Blog of Blog Entry

There are 276 blog entries within the category of Blog Entry

Baba O'Riley with Ghost of Paul Revere
March 21st, 2015 | View Post
As part of my SXSW Broadmoor extravaganza with bands from all over the country, my headlining band (The Ghost of Paul Revere) played an unplugged version of The Who's "Baba O'Reily". It's definitely one of the better versions of the song I've heard and sounds great with the banjo and harmonica filling in the background pieces.

To anyone interested they'll be playing on April 23rd, 2015 at the Saxon Pub.



Workshopping "Tired of Trying" with The Ghost
March 20th, 2015 | View Post
As part of my 2015 music project I've been working on about 8 new songs (writing all of the music pieces and the lyrics). While I am collaborating with a dear friend of mine, I'm also trying to workshop the various songs with other people to get ideas on where to go with them.

With the Ghost of Paul Revere staying at my house for SX, we gave this affectionately titled song called "Tired of Trying" a little acoustic spin. Maybe the studio recording of it will have a banjo in the background?

We didn't rehearse any of it, but quickly went over the changes and improvised most of the pieces to it. This was also after a long day of substance abuse and was performed for two Portland girls I met along the way.


Acoustic Looping with a Violin Bow
March 17th, 2015 | View Post
I've recently been doing some experimenting with a violin bow after a friend of mine started teaching me some basics. Granted she is playing on an actual violin, but it translates to guitar fairly well.

The result was a harder sounding back beat with a nice wah-wah tick and a deep swell from the violin bow. I was basically just forming an E-chord and running the bow over the strings with heavy distortion to get the effect.


DADGAD Loop with LC2 and Telecaster
January 27th, 2015 | View Post
Having only had my Telecaster for about a month now, I wanted to try recording something that had an acoustic-sounding background loop and then layer the Tele over it. I had the volume a little low and lost the timing a few times, but this was the result.


APD Brought the War on Drugs to my Front Door
October 2nd, 2014 | View Post
On Wednesday afternoon I received a call that my cleaning lady had APD called on her for being a "suspicious person" in my house. When the police showed up, they claimed they smelled marijuana on her. I was called to deal with the situation and was promptly detained by officers who had already decided to enter my home, search it with guns drawn, and hold me there while their supervisor "made a decision". Of course there was nothing in my home and yet, our laws somehow justify this madness.

The War on Drugs is a dangerous, abject failure. While I ultimately didn't have to deal with any real consequences in this situation, it is an absolute travesty that time and money is spent on this. The fact that armed people went through my home is a disgusting and disturbing thought. And if I were a minority, it's almost certain that I would have been booked in jail.

My opponent, Texas State Representative Dawnna Dukes, will of course not discuss this reality despite the fact that for such a minority-rich area, this poses a substantial problem to residents of House District 46.

Please feel free to share this video if you're so inclined (apologies for the length).


3rd Challenge to Dawnna Dukes - State Income Tax
September 18th, 2014 | View Post
For three weeks in a row now I have been creating videos challenging Ms. Dawnna Dukes to a debate. I've even offered to pay all expenses related to it. Not only has she ignored my requests, but she has even gone so far as to block me from her Facebook page; I can't even view my State Representative's social media posts. It seems that she has risen high enough in the political ranks whereby civil discourse is no longer a necessity for her version of democracy.

Last week I referred to Dawnna's support of corporal punishment. I was very surprised to see her take this position given her credentials of working with children. The week before that I discussed her apparent support of the War on Drugs. Despite my efforts, she continues to ignore me.

In this third video I focus on Ms. Dukes' desire to see Texas adopt a state income tax. I'm genuinely curious to hear her defend this position, but make the assumption that she is trying to protect people from being displaced with rising costs. I state three different counter arguments to this assumption and briefly contrast income tax and property taxes.

I truly believe that many of our greatest problems could be solved if only we would hold politicians accountable to their words and actions. So long as I am competing for a seat in the legislature I will certainly do just that. I would strongly encourage you to contact Ms. Dukes' office and request that she comment on these positions.