British rock band T.Rex, 1970. Pic taken during the photo sessions for their 1970 album, also called "T.Rex". Another, nearly identical pic from this photo session was placed on the cover. It was the first time I'd seen, or identified a red Gibson Les Paul guitar, and because I was a T.Rex fan at the time, I always wanted a guitar like that one. Photo - RecordMecca.com
Summer Deep -- it was a very cool track on the T.Rex album that apparently broke the band in the UK. I remember seeing the pic of Marc Bolan with his red Les Paul guitar. That's the first time I recognised a Les Paul. And I knew I wanted one. And it had to be red.
Later on, when I saw the pic of the Australian glam rock band Supernaut's Chris Burnham with a red Les Paul, my desire to have a guitar like that was only reinvigorated, because I loved the sound he got from his.
Australian rock band Supernaut's Chris Burnham, playing his red Gibson Les Paul (probably a 1974 Custom, Cherry finish!) during a reunion show in Melbourne in 2019 -- it's the same exact guitar he used on their glam rock albums in the late 1970s. Photo courtesy Supernaut's FB page.
In 1996 I ended up getting a red Les Paul design guitar, albeit a really good copy, the ash-bodied Lotus L520. Right now I am setting it up for slide playing and rhythm playing.
Summer Deep Is In The Hills Again -- that was the opening verse to the T.Rex song, and it matches the weather we've been having lately here in the Seattle area, the kind of 'deep Summer' weather I call "California Weather" -- sunny, balmy, mostly dry, and around 80 degrees F (28 or so C). So, naturally, as I look out the window after finishing work, and seeing the 80 degree sunshine out there, the T.Rex track somehow came to mind.
Supernaut performing their first Australian hit "I Like It Both Ways", a heavy glam rock tune with edgy lyrics for its time. In it you can see Chris Burnham playing his Cherry finish, probably circa 1974 Les Paul Custom.
The Oz glam rock band Supernaut's second hit, Too Hot To Touch, which has some cool guitar sounds (probably Chris Burnham's Cherry Custom Les Paul through an H&H amp), and some feedback around 3 and a half minutes in. This is the second band that turned me on to Oz rock, the first one being AC/DC -- both of which I heard on Radio Australia.
IRRITATING PETTY CRIMES
The past few weeks have been a bit odd, really. There were a spate of thefts and vandalisms in my neighborhood, and most of the neighbors know who did them, and it's been an off and on problem for a couple years, usually during the summer evenings. Both of the cars in my driveway were broken into, and the steering columns broken into as well. One of the cars was already inoperable. The busted steering columns just mean more repairs to pay for, really.
My neighbors had their bikes ripped off. Another house had a motorcycle stolen, and left by a fence a block away. So I wasn't the only 'victim' of this idiotic rampage.
My main car works well now -- it was in the shop being repaired while the other two (one was a loaner) were broken into. My car doesn't have working air conditioning, so when driving in the rare Summer heat here it's like driving in a sweatbox. But at least it works. :-)
My long shadow at sunset while I was riding my bike. It was quite warm out that afternoon, maybe 80F / 28C or so. Perfect weather for bicycling.
There really hasn't been too much going on aside from the low-level (and irritating) crimes. The weather's nice, but I haven't yet done any rockhounding at the river, something I do at least a couple times during the Summer. The Cedar River has agates and jasper (both red jasper, green jasper, and yellow jasper), as well as some petrified wood, and I collect rocks as one of my hobbies -- something I got from my Dad and Grandfather.
I haven't been taking my camera out during bike rides very much. I did get a few decent pics a couple weeks ago. And I recently took a few pictures for this blog post.
HOLA! HOLA! HOLA! -- OUTBAND CB
I've been DXing the SW bands a bit more than previously, as the sunspots are slowly picking up. My next installment of my 'Shortwave Logbook' here on this blog will be fairly full. Earlier this afternoon I heard CB Outbanders from Latin America for the first time in YEARS. A guy with an odd Spanish accent (Central American? I couldn't tell) talking to a guy who was either in Costa Rica or Ecuador. They were talking so fast, in Spanish, and there was just enough fading that I couldn't clearly decipher all that was said.
But it was very cool hearing them. When the SW bands are up, and the sunspots are up, I always enjoy tuning the CB Outband -- the frequencies from 27415 Khz to around 27555 Khz, which is where a lot of the Latin American Outbanders hang out. I enjoy hearing the CBers from different Latin American countries talk to each other, and I try to ID their accents, and I know just enough Spanish to understand the basics of what they're saying -- at least part of the time. :-)
They're called "Outbanders" because the official CB band goes from 26965-27405 Khz. Anything above or below those frequencies are "Outband" and officially illegal, but a lot of CBers use those frequencies anyway, usually to talk to people from other countries, using the ionosphere. I hear the Outbanders mostly talking on frequencies above 27405 Khz -- usually between 27415 and 27505 Khz. There are English speaking Outbanders along with the Latin Americans, although they don't always talk on the same frequencies.
In the late 1980s, the "Upper Side" of CB Channel 29 (27295 Khz) was a hotbed of Latin American sideband activity. I used to hear all sorts of Mexican and Central American SSB activity. That obviously changed, because in 2011 through 2016 when I was listening to a lot of activity in the CB band, I never heard any Spanish on that channel.
They all apparently moved up to the Outband. :-)
So, as the year progresses, I'll be tuning more and more into the Outband frequencies to see what there is happening there. It's pretty cool hearing the Latin Americans all talking to each other -- with all their different Spanish accents, and their excitement at talking instantly to people in other countries. In 2012 or so I heard a woman in Venezuela talking to a guy in Brazil -- they were using bits and pieces of both Spanish and Portuguese.
AIR CONDITIONERS? WHO NEEDS AIR CONDITIONERS?
The weather here has been warm for the most part, with sunshine on most days, and temperatures in the high 80's F (27-30C). Even when it was cloudy it was 86-87F outside, and a bit muggy. Here in the Seattle region we don't get high humidity -- not like they have in the Eastern and Southern U.S. But we do get a bit of humid weather from time to time, and we notice it when it happens. It's not oppressive, but when you're not used to it, it can be a little uncomfortable.
When I was a kid, nobody around here -- and I mean nobody -- had an air conditioner. Everybody used fans in hotter weather. Now you see more air conditioners in windows in people's houses, although there aren't a lot of them. Most people still stay cool the standard Seattle way: the box fan.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST.... LAYOFFS IN RADIO AND AT BMI
A couple weeks ago I posted an article here about radio and the music industry, which I described as being in decline, and where I spelled out the reasons why. The music entertainment industry (radio, record labels, music videos, etc.) is fragmenting, thanks to the internet and the music streaming business model, and both the radio and music industries have seen large losses in revenues since about 2000 (radio gaining about 35% of the revenue it got in 2000, and the record industry making 30% less than what it made in the US in 1999 and 2000).
Just recently several radio companies (including the U.S. radio company Audacy, and a couple other smaller radio companies) announced some layoffs. So did the major publishing royalty collection company BMI, which is laying off 10% of its workforce.
Audacy in particular is the second largest radio company in the United States. They're laying off 5% of their workforce. This is after the #1 radio company, IHeartMedia, laid off around 10% of their workforce at the beginning of 2020.
Here's an article about Audacy (formerly Entercom) and their announced layoffs.:
The BMI layoffs themselves are curious, as the company reports that it had record revenues in 2021. Yet they are cutting 10% of their workforce. Why does a company lay off people when it's bringing in a lot more money? It's a good question -- one for which I don't have an answer. The music press writers don't really have answers to that question, either.
Here is an article on the BMI layoffs.:
IN CLOSING
I'll close out this blog post with a couple pictures I took during a recent, late afternoon bike ride. Being that I live near a river, I see a lot of activity there. There are homeless people who live in the wooded areas just off of the river, and the river is the closest thing to a "beach" we have in this part of the Seattle region. There are some lakes around, but their beaches are often hard to get to, or the parking is jammed. Access to the local river, however, is a bit more available.
The setting Sun through the dense riparian / riverine woods just off the side of the local Trail.
The local 'beach' at Sundown. Usually when there is hot weather, this sandy reach of the river is fairly crowded with people. There are not a lot of beaches readily available to the working classes here in the Seattle area. Seattle's main beaches are few and far between. And in the South county, there are only rivers and a few lakes. But we take what we can get. :-)
Considering that I live so close to the river it's a shame that I don't swim in it more often. I don't know why that is. Some of the reason is having to lock up my bike, secure my helmet and all that -- it's just a bit of a pain to do just to swim in the river.
But it is fun to observe the activity, whether it's a beaver (which I saw once, in the river, about four years ago!) swimming under the Trestle, or ducks and other birds hanging out in the water, or the odd eagle I see on a branch overlooking the water, or the odd owl I hear in the hills up from the river banks at night -- it makes my bike rides a bit more interesting.
Socks, please return home. They miss you.
The YT audio track to the 1970 T.Rex song "Summer Deep". The self-titled T.Rex album this song is taken from, as well as their previous album "A Beard of Stars", were the first recordings where Marc Bolan branched out into electric guitar territory, first with his white Stratocaster (used on Beard of Stars) and then his red Gibson Les Paul (pictured on the pic in this video.
Another track by Oz hard hitting glam rock band Supernaut, a song called Space Angel, which I heard once on Radio Australia. The album cover is one of the main reasons I got a red Les Paul design guitar.
Like many bands of that era, Supernaut were influenced by T.Rex and David Bowie, and Australia had a really lively, Oz rock scene during the late 1970s that grew further in the 80s, introducing a lot of bands like AC/DC, INXS, Midnight Oil, and others that became world famous.
Supernaut only lasted until 1979, when they changed their name and music style before breaking up. Singer Gary Twinn plays pubs in Los Angeles with his roots rock band, and guitarist Chris Burnham is still active in the Australian music scene.
Well, that's it for now. I hope this post finds my readers in good health, and safe and doing well. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, I hope your late Summer is fun and active. Stay safe, everyone. Peace.
C.C. -- August 24th and September 11th, 2022
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