Late Night Stuff

Can't sleep tonight because I drank too much espresso right before bed — so here I am. It's been a while, so now's as good a time as any to play catch-up again.

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I've been missing Dad quite a bit the last week. I think part of it is that I have a nephew graduating and a niece with a big birthday-bash coming up, and we all wish Pop was here to be part of things. I bought myself a weight-lifting station the other day, and it took me 7 hours to get it all put together — and a year ago, Dad would have been out there with me, helping me get it all done. He would have advice and opinions on the shed I want to get built in our back yard, as well as the tree removal and enclosed patio I'm thinking of doing. I also put some chemicals in my parents' pool, and the last time I did that, Dad was able to go with me to the pool store, walk himself in (with his portable oxygen), and then sit outside while I loaded the water with the goods we bought. We cooked-out at my sister's the other day, and Dad always went outside to "help" my brother-in-law — so it was awkward for Dad not to be out there on the patio. We're planning a little family vacation on the beach, and it will totally stink for Pop not to be there, walking with Mom along the water's edge.

I could go on and on like this — but the main thing that makes all of the seemingly sad stuff above so cool is that all of them are great memories of how much Dad was a part of our lives. I'm blessed to have nothing but wonderful memories of a great Dad and great friend. It's hard because we miss him so much, and because the center of the McCown Life is no longer here — but his love for all of us continues on, and so do the awesome memories.

I love you, Pop.

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A friend and I are putting together a band, and it's pretty exciting. We both just want to do local stuff; small-scale, just for fun, and just for the sake of playing. We've brought a mutual buddy of ours, Phillip, into the fold, and we've sort of hoisted a drummer on board.

I'm looking forward to it because I've always loved being in bands and playing for a live audience — outside of what I've done at church over the years. Bunker (the guy I'm starting the band with) appointed me Lead Vocals, which I'm still unsure about — but it'll be a nice challenge to learn new material from scratch and have to learn the melody, too. There's just something really cool about seeing people get energized while you perform, and I've been itching to get out there again — and so have the other guys.

As for what we'll play, we're just going to start off with a handful of covers, from metal to folk — we're going to be shooting for a pretty dadgum eclectic mix. We'll also have to come up with a name one of these days, too...

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Speaking of band stuff, I'm gathering my dream PA system: one that will cover any indoor venue, as well as outdoor shows with an audience 100+ feet deep. The power will come from two Crown XLS 802 amps: one for the mains, and one for the subs. A dbx 223XL crossover will split the signals, all of which will be equalized with a dbx 231 31-band graphic EQ. For speakers, I'm leaning toward using JBL MRX525s for the mains, and JBL MRX518s or 528s for the subs.

Using those speakers, I'll be pushing the mains amp at 4 ohms, giving me 800 watts per channel. Depending on which sub cabinet, I'll get either 500 or 800 watts per channel. That will be a LOT of sound, man — 2600 or 3200 watts — and every base we'd ever need should be more than covered.

SWEET!

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And continuing the sound discussion, I've taken some crash-courses in sound engineering over the last week, too, and I'm totally ready to try out my new knowledge in the real world. All the things I know to do, but just don't know how to go about doing them — they've all clicked. From proper cabling, to setting up EQs, to finding feedback problems and correcting them, proper gear hookups, etc., etc., etc. It's like a light has been turned on in my head. Now I just need to find somewhere to try it out on...

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We bought an elliptical machine a couple of weeks ago, and I'm amazed at how well it helps you lose weight. I'm down to 227 now (I'm 6'4" and a big-framed guy that floated around 235, just FYI), but I still have the ol' McCown Gut Gene trying to take over. My goal is to get down to 212 and see how that works for me — and between the elliptical machine and weight training, and what they've already done so far, I'm confident I'll meet my goals in a couple of months without having to do anything too drastic. We shall see!

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 05/30 at 12:33 AM

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