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The Wrap-up, 2021 Edition. How was your year?


skipclone 1

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I'll start by saying, that anyone who says it was great with no problems, is probably lying about participating.

I almost forgot to post this in fact-I was busy rocking back and forth in a corner and mumbling to myelf.

I lost two dear friends in September and October, one after the other-from the same condition. My friend who passed in Septmber

was someone who I knew from my Taipei days, over 30 years ago. We never lost touch. I can carry a tune vocally I guess. She could sing with

orchestras. She was also crazy beautiful. It's a reminder that, life doesn't care about any of that.

I really miss my family.

Whatever effort I made to find humor in the covid situation, didn't survive the Summer. Now I'm just sick of it.

We had two shows in November including episode 2 of my own event. The performers were great. The mixer board, got itself

confused with a ouija board. Some kind of evil sound problem spirit tried to mess things up.

I finally found a solution for those checks that Uncle Sam sent overseas. It's a nice Christmas present-that means I can get back in the studio

and continue working on a couple of songs. The home studio I was working at early this year is still MIA.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm making a recipe I ran across accidentally a month ago-a muffaletta sandwich. My long-lost homeland of Chicago

says it's from there but, I'm going to have to go with New Orleans. It takes both homemade relish-called giardiniera-and muffulettta bread. I'm making my own,

it's impossible to find outside N.O.

Peace and happness to everyone. I'm done making predictions for the new year. I just hope it's the end of the virus and the start of better days.

Same old surprises, brand new cliches-

 

Skipsounds on Soundclick:

www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491

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It was a year which sucked less than 2020, which I know is a pretty low bar to hurdle. I have avoided the plague, by following advice from medical experts rather than ideologues. I have reunited with my girlfriend, after a lengthy split. I have resumed touring with Kronos, which I love. Vaccinated musicians have started to come back to the studio to record, which I love. I lost a dear friend & musical collaborator. I have more arthritis, tendonitis, & back pain. Kind of a year like many others, good mixed with bad, and life goes on.

Peace, & good vibes unto you all.

Scott Fraser
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It's just been too fucking weird . . .

 

Given that I'm sitting in my own home, at my own desk, with bills paid, food in the fridge, and no looming personal crisis, it's not like I can really complain.

 

I work outdoors, by myself, and for whatever reason Gardeners were considered "essential" during the tightest part of the lockdown, so my work life was barely impacted. Perversely, I had even more work than usual, because my restaurant client needed to dress up his outdoor space for when he couldn't do indoor service, and the rest of my clients were spending enough time at home that they wanted more entertainment value from their garden spaces. I was even working most of Thanksgiving Day, just to keep up, and I'll be back out at it next week.

 

My FIL died in May, just in time for things to start to open up again around the D.C. area, so we had a big church service, and lots of gathering with friends and family that we hadn't seen in far too long. It was oddly celebratory, considering . . .

 

Novparolo had our first gig in a long time, early in June, but much like Skipclone's encounter with the possessed sound board, my bandmate's iPad glitched out from the heat, and refused to recover. It was the first time we'd ever run into a tech issue like that, and we were just one act in a day-long event, so it was an inconvenience, not a tragedy. In the meantime, we've managed to put out a good number of recordings and videos in spite of the pandemic.

 

In September, my wife and I got to go see King Crimson for what may very well have been their last U.S. show, at least for this incarnation of the band. This particular tour had been re-scheduled from June 2020, like a lot of others.

 

More recently, one nephew came down with Covid, but we haven't been in contact for many months; he's doing fine, just feels like a bad cold. To add to the fun, one of my wife's co-workers just tested positive, so we're doing the home test routine, and waiting. Not exactly the holiday we were expecting, but so far, we feel fine, and we're both boosted, so we'll just see.

 

All the best to all of you!

"Monsters are real, and Ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." Stephen King

 

http://www.novparolo.com

 

https://thewinstonpsmithproject.bandcamp.com

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Two huge changes for me this year and I am still adapting to them. Couple of what would be fairly major changes too but in context they've been pushed down the list a bit.

 

First, I had cataract surgery in early April. Uncorrected, my eyesight was around 20/240 in both eyes, VERY nearsighted but with remarkable close-up vision - one of the reasons I was very good at being a guitar tech.

Now, my vision uncorrected is 20/30 in both eyes, I can see very well and driving is safer since there are no lenses/glasses to provide flare and other distractions driving at night. I love that, I could see a baby bird 15 feet way and make out all of the beautiful markings. What I don't love is that I am now quite far-sighted and my close-up vision is blurry. Magnification helps but I am still adapting to the completely different perspective.

 

Then, in late May I had complete reconstructive surgery of my right foot, which has needed done for many years. My surgeon is one of the best for this operation in the world and he did a great job. It was 10 weeks before I had much mobility and 12 weeks before I could drive myself places. I'd made 9 sets of keys well ahead of my surgery date and gave them out to trusted friends. They took very good care of me before and during recovery, I am grateful to have these wonderful people in my life. 7 months later I can walk 2-3 miles and it's fine. I am not fully recovered but it is going well.

 

I had a part time job that I mostly enjoyed at first but as time went on and other employees came and went it began to escalate into a full time job and the stress of trying to keep track of everything coming at me caused me to give 3 weeks notice and quit. Meanwhile, my other income stream was playing gigs, that has become a sad situation since gigs are few and far between, don't pay very well and during the winter months are indoors only. I felt it was time for a new direction so I quit a band I'd been in for 6 years. We are all still great friends and what is left of the band is struggling too.

 

On the plus side, I'm almost done getting my home studio to a point where the engineering is so simple it no longer distracts. I have a paying project in the works, we are in pre-production right now. More of that work will come.

And the owner of the company I used to work for needed somebody to sell a pile of guitars (estate sale). I've sold almost all of them and done well for all concerned, now he would like me to sell a nice knife collection and a boat. I enjoy selling and am good at it, the pay is better than band gigs.

 

And, I discovered Microphone-Kits.com. I won a mic mod kit in a contest, built that and was amazed at how great it sounds. So I've bought and built another complete mic kit AND now I am working another mod kit. All of these have different capsules and circuits and sound quite different from each other, it's a great addition to my humble mic locker and I am grateful to have these tools at prices I can just barely swing - as compared to the sky high prices equivalent mics would cost if I didn't build them myself.

 

I have wonderful friends and family that I love dearly. I got a re-fi through while I was employed that lowered my cost of living considerably. I love where I live and the good things that are happening around me.

On the other hand, starting on Christmas Day, we will be getting a cold spell for the first time in years - by Monday the high will be around 14 and the low 9 degrees. That's pretty brisk!!! I've got food stashed away and plan on staying home for the most part.

 

Wishing everybody a joyful and prosperous new year!!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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First I consider myself fortunate as no-one in my family or circle of friends has had covid. The good, my boyfriends family owns a plumbing business so we've always had one income, our expenses are low and I got a job last month that I like. The not so good, being somewhat separated from friends and family, we all live close so not totally separated. My Father cancelled his trip home for Christmas, that's harder on my Grandparents because they haven't seen their other Granddaughter in 2 years now.

Hope next year is better, but a bit pessimistic. Out cases have risen from 100 a day on the 1st to 1500, just short of a record, yesterday.

Anyway here is to a better and healthy year.

Jenny S.
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For 4 years I have felt like I was on the financial edge because I retired early. Not destitute by any means, but not living like I was accustomed. This is because I retired 4 years earlier than I planned. Today I got my first SS check and now I am much more relaxed. This tips my financial scale back to the positive side, so I am ending the year on a good note. Celebrated by giving in to GAS and ordering a new instrument.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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In April I felt a little sick, nothing major. The following Saturday I got my first Moderna Covid vaccine shot. Within hours I became incredibly sick, even worse than the pneumonia I had years ago. I was sick for two and a half weeks, but at least I survived getting Covid. My friends Ed and Jimmy both died from Covid this year. In June the hose that feeds the toilet tank in my upstairs bathroom broke off, and my bathroom, the kitchen below it, and the basement all got lots of water damage. Here it is, nearly six months later, and my kitchen and bathroom still are not rebuilt. In July, somebody working for the company that tore out the damaged drywall; flooring, and everything else went into the spare bedroom, opened the closet, saw the safe was unlocked, and helped himself to over $6,000 in cash. I filed a police report, but the detective interviewed all five guys who were in the house, and they all said they didn't steal my money (not that I expected one of them to say "It was me. Send me to prison"). In May, I wanted to buy a Yamaha Waverunner, but none of the dealers in southeast Michigan had one, and they couldn't promise that I could get one this year if I ordered one.

 

For some good news, I got my Epiphone Limited Edition 1959 Les Paul, which was pretty difficult to get all year. I went to the doctor's office yesterday, and my left forearm is not broken, which is good. Plus, my heart rate is only 55, not too shabby for a 62 year old guy. That's a great heart rate for a 22 year old guy. 2022 is looking like it is going to be great for business, with the big hunting and fishing shows scheduled again in January through March. I should make enough money to buy both the Waverunner and maybe another guitar. And since I'm not married, I don't have anyone at home saying "You don't need another guitar!" Other than that, my life has been about as exciting as mowing the lawn.

I rock; therefore, I am.
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1. I know some people who died and they will be missed. Grateful for those who made it through.

 

2. My elderly father passed away from cancer in 2019, right before this all started. Oddly enough, I am grateful everyday he didn't have to suffer through the fear of COVID while fighting cancer. A sweet sorrow on that.

 

3. No COVID infection for me, or at least not that I noticed; but I did manage to catch Dengue mid 2021! That dramatic-comedy spiced up my mid-year nice and good. At one point I was standing in front of the local emergency room, and the poor nurse explained she could admit me, but the whole E.R. was a hot zone with COVID patients; so I nursed the Dengue from home. Drank more Gatorade than I ever imagined, peed like a race-horse for a week!

 

Now it's time for a garage sale and some eBay listings to sell half-the-crap I bought during the last year while I was trying to keep myself busy at home.

 

MY PREDICTION for the coming year:

I think Omicron will quickly blow itself out and we'll be able to get on with it.

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Honestly, all things considered, 2021 wasn"t bad enough for me to complain about. For the most part, everyone I care about is still on the right side of the dirt.

 

Things did go wrong, of course.

 

Had to euthanize my older dog after she had a stroke. A couple months later, our other dog ingested a box of dark chocolate raisinets- box and all- and would probably have died if I hadn"t gotten her to the emergency vet. One of my (unvaccinated) cousins is getting a divorce, and his older brother is now estranged from their mom. One friend in OK is still experiencing some serious complications from her bout with Covid.

 

But that"s really it.

 

In contrast, another cousin got married to a really great gal. Yet another went to South Africa for a weeklong missionary tripâ¦missing omicron"s discovery by hours. (She didn"t get it, either.) A good friend"s son got a promotion. My cooking skills- already tres formidable- improved a bit.

 

So really, 2021 was nothing extraordinary. Just regular ups & downs.

Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: âNinety percent of everything is crapâ

 

My FLMS- Murphy's Music in Irving, Tx

 

http://murphysmusictx.com/

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+1 DBM, We also survived the year this year and are looking forward to next year. No complaints so far and we just delt with the issues as they came up. I did add one guitar this past year and I'm still trying to get used to it LoL! We had a great Christmas Eve celebrating with the family at our house and feel blessed knowing they are all healthy and doing fine.

 

I hope everyone celebrated the Holidays this year and gave thanks for all that we have! Don't forget to remember the troops serving our country that could not be home for Christmas. I feel sorry for the Tornado victims back east and wish them all the best and wish their families a full recovery. :cool:

Take care, Larryz
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Well a few more days until 2022, So far as Larryz said above, we also dealt with the changes as they unfolded. I actually did not have much of a problem with masks, and the inoculations. I just tried to follow the CDC guidelines with masking up, social distancing, and the vaccines. I hope all of you out there have a great and healthy 2022. Live long and prosper........
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Not the worst year for me, and still have not had covid(J&J vaccine in the spring) . My wife has had two minor surgeries and all biopsies have come back negative for Cancer, which all local Drs said was Cancer (Idiots all of them), Always get a second Opinion from a Dr not associated with the ones who made the original Diagnosis. Double Blind opinion we are calling it(this could easily be a very long Rant , So easily enuff to say thanks to the NIH and Cleaveland Clinic for SAVING my wife from the Local Drs .).

 

 

Work wise was on strike for 5 months so no income for that time(no unemployment due to strike), but could be worse still have my job.

 

Musically Turned down a touring spot for band coming to the US for and east coast tour, would have played guitar , bass and bass pedals. (turned down due to wifes health so was an easy thing to do).

Also Joined Jazz jam group having a blast when we can meet(all canceled since thanksgiving due to covid concerns) , but a great bunch of people and we all really give each other a good ribbing during our get togethers(thinking of renting a space and forming a musicians guild based on how this all came together). We do challenges every month IE learn a song backwards , learn a song that is in minor key and play it as if it were written in a major key.

 

Lok

1997 PRS CE24, 1981 Greco MSV 850, 1991 Greco V 900, 2 2006 Dean Inferno Flying Vs, 1987 Gibson Flying V, 2000s Jackson Dinky/Soloist, 1992 Gibson Les Paul Studio,

 

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Well, today was "interesting"...

 

Around 5 pm the fire alarms went off. It's cold and wet here, hard to imagine anything was burning. Once an idiot tenant pulled the alarm for fun at 3am. That sucked.

 

Anyway, I'm on the first floor and there was water in the stairwell.

 

The fire department showed up swiftly and after inspecting they determined that a unit on the 3rd floor was full of water. My best guess is the water heater started leaking and water of course obeys gravity.

 

Fortunately it was not the unit above mine but it was next door. We will now more soon about the damage but in a condominium if an appliance in one unit causes damage to other units, the owner is on the hook for all repairs.

So we may see a unit go into foreclosure, too soon to know.

 

Almost made it to 2020 without a catastrophe but there you go...

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Kuru, glad it was not a fire, and no one was injured. Hope everything dries out...

 

Thanks Larryz! It is going to cost the Association a good chunk of money, at least one unit was very wet. That may mean replacing sheet rock, paint and new carpets. Hard to say if any furniture was damaged. The unit below it may be pretty messed up too. I feel bad for the owners, that is a disaster any way you slice it.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow-well I always tell students, that the holidays in Japan are the opposite in the U.S.

Here there are Christmas illuminations, special restaurant menus and parties. New Year is a quiet family holiday

with expensive food called osechi, relatives visiting and watching year-end TV specials.

Well my holidays didn't quite work out that way.

Santa is going to have to add another category to his list-REALLY naughty haha. But ya, somehow it ended up as one big party zone.

Last Saturday my friend introduced me to her crew, a Japanese punk band with some international repute. Great bunch of people.

It's my last week of freedom before work starts again. Am I ready-no.

But I'm definitely ready for a new year, new beginnings. All the best to everyone.

Same old surprises, brand new cliches-

 

Skipsounds on Soundclick:

www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandid=602491

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Quite the year, a lot has happened but I forget..lol

Seriously we all managed to stay safe, which isn't hard in nowhere Nova Scotia.

Even though we are in a rural area I have all my needs in a ten minute radius. No need to hit the shopping metropolis.

This fall I had the pleasure of installing a metal roof, only two of us and I'm 61 and crawling around on a roof sure stretches those muscles that haven't moved for awhile.

Got her done and now I never need to go up there again. It was hanging over my head for awhile and now I feel a big weight off my shoulders.

I went back to work for four months after being retired for 8 months. Good pay and the only negative was a coworker who I had to work with every day. No fun working with a sour angry self centered baby every day. But I'm back out and loving it.

Last year was not much different in lifestyle for me, just the masks , vac, and social distancing .

But I am anti social anyway ha ha.

Having a great time with Jim's Big Fish, we jam twice a week and it's pretty free style.

Great bunch of guys, no egos and an awesome drummer. We go direct and all wear headphones.

Dual guitars work great as Jim and I have jammed for as long as I have known him, 30 years, we know each other and blend well.

We have no genre other than electric guitars doing things.

Now as for this year...I have just grabbed a players strat in shell pink , hum sing sing ,tortoise shell pickguard and a roasted maple neck!

Which I needed badly to cover the bases of our tunes.

So for this year I'm pretty pumped.

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