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Bob GCaffiene headaches suck... 2月28日 Been a long time...I know it's been quite a while since I've updated this site. The family has been very busy lately with a few things. The biggest time consumer over the last 6 months has been the selling of our house and purchase of our new home. I'll get a bit more detailed in my next post. I also have left The Demise. I was too busy with the house thing. Now that things have settled just a bit I auditioned and was offered the drumming throne for a new band out of Tacoma. They had a name that I'll just not mention right now. We're looking for a new name and I'll post all info and show dates and music as it becomes available. So that's all the energy I have for updating this tonight. Better than nothing I suppose... Here's a picture of the new house. I think we did pretty good. Much thanks go to Gary for making sure we got this one! Bob G 8月6日 Talking about Now playing on Media Player...
Quote Now playing on Media Player... 7月2日 Happy July 4th!Hey there! It seems that I've only enough free time in my busy life to update my blog once a month. So here's the latest...
The Gonzalez family has had a good month of June. Early on the weather had trended more toward the warmer side of things. So I set up our not tiny but at the same time, not huge (12' diameter by 42" tall) swimming pool. Andrew and Megan are in that thing as much as we will allow. Let me tell you, on those really hot days it's nice to jump in and cool down quickly, get out and sit in the sun to dry off. Because of the pool we've been spending more time on the back patio than any other time in our 11 years in our house. I'll have to upload some pics of the kids in the pool soon.
New Family Pics
We recently took some new family photos through our church. The church is updating it's directory. We get a free 8x10 and our picture in the directory. Our free session ended up setting us back $200. We did get our first family photo with Megan. Megan is now 5 yrs so how lame are we for waiting so long? Anyway, this is a big thing for Megan since most of the pictures in the house are of Mom, Dad, or Andrew. We have tons of Megan pictures on the computer taken with our camera. But not many that were professionally done. We also ended up taking care of our Christmas cards at the photo session. The pic chosen for the card is a very nice one of the kids. So nice that the photographer asked us to sign a model release form so that they could submit it for their displays. At first I thought this to be a ploy to soften us up for the package sale but after talking to some friends it seems that the photo company doesn't work that way.
The DEMISE
The DEMISE is playing our second show on July 8th. That seems to be enough time from our last show to build enough anticipation. We're expecting another packed house for this one since there were so many people that missed the last show, and those that were there all want to see us play again. The show is at Hell's Kitchen again and we should be going on about 11 or Midnight. Check out our myspace site for more info. Najamoniq has been very good for the band. Her vocals are quite incredible and she's been more versitile than I initially gave her credit for. She's also very connected in the local music scene, hence the packed out shows. She's been able to get us opening slots for some national acts. On July 30th we're opening for Drowning Pool and Himsa. Both nationals with the latter being a local band. They are both very heavy and hardcore bands but we're on the bill as opener because the show is a party for a music industry bigwig that Naja works for. Cool for us huh? We also have another show scheduled for Hell's Kitchen for August 25th with some more local biggie bands. Who knows where this all will lead, but you better get out to see us soon or you'll be paying much more than $5 to see our live sets. ::wink, wink::
Andrew and Megan
The kids are having a good summer break. They both love spending time in the pool and especially love it when I get in with them. It's incredibly satisfying (sp?) for me to have so much quality time with them and that they have such a great time with me. Soon enough they will be at the point where others will have more prominant positions in their lives and Judy and I will be warming on the back burner. That's why I'm cherishing the now and trying not to worry about the later.
The Scholar
Judy finished the Spring quarter doing very well in her classes. She's applied to The Evergreen State college in Olympia to finish her degree and get her masters. She went with Evergreen instead of CWU because her purchasing degree transfers completely and she can get her masters in 3 years versus just getting her bachelors in 3 years at CWU. Upon her acceptance she'll be attending the Tacoma campus.
Senior Driver
So my work days have gotten much longer with doing the Oregon route. So far I've been able to keep the band rehearsal cancellations to a minimum.
I had my annual review last week. My last annual review was 2 years ago. With this company you have to initiate the review process. And last year I felt that it would be in my best interest to pass on the review because of my being out for 3 months after my carpal tunnel surgeries. Although my job performance has always been top notch, the boss wasn't too happy about my absence and I didn't want to take a chance that the unhappiness would reflect in my review. So this year the review happened and I had to squint while reading it because it was so glowing. There was a comment that I have "had no Driver Alert calls, at least none that were negative". I asked if that meant there were some calls that were positive and was told that there indeed was, about a year ago. So to whoever called to comment on my safe driving, Thank you!
I ended up getting a nice raise. Combined with the additional overtime built in to my work week we might be able to catch up on a few things around the Gonzalez household.
Transparent Blues Band
We played a block party last night, minus Dave H, that went pretty well. Without Dave we couldn't play half our songs. The group dynamic wasn't quite right and we seemed to struggle at times. I sang a couple of songs that Dave usually sings and they went ok, but we had to pretty much finish some of the others pronto before they train wrecked. There was a guitarist that had been hired to play the party. We played a short set before dinner, and then he (his name is Miles) played a set after. When he was done we played another set and then brought Miles up to join us. Before Miles joined us we were able to get people dancing but I knew we didn't have enough material to keep them there long. Miles came up and we cranked out song after song with him. He's a veratible encyclopedia of cover songs and we just followed along. There were about 150 people that were counted (not including kids). The dance floor was packed and we all had a great time. I played alot of songs I've never played before. A musician would easily be able to pick out the flaws and missed chords. But most everyone else was having too much fun dancing to notice. We got alot of compliments on our playing, and I'm learning to be good with that. It's hard to take a compliment when you're a perfectionist like myself.
We're playing another party tonight. This performance was bought at Andrew's school auction so we better be on, if you know what I mean...
That's all for now, have a great summer!
-bob
6月4日 So many things going on...Ok, so another month slips by and now I finally have a moment to update my blog. I think I'll do this in chronological order if it's all the same to you.
Modern Union's Demise
I'll start with Modern Union, or what used to be Modern Union. We are now called The DEMISE and have a new singer, I think I may have mentioned the singer part previously, and worked up our first set for a show on May 19th. The night of the show started like just about any other gig I've done. We were going on first so after the headliner was done with their sound check we set our gear up on stage and waited for our own sound check which was to happen about an hour later. People were coming in to the bar which was good. But usually they are there to see the headliner or one of the other bands that would be on after us. Our sound check time came and I got my drums dialed in and our monitor mixes good. I didn't notice that while we were getting our monitor mixes done that the show room had filled up to capacity. There were people pressed up against the stage, people out in the bar looking in at us, people everywhere. And we hadn't even played a note yet! Jeff kicked us off on the first song and when we finished there was just a deafening roar coming from the crowd. When I had a chance to look out while playing i noticed lots of cell phones snapping pics, and everyone really getting into the music. It was like no other gig I've ever played. When we finished our 30 minutes the crowd was roaring just as loud as after the first song and yelling for more. Unfortunatly we didn't have any more material to play since we've only had Najamoniq as our singer for a couple of months. And we didn't want to trample on another band's time slot. We had a great time and look forward to more. Our myspace site has some practice room recordings of Najamoniq's audition. Check 'em out mm,k?
Mothers Day
Judy is a great Mom and deserves many Mothers Day celebrations throughout the year. This year we went to Verizano's (a very nice Italian restraunt) for Mom's Day brunch. I have to say it was worth the coin because the buffet was nothing less than the best I've ever had. We all had a great time and Judy even got to take a nap later that day!
Megan turns 5 and graduates!
Megan turned 5 and she had a princess party with some of her closest friends. We gave her a bicycle that she adores and rode every chance she got while on our camping trip on Memorial weekend (see below). The day after her birthday I witnessed her pre school graduation. She and her classmates put on a very nice program for us parents and we had a nice reception afterward. Pics to be posted.
Andrew
Andrew lost another tooth on our camping trip. He seems to never lose a tooth at home. It always happens elsewhere. He's doing great in soccer and is still the best son a guy could hope for. I set up our 12' swimming pool the first week of May as it was very warm, even hot for about a week. Andrew loves the water and plays in that pool as much as possible. Even overcast, rainy days he asks if he can go swimming. He'd eat dinner in that thing if I let him. Fortunately, he comes out to pee.
Judy
Judy has been the busiest I've ever seen her. She's working 20 hrs a week at one job, and about another 5-6 at another, all while taking 2 college classes and managing the house. She's a bit frazzled at times and I try to take up some slack but I know I could do better.
Memorial Day weekend
My buddy Chris lives in Ocean Shores and we pulled the trailer out on Memorial weekend and camped out on his front lawn. The weather was on and off with misty rain and sun. Megan found the biggest puddle and rode her bike through it till she was soaked. We took a nice walk on the beach on Monday after the weather had cleared a bit. For the most part it was a nice relaxing weekend. We did come to the conclusion that we need to get a new mattress for the bed in our trailer. Our backs were killing us after sleeping on the 22 year old mattress that's in it.
Work (I drive Semi Trucks)
The useless knuckehead that was ruining equipment, getting traffic tickets, losing his loads, getting lots of calls about him cutting off and tailgating motorists, has finally been demoted to the warehouse. I have no idea why he wasn't fired. I've been with this company for 3 years and have been waiting just about that long for his ass to get canned. After implementation of random drug testing (at my insistence) the loon tested positive for pot and had to be removed from the road immediately. I am now the Senior Driver and am taking over the Oregon route. I am also incredibly delighted by this sweet turn of events.
That's it for now, check out the DEMISE myspace site, stay upright, don't lose perspective, be happy.
-bob
5月3日 It's already May!So now it's May. So much stuff to rattle on about I'm not sure where to start. I'll start where I left off in my last entry...
Thunder Stolen
I got a call from the director of Blue Thunder the day after my audition. He told me that they were taking 11 people on and that I came in 12th. Ha! I was the 12th man! He sounded genuinely apologetic in his rejection of me and wants me to audition again next year. Apparrently my open rolls weren't open enough. That's a common problem when a person hasn't played in a drum line for a long time. In a way I'm glad that I don't have to try to fit Blue Thunder's appearance schedule into my already busy life. I would have done it though. My justification being that I was being paid to do it.
The Drewman
Andrew is about to have his first Eucharist. We're getting ready for pictures and such. He looks really grown up in his suit. He continues to play soccer and gets better all the time. I'm so dang proud of that kid...
Naughty One
Megan has ceased to be the little angel. She's traded her wings in for horns, tail, and pitchfork which she uses at every opportunity to poke at Andrew. We have to figure out how to affix the reins soon or we're going to be in a world of hurt when she gets to her teens.
Ma'am, I need info on baboons, please?
Judy has gone back to school. She got the idea on a Wednesday and by late Thursday she was enrolled and half a week behind in her two classes. She's decided to become a librarian. When she graduates I'll have her put her hair up in a bun and put her glasses on. I'm going to be the noisy student who needs a little discipline,........... whoops!
Sorry, thinking out loud there.
When she graduates she'd like to work as a school librarian. Right now she's student teaching twice a week at a kindergarten in Auburn.
RIP MU
Modern Union is no more. Yours Truly, Rob, Jeff, and our new singer Naja have renamed the band. The Demise makes it's debut at Hell's Kitchen in Tacoma on Friday, May 19th (which happens to be the 15th anniversary of when Judy and I met). We're opening for local favorites Point Defiance and Sea Jayne Trip. A link to our new website will be up soon.
A Leg Up
Not sure if I mentioned this yet, but all the back pain that runs down my right leg...has dissappeared! I've been pain free for about a month now and it's been freakin' great! Almost a year of constant pain will really make you appreciate being pain free.
Auto Maddness
After a couple of months of car issues coming at me one after another, I think things have quieted down. The final results:
1995 Plymouth Voyager had it's transmission repaired. Under warranty so no direct cost.
1987 Dodge Ram Charger - I had to buy a couple of trip permits to drive it while Judy drove my Chevy pick up. And then the voltage regulator goes out. After replacing the regulator I took it to the shop and swapped it for the Voyager when they were done with it (it took 2 weeks!) so they could do some emmissions work. They called me to let me know that it would cost over $550 to fix it. I said STOP WORK! And picked up the thing and drove it home.
1995 Chevy 1500 pick up - I finally get my truck back when Judy's mini van is finished. The next day while driving home from work I noticed my speedometer and tach acting funny. My tranny doesn't seem to be going into first gear. I later learn that this is called "limp mode" so you can get the vehicle to a garage. I try to fix it myself by replacing the speed sensor on the tranny. Didn't take care of the problem. So I took the truck to the same shop I just got my mini van back from and left it there for them to diagnose. I get a call at work saying that everything works great and that they can't find anything wrong with the truck. I pick up the truck knowing that it won't be long before it acts up again. Sure enough, after taking Andrew to soccer practice it does the same thing. I limp it home that night, limp it to work in the morning, and then limp it to the shop after work. Luckily it was still acting up when I got to the shop and they quickly told me it was my ignition switch that was bad and that they'd gladly replace it for $350. I located the part and replaced it myself for $150. I also replace my alternator which was starting to make noises that sounded like bearings going bad.
All this happened only a month after I replaced my radiator, upper and lower radiator hoses, and fan clutch.
This truck should be good for a long, long time.
I always intend to keep the blog short. Never happens though.
And what's up with the price of gas!?!?!?!?
-bob
4月8日 Audition time!I've played or performed music, in various ways, for most of my life. I've been fortunate to have many opportunities to use the gift God gave me. I've auditioned for choirs as a kid and rock bands as an adult. But I've never had the kind of audition like I just had this morning. The Seattle Seahawks have a drum line of guys and gals called Blue Thunder. I first saw them on TV in a Thanksgiving parade and immediatly set out to find contact info. I sent a letter to the director aking for tryout info. To shorten the story a bit, I applied online for an audition and got a call from the director setting my audition time.
I pull into the stadium parking garage at about 9:45 am for my 10 am audition. There were a few people standing around in the garage and I saw one guy warming up with a practice pad on the trunk of his car. I walk into the events center and there are some chairs set up. The people running the thing said they weren't quite ready yet. I figured that because I didn't see any drums anywhere. So I sit, break out the sticks and start warming my hands up. The director and his assistant were called into a room for what sounded like a little pow wow before the auditions started. Next thing I know a woman comes out and calls for a person she seemed to know and said that he's up. I hear his snare solo as I sat from what I now realized was the waiting area. I continued to warm up until the same woman came out and told me it was my turn.
I walk into a room and it was set up very much like on American Idol. There was a set of quads, a snare and a bass. Across the room was a panel of about 10 people, all with a sheet of paper for their notes. They asked me to tell them a little about myself which I did and then got to my snare solo. Now, the heads used in marching percussion have evolved since my drum corps days 20 years ago. The surface is like playing on granite, but with much more rebound. I've been practicing on what's called a 'real feel' practice pad. Well the 'real feel' was designed to replicate drum heads of long ago. I started my solo and was doing great until I got to some tougher rudimental parts. Because of the increased rebound I had to concentrate on controlling the sticks instead of what I had been rehearsing. Combine that with nervousness and a tempo that was a little too quick. The result was that I ended up stopping and continuing on at a reasonable tempo. From that point on I did pretty well.
The next phase of the audition was a sight reading exercise. They put a piece of music in front of me and asked me to play a 2 bar phrase four times. They gave me a minute to look over the part and as I did so I realized that I couldn't make sense out of what was written. If the piece was supposed to be in 4/4 then there was an eighth note missing somewhere. I told them there weren't enough beats in the first bar and the asst. director came over and had to add an eighth note rest to complete the bar. I got brownie points for simply noticing that someone messed up while writing the music out. It wasn't intended to be a trick question, so to speak. I played the 2 bars, four times perfectly.
Now came the interview portion. The panel was really laid back. Even though there were 10 people sitting in front of me, it was a fairly relaxed atmosphere. I think I did well during the interview. They asked me some questions about why I want to be a member of Blue Thunder and such. Then they asked me about how I feel about dancing. Well, if you've ever seen me dance you know that I don't take dancing too seriously. I mentioned that when Judy and I are on the dance floor she ends up not wanting to acknowledge that she knows me or is with me. I just get goofy and start making up my own dances like: "shovel the dirt and throw it over there", Open the fridge and say what's up?", "Row the boat", and "I'm pointing at you and now I'm scared". The panel seemed to like my answer.
I'll know Monday night whether I'm to become a part time employee of the Seattle Seahawks as a member of Blue Thunder. 3月18日 So ends a very busy 10 days or so...It's been a very busy time for me. I've been running on empty for the last few days and finally now have a break to catch up on some things. A short breakdown of my last week or so looks something like this:
Rehearsing, learning and practicing new songs, restringing guitars, setting up and programming my guitar rack, sound checks, and a whole day of playing for the Jr High Rally. The rally went very well and the band sounded great. All the hard work and time spent preparing showed in everyones performance. I don't think I've ever heard the Lifeteen group sound and just gel better than at the rally.
Immediately following the Rally, and I mean as soon as the last note was played I turned off my gear and tore it down and loaded it in my truck in record fashion, Gary and I headed to Tacoma for Andrew's school Auction. John Curly, a local celebrity, hosted and was auctioneer. It turned out to be a great event, but a very long day and night after getting little sleep after sound checks the night before.
At the auction Transparent Blues Band was auctioned off to a friend. He's going to have a Fourth of July party at his place, a huge house on a lot of land. Should be a hoot!
I had to get used to checking my water level in my pickup truck every time before embarking on any journey of any length. It was becoming a real pain in the tookus. So last Wednesday, after a Dr appt, I spent about 3 1/2 hours installing a new radiator, upper and lower hoses, and changing the oil and filter. After all is done I basically have a new cooling system in the truck. I replaced the water pump and thermostat less than a year ago, and the fan clutch just last month. There should be no more overheating issues when pulling the trailer this camping season. If there is, well, I'll report the truck stolen, find the nearest 60-100 ft cliff and ...You didn't see this!
Andrew turned 8 yesterday on St Patricks Day! I spent about four hours total putting together a scavenger hunt, for 3 teams, that in the end lasted about 10 minutes. We had 5 of his best friends over for pizza, movies and fun. Then 2 of the boys stayed the night and they watched movies and talked 'til about 1:30 am. Everyone had fun and we ended up with way too much leftover cake and pizza. This morning I made "Daddys Famous Banana Pancakes", eggs and bacon for the boys. Once again I over estimated how much eight year old boys will eat and now have a ton of pancakes left over.
Megan spent the night over at the Fullers during Andrew's party. She and Emily had a great time. As I understand it, she and Em made pancakes with whip cream and strawberries. She must have had a great time because she promptly fell asleep after getting home from gymnastics today.
Modern Union has decided to go with Naja Monique as our singer. She has a soulful voice and will add some color to our overall sound. She's busy learning the songs and we should be gigging within a month or two. By the way, that's part of Naja's audition tape that you hear on the sound clip on Media Player. A small preview of Modern Union's new, or even more modern sound.
That's all for now, thanks for reading... 2月21日 Man, I just don't feel good...First off- Way to go Seahawks! Can't wait for next year.
Judy and the kids have all been coming down with flu and virus things for several weeks and I was wondering how I escaped all the misery they have been going through. Well, it finally caught up with me and I've been down a couple of days with a stomach flu thingy. Not fun being in bed all day. After taking 2 unscheduled days off from work, tomorrow I have a scheduled day off for Dr appts in Seattle. Still trying to get my back healthy without resorting to surgery.
Not much happeing with Modern Union. Lots of cancelled rehearsals because of weather, sickness, and not being able to find a singer we all can agree on. Hopefully things will work out soon.
Speaking of the weather, we went through a very cold snap about 2 months ago, then things got rather balmy around here. Then all of a sudden were in another freezing period. Just above freezing in the middle of the day is not my idea of winter wonderland. Add the wind chill and it's unbearable. There's a warming trend in the forecast. May the freezing weather stay away till next winter, Amen.
I think we're planning on a vacation to South Dakota this summer. We're going to pull our trailer and meet Judy's parents in Wall where they will have a job for the summer. It's going to be hot. I've done that route in the summer several times in my Drum & Bugle Corps days. I just remember long drives & hot heat. We'll make a stop at Silverwood in Idaho. I think they have a water/amusement park similar to Wild Waves. We'll do the obligatory visit to Mt Rushmore. I've been there a few times. I hope the kids realize the significance of the place when we go there. I don't know of any other places to visit along the way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Man, I really don't feel well at all. I better get to bed now. 2月4日 The day before the big game...Just a little over 24 hours until the Seahawks play the Steelers in the SuperBowl. I've been a Seahawk fan since 1978. I admit that I'm a homer when it comes to supporting professional sports teams. I've been to Sonics, Mariners, and Seahawks games in the Kingdome and a Seahawks game at Husky Stadium. This is the most excited I've been since 1995 when the Mariners were making thier attempt to go to the World Series. I'm starting to feel nervous for the Seahawks now. Hopefully we fans can bear the nervousness and the Hawks can put the Steelers in their place. 1月18日 Can you believe it's already January?...the 18th?So we're already mid January. My how the time flies. Things are pretty much back to normal around the Gonzalez homestead. Kids back in school, no holidays off in the near future. Work, work, and a bit more work.
Andrew is taking Karate lessons. He's always been into that kink of thing so we though he should be shown the proper way to handle his body. Otherwise he'd continue to look silly when "striking a pose". The discipline involved with Karate is something he really needs so we're hoping this ends up being a nice growing up experience for him.
I was recently saddened to see Andrew so sad about a local happening. Now all parents have a hard time when their kids are sad but this one struck me different because of a deeper reason. Andrew is sad that ToysRUs is closing their store in our city. That alone is indeed sad for a 7 yr old. If the reason he was sad ended at that I think I could deal with it easier. This all came up as he and I were going to the Walmart across the street from the ToysRUs for some light bulbs. As we got out of the car he said that he doesn't like Walmart and never wants to go there again. He said it's because of Walmart that ToysRUs (his favorite store in the world) is closing forever. I asked him what makes him think that and with tears in his eyes he replied, "ToysRUs can't compete with Walmarts low prices and now they have to close the store...FOREVER!". Wow! I was blown away and saddened at the same time. The fact that politics and economics trickled down to my little boy, and that he understands the underlying factors that contributed to the closing of his favorite store just really made me sad for him, and for myself because I'm seeing that he's growing up and starting to understand the real world. Some of Andrew's innocence was lost that day. I'm going to try to hold on to the rest just a little longer.
Megan, poor thing, just had her ballet classes cancelled. It seems that her instructor has fallen off the face of the earth and the YMCA can't find a replacement. Megan was really looking forward to the dancing. We haven't broken the news to her yet. I'm the only one who knows at the time of this posting. I hate to give the kids bad news.
Modern Union is still auditioning singers. Have you ever seen the audition phase of American Idol? Well, I'm certainly starting to empathize and identify with Simon and the other judges. There is a lot of crap to muddle through out there. How can people not immediately realize when they are out of their league and that they are nothing but a complete waste of our time? We have had one really great singer that we're keeping on the back burner until we finish going through the other applicants. I'm hoping that we have a permanent singer and are back on stage by summer time.
Transparency has a new website www.thebandtransparency.com that was designed by Erin. She did a great job. The group has been on a sort of hybernating period with one little exception. Rhoscoe and Bob were joined by Adam M, Noel B, Liz Rose (Formerly of Modern Union & St Vincents Lifeteen), and Art Leonard to play a couple of songs for part of a Marriage Renewal weekend at St Vincents. We played love songs while the weekend participants wrote love letters to their spouses, and quietly left when they were finished. It was short & sweet but I think we added to the ambience of that moment.
Judy and I are planning a night out soon! Only a few weeks left, gotta find a sitter...
My back pain is still present and accounted for. I had the third and final Epidural Steroid Injection last week. The results are not satisfactory. I see the Dr. today to determine the next step, probably a Neuro Surgical consult. I was hoping to avoid surgery but after the failure of the injections I'm thinking it's more of a probability than ever.
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