Monday, February 28, 2011

well - today was a day. not horrible, but certainly not great by any stretch of imagination either. the weather proved to be sucktastical. the commute in was nothing if not retarded. i saw a four car accident on the way in, right in front of holyoke hospital no less! i did my fair share of sliding/praying i wasn't going to end up involved in any early morning smash ups. adding insult to injury - i actually had to leave work to pick up Holly and the girls so we could pick up the jeep from the garage before Chloe went to school. wouldn't you know it - as i'm getting off 391 in holyoke i get the text that Chloe has a 2 hour delay due to the icy roads. fantastic call on the granby school system for making the call to delay school 40 minute before Chloe's bell were to ring. i wonder how many parents were pissed that they sent their kid to the bus stop for 2+ hours? well played jerks.

anyway, after wasting time running out in the ice for no good reason - i got back to a mess in master control. basically network satellite dishes covered in ice - we have to smash the stuff up and sweep it out in order to keep something on the air. well, that's one thing, but the barrage of phone calls with folks NEEDING and explanation of what's happening - right at that very moment - is more frustrating than you know. i should say - most folks that call like that... get hung up on. i don't have time for that shit - read the trouble report like everyone else you asshats! phew - i'm better.

my business cards should be arriving this week - cool.

so we got the jeep back and Holly came home with some blue moon. my day is better just being home with my girls.

this week at rehearsal with Damon, i am having a little meeting of the minds with Kara to discuss some promo/marketing ideas. we are working on utilizing QR codes in our fliers/posters. i'm still looking for a design that:
1. i like
2. i can afford
3. works well with the QR codes i've been generating.

i think the codes are fantastic. i just think that the issue is with the phones or application people are using. maybe a field test experiment is in order. i could put some samples of codes together and have friends with different phones and apps try them out before implementing them full scale. as much as i love the idea of heading up new technology to promote - i don't want to half ass it and look like a tool for rushing something that doesn't completely work.

sent a message to Patricia Seifert from My 411 Source Underground Radio with deets about the basement show on 3/12. i've also reached out to the advocate, masslive, and a few other spots who list shows too.

that's it for me tonight - gonna have a beer and go to bed!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

hey oscar - my 6 year old is flipping you the proverbial finger for canning tonights episode of America's Funniest Home Videos. that kid looks forward to the new episode of that show with a hunger in her eyes comparable to that of a starved jungle cat on a deer farm.

anyway - great weekend. lots of home time with the girls. Holly went out friday night and this afternoon. i took the girls over to my moms to visit today and much to my surprise, Delaney was fantastic. no crying at all - no drama, it was so nice to visit and not feel like Delaney was hating on the GP's. she really had fun too - playing with Chloe and my mom... it was nice.

speaking of the kids - you knew it was just a matter of time before i posted pictures of my little angels!
Bobby & Baby Roast Beef
Bobby Roast Beef w/ "Toof-Less" Chloe

God, i love those two little ladies  - they're the most wonderful little people i could choose to spend my time with!

Anyway - i need to throw in a DVD because this red carpet crap at the academy awards just made me throw up into my own mouth a little. i don't have any issue with awards show - hey, whatever ya gotta do to for a little attention - right? but seriously - must we be subjected to the awkward interviews and commentary on fashion right off the top?!?!

getting very excited about the show on 3/12 at the basement! i have had some interest come my way on BCBM from some unexpected places - all of it is very welcome i should add. still looking for a show in june, maybe in july. july is tricky because one weekend i'm in Cleveland for DBF and then there's a holiday weekend in there too. maybe i should focus on june or august. 

this week is going to be pretty busy - if anyone can help me spread the word about the 3/12 show - i'd greatly appreciate it!

ok - it's 007 time. later!


Brand alignment across channels

Brand alignment across channels
Sorry for the lack of updates this weekend. Not a ton going on this weekend - kind of enjoying that! Good news is that the Jeep's hood is fixed and for WAY less than we had expected to pay. Proof that the sun does indeed shine on a dogs ass once in a while. BEEF - OUT!

Friday, February 25, 2011

full throttle friday?

there is nothing than i find more entertaining about my 6 year old than her feeble attempts at staying up the slightest bit later than her predetermined bedtime. anyway - because it's full throttle friday and i'm here blogging here's a little mr. show goodness to kick things off, simply because it's one of the greatest shows in the world. enjoy!

lest go over the last day to so - starting with thursday night. had a meeting with a mortgage specialist as Holly and i are beginning to get into the game of buying a house. meeting went well, we have a direction to work toward, then the real fun can begin. so, after the meeting Holly, Delaney and i (Chloe was up in North Cupcake w/ my in-laws) went out for dinner. we hit up Cafe Lebanon, Holly had been wanting to try it and i had heard nothing but great things about it. so we went and i was a little concerned if they would even have highchairs - they actually had tons of them. Delaney ate everything we ate too! i know she has had much more of a broad array of foods compared to her older sister - but i would have never expected Delaney to like the humus and olives and LAMB like she did. she's our little foodie. 

after dinner we took the long way home and shortly after getting home Delaney went to bed. Holly went to bed shortly after but i couldn't sleep so i did a little research on building a suitcase kickdrum. that's my new project - putting together a suitcase drum kit so i can go out with Damon and do some busking this spring and summer. i can pack most of what i'll take in the suitcase and set up rather quickly. i should also look into any licensing issues for northampton. i'd rather play it safe instead of having any problems. had a nice little exchange with Mark 'Porkchop' Holder too - about the design of his suitcase and ides where to dig them up. i'm looking forward to seeing him perform at the Deep Blues Festival 2011 in Cleveland in july! here's a video of him doing what he does - 



i've also begun working on a facebook page for Black Cat Bone Music. i even designed a super simple logo to use for the time being.

it's very simple but i want it that way so i can  use it with ease. in other BCBM news, i had received a message from a very well respected bluesman from the area expressing interest in what i'm doing. thanks to Rich Tardy from SwillMerchants for putting him in contact with me. i've also been getting some good feedback on my chili cook-off and music festival idea too - just need to make it come together!

tonight was pretty quiet - the wife headed out for coffee with one of her friends and i hung out here with the girls. at least i have the last of my last Oskar Blues TEN FIDY here - god it's an intense stout... so good though. at 10.5%abv it's taking care of the biz too!

peace.
  

Thursday, February 24, 2011

my chili/music vision

well, thanks to my wife for making that amazing dinner on monday night - she has inspired my thoughts on planning a chili cook-off. my ultimate goal is to create a charity/promotional event where BCBM can provide a multi band line-up to entertain a large crowd of chili fanatics. the actual chili cook-off side is where i'd like to raise money for the food bank of the pioneer valley. the event date would be sometime in september/october at an outdoor venue during the afternoon.

this would be a legitimate NON-Sanctioned chili cook-off. the reason why i don't want to have it be a sanctioned Chili Appreciation Society International [CASI] event is that i want to allow the teams a little more freedom with the recipes. for instance in a CASI cook-off the rules restrict the use of beans - being a lover of all types of chili's, i would prefer to allow all types of entries to compete. matter of fact, i'd like to create some interesting prizes for specific recipes - like best veggie chili and most unique. 

i have a good amount of people who would love to put a team together - i'm thinking that list my diminish when they see the cost in ingredients, equipment, etc. i am thinking that i might be able to approach some local restaurants to enter as a team or sponsor a team to help them out. ultimately, i want to have the teams meet early and begin cooking on site - like at the sanctioned cook-off events. this is actually one area where i have run into concern from one restaurant owner when i had asked about this. that is an issue concerning the board of health. see - each team would be required to submit a predetermined amount of chili to our judging panel - the rest of the chili i'd like to have given to the audience of the show in the form of sample cups. not like a full cup of chili - just enough so that the crowd could get a taste of each them.

i also would sell tickets to the event and the proceeds of the ticket sales/admission would go to to the food bank. there's a short list of venues in mind too. the key is that the venue have an outdoor facility with a pavilion, and a bar. all of the cooking would go down outdoors and i would suggest the teams use a "turkey fryer" for cook the chili or use an electric burner or even a couple crock pots if that works better. 

my main point of contention rests on this health board thing. i feel very confident that there is a solution. i suppose i could work around it and lose the idea of cooking on site. i really would hate to not have chili samples available for the attendees. the amount of folks interested in tasting chili is nothing short of monumental - i can only have so many judges as well. 

we'll see what i can come up with. i know this would be a great time and a terrific opportunity to put some great musicians together in front of a large audience. essentially - i can do something good for the food bank while bringing the deep blues to the area. maybe i could even do a sampler of tunes for the event so that the audience can listen to the bands even after the event. 

lots of ideas - just need some direction and planning, then we'll get it rolling.

mmm - chili with a side of blues.

--
-Rob Charette 
Black Cat Bone Music ~ Drummer/Management for Damon Reeves
 
 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

just got in from band practice - what a great session! did a little more recording but i had to hit the road before the cd's got burned. it was getting a little too late for me seeing how i have to be up for around 6am. there is so much material to go through and so much to work on and really get worked out - it seems a little overwhelming. the recording aspect is helping to chip away at it much faster. at least we have something to listen to and wrap our heads around - make notes too. yea, make notes - there is so much material i have begun a note taking routine to get it to sink in.

did a little brainstorming on the ride up to ashfield tonight about future events for Black Cat Bone Music [BCBM]. i have a couple interesting ideas that i came up with. i think i need to just continue on with some area showcases and out of those make some contacts - then maybe up the ante a little bit.i'm also thinking that a cd/online compilation might be in order too. maybe see where i'm at in like 12 months before getting to ahead of myself. still, good idea to have ideas out and work toward them.

looking around at some houses with Holly lately - we're not putting any eggs in baskets yet. more like taking a look at some options. it would be really nice to have our own place. i must admit lugging the baby and all her accessories up three flights of stairs is beginning to get a little old. plus i'd like a yard and an area to barbecue perhaps!!!

alright - i suppose i out to get to bed... work comes around early!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

for a tuesday - it has been pretty unbelievable. this morning was really nothing too crazy - i took the wife's car into work. her hood release has been know to get kind of wonky, so i told her that i'd drive her car to work and she could take mine to visit family with the girls. this way, should it give us any trouble it would be when i had it - not when she was out with the girls. work was pretty normal for the most part - only thing different was that i came across an old friend on facebook that i haven't talked to in quite a while. when i was on my way home -  that's when things started to get more exciting.

after stopping to get some gas for the jeep - i was driving down chicopee street and then BAM - the hood flipped up against the windshield... damn-it! what was pure gold was that as this was happening, there was a rough looking pedestrian walking along the sidewalk who exclaimed "holy SHIT" - this was pretty much me exact feeling at that time as well. after i popped the hood back down, i drove slowly and cautiously back home.

upon getting home and unwinding, Chloe hears a blast from a siren out on the street and immediately runs to look out the window and calls us over. this is what we see:
now, we have yet to find out what the guy was being taken in for - but it must be something serious. there was also a chopper that did a fly by as well, i assume they were searching for him. so, that's been my tuesday. pretty exciting when you compare it to my average tuesday these days!

that's all i got for today. i had teased a little rant about condiments - i'll save that for a later date however!

Monday, February 21, 2011

titles - we don't need no stinkin' titles!

presidents day is wrapping up and what a day it was! let's start with last night - had a cake with Holly and the girls to celebrate Holly's birthday. Cerrato's Pastry Shop done did it right again! this cake was called a "semifreddi" (sp?), anyway - it was chocolate cake-raspberry liqueur-black currant mousse-goodness! Then, Holly went over to her friends place to make tie-dye stuff for the girls. i put the girls to bed and hung out till the wife got home and we went to bed. Delaney slept like a rock too - it was a great nights sleep.

wok up to a few inches of snow on the ground - whatever. coffee was brewed already because i ACTUALLY had the cognitive capacity to set up the coffee pot the night before - go me! anyway, i was out the door and on my way to work ready for a day of minimal bullshit, thanks to the federal holiday. so, i'm at work and i fire up the netbook hoping to hoping to make this blog entry about twelve hours earlier than i'm typing now - and Blogger is blocked. Actually - i knew Blogger was blocked on the machines in the facility - but to block it from the network i was accessing was new. no sweat, i did a little research when i got home and found a work around. i will have to wait to share my posts via social media, but hey - i can live with it for a while. actually i COULD try and do this via my phone. regardless, i can work with it!

so you have probably noticed how insanely excited i am about this up coming event at the basement in northampton next month. really, this is way more than a gig with Damon Reeves. it's about my love affair with this genre of music and wanting to be involved in it. i love blues music - i also have come up in the hardcore/punk/metal scene in this area and have learned a lot from that. i see a lot of the same fire in these artists. the DIY way of doing things and the punk mentality seems to be the way of deep blues. i feel kind of connected that way and want to DO something to build an audience of such bands in my home area. then there is the really selfish part of me that wants to share the occasional bill with really kickass bands - i suppose that's just gravy however!

i have a wishlist of bands i'd like to bring into town. we'll see how it works out. i'm actually working on the next showcase already! mainly just trying to line up a date and bands, but it's a start. Here's one i'd love to have play a BCBM event! Ladies and Gentleman... Mr. Husky Burnette


before i wrap up let me say a few words about Chili. tonight my wife made a killer batch of Chloe and Delaney friendly Chili. i did kick it up with a little small batch ghost chili sauce from Dave's Insanity.  now, anyone out there who knows me - knows that chili is one of my favorite things on the planet. all types, white chili's, texas chili, chili spaghetti, veggie chili's - i'm game. i make a mean chili myself - aptly titled "Fatboy's Chili - Big Meat; Big Heat". as a matter of fact, last summer and i was planning a big chili cook-off. unfortunately, things got kind of derailed in the fall - but it's on the back burner so to speak. anyway - my wife can throw down in the chili kitchen department. she pretends she doesn't like it  (not many people are as obsessed as i am), but she plays off like it's just not good - haters. back to my point, i got a message from her saying that she had to sacrifice one of my craft beers in the fridge for the chili. i wondered what she used being as i had a lagunitas brown shuggah, a dogfish head IBA and Raison D'Etre, and a couple Oskar Blues Ten-Fidy cans in the refrigerator. out of all of those choices - of which she's not a fan of any - she chose the Raison D'Etre! my friends, she did that chili right - damned right. i was thoroughly impressed with the outcome!

yea - if you made it to the end of that ramble of culinary bullshit - you are truly a dedicated blog reader/follower - i appreciate that more than you know!

-Beef out-


email blogger post

here's a test of the email option for updating my blog. the IT guys have blocked blogger from the network i was connecting to. this will work as a substitute though. my normal blog writing time will probably fall into the evening now - that's fine i suppose.
--
-Rob Charette
Black Cat Bone Music ~ Drummer/Management for Damon Reeves
 
 

Ok here goes - hope this works. I wonder if i send a text beyond 140 Characters if it will show up properly. If not, i suppose i should just use twitter lie i have been. Btw, you all should follow me on twitter @bobbyroastbeef is the name. Ok well this is enough - let's check it out!
about to try some mobile blogging - standby for today's post!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

this makes two straight nights where Delaney slept like a champ! i cannot believe how easily she went to bed and slept until past 7am. i'm glad things are back to normal.

today is my wife's birthday. we got up and had a nice breakfast with the girls. then, i cleaned the kitchen for her. later today i'll take a ride with Chloe to get a little treat for after dinner - either a small cake or some cupcakes.

so far this weekend has been awesome - the gig on friday, followed by a nice saturday working out with the wife, then a nice afternoon with the girls while Holly went out for some ME time and did some stuff for Rachel's wedding (Holly's the Matron of Honer). today seems like it's going to be just as nice as the previous.

i asked Chloe what she's prefer to listen to in the car while we're out: Led Zeppelin or Pearl Jam - her response was "BLUES". i love that kid!

here's some videos!




and why not - here's a video of Damon Reeves @ the Iron Horse from last november:

enjoy!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Here's a link to the flyer for the first Black Cat Bone Music event!

very excited about this event! been waiting for a couple year to play a show with the polecats. those guys are all over the country playing every week! We're actually really lucky that Jeff Norwood was in the northeast too - he hails from South Carolina and is a true bluesman. i promise you a great time witnessing some amazing music being made. the show is early - only running from 8pm until 10pm or so.

i'm really jazzed about bringing these guys to noho - Damon & Co. will also perform to round out the night. my hope is that we'll build an audience for this style of underground contemporary blues based music. this is not your typical roadhouse chicago blues (though there's nothing wrong with that at all) - this is mississippi delta inspired low down and dirty type stuff. this is celebrating the juke joint and that wild kind of party!

anyway - i'll be talking more about this as the show gets closer. i'm also going to post some videos of the acts playing.

right now i need to go entertain the baby!
now this is a fantastic saturday morning!

had a fantastic gig last night @ Finnegan's Tavern in springfield. a good amount of my family from the area rolled in to my surprise - i referred to them as the "Beef Contingency" during one of the breaks, it got a good laugh. It was also really nice to see some old friends in there too.  some of these guys i haven't seen in forever, which is all too often the story. we also met some great new people and got some folks dancing for our whole last set too - which is really the goal for us. everyone seemed to have a good time - even when we took a break and the comic who was double booked took the stage. he wasn't much more than just vulgar and it was irritating some of the crowd. his friends however, thought he was one funny mofo - even when they heckled him!  Great bar with an great staff running it, we will totally be back with the trio next time!

this morning i got the scoop from Holly about last night. turns out Delaney slept like a rock and put up barely a fuss when it was time to go to bed! i just don't get it, but at least Holly had an easy night. i don't feel like such a schmo for being out then!

today is gonna be pretty relaxed. later tonight we're going to a party at my Aunt's place. not too sure if we'll all go or if it'll just be me and Chloe - we'll see.

next gig is march 12h and i'm so excited about it, i don't really have the words to get into it. i have been waiting to play a bill with the ten foot polecats for two years now! the fact that we have a show booked for next month with them AND Jeff Norwood is more than i could ask for.

i need 2 things right now - coffee (obviously) and lots of water!


later,

Beef - out!

Friday, February 18, 2011

a great night last night - baby actually gave us nearly a full nights sleep. there was a brief game of wake up and cry, just before Holly and i turned in - but by the time we were ready to go to sleep Delaney had called it quits.

i have been reading numerous blogs about the local music "scene" in the valley and i have got to say - i love it. talk it up people! the interaction between musicians, show attendees, and even folks across the country - lovingly adding to the mix is nothing short of fantastic! i'd like to just point out the catalyst for the music scene's high's and low's is whether or not people are on fire about the music. this starts with the bands - and works it's way down to the audience. things will fall into a slump here and there. what needs to happen instead of saying "the scene is dead" - is doing something to kick it in the ass! i believe it'll get to one of it's highs soon and i'm looking forward to when it does.

gig tonight and gym tomorrow. the childcare at the Y has some funkier hours than we had initially thought - so it's not been easy to work around  - but we'll do it. many times i have tried to get into a gym routine - i finally admit to myself that i need my wife to just plan it for us and go. i know i will just blow it off after 3 weeks and i need to try something new. my thinking is that if we can work it into our family time routine then i'll stick to it.

the gig tonight should be a lot of fun! it's an acoustic duo gig with Damon and i. we've done this a couple of times in the past and it works great. we play from 8-12 and there is no cover. i'd love to see some folks there!!

anyway - coffee time.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

some thoughts on a music scene rebirth.

i read this blog entry from my friend John. started to leave this as a comment and decided it was probably a good entry for here too. anyway, here are a few thoughts that came to mind after reading his post!

i like lists.

- thinking of and promoting shows as a whole event is crucial. you want to engage an audience have some cohesion on the bill so that they will stay for the duration - not run out the door to the regular haunt or home. people will have better feeling if they spent a night seeing a good show then feeling obligated to see their friends 45 minute set at 'such and such' venue before rushing out to get back to their own lives. imaging that - show-goers that leave the gig amped up for the next show!?!?

- there are too many venues and not enough people in the audience! it's one thing to have musicians in the audience when they are not out gigging. however, it's much more beneficial for a "scene" to have new people brought into it consistently. if you are going to a show - especially for a band you like and believe in - bring some friends - preferably some friends who might have never seen said band! gigs in our area provide a great night of entertainment and fun for a fraction of going to see a national touring act! we should stand by that and be using it to attract an audience.

- bands need to support one another when on a bill together. appreciate the differences and keep from being a tool and trashing or leaving the venue on another act that you are sharing a stage with. if you're invested in the event as a whole - you will see the benefits of building a scene and not just a following of your closest friends. trust me, that might be "AWESOME" right now - but in a year they will disappear on you.

- a successful gig is a well planned gig. promoters sometimes mail it in when booking bands for a show. regardless if your in a band on the bill or a promoter for the show - booking the first bands that have a slot open on the calendar is not really putting an event together. put bands together that compliment each others sound (within reason), can play nice and work well to draw an audience and are invested in more than the length of the set time they are given. 

there's lots of other little things i could put in here and probably will in the future. feel free to add your two cents - i'd love to hear from anyone with insight on making the music scene stronger than ever!

midnight awakening, DR&Co. Practice, Release thoughts, Coffee stupidity

what a morning! Delaney slept pretty well last night - she didn't give Holly too many problems at bedtime. she slept all the way up until 12:15 - then gave us a little bit of a challenge getting up and not wanting to go to bed. eventually she went back to sleep - and was still sleeping when i left this morning.

last night's practice session was unbelievable! we worked on 4 tunes and cut some demo tracks to get them down. at some point i'll put a list together of titles for the originals we play  - it's pretty staggering. there's got to be about 50 tunes on the list and they change up from different styles - it's a situation that i'm glad to be in!

did a little talking about getting a release together of Damon's music - it's very important to get something out there in order to go any further. right now our goal is to focus on building our following - having a release available is going to be such a huge asset for helping accomplish that. the issue i'm sure that's going on is the number of tracks that we could put on the release. i'm sure that it's difficult for Damon, being the songwriter, to have to choose what tracks will make the cut for the release - but it's really got to happen soon.

i need a cup of coffee bad, real ba a a a aaaaaaaaad. never made any before i left the house - didn't want to wake the baby (her room is just off the kitchen). i'm probably going to grab a cup around 9 or so. awesome!

alright folks - i'll leave you with that!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

i think this baby has something else going on under the surface. world domination or something dire. my theory is that she is first working on Holly and i through sleep deprivation in order to control us to do her evil bidding. fro there who knows. maybe she's planning to use my access to the media for her diabolical plan. that would explain her odd connection with Barry Krieger! she's in for a surprise however, i will not crack under pressure.  i have this message for you - you evil non-sleeping baby: you're going down, you're going down to Chinatown!

had a pretty relaxed night last night until the girls went to bed. had an early dinner and played with the baby - who was in a really fantastic mood. shortly after 7pm Delaney started to look like she was getting kind of sleepy. so we started the routine for bedtime and then she slowly got more and more unhappy. so we decided to just keep her up for a while. 8:15pm hit and Chloe had already gone to bed - we tried again with Delaney. She got up a few times but eventually she was out. Holly figured she might as well go to bed too - i wasn't tired so i stayed up to watch some HULU. i was up till almost 11 and that baby didn't make a peep! once i went to bed - she was up every 20 minutes. we tried everything - i can only assume her teeth are bothering her. hopefully that comes to an end asap!

got a nice message last night from John St. Onge over at Mad Ones Entertainment about my blog inspiring him. We have some very similar ideas when it comes to music, promotion, etc. it's nice to know people even read this - let alone actually get something out of it. that's pretty awesome!

practice tonight with Damon and Dave up in Ashfield. looking forward to playing very much, not looking forward to the barrage of text messages i'll get from Holly - detailing the scenario at home with the nocturnal one. now that i think about it, all of this sleeping crap started with her last wednesday!

a quick aside - the "it's always sunny in Philadelphia" episode titled "Sweet Dee has a Baby" is fargin' HILARIOUS!!!!

i'm going to need a significant amount of coffee today. i am going to get started.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

baby sleep woes, full throttle friday, girls night in?

i think that the baby wants Holly and i to lose it. she got up 4-5 times last night plus when i got out of the shower she had woken up again - with an agenda of rage to boot! let's hope she gets back into the routine soon!

Holly made a killer lasagna last night for dinner - holy geez was it good! after dinner we bathed the kids and got them ready for bed and just played with them. Chloe is such a great big sister. she really enjoys seeing Delaney laugh at all her ridiculous faces and antics. i was so worried that because there is such a large age gap between them that they wouldn't really relate together. fortunately Chloe is a big enough clown where she'll take the laughs from whoever is her audience!

the rest of the week is going to be pretty routine. band gets together on wednesday for a rehearsal. damon and i have a gig as an 'acoustic duo' on friday at Finnegan's Tavern in Springfield. i like these kinds of gigs where it's just the two of us. they are very loose and laid back - but a ton of fun. Damon often just busts out with seemingly random cover tunes and i'm kind of left flying by the seat of my pants. oddly, i think this is a great exercise for me. sometimes this shoots him in the foot though - he'll play a tune and i'll jump right in - the song will be great, but it's not something he wants to be playing regularity. then, i'm there suggesting we play that one again at another gig! you should really hear our version of Billy Joel's "You May Be Right"!!

saturday night Holly was planning a girls night out - doesn't seem like it's going to happen though. i'm hoping it works out for her - i know she was really looking forward to going out. if it doesn't work out - maybe we'll do something special at home.

no coffee this morning - that's a bad BAD T H I N G! ! !

off to fix that - later yo.


one last thing - for the drummers who read my blog. post some links of your favorite you tube drum videos!

peace ya'll!

Monday, February 14, 2011

work it out, toof-loss, syrup/jelly.

today is gym day. asked Holly early this morning about it to confirm so i could get it into my head. i'm excited for it actually - as much as i hate it, i like the idea of going and working out with the whole family. i just hope Delaney does alright in the child care that they provide. i should pick up some doughnuts and coffee to butter them up, that cute little kid is a touch nut to crack!

Chloe is psyched it's valentines day today. she was even more psyched yesterday when that dang tooth finally fell out! she got $2 plus an extra $1 from my mom when we were visiting over there yesterday afternoon.

speaking of teeth and kids - Delaney has some more coming in. had a little fever and was extra cranktastic all day/night. she was not going to go to bed without a fight. Holly got up with her around 4am for the day, i got up one time to settle her down, plus she was up an extra hour late! 

visited over at my folks place with the family, my sister and her husband. my dad's birthday is this week - so Holly baked a kickass carrot cake! we got my dad a bottle of Cabin Fever for his birthday. we picked a bottle up for a cake over the christmas holiday and found it was just awesome stuff! my dad had some last week (he's not a whiskey drinker much) and mentioned he wanted to take a bottle down to the keys for the trip coming up. figured we'd just pick it up and he wouldn't forget it. if you haven't had the stuff - try it. it's maple infused whiskey and is something really fantastic!

i got a cup of coffee here that clearly is being ignored - better get back to the grind!




Sunday, February 13, 2011

swillmerchants, craft beer, chin strap beards, para-diddles

great night out with my buddy Jim last night. we went to max cap for a show, crowrider, swillmerchants and against apocalypse were on the bill. when we got there, there was a band already on stage - for the life of me i cannot remember the name. it was something to the effect of 220's or along those lines. good stuff, great vocal harmonies and the drummer used some interesting crash cymbals. one was destroyed - as in it looked like it had gotten the rough end of an industrial paper shredder. however, it had the most beautiful trashy and dark sound.

the crowd was full of familiar faces - some i haven't seen in ages! i was enjoying the selection of craft beers on tap. started out the night drinking Magic Hat's "Howl" (which is terrific btw), then based on the bartenders recommendation after my initial inquiry - i switched to Goose Island's Mild Winter. this was out of this world! enough about my beverages - Crowrider was up next. after months of missing the shows under the name UTAH - i finally got a chance to see them. i'll leave it at this - Dino's 'tiger shirt' said it all. and if you missed it, your loss!

Swills played a killer set and blew me away! played a lot of tunes i expected to hear - but they dug into a few of the newer tunes (i assume for the new record) - and did a cover of "girls on film". they put on such a good rock show. the type of show that engages the crowd from beginning to end. for the genre, the accomplish everything they should be, while on stage. everything is executed with the idea of having a good show in mind.

then Against Apocalypse played some songs. not really my thing, well played however! i think it's just catered more toward the chin-strap beard wearing crowd - not that there is anything wrong with that. :/

during the evening i spoke with a handful of people who told me they have checked out this blog - that made my night! best compliment i could have heard - i heard last night regarding dedication to writing this. couldn't have come from a better guy either, he's one of my favorite drummers (taught me how to apply the paradiddle to the drum kit back in the day, not that i do correctly - but he taught me) - thanks Bill!

anyway, Chloe is flipping her lid because we asked her to wait a bit on breakfast. i had better get on that. also, Holly is giving me a ton of crap about "computing" - i am terrible now that i have my own machine. amazing.

more soon!

peace!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Black Diamonds Heavies w/ Mark 'Porkchop' Holder Deep Blues 2009


this is amazing. this is music. this is art!
just finished making Chloe an egg sandwich for breakfast. man, that kid is so 'in your face' first thing in the morning. she just needs to chill-out a little - let daddy get some coffee before the onslaught of chatter! i love that kid though, she's awesome.

really quiet night last night around here. Delaney went to bed without any issue, which i appreciated. Chloe stayed up an hour extra to watch the Charlie Brown Valentine's Day Special. Holly went out for coffee with the girls and i spent some time checking out bands on the Deep Blues Festival 2011 lineup. there are definitely a few that i'm really excited to see, but they are all right up my alley.

Holly gave me my valentines day gift early because it arrived yesterday. it's an indoor smoker! it is basically a medium sized hotel pan with a fold away handle and a thin steel lid that seals it all up tight. inside theres a rack that fits into a drip pan. the idea seems pretty cool - we'll be trying it out soon and there will be reviews to follow!

tonight i'm going to check out a show at Maximum Capacity in Chicopee. SwillMerchants are playing along with CrowRider (UTAH in another form, i think). the show is right down 391, so it's close and cheap! another bonus, the club has a great selection of craft beers on tap. i figure if i'm only going to have a few beers in a night out - might as well make them great ones!

thinking it's time for some breakfast ya'll. peace!

Friday, February 11, 2011

comatose, chills, chicken and waffles, the beard diaries.

wow. i slept like a rock last night! heard the baby fuss a little bit around 4am, then go back to sleep. at that moment i realized that i had been sleeping in exactly the same position for about 5-6 hours. when it comes to sleeping - i'm pretty damn good at it.

it is WICKED cold out today! like, winter is cold - but today it's the kind of col that goes right through you.  single digits without the wind chill - that my friends is real cold weather.

weekend plans - pretty tame actually. tonight i'm hanging out at home with the kids while Holly goes out for her Coffee night out with the girls. between that and her "crafting night" i feel like i married a Golden Girl! anyway, tomorrow is going to be pretty quiet too. Chloe has a bday party for her BFF - spa themed. needless to say, i'm most likely going to hang out with the baby at home. Saturday night - there are a lot of options. i'd really like to to take Chloe out to a talent show that's going on - but it doesn't start until 7pm - so we'll see. Albert Cummings is also performing at the iron horse that night too - along with many other shows going on that night. i think my buddy Pawel is playing a gig too in Greenfield - gonna have to see how it all comes together.

sunday - gathering at my parents place for birthday cake for my pop's bday and that will pretty much wrap up the weekend. 

last night Holly started making some homemade chicken stock. she got a good deal on some whole roasters and bought five! two of them have already been roasted and picked apart for use in recipes - the bones and such have been boiling away making the house smell wonderful! i think we need to make more stock - it's s good to just have on hand, why not take advantage of the chance to make it?

Valentines day is coming up and a week later Holly's birthday - i get hit hard in February! i got her bday gift already, she's opened it and loves waffles! i got her a waffle maker - a good one. she's been asking. i need to get a valentine's card and i'll be set! she's been bragging that she bought me a valentine's gift that was awesome. i have no idea, last birthday she got me my Leboowski wallet - which i love!

i am getting to a crossroads with my beard. i should give it a good trim, but there is another part of me that wants to stay the course and just let it grow. i'm leaning toward just rolling with it as long as possible until i can't deal with it any longer. my hope is that in a few weeks i will have outgrown this awkward 'homeless guy' stage. wish me luck!

coffee time!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

rehearsal, theo's, homefront

man - last night's rehearsal session was awesome! didn't realize it, but we haven't jammed since before the Ernie and The Automatics gig a couple weeks ago. we worked on 3 new tunes - all blues - foot stompin', low down dirty blues! i really love playing music with this group. the music is phenomenal, the chemistry between the 3 of us is great - and only getting better!

so, yesterday i managed to reach one of my personal goals for booking this group. i booked an upcoming gig at one of my favorite bars/venues. a place that i have been wanting to play forever - Theodore's! since i started playing blues inspired music, just a couple years ago - everyone has had the same statement at one time of another - "hey, how about you guys play at Theo's sometime!" or, "you guys really have that great kinda "bluesy" sound - why don't you play @ Theodore's". Well it's coming - not gonna drop the date just yet.... but it's coming.

last night, Holly made this Thai inspired peanut chicken dish that was out of this world! served it over brown rice and it was just awesome. i brought leftovers for lunch - yummy!

my lovely wife have been baking her own bread with the bread machine she had adopted. this is her second loaf of raisin bread and it's great! she sent me out the door this morning with what she called "daddy toast". she's such a funny little lady. yesterday, a friend of mine said that she was a lucky gal to have me - i think it's really the other way around. she takes good care of me - and makes me so unbelievably happy.

short entry today - i'm starving, gonna kill this toast!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

rehearsal tonight up in ashfield and i have been dying to play some drums! that's the one drawback to jamming out in such a nice, remote location, the weather can go and muck everything up in a snap. we have a lot of work to do in order to get some good gigs, and i feel like missing one weekly rehearsal sets us so far behind. unfortunately, the idea of picking up a second session to make up for it is not realistic all the time.i really like the idea of setting up a jam room when Holly and i finally buy a house. if nothing else, it'll let me drum much more often!

i posted a couple videos last night of Steve Jordan playing. one of them is from his dvd, i think. that guy is way too overlooked and it's a shame. he owns the pocket... OWNS - OWNS!!! yes, that's a Slap Shot reference people. Got into a short conversation about favorite drummers last night on my Facebook page. Billy Ward got mentioned, i feel like he's one of the latest drummers to grab my attention over the last couple of years. one thing i really like is his kind of out of the box thinking when it comes to getting interesting sounds out of the drum set. there was a Modern Drummer Video (i believe) from a few years back where he demonstrate that by playing the kit bare handed and placing shakers into his shoes. what he played got me thinking quite a bit. i believe it was the same video where he demonstrated the use of a "woofer" in front of his bass drum, which was an 18"-20" or something. anyway, i'm going on a tangent... imagine that!

i have to give it up to my wife, this coffee is pretty good today! we've been brewing this mint flavored stuff - it was a holiday clearance item i'm sure. normally i'm not really on board  with this, but today's is pretty dang good!

we're going to be going to the gym as a family. on the one hand i think it's a little hilarious - on the other i'm hoping for the best. i totally need to get in shape. i mean, round is a shape... but i need to get into some other shape!

we also booked out hotel for our trip to Cleveland for the DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 2011! very psyched that we are going to do this trip! on the one hand i'm just glad we are taking a trip together - just Holly and i. on the other hand, i cannot wait to see this show!!! i'm hoping to bring some of the bands on the bill to the pioneer valley sometime in the future. well, actually i already have the Ten Foot Polecats booked @ the basement in Northampton in march - so i'm already on my way there!

gotta run folks - later!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Lucio Enrico Fasino play Bass with Steve Jordan in "The Groove is Here"

Steve Jordan: The Groove is Here



this guys, is what groove is all about! Steve Jordan!

early to rise!

pretty great evening last night! got home and opened the front door to smell one of my favorite things in the world, ever - SLOW ROASTED PORK SHOULDER. Holly cooked the shoulder and we made roast pork tacos for dinner with cabbage slaw and pickled jalapeños. Chloe, huge fan, Holly and i were too - Delaney loved it as well! well, the girls didn't get any peppers.

then we got the friggen phone call. Chloe's school was cancelled for today due to removal of the snow on the roof. you have got to be kidding me! granted they had a half day scheduled anyway, but i don't think this kid has had a full 5 day week of school since Christmas vacation! i also think that if Chloe were any other kid - she'd be loving the snow days. however, since Chloe's only in first grade she looks at a snow day as a huge letdown. the look she gives Holly when she tells her that school is cancelled again - you'd think Holly cancelled it herself to irritate Chloe. i am really happy that Chloe loves school as much as she does - i know the longer she loves school the better she'll probably do scholastically, but her reaction is just so funny!

i also booked a gig for Damon and i to perform as an "unplugged" duo for 2/18. an old friend of mine has started managing this irish pub in Springfield MA [Finnegan's Tavern] and is looking to bring some music in there. i haven't been there in ages, so i don't remember what the layout is like - i need to make up some fliers/posters and drop them off. so, i'll take a look at it there and figure out the deal and what i should plan on taking for a kit. here's a link to the info from our Facebook Event!

i've been busy working on putting Black Cat Bone Music on the map. i built a reverbnation page for it and i'm holding off on doing anything on facebook - but that is next. right now what i'm doing with BCBM is primarily managing Damon Reeves and booking events in the Pioneer Valley to bring in some bands of the Deep Blues genre. These are not your Chicago/roadhouse blues kind of shows - this is the lowest and dirtiest - i'm looking to have that juke joint feel at these shows.

My first event is on 3/12 @ the The Basement in Northampton and i'm really looking forward to it! I put Damon & Co. on the bill initially - and i was lucky enough to book Ten Foot Polecats and add them to the bill. They are an awesome trio out of Boston - really fantastic stuff! Guitar work that is out of this world and just awe inspiring. The vocals really remind me of Howlin' Wolf - i could listen to them all day. I'll post some videos of them as the date gets a little closer. After booking TFPC's it happened to work out that they were touring with Jeff Norwood. Jeff is one hell of a bluesman, hailing from South Carolina - we are lucky to have him making a appearance in Northampton! This is what BCBM is all about - bringing these Deep Blues acts to an area where they have just not connected, yet. Let's face it - the Valley has it's share of great shows - i'm just looking to take my experience in the punk/hardcore/metal scene and apply it to a genre of music that i have a huge amount of passion for.


well - i can see the bottom of my coffee cup. you know how i roll.

Monday, February 7, 2011

post superbowl monday morning.

yea. i didn't watch any of the superbowl - and i'm ok with it. i just zoned out to hulu until i couldn't bear being awake anymore and went to bed. after two not-so-great nights of sleep, my body kicked into comatose mode. apparently, the baby got up about half an hour after we went to bed and i was not waking up for anything - woops!

i'm sitting in one of the pods in the hub, drinking my coffee and feeling good. it was a good ride into work today. i do have a short commute, but it still helps me have a good day if all goes smooth and i'm able to rock some good tunes in the car. today's spin was ZZ Top's Fandango. a buddy of mine from the overnight crew has been making some CDR copies of some old albums.  he's got some pretty good taste in music, so they are usually pretty good and there's a wide range of stuff.

i'm really looking forward to getting together with the band this week. @KaraKharmah, (she sings backup, plays some percussion and helps me out with some marketing ideas) - she came up with an idea to put together a party for her birthday and have the band jam during it, maybe do some of our live band karaoke too. that got me thinking that the band should do that for all our stuff. we all have a circle of friends that have missed the boat on our shows, but WILL make an appearance for an event like a party. might need to work on the idea of doing the live band karaoke unplugged, for some places where volume might be an issue - maybe we could even do this at our place! Anyway - great idea!

so, when Chloe got home yesterday we got all the info about the weekend. they ended up going bowling and had a great time! i'm happy she had so much fun. next weekend she has a 'spa' themed birthday party to go to next weekend, good thing Holly and i were on the ball enough to plan ahead and pick up a gift. i have got to say - i had such a nice weekend hanging out with Holly. i love spending time with her. She's such a great gal. i'm so glad i have her and my two little gals too.

I ordered her birthday gift last night too. just need to figure out what to get her for valentines day. this month is a tough one for gifts for her. only a 7 day turnaround from vday to bday. it totally requires me to get ideas from her or get REALLY creative. this year i have some really good ideas bouncing around, it helps that she has a new hobby which she is very into.

ok - time to get this day rolling. gotta figure out rehearsals this week. lots to do!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

drumming.

i really have to work on my rudiments. when i look back over the last decade alone and see where my playing has grown the most and then gotten into a lull, it just blows me away. i mean for a self taught non-traditional drummer i can certainly hold it together. i just feel that i need to step it up. maybe start watching some good drum videos as a source of inspiration. working with a musician as talented as Damon is on the guitar and seeing how it all just comes so naturally to him is both inspiring and frustrating. that's where i think it gets me most - we're going to begin writing some newer material as a band eventually - not just learning tunes out of his back catalog and getting them down. it's gonna be a different game at some point where i'm going to need to be writing drums parts and these songs need to have it together. not something i just want to mail in, gotta do it some justice.


if i could actually swing it financially - i'd love to book a few sessions with an instructor to hone my technique a bit too. if i could get some rudimentary playing tightened up - i feel that my abilities would just sort of take off. two things i need to do - drop a little weight (this will also help behind the kit) and get my head in the drumming game for real.

i get so damned distracted though. gotta work on that.

i have a copy of stick control floating around here somewhere - gotta track it down and work on some old school rudiments.

yea - let's get working on that.

i'm easy - easy like sunday morning....

wow- did i ever have a rough nights sleep! Holly was nodding off right after we put Delaney down to bed - so we probably hit the hay around ten. I have to admit, seeing my wife passed out on the couch snoring like a chainsaw did bring some amusement to my night. After watching a few episodes of "it's always sunny in Philadelphia" and "Beer nuts" on HULU, i decided it was time to wake sleeping beauty up and head for the boudoir.

i ended up waking up about 2am . got up when i decided sleep wasn't on the table. ended up watching American Meth and then heading back to bed before the sun came up. Delaney woke up just after 6am, and that was it - start of my day. it's going to be a busy one too. need to take out the trash from the porch, and get this place back in order. the wife's sewing projects have turned out dining room into what looks like Kathy Lee Gifford's Filipino sweat shops! OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little - regardless, it needs to be put back together.

I'm thinking of cancelling Netflix and signing up for hulu plus. like it's half the cost!!! if i do that, i want to buy an interface or a device so i can watch on my tv. while i like snuggling in bed with the wife and the laptop watching SVU - it'd be nice to chill in the living room with the family or some friends. i should mention that my family watches a lot of PBS and only a little network TV mainly for some news. we have an antennae and refuse to pay for television.

the house hunt continues - have to put a meeting together this week concerning mortgage details. really hoping to be in our own place in the next year! After my chores today, i might take a gander at some available properties online.

so that's it. Chloe will be home this afternoon sometime, and we'll have dinner together. i think Holly is gonna make Chirico and Lentil stew for lunch. *nomz*


yea, life's good.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Weekend is here!

So nice that it's Saturday morning - despite the baby waking my up earlier than any other day this week! Go figure... still, it's nice to just get up with her and know that the day is mine today.

Got a little bad news last night. Turns out the Mass Mutual Center had cancelled ALL the shows lined up for this weekends Disney Princesses on Ice. They had cancelled last night due to fears about the amount of snow on the roof of the building. Something about a roof collapsing on thousands of people probably makes them a little nervous, huh?! Chloe was not happy at all when we told her the show was off, she was REALLY excited to go with my parents tomorrow. I'm kind of impressed at how well she handled the bad news though - not what i expected.

Last night was nice and relaxed. played with the girls till about 7pm - then put Delaney to bed. After that i ran out to move the cars so we wouldn't get towed because of the updated parking ban. Holly had put Chloe to bed by the time i got finished and headed back upstairs. My new issue of "DRUM!" arrived too - so i read that for a bit. There was an article on Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann I was looking forward to checking out. After that, Holly and I half watched "The Kids Are Alright" - then called it a night.

I picked up some beer on my way home last night too. Lagunitas Brown Shugga - which I thoroughly enjoyed! I also grabbed a bomber of Cappuccino Stout also from Lagunitas, which is for later today!

I've noticed some of the spring brews have been making their way onto shelves and i have got to say - even with the ample amount of winter weather we have had in the last month and how much i am longing for spring and baseball season - it's too damn early for spring beers! I felt the same way about the fall brews too - I feel like the season got into full swing and i barely got into the groove of the new seasonal then BAM - I'm drinking Magic Hat's Vinyl before Valentines day! Phew - enough of that nonsense.

i have to cut this short - I'm getting way too much entertainment out of watching Holly sew and swear! HILARIOUS!!!!!

peace!

Friday, February 4, 2011

TGIF

i have always felt that the best blog entries have always come on two days of the week. Mondays, because of the obvious updates of all the weekend's events - and on Fridays! Friday has this awesome magical kind of energy behind it. there's just something that you cannot get from any other day, than the feeling you get right before the weekend kicks off. there are some comparable feelings that i should mention - like your last day of work before a much needed vacation for instance. that is also a very special event - but it's the regularity of a Friday that makes it so great. once a week you get to have that 'eve of the weekend' and even if your weekend is less than relaxing, you still love that it's at least FRIDAY!

This Friday comes before a weekend that i am very much looking forward to. for starters - my wife and i have half a babysitter this weekend! what i mean is that my mother is taking my oldest daughter on Saturday for an overnight. my wife and i will still have the baby at home with us, but that is as close to a "kid-less" weekend as you could hope for. it's a win-win for all of us. My daughter Chloe, who loves spending time with her "Nonie" gets to hang at their place and go see Disney Princesses on ICE. Where as Holly (my Wife) and i get to hang out together and get caught up on things around the house. believe it or not, getting the house in order and making an extra special dinner together is quite nice. Delaney, my youngest daughter is perfectly content to hang with mom and dad for the most part. plus, she goes to bed early enough that we get to at least have the night together for ourselves.

no gigs or rehearsals lined up for this weekend either - it's been a long week for the band. we just played a big show last Sunday at the Iron Horse in Northampton MA. we got to open for Ernie & the Automatics, featuring members of Boston, The Beaver Brown Band and Peter Wolfe's Band. Met some very cool people - and had a fantastic time, but it was a last minute gig and I busted my ass to schedule a second rehearsal and to promote effectively. The rest of the week for the band was dealing with a situation that ended up costing us a couple gigs. short version of the story goes like this, a colleague of the group had his ego bruised when he had an exchange with Damon, which was not professional - on either parts end. He decided that he should drop us from a gig we had coming up this month with a group he sessions for - no sweat. what got ridiculous was when he had pressured a booking agent to take us off of a bill in June,  FOR A CHARITY EVENT! Anyway, we decided to just allow the situation be what it was - retarded. what's worse is that he's maintained nothing but lies to his actions, as if his beef with Damon has nothing to do with me, even though I'm Damon's Manager. Hopefully the childish actions of this guy will catch up to him eventually. I know we have a lot better things we could be doing than getting involved in some junk like this!

that about does it for now - time to refill this coffee cup!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

First entry - new blog!

Well, this is it - I'm a blogger. with a legitimate blog.


I'll have much more up here soon.


Thanks for checking it out!!!