Paul Gustave Simonon was born this day, December 15, 1955. Not a well known name, but profoundly influential in my life as the bassist for my favorite band of all time, The Clash.
The folklore of the Clash says that Paul was chosen for the band simply because of his look. When he joined the band, he didn’t even play bass. In fact, it’s been said that guitarist Mick Jones actually wrote the notes on the fretboard so Paul could find his way around. True? Who knows? Suffice it to say, he BECAME an outstanding bassist over the years and had a hand in making some of the most important records of my lifetime.
Paul always seemed to simply exude “cool” to me as a kid. He wasn’t particularly flashy, he wasn’t often in the spotlight, but he was a presence. There was just something about him that was magnetic. I don’t know what “it” is, but he had it!
It is startling to see he is now 70 years old! It makes sense, seeing as I was only 9 when the first Clash album came out, and I was 12 when I first heard them with the release of London Calling. I was positively obsessed with the Clash in my teens and 20’s, and I still listen to them quite often in my late 50’s. As most of my readers will know, I’m a huge music nerd and music has been the biggest thing in my life for the last 4+ decades. I love lots of music, I’ve been influenced by countless bands and artists, but if I had to pick one band to listen to for the rest of my days, undoubtedly it would be the Clash.
So, cheers to you Mr. Siminon! Without you and your mates, my life would be immensely different. Thank you for your work all those years ago, and for the lasting, profound impact you had on this (formerly) young musician. I owe you a debt of gratitude. You may have come from humble beginnings, but you were a giant in my eyes (and ears!). Well done Sir!
At this moment I’ve got the truck loaded up and I’m on my way to my first drumming gig in a very, very long time.
I feel like I should be nervous, but for some reason I’m not. This band got together in the last week of April and we’ve had 8 or 9 rehearsals so we’re not exactly a well oiled machine, but I think we can at least pull it off without any full-on train wrecks on stage. It’s our first time out, so who knows what will happen?!? I haven’t set foot in this club in a decade (the Quarternote in Sunnyvale, CA) and I NEVER played there before… Fingers crossed!
We’re the 2nd band of the night, playing from 10pm til Midnight and honestly my biggest concern is staying awake… I was up at 5.30am and working in 90 degree heat outside all day has got me more than a little bit whooped!
Not gonna lie, been in a rut. Got too many things to do and not enough time to get ’em done. And yet, nothing that I felt was worth writing about.
Not that it’s been all bad, just not noteworthy.
I’ve only been to one show since my last post – Magic City Hippies at the Fillmore in SF. However, considering I’ve done something like 5 or 6 concert reviews about them on this blog and this was maybe the 10th(?) time we’ve seen them, I don’t really have much else to say. They are STILL gre,at, one of the best live acts out there. Seriously. If you like live music and you get the opportunity, go see them. You won’t regret it.
MCH@Fillmore SF
I also was surprisingly reunited with a dear old friend – one of my groomsmen as a matter of fact – that “fell off the radar” some 30 years ago and I haven’t seen or heard from since! We had a nice talk on the phone and he was coming to town from out of state, so we met up for lunch a few days later and it was fantastic. It really gave me a sense of joy that my feeble vocabulary can’t articulate. I’ve really come to appreciate old friends as I’ve grown old but it’s rare that I see mine, as we’re now scattered clear across the country. In different directions. I’m the only dumb sap that still lives in the area where we all grew up. Unfortunately it no longer even closely resembles the place of our youth and there isn’t much to draw them back here for a visit.
Such is life.
Still have a pile of parts to replace on my truck, but between the full to-do list and the absolutely crap weather we’ve been having these last couple months, I’ve not been terribly excited about doing the work.
But now SPRING is officially here, and today I felt pretty invigorated. Had a productive day at work, then came home and put in a couple hours of chorin’ , now throwing this little note out there just to pet you all know I’m still alive and kicking!
Hopefully the change in seasons will bring a change in output here on the old Blogstead.
My constant readers may remember I took possession of a “new” truck back in June and it has been my daily driver ever since.
It has been relatively problem free, aside from a blown out radiator hose, and I’ve now put a little over 9,000 miles(!!!)on it for it’s initial shakedown. Aside from a new upper radiator hose, all I’ve done is an oil change and new spark plugs thus far. Though it is due for another oil change…
My first impression was that front end and steering would be the first task to undertake, then about 10 days ago I started hearing some brake screeching (not a metal on metal sound, but as though a caliper wasn’t opening up and dragging).
So, change of plans… This weekend I drove over to my Brother-in-Law’s place and took care of ‘Phase One’…
The truck is now sporting new wheel hub/bearing assemblies (Mevotech) on both sides with new, un-rounded bolts, new brake calipers, pads and rotors (Powerstop) and new braided stainless DOT brake lines (Russell). While I was in there I also put in a new set of front shocks (Bilstein).
It was a lot of work – a good 8 hours, start to finish. Should have been less, but dealing with some rounded off bolts, a couple broken sockets (Snap-On brand, no less!!), forgetting to look up torque specs before I got started and other assorted flys in the ointment really added to the slog. But, all’s well that ends well.
BeforeAfter
It’s reassuring to have new bearings and brakes up front, but there is still much to do.
I’ve got all the parts to completely rebuild the rear brakes inside and out and a new power brake booster to install, just ran outta time and daylight this round. And unfortunately when I was replacing the components on the driver’s side I found the CV joint had a cracked boot and was spewing grease, which means undoing some of the work I just completed to install a new axle half shaft, which I do not have just yet…
Hopefully between now and the next round of the big work I can get the new distributor cap, rotor and camshaft position sensor installed and the new Serpentine belt assembly that I’ve been sitting on for a few weeks now.
Despite all those parts sitting around waiting for me, the old girl is running well and stopping better, for which I am grateful! And no more ungodly sounds emanating from the front wheels!
I’m no mechanic, by any stretch of the imagination, and this job really pushed me to the limits of aggravation, but I gotta say it was a big boost to the ol’ self-esteem tank to conquer it. And lastly I must give a big, no actually MASSIVE thank you to my BIL, Kaptain Karel for letting me take over his driveway for the day and loaning me some tools so I didn’t have to schlep my entire mini-storage unit over there!! Not to mention helping me to figure out solutions when things went sideways! If you’ve ever considered wrenching on your own automobiles, I say go for it! I’ve been doing it for decades and always learn new things. Not to mention the money saved over the years by avoiding the mechanics shops! And what better excuse to buy new tools?! Even with all the dough I’ve dropped on tools over the years, I’m confident that I’m still thousands of dollars ahead.
I wish you all a wonderful day, hope each and every one of you have something to be grateful for.
I know I do. It’s been a heck of year for me and mine, but I’m feeling a tinge of optimism for the first time in a long time and I’m truly grateful for everything I have that is left standing.
Today I’m writing about my “new” truck, just purchased a few weeks ago, finally “officially legal” per California SMOG requirements (a bit of an ordeal!) with a transferred title and insurance coverage!
Fair warning, I’m gonna nerd-out a bit here… If you’re not a “car guy/gal” or a gearhead, you might wanna pass on this one…lest you be bored to tears.
OK, where to start… For the last few years I’ve been driving a pretty nice SUV, but it’s a little long in the tooth (model year 2000), expensive to maintain (if you’ve ever owned a European car, you know of what I speak!) and parts are becoming obsolete, making it even more expensive and difficult to maintain. But it fit the bill at the time, it was a steal actually, it drives great and still actually looks pretty darn good for being 24 years old with 142k on the odometer. However, it needs brakes, it needs tires, there is a weird electrical gremlin causing an intermittent tail light malfunction… and frankly it doesn’t fill my needs in my new job, not to mention I was looking for rooftop baskets to hold camping gear and such because it is lacking storage space. The bottom line is I don’t want to sink any more money into this old rig, knowing I wanted to replace it with something more suited to my current needs. The hunt began in earnest a few months ago.
I got a little methodical (and obsessive) after determining the criteria:
1. Pickup truck, minimum 6′ bed, 4×4
2. Capable of towing
3. Something common enough to have parts readily available and strong after-market support.
4. Cheap enough that I could pay cash, but could be driven away.
5. Something “simple” that I can work on myself.
After much searching on Craigslist, researching forums and YouTube, I decided to find myself a GM GMT400 model – Chevy and GMC trucks produced from 1988 – 1998. Currently known as an “OSB” (Old Body Style) amongst the rabble.
Now, I have some experience with these trucks… My father owned a couple over the years, a company I once worked at as their fleet manager (amongst other titles!) had a several of them and I had a ’97 GMC Yukon for a while that was built on the same platform, just in an SUV format, rather than a pickup. So I knew these trucks pretty well and had a good idea of what I was getting myself into. I’d driven half a dozen of them, at least, and wrenched on as many, if not more. This was it, a decision was made. Now to find one!!
There are still a bunch of these trucks on the road, but surprisingly few for sale (make of that what you will). Of the ones for sale, they were either clapped out, beat up old work trucks OR exorbitantly expensive (I found a few asking between $17k – $25k!)
Then it happened, a UNICORN appeared! I found a 1999 Chevrolet K1500, Z71 package, extended cab with a short bed, in BLACK no less!
Now you might be saying, “you said from 1988-1998”, and you are correct. What I didn’t know going into this search, was that ’99 had “carryover” models. So it is essentially a 1998, but initially registered as a 1999.
I may have overpaid at $4k, but considering what was in the marketplace, I honestly don’t think I could have found a better base to build my “forever truck” from. My research tells me these “OSB” models are skyrocketing in value these days, so the same truck might have cost me another grand or two had I waited another year to pull the trigger. And it is loaded – all the creature comforts you could want in a truck, but it’s still an actual truck.
As an aside, my all-time favorite truck is the GM 1967-1972 model, and ten years ago you could pick them up for a few grand… Now I’ve seen guys asking $6k for one with NO motor, NO transmission and rusted out rocker panels and cab corners… A nicely restored one runs $25k-$40k. A fully customized rig could run you close to 6 figures… So not only can I not afford one of those, they are way more of a commitment than I can make for a full on restoration at this time of my life.
So the OSB it is! Honestly, after the ’67-’72s, the “OSB” models have been my second most favored truck since they were released. I do like the Ford F-series trucks from the early 2000’s too, but I think in the long run, I’ll be happier in the GM, it just suits me. I did have a 2001 F150 once upon a time, and I liked it, but even 6-7 years ago it was getting hard to find parts for it because there were so many changes made to the Fords every couple years.
My new truck has SUPER high mileage on it (301k!), BUT it had the transmission rebuilt about 100k back, the positraction rear-end was recently rebuilt, it’s got a new AC compressor, a new AGM battery and a newish high output alternator. It’s got an aftermarket stereo with Bluetooth, a lumber rack and a tow hitch with electric brake controller. There is even a hardwired DC/AC inverter installed in the cab, so I can charge my laptop or tool batteries from the comfort of the driver’s seat! And most importantly, it starts right up with no nonsense and runs like a top.
Now, it’s far from perfect… The steering is REALLY sloppy. Maybe it just needs a new steering shaft, maybe a new steering gear box… It has nearly new AT tires on the front, but the rears need replacement. The new tires are an odd size and not what I would have picked, but I’m going to throw on a pair of matching tires in the back and when they wear out in a year or two, replace the full set with the proper size. The brakes are a little “soft”… not horrible or dangerous, but they could be better. The body has a few dings and scratches, nothing major, but it’s clearly lived it’s life as a truck!
Other then that, it’s more or less good to go. Not that I’m gonna stop there. No-sir-ee!! I’ve got BIG plans for this rig!
A quick walk-around
I priced out a 2024 Silverado, similarly equipped and it was about $55k. I decided my budget for this build would be 50% of that cost. Minus the initial purchase price, that leaves me with a build budget of $23.5k. FWIW, the sales tax ALONE would have been more on the new truck than what I purchased th ’99 for. And my annual registration will be a tiny fraction of what a new one would be. I know several guys with new, expensive trucks that have to shell out over $1k annually for registration here in CA, mine should be between $200-$300 per year.
The puzzle is how to make this an “all-in-one”, does everything I need rig? I need this truck to be ready for:
Daily driving, construction materials hauling, off the beaten path surf destinations, camping trips and hauling musical gear around. Oh, and it must function as a mobile office. Off grid and self-contained. AND, I want it to look good while doing it! No small feat.
I’m a fair-to-middlin’ mechanic and pretty well equipped with tools and whatnot, but I live in an apartment with no garage (and a picky landlord!) so this is going to be a SLOW process. My B.I.L, Captain Karel, has been cool in the past letting me take over his driveway on weekends for mechanic work and I may be able to sneak in to my Pop’s shop on weekends for some of the necessary cleanup/cosmetic work, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do at home, unfortunately.
Now that the smog check thing is done (it was an ordeal, but thankfully now complete for only $120) and it is registered and insured I’ve started shaking it down to see what’s what and what the priority of needs is. Then the FUN starts!
After some initial preventative maintenance and a good scrubbing inside and out, the first big project I want to tackle is removing the rear seat and building in a custom storage box that matches the interior (part of the mobile office setup), and then some cosmetic stuff. The truck is lousy with chrome plating and I’m not a fan… A new black grill is in order, removing the wheel arch trim, etc. The chrome bumpers will go when I’m a little more flush with cash.
But yeah, I’m really excited about this new adventure. I hope to build the truck of my dreams and drive it ’til I can’t drive anymore! Wish me luck!
Yesterday was a new kind of adventure for me, the Mrs. and I went on a “field trip” with our daughter and her 5th grade class to Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda, CA.
The school the wife and daughter teach at is big on what they call “Outdoor Ed.” and they do lots of camping trips and such for all the classes but all that got derailed during the Plague Years (our daughter’s first year of teaching was the year /they/ shut everything down), so this was her first overnight camping trip with a classroom of kids.
We (the Mrs. and I) didn’t go for the overnight – both of us are working today – but more as logistics support. The Mrs. volunteered us to cook dinner for the troops, so we headed up the mountain with a ton of food, firewood and all the accouterments to throw down a nice dinner. And of course S’mores! What camping trip with kids would be complete without those?!?
As you might imagine, this wasn’t exactly a quiet, peaceful trip to the woods – not with roughly 20 5th grade kids running amok, some for the first time in the woods.
You can hear the wild 5th grade varmints in the background, swimming in the creek and having a blast!
Nonetheless, the park is beautiful, and the drive in was spectacular. The kids were happy and our kid managed to make the trip a success for her kids, so mission accomplished!
Some babies sprouting up…Our great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren will still be watching these beasts grow!
I’ve spent more time in the woods in 2024 than in the past decade and it is doing me a WORLD of good. I highly recommend it, ESPECIALLY if, like me, you spend most of your time glued to a desk and/or computer screen!
Thankfully my new job gets me a ton of outside time now, and that’s been great. But making a conscious effort to embrace the outdoor world as well as making it part of our fitness routine, has been life changing.
Spring is in the air, summer is right around the corner, get out there and hug a tree! Watch some birds. Laugh at squirrels gettin’ squirrely! Your body and soul will thank you!!
Thanks for stopping by!
The creek is still running, a rarity for late Spring in California!!
So, I found myself out of a job this week… Unexpected, and yet I’ve felt under the microscope for the last several months. Regardless of how much I did, regardless of the extra hours put in, nothing was ever good enough for TPTB. “So, you only completed 99 things today? What about that 100th thing?!?”
Word to the wise, if you want to keep your job, don’t tell the boss he’s being ridiculous when he’s being ridiculous. The ONLY thing coming from that is a nice big target in your back…
So this week I’ve been through all kinds of emotional crap, from bitterness to hostility, fear, self doubt…depression. It’s been a rough week to say the least.
To make matters worse, the Mrs. and our daughter have been on a Girl’s Trip all week, hundreds of miles and a few time zones away, so I’ve been left to my own devices and the voices in my head all week. Considering I’m my own harshest critic and my own worst enemy, this hasn’t been a good place to be. To say the least. I haven’t slept much or eaten much, but I DID completely avoid “the bottle” 100%. Now, I’m not much of a drinker – generally less than once a month, but dang! My old friend Mr. Jack Daniels has been calling to me repeatedly, especially in the dark of night when I couldn’t sleep.
Truth be told, I mostly hated my job. I was already looking around and putting out feelers, nonetheless getting sacked was a major shocker. I took my first “real” job (schedules and paycheck job) at 15 years old and I’m now 55 and I’ve NEVER been “fired” before. Still, I wanted it to be MY choice to leave that pressure cooker, not have it thrust upon me. I’ve been in essentially the same job, just at 3 different facilities, for 17 years and I’m BURNED. OUT. It wasn’t a career choice, it was something I fell ass-backward into all those years ago. And while I’ve learned a TON over the years, I have gained no satisfaction from it and in a way wished I’d never gotten into this line of work in the first place. I never had any love for it. No paycheck is worth the constant, unending stress my job entailed, I was just too scared to try something new – even when it was strongly suggested by my Doctor due to stress induced health issues. Yeah, that’s right. Rather than find a new career, I just stopped going to the doctor for about 8 years!
But now the choice was made for me. And all the fear aside, I’m actually relieved in a weird way.
But then, something amazing happened. I landed a new job! I start on MONDAY! The beauty of it is that the new gig is essentially doing the ONLY part of my old job(s) that I DID like! And NONE of the crap that I loathed! No more dealing with HR issues, no more accounting reports, no more dealing with City, State and Federal regulations and all that entails, no more corporate bullcrap. I almost can’t believe it! It sounds too good to be true, but it’s a company I have a long relationship with, I know the owners and they do outstanding work that I know I’ll be proud to be part of. They basically created a new position for me because they desperately need help and they know what I’m capable of. I gotta say, that feels pretty good.
So wish me luck! Things will probably be a little quiet on the ol’ blog while I get my bearings, but never fear, I’ll be back! Hopefully, better than ever now that I won’t be on-call 24/7/365 while trying to stave off an ulcer!
And the cherry on top is that the Mrs. comes home tonight!! Oh, how I’ve missed her! Six days apart is a LONG time when you’ve been with someone for 35 years!
Have a great weekend y’all. Thanks for stopping by!
Alright, once again we’re off to see Magic City Hippies! This is (I believe) our 9th time seeing them. They’ve become sort of an annual Birthday tradition for our daughter, as they always seem to be in the Bay Area on the week of her birthday, and we’ve been to every Bay Area show they’ve done. As my constant visitors may have gathered, we go to a LOT of shows, it is hands down our #1 form of entertainment, and MCH are our favorite live band so we do everything we can to see them when they are in town.
Tonight they played the Regency Ballroom, a venue we’ve been to numerous times. It’s really a great place, aside from the fact that it’s in San Francisco… (Seriously, any bands or managers or promoters out there reading this – for the love of God, STOP booking everything in San Francisco! There ARE other cities in the Bay Area you know!?!)
Anyhow, my loathing of SF aside, we were all super excited to see the guys again, as their shows are just pure magic (no pun intended!). The musicianship, the songs, the energy, the vibe…there is nobody like them!
The trip into the city was the usual mania. The people up there drive like they don’t want to live!! I always, ALWAYS get stressed out driving in SF, but for the Hippies I’ll still do it, even on a “school night”.
The opening act tonight was a young man by the name of Josh Fudge. We got there after he started his set, so we only got the last portion of it, but what we saw was really good. It was just him and a drummer, so not a lot visually, but the songs were good and his enthusiasm was infectious. He really seemed to be enjoying his moment on the stage. I’d certainly be interested in seeing more.
Josh Fudge & unknown drummer
Up next in the middle support slot was The Palms from Los Angeles. I was vaguely familiar with them having heard a few of their songs, which I liked. I had a feeling they might be better live than on record, and I was right!
They are what you’d call a proper band – drums, bass, a keyboard player that doubled up on guitar and lap steel (!!), a lead guitarist and a vocalist that also played acoustic guitar on about half the tunes. Refreshing!
Don’t know what happened to my pics of the Palms… I took them, but they’ve gone missing…
For me, the shining star of the show was their lead guitarist, he was really impressive. He incorporated a number of styles in his playing as well as a full pallette of tones, and he was just fantastic. And if I’m being honest, he himself had about 70% of the charisma of the band. Don’t get me wrong, the band was solid as a rock. They’re playing was darn near perfect, they just didn’t give much of a “performance” on stage. Which is fine, not everyone is a showman. It just took the excitement level down a couple of notches. I’d give them a solid B+ on the set. If they keep it up they could be something to behold with a few more tours under their belts.
The Hippies opened up with Body Like a Weapon, which is a mid-tempo number, and the set opened with a slow burn. It didn’t take long before they were just tearing it up on stage.
Guitarist John was his usual extraordinary self. His playing is so fluid and he’s an absolute wonder to watch when he’s in the zone. I still miss the growl of his hollowbody guitar, which I haven’t seen him use in several years now and it appears the guys have traded in the Fender tube amps for digital pre-amps going straight to the PA, so there is a certain grittiness that is missing from the overall sound. BUT, I must admit the tones are much more true to the sounds on the records… A trade-off I can accept and most people that aren’t tone-snobs like myself would likely not even notice.
The greatest guitarist nobody knows about!
Robbie Hunter I still consider one of the best front men in modern music, and I was again reminded of what a stellar guitarist he is too!
Bassist Guillermo Belisario just keeps getting better and better. His bass playing has always been excellent, but he’s been taking on more duties on stage, playing some keyboards and singing harmonies. Clearly an outstanding musician and he really holds it all together when the other guys are really going off.
Drummer Pat… What can I say? He’s a true force behind the kit. Watching him play reminds me of Keith Moon – not the parts he’s playing, but the WAY he plays. It’s a straight up attack, and yet he never loses that deep Hippies groove. I’m a fan. I consider myself a better than average drummer and I’ve played a bunch of Hippies songs over the years, but I CANNOT play them like Pat. He’s one if a kind.
Jake Pinto really has gelled with the boys now that he’s been on the road with them for a couple tours. It’s almost like he was always there… And when he, John and Robbie play 3 part harmonies on guitar? Holy smokes! It’s really special and frankly unheard of in modern bands.
There was also a new element to the show this time around that turned out to be an excellent addition. I didn’t catch his name unfortunately, but MCH had added another player on stage playing trumpet and percussion. Let me tell you, this guy was off the charts impressive. His horn playing was excellent, his percussion playing very tasteful and in the pocket and his stage presence and style was super high energy and fun to watch. A really pleasant surprise and a great addition to the world’s best live band!
All in all, it was was an outstanding show. Not that I expected anything less. The Magic City Hippies are a shiny, gleaming needle in a haystack when it come to live music. They have great songs, exceptional musicianship and it’s obvious to everyone in the room that they’re having a great time on stage, doing what they do best.
A big thanks to everyone involved, it was a GREAT night and a great way to end what turned into a Birthday Week for our daughter’s 30th!
This trip marks a very special occasion, our “baby” is celebrating her 30th birthday this week! Hard to believe…
We’ve always been a “beach” family, as you might have gathered if you’ve read any of my earlier posts, but Monterey has ALWAYS been our daughter’s favorite. While my wife and I grew up haunting the Santa Cruz Soquel and Capitola areas, if we ever asked the kid where she wanted to go, it was always Monterey.
This time around we stayed at the Portola Hotel and Spa, and it was really nice. Beyond expectations even. We had booked weeks ago and much to our surprise and delight, they gave us an unexpected “upgrade” to one of the Presidential Suites. No kidding. The room was bonkers.
I haven’t stayed in a room this nice since the 90’s when I was lucky enough to be on the road crew with Dogstar in Australia and New Zealand. It was off the charts for a hotel room, certainly bigger than our apartment!!
The trip was pretty mild and rather uneventful, in a good way. Mostly, we ate really fancy foods in nice restaurants (Jack’s & Schooner’s amongst others) and just hung out. We also hit the touristy spots – Fisherman’s Wharf and the Monterey Bay Aquarium – too. They were nothing new as we’ve been to both more times than we can count, but it was a good time nonetheless. The Aquarium is truly spectacular. If you’ve never been and you enjoy wildlife, you should definitely check it out once in your life.
All in all, it was a really nice time. The forecast had called for rain, all day, every day for the time we were there, but luckily the weather people were waaay off and we had really mild weather. Very little rain and even a touch of sun. As a bonus, the weather kept the crowds down to a level that didn’t drive me out of my skin!
Still coming to grips with our daughter turning 30, but this nice, mellow weekend sure helped keep smiles on our faces! And we can’t help be feel grateful that our kid still likes to hang out with us! We must have done something right along the way…
So much sweetness!!The night view from our room.A fine lunch was had here!
The Boring Old Man 