A Pleasant Surprise...

The three best parts of my daily routine all have to do with Monica.  Getting to wake up beside her every morning; getting to kiss her goodnight every night and tell her how much I love her, and getting to see her in the afternoon when I get home from work.  Those are the things that make everything else melt away.  It isn't uncommon at all for her to ask me how my day at work was, and for my reply to be... "What day?"  It just doesn't matter once I get to see her in the afternoon.  I highly recommend that all of you seek out a Monica so that you can understand just how fortunate I am.  This afternoon, after dispensing with our daily mushy stuff, she surprised me with this little nugget:

Steve Shelton: 5 Key Performances

I knew about the Modern Drummer article months before it came out, but I had no idea there would be anything else.  That Hank Shteamer is a sneaky one!  You can also link to this article via the "Links" list ( Modern Drummer: 5 Songs to Check Out ) that appears on the right side of any page that you check out here at The Poundry.  Another plus to this article: I finally have a picture that doesn't make me look homeless!  My apologies to anyone who may be homeless now or was in the past.  If you could see some of the pictures I'm referring to you could probably make the argument that you never looked quite that rough.  I will concede that point in advance.  Craig thought I was joking about how I look in photos until he saw one of the pictures he snapped last weekend.  I like to think that seeing pictures of me makes everyone else feel better about themselves.  It ain't pretty!  

Thanks yet again, Mr. Shteamer!

Loincloth: Gettin' Wild in NJ/NY

Yes, there was man on Yeti action at Loincloth's first shows ever last weekend!  I was shocked to see it out in the open like that, but this is an ever changing world and one has to be open and flexible to either accept or participate in such bestial pleasures.  Lord knows what we'll see out in the audience when we get out to the West Coast next month, especially if many people take the Mayan "sky is falling" threat seriously.  If December 21, 2012 is to be the last night of life as we know it, Yeti lovin' may be the most sane thing we see on the Eve of Destruction!

Loincloth's Playlist

Few things in life are as exciting as a ten hour ride through truck stops and toll booths.  While public restrooms are a never ending delight, long trips require a good selection of music to keep everyone from chewing each other's socks out of boredom. Fortunately the van we rented for our first shows had a cd player, so we were able to rock out without having to hide our socks from the horrors of mindless oral fixations.  If you think a dog licking its paw out of boredom all night is annoying, try prying a guitarist off of your foot who is in a Chuck Taylor flavored, sock-chewing induced coma!  Do you have any idea how awkward it can be when they snap out of it?  And please, what's worse than socks soaked in saliva?  

Here are the cd's that kept everyone's socks dry this past weekend.  I always play it safe when I'm selecting music for social situations, especially if I don't know everyone's tastes. We kept it old school, and it worked out well for us.

Many Thanks to Hank Shteamer and Matei Tibacu!

I have been so much busier than ever before with the release of "Iron Balls of Steel" and the subsequent interviews, layouts, pending shows and all of the things that being in an active band demands.  Most of it has been enjoyable, and some of it has been richly rewarding.  It can be surreal at times.  Especially when you end up meeting people who have been profoundly affected by the music you have put out there.  There are plenty of people to whom thanks must go, but perhaps none are more deserving of recognition than Hank Shteamer and Matei Tibacu.

Challenges, pt.2: Adapting...

The most important thing for any drummer to remember when playing in a band is that he or she needs to fit that band stylistically.  A really busy drummer in a straight forward band sounds out of place, even if that drummer is phenomenal. My fallback argument for that scenario is that no one wants to hear Neal Peart play for AC/DC. Likewise, a straight forward drummer in a technical band can keep that band from fulfilling its potential.  Either way a drummer that isn't a good fit stands out like a sore thumb, and I prefer music that works as an entire package. Whenever an individual musician stands out in a band, whether it's because they are more advanced than the other players or because they can't hold their own, it keeps me from being able to enjoy the band as a whole.  Trying to "fit" the bands I have been a member of is what has posed the greatest challenge to me.  As bands evolve, any given musician's role can change. Being flexible and open minded can be crucial when trying to maintain balance through those changes.