Adam's Musings

[AC]

So I thought I would start a blog. Read it if you like but be forewarned! Names may not be held back to protect the innocent. Who is always innocent anyways?

Yesterday I had the worst food poisoning that I've ever encountered. I can't remember the last time I puked from something other than booze. I spent 95% of the day in bed. Dan had an appearance on Bradman that I really wanted to go see at his house but it was not to be. Damn you Los Ranchero!! You will not have another chance to foul my stomach with your intolable slop!

I received Chelsea's Birthday/Christmas present yesterday. I was surprised that the Fed-Ex guy found my place. He was surprised as well. I'm hoping that she will be pleased with my choice in present. It was a tad more that I wanted to spend but who cares? Friends like Chels don't come along often. Plus her birthday is close enough to Christmas that I'm able to pass it off as a present for both. She surprised me with a ticket to Warped Tour for my birthday so I want to return the gesture in kind.

My workplace sometimes reminds me of a tv show. Sometimes soap opera, sometimes sitcom, sometimes tear inducing melodrama. I'm not going to go into the specifics of my job as it is a big corporate entity and for fear of being reprimanded, I will not identify specific company doings except those in which teammates are involved since this is a decent way to vent feelings and frustrations.

At the moment it is on the soap opera side of things with one faction being on the side of the "by the book, to the letter" way of doing things with the other half taking a more lackidaisical approach to things. The times people take lunch have become a Mason/Dixon line of sorts when it comes to this way of thinking. One lunch group feels one way while the other feels the other way. I'm sure it is probably this way for most companies since it is during lunch where most of the inter-office griping and complaining about the other group occurs. Anytime that there is a chance to gripe about someone without the chance of recourse from that person is always welcome to the person doing the griping. I suppose that is why these words are presented here. Most of us are Confrontation Cowards.

I have more and will continue to touch on all subjects until I am caught up and can then only relay the events of the day..Out for now..

[chelsea]

adam. i havent seen you in a whole week. i miss your sweet ass.

[AC]

I was married once. Divorced after five years. I'm not going into any of the specifics on why we split. I'll just say that the people we were becoming were not as compatible as the people we were and leave it at that.

A few months ago, we met at her place under completely innocent pretenses as I was in the process of buying a laptop from her. One thing led to another which led to another and before either of us knew it, we were waking up together the next morning.

This event led to a few random trysts and through conversation we decided that we were both mature adults and that we were both getting as much as we were giving.

I received a txt from her this morning saying that she was done and that we will have no more contact except for inquiries into payments on the laptop. I still owe her $150. When I called to ask why the sudden change of attitude she explained that she thought she could do this and not have feelings of wanting to get back together but now that was not the case.

So that is that. I'm glad we could be civil about the arrangement and that she stopped it before she got too emotionally attached again. I am confident that she will find a guy who better matches her wants and needs and I wish her the best. Although I no longer feel the type of love for her that is required for marriage, I still respect her above most. I am sure she will find the happiness she is looking for.

As for me, in the words of the immortal John Lennon, I'm just going to keep on keeping on. Maybe now I will resume work on my book idea that has been languishing untouched for the past couple months. More on that later...

[AC]

Nothing much has happened the last couple days. I overdrafted my checking account through an ATM no less. I was able to deposit $5 in my acct to make up for it in time so no harm no foul I guess. Just never had it happen from an ATM before. Crazy!

So it looks like I have found myself into a recording project again. Recording as opposed to playing live is probably the best ticket for me right now. My back has been a constant pain in recent weeks. For some reason, whenever I play drums for 5 minutes, my back feels like it's on fire. $5,000 worth of medical tests from both the Back Pain Clinic and the Orthopedic Clinic have produced no clue as to what is wrong. I think doctors dealing in back pain are the worst shysters in the medical field. I have a feeling that most of the time, they are clueless as to what is wrong with backs and that most of them are only with hospitals for the new MRI machines that all of them seem to think they need.

I'm leaning toward that it is Fibromyalgia related and I hate it. No one seems to think that diagnosis is real except those that have it. The problem with it is that there is no tell-tale signs of it. One needs to have several other diagnosises disproven before arriving at that one through process of elimination. Also, everyone has varying degrees of pain with it. I have had every conceivable test and procedure done to me in the last 10 years since these problems began and nothing seems to stick. Also, pain meds dont seem to help all that much. Most people think "It's all in your head." I wish there was an invention where you could trade your symptoms with someone else through osmosis or something so that they could have a sense of what the other is going through.

In the same vain, I also think a full body transplant would be interesting. It would be like changing the engine out of a car. Just somehow decapitate my head, keeping it alive, and tranplant it onto some brain dead vegetable that is otherwise healthy. I know I'm living in a fantasy world. Maybe they will have it by the time I'm 100. But I digress...

The recording project seems to have quite a bit of promise to it. The songs are already written so valuable time will be spared dealing with writing. I can just take it easy and come up with something simple to help the songs. I have hears some of the demos and for now I think that approach will work best. My contribution to it has been to be the bridge in setting up a studio setup in which to record. A co-worker has a nice setup in his basement and we all went over there a few days ago to check it out. I believe the others were impressed enough with it to be excited about seeing what we can accomplish there. I have high hopes. We begin on Saturday. Thursday we will be jamming on the song in Dan's garage with T in tow. That may be a tad strange having the original Geno lineup together. Will be interesting to say the least..

That's it for now..

[chelsea]

my mom has had back pain for 15 years. maybe you and her should chat about it sometime. she's been to almost every doctor i can imagine... one thing we've noticed in back pain is that it is really complex. your back is essentially connected to every other part of your body.
thats all i have for now.

[forgotten fan]

GENO ROCKS!

[AC]

Musing: # A product of contemplation; a thought. “an elegant tapestry of quotations, musings, aphorisms, and autobiographical reflections” (James Atlas).

In the true antithesis of a musing, this post will come off very detached. I plan on using my gin-fueled attention deficit to jot (is that how you spell that? we really need a spell checl on here Dan!) down some random "contemplations". What I plan to do is jot (I swear that doesn't look right) down some random thoughts as I sit here in my closet/cell. Each paragraph will be a separate thought. I will step away from the computer after each paragraph. This post may just take all evening long..Reader beware!!

J D Salinger must be spinnin gin his grave. If he is indeed dead. (I don't really know. I'm drunk and I really don't care) Anyway, I'm watching this documentary on Mark David Chapman and how he reasoned his killing of John Lennon off of characters in Catcher in the Rye. It's not the first time I have heard Salinger being used as an excuse/reason. I bet he curses the day he conceived Holden Caufield. I suppose it would be praise on the same breath. The ultimate yen/yang. I wish I would have read that book before commenting here. I may have had something more profound. I'll grab that one next time I'm at the library. (this post may get a tad manic as the idea is to have each paragraph be a separate sitting at the computer by my derunk ass) Anyway, I have been reading a lot lately. 12 channels of cable does not lend itself to much fruitful stimulation. (You know what? I'm getting tired of backspacing so I can fix my drunken typing. Pretty soon, this post may take the look of someone with 50 fingers..) I recently read a book "by" Hunter S Thompson. The Proud Highway. Which in a weird way has broughtme full circle with Chapman. There is some commentary by Douglas Brinkley on this TV thing on Chapman who icidetially was the same one who edited the letters that comprised The Proud Highway....Selah!!!!! HE HE HE HE!!!

My closet/cell looks strangely odd without my drums here. Currently they are set up in Dan's garage. His garage has hopefully become a sort of think tank for the songs that are planned to be recorded in the coming weeks. It really is a nice set up with the muffles on the drums. We had a "think tank" session last night with the full-on Geno crew. The song came around quite well. (I have a very nice reference that I could use here for how well it fit but in the effort of being "mysterious" I will keep it to myself..) Instead I will say that things seemed to fit (fixed because it's a crucial word) like a glove. (Footage of people buying vinyl on TV of Double Fantasy..A warm thing to see) In place of the drums sits Chelsea's Birthday/Christmas present. It sticks out ion my closet/cell like a "pinko" commie bastard in a sea of democratic idealists. (This is only an HST biased commentary used here to distinguish a certain color) John has 10 days to live..

8:30 pm

I am quite excited about this "Outros" (Is it Outros or Outro's?) Either way, that is one crazy ass word to look at...Outros...I think it would be Outro's if used in a band name setting..That's my gin-flavored opinion..Anyway..I have found a long used salvo for my drum playing-back pain/fire woes. Menthol. Sometimes used uin the context of an awful tasting cigarette, menthol is also used in various cough drop and mentholatum type applications. I have found this special compaund that when used ion my back, I have no ill feelings of burn to my back. Afterward, the pain comes back in wild force but I could care less about after I'm done playing. What I care about is in that I don't think about the pain above the song I'm playing. That was/is the worst thing I've had to deal with in life. The fact that I have played drums on songs where I have thought of pain above any of the thousands of thoughts I have about eh song I'm playing (eh is the) I can make a com[plete sober post onj this topic and I will in the future so I'll leave it for now. John has 10 hours to live....

8:59 pm

Well I was about to say that Ol' John had 10 minutes to live but alas..He has been shot down. Suggs doesn't care too much. He sits at the door, staring at the cracks and emoting a strange gutteral meow that can only be described as pained wanton of exploration. "I know Suggs. I know," I say. I'm pretty sure this falls on deaf ears. Or at least ears that doesn't want to hear it. I can't say that I blame him. He lived in a palace in our last place compared to this closet/cell. I wish I couls speak felineish. That would be the tops! I would wager that it is a simple 20 or so word language. I have an awful conundrum (sp?) with Suggs. He has some awful teeth. The only quote I have obtained is in the realm of $300. Many questions arise from this quandry (again sp?..god daman no spell check!!) Is the dental future of a cat worth $300+? How much time with a cat dictates the requirement of paying $300 for feline dental charges? What is really involved in feline dentistry? Seems that once you have the cat knocked out, the actual dentistry should be cakework. Not that I have ever performed a dental procedure on a cat. I would also wager though, that if given a proper "training" one could perform most dental procedures on a cat with a fair degree of confidence. I suppose that I will take the "quote" and compare it to what other vets might charge......I'm feeling a definite pull toward some Wedge!! I may have to sober up enough to go grab some!

Wedge has been aquired (this can't be right sp?)!!!!! I'm now done! Happy evening. May Mark David Chapman enjoy his lifetime of certain solitary confinelment..Pinko Commie Salinger, whacked out, Bastard!!!

[AC]

11/19/05

This was a day like very few in life. On this day, we were able to record the first track of hopefully many for the Outro's project. Many things happen during the course of a recording that words just can't do justice. I will call these Unique Life Occurrences or ULO's for short. Maybe as the songs come along I will change the name of these but for now, ULO it is. For those of you who are not recording inclined I will point these out as we go along.

The players AKA The accused..

Terry Ainsworth: Bass
Dan Bobek: Guitar, Vocals
Jeremy Kinn: Guitar, Vocals
Adam Clayton: Drums
Chris Gram: Engineer

The musician line-up was actually a Geno reunion although a reunion was not what it became. We had gotten together in Dan's garage before the recording to hash out the song so we didn't go in blind. To this effect, no Geno songs were played in practice.

Saturday came and one could feel a sort of confident nervousness in the air. Almost like a giddiness that one would have before opening a much wanted Christmas present when you already know what it is from snooping around at the presents before Christmas Day. (I've never done this...Honest!) ULO #1...Packing up to go to the studio..The excitement of what lays ahead..The 50% of your attention that is placed on all others things to happen before getting to the studio, the other 50% concentrated on actually walking through the studio doors.

We arrived at Chris's house and began unloading gear. We set up the drums first and miked them. We then set up Dan, Jeremy's and T's set ups. T's bass signal was not coming through because we had an input mix-up. ULO #2..Not all ULO's are good. This one happens in almost every studio recording known to man. Some sort of gear issue. How well the engineer/musician knows his/her gear is key in getting the problem fixed so that things can proceed. If money is involved at all, this can be a very tricky ULO to overcome without any adverse effects. Money was not involved in this case and Chris and T knew their shit so the problem was quickly fixed. We now know what we will need for the next recording which is good. The sooner we can weed out that stuff, the quicker we can get to smooth recording in the future.

We began recording and got a decent take on the 6th or 7th take. ULO#3..The general feeling of everyone knowing we just cut a good take is awesome! There is nothing else like it in life.

Which brings up to ULO#4..Listening to the track over the engineer's studio monitors for the first time. This is perhaps the greatest of the ULOs. Sitting back and being able to hear everyones input in the song as well as your own for the first time and have it sound nice is amazing. It's like childbirth without the messy placenta and the constant worrying about how to keep the kid out of jail.

About this time T had to leave so we (I should say they) trucked on with the tune beginning the overdub process. This is where the real potatoes (no meat cause I'm vegetarian) ends for the drummer. Other than giving the occasional idea or a thumbs up/down on an overdub take, there really is nothing else for the drummer to do. This may play into ULO#5 a bit. That is seeing ideas form through overdubs. Songs as they are recorded as demos never turn out the same way in the studio. This can be good or bad although most of time good. The reason for this is overdubs. Lead guitar lines are constructed and recorded. Additional guitar layering may be conceived. Keys may be added. Vocals are then added.

We took a quick break to grab some food at Pita Pit in Coralville before starting on the vocals. Ran into Bob Ihry at dinner which was an odd occurrence. not a ULO in the recording sense but odd none the less. Had a good conversation..good times..Bob is good people..

We went back to Chris's place after eating and finished the vocals. This leads us to ULO#6. The final overdub placed, sitting back and hearing the completed song. This ULO is somewhat fleeting because many times you wake up the next morning with fresh ears and everything you did the night before ends up sounding like crap. I don't believe this happened with this song although it does appear that some things may need worked on a bit. Final mixing and mastering would be next with is a beast of it's own and demands a separate post.

For now, we will let the song stew in our minds and get ourselves focused on the next recording, slated for 12/17. Hopefully Chris will remain on the ride. I have told him that it could be well into summer before the project is done. He has so far accepted this notion. He is using us as guinea pigs for his studio set up which he hopes to start charging bands with soon. We are his humble specimens. Poke and prod and record away Mr Gram!

Afterward, Jeremy and I played some pool and lamented on the days ULO's. Then we all went to our prospective homes and feasted on the memories of this great day that in many ways was like very few in life...

[AC]

This is a quickly written excert of a Christmas story that is destined to become an instant classic and will Surely be a part of Dillweed lore for years to come!! This is only the first draft. More of an idea starter. But hey..I needed to add something here..

Sled and Sleigh were their names and they asked

me if I had eaten the mushroom pizza that was just delivered. No sooner than

I said yes I did , man, those elves grins got all mischievous and shit! I

swear man, they looked almost evil! Anyway, they turned to each other all

slow... like stared at each other for like the longest time! So I was about

to ask what was up when they said "You!, would you like to see what lies

beyond that door in your mind? I was quite taken aback by this you know?

Then from behind them a sort of pod looking contraption appeared right out of

the clear blue sky! It sat there hovering over the ground. looked like a

huge Christmas ornament. Jewels of every color all over it. Silver and gold

that glistened in the sun. The air suddenly smelled like peppermint and

tasted the same! The ornament thing then billows out this candy scented

smoke and the door opens. Looks like there's enough room for just the three

of us. So Sled looks at me and goes.."To the parallels that exist outside of

reality...step aboard" He was all ceremonial and had his chest puffed out.
So I go up to the thing and take a look inside. Every color I've ever known

was blinking on something in the front..I got in back where there was more

room and then the elves got in after me. I still have a hard time retelling

what happened next! Sleigh closed the door and suddenly, there were warm

colors everywhere..reds and yellows and flashes of orange! I looked to my

right and the pod ship was no longer there! It was just orange for as far as

I could see. Underneath and all around now was just me and the two elves

standing although not on anything. Color swirling all around now. Blues and

greens and purples all swirling around...I tried to step out and grab a swirl

of yellow as it was fading fast..It playfully looped around my finger for a

few seconds until it folded into me. The elves, they looked at me and held

out their hands and basked in the swirls that were all around us..all through

us..all a part of us...I see Sled puffing his chest again and knew an

announcement was coming...You are now in the clauset! Sleigh was laughing!

I thought of that! Clauset..Sled was getting pissed. This is the portal of

one Saint Santa Nicholas Claus!! The colors turned into a holiday theme with

greens and reds all around. Sled asked if I wanted to meet him. Meet Santa

Claus!! I didn't even have to say yes.

[AC]

A few of the records I'm looking for and what Ebay has them going for..Maybe in a few months I will look back and find that I have acquired some of these..

Pearl Jam..Live at Benaroya Hall..The last time I saw this on ebay was a few months back and it went for $125..I believe only 1000 or 3000 of these were made and they were only available to Ten Club members..Havent seen it for awhile so I'm thinking the ones who have it aren't going to get rid of it..

Smashing Pumpkins..MellonCollie..These were 4 disc sets that were limited to 2000 or 3000 copies. Sealed it goes for $350+.. Unsealed for $100-150..
There is a limited yellow vinyl of Pieces Icarioit (sp?) that included a 7 inch..3000 copies I believe. It goes for $100 sealed and $65 unsealed..not sure if I need that one or not..

Blind Melon..I saw a sealed copy of Soup go for $72.50 and now I'm beginning to think I should have snagged it. This has been one tough nut to crack! It bombed when it was released so of the few vinyls that were made, not many were purchased. Now that people are realizing that Soup is one of the great albums of our time, it has gone up drastically. The 2 copies I've seen of it after the sealed copy went for $75 each..The first album is hard to catch as well. It goes for about the same figure. Someone keeps putting up a Korean version of the first album and is wanting $129.99 for it..No thanks..I don't believe there was a vinyl made for Nico. If anyone reading this knows of a vinyl version, please let me know..

Ween..fucking Ween! Ween vinyl is hotter than any other band I've kept track of on Ebay. Right now a copy of God Ween Satan is going for $125. The other day I saw a collection that was missing 12 Country Greats and one other that I can't remember go for $1000+..Here is what I've seen lately..All of these I want..
The Pod..$100+
God Ween Satan..$65-150 depending on version
Pure Guava..$75-100 depending on version..saw a sealed copy go for almost $200 (of which I could have bought in Orlando once for $20 about 5 years ago..DAMMIT!!)
Chocolate and Cheese..This one really varies depending on version. I prefer the gatefold 2 lp..this one goes for $100-150 usually..The one platter version most times will include the original shrinkwrap with the choc and cheese sticker..this one goes for $50+ there are all kinds of import versions of this one..
The Mollusk..This one consistantly gets $125+ no matter what version..If there is a 2lp version, please let me know..
12 Country Greats..I have never seen this one on ebay..I would assume that it would get $200. Probably more than any others with the exception of Live Brain Wedgie..There is a white vinyl version of White Pepper that seems to be as reare as the regular version. .it goes for $45+

That's it for now..I have to get back to work..