So I haven’t updated for a while.  Let’s see…

Still a bit sore from the accident.  There’s a bunch of nonsense going on there that may lead to drama that I can’t avoid.  I was hurt through no fault of my own, and there is a mechanism in place to compensate me both for the cost of medical treatment and lost work time.  If that mechanism was properly in place, then life is good.  If it was not…I may have to hire a lawyer.  Unfortunately I think I owe the best lawyer I know here some money from waaaaaay back.  *shrug* Most of them would take this case on contingency anyway, it’s a simple open-and-shut; the question is who’s supposed to cover my butt, who is going to cover my butt, and what steps I have to take to make sure my butt is covered for myself, since those who are supposed to be covering it have been a bit difficult to track down for various reasons.

Yes, I’m being deliberately obtuse, because generally the first thing a lawyer tells you is “don’t talk about the case to anyone.”  I don’t want to take chances; I’ll explain the whole deal more fully when I think I can do so without jeopardizing due process or whatever fancy crap one or the other insurance companies is going to pull out to try and avoid paying.

Music.  I’ve been jamming a bit with this cat named Tim, he’s a guitarist.  I’ve been in touch with one of my old bass players, Dave.  He was in a couple of my first bands, Push and something else before that.  The guitarist kept wanting to call it “Ucidian,” which means nothing to me.  Worshipped EVH and Steve Vai; this was right around the time of David Lee Roth’s first solo album, so maybe…early ‘86? And Dave was actually a lot broader musician then than I was for many years after; he was very much into the Steve Harris thing (Iron Maiden) with the triplets and what-not, and (correct me if I’m wrong, Dave, if you happen to catch this) wound up in some much harder bands based out of Battle Creek, which was mostly a separate scene from Kalamazoo at that time (with a few exceptions like Desacrator/Thought Industry), more along the punk-grunge-prog-blues axis than BC was.  Seemed like BC had a lot more bands with Cookie Monster vocals than Kalamazoo did.  At least that’s how it seems to me in retrospect, and lord knows my memory isn’t the best. 

Anyway, he has expressed interest in putting together some kind of classic rock plus cover type of thing; any competent group of musicians can put together a decent setlist, practice it, and be ready to gig in less than six months – less than three, considering our ages.  But, since “less than three” from right now means “right after New Years’ Eve,” and that means no major party events for a couple of weeks, that really means we can take four to make it sound RIGHT.

Whoever “we” are gonna be. 

I’m long past the notion of not “selling out.”  Doing this band doesn’t mean I can’t be doing another band, or even several more, depending on how many musicians I can find and have mutual interest in working together.  Right now I still don’t have a kit; in the case of the cover band, Tim has a perfectly good and stage-ready Ludwig set in his living room, plus he says he’s got another Pearl kit in storage.  My ex-brother-in-law’s kit is still “unresolved” officially, as it looks like his second wife is holding out for some kind of cash, but the current consensus is that the drums belong to Joe’s sons.  Joe’s sons want them kept in the family – blood family – and only one of them even plays at all.  However, all three of them have said clearly that they’d like for the kit to remain in my possession, because then it’s not only in the family, but it’s being used as intended.  This is an older Ludwig kit, and there’s nothing “wrong” with it per se, other than newer drums are constructed more…firmly?  I guess you would say.  Clamps clamp tighter and more reliably; there is a wider range of materials and instruments readily available than there were when I last actually OWNED a kit (although I’ve been in several bands or jam sessions using other kits, up until a couple of years ago).  Additionally, Joe’s kit currently has no hardware – cymbal stands, drum pedals, hi-hat stand, etc. – so I’ve got to buy all of that plus new heads all ‘round, etc.

Not to mention, of course, trying to get into a position financially to make music full-time.  I really want to do the cover band thing – I know I can do it without any problem at all – because it’ll be at least self-sustaining in short order.  I also want to do an original band, and the players there may be different.  There’s another Dave that i know, a vocalist, who is back in town and with whom I’d love to work;  John, a guitarist, is also rumored to be floating around Kalamazoo.  There’s also the slightest hint of a possibility that a fairly well-known bassist is trying to put something together that I may have an inside shot at.  And of course if Soundgarden gets back together, Pearl Jam will need a drummer ;-)  Wouldn’t that be a hoot – after all this time and BS, I end up in bar none one of the greatest musical acts to walk the earth. 

If anyone else out there is interested in getting together and doing something musically, keep me in mind.  As I get things together I’ll be able to post current vids of me playing; there are a couple already up on my YouTube Channel.  Of course my political rants are there also.

But that’s rock-star stuff, and I need to get bills paid.  I’m about 3/4ths convinced to sublet my van to the car service I’m currently working for; it needs a little work, mostly maintenance like oil change, tuneup, tire check, new wiper blades, etc.  I’m not enthused about it, because it’s the only vehicle I have and by law it has to have a sign on it (haven’t checked the price of magnetic v. permanent signs yet), and I don’t want to run it into the ground.  On the other hand, if I go through that trouble, I’ll have to pay less to drive (certainly it wouldn’t make sense to pay the same price to drive my own car as to drive the company’s!), but “how much less” is an unresolved question at the moment.  I try to be completely fair when I think about my business dealings; when dealing business with friends, as I am in this situation, I try to get every contingency covered in writing as regards the terms of the business relationship before the relationship begins.

Especially with friends.  Doing business with friends often leads to a loss of both.  99% of the time this is because a handshake doesn’t take every possibility into account, and eventually something will come up that you disagree on.  It’s best to try to get the things most necessary to conducting business agreed on ahead of time so there are minimal questions or conflicts down the road.

In this case, it will cost their company a set amount for insurance on the vehicle, a state limo sticker, plus transferring the title and registration (I’m currently still using my NC plate) and the maintenance I outlined above, to get on the road in the first place.  After that (other than the monthly insurance of course) it’s fair to pay them for sending calls to me, called dispatch service.  What percentage is fair?  Depends, in part on what percentage of the normal lease covers the insurance now, since that cost has already been factored in.  Either way, the insurance + dispatch will cost less than the current arrangement.  Plus we’ve got to settle on what part, if any, of the maintenance repairs they expect me to repay, and work out a mutually acceptable repayment arrangement for that, as well as ongoing and/or emergency maintenance and service since I’ll be putting far more miles on my car than I have been.

I really am not interested in a career driving a cab…but it’s a path I can take to keep myself fed and watered while I build in to what I really WANT to do, which is make music and be creative for a living.  The only way to do that is to do it, and doing it costs money, as does continuing to survive while you do it.  This arrangement with the taxi would make all of that very workable, assuming we can drum up the business to keep two of us running…which I don’t think will be a problem, especially if I can get enough cash up to get my phones turned back on and keep them that way, and get some business cards made up.

Because you know, I’m all charismatic and crap ;-)

Things are still tighter than a gnat’s patoot and I’ve still not seen anything of a lot of folks I’d like to see, but I’m not in imminent danger of homelessness or starvation, and things in general could be a great deal worse.  I’m not healthy – in general plus I’ve picked up a NASTY cold/upper respiratory infection – but I’m not starving either.  I think this thing with the vehicle will adequately dot my t’s and cross my i’s to get me back on my feet and then “ride the wave where it takes me.”  I just want to make sure everyone’s completely agreed on everything ahead of time to avoid any conflict down the road.

Things aren’t happening as quickly as I’d like them to, and I don’t always have the free time I’d like to have, but generally things are heading in the right direction.

And that’s what’s up ;-)

By the way, I shut my comments off on a bunch of posts because they were being spammed to death.  This is a major pain in the butt without a bulk approve/delete button in BlogEngine.Net.  It may be resolved in the current version. 

Also, my phone service is spotty right now; my NC number is offline, maybe permanently, and my Kalamazoo number is actually a Google Voice number that forwards to wherever I ask it to (I have to verify ‘ownership’ of the number).  I have a pay-as-you-go phone that number is currently pointed to (when I’m not working, anyway) and I can’t always pay, so it doesn’t always go.  The up-side is that the Kalamazoo number (it’s in my Facebook profile if you want it; if you need it and you’re not on FB, either add me there (lowgenius) or drop me an e-mail) has voice mail that is saved @ google as both text and voice message, so you can ALWAYS at least leave a message at that number and I’ll get back to you asap.