Posts Tagged ‘Guitar playing’

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I’m a Flirt

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

I love being Chris Frantz Facebook friend. I sent him a message earlier today, saying that I love the Beatles, but Remain in Light is my favorite album of all time.

He replied that he too loves the Beatles and went so far as to say that if there were no Beatles, there would be no Remain in Light. What a nice guy.

I also found out via a mutual friend of Chaz and me, Dave McKenzie, that Chaz encountered the geriatric accountant/sex worker on Friday. Same spiel, same general location.

I am enjoying my day off from work today. Did laundry, ran some errands, bought some groceries. Also played guitar for the first time in 4 weeks and to my surprise I sounded good.

I am thinking of playing by the river today. That didn’t work out since it started to rain a bit. Glad to know I can still play All My Loving and Shame Shame Shame though.

Had a nice phone conversation with Connie, who sounded happy & healthy. Her sister Jennifer is going through some rough times though, so good thoughts and vibes should be sent to her in Oxnard Shores.

Connie is excited about the party in a few weeks. Going to be here before I know it. Pasta, salad and pizza is the menu. Perhaps someone can make some cakes. And by someone I mean a few people. Chocolate is preferred, of course. My sister in law Elaine used to make a nice pistachio cake.

I did visit the bibliothèque today. I do miss going there. They liked my new haircut. I picked up Donnie Darko from the bibliothèque today as well as a CD set of Ella Fitzgerald. Also ran into the Patrick Murphy there. I guess he’s living in Hoboken.

I had plans to meet up with Chaz today but he was ankled to his apartment waiting for PSE&G to arrive. As far as I know he’s still waiting there in the dark. And he is. I just got a text from him, saying they’ll be there by 11:00, which is just crazy in my book.

Looking out the window I can see dark clouds on the horizon. It’s supposed to rain tonight. I guess the drops that fell earlier when I was headed to the Pier A area were just a preview.

With my new ever changing schedule at work I easily lose track of whatever day it is. Today is Tuesday. Took me all day to figure that out.

I guess I’ll watch Donnie Darko tonight while uploading Ella Fitzgerald. Nothing else to do. I could watch my clothes dry on the racks and hanging in the bathroom.

I already have my suit ready for tomorrow. It’s supposed to be another scorcher. Not looking forward to the heat. The 9:30 to 7:30 shift tomorrow, with Raymond, Sean and Don Birch, Marcus in for the first half of the day. It should be an interesting day again.

The New York State legislature raised the cigar tax from 46% to 75%, which is better than raising it to 90%. We’ll see what happens next. I have no clue obviously but still I am a bit nervous being the last hire for the shop.

And now the rain falls steadily on Hoboken streets and rooftops.

Peter Gabriel – The Power Of The Heart

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Posted in So how's band camp? | 2 Comments »

It Was a Pleasure Then

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Well I just got back from strumming the guitar by Pier A in Hoboken for what may very well be the last time. In the 6 months I’ve been doing that, I think I have gotten somewhat better playing the guitar. I made about $6.00 the whole time I’ve been doing that.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t in it for the money. It does get discouraging though, being ignored. Each time I would strum by the pier, I would post my intentions on Facebook, holding out the hope that someone that I know would stop by.

Rand and Lisa stopped by and Juan Melli. No one else as far as I can remember. And no one stopped by today. Maybe they’re out of town or doing something fun.

Before I headed out this afternoon, I asked Bill to walk by when he headed back to the train since he’s driving a bus again tonight but not even he stopped by. I wasn’t expecting him to sit down, just a passing by, a hello would have been nice. He was somewhat groggy from napping so it more than likely did not register.

It was a beautiful day for playing and I had a good 20 minutes before that bacteria ridden spawn of Satan, Mister Softee pulled up about 15 feet behind me with it’s diesel engine drowning me out. Moving wasn’t an option since I had settled in, so I stood my ground, or rather sat on a bench.

For me, when I am walking around with my iPod on I usually take the ear buds out when I see a busker playing. If not giving them money, some respect should suffice. But that’s me and in the time I’ve been strumming in public, hardly anyone else does it.

Walk by, stay plugged in and do not look at that guy playing guitar. Not very encouraging. I don’t know what I’m looking for and I suppose playing guitar in public is not it. It’s safe to guess that my public performance career is over.

The anxiety I’ve felt with regards to the new job has waned, replaced by the feeling of ‘at least it’s something to do’.

Of course on the way home I see notices for a Tom Waits evening at a local pub. It’s a benefit and people are encouraged to sing Tom Waits songs. That’s something that would be right up my alley but now I have a job and I don’t know what the hours would be so it’s likely that I wouldn’t be able to attend much less perform.

And the performing thing is iffy since I do require a modicum of physical encouragement, and by physical I mean having a friendly face there for reassurance.

Today wasn’t all bad playing by the pier. I did make fleeting friends with a bloke named Dave who was with his toddler daughter. The toddler was transfixed and also terribly shy with my guitar playing.

If a toddler is fascinated by the guitar I usually hold it out for them to give it a strum while I make a chord formation but she was hiding behind her father as I played So It Goes by Nick Lowe which Dave knew.

We talked for a few minutes about vinyl records and Maxwells before he and his daughter were on their way.

Maybe I’m just grouchy from not eating. I just ate and I do feel a bit better. But I am still discouraged with my guitar playing.

Perhaps it will be best that I stay inside and play from now on, like I’ve been doing for the past 25 years. I think I’d rather be alone at home than alone with people around. I can safely say that I’ve gotten over my fear of playing guitar in front of people.

Bill just called to check in. My suggestion that he walk by on the way to the train did not register as I suspected. I didn’t bring it up and neither did he. He did note the melancholy in my voice and asked what was wrong.

I told him my disappointment with playing today and in general. He tried to be supportive but for me it was too late. I explained (like I did above) that I’ve gotten better with my guitar playing and my fear of playing in front of people has largely subsided.

To Bill that wasn’t enough, not enough of a reason to play in the first place and how I hoped for a friendly face to stop by and say hi did not make sense to him at all. My feeling of loneliness escapes him as he drives down to Atlantic City, leaving me alone once again.

I think the lack of encouragement for playing guitar throughout my life was a major factor in my hesitance to play outside my apartment. The feeling of not being good enough, from showing someone a song I had learned and playing it for them and then hearing, ‘That’s not how it goes’ even though it sounded just fine to me. And my exclusion from some friends projects was also a contribution.

That’s how I feel right now. Maybe in an hour I’ll feel better. Maybe tomorrow. In any event I wouldn’t mind this weekend being over.

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Crazy Baldheads

Friday, May 7th, 2010

I am convinced the local supermarket, the A&P is truly the supermarket of the damned. I go there frequently since it’s basically around the block, but just about every time I go there I get frustrated.

It’s been like this for years. The cashiers are usually empty headed or quite surly. There are certain ones that I avoid just because dealing with them is so unpleasant.

An acquaintance that I ran into there a few months ago suggested I get a job there but I think I have too many enemies in the store already.

I’ve had cashiers request my credit card when paying for groceries when they decided to pull rank, but were so blinded by their anger, didn’t notice that I had given them a different card.

I’ve even gone online and complained about them at the A&P website as well as local listings. And they’re not cheap either. The Shop Rite which is a few blocks away is larger and cheaper, but since the A&P is closer I go there.

I think that is going to change.

Today I did some grocery shopping and went to buy some Land O Lakes eggs. I have a coupon and the eggs, 50¢ off. I walk to where the eggs are usually located and couldn’t find them.

A few other eggs for sale, but not Land O Lakes. They used to have Disney Eggs on sale but even if I was going to buy those, they weren’t around either.

I ask one of the store employees where the Land O Lakes eggs are and he tells me they’ve been discontinued. That made me wonder if the chickens stopped laying eggs. Then he asks his supervisor whats up with the Land O Lakes eggs and he says they’ve been discontinued, then says they stopped carrying them.

Odd.

I finish my shopping and head to the register and then head to the courtesy counter and ask the girl behind the counter, ‘What’s up with the eggs?’ She says that she and her husband are trying to have a baby but nothing’s happening yet. She picks up the phone and asks Joe Schmo to call the courtesy counter.

Joe Schmo is the guy I was just talking to. Joe Schmo calls her back and tells her they’re not carrying them anymore.

I walk home groceries in the bag that I bring with me to go grocery shopping and climb the 4 flights. Also had a big container of distilled water for Bill’s apnea mask. I come home put everything away and call up Shop Rite which does sell Land O Lakes Eggs.

I get my bag and head out once again. A totally different shopping experience. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding by Elton John was playing on the PA system. Plenty of eggs available. I leave a happy consumer.

Come home and an old Hoboken friend, now on Facebook sent me an email, a secret Facebook group she wants to tell me about. I click the link and find it’s a trap.

It asks if I want to invite friends and I don’t and it goes ahead anyhow. I immediately post on Facebook that if you get a Facebook invite from me, delete it immediately. I hope I got to everyone in time.

On my Facebook pages it says Harpy and the other friend ‘like’ the secret group. Which to me, seems bogus.

Headed out to Pier A to strum the guitar but despite of being in a better mood than previous days, I couldn’t really connect today with the guitar. Plus it was a bit cooler out today than it’s been and I was in shorts.

So basically it’s been that kind of day.

I do have three DVD’s from the Hoboken Bibliothèque. Smoke by Wayne Wang, Where the Wild Things Are by Spike Jonez and what I’ve been trying to get for the longest time, Black Dynamite. So I guess that’s what I’ll be watching tonight.

I also have a book on No Wave written by Thurston Moore and Byron Coley and that’s a lot of fun.

Tomorrow Bill and I are being included in Pride Magazine’s article on interracial same sex couples. I’m sure I’ll tell you all about that tomorrow. Bill was also interviewed by BBC Sussex last night. He listens to it at work when he’s working late.

Every time I see that Michael Kay commercial for Kidde CO detectors, I always root for CO.
Photo-0166

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Posted in Interesting Things as of Late | 2 Comments »

Keep the Streets Empty For Me

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

It’s a Thursday. Pretty nice day out. Not too hot, a nice breeze. Can’t really complain. The blues I had earlier this week have fallen by the wayside.

Perhaps that is from talking to some friends on the phone. Unfortunately they seem to not be having a good time. Relationships on shaky ground for some. It’s a position I am glad to not find myself in.

Things with Bill and I are OK. He was driving me crazy and I harbored some resentment but then I realized that you really shouldn’t hang onto that for too long. Communicate early and often as Bobby Risotto was fond of saying.

Interesting things happening within the ranks of the rank, the anti-gay movement, specifically the Focus on the Family ‘tards. It seems the Florida attorney general paid $87000 to an expert witness to speak against same sex couples adopting children.

The ‘swipe is named George Rekers. The news was brought to my attention by Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God. It’s now an international story, as this was from the BBC: George Rekers was photographed at Miami international airport last month with a young man whom he allegedly met through a gay website called Rentboy.com.

Rekers claims that due to surgery he’s unable to lift his luggage when traveling. So instead of hiring an assistant he decided to go to Rentboy and hire a young man to travel with him to Europe for 10 days, all expenses paid.

When confronted about this Rekers stated that he is just like Jesus, hanging out with prostitutes and showing them the error of their sinful ways. The hustler stated that they had sex and Rekers seems to be a bottom.

From the BBC: Mr Rekers sits on the board of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH, an organization dedicated to changing the sexuality of gay people). I guess Rekers was unable to change his sexuality.

I am amused by the whole situation. Stories about anti-gay people being caught in gay situations, like Larry Craig and his toe tapping routine, Roy Ashburn being arrested for DUI after leaving a gay bar and now Rekers after being the expert witness in a case against same sex couples adopting children.

In case you were wondering, the profile on RentBoy.com describes the hustler as “sensual” and “up for anything”. Of course he also offers a graphic description of his genitals. I should have known that I needed to revamp my resume and forget about Monster or Career Builders.

Rentboy would have been the way to go. Live and learn I suppose. Versatility apparently has it’s place.

I spent about 2 hours by Pier A strumming the guitar. I think I am getting better with it. I should be, an hour a day is what is recommended and here I am strumming for more than that. Be Bop A Lula and C’mon Everybody are being added to the repertoire.

I usually strum by Pier A, across the street from Club H Fitness. On nice days sometimes a personal trainer will take their trainee outside and do whatever it is they’re suppose to do. Just as I started playing Hercules by Elton John, out comes a trainer with his client stretching and lunging and doing reverse crunches right next to me.

Most odd, but very easy to ignore.

Anti Gay Larry Craig, arrested for soliciting an undercover cop in a MPLS restroom

Anti Gay Larry Craig, arrested for soliciting an undercover cop in a MPLS restroom


Anti Gay Roy Ashburn, busted for DUI after leaving a gay bar where he had been drinking all night

Anti Gay Roy Ashburn, busted for DUI after leaving a gay bar where he had been drinking all night


Anti Gay George Rekers who received 87k for fighting against same sex couples adopting children. Hired male prostitute for 10 day all exp paid trip to Europe, saying prostitute was there to carry his luggage.

Anti Gay George Rekers who received 87k for fighting against same sex couples adopting children. Hired male prostitute for 10 day all exp paid trip to Europe, saying prostitute was there to carry his luggage.

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Keep A Knockin’

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

Just woke up from a nap. I know, I know, you don’t have a chance to nap and here I am writing about taking a nap. Life just isn’t fair. But you’re probably working (at least when I write this) and I’m not. And taking a nap is an excellent way to not spend money.

Lately I’ve had the blues. It happens from time to time. This time for me it’s a two pronged blues, or perhaps a two chord blues. Partly because from the approach of Mother’s Day. You’d think 19 years would give some relief and maybe it has, but there’s a pang of remorse involved.

Emails and commercials telling me to honor Mom this weekend. Each year around this time my life is tinged with blue.

I took the guitar out and played by the river. At a different spot than usual. Closer to 4th Street then 1st Street and Pier A where I usually play. It was quieter up to a point. Then they started doing some construction on the new pier that is being built and I wound up walking down towards Pier A.

I haven’t seen Tariq lately. Don’t know if he’s in NY or if his girlfriend kicked him out. Last time I saw him he mentioned that he and Francine had been arguing.

I was going to take a walk over by the Hoboken/Jersey City border to see if I could see the baby seal that’s been spotted but opted not to.

I did play Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young since today is the 40th anniversary of when the Ohio State National Guard opened fire on students at Kent State who were protesting Nixon’s incursion into Cambodia. 4 students killed, 9 wounded, one paralyzed.

Kent_State_massacre

And of course those National Guardsmen are probably muffin tops, having a beer with their families. Who knows what they’re thinking, if they’re thinking at all. I’m not sure anyone recognized the chords I was playing and I probably would have sung ‘Ohio’ if there was some accompaniment.

I haven’t heard anything about it being the 40th anniversary on the TV today. I was 7 years old at the time so I really don’t remember anything about it except for Walter Cronkite reporting it on the 7:00 News.

It wasn’t all sturm und drang since I also played ‘Hi Hi Hi’ by Paul McCartney. I played guitar for about 90 minutes before I gave up and came home.

It’s a good thing I don’t depend on people throwing change into my guitar case since I’d be in big trouble. I don’t mind since I’m not in it for the money, though it would be nice. I still have the three dollar bills that someone threw into my case a month or so ago in my song bag.

Symbolism mixed in between song sheets.

Then I came home and didn’t do much at all. My timing was good since it started to rain a bit, a little while after I came home. And that is when I decided to take a nap.

Now I’m here, looking at the rooftops of Hoboken. Looking forward to Lost tonight. Three episodes left, which is really two episodes since the last episode is going to be a two hour extravaganza.

Still sending out resumes, still not hearing anything in return. Sent a thank you email to the people who met with me last Wednesday, but no response from them either.

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Posted in moldies but moodies | 3 Comments »

Keep Quiet

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

It’s a Saturday and that’s alright. For fighting I guess but for relaxing as well.

Bill made it to Atlantic City and back safely. We spoke last night, he asked if I was feeling better. I’m sure he said better and not bitter. I said I was fine. He was headed to catch a couple of hours of sleep before he headed back to North Jersey.

Last night it seemed like time was crawling. A quarter of an hour took forever to pass. I don’t know why it was. I wasn’t going anywhere, wasn’t rushing. Nothing really caught my eye or held my attention for long.

Watched Mr Smarmy, Bill Maher on HBO and as usual he was meh. I mainly stayed up to watch the Simpsons at midnight before I turned in. Melatonin to the rescue, slept well and found it difficult to wake up.

Bill came home with bagels and the paper saving me a trip outside.

It was a beautiful day, 80° range. Before Bill went to sleep he asked me if I was going cycling. I hadn’t even considered that but no, no cycling. He asked if I was busking and I was more than likely going to do that.

I don’t make money from it so I don’t call it busking. I call it ‘strumming my guitar’ nowadays.

Wrote down the chords for Life on Mars before heading out.

Stopped by the bibliothèque where I returned the CD’s from yesterday as well as returning The Rutles 2: Can’t Buy Me Lunch. That was a stinker. I can’t believe how bad it was.

Was Eric Idle that strapped for cash? Was there such a demand for it? Just clips and outtakes from All You Need is Cash, no participation from anyone else from the original. I didn’t even watch the whole thing. Stopped midway through and dropped it off.

I did pick up a collection of Bowie covers by Seu Jorge. I had a few of the tracks from a few years ago and was glad to have them all in one collection. Also picked up the CD of the Original Broadway Cast of In The Heights, which Bill and I saw last year.

I walked over to Pier A and strummed my guitar. Instead of using my guitar case like I usually do, I used a guitar bag, the kind you carry on your back. I was wary since I figured it would go out of tune easier than it would in the case and I can’t tune a guitar without an electronic tuner to save my life.

A pitch pipe is useless to me. I remember when I received my first guitar years and years and years ago I also received a Mel Bay how to play guitar book and a pitch pipe. That basically ended any interest in guitar playing for about 30 years. That was it.

No one showed me how to play a guitar until years later. And the guitar I originally got just collected dust.

I did buy an Epiphone guitar from some former friend and bought a Fender Super Bullet 3 electric guitar from Sam Ash and a Fender Acoustic 210 from We Buy Guitars on 48th Street, from the one & only Jim Mastro himself. I wound up selling the Epiphone to my ex-roommate, Jimmy Lee.

Eventually I got some guitar lessons from Mike Carlucci who was in a local band, Winter Hours/Ward 8 years ago. He had the right approach, teaching me songs I wanted to learn, Velvets and Television instead of Old Brown Jug (which I still don’t know how to play). Mike is one of the better guitar players out there and genuinely nice guy.

And as I thought, when I got to Pier A my guitar’s tuning was a bit off. Nothing terrible but I noticed. I was there about 15 minutes doing my best when the Mister Softee truck pulled up about 50 feet away. That was irritating.

Usually people complain about the Mister Softee theme that plays ad infinitum, but that was silent. What drove me crazy was the sound of the diesel engine keeping the ice cream cold and the bacteria fresh.

I tried tuning my guitar to the standard tuning but I was overpowered by the sound of the engine, which happened to be in the key of B.

It’s a good thing I don’t depend on money when I play. Lot’s of people out on Pier A, sunbathers and dog walkers and babies in strollers. All ignoring me. I couldn’t say they could even hear me over the sound of the diesel engine anyhow.

No one to play against so after an hour I conceded victory to the bacteria machine on wheels. I just sat and read the New Yorker and smoked a cigar until 3:45.

I asked Bill what time he wanted to get up from his sleep and he said 4:00PM. I made my way home and found Bill wide awake, getting ready to drive to Atlantic City again.

Yet another entry that I had great reservations about writing.

Tomorrow is the Hoboken Fart & Mucus Festival. Fountains of Wayne are headlining. I don’t know if I’ll go. I usually go with Rand but he’s in Lucerne, Switzerland on some Jack Kirby type business.

May Day.

Found this pic last nite online. Never saw it before. I think it's a beauty.

Found this pic last nite online. Never saw it before. I think it's a beauty.

Photo-0174

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Posted in What's it doing outside? | 2 Comments »

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