Eight Things I Wish I Knew Before Getting Into Radio

1.       Don’t get into radio because you “love music”….

This would be akin to becoming an auto mechanic because you love oil.  Even if you’re working in a format where you enjoy the music, there will come a time when you have played your favorite song 163,918 times…and it will no longer be your favorite song. 

Remember, you’ve been hired to communicate and entertain…not sit in the control room and listen to music.  In fact, if you’re doing your job correctly and setting up for your next break, you’re NOT listening to the song on the air (other than to tell when it’s winding down…and that’s what countdown timers are for).  Unless you’re doing a Casey Kasem trivia style delivery you’ll probably do better at a format that’s not your favorite music.  You’ll pay less attention to the music and more on your delivery.

2.       The Morning Drive Team Are The Station Stars

The crew working morning drive is going to be the center of attention at the station.  If you’re working another shift…get over it.  They’re going to get the billboards and promotional dollars.  They’ll also probably get preferential treatment (like not having to work a weekend shift).  The mentality for years has been if you get people to listen in the morning they will stay with the station all day.  I’ve called BS on this since the first iPod came out.

I’ve worked morning drive, as well as every other shift.  I didn’t care for it at all…probably something to do with getting up at 3:30AM.  I was a 7P-Midnight guy…always enjoyed that shift because I had the station to myself pretty much. 

If your delicate ego is bruised because you’re not getting the attention the morning drive team is…then work your way up to that slot.  This leads us to….

3.       You’ve Got To Move To Move Up

If you’re hired to do a certain slot at a station, you’re likely going to be there until someone leaves.  And even then, you’ll always be the (fill in your shift here) guy.  Same thing with money.  You might get a bonus every now and then, but if you want a real raise, you have to move to a better shift or larger market.

Some folks would say that you can take on more responsibility at a station and earn more.  Funny thing…I’ve had a lot of titles (PD, MD, Production Director, etc…), and there was never any dollars tied to that.  The only time I ever got a raise (other than minimum wage increasing) was to go to a different station.

4.       You Will Be Fired At Some Point

In 15 years of radio I was fired three times.  The first time was my screw up.  The second time was a station buy-out (the entire staff was fired one week before Christmas, and I had a 3 month old child at the time).  The last time, I was set up by another jock.  No honor among thieves.  Just expect it to happen.  And if you don’t have parents to move home to, you’d better have an emergency fund or some good friends that will let you crash on their couch.

5.       The Sales Staff Rules The Roost

They’re the ones that are actually bringing money into the operation, so don’t bother getting into an argument with them…you have almost no chance of winning.  How much interaction you have with them depends on your position and the station structure/process.  Most stations I worked at had a dedicated copywriter to script the commercials, so other than remote broadcasts I didn’t have a lot of contact with the sales team.
  

But there was one station that didn’t have a copywriter.  The on-air staff was responsible for writing and producing their own spots.  We all had clipboards with our names on them in the production room.  The sales people would put a copy of the sales order and copy info on the clipboard and expect you to turn it into a commercial.

Typically, they would just put the newspaper ad from the client on the clipboard with a note to “be creative”.  And most times, we didn’t get a start/stop date or even a length.  As I was on the air from 6PM-10PM at that station and did my production after my shift, there was many a night a sales person was woken up just to answer the question “is this a :30 or a :60”.  When I complained about this, I was chewed out by the station owner because “I didn’t understand the pressure they were under”.  Last time I checked, we were all under about 14 pounds per square inch at sea level, but apparently there’s an exemption if you’re in sales.

6.       The Chief Engineer Will Not Like You

Unless they were former jocks, most Chief Engineers will view the air staff as idiots whose sole purpose in life is to break their equipment and play bad music.  Sometimes, it’s worse than that.  I had one Chief corner me in front of the General Manager and accused me of running drugs at the station because I “looked” like a drug addict.  I accused him of selling counterfeit Preparation H because he was an a$$hole.  Thankfully the G.M. blew him off because the Sales Manager (who was the G.M.’s  son) liked me and thought I was good on the air.

That said, I have to say that there have also been some wonderful Chiefs I got to work with.  I always knew I wanted to work on the technical side of the business, and I had some great mentors along the way.  I was a Chief for the last 8 years I was in radio, and I was most successful in that position.   I like to think that was because I had been on the air, and understood how a malfunctioning piece of gear could negatively impact a jock’s show.

7.       5% Of The People Will Make 95% Of The Money

When I got into radio (at age 15), I wasn’t thinking about money.   Later on (like when I got married), it became a little more important.  Radio is a lot like the music industry that it’s tied to.  For every millionaire in the business, there are thousands of struggling players out there trying to get a break.

 That’s not to say that you can’t make a comfortable living doing afternoons at a medium market station.  But I’m afraid the days of the real radio superstars are long gone, thanks to satellite and Internet radio as well as the proliferation of personal music devices.  I very seriously doubt we’ll ever see anymore Wolfman Jacks, Bill Macks,  Larry Lujacks, or John Records Landeckers…at least in my lifetime.  Likewise, there will probably never be any more legendary stations to work towards….no more WLS’s, KHJ’s, K-EARTH’s, KLIF’s, or WNBC’s.

8.       You Will Never Completely Get It Out Of Your System

I started in radio in 1975, and got out in 1991.  I returned to school full time for a couple of years and have a couple of degrees to show for that.  I went in medical electronics after that, and have been working in R&D since 1996.

Twenty-five years later, I still miss radio.  In spite of the psychopath Program Directors and abusive business owners at remote broadcasts I endured as a jock.  Regardless of having to drive to a remote transmitter site in snow and ice at 3:00AM to reset a breaker as a Chief Engineer.  In spite of making $6 an hour and all the records I could steal for a large part of my career.

To this day, I still wish it could have worked out.  But allow me to close with saying that I believe my life has turned out exactly the way it was meant to.  I met my wife through radio (she called me up on the air…I still joke that she was the 3^rd caller and look what she won).  We were married in 1981 and have an amazing and successful son to show for it.

Ken Carver worked as a air personality, Program Director, Music Director, and finally Chief Engineer for a number of Texas radio stations from 1975 to 1991.  As an engineer, he constructed dozens of studios and several transmitter sites, and was a nominee to the Texas Radio Hall Of Fame for his technical work.  He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team for National Instruments in Austin, Tx during the week.  On the weekends, he gets his performance therapy playing guitar and bass in area bands.

Rediscovering The Creative Element

OK Ladies and Gents...it's been several months since I last checked in, and thought it appropriate on this sleepless night to update my musical whereabouts.

The last time we sat down for a visit, I was in the process of auditioning with several different bands.  I suppose that through my training as a hiring manager at my day gig, I was able to weed a lot of these out through a phone screen (especially the ones that asked if I would bring weed to the audition).

There were a couple of things that looked promising.  Unfortunately, for both of them I took the time and effort to learn the audition material only to never get called for the actual audition.  Really?  If you found someone else or things worked out with your existing band member, cool.  Just how about a call or email just saying "thanks, but....".  What was even funnier was one guy called me several months later asking me where we left off at.  Uh...."we" didn't leave anything off.

Ultimately, as many of you know now, I signed on with a very talented guitarist named Michael Ingalls.  Mike, along with drummer Jason Olszewski and myself, proceeded to carve out a niche as a true power trio here in the area.

With The Michael Ingalls Band (aka M.I.B.), I had to take a totally different mindset than when I was with Buzzfuel.  With Buzzfuel, the directive was clear...we were a cover band that learned the songs as close to the original recordings as possible.  And so that's how I operated for that period of time.

With M.I.B., that constraint isn't there.  As a trio, most of the cover songs have to be rearranged...especially when you're playing something that originally had four or five guitar tracks on it.  So, for me it becomes a case of "how do I cover the bass and rhythm guitar parts during solos?".  

Maybe this is where my guitar playing experience pays off on bass.  If you analyze my bass playing style...I'm pretty much doing it completely wrong.  But, I'm doing it wrong like John Entwistle did it wrong...and go ahead and lump Geddy Lee and Lemmy in there too.  All I know is, in the end it seems to work.

As a bass player in a trio, the biggest compliment someone can give me is to come up and ask if we're using backing tracks.  The answer would be "no".  When a drummer and a bassist can fill up the sound enough to make you think there's a fourth player...that's pretty darned cool.

M.I.B. has developed a reputation as a great live act, and now we're preparing to record this fall.  This will be the first time I've been in the studio for a full album project since 2007...good times.

There's been several other developments since I last checked in with you.  My band of 13 years, The Rhythm Dawgs, decided to take an extended break earlier this year.  We're now in discussions on reactivating the band.  It looks like that's going to happen at the end of 2012.  We'll be coming back out with a newly designed show and technical production.  It's exciting to be shopping for new gear!!!!

I also spent the majority of this year working with another cover band, Triple Play.  Unfortunately, after a lot of rehearsals and only a few shows I came to realization that this project was not going to pan out the way I expected it to.  I parted ways with that band this week.  It was a positive experience in that I got to meet some great people who I would really like to remain friends with.  And in all likelyhood, I'll be making music with some of them again.

I really gotta do this more frequently that Boston puts out albums!


Ken

Band Auditions (or...Speed Dating For Musician's)

Since the unfortunate demise of Buzzfuel at the end of 2010, I'm now back out looking for another gig in which I can play bass.  I spent a lot of time practicing last year...in the case of some songs...way more than I should have. I also made a fairly heavy investment in equipment.  Neither myself nor my manager (Mrs. Carver) care to see that work or investment go by the wayside.

While this is going on in my life, a good friend of mine is back on the dating scene for the first time in many years.  After hearing her talk about her experiences, I'm finding that there are a lot of parallels to that can be drawn between dating, and seeking a new band.

Think about it...in both cases you're "selling" yourself to another person (band).  Yet, at the same time, you're checking them out to make sure that they're the right choice for you. 

In both cases, you probably throw an ad out on the Internet somewhere.  If you're like most folks, you put some time and thought into the ad.  Unless you're a total loser...you try to maintain some resemblance to the truth, but that the same time you want to make yourself look as good as possible.  You throw it out there, and then wait for a response.

When you do get a response, you probably swap a few emails.  There's probably a phone call or two in there, and then if it seems like a good thing you arrange a meeting (audition).

The day arrives for the first date (audition).  You make sure you look good, and you're on time.  There's a certain amount of awkwardness at the beginning, but hopefully the "ice" gets broken, and you get to know each other over the next couple of hours.

And then at the end, there's the awkward moment again.  Do you see each other again?  If things went well, it's a little easier.  But what happens when it doesn't go as well as it could? Or the other person (band) just isn't what you're looking for?  Or even worse, the other person (band) wants to see you again, but it just didn't work for you?

Yeah, the more auditions I go to, the more I realize it's just a different kind of dating.  But the problem is that you can't pick up a magazine at the check-out line at H.E.B. and read the rules for auditioning, while the "rules for dating" get a new treatment every month.

So, I'd like to offer up my suggested list of the "rules for dating (auditions)" for musicians.  This is just my opinion on how a musician that's auditioning for a band should behave, as well as the band that's auditioning:

1. Be Honest About Who You Are - Don't pump your resume up.  Just because you happened to drink a beer with Rusty Weir at The Continental Club one Sunday afternoon does not mean you have "worked with him".  And bands, drawing 3 people to a midnight show on Tuesday night at the same club doesn't mean you "pack 'em in".
2. Be Honest About Your Expectations - I think we're all really done with the "rule the world" goal.  Getting signed ain't about nothing anymore (everyone is giving away their music anyway).  You want to impress me?  Show me a business plan, contacts, and tell me how you plan to grow your audience.  Anything else is proposing to someone on the first date.
3. Be The Man - Polite Western society sort of dictates that the man sets up the first date.  Don't let me show up to your audition and ask me "...so, what do you want to play?".  It's your band...you should have figured that out by now.
4. Don't Hijack The Date - You wouldn't want to pick your date up, and then they ask "...hey, could we pick up my friend and then drop us off at a party?".  If you're auditioning, don't show up expecting to peddle your opinion or songs unless you've been specifically asked.
5. Don't Be The Last To Leave The Party - If you're the guest, don't overstay your welcome.  Play what you're asked to play, and no more.  When that's done, get the hell out.
6. Say "Thank You" - As another friend of mine once so eloquently said, "It doesn't cost anything to be nice."  Doing that simple act will set you apart from half of the folks out there.
7. If You Say You're Going To Call, Then Call - Don't let me go home thinking everything is all peachy keen.  If it didn't work, tell me.  Yeah, my ego will be bruised, but it's a lot better than sitting around wondering.

I can say this...after a couple of auditions recently, I'm really glad I'm not single!

Keep it rockin',


Ken

The Differentiators...What Sets Bands Apart

This is a "reprint" of a posting I did about 3 years ago. Apparently, there has been some resurgence in my pontifications. This was originally written in 2007...everything still holds true today.




It's Sunday afternoon, and I've just finishing cleaning my guitars from two shows this past weekend with The Rhythm Dawgs--. I've done the web updates and scheduled rehearsals for the next couple of weeks. At breakfast, my wife Barb and I talked about the shows this weekend. She made a couple of comments about how successful our shows have been lately, and it got me thinking about what differentiates one band from another.


The Rhythm Dawgs played in two new venues (for us) this past weekend. One was a pool hall, and the other a small venue that features live music. In both locations, the band was very well received. The patrons kept telling up how much they were enjoying themselves. The owners and managers are calling the next day to grab any and all of our avails for the rest of the year. We have another client who always schedules us first, and then fills in the other bands around our schedule. So, why the Dawgs?


Everyone in the band is a proficient musician. We're not shread masters and we don't hold Berkley music degrees (but Dana did graduate from Guitar Institute of Technology with honors, so he is the most formally educated member of the band). That said, there are a lot of players out there that can run circles around us. So if it's not shear technical ability, what is it?


I thought back to dinner before the Saturday night show. After setup and soundcheck, 3 of us walked down the street to grab a sandwich. In the grill, there was a power trio setup in a small corner by the bar. They recognized us (maybe it was the Rhythm Dawgs shirts we had on), but we had no idea who they were. They never introduced themselves, never said hello to the crowd, nothing. They put on their instruments and started sonically pummeling the room. Don't get me wrong, they were very good players, and their version of "Born Under A Bad Sign" was excellent. But, there was no connection. No eye contact, no interaction, nothing. It was almost like watching a juke box.


OK...now it's starting to dawn on me. The biggest difference between the Dawgs and most of the other bands out there is the way we bridge that 4 foot span between the front of the stage and audience. They're part of it, not just spectators. We make them feel like they're part of something special and that they have some ownership in the event.

In trying to quantify this, I started writing down the things that I'm really anal about when it comes to a show:

1. Does it look right?

Yeah, it's music, but these days everything is so visually oriented. One thing we make sure of is that the stage looks like we're ready to play for network television or an arena. That doesn't mean Marshall amps stacked to the ceiling (although we do carry out a considerable amount of equipment). What it means is that the stage looks organized. We don't leave milk crates laying around, cables are secured, and the gear is clean.

We also take the time to at least augment the house lighting with some of our own. Depending on space and power, it may be anything from flying 16 PAR cans over us to just adding some accent lighting on the back line. We've also got these fire hydrants that light up (playing on the dog motif) that we'll try to place as well. But the point is, we try to do something that visually interested. Three of us used to work together at a concert lighting company (and Dana still does). One of the owners once said that a concert without lighting is just radio. Nice one, Lowell!



2. Do we look right?

I've heard some really good bands that look like they just got finished mowing the yard and came to the show as an afterthought. With the above mentioned band, the lead singer looked like he put a little thought into what he was going to wear. But, the rest of the guys...well, I'm sure their lawns look good.

We don't spend hours in a makeup chair getting our hair done before a show. But, as a former band member once put it so well, we at least dress like we're all in the same tax bracket. If the club patrons can't look around and pick out the band members in the room when they're not onstage, then the band missed the mark. I'm not saying you have to go all out like KISS, but at least look like you've put in some effort into your appearance.

I've got a vest that's sort of become a signature look for me (kind of like Angus Young's shorts, but the vest looks better on me). It's covered with Hard Rock Cafe pins from everywhere I've travelled, as well as a few others with some special meaning to me (like ones from the DCI drum corps my son has travelled and performed with). It serves another purpose in that it's a great icebreaker when I go around and visit with the folks in the club on breaks. People ask about the pins, and wind up knowing a little more about me as a person and not just as a band member. Hey, there's a little more of that "ownership" thing I was talking about.


3. Let the audience know you're there for them.

If it's just about the music for you, then stay in the studio and record. Playing out live now has many more challenges than it did 15 years ago. Between smoking ordinances, sound level ordinances, and scare tactics from certain organizations about how one drink will cause you to kill people, it's tough to get folks out of their house and into a venue. If they're going to spend their money on gas and cover charges, you had better give them a good reason to do so.


We don't care if it's a 50 seat or 1500 seat venue, we're going to put the same amount of effort and sweat into playing both shows. One way or another, we're going to find a way to entertain everyone in that room.


4. And yes, the music matters.

I guess here is where I would say that if you can't play something with conviction, then do us all a favor and just skip playing it. It doesn't matter if you're doing originals or covers, there's a certain amount of emotion that can be conveyed to the people in the room listening to you. Without that, again, it's like watching a juke box.

I could write a book on song selection at this point. It really comes down to picking a direction for your band and crafting your show around that. I know...I already hear the "...we play what we want on our terms, and if nobody else likes it, screw 'em", or the "cover bands suck" mantra. If you're an original band, then God bless ya', you have a much different agenda than us (although our originals that we sprinkle in throughout the night usually get a good reaction).


With the Dawgs, it was never about getting a record contract or getting famous. It was first and foremost about friends playing together, and going out periodically and playing for some other friends. We play things that we can play well, that we like, and that we think others will like to hear.


Do we hit the mark everytime...of course not. There's been a lot of songs that we thought were great and we could play them like nobody's business, but they just never got a crowd reaction. So, you live and learn.

Whether it was a planned decision or not, we've come to the point where we're known for playing those tunes that either make you go "...Wow, I haven't heard that in years" or "...I can't believe they're playing (fill in the blank)". Some of the covers, we stay very true to the original. Some of 'em....well, we'll just say that we don't think that Van Morrison every intended "Brown Eyed Girl" to be played like a southern rock boogie tune. But hey, it works and the audience loves it.


One thing that has been a group decision is to avoid certain songs that, in their original form, have just been done to death. To that end, you'll never hear the Dawgs do Margaritaville or Freebird. Why? Remember that thing I just said about playing with conviction? We recognize that it wouldn't happen with those songs, so why bother.


I should note that I know some bands that get paid very very well to be live jukeboxes, and I have nothing but respect for what they do. These are the bands that get $10-20 thousand dollars for private functions and wedding receptions, and are top caliber musicians that can play circles around me. That's a whole different part of the entertainment industry as far as I'm concerned. I just have neither the talent nor desire to pursue that type of musical career.



5. Good sound is not an option.


I've been very fortunate to have assembled a PA system over the years that fits this band's needs very well. Yeah, it's larger than most bands on our circuit carry out, and it's more work to set up and strike. As far as power, it gets loud enough for our needs (we've done outdoor shows for 300 people with no problem). The main thing I looked at when putting it together was getting a full sound with controlled dispersion. By design, the system is a medium-throw PA. This means that it's nice and full and thumping up close to the band. Move back 20-30 feet, and you can hold a comfortable conversion without having to raise your voice.

At the Friday show, I had one gentlemen (and I use that term loosely), come up to me and say "you don't need all this shit in a little room like this". To which I asked him "How do you know? Are you an audio engineer or a musician who's band has 2 Crapmaster PA speakers on sticks?". He got pissed and walked away at that point, so I figure he was the second one. And, for the record, I am a Certified Electronics Technician in Communications, Audio, and Industrial Control.

We really pride ourselves in being able to deliver a high-energy show without beating the audience to death with an aural assault. I guess that comes with age and experience (in other words, we got the volume thing out of our systems when we were teenagers). The patrons appreciate it, as well as the owners.


At that same Friday show, the manager saw all of the equipment and was nervous that we were going to blow the windows out. When we hit the first number, I looked up saw the manager standing there with his jaw dropped. I motioned for him to come over to my side of the stage and asked him if everything was ok. His reply...."that sounds amazing...don't touch a thing!". Mission accomplished. And to my friend with the Crapmaster PA...try spending a little less at the bar during your shows and you might be able to invest in better gear.

Going back to the first point (Does it look right?), it just plain impressive when you walk in and see our entire show setup. It doesn't matter if it's a 14' or 40' stage, it gets your attention. There's been more than one person who came in during happy hour, saw the setup, and decided they needed to stay to see the show.

Do you have to spend $50,000 on a PA? Nope. I've probably got a little more than a tenth of that invested. But, I watched where I spent the money. Again, I could write a book on this subject (and I've had some requests to do just that). I'll put it this way, if you plug a $20 Radio Shack microphone into a $70,000 Midas console, that console is going to very accurately reproduce every flaw in that cheap mic.


Conversely, if you plug a good mic (and there are very good mics in the $100 range) into a $500 console it's going to sound better. Not perfect, but a lot better. In other words, put your money into the source and work back from there. There's a lot of other parts of the signal chain that most bands miss, but I'll save that for another day.


6. Be humble and jam.

Back in the 80's, to make ends meet, I used to lease out PA and lights to a mobile DJ named J. Robert Hollie (aka Sugar Bear). I wound up being his lighting man for several years, and it turned out to be a very lucrative venture for both of us as well as well as a hell of a lot of fun. J. Robert could not rap, and only mixed a little. His presentation was more like a radio show than a traditional club DJ. But, that man could pack a 600 seat room anytime he wanted. Any DJs that battled him went home in shame. On a road trip to Louisiana one time, I asked him if he could only give me one piece of advice, what would it be. His answer, "...be humble and jam". That has stuck with me ever since. J. Robert, where ever you are, if you somehow read this just know I never forgot that lesson. (I also learned a lot of the "looks right" lesson from him as well. J. Robert would wear a different color tuxedo at every show. There was no mistaking who he was in the room.)

OK, I've pontificated, vented, and tried to pass on a little of my tribal knowledge. As usual, the opinions expressed here are my own and not necessarily anyone elses. If you've taken away something useful, then you're welcome. If I've ticked you off, then please put your grown-up panties on and deal with it. It's just the internet!


Ken

My Continuing Music Education

As a lot of my close friends know, I've been very active in a modern rock band called Buzzfuel for the last year. It gave me a chance to play bass guitar on a regular basis again, and really push myself to learn a lot of new material.

Now, let me set this up. I'm at least 10 years older than the rest of the band (but, I've also got at least 10 years more experience than them too). It took a month or two for all of us to get comfortable, but after the "probation" things really fell into place.

I found a role in the band as Chief Engineer. They had great equipment...they just needed a little help integrating it all together. So, after a bit of work we get the setup time down from around 2.5 hours to about 45 minutes. Hey, more time for everyone to drink beer, right?

Throughout the rest of the year, I found myself for the first time in a long time practicing on a regular basis. And after a few months of that, I found myself being able to play some ridiculously complicated stuff...things I hadn't been able to play since the 70's.

And then I noticed that I had re-learned to listen critically, and isolate different parts of a song to learn. All of the players in Buzzfuel were held to a pretty high standard...close enough was usually not close enough. It then became a game for me...how close can I nail a song to where the band leader has nothing to complain about. I probably put in way more time learning some songs than I should have, but it made me a better player...no doubt.

And with Buzzfuel, I have now gone through something that (amazingly) I never have in all of my decades of playing...and that was deliberate break up. All of my previous bands either just drifted apart, or made an ugly split. This was neither.

Unless you're The Rolling Stones...no band lasts forever. I guess I've been spoiled by playing guitar with The Rhythm Dawgs for 11 years now, but every band has a shelf life. And unfortunately, Buzzfuel has reached that point. There was no fight, no disagreement, no drama. No one got fired for drug abuse or sleeping with someone else's girlfriend / wife. Nope, just some of the members decided they had other things in their lives that were more important. And in all justification, a couple of them have had rather large changes of recent.

So, now I'm searching for what I'm supposed to be feeling right now. Buzzfuel is going to be a hard band to walk away from. The players were all top notch, we got good venues to play, we were very well equiped, and we all genuinely liked each other. I'm really going to miss playing with those guys, because everytime I did I learned something new.

And so to my brothers in Buzzfuel, I must take the time to thank each of you.

To drummer Larry Horvat...you got it. You understood the "marriage" between a drummer and bassist. You hit hard and played your heart out ever gig...whether there were 20 people or 500. The two of us formed a rhythm section that could turn goat piss into gasoline.

To guitarist Mike Bedard...you always brought this understated intensity to the performance. You understood the space around the notes. And when you put your guitar down and picked up the mic to sing...you were bundle of directed insanity and energy...I loved it.

To lead vocalist JD Stumph...you brought a confidence that wasn't overshadowed by ego (unlike 99% of the front men out there working today). You took command of the room, but always remained approachable. And you always brought a full on performance.

And to lead guitarist and ring leader John Cortell. You have done more to shape my playing in the last year than anyone in the previous two decades. You set the bar high and held me to that standard. You saw in me ability that I didn't realize I had. I'll always be indebted to you.

And so...now what to do. The Rhythm Dawgs will continue to be an important creative outlet on guitar for me. But I've got all this cool bass gear....it would be a shame for it to just lay around now....