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****CHRONICALLY UNDER RENOVATION****
****UPDATES MAY OCCUR AT ANY TIME****
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<---- "Haben Sie Schon Mal im Dunkeln Geküsst?" sung by Evelyn Künneke, with Michael Jary & sein Orchester circa 1942
This tune represents where I'm at currently, in an abstract sort of way.
Latest show flyer:
[none at the moment]
I used to have a bunch of found videos posted on this profile for people's enjoyment. But for the sake of reducing clutter, I've moved them all to a journal entry. Click here if you want to see them.
My Music section on the left side of this page used to have a large list of all the bands and artists I could think of that I liked, being that MySpace has no limit to the amount you can list. But I hadn't updated it in years, and for it to be current I would've had to add a few hundred more, at least. So I eliminated it and will now only be listing my favorites at any given time.
DISCLAIMERS:
IF YOU ARE A BAND whose profile I added without you asking me first, it means I really do love your music. I definitely don't go around adding random bands or people!
I DON'T LIVE ON MYSPACE. I don't really like this site... There are too many people posting stupid juvenile 12-year-old-AOL'er-style chain letters and quizzes to the bulletin boards, too many attention whores... But it does have *some* uses, despite the poor site architecture and design. But I won’t be adding anyone and everyone who’s looking to increase the size of their friends list.
NOTE RE: COMMENTS: The comments section is meant for people’s comments and testimonials. My profile is set to automatically remove HTML from comments, so don't bother with it... Text only! Consider it my contribution to helping keep this site running a little more smoothly and quickly. It needs all the help it can get. So yeah, if you have something to tell me and you want to drop me a line, just send me a MESSAGE. I don't really like using the comments feature as a message board. No hard feelings/nothing personal. I just want my comments section to be free of bandwidth-eating items and long-winded halves of conversations.
NOTE RE: WEBLOG. I may post something from time to time, but I don’t use it as a diary or journal.
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There's something strangely perversely satisfying about maintaining a public profile when your life is going reasonably well (with typical ups and downs), while quietly and occasionally peeking into the lives of certain other far-away people who you aren't really fond of and seeing how their lives have become become virtual train wrecks. True entertainment! Oh well, I've had plenty of bad luck in my life; I've earned the right to be an amused and detached spectator.
ABOUT ME: My weekday, 9-to-5 routine is as a document designer for a global full-service environmental engineering firm.
But that's just how I pay the bills and keep myself fed, clad, and shod. I am not my job.
What am I, then? Just a resident alien on this planet, trying to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation... MUSIC definitely helps to make existence tolerable!
Currently, I play bass guitar (and a bit of regular guitar) for Razorblade Monalisa . I also play bass (and sometimes guitar) for Uberkunst . I also have my own "project" called Lunar Pollen, which to this day has never gotten off the ground. And recently I've started a new musical entity with two other people, which has yet to be named, but it's still very embryonic.
With Razorblade Monalisa, my main bass since autumn 2007 had been a Schecter Hellcat VI, a short scale six-string bass guitar (a.k.a. "bass VI" type). I recently obtained another instrument of this type, a Burns Barracuda, and so now the Hellcat is my backup bass. I play through a MarkBass amplifier and a few effects pedals, most notably an ElectroHarmonix Clone Theory chorus. For other projects, my regular (i.e, non-bass) guitar is an Epiphone Les Paul Elite (semi-hollowbody) with gold pickguard and Bigsby vibrato. I had this guitar spruced up with new TV Jones pickups and more gold hardware. If only I could play as nicely as this guitar deserves to be played...I play mostly through a Vox Valvetronix amp although I also use a Laney VC30 as well as a 1961 Ampeg Reverberocket which was recently resurrected from the dead.
Most of the influences and inspiration for my playing comes from the past 40 years of British music, with Link Wray, rockabilly, "spaghetti western" music, and surf music being notable exceptions. I don't know how to read music and I don't consider myself a competent player, but thankfully many people seem to enjoy my playing-by-ear, and I do know that I have my own "sound". So I know I am not abysmal :P
From early 2006, until December 2007, I spun tunes before and in between acts at the monthly Sacramento Audio Waffle .
By the way....MY SUMMER 2006 RADIO SHOW (R.I.P.):
The show is over but I do have all the episodes (13 total) saved... Check my blog entries from June-September 2006 for playlists. The download links won't be valid, but I do have all my shows saved and can either upload them to SendSpace.com for you or burn them onto a CDR if you ask nicely ;P
I really can't classify myself according to any culture, dogma, or stereotype. I can only describe myself (and be myself) and hope that people get an accurate impression of who I am. I pretty much think that to conform one's behavior or thought processes to any "ism" is contrary to the goal of being authentic and true.
So just a few random thoughts and facts:
• I am politically and philosophically independent.
• I am religion-free (but consider myself very "spiritual" as well as open-minded about matters typically deemed "supernatural" or "paranormal")
• I find vampires and vampire lore to be boring, trite, and annoying.
• I can't stand anything related to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.
• I burn easily from sunlight, and so tend to keep myself covered/shielded during daylight hours.
• I am highly adverse to and/or afraid of arthropods that bite or sting (with trilobites and crustaceans being exceptions), so I tend to keep as much of myself inaccessible to them as possible.
• I hate humidity, and would rather live in the desert where it gets up to 120 degrees in the summer than a place like Seattle where it's always moist.
• The previous three facts affect my wardrobe choices as well as my outdoor activities and travel ambitions.
• My favorite food is fresh raw salmon.
• My favorite cut of beef is prime rib.
• My favorite beer (so far) is Weihenstephaner Korbinian, but my "generic, everyday" beer that I keep on hand is Spaten Optimator.
• My favorite fruit is mango, and I really don't like 99% of other fruits.
• Under "normal" circumstances, I am about 95% asexual. The remaining 5% - I am heterosexual, and am only physically attracted to extremely strong women (impossible to find). So needless to say, I am virtually celibate. Yes, these numerical values are not meant to be taken as scientific measurements; they are more like metaphorical estimations (i.e., pulled out of my proverbial arse).
• I don't think in English, so it's often hard for me to explain myself in words or even to just come up with a coherent sentence when speaking.
• I've always been amused by my voice and have "played" with it since before Kindergarten. Therefore I am capable of producing all sorts of peculiar and often uncanny voices and sounds, and often do so just for my own amusement to fill in periods of silence (except when inappropriate, of course. I don't have Tourette's syndrome, despite what some people might say!)
Some philosophical musings:
At this time in my existence, I believe that the main "purpose" in the journey of life is to refine one's tastes and mind, remaining in a constant state of personal evolution. I also think it's essential not to abandon or discard the good things one comes across during this journey just for the sake of "change." Too many things in history (arts, ideas, musical genres, cuisines, philosophies, etc.) have been left to flounder, stagnate, rot, or just be forgotten simply because they ceased to be fashionable, regardless of the timeless qualities they may have possessed.
Consuming "retro" simply for its own sake is just plain stupid. 99% of the products of any given time period SUCK. It's better to pick and distill the good elements of any time period to keep and to ignore the rest (except as historical lessons).
Consuming "irony" simply for its own sake is beyond stupid, and is a waste of time and energy. No, I do not want to watch some awful TV show with you or see a shitty band with you just to be clever, any more than I'd want to go to a shitty restaurant and eat shitty food just to be ironic. No thanks, I'd rather experience or consume something that I actually LIKE. I'd even rather just stay in bed and sleep.
Exploring and refining ones ideas and tastes means examining things in addition to consuming them, and asking oneself questions about them, and hopefully finding answers, which usually lead to more questions, and so on and so forth. Eventually one will reach many "ends" or "final answers" that don't beg for further examination, and sometimes they're actual logical conclusions, but often they are just false dead-ends, and will lead to more questions and unexplored avenues. This is one of the great joys (and banes) of non-stagnant sentient existence, and eventually it can almost become second-nature. It will help you discover and discern basic elements about why it is you feel certain ways about the things you experience and consume, which will help you discover newer and better and more enjoyable and satisfying things. I know it all sounds so grandiose and metaphysical, but it really isn't. It's really just the difference between being a mindless consumer of things and being someone who is passionate about stuff and about existence and truth in general. It’s good to actually KNOW why you enjoy (or dislike) a certain song, band, film, food, idea, method, etc., EVEN IF you might not be able to articulate why. And it’s perfectly fine to admit and say “I don’t know!†But don’t expect anyone to fully respect your opinion as valid if you are close-minded about not knowing and not caring to know. Saying something like “I have no idea; I don’t know how to explain†is MUCH more valid than leaving it like “I don’t know, I don’t care, and I don’t need to have a reason anyway, so fuck off!†If that’s the way you are, then people like me may let you be and respect your privacy, but don’t expect us to keep your “feelings†in mind if and when we are making a decision about something that might affect you. The only thing we’ll worry about as far as you are concerned is how annoying you might be to us after a decision has been made.
Hahaha this profile bio section was not meant to be a rant about anything, but they always seem to end up that way. I don’t have anger issues; I am just a passionate creature with strong sentiments about a LOT of things. One of my biggest philosophies of life is that YOU SHOULD NEVER TAKE ANYTHING ANY MORE SERIOUSLY THAN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. This includes me and my rants. People may mistake me as being a snob, when actually I am just socially awkward… They might think I am hostile or violent when actually I am just silly and playful, and sometimes unexpectedly suddenly loud and boisterous… They might think I am judgmental when actually I am just passionate and critical… Probably most often-- they may think I am negative about everything when actually I am just jaded and mildly pessimistic about things in general. To me, negativity is about being artificial and insincere to oneself and to others. I find artificially-inflated optimism and hype to be way more negative than careful, mild pessimism. So yeah, don’t let all my ranting scare you! I am actually a friendly and approachable person. I’m just kind of odd. So if you can get over that, then please introduce yourself and just BE yourself.
