Home Taping Is Killing Music
This week’s all about music. And a little about pasta.
My Strippers
So as I mentioned before, after more years if frustration than I care to remember, I finally have an original project off the ground. My new rockabilly band The Rumble Strippers has now played two shows! The debut was at Grant & Green in North Beach. I’d never been there, but it was an ideal place for a first show. A small room, low pressure, but still nice. The DIY sound situation was refreshing too. (We’re not in Kansas anymore!) We got a lot of great feedback, and I immediately felt the difference. There seem to be different standards (and of course expectations) for an original band versus a tribute band. I loved the feeling that there were no wrong answers. TCB is like a math class, where there are right and wrong answers. Every note of every song is predetermined, and there is a correct way to play it. Crowds won’t like it if you deviate too much. But this new band is more like a creative writing class. Sure there’s a craft to it, but there’s also a lot of leeway in terms of content. With covers, we can take any artistic license we want, and with originals… well whatever note I play is the right note. 
This last weekend we played our second show at El Rio, this time to a much bigger crowd. Again it went over well, and my own private victory was that for the first time ever, a song I wrote was performed in public! It’s called “Let’s Drink Alone Together” and damned if people weren’t dancing to it. A new experience for me to be sure, and one I’ve spent many years considering. So all in all, this thing is shaping up to be pretty exciting. It’s not exactly Madison Square Garden, but it’s fun to be in and play to a different crowd. They’re more forgiving and encouraging than I’m used to. But that must partially be ‘cos they don’t know what to expect. It’s interesting to not be 100% confident my every note is knocking socks off… which is how I usually feel (courtesy of Mr. Marr, of course).
My Smiths
Of course TCB is still doing its thing. We’ve had a lot of shows lately, but it’s been mostly “all killer, no filler” shows where we more or less have to play the hits. But it got us into Bimbo’s 365 again and hopefully got us on a few new radars. It’s all been smooth sailing of course, minus a rare capo flub on “Stop Me” causing us to have to restart the song. (Whoa, double intro… what does it mean?) Needless to say I’m looking forward to the upcoming shows where we can play some of the deeper cuts. This Saturday is the new “Queen Is Dead” Smiths night in the Haight, where we’ll be playing a set. Then April and May will see some new places and some familiar ones. Might even get “Golden Lights” in there somewhere. And then there’s Moz’s birthday to look forward to…
Their Smiths
Last night I went out to Du Nord to see rival tribute “The Smiths Indeed” from the U.K. I’m sure they’re very nice guys, but let’s just say they’re not much of a threat to what we do. Their fake Morrissey is far and away the best I’ve ever seen in terms of dress and dance and charisma. If you want someone who does the whole impersonator thing, you’ll do no better than this guy. But as for the rest of the band… well, no contest. I understand they play several dates a week every week and have for years. It was not evident. The surprise of the night came when I snuck over to the Castro Safeway to stock up on Ovaltine ($20 worth; my local Safeway has stopped carrying it during their construction!). In line right in front of me at midnight? Danny Glover.
Speaking of celebrities, did I ever tell you how much I wish I were Mick Ronson sometimes?
What else is going on? Eh, all boring stuff. I ventured into cooking. Whipped up some whole wheat penne and added pine nuts, crushed garlic, sun dried tomatoes, capers, olive oil, basil, and feta. Wasn’t as good as it sounds, but it’s a start. Also, it’s been freezing in SF the past couple months. I guess they call that “winter,” but it’s seemed especially uncomfortable. I installed my first set of flannel sheets since I was a teenager living at home. What a difference! If that’s not right bitches, I don’t know what is.
I’m about to embark on a serious undertaking. Inspired by Shel, I am taking small steps toward digitizing my music collection to FLAC in an effort to 1) save space, 2) save money, 3) go green, and 4) become more efficient. A lossless digital song file is 99.9% of the value I get out of buying a CD. Why waste all the plastic which will just take up space and degrade over time anyway? And hell, the time when CDs have any value at all is rapidly running out. If I don’t move them soon, they’ll be landfill. A couple of redundant external hard drives and I could have my whole music collection in a space the size of a paperback novel. I’m on the fence, but I’m seeing a lot more pros than cons. The major con is the time and effort to convert it all, but maybe a little at a time over the next year or so?
I realize a lot of what’s in here tonight is Facebook rehash. What can I say? Facebook feels fleeting. Statuses come and go. Disappear forever. This feels more permanent. Even though no one reads it anymore.
And in closing, Sleeve Face is some clever shit.
Listening to: The Crystals – “Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best Of The Crystals”
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