Adventures in Record Hunting

(Email sent to my cousin Doug)

Followed a craigslist tip last night to Monrovia, where a guy needed to unload 4,000 records in a hurry.

"Dude, you could have the whole thing for $500!"

No way I could have done that, but we agreed on $15 per box of (roughly) 100 records. I figured I'd take 6 boxes for $90.

He'd told me they were mostly 80's 12" singles, but "there's some regular LPs mixed in."

When I got there, the sun was setting and the garage had no lighting.

The only way to check anything was to haul out each box and put it on my car. The boxes were packed tight, but the records seemed okay. I decided to fill up the car as far as it would go, which became 12 boxes for $160.  Then, there were a bunch of loose records, which they jammed into my trunk any which way (no charge; they just wanted to get rid of them.)

Carrying them all into Gower, even with Friday and Elizabeth, totally wiped me out.

I started going through them slowly last night.

Pretty quickly I realized this was a DJ's WORKING collection, with beats and other notes written on the covers, and definite use on the vinyl.

But the worse part is, this guy had a signature that looked like tagging graffiti, AND his personal trademark was to create a spiral with magic marker on the fucking LABELS!!!!!!

Given that I have at least 1200 records (probably way more) the law of averages has left a few UNMOLESTED records behind… but making this money back is not gonna be as quick or as fun as I'd hoped.

I had nightmares about those spiral'd labels!!

So, Like, Retirement...

So, like, retirement is not THAT far off for me. It's exciting, but really scary.

Obviously, after retirement comes… death?

But if you're lucky, you can stretch out that final act for quite some time. Given my genes, and assuming I can stay out of the path of errant vehicles (or not fall and break my hip), I have an excellent shot at some enjoyable free time in my final third.

However, when I do a mental exercise - as in: pretend Monday is retirement! - I get freaked out really fast.

Given my age and my accrued hours, I could definitely retire early, but you take a big financial hit, so I don't think it's in the cards even if I wanted to opt out sooner.

But what if I were able to  collect as much as I could RIGHT NOW?  I still don't think I could do it yet.

Turns out, I still like coming in and slaving away on somebody else's shitty movie!

I still like the challenges, and I still like the feeling of a job well done!

My dream is to continue collecting and selling vinyl in my retirement, maybe even get back into toy trains, drink, look at sunsets, travel with Sharon... Make more music, make more CDs… make a record?

But sadly, that Siren Call must not be heeded. Not quite yet!

Happy 4th Anniversary Sharon!!

As I said in your card:

4 Years Married...

9 Years Together...

This is starting to turn into a THING!!

Love you so much!!!

The Magic Band!

It finally happened!

Nearly 40 years after I saw them with Captain Beefheart at the Forum, and 10 years since I got screwed out of seeing their big reunion show at the Queen Mary (long story), I was rewarded at last with an intimate, intense, and VERY hard-rocking Magic Band show at the Troubadour!

Originally it was just going to be me and Sharon, but my friend Greg caught wind of the show and came along, and it was great to have him. He and I took 3rd and 4th place in line while Sharon said goodbye to Sam and Sarah at home, and she joined us shortly before we got in.  The two old maniacs in front of me said the best seats were upstairs, so we dutifully followed them and wound up just behind John French's family.  We had a few rounds and some fries and onion rings during the show.

I'd been telling Sharon that the Magic Band starts their shows with the easier, bluesy material, and then slowly brings in the harder, more complex & off-center music toward the middle. WRONG! This new Magic Band jumped right in with MY HUMAN GETS ME BLUES from Trout Mask Replica, and that set the tone for the evening.  There were still the mainstream tunes like Diddy Wah Diddy and Click Clack, but the bulk of the set was dedicated to the crazier stuff and that was fine with me!  Sharon seemed to enjoy the show but got a little sleepy towards 11:00 PM.

I have to say that this Magic Band sounds far more cohesive and spot-on without Gary Lucas, Beefheart's last original guitarist who previously toured with these guys.  The new, much younger 2nd guitarist and drummer were both amazing, especially during ALICE IN BLUNDERLAND which had a long and gorgeous solo.

The remain original players were John French (in amazing form both out front and behind the drum kit), Rockette Morton (always note-perfect) and Denny Walley (who is awesome, but did lose the beat a couple times, especially during BIG EYED BEANS. DOH!!)

At the end of the show, John French explained that it's almost impossible for the band to get booked in Los Angeles or the USA, because promoters "...don't think we can attract an audience!"  Hopefully last night proved some people wrong and the boys will be back before another 10 years!

Soundelux of Hollywood

Been musing lately about the changes on Hollywood Blvd. these past 23 years, which is how long I've been working at (what's now known as) Todd-Soundelux.

When I originally needed a sound editing gig, I really hesitated asking my pal Dan Rich to get me in here, because they were on Hollywood Blvd and I knew how sleazy and dangerous it was.

My fears turned out to be well-placed. I began working during a particularly cold February, and I was driving an extremely temperamental '70 Mustang at the time.  Most nights I had to sit while the car was warming up, which was a good 5 minute timespan for bums and homeless guys to come up and bang on the window, begging for money.  I got so freaked out that I started paying for parking below the building, which was anything but cheap.

We had a company man, Charlie Meister, who kept saying: "Hollywood's coming back! You'll see!"

It took many years and false starts, but Charlie was proven right. Eventually the store owners banded together and hired a private security force to walk the streets, and suddenly, all the homeless and the scary bums were gone! I don't know if that's good or bad, but it definitely felt safer. Instead of getting hit up for change 6 or 7 times a day, it happened almost never.

Meanwhile, they finally tore down the eyesore at Hollywood and Highland and created the new shopping complex and subway station.  Again, it has its good and bad aspects, but overall it was brand new and shiny and made for a much better tourist experience.  You could actually invite people to visit, knowing there was somewhere nice to go.

However, the street patrols seemed to disappear after just a few short years.

Now we've almost come full-circle: the bums, the homeless, and the scary drifters are back, and I'm getting hit up for change multiple times a day.  They are not literally pissing out in the open as they used to, but that doesn't seem far off. The only difference is that the surrounding buildings are better and more varied.

But I am mostly alone out there now, because almost all my friends left Soundelux for the Formosa Group. This morning I found out that the company's co-founder, Lon Bender, has also boxed up his room and is now an independent agent.

Not many of us left!

Ghosties

So, last night in the bedroom, Sharon and I were just about to go to sleep. I was looking at the TV, and Sharon was on her side facing Dad's desk.

Suddenly I heard a plastic movement kind of sound, which I thought was the dog, since his little "house" is over on that side. But Sharon opened her eyes and saw our stand-up fan (about 5' high) rocking back and forth!

When I looked over, the dog was peeking out, like: "What the fuck was THAT?"

We were afraid it might be rats, but I looked around with the flashlight and everything was secure. The window wasn't open, so it wasn't wind. There was a power cord but it would have been too weak to cause the movement.

Took this photo in the morning:

Just before we moved in here, two years ago, Sharon was in the backyard with the owners and a worker, when suddenly a box slid across the back porch a short distance.  They all saw it. 

Cynthia said: "Oh yeah, we have a ghost here. I see it sometimes near the jacuzzi."

Her husband David said: "We have a... GHOST?"

Performing THE MAGGOT on the Dr. Phil stage!

Having attending one taping with Sharon, I knew they'd start the Dr. Phil show with an audience warmup that included a dance contest. 3 dancers, and they all get a Dr. Phil coffee mug!

I'd almost done it last time, but was just a little late on the draw.

This time, two months later, I had plenty of time to figure out my moves and prepare myself emotionally.  Almost as soon as the contest was announced, I waved my arm and became the first contestant. I modeled my opening on Napoleon Dynamite, and then went into my "maggot" moves, which looks kind of like miming a fish swimming backwards. The host loved the dance and asked me to show him how to do it. Great applause and cheers, many nice comments afterward, and I walked home with a Dr. Phil cup at last!

Great show too, especially the second episode.  There was a kid deep into drink and drugs, and at one point he blurted out that it was good to have broken up with his girlfriend, because "...at least there weren't any more abortions!" The girlfriend completely dissolved in tears, but Dr. Phil leaned over and said: "I'm the editor, and that part won't be going into the show."