album 3 update (or why Dell sucks)

The enforced isolation is having a weird affect on my third album. I've been trying to get this album done for a couple of years, but life has had a way of throwing obstacles up in my path. So you think that being not allowed to leave the house bit would mean time to record, right?

Of course things aren't going as smoothly as they should. My wife needs the computer all day for her work, and I still have to teach online after spending some time with the family. Truth is, I average about an hour of recording time a day. The only days I get sustained work time is on the weekends.

So I've been working in a piecemeal procedure, and, in spite of not ever being able to reach that mythical flow state, it actually has been going fairly well. All bass and drums are done. I've been bouncing back and forth between guitars and synths, and I've got over 50% of those done.

An hour here, an hour there is a pattern no professional musician would ever do but and is certainly not how I would ideally like to proceed. In spite of this, the album is actually working out pretty well. I have the time to really think out the arrangements, and I can also really focus on making all the sounds mesh. I'm already happy, and I bet the finished project will exceed my expectations.

Today, though, one of my few days with sustained work time, my computer decided to stop working. It's been giving me grief since I got it, with random freezes and crashes. I haven't even had it for a year, and nary a day goes by without me wanting to throw it against a wall.

What makes this so much annoying is that this is the first time I have ever bought a brand new computer. My last two machines have been refurbished units, and each one lasted about five years. So did I follow my tried and true method?

Of course not. I decided to get a new Dell. My computer guy at the University, upon seeing its specs, said it looked like the machine he was planning to build, but it only cheaper. So I thought I was set.

But no, my brand new Dell started screwing up that first week, and now, this about a year old machine is dead. Moreover, I am going to have to pay emergency repair rates, because my wife requires the desktop for her work. Sigh.

Somewhere, album three is locked in a digital prison, screaming for release. And it's jailor? Dell Computing.

another update on our future

A conversation in our house:

Me: Did I hear myself blamed for something?

Daughter: Not at all.

Spouse: Well, she did blame you for not being able to get online.

Daughter (sheepishly): Sorry, my good sir.

[General laughter]

Daughter: See, THAT is how you bank some credit.

And now you know what we've all got to look forward to when the future generation takes charge.

international weirdness

There's a pandemic going on, so you think that any weirdness would be along the illness lines. Maybe the weirdness would be the massive bread shortage at the grocery store. But no...the world is outdoing itself with the strangeness.

Yesterday, I was contacted by someone from the China internet domain registration people. Someone is trying to register the Chinese versions of my themikedubose.com domain and wanted to know if I was associated with them. I told him a firm no. Today, I was contacted by someone from the company who's trying to get the domain, and they were telling me that in spite of the domain guy recommending they try a new name, they are going ahead and gonna keep trying to poach my name.

So I wrote to my own domain registration people to see if there was anything I could do. Afterward, I decided to do some research, and I found out the company who wants the Chinese version of themikedubose is...a pharmaceutical company.

Naturally, I do not get this at all. My only hope is that they're going to name the COVID-19 cure after me for some reason. I would be okay with that as long as I get a bit of royalty payment.

This is what my life is like.

the future generation

My daughter was sick last week, and we had to keep her home from school a couple of days. When this happens, it's important to use your time wisely. So, two important milestones:

1. The real advancement we made happened when, somewhere within the morass of my daughter's awful YouTube videos (one person she watches calls himself, "the Christian Jake Paul"; when I told one of my classes this, a student observed, "that sounds horrible!" He was right.), I was able to introduce my darling child to Buckethead:
   
   
2. One morning, she told me that she was coughing way too much the night before, but she just watched an episode of Bob Ross:
   
   

Sothat's what you have to look forward to when the next generation takes over. You're welcome.

quandries and consciousness

I'm tired. Even though I got my normal amount of sleep last night, I woke up feeling like I did when I was 20 and pulling all-nighters. I woke up as sluggish as...hell, I was too tired to even think of a metaphor for my exhaustion.

The irony is not lost on me.

This semester, I moved from a four day a week schedule to just Mondays and Wednesdays on campus. This sounds like a benefit, but I now teach from basically 2:30 to 8:30. After three straight classes, my brain moves into lethargy.

But I also drop my daughter off at school around 8:30 am, so I'm up and about. I could go home for a few hours, but when I reached campus, parking would be nigh impossible. So I just head to campus, get a good parking spot, and get to work early in the day.

The problem, though, is  that then I'm on campus for almost 12 hours. By the end of the day, I'm damn near catatonic. I'm pretty much useless by the time I get home. I'm also not productive whatsoever the next day. I'm old enough (187 years old, I think) to where it takes some time to rebound.

So what should I do?  Tough out the long work day and embrace the next day lethargy? Or relax a bit before going to work, budget a half hour for finding parking, but then have to actually bring more work home?

I'll have to puzzle it over...but maybe after a nap.

faith in humanity

Most of my students, I have found out, are pessimists. They have no hope for the future of humanity. As I have, over the last few years, became a much more optimistic person, this makes me more than a little sad. I wish they'd just have a little more faith.

However, sometimes that faith gets tested.

I was walking to one of my classes the other day, and some complete stranger flagged me down. "Excuse me, sir," he asked. "do you believe in the moon landing?"

This took me by surprise. Out of all the questions I expected, Of course,  I panicked and went into smart ass mood. "Yes, I do...because I've been there," I replied, before getting the hell out of there..

Do I still have my faith in humanity? I dunno. However, I am now wondering if my university needs to rethink its entrance standards.

change and growth.

When I was 14 (or maybe 15; I really can't remember), I saved up money to buy my first guitar. This was hard as I didn't have a job, so I just took the money my parents gave me for school lunch and hid it away (sorry, mom). That first guitar was a Chicago-branded Les Paul clone. It wasn't really what you could call a great guitar. After a few months, the pickups started to fall out, and my brother had to screw them back in with wood screws. Still, I wish I still owned it, but, after I upgraded, my parents made me sell it (out of revenge for using my lunch money, maybe). I thought about looking for one online, but I can't find records of any of them existing.

I practiced a lot and basically learned how to play off of AC/DC and Black Sabbath records. I really wanted to play in a band, but bands kept eluding me. Jacksonville FL had way too many guitar players, and I never got in a situation that survived to getting a show. I was also working a whole lot (a probably illegal 35 hours a week while in school), and I'd often drop the guitar for months on end...and that certainly didn't help me on the band front.

Still, I kept trying right up until I got accepted into doctoral school. I dedicated myself entirely to my studies. Strangely enough, though, this is when my guitar playing started to really improve. In spite of my improvement, I always thought that playing out would just elude me forever. Then one weekend I went to the bar, and when I came out, I was in a band. We practiced, learned enough songs, and then we actually got a gig. At the age of 39, I played my first show.

The first band lasted a couple of years. After they broke up, I joined another band. I got band number three a few years later, and then band two broke up. I started playing in band four (an alt country outfit) about the same time I started doing solo shows. Band three broke up. I got my own band, which then broke up, new lineup, broke up, new lineup, and repeat a few times. Alt country band broke up, but I still kept playing shows.

Lately, though, I'm in a dead zone of shows. I used to do sets for a local booker and was playing about every month for a while. Then they quit booking shows. Then they started booking shows again, and I got one every few months. Then they quit booking me. Then, nine months later, they quit altogether.

Right now, I've had one gig in the last few months, and that was a songwriter showcase that had four people in the audience even though I invited everyone I know. I have absolutely nothing on the books right now, and that is way too familiar of a feeling.

By all rights, I should be panicking about the lack of shows, but if there's one thing I've learned on this voyage, it's that all movement is cyclical. As long as I keep working, something will happen. I'm just trying to keep myself ready.

Earlier this week, I was flipping around YouTube guitar videos, and I caught one about B.B. King taught by Tomo Fujita. I went down to the basement and ran through some of the material, and a lightbulb opened. Suddenly, the guitar just started making more sense. I realized that I've been doing this almost 35 years, and I'm still growing. If that's not motivation to keep going, I don't know what is.

So I'm about to pick up Reverend Guitar number two and get back to practicing. Later this week (after I get some grading done), it's time to turn back to album number three and get those guitars recorded. I am also contemplating other ways to get my music out. So look out for new moves.

get those engines firing

Man, it's been a while, right?

It's been a busy period. After a year in a cover band that never made any money, working too much, buying a house and moving, working too much, and generally trying to get my head straight, however, I am going to get back into the swing of things. I've already restarted my social media presence. It's time to rock.

I do foresee difficulties, though. The Toledo Promotion company whose been booking me is shutting down. My main musical collaborator is in a much more successful band and about to go back to a job with unpredictable hours. No matter. I will still rock.

Right now, I'm finishing up on some school prep work and working on my guitar playing (scale visualization, sweep picking, and the like). I've got drums and bass recorded for album number three. Next I lay down guitars. It's been in progress for too long, and it still has a ways to go, but the next TheMikeDuBose release (entitled Happy Go Lucky) will be done before you know it.

Nice to be back.

Emergency gig!

Hi all!

I'm playing a last minute set tonight (Wednesday, 6/9) at Stone's Throw in Bowling Green for Hump Day Review. I go on at 9:20, and I would love to see you there! There's a ton of good music (right after me, for instance, is the awesome Boo Lee Crosser), and I will have the 2019 Sylvia guitar picks if anyone's collecting.

TheMikeDuBose on the radio

Oh, my...has it really been that long?

Big events happening in TheMikeDuBose land! My second album Depression Monster is being played on the radio! I've made the rotation of WAKT 106.1 FM in Toledo (they also stream online), and you can hear me on the show "The View from Nowhere," which is (according to the host Alan Goldsmith) "two hours of eclectic free form radio with lots of locally sourced original music from the Streets of Toledo." This is really cool, because I get to hear myself alongside such great artists as Flat Earth Agenda, Zimmerman Twins, A.S. Coomer, and many others. May 4, they played "Hate Blues" (stream that episode here). I'm also going to be on tonight's show, so I'm looking forward to seeing what gets played tonight.

Things are quiet gig-wise, but I am working hard on album three. Drums are done, and as soon as I finished with this update, I'm working on bass and synth. We should have it ready to go by the end of the year at the latest.

Thanks for listening!

new music update

I've got two upcoming shows and news on the next album in the latest TheMikeDuBose news letter. Sign up via the link on the right!

holiday depression songs!

It's officially the holiday season. Well, if you believe your local big box store, that probably started immediately after Halloween. But we won't think of them, because it's almost December...so it's safe to display and decorate your holiday shrubbery.

This means, though, that it's finally allowable to play holiday music again. So, for all you holiday grinches and humbugs--or for everyone who has one in their life--may I present to you TheMikeDuBose's own festive song, "I Don't Wanna Be Depressed (This X-mas)!"



The mp3 is available at the TheMikeDuBose Bandcamp page, backed with the song "X-mas in the Drunk Tank). They make great digital stocking stuffers!

Oh, so does my new album Depression Monster, which you can also buy on Bandcamp.

memories of music

As I was driving to work today, I noticed a familiar sticker on the car in front of me. When we hit a stoplight, I was able to confirm that the vehicle in fact did have a sticker from my old band Analog Revolution. This blew me a way a little bit, as we were never all that popular on the scene. No massive following for us, in spite of original songs of which I'm still proud.

So seeing the sticker did in fact make me feel kind of proud...for a minute or so. Then I recognized another sticker on the car, and then I figured out that the car was in fact my old Buick, and whomever bought it just never bothered to peel off the old stickers. So my initial emotional high ended up turning into yet another example of "ah, that's life."

It did, however, make me wish more people saw that band. I do what I do because I have to, mostly for the sake of my own mental health. But doing music is still communication, and I do want people to hear my work. Sharing your efforts is an inevitable part of the process, and I am exceedingly proud of  my music. I just want enough people to come see me so no one gives me the old Gong Show hook.

I also want people to come see the newest version of my band. I'm thrilled to have musicians play with me who like my stuff, and it's wonderful to be able to present the songs in a fuller set-up. I am (coincidentally) playing tonight at Howard's Club H at 9pm. It will be the first time I've played there since January, and the first time I'm with my band since 2015. If you're in the area, please come. I will even have you home at a reasonable hour!

early October happenings

I have a band!

Using methods beyond my own comprehension, I have assembled yet another backing band (The Antidepressants version 4.0, I think). I can now bring a full band rock show to my second album's songs. This makes me mighty happy. We played as a four piece on Black Swamp Arts Festival weekend. We did a three piece performance at a party adjacent to the Luckey Fall Festival. And this weekend, we get to do it again!

This Saturday, I'm playing at Stone's Throw (my home away from home). I will be splitting sets with the immensely talented April Freed. I go on for an acoustic set from 9:45 to 10:30. After April's second set, TheMikeDuBose and the Antidepressants bring the rock from 11:15-midnight. It will be a blast and a half, and I'd really love to see you there.

Tonight, though, I'm doing a warm-up at The Hump Day Revue, where I'll get about four or five songs on acoustic. Also, my horn player Nick Zoidberg will be joining me. I will have copies of both albums for sale, and I'd also love to see you tonight.

In the meantime, isn't this weekend's flyer very green?

my second album's release

It's been entirely too long since I released my debut album Skeleton Coast. I really wanted to get a follow-up out fairly quickly. Life, though, has a way of intervening whenever possible. There was production issues. There was a year-long detour into a cover band in an attempt to actually make money playing music (spoiler: it didn't work). There were work crises. Some times, it seemed like everything possible which could delay my work did delay my work.

No worries, though. Depression Monster is on track. Recording is done. Mixing is done. Mastering is done. Test copy has been ordered, delivered, reviewed, and approved. The final order has been shipped. Files are on Bandcamp.

It's really hard for me to get perspective on my work anyway, and when I've been working on an album this long, it's nigh impossible. Nevertheless, it sounds very, very good to my ears. I've given it to a few people I really trust, and they tell me it's as close to "official major label release" in sound as one can get. Nick Zoidberg, my compatriot, is relatively gaga over the album. All these are good signs.

There will be much more coming about the album in the next few weeks. Today's news, though, is that the scheduled Saturday album release show has been cancelled due to accidental double booking. No worries, though, as I'll now be playing at Stone's Throw (my home base) the next three months: on September 9 (Black Swamp Arts Festival weekend!), October 7, and November 11. I'll also be hitting many other area establishments, so there will be many opportunities to see me and snag a disk. Can't get to a show yet still want the physical artifact? E-mail me at themikedubose@yahoo.com and I will work something out.

If you're the kind of person who does their music digitally, the album is available for pre-order on my Bandcamp page. If you order now, you get an immediate download of the opening track "Mileage." The full album goes live this Saturday, August 26.

Big things are happening. Stay tuned.

recording update

I have a hard deadline for finishing my album. There's already an album release show set for August 26, so I need to have the recording sent to the printer by the end of July. Luckily, I am on track.

I finished background vocals a week ago. Bass guitar was finished last Friday. About ten minutes ago, I completed the last guitar track...a wicked double-tracked outro solo which makes me sound like a wizard.

I'm taking another blast at the lead vocals, and then, it's just mixing and mastering. I've been tightening the arrangements as I go, so the mix should proceed in a swift fashion.

I'm getting excited. I can't wait for y'all to hear it. It's been a long time coming.

My Onion horoscope

"There will be nothing you can do to avert the disaster of next week, although there will be plenty that a reasonably bright and competent person could do."

Thanks, guys.

occupation

Today, my child is at her summer care program (run by her school). She's on a field trip to the zoo, so I have the day to work. You think that summer for a teacher would be a time of vacation, of international travel, of lazing about, but that's not the case for me. Already, I have spent a over a week grading AP exams. I've played an area festival. And I'm close to finishing my second album.

Why do work when one doesn't have to? Well, in the case of the grading, it's that I need the money. Grad school leads to a lot of debt, and I still haven't come close to clawing my way out of it. Next year, I might even have to look into additional grading employment, as I recently found out that I'm ineligible for the government program for forgiving public servants of their student loans. Why? Because I took advantage of another government program to consolidate my loans over a decade ago. This is a blow, because getting my student loans forgiven might've helped free up enough cash to me to make some headway on my credit card debt. That ain't happening now.

I discovered my loan forgiveness ineligibility yesterday. In spite of that, however, I'm in a pretty decent mood. While the therapy and antidepressants certainly have a large role in my peaceful state of mind, they are far from the only factors. Having a great family also helps (see my previous posts about my strange child), but managed expectations also play their part...and they are largely a product of science fiction.

After dropping off my daughter, I came home, broke out the Aeropress, and put on just a little television. Last night, I found out that Hulu has the television version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I watched an episode or two while drinking my coffee and plotting the day. That's when I heard this quote:

Perhaps I'm old, but the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote the only thing to do is to say, "Hang the sense of it" and keep occupied.

This quote (along with its radio, novelization, and cinema versions) resonates with me and also explains my summer shenanigans. Why play music? Why work on an album which, in the grand scheme of things, few people will actually hear? Why in fact try to accomplish anything?

To me, this is answered in another Hitchhiker's quote (this time from the book):

there comes a point I'm afraid where you begin to suspect that the entire multidimensional infinity of the Universe is almost certainly being run by a bunch of maniacs

Will thinking about things help? Probably not. Instead, focus on what you can do. Me? I can raise my kid. I can write songs. I can keep moving.

That's enough.

Who cares? Perhaps I'm old, but the chances of finding out what really is going on are so absurdly remote the only thing to do is to say, "Hang the sense of it" and keep occupied.

Read more: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy&episode=s01e04

another exchange

Me: "I wonder what it would be like to have a normal child."

Daughter: "It would be horrible. Normal is boring. Strange is much more fun."

Ah. My child.

on my inability to fool anyone

Hi. remember me? I've been buried in the album (it has to go to the printer by the end of the month), but I have a story that must be told in spite of the damage it will do to my ego.

Me and my daughter we're driving to the grocery store when we saw a bus from her old daycare. We started to speculate on where they might be going. My kid shot down my suggestion they might be going to the pumpkin patch for jack-o'-lanterns or to the Christmas tree farm. I then suggested they might be traveling to Toledo to see a statue of me.

"I don't think so, daddy," she replied without a second of thought. "I really doubt anyone knows who you are."

Ouch. At the very least, I'm pretty sure she will not really ever let people take advantage of her.