The countdown began

 a couple years ago but now I am finished tomorrow. Plans to go to England on the company dime fell through because of the pandemic so we're going to LA instead. It should be nice and relaxing though I was hoping for warmer weather during the trip. Still 60s is better than 40s. I  haven't trashed all obsolete work-related stuff but I will have plenty of time to do that now. Now I can also spend my time practicing guitar. I have a major decision to make. Do I buy a fuzz pedal or will my overdrive pedal suffice for the music I play? Unfortunately, the audience for 60's stuff is either dying or doesn't go out to hear music anymore. Most of the musicians my age are 70s classic rockers which is of no interest to me. I was listening to glam, punk and new wave in the 70s, none of which had much traction in the US. Someone got me a Rock Snob's Dictionary several years ago and I proudly wore that badge. I have been out of touch with music scenes for so long that it probably doesn't apply to me anymore. My present band is fun but the songs they suggest are the more obvious ones. I prefer the so-called "deeper cuts."  I always felt that there were enough lesser known good songs that there wasn't a need to write your own material. My model is the Detroit Cobras who did only covers but they were intelligently selected. Sadly the lead singer died earlier this year. 

Back to running

 It took me awhile to get back to regular running. What I thought was just muscular pain turned out to be an arthritic hip. (The ravages of old age!) The main issue now is running for the entire duration of the route. I will run for a few minutes then walk for 20-30 seconds. I end up doing miles between 10 and 11 minutes which is about 2 minutes slower than 3 years ago when I was training for races. I actually think that I could do a half marathon as a run-walk though I don't know how satisfying it would be to finish in the bottom half of my age group. I did a 5K turkey trot this past Thanksgiving. My first mile was 8:57 but then I slowed down for the remainder of the race. I was in the top half which I guess wasn't too terrible.

Off ramp

which sounds ominous but it isn't. I would write "end of the road" if it was that. It's kind of slow at work so I am using the time to sort through and trash old stuff I don't need anymore. Thirty eight years is a long time as is eighteen years. Add that to my present age and I am getting up there. I am also planning to use up all of my vacation before I go.

I am finally going to play with a band. This one is British Invasion but the members seem to be at least twenty years younger than me so weren't alive when the actual invasion happened. I hope it is better than the Beatles tribute band from October which included an anti-vaxxer. My enthusiasm dropped immediately when he said he had natural antibodies. I resisted leaving but immediately put on my mask which made singing a little difficult. If it doesn't work out I will keep looking. 

Curb

I am really glad that Curb Your Enthusiasm is back for another season. I have to say that I wasn't familiar with it back when it started. I had a few co-workers who really liked it and would laugh together about the various episodes they had seen. I never subscribed to HBO back then so, in addition to missing CYE, I never saw The Sopranos and The Wire when they were first shown. I caught up with both of them eventually. But I didn't really watch all of CYE until I was unemployed for a year in 2013. It was instead of sending out resumes and polishing my LinkedIn account. It was a nice distraction and better than the profoundly depressing In the Air, which I also watched during my year long sabbatical. That was also recommended by a colleague. 

(Previewed this post and really need to update my profile.)

Spirit of '67 by Paul Revere and the Raiders

This band actually had a lot of good songs, especially on this album. I really like Louise and would enjoy doing it in a band if I ever had the opportunity. Unfortunately, my band prospects have dissipated. I passed on one band because one of the players was unvaccinated and was dismissive when he was asked his status. The other one looks to be defunct as another one of the band members has retired and is moving south.

Guitar Tabbing site

Something for me to do when I retire soon: upload guitar tabs to tabbing. Most songs are already done but I did find a few that were not available or incomplete including this cool one by the Pretty Things Walking Through My Dreams from their great album S.F. Sorrow. 

I added the chords for the instrumental break in the middle. Of course, there are like 5 people in the world who have any interest in this song but it is still a good one.

 

Maybe a Band (or three)

 I am still desperate to play music again. I actually have a couple of prospects. One is in a cover band local to my town. They have been together for probably 20 years and are all my age or older. Their guitarist retired and moved away so they need a replacement. It might not come through as they are auditioning other players before me. When I have auditioned players for other bands, if we found someone we liked we usually just admitted him on the spot and dispensed with the other candidates. I am at least #2 in line so it may not happen.

The other is a Beatles tribute band that is forming. That is probably a little more sure as the guy forming it has been very encouraging. Who knows if we will play anywhere if we do form? I asked whether he'd want to do other stuff from the era but he was adamant that it was only Beatles. It's not "boots and suits" which is good because old guys in Beatle boots and wigs is kind of ridiculous.

Finally there is my Buzzcocks tribute band. I placed an ad on Craig's List for musicians who'd like to play their album Singles Going Steady. It's been about a month and I have had 4 responses. I may email the responders to see if they are still interested. I have no illusions that this band would actually play more than once or twice a year at some 70's/80's punk or new wave event. 

Here's a song about dreams by them.