Never knew Charles Manson and myself had so much in common...

As I continue to research ideas for my new project I continue to find more and more clarity. It's the same old bullshit as it always was but it would seem to be buried deeper.

It's a great story. It has everything. You have supposed good, supposed evil, counter culture, desert vulture, Fahrenheit 451 scenes, and a society that still doesn't have a clue.

Then there are thieves stealing from other thieves. That's where Charlie and I relate. I'm sure he borrowed a bit...we all do but we all don't dance to the same drummer and are often times prone to different kinds of wind resistance that shapes who we are. The more out there you are and disconnected with so called "normal people" the more farout your expressions will be. So i borrowed too but threw in plenty of my own take.

Just like Charlie someone came along and helped them selves to my creation....YES dill-hole MY CREATION and went wild with it. They didn't take it as far as the people who stole Charlie's music but certain people benefited financially. That still doesn't register in the minds of those who stole from me. They figure they didn't press anything up(I've seen things to the contrary) so it was all for fun. What about the money generated by the forums where these stolen goods were displayed/advertised? How about the filesharing sites they encouraged to give my song away for free? Based upon the counts I tallied it was in the 100's of thousands.

Charlie's music was taken by the Laurel Canyon music fabrication machine. They robbed someone who had nothing just to make a buck they didn't need. I could have used a few bucks too. I wonder how they'd feel if someone stole some of their entertainment memorabilia? Everything I create is memorabilia that just happens to be music. I'm an expressionist. I live to express. Yet somewhere along the lines certain people( just like the greedy sob's who robbed Manson) got the idea I was for the taking...

Someday a terrible tragedy will enter their lives...a light will go on and they will think of me...

What a lot of people need

One of these tightly clenched around exposed mouth bones otherwise known as teeth.

The hunt for the perfect singal chain

I've selected the Manley Labs Vox Box on the side as one consideration. Basically i was too lazy to Photoslop a bunch of high end channel strips together! ~slurps Beer~

I really don't know which channel strip would be right for me but I've always liked the idea of a box simplifying the signal chain. I'd be more than happy to just hook a mic up to a box and strum my guitar and sing adding a little(okay a lot of )convolution reverb.

There are just so many channel strips out there. One claims theirs will do this another claims theirs can make toast etc etc. I'd almost have to A/B about 50 of them to really get a sense.

What are my needs? Besides the money to afford what I'm daydreaming about? My first need is a transparent signal chain that is musical as they say. What does that mean to me? Oh that was a good vintage. Really my ears should perk up like a German Sheppard. There should be good headroom. There should also be an almost aphrodisiac quality.

The compression must be pleasing....which reminds me do I even want compression? I was watching a video for a Chandler product that was based upon some EMI gear the Beatles/Pink Floyd used. They showed a drummer clean then compressed like he was in a trash compactor with C3P0 crying away. I hope that wasn't the minimal setting I thought. It sounded like a zit overdue for popping.

Being totally ignorant of recording music history but opinionated enough to form a decent theory I'm going to say the main reason music from the past had so much compression is it was being marketed over the radio and had to make sure they didn't blow up all the radios? Okay maybe that doesn't work but I do think the music and broadcast industry set certain standards that all music was going to be placed in a condom called compression. I do believe if they let some sounds go out of control with wild dynamic overtones it could damage the very small radios of the day.

Sometimes I guess I would seek heavy compression but for vocals and guitar I really need transparency. So would an Adl 660 Tube Limiter be the ticket? Anyone got $14,000?

For EQ keep it simple.

Dream Microphone Telefunken U-48

I think this one on paper sounds like the microphone for me. When I read the list of those who used the Neumann U-48 or even the U-47 I remember the songs and the immediate warm sound of the vocals. I'm not talking necessarily about how great the room they recorded in sounded but rather the coloring or spice that was added to the mix.

Tubes rule if anyone thinks they don't they're not very human. Yeah tubes wear out but the warmth and musicality they lend to the capturing of a performance are unparalleled.

When you listen to a song that used a classic tube microphone for the lead vocals you are hearing the microphone there can be no question of this. I'm speaking of pop music that tends to record vocals up close and personal.

everything I've read had great things to say about the Telefunken line in general. Why the figure 8 one though and not the cardioid one? Well the figure 8 is a little more versatile for capturing just a little bit of room noise or for creating a nice slap back effect if you set the microphone up next to a wall or reflective surface. Yes I follow no rules.

Oh I'm sure there are numerous other microphones out there I'd like better than my Blue Bluebird. I'll find something good in everything. I just seek something great. There are many other more affordable U-47 type remakes but to hell with that, this is my dream, 'member?

What would I even do with a U-48 Telefunken? Besides replacing my rubber ducky Saturday night? oh...I'm not one of those squeaky clean people....I like things a bit smoky....A U-48 would be used to record my Classical guitar that I tend to strum with my index finger and thumb during heavier passages and pluck with my finger nails during delicate passages. Mostly I enjoy rhythm movements that resemble or come across as a machine of sorts. Most of the compression I employ is with my fingers. Nylon strings do hip around a bit but that's okay. I tune down and there can be some buzzing that's okay...tone...if you want totally clean I hear Chinamart has some neat Casio keyboards on sale.

Then being one to go against the rules I like my vocals recorded with my guitar. You see the guitar can fade into the back ground a bit. I'll position it just right for balance but I really can record with 1 microphone and see absolutely nothing wrong with that. When I sit under a tree in the middle of Summer playing my guitar and singing I don't think hmmm why don't I play the guitar, stop, sing,and that way....You see it's unnatural to leave a singing guitarist without his acoustic instrument.

So the vocals need to have a large warm classic character. If they don't i'm going to overdub them again and sound like the Carpenter Beatles...err ants...Adam? There's nothing wrong with nakedness. Sometimes the less going on the better. Please say no to plaid.

So if I had $8500, the Telefunken would be the Microphone I'd choose. So what if it has too much retro cool vibe going on....what's wrong with that? I do cringe when I see some of the people who can afford one....What do they do with it? Sing about love? Blahhhh

Corpseheads

This particular corpse head is a little bit special. Most of the texture is the result of a foam latex mask I had used several times before. So in a sense I entombed my former "alter ego" countenance for posterity. This is a particularly pleasing corpsehead. I went again with the hollowed out eyelid look which I think is far scarier than carousel horse eyes. Furthermore it is more realistic. Unless your eyes are glass they're the first things to rot.

I just know that Nancy Grace visits this page and makes lots of disturbing faces! lol

I love the flexible neck area if you will. There is something perverse about it. Of course the phallic tongue is now becoming a sort of trademark in the Billy Bogart line of corpseheads. I was also very pleased with the colorization.

Maybe I should go see if the local museum would show my works? Haaaaaaaa!!!!

Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta 1939 1st Prize "Fantasy" cup

You're viewing a 1939 Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta Trophy Cup awarded to the Yacht Fantasy of the Wianno Class/Senior Class.

The silverplate has worn away considerably on the inside but is for the most part intact on the exterior. There are a few dings.

However this is not being sold for it's silver content. The cup was manufactured by Poole Silver Company, Taunton, MA 2103.

The Yacht Fantasy was constructed in 1914. It now rests in the Mystic Seaport Museum. Edward or "Ted" Kennedy participated in the 46th Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta Friday afternoon, July 18 1969. That was of course the regatta he attended before the tragic event at Chappaquiddick.

According to a newspaper clipping from the Edgartown Gazette Fantasy(Jean Hinkle), W 3:59:38 Wianno Knockabouts 1st Division. Start 1:50 P.M. 8.75 miles. The article's title was "Regatta Provides Thrilling Finishes".

This trophy is for sale. However I consider this to be a historical item so serious inquirers only. The Yacht that won this regatta race rests in the Mystic Seaport Museum. The name Hinkle is a famous name in this particular sport. Why James Hinkle has a regatta named after him as he along with the Yacht Fantasy won numerous races in the early part of last century.

Tiger Woods OD'd!!!

So the truth finally comes out. You have to wonder how much he paid the cops off not to press charges? If anyone else did that they'd be charged with wreck less driving under the influence of a controlled substance. DUI!!!

Let's see Larry Johnson called someone a fag or homo and he was drawn and quartered. Why last night I heard Mark Knoppler from Dire Straits use the word fag in a famous song. Oh it was okay because the fag got rich? There seems to be a double standard in life.

So now your black simpson god has been tossed from the pedestal, what does that say about the products he pushed? Good enough for a drug addict? Let's come up with some headlines, shall we? "Tiger Woods on Dope", "Tiger Woods addicted to Pain Killers", "Tiger Woods no better than Anna Nicole Smith", "Tigerto go into drug counselling".

What if someone was walking behind his driveway at the time or near the hydrant? Look at the damage. Tiger was STONED! Let's stone him some more, shall we? Maybe we can get Woopie to walk off my set.

Why is 1 person selected to be THAT famous, that RICH? What did he do with the fame and money besides live in a tacky looking oversized house, go to strip clubs every night and run up a $1500 tab per visit? All the while the media defines him as being squeaky clean. Clean enough to make $100 mill a year pushing crappy products? Let me advertise for Gillette. Let's see...Oh you better not I might mention Gillette razors have been getting duller and duller so you have to buy more as they wear out during the first use.

Oh I see the whole thing, ILLUSION! You should see it to. People are not what they seem to be. Everyone has a hidden agenda. Everyone has skeletons. As long as you're going to suggest otherwise I am going to rip you a new one.