Tarkus
04-16-2008, 03:22 PM
...than writing a WAY too long post, clicking preview, then having the board script tell me I'm not logged-in... and when I backup finding everything I wrote gone. Ahem. This time, I'll be sure to copy to the queue as a safety net before trying to post.
My original thread title was "MarkE has nothing on me when it comes to absent!", with the alternative title being "The spy comes in from the cold!". Leave it to a bassist I haven't seen or played with for almost thirty years tracking me down here (Nick Bennett - thanks for telling him to PM me, Mark) to get me back.
To that end, I figure I owe you guys (and anybody else interested in the music of EMP) an explanation of what's happening with me and where I'm trying to steer my life over the next several months. Some of you know some of the story - through our infrequent messages on MySpace - but I figured it'd be good to fill-in with the details.
When my Dad passed and I put in motion plans to relo to SW Florida I believed it was the culmination of my dreams of many years. But you know what they say about sometimes achieving your dreams - only to find they're not all you expected (or even wanted)? That's been the case. I love my home, but the sedate nature of this place just doesn't agree with me (one of Tommy's closest friends, who used to live here, described the place as "Cape Coma"... I've come to fully appreciate that remark!). In the 3+ years I've been here I've seen myself slip into an odd lethargy, kind of an emotional quicksand that's slowly strangling the life out of my desire to do much of anything beyond work and vegging-out to the television. But it has only been in the last couple of months that I've been snapped-out of it sufficiently to begin effecting a change.
To that end, attending The Grammy Awards in February was a godsend... not only hobnobbing with various professionals - many who said "WTF are you doing in Florida? You really need to get out here!" - but also an uncharacteristically open full-day spent with my brother, where we discussed both of our wants and desires for the rest of our lives. I came to realize that I need to make the move west - not only because I'd felt at home from the first time I visited, but because of family (my only brother and only daughter living there), the big city (I've found I've missed things like great live music, shopping, non-stop airline flights, etc., more than I expected), the friends (it is telling that I have 4x-5x the number of friends there that I do here)... but mostly a need to shake-up my life.
I suppose it is also telling, when I was visited by keyboardist Stephen Gardner and his wife Brenda Carol a few weeks ago - and he excitedly got to play my gear (btw, it was very humbling... I don't usually play with guys who are better than me!) - to see the shock on his face when I told him that was the first time my electronics had been turned-on this year. All this great gear - the envy of many - just gathering dust. It is a crime, and I'm well aware of that fact.
Maybe it's a cheat to blame this place for my mental state - but I've heard others repeat the same thing as they effected a move. Mind you, this is retiree central... but I find the retired pace of things - the lifestyle - just doesn't agree with me. So, after returning from The Grammys, I spent a bit over a month sprucing-up the house, and a bit over a week ago listed it for sale. Have had three serious visitors so far, with the last one wanting to return with his wife (they currently live in Nashville) - if she likes it as much as he did, I am told they will make an offer.
Among my myriad of reasons for "shaking-it-up" is also the realization that my lovely house, at 2500sf, is just too much for me and two dogs. I never favored the idea of "downsizing", but having seen a couple of my friend's homes out west something snapped where it felt as though I would be more comfortable in that kind of situation... further driving this decision. Granted, it is not a seller's market right now - I fully expect to take up to a 10% loss on my home... but I'm rationalizing it away because the market is worse in Los Angeles - and my hope is that buying at a bigger loss there means in a few years I will have made-back the money I lose today in future market appreciation. At least that's the plan.
I also have another goal out there (house-related... there are quite a few other goals I've set for myself, with that goalsetting being part of my recipe for digging myself out of this funk): building a soundproof studio in the backyard of whatever home I eventually buy. I've been educating myself on the topic for the last month-or-so, not only because I won't have space in the home for a music room - but also so I have a soundproof place to play whenever I like... and big enough for other local musicians to join me to play as we might like.
Hopefully, that plan will mean I can re-energize my musical ambitions - it's also my plan to use some of my connections to perhaps do a little studio work and jamming here and there. One of the conditions of keeping my current job out west is that I work east coast hours (in my case, it'd be about 6a-2p). I don't mind doing that, (a) because I sleep so poorly these days that I'm usually up by then, and (b) with a nap it means I'm good to go for another half-day afterwards. But the bottom line is that I'm hoping this change will move me from the backlog of keyboard trax I owe you guys to where there's a surplus you're trying to catch-up to.
Timing is the only question now... all three serious lookers have been cash buyers, so once I have a contract I could well be on my way within just a few weeks. The downside to listing my home was that the realtor all-but-insisted I dismantle and store my gear (I understand her rationale - it makes the living room look a LOT bigger and less cluttered) - but it also means my opportunity to record what I owe you has been further postponed. You guys have been heroic in not nagging me - where you probably should have - but I'm equally sure the one putting the most pressure on me to deliver is myself. I'm telling you this so you'll know that there will be further delays, but I have every intention once I've resettled my life out there to become musically prolific.
If you're still reading this Faulkner-esque post my hat is off to you! Let me wind-things-up by simply saying that I have not given up on the EMP concept - what I seem to have given-up-on is myself, for a variety of reasons that I'm trying to forcibly remedy. It will take a little longer for that to happen, but I am taking action to make it happen. I appreciate your indulgence just a little bit longer.
Oh, one last thing. Yes, I caught last night's Asia webcast - and loved it! Makes me wish they were going to be somewhere near me so I could see that show live... but that gets to the one downside with the current flux in my life. There are a LOT of great acts playing in the upcoming months, yet I can't really buy any tickets because I don't know where I'm going to be at any given time. Guess I'll live vicariously through your concert reports.
Okay, make that the next-to-the-last thing. I know for a fact I can't make it to NYC for Graham's upcoming visit - but am heartened to read that you guys have it so well covered. I also hope Tony can make it... he and I do trade occasional MySpace messages, and he is well aware of both the concept and music of EMP (I also speculate that he's the one who has alerted E L & P of our existence, as I'm told by more than one person that they've heard our stuff too). Perhaps next time, Graham - were it not for all of the other stuff I've got going I might well have been able to make it happen.
In closing, I reiterate how much I appreciate your collective indulgence and understanding. I'm hoping these changes will put me back on track where I'm re-focused and again excited not only about our music but also most other aspects of my own life.
ta.
My original thread title was "MarkE has nothing on me when it comes to absent!", with the alternative title being "The spy comes in from the cold!". Leave it to a bassist I haven't seen or played with for almost thirty years tracking me down here (Nick Bennett - thanks for telling him to PM me, Mark) to get me back.
To that end, I figure I owe you guys (and anybody else interested in the music of EMP) an explanation of what's happening with me and where I'm trying to steer my life over the next several months. Some of you know some of the story - through our infrequent messages on MySpace - but I figured it'd be good to fill-in with the details.
When my Dad passed and I put in motion plans to relo to SW Florida I believed it was the culmination of my dreams of many years. But you know what they say about sometimes achieving your dreams - only to find they're not all you expected (or even wanted)? That's been the case. I love my home, but the sedate nature of this place just doesn't agree with me (one of Tommy's closest friends, who used to live here, described the place as "Cape Coma"... I've come to fully appreciate that remark!). In the 3+ years I've been here I've seen myself slip into an odd lethargy, kind of an emotional quicksand that's slowly strangling the life out of my desire to do much of anything beyond work and vegging-out to the television. But it has only been in the last couple of months that I've been snapped-out of it sufficiently to begin effecting a change.
To that end, attending The Grammy Awards in February was a godsend... not only hobnobbing with various professionals - many who said "WTF are you doing in Florida? You really need to get out here!" - but also an uncharacteristically open full-day spent with my brother, where we discussed both of our wants and desires for the rest of our lives. I came to realize that I need to make the move west - not only because I'd felt at home from the first time I visited, but because of family (my only brother and only daughter living there), the big city (I've found I've missed things like great live music, shopping, non-stop airline flights, etc., more than I expected), the friends (it is telling that I have 4x-5x the number of friends there that I do here)... but mostly a need to shake-up my life.
I suppose it is also telling, when I was visited by keyboardist Stephen Gardner and his wife Brenda Carol a few weeks ago - and he excitedly got to play my gear (btw, it was very humbling... I don't usually play with guys who are better than me!) - to see the shock on his face when I told him that was the first time my electronics had been turned-on this year. All this great gear - the envy of many - just gathering dust. It is a crime, and I'm well aware of that fact.
Maybe it's a cheat to blame this place for my mental state - but I've heard others repeat the same thing as they effected a move. Mind you, this is retiree central... but I find the retired pace of things - the lifestyle - just doesn't agree with me. So, after returning from The Grammys, I spent a bit over a month sprucing-up the house, and a bit over a week ago listed it for sale. Have had three serious visitors so far, with the last one wanting to return with his wife (they currently live in Nashville) - if she likes it as much as he did, I am told they will make an offer.
Among my myriad of reasons for "shaking-it-up" is also the realization that my lovely house, at 2500sf, is just too much for me and two dogs. I never favored the idea of "downsizing", but having seen a couple of my friend's homes out west something snapped where it felt as though I would be more comfortable in that kind of situation... further driving this decision. Granted, it is not a seller's market right now - I fully expect to take up to a 10% loss on my home... but I'm rationalizing it away because the market is worse in Los Angeles - and my hope is that buying at a bigger loss there means in a few years I will have made-back the money I lose today in future market appreciation. At least that's the plan.
I also have another goal out there (house-related... there are quite a few other goals I've set for myself, with that goalsetting being part of my recipe for digging myself out of this funk): building a soundproof studio in the backyard of whatever home I eventually buy. I've been educating myself on the topic for the last month-or-so, not only because I won't have space in the home for a music room - but also so I have a soundproof place to play whenever I like... and big enough for other local musicians to join me to play as we might like.
Hopefully, that plan will mean I can re-energize my musical ambitions - it's also my plan to use some of my connections to perhaps do a little studio work and jamming here and there. One of the conditions of keeping my current job out west is that I work east coast hours (in my case, it'd be about 6a-2p). I don't mind doing that, (a) because I sleep so poorly these days that I'm usually up by then, and (b) with a nap it means I'm good to go for another half-day afterwards. But the bottom line is that I'm hoping this change will move me from the backlog of keyboard trax I owe you guys to where there's a surplus you're trying to catch-up to.
Timing is the only question now... all three serious lookers have been cash buyers, so once I have a contract I could well be on my way within just a few weeks. The downside to listing my home was that the realtor all-but-insisted I dismantle and store my gear (I understand her rationale - it makes the living room look a LOT bigger and less cluttered) - but it also means my opportunity to record what I owe you has been further postponed. You guys have been heroic in not nagging me - where you probably should have - but I'm equally sure the one putting the most pressure on me to deliver is myself. I'm telling you this so you'll know that there will be further delays, but I have every intention once I've resettled my life out there to become musically prolific.
If you're still reading this Faulkner-esque post my hat is off to you! Let me wind-things-up by simply saying that I have not given up on the EMP concept - what I seem to have given-up-on is myself, for a variety of reasons that I'm trying to forcibly remedy. It will take a little longer for that to happen, but I am taking action to make it happen. I appreciate your indulgence just a little bit longer.
Oh, one last thing. Yes, I caught last night's Asia webcast - and loved it! Makes me wish they were going to be somewhere near me so I could see that show live... but that gets to the one downside with the current flux in my life. There are a LOT of great acts playing in the upcoming months, yet I can't really buy any tickets because I don't know where I'm going to be at any given time. Guess I'll live vicariously through your concert reports.
Okay, make that the next-to-the-last thing. I know for a fact I can't make it to NYC for Graham's upcoming visit - but am heartened to read that you guys have it so well covered. I also hope Tony can make it... he and I do trade occasional MySpace messages, and he is well aware of both the concept and music of EMP (I also speculate that he's the one who has alerted E L & P of our existence, as I'm told by more than one person that they've heard our stuff too). Perhaps next time, Graham - were it not for all of the other stuff I've got going I might well have been able to make it happen.
In closing, I reiterate how much I appreciate your collective indulgence and understanding. I'm hoping these changes will put me back on track where I'm re-focused and again excited not only about our music but also most other aspects of my own life.
ta.