The Squamidian Report – Jan. 14 / 17
 
Issue #764

Including:
The Ontarion

Hi All,

Have you ever changed your strings and then wished you hadn't? I've always hated the sound of new strings on my instruments. They sound too 'new', too bright. My ear gets used to the strings as they wear a bit and age. They mellow out. So normally even though I hate the sound of new strings, a bit of time and playing rectifies the problem and everything gets back sounding good. However, I changed the strings on my Martin about a week ago and yes, the new strings were a bit too bright but that would fade. What bothered me was that the G string was twangy and loud and put out some overtones that were disturbing. The string didn't settle down all week. I have several sets of string 'in stock' and they are all the recommended strings for this guitar, top of the line strings that should sound great once that first newness wears off after a few days of playing. So, I figured it would be worth the cost of a set of string to open one of my spare sets and remove the G string and put in on my guitar, removing the bothersome one. Which I did. And low and behold, the replacement string sounds just fine. I have no idea why the G in the set I had put on a week ago sounded wrong but it did and now its gone and the new one sounds the way it should sound. All is well.

Funny thing about strings.... In the old days we always carried replacements because it was common to break them on a regular basis. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. String technology has improved for one thing. I for one don't hammer as hard as I did when I was younger and stronger, but I think generally strings are just better than they used to be. Back when we were all breaking strings all the time you would end up going through a set of strings over a given amount of time and that would mean you'd use up that opened pack. In a way you were just changing your strings one at a time, over time. Kind of convenient when you think about it. Now that strings never seem to break or even wear out or go dead and loose their voice, the chances of using the rest of the strings in that set are pretty well non existent. But thats ok, strings are not expensive, even the high end ones. I'll just have this partial set of strings on my shelf on the off chance another from that set might someday be needed.

Picks are the same way. We seemed to be always breaking them back when they were made out of plastic. After a jam session the floor would be littered with pick pieces. Everyone had spare picks stuck somewhere on their guitar so they could grab a new one without missing a beat. Then the manufacturers came out with nylon picks and over night broken picks just didn't happen anymore. The nylon picks last so long that only time they need replacing is after the end that contacts the metal strings has warn to the point where the shape has changed, or warn so sharp you can cut yourself on it. The most likely reason to replace a pick these days is because you've lost the one you were using, or someone 'borrowed' it and it never came back. Most likely reason to lose a pick would be that it slipped out of your fingers while you are playing and you have no idea where it went. But thats not likely to happen either, or at least certainly not very often.
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Let me tell you, again, this is the winter of the wind. Perhaps that should be WIND!! We have endured more and longer Arctic Outflows this season than probably over the last 3 years combined. I told you last week that the gondola had to shut down on the 1st and the 2nd. Well, this week it had to shut down on Tuesday and half of Wednesday because the winds were blowing too fast for the lift to run. They were howling, the winds, not the lifts. Tuesday afternoon I always go in to Horseshoe Bay to hook up with my riding friends for dinner. It had calmed down to just normal windy on the way down but on the way back it was incredible. I don't think I've ever driven under such windy conditions. There were times I could almost not correct my trucks's steering fast enough to compensate for the blasts that were hitting it. At times a blast would hit and the pressure felt like the windows would implode. There is no way a cube van or transport truck could have stayed upright. I was expecting to see the concrete barriers down the middle of the highway start to move. Pretty wild.

I was going to be playing up at the gondola on Wednesday afternoon but by the time they were able to re-open it was pretty well too late. Oh well. This was about the 4th time this winter that I've been weather out. Its been pretty frustrating for them, obviously. Hard to run a tourist attraction when you keep getting shut down because the winds are too high for the lifts to run but thats how it goes. I do however have several gigs booked up there in the near future. Starting this coming Sunday they are doing their Sunday Socials which basically means they are trying to drum up more local business by having attractions and events that might appeal to the locals during the slower time of the year. This will happen each Sunday afternoon from now till mid March. I'm playing the first one, the last one and one in between. There are also some mid week times as well so its all good. Keeps me on my toes and gives me an opportunity to play my own music to the world, so to speak. Obviously I play as much 'cover' material as my own because I don't have enough of my own to spread out over 2 or 3 hours but thats ok too. I'd get a bit bored if all I played was my own stuff. I like to play other people's material because well, I like their stuff. So perhaps winter will lighten up a bit and life can get back to west coast normal. That would be a good thing. Or, we just might be spiraling into another ice age and end up under a mile deep ice sheet. That would be the pits.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

     One day I’m cursing the snowplow for dumping my neighbour’s recycle bin crap in my driveway and the next I’m eyeballing the wet mess that’s occupying the street due to the huge rain storms that have hit our region! How can you win? I guess it’s just a case of accepting what mother nature brings our way, that is except for the neighbour’s recycle garbage! I managed to pick up most of it and toss it back into the bin and the remainder of it I just dropped on his driveway ramp. I’m not sure who to blame for the mess, the idiot neighbour who placed his recycle bin on the street or the plow driver who neglected to bypass the bin as he plowed the snow? I’d say they both have their part in the mess. I finally found the remainder of the mess today after the rain for the past two days removed the snow that covered it! I was tempted to place a couple of 10” cement blocks along the curb to teach the plow driver a lesson but then he’d only have me charged by the city for damaging his equipment. Revenge isn’t always the best way!

     Back in 2012 Adam and I attended the Toronto Auto Show at the Convention Centre down on Front St. I’ve always been partial to pickup trucks and on this occasion we happened upon a prototype vehicle from Chrysler of what they called a Jeep “Gladiator” pickup truck. It was a very striking looking vehicle that was a mixture of old looking army Jeep with modern features. It was a medium/dark moss green in colour and had what I call an “extra” cab or cab and a half allowing the driver more room to put his stuff without having to store it in the box at the rear. It was a very rugged looking pickup and had a full sized spare wheel and tire mounted on the side of the box behind the driver’s door. It really looked cool and there were dozens if not hundreds of people gathered around to have a closer look. I’d say it was one of the biggest attention getters at the show. At that time, Chrysler had no intention of making it a production vehicle but was just toying with the idea of a Jeep pickup. They had produced Jeep pickup trucks at various times over the years since the second world war but had stopped production back in the 60’s and early 70’s. If you look online you’ll find that many “hot rod” enthusiasts buy up the old trucks and refurbish them with modern mechanical drive trains. They make great trucks but are quite difficult to come by in any sort of workable shape. Most are rusted out scrap by now!

I took a notion to look up “Jeep Pickup” on line last night and was quite pleased to find that Chrysler/Jeep has decided to produce their prototype this year and start selling them through their Chrysler/Jeep dealerships. They thankfully have not changed their design much from the beauty that was on display in Toronto at the 2012 show! Apparently they are producing the “Extra cab” model and might just add a 4-door model to the lineup as well. I am hoping they will consider building a diesel model with the drive train they are using in their Dodge Ram “Diesel” pickups. If so, it will make a nice addition to the Jeep line up. The new diesel Ram apparently achieves 30+ mpg on the highway and 25mpg around town. Adam has a friend that owns one and he says he actually gets the kind of mileage per gallon that Chrysler advertises! If they bring out a Jeep pickup with the diesel engine it might just be worth looking into buying one. I’ve always thought it would be a good vehicle to own if only a pickup would get the kind of mileage a Toyota Corolla does! LOL! Well, now they are starting to produce such an animal and if they put out a good looking and performing Jeep model pickup like this, I may just have to take one for a test drive once they are in the dealers this spring!

     If you want to see what I’m talking about, just go on line and Google “2017 Jeep pickup” and look for the best looking truck you’ve seen in a long time! I’m sure most of the men will agree with my findings but I don’t expect the ladies will find this weeks Ontarion too intriguing! Guess I’ll stop talking vehicles for now and try to come up with something interesting to both genders for next week!

Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion report!
Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
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Have a good one..
the doug
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