Uncategorized – Page 7 – The Boring Old Man

That’s a Wrap…

Here we are, on the cusp of a New Year and I for one am more than ready to kick 2023 to the curb!

Not that I have great expectations for 2024, mind you. Quite the contrary.

I’m not one for predictions so you won’t get those here. (Although esteemed writer James Kunstler made a great – if terrifying – list of predictions for next year that sadly I can’t find much to disagree with… https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/do-you-dare-even-look-forecast-2024/) Also, I’m not exactly a “resolutions” guy, but I do look at every New Year as a milestone, a lookout, a place to stop and assess, make corrections and sort of a “clean slate”.

All that being said, I do not expect 2024 to be a fun year. I have a lot of work to do in the “personal growth” arena. Bottom line, I let a lot of things slide this year. And not in a good way. My physical fitness went downhill. My financial well being essentially evaporated. My home is currently a disorganized mess. My worklife (read: job) is hanging be a thread, as I have lost (almost) all motivation. In short, I’m exhausted and exasperated. And beating myself up on the daily.

So my “goal” if you will, for 2024, is to stop being lazy. I’m not quite at “picking up the pieces”, things aren’t THAT bad, but I can see that being the case if I don’t change course with a quickness.

I’ll be vacating my studio at the end of the month which brings a tinge of sadness, but it hasn’t been the haven for creativity I thought it would be and the expense is bleeding me dry. That ironically should help me out – one less thing to worry about, one less (large) monthly bill to pay, and an excuse to work on something new musically that has been needling at me for the last few months.

I’ll be back to the gym on Sunday and then (health permitting) back on the 3x/week schedule – minimum – as we start ’24.

Some other things I plan to be better about this year… more time in the water (for physical AND mental health), more range time (I don’t know about you, but I expect things to get weird in ’24, and I’m SERIOUSLY out of practice on the self defense end of the spectrum) and getting out in nature way more often. Less screen time, more time with my nose buried in books. Less dreaming and more doing!

I do plan to keep up on the ol’ blog here as well. I’ve got tickets for a number of shows already, and I’m sure at some point I’ll be delving into the sewer that is our nation’s politics (Ewww!), I’ve got a stack of books to read and so on. So lots of things to write about!

I want to thank all of you for spending any of your precious time here reading my stuff. I know there are a lot of better, and certainly more prolific writers out there to spend your time with, but it means a great deal to me that anyone comes here of their own volition and “lends me their ears”. My readership numbers are small, tiny even, but they are growing slowly but surely and I greatly appreciate that! So again, thank you!

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2024. Stay safe out there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I’m old fashioned and I still celebrate and appreciate a traditional Christmas. To the rest of you that only acknowledge “the holidays” well Happy Holidays to y’all as well.

I wish my readers well, and appreciate you spending your time with me here. Gonna be winding down over the next few days, spending time with the family and just enjoying some calm and quiet.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

I’ll see y’all soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Good advice…

I’ll be honest, I’ve been having a real struggle trying to get myself into the Christmas Spirit this year. I fully recognize that my life is pretty darn good generally speaking, but that doesn’t alleviate the worry/concern/incredulity that has been running non-stop through my head since early 2020 and has frankly, just been getting worse – seemingly by the hour – for the last 18 months. And I know I’m not the only one feeling this way.

Nevertheless, there is more than likely someone you know, maybe someone right in your inner-circle, that is having a rougher time than you. Keep that in mind, and try to keep kindness in your heart. I’m not saying you need to go out of your way to make their lives better or take on some other burden to get it off their shoulders…just don’t make things worse for ’em. Sometimes the smallest gesture can make the biggest change in a person’s day.

Ok. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Wishing you all the best, and please know that I appreciate y’all.

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: X at the Golden State Theater, Monterey, CA

I can vividly remember the first time I heard X. It was the summer of 1982, right before the start of my freshman year of high school. A music show on TV back in the day debuted their new song “The Hungry Wolf” and I was completely blown away – I’d never seen or heard anything like them in my life.

Back then, pre-interwebz days, it was MUCH harder to find out about bands and in the case of X, hard to find their records in shops, but I became more aware of them thanks to college radio putting them in regular rotation.

Over the next few years their first 3 albums became part of my collection and a big part of the soundtrack of my life. To this day there is nobody in music that sounds like X, they are utterly unique unto themselves. To me, they are an American treasure, wholly underrated, and there will never be another band like them.

That being said, for some reason I’d never had the chance to see them live… Part of that I’m sure is because I was all of 12 years old when their first album came out, but I digress. Anyhow, our chance finally came – an early Christmas present for the Mrs and I, and we were thrilled!

Dead Rock West was the opening act. Never heard them before, which is not all that surprising as their type of music isn’t exactly on my radar or my cup of tea. That being said, they kinda won me over! They are a duo consisting of a female vocalist who also plays tambourine and maracas and a male vocalist/guitarist. Their opening song had me settling in for a yawn-fest, but the 2nd tune snapped me right out of it. What I will say about them is this; they had voices that blended exceptionally well with each other, and the vocal arrangements were very well done. The guitar work, while simple, was solid. The songwriting was good pretty much all around. But to me, this isn’t the kind of music I go to a live show for. It’s the stuff you put on in the background when you have friends over, or that is playing in the corner of your local coffee shop… I can say honestly that I did like them – much to my surprise – but they didn’t exactly get us fired up for the main event.

When X hit the stage, they didn’t waste any time, they just let ‘er rip! Hearing John Doe and Exene harmonize for the first time in the first song brought a huge smile to my face! And finally seeing guitarist Billy Zoom in a live setting was spectacular!! He was one of my favorite guitarists of the 80’s, and let me tell you, he is still a force to be reckoned with!

The band played about an hour and fifteen minute set, covering their entire history, from the first album all the way to a brand new, unreleased song. And they were firing on all cylinders. The set would have been impressive by any band, but when you stop to consider John Doe and Billy Zoom are 70 and 75 years old, respectively?!?! That they were able to still crank out such a high energy show at this stage of their lives, gives credence to the power of music!

All in all, it was an outstanding show and frankly I’m still a bit flabbergasted by what we witnessed! My only “gripe” is they didn’t play “The Hungry Wolf”, which is STILL my favorite song by them. But hey, they played a great many other legendary songs and put on an excellent show. The Mrs. and I left grinning ear to ear and just ecstatic over the show. I don’t know if we’ll every get the chance to see them again, but I am truly grateful for catching them this time around. If you’re a fan and you get the chance, go see them, you won’t be disappointed!!!

And since I didn’t get to hear it last night, I’m going to post up my all time favorite song from these guys, enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things…

As a lifelong Californian I am no stranger to living amongst the homeless. For a number of years I lived in both Downtown San Jose and East San Jose, both areas habitually populated by the down and out, going back to the early 1980’s. Quite possibly longer, but that is when I personally became aware of it…

When I lived downtown I had a 10 block walk to work. Every day I was accosted by transients asking for money. Every. Single. Day. It was exhausting. I was poor, very poor, at the time. Like 5 people in a 2 bedroom apartment poor, no insurance – health or otherwise – poor. I looked at these folks as in desperate need and tried not to have my heart hardened towards them. I took to carrying food in my pack and when I was asked for money, I would say no and then offer them whatever food I was carrying – maybe a granola bar or a little bag of chips or whatever…simple grab and munch stuff. More often than not the offer of food was refused. That told me a lot about these people. It was an eye opener to say the least.

Fast forward 35 years or so, and the problem is 100x times worse. San Jose has shanty towns (aka “encampments”) all over the place now. Events they used to have, like the annual Music in the Park events, went down the tubes because they were becoming overrun by the derelict mob. San Francisco, a mere hour north of San Jose is infinitely worse. It is a sad state of affairs State-wide.

Year after year we’re told we need to spend MORE money to combat homelessness, despite having spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last 20 years on the problem and the problem getting bigger and more pronounced everywhere you go in “The Golden State”.

As if the whole situation weren’t enough to make your blood boil, then you come across stories like this…

https://news.yahoo.com/sacramento-county-clears-way-200-215626445.html

Our glorious “leaders” devise this super-genius plan to spend EIGHTEEN MILLION TAXPAYER DOLLARS to supply between 175 and 200 “tiny homes” for the homeless as “transitional” housing.

$18,000,000 ÷ 200 = $90,000

If you click the link and see the pics, you’ll note that these “tiny homes” are essentially garden sheds that cost between $2-3k each at your local Home Depot or Lowes… Add some insulation and an AC unit, you might spend 5 grand. So where does the other $85k per unit go?

Most of the $17.7 million grant will go to operations and administration: Up to $14.6 million is slated for First Step Communities, which will operate the site, and $842,000 will go to county administrative services. The county is also paying WellSpace $2.2 million for a three-year lease of the lot.

I’m sorry, but this is simply disgraceful. They’d be better off putting $85k in a trust for each of the 200 people and pay a single trust administrator to dole it out responsibly. That could get a person into actual housing. Get them into a treatment center. Allow them to find a job… But no, instead we’ll spend millions to “help” and NOTHING will change for the better. In fact, I’d bet hard money that within 3 years our homeless population will be double what it is now, we’ll be “on the hook” for ever more taxes and our quality of life will be further degraded. For starters.

The most current estimate I could find puts the Californian homeless population at just under 172,000. Extrapolate the math above – 172,000 x $90,000 each for “help” and you’ve got a price tag of 15.48 BILLION DOLLARS. Putting it into a different perspective, that $18 million “investment” in Sacramento will impact less than 0.12% of our CURRENT homeless population in the state.

I expect there are going to be a lot of people getting big paychecks over this, and subsequently more than a few politicians getting some really juicy donations to their reelection coffers, but for the taxpayers, we’ll just keep getting the shaft and the homeless will get more lip service and empty promises.

This is a hopeless situation given the current crop of bureaucrats. Don’t get your hopes up for clean streets and safe neighborhoods. So long as the grift carries on like this, things are only going to get worse. After all, our “ruling class” has a ton of money to make off our collective misery!

We’re gonna need a lot of tar and feathers, folks!

Sorry for the crabby rant, but thanks for stopping by!

Thankful

Taking a moment to stop and be grateful today. Yes, the world is on fire and it appears as though the lunatics are running the asylum, but today I’ll be with my loved ones and we’ll be eating well. That alone is more than many have, and I consider myself lucky for that, and much more.

I’m also thankful for all of you that have stopped by for a quick read. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and a nice start to the holiday season.

I’ll be back soon, take care.

Gosh, what a surprise…

So Guvner Gruesome has repeatedly said that he is NOT running for prez. Since anyone that knows anything about him knows he’s a pathological liar, his constant denials have put many of us on edge. And now this in today’s news:

“President Biden told a group of world leaders that California Gov. Gavin Newsom “could have the job I’m looking for” if he wanted, amid a low approval rating and discontent within his own party.

“I want to talk about Governor Newsom. I want to thank him. He’s been one hell of a governor, man,” Biden said Wednesday during a welcome reception for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders in San Francisco. “Matter of fact, he could be anything he wants. He could have the job I’m looking for.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-reveals-who-thinks-have-job-running-for-2024-shadow-campaign-rumors-swirl

I think old slow Joe got his sentence jumbled up again – it should have been ” Life’s been hell with him as governor, man”

Good grief. Let me just say, as a life-long Californian and former Democrat, as bad as Joe has been, and let’s face it, NOTHING has been getting better since his (s)election, Gruesome would be 100x WORSE.

He is the epitome of the entitled, self righteous, “connected” class. He DOES. NOT. CARE. ABOUT. YOU. OR. OUR. COUNTRY. His concerns are money, power, and control for him and his cronies. PERIOD. He and his ilk are a cancer on this country.

You’ve been warned. Don’t fall for his greasy grift. He lies, lies about lying and lies some more. Unless you’re a donor of course, then I’m sure he’s a swell guy…

My apologies for ranting. I simply loathe this guy and I seriously fear for our country with him at the helm.

It is my most sincere wish that the rest of the country sees through his tired shtick and sends him packing. Seriously, for the love of all that is holy, do NOT let this tyrant anywhere near the Oval Office.

Our nation is in horrible shape, and headed down a very dangerous path. We are divided as a people more now than any time in our history and we need someone that can mend fences and bring some brightness back to our lands. A ham-fisted charlatan with illusions of grandeur is absolutely the last thing we need.

Ok, I’m going to take a walk now and try to get the old blood pressure to recede…

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Royal Blood at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA

Tonight was another long awaited show, Royal Blood. I’ve been a fan of theirs for nearly a decade now but this was the first opportunity we had to see them live. That when we finally got our chance it turned out to be at The Catalyst, well that was just icing on the cake! I’d been sitting on these tickets nearly 5 months, so excitement levels were high!

The opening act – Hot Wax – we’d not heard of. We checked out some of their tunes ahead of time, didn’t dig it, and set out late for the show.

Right about 9pm the lights dimmed and the theme from “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly” came busting out of the P.A. setting the scene for what turned out to be an unbelievably amazing show.

The band was to tight and powerful, it was really a sight to behold. Bassist/vocalist Mike Kerr is one of a kind, the most unique player to hit the scene since Les Claypool. How he manages to play “guitar” on a bass, while holding down the bass lines AND singing simultaneously?!?! I don’t know what kind of wizardry/voodoo this guy is putting out there, but what he does seems physically impossible. Seriously, I’ve now seen it with my own eyes, and I still don’t know how he does it. I was miles beyond impressed by his performance.

Drummer Ben Thatcher was solid as a rock throughout the entire set. For my money, he’s the closest thing we’ve to got a modern day John Bonham. I’ve seen a lot of “alternative” bands over the last few decades, and most of the drummers are “blah”… This was certainly not the case with Ben, he was outstanding from the first note to the last. A real pro.

They played an hour-plus set, followed up with a 3-song encore, and honestly I’d kinda forgotten how many great songs they’ve put out since their debut album. It was really an amazing show, well worth the wait!

I’ve seen a lot of great shows this year and I can say without reservation that Royal Blood was amongst the best. I would absolutely go see them again, without hesitation.

Thanks for a great night, Royal Blood and crew!

And thank you for stopping by!

Concert Review: Des Rocs at The Independent, San Francisco CA

Another night at The Independent, one of our favorite venues, to see one of our favorite live bands, Des Rocs!

Christopher Shayne from Phoenix, AZ was the opening act tonight, and someone we’d never heard of. When they took the stage I didn’t know what to think – the first guy I see is sporting a cowboy hat, the next guy has long hair reminiscent of Chris Cornell, followed up by a dude with a foot tall Mohawk! Once they hit it, it all made sense! Lynryd Skynyrd meets Soundgarden with a good ‘ol boy meets punk attitude. Let me tell you, these guys KILLED IT! It was fantastic from start to finish. “All killer, no filler” as the saying goes. I was beyond impressed, the drummer was rock solid, powerful and right in the pocket through the whole set. The guitar work was excellent, particularly when they broke into harmonized leads, just mesmerizing. Really, the whole band was straight up professional and they tore the roof of the place. I was actually bummed when the set was over, they left me wanting more!

The second act – Starbenders – we’d also never heard of, and they gave up a mixed performance. Musically, they were pretty good. Drums and bass were pretty basic, but solid. The lead guitarist looked like a younger version of Slash minus the top hat and tattoos, and played some impressive stuff wrangling his Les Paul around. My biggest gripe came from the vocals…most of it was ok, but she used a weird voice + effect thing – a lot – that was frankly just grating. Like literally the sound frequency was painful…I don’t know how to describe it exactly but it really distracted from an otherwise decent set. What I will say, certainly some of the songs were really good and they all gave 100% on stage. It was definitely a performance, not a recital.

Finally the main event, Des Rocs! What can I say, this guy is simply one of the best live acts on the scene today. This was (I think) the 5th time seeing them in SF, and once again they just knocked it out of the park. The energy they put out on stage is electric and it is the kind of show that ALL rock shows should aspire to. If you like live music at all, you owe it to yourself to see them at least once, you won’t regret it!

When all is said and done, it was a fantastic night! Excellent musicianship all around, tons of energy, cool venue. An all around win!

Thanks for stopping by!

Album Review: “Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees” by DOGSTAR

The long awaited new album has finally hit the streets! For anyone new here, I’ll tell you right up front that I’m highly biased toward this band. Bret Domrose, Dogstar’s guitarist and vocalist, and I have a friendship, a brotherhood really, going back 40+ years. I was the drummer in the first band he ever played in, and in every subsequent band and lineup for the next 10 years. I’m the one that talked him into singing (we parted ways with our original singer, so it was him or me, and I’m awful on vocals!) and I wrote all the lyrics for the first few years we got him on the mic. We played countless shows together, in every club from Watsonville to Oakland that would have us, and recorded I don’t know how many original songs. We were together for the first song of ours that got on the radio and did our first interviews together. He was my Best Man when I got married 32 years ago… And that’s just scatching the surface!!

Our first professional promo pic, and bumper sticker circa 1987. Bret on the left, a much younger Boring Old Man in the center…

Suffice it to say, I’m a HUGE fan of Bret and subsequently Dogstar. That being said, I’m going to be as honest as I can be about this new record. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxiously awaiting this record for a long, long time!!

BLONDE: I’d heard this one live a few times before I got the record and really liked it, but the recorded version hit me in a different way. It’s mid-tempo yet upbeat, and lyrics that convey a longing… A strong opener that doesn’t beat you over the head with bombast.

HOW THE STORY ENDS: Hit and miss… Some outstanding parts, some parts barely beyond basic. Harkens back to their early days.

EVERYTHING TURNS AROUND: Great song overall, quiet/loud transitions, nice vocal harmonies. Excellent guitar work, but it’s subtle and takes a few listens to pick it all up. An excellent choice for their first single from the record and one that’s already been on my heavy rotation list since it’s release.

OVERHANG: Very much reminds me of “The Cure” with the introduction, then its right into a solid 90’s power chord structure.

DILLON STREET: A distinct “Americana” sound, very different than the first part of the record. The first Dogstar song with harmonica, which while well done (??? what do I know, harmonica isn’t exactly in my wheelhouse) could have (and in my opinion should have) been replaced with some slide guitar.

LILY: This one may be my favorite on this record. Very power-pop-ish, but not in a cheesy way. Outstanding guitar work once again.

LUST: This is the other contender for my favorite track. A really great song, BUT the drums kinda suck the life out of it. Yes, as a drummer myself, I’m horribly biased. I just find missed opportunities all over the place drum-wise on this particular track. I’d give it an 8.5 out of 10. With a snappier drum performance, this one could’ve “gone to 11”.

GLIMMER: A little slow for my taste, but a strong, solid song nonetheless. Excellent guitar solo. Lyrically, one of Bret’s best to date. This one really paints a picture, so to speak…

SUNRISE: I’m torn on this one. Could’ve been another power-pop burner, but the “power” part is lacking. Again, the vocal harmonies are outstanding but overall it’s just tepid. Not a throwaway, but not a hit single either.

SLEEP: If I didn’t know better I’d swear this was a remake from the early days of Bret and I – dripping with 80’s vibe. This one has a Wire Train influence proudly on its sleeve. Top notch guitar solo once again, Bret was really shining here!

UPSIDE: Strong intro, good energy. For the first 10 seconds or so you might think you’re listening to a cover of a tune by The Church, then it quickly jumps into classic Dogstar – power chords, rolling bass and strong vocals.

BREACH: A real burner to close out the record! This one needs VOLUME to get its point across, there is nothing subtle about this track. Another good choice for a single and a favorite at the shows. Reeves throws out a couple quick solo bars that lend an 80’s punk feel to it. Overall, it grabs you, shakes you up a bit and before you know what hit you, it’s over. Well done!

Overall, in my not so humble opinion this is a strong album, if a little lopsided. While there is nothing earth shattering or world changing about it, for a straight up rock and roll record made by real people on real instruments, it is immensely enjoyable. I haven’t lived with it long enough to determine whether or not it will displace “Our Little Visionary” as my favorite Dogstar record, but I ABSOLUTELY think it is much better than “Happy Ending”.

The songwriting has certainly matured and the production is far more layered and dense than their past endeavors. Bret sounds sincere in his singing and the vocal arrangements are really outstanding throughout the record. His guitar work has really come a long way too – don’t get me wrong, I think he’s always been fantastic – he’s stretching out and entering into musical territory that is altogether different for him, while maintaining the gritty yet melodic style he’s honed over the last several decades.

When all is said and done, I think it is a record the band should be proud of. Unless you’ve done it yourself, nobody understands just what it takes to put a record together, especially a non-computer generated record, and Dogstar have really captured something here.

Selfishly, I hope the band takes another long hiatus so Bret and I can get back to the project we were working on before this Dogstar resurgence, but I am extremely proud of Bret for this one, he did an outstanding job and has made a record that I believe will stand the test of time, like all the best rock and roll records of the past 60-70 years!

Well done gentlemen! Congratulations on some excellent new music!

Thanks for stopping by!