The band-episode two empire strikes back

So here's Adam. Adam is an enigma. He is stubborn and hard to work with and knows that you are an ars*h*le in the first 30 seconds of meeting you. He also is one of the smarter persons I know. He treats his friends extremely well and started this band and has threatened to finish this band on many occasions. When he started getting interested in music he wanted to emulate the rough, raw sound and bring elements of arena rock, pop and pure poetry to the forefront. Even though the forefront he was trying to bring it to was about 3 friends. He does it outta love for playing, creating and throwing a chink in the works. He has learned more from magazines and websites about recording than I learned in 2 years in a recording studio. He is the producer, lead singer, songwriter and much, much more to Ohio Briars.If there is a fire in the guitar parts, he throws jet fuel on it. If there is too much mutual congratulations, he suggests we do something to muck up the works. He is not happy with mundane. It works great for me and I couldn't think about being in a silly cover band.(unless I am making a bundle) His lyrics and placement are the best I have ever seen & I hope he wants to keep doing this until I am old(er) and grey(er). Here's to you Adam...up yr but joe boo!!!!---sf

We need "Earthquake Glue"

In honor of the recent earthquakes-which I've slept through- I have been listening to Guided by Voices-Earthquake Glue. I like to theme my music sometimes, not like listening to Jimmy Buffet when I go to the beach theme, but more on whatever is going on in my world theme. At the start of the Iraq thing-alot of early U2-War & Boy, Lunar eclipse R.E.M.-Feeling Gravity's Pull, when my dog died, Blue Mountain-Dog Days and after my mother was here, The right rev. Al Green-greatest hits. I dunno, music, for me, is more of a feeling than the lyrics. That may be why I don't bow down at the alter of Bob Dylan. Don't get me wrong, Bobby's great but his music does nothing for me. Same for Billy Bragg. I like my angry lyrics with a sense of melody. I'll take Joe Jackson and Elvis Costello over those guys anyday. As for the beach music, well, about 18 years ago I went down to the gulf, on a whim, listening to Steely Dan all the way. My roommate & I crashed at a guys house he barely knew and we saw the best Steely Dan 3 piece cover band in the world, back when Destin was a tiny fishing village with a few overpriced condos. Ahhh...Maybe if I could think more about what needs to be done around here and less about the beach, I could afford to move there. I think a long weekend is in order. See you at the beach-SF

The band-episode one

I have not mentioned that I am in a great band and I wanna profile the guys and gals that make me sound like I know what I am doing. I have had the honor to play with some great people over the years, in North Carolina, Memphis, Mississippi, Knoxville and Ohio. The guy I click with the most Has taught me more than I would have ever learned by being in a cover band. we will call him Jim, 'cuz that's his name. Jim has been around and played in many nearly famous bands. He is a successful salesman and can play your butt under the table. I have learned how to mangle, manipulate and strangle guitar leads from him and I thank him for it. He is a true friend and if he ever wants to quit playing I will gladly take his tele and les paul from his kind but firm fingers. I salute you Jim.

Rant of the day

If you really wanna know what the economy is doing-ask someone in sales, or restaurants, or any service industry. It is not going well. Businesses are cutting back and at the same time demanding that the profit margin go up. I know of a 14 million dollar restaurant that is working with 8 managers right now. Not because they are short staffed but because of cuts they have made. A 14 million dollar a year restaurant should have no less than 14 managers at a time and a couple of trainee managers to fall back on. I work in car sales. Now I know what you all are thinking, but we actually are one of the few that wanna help people get a car. We do not bully people or make them feel pressured. We encourage people to shop around because we have the best car for the price and people remember great customer service. I won't buy from a jackass and I wouldn't expect anyone else to either. It has been soooooo slow and to make matters worse, the soccer moms and the older generation who think that they need to get close to or near what they paid for their 10 year old gas guzzling SUV or Lincoln town car and expect to find a car that gets 40 miles to the gallon with all of the bells and whistles for under 10 grand are coming out in droves. IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!! We buy our cars from the manufacturer and we pay for them through the bank. Yes, we have a note to pay on them every month-just the interest, but that adds up when you have 100's of cars on the lot. We also mark up the cars about $400 dollars. There- I said it. $400 dollars. All of the people who are out of touch seem to think cars are marked up 3-4 thousand dollars by the dealer. That is true in some cases-Maybe Mercedes, BMW and Land Rovers, but not on little 4 bangers or small SUV's that are marked at 25k. My point is if you are out car shopping and you have not done your Internet research you deserve to get upset and frustrated, but only with yourself. The market has changed so much in the last 5 years. When you are doing you research, please bear in mind that when advertised the dealer will put in the lowest priced base vehicle and add all of the rebates and bonus money in i.e. small print, and no one ever, I repeat ever qualifies for every rebate or bonus. Also when doing your research the price on the manufacturers website never includes taxes, shipping fee, destination charge, title or doc fees, all of which the dealer has no control over. That alone adds up to thousands, and I haven't even mentioned financing charges. So be cool, do your research and expect to be in the dealership for a minimum of 2 hours ( you are not buying a pair of pants-you are buying a very expensive and technical machine) . Average time at my dealership, from picking out and driving a car to leaving the lot is around 3-4 hours. We have to do paperwork, pick a car, gas the car, detail the car, more paperwork, get the tags , appraise your trade, get the financing, more paperwork, finalize the delivery, go through the checklist for the delivery, set the radio stations, check for your insurance, yet more paperwork and then you are free to drive your car off the lot where it depreciates as soon as the tires hit the asphalt. I hope I have enlightened you all. I know I feel a little better. Now come buy a car from me so I can keep the Internet access, will ya.SF

it hurts

I was really hoping for a Memphis win. Not just because I was born and raised there but because if any city needed it more it is Memphis. I had a party and invited people from my neighborhood to watch and only one guy showed up. I am not devastated but why can't something positive happen in Memphis? As of this moment you will hear that Memphis was the underdog, got schooled and was never really a contender, placing my beloved city in the class of losers that people talk about as once in a lifetime. I know we(Memphis) have some good freshmen coming in, but I was there in "85 and I feel that we need some championship face time. If I were in M-town tomorrow I would be at the airport to great the Tigers and show them how much I appreciate them for their effort. I love me some Tiger ball-we just did not execute for 40 minutes. Sad Sad Sad...Now let's get it on with some AAA Cardinals baseball and the NFL draft. Ohhhh to be on Beale st. tonight and commiserate with my peeps, and the bums and the lowlifes. I kinda miss the dirt.Thank you coach CAL and Good Luck Joey. We will miss you!!!---SF

oooohhhh the PANCHO'S

My mother and stepdad were here this weekend and they brought my beloved Pancho's cheese dip. It is so good and at the same time sooooo bad for you. We ate burgers at an old ice cream shop in a small town north of Cincinnati and cruised the little shops. We ate at the local hibachi table and had a grand time with pictures and laughter and full bellies. We watched basket ball, movies and---believe it or not--- NASCAR. Great race BTW. We played with her dog, the infamous ROCKET. Rocket is a border collie and is a hoot. He herded the girls at one point and I thought he would never slow down. IT WAS A GREAT WEEKEND!!! The U of M Tigers are in the final four with the dreaded UCLA & I got to see my momma. A great weekend indeed. I just need to figure a way to interveiniously partake of the gooey goodnes that is Pancho's cheese dip. Next time I will request some taco sauce to go with it.Thanks for the weekend mom. I love you!

They are on their way

My mother and stepfather are on their way to our house in the southwest ohio suburb that I dislike. I cannot wait. I do not see my Mom enough. I gave her a very hard time during the divorce and I don't feel guilty-but I feel a sense of seperation-which I would like to let go of. I love my mother and I think she is great, and emotional, which she passed down to her son, and firey which she passed down to her daughter. She wouldv'e made a very good grade school teacher-she's passionate. She taught me how to treat a woman and she gave me my first punk rock hair cut. I hope she stays more than 2 days to see what her son has done with her grand daughters. I know she will be pleased. I also hope she brings some PANCHO"S cheese dip and a stack of Memphis flyers.I certainly do miss my home. If the vacation thing to south walton does not work out, we will be in Memphis for a week. If only Maywood was still there-I could convince the younguns that we were in destin.Oh--Go tigers Go.Memphis going to the elite eight-unless they blow a 20 point lead in the last minute-which is possible.hugs and kisses. SF ( MY KEY BOARD IS TANKED)