September to December 2004
September 2004
Started the month with a nice trip to the cinema with Barry and Martin to see the Chronicles of Riddick. For those of you that actually go to the cinema now and again this is the sequel to Pitch Black - which I have never seen. Apparently, and I had to get Barry to fill me in on all of this stuff, it's a very good film, made on a small budget using elements from Alien and building them around this Riddick character - played by the utterly cool named Vin Diesel. There has not been much decent sci-fi out of late so I was well pleased with this. It plays like a compilation of every half decent sci-fi flick made in recent years (albeit with a much bigger budget than the first one). There's lots of Dune in there (the set design and costumes - the Judi Dench character is just pure Dune - also the scene where they are chased by a lethal sunrise plays pretty much like it was from Dune), plenty of Matrix (the fight scenes - of which there are many), a blatant steal from Blade Runner (the death scene is paid homage to in a manner so blatant that purists will just have to go out and get some therapy) and plenty of plot devices are stolen from Games Workshop's 40k - whom I feel should be claiming some sort of royalty payment at the very least. I won't try and explain the plot - just be aware that it is very tightly plotted and it is not a good idea to switch off. Go and see it - bearing in mind that artists copy, great artists steal. Shame on Empire for giving it such a mauling.
Sent away for, and finally received, a most exclusive Rush book that is normally not available unless you go onto the internet - if you ask for it at Waterstones you are going to get blank looks I am afraid. It is a great book talking about the touring and recording career of the best band in the universe ever - FACT - so you can just put away that Pop Stars script and get with the program, buddy. It's full of great info, but not really for anyone other than fanatical Rush fans - I mean who apart from a Rush fanatic would want to know when certain songs would dropped from the set and why. It's full of great pictures - I scanned the above pic in - it was the pic that contained the most handsome, least nerdy and least uncool looking Rush fans I could find - and I had to really look (all of you good looking fellas can go out and listen to Robbie Williams or someone - leave us alone in our Prog land of excess).
Yet more trips to the pix - this time I was again mob handed with the M&G and the Ruskies (Emma was in North Africa!). After the reasonable intelligence of Riddick, something really dumb was required. Dodgeball really fits the bill - young, dumb and only 90 minutes long. But then it is very funny indeed and hardly a dull moment from start to finish. The main star of the show here is the mullet haired and village people moustached Ben Stiller playing his role completely OTT. There is not a great deal of point in telling you anything about the plot as it is just too stupid to even talk about. But there is plenty of time to laugh out loud at the violence and sickness of it all. Any film that also combines the assault on the senses brought about by cramming Chuck Norris, William Shatner and lesbianism into the final fifteen minutes deserves some kind of blokes-night-out award. Makers of garbage films - take note. Go see it.
I do hope this becomes an annual event.... I went to the annual nerd love-in - the Rush Eucon 2004. That is the European Rush Convention. This year the action moved to a larger stage - the Birmingham NEC Salamander Suite (one of those hellish conference suites). The Crewe Limelight just looks so small by comparison! Here there was also room to sell stuff (lots of rare coloured vinyl Rush singles knocking about!). It was also at this time that I parted with some cash and got myself a pair of the limited edition Neil Peart 30th Anniversary Drumsticks - the usual Japanese Oak 747's as endorsed by Neil - but with the Rush logo picked out on them (how could I not own a pair of these sticks?).
The format of the convention itself was pretty much the same with the usual audience participation slot (read - karaoke with instruments) this time called Rush-Idol - but I do feel the whole event was brought down a notch by letting it be associated with that most horrible of programs..... perhaps next time we can call it .... Rush Karaoke.
As per last year, I swallowed my nerves (and I must confess that I was bricking my pants) and again put my name forward for Freewill along with a couple of other willing volunteers (once again the rather cool Stewart played the guitar for me). Unlike last year, the drum kit was an acoustic Tama (again kindly provided by Tim) with..... Sabian Paragon Cymbals (Gasp!) - so two authentic Rush-legend brands so I slid in behind it and hoped I would not make a fool of myself. It was a very tough order as our lot were on first.... making me even more nervous. I do feel I gave a good account of myself - despite the fact that I could not really hear the guitar (it really needed turning up to 11) over the din of my real drums - and thus lost it a little bit in some of the verse - but I gave a much better account of myself than last year during the bass-led bridge to the guitar solo. It has to be said that the whole mini band did well and it was an honour to play alongside Rush-mad musicians again (we were only together for one song before musical differences split us up). Only 9 Rush Tracks were attempted - but with no keyboard, some of the tracks did pose something of a challenge - the poor guys who attempted Tom Sawyer, despite clearly all being very good musicians (especially the drummer who was very precise) really suffered not having a keyboard to follow and fell apart - which was a shame.
The event was won by a quartet who did Red Barchetta - they clearly had an advantage in that they had a female singer (named Terr Berr or something like that) who was able to replicate the Geddy "Chipmunk on Helium" voice. Anyway - well done to them - they got an armful of Rush goodies to take home. Sadly, the audience led section contained a very distasteful happening when a contender was removed by a tired and emotional member of the audience - this is not the spirit of Rush - and I hope his next pooh is a hedgehog.
The evening was rounded off by YYZ and they played a trimmed down set to a very high standard. Just as good as December 2003 at the Limelight - but perhaps better as the sound system employed was far better than the one used by Crewe Limelight so the drums really cut through much better - allowing you to appreciate just how good a Pearl Masters drum kit sounds. YYZ are the masters of imitating Rush - but I feel they have lost ground to Spirit of Rush by NOT PLAYING XANADU AGAIN! Come on guys, I understand you were playing to a tight schedule but it's just twelve minutes (or less if you worked it into a medley) out of your life! Just joking - you were brilliant as usual.
In fact it was a very big Rush weekend for me. The day after the convention I was lucky enough to be in Manchester for the Rush gig there. This has been the end of a long wait for me - my last Rush gig was way back in 1992 @ Sheffield Arena and I thought that was the last I would ever see of them. Well - Rush got their act together and turned up on our shores this year. The gig did not prove anything else to me that I did not know already - they are the best band in the world and are so much further around the evolutionary bell-curve that everyone else just looks like they are wading around in the primordial swamp compared to them.
I was accompanied on this jaunt by Paul M - a workmate with a very informed taste in music. We parked what I thought was a short distance to the gig (actually we were technically in a different city - namely Salford). Clearly our knowledge of Manchester is very limited as we ended up running quite some distance through the wet streets - but arrived just as the lights went down and the gig started.
The set was a mix of tracks from just about every Rush era - including kicking off with a quick-fire medley of really old stuff - such as Passage to Bangkok. There was plenty of stuff old and new - highlights had to be Earthshine (a song which I did not rate when I heard the studio version), Xanadu, 2112, Mystic Rhythms, Red Sector A - all delivered without a foot being put wrong and with some strange variations from what we hear on record. Also included were a couple of cover versions from the recent Feedback CD - such as Crossroads and The Seeker. Cover versions are a new inclusion in a Rush show - harking back to their youth.
This is before I have had to mention the Neil Peart drum solo - I don't know if he is calling it the Rhythm Method or Oh'Barista this time round. Either way it was an example of how to build a perfect solo - originality, breathtaking skill and technique. Every part of the kit was used - requiring a quick spin of the revolving drum riser so we could see it all. This is a man playing at the top of his game - there simply is not another drummer anywhere near him, the rest of us might as well just give up on the evidence of that solo!
Rush have come back new and improved this time round. The video screen shows some superb interludes and at least it proves that the lads certainly do not take themselves seriously - especially the corny Godzilla tribute sequence - which has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. Also, it gave plenty of shots of Neil from nice overhead angles - so I would like to think I picked up some tips. The main tip I picked up was to practice like all of the time! The video screen was not an overused gimmick - it had nice relevant images flashing up on it throughout the gig; Ben Stiller's dad introducing the band (I am told it was him), pictures of the band in their early days during the previously mentioned 'old' medley, pictures of a fog-clad forest during the Trees, pictures of red barbed wire during Red Sector A - and so on.
It was a great gig from a great band - the greatest band ever to have walked the earth - it was a great day to be alive - and to top it all, Paul bought me a program. I almost forgot - happy birthday, Neil.
It was round about this time that I posted the pics from the Rush Eucon and the YYZ gig and advertised the fact on the National Midday Sun (website for Rush fans - if you are a Rush fan and have never been there you should really do so - www.t-n-m-s.com). Thus the webcounter on the site passed the magic 3000 marker - well pleased - thank you to anyone who turned up to look at the site - I salute you.
Went to the cinema again (this time with Emma) to see the latest Spielberg offering - the Terminal. It stars Tom Hanks - who seems to be a big buddy of Steve's nowadays. Despite this clearly being a chick movie, I did think it was an excellent film that contained all of the Spielberg trademarks - such as the light being shone into the camera, the references to his fave films (the Searchers - if you can pick out the scene then I am very impressed - but I am not giving you any clues), the long tracking set pieces, the massive sets (the airport is just a studio creation - no real airports were harmed in the making of this film) - he clearly takes his art seriously. He also found time to reference some Jazz - and connect it to Hungary - you see due to the Cold War there is a disproportionate number of Jazz fans in Hungary due to the fact that they could pick up the US Armed Forces Radio over the border...... now that sort of knowledge comes from watching far too much History Channel....... sorry.
Basically - it is the story of a guy who, by virtue of a diplomatic row, ends up trapped at an Airport - unable to go home and unable to leave - my idea of Hell - Airports are the worst places in the world FACT. Yeah - I did like it - but could they have not found someone other than Catherine Zeta Jones to play the love interest - she's becoming a bit predictable. So if Kafka type feel-good films are your thing (think It's a Wonderful Life or Mr Deeds Goes to Washington) then this could be the film for you. Just take a few pinches of salt and a woman with you...........
Rounded off the month by moving house to the other end of Runcorn. Now there is a stressful day for you - but it was worth it - a few trips out to IKEA and the like and the new bigger house can finally be said to feeling like our new bigger house - and here's the rub - it allows more room for potential setting up of the famous drum kit - a result if you ask me. Also the change from buying the house allowed me a little bit of change. Oh and if you are wondering how the drum kit was moved - in the Micra - that's right - a ten piece drum kit in the back of a Nissan Micra.
The first purchase with the change was the latest Star Wars DVD - all three of the original films - let's just forget about the recent additions to the legend as they were not needed (but I am prepared to overlook any faults due to Natalie Portman - but the less said about Jar Jar Binks the better). As part of my block discount I was able to purchase Rush in Rio on DVD - bought because I am perhaps the only Rush fan in the UK who has yet to see the bloody thing - even the afore mentioned Paul M has seen it. Brilliant - I can watch classic Sci-Fi or Rush whenever my heart desires - confirming my position as nerd of the year 2004.
Back before I even thought of moving, I booked some tickets and booked some time off in order to go and attend the Drummer Live 2004 event. This took place in London (@ Wembley) and required not only a jaunt down the country in a train (never a good idea for the impatient in this country) but also an 05;00 hours start - what was I thinking on my day off? Also, the impersonal feel of London freaks me out a little - perhaps I am just a simple provincial lad. The conference centre had been converted into a massive drum shop for the day with major drum shops (such as the legendary Wembley Drum Centre) packing the pace with their wares. This was an opportunity for sad folks who have never even been near some of the more desirable pieces of wood, bronze and hardware that until formerly we only saw in the pages of Drummer and Rhythm.
I had been going around the halls for a few minutes when a familiar looking besuited guy bound into the corner. It was of course Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden fame. I nervously hovered about for a few minutes whilst he was deep in discussion with some event bigwigs and then pounced and asked him for a photo - the big guy obliged - so that will look nice next to the Zoro pick from last year.
Back to walking around the stalls - I was beginning to get a headache! The very kind hands-on policy resulted in what sounded like the worst drum solo you have ever heard going on for ever and ever (eventually the organisers wisely enforced a one hour on, one hour off policy on the drum playing before we started to lose the use of our ears). I decided that I would take part and get myself round a little and have a play on a few of these kits. So I attacked the DW kit that had pride of place on the Wembley Drum Centre stand - it sounded amazing - it's only when you play a 'real' high-end kit that you discover just how different they are from the ones available to the drummer in the street (like me!). The shells were the finest quality maple and had the most attractive finish I have ever seen, matched by a build quality that made my own budget tubs seem like tubs of Swarfega by comparison. It had been surrounded with a forest of UFIP cymbals (very exclusive cymbals that not even the professional drummers can afford to use!) - putting the price tag beyond even the most well healed drummer. Wembley DC also had a nice line in DW Logo snares (basically snare drums that have logos all over the shell) - once again these were of the most amazing build quality you could imagine. Also hiding on their stand were a set of Joey Jordinson (that loony out of Slipknot) Paiste RUDE cymbals - finished in white - they looked amazing - however they could only be bought as a set so the price tag was a jaw dropping £999 - I declined....
I popped down to the Mapex stand to see what was new in the world of my chosen drums - I quickly pulled open my jacket to show off my Mapex logo t-shirt just in case I could get a discount....... Not a great deal was new but all of the Mapex goodies that you desired where there to be touched and played with - including an amazing double bass drum Orion set up. I eventually weakened and bought myself a Mapex Janus double bass pedal - being as it was better than half list price. This is widely regarded as one of the best double kicks on the market - although opinion is widely divided as the Tama Iron Cobra and the new DW stuff is also very highly regarded. I also needed a couple of extra cymbal stands (though luckily I could improvise and buy some simple boom arms - cymbal stands without the base) that I could attach to existing bits of hardware around the kit. As with all Mapex hardware (even the bottom of the range stuff) the quality was superb. I also visited the Tin Pan Alley stand and they were very helpful in tracking down an extender for my stand.... nice chaps to do business with.....
Given my temporary well healed financial state I was able to add a cymbal. I did the rounds and noticed that some very desirable pieces of bronze were up for sale at the most amazing prices - like 45% off retail. Try as I may I could not find any of the Sabian Neil Peart range - perhaps it was a bit early in their life cycle to introduce them at a discount? There was the most amazing display of Ziljdian cymbals and these were offered at the most stupid prices. I had a play round with a few but fell in love with the dark tones of the K Series 18" Custom Special Dry Crash. The looks of the cymbal are amazing too - the surface has been hammered to death during manufacture, giving the cymbal the most surreal look (like the legendary 24" Earth Ride if you have ever seen one). Giving that A) I was a bit more well healed and B) I was only planning on living the once anyway, I decided to splurge and then make an appointment to go to confession and make some hollow promise about buying only essentials for the rest of my life. As you can see above and below, I have added some pics of the lovely Turkish monster on my return home.
After all of this retail therapy I suppose I must have forgotten that there were a few drummers appearing at this gig. Thomas Lang was on in the main hall so I made my way over. After a great introduction by Sooty and Nicko (the older amongst you may remember that Nicko smashed his heavy metal nasty bloke image - if he ever had one - and was once a star guest on the Sooty show - I can't imagine Tommy Lee doing that....) Thomas bounded on and worked through some of the most impressive solo drumming I have ever seen in my life. His kit was actually quite modest, but it was blessed with three snare drums - one regular, one piccolo and one tiny piccolo, three hi-hats - one in the conventional position and two remotely triggered on either side of the kit. Thus, his solo was like nothing I have ever heard.... but not as good as Neil. His solo was full of invention and it was obvious he is prepared to think out of the box when he comes up with these solos. Once again I was left feeling very ordinary. Pictures from this event can be found in gallery Set 3.
Sadly, due to he running of the trains (you know that trick when they lay on a replacement bus for some of the journey but still charge you full whack) I had to depart early in order to make it back to my home. This involves a nice walk through London, on the tube, weighed down like a Dio roadie with all of my newly purchased hardware. This was great fun when I had to give in my travel pass at every gate - aaaagh! Try as I may to avoid the long walk from Euston Square tube to Euston Station, engineering works made it impossible and I had to make the long walk (it's actually only about 100 yards but you should try it with a few tons of drum hardware). The journey home was another pain with us really being sent around the houses in order to avoid the perpetual engineering works - I am sure the train was overtook by the same heavily laden sloth at least twice.
The drums now reside in their own room again. However the laminate flooring prevents me from setting up and playing the acoustics - the thing slips round like it's trying to get away from me!
October 2004
Time to relax a little after the exertions of September. The first thing was to get moved into this house - it's a bit bigger with the extra room, a nice garage (but like most good garages around the world it looks a while off before I will be using it to place a car in). All of my excesses, such as films, books and music, are now tucked away in their own little corners and there is now a specialist room just for the drums. This was the first time that I had really moved house - last time it had been just me and was a cinch. We spent the first few days in our new home popping in and out of IKEA and Wilkinsons.
Talking of the drums, I set them up following my recent purchases and decided it was time for a change - the kit is simply becoming too big (go and see the drum kit development page from the gallery to see the results). I popped along to see John Rose of Sale. Some of you may recall that when this shop was in Altrincham (i.e when I was a nipper) I used to get most of my gear from here - he always had good stuff in and the shop was always awash with brilliant second hand gear. Above I have helpfully included a picture of John and his faithful assistant.....John (ha ha the two Johnnies). Anyway, this trip resulted in the following changes to the kit:
The snare drum requires a special mention - I was able to pick it up for a lot less having handed over my surplus drums as a sort of part exchange and I am well pleased with both the way it looks and the way it sounds as well. The shell is finished in a reflective black steel with the chrome nutboxes being of a very stylish, almost art deco shape. The hoops are of the lovely Pearl Super-hoop variety. The sound is a very ringy high pitched thwack - damn loud. I know this as my nephew was allowed to have a go at being chief drum-tester for me (he looked like he was enjoying himself). I am well pleased with the quality of this drum (perhaps all of those drummers who swear by Pearl gear are right) - but the Remo Ambassador head placed on it looks terribly vulnerable when faced with my lunatic attacks with the sticks...... I have got a Remo Pinstripe lined up for this and hope that it does not choke that great sound.....
Another top performance by Dan Badonis! When Dan sent me the Sabian Paragon China a couple of months ago, I failed to mention on the site that the bell of the china was damaged - I just thought it would have taken the shine off an incredibly nice gesture by Dan. Well Dan was not happy with this so he made arrangements for another Sabian to be sent to me - only this time he packed in a 10 inch splash as well! He went to Drummer's Choice to make the purchase and also packed in a shop T-Shirt (that I have just worn for circuit training and am still wearing now as I type this). Below you can see the merry bunch before my goodies began their long trip across the Atlantic. On the left hand picture you can see Jocelyn, Dave (who can already be found here on Dan's own guest page), Eric and Vince. On the other pic you can see Dan with his missus, Kelly.
I have of course had a blast on both cymbals. The china type, even when positioned higher than usual, attempts to sever my ear every time I hit it - it is a very, very loud cymbal - a real beast of a china and a joy to incorporate into the kit. The splash has a lovely clear cut to it, and I have taken to it like an old friend. I have decided to mount it on a cymbal stacker above the old PAISTE Coloursound Splash - this saves on space and also the expense of having to buy another cymbal arm and gripper - and it also looks pretty cool as well. As I have already mentioned, the Sabian Paragons are the best looking cymbals on the market - the only cymbals that look better than the 'Special K' cymbal that I must profess to hold in the same awe as Marilyn Monroe. Having two of these cymbals in my set up is a great honour!
As for Dan? I don't know how to thank him - perhaps I could send him something British - but a bag of chips and a can of Boddingtons may not make it through customs - thinking cap time. If I was looking for something that sums us up as a nation then I suppose I could just tape ITV for week and let Dan know how we all suffer over here. Suffice to say - top bloke and I want to have his babies.
Another mob handed trip to the cinema with M&G and Emma to celebrate nothing in particular...... unless the purchase of M&G's new sofa is an event worthy of celebration. You may well have seen Lock, Stock..... and Snatch (most people have), well the Layer Cake is the latest of the Brit crime flicks from the same stable. Basically it is a journey right from the bottom through to the upper ranks of the London (and Liverpool, Amsterdam and Yugoslavia!) Underworld. If you have seen either of the two earlier films then you will know the sort of thing to expect - basically a nice easy job goes pear shaped (or it's all gone a bit Turbo here) and everyone gets double crossed at least twice. Along the way we are treated to a good set of characters (none of whom are very nice), a magnificent soundtrack and a load of crime film references. This is a bit weird as in the past these films have not really done this (apart from the Mean Streets nod in Lock Stock) - so here we are treated to the camera pulling away from a body much in the style of the Layla sequence in Goodfellas and a brilliant tribute to Trainspotting (the air rifle sequence) - so blatant that they both virtually steal the frame from the original. The film is also full of clever matched cuts - you know, frames merging into the next scene.
Worth mentioning is the top performance of Daniel Craig - he of Geordie Peacock Our Friends in the North. Why don't we see more of this bloke - and use him for all films requiring an English guy? He is the highlight amongst a great cast - Colm Meaney (of Star Trek DS9) and all of the usual Cockney heavy villain fraternity - they all seem to have great difficulty playing any other kind of person. Did I like it? Just get off your arse and go and see it.
Put the drumsticks on the wall - in what is now being called the drum room. So this really is becoming a shrine to my hobby, and Emma is happier this way as they don't obliterate the walls of the house elsewhere. They also look less overpowering in here, spread as they are around several walls - in the old house they were all packed onto one wall. Also got the latest sets back from Frog the Framer - the Pro-Mark Rush Anniversary Pair and the Vater Steve White pair (called Steve's Hitmaker). In fact the two Neil Peart pairs are in the same corner as the Dan Badonis pair - making this the Canadian corner of the shrine (left hand side of the pic above)..... But the real bummer is that the gorgeous walnut frames I used to purchase for the sticks are no longer available, forcing me to go for less attractive light stain - just unlucky I suppose. Close ups of the Neil and Steve sticks can be found on the Classic Stix page in the Gallery.
With my new cymbals, snare drum, hardware, new heads and completed paint job, I decided that the best thing to do was to set the whole kit up and have a quick blast on them - great fun - and even with the downsizing I enjoyed doing massive fills up and down the kit - and blatting the cymbals. The K Series Dry crash turned out to be the discovery of the lot - I was warned by an assistant that with such heavily hammered cymbals it's often best to play every one in the shop so you don't get the duff one - however, given the ambient sound of the hall I bought it in (like a Disaster Area concert!) I was unable to do this. I suppose I just got lucky as the cymbal sounds like a dream.
This latest incarnation of the kit required some strange hardware solutions to get it all together - so you can imagine how pleased I was when I got the DW Tom stand to support not only the two biggest toms on the kit, but also the PAISTE ride and the Paragon china - now that is build quality! I have helpfully pictured these hardware solutions below.
This was also the first time I have really had a go of the Janus double pedal - OK so I cannot play double bass drums yet - but I will get there eventually (in fact I cannot work out how anyone can play them - it just does not feel right to my feet!) - at the moment I mainly specialise in going for it on the pedals and bringing a steady roll on the toms at the same time - just making a real avalanche of drums to the ears (for an example of this kind of behaviour you should listen to Tom Sawyer by Rush - the second fill at the end of the middle eight - the one that goes brum-brum-brum-brum-brum-brum). Anyway, apart from the pictures above, I have also added some to the gallery under the drum kit development gallery.
Moved the site to a new domain - I was a bit worried that Lycos were going to pull the plug on their free hosting service after they said they require all free sites to get 50 hits per month or face deletion! Well, I typically do get about 50 hits per month - but it's the principal - how rude. If I was to go on holiday and do nothing with my site then I would face the possibility of coming home to find out my site had vanished into thin air! I spent most of the 23rd migrating my site to another server - and I managed to download a half decent FTP program (WebCeo if you are interested) in order to make the change go that little bit smoother. The bad old days of making about 10 attempts to get the Lycos based ftp to work (usually I gave up and did all my uploading on Sunday morning - the only time it seemed to work) are hopefully in the past.
This change means you are now looking at a site with no adverts or pop-ups to ruin it all for you - and now with a proper name - grahamdaviesarizonabay.com. I had to choose this name as there is another Graham Davies - and he is an after dinner speaker (the only after dinner speaking I do is to work out which lucky punter gets the bill - it's best left to Rodney Marsh and George Best) - these are the sorts of things you find out when you Vanity Surf! Also, Arizona Bay (apart from being - and I will admit this is where the name of the site comes from - a Bill Hicks routine about Los Angeles falling into the Ocean following a major earthquake and the title of the corresponding CD) is the name of a car dealer in California (oh - the shame of it) and an American business training site. So, the rather awkward new url to the site is a compromise of the two.
Just in case the electronic kit started to get jealous, especially in view that it was the purchase of this that led to the site starting in the first place, I finally got round to setting up the electronic kit in it's new home..... the drum room. Well - I found out that the laminate floor makes the little electronic bass pad echo through the house like a Ludwig 26" Bass drum - but apart from that I well pleased with the new location....
It turns out that Paul M, the work colleague who accompanied me to the Rush gig, is good friends with members of a band called Strange Fish. Paul was nice enough to procure some tickets to the said gig and along we popped to take a look. SF were being supported by Psi-Phi - trio from Sheffield who I was quite impressed with - very strong musicians. Strange Fish on the other hand are unashamedly Prog - and it would also seem they have quite a strong following given the large gang of what amounted to groupies at the front. Strange Fish play 100% original material and know all of the good progressive rock tricks - the keyboard solos, the long tracks, the constant pace and time changes. I thought they were excellent musicians and the songs were very well put together - fans of Marillion who don't rate them since Fish left would be BIG fans of this band. The classic rock society is already a big fan of this band, naming them best new band of 2003. I see it as a sort of step forward for myself - this is the first time I have been to see a band playing original material at the Limelight! There are pictures of this event in the gallery set 03 - the gigs and events set.
You can imagine how pleased I was to see that Neil Peart made it onto the cover of Drummer and was the subject of a typically long feature on the pages within. They even found time to review the DW Neil Peart model snare drum - unlikely to turn up even in the setup of even the most dedicated Peart fanatic - a jaw dropping £899 for a snare drum - I doubt I have spent that much in total in my life (well I might of.... but then I have more to show for it than just a snare drum). I was so impressed with this drum that on seeing one on the DW stand at Drummer Live that I took a picture (see it in the Gallery) - I am unlikely to get that close to one again! The interview is typical Neil Peart: long and informative - a bit like Rush themselves.
In fact it was a big month for magazines as I found myself within the pages of Drum Connexions - a New Zealand based drumming magazine. This started life as a website that I contributed to (you can find a link on the opening page of this site) but has now appeared as a pretty cool magazine. My profile ended up on page 49 - as well as Jen Hoeft who is also on the roll of honour within the magazine (Jen can be found in the visitor gallery).
It was not all good news, though. I was saddened to hear of the death of John Peel - he who represents everything good about music. This is the man who introduced Tangerine Dream, Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa to the ears of the UK. I will miss him a lot - no more listening to Home Truths on Radio 4 just to hear his voice. And to think, Tony Blackburn is still alive. Where is the justice? John Lennon shot in the street and Justin Timberlake .... still alive. Bill Hicks, John F Kennedy, Alistar Cooke, Martin Luther King.... the list goes on. Just what the hell is going on in this world?
November 2004
Those splendid chaps at The Spirit of Rush were nice enough to send me a Demo CD of their work. This CD contains four studio tracks (Spirit of Radio - your starter for ten if you are a Rush tribute act, Subdivisions, Tom Sawyer and Mission) and two live tracks (Freewill - the track I have played twice so I will be interested to hear it - and 2112). SOR sound just as good in the studio as on stage - this CD was recorded before they changed drummers. If you are a Rush fan and would like a copy of this CD, go to the gallery set 3 and hunt down the August 2004 Spirit of Rush photographs - there is a link there to SOR's site.
I always need a good excuse to go to Manchester (like Rush, Waterstones or Starbucks) so I told Emma's big brother, Mark, that we could go along and have a look in the music shops. I always like a look in Academy of Sound and Johnny Roadhouse (convenient as they are both on Oxford Road - along with the BBC, Royal Northern College of Music and most of the Manchester University Campus). The trip to Academy of Sound was most fruitful as I had a go of the new Roland TD20 which has replaced the TD10 as the Excalibur of electronic drum kits. Really there is not much to separate it from the 10 - apart from the ultra realistic hi hat pad (it lifts up like a real pair of hats!) and great features like drum kit modelling. For instance, you can model your kit so the level of buzz from the snare drum is controlled - I think that modelling a feature that most of us try our best to eliminate (using either cotton wool,sticky tape or a noise gate) takes it all a little too far for my liking! But the kit itself does not disappoint - great sounds, pads and hardware. The only trouble is that unless you have a spare £5000 lying around (and who does?) the only place you are going to play one is in the upstairs of Academy of Sound. The trip to Roadhouse proved to be a nice one for Mark as he found some more weird and wonderful guitars to look at - he has already built quite a guitar-henge in his and G's house. For me it was a bit of an eye opener - they stock the Paragon 16" crash at a price £60 above what I was quoted in Academy of Sound - Sheesh!
If I needed a good reason to go to Manchester one day, then I would certainly need one to go for a second consecutive day. Well I found one in the shape of the film The Corporation. Since Fahrenheit 911 made such an impact, the documentary has done rather well in the cinema of late. However, whilst 911 got quite a good reception by the mainstream, films like Supersize Me did not and most of us were reduced to hunting high and low for somewhere to see these films. Luckily, there exists an art cinema on Oxford Road in Manchester - rumour has it that Eric Cantona used to go there to watch all of his French art movies when he was at United. I have previously been here to see Regeneration (top WW1 drama - cruelly ignored by the mainstream) and Das Boot the Director's Cut (complete with subtitles).
Anyway, the corporation is a documentary that looks at the effect that the corporation has on society. It is very much in the F911 mode - lots of talking heads from the likes of Noam Chomsky and Michael Moore (yeah - him again). Basically, the film says that as long as the corporation has a virtual say in the running of the world (Fox Network and News International I'm looking at you here) and consequently gets away with murder then we are most certainly on our way to hell - other examples are presented: Monsanto burying research that would have proved that its Cow-Milk miracle drug was possibly lethal to both the cows and the poor sods who put the stuff on their cornflakes, the twin towers attack causing a run on gold on Wall Street, Shell helping to keep a lid on civil rights in Nigeria and so on. And now you can see why this film will only be seen in this kind of cinema - what the hell is going to happen to their world if everyone realises that there has to be more to running the world than just the bottom line? You are damn right you should go and see this film (Bridget Jones will wait - believe me) - it may just make you want to go out and change the world - or lynch the guilty - so keep a couple of weekends free just to be on the safe side.
Well - it has been nearly two months since I moved house and still the pile of unopened boxes plagues me. Well - I had an open of a box and discovered my old university photographs. Well - I figured that it was a very enjoyable time of my life (but I was a bit skint!) so I decided to add a gallery full of these pics to the site. I also decided to have a section dedicated to my time in the RAF as well - it follows that if I have a bit dedicated to the best time in my life then I should also do the same with the worst (which my time in the RAF was). Furthermore, I decided to put some work pics up on there as well. Go to the gallery and have a look.
Emma took me to see Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason (yes - another sequel). I actually quite liked the first film - yes I actually liked a chick movie, don't look so surprised. I suppose it was inevitable that there would be a sequel for us to see. All of the old cast are there - with the addition of the girl out of Spaced (Jessica Stevenson) who must have been in it for about a minute. Well - all of the stuff that lovers of this kind of film need is there - the soundtrack (it's like you have walked into a house party and thought to yourself "who the hell put this sh*t on?") comes from every chick movie CD you have ever heard and it is generally very nice. They even got the bit in a Thai Jail to have a sort of nice slant on it - and that takes some doing. Well - it was OK. The James Bond reference in the opening titles was a nice touch as was the use of The Darkness during the inevitable fight scene. It is a chick movie. I did not like it all that much and look forward to the next film that I will choose so there will be loads of stuff being blown up.
Did something I have not done for a while (no - not get a round in). I went to a Premiership Football Match. In fact the last time I went to a top flight match would have been...... Manchester United vs Arsenal and it was so long ago that Charlie Nicholas scored the winner - and Gordon Strachan missed a penalty. That would have been about..... 1987? I can't be sure - it's sort of lost in the midsts of time - all I can be certain of is that it rained and Manchester United were still within a dry patch that had lasted pretty much since the late sixties! I got word of some spare tickets for Liverpool and Crystal Palace at Anfield on the 13th. I thought I might pop along, Barry providing transport and dragging my dad along as well. Dad was a big Red in the days of Keegan and Toshack etc so I thought it might make a nice extra birthday present for him. We sat (but stood every time something exciting happened) in the Anfield Road end - right next to the Palace fans. In fact if you want to recreate the experience of watching a top flight football team then just watch Match of the Day and get someone to stand up in front of you every time that something you want to see happens. The last time I went to a match the away fans were penned in and surrounded by police so it was a bit strange just to have a few stewards there and a sort of cloth mat laying over the seats to separate us. The match ended 3-2 to Liverpool and I contrived to miss the Palace second (I was getting a mortgage approved for a sausage roll) and the Liverpool winner (we went early to avoid the crush). Well - I am not a big footy fan so I was very surprised to have enjoyed it.
Well why not take something that I have not done for a while and then up the ante by doing something I have never done before? On the 20th myself and Emma jumped on a plane to..... Toronto! As I have never flown before some of you may think it strange to learn that my first flight across the ocean was a mammoth haul to Canada. Well - the truth is I was simply scared of flying and point blank refused to get involved in any holiday that would have involved me entrusting my life to anything with the ability to fly. Well on the 20th we jumped on for the short hop across to Amsterdam (our visit to Amsterdam was limited to just a quick run between two gates in the terminal).
The flight to Canada was on board a KLM 747 and took a spirit sapping seven and a half hours! But I must say that despite the fears that I had built up about flying it was a most pleasant flight - the sun beating down on us for the entire journey (given the number of time zones we crossed it meant that we had constant sunshine). We landed at Pearson airport. Straight away I will launch into a monologue about the connection to Rush here - the YYZ code of the airport was used by Rush as the title for the instrumental of the same name from the 1981 album Moving Pictures. In fact the crotale (AKA Finger Cymbal) intro played by NP on the intro is the same as the radar call sign for Pearson - only real Rush Anoraks know this. Our hotel was the Primrose Best Western located on Carlton Street - just round the corner from Maple Leaf Gardens..... and on the edge of some pretty mean neighbourhoods. Well - you cant scare me and Emma - we are made of tough stuff - I mean we both work in Warrington for a start. The only thing that happened to us was when I was walking back to the hotel one night and was asked by a very young lady if I was looking for a girl. I tried to be as English and polite about it as I could and just smiled and shook my head. Whatever the failings of the Hotel, it had a hell of a view....... as you can see below - looking towards Yonge Street and the CN Tower.
Those of you who have been on the site before will know that I have struck up a good friendship with a drummer from Toronto called Dan Badonis - he has supplied me with a whole host of goodies - sticks, cymbals, books and CD's. Dan, as I have come to expect, was the perfect host and a fine ambassador for his country. He took me to a couple of rehearsals - with an R&B/Soul band he plays in (Downstroke) and his Jazz band. Both rehearsals were very impressive and I was left feeling a little on the ordinary side..... I have recorded both sets on film and present the results in a nice new gallery set - go to the Gallery Set 9 - Holiday in Toronto.
We did just about all of the tourist stuff we could whilst in town. First stop had to be the CN Tower - the one place that everyone in Toronto that everyone seems to want to go to. The CN Tower is the most well known of the landmarks - everyone who I told that I was going to Toronto said that I had to check out the glass floor on the observation deck. There is absolutely no reason why this should have been a problem for me - I had just got over a massive personal goal of crossing the Atlantic on a 747 so a glass floor was going to be a piece of cake, right? Wrong - I don't what it is but there are times when it is impossible to convince your head that you are not in any danger and this is one of them. The glass floor should be introduced as a selection check for the SAS - it's that bad.
Naturally the country that gave us Rush - and also the city where they hail from - is going to have a few Rush connections to chase. Yes I know it's sad - but I went around Toronto like a man possessed and made sure I took in as many Rush references as I could - Massey Hall (the scene of the first live album back in 1976), Queen's Park (later immortalised by Rush on the cover of Moving Pictures in 1981) and Maple Leaf Gardens (used as a live venue by Rush for many years and scene of the Grace Under Pressure Live video). I have carefully packaged these pics in the gallery with all of the other Canada stuff.....
There were also trips galore to the various tourist traps on and off the beaten track. Dan, and his missus Kelly, took us to Niagara Falls - very impressive - and a trip out to Fergus and Elora. As I said - perfect hosts. More pictures abound in the same gallery.
Dan also has connections in the Peel Police - he knows the current acting Deputy Chief Constable, Mike Metcalf (but I called him Sir) and he arranged a tour of the facilities for us - including the use of force departments, Bomb Squad, firing range (including a demonstration of firing by the force's best shot) - a fine day out. When people think of the Canadian Police they get this terribly warm and fluffy image of Malcolm the Mountie - believe me when I tell you that nobody kicks sand in the face of the Peel Police. You can also find pics of this in the gallery.
Music shops were also a big destination for me whilst over there as well. Dan had really good connections (Referrals and Connections are a big thing for Dan) at all of the ones we went to - it is going to be very hard going in any drum shop in the UK for a while. Dan took me to a whole host of drumshops as part of my holiday. It was at this time that I bought Emma's early X-mas prezzy - a Trumpet (she used to play but has been out of practice for a while) and my vice was a Sabian bell disc (essential Neil Peart material). Once again there are pictures galore of this.
I had planned to check out the new cinema releases whilst overseas but our general fatigue and jetlag meant that we only had the energy to go once. Emma decided that we should go and see The Polar Express - but with a difference - on the IMAX bloody great screen. This involved a screen the size of a building, a sound system that would have shamed Metallica and 3D glasses (which were nice but they pressed against my own glasses and hurt like a bitch). Polar Express is not the best kid's film ever made (it lacks the touch of Toy Story), but it certainly looks the part. The 3D effect of the film was so strong that I found myself reaching to grab snowflakes that I was convinced were there. The sound effects make best use of the massive quadraphonic sound system - it's just a pity that the film was really a kids film. What IMAX really needs is a real son of a bitch of a film - then we could really enjoy it.
As a parting shot Dan got his friend, Dave Rundle, the owner of Headhunter Drumsticks (many of which are in my stick bag) to get me a few sticks for me to use - but these buggers had my name on - so I am now a drummer with his own set of sticks! To quote Homer Simpson - "In your face, Strawberry". I really did not know what to say (apart from thank you obviously). So the award for general all round good egg goes to Dan and Dave. Above you can see me in receipt of my sticks (believe me that's my name on the stick) in the Missisauga branch of Starbucks - coffee and my own drumsticks - what a morning!
Most monthly updates for me are about 30 pictures and a few lines typed here and there - November has over 150 pictures on the update (and I fixed my scanner in time to help out!). Go to the gallery now and take a look at set 9.
December 2004
There seems to be a little bit of a Canadian theme to the site of late. With the latest additions to the guest drummers gallery, the big update to the site that was the Toronto holiday and the main Canadian that has been contributing to the site (that would be Dan). I really thought there was no way to make the site more Canadian other than to rename it from Arizona Bay to Hudson Bay or something like that. Well, on our return to the UK, Emma, Mark and Gee and I went to see Bare Naked Ladies at Liverpool Royal Court - and these are a top Canadian band. There is a certain irony to this - Emma and I found at that the guys were doing some touring when I took the pictures of Massey Hall in Toronto (I recall that Emma was really annoyed that we would not be in Toronto for their gig there), we later found out that they were performing in Liverpool whilst in an Internet Cafe on Yonge Street, Toronto. We then texted Mark back in Runcorn to alert him to this fact and he went out and bought the tickets for us all to go on our return. The wonders of modern technology.
BNL are a very good band and I could see why Mark and Emma rave about them so much. If you are not familiar with them then I really will struggle to describe them - perhaps Mark or Emma could help? They started off by doing some tunes all grouped around one microphone (including x-mas tunes) and played shoulder to shoulder - including one improvised tune about a scouser punching out his dog. Then they set themselves up traditional band format (if you can call them that) and played a superb set that proved just how annoyingly talented they are. The drummer played a really good set, using brushes, bongos and sticks. He played an Aquamarine Yamaha kit (I think) and like the rest of the band he was annoyingly talented. Talent seems to be their keyword, but they still find it difficult to take themselves at all seriously - it was like watching a band practice rather than a gig - they kept breaking into little distractions like Roundabout by Yes (top prog anthem!). I was very impressed - you should discover this band.
After me making such a song and dance about downsizing the kit, I sunk and finally more or less went up to the old kit size. You see there was this tom on e-bay and I could not really resist it - how many times have I typed that on the site? It was a 10" Tama Stagestar in dark blue..... nice price, nice drum - enough said? I greedily snapped him up and will no doubt press it into service soon. It is not such a bad idea to get Tama gear - spares for Tama kits are very easy to come by - you wanna try getting hold of any spares for a Mapex kit! So to recap, 8 10 12 12 13 14 15 toms 22 bass and snare.
Meanwhile back in the living room, Saturday the 11th...... we had a jam session. Mark and Gee turned up (I had spent most of the time before setting up the drum kit - the big disadvantage of being the drummer). Gee turned up with a nice gleaming new Stagg Bass Guitar under her arm (being a cellist it seemed like the more rock and roll alternative!) and mark with his nice new Squire Stratocaster. Emma had her trumpet that I had bought her in Canada and also went onto vocals. Not wanting to ram progressive rock down their throats I decided I would have to make several changes. The first change was to downsize the kit by a few drums - so I just went with the 13" 14" 15" as well as snare and bass (still a bit on the large size even like this). The forest of cymbals would have to be pruned a little bit - so I decided on the Zildjian K Dry Crash, the ride and a china - I also added the 10" paragon splash as I had a spare mount on the same stand that holds the two biggest toms (the hi-hats go without saying). Also - I replaced the sticks with brushes and kept back only one stick in case I needed to do a rimshot on the snare.
And so we began - Emma, Mark and Gee all plugged into Mark's top little general purpose amplifier and me pushed into the corner. We did a lot of different stuff: a couple of Bare Naked Ladies Tracks, I don't like Mondays by the Boomtown Rats, Black Velvet by Allanah Myles and Wild Thing to name a few. I learnt that I was quite adaptable - I thought that when faced with a stripped down setting I would just keep ruining every track by trying to break into Tom Sawyer, By Tor and the Snow Dog or Cygnus X-1! No - I played as little as I could - less is sometimes just right (for a prog-rock fan this was like getting shot through the forehead with a diamond bullet - thank's Col. W Kurtz for that one). This is also the first time I have played with other musicians since I went to the Rush Convention - and the first time I have played something not by Rush for...... many years. We were all very pleased with ourselves - but hungry - we really needed Dan's mum to be flown over to feed us in between takes! Anyhow - you can see pics of this under the gallery in Set 02......
After we had finished for the day (we would have been there all day but Mark had to go to work), I decided to experiment a little with the setting up of the toms for when I had my kit set up in normal prog-god mode. Throughout the jam I had set the PAISTE ride very low over the gap left where I would have the second mounted tom over the bass drum and rather liked this arrangement as it felt a bit more natural. I have decided to keep the 13" mounted on my left of the bass drum and to skew the rest of the smaller sizes to the left in a sort of gradual climb. The extra 12" will have to be mounted as the odd one out, low and to the left of the hi hats! A few more adjustments and I should have it exactly as I want it...... the fact that Neil Peart has his set up exactly the same is just a coincidence..... honestly. Please belive me. Going back to the Rush Convention in September 2004, Tim Baitkin had also built a kit to be used for the Rush-Idol event that was built along the same lines...... so I am not the only obsessive.
Went to see The Incredibles. It is somewhat reassuring that there are still half decent films being made - because this is a really good film. If you have seen films like Toy Story 1 & 2 then you might be aware of a company called Pixar who are responsible for them - real clever guys. The Incredibles is their take on the super hero legends. This time the Super Heroes end up getting sued (for this is in reality what would happen if we did have superheroes!) and have to go into hiding due to an act of government (this proves that they have at least read The Watchmen by Alan Moore - great artists really do steal!). The most famous of these is Mr Incredible - who lives with his wife Elastigirl. Both of their kids are super powered too - making mealtime arguments miles more fun. I won't give too much away but I would judge that the writers are roughly of my generation as they must have spent their time watching just about every Bond film (in particular the Spy Who Loved Me), X-Men 1 & 2, Pulp Fiction and Superman (to name but a few - the in jokes come a bit too thick and fast to notice them all). You really must get out and see this - it's far too good for kids!
Following the delivery of the 10" Tama Tom, as well as the desire to rebuild the drum kit, I paid another visit to John Rose Drums in order to get the required hardware to get the ball rolling. Once again, the difficulty in locating quite what I wanted meant that I had to improvise a little bit. This time I purchased a Yamaha tom post but jury rigged it to accept the Tama Uni-ball fitting. As the Tama ball was smaller than the Yamaha ball (which is a completely different fitting again) I had to improvise again - I was so keen on the Yamaha post that I was happy to at least have a go at getting it all to fit. The nature of my improvisation was a bit farcical - I just stuffed the business end of the post (i.e the bit that the uniball sits in) with toilet roll (!). Well - it is all a little bit Heath Robinson - but it works. I have provided closeups of this and other cunning hardware solutions in the Gallery Set 2 - Neil Peart Rebuild Set.
When I was at the shop, John asked me if I wanted to take a look in the cellar to see if I could find anything (aaaahhh! The Cellar - I'm not falling for that old one!) that suited my needs. John really does have a bit of an Aladdin's Cave underneath the shop - but due to space a lot of it goes un-displayed; old Ludwig kits, odd drums galore - he really should think about e-baying some of it! Despite all of this, I came away armed only with a Remo Emperor 10" coated head (for the new Tama tom), a STAGG clamp and the aforementioned Yamaha tom mounting post - remarkable restraint.
Anyway, on getting it all home I decided it was time to set it all up and put it all together in the style I had decided on the previous Saturday - the Neil style of setting up. I timed myself setting up and it took exactly an hour - this is why it takes so long to make rock and roll history - but then I did keep stopping to make sure everything was positioned right. But I was well pleased with the new improved arrangement. The cymbals are grouped with a crash each side and in the middle, with the splash types both being stacked to my left next to the 8" (I have Grand Designs for this side of the drum kit). The only problem is that the hi-hat stand is not quite designed with double pedal operation in mind. I have seen some hi hat stands with only two legs (the extra balance required being provided by the pedal side of the stand) - these are designed to slot in next to the slave pedal and not require the hi hats being several days journey away from the snare - next on the shopping list methinks! Just had to have a quick blast on the drums before I took them down (took only half an hour). Once again, there are photos of this in the Gallery Set 2 - Neil Peart Rebuild Set.
Got the completed frames back from Frog for the sticks I bought in Canada. Well pleased with the result - although having my own signature sticks framed on the wall does seem a little like narcissism. Well - it is. But it's my drum room so there. I also picked up my Cindy Blackman and Trilock Gurtu sticks - the wall seems very full in the drum room all of a sudden, realistically leaving space for just one more set.
On Christmas Eve I thought I would sit back and laugh at all of the people who had not done their Christmas shopping yet. However, I thought a nice trip into Liverpool would be on the cards. Getting the train in from Runcorn proved to be impossible.... because the line was closed - on Christmas Eve! Anyway, after getting a Starbucks and watching the fire brigade fight a fire in the bag shop in Bold Street, I decided that I would have to at least investigate the possibility of replacing the pesky Mapex hi-hat stand. I had a look around and saw the Big Dog range of hardware. This range is quite new to the market and is run by a couple of guys who used to work for Premier. their hi-hat stand has a rotating base so those of us who have decided to use a double pedal can rotate it round and slide the slave pedal in the space. I decided that this was the most cost effective solution (Tama, Mapex and DW all do two legged space saving pedals but they all tip the scales at the £130 mark). The Big Dog hardware is easily identifiable by its rugged design and the bright blue baseplate on the bass and hi-hat pedals. The drum guy in Curly's Music was also a big fan of theirs and raved about the quality of the hardware at length. Sold to the guy in the Maple Leafs Top - £55.
Christmas Day came.... and I was working. This was ok as the overtime could pay for some drum goodies..... maybe. After my shift ended I made my way to Emma's mam and dad's place in Burtonwood. I had already been given the Miles Davis boxed set of the Complete in a Silent Way sessions by Emma first thing in the morning. Mark and Gee did me proud and showered me with Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Little Britain and Rush. Emma's nan got me a Drumming for Dummies book (useful as I have never really set out to learn the drums - I just sat behind them and copied what I could hear - perhaps now my playing may improve). Emma's mam and dad got me loads of goodies as well - that Peter Kay thing on DVD. Emma also got me loads of goodies - as well as a pair of Stagg cowbells in order for me to become a percussionist in true horizon-widening style (to this she added a mini chime tree and some drum stick wax). My mam and dad had already got us a dishwasher (your top of the line Bosch model) and loads of other goodies from my side of the family - including Sopranos and mucho aftershave. A good day and I hope yours was too!
Finally reached the 4000 mark on the site - I don't really know what to say other than thank you if you helped even slightly with my reaching this magic number! I salute you all - from sea to shining sea.
Whilst Emma was stuck within another essay, I went to the piccys to see National Treasure. Now this film is based upon the widely believed myth that the founding fathers (including one Benny Franklin that you can see above) buried a treasure trove within the confines of the US to stop us pesky English getting our thieving mitts on it (there is also a similar myth that Lincoln buried a war chest and that has yet to be found - and this is meant to be under the White House lawn or something like that - you may seen the Simpsons episode). Being Freemasons they left a load of clues to the American people as to where the stash would be - ciphers on the back of the Declaration of Independence, a magic map and glasses - because the Freemasons would do this sort of thing and make sure that all of the wealth gets sorted out - it's just the sort of thing they would do - make sure that no person would do without. Honest.
Anyway, the film revolves around Benjamin Franklin Gates (played by Nic Cage) and his quest to find this trove. Apparently the clues are everywhere - such as in the section of the dollar bill you can see above (the image that gives rise to the widely held belief that there is a secret society running the world right this moment - in fact they are no doubt reading this site and labelling me a pesky subversive and pencilling me in for assassination round about March 2005). It was an OK film - it was certainly interesting, but not with the lasting appeal of a F911 or Incredibles. In fact it was more like the Goonies crossed with the X-Files. Go and see it - if only to see the Freemasons get let off the hook.
More drum stuff. Adding to the drum stuff that Emma bought me, I decided I needed some sort of rack to stick it all on. This involved a nice trip out to Warrington to Aardvark Music as I was sure I had seen quite a few percussion instruments there. I decided to buy a Meinl percussion rack that has loads of mounting bars all over it. To this I added a Meinl wooden block. Aardvark only had mega expensive Meinl cowbells for sale (but were polished and hammered steel) so I popped along to Underground Music (under the arches near Central Station) to get a cheaper cowbell (Pearl!) and a Stagg Tambourine. On getting home I found out that the mounting bars were quite strong and more than a match for my orphaned 12" Mapex tom - so I put that on it as well. So now I really can scribble drummer and percussionist next to my name in true ego enhancing style! Will be setting these babys up in due course.
Well the new year came and went as usual. I was working..... I hope that 2005 is cool for you all. Best wishes.
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