Okay, it has been a while. Honestly, it has been an interesting time for me. A lot of things going on made me realize that while I have always talked about living for the moment, in all honesty I havn't been. Well, I am really trying to change that and for good reason. I need to actually reach for the sky instead of just existing.

This affects a lot of things in my life without a doubt. But one of them is guitar. If you listen to the show you have heard me a thousand times talk about how I want to play this or that. Well I really think I am done with that. I have been longing to record some stuff for the longest time but for whatever reason I always seem to put it off. Well, now I am doing it.

Now, going back in line with the title, I have to talk about how cool this digital world really is. I know I am the king of analog! And believe me if I ever go into a real studio with a real budget I will probably apt to go analog, but now, the digital world is amazing.

7 years ago I sat down in my "studio" to record a song I had written. I sat down with my strat put a fresh tape in my 4-track and laid down the rhythm. That didn't work. So I then spent about a week programming the song into my drum machine. Fired up the 4-track and recorded the drums. Now came for guitar. I had to crank up my amp for it to sound right, so I couldn't do this at night, I had to mic the amp properly, tweak the levels a bit. Then lay down the rhythm. Great, now a lead well of course I couldn't do it on the same day, so I had to re-mic the amp, play the existing recording and nail the lead perfectly....which took about 200 takes LOL. All in all I spent about a month of my life and had a mediocre recording at best.

Fast forward to today. I instant message my buddy, he does a drum track for me using Reason. Emails it to me, I sit down at my computer, pick out the amp I want to play set it up exactly how I want it, plug in my guitar, load up the drum track, and play along. Leads, same thing if your timing is off, okay move it around a bit. Wanna change the drums a hair, change it, no re-recording. Now the other thing is I can collaborate with people on the other side of the world. And the cost of it all, well all-in-all, less then my original 4-track studio and the quality is amazing.

So here I am with a new perspective on life, well maybe not new, but a bit more understood, and it has just fueled me to do all things that I never would. Think about the guitar, I talk about wanting to record all the time and what have I accomplished? In the last 10 years I think I have recorded like 3 songs. Hell Axl Rose is sure beating me and that album is so far overdue it is sickening.

If you want to make something of yourself, anything at all, you have to get off you ass and do it. So to you who have helped me to acknowledge my wayward ways, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! To the rest of the world, look out Pipes is back! The real Pipes!

"Yesterday is history, Tomorrow's a mystery" Reach for the Sky!

Currently listening to: Reach For The Sky - Social Distortion

Talk Hard, Play Harder, this is Pipes signing out!

Turbonegro comes back showing exactly why they are one of Pipes' favorite bands!

Okay, anyone who has listened to the Bliss regularly knows my obsession with Turbonegro. Since there is a new album out, I thought I should give you my review. Actaully, I read a very favorable review of the album, however there were some huge mistakes in it, so I figured I needed to step up to the plate and provide a review that contains acurate information.

For about 4 years now, Turbonegro has been within my top 5 favorite bands. However, getting there was a long process. A friend of mine would tell me to check them out, I would listen, then I would make fun of my friend for liking them so much. Why, I am not sure. Upon first listening to the band I just didn't hear anything that particularly moved me. Then after going through this scenario about 100 times, I was making a mix CD for a long drive. My friend sneaked the songs "Age of Pamparius", Prince of the Rodeo", and "Good Head" onto my mix. So there I was driving, the long intro of "Age of Pamparius" came on. For this first time, I didn't pay attention to the immensly graphic tongue-in-cheek lyrics. I just heard the music. I think that week I played those three tracks a thousand times. Soon I picked up a copy of the full Apocolypse Dudes, and album that would soon be among my favorites.

At the time though, that is where my liking of the band ended, one album. My friend would play me stuff off the newer Scandinavien Leather album and again I would be less then moved. I would try older albums, nothing. Party Aminals came out and I liked it a bit but it still didn't live up to what I would consider a great album. Surprisingly though over a bit of time, "Party Animals" quickly racked up play counts on my iTunes. By the end of that year Turbonegro would command about 15 of the top 25 most listened to tracks on my iTunes. Even to this day I will listen to Turbonegro at leaste one day a week.

Now, onto Retox! Retox is the 6th album release by Turbonegro (7th if you include "Small Feces" a collection of B-sides and rarities). I was excited to get it. The days before it's release I spent trying to find out where I could buy a Turbojugend (the bands fan club) jacket. I was ready and excited for this CD. The day came and I put it on. The first track starts out strong. Euroboy does not disapoint with the outstanding guitar work on this album. Yet it seemed to lack something. I again, after all this time had first listen disappointment with this band. I scrubbed my way through the album and said "It is solid, but the previous three are far superior" (The three prior being Apocolypse Dudes, Scandinavien Leather and Party Animals. The three albums since Euroboy joined the band.)

I really worked at listening to Retox, but nothing. I read reviews talking about how they took it all a step further, and was just confused. The next morning though, I figured I would give it another chance before going back to Scandinavian Leather. To my surprise, I heard Retox in a new light. The first track that stood out was "Everybody Loves a Chubby Dude." It has a catchy vibe, chorus, and vocals. Soon other tracks began to grow on my as well. By yesterday, it was the only thing I listened to.

In my opinion, Turbonegro is the most talented rock n roll band since Guns n Roses. There music is raw and potent. Euroboy has an absolutly amazing ability to play lead guitar with insane solos all while keeping the focus on melody. There is no insane 80s style shredding here, There is Marshalls and Les Pauls rhythm with a lead that compliments the rhythm perfectly. There is nothing out of place, it all flows together flawlessly.

Turbonegro is not for the weak. If you are sensitive to lyrical content or imagry, you will probably have a very hard time getting into them. However, if you can get past that and take more then your share of sarcasm you are in for a treat. Turbonegro is a hidden jem of music, at leaste here in America. Musically they are the antithesis of everything wrong with music today. They bring back Rock n Roll in a way unique to only them. If you listened and didn't like, listen again. They really do grow on you and Retox is no exception. The only difference is, Retox took approximatly 24 hrs to win my heart compared to about 3 years for Scandinavien Lether. Either way you owe it to your ears to give them a chance!

The lead off track, "We're Gonna Drop the Atom Bomb" is amazing! It starts out kind cosmic in a Pink Floyd kinda way and then kicks your head in with a solid rythem. The song is well produced and bleeds true rock n roll.

The album then walks the fine line between traditional rock riffs and old school punk. "I Wanna Come" leads off with an Iggy and the Stooges Funhouse era vibe. Like I said this is one of the most talented bands out there.

If you like this album I highly recomend all of the three albums Euroboy appears on. Thier prior stuff is good in it's own right but very different, more punk and lacking the high-quality production, those albums are another animal altogether.

Currently Listening to: We're Gonna Drop the Atom Bomb - Turbonegro

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Being a dad is a tricky thing. It is very easy to lose sight of the important things in life. The affection that your children look at with you is sometimes hard to believe or understand, but at the same time it is also easy to take it for granted.

When asked being the best father that I can be is always the top of my list as far as priorities go. I feel that way not only as a statement but I do try very hard to live up to that. Yet it seems like that is the easiest thing to fall short of.

Last night we had bought a new table and chairs that needed to be assembled. I tend to look at the assembly of this as a task that I need to do as efficiently as possible in order to get it over with to have more time with my kids. I have done stuff like this a lot and always looked at it that way. I will bitch and moan a bit about being frustrated with all the time consuming things I had to do and not being able to speand enough time with my kids because of it.

On the surface it has always seemed like I was doing the right thing, and my intentions were in the right place. But then my son decided to teach me a lesson and put me in place.

So my first thought last night was to approach my son and say something like "Hey buddy, daddy has to put this together quick, you wanna watch a movie for a bit and then when I am done we can play?" In fact that was my intention last night. But then he looked at me and said "can I put it together too?" Honestly my first reaction was to say something for him to lose interest. I saw him being involved as making the whole process so long and drawn out that we wouldn't have time to have fun. However, for what ever reason I decided to let him help.

We got out his little tools and went to work. Then it hit me. This job that I was dredding was the greatest thing ever to him. He was so unbelievably excited. We took time to talk about the tools and how they worked and started assembly. It was hotter then hell in my house so I took off my shirt. Then he looked at me and started taking off his shirt saying "I am kinda hot too."

If I put a screwdriver in my pocket, he would too. An hour or so later there we were with a finished product. He sprinted upstairs yelling "Mommy! Look what me and daddy did!" It was like we just finished the Eiffel Tower or something. We stood there and looked at it in awe.

A bit later on it was time to get ready for bed. We went to put his pajamas on. He then goes to me "Daddy you don't where pj's, do you? I want to sleep like you tonight."

So there it is, I got taken to school hard-core by a four year old. In the end it may have taken twice as long to build the table, but instead of 1 hr of nothing and 1 hr of play we ended up with 2 hrs of a great time.

Like I said it is easy to forget how much of a role model you are. Hell you are a superhero to them. Big shoes to fill, I know, but they don't need you to rid the world of crime, they just need you to be you and share that with them.

As a great friend of mine would say, I now humbly say to you, "ever learning".

Currently listening to: Dead in the Suburbs - Los Reactors

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

It was a stressful weekend for and apparently I was not alone. It seems so far this week just about everybody I know is dealing with a ton of stressful situations.

The interesting thing though was being able to see how different people deal with this stress. Some lash out upon the slightest thing, while some sit there and can't even do their job because thier mind is so preoccupied. Now for me on the other hand, well stress has never been much of an issue.

Don't get me wrong, I have had more then my fair share of stressful situations, however the direct effect they have on me is minimal. The worst of these is back-ache and maybe some venting to those close to me (they understand that all I am doing is venting). Which leaves me the question why. Why do I come out of these situations virtually unscaved while others sit there and can't even accomplish a minimal task?

Let me preface this by saying that I am anything but a psychologist and all of my theories are purely that of a regular guy that tends to keep his eyes open.

Anyway, my theory is music. I have music in my soul and therefore I always have an escape from the world. Seriously though, I can escape by listening to music, it provides me an oasis far from the daily grind. When I am stressed, I throw on the headphones and just let that all fade away.

However, I think I may be a bit odd though. My guess is that any normal person in a high stress situation that listens to music to relax would choose some soft relaxing music. Maybe a little Bob Marley perhaps. For me though it is the complete opposite. For example, today when I was feeling particularly stressed out, I turned on some Bad Religion and cranked it (well not really only 60% which is my attempt at preserving my ears). The more stressed out I am, the angrier the music I listen to, and it does in fact relax me. I don't know how it works, but it does. And with the power of music I am able to shed my stress and built up anger.

So am I alone on this or what?

One little side note before I leave you. A man sitting across from me on the train is the spittin image of Kenny Rogers! I only wish I had a camera to submit something to www.menwholooklikekennyrogers.com.

Currently listening to: Everybody Loves a Chubby Dude - Turbonegro

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Today, being Friday, I got to leave work a bit early. Unfortunately I never know the earlier train schedule so I just leave when I can and then usually end up waiting at the train station fro the next train. While I waited sipping an ice-cold beer, I to a slightly better look at the beggers around the train station.

Now, working in Chicago, I have seen just about every type of begger there is. Honestly I am a bit of a softee so I am usually willing to drop a dime every now and then. The beggers in Chicago come in many ways. There are the musicians, the bucket drummer, the saxophonist belting out the Sanford and Son theme to name a few. There are the, what I call, grifters. These are the ones that hang out by the train station and will come up with some long story about how they are 90 cents short of train fare. There are the Veterans, usually waiving flags and carrying signs describing their war injuries. There are the ones just asking for food money. Then there are the honest ones, exclaiming "I just need to get a drink." And let us not forget the ones sitting there half-asleep with a money cup in their hands. Now, don't get me wrong, there are far more out there, these are just the first that came to mind.

Now what I am curious to is which of these marketing ploys is the most effective. I would like to believe all of them are in similar situations, so who is making the most money? I mean the majority of the traffic around them are commuters, so these are all people who have seen them all. So what will make them give up the cash? I will usually first give to the musicians. First off because I like to consider myself a musician, but secondly because they seem to be putting in more effort and at leaste giving back in song.

There is one guy I pass every single day. And every single day he is saying the same thing. "Can someone spare some change so I can get somthin to eat at McDonald's?" Now everyday I react the same way in my head. I mean if you are really that hungry and you are spending 5 bucks on a crappy burger you are not ever gonna get anywhere. For chrissake, go to the store and pick up two loaves of bread, at least then you can eat for maybe two days at the same price.

Don't get me wrong, on some level my heart goes out to each and everyone of them regardless of how they got there. But let's face it, I am not made of money, so I can only give a bit here and there which requires choosing between them.

Not so profound I know, but it has been a draining week, and I am still museless so what do you want form me?

I do have a completely unrelated side note/question though.
Why do the old school punk frontmen have a square piece of carpeting on stage wherever they play. Mike Ness, Henry Rollins, the list goes on, hell when Social D played Chicago and I hung out during load-in I saw the carpet first hand being brought in...LOL. But seriously why? I don't get it at all, if anything I would think guys like Poison who are running and jumping around the stage the whole show would need one long before the old school punk frontmen....but what do I know?

Currently listening to: Nickels & Dimes - Social Distortion

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Today was just one of those days, you know how they go. Tired, it was about 200% humidity, etc. The day wasn't bad, just very blah. The work I was doing was tedious and to top it all off, it felt like my email was broken. Normally I have a hard time keeping up with my emails and not letting interfere with my work. Today it was like everyone was too busy to email. So on a day that I really needed a nice conversational break from work, there was none to have.

Then it happened, I checked my email, and low and behold, here was an email from a long-time listener of the podcast. Anyway, he had read my post on hearing damage and had a suggestion for me. Granted I was a little surprised by the email. I had really started to believe that JMan was the only one out there reading this thing. I mean, I really didn't start this because I wanted all these people reading and be some kind of blog superstar, but at the same time it is cool to know that it is being read.

After a little conversation he asked me if I was still taking guitar lessons (somewhere around episode 20 of Six-String Bliss I started taking guitar lessons again). While the answer to the question is really just a simple no, I had to think about it a bit and look at why.

The reason I am no longer taking lessons came down to time. The teacher I had, whom I really liked, had to change his schedule and unfortunately his new schedule did not work with mine. The unfortunate thing is that these lessons are not the only thing that have this fate in my life. Time has become the hardest thing ever for me to come by.

I have often dreampt of winning the lottery. The coolest part of that dream for me is that winning the lottery would give me time. I wouldn't have to work, so I would have plenty of time to play guitar and all the other things I have wanted to do in life, hell I might even get enough time to sleep!

It just seems like I have no time to relax, ever. I mean I come home from work and I play with my kids. They go to bed and I go to work on the Bliss and numerous free-lance projects I am working on. When I am not doing that, there is an ongoing laundry list of things to do to the house.

You know what? (Making a revelation as I am typing, sorry if this gets hard to follow) To quote the movie Risky Business, "Sometime you just have to say f&*$ it!" Seriously, the beginning of this post is not the person I ever wanted to be. I see all these people buying these huge houses and never enjoying them because they are too busy working to pay for them. I am not that guy. I am not the guy that bitches about not have time (even though I seem to do that in this blog) I am the guy that says yeah, I got stuff to do and first on that list is have some fun.

Wow, how did my priorities get so screwed up. I mean family is one thing, that will always be atop my list, and then my job, because well I need that. But then, it shouldn't be more work. I need to take some time for me, before I lose sight of who I am, you know what I mean? So forget this, I can get stuff done and still be me right?

Time to pick up that worn old guitar and jam a bit. Hey anyone wanna go out for drinks this weekend? It is Pipes time :) Yeah I really think it is. Sorry if this was hard to get your way through, in writing this I think I really helped my self. Sorry if I used you guys a bit. But maybe now I can go out there and find my muse!

Currently listening to: Got the Time - Joe Jackson

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes, signing out!

I made the realization today that I am in need of a muse. Perhaps not a muse in the letter for letter definition sense, but a muse nonetheless. I just feel as though I have arrived in a place without creative inspiration.

Don't get me wrong, this whole Joan Jett project has given me a breath of fresh air musically. However it is a cover, I am merely playing, not creating. It would be alright though if it were only musically that I was lacking this inspiration. But it isn't. Take writing for example. I love to write. For the longest time I excused my lack of writing to not enough time. Which is why I started this blog. I was able to acquire a laptop which enables me to write while I am on the train. So now I have the ability to write, yet I am missing something to write about.

Thinking back, I used to write a lot. I made attempts at screenplays, I wrote poems and short stories. I just plain wrote a lot. Now though, the more I try the further aways from writing something worthwhile I get. It is not that I don't have the time or skill, it is the muse I lack.

For example in this blog alone I have written about twice as many entries as I have posted. I would sit there and write, then I would read what I have written and the result was not worthy of this blog (and we all no how lax the standards here are). I have tried too. There have been several occasions when I have been inspired. Every time I try to take this inspiration far enough to write and by the time I get there the inspiration has moved past me.

In a way I feel like the generalized novelist in some out of touch cabin tryin to write their next novel and are completely stuck, or the guitarist locked away in their studio and all that comes out is chord progressions of already recorded songs.

So have I just completely settled into the boredom of daily life that I cannot be inspired? Are my eyes closed to inspiration that is right in front of me? I mean maybe it is a lamp post that I pass everyday on the way to work and I can't see it, maybe it is you reading this and I can't pick up on it, maybe it is a sunrise over the horizon that I fail to see. I don't know. Maybe I am just walking through life with blinders on.

Like today I had all this desire to sit and type away, I was really looking forward to it, but then when I sat down all I could get out was some drivel about leaving my cell phone at work.

I know there is my muse out there somewhere. I just need to see whoever or whatever it is rather then walk by.

Dammit, this is so damn frustrating! I feel like my escape from life has become my prison. I need to break free, I just don;t know how.

Till next time,

Currently listening to: Prince of the Rodeo - Turbonegro

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

About time I write something guitar related, right. Ha!

Anyway, a few days ago I signed on to help a good friend of mine record a cover of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts tune "I Hate Myself For Loving You." He needed a second guitar on rhythm, so I jumped at the chance...I mean lets think about this for a second.

Joan Jett, that says it all there, I mean I have been in love with her forever. One of those gradeschool crush things but I still cannot deny how hot she is. Plus she rocks! I mean she rocks harder then a lot of men. Thirdly I love the song. And finally the rhythm of this song is right up my alley, down and dirty overdriven Gibson P-90 style. The perfect place for me to break in my Dean Hardtail with the awesome Searcy S-90's! I have been tryin to record somethin that would do the S-90's proud and I think this might be it.

So I start giving the track a good listen. Unlike just throwing it on the turntable and chilling, this is where I really listen. Picking a part every part of the song, listening with serious intensity.

Just then I hear something I never noticed in the track. A lead guitar part. Whoa, where'd that come from, and how have I not noticed that the first 1000 times I heard the song? Now, The lead isn't much, but sure enough, it is in there.

Honestly the lead is pretty week, but it does fit. However the rhythm of the song is perfect and powerful. In this case I would say that without a doubt the rhythm truly makes the song. This is something that never gets the credit it deserves. A good lead is like the frontman of a band, it gets all the girls, all the oohs, and all the ahhs. But the rhythm is kinda like the bassist in the corner (sorry Clint), half the time people don't even know his name.

But here, in this instance the rhythm track steels the show and makes the song. But still when was the last time you heard someone go "Man, did you here that rhythm, it was amazing, I don't know how the guitarist did that!" No matter what, the lead is the popular one, still this songs shows what an integral part of the song the rhythm is.

For me, I love a good rhythm, part of the reason I love this song, but also a lot of my musical interest. Look at it, Social Distortion, Guns N Roses, AC/DC...they all have some of the best rhythm guitars out there. So take a moment and give some love to the rhythm. Sure, she isn't playing 10,000 notes per second, but she is playin rhythm with more power and soul then most lead guitarists can convey. So in my book, as the great AC/DC stated (perhaps in a slightly different context, but who cares), The Girls Got Rhythm!

Currently listening to: I Hate Myself For Loving You - Joan Jett & The

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Pretty much today started out like any average work day. I got up and got ready for work. Like usual I was running a couple minutes late, so I briskly walked to the train station. Being that today I had my big Google certification exam I opted to sit at the other end of the train. It means a slightly longer walk upon arrival, but the train is a lot less congested on that end. That way I could spread out a bit and get some last minute studying done. All goes fine. We get a couple minutes away from Union Station in Chicago so I pack up my stuff and get ready for my walk to work.

Just then the train stopped. Not uncommon, usually we have to wait a couple minutes for another train to leave the station. But then, 2 minutes turns into 10 and 1o turns into 20. At that point a text messaged a co-worker to let him know I would be a bit late. Time keeps flying by. Pretty soon I look at my watch and it is 35 after we normally arrive. Out the window there is a scurry of trucks and people. Okay something is up. Just about this time the train car gets loud with people complaining. Everyone starts throwing out theories of what is going on. Countless complaints that there is no announcement over the PA as to whats going on. One guy standing near me called a friend who then searched the net to find out the train was derailed.

Derailed!! Whatever, I thought to myself. I mean I have seen pictures, that is not a pretty site, cars tipped over, fire engines, ambulances, etc. I certainly would have noticed if something that big went down.

Sure enough, a few minutes later the engineer steps out and onto my car and tells the story. Apparently the rear two cars of my train did derail. Fortunately it was at low speeds so it was not quite the gruesome scene I envisioned. Apparently they had already emptied those two cars and disconnected them. Shortly after another engine comes up in front and graciously pulls us into the station, albeit about an hour and a half late.

I get off the train and walk into the station where I am greeted by Metra personnel handing slips of paper out. I think to myself, nice, at least I am gonna get a free ticket or something out of the deal. I take a look at the paper, this is no free ticket at all. It is a note to give to my employer to say I was late because of the train. What? Serious? I haven't got something like this since high school. First off I am almost 2 hours late for work and I get a frickin piece of paper? Like that changes the amount of work I need to do that day. C'mon people, I would feel a lot better if I got a free ticket. I spend a hundred bucks a month, it's really the least they could do.

Then I think for a moment, if it wasn't for Google and this insane exam I had to take, I would been on the derailed car. Now this is far from those people who decide not to board a plane at the last second and the plane ends up crashing. But uncanny none the less. So what does that mean to me. Well not much. I spent a few moments pondering whether this was a good or bad omen for my fate with Google. However I couldn't come to a conclusion so I went on with my life. Passed my damn exam so I am now a fully certified Google AdWords Professional. Yeah! Life goes on. Hey at least the whole thing gave me something to write about, right? :)

Currently listening to: Mystery Train - Elvis Presley

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

Today I made a bit of a realization. As I was working, I was also slowly carrying on a few conversations with people via email and chat. It made me think a bit about relationships. It is kinda funny when you think about it. I mean 99% of contact I have with some of my best friends in the world is online. Some are long-time friends with whom life in it's time consuming way doesn't afford me the luxury of seeing them in person. Others though, I have never met in person and might not. None the less, they all mean a great deal to me.

When I ask myself the question of "who are my best friends?" The answer is a list of which the majority are people with whom I have seen a couple times in the last few years at the most. Yet through this day of technology we can actually talk more then if we saw each other all the time. Don't get me wrong, if one of these friends were to move into the house next to me it would still be a phenomenal thing, but you know what I am saying. I mean think about it in which form of communication are you more honest, in person, or over an email. For me, I tend to say a lot of things in written words then I do in person. Thus my online conversations tend to be a bit deeper. In a way it is almost like a modern day version of writing well thought out letters and sending them via the pony express.

Let's take a step back and look at part of this for a second. PT and I started a podcast. PT and I rarely ever see each other to begin with. But then we put out this show that gets downloaded all over the world. Out of that grows a community. I have made some incredible friends through that yet most of them I will probably never meet. Sound a little impersonal? Hardly! There is nothing impersonal about it.

People use the internet for millions of reasons. Some to find out when movies are playing, some to watch videos of a 14 yr old kid falling off a skateboard and smashing his nuts. Some are out there to find love. Others just want to defeat others at video games. Me? Well, I guess I have two reasons for being online, First, my online life has afforded me an outlet for all of my creativity, from music to writing I can do this and share it online. The second reason for me is to stay close to those who I am close with and maybe meet some new friends.

So there is my little revelation for the day. However, while staying on topic I wanted to just give a little shout-out to a friend of mine who has gone out and set-up a place for a great online community. The Searcy-Buchholz Track Works (http://www.janbuchholz.com/joomla/) is an online community for those who love music and love recording music using this modern technology. You can chat, share photos, share tracks, and more. Hell you could even collaborate and make music with somebody on the other side of the world. So if you are into that kind of thing, stop on by and say hello.

Currently listening to: Touch Too Much - AC/DC

Talk Hard, Play Harder! This is Pipes signing out!

A few weeks ago on Six-String Bliss, PT and I discussed the joys of the summer concerts. I stand by exactly everything I said, but at the same time I do have a complaint. Here I am in Chicago and the amount of good shows that goes on in a summer is absolutely staggering. Yet every damn show that I want to see is on a week-night. Half the time on like a Monday or Wednesday.

Think about it, lets say a show is on a Wednesday night. Gates open at like 6:00pm so if I go straight from work without seeing my wife or kids, in most cases by the time I sit through traffic and park I will get there about an hour or so after the gates open. Being that most of these shows are G.A. that means I won't be able to see a damn thing.

Then the shows will usually go to Midnight or 1 in the morning. So by the time I get home and in bed it will be about 3 in the morning and I have to get up in 3 hours for work. Not to even mention the fact that my kids didn't even see me for 5 minutes that particular day.

This summer so far there has been around 7 shows that I would have loved to see. Because they were on a weeknight I couldn't do it. There are a few shows I would make an exception for, but only a few.

So now you are probably saying that the bigger bands would get the weekend spots and the smaller ones are forced to only play weeknights. But unfortunately that really isn't the case. The only exception to that is Eric Claptons Crossroads Festival. Aside from that the weekend entertainment has pretty much sucked.

All-in-all, this really isn't a big deal. I just love a good live show more then anything and am bothered that within such a large city that these shows are not more convenient. And besides, I have this great place to bitch and moan about it.

Hmmmmm you think I should do something other than bitch and moan in this blog? Well I will ponder that question a little in the future.

Currently watching: Social Distortion Live in Orange County DVD

Till next time kids.....

Talk Hard, Play Harder. This is Pipes signing out!

Currently listening to: Battery - Metallica

Lately, my boss has made some comments to me about the reprucussions of my headphones. Let it be known, I work wearing headphones. Infact I work better with headphones on. Yet there has been a few instances this past year which make me think a little bit about my hearing.

Now for as long as I remember, I have pushed the limits of volume. On my original sony walkman I hardly acknowleged there was a volume control and kept it cranked. When I competetivly ran, music allowed me to focus. Well, I take that back, loud music helped me to focus. When I studied in college, you guessed it, the volume was cranked. NOw when I work, same thing. I have somehow equatied working hard with loud music. Honestly, I am far more productive with music.

So with added concern to my hearing I have found this to be a big problem. Almost an addiction if you will. I mean when I listen to certain music at low levels I want to crank it up more then you can imagine. It is worse then craving a cigarette the day after quitting smoking.

So I have given this serious thought and I concluded that I have 3 choices right now:

1) Acknowlege that by this point I have damaged my ears so much, there is nothing I can do to change it at this point.

2) Make a vailant effort to cutail my behavior and try to prevent further damage.

3) Say well, what happens, happens and decide that loud music is more important then my hearing.

Obviously, I want to do something about this, yet I don't know how. Like a junkie not knowing how to live sober, I am lost without loud music. I have though devised a perfect plan which would save my ears. Bare with me a moment as I try to describe it.

Just like with computers and TV you can put "parental restrictions" on them to ensure that your children are not watching porn, I need a parental restricted volume. Seriously I need to put a volume limiter on all my devices that only PT could override. That way when I get in the mood and I reach for the volume knob I am still keeping it at a safe level for my ears.

I do understand that this is a complete cop-out. I mean you cannot just keep a junkie sheltered and locked away from thier drug, you need to get them to the point where they can resist the temptation in the real world. But maybe, I too need a detox. Maybe if I can get this loudness out of my system I would get acustomed to reasonable volume levels and would not have that need to push the envelope.

Seriously, let me know what you think on this. I am making an attempt, it is just far more difficult then I ever imagined or can describe.

On one slight side note, I read an article in the New York Times about the damage listening to headphones can cause. This article quoted Pete Townsend and said that he has hearing damage from listening to headphones. Now Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't his hearing all screwed up from the explosives that Keith Moon put in his drum kit? I understand the point the article was trying to make, I just thought that was a well known fact about his hearing and was a little bothered that an article would all of a sudden pinpoint a different reason to keep with the theme of the story.

Talk Hard, Play Harder (but not louder) This is Pipes signing out!