Little Drummer Greg

Summer in the Studio (pt 1)

So, I just completed a productive ten hours over two days of sangin'
and drummin' my lil' ol' heart out to the tunes of "Apart" and "Such a
Long Time," respectively... y'all. Topped my best vocally and laid
down drums 4 the 1st time EVA! Word. Respectively again... Y'all.

Big thanks to Patrick Hughes - or "Huggies," as he is affectionately
known in some small circle somewhere - for lending me his pro-
quality crashes and hi-hat!

Learned a few things this time around. Mainly, that I should use
nylon-tipped drumsticks instead of wood-tipped sticks when recording
to get a sound, particularly on the cymbals, that's easier to record.
I have before-and-after video of laid-back drummer-Greg versus beat-
the-drums-as-hard-as-possible drummer-Greg (respectively, y'all) that
is quite telling as to the consequences of using wrong-material-
tipped drumsticks. :*(

Moral of the story: Bring more food to the studio and use nylon-
tipped drumsticks when recording drums!

On my thilly way back to New York Thity. Next studio session is
August 19. Can't wait!

My Little Jet Set Video

My video in which I am am covering The Beatles' "Oh! Darling" has
been viewed in 17 countries in 6 different world regions on YouTube!!
We'll be starting at home and moving (for the most part) in a
southward, then eastward fashion.

1) North America: USA, Mexico, Canada
2) South America: Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina
3) Europe: Sweden, UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Austria
4) Middle East: Israel
5) Africa: Morocco
6) Asia: Japan, Phillipines...

...and counting!! How cool is THAT?!

Below, view my first lil' world traveler. Aww!!! So cute! ;)

Three 7s

TOP 7 MOST-FAV ARTISTS (In chronological order of my liking them):

1. The Beatles
2. Chicago
3. The Eagles
4. Van Halen (with David Lee Roth)
5. Steely Dan
6. The Temptations
7. Hall & Oates



7 FIRSTS:

1. First picked up a guitar at 16.

2. Took first guitar lesson at 17.

3. First performance before an audience at 17 (played chords to
"Take It Easy" by Jackson Browne as performed by The Eagles).

4. Wrote first song at 18. I vowed to myself that I'd always
remember the title and date of completion... :( Shoulda made a note
of it. Ha! A NOTE, get it?! Anyway...

5. First colaboration at 18. Song was called "Prototype" and it was
about a poor fella's (cough) under-utilized, but highly-functioning
"member."

6. Accepted to college music program (Towson University) 18-and-a-half.

7. Made my first studio recording at 19.. Song title was "Never
Dreamed I'd Lose You" and it scored me an Honorable Mention Award
from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.



7 THINGS I'VE DONE FOR AT LEAST 7 HOURS IN ONE DAY:

1. Practiced guitar
2. "Songwrote"
3. Slept in my bed
4. Slept in someone else's bed
5. Sat on a plane
6. High school football practice (training camp two-a-days)
7. And, of course... paRtiEd!!!

Tissue Re-Growth

Well, soooooo much has happened in the last three (now four) months
that, I have blogs waiting in the queue! So, I'm a little behind in
publishing them. Please forgive. I wrote the following on March 19, 2009.

DIG:

After much deliberation, squeamishness and, apparently, whining -
not to mention a mountain of dirty laundry - I was somehow able to
start re-growing the cojones that were surgically removed by Dr.
Lyfsabich a few months ago. I must have reptile genes in me. But,
while I'm on the right track, my gonads are still not back to full-size,
as it has only been a few days. And, rocky ones at that.

The work log looks like this:
- Booked 2 (now 3) shows on the Lower East Side.
- Ran a flight of stairs 15x (420 steps). (Statue of Liberty has 354)
- Did laundry
- Polished my set some more
- And, of course, taught all my weekly guitar lessons

Hmm... The schedule cupboard looks a little bare. What can I add?
Let's take look-see, shalln't we?

To polishing, booking, stairs, teaching, and laundry I will add...

1. More laundry
2. Weekly rehearsals with the band (current members include my ego and id)
3. More booking
4. More auditioning musicians
5. WRITING!
6. Blogging

That's a good start. Sad fact that I'm having to climb out of the
abyss, but I am climbing. No rappel devices, carabiners, or climbing
rope neitha. Then again, who needs 'em.

What HAS Been Happening? [Part 2 of (wouldn't you like to know?)]

On September 1, 2007, I picked up and U-Hauled for the Capitol of
Capital.  Actually, I didn't have enough stuff to fill a moving van.
My roommate-to-be borrowed a dinky, dark blue, Chevy van with an
intense alignment issue and hyper-questionable brakage (dude).

We were scheduled to meet Person X to get the keys to our
one-and-a-quarter bedroom apartment at twelve o'clock noon, but, in
stereotypical musician/artist-fashion, we arrived just in time for
dinner at the corner deli.

Inspired as we were by our new surroundings, we were almost

magically able to hustle the keys to our new McCastle in Hell's

McKitchen from the deli owner's steely grasp.  You could say we

reeled them in.  We spent a lot of money and we spent a lot of time;

but, at that moment, we knew we had become Nueva Yorkinos!  We

had the giant gashes - huge chunks of financial flesh ripped out and

away from our bank accounts by the broker fee - to prove it!

In the following weeks, we would take great pleasure in complaining
about all "fucking tourists."  Har-dee har, indeed.

Oh, the Drama!

One night after laying down some fresh licks and singin' me little 

heart out, me feels a wee tickle in me throat. So, me eats some 

fruity Tootsie Rolls to coat the unpleasantry with orange, cherry,

and lime versions of chewy, filling-tugging confection. Mmm...

The worst is over now. My cold has so far lasted 5 days and my

throat feels pretty good. Good enough to chow down on some

pant-busting turkey and yams (or kim chee, as the case may turn

out to be). At this time, I would like to make a formal apology to

all my Korean friends and lovers (there's only one of those):

I'm very sorry, but I've never liked cabbage in any

incarnation. (Frown... Turns into shaking pout...

Turns into a single salty tear rolling down my left

cheek.)

So, or those of you who love kim chee, hate kim chee, or don't

even know what it is, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!!

GregSmith

PS: With regard to you "swing voters" on the issue of kim chee...

I shall pray for you. Idk, this is my stop on the 6 train. I had to 

type something!