Moving Forward...

[SteveFord]

Right now things in the world are kind of gloomy.

One thing you have to do is look ahead.  

For a while it was collecting vintage Stetson, Knox and Dobbs dress hats but I now have enough for maybe every week of the year.  There comes a point where enough is just about enough.  Just about.  Maybe one or two more...

Looking ahead, it's purchase another street bike and then a Gibson Firebird VII to replace the one I sold years ago to help finance some giant stereo speakers.  A Martin D-18 or J-40 would be awfully nice, too.  I've also never had a white SG Custom with 3 gold plated pick ups and an ebony fret board. 

I can do it if I work hard, eat all of my vegetables and don't blow it all on cocaine and hookers.

So, what do you gentlemen have that you're looking forward to doing or getting?

[Twang Gang]

Well I have more than enough guitars and other music gear and since my band days are probably about over I am actually thinking about thinning the herd.  I  could probably sell 5 guitars and not miss them much.  But of course once you do that you almost always regret it.  

I sold my classic '66 Chevelle SS and ordered a 2020 mid engine Corvette last August, but not sure I will ever get it?  Right after I ordered the UAW went out on strike for about 2 months.  Then when they came back they had to finish building the 2019 models.  Then shut it down for another month to re-tool the line.  They got up and running and built about 2700 new Vettes.  Early March my dealer called me and said GM had picked up my order and we would have a build date in a week or two.  March 20th they shut the plant due to the virus and haven't re-opened.  So I might get what I ordered if/when they restart production, but if it's too late and they have to think about starting 2021 models, my order could get cancelled.  So I am looking forward to an awesome new car, but not as excited as I was about it because it may not happen?  

And, by the way, who you callin' gentlemen? 😁

Edited May 6, 2020 by Twang Gang

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, SteveFord said:

Right now things in the world are kind of gloomy.

One thing you have to do is look ahead.  

For a while it was collecting vintage Stetson, Knox and Dobbs dress hats but I now have enough for maybe every week of the year.  There comes a point where enough is just about enough.  Just about.  Maybe one or two more...

Looking ahead, it's purchase another street bike and then a Gibson Firebird VII to replace the one I sold years ago to help finance some giant stereo speakers.  A Martin D-18 or J-40 would be awfully nice, too.  I've also never had a white SG Custom with 3 gold plated pick ups and an ebony fret board. 

I can do it if I work hard, eat all of my vegetables and don't blow it all on cocaine and hookers.

So, what do you gentlemen have that you're looking forward to doing or getting?

Hookers and Blow are hard to beat.  A D-18 or a J-40 would be a nice addition. 

[saturn]

There's no big purchases or acquisitions that I'm looking forward to. It's the "doing" that I'm looking forward to.

Our annual Delfest was set for Memorial Day Weekend and has been postponed. There's still a glimmer of hope that it will happen later in the year.  I want to get back to playing gigs and ******* off afterward like we used to.  Can't wait to go to the bar with my buddy and band mate Steve and mess with everyone around us. We call it The Steve and Jay Show and it will run again.  😎

 

 

  

[kidblast]

We (my wife, family) are in a unusual situation.  Since the house fire on March 27th, (house not habitable) we stayed for one month with my brother in-law about, who lives 15 / 20 minutes away from where we live. 

Last week we moved in to temporary housing which is closer to where our home base is. (about 1/2 mile)  so when the rebuild finally does start, we'll be close by to keep tabs on that.

Right now, we're simply taking everything one day at a time.   It's impossible to look to far ahead as we really don't know how all this ends.

Things will be slow getting our home rebuilt, the virus clearly will mess some of this up, the insurance settlement still has to be completed.

The insurance company has not been exactly easy to deal with, thankfully we did the right thing and hired a public adjuster who works with these losers from the insurance company.  At least they are finally starting to be a bit less useless. 

we soon will have to go about finding the right contractors, and start the planning for the rebuild of the house..   it's all a bit overwhelming at times, but things are starting to fall into place at least.

the house is pretty much trashed, but the bones are good. so we have to be glad for that.

We are so thankful that no one was hurt, my daughter and grand-kids live on the second floor of our two family.  No fire fighters were injured either,  (those guys were amazing.)

The temporary housing has worked out good, we have a nice place to live while this is all underway.

On the bright side, no guitars / amps / gear was  lost, my digital pianos survived, and I have the main one here, and I've been back to getting my piano chops together again.  I don't have all my guitars here, about half of them.  The rest are up at my brother in-laws.  I'm staying sane with being able to play as much as I want/need.

Going a bit stir crazy not being able to jam with my bands, but everyone is in that boat right now.

I'll be glad when Mass-a-chew-sets starts to lift some of these restrictions so everyone around here can start to get back to a bit of a more normal way of life.

[sparquelito]

I really have enough guitars and amps, though the craving for more will never go away. 

It's odd that, sometimes, you replace one addiction with another, and then later another. 

Alice Cooper has famously said that he traded one addiction for another;
He had to give up alcohol in order to save his life, and he fell immediately into daily golfing. 

He had always been a scratch golfer, and even during some of his worst years drinking heavily, he could shoot a pretty good game. 
Then, when he came out of detox and rehab for the very last time, he doubled down on his golf game, and has never looked back. 
He plays every day, and plans his music tours and concerts with the logistics of hitting a local golf course, prior to the show, as his number one priority. 

When I was in my 20's and 30's, my addiction was the fairer sex. 
I did my job well, and always had at least one acoustic and one electric, but my appetite for affairs with naughty girls was just this side of obsession. 
Even as the realization that untangling from the entanglements was invariable more work than getting into those sexual relationships in the first place, it didn't slow me down one bit. 

Many years later, I happily settled down and became content and satisfied with the love of just  one woman, and we've been married now for over 21 years. 
And so then the guitar obsession began. 

Dozens of guitars and amps have come and gone, and dozens more remain. 
And I really can't be trusted to walk into a music store (ostensibly for a pack of strings, or a cable) or a pawn shop (to check out guns or tools) and not walk out with another guitar. 

So what's next after all the gloom and doom?
I don't know. Much like Alice, I struggle with the drink. Maybe I should quit again, this time for good. 
I'm no good at golf.  
Maybe this Silver Mist Limited Edition Firebird I that I've been lusting after will finally fall into my arms and give me a run for my money, no pun intended.
🤔

[fortyearspickn]

Sometimes, to me,  it seems like that next brass ring is what keeps us sane. The hoping and planning for the next guitar, car, gun, girl, bottle of Scotch, or trip to the beach.  I wonder if we'd all still be living in caves, eating twigs and berries if we didn't have this drive to improve our lot.  Now, being in the category the experts describe as 'medically fragile', the light at the end of the next tunnel is just a return to a semblance of normalcy - to see family and friends again without everyone being masked and fending off hypochondria.  

[jdgm]

Before my hands seize up or I die,  I would like to get in a GOOD band with good musicians -  a band which includes another instrument which plays chords.   Not to rehearse endlessly with someone who never learns their parts, and not to keep having to audition new singers.

Then I'd like to play some good gigs to an audience which likes and responds to the music.   Money would be nice.  Much the same ambitions as I had 44 years ago, in fact.

And I'd like a really good Gibson acoustic guitar, maybe a J-200 or something like that.

Edited May 7, 2020 by jdgm

[kidblast]

36 minutes ago, jdgm said:

And I'd like a really good Gibson acoustic guitar, maybe a J-200 or something like that.

Do it..  it will be one of the best, most gratifying purchases you'll ever make  (See avatar)... 🙂

[SteveFord]

J-200s are really handsome guitars (except for that weird double pick guard Bob Dylan one).  It's possible to have too much of a good thing!

I think what I would like most, other than material possessions, is to be able to retire and see the country on a motorcycle like I've been planning.  I don't know if it will happen or not but I sure hope it does.  

[Sgt. Pepper]

 

2 hours ago, SteveFord said:

J-200s are really handsome guitars (except for that weird double pick guard Bob Dylan one).  It's possible to have too much of a good thing!

I think what I would like most, other than material possessions, is to be able to retire and see the country on a motorcycle like I've been planning.  I don't know if it will happen or not but I sure hope it does.  

Just get a cool iconic leather cover like Elvis did on his D-28 for your HD.

[brad1]

It's almost impossible to look ahead with any kind of certainty. The world is changing daily. Nobody has any idea what is ahead. 

My plans forward are quite limited. 

I'm not planning much past tomorrow. 

Seriously 

[rct]

I'm easy.  Strymon Zuma, and a buncha gigs in the fall.

rct

[MissouriPicker]

I’m usually planning something.  At the moment I’m in the midst of expanding my model railroad.  I’m still thinking about a J200.  Really thinking.  ...With my dad’s passing a month ago, I’ve been thinking about it more.  We used to talk a lot about my guitars and railroad..  He often asked me what I’d do next with them.  All he ever played was a uke.  He almost always was positive about life, even after my mom died in December of 2018.  Seventy-four years of marriage and he still kept going after she was gone.  He still wanted family dinners and to be taken to the grocery store and have people come over.  He lived across the street from us and we took care of him.  He insisted on being in his own home.  He was determined to keep going..  Maybe some of my attitude and outlook comes from him, because I seem to constantly have something else to do or have something else I’m aiming for.  .........Anxious to start playing my coffeehouse gigs again.  Looks like I could have two Music in The Park shows this summer as things are opening-up and looking-up.  Until I know for sure I’ll just play-it-by-ear.  Either way will be fine, but I hope they have the shows.......  My wife and I are taking our kids and grandkids to Disney World in October, providing it’s open...lol...We’re planning it as an anniversary gift to ourselves.  We’ll celebrate our 50th next February.  Damned if that ain’t kind of scary!...lol..............  Hell, whatever, I just keep trying to move-forward and keep setting goals.  Much of it’s dependent on things going right, but that’s pretty much how life is anyway.........  Don’t let this current bull crap keep you down.  It will end.

Edited May 8, 2020 by MissouriPicker

[SteveFord]

I'm kind of cheap, maybe I'll find an old couch and use naugahyde on my Guild.

I'm in love, I'm all shook up!

[uncle fester]

I'm looking forward to opportunities to play live. 

I've got a list a mile long of equipment i want, but made a pact I would prove that I would use what I already have in a live setting before I buy anything new.  But if I was to buy something it would be an equipment package for my acoustic set up, fishman artist amp, tonedexter pedal and  edwina mic 🙂... and then a 60s fixed bridge hummingbird (from the historic collection i believe)

[Sgt. Pepper]

4 hours ago, SteveFord said:

I'm kind of cheap, maybe I'll find an old couch and use naugahyde on my Guild.

I'm in love, I'm all shook up!

Look at all the extra protection and I'll bet it gives it that leathery tone we all are missing.

[Sgt. Pepper]

It may take a bit but we will go back to where humans can be 5 feet apart. 

[MissouriPicker]

36 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

It may take a bit but we will go back to where humans can be 5 feet apart. 

If we can keep decreasing that distance, we might eventually start to grow the population again.😳

[kidblast]

48 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Look at all the extra protection and I'll bet it gives it that leathery tone we all are missing.

Leathery Tone,  that is BRILLIANT,,  you've just created an entire marketing extravaganza..  Someone jump on this, NOW...

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by kidblast

[SteveFord]

That really is an iconic idea.

Smell the leather, relish the tone.  

I like it.