(Yes, this is a mass e-mailing, but I think it's excusable because I know all of you and I'm not cutting and pasting anyone else's words. If you really hate these things, let me know and I'll run you through the e-shredder.)
Well, howdy! Summer ends with a thud here in Minnesota, and the transition between hot and not hot is usually a sad affair, where we see if any of last year's long sleeve shirts still fit. Fooey. At least I'll still be able to walk to work for another month or so, until it gets down around freezing in the mornings (THAT's unpleasant...)
So the big talk around town is (naturally) the amazing colossal Crap From The Past website:
- crapfromthepast.com
At last writing it was just a dummy page, but now it kicks royal booty, including a detailed history of the show, playlists for the last eight years, and about fifteen hours of audio clips, songs, sound bites, and old show excerpts. It's HUGE! (And there's not a single scanned image to be found on the entire site, which is largely because I don't have a scanner.) Plus you can listen to the show online at any time, which is certainly better than waiting up late on Sunday nights to hear it live. To say that I'm pleased with how the site turned out would be a bit of an understatement, since I think it's best thing to happen to mankind since the electric toaster (admit it - we all like a little toast with our radio shows...) That number again... crapfromthepast.com. You don't need a credit card handy and operators are not standing by. (No banner ads either. I hate those.) Plus, you should change my email address to ron@crapfromthepast.com, which is way cooler than the one I have at work.
Since the goal is to have as many irons in the fire as possible, I have a bunch of extracurricular music projects in the works. The coolest one is at the local branch of Life Time Fitness, where I'll be DJing a step aerobics class next Wednesday. This will be a trial run for both me and the instructor, and if all parties are agreeable, it may turn into a weekly thing. The class is right after work on Wednesdays and is less than a mile from work, which is 5 minutes from the house - easy. For you DJ types, the step aerobics class is 150 BPM for 15 minutes, then 128 BPM for the next 45 minutes. Any music is good as long as it's beat-mixed and has a predictable whomp to it. This is pretty much a dream gig for a DJ - it's the same mixing that you'd do in a club, but the music isn't quite so loud, you don't smell like smoke afterwards, you don't have to deal with drunks, it's at a reasonable hour, and everyone dances to every song you play. Plus the scenery's not bad... I'll keep you posted...
The band stuff is going well. Thinland rox! We regrouped and reorganized a bit, so we're now guitar, bass, drums, and a cello. The cellist is really good, and he fills out the sound like a keyboard would. The band has already had two gigs, neither of which I played in; there was a coffee house about a month ago that was too small to fit drums in, and there was a block party this past weekend that I couldn't attend because I was DJing a wedding (the wedding was about an hour southwest of the Twin Cities in tiny Le Seuer, Minnesota, home of Green Giant veggies!). But now, Thinland has a real gig that I'll be able to play at - for those of you in the Twin Cities:
Thinland
Thursday, October 19, 8:00 PM
at Eclipse Records
an independent record store and performance space
St. Paul, MN
It's not Wimbley Stadium, but it's a start.
In other news, we found out that Margaret is allergic to bee stings. About two weeks ago, she got stung by a bee and we had to rush her to the emergency room. (Again! She takes the lead in emergency room visits this year - 2 to 1. I can't let her win, and I have to have at least one trip to the emergency room to tie... where's Dennis Miller with the obtuse commentary when you need him?) They gave her four prescriptions for ten days each - that's more drugs than they gave her for her gall bladder surgery! Plus they said that the next bee sting could be worse: it's not like your body builds up an immunity to them, and each subsquent sting produces a more drastic reaction. E-gad! So we don't like bees anymore.
That's the big excitement out here, unless you count the elections (and since Jesse's not up for re-election yet, nothing of significance is happening.) Hope all is well in not-Minnesota...
Take care, and be sure to check out crapfromthepast.com!
Ron "Who needs Napster when you've got Crapster" G
