Gettin’ a new band together

  • by Drew

The kids are getting there. Seriously. I have a six year old starting to hold a consistent drumbeat. And my nine year old is rocking his new trumpet. Maybe there’s a kickass ska band in the future. The niner even suggested inviting his sax-playing compatriot into the ranks. Damn, son. That sounds like the start of a real horn session.

So while other folks are looking for easy songs on guitar for their pre-teens, I’m going to start thinking about charts for some old school two-tone brass and percussion. Not too shabby in the modern age. The Jonas Brothers can kiss my grits, and Bieber can cry himself to sleep in the back room.

Listen Up

  • by Drew

I’m an unabashed and very vocal fan of audiobooks. I fell in love with listening to stories almost 20 years ago when I was driving between Amherst and Boston for band practices and gigs. In the early days it was old time radio shows like the Shadow. A few years later I was living in Connecticut and driving to Boston to see my girlie. At a precursor to the contemporary dollar store I bought a few abridged novels. I was so hooked.

Some years later I discovered digital unabridged novels and started downloading to the old mp3 player like a fiends. I now have well over 250 in my library and I’m not slowing down.

I have friends who say they’d rather buy oriental car floor mats or a solid gold back scratcher than waste their money on having someone read to them. Hey, to each his own, but I listen to a couple books a months (aside from what I read because I still do actually read, believe it or not). Mowing the lawn, washing dishes, chopping wood – all chores that I look forward to because they involve audiobook listening. And the drive to work is a breeze. I am even calmer with all the aggressive drivers on the road when I’m listening. Sweet!

Blaster’s Dream

  • by Drew

The new animated piece for Skateboard Heroes is up on YouTube. And for those of you paying attention, that’s authentic Drew music in the background. Sure it’s instrumental, but it’s pretty darn fine instrumental, don’t you think?

Check out the movie on YouTube.

Thanks!

I Need You Tonight

  • by Drew

OK, not the most compelling title ever, but I think it is pretty, I like the solo, and it is just one of the many drop D tuning songs I’ve written in the last few weeks. I’m on a roll, baby. Listen to I Need You Tonight here.

This is not autobiographical, per se…and I’m thankful for that I think. But it isn’t totally sad or depressing. At least not in my world view. And man, it is fun to play.

Actually, I just wanted to load the file on Facebook, but they no likey mp3 hosting…and anyway, lately it feels like you need an it degree to get FB to display even remotely as you wish, so it has become a full fledged post. And no it degree. Enjoy, rock and rollers.

Have you checked it out?

  • by Drew

I’ve gotten some feedback through some other avenues and the response is GREAT! Have you checked it out yet? We made it loud so you don’t even need to crank your speakers for a real testosterone booster! Thrill to the sites and sounds of Skateboard Heroes, the super new Web-comic that will drop any day now. Be among the first to taste the lovely. For reals.

No spoilers here, but some hints: witty kids, rad skateboards, tricks, kickin’ tunes, masked villains and a dude with a massive robotic claw. Bit by bit, page by page, the story will unfold. At the risk of sounding a little cocky, it will be the best thing you ever see. Ever. Hands down.

Cordelia’s Dad Rides Again

  • by Drew

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned Cordelia’s Dad, but they are on the great bands of the 90s. Not just because I saw a bazillion of their shows and actually had the honor of playing with them a bunch of times, including a short tour of the southern states. And here’s what really rocks – they are still playing. Not a lot, unfortunately, but once in a while. In fact, last year they did a show in Northampton, MA, and recorded it. Last Friday they released that recording as a double live CD. We went to the CD release. It was lovely…just lovely.

It was, without a doubt, one of the best performances of theirs I had seen. And that is saying a lot as I’ve seen many. In fact, as I listen to the CDs, I am impressed and do enjoy it, but it just doesn’t compare. I don’t know. Maybe it has the sound of digital recorders in people’s pockets – probably an unavoidable reality of live recording. But the energy of the live performance – the sweat and occasional (and welcome) mistakes, the pudgy ponytail guy dancing in front of the stage…it all makes the live show such a special experience.

Will the text-happy, You-tube and Facebook generation ever understand the power and intimacy and true, unique creativity of the Dad?

Tech-No-Mo

  • by Drew

I have this beautiful Tascam DAT deck from about 10 years ago. It was a bonus given me by a former employer when a particular project went off very well. It was a show of appreciation, and I…appreciated it greatly. I used the deck to mix a couple of records in my home studio back in the day, but since then, I have obtained different equipment that allows me to mix straight to CD. For all intents and purposes, at least my purposes, digital is digital, and the CDs are really a lot easier to deal with.

Problem is, now I have this nice DAT machine I haven’t used in quite a while and I’m thinking about its future. Actually, I’m thinking online auction, but I am concerned about performance. It doesn’t have a lot of hours on it, but it also hasn’t been used in ages, so…who knows. As a result, I am hesitant to demand top dollar since I’m no tech or anything. Then again, I don’t want to just give it away.

Anybody need a DAT?

BTW – if you don’t know what a DAT is, you don’t need it. And don’t feel bad. On one occasion, doing some impromptu mixes of a project when my drummer made a surprise visit, I tried buying DAT tapes at half a dozen stores. My favorite encounter was Radio Shack of all places. The guy working there had no idea what I was talking about and kept trying to get me to buy micro-cassettes, like for a Get Smart spy recorder. Just one of many times the Shack let me down.

Ride ’em Cowboy!

  • by Drew

All this talk about birthdays has me remembering a couple years ago when the family took me to Texas Roadhouse for my birthday. I love this place, and they’d just opened up in Kingston. We presented a free appetizer birthday couple and one thing led to another. Ultimately, I had to ride the birthday bull.  don’t know if that’s what they call the thing, but I like how it sounds so I’m going to call it that: Birthday Bull. (Now it’s a proper noun…who says there’s no such thing as evolution.)

Anyway, the bull is a sawhorse of sorts with a big saddle on it. And judging by some of the other victims…I mean birthday revelers… I have seen over the years, it is now surely sticky and half-price margarita encrusted with a thick layer of margi-salt and peanut dust. Still, it was fun. I sat on the saddle with burning cheeks and the whole staff yee-hawed for me.

In retrospect, though, it would have been cooler if the thing had a motor. Or maybe a little track and a mini cow like that calf-roping practice machine on Pawn Stars. Then I could load up on hgh supplements and protein powder shakes and rock that buckin’ bronco till the cows come home. Or until the calf gets roped. Really, either would be fine with me.

The Future is Here

  • by Drew

Have you failed to go 100% paperless? Are you still shredding bank statements and credit card bills? Get with the program, dude. That’s old school identity theft protection. You need to think about the future. Now you can get RFID blocking wallets to protect you and your new credit card with its onboard RFID chip. Pretty freaky, huh? People can steal data from a chip in your pocket you probably didn’t even know about. Terrifying. What’s next? I’m hoping for an alien brainwave radar jammer to keep those pesky little green men from stealing my ideas and selling them to television writers in Hollywood.

© 2025 Drew Bancroft. All rights reserved. Totally.