dazed and confused
Dazed and Confused was released in 1993. I first watched this flick in the '90s and recently re-watched it.
D&C gets high ratings, but that's only because most of the people who rated it as such attended high school during that era. Many reviews say what the movie shows is exactly what happened in '76 and that it was all awesome, but I'm pretty sure that's wishful thinking more than anything else. It's like me saying the early '90s were totally awesome when I know for a fact they totally weren't.
When I watch D&C, I'm reminded a lot of the small town I grew up in. No, my little town didn't have hazing/initiation teen rituals like the film shows (or at least not that I know of), but it did have the exact same boring-ass feel which causes a lot of people to drink and smoke weed simply for the fact there's nothing better to do. In fact, several times throughout the movie you'll hear people say they're bored out of their minds, which is why they do what they do in the first place.
The thing to know about this movie is that it's not about high school but rather teen culture of the era. It's actually pretty interesting how mid-'70s teen culture parallels with early-'90s culture. The music, clothes and hairstyles might have been different between the two times, but the boredom that was abound was identical. Many things that happened in D&C happened in the town I grew up in, so I can somewhat relate to it.
A friend said to me recently that I have an 'old soul' since I know so much about cultural stuff of the '70s, and I think that's why I watched this movie in the first place. However after watching it, my thought is, "Eh.. glad those times are over."
why i won't be pressing CDs
My collection of songs is nearing completion and will be released relatively soon, but one thing I won't be doing is pressing any CDs. The distribution method I'll be going through does offer it as an on-demand thing for those that actually want the disc (I think?), but as far as actually buying stock, no way.
Any artist that presses CDs these days is an idiot for the simple reason that nobody wants them. Nobody carries around a portable CD player. Both kids and adults either use iPods, cell phones, their computer of a combination of all three - but no discs. The only time anyone listens to a disc anymore is in the car, and only if the car does not have an AUX port for an iPod or cell phone.
If I was touring (and who knows, maybe I will?), the only merchandise I'd be selling at shows would be t-shirts and vinyl records. 45 RPM speed, specifically. Why vinyl records? Because it's way more attractive than a CD, is an instant collectible, people will buy them just because it's vinyl regardless of whether they like your music or not, and most importantly they actually sell because of their special and unique nature.
Anyway..
Back in the early 2000s during my previous life, there were several regional "scene" web sites along with a few crappy "labels", all of which went under. The reason they all failed is because the only audience those sites ever attracted were musicians and not actual fans. When you have a site that's all-musician and no-fans, that's a recipe for nobody-cares stew.
Before everyone had iPods and cell phones that could play MP3s, all these scene/label sites were hocking CDs from various bands, the vast majority of which were metal bands that just plain sucked. Very few people actually bought discs even back then. Heck, I even knew bands who pressed CDs that literally had piles of unsold copies, and again, remember this is before the whole iPod thing. If they didn't sell then, what makes anyone think people would buy them now?
In the end, if you really want a CD of my stuff, I'm pretty sure the distro method I'm using will have an option for it, but otherwise it's all-digital first and foremost.
anything looks better if it lights up
What I bought today was a 7-port USB hub, an external card reader, and an internal USB card for the PC.
I found I didn't need the external card reader because the internal card had an extra pins that I could connect my front card reader to. However I'm keeping the external card reader anyway because it was cheap and it's useful for my netbook.
Speaking of price, everything put together after tax was $51, with the hub being the most expensive of the bunch at 25 bucks.
The reason I went with a 7-port is to accommodate for all the USB ports I lost because of the lightning strike, which is 8. Six in the back, two in the front.
How it works is like this - and this is technobabble but there's no other way to describe it.
The internal card is a 7-port. 4 external outs, 1 internal out (there's a port on-card), 2 pin-outs on-card. The 4 external outs connect my mouse, keyboard, scanner and 7-port external hub. The 1 internal out isn't used because I have nothing to put there. One of the pin-outs connects my internal card reader on the inside of the case.
The hub connects whatever I want to put in there, which varies depending on what I'm doing. The ones that will be "permanently" connected are a webcam, headset, 8GB stick and cord for my cell phone.
In the end I'm left with 3 free ports, and that's fine.
I was amazed at how much stuff I connect with USB, which is basically everything except for the monitors and sound card connections.
One thing I lost was the ability to use USB 3.0, but that doesn't bother me because I have nothing that uses 3.0 spec, nor do I intend on buying anything 3.0-capable. USB 2.0 is something I'm pretty sure is going to stick around a good long while yet, so I'm not worried about it.
if i were to design a signature squier...
There are those who believe I wield a Squier well enough to have a signature Squier Strat model. I guess this gives me all the more reason to get my release of songs ready sooner than later.
Anyway, I did give this some thought, and if Squier ever did approach me for a signature model, my goal would be to deliver something good at the same price point as a Squier J5 Telecaster - and I think that's very do-able.
The guitar would be a limited-run model and share a look similar to a Jeff Beck Stratocaster.
I would have it in Surf Green with white pick guard and rosewood fingerboard, however that's where the similarities end.
Why Surf Green? Because it's very difficult to get a Strat in that color. Fender makes them, obviously, but Squier doesn't even offer it. Mine would be the only Surf Green Squier in the lineup, which I think would be pretty frickin' cool.
My artist model would basically be a Squier Bullet Strat with some upgrades, but nothing too crazy. The body, neck, bridge and electronics would remain all stock.
The changes would be as follows:
Pickups would be upgraded to Seymour Duncans. All of them would be vintage 'growly' sounding and have off-white pickup covers. And yes, I'd keep the 60-cycle hum in there, because as far as I'm concerned, the hum is part of the Strat's character.
Pick guard would stay white but be changed from 1-ply to 3-ply so the black stripe is there.
Tuners would be upgraded to Grover Rotomatics. Whether chrome or nickel, I'd take whatever is cheaper to keep the per-unit cost of the guitar down.
Tremolo system would have two springs added for a total of 5. They normally come with 3. Does the guitar need them? No. But it gives you a nice feeling when you take off the back plate and see a company actually cared enough to deliver 5 springs on the block. It's little things like that which make the player feel like he bought something special.
Pegboard logo decal would use silver text with black outline, similar to the Squier II.
I'd insist on the silver text because I think the gold looks tacky and awful.
The last thing on the list is something which I don't know is possible or not. It would be that that on delivery to the USA (because it would be made in China), a tech personally inspects the guitar before shipping to the store. He checks for frets with sharp edges, and if any are found, he files them smooth. He adjusts the truss rod. He adjusts the saddles for intonation. In basic terms, he gives the guitar a proper setup. Once completed, he puts a sticker on the back plate that states "Set up in USA", then sends the guitar to be shipped.
First impressions are lasting ones, and I do know a guitar - even a Squier - that's been set up properly by a trained tech locally (keyword there) before delivery makes a ton of difference; it makes for a fine quality instrument when the player can sit down with the guitar, play and it feels right the first time.
I'm pretty sure my artist Squier Strat could match the price point of the J5 Tele even with all the stuff mentioned above.
As for the production run, I'd limit it to between 1,000 to 2,500 units because Surf Green Strats should not be a common guitar.
If Squier found the guitar to be a good seller and wanted to keep making it, that's fine and I don't have a problem with that, but guitar #2501 and beyond would have to have some changes made.
First, no Surf Green. I'd follow the Jeff Beck Strat specs again and have the "post-2500" color be Olympic White.
Second, no upgraded tuners. They'd go back to the stock ones Squier uses. Third, block springs would go back from 5 to 3. Fourth, no USA-tech setup. Fifth, stock Squier pegboard logo with "RM" (my initials) for the model, but no signature logo otherwise. The only upgrades left would be the pickups and 3-ply pick guard.
I would specifically request the post-2500 guitars done this way to keep the first Surf Green model special and meaningful.
There is one last thing I would do on the first-run Surf Green units. This is a bit of a wild idea but I think it would be really cool.
Special guitars come with something called a COA, Certificate Of Authenticity. What I'd do is have the first 27 guitars delivered direct to Fender in Scottsdale. I'd hop a flight out here, then sign out 27 COAs - however they would be little mini cards and placed under the pick guard, and stuck to the guard with an adhesive so it wouldn't mess with the electronics. Then I'd have the guitars delivered to random locations across the world. Some would stay in the USA and delivered to Guitar Center locations, a few would go to the UK, a few to Australia, a few to Germany, etc. I'd try to cover as many countries as I could where Squier has a presence.
After that, an announcement would be made that there are 27 special Menga Squier Strats in existence, but nobody would be told where.
This would be an awesome promo because people would be snapping up every single Menga Strat in search of one of the special 27.
I really like the idea that it would take a good long while before all 27 were found. It might take years to locate them all. Maybe even decades. I also like the idea that some people would buy this guitar without any idea at all that they just bought a super-rare instrument until one day years later they open up the pick guard, see the card, say, "Huh? What's this?" and then realize what they have.
Now of course I'd have to work with Fender to develop a mini card that would be very difficult to counterfeit, because you know once the first one is found there would be a whole bunch of idiots that would attempt to copy it and sell fakes on eBay. There would have to be something under the pick guard aside from the card and unique to the guitar that the counterfeiters wouldn't know to copy to ensure authenticity. Fender, fortunately, is really good at the COA thing so I'm sure they'd come up with something that would work well and thwart the counterfeiters.
Why bother with all this? Because guitar collectors love the hunt, and I'd love to give them something worth hunting for. Not only do they get a cool Surf Green Strat that plays and sounds great, but it also may contain a secret inside that instantly quadruples the guitar's value.
fear not the stratocaster
Anyone who follows me in music circles knows that I champion Stratocaster-style guitars. Even though I primarily play Squier brand, it is the traditional Fender Stratocaster configuration, as in what's known as the Fender double-cutaway "contour" body, 3 single-coil pickups controlled through a 5-way blade selector, 1 volume knob, 2 tone knobs, strings that rest on 6 individual saddles and a block tremolo system (even though I don't use the tremolo) and a 21-fret neck.
Oftentimes I'm asked how I get that sound out of a Squier Stratocaster guitar using nothing but stock configuration, as in from-the-factory hardware with no modifications. Does practicing a lot have something to do with it? Yeah, but what's more important to know is that I'm not afraid of the Stratocaster.
Strats whether made by Fender or Squier play loose and sound jangly, clacky, ridiculously "trebley" and twangy. In other words, the guitar is quirky by nature. That's not to say the guitar is bad, but rather that's just the way it is.
How does one become unafraid of the Stratocaster? You accept the quirks of a Strat and work with them.
My advice to anyone looking to wrangle tones out of a Squier like I do is to simply let go of the fear. Don't be afraid to bend a string hard to get that screaming solo note. Don't be afraid to rake the strings. Don't be afraid to pick hard. Just go for it. Break a few strings if you have to. I've broken plenty.
I'm not saying to beat the crap out of your Strat, but it is true that some of the best Strat players (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen) play real hard. That's not all showmanship, believe me. Playing a Strat hard is sometimes the best way to get that sound out of it.