My First Bass

Here's a scan of the first bass guitar I bought.... way back in summer 1978. It was a Fender Jazz copy, some unremembered off-brand. One of my earlier attemps at artistic photography.

And another scan, of my first real gig, playing at the Vibrator's Corp club in McKees Rocks, PA. Late summer '78. That's my brother on guitar, photo was tken by Greg Benson.

I sold that bass to a friend, oughta see if I can buy it back. Just for old times sake.

Job Hunting 101

I know it's a tough job market out there, so here's a hint for those of you out there looking...
If you are applying for a full time position that does not have anything to do with development of wireless products and / or high speed digital systems, dont start your resume with:

- - - - - - - - -
OBJECTIVE
Seeking a position related to the development of wireless products and / or high-speed digital systems. A contract position is preferred but not required.
- - - - - - - - -

Cause the hiring manager isn't going to read past that.

R.I.P. Les Paul

"Les Paul, who invented the solid-body electric guitar later wielded by a legion of rock 'n' roll greats, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. He was 94. According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side. As an inventor, Paul also helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll with multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording."

Rock on.

What's The Buzz?

Many (many, many) moons ago, when I was in college, I had the bright idea to design a digital tuner for my bass guitar. Pretty cool stuff for the time (1981/1982), but never quite completed. I don't even remember the details, but I do remember that one of my biggest challenges was to define what the "correct " frequencies were. And it turned out to be a pretty daunting task.

Of course, nowadays, with the internet (and Google!), it's just a matter of a 0.26 secong search, and then picking from the list. THIS would've made my life so much easier back then.

And, with the strange way that my mind works, I now know that the 60Hz hum of our power grid is halfway between a "B" and a "B-flat".... And that's good to know!

Randomness

A face, a voice,
an overdub has no choice
And it cannot rejoice

from The Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)- The Monkees (written by Goffin/King)

Possum Junction

We took a short vacation to southern Indiana the past couple of days. Had a real nice time. During our driving around, we stumbled across Possum Junction, in Kitterman Corners, IN, at the corner of Rt. 62 and Rt. 143. Sadly, the place seems to be out of business, or we'd've stopped for sure!