looking toward 2012..

so here i am at panera bread - making good use of the free wifi and even better use of the free coffee refills on this, my last week of from work of 2011. it has been a great year for me and i'm looking at 2012 with optimistic eyes.

for starters - Black Cat Bone Music has taken off in ways i cannot begin to believe. i have partnered up with Lee Jergensen and we are planning some really fantastic events for next year! we are working with a couple different venues now - setting up events that will put western massachusetts on the muddy roots/deep blues map! between the polish american citizens club in south hadley, the elevens in northampton and the waterfront tavern in holyoke housing my ongoing deep blues jam series - we have the ability to bring bands into the area that we had some difficulty with placing or housing in the past.

my goal is really to make BCBM a staple in the northeast - ideally being able to host the Deep Blues Festival in the next 3-5 years.

the elevens has a new little jolt of motivation these days. the feeling is that it's got so much potential to be a really great club for live music and artistic events. i am usually the perpetual optimist in these situations - but i really feel like with a little work it can perform very well. part of that is a little action on the clubs part in getting involved with the events they have - which i think is exactly what we will see in the near future.

anyway - i'm going to shut down my netbook and refill my paper cup one last time of that glorious nectar of the gods. i have a bit of time to kill before i pick up my little buddy at school. i'll spend it checking out a couple new CD's i've been digging lately and driving around town sipping aforementioned nectar!

Have a happy holiday - i'll be back a lot more often in 2012!

-BRB

summer in the city....

wow!! it's been a while since i have been posting any content up here. i should mention that readers of this amazing bit of literary gold can always stay connected with me via my social media outlets. i am, in fact a huge proponent of social networking and am a bit of a social media whore at times. i have links to my online profiles posted on the sidebars of this here blog - but for those who prefer to not seek them out and for my own love of posting links i'll leave them right in this entry too!

My Facebook Page

Follow me on Twitter

My You-Tube Channel

Black Cat Bone Music on ReverbNation

Damon Reeves & The Love Thieves

as for what has been going on in my life - well for a month or so my wife and i have been dieting and exercising - it's paying off! We have been careful with what we eat and have been taking vitamins and supplements along with being active and drinking tons of water. i have noticed that i actually don't have the back pain i was having while spending 4 hours a night on my drum throne. that's huge since i hated the idea of spending so much time doing something i love was leading to my back killing me.

last night i took the whole family to see Eva Cappelli and her band perform at a great little outdoor venue in Easthampton, MA. the kids had a blast and Holly did too. it was a nice little crowd that gathered for the show too. i was talking to a woman in the crowd and she told me that they have these free outdoor concerts each friday. the venue is literally on the bike trail, right off the section that crosses ferry street. i am hoping to track down a schedule so i can find out what the other events are so i can get the kids some exposure to live music.

still very much looking forward to the Deep Blues Festival this July. unfortunately - it's looking like it won't be the nice trip that Holly and i had in mind a few months ago. money is really tight right now and if she doesn't find work we really won't be able to afford the trip together. problem is we have a hotel reserved for that weekend and it's already paid for. so, she insists that i go without her and find someone/a small crew to come along. that will help make the trip do-able. we'll see what happens - still about a month to go until the trip, so we'll see what happens.

over the last couple of days i have had BBQ FEVER in the worst way possible! for the last handful of years (mainly since living in this 3rd floor apartment) i have been hoping each summer i would be able to spend a day with 3 things sun, beer and barbecue (all the while being kidless of course)! the summer just slips away so fast and i get tied up with other things. this year however, i am planning on buying a portable smoker and making it a priority to make my dream come true. i want to go portable so that i can take it camping with us as we've been acquiring camping equipment so that we can begin to take the family out enjoying the outdoors! the rainy weather outside at the moment has curbed my desire to smoke meats and veg in the sun while sipping beers - or diet approved mixed drinks until i reach my goal weight. i have scoped out some smokers out there that will allow me to do this on the cheap - which of course is very necessary. i have considered going with an electric or propane route for control - but there is the caveman aspect that i want where i actually have to control the fire myself. so, charcoal it is!

my coffee cup is empty.

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.