Thursday, February 26, 2009
Updated Blog Layout
Having noticed the "followers" widget on other blogs, I decided to update my settings to enable that. Welcome to Ed and Mrs. Kelly. I also loosened the restrictions on comments. You may now fire away without being moderated. In the beginning I was getting comments about how much better my blog would look if I was wearing an Italian Rolex or taking herbal Viagra, so I shut the comments down. If I start getting spam, I'll have to put up the fence again.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Happy Ash Wednesday!
This was a greeting offered to me this morning by Brother Mike Miller, which prompted me to reflect that I'm not aware of those words ever being put together in that order before. I got the visual of black bunting, black balloons and banners declaring, "You're All Gonna DIE!!! Have a GREAT One!!!"
One of the things I gave up for Lent was a huge pile of money getting my old Saturn inspected, with most of the cost centered around the emissions control inspection. By the way, let me offer a heartfelt thanks to McGovern's former boss, the former head of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future Car Repair Bills, for that little treat. (I didn't give up sarcasm for Lent, as you can see.) Oh, well, it's running better now. I'm sure not ready to buy a new car, especially since Saturn (or General Motors disguised as Saturn) isn't making anything I'm really interested in right now with the possible exception of the Aura. Alex drives one and it's a fairly sharp looking vehicle, but I'm still getting close to 30 miles per gallon in town and close to 40 on the highway, and that's after a nasty accident some years ago.
Just Friends played one of the most enjoyable jobs of our career at the Lawnton Legion last Saturday, and thanks to all who made it out. John Wilson just drove the beat all up and down the road, and the whole band was at the top of our game. My little brother David brought along his new boutique pedal, a Fulltone distortion/overdrive, and I had that plugged in and dimed out in no time. I was gettin' tone, good people! Unfortunately, most of our schedule for the coming months is private parties or out of town work. If something comes up where our local friends and family can attend, we'll let you know.
In the meantime, plan a field trip for Saturday, May 30th to Knoebel's Grove, one of our very favorite venues. Seriously, I'd love to see a lot of familiar faces up there. Hershey can claim to be the Sweetest Place on earth; compared to Knoebel's, not so much. For one thing, at Hersheypark you can't bring a picnic lunch, park for free, ride a carousel complete with brass rings, rollercoaster your gigi off if that's your thing, plus pay no dollars and no cents to get in the place. They also still have Teaberry ice cream, last time we checked, and Joreen just loves that stuff. Let's make plans. We're also there August 14th, a Friday.
Happy Ash Wednesday, everybody!
One of the things I gave up for Lent was a huge pile of money getting my old Saturn inspected, with most of the cost centered around the emissions control inspection. By the way, let me offer a heartfelt thanks to McGovern's former boss, the former head of Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future Car Repair Bills, for that little treat. (I didn't give up sarcasm for Lent, as you can see.) Oh, well, it's running better now. I'm sure not ready to buy a new car, especially since Saturn (or General Motors disguised as Saturn) isn't making anything I'm really interested in right now with the possible exception of the Aura. Alex drives one and it's a fairly sharp looking vehicle, but I'm still getting close to 30 miles per gallon in town and close to 40 on the highway, and that's after a nasty accident some years ago.
Just Friends played one of the most enjoyable jobs of our career at the Lawnton Legion last Saturday, and thanks to all who made it out. John Wilson just drove the beat all up and down the road, and the whole band was at the top of our game. My little brother David brought along his new boutique pedal, a Fulltone distortion/overdrive, and I had that plugged in and dimed out in no time. I was gettin' tone, good people! Unfortunately, most of our schedule for the coming months is private parties or out of town work. If something comes up where our local friends and family can attend, we'll let you know.
In the meantime, plan a field trip for Saturday, May 30th to Knoebel's Grove, one of our very favorite venues. Seriously, I'd love to see a lot of familiar faces up there. Hershey can claim to be the Sweetest Place on earth; compared to Knoebel's, not so much. For one thing, at Hersheypark you can't bring a picnic lunch, park for free, ride a carousel complete with brass rings, rollercoaster your gigi off if that's your thing, plus pay no dollars and no cents to get in the place. They also still have Teaberry ice cream, last time we checked, and Joreen just loves that stuff. Let's make plans. We're also there August 14th, a Friday.
Happy Ash Wednesday, everybody!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Just Friends at the Legion 2/21
Just Friends will be at the Lawnton Legion on Derry Street Saturday, Feb. 21 from nine to one. If you're interested in attending and you're not a member of the American Legion, contact me and I'll have your name put on a list at the door. This is one of the few local appearances for us in the near future, so if you're into dancing, cheap drinking and meeting our new drummer, this is your chance.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Open Letter to Big Time Rock Stars
Dear Phish, Bruuuuuuuce, what's left of the Dead, et al.:
In the last month, you have all announced that you're graciously going to come to town or somewhere within driving distance of my town to collect my money in return for smooshing me into a crowd of tens of thousands of people, with pretty good odds that the ones sitting near me will talk through the entire show. I will also have the opportunity to pay $10 or so to park, something north of six bucks for a glass of beer-colored swill, and it wouldn't shock me to find pay toilets. I must respectfully send my regrets.
I know you have a marketable product. Many of my friends are attending one or more of your concerts. In the case of Bruuuuuuuce, you could make the argument that I don't know what I'm missing. I'm sure the Boss will put on a truly spiffnificent show. But you know what? The last time I was in Hersheypark for a mega-concert was the Rolling Stones. Between the chick next to me singing at the top of her lungs and the jackass behind me spilling five bucks worth of Bud Light on us, "This may be the last time, I don't know" took on a new and deeper meaning.
Apparently you guys haven't set your price points too high yet, although I relish the thought of scalpers standing outside your venues whining with a fistful of unsold tickets. You have, however, made it easier for me to resolve to find musical entertainment alternatives. I will make it a point to go hear more local or regional artists. I will purchase music directly from them, knowing my contribution will go directly into their pocket. Most importantly, when it comes to making music, I'm reminded of one of my favorite movie quotes: "**** you, Jobu, I do it myself."
In the last month, you have all announced that you're graciously going to come to town or somewhere within driving distance of my town to collect my money in return for smooshing me into a crowd of tens of thousands of people, with pretty good odds that the ones sitting near me will talk through the entire show. I will also have the opportunity to pay $10 or so to park, something north of six bucks for a glass of beer-colored swill, and it wouldn't shock me to find pay toilets. I must respectfully send my regrets.
I know you have a marketable product. Many of my friends are attending one or more of your concerts. In the case of Bruuuuuuuce, you could make the argument that I don't know what I'm missing. I'm sure the Boss will put on a truly spiffnificent show. But you know what? The last time I was in Hersheypark for a mega-concert was the Rolling Stones. Between the chick next to me singing at the top of her lungs and the jackass behind me spilling five bucks worth of Bud Light on us, "This may be the last time, I don't know" took on a new and deeper meaning.
Apparently you guys haven't set your price points too high yet, although I relish the thought of scalpers standing outside your venues whining with a fistful of unsold tickets. You have, however, made it easier for me to resolve to find musical entertainment alternatives. I will make it a point to go hear more local or regional artists. I will purchase music directly from them, knowing my contribution will go directly into their pocket. Most importantly, when it comes to making music, I'm reminded of one of my favorite movie quotes: "**** you, Jobu, I do it myself."
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