Wishing you all a humor packed 2011!
31 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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31 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
no comments.
Chamois In The Forest
Taken with my dumb phone last Monday while walking my folk’s dog. Most of the time cheap cellphone pictures look exactly that but every once in a while you get one in which the low quality grain actually makes it looks kind of special.
24 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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make a new picture look old
Last week we (Swamp Train) realized that we didn’t seem to have any pictures with all the band members in it until Blaise put his hands on the above taken last summer at La Capsule, the first time Alain played with us.
We’ve all agreed that it’s not that exciting…
17 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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Snow!
Before the snowplow....
16 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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Bones From An Old Bed Sprung Slat
When folks move they often pile their old furniture and junk on the sidewalk out front. Here in Switzerland if you warn the city’s trash department they give you authorization for a certain date and come and pick it up, but from the looks of it many just pile it all out and leave. In any case as everyone knows, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure and although I do not fill my attic with junk that may be useful one day, I often do take a quick look.
Also Bill is always looking for certain items to make musical instruments with for La Sonorie and bed sprung slats are one of them. They can make great xylophones!
The last time I pick up a bunch I put one aside thinking that since they have a slight curve to them perhaps they would make nice rhythm bones and last Tuesday I gave it a try…
13 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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I (Almost) Love My DB-90!
It must be said that learning to play the washboard alongside blues guitarist/singers who are used to playing alone has it’s downsides, and in my case the one I’m still fighting the most with is that I learned how to follow the lead musician’s rhythms and not how to hold a steady beat. This was noticed during Swamp Train’s week in Bellwald last October and I was asked to use a “click track” which in that case was just sticking on earphones with a metronome beat. To everyone’s surprise it worked OK, mainly because, thanks to Bill, I have been practicing with a metronome long enough for it already to have gone from being my enemy to being my friend. About 3 years…
9 December 2010
article by Rattlebrained
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Thinned Down My Bones!
A couple of weeks ago I decided to thin down the Ox Rib Bones I had made earlier this year. Not a hard thing to do but a difficult decision to make since there’s no going back. Needless to say I started with one pair and used them a few days before doing the others.
I took an 8th of an inch of of them so they are now 1 and 1/4 inches (3.3cm) wide which is a lot more comfortable for my hands and easier to control.
I’m really enjoying them now although, unfortunately…