Posts by James Brown

36

My Guitar, My Friend

by Tallon in

one of my interests is music and i play an acoustic guitar.. i wrote a poem about my guitar and thought i'd share it with you.

my poem doesn't match up to some of compound complex's work however, i'd really appreciate any feedback you can give.. my guitar my friend.

reaching for my old companion.

James Brown

I myself am the second bass player in a popular local band.

When the first bass player has another gig or commitment they call me.

And I slide right in singing and playing with no practice.

I have a folder with all their songs and they use me once or twice a month.

And in that band which I have been playing with for over 20 years. There are probably 10 drummers and 5 bass players that I know of.

I have 5 local bands that I fill in for. From singing, playing guitar or bass sometimes even keyboards.

36

My Guitar, My Friend

by Tallon in

one of my interests is music and i play an acoustic guitar.. i wrote a poem about my guitar and thought i'd share it with you.

my poem doesn't match up to some of compound complex's work however, i'd really appreciate any feedback you can give.. my guitar my friend.

reaching for my old companion.

James Brown

If you have a band you got to have 3 or 4 drummers and 3 or 4 bass players

That's one hell of band. I have drummed in many bands as the solo drummer, usually with one bass player, never two, and never another drummer except for maybe a little percussion added here or there by the guy with little to do, often the guy on keys or another guitarist. Nearly all the bands I listen to have one drummer and one bass player

I have to say you haven't spent much time in the trenches. Or in fact you are a drummer. One who hangs out with musicians.

You don't have 3 or 4 drummers and 3 or 4 bass players at the same gig. You have a rolodex of musicians who can fill in. You only have 1 drummer and one bass player at a show.

I have never been in a successful money making band that only had 1 drummer.

And I have been playing since the beatles came out.

There have been bands like the grateful dead and alman brothers that would show up with 2 drummers. I guess they figured having 2 one would always show up and be there.

If it is a successful band the person or management running it. Has back ups for everybody.

I guess what I am saying is of all the people that hang out with musicians. Drummers are the least reliable for various reasons. And you need to have a number of them in your rolodex if you want your band to be known as a dependable band that doesn't cancel gigs.

17

How are you with your temper?

by The Rebel in

jw
friends

let's be honest everyone has their limits, their breaking point.

personally i try to remain placid when provoked, but on occasion i can loose it.

the last time i lost it was when chelsea came to watford and some chelsea supporters had some how got tickets and were sitting in the home end.

James Brown

I try not to get into positions where I will be provoked.

I avoid confrontations.

If I have to get into them, someone will probably say, I lost my temper. They may or may not be correct.

On the other hand. I worked as a deputy sheriff at the county jail dealing with prisoners all day.

And at times they would zealously provoke me.

I can say I never lost my temper doing my job at the jail. If I had to fight someone or discipline someone, I never lost my temper.

Maybe because everything I did was on video. And I had to write a report regarding everything I ever did and then the brass would compare my report to the video. So I knew I couldn't loose my temper or I would loose my job. And I wanted the retirement.

I have had urine and feces thrown at me and people swing at me, I have been called every name prisoners can think of, and I never lost my temper.

I try to avoid confrontations. Because, I know to the extreme they lead to a fight and fighting leads to jail. And I worked in the jail and I don't want to go there.

I will fight to protect myself from being attacked or harmed but I will avoid heated arguments that lead to fighting.

I have enough martial arts and police training that I can look at someone and tell whether I can beat them or not.

And if I can beat them they might know it to and shoot or stab me first. I don't need that.

And I know where I live in Florida if you end up fighting someone on the street probably both parties are going to jail. What do I need to fight someone for?

I can tell by looking at them whether I can beat them or not. I don't need to go to jail, pay for a lawyer and get a criminal record.

Florida is a state where many people have concealed weapons permits. And If a person feels threatened they can shoot you and probably get away with it.

So that is a good reason for me to control my temper.

36

My Guitar, My Friend

by Tallon in

one of my interests is music and i play an acoustic guitar.. i wrote a poem about my guitar and thought i'd share it with you.

my poem doesn't match up to some of compound complex's work however, i'd really appreciate any feedback you can give.. my guitar my friend.

reaching for my old companion.

James Brown

I love guitars. I know I have 50. I might have 60. I haven't counted them in a while. I got all kinds Rickenbackers, Les Paul's, SG, Firebird. Lots of fenders. Gretsch. Ibanez's, Takamine. Peavey, Burns. Epiphone, Lots of bass guitars. Hoffner.

If I had to get rid of them all and go down to one. It would be a fender Stratocaster. I have a lot and have built a few. Very Sturdy they can take a beating not like a Gibson or a Rickenbacker. You drop a Gibson or a Rickenbacker you can spend a thousand dollars getting the neck repaired. If you drop a fender probably nothing will happen and if you do ruin the neck you can buy a new one for one hundred dollars on eBay.

Hendrix played a strat Beck and Clapton play strats. Satriani played a strat before he got sponsored by Ibanez. Ibanezes are very good guitars also. My latest acquisition was a Fender Flea Jazz bass.

Before that a Gretsch electromatic hollow body .

I try to play for an hour a day. I have a lot of recording equipment. I will record all the side instruments and then record vocal and lead guitar to all kinds of songs. Any song that catches my fancy.

And then I have a library of 100's of rock classics that I can go over whenever I want.

I make the recording and leave the lead guitar and vocal off. Then I can jam out on any song that I am in the mood for.

Or if I get a gig. I have 100's of rock songs already recorded and I can just pull up the tracks and refresh myself on my parts.

I used to play a lot of gigs in my 20's thru 60's but Now that I am retired and don't need the money, I spend more time playing soccer. Soccer is less aggravating more peaceful and less stressful.

Playing music is peaceful and relaxing but playing music for money is more stressful than soccer.

At least that is how it has been for me for the last few years.

If you have a band you got to have 3 or 4 drummers and 3 or 4 bass players.

Then I sing and play guitar.

Or I just advertise my services on Craig's list. And be a hired gun and let somebody else have the stress.

154

I believe in Evolution and that God created life

by Crabby in

anyone else also hold this view or understand it at least, or do you feel the need to argue that both can in no way coexist?.

James Brown

I do not know how we got here.

I have a number of opinions.

My first choice is that God made us.

But it is hard to argue and prove that from the bible alone.

I know we adapt if you want to call that evolution. But I do not believe in unguided evolution.

My second opinion is that we are in a computer program or simulation.

Then I have a whole lot of other opinions based on various things.

The oldest text know to man the Sumerian text have pictures hieroglyphics of space men and space ships.

I think they are probably true. But that just pushes the God issue back farther.

Hopefully, this earth is a stopping point or training ground on life's journey

133

Why Are You Here?

by Believer in

i'm wondering why believers remain members of this forum which is clearly hostile to believers.

as one member said, nonbelievers pounce on any semblance of belief like piranhas on prey.

as former jws we should have had our fill of judgmental know-it-alls, but here we are.

James Brown

I come here because I was born in and raised a JW. In a way this is my original tribe which I had to escape from.

I appreciate the different directions we have moved in. They say one man sharpens another.

The common denominator we all have in common interest me.

3

Gord Downie - No Mention ??

by berrygerry in

with the loss of music greats in 2016, i'm somewhat surprised that gord downie hasn't been mentioned here.. the hip make such good music, and put on a good show.

saw them here about 4 years ago, and gord brought his young son out on stage.

with his health news, it makes that memory so much more touching.. whenever we lose a talented entertainer, we feel such loss, wishing that their talented gift to us did not stop.. for him to give, what can only be described as, a self-sacrificing good-bye tour, leaves me absolutely speechless.. http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/25/final-tragically-hip-tour-dates-announced.

James Brown

Never heard of him or them until I found this tread. He and them are pretty good. I look forward to exploring their music.

18

FYI My JW mom and Alzheimer's

by scary21 in

jw
friends

one year ago today my mom passed away.

she was 91 years old.

it has been really hard on me because i never expected what happened, to.have happened.

James Brown

My mother has Alzheimer's. It is a terrible disease.

57

Did you participate in a Drama?

by Hecce in

i am bringing this up because even it was a lot of work, for the majority of the friends this was a rewarding experience.

camaraderie, joking, costumes, props and when the time came the celebrity status of being in the drama.. back in the 50s and 60s, conventions could be as long as 8 days and from about 1966 the dramas became an integral part of the program.

we had one per day and the brothers looked forward to their presentation.

James Brown

I was in the Noah's Ark drama in Cleveland stadium about 1973, I played Ham. I met brother Knorr.

55

How many of you are health nuts?

by Harvard Illiterate 411 in

jw
friends

there was/is a sister in my old hall who was a pharmaceutical sales rep and she was a huge proponent of anything in the drug industry.

when someone had a headache, she was the first to say "take an asprin.

" now my husband and i are what you might call old hippies.

James Brown

Since Armageddon did not come in 75, I am now 63 years old.

I can no longer eat like I did when I was young. My body makes too much cholesterol.

So every day for breakfast I have oatmeal and blueberries.

For lunch I have a cup of beans and for dinner 5 out of 7 days I eat vegan and 2 out of 7 eat chicken and veggies, or fish and veggies.

I eat at home often, it is a rare thing for me to go out to dinner.

I used to love to go out to dinner but high cholesterol has put an end to that.

i take vitamins every day about 10,

Go to the gym 5 out of 7 days and play soccer 3 to 5 times a week.