Did you study the Roman numbering system during the Super Bowl XLVII build-up or simply rely on the overdone media coverage? For today all that you need to know is “C” in Roman numbers is 100. You can deduce the rest.
In the 300 -- you had deduced that already -- posts, we tried to take you along on the journey of a musically deficient wannabe guitarist and a support group of friends, family, and musicians. If you followed us somewhat regularly, we know that our writings often meandered off course. Digressions may be a sign of aging as in “why did I go there?” We also sprinkled in tidbits of history and trivia and managed to stay PG.
Our blog page was viewed nearly 8,000 times. The reach of the web truly is worldwide. In two years, our website received visits from people in 49 countries located on every continent except Antarctica. We have no idea if the visitors from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Malaysia, Moldova, Pakistan, Slovakia, and Tunisia read the blog. But the number of countries shows that the love for instrumental music with a melody is universal.
Our 19-part series about the first Sierra Surf Music Camp generated the most interest of our posts. During the time that series ran, people visited our blog 700 times. As we think about the upcoming Sierra Surf Music Camp II, we think back on the fun of four days spent last year with surf music heavyweights immersed in the music that we love. You can revisit that if you like.
The two other most viewed posts were “Hula Hoops and History” and “Brightstar Sweet Darby Scot (November 21, 2001 - February 3, 2013).” I still cannot read through the eulogy for Darby -- our original Lava Pup -- without feeling his loss and the role that he played in our lives. Nonetheless, writing that post helped me through a very tough day.
Over two years, we considered light topics like musical maladies (Metronomophobia and Guitar Face), “Louie Louie,” the need for an official California State Rock Song, Carmageddon, and “Mermaids and Mannequins.” You met the Nagging Little Voice and were privy to conversations with it.
We semi-chronicled songwriting, recording, releasing a CD, practicing, and playing live. After all, we started the blog as a story about recording Into the Flow. That morphed into a longer and continuing story that included changes in the Lava Pups and how we play.
Along the way, we tried to introduce you to other surf bands. We touched -- we hope without treading on readers’ sensitivities -- upon some of the hypocrisy and myopia of politicians, the media, and the treatment of certain holidays. We attempted to share some of the high points of being an instrumental surf band: Opening for Dick Dale -- the King of the Surf Guitar -- and Slacktone -- the current gold standard of surf music.
We also wrote about a few serious matters such as death, addiction, mass shootings, and the public’s short attention span. Even though we tried to keep the posts apolitical, the subjects were hot-button topics for some readers. For the most part, they responded by encouraging us to stick to rock ‘n roll. But we also received some comments that we did not approve for posting.
Thank you for reading any, many, most, or all of the posts. Sharing them with you was a privilege for us, and we hope that some of them made you chuckle or pause to think or feel a connection to us. Please stay tuned.