Control That Tone

Grrr....(that is the sound of frustration).

I have been trying unsuccessfully to locate a coupld of vintage Ludwig internal tone control mufflers to replace those missing from my beloved kit. All the drum shops I know about (even the best shop in the west, Sam Adato's in SF) don't have any, and so I have been reduced to trolling for them on eBay. I have even sent a message to a collector in the UK, hoping he may have some lying around.

Well, it seems these things are extremely rare and terribly popular. The irony here is that in the 1970's drummers couldn't remove and trash these items fast enough. Hence why they are missing from my 1965 drum set. Perhaps I should begin searching landfills?

Anyway, I have lost a few auctions, and now have my bid in on a pair that ends tomorrow, so we'll see if I finally get lucky.

Delays, Delays, Delays...

Sigh...

The CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) has decided that the cutoff for referrals for this month is May 30th, 2005 LID (those who's documents were logged in by May 30th). Imagine my fist in the air, and a scowl on my face (same for Rachelle).

So...what that means for us is that our referral (late June 2005 LID) will probably come in late May (if we are extremely lucky), or in June. It could be even later, but I'm feeling optimistic. In a word, this SUCKS!

However, we still have a lot to do before becoming first-time parents, so maybe this is a blessing in disguise. I mean, everyone tells me I should play my drums more now since I won't be able to play them at all when the baby comes. Yeah...right. That kid is going to be exposed to loud music the same way I was, which (IMO) is a good thing. ;)

Alice's Restaurant

On Tuesday evening, we cashed in on some tickets given to us by friends to go see Arlo Guthrie. I know what you're thinking, "Arlo Guthrie? From the '60s, Alice's Restaurant, folk singer? Is he still around? Do you even know who he is?". Yeah, so we may not have "been there" when the magic of the 1960's happened (technically I was for 7 months of it), but we certainly remembered his music ( I did anyway :) ).

Anyway, it was pretty cool. The guy is a hilarious, old hippy, and a great musician and song writer. He even threw in a couple of excellent Bob Dillon covers before descending into the 17+ minute classic he is most well-known for.

I consider it one of those once-in-a-lifetime shows, kind of like when I saw Bauhaus recently, although it seems they are back on the money train (er, touring again).

Matching Room!

Just a quick update on the adoption front. We recently entered what is known as the "Matching Room"! This is the final step before we receive the referral documents with all of the child's information. We expect to get the referral in either April or May, and then a few weeks later we go to China to bring her home!

So Long to Good Mornings

Bainbridge/Seattle ferry riders had to face up to the end of an era today, the era of the customary "Good Morning, Good Morning, Good Morning, ...".

Bill, affectionately known as the "Good Morning Guy", has decided to retire after 15 years with the ferry service.

For Rachelle and I, it was a great 2 year stretch of being greeted by the always positive and cheery "Good Morning!" when we arrived in Seattle to start our work day.

We looked forward to seeing Bill, both of us wondering how he would dish out his friendly blessings on "this" day. You see, Bill didn't just say "Good Morning" every day, he delivered it by sprinkling a "Good Morning" here, or casting a "Good Morning" there, and even at times zapping you with a "Good Morning". His hand gestures were just as important and meaningful to the experience as were the words themselves.

On the way home this evening, we were lucky enough to see Bill and shake his hand one last time as we boarded the boat home. He was at the Seattle terminal dressed all dapper in a nice grey suit, obviously off to some sort of retirement party. As the boat was about to depart, Bill came aboard to spontaneous applause which got him and the rest of us a little choked up.

It is the simple, sweet gestures such as his that make the day-to-day grind tolerable, and really make you appreciate how genuinely nice some people can be. Bill is the real deal, and we all hope the future brings many more "Good Mornings" to him. Thanks to Bill, we have had some great mornings, and I'm sure every regular or irregular Bainbridge ferry passenger will miss him as much as Rachelle and I will and already do.

Good luck, Bill!

New Drum Heads

Ahh...the new drum heads arrived today!

Goldy (that's her name) was pleased that I fitted her with some sweet new skins (all white coated and old skool, of course). The front head on the bass drum was especially gratifying to install. It really gives the drums a classy look. Afterall, they are 41 years old this year.

Hmm...it's only 8:35 pm. I wonder if my neighbors would mind if I took them for a little test drive? Heh, heh...

Trying Another Auto-Update Option...

OK. I added a new link that *should* provide you with an easy method of tracking updates to my blog (see "Click to subscribe for email updates" to the left). You need to follow the link, enter my blog address http://ccastleb.blogspot.com, submit and then enter your email address.

Good luck! :)

Sometimes Technology Just SUCKS!

I thought it would be realy convenient to provide a nice, simple subscription service to my friends and family to be able to easily receive email when I made posts to my blog. I mean, we are in the 21st century, right?

Well, I found only one service that came up in a Google search that offered this. And, behold, their service is horribly flawed with bogus errors.

Sometimes, technology just friggin' SUCKS!!!

Sorry friends. Hopefully I will come up with a useful solution soon. Stay tuned.

Sparkle Gold!

At long last, the treasured sparkle gold Ludwig drum kit has emerged from a 3 year slumber. I put the drums in a box when we left San Francisco, and kept telling myself I would get them out and play them as soon as I had the proper space to do so. Being a bit of a procrastinator, that took about 3 years!

My inspiration was a Saturday afternoon jam session at my neighbors house. Their kids were making a bunch of racket with drums, guitars, and keyboards, when I thought to myself, "Self, if the kids can make noise, so can I!". So, I started unpacking them, much to Rachelle's surprise.

We made room in the den, and they seem to be right at home. I ordered a set of new drum heads, and re-sprayed the bass drum hoops which had suffered from several shows I drug them to when I was an aspiring rock star.

So now, here they are (see attached photo)!

I got curious and did some research on the age of the kit. My findings were that the kit itself (toms and bass drum) were made in 1965, and the snare drum was made in 1964. For context, I was made in 1969 (technically 1968).

Although I have gone through phases in my life where I get disconnected from my art, I always manage to come back to it! I'll post another pic of the kit when I install my new heads.

Carry on...