Fixing a Hole

Marzell and I having a laugh about the hole in my jeans

I love my Levis 501 jeans. They never go out of style. Neither does a Hammond B3 or a Fender Rhodes! Same thing. But, just as a Fender Rhodes can have a rip in the tolex so can a pair of jeans... except when it's in the crotch area it can be offensive! I had this tiny hole there at the beginning of my road trip and after a couple states it grew into what you see in the picture above. While some may appreciate the "Winter Breeze" aspect of it or the "Hello how do you do?" shock value, I knew it wasn't going to fly (pun alert! haha). I had to get some new jeans so I managed to buy a couple new pairs somewhere off I-95 along the way to visit Francis Dunnery. What you see here is a quick "emergency pitstop" at a Laundromat in Virginia where a very sweet woman who worked there named Marzell had a good laugh at my expense! The "emergency" had to do with hot chocolate spilling all over the place in my car... don't even ask! But yes I'm a klutz. I "wear" my food and drink. 

A shrimp sandwich! I like to eat unusual things like this when I travel especially if it's a local favorite! The drippy sauce can also make a great abstract design if you happen to be wearing a t-shirt! :D

Right now I'm on my way back to Florida. I was going to stay up there and do a New Years gig at the Tin Angel with Francis which would have been a blast. But, I was feeling a bit of pressure and really need to get back so I can finish up the Rush tribute/fantasy band album built around Neil Peart Drums by Sonic Reality and wrap up final details for the release of the album "Dimensionaut" by Sound of Contact (a new progressive rock band I'm in with Simon Collins). I need to do that AND prepare for something called the NAMM show which is where music software and instrument developers present their latest products. 

I drove through Philadelphia yesterday and had a cheesesteak with "Uncle Jonny" (he's really my Dad's cousin) that was out of this world! I have family in Philadelphia, both my parents are from there and I was born there too (but left when I turned 2... not warm enough!!!!). 

A great little cheesesteak place in a HUGE market in central Philadelphia

Over the next few days I'll be making my way through Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and then back through Florida to Miami (where the Sun's at!). It's been nice seeing a chance of seasons. I haven't seen snow in a long time. 

... where the rain gets in...

I'll hit a few Pawn shops on the way down. I wouldn't mind picking up a "jangly old acoustic steel string" that speaks to me. It doesn't have to be a Gibson or a Martin or anything expensive. I'd be cool with a Silvertone or some less popular brand. I was checking out some of Jon Brion's guitars at Ocean Way Recording studios when he was working on the Dido album and he had one exactly like what I'm describing. He has really good taste in sounds and instruments. The guitar I'm looking for just has to have character and be very playable... or let's just say that when you pick it up you can't put it down. That effect (similar to how you can't just have one Dorito). I actually found an acoustic I really liked in a pawn shop on the way up (pictured below) but my price range for a used old acoustic guitar right now is 8-10 times less than this one's price tag. I bought an old Beatle-Bass-Wannabe instead for a hundred bucks. 

Looking for a guitar like this for a couple hundy (not a couple grand!)

So, that's it for now. No rock legends this time! Just El Squidsarino and his travels. Gonna hit the hay here. If anything exciting happens I'll check back in and blog about it. Maybe I'll share some thoughts about the new year coming up. There are also a lot of things I haven't shared here but I post a lot of misc stuff on my Facebook page if you're curious. In case I don't get to post before New Year's Eve I'll go ahead and wish you all a Happy New Year! I think it's going to be fantastic. I really do! Let's all be positive about it and make it happen!