One of our neighbors is shooting off so many fireworks that I can’t tell if it’s the 4th of July or the artillery barrage the Federal troops fired at General Pickett’s division during Pickett’s charge (which was 161 years ago, yesterday).
So much noise. The cats are handling it well, but we had to close the windows out of fear that the booms would freak them out.
I’m watching a YouTubes video where folks are talking about how happy they are to be going to concerts again post-Covid. Now we can debate whether or not we are actually post-Covid (we clearly are not) but that’s sort of beside the point. One of the things they are enjoying is the volume level. I have to admit that I miss that. I miss standing in front of my amplifier, slamming an Emin7 chord, and being able to feel the air moving around my legs. It’s a pretty magical thing.
Lizardfish doesn’t really play that loud, whether it’s rehearsals or gigs. We just don’t. We play loud, but not loud enough to quite “feel” it. The main reason for that is the drums. Whichever amp I choose to use on a given day can do it. Mike’s bass amp can do it. Greg’s PA system can do it. Kevin’s drums can’t. In most of the bands I’ve been in it’s been the opposite. The drums were so loud we had to crank the amps to compete. Now we have to keep them somewhat low. I don’t know if it’s because Kevin doesn’t play that loud or if his drums don’t project that well.
What I do know is that the first time we get back together will be the first time I will play through my Fender Deluxe Reverb since February 1, 2020 and I am going to want to run that little bastard as hot and as loud and as crunchy as local noise ordinances will allow. The drums as we know them would not be able to keep up with that. However, after the 2/1/20 gig but before the start of the lock down, Kevin bought new drums. He hasn’t had a chance to play them. If the volume limiter was his actual drums, then what if the new drums project out like crazy and he is suddenly 10 times louder than we’re used to.
That would be awesome. I seriously hope that happens because I am going to want to be stupid loud.
Hopefully the day is coming soon. Please, Covid, let us have our band back.
Why is it that every time I work from my parents house I manage to convince myself that it is Friday. The last time I worked here it was Friday, but today is not Friday. Today is Wednesday and here I am thinking about the things I want to do tomorrow when I don’t have to work because tomorrow is Saturday.
No, asshole. Tomorrow is not Saturday. Today is not Friday. Today is Wednesday and tomorrow is Thursday.
My parents are both watching TV. Dad’s in the living room. Mom is in the bedroom. They are watching the same show. He is watching the HD channel. She is watching the SD channel. There is a fraction of a second delay on one of them (I can’t tell which) so the audio isn’t lining up. It’s close, but it’s off, and it is driving my auditory nerve up the fucking wall.
I have a meeting in two minutes. Headphones, blessed headphones, save me from this noise!
This morning one of our smoke detectors gave us the “please change my battery, you friggin’ savage” alarm. I went through the maze of alarm locations in the house trying to figure out which one was yelling at us. I found it in the mud room. They are kinda a pain to take off the ceiling but I got it down. They are kinda a pain to open up but I got it open. They are kinda a pain to pop out the batteries but I got them out. They are kinda a pain to re-hang on the ceiling but I got it back up.
I made the mistake of pressing the test button. When you do that it doesn’t just test the one you’re holding in your hand, it tests every single alarm in the house. The noise is overwhelming, which is good when there’s a fire but really painful when you just woke up.
None of this is the actual story though.
When the shockingly loud, house-wide test was complete and the smoke detector was hung on the ceiling again……….
…………the smoke detector in Harry’s room started giving the “please change my battery, you friggin’ savage” alarm.
Muthapussbucket
Over at our next door neighbors’ house, this is happening…
It’s the last business day before Thanksgiving. It’s probably the day that drags along more than any other for me, and now topping it off I have a wood chipper running at 100,000 decibels at the end of my driveway.
Yeah, work is going to be productive today.
Yikes.
There’s a work crew next door running two leaf blowers, a weed whacker, and a huge riding mower, all at the same time. They are louder than a Lizardfish concert. It’s insane.
It’s also making me want to play a Lizardfish concert.
Stupid quarantine.
Here’s a little reminder to myself.
I own two good pairs of (sort of) noise cancelling headphones. From this point on I must remember to use one of them when recording guitars through my amplifier. This morning I recorded all of the guitar parts for one song, playing my Les Paul through my old Fender amp (just like when I was in the band Prime Meridian, oh the memories). I literally had the volume set to 1, but I was using ear pods to listen to the playback while overdubbing and, well, the amp on 1 is much loader than the ear buds can comfortably drown out.
My ears are still ringing, but I got a couple of decent takes.
There are five songs in progress right now. I’m thinking I want to record 20. I will (probably) finish these five before starting any more. Well, finish not counting re-recording the drum parts with actual drums. I’m still on the fence about wanting to do that. Everything else though, guitars, bass, vocals, will get re-done. Three of the songs have keyboards. Those will probably stay midi, unless I want to bring in someone else to play them for real and they are way too simplistic to insult an actual keyboard player by asking for that.
I will bring the Squire P Bass I loaned to Mike the Bass Player home with me after the next band practice, assuming Mike doesn’t need it for a while, and after all the bass parts and Fender amp parts are done I will bring the Marshall home and re-do all of the guitars again using that amp. In the end I’ll have all of the rhythm parts quadruple tracked using two amps. The Smashing Pumpkins fan in me is drooling at that potential of such a layering of fuzz.
Jen is working on a coding project. She’s basically making those little electrical signals dance a ballet inside of that iMac of hers. I am an awe. I’m not saying that because she’s my wife and I love her. I’m saying that because I am a programmer and she can do things that are so far beyond my skills that I may as well be programming using a hammer and chisel on a cave wall.
Anyway, she’s got her big headphones on and she can’t hear anything going on around her. That means she can’t hear the neighbors’ party down the street, including the massively loud music.
What am I going to do though? I have two options… Call the cops, or try to come up with a new song idea. I am taking an iOS update on my phone… so I guess it’s music time!
On a side note, at this moment they are blasting Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”. Just last night Jen and I watched the episode of Archer where Archer and Pam kidnap Kenny Loggins to get him to play Lana’s baby shower.
It is such a small world!
(they followed “Danger Zone” with “Land Down Under” by Men at Work. It’s like 1982 ’round here!)
Listen closely to this video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiHpjyz6Ec8
I had to run to the store for a minute. When I walked outside I heard the weirdest sound. I assume it’s a bird, but could it be something else? It sort of sounds like a turkey, but I can’t tell for sure.
You are going to have to crank the volume to hear the sound on the video. It sounded like it was moving away from me and by the time I got the phone out to try and capture the sound it was too far away to really come through. On top of that you have wind, and water running down the gutter on the side of the garage, and water dripping out of a hole right near the end of the gutter too. You probably will only hear this with headphones on and the volume way up, but give it a try and tell me if you know what bird or animal makes that sound.
Inside the Red Head's Head 