mthrshp

unleashed

2005-03-03T06:10:22Z

where to start.

don't forget that bin laden thinks that religious icons on gov't property is a good idea.

the nice thing about being poor is that i will get almost all the money i paid in taxes back. should put my total tax contribution down to something less than 2% as opposed to last year where i was up around 9%. not that i care that much because it's only money but money buys beer. the sad thing is that i'm actually claiming all the money i made.

humility. it is really a virtue that is lost. YOU ARE NOT AS COOL AS YOU THINK YOU ARE.

gothic chics are hot. sadly, the actual content here is really lame. too much, "you are sooooo hot" crap going on. people know if they are hot or not. they do not need an anonymous freak to tell them this.

i went to barnes and nobles to buy a book that i heard on chapter a day but it was almost $30 so i bought 3 books on the discount stand for $20 instead. i'll just have kalan put Shadow Divers (the book i want) on her list to look for used. she is a book fiend for sure! that reminds me, i need to see what kurt vonnegut books i don't have and pick 'em up. a friend of mine might get to meet him so i'm gonna send a copy of cat's cradle with her for him to sign. that would be cool.

ebay is my friend. there is so much cool shit to buy!

microsoft is the enemy. sadly, i need a legit copy of winXP :(

i am 4 for 4 for free iTunes songs from mountain dew bottles.

good night and stay groovy.

phew...

2005-02-23T20:08:29Z

sorry it took me so long to update. the birthday party was a success! a grand time was had by all, i think. i don't remember too much :D unfortunately, the slight hangover i had kicked off a bout of the flu so i spent the whole weekend lying in bed with a 103 degree temp. i missed a couple hundred bucks worth of gigs which really sucks - that's half my house payment right there. other than that, not much interesting going on. been busy but nothing really too noteworthy. lots of things going on the band as we're trying to schedule rehearsal time and time to get some studio pics taken. it's tough cuz everyone is so friggin' busy.

mthrshp @ 2005-02-10T09:42:00

2005-02-10T15:45:12Z

one more day 'til dirty thirty! i can't wait!! that's when i officially become a dirty old man, something i've strived for my whole life!

weird....

2005-02-07T20:45:43Z

i found this in my mailbox today:

any ideas?

mthrshp @ 2005-02-06T20:48:00

2005-02-07T03:05:45Z

wow, lots happened this week! the unity gig in lacrosse got canceled (double booked) so i hope the guy i booked to play for me wasn't too pissed. i gotta make sure i call him and apologize. cripes, i should go get my calendar. i can't even remember all the crap i did this week. tuesday morning another jazz combo gig (i'm starting to catch on to this whole reading bass clef thing!). tuesday night i hosted the open mic at Tom's garage in appleton - looks like this will be an every tuesday thing starting in march. found out pita booked unity the night of my birthday party so i'm bummed that the people in my band won't be there. wednesday, funeral. thursday morning, funeral. thursday night, last TST gig. found this out at the gig which was kind of a bummer. supposedly this group is just on hold for a couple of months but i have a feeling it is done which sucks because i'm gonna miss playing with those cats. friday night unity gig. show up at the club and find out that it is a benefit concert. woulda been nice to know beforehand especially cuz i invited some friends and there was a friggin' $7 cover! this is where it starts getting good. slept 4 hours friday night then had to go to milwaukee for a brass quintet gig (BQ) then i drove back to green bay that afternoon before leaving for a unity gig saturday night near fond du lac. after the gig (2AM) i had to drive to madison so i could be there for formation (drill). i slept in my car for 3 hours somewhere halfway to madison. arrive in madison sunday morning in time to shower and shave and then partake in a grueling day of rehearsals. oh yeah, almost forgot that one of our promoters from appleton died friday night. i only met him once but he had booked unity a number of gigs. from what i heard, he died of a heart attack. he was only in his early/mid 30's. anyhow, i'm hoping it is just a rumor.

here's a pic i just took of some of my basses:

a week in review

2005-01-30T04:22:09Z

good week, i guess. only one funeral this week but i got to play for some soldiers who were coming home from iraq which is always really cool. the only thing that sucked about it was we had to stand on the tarmac and play for the troops as they got off the plane. it was so cold i had to take my gloves off to warm my valves so they wouldn't get frozen. we must've been out there for 20 minutes; there was an icicle an inch long on my spit valve when we were done! the tuesday night open mic thing is going to be changing. we're doing it at a different (nicer) place but we'll only be doing it every other week. this is fine by me cuz i've been getting tired of it anyhow. tonight i got to work on my reading skills as i played bass in a little jazz combo for a retirement party. my reading needs some work for sure. i brought the book home to hone my skills a bit. i think that's about it. unity played in lacross tonight but i couldn't do it cuz i already had this other gig. i have a rehearsal in madison tomorrow morning and i gotta d/l some songs tonight and learn them by then, hopefully.

mthrshp @ 2005-01-22T17:49:00

2005-01-23T00:47:30Z

i haven't posted in awhile so i figured i'd catch up on the week. not much to speak of this week. cold weather and snow. my neighbor was nice and let me borrow his snowblower so my back is feeling pretty good. i put screws into the bottoms of my boots for traction and it worked wonderfully. i always feel really good about myself when i get an idea and it actually works as well as i hope it will. it doesn't happen often... 3 funerals this week. one of the deceased was 57 years old. i hate it when they are my dad's age. if you have a wife and kids you owe it to them to take care of yourself and not work so fucking hard. really, i promise you your family would prefer you to work 30 hours a week and make $25k a year than for you to be 6 feet under. i see it all the time. what good does $150k a year do you if you are 100lbs overweight and die of a heart attack at age 45?

2 gigs this week: tuesday night open mic (which i found out is ending soon) and thursday night TST gig. the open mic was okay... there were lots of bass players there so i didn't have to play much which is kinda nice. some good players but one guy was pretty much a total dumbass. thursday night went really well but TST could really use a rehearsal. playing twice a month just isn't cutting it and it is such a cherry gig that i would hate to lose it. we could also use some more promotion to get more peeps coming out to see us but this is kind of a bad time of year for that type of thing. people just want to stay home and chill out more during the winter than they do during the summer.

mthrshp @ 2005-01-16T01:32:00

2005-01-16T07:41:30Z

so, tonight's gig didn't even involve free beer but that's okay. it was pretty cool anyway. ends up that the other band wasn't a reggae band but a salsa band. lucky for them we pulled in a crowd or it would've been a pretty sorry night for them but our people stuck around and danced. don't get me wrong, they were pretty cool and it was a fun show but if our peeps hadn't been there it woulda not been nearly as a good a night for them. good venue and we're booked there to headline next month so it's all good. it's a nice place to have a show and hopefully we'll play there a couple of times this summer. some of the venues we play are kinda... well... shady so it's nice to have a venue like that for some of the people who like to see us play but don't want to deal with the crappier bars. i been thinking that we should write a salsa song or learn one. we do a samba type thing but i'm totally sick of it and it isn't even really a samba.

oh, one pet peeve of mine: bar owners who run sound. really, if you don't know what you're doing, get a guy to run the house PA. don't do it yourself. we've played it this place 3 times now and each time we've some pretty bad feedback. it's a good system and i'm sure he has this problem each time a band plays there. just wish he'd hire someone to do it right. maybe next time i'm there i'll give him a card... he always wears red chucks which is cool, tho.

mthrshp @ 2005-01-14T15:36:00

2005-01-14T21:45:31Z

it is wicked, wicked cold outside today. this will be a good night to sit at home and snuggle and watch movies all night. man, i have a lot of non-paying gigs this month. the thing last night was cooler than i thought it'd be. it was a very multi-cultural experience. there were dancers and singers from india and even a sitar (sp?) player! on the downside, there were three guitar players there and they all insisted on playing at the same time and all three really sucked. it was kind of like amateur hour for 3 hours... oh, and the sound guy had no idea what he was doing so there was a ton of feedback all night. that's what happens when i don't get there early enough to set up the PA and do the sound check myself. that's right, i'm awesome at everything. it's amazing that anything happens in this world without me.

tomorrow should be fun. some of my high school buddies are coming over and we're gonna play magic the gathering (cards) all day. then we are opening for a reggae band from madison at night. should be a fun show but i don't know if we'll even get free beer. who needs money anyhow, right?

mthrshp @ 2005-01-13T16:15:00

2005-01-13T22:22:20Z

lots of funerals this week. fortunately none of them were in the extreme cold we are going to get blowing in here this evening. really sucks to play taps when it is so cold that the mouthpiece can freeze to your lips.

got kind of a cool gig tonight: i'm playing in appleton at the Harmony Cafe and all the money that we make is getting donated to a tsunami relief charity. i've never played at the venue with this combination of musicians so it might really suck but it could be lots of fun.

bought me a new bass: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3773292390&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT

it arrived yesterday undamaged. really, a pretty nice bass for the money. i dig the sparkly silver color. i needed a cheaper bass to let people sit in on at open mics so they don't scratch my expensive basses...

Bio

2005-01-10T04:18:31Z

so, i had to write a bio. this is what came of it:

Tyler was born and raised in and around the Green Bay area. He spent most of his formative years studying trumpet performance and playing mind-numbing role playing games. After high school, he enlisted into the U.S. Army and spent four years playing trumpet full time in an Army band. It was during this time that he picked up the bass guitar. Nowadays, he proudly serves his country performing with the Wisconsin National Guard band. Tyler mostly plays Musicman basses even though the fine people at Ernie Ball cringe every time he mentions their name. He has a penchant for strange things, enjoys the company of cats, has read most of Kurt Vonnegut's works, and raises pet tarantulas. Tyler had been a member of Unity the Band since July 2003.

http://www.unitytheband.com

mthrshp @ 2005-01-09T21:42:00

2005-01-10T03:52:20Z

had an interesting day today. there was a new trumpet player at drill today, and, well, to sum it up, we had gone to the US armed forces school of music together. he was just arriving as i was leaving. now, he lives just a couple of miles from me! this, in and of itself, is pretty interesting but the coolest thing is that he is a fuckin' phenomenal player. seriously, i am looking forward to getting to play with this cat cuz he has some great chops. been awhile since i was excited to play with a local player. plus, we may be able to car pool to drill which would be nice, especially on those weekends where i have gigs at night and drill during the day (like next month, arrrgh...)

the drive to and from madison was pretty bad. my car's grip on the road was tenuous inspite of my snow tires. the temp hovered right at freezing and the drizzly fog kept freezing up my windshield. i saw several cars in the ditch on my way home (2 hour drive took almost 3) but caution served me well.

froze me ass off at the funeral yesterday. one of the family members gave me a $5 subway gift certificate which i tried to refuse but he insisted. almost lost my footing on the ice as i marched up to fold the flag; that would've looked very professional...

go raid your checking account with iTunes...

2005-01-10T03:42:25Z

i would rather use musicmatch but the program always fucks up and their selection isn't as good.

here's a list of some good stuff:

Well, Git it! - Tommy Dorsey Orch. - totally gratuitous trumpet shout at the end. i love it!!

Video - India Arie - cool groove on this r&b song

Living for the City - Zapp - okay, i know i shouldn't be diggin the cheesy synth talk effect so much but this stevie wonder cover is pretty cool.

Mouna Bowa - Jean-Luc Ponty - cool song with a sweet bass solo towards the end!

Shelly-Ann (that girl) - Red Rat - not on itunes but a cool song if you can find it and dig Ragga...

mthrshp @ 2005-01-07T20:35:00

2005-01-08T02:40:37Z

not much to say today. spent much of the day lying on my couch with a sore back from shovelling. discovered the DI doesn't work on that amp. my musicmatch program isn't working right so i can't d/l the songs i need to learn. luckily i have a funeral tomorrow so i get to miss a day of drill which basically means instead of waking up at 5am tomorrow i won't have to wake until 9 or 10. it is kind of nice not having gigs every night like i did during the summer. the sad part is that now that i have lots of free time, i am becoming a master at consuming it all with worthless activities like playing video games and watching judge judy. still, life is good.

wft?

2005-01-07T07:59:27Z

this is a rant so i thought i'd hook it up with its own post.

so, i'm doing this funeral for a soldier who died in iraq and the reverend says something to the effect of, "...said he knew there was a God because He was always there when he needed Him." wtf? why wasn't this invisible superhero there when he was killed? i hate to pass judgment on people because, really, if their refusal to observe reality makes them happy, who am i to interfere? however, wtf? really. i don't get it. i really almost get physically ill while sitting through religious services when i hear the refuse that people are spoon feeding each other.

honestly, i'm probably no better off than anybody else for my assertions. at least i can afford to buy toothpicks.

on a lighter note, i'm turning 30 this year on feb, 11th. i am having a big party i'm and rather excited about it.

mesa boogie d-180 amp.

2005-01-07T07:43:13Z

well, that amp that i got is pretty cool. it needs a little work ($) but is very useable as it is and sounds pretty cool. i've even used for two gigs already. i still need to check the DI (direct input to go from the amp to the the FOH mixing board). i think it doesn't work which isn't the end of the world.

the cabinet (speakers) is a different story. i directly asked the seller if the speakers were all original and he said they were but they are not. also, 2 of them are shot which is quite annoying. i'm tempted to say fuck it but i think i'm gonna contact the seller and bitch a bit. seems like a cool guy and he could actually get my band some gigs so hopefully we can work something out and be cool. i think if i pimped it out with the right speakers it could be pretty badass. still, if the DI doesn't work on the amp i'd almost prefer to have my cash back and forget about the whole deal but that probably won't happen.

mthrshp @ 2005-01-04T08:58:00

2005-01-04T15:15:01Z

hmm... not much to say about the last few days. we got a wicked ice storm that made driving a bit of a chore but the highways were good. i drove to madison yesterday to play in a brass quintet that played for the swearing in of state representatives. oh, when i got there my valve didn't work so i had to call and have someone rush me another trumpet. luckily it got there just as we were supposed to begin playing. i hope it won't take too long to get it fixed. i have a funeral for a soldier that died in iraq tomorrow and thursday - they want military honors at the service and at the graveside as well so i get to stay overnight in a hotel in the small town where the funeral is being held.

some pics

2005-01-01T22:47:16Z

couple of my baby tarantulas, a pulsing xenia coral, and my lionfish.

the gig last night went pretty well. i looked on my band's website, Unity the Band, and i see i'm already booked for next new years! that's pretty cool.

i was trying to purchase a cd on itunes and musicmatch but neither have it. that's pretty dadgum annoying.

i like myself

2004-12-31T21:49:27Z

as you can see, i've actually taken some time to update my page. i think it looks a littler cooler; so much so, in fact, that i've decided i am worthy of being my own friend. this will be my last post of the year. not a big deal since i've only had the journal for a few days now. the sun is out and beaming down gloriously but the wind is blowin' like a mutha. off to iron my clothes for tonights gig. hopefully my chops will hold up okay.

oh yeah, i bought that amp. i'll post a review when i recieve it.

-peace

mthrshp @ 2004-12-31T00:17:00

2004-12-31T06:30:34Z

i woke up this morning to a tapping on my door. bleary eyed and wrapped in only my blanket i walked over to see who it was. my poor neighbor had locked herself out of her house so i helped her call the fire dept. they were there in a couple of minutes and were able to jimmy the door open. i forgot to ask if they charged her but i think they do it free at least the first time.

todays funeral was all indoors which was nice even tho the weather is quite mild. it's still nice not to have to battle the elements. i'm looking forwards to my new years gig but my chops aren't in as good of shape as i would've liked. i'm such a fuckin' slacker.

in other news, i'm thinking about buying this:

i really can't afford it but being the gear whore that i am, i will probably buy it.

mthrshp @ 2004-12-30T01:09:00

2004-12-30T07:10:29Z

i just typed up a whole entry and then hit the wrong button and deleted it all.

fuck.

half-life

2004-12-29T04:46:29Z

i spent most of the evening thus far playing half-life2. i've only been playing the multi-player mode and it is tough as hell. i hope they come out with better multi-formats like they did for the original version. the game was more or less given to me for x-mas. you see, we exchange names in my family but the person who had my name forgot so they just gave me some cash after everyone else got their gift. i was gonna spend the money on groceries but eating is overrated. been thinking about putting a little more effort into my journal so it doesn't look like something you bought at cub foods. do you remember back in the day when you could buy generic beer? had the pull tab top and was just black and white and said "beer." simple. effective. anyhow, i seem remember my folks buying it but i could have just made the whole thing up. i'm like that. oh yeah, kalan got me some pants, a johnny cash t-shirt, and a 6 variety pack of beer for x-mas. she picked me some good ones! i got her an 18" moving edward scissorshands doll thingy. was expensive but it is cool and she really digs it. i was thinking it'd be cool to have my septum pierced but i think it might get in the way of picking my nose. that could be problematic.

peace.

mthrshp @ 2004-12-27T23:57:00

2004-12-28T06:04:17Z

practiced pretty hard for a demanding new years eve gig. went to see the movie Darkness. directed by brian yuzna (re-animator) but not a great movie. earned points for being creepy but lost some due to shitty acting. earned more points for unhappy ending. had lunch with my cousin and an old high school buddy who is a CGI engineer who lives in LA. he makes lots of money and works on movies and video games and commercials and stuff. lunch was good and the conversation was interesting. watched a PBS show about koko, a gorilla who knows sign language. maybe i'll go d/l some porn.

mthrshp @ 2004-12-27T01:49:00

2004-12-27T08:07:02Z

i was going to say that today was nothing special, but some interesting things did happen. first off, let me mention that i have a friend named slim. i don't know why, but having a friend named slim makes me feel pretty cool. he was visiting from minnesota for the holidays and called me to hang out with some old pals. we sat around and talked and drank cheap beer for a good part of the evening. sadly we are all getting older and the evening was rather short. i absolutely reek of newports and camels. let me tell you story about slim. one day he was helping me tear out some shrubberies from my front yard. we dug around them first and then, one at a time, we tied one end of a nylon rope to each and the other to the bumper of his old, crappy, imported pickup truck. the first one came out smartly. the second got the better of us and bent the hell out of his bumper. the other two are still there. that's what friends are for. i didn't get a lick of practicing in today. i did successfully reformat my pc and reinstall my OS, tho. even flashed my bios and updated all my drivers.

word

2004-12-26T04:17:23Z

so, i've gotten another one of these accounts. will this one have more than one post? will i eat soup tomorrow? who knows? i guess i'll talk about what happened to me today. i slept over at my parents house last night so i woke up in a strange bed this morning. got up and got a gift from my folks - $100 gift gas card. great gift if you know me as i am a traveling bastard. my littlest bro got a PS2 and my not so little bro got... er... can't say that i remember. i think socks and stuff. now that we are all moved out 'cept littlest bro the folks don't get us much. i wish they hadn't spent the money on me as it really doesn't matter much to me not being x-tian and all. i did feel a bit guilty for not giving them anything but i got over it real quick. okay, then i got up and went to brunch with cousin mike, his wife missy, her folks rick and sally, sally's sister and brother in law, one of my sisters, her husband and two kids, said husband's folks, my parents, my brothers, another sister and me. brunch filled the void. after eating copious amounts of food, some of us went to see flight of the phoenix. decent movie. whole family then met up at mom and dad's. whole family = 28 people. i love having a big family. in-laws have trouble dealing with the chaos but i dig it. forget all the presents and all that extraneous feces; i have a great time being around my loved ones. too bad my girlfriend had to work. she may get out early and stop by tonight which would be nice cuz it's cold as hell and it'd be nice to have someone to snuggle with. so, here i am at the PC writing my day's story. this is a long one. i suspect that if there are anymore posts, they will not be so long as my life is fairly uneventful.