Shinybass journal entry 06-24-13

There’s no place like home…

Good morning, and happy Summer! See, I told you it would be here.  A few months and a ‘Supermoon’ later, and boom, here we are.  I preach the importance of getting outside and leading an active lifestyle, and yesterday, my first full day off in a week, I was reminded as to how lame I really am.  A good friend asked us to drive an hour south to explore a park with rock formations, waterfalls and mountain trails.  We still haven’t unpacked the house, so ‘responsible’ Steve took over for ‘spontaneous’ Steve.  After hours of ‘house stuff’, then Lowe’s, Target, and Kroger took all my damn money, enough day was left for a 9:30 PM dinner and a glass of wine whilst watching the news.  Hope the trails were fun.  You should see my new mulch.

Which leads me to the next stream of consciousness.  Just how much of this stuff that we are buying these days will make it past puberty? If you recall not so long ago, you went to your grandparents’ house, and you saw relics from bygone era(s) either preparing your food or holding your coffee or drying your hair or seating your seat.  Grandparents seem to have all the older furniture and fixtures because they a) were born in a different time, where we held onto things longer to make them last b) were too senile to realize they weren’t trendy anymore or c) just didn’t care about the latest furniture, and felt their money was better spent on the grand kids.

But look around your house.  How many of these things are going to be handed down?  Sadly, we live in a disposable world where particleboard shelving and bedframes from Sweden are considered the standard, and the only person that can really profit from them is the owner of Goodwill.  Goods in this great land used to be made of steel and actual wood.  Due to the global shift in production and severe deforestation (without sustainable replanting) now we pay premium prices for actual wood and the steel companies had their run until the 80’s.  And the pride in a good product has left us, so we won’t be seeing that fashionable stove top tea kettle in 50 years.

After spending so much money on, well, I am not sure what yesterday, I started thinking about things that last, especially of the heirloom category.  My brother once told me that you buy copies and inherit originals.  I would like to think that someday instead of buying a bunch of copies, I buy one good original that will find a place in my (yet unborn) child’s home.  And of course, the tea kettle.

All the house stuff IS moving along swimmingly, so I felt that a day or two or three on the road was in order.  OK, it’s my (much loved) job, and I was looking forward to heading out for a trip.  Or two.  Actually, the first two days of the week were spent in Kentucky at Land Between the Lakes.  I was hired as a cameraman to work on an outdoor TV show, so for 2 days I was by the water, in the woods, and generally sweating for 2 days.  I had a tremendous time, and I look forward to getting out with that crew again very soon. As you can see, the scenery ain’t too bad.  And Don’t give the show’s producer your camera until you are ready for the picture.  And pants.

Within 4 hours of my return to Nashville, I was showered and on the bus headed to Denver for 2 shows.  The bus stopped midway to let the driver sleep, so that gave me a chance to relax, get in a workout, and yes, go furniture shopping, which is just about the MOST rock star thing you can do on a day off.  Luckily I made it out alive, although the Nebraska Furniture Mart is the Disneyland of the furniture world.

In Denver we had 2 shows slated, which made for a long day.  The first was a corporate event at Dish Network, which had some of the coolest lobby artifacts in history.  Literally.  Although the Star Wars artifacts were reproductions, they still made for fun photos.  The centerpiece of the collection is the hourglass from the Wizard of Oz.  The actual hourglass.  That’s pretty sweet.

And as if all this weren’t enough to want to work at this office, they have bunnies all over the place.  They probably pop up on cue to woo you in. They got me.

After the outdoor show at Dish (shows ain’t so bad when the Rockies are off to your side), we headed over to the Grizzly Rose for show #2.  The Griz’ is a great country bar, with a great staff and an even better crowd.  Phil and company flew in from Mexico that morning, so they were on fumes that night, however Phil would never let you know that.  He brings it every night, and it’s pretty cool to be a part of the circus, as crazy as at may get.

Speaking of circus, this week marks the 12th ( I think ) year in a row for Phil to be at Summerfest in Milwaukee.  This will be my third show there with him, and I am floored at the turnout.  If you make one show this year, this would be the one.  We hope you come to them all, because then at some point you may hear me actually play one of the songs correctly.

So here’s where I leave you, for I am off to a wedding.  Yes, a Monday wedding for our dear Tour Manager Gordon.  If you know him, you love him, if you don’t, then you are missing out.  Today’s attire includes flip flops.  My kind of wedding.

Enjoy your week.  May your tans be bronze and your paintings be actually painted.

See you on the road!