A Bit Loopy...

Ha. Funny. My little Garage/Punk, Punk/Garage band played a fiery set last night at a classic Chicago bar on Division St. I didn't break any strings, but my amp staring making weird sounds late in our set. Is that progress? I had my little tube amp cranked to the max, just a notch below smoking. It sounded pretty epic, and then well, it started to act up, it got a bit loopy. It was crackling and distorting, it sounded like a blown speaker, or a dying tube.

Maybe that place is haunted? Ghosts?

There is an air of mystery and fucked-up-ness at the venue. It's been around for 70 years, supposedly blues legend Buddy Guy played there and the great Chicago author Nelson Algren used to prop himself on the bar,  maybe worrying over a line, a paragragh, or a woman?  Strange things always happen to me there. One time, my boots got stuck the the carpet on stage, mid-set, maybe too much duct tape, or some mildly malevolent force? It was the oddest feeling in the world, stuck to the stage. I felt like I was melting into the vortex of hell.

I have to laugh. I am always at war with my gear. So yeah, my amp seemed to be sputtering, but we carried on, it just added a bit more color to the sound. This morning I tested out the amp, opened up it, checked out the tubes, took them out, put them back in, played along with a few of my favorite records.  The speaker, the tubes,  who knows?  Maybe operater error? All seems fine now.  Strange. A bit of a mystery there. Sound-Gremlins. Abusing musical equipment for fame and fortune.  It's a pretty cool way to go. Rock the Casbah!