Quadruple bill @ Badabrew

This weeks event

   What can I say about the talent playing this Friday, at Badabrew in Crest Hill, IL.?  The Last envy has to be one of the leading proponents in the live music scene in our area and the surrounding areas, as well. Members include Joliet Dave (Rodriguez), on bass, Tony Amaro on drums, Chris Moran on guitar and vocals, as well as Rich Hogren, also on guitar and vocals.

   Dave is a writer/contributor for The Joliet Live Music Examiner, as well as What’s Up Magazine Extra. Equally supportive to the local scene, is Tony. He runs the website, MNO Chicago (Musicians Night Out). All 3 of these publications selflessly promote the local music scene and I highly recommend them. (See links, below).

   Chris is a very talented singer/guitarist and can be seen as a solo act all over Chicago land, most nights of the week. Rich is a great guitarist, as well, and can be seen, even when he’s not on the bill, with a beer in front of him, supporting  other bands.

  These guys really bring it, and again, do as much for local music, on stage as they do off. It’s always a pleasure to see what’s been added to their already diverse setlist.

  Also on the bill for Friday night is U4EA. We’ve shared the stage with these guys (and  girl) several times. Always a great set list and quite a few surprises. Chick Reardon is on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Bob Byerwalter on bass (every good band should have a guy named Bob on bass), Lynn Parkinson on drums,  Steve Vukobratovich on lead guitar, and also on lead guitar, special guest, Jimi Swanson (of Poison'd Crue). Their newest member, Travis Ritter, will be making a cameo as well. I can’t wait to hear this lineup.

Lastly on the bill, for Friday night, is D-Rox Acoustic. This group consists of the talented Desire’e Megrant and her likewise talented brother, Dustin.  As the name implies, they are an acoustic act with a very broad set list. 

  As always, I looking forward to sharing the stage with these talented folks. It’s always a good time.

  See you there

Friday, Feb, 7^th 8:00 p.m. @ BadaBrew in CrestHill.

JolietLive Music Examiner

What’s Up Magazine Extra

MNO Chicago

The Last Envy

D-Rox Acoustic

Under D Influence

U4EA

Rock Stetson

It’s hard to describe the genre of this band.  After sharing the stage with these guys for a number of years, I can say it’s ‘80’s,  pop,  good time rock and roll. Billy Joel, Tommy Tutone, Rick Springfield, and believe it or not, Tom Jones.  Although they have always been a 3 piece band , they always  fill the venue with plenty of sound.

  With Harpo on vocals and guitar, Joe on bass and Mike on drums and ’stuffed animal security’, it really comes together well. I am always interested in what they add to the set list next.

Even when they are not on the bill, you will see them out, supporting the scene.
Click below and Like their Facebook page.

Rock Stetson will be appearing, Saturday, Feb. 1^st @ Clayon’s Tap , in Morris, Il. It’s always a good time!

Tim's Records

Here he is playing one of his most prized possessions

1994 Gibson Les Paul

My younger brother, Tim Collins was a huge fan of music. From his early interest in guitar playing to his love for collecting vinyl (albums), he covered most genres of music. Mostly classic rock, a little country, in there, too. He was in several bands. Sometimes, at the same time!

He inspired me to keep playing and writing and is probably one of the main reasons I'm still in a band.

After his passing in 2000 and my mother's passing in 2013, his album collection and guitars came into my possession. In the last few weeks, I've finally gotten around to cataloging all of the records. Here is the list in pdf form. All of the entries with a 'y' in the second column are the ones I have. I have also linked all of them to wikipedia or discogs, to show the album artwork.

I don't think I'll be lending any out, but, if you like, I can commit some of them to disc.

Have a look at the list...I'm sure he would appreciate it.

Click here  Tim's record collection

The Underground

The Underground

 I’m not sure what the grace period is for referring to a band as ‘formerly know as’ but, here goes. The Underground, formerly known as First Brigade, will be appearing at Q-bar in Darien,Il., Saturday, Jan 25th.

  Members include, Calvin, on guitar, keys and vocals, Mark on guitar and vocals, Tim is on drums and Brad is on the bass.

  They play a great mix of punk/college rock that you don’t hear very often. Where else will you hear a band cover The Cars, The Clash and the Pixies? (that’s a request, by the way).
 It’s always a pleasure to hang out with these guys. I’ve shared the stage with them nearly a dozen times and they never disappoint.

  Q-bar is located at 8109 S. Cass Ave, Darien. They have good food, lots of room and tables, and, last time I was there, had a killer sound system.

 Hope to see you there.

Moving Targets

Hanging out with Moving Targets

  For all the years I've known this particular bunch of guys, they've always arrived early, played a killer set and stayed late. Always in support of local bands.

  Paul Goc (also in The Opinions and Fiddlebean), on drums and comic relief.

  Blaine Bentsen (The Fuzz(one of my all time favorites)) on bass and obscure reference.

  Dan Kane (also in The Opinions) on vocals,guitars and keys.

  Steve Arling (Wrong Bongos, UDI) on guitar and perfectly blending in with his surroundings.

  I always have a blast watching these guys belting out everything from 80's college rock to Classic rock. I don't think you'll ever hear Wings and The Vapors in anyone else's set.

 Check them out, soon. 

Appearing Friday, Jan 10th 9:00 p.m. @ McBrides

 http://mcbridesplainfield.org

Cutting a Picture Frame Mat

One of my past hobbies included picture framing. I thought it would be wise to learn how to do this, because then I would be able to offer framing as a part of the portrait service.

 

 

 

First a picture of a cutie-pie is needed. I used my daughter. Once the picture is edited, I e-mailed it to walgreens to print.  

 

My wife is a huge fan of ikea, so, she picked up a few styles of inexpensive frames. They're always good to have on-hand. As you can see, above, the matting  that came with the frame was too small.

 

A few years ago, I picked up a mat cutter from michael's. They had a 50% off your next purchase coupon, so, I used it for this. I was around 30 bucks, with the coupon, but, I knew I would use it for years.

 

There are lots of colors available for the mat, so, I kind of stocked up on my favorites.

 

The angled cutter really takes most of the thinking out of it. After a few measurements, I cut the mat to the size of the frame, then, cut the inside opening 1/4 inch smaller than the picture

 

 

 

You can see how nice the bevel looks because of the cutter.

 

After taping the picture to the back side of the mat, it's ready to go back into the frame.

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please, ask.

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quick diy gobo

  There are a million lighting terms out there. One is 'gobo'. I'm not sure how it was named, but, the definition is 'anything that stops light from getting somewhere'. Simply, it keeps light off the things you want dark.


  If you have a speedlight type external flash, this is for you. If you don't have one, you should get one.

 

First of all, the I bought this velcro tape, made for extension cords, or, what not. Cut it log enough to wrap around your flash, plus an few inches. I use this to attach all kinds of accessories.

 

 

All it takes is a common index card. Cut it at one end, as shown.

 

I put black duct tape or gaffers tape on one side of the card.

 

 

Then, you put the gobo on the side of the flash, closest to the area you do not wish to light.

 

 

The picture on the left, is the flash without the gobo. The one on the right is with the gobo in place. All the settings are the same on both images.

 

 

 

 

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