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Tiny Desk Concert Contest 2023

I don’t think I’ve posted in a year. It’s been an interesting ride. Most of the time was spent being a dad and working at a job I didn’t like much. At the end of January I fell victim to cost reductions at the job, and although it hurt the ego to not to be considered a vital, irreplaceable part of a company, I wasn’t particularly sad to leave. Since then I’ve been playing music while hunting for…

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Back in the music business

Back in the music business

I use the term “business” very loosely because while making music has been a lifelong passion, I’ve never really made any money at it. However, I have spent many hours throughout many years working at it. A live performance from the new studio. Please note the distinct lack of microphone hiss! As a kid, it was a much different landscape. There was no internet. There were no free guitar tabs or…

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Top 5 things I learned painting my car at home

Top 5 things I learned painting my car at home

It was challenging. It was rewarding. It was heartbreaking. During the month of March I tackled what I consider to be the pinnacle of a car restoration — the paint. When this project began in August of 2017, the 1967 Mercury Cougar arrived wearing dull white paint. I actually wasn’t sure if it was primer or a topcoat. There was overspray on most of the trim, rust was bubbling up on the doors…

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The Houston Snowpocalypse of 2021

The Houston Snowpocalypse of 2021

The Farmer’s Almanac predicted the last Houston freeze of 2021 to be February 17. What it didn’t predict was that the freeze would begin the evening of February 14 and stick around until February 19. We knew the freeze was coming well in advance, and Mary spent quite a few hours relocating plants into the house and covering those she couldn’t move. Thankfully plants were the only casualties at…

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Adding XR7-G exhaust cut-outs to a 1967 or 1968 Mercury Cougar

Adding XR7-G exhaust cut-outs to a 1967 or 1968 Mercury Cougar

There’s one detail of the 1967 Cougar that always bothered me — the way the exhaust sits under the rear valance. Originally, I believe the Cougar had turn-down exhaust tips that were somewhat hidden, but through the years almost everyone has run the exhaust under the valance, both to keep fumes out of the car and to give it more of a muscle car style. However, in 1968, the XR7-G package boasted…

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Learning to Paint: Cut and polish

Learning to Paint: Cut and polish

I only had an 18-hour window to apply clear coat after the last coat of color to ensure adhesion. However, I needed to wait a minimum of 24 hours after spraying clear before I could start the cut and polish process. The clear coat brought out the color of the black cherry paint, but it had noticeable texture. I also had two runs on the air cleaner lid, which were easy to see, but very hard to…

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Learning to Paint: Applying clear coat

Learning to Paint: Applying clear coat

I spent an entire morning sanding down the color coat I had applied the day before to remove all of the cardboard and plastic that had stuck to the paint when I flipped various pieces before they had cured. I had previously sanded it all with 400 grit, but this time I wet sanded with 600 grit to get a better finish. I dug out some wire hangers and worked out a new tactic for the my second…

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Learning to Paint: Laying down color

Learning to Paint: Laying down color

Before jumping to the color base coat, I decided I need to spend more time working with the gun and attempt the primer again. I diluted it 3:1 instead of 4:1 and made sure I had the paint feed all the way open. I got slightly better coverage, but unfortunately there was still too much texture to the spray. At left is my second attempt at primer, which still has noticeable texture. At right is a…

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Learning to Paint: The first attempt

Learning to Paint: The first attempt

In September 2019, back when the world was normal, and we jumped on airplanes to breath up each other’s exhales without thinking twice, Mary and I made a trip to Salt Lake City. During that trip Bryce Green and Freddy Carlson taught us how to paint. When you have pro equipment being set up for you in a climate controlled spray booth with two of the best painters in the world coaching you, it’s…

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GBCA Icicle 5: We end the series with a spirited DNF

GBCA Icicle 5: We end the series with a spirited DNF

Friday evening our outlook for race 5 was still dependent on whether or not I could repair the cabin top winch that raises and lowers the centerboard. Once I got the winch open, the mechanism turned out to be incredibly simple. There is a gear on the drum, a gear on the winch handle, and one pawl that is supposed to release whenever you turn the handle. I will have to completely remove the cable…

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GBCA Icicle 4: Pure heartbreak

GBCA Icicle 4: Pure heartbreak

You would think that after three weeks of focused boat repairs and adjustments, sailing performance would go up. You would be wrong. Icicle 4 was the worst race yet. When we re-installed the jib, we tied on the old slightly smaller diameter sheets that had been found in the bottom of the lazarette. The theory was that our new sheets were too large for the turning blocks and were binding up…

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The low tides and high times of GBCA Icicle #3

The low tides and high times of GBCA Icicle #3

Spoiler alert, we did not start (DNS) Icicle Race #3. The north wind was gusting all day Friday, and there just wasn’t much water left in Clear Lake. On a normal day, there is no beach here along the bulkhead of our marina. Due to low water and a low wind forecast, we decided not to risk leaving Finn with a baby sitter and getting stuck in the bay for hours. Had we made it to the race, we would…

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GBCA Icicle Series 2: We learn more limitations of the boat

GBCA Icicle Series 2: We learn more limitations of the boat

After the line adjustments and repairs, I was fired up for race 2. Our handicap boat rating went from 218 to 221, so our start time was moved a minute earlier. We got to the course on time and managed to get the main unfurled correctly on the first attempt — everything was going great. https://flic.kr/p/2kqYF2S That’s us in the background of this photo Sunspot Baby took just before the…

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Here's to new adventures in 2021

Here’s to new adventures in 2021

2021 started on a good tack. We spent New Year’s Day on the boat prepping for GBCA Icicle Series 1, and we were treated to an absolutely amazing sunset. I finally broke down and bought a 3M Stripe Removal wheel to take the old Florida registration numbers off the hull. It was working pretty well until it popped out of the drill and into the water. Poseidon demands his sacrifices. I almost went…

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Prepping for 2021

We entered 2020 planning to take things easy. I had just started a new job, and we had a baby on the way. Focusing on the baby and staycation was the plan. We just had no idea the extent we wouldn’t even leave the house for months at a time. It worked out great for the dogs. They’ve never gotten so much attention. I think they actually appreciated getting a little less attention once Michael…

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The guitar project that went wrong ... then wronger

The guitar project that went wrong … then wronger

Back in the 90s when the distinction between music store and pawn shop was rather blurry, I acquired a second-hand silver sparkle Les Paul guitar that only said “Lady Luck” on the headstock and “Made in Korea” on the back of the neck.

This was a time when cheap guitars were really bad. Everyone and their brother had a beginner-level Squier or Jasmine that wouldn’t stay in tune and had the tone…

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Resurrecting my first guitar

Resurrecting my first guitar

Did you ever visit The Golden Pawn II?

It was located on Peoria Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Apparently the building is about to be torn down.

The Golden Pawn II: It was a pawn shop … and also golden.

When my granddad took me there in 1992, it was both my first time inside a pawn shop and my first time to experience the joyous overwhelming sensory overload generated by a wall of guitars and…