F#ck AIG.

AIG Discloses $75 Billion in Bailout Payments

Read on and pass it along to everyone you know

Use what you got.

In these tough economic times, those who are out of work aren't finding much in the way of jobs suited for what they've been trained to do. It's probably a good thing that I never took any formal training. Then again, those who have are getting all the "jobs" that are out there right now. I am fortunate in that I am in a situation where I can focus on my true ability of being creative. I write songs. I also have learned that there is a weekly open Mic night at a local pub...okay, it's just a notch above a "dive" but they are offering space for me to play my stuff. I counted and have 19 and a half songs in my book. three and a half more and I have enough to place onto a first album. Either I do this or release all of them in the form of a double album. As to whether people will buy said album, that's beyond my ability to predict.

What's important right now is finding out what the public thinks of my music. I have a space in my home where I create, edit, labor and practice and in that space.....I rock. In front of other people is where I need to practice and truly shine though, because, let's face it...when you're alone with your guitar and you make a little flub in the chords or you forget a lyric, you just keep going and you forget that you even did it.

There is a way to hear what you are doing and it's called recording your work and listening to it. My bass player and I did this last week and threw together a slap-dash demo of one of my songs - well two actually. One without vocals (sounds great) and one with....(ick). The two of us are not engineers by any stretch of the imagination and after hearing that second version with the vocals, I'm not too happy about it at all. I know I need to re-evaluate my capo placement on some of these tunes, but then again, it's just the two of us. We may have another vocalist soon and it would be nice to see how his treatment on these songs will change them up.

Perhaps I'm being too hypercritical, but I've always said that when it comes to my creativity, I'm a perfectionist.

Practice perfect makes perfect...let's hope this translates to a great demo.

Wish me luck....

Okay, YOU TUBE

You Tube - you are a bunch of bastards.

A note to Blogspot

I think it would be really spiffy keen if I could just change the email address I use to sign on to blog because that address isn't valid anymore.

How about the fine folks at GOOGLE pull their big brains out of their big asses long enough to develop a help system that allows us users to actually TALK to a human


do no evil, my ass....

A letter sent to my fellow fans of BNL...

"Yo....I exist....."

Last year - http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/sj073_photo/?action=view&current=IMG_8218.jpg

This year - http://s634.photobucket.com/albums/uu61/sj073_photo/?action=view&current=P1010910.jpg

A picture is worth a thousand words - you can totally see it in their faces that they knew this was the last time they'd take a bow together as a five piece band. I have to ask, did you see this coming? Steve making his exit, that is. All the news items say it was mutual and I'm not asking you to give me your viewpoint, but I will make my observations, as many are.

But I won't make them here.

That was an ironic day for me because I was let go from work. The job was killing me and to see what happened with BNL, there are some lines of correlation drawn for me. I too, needed to move on and focus on the next good part of my life. Music. The days leading up to Wednesday for me were filled with tears and stress but worst of all, I lost my desire to create. That morning, I took my 15 minute break, (something I started to do religiously if only to get away from my controlling and micromanaging boss), and started my 19th song. That muse I mentioned earlier on (another email, I think) must have knew what was to happen that afternoon. I was pre-occupied and immersed in heartache and disappointment at that desk. I even wrote a song about why the hell I was still there!

After seeing the interviews online with Ed, and Steve, I looked at my life and realized that BNL, in it's former incarnation, offered so much in the way of offering a sound track to my life up to now. With Steve moving on, (just like I am in a search for work), I can look forward to BNL continuing to offer a soundtrack to my life going forward...just "differently".

I did get the autographs on my guitar from Ed, Kevin, Jim, Andy, heck, even FIN lat year, and finally, on this last cruise, the ever elusive Tyler. I even got a pic with him, so that was cool. Now, I did run into Steve almost five times inside of two hours on that first night, and I *DID* have my guitar with me, yet....I didn't ask him for his "scribble", rather, I had another ship and dipper deliver a Star of David-shaped guitar pick I made as a reminder that people still think of the man and not just the music. I find it strange that I can now boast that I have all the members of BNL present on my guitar...but still, I have FIN and Andy on there. Steven is still missing, more than before.

Sigh.

....here we are again.....and again.

Well balls.

I should get an award or something for what I've been through and how I've handled it thus far. Yes I'm talking about my uncanny ability to land interview after interview and not get hired because of this god damn competitive market.

Thanks google, for hiring brainiacs and inadvertently spreading the word to each and every one of my prospective employees to do the same.

Sure, I don't have a degree, but god damn it, I'm smart and have the skills. Someone just effing hire my ass before I turn fifty already, I have plans for F--k sake.

My wife has supported this household for long enough and is prematurely aging because of it. Stress is tearing her up and I am seriously running out of ways to distract and absorb her bad days when she comes home from a 78 f---ing mile commute because her stupid boss reneged on an agreement to allow her to work closer to home.

Faaaaak! Give us a break who ever's up there at the "help desk in the sky"?!!

Testing 1 2 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vYzbMJlqUY&feature=channel_page

Another Month Another Dollar

When I came to work where I’m working, they said they needed me for a week.

That was over 5 months ago…. I’m not complaining, but unfortunately, that time may be coming to a close near the end of October, (this month). So, I broke out my resume and to my shock and dismay, discovered that I had 13 different versions.

You got any idea how hard it is to re-classify one’s self with that many resumes?

Well, it’s a good thing I woke up at 5:00 AM this morning because it took me a good two hours stripping information from the best of the best to create something that I know will be scrutinized by many-an- HR person for less than 15 seconds.
Perhaps I should put it on paisley paper…