Oliver: "I want to get some Jheri Curl."
Oliver's mother: "Uh, why's that?"
O: "Because it's for our kind of hair. And the comercials are cool. And the music is cool."
OM: "I don't think it's really for your kind of hair."
O: "Well, then, what kind of hair is it for?"
OM: "It's for, uh, people with curly hair."
O: "BUT I HAVE CURLY HAIR!"
OM: "I'll explain it to you when you get older."

Do you meditate? There's a short article in Scientific American about the science of meditation. I also recently read David Lynch's book on Transcendental Meditation, Catching the Big Fish. I looked at Transcendental Meditation website for information on a course, and when I saw the prices, and then, when I read about levitation, I started thinking things like "Scientology!," "Moonies!," and "Amway!"

But, y'know, I'm a type of trained scientist, and when there's hard science backing this stuff up, I'm more inclined to take the proclamations of some of the artists whose work I admire more, uh, realistically.

So, do you meditate? What's your experience? Have you taken the TM course? What's the Straight Dope on (transcendental) meditation without the levitation?

I got invited to sit in on a few songs on Sunday with Los del Lago, a Latin band doing Latin Rock, and more traditional Latin songs. It was a really fun show, and I really enjoyed the gig. It was really a great experience finally getting to play some Maná songs live. I've been a big fan of theirs ever since I stumbled on "En Vivo" in a CD store in Medellín, Colombia in 1995.

The real wacky part of the gig, was that I've been charting out songs for the gig for a couple weeks now wating for a call to find out when rehearsal would be. Instead, I got the call for "just show up at the gig--you don't need to rehearse this stuff." Amazingly, it went very well. Fortunately, I've got big ears.

I'll be sitting in with them in Isla Bonita again in two weeks. See you there!

I'm happy to announce that I'm the new bass teacher at the Musikschule Bodensee in Friedrichshafen. I've been in touch with Alp, the owner and director of the school, for a while now talking about the transition and what we want to do, my teaching philosophy, special events and so on, and I really think we're going to be on to something good here.

I'm really looking forward to working with the other teachers to raise even higher the level of this already high performing private music school.

I was recently going through a folder of old pictures and stuff from assorted old bands of mine, and I stumbled on this gem that I didn't even know I had. This advertisement from April 1990 shows both the an up-and-coming-band, Hootie and the Blowfish who a few years later would sell mega-millions with a few hits, and my now defunct, but then also up-and-coming band Black Ice. We didn't actually play with Hootie and the Blowfish, (we played one week later), but it's a nice blast from the past.

(You'll need to click on the image to see it clearly.)

I went to see Deep Purple last night. Now that was an experience! I had given up on arena type shows a long time ago, because, well, they sucked. The sound was horrible, and I'd have to stand next to Jimmy Joe and Bobbi Sue and wilt in their enthusiasm for whoever their Rock hero was. I've been to some large festivals here in the Europe, and they've all been quite civilized, but I just didn't dig on big arena shows.

This time, I decided to make an exception. A friend of mine, is friends with Ian Gillan, and said she could get me a backstage pass if I would like one. Hell, yeah! Naturally, I took her up on her offer.

I went on Monday down to the ticket office to buy a ticket. The show had just sold out on Saturday. Fuck. What am I gonna do now? Ebay! I decided to check if maybe, just maybe, somebody had a ticket or two for sale on Ebay. The worst case would be that maybe I'd have to pay a little more than the face value, or maybe I'd have to buy two tickets, and try to sell one at the door. How did I get myself in a situation where I have a backstage pass but no real ticket? A quick look on Ebay, and sure enough there's one ticket available. With the Buy it now! option. And it's at a price of..hold on...I can't be reading that right. Does that really say for 10 EUR less than the ticket price? Hell, yeah! You can bet your bottom euro that I clicked on that Buy it now! button faster than the speed of light. I broke the laws of physics with that purchase, baby. Not only that, he lives just a couple of miles away and he'd bring the ticket to me! Man it just doesn't get any better than this. And then the Swedish Bikini Team showed up! Okay not really, but that would have been good. We arranged a meeting point, and money and ticket changed hands.

I got to Ravensburg a little early on Saturday before the show to meet up with some friends who were also going to the show. Quite a few beers and a steak later, we made our way to the concert. In short, I was just thrilled to death with this show. The sound was fantastic and not horrificly loud. I remember seeing Judas Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour when I was fourteen and my ears were ringing for days after that. I'm kind of weird about my ears and loud noises--my ears are my livelihood, after all--so I was really pleased that I didn't have to have earplugs for the show. That's right, I had Deep Purple unprotected. The arena was laid out so that the stage was on the long side instead of the short side, so everybody had a great view. The beer was normally priced (3 EUR), and the concert-goers were all civilized. I guess it helps that they were all old farts like me. Our rowdy days are behind us. The concert itself was outstanding. I've been a Steve Morse fan for a long, long, time (ever since I saw the Steve Morse Band open up for Rush in Richmond, Virginia in 1985), and it was just great to see Steve Morse again. I've been a Deep Purple fan since Perfect Strangers, and the chance to see Deep Purple was really something I'm glad I didn't pass up. The show was really, well, a great Rock show. Lots of solos, lots of lights, lots of great Rock songs. There's a reason Deep Purple is Deep Purple, and Deep Purple is monstrous. This is the way it's supposed to be. Loud, but not too loud :-), big, bad, and beautiful.

After the show, I head backstage for the meet and greet. This wasn't backstage, where you go into the dressing room and partake in the catering--this was just the meet and greet after the show. I talked briefly with the band, had some pictures, and that's that.

Now, here's where having a friend of Ian's as my friend came in handy. She know which hotel the band was staying at. So off to the hotel, and who do we bump into at the bar? Ian Paice. Finally, I get to talk to the drummer. Sure, I'm a bass player, but I always find myself wanting to talk to the other half of my brain. It's the drummers that make me sound good, and it's the drummers that call me because they know I make them sound good. It's a symbiosis, and it's really nice to talk shop with people like Ian, who are, well, giants. He's a very big fish in the biggest pond, and I'm just a medium sized fish in a small, but very beautiful, pond. He was really polite, and we talked for a while before he headed up to his room.

Thank you, Deep Purple! You've given me hope that maybe Rock and Roll really isn't going to die.