“We” (I?) are at the half way point of 2010 and I must admit that it has been a stellar year so far! I’ve been focused on playing good, hard rock ‘n roll by joining up with Carl, Terry & Shawn to form “Villains Of Yesterday”. We’ve had a lot of great shows, and even better response from everyone that has seen us play, which is always encouraging to hear! We have several shows under our belts at this date, and it really is a pleasure playing with these guys, especially given our knack for being able to improv some tasty music. We’ve also managed to release what used to be called an “extended play” or “EP”, which we made available on CD and via digital distribution on those “interwebs”. Another footnote in history, much like “Creature Of Habit” and “Nickle Bag”.
It seems like time is moving faster than ever, as each waking day seems to be over, and the next one well on it’s way. The son is almost as tall as his mother, and continues to surprise me almost everyday. The career is humming along quite fine, and I’ve spent the better part of this spring focusing on creating an ASP.NET MVC rendering framework that will soon power the MSDN & TechNet Websites. No small feat, especially for a team of our size! This is my 10th year with Microsoft as a “FTE”, and I’m still finding new challenges every year, albeit those challenges are leaning more towards business issues, instead of technical issues.
I feel good, the sun is out, at least for the time being, and I’m able to breath in everything that surrounds me, which makes it easy to stop and smell the roses…
Grand amour - SG
Man oh man, what a year. everything is back to “normal” and I’m looking forward to 2010. The album is still underway, but I’m having a hard time finding the time to put the finishing touches on every.I’ve been playing bass with some cool friends, in a project called “Villains of Yesterday” and I’m pretty excited about it. There is a lot of talent and chemistry in the room when we play, and I think some great music is going to happen! It feels good to be playing again, sort of like putting on that old pair shoes.
I Just wanted to post again with the status of the house rebuilding from the March house fire we had, as we approach the six month marker. Tony & Team Alliance are busy cranking out the finals touches, and it really is starting to resemble a home. The hardwood floors and cabinetry are installed and look fantastic, and we are just anticipating the painting & trim being finished in the near future. The schedule is slated for an October first move in date, and we are only three short weeks away. Regardless of what the actual move in date is, I’m pretty sure the family and myself are going to be thrilled to live there again. After thinking hard and looking around the neighborhood, we set our mind on a cool blue-grey/slate color with white trim for the outside color. There really are just a few more items left on the schedule, and everyday another piece of the puzzle that is remodeling comes together.
As always, updated pictures are posted in the usual location.
Hello All, I just wanted to share with every one the story of one lucky '98 Fender Hard tail stratocaster of mine. I'm a long time strat player (semi-retired right now, which is even a longer story for another time) and have been on a hard tail quest for the last couple of years. I don't really enjoy the CBS '70s hard tail strats too much, but I do enjoy the late '90s MIA models (go figure!). Anyway, I finally found a very nice white blonde, two piece ash "Big Apple"/"Double Fat" model online right before Christmas '08.
Well, it played so well that it inspired me to do some modifications to make it "one of kind", something that would stay in my collection for a long time. I've always loved the "Mary Kay" color scheme, and since this guitar was just missing the gold hardware, I spent the next couple of weeks scouring online dealers for gold Fender replacement parts. It took a while find them all (bridge, tuners, screws, jack plate, neck plate and strap locks) but about the first week of March, I had swapped out all the chrome hardware for gold, and took it to my favorite local guitar tech for a setup/intonation and some wiring TLC. Getting it back was wonderful, it played like a dream and sounded hotter than dice, with the hum buckers, which was also a new sound for me, at least with a strat.
Anyways, a couple of weeks go by, and I'm just returning to work after my lunch break, when I receive a phone call. It is our local Fire Department.
"Sir, this is Capt. Scott* with the fire department. I have your wife with me and I hate to inform you that you have had a pretty major house fire. Can you please come home as soon as possible?"
Yes. Yes, I can.
By the time I get to my house from work, the fire is out. The wife is slightly hysterical. Luckily, the kids were at school, so everyone was safe. Almost everything in the house is destroyed, including the aforementioned guitar, as it was in the living room, with some other recording gear, and a couple of small combo amps. After a house fire, it takes a few days or so of investigation by the powers to be, to determine the cause. In this case, it was old electrical wiring that started in the master bedroom. During the clean up & inventory process, I pulled the guitar out from a pile of debris in the corner and did a quick assessment. The neck - toasted, frets & fret markers had popped out, the low tone side of the neck burn so badly wood was actually missing. The pick guard & pups had melted into a horrid bulb of plastic and metal. The beautiful white blonde "Mary Kay" finish was bubbled and melted as well.
Was it salvageable, could it be rebuilt? Heck Yes!
So I want to introduce everyone to "Smokie", a truly "one of kind" guitar. Several hours are spent sanding and chipping off pieces of the finish. Surprisingly, I was able to save almost all of the gold hardware. And back to EBay I went for replacement neck - had to be the right year, I'm a stickler for details like that, and then down street to Bellevue American Music for new Seymour Duncans, pots & posts, etc.
I'm happy that I was able to recover this guitar, because playing is one of the things that I truly live for, and once again, just a few months after the fact, the guitar is tuned up and ready to go.
Thanks for reading.
Well, as we close in on the end of summer, the walls in the house now have drywall & insulation installed, and it is starting to look like a real house again. It is a bit disconcerting at this point, but because the images of the house as a burnt out shell are still fresh in everyone’s memories. It will take a little of getting used to, once we get moved back in. It will all be new and fresh, but those memories will be with us for while. for me personally, I hope everyone can feel comfortable in the “new old” house, since we have quite a bit of history there. I have tried to keep up with photos of the progress of the reconstruction, and I’ll definitely being posting pictures of the finished place as soon as it is completed.
On a separate note, it feels like my health is back on track, and while I’m still having stomach issues, the bigger hurdles seem much easier these days. This fall will really be a great time to enjoy every “silver lining” that comes my way. I plan to continue working on my music, though not having a stable residence does make recording tricky. I do feel a creative surge building up, and I’m sure that I can get all of the musical ideas down onto media before the end of the year.
Much love,
SG.
Just a quick update regarding the status on the house – The roof is on the house and shingled, the siding has been mounted on both the south and west external walls, and all of the windows have been installed! It really is starting to look great! We did modify some of the internal walls and spacing to work with the vaulted ceilings, and everyone in the immediate family thinks it really opens up the whole living space, especially the bedrooms. I think it gives us an opportunity to do some very cool and modern decorum, with the fireplace taking a much more subtle role in the front room. The plumbing will start next week, and with the framing basically complete, the wiring and heating systems are not far between on the overalls schedule.
I’ve update the location of the pictures, with a few more pictures to show the recent changes.
Just a quick update regarding the status of the house – reconstruction has begun! The roofers are busily finishing up installing the scissor trusses this week, and the other initial framing has also begun. It is sort of wild, as we have lived there for the last three months, and it really looks like an empty shell at this point. The last seven years have been erased completely, everything from the wall where we marked Zach’s growth every time he asked, to the lovely and very unique crayola crayon artwork of the hallway, all removed and discarded into a trailer truck size dumpster, never to be seen again. You’d think after this long, that the emotions would have subsided and I’d be ready to move forward (and I am!) but it still seems surreal, like some one needs to be able to just turn back the page to March 25, 2009 and let me just get back to “normal”. But the past is no longer…
Onto the future…
Pictures
Coding Horror: I Just Logged In As You
An interesting tail of “open source” security, and how social media can be an utter failure.
Non Sequitur- Free News!
I just wanted to update everyone (though mainly our family) with the current status of the house, and the reconstruction process. The internal demolition and cleaning of the house is scheduled to be complete by this coming Friday, and it is a bit weird, a bit sad and actually a bit awesome to see this happening. I can only look forward at this point and time, and I know when it is all wired, plumbed, heated and ready, it will be a work of art. Ok, maybe “art” is not the right word for this, but I’m just really impressed with how helpful everyone involved has been.
Hopefully, the reconstruction company, Alliance Restoration Services, won’t run into any issues with the city of Bellevue regarding all of the permits needed to make this project move forward as smoothly as possible. I mean, the rental property is fine for the time being, but it has been a month already and everyone in the family has mentioned that they’d really like to “just go home now. To the ‘real’ home, not the ‘pretend’ home”.
Anyways, I have taken a few pictures of the house, and this first batch is of the inside of the house. I’ll try to get some external shots within the next few days, as well as some internal shots – since all of the dry wall is gone and it is just framing. The pictures are quite large, so feel free to download them and view them that way if you have any issues viewing them in a web browser.
House Pictures
Peace, SG.
Charlie Calvert's Community Blog : Silverlight Animation Part II: Sprites
Hello All, So as many of you have probably already heard, we had a major house fire in March, that resulted in the destruction of the studio space, recording & musical equipment, and 80% of the overall structure. Friends and family have been more than supported, and have helped us in many ways. Luckily, our insurance will cover replacing the contents of the building, as well as, the building itself.
But this has also created some “down time” in the schedule for the new album, as I don’t have the resources to finish the recording, mixing and mastering at other studios. The fire has been the inspiration for some invigorated new material, and that new material will get recorded after the "Loads Sessions" album is completely finished.
In the meantime, I'm still working on a design for this website, including a embeddable Silverlight media player. I really enjoy talking directly to people via the Windows Live IM chat, so please feel free to continue to communicate directly with me using that. I'm also hoping to blog a bit more, as I stumble through the rebuilding process, and also as I get closer to finishing the album.
10-4 Good buddies – SG!
Starting out my morning coffee and fresh fruit breakfast with this little tidbit out how to drag and drop objects in managed Silverlight code, of course start from the MSDN- How to Drag and Drop Objects
P.O.S.: "Why Go" (Pearl Jam Cover) (Video)
Newsweek digs up the classic grunge performances from YouTube- Pop Vox: Newsweek's Daily Arts and Culture Blog : Grunge Bands: Where Are They Now? and 'The Reluctant Rock Star', a current piece on Eddie Vedder.
Featuring exclusive unreleased tracks from Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails & Street Sweeper.
NIN|JA 2009
http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ft/2009/ft090322.gif
Glasstire: Texas visual art online - Flatstock 20 at SXSW 2009
Yowzaa, I just got wind of there new Fender 2009 models- 'The Road Worn instruments are given a reverse makeover at the Fender factory in Ensenada, Mexico. The worn finish, dings, pockmarks, yellowed plastic parts—even rust stains on the bridge saddles and springs—all simulate proud battle scars that show this axe has proven itself in countless gigs, it’s as if you were playing Keef or Bruce’s favorite Tele, the Strat slung by Slowhand or Rory, the Jazz Bass that catapulted Jaco to legend, or the P Bass Sting used to pump up The Police. These Road Worn axes are not just pre-aged; you could say they are “pre-disastered.” You won’t throw a conniption fit when you bang it up as you would when the first ding appears on a freshly minted, shiny new guitar.' Hands-On Review: Road Worn Series Electric Guitars and Basses - Musician's Friend and the Fender “Road Worn” Flash site.
Well, more sad news at the beginning of a very hopeful year, long time Fender Musical Instrument Company's original marketing guru, Don Randall, has passed on. I've been a Fender fan boy for decades now (long before "fan boy" became a real term!), and while I've never met Don personally, he helped create a house hold brand name with Fender, that proves there are actually very few men of genius.
From Fender's web site - "Other than Leo Fender himself, Randall was undoubtedly the most important person in the original era of Fender history, 1946 to 1965. He was Leo Fender’s partner and the sales, distribution, marketing and advertising genius behind the company’s rise from small California guitar maker to worldwide musical industry leader."
One of Fender's founding fathers.
Yes, it is spring again around here, and along with the cleaning comes a new stratocaster project, much like the last one. I'm assembling another white blonde stratocaster, though this time, I've chosen to go with a '99 hard tail body, and matching '99 maple fret board & neck. This one will also have all Fender gold hardware, which makes an awesome accent. But I'm trying something "crazy" for a stratocaster, and installing hum bucker pickups, instead of the standard three single coil configuration. This is a similar setup to the Fender "Big Apple" Stratocasters of the late 1990s. Of course, I'll post pictures as soon as it is finished and properly intonated.
As I enjoy a lot more time relaxing than in the recent past, I've sort of rediscovered effects pedals and I'm adding more to guitar rig. Most recently, I've acquired a Boss GE-7, which is a graphic equalizer and a Top Hat "Wonderboy" overdrive/signal boost pedal. It has been really fun playing with these in front of both the Fender '57 Deluxe reissue, and the Mesa Boogie Tremoverb. I usually use the Tremoverb, as this amp has a rock solid FX loops, and is while bordering on being a vintage amp, is much most versatile with two distinct channels to play with. I've adding then to FX loop signal chain, so that I can essentially use them as a third channel. The chain looks like this - in order left to right - Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster Pedal, Top Hat Wonderboy overdrive/boost pedal, Crybaby Wah Pedal, and lastly an older Alesis QuadraVerb FX unit. Because the FX loop on the Tremoverb has controls for both the "send" signal and the "return" signal, plus an overall level, it has been a bit tricking to get all this dialed in just right, but I think I'm finally there. It is nice to push the gain on the Mesa to just the perfect point of saturation, and still have more to go. I'm really excited to get this rig out and about, and roaring!
Teammate Tim Heuer blogs about A comprehensive list to Silverlight Controls for developers. I know you want to check it out…