Baseball

I find it hard to believe that I have gone the entire first month of the MLB baseball season without even mentioning baseball here. Well, I've been so busy that I've only had time to watch parts of two games and listen to a few others... *sighs*

Well, I am a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. So far this year they've been doing pretty well. 14-11 to start the season off.

Along with baseball season... I'm back playing softball (slow pitch). The team I play for had it's first practice yesterday morning. I practiced some 2b, and did ok, as well as some OF where I also did ok. Considering the first ball I had to try for in the OF was hit well over my head so that I had to turn my back to the ball and run for it... I think that almost catching it and bobbling it was pretty good! (going back on fly balls has never been my strong suit). I took a few swings of Batting Practice before I had to run off to work, did ok. I'm still getting into the 'swing' of things ~.^

Movies

I have done it.

I have watched Firefly: Serenity. It actually took me a few minutes to get into, having never seen the series due to my unculturedness. But, once I started figuring out what was going on, it was cool.

Which Firefly character are you?

"The Pilot"
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So, I took Anniina's quiz... I guess I'm actually dead now.

On to the second movie, Bride & Prejudice.

At first, I disliked it, but it grew on me. I had too much of the orignal Pride & Prejudice on my brain, but once I just came to grips with the fact that it is really just a totally seperate movie, with eery similarities to Jane Austen's book, I was won over. It is actually hilarious. I have only one thing to say more, "No Life Without Wife."

(I'd say the movie is worth watching just for that song, it's pretty funny).

P®M

My Setup

Well, I better do this just in case some musician type person strolls through. They'd think I was a fake if I didn't talk about my kit at all.

I use:
Taye Drums
10-12-14" Toms (2 Rack, 1 Floor)
14x5.5" Snare Drum (Taye throw-offs are killer awesome)
16x22" Kick Drum (don't quote me on that, my mind is a bit numb)

for cymbals,
14" Sabian Paragon Hi-Hats (Neil Pert Line of cymbals)
20" Zildjaan Ride Cymbal (a late 70's early 80's cymbal I'm pretty sure)
17" Zildjaan A Custom Thin Crash
15" Istanbul Medium Crash
12" Zildjaan K Custom Dark Splash

for sticks,
Vic Firth Dave Weckl model sticks
Vic Firth T1 General Timpani Mallets
Vic Firth brushes

Hardware is mostly Taye, with a Tama cymbal stand.

I like single ply coated heads for my toms, and I'm not all that picky about the brand on them. Usually use Remo, just cuz. My snare still has the original Taye head on it. I should probably change it sometime soon, but it still sounds really good (might just be because the only other snare I hear often is tuned like dung, so mine might just sound good compared to that lol)

I also have a Cort Katana guitar that is pretty good to me and my amateurish guitar playing.

-Phil

'Bout That Title

I figure it's time for me to explain the title of my blog.

First, if you didn't realize it yet, I am one of the sect of the scruffiest of all musicians. In fact, we are so scruffy, that even musicians look down on us, and don't like acknowledging that we are part of that category of people. I am a drummer.

Sadly, there is just cause for musicians to look down upon our group these days. In the nineties, a phenomena which I call "Crash-riding" grew in popularity to extreme heights. You may wonder what this is. Crash-riding is playing the 'beat' on a crash cymbal, which is a cymbal designed for accenting, making a strong declaration in the song. When used as the time-keeping cymbal, it leads to excessive noise and even worse... cymbal breakage!

Now, I would be the first person to admit, that crash-riding does have merit to attain a certain sound and feel. For instance, there is a song by Offspring, the title of which I can't remember (I might get off my mental behind and look it up), that would not be the same without the drummer crash riding during certain parts of the song. The key word, however, is 'certain'.

Crash-riding can create a powerful sound within a song, musically. But, too many bands these days are using it to extremes. Rather than building their songs, and their collections of songs (I think a CD should be a group of songs that go together as a whole, but... that's a different blog), to create an entire experience, they milk the intensity for all they can, too the point that they cheapen it's effect.

Let this be a plea to all drummers.

Use the whole range of dynamics! Please!

-P®M

The Weather

I was inspired to compare the weather of Wisconsin and Finland by a dear friend of mine. Very dear. So deer that she almost has antlers... huh? Sorry, wrong dear for a second there.

My preliminary research seemed to indicate that Finland has a longer winter by about two weeks on average, while also being a couple degrees colder. Finland actually seems rather comparable to the most northern parts of Wisconsin. Finland would probably be much colder than Wisconsin based on latitude, but has the advantage of being right off of an ocean and a sea, whereas Wisconsin has only an extremely large lake (which would probably qualify as a sea if it wasn't a lake, and a really large lake. Also, Wisconsin's great bodies of water are on the opposite side of the state from the prevailing wind, so they don't have quite so much affect, except for right along the coast.

I'll put together some 'hard' data in an easy to read form a little bit later. Those meterological websites aren't quite as easy to read as they think they are.

Philip®M

Keeping up with the Leos.

Anniina made me do it.

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when things are straight-forward, and you're told that you're loved. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

I wonder what that all means..