Crap from the deep recesses of my brain

(Another) Band Update

Barry — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:05:14 GMT

Man, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted something up on here. Anywho...we've been auditioning singers and just not finding the right one...until Sunday. Yes folks, I think we're officially a band now! I'm hoping to get some decent recordings from our rehearsal tomorrow night to put up sometime by the weekend. I got to say, having vocal cues when play makes things a lot easier...at least on the drummer and I..lol. Now if we can just find a name.......

Why is it so hard to find a singer????

Barry — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:35:51 GMT

Band update time!!! We have been on a search for a singer now for almost a month...without much success. (Of course our guitarist was on vacation last week, so that needs to be taken into account) About 2 weeks ago we auditioned 2 guys. The first was alright, but not quite what we were looking for style wise (he would be great in a ska band though). The second guy was better both style wise and technically, though we kind of all agree that he didn't exude much in the way of stage presence or really come off like a front man. Fast forward to yesterday and we were able to get one female to audition. Alas she didn't seem to fit in quite right either. Her voice was alright, but as our keyboard player (a female) said "she doesn't have balls". That of course meaning that she didn't have that push to her vocals that really makes them stand out. Now, least you think we're a bunch of egomaniacs who are perfectionist...I really think it's much harder to find that person who can not only get a crowd into a show, but also be able to hit all the notes in the song. Maybe that is a lot to ask for. Anyway, I did promise to link to some clips from practice. These are a little rough, but you'll get the idea. It's mostly just us playing, but you'll occasionally here some vocals in Tainted Love. That's our guitarist singing a bit to help give us vocal cues....also, that's me doing to "whoaaaa-ooooo" part. Enjoy! http://www.freedrive.com/file/375100 (Tainted Love) http://www.freedrive.com/file/375101 (Pretty In Pink)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintainence.....

Barry — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:09:16 GMT

Well that didn't take very long. After riding around much of yesterday morning on my bike, I parked it in my driveway with the intention of riding again in the late afternoon. While doing some important things around the house (aka, taking a nap) I was awakened by the doorbell ringing. My neighbor came over to tell me that my bike just fell over. I go outside and we get it back up and I notice a huge divot in my asphalt driveway and a bunch of gas under where the bike had been sitting upright. (I'd like to note here for those who don't know that gasoline eats through asphalt and basically turns it into a pile of rock..hence the 3-4 gallons from my bike did quite a number on that 1 foot square area) Anyway, I get the bike into my garage and give it the once over. I did notice that the petcock (make your joke here...it's a valve on the gas tank that allows you to switch the tank off, on, or engage the reserve gas) was still in the on position. Sometimes that lets too much gas into the carbs and they could overflow...problem solved, or so I thought. Well, I decide to get onto the bike, fill it up and ride again. I get it to the gas station, get off the bike to fuel it, when I guy alerts me to the gas pouring out from under the bike...ouch. I switch it to reserve and it stops. I'm thinking there is something wrong with the petcock. I put a gallon of gas into the bike so I can get it back home (it's less than a mile) and I'm off. I get to just about my street and the bike just dies. Crap. So I get off the bike and push it back to the house...up a slight incline (yeah, boo hoo..I'm whining). I get it back into the garage and start ripping it apart looking for the source of the leak. I finally see a nice big crack in the fuel line running to the right side carburetor. Damn...it's a bitch to replace because it runs under the air box (I know this might be hard to visualize, but it's a royal pain, trust me). Well, at least it wasn't something more serious and this is something I can do with a couple of hours today. Hopefully I'll be back on the road in a day or so. Oh and the Zen part...it was me not totally getting pissed...lol

Motorcycle Man

Barry — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:37:00 GMT

Finally...I have my bike back! It had been sitting in my best friend's garage (well, former garage) for about a year and a half after taking it in to do some work on it. The big reason it sat so long is that we couldn't go in on weekends and I couldn't get there during the week. (it's a long sorted story, but when my buddy was going through the process of selling his business, they requested he not be there alone for fear he'd do something to the place...which is of course absurd) Well, anyway, I finally took Friday off so we could go in, finish a few things on it, get it inspected, and then I was good to go. Let's just say since Friday night, I've ridden the crap out of it...lol (pictures to follow soon)

Lubbock...day 1

Barry — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:43:29 GMT

Ok, so now I'm in Texas for the first time in my life...and I'm in a place that even Texans kind of frown upon. (I haven't figured out why yet...maybe I need to see other parts of the state) So with out further ado, here are some quick thoughts from my travel day/first day: - This is the first time I've flown on my own believe it or not. Oh I've flown plenty before, but I've always had some kind of company. The flights (I had a connection from Dallas) were smooth and everything was on time. A good trip. - The only complaint so far is my rental car. It's a Chevy HHR and it's a POS (piece of shit). I haven't owned an American car since college and this thing has done nothing to change my mind. Yeah, I know it's a rental and it's going to be a little crappy, but still.... - I ate Mexican at a place full of Mexicans while the Mexico-Peru World Cup qualifying game was playing. That was actually a lot of fun to feel their excitement during the game. - Speaking of dinner...I ate at the bar and the bartender kept making this drink with all sorts of spicy sauces mixed with beer and ice. Finally I asked what the heck it was and she replied "It's a Mexican Bloody Mary...change the Vodka for beer" ......it did not seem appealing to me...lol - You know, the more I travel, the more I've come to realize that I could live and adjust to just about any place. For as many bad things I've heard about Lubbock, it's really not that bad here. It's definitely like many of the small midwestern cities I've driven through on my way to Burning Man. - It's very windy here...in fact to the north east, there was a tornado warning...actually right now, it's extremely windy outside. - Speaking of weather, I brought my camera and got some great shots of a huge cloud formation at dusk. I'll see if I can't get it posted up here this week. That's all for now, I'll have more as the week goes on.

Deep in the heart of Texas...

Barry — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 14:38:11 GMT

Ah Friday...it's been a crazy busy week and it's just going to get crazier this weekend and into next week. I get to go to Lubbock, TX on Sunday for work. On one hand, it's a little pain in the butt...but on the other, I've never been to Texas, so this is a chance to see some of it. I have been told not to judge Texas by what I see in Lubbock...I'm kind of assuming that Lubbock is the red-headed step child of Texas. If I have the time, I may make a run to the TX-New Mexico border so I can say I've been in New Mexico too...lol What I am really looking forward to is real Texas BBQ and maybe a good steak (apologies to all vegetarians out there). Anyway, I'm probably going to take my camera and take some pics too...it should be interesting.

WOW!!

Barry — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 04:54:16 GMT

Ok, it's almost 1am and I've been listening to the hockey game on the radio (yeah, it's seems like it's the only time the Pens win). Anyway, 3 overtimes and they pulled this game right out of their collective asses..WOW We're still down 3-2 in the series and need to win out to get the Cup, but geeze, we might have some new life after that one. GO PENS!!!!!

Band update

Barry — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:22:23 GMT

Well it's been a few weeks, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are progressing. We are up to 24 songs (3 of which we haven't played together yet) and are sounding pretty good on most of them. Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears (Got it down) Take On Me - A-Ha (Got it pretty well down, a few more practices and it'll sound great) Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Minds (One of the best we have going for us) Kiss - Prince (Pretty good, though I think we forgot about this one yesterday) Burning Down the House - Talking Heads (Got it down) Just Like Heaven - The Cure (Another good one for us) Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty (This one flat out rocks, though the drummer and I occasionally goof in one part) Never Tear Us Apart - INXS (Pretty good, a nice slow number) Suedehead - Morrissey (Pretty good, I think if we speed the tempo up a little it'll sounds great) I Ran - Flock of Seagulls (Yeah, we kick ass with this one..lol) 1979 -- Smashing Pumpkins (Pretty good, once we have some vocals it'll come together nicely) Pretty In Pink -- Psychedelic Furs (I really like this one and I think it sounds pretty good so far) Sweet Emotion -- Aerosmith (Believe it or not, it's actually coming together. I'll feel better with some more practice, but I'm liking it now) In a Big Country - Big Country (ugh, this is the one I suck at the most. I like the song, but I get really lost at times..I need to work it more) I Can't Go for That - Hall & Oates (not bad, but it needs more work on my part in the chorus) Fade Into You -- Mazzy Star (A another really nice ballad type song) Your Love - The Outfield (Ah, one of my favorites...we have a nice little jam at the end) Tainted Love -- Soft Cell (Another fav...the intro needs a little something, but once we get going, it sounds great) Starlight - Muse (This song just flat out rocks..I'm really starting to like it a lot) The Ghost in You - Psychedelic Furs (Another that we've got down pretty good) Melt With You - Modern English (Pretty good, I need to work on the bridge a little, but it's good otherwise) New stuff Walking on the Moon - The Police (I've got this one down cold) Head Over Heels - Tears For Fears (This is deceptively tricky...it's going to be a little challenging) Remedy - Black Crows (It doesn't look too bad) That's it for now. I'm hoping once we get a lead singer, we can record one of our rehearsals and I can post a link...of course we still need a name (I'm liking Box Of Whine...lol)

Weekend Stuff

Barry — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:27:58 GMT

Man what a busy weekend. I figured I'd do a list of quick thoughts this morning, so for your enjoyment (or amusement)... - Well, it doesn't look good for my Pens, I thought they actually had a chance, however they're just too green to pull it off against such an experienced club like the red Wings..ugh - I had band practice yesterday. We're doing pretty good on most of the songs, but there are a couple that I'm just murdering (I'm looking at you "In a Big Country") Overall though, I'm feeling pretty good about most of what we're doing. - Speaking of the band, we still haven't decided on a name (or a lead singer for that matter). While having dinner with some friend, we came up with Box Of Whine. It went over OK at rehearsal. I think the search continues. - I saw Iron Man...again...man that movie just kicks ass. - As you can see in my profile, I added some new pics of myself. I was having a little fun with my camera and Photoshop yesterday. - Back to playing music...I went to look for a smaller bass cabinet to replace my behemoth of one. My current cabinet has 4 12 inch speakers and weighs a whopping 144 pounds! Let's just say that unless I'm playing somewhere with a ramp, it's not going to be of much use to me. Anyway, I did a little comparison this weekend and found some really great, lighter cabinets. The only problem, they're very pricey. Anyway, I'm back to fighting the man today...have a great one!

A random musing...

Barry — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:42:26 GMT

As some may know, I'm a HUGE Rush fan (the band, not the fat ass on the radio) and I was perusing some of the fan site message boards. Well one topic that comes up often is what songs do fans want to hear and one of the most common answers is "The Camera Eye" off of the Moving Pictures album. Now, it's not that I don't like that song, but really, it's not one of there best and certainly the weakest song on that album (and also the only one off that album I've never heard them play live). So that got me thinking, what do i consider to be the "weakest" song on each album...so for your enjoyment, and my pure lack of much to do this afternoon, here are my least favorite songs on each album.... (I've listed the album name, song, and any comments in chronological order) Rush - "Before And After" - on this otherwise very heavy album, this softer song really doesn't seem to fit in. Fly By Night - "Rivendell" - this song is so mellow, I actually used to put it on to fall asleep to. Caress of Steel - "The Fountain Of Lamneth" - this album gets busted on a lot as it was the groups first attempt at a true concept album, but this song just has never done much for me. 2112 - "The Twilight Zone" - you're going to see a recurring theme here..very mellow Rush songs and I don't mix. Farewell to Kings - "Madrigal" - again, not that this is a bad song, but it just seems like a little filler on a great album. Hemispheres - "Cygnus X-1" - yeah, I'm going to get beat for saying that this is my least favorite song on this album (considering it's the whole first side), but the I just like the other songs better. Permanent Waves - "Different Strings" - this was a tough one. I love this album, but when it comes down to it, this song is my least favorite. Moving Pictures - "The Camera Eye" - It's around 10 minutes long...not terrible, but certainly the weakest song off this album..I honestly don't understand why everyone had a hard on to hear it live. Signals - "Chemistry" - again this was a tough album to pick one from, but since I have to choose, this is the one. Grace Under Pressure - "The Body Electric" - this might have been the toughest album to pick one off of as it's my favorite of theirs...this one seems to be the one I want to hear the least when I play it though. Power Windows - "Emotion Detector" - again, great album, but this is just the weakest song on it. Hold Your Fire - "Second Nature" - this is a pretty forgettable song, hence it makes the list. Presto - "Available Light" - Nope, don't like this one so much...it a little light on an album that is light to begin with. Roll The Bones - "You Bet Your Life" - I honestly find this one a little cheesy. Counterparts - "The Speed Of Love" - great (underrated I think) album, but again, this one's a little cheesy. Test For Echo - "The Color Of Right" - my least favorite song on my least favorite album. Vapor Trails - "How It Is" - this one was no problem to choose at all...I honestly just don't like this song at all. Snakes and Arrows - "We Hold On" - well, I think this one's just kind of forgettable really..it doesn't really stand out. Ok there you have it, my least favorite song off of each of their studio recordings...now, don't you just feel enriched??

First band practice

Barry — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:19:10 GMT

I'm sore if you can believe that. Sure my hands and forearms are a little tight from playing for 3 1/2 hours...but honestly that part of my body doesn't hurt too bad. It's my upper body and back that are sore this morning. I think it's from lugging my amp (not the 144 pound speaker cabinet thank god) down the guitarist's basement stairs...ugh. My bodily pain aside, it was a really good practice. We were really tight on a lot of the songs and of course there is some work to be done, but all and all for only having played together at my audition, I thought we did pretty well. We're up to about 20-21 songs right now and if we get another 10-15, we should have enough to play out. I think the most inspiring part was that I was able to play Sweet Emotion and it sounded alright...no spectacular, but decent enough that you wouldn't have had a problem know what song it was...lol. Some other cool observations I had: - Again, I'm locking right in with the drummer (Rich). He really makes my job a lot easier...especially on songs I'm a little shaky on. - There is a really good chemistry among the four of us. The guitarist (Andy) made dinner for after practice and we all sat around kicking around band names (still nothing yet) and other ideas. We were generally having a pretty good time and some good laughs too. - We need to start throwing in a few more vocals to help with timing. Rich and I both listen for them, so not having much in the way of vocals can sort of throw us off at times. Not a biggie really. - I can feel myself getting better. There were times I didn't even think about it and I was moving through a song just playing my parts. I just might be decent at this one day...lol

Holy Crap...we're playing for the cup!!!!!

Barry — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:11:30 GMT

I'm still a little shocked. I can't believe my team is going to be playing for the Stanley Cup after almost leaving Pittsburgh just a few years ago. It's a little surreal right now. When I was in college, I lived and died with my beloved Penguins. They won two cups and came very close a number of other times. Then things got bad for my team and they almost left Pittsburgh (and I have to admit, had that happened, I might have given up on hockey). But now, they are officially back and kicking some major ass. GO PENS!!!

1000!!!!!

Barry — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:16:15 GMT

Yea!!!! I finally reached a 1000 views!!! It's the little things in life. (This blog post brought to you from Reston, VA....I'm in training this week)

Salma Hayek vs Sandra Oh (or whty I'm a big freaking pussy)

Barry — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:35:45 GMT

Ok, pardon any typos or other shit in this post because I'm a bit drunk right not and not too proud of it.... Anyway, tonight since we didn't have band practice due to mother's day weekend (happy mother's day to all the mother's reading this) , I decided to do a bit of research..aka go out and see a band. Well, the band was pretty good and I'm pretty lit right now as I type this. During the evening I noticed two different young ladies nearby (I must mention that I went alone, with no kind of wingman, etc...). One looked like Sandra Oh, one like Salma Hayek. I have a serious thing for both of these actresses...I'm talking hard core attraction to them..anyway to make a long story short (because I don't have the ability to type a long story) I really pussied out tonight. I didn't even say a word to either of these beautiful women..damn I mean I really suck. See, this is the thing...I'm a pretty shy person, unless someone is there to guide me a little. Man, I really blew it tonight...I'm a big freaking turd...or at least I feel like one right now. Well that could be the 6 big ass Hogareeden's I had too. What really sucks is I think I could have had a chance with either of these two ladies. Geeze I'm a tool. OK, folks let me have it....feel free to give me a truck load of shit on this one.....

Burning the Midnight Oil

Barry — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:54:38 GMT

It's 10 minutes of 1(AM) on the good old east coast and I can't sleep. It's been non-stop at work and home. I've been playing catch up from my mini-vacation in both places. I've finally nailed a good chunk of the songs I need to learn before the next rehearsal..which is a little up in the air, but looks like it'll happen on Saturday. Of course fucking Sweet Emotion is totally kicking my ass right now...I have the begining sort of down (it's a very distinct opening), but something just doesn't feel quite right about it. I don't like my timing with it. Anyway, I thought I'd vent a little here to try and unwind....nope, I'm still wound....

Fatherly wisdom

Barry — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:17:15 GMT

As some may or may not know, my father was a lifer in the military. He joined the Marines when I was about 2-3, did his 4 years and we moved back to central PA. After a few years, he decided he wanted to stay involved in the military and moved over to the Army reserve (because there were no Marine reserve units anywhere close to us) and did that part time for a couple of years. Well, an opportunity arose for him to return to full time service and he jumped at the chance, where he remained through two middle east deployments and multiple assignments, retiring about 3 years ago. I say all this to reference a conversation I had with my Dad the other day. I gave him a call during my lunch to check on him and see how his arm was doing after some minor surgery to clean up calcium buildups which caused some numbness....anyway, we were talking about travel and he joked that I could have gotten all the travel I want if I would have join the Army. To this I replied, "yeah, but this is coming from the man who talked me out of joining!" He then said, "that's a decision I don't regret to this day". Yes, my father, life long military man, talk me out of joining when I was 17. I was ready to sign the papers and he basically said if I was doing this just for college money, he'd find another way. He didn't want his life to be his son's. This is just one of many reasons I look up to my father.

Blogging to Blog

Barry — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:32:07 GMT

Ah, so what's been going on lately in my life? Well, I did get into a band that's going to primarily play 80's tunes and I didn't mention this, but I was in the Savannah, GA area for a couple of days on a mini vacation of sorts. First the mini vacation....well, if you've never been there and you get a chance, Savannah is a very nice city and the amount of history and design in the old section of town is just incredible. Plus the people are very friendly and there is really cool vibe about the place. It was pretty neat. Now the band..well I'll be at my first rehearsal this Friday and here's what we're working on so far: Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears (got it down) Take On Me - A-Ha (working on it) Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Minds(got it down) Kiss - Prince (still trying to figure out where the bass is in this song) Burning Down the House - Talking Heads (got it down) Just Like Heaven - The Cure (got it down) Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty (got it down) Never Tear Us Apart - INXS (working on it) Suedehead - Morrissey (sort of got it..it needs a little work) I Ran - Flock of Seagulls (got it down) 1979 -- Smashing Pumpkins (need to learn it) Pretty In Pink -- Psychedelic Furs (need to learn it) Sweet Emotion -- Aerosmith (whew, this one's a bit of a doozey..it's going to need a lot of work) Big Country - Big Country (need to learn it) and we're adding these: Your Love - The Outfield (got it down..pat, plus I'll probably sing this one...don't laugh) Fade Into You - Mazzy Star (need to learn it...need to hear it first) Melt With You - Modern English (need to learn it) So that's what's been going on the last week or so...I'll keep my little running band diary going because, well it's a good way to see how I'm progressing.....

I'm in!!!!!!!

Barry — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:27:36 GMT

WOW, what a freaking great way to start my morning and weekend! I got an email from the guys this morning and I'm officially in the band...WOOOHOOOO!!!!!! (can you tell I'm a little excited?) I'm bouncing off the walls here at work right now trying not to be overly annoying and I just can't wait to keep practicing and finally getting out to play. I'll calm down a bit and maybe right some more later....rock on!!! BTW, I do need to add that I have a HUGE shit eating grin on my face right now....

A few more post-audition thoughts

Barry — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:42:02 GMT

Having had a night to sleep on it, I had a few more thoughts about yesterday I thought I'd share. - There is a phrase known as "locking in with the drummer" among bass players which kind of means you and the drummer really become as one forming the rhythm section. I really felt like I had locked in with the drummer yesterday. - And speaking of drummers, I swear this guy looked like a slightly shorter version of me...down to the glasses, red hair, and goatee. - I swear I almost got a hernia moving my big ass bass cabinet out of the house, on to the truck, and then back into the house. If I get this gig, I might need to get a smaller cabinet. (But thankfully this thing has wheels) - Even if I don't end up getting this gig, I gained a lot of confidence in the span of two hours. I felt like I could hang with very good musicians and was able to learn something on the spot. I still need to practice more, but I really felt good about my playing. - And in the same vein, I was really shocked that I was able to play for two hours and not have my hand cramp up...lol (that would be my plucking/right hand) - I got a really inspired feeling to practice and play out of the whole thing. That's going to serve me well going forward, regardless of what happens. Anyway, that's all I know for now.......

Post-Audition

Barry — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:23:53 GMT

Well that was pretty cool! I got down to the practice space about 20 or minutes before 2 (we were meeting at 2) and chilled out. I then went in and met up with the band (guitarist, drummer, keyboard player). We all started setting up and it's at this point in the story I should mentioned that I had brought my big ass amp and speaker cabinet...seriously, this thing is huge (4 12 inch speakers). I was very worried about how the hell I was going to move it to the rehearsal studio because of weird parking and add in the possibility of having to carry this thing up stairs...yeah I was a little concerned about this. Well we met in a studio that rents out space for rehearsals and thankfully they had amps and all set up in the room...whew! Anyway, we finally started playing and you know...I didn't suck! Sure there were a few things I need to work on, but all and all, it went pretty well I thought. We ended up playing 6 different songs total, the four I listed in the last post plus "Running Down a Dream" by Tom Petty and "Seuadehead" by The Smiths. That last one was one I didn't know, but they taught it to me on the spot. So two hours later, we wrapped up and exchanged pleasantries with them telling me that they'll let me know this week. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As an aside, I'd like to thank all for the positive vibes. It meant a lot to me to have that kind of support and if I can return the favor, please just ask.

Jitters

Barry — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:43:53 GMT

It's about 9:30 on Sunday morning and my audition is in roughly 4 1/2 hours. Needless to say I'm a little nervous right now. My main goal is just not to suck when I get in there. I've practiced the songs...a lot...this week and even called up my old bass teacher/mentor and begged him to just make sure I sounded alright (yeah, I'm being quite anal about this). Thankfully he stopped in early yesterday afternoon and really put my mind at ease. And at this point, I think I should dedicate a little space to him (Jon Godinez)...he is a helluva a nice guy and a fantastic bass player. He and his brother have a really good soul/funk band ( http://www.myspace.com/thegodinezbrothers) and hopefully an album coming out soon. I really hope the best for the guy because not only is he a great musician, but he's a real good person too. (an patient with my playing..lol) Anyway, I've got most of my gear packed up and I went over the songs one last time...oh, I never mentioned what I had to learn...here we go: "Just Like Heave" by the Cure "Burning Down the House" by The Talking Heads "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears If you've got some positive vibes, I'd appreciate you sending them my way...at least for a little bit..lol (I'll post when I get back to let everyone know how it went..thanks!)

Wow...yet another

Barry — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:29:17 GMT

Man, the women are just trowing themselves at me...I must be some kind of stud or something...I didn't even know! Check this one out from Tribe user kamah_5000@yahoo.com: "Hi i Am Miss kamah, ....i saw your profile and became interested in you,not only that i like you and i matters, If you understand English quickly please reply urgently to my Email. My direct email address is lovekamahforyou@yahoo.com language or colour does not matter but love and friendship matters alot in life. reply to my email so that i can send you more pictures of me and tell you the important thing i want you to do for me with is very and highly important we start up this year 2007 with you, pls i need to know your exact age, where you are really from and alittle more about you, i know this might be our year of satisfaction lovekamahforyou@yahoo. com " I really don't know how people fall for this shit.....

Wow...I'm soooo lucky!!

Barry — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:17:34 GMT

I received this wonderful email today (in other mail here on Tribe): "Hello Dear, I have the feeling that this piece of mail will reach you in a perfect state of mind and in a better health condition. While searching through the net, I came accross your lovely profile and decided to contact you. I believe and also have the feelings that in todays world, neither race,age,nationality nor religion will any longer pose a barrier to male/female relationships. Iam Favour Sow, from Sudan, 20+ years old, single, no child, While I hope to hear from you soon,I also look forward to receiving some information concerning you, your family, country and even your personal lif experiences. This willgive us the opportunity of knowing each other better and be able to understand ourselves more. May God bless you as I wait to hear from you soon on; favourso@yahoo.com. Thanks. Yours, Ms Favour. " How fortunate I am to be considered out of the blue...geeze do I look like I just fell off the turnip truck? (that might explain the helmet...hmmm)

Beautiful Day

Barry — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:40:50 GMT

I had the great pleasure of walking around outside at lunch time today. Man, how I wish that every day was as beautiful outside as it was today. I can definitely feel Spring in the air and Summer just around the corner. I really didn't want to come back inside...but at least the weekend is shaping up to be nice too!!

Some kind of cool news.....

Barry — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:25:13 GMT

I noticed that I haven't put up anything on here of late and the stuff I did put up was....well to put it lightly a bit of a downer. So in response to that (and the fact that I haven't posted for a while) I thought I'd share a good thing with everyone. As most know, I play the bass. I played in a band briefly in college then stopped playing for about 10 or so years. I decided to take it back up again while in therapy for depression a few years ago. I was taking lessons for a while and even did some open mic stuff. It was all a lot of fun and I really wanted to pursue it further. Well, now I've got my chance. This weekend I've got an audition with an 80's cover band (yeah, go ahead an snicker, but it's going to be a lot of fun...lol). The nice thing about this is that the bass lines are pretty simple, so that will help with becoming more comfortable playing out (provided I get the gig). Regardless if I get the gig, I'm really looking forward to the whole experience....besides, it means I can finally use my big ass amp...lol. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Thanks!!