Our Drive-In score this far: 1 to 1...

It's drive-in season once again!! YAAAY! We made it out to the Getty 4 tonight to catch a couple of movies, and as usual had a great time. We love the drive-in, even though we don't get home until very VERY late. :-D

But, alas - the score for this double-header was split...

Round 1: Wild Hogs
Pretty funny, which is not surprizing considering the cast. The language was a bit excessive, (no dropping the f-bomb, but enough other "stuff" that we got tired of it) but not a bad flick nontheless. The last scene of the movie was a hoot, and the bits over the closing credits was some of the funniest stuff in the movie... Take that to mean whatever you wish.

So far, so good... little did I know what was waiting in...

Round 2: Bridge to Terabithia
OK - so like a fool, I actually believed that the previews of this thing had something to do with what the movie was really about. WRONG!... We go through about half of the movie, getting attached to the two lead characters, and getting introduced to Terabithia. Then, after what some would call a "major plot twist," but what I would call an "emotional punch to the gut," we make a hard left turn away from fantasy/adventure movie and head straight to something else. In this case, you can interpret "heartwarming adventure" as "emotional time bomb just waiting to have you flinging fluids all the way home from Muskegon." By the time the credits rolled, I was thinking "what the HECK did I watch this for?"

(Don't get me wrong - there's nothing wrong with a movie that tugs at your emotions. It's just that my emotions tend to get a little too intense, and I wind up not sleeping. Those movies are OK for normal folks - but bad for me. :-D )

We got home around 1:30, and it'll take me another hour or so to finally settle down enough to go to bed. So, NO, I don't think I'll be buying the DVD. Not unless I feel like flooding my contacts right out of my eyes.

So, drive-in season starts with one "not-bad" and one "no way am I watching that again." Ah well - there's always next weekend. :-D

This Saturday at Knapp Valley Gardens!!!!

For those of you who are looking for plants for spring, or just like wandering through nurserys, have I got a deal for you!!! I'll be playing this Saturday at Knapp Valley Gardens, 4100 Knapp St NE (just a mile east of the Beltline) off and on from 10am to 4pm. They're having a "Spring In The Valley" open house, including music, food, things for kids, and other fun. I'll have CDs and jewelry available for sale, and would love to see you! So, c'mon out!!! :-D

Only "LIVE" music...

This is the first time this has happened to me... I called a coffeehouse about playing there. A couple of friends had said I should play there, 'cause they thought I'd fit right in. So, I gave their booking person a call. Told him what I do, and he asked was I a solo artist, or part of a band. I told him that I play solo, using backing tracks.

He replied, "we only use LIVE music." Then he muttered something about copyright, etc. But the point was not allowing folks to perform with "canned" music.

Grrrr... Yes, I know that it's always good to have live musicians. It's more exciting. And some people play along with tracks, and sound as canned as the music. I would like to think that I'm an exception to that - I try and tweak my tracks so that they don't just sound like music-in-a-box, but that they add to the performance. And frankly, for the amount I make at a gig, I couldn't afford to pay another player.

Just kind of stings when you believe that you're doing good stuff, and trying to keep it good, and you don't even get a chance. Just "oh - we only use LIVE music" and that's it.

Grrrr...

So, I won't be playing in Hudsonville. All because I'm not "live". Grrr...

The Force is strong with this one...

I don't usually do well at these quizzes. But hey - when you're a Jedi Master, you gotta show off a tad... then repent, tell the Dark Side to go away, and get on with life. :-D

Is the Force with you? Your Result: True Master Status Woe be unto the stormtrooper who pisses thy off. You can take on a padawan if you so choose. You are free to choose your own missions, and disagree with the council. Go hand some baddies their @sses, oh, and may the force be with you ;)
Young Master
Council Member
Padawan
Academy Trainee
Bounty hunter
Undercover sith lord
Imperial Army
Is the Force with you?

Another new feature...

You'll notice at the upper right of the page a box that says upcoming shows. I'll be listing there shows that I have coming up. So, if you'd take note, and come on out when you have a chance, I'd appreciate it!!! We are going to try and have jewelry items for sale at the gigs, as well as the CD, so if you're interested in that, there you are. :-D

More personal stuff coming, but I've been focusing on getting some gigs going, and fooling with this page and my MySpace page, so haven't really had time to ponder. I'm also trying to learn some web programming, so that I can get going on the re-design of captaincal.info, which will include a jewelry catalog and other fun stuff.

So, back to that, as well as cleaning the house in anticipation of our new beds, coming soon to a house near me...

He is risen!...

He is risen indeed!

Hallelujah! Happy Easter, everyone. :-D

So, notice something new around here?...

Yup. There it is. My own store. Another shameless self-promotion to get people to buy my music. :-D And, I didn't even have to do anything to set it up - those amazing folks from CD Baby did all the grunt work, and gave me a store that I can copy anyplace. Soon, it'll get added to www.captaincal.info.

But, the cool part is, you can sample the songs without going anyplace. Which is pretty sweet indeed! Whoo hoo! Geekiness abounds!!!!!!

Anyway, I'm off in a couple hours to put thoughts of selling music and making a living aside. Our church is open all day today for folks to pray and meditate, from noon to three there will be readings from the Word, and 10 minute sets of music each half hour, so I'll be playing from around 1pm to 3pm. So, wherever you choose to observe Good Friday, take some time today to remember our Lord.

Easter blessings, my friends!

A good time was had by all...

It was my first experience playing a coffeehouse, and it was a good one. Not a lot of folks there, but it was a good place to "get my feet wet." :-D Thanks to all who stopped by, as well as to those who couldn't make it and sent a note.

I learned a bit, and I think I'm going to get some demos out to other places and see what comes of it. Wheee!