MUSINGS OF MUSIC AND OTHER RANDOM MATTERS

The basic story line
is, even though he never played guitar before and had not played a musical instrument since tuba in elementary school band, Bill T received an electric guitar in 2005 -- as a joke.  From then on, despite a musical talent deficit, he tried to learn instrumental surf music but at first could not find an instructor.  He met Paul the Pyronaut -- a surf guitarist a couple of generations younger.  Over a few years they wrote some original songs.  And -- much to our surprise -- we had a band!  The Lava Pups were a reality.  For how long, who knows?  You have found Bill T's musings.

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Of Gold, Green, and the Growl 

We describe our music as garage or industrial surf.  But just what is that?  Maybe it is a bit like pornography; it cannot be described but you know it when your hear it.  We think of it as throaty with a twinge of a growl.  It sounds a smidge dirty with reverb, some slap echo, and tremolo or vibrato.  Occasionally overdriven.  Our music gives the sense of playing on the verge of falling into a vat of muck and other industrial waste..   

My Schecter gold top serves up garage surf very nicely.  It defies the…Read more

Cliche? Blase? Everybody Is Entitled to an Opinion 


Day jobs and rock ‘n roll fantasies do not fold together as nicely as we sometimes like.  Demanding day jobs that we really enjoy can make the combination especially dicey.  Working every day for three weeks uses up what creativity and energy might be available for rock ‘n roll, blog posts, etc.  Tight, structured thinking and waves of projects do not allow for many free flow thoughts or mental meanderings.  

But I am not going to let another week slip by without putting fingers to keyboard.  If I tap away,…Read more

Getting the Hook 


The Sound Guy’s voice came through the monitors.  “One more.”  Huh?  “You took a long time to set up.  You’re done!”  An ignominious end to a performance that began with no sound at the Blue Lamp.

By the time that the Sound Guy put a halt to our set, I had overcome the heat, coffee, tacos, nervous energy, and embarrassment of overlooking a zeroed knob on the amp.  We started with Surf Rider because Robert needs a bit of a warm up before launching headlong into our more energetic stuff -- that, in Becky’s…Read more

Seasoned? Think Again, Buddy 


Just when you think that you are becoming a seasoned performer, something happens to bring you back to reality.  The other night at the Blue Lamp proved that I am far from seasoned.  Old and grizzled, maybe.  Seasoned, not at all.

Yes, Saturday night tested my cool, and my cool lost.  We were second on the bill.  To paraphrase Phil Upchurch, I could not sit down.  We loaded in at 7:00 and stacked our instruments and equipment in a corner near the door.  We hung out waiting for the other bands to show up.…Read more

What Should a Sharp Dressed Man Wear to a Beach Party? 

Back in August, we quoted some from ZZ Top’s "Sharp Dressed Man."  Today, we quote a bit more:

Clean shirt, new shoes
And I don’t know where I am goin’ to
Silk suit, black tie,
I don’t need a reason why

Unlike ZZ Top's sharp dressed man, we have a reason why.  The January Beach Party is coming up this Saturday night at the Blue Lamp.  Three bands:  The Tiki Lounge Lizards, The Lava Pups, and The Funicellos.  And each wants to strut its stuff.

Plus, the promoter -- Shonda Honkanen -- issued a challenge of sorts.…Read more

Where's the Pole? 


Saturday, January 25, we take the stage at the Blue Lamp.  We follow the Tiki Lounge Lizards to warm up the crowd for the Funicellos.  Mai Tais, Blue Hawaiians, and Madrases will help with the warm up.  Billed as a January Beach Party, folks are encouraged to dress for the beach regardless of the weather.

A safe prediction is unseasonably warm and dry.  Governor Brown -- Jerry in his second incarnation -- declared a drought emergency last Friday.  His goal is for Californians to cut water usage by 20…Read more

Muggin' for the Camera Sans Sharkskin 


Does anybody remember back when all or most cameras had film?  Way back then -- yeah, back in the 1990s -- a photographer snapped a picture.  Then the film had to be developed.  From photo shoot to final result could be a matter of days.  Until the finished photo, you were left to wonder whether you truly caught what you thought you had.  “Instant” photos were available, but they were poor quality.

Like much of today’s world, digital photography allows instant gratification -- or disappointment.  No more…Read more

Aloofly Aloft? No Way! 



The Wailers’ photo always had a certain classic, but noir, elegance to me.  Actually, when compared with other band photos and album covers of the day, it is not very artsy, provocative, or romantic.  It is just five guys and their instruments who look like they are having fun.

Later today, the Lava Pups will gather at the Doghouse to work on one 2014 (sorta) “resolution” -- a photo shoot.  In an earlier post, it was described this way:  “We could have a photo shoot with some cool looking shots.  That would…Read more

More Janus and Happy New Year! 


Ahead.  Behind.  Forward.  Back.  Future.  Past.  In Roman mythology, Janus looked both ways.  During the front end of the month named for him, we have an opportunity to make lofty resolutions.  

Experience teaches that most resolutions will be broken by February and forgotten by March.  That alone is a good reason never to write out resolutions.  Deniability generally is good.  Of course, in this day of cell phone recorders and cameras, deniability is not what it used to be.  Denial necessarily has evolved,…Read more

Janus, The Jam, and Jumping 



When you are young, jumping is natural.  It comes easily.  When you are carrying a bunch of extra weight on old legs, jumping no longer seems natural.  It certainly no longer comes easily.

You may be thinking, “What?  Is he going to kvetch about old age and being overweight?”  The short answer is, “No.”

The New Year is visible in the windshield.  Janus -- that’s right, as in JANU-ary -- was the Roman god of beginnings and transitions.  He was the two-faced guy who always was looking back to the past and ahead…Read more

Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame to Power Chord Inventor: Nope! 


How is this for a rock ‘n roll resume?  He is credited with inventing the power chord -- a staple of rock ‘n roll.  He was one of the first, if not the first, guitarists to use distortion -- a staple of much rock ‘n roll.  He had the first rock instrumental banned from radio airplay -- surely a sign of rock ‘n roll attitude.  He influenced Peter Townsend, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Neil Young -- rock hall of famers.

With a resume like that, this artist should be shoo in first ballot inductee to…Read more

Nothing Teaches Like Playing Live 

By now, loyal readers know Robert’s mantra: “Nothing teaches like playing live.”  Somehow it gets twisted into a euphemism for “stuff happens.”  This may be the right time to confess that Robert’s mantra is not as cockamamie as it seems.  

As we packed up at Old Ironsides a couple of Saturdays ago, we were told “how tight” our playing was, that we have “come a long way,” and that we were “way better than before.”  A talented LA musician said that we were “better than expected.”  Of course, we who see the…Read more

Half a Millennium and Still Rockin' 


Subtle as a Flying Mallet.  That describes the Lava Pups.  Too bad that Dave Edmunds used the phrase in 1975 for an album title.  We are the antithesis of subtle or sophisticated -- the anti-subtle -- or . . . . Subtle as a flying mallet!

The anti-subtle of the Pups and the subtle and sophisticated stylings of Surface Tension wrapped around a cupcake cake made for a rousing show at Old Ironsides.  As the two bands loaded in starting at 3:00, the looks on the staff’s faces showed that they expected an…Read more

Introducing Surface Tension: Sophisticated, Subtle, and Eclectic 


Heading off to a warehouse on 19th between U and V to hear Surface Tension, I pondered, “Can anybody have a warehouse practice space more bitchin’ than the Doghouse?”  Soon the answer was clear.  Mickey Abbey’s custom glassworks warehouse is unimaginably amazing.  It is the anti-buttondown to the Doghouse’s buttoned down order.

A diverse collection of artifacts, gadgets, and gizmos graces the walls, occupies the floor, and hangs from the rafters.  Surface Tension’s practice area is backed by mannequins, cut…Read more

Sue's New Uke - This Isn't Your Parents' Ukulele! 

"Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," the stage musical, stopped off in Sacramento recently.  Sue had tickets for the Thursday night show.  Loyal readers know that the Pups practice on Thursdays.  Some people might ask, “You practice to play like that?”  Or "You practice and play like that?"  But this post is not about condescending skeptics of Pup music.

Knowing that Sue had a conflict, an email went out.  What is a good night to practice?  The consensus was Monday.  Sue’s further response was, “Great, can’t…Read more