Quote of the Day

"This is a beautifully presented example of narcissism at its highest level...she's a giant baby narcissist." -behavioral expert Scott Rouse, on NY Rep Sandra Doorly, who was pulled over for going 55 in a 35, and treated the officer very badly
 

AI Wrote My Theme Song

This popped up in my YT feed and while it caught my attention, since "bullshit" is one of my favorite words in the world, I knew that sadly it had to be AI. I thought there might be a slim chance that it was a retro/spoof deal, but I didn't think so. Obviously it would've never been recorded, much less released in the 60s. It's a shame it's not real, but it could absolutely be my theme song. You can listen to it HERE.

 I've been looking into AI's progress, at least what we're shown, for many years, and I knew that at some point it'd be involved in music to some degree, but I doubt I could've predicted this. I wonder how much human involvement there was...someone had to enter a program. I'm guessing a human came up with the name and basic idea, but I don't know that for sure. If not, then AI's been programmed with a sense of humor.

 AI sure did run with it. It sounds like it was recorded during the 60s, with the instrumentation and recording technology of the day. It's almost too good. I'm guessing the LP jacket is fake too, but there's even ring-wear on it. Dang...AI is good, I must admit. 

 Even though this is fantastic and I'd cover it in a band all day of the week, I wasn't happy to see AI get so directly involved in music that there's no actual humans in the mix, so to speak, not even pushing buttons on a drum machine. 

 Sure it's cool to add in some deceased vocalist's voice to a track or whatever, and it's one thing to replace humans with robots in a factory, but replacing them in music is a different deal. I've always said that when it comes to drum machines vs real drummers and things like that, the end justifies the means, but I always figured in the human factor to some degree.

 Like everything else, this came in increments, and I'm going to say it's part of the plan. It was a gradual progression from 100% humans playing music, to 100% robot. First came Disco, which some say was when the Devil really made his appearance, and who am I to disagree. Since people were dancing to it, they wanted the tempos to remain steady, so they started using click tracks for Disco records, and then it spread to all other genres of music. 

 These days most popular bands play to a click, even live. Back when I started learning to play it wasn't like that. No drummer wanted his meter to be all over the place, but if a song sped up or slowed down a hair, as long as it felt good it wasn't a crime. 

 As far as tempo goes, that's an area in which I'm lacking, and God's honest truth it's amazing that I even got away with playing in bands. I respect the heck out of drummers who have excellent meter, as all should. Having said that, music is an emotional thing, or at least human-created music is, and we're emotional beings, so when we're playing music, especially with drummers, there's a tendency to rush.

 Think about people clapping in rhythm at a football game. They'll speed up until it just sounds like clapping. It's a physiological reaction to being excited by the music, which makes us do everything faster. Record producers know this, so many times when a band is recording a song, they'll speed up the click track a few BPM for the chorus, and then bring it back down on the verse. I've always figured that the day I stop rushing the tempo (when I play without a click) is the day that music no longer excites me, and if that happens, I'll put down my sticks for good. 

 The first workable and realistic drum machines came out in the 70s, and record producers said, "Screw it...who needs to hire a real drummer?" I couldn't guess how many studio drummers were put out of work overnight. For many drummers of the day, the drum machine was the Devil, and I can understand. 

 Next came sampling, and then Autotune, which I think is the Great Satan. Now we're at a time where music is being created completely artificially. It went from 100% human to 100% AI, and this is the logical conclusion I guess. I don't know how it could go any further than to completely replace humans in music. Wow. 

 Well, this is interesting. I took a salsa break and clicked on a video by a guy I like. It was a thing where he was talking about random images he'd found recently, and it didn't say anything about AI in the title, but toward the end he was talking about AI in music, just as I'm writing about it. These little syncs are coming fast and furious.

 He was saying that he doesn't think AI will replace the "Rock Star," since we need our idols to worship, and even though he doesn't think AI can replace truly talented musicians and singers, he thinks AI will eventually replace about 85% of the bullshit Pop stuff, because AI can do it better. I'd have to agree. 

 I have to give AI credit...it wrote my theme song, and had it actually been written back in the 60s, it'd have been my theme song for most of my life. But is it a good thing or a bad thing? The jury's still out, but I'm wary of it, and I like humans in music. 

 I just started reading about this and I'll look into it more. Apparently they're doing a lot of stuff like this, and I hear they can do pretty much anything you can think of. I guess if they can make a song called It's Raining Bullshit, it must be true. I never thought AI could make me want to be in a cover band. 

A Wuv Story

I've taken a couple-million photos of my dog, and I've never captured him "smiling." This photo was taken the other day by one of my mom's nurses named Tammy. She and Mr. B have a thing going on, and it's really fun to see. I already know my dog is something very special, but it's really nice to have other people recognize it too.

 She's been coming over once or twice a week for about six months. The very first time she came over and I saw El Doggo's reaction, I knew at the very least she was an animal person, and most likely a sweetheart too. My dog is an excellent judge of character. He's not one to judge a book by its cover, but he nailed it with Tammy. She's a goodun.

 One thing that blows my mind is when one of my long-time friends comes over, and he's never met them before, he still goes nuts. He loves everybody he meets, but he'll give them the "family" greeting right off the bat, and it's happened every single time. It's uncanny, but he knows who's special to me.

 I guess he's reading my reaction to seeing them, but whatever the deal is it's pretty cool. A good friend came over a while back and he went berserk. She couldn't believe how excited he was to see her, considering they'd just met, and she's more of a cat person anyway. I guess he was reading me that time too.

 I know my heart rate went up and my pupils dilated a bit and my breathing rate went up; all the things we do naturally in those types of situations, and dogs are experts in reading their peeps. He knew that I've been into her, as it were, for a long time.

 Heavy breathing aside, the first time Tammy came over and Bert went nuts, I told her that from then on, every time he sees her he'll get a little more excited, until he can't contain himself, and at some point he'll start hollering like she stepped on his tail. Sure enough, she came over a few days ago and he went absolutely apeshit

 His tail was wagging so hard that it was moving his whole body. I was already trying to calm him down because I knew that this was the time he was going to start howling at around 120-130bd, and sure enough, he let loose. Bless his heart...he just can't help it. I've never seen a dog get so excited to see someone. It's so cool to see a dog make a friend. It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type, ha-ha. That's love if you ask me. 

 People who say that dogs' reactions are just trying to get food or whatever, and that they don't feel or give love, besides being presumptuous, and maybe a little too into themselves, probably don't have a dog, or at least not one like mine. Tammy's not the one who feeds him, walks him, loves on him day and night and all...he just loves her. If it's not love, what would you call it...wuv? Well, he sure wuvs Tammy and she wuvs him. 

 The only downside of their relationship is that she just started bringing him treats. Normally that'd be fine, but she buys those bullshit treats that come from China by way of Walmart, and I don't like him eating those at all. It sucks that I can't afford to buy ingredients to make more of my organic treats. If I have to buy some decent treats just for her to give my dog, I'll do it. 

 All those tainted treats coming from fucking China was one of the reasons I started making my own. She's really interested in learning more about the "natural" thing, so whatever I do I have to get her to quit buying those bullshit treats. 

 That can be easily fixed, and other than that, Tammy and Mr. B are a match made in Heaven. She actually confessed to me the other day that she loves my dog more than her dogs, and she says her dogs are very sweet. I told her that her secret's safe with us. We talk about how sweet he is, and how there's something different about him that just radiates out.

 Like me, Tammy thinks that there's something inside of him that's different from all other dogs. She said that it seems "angelic," and I agreed. I told her that I could tell from day 1 that he had Buddha Nature, and I showed her this fantastic photo of his first night with us. She went: "AWWWWWWWWWWWW! He does have Buddha Nature!"

 She loves it when he looks into her eyes. We've both known dogs that seem to look right into your soul, but this dog takes it to another level, and I love how she can feel that. 

 Like me she loves to see his tail wag at all the different velocities, from a "twip," as Charles Schultz used to say about Snoopy, where just the last few inches of the tail sort of flutter, to the "family" wag to a full-blown wag-the-dog wag. She said the same thing I say...too bad we can't harness the energy of all that tail waggage. I told her that if I had a tail I'd wag it for him too. I have a very special animal. He's very loyal to his people. Good boy!

4-Leaf Clovers, with Special Guest Gina

I've been talking about a curious YouTuber named Gina, who finds raindrops and things on webcams and calls them "intelligent energy beings" or some such. As I said, she does excellent research and comes out with some very solid and irrefutable information, but then she starts talking about "plasma webs" and things, which in my book damages her credibility. I don't know if she's just incredibly naive and has an overactive imagination, or if she's a "plant," meant to discredit "Truthers."

 I also wonder if she doesn't have a little bit of mania going on, because she's been going live at least half a dozen times a day, and posting more regular videos. She just now went live, and she was out in her yard picking 4-leaf clovers. I had to click. There's a patch in front of our building that's been pretty prolific, and I've been seeing them every time I look. This is a screenshot from her live vid. That's a nice one, Gina honey.

 I didn't think she'd be able to interject any of her interesting views into a video about finding 4-leaf clovers but I was wrong. She was saying that we manifest the clovers, and that we have to "become one with the clover." Hmmm. That might sound like total Woo-Woo, but who am I to presume that I'm intelligent enough to know the secrets of the Universe, or declare she's wrong, just because I think so. I do know a few people who think they're that smart, but that's another story.

 What I do know is that something is going on with 4-leaf clovers that I can't explain, and I wish I could, but I find them all the time, and often without even looking. It's like they find me. Part of it is because of my excellent eyesight and a strong pattern recognition thing, but it goes way beyond that. The thing with me and 4-leaf clovers is bizarre, and it's flipped a lot of people out over the years, including myself.

 How much did it flip people out? I'd say at least fifty times I'd be in the car with someone and pull up to a stop sign. I'd look out of either the driver's or passenger's window and spot one on the side of the road, and we're talking a minimum of ten feet away. I'd get out and pick it and get back in and drive on. It blew people's minds, and I didn't get it myself. There's no way that good eyesight could account for all of that.

 There's just a "vibe" around a patch that contains 4-leafers, and not all patches do. I can look at a patch from a distance and tell with about 85% certainty whether or not it has any 4-leafs, and it's happened way too many times to be observational bias, where you only notice things that reinforce a notion or whatever, and disregard things that don't. 

 As far as the idea of we being able to "manifest" them, I have noticed that when I find a patch that might have one or two, as the days and weeks go by the number will increase exponentially. The simple act of picking or pruning a plant can change its growth patterns or cause slight mutations, but I wouldn't think that picking the 4-leaf ones would make more appear. It's interesting, and again, who am I to say that I'm not manifesting them? I don't think I am, but I can't say I'm not. 

 Just for the sake of something to do, when I saw Gina's livestream and grabbed a screenshot, I went outside to look for one so I could take a similar photo. I was fairly certain I'd find one, and it took about three seconds. Maybe I should try to send this to her. I bet she'd dig it.

 I've been posting photos of some of the ones I've been finding lately, and a friend left a comment that made my day. I was so glad she took time to comment, because it let me know that there are others out there who have something going on with 4-leaf clovers. 

 She told me that her first husband passed away some years ago, but that it was the same as with me...he'd find them all the time, and they seemed to just pop out at him. He said that there was a different "vibe" about a patch that had 4-leafers, and he could usually tell whether or not there were any before he even looked. I hear you bro! She said that he didn't know how to explain it but there was definitely something to it. There is. 

 I just thought of a cool project with these, if I could pull it off. It'd take some eyeballing and exacting work, plus some R&D, but if I could do it it'd be badass. I could send one to my friend with the former clover-finding husband. She'd love it.

 The last clover incident was a couple months back. This sweet young lady who'd lived here for about three years was leaving and moving into a house. She was excited and a little nervous. As I was walking toward her to give her a hug, I looked down and saw a 4-leaf clover and picked it for her. It was almost like it was planned, and she loved it. Her boyfriend had never seen one. He loved it too.

 If there's two "clover whisperers" out there then there must be more, and I'd love to find them. Whenever I talk about things like this I always use words like "so-called" and "alleged," because I'm not trying to present this stuff as fact, only observations or opinions, but in this case there's really no way you could say that it's all chance, coincidence, eyesight or whatever, especially since someone else reported the very same thing. Sometimes I just know they're there before I know they're there, and it was the same for that guy. 

 It hasn't just happened once or twice...it's happened into the hundreds of times, and it's been witnessed by dozens of people. The people who saw me hop out of the car and pluck one, from 15' away were left with their mouths hanging open, and the reason for that is because it can't be explained by eyesight or anything else. Even with my eyesight I shouldn't be able to see a 1" clover from 15' away.

 I used to have hundreds pressed in books all over the place. So have I been lucky? I don't really believe in luck per se, so I don't know. Alls I know is that I don't find 4-leaf clovers...they find me. 

 

The Incredible Compulsions of a Narcissist

We all know what it's like to want something so badly that we're willing to take risks to try to get it, but narcissists take it to a whole different level. In this case the narcissist in question also happens to be a pedo, or as they spell it in the UK, which is where this sting took place, paedo. For those keeping score they pronounce it like "peedo." 

 There's a saying among medical professionals who understand narcissism- they say all narcissists aren't psychopaths, but all psychopaths are narcissists. The same goes for child predators...every damned one of those sick fucks is a narcissist. Again, only someone who has no empathy or remorse could ever even think about scarring a child for life just to get their ten minutes of sick gratification. 

 Their brains are wired differently than normal people's, which also explains the attraction to children, which to most people puts them in the very bottom layer of the scum of society...even worse than "unalivers." Having no empathy and being into kids obviously makes them less than human.

 It's incredible what people in this country are willing to risk to try to r@p3 a kid, but this creature hails from the Middle East, where they don't tolerate this shit for a second. They'll take matters into their own hands, and never get in trouble for it. We don't take this shit NEARLY as seriously as we should in this country, but that's not the case where this guy lives. They share the same view of these monsters as most do here- they're a waste of oxygen. 

 Part of the reason that narcissists/paedos take such incredible risks, and besides the fact that sadly, many of them never get caught, is because partly they get off on the risk, but more so they think they're literally smarter than everyone else on Earth, so they don't think they'll get caught, but more than those things is the pure compulsion. They basically can't help it. 

 Just what people risk in the US is incredible. Needless to say their lives are never the same if they're caught, and the only family and friends who'd even speak to them again are probably a little bent themselves. One thing about that is that narcissists ONLY care about themselves, and human beings are literally no more important or meaningful to them as a decent pair of shoes, and hurting a person doesn't bother them any more than scuffing that pair of shoes. Is that inhuman? Yep, but it's true. 

 Narcissists "friends" would more accurately be called "victims," and they tell themselves that losing "friends" doesn't matter, and it was their friends' fault anyway, and they were weak, etc., etc. The only problem for them is that they don't have anyone left to exploit if they run everyone off by being nasty.

 "Predator poachers" pose as younguns on the internet and then confront the people when they arrange a meeting with the "child," which is actually a decoy. They expose them on YouTube, Facebook and elsewhere, and hopefully have them arrested and charged. Many times they'll catch the same person twice and sometimes three and four times, which would indicate pretty strong compulsions, or in rare cases they'll do a follow-up, and we get to hear how their lives have changed. 

 When they tell the story, whatever bad happened was someone else's fault, and they did absolutely nothing wrong, and they were set-up, and they're not "like that," which is one of my favorite bullshit things they say. It's incredible that someone could be so utterly delusional without being locked away in a padded room, but they really are. They actually believe their own lies, which is truly spooky, and dangerous, and they expect us to believe them too. 

 Narcissism is generational, so sometimes the pred's family members will stick by them, but if they do they're narcissists too, and don't care about the fact that their child hurt someone, only that their child's actions will harm their reputation. Besides that, even their close "friends" (victims) will abandon them, and rightly so. I'd be completely crushed if I found out that one of my friends was a pedo, and as much as I might still care about them in some small way, I couldn't associate with them any more. 

 In a few cases their partner or spouse will be smart enough and brave enough to leave them, so they lose their relationships, but besides that they lose businesses, homes, cars and excellent jobs, and their futures are bleak, even though it's someone else's fault. If they're put on the registry, they're fucked.

 Nobody wants to hire a predator, unless they're a predator themself, especially if there might be children even walking by the business, not to mention something that directly involves kids, like being a teacher or a councilor or Scout leader or whatever. Until they get caught, if ever, they seek out these jobs just to have access to kids. It doesn't get much sicker or evil.

 People in this country who offend will often lose everything they worked for all their lives, but for Mo here, or whatever the fuck his name is, it's a different story. He should be a man and not beg and do the fake-crying bullshit, but I can certainly understand his fear. 

 Let's just say that Mo's future might not be bright enough to need to wear shades. I don't want to see anything bad happen to him, and I don't believe in adding more hurt on top of hurt, but it's a fact...Mo is fucked.

 The dishonor he'll bring to his family would be brutal in any country, but where he's from it's a big no-no. If he's lucky they'll just disown him, but it's not unheard of for these people to get stoned, and I don't mean with a bong. I'm 100% against that for any reason, but it happens. As far as dishonoring the fam in his country goes, they don't play. Maybe he should take up Jujitsu or something, in a hurry. HAAAIIIII-YAAAAAA! 

 He'll be swiftly deported, if not also departed down the road, and it's probably safe to say that there won't be any WELCOME BACK MO! banners at the airport. That's one family reunion he's not looking forward to. I can't imagine shaming my family to that degree. Luckily most people's brains aren't wired like Mo's. 

 One thing to consider is that the people who caught Mo are knowingly getting him sent back home to most likely a bleak fate, when they could let him go and not call the police. Are they doing the right thing? I sure as Hell wouldn't want that on my conscience, but if I were in their shoes I'd do exactly the same thing. The kids are the #1 priority, and Mo did it to himself. 

 There was a brief moment of comic relief, where Mo was pleading and saying "Allah" over and over. One of the poachers asked him if he thought Allah would approve of his behavior, which was an excellent question. It caught Mo off guard for a second, but he quickly went back to begging and fake-crying. 

 Even after they told him repeatedly that his crying with no tears was making things worse and that he should put on his big-boy pants, he continued to "cry" even louder, as if he did it long enough, they'd change their minds and let him go. What's that the definition of...insanity? I believe so. 

 Sadly there's no cure for pedos and narcissists. Mo's willingness to risk every single thing he has in this world...even possibly his very existence, shows how strong these people's urges are. The UK welcomed Mo with open arms and was giving him a quality education, and this is how he showed his gratitude. Disrespectful people are utter pieces of shit. Bottom line is that people like Mo are a waste of oxygen. Mo will soon be joining the dearly-deported. Best of luck with that family thing, Mo. Later!

 

Friended

I've said a million times that I've bragged on my friends all my life, and that even my friends talk about how cool my friends are. I've had some amazing friends, and my buddy Sam Wilson here is a textbook example.

 Sam's a great guy with a heart of gold, and you have to reckon that if he's standing there with a big-ass Remora stuck to his arm and he's laughing, he's probably somewhat of a character too. I went to grab a photo for this post, and I'd never seen this before. It made me lol. That's my boy. He's a trip.

 Sam's a drummer, and drummers usually make good buddies anyway, but he's really something special. He claims that I taught him everything he knows about drums, and while I appreciate the love and respect, it's not true. He was already playing drums well before I met him and he certainly didn't need my help to be good. 

 We played drums together a lot, even live a few times which was a blast, and I'm sure I showed him a thing or two, but most definitely not all he knows. I'm glad he feels that way though...it's given me something to hold over his head, and if I ever need a favor, he'll already think he owes me one. I'm kidding. If anything, I owe him for being such an amazing friend.

 We soon started hanging out outside of music, and we had some pretty serious adventures. We both had a slightly different way of looking at things compared to most people, and a bit of a twisted sense of humor. We weren't into hard drugs or crime or destruction of property or anything, but considering some of the situations we got ourselves into it's a good thing we made it out in one piece.

 They say that not being able to socialize with people of your general age group can be just as bad for your mental health as a drug or alcohol problem, and I believe it. I saw a friend last December I think, but other than that I haven't seen a single friend so far this year. 

 I have something else going on that most people never deal with, looking after my folks, and that can drive you off the rails, so I can't blame my friends for my mental instability, but I do know I miss them. It's totally my fault...I never go anywhere or do anything, so I never see anybody. 

 So in the interest of improving my mental well-being, and also because I love him, I texted him and he called me this morning. I knew I'd get a nice buzz from talking to him, and as usual I did.

 We caught up on what's going on...about two months ago he moved to a new place, actually an old house, but new to him, in a neighborhood where he's wanted to live for several years. He lives with his beautiful wife Liesa and their two cats. They live in the Sunshine State so I don't get to see him, but good for them. My situation hasn't changed. 

 After a while we got into some slightly heavier topics. Back in the day Sam and I weren't exactly Bible-thumpers and you could even say we raised some Hell, but we both believed in God. I just thought of this and I'll have to ask him, but I bet his deal was similar to mine in that he knew that the Rock & Roll lifestyle wasn't necessarily the way God would suggest we live, which is where freedom of choice comes in, so we didn't quit believing in God but we sort of shoved Him to the side. I'm just guessing but I'd bet so.

 Sam is also "awake," and I was thrilled to find that out. He doesn't buy into the bullshit, and the reason for that is that he did his own research. He's like me in that he wants to get as close as possible to the actual truth, the one that stands alone and always wins in the end, even if it's not what any of us want to be true. Jack Nicholson was absolutely right...some people can't handle the truth. 

 It's interesting that we both went down the same road, or "rabbit hole" if you wish, without knowing about each other doing it. We both set out to disprove all the stuff that sounded crazy, but we just couldn't do it. We realized that at some point you can't disregard legit information just because it doesn't fit our box of how we think things are. You can't "cherry pick," as I've been accused of, by someone who should know better. That's not my style.

 

 Anyway I was giving him my rap about believing in God, and if it turns out that God isn't real, then no harm no foul. We'll never be "saintly" people, and we all do bad things, intentionally or not, but unless someone is just an evil person, there's no harm in living your life as if God is real, and that we may have to account for our actions one day, that is if the biblical narrative is true. 

 It's not like you can't have any fun, or have to quit listening to "the Devil's music" or anything. Music is woven into our DNA and it can't fail to move us. God knows that. It's more about the Golden Rule thing, which seems to be way out of fashion these days. Neither one of us ever set out to hurt anyone on purpose, steal, lie like rugs, screw people over to get ahead and all that stuff. No harm, no foul. 

 I have to say here that Sam's brother is nothing like him. He's a self-centered asshole in fact. He doesn't believe in God, which is perfectly fine, so while he's certainly not a criminal or a bum or anything, he doesn't care much about trying to live a "godly" life. Sam's a sweetheart. He does believe in God, and he treats people way better than his brother does. Maybe it's just another coincidence, but I personally know and have read so many examples of this that I want to do a post about it. When enough "coincidences" pile up, according to statisticians, mathematically we must  take it as something besides coincidence. 

 We talked about how difficult it is to comprehend eternity, and how many people have a problem believing that our earthly lives are just a blink of an eye, and that eternity is the real deal, and again that's if the biblical narrative is true. Speaking of, the biblical narrative has been largely replaced by the "Official Narrative," and the very same people who'll question, or outright deny the Bible, will never, ever question the "Official Narrative." In these days of "equality," shouldn't they both be questioned? In the interest of calibration, we should question even our own beliefs. 

 Sam said he hadn't really thought about the "no harm, no foul" thing but he liked it. We had a positive exchange of ideas. I've never thought about the word "mentor" when I think about Sam...he's just been an outstanding friend, and I look up to him in a number of areas in which he stands tall, but I suppose by definition I've mentored him a bit. Sam has been my "grasshopper." That's cool, and I can say that everything I've turned him on to, and vice-versa, has been for the positive. 

 The cool thing is that if our beliefs are true, and God is real and there's an afterlife and we go to the good place, Sam and I will be buddies for all of eternity. Nothing could make me happier. Cheers bud!

 

 
 

The Road Not Taken

I've told bits and pieces of this story before, but for many years, except for a few very close friends, I never said anything about it, on the slim chance that it might make it back to someone who wouldn't be happy to learn what had gone on behind his back. It wouldn't be fun for anyone in any situation, but in a band situation especially, it could cause problems. 

 Back in the Bud Greene days we'd just signed on do some gigs opening for another band that had a bigger following that we did at the time, although we were quickly catching up. This is still relevant, to me anyway, because they're still playing, and they're huge. They've toured the globe (or flat Earth, if you prefer) many times, and if you've never heard of them I can almost guarantee you know someone who has.

 The main difference in our band and theirs was that they'd been together at least a year longer, so they had a bigger fan base. Other than that we both covered a lot of Grateful Dead and R&B, and played some originals. We shared quite a few of the same fans. In the "It's a small world" department, their keyboard player used to sit-in with us long before he had thoughts of playing with them.

 Music isn't a sport or a contest, but I thought we were a better band in some ways. I thought our choice of cover tunes was a little more interesting, and they started doing some of the covers we did; I thought our originals were more interesting and I thought we played with a good bit more energy and groove. A lot of our shared fans felt the same way, although they loved both bands. Our fans were incredible, and I know all bands say that, but many of them I knew as friends already, and some would become lifelong friends, and they're some exceptional human beings. 

Although the story is completely different now, and their drummer worked very hard and is now an excellent player, at the time I also felt that he was the weak link in the chain. Apparently the band did too, because after we opened the first show for them, they took me aside and offered me the gig. I was taken aback, and assumed that he was leaving the band, although I couldn't imagine why. They were trending upward, had a loyal fan base and were making excellent money.

 I don't remember which two band members took me aside, because I never knew any of them except for the keyboard player, who's a great guy and was fun to hang out with, but I asked them if he was leaving and they said no. They were going to replace him. I didn't even pause. I said something like "I'm really honored guys, but I can't accept," and that was that. 

 That's bad Karma, and it's just not right, in my book anyway. I knew that if I accepted, the money I was making would almost triple, but that didn't matter. A band is only as good as its drummer, and I knew I could fit in without much trouble, and have a very good time, plus I was already friends with the keyboard player, but I couldn't do that to the guy, even though I didn't know him from Adam, and still don't. He'd have been devastated, as I would've been if I'd been in his shoes. 

 To be fair there were other considerations why I might not take the gig, if I'd been someone who didn't care about taking a guy's gig. Like I said I thought we were a bit better in some ways, and I knew it was just a matter of time before we caught up to them in the number of fans, and in fact opening up for them exposed us to a lot more people. Plus I didn't want to hurt my guys either. Not that they couldn't have replaced me with a better drummer, but I think they were happy enough with my playing, plus they were my buds. We were also trending upward, and quickly.

 Obviously it was a huge fork in the road for me, and sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd accepted their offer. My life would certainly be different that it is now. It'd also have been different had Bud Greene stayed together, but since that didn't happen, I can only go by what I've seen them do, although I don't try to keep up with them, except for the keyboard player here and there. 

 I've never regretted my decision for a second, even when I think about how poor I am, and how money wouldn't have been as much of an issue had I joined the band. They've all got really nice cribs. They're treated like royalty, and famous musicians sit-in with them all the time. I'd certainly have enjoyed that. They've toured the world several times over, and I'd have enjoyed that too. 

 On the other side of the coin, two of the original members have gone on to that Great Gig in the Sky. I don't know the story, but I think drugs may have played a part. Actually one of our biggest fans started following them around after we broke up, and for a year or so I'd hear things through her. She said that they'd gotten to the point that they could have "anything they wanted." I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing or not, but that's where they were, and where I'd have been. 

 A few years back something popped up about the net worth of band members, and they were in the article. It said that they were worth between about $3.5 and maybe $6-million each. That's not mega-Rock Star bank, but it's not bad, and that was several years ago. I'm sure they've added to that total. 

 They're living comfortably, which is all I'd have ever asked of the business, but then there's the thing about a couple of them no longer being with us, and that's a consideration. It didn't really turn out so well for them, but for what it's worth I'm still here. Did I make the right decision? I think so. Rock on.