interested, even though his dad (me) played all his life, his uncles, grandfather and several friends all played. His kids, (my grandkids) are only 6, 4 and 2. I’m hoping one or all of them play.
-
1
-
-
I have never got rid of any of my Gibsons.... still have my first one which I got over 50 years ago.
It's special to me because it went through my "lean years" (if you know what I mean) 1969 Jubilee.
My 1979 Dove is special because my beautiful wife scraped the money to buy it for me as a present when we "...didn't have a window to throw it out of".
The 2006 Doves In Flight is the best sounding guitar I ever owned....got it specifically for my first grandkid.
Got my 2011 Hummingbird KOA for my first granddaughter....I sure hope she plays!
The 2010 Hummingbird 12-String I got from a Forum member....it's such a wonderful player, I've grown to love it....it'll go to my second grandson.
And the 1975 J-50 was given to me by my staff when I retired.... it was my practice guitar until bursitis forced me to return to the Jubilee, (smaller body).
I don't plan to ever get rid of one of them....nor do I plan to acquire another one.
-
4
-
2
-
-
15 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:
I'm lucky. I GET to play for an audience from 3 to 6 days a week.
What a great way to make a living. Mostly 3 hour gigs, sometimes 4, doing what I love to do, with my best friend/lover/wife, getting applause every 3 to 5 minutes, and feeling the love from the crowd.I met the future Mrs. Notes when she was in a different band. She plays guitar, synth and is a fantastic singer (I'm just a decent singer). When our bands broke up, we found ourselves in the same 5 piece. When we had personnel problems with that, we decided to go duo. Playing music is our second favorite thing to do.
We don't plan on retiring, at least as long as we can pull a crowd.
It's very few people who manage to make a living doing something they love. You're a lucky man.
I did play for an audience yesterday....was a memorial for a concert promoter back in the 60's....was a heck of a crowd....a lot of guys I know from 50 years ago!
Now I'm back to learning a Blaze Foley song here in my kitchen.....life is good!
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said:
If I live to be 200 years old, I'm sure there will be new things about music for me to learn.
Since I make our own backing tracks, I have to learn each part and practice them until they are good enough for me to record. It's a lot easier to just buy karaoke tracks, but I can put the songs in our key, and in our arrangement.Notes ♫
Norton, that's right.... we can all live to 200 and play every day and STILL barely scratch the surface of what music there is.....and that's a good thing!
I have used karaoka backing tracks at times....when there's a part of the song I just can't duplicate....I just did "C'est La Vie" (Chuck Berry) with a backing track...but when I did "We Gotta Get Out Of The Place", I did the bass part and the keyboard part and (of course) the guitar part.
But.... I don't have to play then for an audience!
-
Since retirement, I play for several hours every day, (while the wife sleeps).
I get up at 4:30....shower.... take out the dogs..... check my email and log in here.....then practice whatever song I'm working on.
Practicing slightly more right now because I have to perform at a memorial service tomorrow...and I can't slide too much as the audience will be all the people from the San Francisco Music Scene. They'll KNOW each time I slip up.
-
1
-
1
-
-
A prominent Bay Area dance promoter from the 60's & 70's passed away recently, and his service is this Sunday.
I've been asked to perform a couple of songs there.
Another friend sent me this link to something he posted.
Tom Brown booked many gigs back then....was in competition with Bill Quarry, but unlike Quarry's relationship with Bill Graham, Quarry and Tom remained friends.
I was looking for the photo of me with Bill Quarry in front of where the Rollerena was, and he sent me this:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.123636166059177&type=3
-
3
-
-
13 hours ago, Retired said:
Terrible isn't it?
Yes.... and I wasn't old at the time!
-
15 minutes ago, Retired said:
You know what irritated me the most with just WAY Too DARN LOUD? Rock and Roll concerts we've been to over all the years. We have been to hundreds of them. Many were pleasant to go to and we enjoyed them very much. I remember some big names we saw, Blues, Rock N Roll, Country, so on. And they come out and are so darn fricken' loud That we had to leave. Sometimes I removed my hearing aids and shoved roll up ear plugs down to my ear drums so I could listen. Even then they were way too loud. What does that do to the Audience? Nothing, those go down as terrible bands and many refuse to go to them again. You don't have to play at the top loudest settings to be heard folks. Plus you ruin your hearing as well. The Eagles have been pleasant to go to and we seen them I think 4 or 5 times now. We are going to see them again tonight. One Blues band we saw had a warm up band first. Muddy Waters or something like that. He was fine but not the warm up band. He was an excellent guitarist but way too darn loud. I hated every minute.
I've been to many concerts too....probably the loudest was Hank Williams, Jr.
It was so loud it was uncomfortable to sit in the audience....you sure as heck couldn't talk to the person next to you.
-
23 minutes ago, Retired said:
Aways wondered about the guys in war hearing all those bombs and such?
If we were issued hearing protection, I don't recall it.
-
1
-
-
5 minutes ago, Retired said:
I probably shouldn't say I'm completely deaf without my aides. I don't actually hear anything or any sound. I sleep great at night, I have no tendinitis ringing. I hear no thunderstorms or my wife snoring next to me. Lol. She can talk to me without my aides in and she talks loud but I hear something but understand nothing she said. It is a faint noise, and I have to put my ear right next to her mouth to hear what she said. So its just a matter of time and I probably will be completely deaf. I'm going on 71 this April. My hearing is different from right to left. In the booth, I pick up highs and lows differently. Mostly I sit quite till I hear a definite beep. Those are far apart. Seems a waist of time actually.
My dad lost his hearing in WWII.
Near the end of his life, even hearing aids couldn't restore much of his hearing, (there are probably better aids now).
He told me, in a conversation with someone, as long as he could watch their lips, we could understand what they're saying....but in a crowd, he was totally lost.
It actually affected his life near the end.
Other than the ringing, I think my hearing will last me 'till the end....not so sure about my sight.
-
On 2/8/2024 at 5:53 PM, Retired said:
But. Tonight I was playing two guitars. First the Riviera with 3 P90's in it. It sounded good plugged in. Then my Casino with 2 P90's in it. It was even louder but both guitars were missing Something? I kept playing with the amp settings but couldn't tell any changes. They both had that acoustic sound. Then it dawned on me. The red light on the amp was off. I forgot to turn it on Lol. Well, I could tell something was missing but I thought it was on? So I turned it on and what a difference. Wife was gone so I turned it up. The Casino sounded great now but that Riviera with the 3 P90's was fabulous. Played till the fingers were sore. Probably should have posted this on the; YOU KNOW YOUR OLD WHEN?
I think there's more fading on you other than your hearing!
I have tinnitus....24/7. As a youngster, (starting at about 14), I was playing in a band.... the amps were behind us (so we could hear ourselves), and we played LOUD.
Then I quit music....went to work in a truck factory....was LOUD!
Then I got drafted..... was in the artillerly...... 105MM; 155MM, 8" & 175MM....all were LOUD!
When I got out of the army, went back to the truck factory..... still LOUD!
Worked in the factory until I changed jobs and went to a bus factory....was still LOUD!
Finally was promoted to a job in the front office in 1988....but by then, my hearing was shot!
-
1
-
-
When you can set each string length individually.... if any string is sharp on the 12th fret, it means the string is too short....so you lengthen the string, re-tune it open then check the 12th fret. again....repeat until the open string and 12th fret are the same.
Obviously, if the 12th fret is flat, the string is too long...so you do the above but shorten the string.
At least that's how I do it.
-
1
-
-
12 minutes ago, Karloff said:
just announced. 62, stomach cancer. RIP
This is actually pretty sad.... I mean everyone has to die...but 62....man, I have ties older than 62!
Plus, like many others, (Buddy Holly, Jim Croce, etc.), he had a lot more to give us.
-
1
-
-
On 1/28/2024 at 9:21 AM, PrairieDog said:
Finally made it down to Willies. Introducing our 1910 L1 (Plus bonus!)
It’s in great shape, Willies repaired a couple cracks and a bit of binding, but otherwise it appears to be all original, even down to the Bakelite tortoiseshell celluloid tailpiece. I was buying mostly for the historical vibe and didn’t expect it to have much sound, but wow, it stands up to be heard very nicely! They did adjust the bridge back a smidge, so maybe that helped. Also, sometime in its life the back was taken off, maybe it was re-carved to help with the tone.
Be kind to the other toy I picked up. That there is a 1926 TB1, save for the head, nice and original. (Including cobwebs in the pot, and dead life forms in the original case 😆It was out of the way and not even listed on the website, it was practically a give away.
The trip to Willies treated me exceptionally well. Both these pre-wars came home for the credit from the poor Songbird returned to the pound.
Now THAT is sweet!
-
1
-
-
10 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said:
Freshman year of college I had an English professor (it was some writing/composition prerequisite course) who kindly explained the difference between how we had written essays in grade school/high school and how we should be writing them now. (He said this applied to how we interacted with our teachers as well.) He said that before college, most of us simply wrote, (or participated in discussions), in ways that corresponded to how we felt personally. He said that, in most cases, this expositional style did not effect our grades, as grading focused on factors such as grammar, spelling, our knowledge of the subject, etc.. Those days are gone, he said. Nearly every college professor and TA, regardless of the subject being taught, have nearly identical political viewpoints that are reinforced and validated within the isolated, unopposed, monolithic echo chamber of academia. Worse yet, he said, was that most of them had low self-esteem, had questionable abilities to practically apply their knowledge in a real word job, and that they relished the power they had to control their students, (since they felt powerless in all other aspects of their little lives.). He said that from this moment on, you will be writing and communicating entirely in ways that match the viewpoints/positions of your professors and TAs. He told us to pay close attention to "the extraneous" , "off the cuff" language used by our professors and TAs, ESPECIALLY when it seemed unrelated to the subject matter being taught. He told us to go to "office hours" offered by every professor/TA, if only to see what books they read, what magazines they had, what art/pictures/flyers were on their walls, and to listen to their "small talk", (both with you and with others). Get to those office hours early, and listen. Stay a bit late and listen. But more importantly, speak sparingly and keep it focused on the course work. He said these profs/TAs love to talk, especially about themselves, so by asking, "How do you feel? I'd love to get your advice about that, since I know so little about that subject", is the perfect way to avoid saying "the wrong thing" when asked a pointed question. This will defiantly be a tough pill to swallow for some of you, he continued, but you will only have to endure this until you graduate. Regardless of your proficiency, knowledge, or accuracy per assignment, your conformity to the positions/view points of your professors, (both with-in assignments and while interacting with them), will be the determining factor in how you are graded. No student is more despised than the one who answers every question correctly, understands the course material, and meets/exceeds every deadline but who obviously has a world view that is opposite of their professor/TA. He said to watch and see how that person, somehow, barely passes the class. But, watch how those with far less course knowledge and far less adherence to deadlines, manage to get A's, because they express the same world view as their professor/TA. Validating these professor's/TA's world view, combined with giving them the illusion that they are "molding young minds into the correct way of thinking", is their heroin, and they consume it by the gallon.
This was the most despicable, factually accurate, and invaluably useful information I received from a Professor in my college tenure. In courses that were relatively easy for me, I applied this advice sparingly, and my grades accurately reflected what I had learned. However, in courses that I struggled with, I laid it on thick. I would go as far as to show up at the places where my professors/TAs dined and drank. I would find an opportunity to interject myself into their conversations and expound upon the virtues of Marxism or Communism, or what ever "ism" they favored, (and buy a round or two when/if appropriate.). Somehow my C's became B's or A's at the end of the semester, despite my poor course work. Obviously, what I learned from my finance, accounting, business management, psychology, and business law courses facilitated my success in the business world and as a business owner. However, the lessons I learned about how to "read" people, how to subtly influence and manipulate over-confident people, who were in positions of power over me, (without them ever knowing what I was doing), was undeniably just as important to my success. (admittedly, manipulating mean, arrogant "know-it-alls" for my personal gain feels pretty good. But, they can never know what you did, nor can you ever "rub it in", because that behavior "burns bridges" and will always come back to bite you. It's always better to let those people think they "won" when they didn't.) If you can't beat 'em, make 'em think your joining 'em, AND THEN BEAT 'EM!
How to win friends and influence enemies
What a GREAT professor he was....you were lucky to have met him.
Back when I was in college I wasn't very political....I was a registered Democrat because my Union signed me up on the job.
I had professors who were obviously "far left", but at the time, it didn't effect me.
Some had a small animus because I was a Vietnam Vet, (I went to school on the GI Bill), but if it affected my grades, I didn't notice.
I didn't graduate with straight A's but I did graduate with "Highest Honors", (GPA 3.51 or above).
I wish I'd had this guy back then!
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, Larsongs said:
I never thought of that…
I never had a teacher I HATED. Some were better than others, and some could teach and some couldn't.
There was an infamous principal at my first high school, Dr. Callaghan. EVERYONE hated and feared him.
When I was a freshman, I used to hitchhike to school....and once a week or so, Dr. Callaghan would pick me up....we got to be very friendly.
My Junior Year in a different school, the principal kicked me out for 6 weeks because of my hair. After all the media attention that brought, and I was finally back in class....he and I became friends too.
Don't carry hate around..... that's like taking poison hoping the other guy dies.
-
1
-
-
That is a true tragedy!
RIP, Trey.
-
1
-
-
6 minutes ago, Larsongs said:
Back in the days of Corporal Punishment.
In 6th Grade, my Teacher, Mr. Stammerjohn told me to stay after Class while all the kids were at recess.. He was a terrible Teacher & Human Being.. He got mad at me for being a little bit of a smart *** & said, I’m gonna kick your little ***.. He chased me around the classroom & caught up to me & kicked me in my lower back & laid me out on the floor.. Then he said, if you tell anyone I’ll give you worse.. Shortly thereafter we moved.. I never told, until now..
I had a teacher for algebra in my Freshman year of high school.... could NOT learn for that man! I didn't hate him, I just couldn't learn from him!
When I was kicked out of school, (2 years later and a different school), he showed up a School Board meeting and defended me to the Board....a kid who BARELY passed his class with a "gift C".
-
1
-
-
4 minutes ago, Murph said:
I left it there for safe keeping....
HA! Well....she took it, and gave me hell when I got home, (I had to walk home that day!).
-
I did cut school one time with a friend..... we took his Jeep to San Francisco.
He got a parking ticket there....so in order to keep his parents from finding out, we went to the court house to pay the ticket that day.... was $25...that was a LOT of money back then!
As a result, we had no money for lunch.....so we went to the free Soup Kitchen and ate with the homeless people!
Unfortunately, my mom needed my car that day, so she walked to the school, went to the office to ask them if they'd tell me she took my car during the day, (I had to only car in the family at the time), The office told her, I was absent that day....she said, but his car is in the parking lot!
Needless to say my ONLY time cutting school, (besides the 6 weeks I was kicked out due to my hair), I got busted!
-
1
-
-
2 minutes ago, sparquelito said:
Wow.
I had a similar experience in high school, only with a darker, more horrible ending.
I was invited to cut-school and drive down to the beach at Panama City, FL with a good friend from JR ROTC.
He was supposed to ride down with some older boys, and spend a day down there having fun.
This was when I was in the 10th grade.
Sure enough, I had to work on the day in question, and I backed out at the last minute.
My spidey sense was telling me not to cut school and go to the beach that day.
I needed the hours at work that afternoon/evening anyway.
We were pretty poor, and all of us Sparkman kids had jobs to help mom pay the bills.
Found out the next day that the car full of teenagers had crashed into a turning semi on their way to the beach.
They were estimated to be doing 100 mph at the time of the collision.
Two boys and one girl killed, and the driver and his brother were badly injured.
I spent years wondering if I was meant to die in that car crash.
Or would I have been the kid who spoke up and asked the driver to slow down a bit, and maybe saved all those lives?
We'll never know.
😔WOW! That's a horrible story!
So glad you missed it...
-
1
-
-
50 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:
We cut class and drove over the hill to Santa Cruz. That is a proper California education.
We were going to Santa Cruz on our "Senior Cut Day" too.
But I found my brakes went out that morning....so I spent the day fixing my brakes and putting on new pads, (1960 Oldsmobile).
The school called my house....my mom answered and asked if I was home. She said "Yes", they said "Are you SURE?" She said, "Do you want to talk to him?" They said, "No, thanks.).
The seniors all had to do 5 days of detention, or not get their diploma.... 'cept me, and a few nerds!
-
1
-
-
54 minutes ago, sparquelito said:
Same Junior High, early 1970's.
The Principal used to covet a certain parking spot that was convenient to the side entrance to his office.
He would get onto us hooligan boys for parking our motorcycles in that particular spot.
(In Alabama you could get your motorcycle riding License at age 14.)
Finally, he got the school board to approve a designated parking spot post and sign right on that spot.
School Principal Parking Only it read.
So, the first day he proudly parked his VW Beetle in his spot and strolled into his office, we hatched a plot to pull a prank on him.
The homeroom teacher allowed the entire class to leave class that morning, the very instant that the Principal went down to the conference room for a budget meeting.
We scampered out to the Principal's VW, picked it up, and walked it around to the tree covered field behind the school.
We neatly placed it between two tall pine trees, with the chrome bumpers positioned exactly one inch away from the bark. He couldn't drive away from that trap if he tried.It was a funny prank, in our opinion. We snickered about it all morning.
The best part was when the man strolled out to the parking lot later on and found his vehicle missing.
He quietly and calmly strolled around the parking lot and circumnavigated the grounds until he finally spotted his car back there, snugged up between the two tall pine trees.
A few minutes later, we were all working diligently on our classroom assignments, when the PA speakers across the school grounds and in each classroom gave with a click and a small introductory clearing of the throat, followed by,
"Okay. Move it back. Right now, please."
Grinning ear to ear, all of us hooligans left our classes, trooped on back to the pines, picked up his car, and happily carried it back to the proper parking spot.
Good memories, good times.
😄
That's one of the best school pranks I ever heard!
Good on YOU!
-
I recall in the aforementioned "Miss Shaw's" class, there was to be a student dance. We had played the year before, and by this time we were working pretty big venues, so we weren't going to play the dance that year.
She asked the class if they wanted a band that played mostly fast songs, or mostly slow songs....of COURSE, I popped up right away and said "How about a band that plays Half-Fast songs?"
-
1
-
Of all the Gibsons you've owned...
in Gibson Acoustic
Posted
Isn't it a shame that our gubment pays its soldiers so little they often need to go on welfare to make ends meet?
Maybe if they started drafting illegals into the service...