25 June 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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I wrote the following 5-6 years ago, stumbled on it this morning, tighten it up a bit and FWIW, stuck it up here…
Updated ’17: classified in poetry. :P
Saturday I spoke with an interesting artist whose work is being shown in a museum.
He said many things. Some brilliant!
Some not as much.
Some not at all. But it depends.
24 June 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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A few pictures from our (Swamp Train’s) Saturday afternoon Chevrolet 100ans Event gig last weekend:
12 June 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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In November 2008 I acquired a pair of Nautical Style Bones. One thing that became obvious in the weeks after I received them was that I should have bought two pairs to be able to practice with both hands so, curious as to what wood rhythm bones would sound like and interested in the challenge, I decided to make some…
9 June 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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Rattlebrained Designs has been asked to make/rework some logos for various venues which is great but the extra work, unfortunately, has eaten up the time I usually spend blogging; sorry. No way I’ll manage to catch up on all the main events…
That said, one of those was going to the Blues Rules Festival #2 that took place in Crissier near Lausanne a couple of week ago. It was a two day event but since we (Swamp Train) were playing a the Café Omega that Saturday night I was only able to go Friday and for a regrettably short evening at that.
A couple of weeks earlier when we played in Halten, I had guests over the evening before, a party that lasted far longer that anticipated. Can you fall asleep while playing the drums & washboard?…
19 May 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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The other day going to Zurich. Taking one of the small trains down the mountain and then the express. The local train was already in the station so I climbed on and sat down.
Shortly thereafter a teenage kid started banging on the side of the train with his hands, hitting it repeatedly and hard just outside my window. I couldn’t see his face as he had a baseball cap on sideways – pointed left – and kept his head in a awkward looking down to the right position. He seemed highly strung and his body position mixed with light blue mid calf long shorts, tennis shoes and shirt gave off a feeling of uncontrolled energy. He eventually wandered over towards two other teenagers but was soon pacing the platform in an almost comically exaggerated hoodlum’s gait. You know…
10 May 2011
article by Rattlebrained
2 comments.
This morning I received an unexpected package from my friend, and inlaw, T. who I thank profusely in passing which turned out to be a real surprise. You usually don’t think of washboards when you open an type 1 catalog envelope but a washboard it was and not a toy either!
This 7”×4.5” washboard was used for silk hosiery and in fact has the coolest warning on the back…
27 April 2011
article by Rattlebrained
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Last week I fond some old plastic Joe Birl rhythm bones on Ebay in perfect condition and inside their original packaging. They came yesterday and I was able to remove them without damaging anything. I HAD to try them!
They have a grove at the top of the bones to keep them from sliding out of your fingers, a unique design to which Joe Birl held the patent. Although smaller than I would have though (6×1 inches), they have a nice feel and sound. I’m impressed and immediately regret the days when these could pretty much be found at most corner stores…
The Rhythm Bone society has put the story of how Joe patented these bones on their website.