Memorial Day Weekend 2012

Televators Live

Looks like everyone was busy on the 18th
All the people who've asked us "When's the next show?" were absent, but at least I had Sylvia and some of MY friends show up.
A nice reality check for all concerned, highlighting the need to utilize social networks a bit more on the band side (I may be the only one who remembered...) and from the audience perspective it's advisable to NOT miss the show right after we've been playing our asses off in the studio and are smoking hot.

Special thanks to my darling Sylvia for taking some great pictures.



Jaime and his blue Yamahas.



David and his ESP/LTD.



Televators singer Bex shared the mic with Scot Taylor so we could do some Beastie Boys and pay respect.









I really liked having an assload of speakers behind me--looks pretty cool.
Only the 4x10" cabinet on top was connected, but that close to ear-level it's WAY easier to hear what's really going on tone-wise without turning up the volume too far.
Over the last few years with Loud Nine and Televators I've never used the same bass amp system twice, and it's been an education.
I'll go on the record now and say that I finally know for sure exactly what my dream system might look like for both live shows and recording, but I'm also confident that whatever might be available can be made to work.

Spurs Playoff Games

I was a lucky boy this week

On Tuesday my friend Holly took me to see game one of the Spurs' 2nd-round playoff series against the LA Clippers.


Paper tickets? Not for these playoff seats!
We had a great time, of course.
Thanks Holly!



As always I tried to get a good shot of the tip-off.
Meh.
With this particular camera it's mostly luck getting anything good indoors, but I'm not complaining--I was there for the game.



Tony Parker (who turned 30 today) didn't score much, but still put his stamp all over this game.
Thought it was funny that the "MVP!!" chants went up during his free-throws despite it being awarded to Lebron James already.
Just shows that TP is SA's MVP in our hearts, because we love team basketball.



I was sorry to see George Hill go in the trade that brought us Kawhi Leonard, but now all is forgiven.
Not too many 20 yr old rookie starters in regular season, let alone the playoffs.
He is such a hard worker, and a great kid.
Big future for Kawhi.


Despite the lock-out shortened season, it's been a great ride so far.
And if you've never been to a playoff game, I recommend it.
Nothing compares to the energy, excitement, and sheer volume of the ATT Center in the post-season.

Televators***Evil Olive***Friday May 18

Be There!

Fiesta Noche Del Rio

The new season of weekend shows at the Arneson River Theater kicks off this Friday and Saturday nights.
If you don't already know, it's Mexican and Tex-Mex music and dance straddling the San Antonio River with the tourist barges barging-in between the stage and the audience.

Every Fri/Sat through the summer, and not too expensive.
The theater is in La Villita downtown.







My friend John has been the soundman at Arneson River Theater for many years and he hired me to help him set-up the short media kick-off event this morning. We gave reporters and supporters and tourists a quick peek at what the show is about, and there were speeches and a big cardboard check (charity is what SA's Fiesta events are supposed to be about) and musica y bailar.

It was fun being a roadie/stagehand for the day, with no need to think.



On the other hand, carrying all that gear up and down the stairs on our little arched bridges wasn't much fun. I'm used to rolling it.

I also didn't sleep more than about 15 minutes last night due to several days of stomach pain and having to get up when I'm usually going to bed.
It wasn't too bad, though.
I had fun, and got home by noon which was the perfect time to launch the most complete session of yardwork thus far in 2012 before the rains supposedly return tomorrow.

Luminaria 2012

We have wanted to check out Luminaria for probably the last 4 of the five years this event has existed. Got lucky in that rain postponed it from a Saturday in March when I had to work to last night when I was free. Meh. Wasn't impressed by any of the "art" or music. Expected much more quality and diversity and only saw a bunch of crap that we could have beaten with three minutes and 46 seconds of thought and a pickup truck load of band lights and sound from our garage. We're going to give it 2 or three more years to stew in it's own juices before going back to see if there is any growth.

The only photo I cared about was a re-visit of some old favorites from around 2006 or so. I was under the impression that all city fountains were supposed to be dry on account of Stage 2 Drought restrictions. It crossed my mind right before we got there that the city might (wisely) run the damned water for a big event at Hemisfair Plaza, and it looks like I was right. Some of my friends got interesting pics, but nothing I saw made me want to bust out the camera beyond a few half-assed attempts that were more about doing something anything after paying for parking and sweating a lot and dealing with masses of people.

Moving Forward

This is probably the last photo from the Televators' trip to Wire Recording--Luminaria is on Saturday and I fully intend to bring a change of subject to VsOfTx ASAP.

I've pulled this trick before, but only with the aim of temporarily blinding an unsuspecting victim. After taking some flash photos in the studio I was relaxing on the couch and chatting with Bex when our producer (Lee Popa) came over for some reason. My flash (with wireless triggers) was sitting in my lap, but in the dim studio lighting I was sure he hadn't noticed it or know what it was all about. I handed Lee my camera and asked him to take my picture, while casually aiming the flash up at my face. He fumbled around at first, clearly lost with a DSLR, so I explained that there was NO zoom ring on that particular lens (50mm F1.8) and that you had to use the viewfinder instead of the LCD screen. He framed up the shot and found the shutter button, and because the viewfinder blacks-out during exposure probably didn't notice my flash popping. What I wanted (and got) was his reaction on reviewing the shot on the LCD. His excitement was wonderful as he exclaimed "I don't know what I did, but this looks amazing!!" and started showing it around. Eventually let him in on the trick, and that moment was one of many that brought us closer and instilled trust. His job in the studio or mixing sound live is to do tricky things that let musicians of all skill levels achieve surprising results. I had set him up to achieve something that was completely different from what he was expecting, using my camera.