What was I doing March 8th ???

SEEING THE BRODACIOUS MOTLEY CRUE SAINTS OF LOS ANGELES SHOW !!!
It would seem that the ticket gods are smiling in my general direction. Thanks again to Donald from Boyertown WRFY comp tickets didn't go to waste. With the Crue were The Last Vegas, Theory of a Deadman and Hinder. I wish we could say we actually saw the Last Vegas, but, the hold up in line, 45 minutes plus, to be wanded and frisked meant we would only hear muffled parts of their show. By the time we reached our seats they had left the stage.
Theory of a Deadman was great. Not being familiar with their music, I was pleasently surprised. I will be buying their CD just for the song I Hate My Life. Awesome.
Hinder was much better than in Reading Austin Winkler's stage presense when not singing stil leaves a lot to be desired, but, at least he sang all the songs and didn't rasp through them.
Motley Crue. What else can I say? 25 years plus and these guys sound as good now, maybe better than, as they did then. Kickstart My Heart started the show and Home Sweet Home ended it. They kept it going almost non-stop in between. The Saints stuff sounds pretty good live and I think they will probably have several hits off of that album. It is a bummer that Mick Mars is so ill. While his playing does not suffer his exhaustion shows and at the end of the show he couldn't even hold the weight of his guitar to put it on a stand. A roadie rescued Mick and his guitar before they both crashedo the floor. The show ended at 11 pm and it was a long drive home. Oh and as for the boast that Motley Crue has the loudest show in the world, I have to respectfully disagree. From personal experience, Ted Nugent still holds that title. My earing was back to normal in a day from the Crue show, Uncle Ted was still whispering in my ears three days later.

The winning shape for the head stock is ...

Like I said, Ignoring the directions was first on the agenda. Then it became obvious if I didn't want a neck that looked like a boat oar, it would have to be shaped.

The first idea was simple enough. A little curve with a drop and a notch cut in the end. From a woodworking stand point a piece of cake. From the bodacious outworld looking standpoint it wasn't quite complicated enough.

Oh, hey, that's better. Lots of points and reccesses to cut and sand. Mentioning the fact that I would have to stand on my head to make some of these cuts would be a futile gesture of wanting to really do the other design ...

Between me and myself the choice was made. What is not really obvious is that there is a color scheme attached to this shape that actually makes it make more sense. Off to the shop I went, simpleton that I am, not considering what would happen if I made a cutting mistake. You can't put it back after you take it off. Caution and Patience were the words of the day ...

Notice that I wrapped up the rest of the neck to keep it from being scratched on the saw or sander. Cutting was done slowly and from many different angles. With any curving cuts there are saw marks and when I was finally done cutting the saw marks that were left looked like the grand canyon. The sanding took much longer than the cutting. If you are going to try this just remember to keep the piece moving on the sander. Don't stop or put too much pressure on one spot. Moving sand paper can eat away wood at an alarming rate. Keep it moving with always light pressure.

Next will be figuring out paint and how to mask the areas that don't get painted. Quick and easy is what I'm hoping for ...

And the Rock Gods Smiled ...

Happy Birthday to ME !!! The Rocks Gods have again smiled upon me in the form of tickets to Three Doors Down, Hinder and Hubastank ! Thanks again to The Donald from Boyertown. Oh by the way, I am taking the next day off, they probably wouldn't want me around the next day anyway I'd be even more useless than I am normally ...

I bought it on Ebay and it came in the mail ...

WTIM's latest project: Startocaster style kit.

Sometimes you get more than what you bargin for. When you play an electric guitar it doesn't seem that there are this many little pieces. Where DO they all go? Not to worry, this kit came with instructions (some don't! buyer beware). Be advised that the insrtuctions were translated from Chinese to English word for word so keep your mind open when you come to a word that doesn't seem to make sense, try to think of a word that may mean, in a round about way, nearly the same thiing but not quite.

The instructions are mostly concerned with assembly and guide you through all the details, kind of, and then mention the fact that the guitar has to be finished by painting or staining or markers, whatever you want to do with it. It also mentions cutting the headstock to shape. Take notice in the photos that the headstock is square and non-committed to any particular style. My guess is that the body shape is not a trade mark of Fender, but, the headstock is. At any rate, I wasn't happy with the thought of putting the guitar together and then shaping and or painting it. I am way to sloppy, so I chose to worry about finishing the body and headstock before even thinking about assembly.

Coming up with a paint design and cutting the headstock to fit my design caused my ears to smoke. Eventually I figured it out anad that will be the subject of a future blog.

Peaceful Valley

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

tim

Berks-Mont Christmas Thingy. Throw in some antlers, a blinking Rudolph nose and a slice or two of rum cake stir with a bunch of cut ups from the backwoods and the song suddenly changes to "Grand ma of course is a reindeer"... Good thing deer season ended a week or so ago. Berks-Mont couldn't survive with out our fearless reindeer ...er... leader.

You can't always do what you want ...

So I had an invite for today to go to WRFY to see Get the Led Out play an acoustic set in the studio. I had to say no. Truck today, plus the infamous BerksMont Christmas thingy. I listened to the live feed on the internet. I missed a great opportunity. They sounded great. On the upside I am going to their concert the day after Christmas ... but, I've never wreaked havoc on a radio station before ... wah. Oh well, the party was good, I ate too much, we all laughed and had a good time. There aren't many things that we do well, but, cooking and eating thankfully are two of them. We don't eat till we are full, we eat till we are tired. Now I could do with a nap ...