Your Sunday Squirrel

Well, I've been a terrible blogger.  And it's not because I have a terrible blog.  Pardon my silence.  I've been hammering out the latest album.  The first day of recording is this Friday.  In a bizarre turn of events, I'm going to be playing drums on five of the disc's thirteen tunes.  So there's been that, too.  I have this electro kit that has been wonderful for getting my chops up to muster, but can't actually duplicate the real drum experience.  So I've been renting a practice room in Ballard that contains one functional Tama four-piece set.  It's just the thing I need.  This next week will be more drumming, more singing, printing out parts and getting things generally in order.

It looks like this effort will take about four days to record and as many days to mix.  Last year's album was a monster: seven days to record, eight days to mix and three days to master - three days!  Well, I mean, there were 49 tracks to contend with.  This one has a paltry 13.  And it's got strings.  Since I had some somber tunes ready to go that had strings, I decided to make it a string extravaganza.  So there are 11 tracks with strings.  And it's going to be a fairly dour affair; there will be songs of failure, disastrous arrogance, awkwardness, extinction, creepiness and the perdition of the soul - to name just a few topics.  I hope I'll have a few session photos to post by next week.

For now, enjoy this squirrel from yesterday.  

Your Sunday Squirrel

Once again, this was a holiday week, so my visits to Denny Park were limited.  But this was a good shot.  This guy was really trying to climb up my leg.  He really wanted me to be a tree.

RIP Ralph's

Well, after 31 years in business, Ralph's is done.  When I was feeling awash in cash - which was seldom - I shopped there.  They were quite a bit pricier than the other neighborhood stores.  But they had a great deli.  For all these years, they kept the doors open by selling booze to the local hotel crowd.  What I'll probably miss most about them is the Blue Note jazz they played on the outside speakers.  Sometimes I'd go out of my walk just to walk past it.  Rumor has it that it's going to be a chain drugstore.  Downtown is saturated with them, but there's only one here in Belltown.  OK, I guess that means that their potato chips will be cheaper.  Anyhow, goodbye Ralph's, you were a nice alternative to all the other murder marts.

Happy New Year!

Instead of being at the base of the Space Needle as usual, I was at the Centennial on 4th.  This was the view from the 26th floor.  It was a really pleasant evening.  I wore my tuxedo jacket and it actually fit - another reason why 2015 was a success.  OK, so I realize that this is a few days late, but I hope 2016 is a genuine kickass year for everyone.