Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

What are y’all doing


Navy Vet.

Recommended Posts

55 minutes ago, mihcmac said:

I am building a model of a Horten 229, this one is very detailed inside and still in progress. But having lots of fun..H6U43Aa.jpg

Very cool, I find the detailed work on models to be very difficult...  as experienced trying to build classic car models during snow storms

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, billroy said:

Very cool, I find the detailed work on models to be very difficult...  as experienced trying to build classic car models during snow storms

The weather gets me house born too some times, today I've got sideways rain, a few days ago it was too hot.. But this model has been challenging in the depth of detail, it has a simulated tubular framework and the engines have all the plumbing on them. Lots of very small parts which I usually pre-paint before assembling. Love my Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Anyway lots of fine detail painting to go... and a few more parts...

Edited by mihcmac
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sitting with the window open, a small fan blowing, listening to the birds and tending the morning's Internet work and fun. Then it's back to writing aftermarket styles for Band-in-a-Box.

It's my second business, I've sold to 100 different countries, and enjoy making the styles. I'll never get rich as the shopping cart, web host, Visa/MC authorization company, Visa/MC merchant's account and even the bank want a piece of everything I sell. But it helps during the late summer and fall slow season.

I make the raw material for the styles usually in August and September when gigging is slowest, and now it's all about taking raw music I recorded and importing the appropriate snippets in to the BiaB StyleMaker and assigning where they will show up when the music comes out of BiaB.

It's a nice way to pass the time of day and at the end of each style, I have the feeling of accomplishment.

Insights and incites by Notes

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Navy Vet. said:

Sitting in my office counting  the days down to retirement. 89 days!

 

That was without a doubt the hardest, awfullest, absolute WORST 90 days of my life.  I vaguely remember it.  

rct

  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Getting ready for another set of gigs on October 11th and 12th. Kentucky weather just got the memo that it's October, so we went from about 100 degrees yesterday to 74 degrees today. Playing Louisville Friday night from 10 PM to 2 AM, packing up, driving an hour home, getting home at 4 AM. Waking up and doing setup Saturday at 11 AM here for an outdoor crafts festival where we play 1 to 3 PM and then tear down. We're too old for that kind of booking. But, a year and a half ago, we had nothing and we've been booked solid since May at least two weekends a month. We're off this coming weekend, so relaxing, finally.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, MichaelT said:

Getting ready for another set of gigs on October 11th and 12th. Kentucky weather just got the memo that it's October, so we went from about 100 degrees yesterday to 74 degrees today. Playing Louisville Friday night from 10 PM to 2 AM, packing up, driving an hour home, getting home at 4 AM. Waking up and doing setup Saturday at 11 AM here for an outdoor crafts festival where we play 1 to 3 PM and then tear down. We're too old for that kind of booking. But, a year and a half ago, we had nothing and we've been booked solid since May at least two weekends a month. We're off this coming weekend, so relaxing, finally.

Non musicians don't understand that a local band is nothing more than a blue collar job. You pack up your gear, you transport your gear to the gig, you set up your gear, you do your own sound check, you play some late hours in a bar full of drunks, (No we don't play Free Bird) you tear down your gear, packup your gear, and go home.

And many nights after the gig eat at a Waffle House full of drunks.

Edited by Navy Vet.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Navy Vet. said:

Non musicians don't understand that a local band is nothing more than a blue collar job. You pack up your gear, you transport your gear to the gig, you set up your gear, you do your own sound check, you play some late hours in a bar full of drunks, (No we don't play Free Bird) you tear down your gear, packup your gear, and go home.

And many nights after the gig eat at a Waffle House full of drunks.

One of the interesting things about Hawaii is that being a musician in a local band is considered a full time Job. On the Big Island there is a collection of about 25 musicians that play musical chairs forming several different cover bands, they just have keep up to date on the standard song list.. In addition there are 100's of free spirit musicians that may occasionally get out of the garage and squeeze into one of the few local clubs for a while..

Edited by mihcmac
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Navy Vet. said:

 You pack up your gear, you transport your gear to the gig, you set up your gear, you do your own sound check, you play some late hours in a bar full of drunks, (No we don't play Free Bird) you tear down your gear, packup your gear, and go home.

I gotta believe being a drummer has got to be the toughest from a set up / tear down perspective...  I'd probably violent femmes it and go with just a snare.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, billroy said:

I gotta believe being a drummer has got to be the toughest from a set up / tear down perspective...  I'd probably violent femmes it and go with just a snare.

Back in the late 70s it was the Hammond B-3 payer. >400 pounds. Being a sax payer I was designated to help lift the beast, sometimes up flights of stairs. The drummer with all his trips for cases never was elected to help.

Right now in my duo the two of us carry: three computers, two guitars, one tenor sax, two wind synthesizers, one tactile MIDI controller,  one flute, one 12 space rack full of synth modules, PA mixer, fx, etc.,  two speaker cabs w/15" woofers, two carry-on suitcases full of cables, plus mics and stands.

Schlepping the gear is like blue-collar work indeed. I tend to think of it as "Speaker-cise" - lifting heavy weights without paying gym membership.

But once the gear is set up on stage, the audience is in place, and the downbeat falls, it's the most fun I can have with my clothes on. 3-4 hours of pure bliss. We rarely even take a break because it would mean that many fewer songs we get to play.

Then after the bliss is over, and the afterglow is fading, it's time to take all that gear back out again.

Funny thing, the gear is heavier on the way out than it was on the way in. I guess there are extra notes lingering in the cabinets and cases weighing down the works ;)

Don't misunderstand, I'm not complaining. I love my life and wouldn't trade it for any day-job I could think of - even with a red-head visiting the copy machine.

Insights and incites by Notes

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...