Aye carumba dudes… So much has happened since Dio passed that I haven’t been keeping up with this blog. My band Surface To Air played its first show with great success. The jazz band I am in has been ramping up for the House of Blues holiday gig and I just finished a recording for artist Kaoru.
Went to see Miyavi’s final tour date in Orange County last night! Just drums, guitar, and keys… They were killer!
Rockin’ the Yost Theatre in O.C!
I’m a picky guy. When it comes to my instruments I’m even pickier. I don’t loan them, share them… You get the idea! I work hard to select the best instrument for my needs and then pay for them… They’re my vehicles for expression. I love them and they take care of me! That’s why I was desperately in need of a new gigging drum kit.
For-ever I’ve been using a Gretsch USA Custom kit with a Lacquered nitrocellulose finish for live shows. For a picky guy, this is NOT a good idea. If you BREATH on the drums you’re going to lose some finish. I had been following the reviews on the Gretsch Catalina kits for quite some time and finally decided to take the plunge. The good folks over @ W.L.A. music (Eric Sarmiento) hooked me up by special ordering a white kit (they only had two naturals in stock) which arrived in just TWO days! That’s pretty sick… I’m an impatient guy. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to unbox it but I wanted all of you who are considering one of these babies to see the shots of the natural fresh out of the box. I have a USA Custom and I have to say the craftsmanship (minus some hardware design flaws) is top notch compared. When I get time I’ll post a more detailed review (yeah right).
It had been a minute since I listened to Massive Attack’s Mezzanine. Went with a a friend to check them out yesterday and WOW. It was a massive attack … a sensory overload! The strobes were awesome.. Cool messages about Hollywood Gossip, Oil Spills and “Fuck Arizona” were displayed 
I’m still recovering!
In dedication to RONNIE JAMES DIO we played an awesome set. In his honor, I’m not going to to say all of my usual b.s. in this post and just show the pics. The video and interview with Jimmy Roc will be up shortly.
I woke up this morning around 10 to 8am PST from a dream where my grandmother (whom I was very close to) was pictured in a television set with flames behind her head. The flames were very similar to those shown in one of Dio’s music videos. The video had a very Dio-eqsue theme to it. I didn’t understand the dream until I visited RonnieJamesDio.com and learned that he had passed away this morning at 7:45am.
It goes on and on and on… its HEAVEN AND HELL.
R.I.P Dio and LOOKOUT! I’ll see you in hell.
Update 5/17/2010: If you’re new to dio. I highly recommend checking out this article.
Thanks Sabrina
Finally…. good shows at good venues. Went to Marina Del Rey Waterfront last night to see Volto. It started out really good and I was diggin’ every player’s sound. Bassist was smooth and fluid, guitar was soulful and tasty, drums were off the hook! Kirk Covinton was so bad ass… He was killing this Yamaha Absolute Maple Custom bop-sized kit. Makes me wonder what my Gretsch can do with a rock band now!
Last weekend I had to go and pay a visit to the St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church. Its been a long time goal of mine as I’m a huge fan of Coltrane’s contribution to the human experience.
