What's in a name...

The time has come for us to take the next step and name our band. Oh the frustration! Is this the hardest part of forming a band? I haven't offered up 'Negative Return' yet, but I may throw it in as a last resort. I've seen close to a hundred different suggestions and I really don't like a one--even some of my own suggestions. Am I just being too selective with this? Does it really matter? Anyway, we'll be starting a website on garageband.com. That's where you'll be able to hear our stuff and learn more about us. I just won't have the webspace to host it all, but you can bet there will be a link on my website when it's done.

Have you listened to the song? You haven't? Then you must have dial up? I've heard that people with dial up have had problems. I apologize for that...maybe when we get the site up and running on garageband.com you'll be able to listen to it? or not. If you have listened to it, I hope you liked it. Hopefully there will be many more where that came from...

So, what's in a name?? Stay tuned to find out what we have chosen...

First of many...

This is our first crudely recorded material. I say crudely because Ben whipped this up Sunday night. There is no bass, no fills, and no solos. All that to be added later. We just wanted to get something down as a basis. The thoughts are now digital. I had to reduce the quality of this piece so I could upload it to the web. Hopefully it won't sound like crap?!? Don't expect this piece to stay here too long--cause it'll be updated, or I'll run out of webspace. It is quite possible that this piece will be re-arranged and such. So, without further ado, here it is.

Comments are welcome. But before complete judgment is passed, I just want to say again, this is a piece in work. Have a listen and if you like it, buy the album. Hehe :)

Sounds of something

Last night, Greg, Ben, and I added to our unfinished yet growing piece of original work. It's growing into something that might actually be pretty good. Unfortunately we haven't been able to record any of it...but it does sound good from as we're playing it. Of course that may change when we hear the playback. The song has a good foundation...we'll need to add fills and solos to it, but it has a strong foundation. Ben will try to record some of it today--he's the only one with some recording equipment. And once we hear the playback we can begin adding some depth to the song. And of course lyrics will eventually be added. I think Ben will add a drum track to the recording, since we lack a drummer. Maybe in the future I'll add a sound clip of the song here or to HorelicaNet for your listening pleasure or displeasure, whatever the case may be. Yes, sounds of something...

Well, I'm off to enjoy my Sunday...I may be back later....Enjoy your Sunday!

Lawn mower Ops

Lawn mower operations have resumed. The parts came in and the lawn mower is functional. I've included a picture to show you what the problem was.


The gear on the left is the old and busted gear. As you can see all of the gear teeth have been worn away. The gear on the right is the replacement gear. A simple $9 part fixes a $260 lawn mower. It pays to do things yourself. The yard is now in tip top shape! Well, that is all for now. I'm going to go relax and watch some TV. Enjoy your Sunday...

Emerald Charms of Luck

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone had a merry day. Today is one of my influences birthday--William P. Corgan, Jr. or better known as Billy Corgan, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins and Zwan. Happy Birthday Billy. I anxiously await the arrival of his poetry book and his new material, both due out later this year. Billy is an amazing guitarist and master mind in the art of music making. If you'd like to see some of his personal thought, go here to billycorgan.com.

I guess I will leave you with a place to research o' St. Paddy.

28 years

It's been 28 years since my birth. I'd like to thank everyone for their well wishes, cards, lotto tickets, phone calls and the like. Sorry to say the lotto tickets didn't produce anything but garbage. I didn't do any celebrating. My meal of choice was a bacon cheese burger meal from Whataburger. I know, I know, not very exciting. Sometimes keeping things low key are much better than the grandiose cinematic features that we sometimes make them out to be. It was a pretty good day nonetheless.


In other news, I'm waiting on lawn mower parts to come in so I can fix my lawn mower. A simple $28 worth of supplies to fix the problem is a lot better than $280 for a new lawnmower. The parts shipped today; so they should be here later this week. And there isn't much more to report...I'm tired.

Mud Bugs and Rock n Roll

Today there was a crawfish boil at Greg's house, in honor of his "last" birthday. Greg's birthday was yesterday (the 12th). We arrived at the party a little late--fashionably late. But I arrived with two girls (Heather and Lisa) and a cooler full of drinks. The weather seemed to cooperate despite the gloominess. Chef Lala (Russell Lala, one of our MCS trainers) prepared an exquisite meal consisting of crawfish, corn on the cob, potatoes, sausage, and catfish. See some pictures here. I did try the crawfish...it was good, but had a stronger fishy flavor than I liked. So, I stuck to the sausage, potatoes, and corn. After feasting from the crawfish trough, it was time to break out the guitars and jam a little.

Ben and I set up in Greg's living room and started doing a little jammin. Greg joined us a short time later. We had a bigger audience than usual, but it was fun. We ran through the stuff that we had been working on. We are getting better. We have even written a little musical piece together...we have most of it hashed out, just need to add some drums and some lyrics and tweak it a bit and we're off to writing our first song together. I can definitely see some improvement in my playing. This little project has been good for me...and it shall continue.
I had no idea jammin and feasting on some authentic cajun food could be so exhausting...I'm quite tired right now. Stay tuned for the next installment of HorelicaNet Journal.

Save the Bird

Good new came to me several days ago. A staple restaurant of College Station is coming to my area! Freebirds!! Yep, that's right. Evidently there are enough Aggies in this area to prompt the arrival of the wonderful burrito making establishment. Visit Freebirds for a sneak peek at what they have to offer!! I can't wait for the arrival of this glorious burrito factory. I will probably get fat now. So go out and save the bird!

Tame the mane

Today I got a much needed haircut. That's right, I tamed the mane. I wasn't able to get into the place I normally get my hair done at, so I had to settle for the next best thing. The mall was extremely packed today...guess everyone needed a haircut. I wanted something new...so I cut off all my hair--ok, well not all my hair, but it sure felt like it. At least now I'll fit into my fitted cap now! I hope to have some pictures soon...cause I know there are some of you out there that are wondering what it looks like. I wanted highlights to accent the cut, but alas, everyone was getting their hair colored too. Well, my hair is at least back to it's natural color: brown and silver (don't ask!) Maybe next go around I can add the highlights? How's your hair?

Temperatures are warming up here in Texas; made it to the mid 80s today. That only means one thing...it's yard work time. I've already applied the weed and feed...next comes the ant killer. Then in the near future I'll mow the lawn and pull the weeds in the flower beds. What a chore...How's your yard?

Be on the look out this year for some productivity from one of my influences: Billy Corgan. Out this year will be his solo album, a poetry book, and a DVD. Keep tabs on him here: Billy Corgan.com. Read a review of his former band Zwan here.

Ok, I've rambled on long enough...until the next post...