I knew John Wetton was sick. I knew he had cancer. I was still hoping he would pull through. Sadly he passed away. I heard the news this morning on twitter. It is so sad. He is a prog rock hero of mine.
Most people know him from this:
But to me, it’s always this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rPtnplgUgs
Or maybe this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeXSQl56no8
Maybe, but definitely this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FNiK73zqm4
Rest in Peace, John Wetton.
We had our first band practice in about a month tonight. The first time we’ve gotten together since the last gig. We were down one singer due to a sore throat, and there was some political joking around as the liberals in the band outnumbered the conservatives 2–1. (should we drop that 3-doors down song? I mean, they did play the inauguration)
I left my pedal board at home so that I can have it when RPM starts this week. I hope to have a new Fender tube amp (the 15 watt Bassbreaker) but that all depends on whether or not guitar center can get it’s head out of it’s ass.
How was my playing tonight? I’ll tell you in one word:
Suck.
Oh my goodness did I suck tonight. My RPM album is going to be atrocious.
I hope I am wrong about this and it is some sort of internet based misunderstanding, but I am pretty sure that the retail store chain known as Guitar Center is just stupid. Really, incredibly stupid.
Last night at about 6:30 pm I placed an online order through guitarcenter.com. For the delivery option I chose in store pickup and selected their Danvers, MA store as the location. The website said the item was available for pick up that day.
My reasoning: My order is a small tube amplifier. Something big enough that I can use it at a small bar if need be, but small enough that I can keep it at home for practice and home recording. Tube amps are kinda fragile so I figured I’d pick it up myself and not deal with any extra shipping. The website said I could pick up the amp that day, so I assumed the store had one in stock. Maybe that was foolish of me, but I used to deal with retail inventory systems and I feel okay giving them the benefit of the doubt.
I just got an email from guitarcenter.com telling me that my order has shipped. Shipped? Shipped where? Why doesn’t it say ready for pick up? It’s bad enough that the website said I could pick it up on the same day and then couldn’t, but now they are saying it’s shipped?
It has shipped UPS ground. I have a tracking number, though the tracking number hasn’t made it into the UPS system yet. That probably means they’ve readied it for shipping but it isn’t on a truck yet. What’s the ship-to address? The Danvers Guitar Center store.
So it is shipping UPS, which I specifically did not want. If I did want to ship it UPS I would have had it ship to my house. Nope, I still have to drive the half hour to effin’ Danvers to pick the damn thing up. When? Who knows.
Guitar Center, you idiots. If I had wanted to ship it UPS I would have. If I could not pick it up at the store the same day, then I would not have placed the order with that stipulation. If you were going to ship it anyway, why on Earth would I want it shipped to the effin’ branch?
Are you stupid, or are you just that clueless about e-commerce? Safe to say that if I don’t get a call from Danvers saying I can pick up the item real soon, this is going to be my final guitarcenter.com transaction. Hell, even if they call me right this minute and tell me it’s in the store and ready for pick up, it is still my last guitarcenter.com transaction ever.
So what do you think of the immigration executive orders? I want to say I am shocked and appalled, but I can’t. Unlike a slew of people who actually voted for that fucking nazi Trump, I believed him when he said he’d pull this crap. I’m not even surprised he went this far this quickly. This is what fascists do.
I was watching some live video from JFK airport on Facebook last night when the first Federal Judge ruled against the executive order. I was so proud. It was a team from the ACLU that argued in favor of the detainees. I have been thinking about joining the ACLU ever since the election, but I was putting it off for no reason other than wanting to work it into the family budget first. Last night I finally joined. It’s a teeny tiny little step toward throwing my name in with those who are actually standing up against the fascists. It feels more real than just ranting about things on twitter… which I do quite a bit these days.
The stay against the executive order is temporary, but it’s a start. A number of Federal Judges have ruled against it already, including one from Boston thankyouverymuch.
We have reached a point where millions of Americans are so afraid of the muslim boogeyman that they are willing to give up the Bill of Rights in exchange for the illusion of security. If saving your country requires destroying everything your country stands for, is your country really worth saving?
The living room is clean, boys and girls. Enjoy it while it lasts (because it won’t last long)!
During the Obama administration I looked at the state of the nation, with the Republicans in congress doing everything they could to block every idea coming out of the White House, and how the average Joe Publics on the street were always at each other’s throats over which side of the aisle was right.
I couldn’t imagine The United States being more divided than that.
Now? It seems like a happy memory. There is talk of secession. There was talk of secession then too, but now? Could the Northeast and the West coast find a way to work together? I’m not in favor of splitting up the union, but I am less against it now than I ever could have dreamed.
We are no longer one country. We are a fascist state and a democracy under one roof and completely at odds with ourselves.
Resist.
I was thinking about how it was a crappy day even before 9:00 am today. Then Google Photos sent me a notification suggesting I relive this day in my photographic history.
Two years ago today, this happened:
The Blizzard of 2015. Never forget, friends. Never forget and hope that it never happens again.
It hasn’t even been a week since that orange fascist cheet0 fascist puke took the oath of office. I’m tired of the idiocy. I want it to end. I want our long national six day nightmare to be over.
Axis and Allies.
Did you know that a guitar is more than just a musical instrument? It has an extra hidden use too. You know those stress ball things that you are supposed to squeeze the hell out of when life gets you down? Well stress balls ain’t got shit on an electric guitar. When the feels start overwhelming you, like say if the United States just swore in a fascist prick as it’s new chief executive, you can bash the living daylights out of your guitar until the pain of the real world subsides slightly, or until your fingers start bleeding.
Inside the Red Head's Head 