You get lucky if you work hard enough

Well, if you point a video camera at something long enough, you eventually get lucky. The wind wasn't blowing. The train only sounded its whistle once. The sound guy helped me to get some footage of my audience. And I wasn't too off key. I did two sets that day and took a nap in the car in the parking lot in between. And drove home through the forest fire north of Santa Barbara that night. Got in at 4:00 am. What the hoot. None of us is getting any younger.

The Latest

Where I'll Be

The Paintings

First oil finished in eight years. 5 x 4 Inspired by my youngest dance group when she was in high school, eight years ago. (About when it was started)

There is a theme here. This painting I started just before she was born, and took seven years to complete, about the time she was in 2nd grade. So, this painting completes the cycle, eight years of when she started leaving home, until she really did. (Don't read too much Freud into this, the painting has always been a very hard thing to do, too much SuperEgo involved) Actually, it was mostly because of a very very busy life. 

Knowing too much too soon

au·to·di·dactˌôdōˈdīdakt/
noun
a self-taught person.
Do you know how hard, how easy this is? I'm watching my relatives and friends home school their kids. Having done it on my own, forever, for myself, I wanted to make sure my kids had the skills NOT to do it on their own. I taught myself computer and accounting skills and then created a fictitious Bachelors degree to get jobs. And then when they could check, had to disappear any reference to a degree. There are major steps you miss in doing this. My music is a case in point. I am succeeding on the basis of a decent singing voice and a very high ability to pick really quick, the rest of it, theory, sense of everything I'm only now trying to learn. The same applies to everything. If you home school, you are robbing them of how to schmooze, how to understand how to succeed in the real world out there. You are robbing them of theory, the way society thinks it should be done. For what reason? To protect them from what? You have to arm them. Having stumbled my way through life, being really smart and really stupid simultaneously, I really wish there had been someone to say: here is the path- take it.
Perhaps there was, but I didn't hear anyone say that. My kids heard me say it.

"On!"

I think I've found "on." It makes money fall magically into my banjo case. I can see if you are a younger person, it might lead you to drug dependence. Some moments will never be "on." But you know the difference. These folks throwing money at me think I'm really good. You and I know better, but we are not going to tell them.

Surge Events

Surge Event is now booking FULL BANDS at Bar 20 on Sunset http://www.bar20onsunset.com/ located in the Grafton Hotel on Sunset! Our first FULL BAND show is Thursday May 26th and we'd love for you to be a part of it. 

We are seeking low volume artists with a solid draw (20 plus persons) looking for a great opportunity at one of the best rooms on Sunset.

We have the following time spots available Thursday May 26th:

7-7:30
7:45-8:15
10:45-11:15
11:30-12

We provide backline drumset so you don't have to lug all of your gear too. Shoot us an email or call to discuss simple and fair terms and let us know if you would like to perform in the amazing new venue Bar 20 on Sunset Thursday May 26th. We look forward to hearing from you.

Take care.

Surge Event

Dan McNay	9:30 PM (1 hour ago)
to surgeevent

Really?

How fucked are you?

Dan McNay

Hi Dan

Remember me asking you to call me so I could discuss this with you last week?

I was trying to explain to you that they city is giving us a Special Event Permit for the Memorial Day Weekend only(May 26, May 27 and May 28) These event permits are quite costly (cost of permit plus having to provide proof of insurance - can't remember how many millions we have to demonstrate the hotel is insured for) and while this isn't a paying gig, it is part of our never ending effort to show the city that we can do this successfully so that we can get our Conditional Use Permit permanently changed. This way we don't always have to apply for a permit (we are only allowed a tiny amount per year and they usually go to Hotel events such as New Year's Eve etc -NOT bands) As I previously told you, you have NO IDEA what I am going through to try to permanently allow bands at the venue. A conversation between us certainly would have helped.

By the way - I don't have to tell you ANY of this because to be frank, instead of us having an intelligent and informative conversation about this last week, which I tried to give you as a courtesy despite your insulting and condescending attitude towards me, you instead chose to continue to go your current negative route (quote" how fucked are you?") without the facts. Dan. Seriously? 

Well I prefer to continue to keep it positive. While I have zero interest in trying to explain anything else to you (I tried that last week and you blew me off) I am sincere in saying that I wish you continued good luck in your career and endeavors. As a fellow musician (I play drums in one of the top drawing bands in LA) I only wish good things for all musicians and thanks again.

Good luck Dan

T

Dan McNay	11:12 PM (7 minutes ago)
to T

I've been posting our exchanges up to my blog and to Facebook, for the added interest. Your sound guy and your equipment are a joke. Your guy downtown told me I couldn't start early AND I had no vocals for the first half of my first song. He couldn't deal with my little preamp at Hotel 20 and I had to instruct him to give me a second mic so we weren't screwing around for 15 minutes. You are a fucking joke. You want to take advantage of these all these wanta be's, go right ahead. I had a really good guy out to my venue in Westchester and he's telling me you are still making him sell tickets. I'm glad somebody is letting you play somewhere, cause you are are fucking user and really nobody should be letting you play anywhere. Check out my blog numbers and my YouTube numbers, let's see what happens to your fucking shit.