The regular Saturday guy at the Riverside Resort (let’s call him ‘Neil’) will be unavailable to play a couple of Saturdays in September. He explained it was something about MI5, secret missions, the future of the free world…anywhoo… I will be filling in for him on Sept 3rd and 17th. Showtime is 1pm-5pm.
Now, I’m not so handsome as Neil, I don’t hail from a far away exotic land, and I can’t say ‘Cheers” to save my ass but, I will do my best to keep you entertained during these upcoming periods of Neilessness.
Thanks for thinking about me, Neil. Skoal!
Neil is the one with the long hair.
New dates added @ The Blue Gator Tiki in Dunnellon for the months of Aug, Sept, and Oct.
‘Located on the banks of the beautiful Withlacoochee River, The Blue Gator restaurant and tiki bar in Dunnellon, Florida is the place to go for riverfront dining and live entertainment. Adjoining Angler’s Resort, our family-friendly restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Our friendly wait staff will take great care of you while you’re here to enjoy our full menu of fresh seafood and burgers as well as our “Blue Gator Bites” – our tasty authentic alligator appetizer.
Check the calendar for Blue Gator dates
I need a Stratocaster. It took me awhile to admit it to myself but, there it is. Recently, every time this thought entered my mind I would shove it back into my subconscious. After all I have a pretty nice ESP Xtone that has served me well these past five years. For that matter I have a 2004 Fender Esquire reissue I haven’t touched in ages. This music gig hasn’t played out to be the proverbial road to riches; rising operating costs are already squeezing my profit margin. Now I am considering yet another expenditure? Note to self: ‘Forget about it!’ However…
I have learned a few things in the years since I was a pup and one of those things is that my subconscious is smarter then I am. Another is that nagging little thoughts that keep tapping me in the back of the skull are my subconscious trying to get my attention. So I kept thinking about that Strat. The straw that broke the camel’s back came while I was perusing Native Instrument’s site and listening to some sound samples for Guitar Rig 4. There, in all their glory, were the same sweet tones that had prompted me to purchase GR4 in the first place. When I plugged my guitar into the Rig Control and fired up the L1 model II my tone was nowhere near as rich. NI went so far as to make available a zip file of the exact presets used in the demos so I could download them and A/B directly with the demo mp3′s. The results were disheartening; I wasn’t getting anywhere near the same tones. I scratched my head as my drummer brain tried to comprehend what was wrong.
The next day, I was doing some audio work for my good friend, Erich, when I mentioned I was thinking I maybe needed a Strat. His answer was pretty much; ‘Of course you do. Everyone needs a Strat.’ I played him the mp3 demos of the GR4 tones that had taken my fancy and he confirmed that these were indeed “Strat tones’.
The next time we got together he brought his Strat as well as his Les Paul so that I could play them and get a feel for each instrument. The Paul was great but when I plugged in the single coil Strat I knew it was a done deal. Here at last was the tone I was looking for. I set about looking for ‘The Strat’ that would fit my price point and expectations for a gig worthy instrument and finally decided on the American Special Strat in Sunburst with a maple neck. The beautiful beastie is now on its way from Sweetwater Sound to my humble doorstep. More updates to come!
