Rattlebrained

One of the main problems with blogging is that when you have lots of stuff to blog about it often means that you have a lot to do which means you don’t have much time to blog… And so it has been the last few days, so hopefully (do I really want that?) life will calm down enough to catch up (no).

A few weeks ago I finally joined the Rhythm Bones Society, something I had been wanting to do for a while, and with their greetings I received one of their newsletters of a few years back in which there was an article about Klepperle / Chefele “rhythm bones” from south eastern Germany and north eastern Switzerland. I found that kind of funny, all the more since I had never heard of them nor had anyone who saw me play around here said: hey, that’s like an instrument they play in certain parts of German speaking Switzerland”… OK, so it’s a fact that the linguistic parts of Switzerland are culturally further apart than mere distance measured, but still…

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About a year and a half ago I stumbled on the Hero Rat website and was very impressed, but as one often does I put it aside for later and forgot all about it. Until last January (‘09) that is, when it popped into my mind that even I could afford the 5 Euro (just over $7) monthly fee of adopting a rat. So I did.

Kim is one of the 5 “symbolic” rats that you can adopt, actually from what Ive gathered looking through their info there are at least 300 rats being trained or doing what they’ve been trained for. In Kim’s case this means detecting tuberculosis, which she does well! Last September in Tanzania where they work for instance these rats found 70 patients with active TB that were missed by microscopy!…

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Sooo…

It seemed after yesterday post that the only way to describe the sounds rhythm bone made of different materials made was to record them. Having decided to give it a go this morning I stuck myself in front of the webcam and gave it a try. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that well, mainly because the sound sounded like it was going through some sort of long hose. I then wanted to connect a better microphone to the computer only to find that I couldn’t find a wire I’m sure I have, it’s around here somewhere, that plugs a mic into a jack input….

Two hours later I ended up setting up an old digital 8 camcorder which doesn’t have the best mic either but. At least that way I had warmed up enough to dare post it: my first rhythm bone youtube video!

It seems to have gotten a bit distorted, probably when I converted it for the web, but the sound’s not too bad, I think the differences can be heard. Yes, No?

Scott Miller, who is the guy behind one of my favorite stores on the web Bone Dry Music contacted me last fall about a new kind of rhythm bones he was developing and would I be interested in creating a logo? Would love too! was my answer of course as I began to work on his idea: a robot hand playing metal bones.
You can read the whole story of how Bot Bones came to be on the store’s Bot Bones information page; they are metal rhythm bones currently made from aluminum (with copper, brass and stainless steel still in the works).

I’ve had a pair of medium (1”×6 1/2”) aluminum Bot Bones for two weeks now and I really, really like them. As an intermediate bones player I’d place them among the “easier” bones to play…

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I’ve been having problems getting good pictures of my latest art works with my aging Olympus C-8080. It just doesn’t have the definition to get all the variations on white these works have to print a large size image. Since funds are low I was curious as to what quality pictures one of those newer “cheep” and portable cameras boasting over 10 mega pixels would have and so it was convenient (to me) that E. had to buy one for her work…

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Last week I went over to Big Blaze’s place to work on a few tunes and try out the cigar box guitar he recently made. Today, as the web does so well, a chance series of link following brought me to the above video which has some great old pictures and a little W.C. Fields clip, the icing on the cake. So don’t forget to buy a nice box of cigars for the coming days of year ending festivities because cigar boxes, like washboards are making their comeback! And rightly so, they are one of those thing you know about and see without seeing but don’t really notice until you do, and then wow!

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Last nights concert at the Hotel-Restaurant Mont-Vully turned out to be a lot of fun which was nice considering that when we got there the place was empty and no one had even reserved!

It must be said that it was one of those cold dark wet and dreary evenings that is more inclined to make you stay home, feet up on the chair in front of you, watching anything with movement on the TV while sipping at a glass of single malt; no ice please…

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