Tag Archives: Eugene B Sims

The TLD 500 or: Breaking at the Speed of…

12 Thursday Sep 2019

Posted by in Podcasting, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

There are milestones and there are milestones!!! Last night, I recorded the 500th episode of The Less Desirables. Of those 500, I have been on 497 of them. I’ll explain. In 2012, on April 18, a Wednesday, I had my heart surgery. That was the first show I missed. In 2013, I was in Europe for two weeks. Brian and Eugene handled the recording for those. Also, in 2013, I was in Costa Rica and Brian had to be at a school function (he was in the MBA program at Wake Forest) and Eugene had a problem with the studio equipment so he went home. That was the only week in 501 weeks that we missed a show. I don’t blame Eug for that. My setup isn’t the easiest to operate. TLD

Last night, Danielle had a family function to attend so she couldn’t be there. Our friend Tracy Bush was there to fill in. Of course, Bethany was with us, because that’s her spot! Eugene was there to celebrate with us. Our guest for the night was Chad Nance, who hosted a podcast on the network at one time. He was instrumental in the whole John Lawson story, or as the press wants to call it (and how Lawson would want it), “Pazuzu.” We really talked just a little about story and more about the production. It was a fun show. A bit long, sure, but still great.

501 weeks. That’s almost 10 years. That happens in February. I’m planning on a big deal for the 10th-anniversary show. So, keep an eye on that. It was good to have my pals on the show with me. I did talk a little bit about doing all I feel I’ve accomplished doing the podcast.

If it weren’t for TLD, we may not have ever done the Camel City Dispatch (now defunct) or Fan Interference, the first two podcasts that made The Less Desirables Network an actual “network.” There wouldn’t have been a Tart & Tangy Triad which eventually led to The Man Who Ate the Town. There wouldn’t have been The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking, Apartment 5B, or Beeswax Vinyl & More. Without doing those podcasts, I wouldn’t have gone on to produce the TVA vaping podcast, the Thrive podcast, Rule One podcast, Open the Blue Door podcast, The Owner’s Manual podcast, Wine About Real Estate podcast, Dr. Shawn Ricks’ podcast, a few new ones that I can’t talk about, yet and more. I would never have gotten the local nickname “the Podfather.”

With all these shows (and other things that either is in the works or never materialized), I estimate that I have produced around 1300-1400 podcast episodes. I really need to go back and do a full count because I’d really like to know. I have every episode of every podcast I’ve ever recorded, published or not, save one episode, or so I think. I may have found it on the server and downloaded it but if I did lose it, it was from 2011, I think. Jerry Chapman was our guest. But, other than that, I have every single one. Perhaps I’ll put that number together someday.

But, 500 episodes. To toot my own horn. That’s really something. And, it’s really impressive, for any show. Especially one that is weekly. Some podcasts do several a week and may have bigger numbers but I don’t know what those are. After all, The Less Desirables is the longest, continuously-running pop culture podcast in North Carolina. Some may have been there before me but didn’t keep it up or they showed up just after me, but I have been at it longer. Toot! Toot!

Here’s to the next 500 and I appreciate every listen you may have ever given us, Dear Reader. Thank you so very much. Thank you, Brian, for starting this with me. Thank you, Eugene, for bringing us into prominence. Thank you, Caitlin, for keeping us all in line and taking those shots at Eug and me. Thank you, Bruce, for teaching us how to be more professional in our “radio selves” and being there for us. Thank you, Danielle, for coming in and teaching us humility and how a badass woman can run a business with authority (and taking over as the “shot-taker” from Caitlin). Thank you, Bethany, for always having my back and being my other badass “work wife.” I love you all for what you have meant to this “little project.”

So, I’ve rambled enough. Until the next 500,
Scorp out!

—
“Better than tuna fish on cinnamon swirl raisin bread…” – TLD Announcer

Facebook Friends Must Hears or: Dale Cole

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Music Review

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Salutations™!!

So, I’m doing this new thing. Yes, I gave out on the lists that I was going to listen to and I am still going to do vinyl albums that I’m listening to but I’ve called on my Facebook friends to give me five or six of their “must hear” albums. I’ve gotten quite a few entries, too. I figure I’ll do them by whoever sent them to me. I’m only reviewing things that weren’t on the RS list when I went through that.

The first one to give me a list was my buddy, Dale. So, here ya go, Dale. My take on your list (these are in no particular order):

  • The Dirty Boogie by Brian Setzer Orchestra. I love Brian Setzer. I didn’t always. I
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    liked some Stray Cats stuff, definitely. It took me a while to get into his rockabilly stuff. But as I progressed I got more into the big band/swing music, not just him but the whole genre. I love, too that he can take the blues aspect of stuff that I generally don’t care for and hide it, seamlessly in the swing grooves. Yes, I understand that blues is the basis of a lot of the stuff that I listen to. I can recognize it and acknowledge it and even like it. I think Brian Setzer stands above his swing contemporaries, Squirrel Nut Zippers (I know that’s sacrilege around here) and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, even though I do enjoy them, too. My least favorite song on the album is still a song that I like. That would be “Jump Jive an’ Wail” originally done by the late, great Louis Prima. I really dig the duet with Gwen Stefani, “You’re the Boss.” And, I like the revamp of “Rock this Town” but I like the Stray Cats version better. Overall, I really liked hearing this album and would welcome more Setzer into my listening life.

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    ©Chrysalis
  • Force It by UFO. Eugene introduced me to some UFO during his “Eugeology” list. A 20-year old Michael Schenker on this, writing good rocking songs and wailing on the guitar. Eddie Trunk gets on my nerves a lot but I know why he slobbers all over Mr. Schenker. Is the best? Nah, but he rocks and at so young an age. The album cover from Hipgnosis would be enough for my younger self to do nothing but stare. There are great rocking tunes and ballads as well. “High Flyer” is a really great song as is the opening tune, “Let It Roll” and “Love Lost Love.” Nothing bad to say about this record at all. I love Phil Mogg’s voice, too. Pete Way is a great bass player and as I said in the review for Strangers in the Night, his runs have a presence and are tasteful. I liked it a lot and I think Eugene would be proud of me for saying so, eh, Eug?

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  • The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1 by Otis Redding. In the RS list, I left out the compilations. As long as they don’t get out of hand, I’ll allow them on this list. Otis has a great voice and there are some great songs on here. And, as I talked about in the RS list, a lot, song-length can be important. I don’t like a lot of long songs, especially those that are long for the sake of being long. I think that’s my biggest problem with some prog rock. But, these songs are mostly under three minutes long and they get their point across. Lots of soul and expression, here. And, another beautiful thing is that he wrote or co-wrote most of the tunes himself. Some of my faves are his version of “Satisfaction,” “Mr. Pitiful,” “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song).”
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    ©Columbia

    Good stuff, here.

  • Still Alive and Well by Johnny Winter. Yeah, right off the bat, I’m getting that bluesy thing that I really don’t like. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s very good at what he’s doing, I just don’t care about it. There’s a couple of Stones songs on there but that doesn’t really help. Then again, I’m not much on the Stones anyway. Produced by Rick Derringer and does have Todd Rundgren on it, too. Plus, it has a tune written by Dan Hartman. I’m just not much on it. Sorry, Dale.
  • Rampant by Nazareth. I had to go looking for this one. None of my streaming services had it so I had to go to YouTube. The first two
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    ©A&M, et al

    songs are good, but I really, really like “Loved and Lost” and “Shanghai’d in Shanghai.” Dan McCafferty’s voice is awesome on the soulful “Loved and Lost” and the whole song has a bit of a mystique to it that whisps you away as you listen. And “Shanghai’d” has Sweet-like qualities in its harmonies. I dig it. “Jet Lag,” however, loses me. I hate that boogie blues stuff. The rest of the album is okay but it doesn’t really move me. But, those two songs were really good. Great work from the bass player, Pete Agnew, who is the only remaining founding member and is the father of the current drummer for the band. I’d go with “meh.”

  • Making Movies by Dire Straits. I have gotten to where I can just sit and listen to Dire Straits, no matter the album. I love the “Rollergirl” story. I hear there’s a video but I think it was before my MTV days. I’ll go back and watch the video on YouTube or something. Usually, when I say that an album became background noise I mean
    1makingmoviescover

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    it in a bad way. But, for this album and really any Dire Straits album, it’s actually what I’d look for to play in the background for stuff that I’m doing otherwise. There’s enough story to really bring you in when you pay attention but the music is ethereal and genuine enough to be a soundtrack for a good writing session or meditation. This is a really good collection from Mark Knopfler. “Expresso Love” is pretty righteous, too. The keyboard/piano work of Roy Bittan is sprinkled all over this album. He’s really great with tasteful ivory work. He’s really good. The whole thing is solid and I hate that it took me so long to really, really get into Dire Straits. I really dug this.

  • Dale also included Kick Out the Jams by MC5, but I had already listened to that on the RS List. If you’d like to revisit what I wrote you can do that HERE.

So, now, a month or three since I asked for suggestions, I finally got through one. I started right away, but it’s just taken a while with my vinyl listening, podcasting, personal appearances, and cooking. None of which I’d trade, but I am glad to finally get one of these out.

And, I want to thank Dale for the list. I’m proud of myself in the fact that I gave it all a true shot and that I actually found some stuff that I liked and reaffirmed some stuff that I thought I would. Overall, a good list Dale. All this from my very warped sense of “good…” but I digress! Thanks again.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Well, this cat’s on a hot tin roof. Drinkin’ that whiskey, 96 proof. Don’t need no doctor, don’t feel no pain. My legs are just two steps ahead of my brain.” – “This Cat’s on a Hot Tin Roof” (Setzer)

It Happened or: the Party That Was

12 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in Life as We Know It, The Less Desirables Network

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Salutations™!!

This past Saturday, after we did our “Saturday Thang,” we had a little party, a get together if you will, at The Less Desirables Official Emerald Isle, Finnigan’s Wake. There was a decent crowd. I would have liked it to be bigger, but there were several factors involved.

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The Original The Less Desirables (l-r) Brian, Tim, Eugene

 

One, it was the Saturday before Valentine’s Day, which is this Wednesday. So, I figure there were a lot of folks that went out to eat at that time; that was their date time.

Two, the weather was atrocious. It was snotty and wet. Some people just don’t go out in that. If we didn’t have this party, we’d have gone to dinner and gone home. I get it.

Third, I was a little late getting the invites out. However, I really enjoyed the folk that came out.

Let’s throw this down first. The BCPF was with me. She is so supportive of me and TLD. She has always been. I love when she’s by my side.

Superfan Damien made his way out here from Durham. He was the first in and the last one out. That’s awesome. My new pal, Tim and his wife, Amy (whom I have known since she was 14), were there. Past TLD guest, Tracy Bush, the Nutrimom, was there and she had an entourage. Friends Michael and Karen Hoch were there. Also, a past guest, Jordan Googe, was there. A childhood friend, Shonna came and brought her friend Misty. Bethany from The Less Desirables was there for her first TLD party. My new friend Jeff (whom I’ll be doing a podcast with soon) brought a pal of his.

I loved having all those folks there with me. But, I was in for a very unexpected surprise. Two very special guests showed up, surprising me. Eugene was across the street doing work at the local radio station. He came over and sat with us for a bit.

But, the big one was Brian. Brian, the ORIGINAL co-host of TLD. He what started the show with me over eight years ago. He came down from Virginia to celebrate with us. I had chills and was so excited. Both him and Eug being there was amazing.

I thank each and every one of the attendees for being there and their support. Thank you, too, to Opie and the folks at Finnigan’s Wake for their support of us over the years. Thank you to Laura and Brittany for taking care of all of us.

Thank you, Dear Reader, for your support of us over the years, as well.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“So don’t do it…” – Brian Attridge

Piggybackin’ or: Celebration Time

06 Tuesday Feb 2018

Posted by in Food, Life as We Know It, Podcasting

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Salutations™!!

I’m going to piggyback The Man Who Ate the Town as I always do, but I’m also going to talk about what I said I was going to talk about, yesterday. Kelly and I talk about Camino’s new co-owners, Super Bowl and our food for the big game, Wise Man, Willows and a brand new Asian place called Dynasty. You can hear about that HERE.TLD

Now, on to the other thing. This past Saturday, February 3rd, was the EIGHTH anniversary of the very first recording of The Less Desirables podcast. I tell this story every year and I know you get tired of reading about it but here goes anyway…

Brian and I sat in what is now my son’s bedroom and labored over what we were going to talk about for twenty minutes. This after we spent an hour running around getting all the right cables and such together from where the bands I was in practiced. We pulled it off and the next week we did it again. And the next. And so on. Our first outside guest was Brian’s brother Sean who played the part of the Least Desirable. I feel I can tell that, now.

Then, our first “official” guest was our buddy Jay Platt who was our Beer Guru for the first three years. That date was March 17, in which we went to Finnigan’s afterward to get some holiday time in and started really promoting the show. Jay was a quarterly regular and then moved monthly until circumstances led to him having to stop. I miss old Jay.

We started having guests regularly after a while and one of those was my buddy Eugene, whom other than The BCPF, I probably write the most about on this blog after myself. He became a fixture and co-host as the Official Third Wheel and TV Guru.

Brian eventually bettered himself and moved to Virginia leaving Eugene and me to tend the garden. We then added Caitlin to our fold and she became the Third Wheel. Eugene left and we brought Bruce in to replace him. Bruce was fun, but life took him back to Chi-town. Caitlin took the co-pilot chair and eventually another guest became a permanent fixture, that being Danielle.

With Caitlin, we always knew we were on a limited-time basis with her, because she was going to be moving once her degree was finished. We did get to milk her time for about a year longer than we thought and that was great

When Caitlin had to move, yet another past guest came in to take the Third Wheel seat, or as we call it now, the “Abuse Tim” chair. That would be Bethany and that’s where we are now. Danielle, Bethany and me, with a bevy of guests.

Tomorrow, we will record show #417. That’s more than and longer than any other podcast in this area and as far as I can tell, this state. Without that first one eight years ago, I wouldn’t produce Fan Interference, The Camel City Dispatch/Electric Camel Pod, Tart and Tangy Triad, The Beer Dads, Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking or The Man Who Ate the Town podcasts. With the exception of the CCD and T&TT podcasts, I still do the others as part of The Less Desirables Network.

There are more TLD podcasts and shows coming, whether as part of the TLD Network, a whole new podcast network or for individuals’ use. The future is bright, but I have to get busy, there’s a lot of podcasting to do, yet.

We would have never gotten where we are without our sponsors: City Beverage, Finnigan’s Wake, King’s Crab Shack, Washington Perk, Bull’s Tavern, Underdog Records, Test Pattern. Also, we thank a/perture cinema, The Garage, Bob’s Big Gas Subs and Pub, Cafe Rochè for their support early on and up until the last little bit. A few of those are no longer in existence but we do appreciate them being with us when they were.

This Saturday, we are celebrating our eight-year fun, along with the rest of the network, our guests, our listeners and our people. We are doing that where the whole thing was conceived: Finnigan’s Wake. That’s where I pitched the idea to Brian and we planned its course. I am now inviting all of you to Finnigan’s to celebrate with us. The party is from 7-10, February 10. I really hope to see a lot of you there!

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Voted the best pop culture podcast within a four-block radius in downtown Winston-Salem, this is The Less Desirables.” – TLD Announcer

Snow Day or: We Do This the Easy Way

17 Wednesday Jan 2018

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Salutations™!!

You know, in the almost eight years of doing The Less Desirables, there has only been one Wednesday that we missed a show. I was in Costa Rica at the time and there were difficulties with the equipment and/or ProTools and Eugene had no clue what was going on. That wasn’t his fault. Even Doug Davis, the most Mac savvy person I know couldn’t figure out what was going on. I will admit that I have it set up kind of weird to work for me and my workflow.20180117_145245

Even when our first Mac was stolen we were still able to put the show together.

Today was a snow day and I never left the house. But, what to do when you can’t get to your studio?

You improvise.

And, that’s what I did. Luckily, I have a USB mic and Adobe Audition here at home. I’m going to make sure that when I get back to the studio, I send home a copy of the outro and a few of the intros to use in case this happens again. It’s a bit dry as there are no sound effects, no music, no “As Ardmore Turns,” no anything. But… I did it. There was a show today. I didn’t miss any.

That’s two weeks in a row we’ve done truncated shows. I hate that. I want a full show and we will get back to that. We had a full show planned. We had a guest, we were going to have beer, we were going to be full-staffed. So, we are rescheduling the guest will get back to business next week.

I want to thank Test Pattern Studios, King’s Crab Shack, Finnigan’s Wake, Bull’s Tavern, Underdog Records, Washington Perk & Provision Company and City Beverage for all they do for me and The Less Desirables.

Stay safe out there, Dear Reader.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.” – Carl Reiner

Listing or: a New Play

05 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Life as We Know It, Movie Review, Music Review, Records

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Salutations™!!

Well, it’s a new year. Last year around the new year, I finished two long-time lists, The Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time and the 400 nominations for the AFI 100 Years… 100 Movies. Again, those were long, drawn-out treks. The movies list took almost nine years and the RS list was a three-year jaunt. Lots of hours spent in that. One day I may add up the run times of each film and each album to see how much time those actually took. I’m really curious.

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©NME

 

Then, this past year, I did Eugeology: Eugene’s List of Hard Rock Albums and Possible Gems where Eugene and Jon and I listened to a random list of 50 hard rock albums that Eugene thought were fantastic and perhaps lesser known to everyday music folk. I finished it in almost perfect time. Eugene got somewhere barely over half done and Jon never made it to half. Oh well.

Now, the point is, Dear Reader, you know that I do lists. That’s how I operate. Eug jokes that the only way to get me to do something is to put it on a list or let it involve a streak and watch me burn through it. He’s not far off from the truth, there.

I feel I need to explain this again, but I’m always asked why I have to have lists, why can’t I just listen to stuff? I’ll condense it and say that where I grew up there were no top 40 or pop music radio stations until at least 1982 and at that, it was a limited playlist. We didn’t have MTV and I really had no access to the plethora of music that was out there. My father listened only to what we now know as “classic country” and my mother listened to Leslie Gore and gospel stuff. She isn’t really a “musical person.” I spent most of my time, ages 8 until around 12/13, listening to nothing but KISS. I don’t regret that, but I do wish I had more knowledge of the rest of musicdom.

As I said at the beginning, it’s a new year. And, since I’m out of lists that I was already working on, well, I need another. So, I was looking through some Google searches and came across a few lists but the one that I think is manageable right now is NME’s 101 Albums to Hear Before You Die. I will figure out how to structure the listen. I know for the RS list I did 10 at a time and with Eug’s list we did one a week. I don’t know, just yet, how I’m going to approach it. I know that about half of the albums on that are on the RS list in different spots (obviously) but there are some out there things that I’ve never even heard of. You never know I may find the next Forever Changes (Love), Maggot Brain (Funkadelic) or Berlin (Lou Reed) on this list. Or, I may find the stuff too out there for me and abandon it. We’ll see. I know that NME has a 500 of all time, too. Who knows. I have the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2011 edition) book and there’s a website with the whole list including all editions. You never know I may pick all of those. For now, however, I’m going to say the NME list is what I pick. You’ll see how it works out because I know you read every day, right? Right.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“Lists are how I parse and manage the world.” – Adam Savage

Back at the Funny Farm or: Another Perfect Day (Eugeology Entry 50)

26 Tuesday Dec 2017

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Salutations™!!

So, here it is. The end of the road for the Eugeology Series/Project/Experiment, whichever you want to call it. I’ll offer a retrospective on all of it in the next week or so. Meanwhile, let’s do this one:

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©Mercury/Bronze/Castle/Sanctuary

 

#50 – Another Perfect Day by Motörhead.

Back in entry #4, I predicted there would be a Motörhead album on the list. Well, Eugene kept me in suspense on it until the very last entry. This album is from 1983 and is the only one with former-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian “Robbo” Robertson. It seemed like it was going to be a great thing until they started recording. Robbo was a bit of a perfectionist. Lemmy didn’t like the amount of time he’d consume trying to get the right take on each track. Lemmy said everyone hated it, too. I don’t know about that.

I know nothing of Motörhead’s songs except “Ace of Spades” which I’m glad isn’t on here.  Eug has been telling me about the “genius” that is Motörhead for the whole time I’ve known him and I never understood it. And I still don’t. Every song to me sounds like a big jumbled mess. Because Lemmy keeps so much distortion on his bass you can’t tell what he’s doing. It’s just fast, heavy and messy. Also, Lemmy has two notes he sings and both of them are screamed and seemingly stretched to his full vocal capacity.

I want to say that I like the guitar work of Brian Robertson, but the production is a bit muddy. So much so that even Phil Taylor’s drums are buried in the heap. Now, all that being said, I’m not saying its awful. To Motörhead fans, this is what they’re looking for. And, if I’m grading something on what its supposed to be, then I can’t fault the record. There are a few tunes that I like at least parts of. “Dancing on Your Grave” is pretty good. “I Got Mine” actually has Lemmy stepping outside of his two-note vox box. “Die You Bastard” isn’t too bad, either. I would say my favorite song on the album is “One Track Mind.” I like melodic and that’s about as close as Lemmy and Co. can get, I think.

I don’t really know what to say about this album other than, it’s just not my thing. Motörhead is just not my thing. I’ll probably be told that I don’t understand the spirit of it or the spirit of rock and roll or something. But, I’ll argue that no matter what it is to some, to me, it’s not a pleasure to listen to it. I don’t like it. But, I reiterate, it’s not bad. It’s just not something I want to hear. Perhaps if I was in a bad mood? Nah, probably not. But, Dear Reader, don’t take my word for it, listen to it yourself and you decide your thoughts on it. I do thank you, Eug, for attempting to enlighten me on Motörhead. I probably let you down on it, but I just can’t. Jon, still back at #19, perhaps by this time next year, you’ll have time to catch up?

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“One arm bandit, one-way ride. One arm bandit, one more try. One-way ticket, one horse town. One-way ticket, no way down. One track mind.” – “One Track Mind” (Kilmister/Taylor/Robertson)

Not Eugeology or: Still on Vacay

21 Thursday Dec 2017

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Salutations™!!

So, we’re still on vacay this week and I am late to the post tonight. I had already told Eugene that I wouldn’t be doing the last entry for the Eugeology countdown today because I haven’t had time to listen to it. But, I will post about it on Monday or Tuesday. So, instead, today you get something interesting like I throw out on Saturdays. Here is Hayseed Dixie doing a bluegrass cover of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades.” You’re welcome in advance.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“If you like to gamble, I tell you I’m your man. You win some, lose some, it’s all the same to me. The pleasure is to play, makes no difference what you say. I don’t share your greed. The only card I need is the Ace Of Spades.” – “Ace of Spades” (Robey)

Spoiled or: Ooh What a Lucky Man He (is) Was

20 Wednesday Dec 2017

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Salutations™!!

Yeah, so you probably figured this was coming. When you get the most disgustingly cute couple on social media together for a week, it just gets more syrupy and sugary. It’s happening right now so you may want to look away. 12140590_10153570981195490_1698712997952251680_n

I have been with my wife, The BCPF, all day, every day since Friday night and I haven’t at all tired of her. I don’t need a break, I don’t want a break, I found out, I don’t like the break. Today, I had to take a little break, but not because I wanted it or needed it, I had something to do. I took her car to my bro-in-law to have the headlights changed. While there, he buffed out the headlamp covers which had fogged and boogered up. They really got brighter with that combo. That took about an hour. I then came home and spent a good bit of time with her before I had to go record The Less Desirables. Now, I love doing TLD and that’s one of only two podcasts I’m recording through this month (the other being The Man Who Ate the Town), but I really didn’t want to go in today. I wanted to stay home with her.

And, the show was a good one, Eugene came to hang out and do his Top 5 New TV Shows of 2017. I miss him and hanging was fun. Tracy Krohn came as well and talked acupuncture and even needled Eug. He was very calm. It was great to watch. I love both of those people as I do my two work wives. However, tonight, I just wanted to be home with The BCPF. When I got home I had to get kiss her. I really love just being around her. As I write this, it’s about 11pm and she’s upstairs in the bedroom watching TV and I’m downstairs, getting ready to watch my own TV programs and relax. So, we don’t do the Three Feet Rule the entire time, that’s just Friday night-Monday mornings. But, I love being home with her.

Call it mushy, call it silly, call it PDA. I don’t care. I really, really enjoy her and love her. I don’t know if she needed a break but she got one. I can be with her 24/7 and not think twice about it. Now, even 3+ years of marriage and almost 8 years of being together, I haven’t tired of her, one. Single. Bit. Yeah, I’m mushy and again, I don’t care! Love you, baby! I apologize for… wait… sorry/not sorry on that moment of mush.

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“I love being in love. It’s the best feeling in the world.” – Ranveer Singh

I’ve Got a Rampant What? or: Live at the Inferno (Eugeology Entry 49)

14 Thursday Dec 2017

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Salutations™!!

Inching closer, we’re at the penultimate position in this countdown. The last entry was okay. It was more a question to Eugene about why the album for me. It was a good listen but it wasn’t anything spectacular. I know he has a way to go but I really want to read his review of that one. Jon meet ether… Ether, Jon. Let’s do the next to last ‘un…

Raven_-_Live_at_the_Inferno

©Megaforce Records

 

#49 – Live at the Inferno by Raven.

We waited over half the countdown for this one. It was a matter of getting it for all of us. It is available from Amazon Prime Music and I never had any troubles, but it isn’t available on any other streaming service. I also listened when it first was mentioned but am revisiting it with research this time.

I was amazed that so much sound came out of a trio. This is full! If I’m remembering correctly (and I could be mistaken), from what Eugene said it’s a show with no overdubs so what you hear is what they gave. You get hit from the opening until the end. I believe they proclaim that on the album itself. Another drawback to having to listen to stuff digitally, I don’t get to hold the media, thus missing a major advantage of being a music fan; marveling in the packaging, thought and effort that went into an album.

I knew nothing of Raven, just the name. I thought it was yet another five-piece New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) music. They give you all that you’d want in such an album: rapid double kick with galloping rhythms, high-pitched screams, fast guitar riffs, etc. It was all in there. You can tell they were having fun and the crowd seems to be really into it.

This is no “gettin’ by” band, either. They’re the real deal. John Gallagher did things on the bass guitar that many guitarists would be jealous of. Listen to the solo “I.G.A.R.B.O.” That’s him slinging his c**k around. Figuratively, obviously. In fact, he has stated that the title of that song is “I’ve Got a Raging Boner On.” Whether that’s true or not, I have no reason to not believe him. We’ll go with it. Johnny G is also the one with all the glass-shattering screams in a register that makes even me say, wow (if you don’t know, I do a lot of falsetto screams and I’ve kind of gotten to be known for it in the VSS circle; he has me beat). I don’t know how he can growl at the crowd but still maintain the smooth vocals while singing. His jumping from lower to higher registers and back again, in the middle of the phrase is pretty cool. He does it the whole time but the verses of “Break the Chain” is where you can really hear it happen. And, his screams in “Hell Patrol.”

John’s brother Mark is all over the fingerboard. Sometimes it’s almost as if it’s too much, but he seems to reign it in and makes it work. He’s got chops, for sure. His tone is certainly in line with the status quo of NWOBHM era. That’s good – give them familiarity, but then break their face. The tone is heavy and meaty but it cuts through. He’s certainly not afraid of the tremolo bar, either. He whammies pretty darn well. Also, his pinch harmonics are pretty mean.

Future Harry Connick, Jr. audio engineer, Rob Hunter (known to his pals as “Wacko), is the one holding down those cliche galloping beats (not a bad thing) with some pretty mad fills and rolls. I love the crisp snap of his snare drum. He also does the backing vox for the show.

If I’m going to pick things that I don’t like (there aren’t many), I would start with the growling demon sounds in “Hell Patrol.” JG pretty much undermines the ingenious screams with that. I know he was just feeling it and playing the crowd and in 1984, it was definitely part of the landscape. So, just ignore that, I did. Also, nothing else stood out enough for me to gripe about it.

This was a fun listen. It’s probably not something that I’d want to hear a lot of, but I think the boys were good. I’d have it on vinyl if I came across it. They’re still together, at least the Gallagher brothers and a new drummer, Joe Hasselvander (who has no known nicknames). My faves on the album were “All for One,” “Mind over Metal,” “Break the Chain,” “I.G.A.R.B.O.” Thanks Eug for adding it. We have one more to go, I’ll get that assignment today, I hope, and we’ll be ready to close this thing out. Jon, (sigh), nevermind…

Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!

—
“That complacent tramp setting the world on fire. C***s to smell you’re ready to kill and the father that calls me a liar. You can’t shimmy down, be her in this town. You won’t know the score to the break of the dawn. You’re totally wiped out!” – “Wiped Out” (Hunter/Gallagher/Gallagher)