Foot Pedal...

I have a cajon.  "Great," you say, "What's a cajon?"  Thanks for asking.  It is a wooden box, used as a percussion instrument.  There are various types of cajons, with most of them having areas you hit that sound like a bass drum and/or a snare drum.  If space is tight and the sound volume isn't loud, a cajon is a good option.  It works for us in the Hip Replacements.

The cajon Ron was playing Saturday night is mine.  (Ron added the hi-hat cymbals.)  I bought it years ago, after getting together with Mark and friends when we were in Phoenix for a couple months during the winter - 6 or 7 guitar players is about 4 or 5 more than necessary, so I thought some percussion would add to the jam.  After Joan and I left for the season, Mark bought one just like mine so those getting together would still have some percussion options. 

Why not just get a more typical drum set?  Thanks again for asking.  Typical drums are loud.  To "keep up" with the drum volume, our guitar, bass, and vocal volume would have to go up.  This limits where we can play out.  This cajon of mine has a built-in pickup so it can be plugged into the PA or an amp if it needs more volume.  Also, typical drums take up more space and take time to set up and tear down.  Plus, Ron being the one doing most of the percussion, doesn't want to be locked into only playing percussion; he also plays guitar and mandolin.  No interest in investing in a typical drum set.

Ron plays with his hands on the cajon.  I generally use brushes made for the cajon.  You get a bass sound by striking lower on the cajon - that means bending over.  That means a potential back ache when playing for any length of time.  I decided to add a foot pedal to the cajon to get the bass sound, eliminating the bending over.  I used the money I made from Saturday's gig to get the pedal - yes, "re-investing."  It's a musician thing to make sure you never come out ahead on money made from gigging.  ;-)

 It attaches under the cajon and you operate it by using your foot (toes or heel) - step down, the beater hits the cajon.  Just like a foot pedal on a bass drum.  The pedal came in yesterday; Ron still has my cajon, so it will be a while before I can try it out.  If I add a small snare drum to the kit...

Yeah, that gear thing is ever-expanding. 

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Joan and I made a trip downtown (where Ron lives) to pick up the cajon.  Lunch out, then back home to try the pedal...

 I made a few adjustments to the pedal (for fit and sound) - works and sounds good.  Next, I wanted to try putting a wrap on one brush, to give the sound a bit more snap...

 Yep, that adds to the sound, too.  I sent a photo to Ron to show him what I was working on.  He is not a fan of the brushes because they don't project like it does when using your hands.  I explained to him in biblical terms the solution...

Man said, "God, my cajon needs more projection."

God said, "Let there be a pickup."

Paul said, "And that is good."  So did Ringo. (rimshot... yes, another drum reference)

Each of these things adds to the percussion sound.  And that is good.  ;-)

 

 

Why Don't We Do It In the Road...

 

If you said, "The Beatles, 1968, from the White Album," you get 15 bonus points.  If you said, "Something from PornHub," keep it to yourself.

Out on the Burgman 200 today.  I may not have mentioned this before, but... damn, that little scoot is fun to ride!  OK, I may have mentioned it a time or 20.  The CTX has been getting more attention, when I can find the time to give either of them some attention.

It was a cool morning (in the 70s qualifies as cool here), clear blue sky, and not much traffic.  The riding was good, the scoot entertaining.  I stopped a couple times to get a photo of the cute, but manly Burgman...

 That one above from a parking area.  I did find a spot to get completely off the road to get an angle with some road in it there...

 From the phone on the handlebar...

I mentioned "the road" and being well off it because of what I saw on the way down the mountain: it is a relatively narrow, twisty, 2-lane road.  Well down the mountain, on the other side of the road, an older woman stopped her car - in the driving lane (no place to pull off where she stopped) - got out of the car, leaving the driver's door wide open, then meandered across the road (I had to slow down because she didn't look before stepping out), and got her phone out to take a photo of the view.  Did I mention she left her car IN THE LANE?  With the door wide open?

There are a couple places with pull-outs when you can get safely off the road, and the view is even better; one less than a half mile from where she stopped.  Her behavior was stupid and inconsiderate.  I don't know why anyone would think stopping and getting out of the car while it is IN the driving lane is acceptable behavior?  No matter how pretty the scenery.

I saw more City/Park trucks on the mountain roads today than other cars.  Of course, there was no City Park Ranger there to write that woman a ticket. 

Didja See 'Em?

 

I'm talking about the meteor showers.  Last night was supposed to be the peak of the eta Aquariids - the eta Aquariids are a strong shower when viewed from the southern tropics.

From the equator northward, they usually only produce medium rates of 10-30 per hour just before dawn. Activity is good for a week centered the night of maximum activity.  These are swift meteors that produce a high percentage of persistent trains, but few fireballs.  Currently, a waning gibbous moon will severely affect this shower, reducing hourly rates to less than 10.

While the time each shower is best seen remains much the same year after year, the moonlight conditions change considerably from one year to the next. With 84% of the moon lit last night, the viewing conditions here in the Phoenix area were not ideal.  Combine that with the fact that the viewing is best after midnight (and this ol' boy is asleep before that), I did not see any meteors last night.

It was a clear night here; I did sit in the hot tub facing south, leaned back to get a good view of the southern sky.  Didn't see any meteors, but it was relaxing.

The eta Aquariids are active until later this month, but that activity drops off significantly over that time.

A file photo courtesy of NASA...

 Looking back, there are two memorable times getting to see significant meteor showers: one was while in Baja California, Mexico, on the beach in our motorhome.  No other light around, and a dark sky.  The other was while out on the net of the Corsair sailing trimaran we had at the time.  Similar situation with no other lights around, but even more comfortable while laying on the net, covered under a blanket.

 

Cinco de Mayo...

 

Yes, it's that day again.  It gives me the opportunity to re-run a post here from years ago...

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It is the 5th of May and everyone is Mexican for the celebration.  Much like everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.  Seems that a lot of people don't really know why the 5th of May is a day of remembrance in Mexico.  Allow me to explain...

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England .

In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.  This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico.

But, as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York . The ship hit an iceberg and sank, and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise, and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were disconsolate at the loss.  Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as -

Sinko De Mayo. 

 

Fire...

 

If I add: "Let me stand next to your..."

If you said, "Jimi Hendrix, 1967," you get 20 bonus points.

There is a wild fire in the far west Valley - in Buckeye, AZ.  It is over 1,000 acres currently, and is not yet contained.

 It has been burning for several days now.  The wind has been out of the southwest, so our part of the Valley didn't have the smoke.  Until today...

 It kept the sun from heating things up today: 78º for a high here.  More heat is coming, though.

 

So, How'd It Go?

 

Thanks for asking.  The vote to recall the board member was decisive: 134 voted in favor of removing her from the board, 8 voted to keep her on.  The homeowners have spoken.

Will she go away with no fuss.  Not likely.  She has been fighting this all along.  No, I have no idea why someone would try to stay on a board where she isn't wanted.

Hopefully, the community can move forward, without all the nastiness.  That would be the best outcome.

There were about 25 people at the Special Meeting.  In terms of "homes represented," it wasn't much of a turnout.  Nobody really needed to be there, is it was held to officially count the votes.  I was surprised that we were in a small meeting room in the Community Center, but it was enough - there were a few people who had to stand.  It wasn't a typical meeting: the lawyer stated why we were there (to count the votes), he oversaw the counting (Joan and another homeowner did the count), the vote was announced, and the meeting was done.

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The gig with the Valley Women's Ensemble went well.  We accompanied them on one song; did 3 songs with 2 individuals (the music director and the woman who handles arrangements for the group)... and then did a set on our own.  Then, they did a set.  The crowd was responsive; for both groups.  And, a full house.

Mark had borrowed a set of powered speakers to use for front of house.  It was more than necessary.  This crowd was here to listen, so it didn't have be loud.  Those speakers were large and heavy.  I put one of the speaker cabinets up on a stand - I will be paying for that with an achy back.  We need to make a new band rule: if you brought it, you cart it in and set it up.

My Bose PAs worked as expected, being the monitor for Ron (the percussionist) and me.  And the S1 Pro was my guitar amp - it works great for that.  With the main speakers being out in front of us, we needed the monitors.  Mark used one of his Headrush speakers as a monitor for him and Podge.  We were fortunate to have the musical director's husband to help us balance sound, since we could not hear what the audience was hearing with those large front-of-house speakers.

I wasn't sure how the crowd would react to our music, since they were there to hear a women's choir - good applause, singing along, and a group of women dancing in the back.  It turned out to be a fun gig.

Of course, we had to wait until the ensemble finished their set before we could start our tear down.  This venue is a church, and the church has a worship band that has gear set up on the altar - we had to work around their gear to set up and tear down ours. 

After the gig, Joan asked, "Do you want me to make you a grilled cheese and ham sandwich when we get home?"  That is a nod to my old band rat days on the road: it would often be 2:00 am before we got gear tore down and into the bus; we were always ready for a meal at that time, so it was off to the nearest 24 hour truck stop before getting down the road.  The grilled cheese with ham sandwich was my go-to.

Joan isn't just a supporter: she helps me pack gear and get it in and out of the car.  She picked out my outfit for the night.  She parked the car while I rolled a wagon full of gear into the venue.  And she was sitting up front, giving applause.  And I get to go home with her after the gig... that really beats getting into a bus with 8 or 9 other guys and rolling all night.  ;-)

 

 Yes, Joan took these photos, too.  And shot some video.  I did some edits, cropped where I could, added some titles and transitions...

 

 

Today Is The Day...

 

Two things happening for us today: first is the results of the recall effort.  By law, the HOA board had 30 days to arrange the vote and hold a Special Meeting.  Today is Day 25, and the meeting is scheduled in person at the Caesar Chavez Community Center at 1:30.  It is supposed to be just to count and announce the results.  I think most people voted online through the Homeowners' Portal, so those votes should already be counted.  There were a handful of votes that were turned in to a lockbox that was available at the gatherings last week.  There will be the opportunity to vote in person at the meeting.  We encouraged homeowners to use the online option, and it appears that is the way it went.

We will find out the results at the meeting, but based on what people were saying at the gatherings, I have expectations.  Word is out in the community that the board member being recalled plans to contest every single vote.  That has been her "M-O" all of last year and into this new board's year: argue and delay.  Don't do the work she volunteered for, but argue about everything.

I will be glad when this ugliness is done.  I expect the recall to be successful, as long as enough homeowners voted so there is a quorum.  I don't expect her to go away quietly.  And I expect she will be retaliatory and continue to walk the neighborhood looking to turn in violations against her neighbors.  But, if the vote goes the way I expect, she will no longer be able to delay board business.

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The other thing happening today is FAR MORE upbeat: the Hip Replacements have a gig this evening.  The event is the annual fundraiser for the Valley Women's Ensemble, being held at First Church UCC in downtown Phoenix:  https://valleywomensensemble.org/#announcements

Tickets are $22 at the door (advanced sales are closed).  This is their show.  We will be backing them on 4 songs (one with the entire ensemble, three others with 2 different individuals singing).  We will also be doing a half hour set on our own.

 This has been a lot of "arranging" - not in the musical sense, but in coordinating rehearsals and getting different stories on gear to be used.  (They will use their own PA... no, they'll be using ours... no, they will use their condenser mics with our PA... no, they'll use their own PA... and back to: they will be using their mics with our PA, plus we'll need to have a couple extra mics for them to use).

We rehearsed our set on Wednesday, so we're ready to go.  We can get in two hours early to set up our gear, while they will be doing one last run-through before the performance.  We've heard them sing (a couple songs at a joint get-together, where we also did a couple songs) - they are good.  Not our style of music, so it will be interesting to see how their audience does with a rock 'n' roll band.