I am sick over this.  I've had this guitar for over 10 years.  It was in the studio where we record/rehearse with other stuff and it disappeared last week.  I'm posting pictures everywhere and just hoping someone sees it and realizes.  I don't care how it came their possesion - I just want it back.

Here's a picture.  Thanks for letting me cry on your shoulder.

Yeah, so I’ve been into a couple different things lately. Two new cd’s that couldn’t be more opposite of each other and a new painting. Here goes!

Daniel Lanois new cd "here is what is". Tracy and I went to the Vista Theater to see the premier of this film - the film goes along with the cd - and Daniel Lanois performed before the movie - 45 minute set of just amazing stuff! The new album has a song called "Sacred & Secular" and it’s the kind of music I hear in my head when I try to sleep. Here’s a sampling;

And then I went and got Linda Ronstadt’s "The Capitol Years" double cd - it covers the years 1969-74. What a talent! I can’t stop listening to "Long, Long Time." I mean, C’mon!! It really is amazing.  Check this.

Oh, and then I’ve been painting this weekend too. It took about 4 days to complete and I’m still trying to get the paint out of the carpet but I think it was worth it. I call it "Inamorata". It looks better in person - it’s really hard to photograph.

They just did a reissue of this album with outtakes and what-not.  I love this album.  I think it's my number 1 favorite of all time.  And here's a recent article about it.  That's all for today.

Have you heard about this?  Out of control!  Two whales kept beaching themselves and a Dolphin saved them!!

It's right here.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKWEL1524120080313

I wanted to say something about Robert Kinsler and how awesome he is to us and to local music.  He wrote this great thing about us in the OC Register and then put a picture of us and the article in his blog.

Also wanted to say Happy Birthday to our friend Rami Jaffee.  We celebrated by going out to sushi with him today.  Pretty much my first time having sushi - I mean, I've had California rolls before but we all know that that's just sushi lite.  Today I had Poki Tuna, Miso soup, teriyaki salmon, albacore w/ jalepeno sauce, some California rolls, some tempura.  Yeah, I chickened out a little - I had the Cali rolls, I was playing it safe in case I hated the rest but I didn't - it was really good.  And this new place is right near our house!  Before I forget - be sure to watch Jay Leno Thursday night - Rami's going to be on there.  He's playing with Minnie Driver.  If you want to play along the song goes F# - C#m.

There's so much cool stuff happening.  I can't even remember it all.  So I'll stop there.

Oh, yeah!  We're playing Saturday night in Long Beach at DiPiazzas for the OCMA finals for "best live band" competition.  We had a great show Sunday doing the acoustic version of the band.  I love getting both sides of a review too - One person said "that was amazing, the best show I've ever seen you do."  and the other (a fan of another band) said "can I give you advice?  those first two songs were boring."  Awesome!  Nothing keeps you grounded better than someone telling you they didn't like your stuff!  Love it!

In case I didn't tell you - we're recording a live album Thursday night in San Juan Capistrano at the Coach House.

You should totally come.

We're opening up for Michael Ubaldini and he's doing a live album as well.

We have $7 tickets to sell for the night. Hit me up and I'll leave some at the door for you.

Oh, and we're doing video too.

It's going to be something!

See you there!

-Bobbo

So when Tracy and I were in Canada a few weeks ago we caught a tv show that was hysterical. It was called "Rent-A-Goalie."

Some of you may or may not know this but I've been a hockey goalie since I was about 8 years old and so this just cracked us up.

2 Things about this.

1) The t.v. show was really, really funny and this one episode featured Tie Domi - here's a preview.

2) There really is a "Rent-A-Goalie" business!! They service the greater, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary areas! Why didn't I think of this!!  So if you need a goalie for your beer league game - you call them and they supply a goalie.  For a fee of course but it's better that a bunch of guys throw in a few bucks and get a goalie then flipping a net on end.

I'm going to see if they offer franchises opportunities.

So I've been sick all week.

It sucks. It does. Everyone has this flu thing that's going around. I have 1/2 the voice I had last week right now which isn't good for anyone. We spent Sunday in the studio, I have vague recollections of doing stuff and then of fading off into...

So I slept for 19 hours from Sunday to Monday afternoon.

I then downloaded some history channel into my ipod so I could watch it in bed.

Columbus' Last Passage.

Did you know that Chris Columbus went back and forth like 4 times from Spain to "the new world"? And each trip was a little bit worse than the one before it. On his last trip he gets shipwrecked on Jamaica with no way to get off the island.

It's 4:30 this morning and my head is killing me with a migraine and in my sleepy head I'm stuck on Jamaica and the reason my head hurts is because we're going the wrong way to get back to Spain.

It takes me about an hour to wake myself up and walk around and convince myself that my headache has nothing to do 1) Columbus. 2) Jamaica. 3) How to get to Spain.

I then take a few big orange pills and go back to bed.

Nyquill dreams are the worst!

At least the Bob Dylan dreams made more sense.

Tracy and I spent the weekend in Canada.

Canada rocks!

We went and saw Luke Doucet and Blue Rodeo.  If you don't know Blue Rodeo by now and all the ranting I've been doing on here - then there's nothing left to do but sit you down and force feed you some.  Well, the next time you're over my house anyway.

Luke Doucet is the new favorite right now.  He and his Gretcsh White Falcon guiter.  Man!!  Go look him up - check out either "long haul driver" or "cleveland". 

And we made some new friends that even got us in backstage to meet Blue Rodeo!  What a great weekend!  If only I'd seen that state trooper behind me clocking me at 74 mph...

See you soon!

O.K. O.K. So you get it - I like Blue Rodeo. BUT - Here's the thing. It is good country music - they like guitar feedback and pedal steel, like...The Fallen Stars.

So I read their blog and it's all "Monday Night on CMT big Blue Rodeo Special..." (o.k. so I kinda paraphrased there)

So I go to CMT.com - it's all about Toby Freakin' Keith.

I hate Toby Keith. He is everything that is bad about country music. He's out there waving around the American flag talking about kicking ass, drinking beer and sleeping with his cousin - hell, he even has an American Flag on his guitar - ON HIS JAPANESSE MADE GUITAR!!

Back to Blue Rodeo...

I do some searching around and they are on CMT.CA - Canadian CMT. I go to that site - full one hour special on Blue Rodeo and guess what - No Toby Keith!!
What the hell is wrong with America? - Toby Keith and crappy country music.

I'm going to write a country song called "Toby Keith plays a Japanesse Guitar."

Seriously - wtf?

It's a mythical place - the studio.

You sit there and you start ripping apart that which you created. 

"Man, did you hear that?  Sounded like someone's finger squeeked the strings - what was that?  Are those mics in phase?"

Before you know it you're re-singing a vocal part for the 14th time. 

"Did I hit the bridge?"

But I love being in the studio.  I truly do.  You come up with weird things;

"Hey how about taking John's hi-hats and putting them through a leslie speaker effect so they sound like they're spinning around you?"

"How about we take Tracy's backing vocal and make it so it flys from the left speaker to the right by the end of the line?"

Hi-hats + Leslie = Cool
Tracy Vocals + L-R panning = Not So Good

But you have to try these things to find that out. 

Shawn Lindell.  He's been mixing and recording the stuff.  This kid and I say kid because he's still in his early 20's - is amazing.  He knows what he is doing and is making stuff - that already sounded good - Amazing. 

That's all I got tonight.  Well that and how awesome the new Blue Rodeo album is.  It's called Small Miracles.  The whole album is great with the exception of the end of the song "Beautiful" where it sounds like George Benson took over the band and lead them down to Jazz Odyssey for a snack.

Later.

Whiskeytown
“Stranger’s Almanac”

I never tire of hearing this album. I was going to post about something new I’ve been listening to but this album just came on and I can’t stop it.

From the opening acoustic strums of “Inn Town” you’re hooked with this album. It’s as close to a perfect album as I’ve heard. Never mind the fact that Ryan Adams would go on to prove himself a gigantic asshead – I still love this album.

It’s got great guitar, amazing space in between the notes, piano, b3, violin, rocking drums that build tension and cruise the backbeats of these songs. It’s clear that in Whiskeytown the songs came first and what you played on them second.

Plus – they are great songs