Hey Zurf,
Was the first pic taken Sunday evening at the Holiday Inn? I really hated that I missed playing that night as I had promised Tony I'd come and play some of my originals. Who were the Chordians that showed up and played?
DE
402 2016-03-21 21:35:15
Re: Chordiestock IV - save the date! - 3/17/16 - 3/20/16 (48 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
What a great weekend filled with wonderful food and adult beverages, incredible music and some awesome musicians! Played for about 8 hours Fri/Sat (5 pm til 1 am) and again for around 12 hours Sat/Sun. I'm glad Jeff has understanding neighbors. The plan was to play some more Sunday afternoon and evening but I got a phone call Sunday morning that my oldest daughter from Pensacola showed up at my youngest daughter's house Saturday evening and wanted to know where dad was hiding, so I left early Sunday so I could visit with her.
As usual, Topdown was a great host, cook and bartender. I enjoyed BSing with Zurf about some of our river floating/fishing trips from previous years, seeing Topdawg and Keith again and meeting the rest of the "Cruise Brothers". I was tired when I got to my daughter's house with sore fingers, a big smile and great memories.
P.S. Topdawg can whip up some fantastic breakfast dishes.
DE
403 2016-03-18 13:18:29
Re: Chordiestock IV - save the date! - 3/17/16 - 3/20/16 (48 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Arrived at my daughter's house in St. Cloud on Wednesday evening. Called Topdown yesterday evening to see who had arrived and if everyone was guzzling green beer. He said there were six so far and everyone was on the beach watching the sunset.
I'm heading out in about an hour and should arrive about the time everyone is waking up with hangovers. I'm bringing two 12-fret slot-heads this year, my martin 000-16srgt and my Recording King ROS-16 that is set up with Nashville tuning, plus a sleeping bag and a jug of Devil's Cut bourbon. I'll probably return to my daughter's house Sunday evening with sore fingers, a sore throat and a sore head. 
DE
404 2016-03-11 11:20:09
Re: Your Weather (281 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Prayers for those in Louisiana, Texas and throughout the south that have been devastated by the floods.
405 2016-03-09 20:36:57
Re: Hi,from London (21 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
rustneversleeps wrote:
I like the old bugger bit,I could get the hang of this !!!!!!!!
Hi Dave!
I don't consider myself an "old bugger", but rather an 18 year old that has picked up an extra 48 years of experience. I've been hanging out here on chordie for about 5-1/2 years (thanks to Zurf's suggestion) but lurked a while before that. Lots on interesting folks/stories/helpful suggestions. I've found that some members are a lot "gabbier", some a little more reserved in their comments but all are friendly and encouraging.
I've owned a couple Martins but currently just a 000-16srgt (rosewood/spruce/slothead), which is great for the singer/songwriter gigs I do locally. What model Martins do you own/play?
Oh ya, welcome aboard!
DE (Ken)
407 2016-03-05 14:46:32
Re: NTTD (16 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
mekidsmom wrote:
Congrats on the camper Ken!
Sounds like it'll make your get-away trips more enjoyable. Knees and backs get to a certain point where they just want a dang bed. PLUS, Jen and the pups will be able to come along in comfort!
Thanks for the invite Amy and Jim. Although I could probably save on propane in my camper as I wouldn't need to turn on the furnace if it was within 100 yards of the backyard fire, the Oneida Pines Campground would probably work out better. Close to your house, nice sites and friendly staff. I'm pretty sure I can talk Jen into coming this time
Tell Katie, Steph and Alex I said Hi.
DE
408 2016-03-05 01:52:52
Re: Fishing Season - Six Weeks! (40 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
"The tug is the Drug" - I like that!
Good lookin, smallie TF, ya catch that on a long rod?
DE
409 2016-03-05 01:39:47
Re: NTTD (16 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Zurf wrote:
Perhaps some time it would be fun to rent a couple side-by-side spots at the Bluestone State Park. I'd suggest Dianne's place, but she doesn't allow hard sided campers and the one time I took my family there there was a HUGE miller hatch and the women-folk are all still freaked out by the number of bugs. Sonya's Mom and mine both passed before their time, so I know my kids could do with Miss Jen's wisdom and kindness. I know I could do with your friendship. We'd pour wine for Sonya and she'd be fine, plus she'd like the picking.
Great idea Zurf. It'd be fun to hook up with our families along. I could bring my raft so the kids would have a ride on the river. Maybe Sonya would be agreeable to getting out on the water too. I'm sure Jen would want to paddle her yak if the water wasn't too bad.
The National Park service has been building a new full-service campground just downstream from Diane's place. It's supposed to open this year. That might be an option. Also, Jen wants to camp at Watoga State Park on the Greenbrier. We stayed there many years ago in my old pop-up and she has wanted to go back. KInda cool- you can shuttle yourself by using the bike trail (Greenbrier River Trail). We did it that way the last time and it worked really well. Pretty easy water with a lot of little smallies.
410 2016-03-04 12:59:13
Re: NTTD (16 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
NELA wrote:
Ed, congrats on the camper. They can be great fun and open up all kinds of different adventures. Be sure to join up with some camper clubs and get the senior citizens discounts. When we had ours we would stay at campgrounds that had good shower / bathroom facilities so we could use them instead of the camper bathroom. They do get a little cramped. Also, invest in a small outside table and a couple of electric skillets as they will save a lotta time when it comes to cooking. If you are planning on doing some wintertime camping, go buy you a small electric heater. They will keep you warm and save you from using your propane (camping fees cover the electric). Get you a good pair of rubber gloves as you will need them when you go to clean your black water holding tank. Also have a separate water hose to do this work. After you have cleaned the tank and are ready to leave be sure to dump a bag of ice, through the toilet. into the tank. As you drive down the road the ice sloshing in the tank will break loose any solids you may not have got while cleaning. Camping is fun, hooking up to the truck, setting up at the campground, cleaning when leaving ans settint it back up when you get back home is work. Have fun.
nela
Thanks for all the good advice NELA. The dealer is doing all the final prep work and we pick it up next Tuesday. Meanwhile I'm trying to prepare an area to park the trailer (cut back some trees, smooth the ground, bring in gravel, etc) I made pretty good headway yesterday until it started snowing again.
DE
411 2016-03-03 17:05:13
Re: Chordiestock IV - save the date! - 3/17/16 - 3/20/16 (48 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Zurf wrote:
It's a shame that we'll miss her, but we're surely no competition for a new grand-baby. I'm glad we'll get to catch up with you, though.
Mikey may not be considered "new" as he's three years old. (But I don't think the warranty has ran out yet.) He is currently the youngest of our four grandchildren but will give up that honor in September when my son and his wife expect their first bundle of joy.
I'll let Jennifer know that you'll miss her.
DE
412 2016-03-03 02:33:30
Topic: NTTD (16 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Getting older has resulted in a lot of changes to my lifestyle. I no longer kayak class V whitewater but paddle a sit-on-top kayak in class II-III while fishing. I don't spend days out backpacking in remote areas but do short day hikes on easy trails. I don't run 6 miles each day to keep in shape but spend about 20 minutes a day on a stationary bike.
I have now made another major change. Instead of camping in remote areas in a tent or a hammock under a tarp I will now be staying in campgrounds in the luxury of a new travel trailer. Jen and I have been talking about it for a while and looking at various campers so yesterday (my 66th birthday) we finally closed the deal on a 2016 Forest River Cruise Lite 171RB. We're hoping to be able to get away for a month to six weeks this summer and visit several national parks out in the southwest.
I'm learning that instead of fighting change, its simpler to try to adapt.
At least now I'll be able to drag along a guitar or two........
DE
413 2016-03-03 02:08:10
Re: Chordiestock IV - save the date! - 3/17/16 - 3/20/16 (48 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Zurf wrote:
Will Miss Jenn be joining you Dirty Ed? She classes the place up a good bit.
We'll have our 2 dogs with us this time and don't want to leave them in a motel room all day while we're at chordiestock, so we're stopping at my youngest daughter Alison's house first (Jen wants to spend as much time as she can with Mikey our youngest grandson). She's staying there while I head over to Jeff's for the weekend. Its only a couple hours drive away.
DE
414 2016-03-03 01:44:40
Re: Chordiestock IV - save the date! - 3/17/16 - 3/20/16 (48 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
I've been sweating it a little, but finally got the word today that I'm excused from jury duty March 17-27. I'll get to spend St. Pat's Day with my chordie friends and Easter with my youngest daughter and her family!! Time to put on some new strings and update my song repertoire. I've got a couple new ones I've written since the last chordiestock. Looking forward to seeing everyone again and enjoy Jeff's hospitality.
DE
415 2016-03-02 03:31:58
Re: RIP Tubatooter (20 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Sad news indeed. RIP Toots
416 2016-02-29 04:19:51
Re: The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad!! (6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
It'd be great to hear Pure Prairie League again. PPL was formed in Waverly, Ohio - closest town near me. (I have a Chillicothe address but actually live two miles closer to Waverly.) I was in some art classes with Craig Fuller (he started the band and wrote many of their best songs) at Ohio University back in "68 and '69 and worked with John Call (pedal steel) a couple years before he quit and joined the band. I ran into John while we were both playing at a local showcase concert a few weeks back. I hadn't talked to him in years and was surprised he even remembered me. He's 70 years old and can still rock the house.
I'd sure love to be on that train ride.
DE
417 2016-02-26 04:50:39
Re: Fishing Season - Six Weeks! (40 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Zurf wrote:
Read. I read, read, read, read, read. I read about streams. About boat ramps. I read about techniques. I read about how to present this fly or that lure. I read about paddling skills. I read about which rivers are polluted (a sad addition to the material). I read the regulations. I read magazines, books, fishing reports, solunar tables, and blogs. When I finally get to the water, I forget everything I read.
- Zurf
I used to read books and magazines about fishing until my oldest fishing buddy (he's in his late 70's now) told me many years ago .... "Kid, at some time ya gotta stop reading them comic books and find things out for yourself."
DE
418 2016-02-19 13:44:17
Re: Fishing Season - Six Weeks! (40 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
I'm an avid smallmouth bass fisherman and normally I spend 50-70 days a year floating streams for smallies. I used to lake fish but now spend about 95% of my time on streams. "If it ain't flowin', Ol' Ed ain't goin'" Due to a knee replacement last summer, I was limited to under 30 days so I'm rarin' to go this year. My Buddy Doug and I talked last night and plan on hitting one of our favorite local streams tomorrow. Air temps are supposed to hit 50F today and tomorrow which should bump up the water temps to mid to upper 30's and hopefully put a smallie or two in a "bitin' mood". Winter is one of my favorite times to float fish. I may only get one or two bites all day but it's usually a big fish.
I really don't have any pre-season rituals I go through other than plan trips and spool new line on all my reels. My raft, canoe and yaks are always hanging in the garage ready to be loaded at a moments notice and rods & reels, tackle, waders, pfds, dry bags, coolers etc ready to go. When I get a call that one of my buddies want to float a stream I can be loaded and pulling out the drive in about 45 minutes. If an over-night camping trip is involved it might take two hours to make sure I have everything.
During a normal year I fish in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia with occasional forays to Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee, Missouri or even out west to Montana and Idaho. I've done 21 fishing trips in the Quetico/Boundary Waters area and am planning another one this fall. I may need to move it up a little to mid-August as my son and his wife are expecting their first child in early September (my 5th grand youngun). I'll also do a couple trips to WVA and at least one to KY and VA. I think it should be a good year.
DE
419 2016-01-25 06:21:47
Re: Your Music/Your Lyrics: Something A Little More Serious (15 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Not exactly the copyright infringement being discussed but ............
When I was a kid I read a lot of science fiction novels. In one of the books, the hero was killing time in a spaceport in some far-off galaxy so he went into a bar to get a drink. In the corner of the bar a folk singer from planet earth was singing a song about the aftermath of the nuclear war that had happened years before. The song was "She's my radiation baby, she's my teenage fallout queen". The lyrics to the song and the length of the lines and rhyme scheme made me imagine the song being sung in a 1950's ballad style.
Fast forward 20 years ..........
I was working in a nuclear plant on afternoon shift when we got the word there was an accident at the Three Mile Island facility. We knew the event would have a bad impact on our industry. During lunch, while everyone was discussing what had happened, I remembered the "Radiation Baby" song from the book I'd read 20 years before and jotted down some lyric ideas about a leaking reactor which I later turned into a song I played around campfires and river banks for years. Although I knew my lyrics were different I wanted to give proper credit for the idea, but was never able to remember the book title or author.
Fast forward another 20 years ............
I played the song one evening at an open mic venue. One of the attendees often recorded the performances and put them on youtube. Four years later someone saw the youtube video and commented that I had ripped off someone named George McKelvy. I figured at long last I'd found out the name of the science fiction book's author. I googled the name and found a 1960's video of a hippie character singing a song "She's my radiation baby, she's my teenage fallout queen". I couldn't help but bust out laughing. I swear I had never heard the song sung or seen it performed by Mr. McKelvy. One thing I am sure of - we both must have read ther same science fiction books back in the 50's.
Sad thing is, I still don't know the book title or author.
DE
420 2016-01-24 04:45:51
Re: Your Weather (281 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
We got off easy. About 7" of snow this morning. About two hours work with the blower and shovel and my drive and parking area were cleared. Spent the rest of the day watching the auto auction in Kissimmee FL on TV.
We were right at the edge of the storm, just 15 miles north they only had 1".
421 2016-01-15 05:29:33
Re: How Often Do You (17 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
A) How often do you visit Chordie nearly every day
B) How often do you play guitar every Day
C) Do you check out all topics or just one Eg. acoustic "recent posts" button
D) do you ever have a crack @ the original songs rarely
E) if yes how often rarely
F) Do you visit members `Soundcloud` pages yes, when links are provided
G) How long have you been a member 5 years
Question about D). Do you mean post original songs or try to play someone else's original? I have rarely posted my songs. I did at first, hoping to get critiques which would be helpful in improving my songwriting, but basically got complements which were nice but of no help, so I quit posting my originals. I've never tried to play an original song posted by another chordian, but I enjoy listening to the varied writing styles when links are posted.
DE
422 2016-01-15 05:07:48
Re: The Incredible 1969 (18 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
I was working a summer job at the local paper mill in the summer of 1969. It was between my freshman and sophomore years in college. When Armstrong's moonwalk took place, mill workers were gathered around transistor radios, getting the latest reports. I was part of a two-man crew that used "tow-motors" to pull wagons with large rolls of paper (4-5 ft diameter and 8-10 ft long) from the paper machines to the sheet cutting room. We tore off a large piece of paper, made a cone that we taped to the front of a roll, spray painted "USA" on each side and "borrowed" a silver fire-proof suit from the emergency station. My partner put on the suit, straddled the roll of paper and waved to the cheering workers while I pulled him around the mill for a couple of hours. Not a single boss complained. I remember my father (born in 1908) marveling how during his lifetime man had went from the horse and buggy days to landing on the moon
The summer of '69 was when I attended my first bluegrass festival and began a lifetime love affair with folk, country and bluegrass music. At the time I was a drummer, had played in a jazz band, a 17-piece big band and taught rudimental drumming to junior high students and was currently playing rock. But as bluegrass didn't use drums, I soon quit the rock band I was in, sold my Ludwigs and never played again.
In 1969 Glen Campbell's Good Time Hour, Hee Haw and the Johnny Cash Show all made their debut on American TV, taking country music from the back hollows to main stream America. Also that was the year that Johnny Cash recorded a live album from San Quentin prison ("Boy Named Sue" became a hit) and both Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette became members of the Grand Ole Opry.
Just a month into my sophomore year I quit college and in October of '69 began a 4-year apprenticeship to become an I/C (Instrumentation and control)Tech. I followed that career for 43 years (including going back to college and getting a degree as an I/C Engineer) until I retired 4 years ago.
DE
423 2015-10-06 01:01:49
Topic: Busy Weekend (6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
My fingertips felt a little tender this morning after a big weekend of playing. Thursday evening I did a solo gig at a local art gallery. It was the first evening of a new show and they wanted someone to provide a little background music. Although my forte isn't acoustic finger picking, I managed to come up with enough songs to fill two hours, using two guitars, one with regular tuning and the other Nashville high-tuned. I'm a lot more comfortable playing and singing my own songs and have never previously done an acoustic gig of just picking guitar, but several people stopped to chat and tell me how much they enjoyed my playing so maybe I didn't do too bad.
Friday I spent several hours picking with friends - mostly folk and bluegrass. Saturday I took a break and watched college football all day although I did pick up a guitar a few times during the day.
Sunday I joined 4 other musicians and played for two hours at a fund raiser for the Pioneer School, a local facility for developmentally handicapped kids. We played at the welcome center for the Adena Mansion - home of Ohio's first governor and the place from which the great seal of Ohio was conceived. The music was well received and it was gratifying to see some of the kids in wheel chairs swaying to the music.
A busy weekend musically but very enjoyable.
DE
424 2015-09-29 02:18:36
Re: Pa. Gathering (109 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
unclejoesband wrote:
normtheguitar wrote:Really sorry to leave you all hanging, but as you may have gathered, I am not getting anywhere fast with the Great British Health system. I finally got an appointment through to see the specialist (at the end of October!), which allowed me to go back to my dentist to apply for a quicker appointment. But I'm still waiting for this to come through. So, unless I hear in the next few days (or magically feel a lot better), my trip is looking pretty unlikely. But not impossible!
Well that's unfortunate but the health comes first.
OK. Two weeks out. I'm going to send emails this week with an exact address and directions. If you don't receive one and were planning to attend, let me know in this thread. I'll get one out. Dirty Ed, are you still floating around here?
One of the locals just had his schedule changed and has to work that weekend but there are still 4 of us.
Just got back from 3 days of kayak floating in WV. I've had a change in plans - I'll be in Pensacola Florida that weekend celebrating my youngest grand daughter's 12th birthday. Sorry I won't be able to attend the PA gathering. I hope to do a little guitar picking with my grandson who has been taking lessons for the past year.
Y'all have a great time and fill the woods with music.
DE
425 2015-09-24 03:57:35
Re: Yoge Barra R.I.P. (6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore"
"Even Napoleon had his watergate"
"You can observe a lot by watching"
"Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical"