Albert King (1923 – 1992) / Bobby “Blue” Bland (1930 - Still Representin)

There is a lot of stuff going on in the world right now. War, murder, thievery, rape, genocide, homelessness, etc…the list of jacked stuff goes on forever. I know I shouldn’t have the blues for what I’m about to tell you, but I really can’t help it. I’ve been working on some new songs as a reinvention of sorts and it has been going really, really, really well. The recordings were awesome. I’m trucking along with a good attitude, kinda happy for a change, and then Boom! Explosion! Death! Destruction! My Pro Tools Drive crashed. I haven’t backed up anything in a few weeks. I’m fucked.

I’ve run about 15 applications to find the data and have retrieved the wav files (along with all kinds of other shit that got deleted a long time ago), but this was a drive dedicated to Pro Tools only and .pft session files are nowhere to be found. Btw, just like they say, data is never really deleted until it is written over by new data a few times…or unless you bust out a 7 to 35 pass file shredding application (which was actually the culprit in my case). Something about the app I was using to really delete old files jacked up the NFTS file tables and MBR or something weak like that. Dunno, this shit feels like someone is sticking a knife in my eye and scraping the inside of my skull while forcing me to listen to a non mixed mixtape of only Black Eye Peas and Miley Cyrus at 1,000,000,000,000 decibels. I hate my life right about now.

In the words of a living legend Mr. Bobby Bland:

Ask me who was the first man to make a light burn so bright
I don’t know, oh lord, I don’t know
Ask me who thought of using a candle for a light
I don’t know, oh lord, I know

But ask me how does a man feel when he’s got the blues
And I’d say, misused, abused, downhearted and blue
And Oh, the reason I know this
Cause the Blues is all I was left with

I can tell you only one thing right now…what it’s like to have the hard drive blues. Ain’t no love in the heart of this Los Angeles city.

Take us out Mr. Albert King:

The beautiful little birds chirpin’ up in the tree, yeah
Buy you know I just can’t dig the sweet melody
I’m so blue and all alone
I’m just a lonely man with everything gone

I’m a fella with a different groove
I’m hung up, I can’t hear nothing but the blues

Brett who?   Look at the odds jump today for the Jets!

Colts are gonna smash fools this year.  I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited for the season to get started in my life.  It’s time. Let’s go.

An old friend of mine that I know from my time in Bloomington IN….who I met through Mr. Dope America, Jerold H, is in a band called Undersea Explosion.  I have both USX cds and the discs are my current go to music when I’m in the shower….sometimes in the car.  You can definitely hear the band’s influences coming through in the in the music, but it’s a good thing in this case.  It just sounds like New York City to me.  Reminds me a bunch of skate rock too.  I dig it.  Go check them out:

http://underseaexplosion.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/usx

Let em know what you think.

Thanks to this site, I didn’t have to take any pictures.  I realize this isn’t the best example, but you see where the theory is going. Not all of the JFK assassination pics were great either.

Another Wednesday night in Hollywood California.  I passed on going to the ESPYs.  I passed on going to see Tropic Thunder. I didn’t pass on going to see Nas again on Jimmy Kimmel.  I caught him the last time he came through (you remember that blues song with his dad?) and it’s only right to go check out NY’s finest again. Checklist:

• Pre show rum and coke @ Scorpions: Check
• Green room Corona #1: Check
• Green room buffet (pot stickers & beef wrapped vegetables and cheese): Check
• Seeing and chatting with some friends: Check
• Green Lantern in the Green room: Check
• Green room Corona #2: Check

When it was time to head out, we walked out and checked out the show from the side.  Nas ripped into “Hero”. Sounded pretty good from where I was standing, but I couldn’t really tell if he was saying all the words or mumbling sometimes.  The live band on the track made it bang more.  The bass player in the band was good.  “Sly Fox” was pretty dope.  I agree that Fox news does suck.  Then the highlight of the set was played…hearing ”It Ain’t Hard To Tell” brings on that feeling of nostalgia  that you can feel in your chest.  Illmatic is one of my favorite albums of all time.  “Made You Look” had intensity and the crowd was into it.  All around, it was a good mini show.  After that…we shook the spot for post show drinks @ Scorpions.  The trip turned into another checklist:

• Kettle One dirty martini: Check
• Sip the white sangria: Check
• Sip the red sangria: Check
• Corona #3: Check
• Corona #4: Check
• Sol #1: Check
• Tecate #1: Check
• Feeling bent = Check

Now, let’s get into my newest theory.  Events these days are like the JFK assassination and the grassy knoll…there are a gazillion pictures documenting the event.  I believe there is no longer a need to pull out your camera phone when you’re at a decent sized event as everyone and their mom is already snapping photos.

First I’m going to backtrack one step and talk about the non public part of the event.  When you roll on some VIP shit and hang in areas where there is only talent, worker bees, and agents/managers….nobody wants to see you with your camera out.  This isn’t TMZ.  It actually feels awkward to have your camera out in those situations anyway.  Hope that makes sense.  Now on to the regular portion of the event, in most cases, everyone has their camera out and are snapping away like crazy.  This means that they’re going to put the photos on flickr or the internet before you even get to your house.  A quick search the next day and boom…there you are.  Pretty simple theory….to sum it up: There may no longer be a need for you to snap your own photos at a concert ever again.

There are always exceptions to the rule.  This is my Robert Greene “Reversal” section at the end of the chapter. If you have to send a picture immediately as an alibi to prove your location…break the rule.  If you’re in a situation where you see some extremely messed up shit…break the rule.  At the Beastie Boy’s show at the Fonda last year, I was standing next to Tommy Lee and some little weird guy was kissing Tommy’s back and neck and making out with him.  It was fucking creepy and nasty, but I wish I had taken a shot so people would believe me.  A followup search reveals that TMZ caught those fools that night getting it on. It’s also ok to break the rule if you’re in a spot that nobody can get to (a good example would be that pic i snapped on the stage watching Prince at Coachella).  Another exception to the rule would be a situation in which you have the chance to take a picture with a legend…you have to go for it.  I regret not taking a picture with James Brown when I had the chance a few times.  I didn’t want to be that douchebag tugging on his arm asking for a photo after he just ripped a sick show.  Other missed opportunities that I regret:  Jimmy Page & Slash, George Benson, Ahmad Jamal & Idris Muhammad, Metallica, Bill Clinton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Adjust these rules to suit your shit, sit back, and enjoy the show.

A blue satin cape embroidered with Thy Name Is Godfather of Soul and rhinestone, sequence and metallic embellishments.  Estimated Price:  $15,000 - $20,000

So they’re going to really auction off some of James Brown’s stuff at Christie’s?  I guess he’s not using it anymore, but if there are unresolved conflicts between family, business managers, and trustees…they should definitely be resolved before the slanging begins.  Yes, as Dozanova put it, “Hip Hop died on Christmas Day 2006″, but the legend lives on in my mind…and hopefully in yours.  I don’t have the official Christie’s auction book yet, but I’ve looked at all of the items online.  To jack some descriptions from http://www.thestate.com/local/story/462001.html, this auction is amazing to say the least:

There are handwritten notes, signed contracts and the inmate inventory sheet listing the clothing and accessories that were taken when Brown went to prison in 1989 for aggravated assault and failure to stop for police.

Most items are expected to bring less than $1,000. But others, like the jumpsuit he wore in 1974 when he performed before the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire, are expected to go for $5,000 or more.

A black cape embroidered with his name, Brown’s 1986 Grammy for “Living in America” and a Hammond B-3 electric organ have an estimated value of $15,000 to $20,000.

So here’s my plan.  My bank is WAMU and WAMU is about to go out of biz.  I’m going to get my dough out of that sinking ship and instead of depositing it somewhere else, investing it, or saving it….I’m going to buy a cape, jumpsuit, and a moog…and make shit funky.  If I had a JB jumpsuit…I would rock it everyday for the rest of my life.  RIP Godfather….a true legend.

Btw, this is a perfect segue into a brief point I want to make about dead rappers and producers who aren’t true legends.  Just because you made some hot beats or spit some verses and then died…doesn’t make you a legend.  So, no, I don’t get super emotional over dead rappers or producers.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  On the flip side, I respect life very much and am saddened by loss of it …but I understand that we all have to live and we all have to die.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some hardcore death lover as I always take time to reflect on what it means to be alive whenever I hear about someone passing….especially in hip hop.  Personally, I don’t expect anyone to give a damn about me when I’m gone (I do hope my friends to have a party and drink some hen though….haha).  Seriously, you clowns running around dropping RIP for these rappers you didn’t know is a weird hip hop phenomenon.  Why don’t you run around throwing RIP’s to people you know, loved ones, people close to you, and your family?  Or even the real legends who made shit possible (like James Brown, Hendrix, or Muddy Waters)….not some random catch phrase that you picked up.  Maybe you feel like you’re part of movement by doing that?  Maybe they really touched each and everyone of your lives…dunno…anything is possible I guess.  To each his own..don’t listen to me anyway cause I don’t know shit.  I do know one thing though…before I throw a shout to someone I don’t know, I’ve got a massive list of people who are gone that I’ve known and loved…and that’s all that will ever come out of my mouth.

]]> http://spithate.com/2008/07/16/thy-name-is-godfather-of-soul/feed/ http://spithate.com/2008/07/15/fedex-sucks/ http://spithate.com/2008/07/15/fedex-sucks/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:52:32 +0000 P http://spithate.com/?p=30

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Jul 15, 2008

5:54 PM

Delivered

5:30 PM

On FedEx vehicle for delivery

LOS ANGELES, CA

4:54 PM

At local FedEx facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

8:33 AM

On FedEx vehicle for delivery

LOS ANGELES, CA

Jul 14, 2008

5:35 PM

At local FedEx facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

10:34 AM

On FedEx vehicle for delivery

LOS ANGELES, CA

Jul 11, 2008

6:24 PM

At local FedEx facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

2:46 PM

Delivery exception

LOS ANGELES, CA

Customer not available or business closed

8:01 AM

On FedEx vehicle for delivery

LOS ANGELES, CA

6:59 AM

At local FedEx facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

5:58 AM

At dest sort facility

LOS ANGELES, CA

4:43 AM

Departed FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

2:33 AM

In transit

MEMPHIS, TN

1:24 AM

Arrived at FedEx location

MEMPHIS, TN

Jul 10, 2008

11:58 PM

Departed FedEx location

NEWARK, NJ

11:58 PM

Left FedEx origin facility

NEW YORK, NY

9:02 PM

Arrived at FedEx location

NEWARK, NJ

7:59 PM

Left FedEx origin facility

NEW YORK, NY

2:47 PM

Picked up

NEW YORK, NY

My story:

Without my knowledge of the shipping date, I was shipped a very important package via FedEx on Thursday, July 10^th. I missed the delivery of the package on Friday, July 11^th as I was out and didn’t know it was on the way. I usually try to be on the scene when something is being sent as things have been known to get stolen off the stoop. The delivery guy left a door ticket with a tag # for tracking. It says “1^st Attempt” and we will try again on Monday. Why isn’t this big ass company working on Saturday anyway?

Monday rolls around and I make sure I’m around the house all day as I know what the package is and it is very important package related to my business and ultimately my money. I wait around all day and the delivery guy never shows up so I call the customer service center to find out what’s going on. They apologize profusely, say they have no idea what happened, put me on hold to supposedly call the local manager, and then return to say that the local manager absolutely cannot have the package delivered Monday night. The customer service woman gives me the option of trooping downtown to pick it up from the delivery center. Fuck all that. Why should I waste my gas and sit in LA traffic because these fucks can’t bring me something when they say they’re going to bring it. I cut the duckhead some slack (and she was def a dumb clucker) and ask her what time it will be delivered in the morning. I get repeated “3 pm Sir”. That package should’ve been the first thing delivered on Tuesday morning as for some reason unknown to them it wasn’t delivered on Monday. I accept 3 pm as the only other choice was to go downtown.

3 pm rolls around on Tuesday. No package. 4 pm….No package. Around 4:30, I give the customer service center a call on the 800 number. This time I get a customer service man. I explain the problem, he looks it up and says, “Uh oh…looks like the same problem that happened yesterday happened today….it was placed on the wrong truck”. How can you put shit on the wrong truck with all this space age tracking you’re supposed to be using? How the fuck can you put the shit on any truck 2 days in a row and bring it back to the station without a delivery attempt…especially when it has the correct addy on the shipping label? He goes on, “Sir, I have placed a notice to have this package put on the correct truck and delivered to you tomorrow at 3 pm. Nah son, fuck that shit and fuck your notice. I guarantee that you might catch me once with that bullshit but not a second time. The guy wasn’t argumentative, but he was matter of fact about telling me over and over, “There is no way your package will be delivered tonight. It just isn’t possible. I’m sorry for the inconvenience”. I was on some, “look guy, I’m not going to stop until my package is delivered tonight so what is your escalation procedure”. “There really is none sir, can you please hold?” How can there not be an escalation process for a big ass corporation? I’m waiting for him to get back so I can yell “put your supervisor on the line, write somebody up, fire a trick…I don’t give a fuck…I just want my package.” He comes back and offers to transfer me to the local manager in LA as my only option. I took that option as an escalation…better than dealing with his dumb ass all night. I can always call back and blast customer service if I have to. I’ve got a big ass bottle of Makers Mark and unlimited minutes bitches.

Ten minutes later I get transferred to the local FedEx manager in LA. I believe her name was Shareen. I was ready to go to war at this point, but she got on the line and handled business immediately and professionally. After recognizing that package should’ve been there on Monday and offering a sincere apology, she assigned a courier to have the package in my hands in the next hour and half. The package arrives without incident. About time. Big ups to Shareen the night manager!

Btw, the package clearly has the box checked on it for “No Signature Required” so this thing should’ve been left on the stoop in the first place. The data cds inside of the package all had their cases cracked and the plastic center that holds the cd was broken into bits. Fuck FedEx. I hope your fleet crashes and burns.

Moral of the story: FedEx is a bitch ass service and 2 out of the 3 people I spoke to were complete morons. You may be better off sending your shit via carrier pigeon.

“Do you know, after all that, all I received was a pat on the back.” —-UTFO - Roxanne, Roxanne

Not too many updates.  I won’t keep you long…I promise.

The 4th of July was good.  A BBQ / Pool Party went down for around 30 friends and fun was had.  An entire keg of Newcastle got sucked down with the quickness.  The only downside of this past 4th of July is that I was in LA…if I would’ve been in Indiana I could have checked out Bobby Blue Bland in Benton Harbor the next day.  Bobby is on my list of must see musicians, and with his limited tour schedule, I may have to fly out sooner than later to catch him doing his thing.

I went to see Stevie Wonder at the Hollywood Bowl last week.  He played “People Make The World Go Around” using a talkbox.  Sick.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: If you’ve never seen Stevie, you need to figure out a way to see the man.  His voice is still incredible and he is always on.  The caliber of celebrity at a Stevie show is very consistent as well…everyone from the Greek Theatre show seemed to be in the house for this show with the exception of Mike Tyson.  Where you at champ?

I wrecked my knee two weeks ago and the scab is still there.  I’ve had a ton of skateboard injuries over the years (broken collarbone, shattered elbow, jacked ankles and wrists, hurt back, and more), but this janky little scabbing on my entire left knee is starting to piss me off.  Do I not have the same amount of white blood cells that I had as a kid?  Over the past few weeks, I skated Culver City a few times, the new version of the Venice church ramp (a really cool thing for the church to provide), Randy Randall ramp, and Glendale.  My feet are everywhere and my tricks don’t exist.  Skating to not fall takes away some of the fun.  When I get some health insurance rolling again soon, I’m going for all my old shit.

I’ve been cutting some rock demos lately.  Rock + Rap in attempts to not be the stereotypical rock rap.  You can be the judge of whether I’m succeeding or not.  I’m working on getting my back catalog up in it’s entirety….so you can actually be the judge of all the shit put down over the years as well.  Oh, and I have a remix brewing for a pretty well known band.  Gotta be in it to win it.

Today I checked out the Maloof Money Cup at the Orange County Fair.  The vert ramp was crazy and the street course was poured concrete.  They poured a real street area for a 3 day contest?  Wtf?  $$$.  I watched heat 1 and 2 of the Pro Vert prelims.  Sean White was killing fools…PLG was sick.  Lincoln Ueda goes higher than everyone else.  I didn’t get to see much of the street skating aside from practice, but they were killing it.  Said what up to the homey Kenny Hughes, ate a beef brisket dinner, and shook the spot.

http://www.slabco.com/cblog/index.php?/archives/362-king-shade-summer-sizzle…html

or

http://thematerialtrip.com/45s/

Autobots! Blaze! The voice changer isn’t exactly a talkbox, but we’ll take it.

Hey visitor bench ball boy in warm ups and a headband…you’re never going to get in the game. Isn’t there an age limit on being a ball boy?

I was there at the Staples Center when the lakers blew the massive lead in game 4 of the finals. Section PR9, Row 7, Seat 12. I’ve been to a game in each playoff series this year and was present when the Lakers jerked off a 24 point lead and lost to the Celtics. What the flying fuck? I really think it’s time to put the ball boy in. Don’t you? You know the one I’m talking about if you’ve been to Lakers games…he’s the guy folding towels and stank breakaways at the foot of the visitor bench. He’s there at every game. He wears a sweat suit and a headband. He’s ready to go in the game….just waiting for Phil to call his nonexistent number and then it’s on. Phil, next time the squad blows a huge lead in a must win game in the NBA finals…put the grown man ball boy in. He can’t play any worse than the Lakers did last night, can he?

P.S. Everlast was sitting in my section. That’s two Everlast sightings in the last month or so. While I’m name dropping…I was eating lunch at the Katsuya at Hollywood & Vine on Wednesday and there was a walk of fame star dedication going on outside for Susan Saint James. I arrived early before my lunch meeting and ended up standing around next to Jamie Lee Curtis and Al Michaels. Al Michaels!!! I love Al but I wish this was a report of a Madden sighting. Maria Shriver Skeletor was there too.