Suzy Is A Headbanger...

OK, this will be a Suzy-centric post. You have been warned.

Yesterday was a sad day. I took down Alex's pool for the winter. It brought back memories from when I was a kid. I was brought up in Upstate N.Y. and by the end of August, fall could be felt in the air, just like here in Seattle. We began school the day after Labor Day and before you knew it Fall was in full swing. Every year the same scenario played out...The Jerry Lewis Telethon would start on T.V. which was the first marker of the impending school year and the end of Summer. Then on Labor Day Monday, Suzy Gross(my neighbor)and I would climb into our pool and not get out all day. We always thought that if we stayed in, somehow summer would go on, and as usual our mom's would call us out for dinner by 6:00 and before we knew it, the following weekend, my dad would be draining the pool halfway and covering it up for the winter. As much as I love Fall and everything it brings, that time of the year always brought a strange sadness. That same feeling came back last night as I drained my son's pool. Another association I got later in life was The Posies song "Coming Right Along". For some reason that song, played at this time of the year fits like a glove. As I was taking the pool down yesterday, I was thinking about that song and that time period in my youth...it is funny how some things never go away or are forgotten.

On another note, Suzy Mills, no relation to Suzy Gross, sent me out a CD a few weeks back that I have listened to at least twice a day. It is by a U.K. band called The Ravines. Since the mainstream music scene has boiled itself down to "urban" music, awful jam band/smooth jazz garbage like Dave Matthews and John Mayer and Green Day/Blink 182 knockoffs, getting good new music is getting more and more difficult. I have turned alot to indie bands and labels to hear anything remotely interesting. Unfortunately for indie bands it requires their fans to spread the word and get people listening. I am so happy Suzy shared this band with me. I really enjoy their CD. I will be returning the favor soon...

...and I missed you...

Wow...It just hit me a second ago...I have had this blog for a year! Actually, more than a year, I missed the anniversary. I checked, and today, last year, I was in Reno, toiling for DMP. I was still a good month away from even interviewing at Precor!

I am far from Reno today...I am in Washington D.C. I have to go train some people at an Army base tomorrow. Then, I get to see my old Navy buddy Brian Keating. We met in 1983 and have been friends for 23 years now. After class, I am heading to his place in Maryland.

A few notes...

Travel sucks! The airports are a mess! I was there over 2 hours early and still barely made it. I have to go to Alaska (yey!) in two weeks. I have to fly (oh shit!)
Luckily I am Gold on Alaska and can cut the lines...

We just went through humidity in Seattle recently. Child's play compared to the East Coast. It is miserable here!

My friend Suzy sent me The Ravines CD...it is awesome. Get it.

I will write more later...

Rock Of Ages...

Have you noticed how some music has not aged well? I am not talking about some of those bad 70's and 80's acts. I am talking about respectable and formerly respectable bands. While Led Zep and Sabbath have held up well, other heavyweights such as Kiss sound downright horrible. In the past few weeks I have heard some UFO, Blue Oyster Cult and REO Speedwagon and boy does it sound dated! Even some of the older Aerosmith and Rush tunes sound just clownish. Then again...we did smoke out a bit more back then. I don't know why, lets say, Time Of The Season from The Zombies, sounds so fresh, yet Rock And Roll All Night sounds so old and dated. If you can answer that, let me know.