I hate being late to the party. I’m not talking about being fashionably late by a few minutes or so. No, I’m talking about being so late that all of the good stuff is already gone.

As a youth in my hometown I attended several house parties. House parties were very popular in those days and my friends and I were fortunate to be invited to many. Every now and then one of the members of our crew would make us late. We’d show up and most of the food would be gone. Some of the people would have left already. Most importantly the  girls that you desired were already taken. You see, you had to dance with 3 or 4 girls to see which one would be the one. So the odds were against you when you showed up late.

Being late to the party in the literal sense is bad enough, but when you’re late to the party figuratively the consequences can be life altering.

I like to create. Playing instruments, writing songs, writing stories. Sometimes it can be difficult to find time to create when there is so much “life” going on. And when you consider the fact that the urge to create may come at the least convenient time it makes it all the more important to have immediate access to the tools needed to create.

So. I said all of that just to say this. For the past few years (well if I have to be honest I’ll say all of my life…..) I have been trying to find ways to quickly create the musical ideas that I hear in my head.  Some days I might hear nothing. Other days I hear sounds constantly.  Never found the ideal solution.  Until now……maybe……?

Cell phones have been around for what….40  years?  Recording apps and interfaces for cell phones have been around for about 20 to 25 years? The I.K. Multimedia iRig was one of the first I recall. Got my first cell phone in 1995.  Guess when I got the “revolutionay” idea to turn my phone into a mobile recording studio? June 20, 2024.  The light bulb finally came on.  Over the years I have used my various cell phones’ video cameras to record hundreds of song ideas and parts but never into a dedicated recording app until now. Courtesy of my sons I already have a quality mic and headphones.  Just discovered BandLab which I think is a great option. I’ll decide between it and  FL Studio Mobile for now. Check these out if you haven’t already.

Hopefully the mobile recording party is still going strong now that I have finally arrived.

Tools to inspire creativity. Hope I’m not too late to the party…….Full story will follow

The Gift of Time to Practice Music

Hope all dads had a great Father’s Day. My family spoiled me well.  Now it’s time to spoil myself.  A few hours of practice before Monday morning comes calling. 

No words. No words to describe the conscious weightlessness I experience on Friday afternoons when I leave work.  And when the afternoon turns into an evening sunset like this……man.

When time allows during the workday I get out of the office to take a walk. About 15 minutes. I make sure to take in the surroundings no matter how familiar they may seem.  Buildings, trees, vehicles, sounds. All in preparation for and in anticipation of Friday afternoon.  Good for a man of my generation to keep the body moving.

Come Friday afternoon when I arrive home from work, I get out of my car and walk to my backyard. I stand still and stare off into the sunset with my thoughts as clear as possible. Good for the my soul of a man of my age.  I carry this image through my weekend because I know that jealous Monday morning will surely take it away.

But for now it is Friday night and it’s sunset.  No words required.

A guitar player. A little strange to refer to myself as such but I’m ready for it after 20 years of playing electric bass. Many years in the making. We’ll get to that a little later. But for now ……

We are looking for a gig. The Epiphone ES335, Boss Katana Artist amp and myself are ready. We are looking to fill the second guitar/rhythm slot for Praise & Worship,  Traditional & Contemporary Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop and Pop bands. The ideal ensemble will have regular rehearsals to allow time to learn songs prior to performances as my experience catches up to my skill. 

In addition to my desire to play I bring love and respect for people, positive spiritual energy and an intense obsession with all things music.

Looking forward to seeing you on a stage sometime soon……..

Man. What a nice ending to a much needed weekend. Got everything done on my “to do” list. Great weather albeit a little on the chilly side for Spring. Sunday dinner at 3 which left more time in the afternoon for creativity. And more time to dream about the silver-blue motorcycle above.

Three years ago I bought the gray-orange motorcycle pictured hear.  Hadn’t owned a bike in over twenty years so I bought the MT03. It was a smaller bike than the previous ones I owned but it was also a much smaller financial investment in the event that I didn’t have the same interest as before.

Well, I outgrew that bike rather quickly and started looking for something larger. I was always interested in the larger displacement bikes (MT09 and MT10) but could never find them on the showroom floor to check ’em out.  Well …..

The MT10 is one bad ass bike.  Finally got to see one in person and was not disappointed.  470 pounds. 165 horsepower.  83 pounds/feet of torque.  Aggressive naked styling. Sold!

Well, not just yet……..but It’s gonna be next in the near future.

Man, I have so much to write about. So much to talk about.  Just can’t seem to find the time. 

At the start of each month I vow to have a new post once a week at the very least.  Somehow the time just creeps away.  But…..

There are three things that I must find the time to discuss. They are too important to let go by without sharing my thoughts and hopefully hearing yours. So to add some motivation I’m gonna provide the titles in advance.

“Why Is Humanity So Cruel To It’s People” hint: killing

“Where The Hell Are We Going People” hint: bad drivers

“Don’t Believe Anyone Who Tells You Only What You Want To Hear” hint: politics

Hopefully I’ll get to these soon.  Stay tuned…….

Sunday. April 14th. 2024. 9:40pm. I am watching Billy Joel’s 100th consecutive sellout of his Madison Square Garden Residency.  No matter your preferred choice of music, if you were alive in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s you heard Billy Joel songs whether you knew it or not.

Not a bad way to end a weekend for a music fan. Especially considering the fact that this was the second weekend in a row where my personal “to do” list took a back seat to my real life “to do” list.  Aw man!

Played some guitar. Got some exercise in but not as much as my body needed.  So after spending the afternoon being my own landscaper and installing new closet shelving I find myself in front of the TV trying to push Monday morning back as far as possible.

You know what? Changing my mindset. I’m gonna speed up the arrival of Monday morning. Then I’ll attack the rest of week in hopes of getting to Friday sooner. And maybe, just maybe I’ll get to finish my personal to do list.

It was Wednesday April 3, 2024. 8 o’clock pm. After waking up to body chills and sleepwalking through the day with fatigue I decided to listen to music to help me relax. After a brief moment of deliberation it was Barry White’s “Your Game Baby” for the first song.

So after listening to the song once I play it again. As the song plays my mind inexplicably takes me back the the 1970s. I begin to crave more 70s music. For the next two days I listen to Barry White, Heatwave, GQ, the Ohio Players. And then….

I realize the I had never watched some of the classic movies of the era. So Friday night I turn on “A Piece of the Action”. The acting, cinematography and language are dated by today’s standards but the movie’s theme and representation of the culture at that time were entertaining. So much so that……

On Saturday I watch “Uptown Saturday Night”. On Sunday I watch “Let’s Do It Again”. I had never seen these classic movies in their entirety until now. So much history. So many iconic actors. So many beautiful actresses. So much influence.

I don’t know why my mind guided me to the music and movies of the 70s, but my body, soul and spirit were much better on Monday morning. 

Can you be sexy at 60? I need to know. And I guess it depends on one’s perspective……

The reason I ask is both simple and simultaneously complicated. A little background may help explain why I ask this question and also why I need an answer.

In my early teens I was an above average athlete. I ran faster and jumped higher than most of my peers. Inspired by one of my best friends I started lifting weights. My friend became a bodybuilder while I lifted mainly for health and fitness.  I actually squatted 460 pounds as a high school sophomore.  I stopped lifting after high school as music became my mistress and took up all of my leisure time (and my money!).

At age 23 I had my annual physical.  Everything was good except…..my body mass index was around 30 I think. In other words I was over weight. The next day I bought a Men’s Health magazine and an excercise magazine. Before I started exercising I went a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant for the breakfast buffet.  I ate pancakes, French toast, sausage, bacon, hash browns, eggs, wings, biscuits, all my stomach could take. 

Then, for the next six years I went cold turkey on junk food. No chocolate, cakes, ice cream. No junk food. I went to the gym four days a week. One hour of weight training and thirty minutes of cardio a day.  34 inch waist. 180 pounds. 

I had worn size 34 pants for about 30 years. Fatherhood interrupted my fitness. The day after my first son was born I celebrated with my first Snickers in 10 years. The flood gates opened and back came all of the junk food bad habits. After my second son was born I celebrated with a honey bun and Pepsi. Game over.

Well into my thirties by then I decided to return to my good fitness habits. Still wearing size 34 pants but not healthy. So, I decided to become “Fit At 40”. Then youth sports and homework and college planning and home planning and marriage adjustments and financial planning and spiritual enrichment became my priority. Now approaching 50 I decided to become “Fit At 50”. Well, let’s just say that “time flies when you’re having fun…..”

So guess what?  The next decade that I am hopefully fortunate to live to will have a six in front. And you know what has happened? My pants size changed for the first time in about thirty years. And now when I walk past a mirror my stomach appears first in the reflection……lol!  At first thought I said to myself that I would lose weight by adjusting my diet. Then I had a revelation! My why not return to my roots? Why not increase muscle mass in my whole body? Then my stomach wouldn’t stand out as much! And maybe build my abs into a six pack for the first time in my life! 

I’ve never considered myself as sexy. Don’t think any woman has ever told me I was sexy.  Never spent time looking at myself in photos or in the mirror. But times change. I need to get fit. I need to get healthy. I’m gonna proclaim it. I’m gonna be “Sexy At 60”!  I’ll keep you posted.