this is my boo hoo weepy post .........

just thought i'de let you guys know that 40wattsun is done.

everyone has been real lazy, with the music and all the other band responsibilities. i've been carrying the weight and i gave the guys a piece of my mind last week. everyone was passive agressive and played angry and left practice not talking.

we all showed up this week and my rig started shorting out (stoopid crossover). i told those guys theres no use in having practice this week because without me they'll never figure out on their own how to count to 4. i told them i havent only been feeling like i'm batteling to get the sound i want outta my rig but like i'm batteling with them while i'm playing too and that i havent been having fun.

lets just say that, even after all the work that i've put in to what everyone else needs so that they can do what they do in the band, i'm not suprised that when i needed some help ... everyone was quick to just go home. i'm p.o.ed about it ... but not suprised.

my whole bass rig needs a complete overhaul. last night i played my carvin head thru a mesa powerhouse15 4X10 1200. forget all these small cabs i been using and piecing and patching together ... i'm getting mesa and using nothing but from here on out. that powerhouse 1200 is the tone, power and rumble i been looking for. everything else comes up short ... even the 2x15 i built.

dom just made sure that he gave me the call today to let me know that they all talked and that they wont be back ... is that supposed to mean they fired me???

we had a good run and had a good groove for a while. the band had accomplished a lot that i set out to do and i'm proud of that.

stuffs been flat for a while now. this is a good thing ... i'm gonna find some other different musicians to work with. i want to learn new stuff and move on to different things.

and i wish the guys the best.

time for auditions ... yuk!

I'm sure you have a lot more in your life than a "band" Mike....

and as far as rigs, I also just switched out my crappy Chinese SHS amp and bought a Mackie 1400i used for 150.00 off our sound guys since they switched to all QSC stuff.
BECAUSE.........
it was my fault when I bridged it I forgot to pull the 2nd channel input from it and I killed it and ran thru the PA for almost the whole show because I never thought to drop my BGW amp in the rack to bring with me. You should see the circuit board of the SHS...burned to a crisp !!! I pulled the toroidal transformer out of it and threw it in the garbage can over the weekend. The Mackie has all the wattage I need now, and will use it at our show this weekend coming up. ( I still have another SHS but it will be used for backup only )

as far as the 40wattSunn....is that your name to take with you?

That's really a bummer, both of you Guys.

Mike, I've fried a lot of gear myself over the years, so I definitely feel your pain there.

MadMike....Brother, what can I say? This totally sucks! I'm honestly sorry this has happened to you, Bro. But they always say that when one door closes, another one opens. Keep at it, and don't ever give up.

I had the same question as you did, Mike. MadMike, the shirt you sent me is one of my favorites, and I wear it a lot during our band practice. Does this mean I should burn it now? Because if those dudes you played with decided to take the name and run off with it, I won't support the name anymore. But if it's still yours, then I'll continue to fly the flag proudly!

Ahhh....good ol' band drama!

heres the way i look at it ........

i'm the only original founding member from 6 or 7 years ago. original drummer derek had the rights to it untill he decided to leave the project and i rebuilt it ... time and time again.

3 of the 4 songs on the demo were songs i wrote. yes, dom and shaun came up with the guitar and drum parts for what was recorded and they can feel free to use this influence in any of their music in the future, as i continue to recycle, rework and restructure stuff that i've been using from all the bands i've been in ... without blatantly stepping on someone elses toes. again, 6 of the ten songs in the set were my creation. if i expose a new guitar player and drummer to basslines from these songs, i'm sure the guitar parts and drum parts they come up with will not be the same ... and change my basslines as well ... they wont be the same songs ... and there will be new stuff.

with all the nonsence from the last 3 weeks, i really dont care anything about anything that travis wrote.

40WS had business transactions, conducted by me, and i have maintained all the receipts and paperwork. legally, i own the rights to the band name. i hope those guys have enuff sense to not try to continue to use this band name and we gotta head down that road.

if these guys continue to play, without me, i know for sure it will not be any kinda music that can be represented by a name like 40wattsun. they will need something a little more "metal band" name.

i dont think these guys will continue to play at all. they dont have practice space and they dont have the drive or unity to continue, based on my experience of having carried these guys for the last 2 years. they will all probably end up in other bands if they continue to work.

so ... 40wattsun is mine and i think these guys shud know better than to use it.

am i gonna put it back together again with new members??? maybe in a few years if i find another project in the meantime. if i dont find another project within a year ... i'll get back to work on this one.

so hang on to your shirt eric. i know ... they are nice shirts.

and to answer your question about having more in my life??? mike ... not really. what? my job? watching baseball? art? dont get me wrong ... ittl be nice to have some downtime; i did just buy this house this past year and only one room is done ... plus having some time for other adventures ... but i really just wanna be on a stage making music.

i also have some personal / spiritual work to dedicate myself to for a while. i havent really been living like the kinda human being that makes me happy with myself (there was a reason my bandmates walked) and its started to affect others in my life. i need to re - invent just who it is that i am (again). get rid of some personality traits i'm not too proud of ... work on some of the ones i cant get rid of myself.

i've made new equipment discoveries today ... but i'll post that in "amps" thread.

Man, it feels like a good time to start over. I know I'm in the mood to shed what I don't want/need and decompress for a while so I can take on what comes next. Not to mention maybe playing bass every once in a while!

I know how it feels having tons of stuff, but not really quite what you want. I'm thinking I'd like to give up a few guitars and things and I fried my 400+ the other week. What I'd give just to have a P bass and a 60W tube amp. At least I know what I want now and I can work towards it.

I can't believe all these tales of woe

at least with a piece of gear, it's not so "personal"

You Guys already know this, but I'll say it anyways. That's simply how it goes with bands.

yeah ... this IS how it goes with bands. i've been thru this enuff times before ... you'de think i was better with it. it always feels like i'm bumming about the horrible girlfriend, who treats me like crap, just broke up with me.

the gear ... i do kinda take it personal. i am usually the one who built it ... so i feel like i failed. again, its all just a learning process and i'm grateful for what i learn.

I totally hear you, MadMike. It reminds me of all of the family and friends I've lost over the years, so part of me thinks that after all of the funerals I've attended, I ought to be better equipped to handle the loss. And every single time, I realize that I still don't know how to deal with it. A bit drastic of an example, I realize, but I think you know what I mean.

I wouldn't take the gear frying so personally, Bro. As you said, it's all a learning process, and even if you did every single thing right, that's still no guarantee that it will be perfect.

Like the old saying goes, "that which does not kill you only makes you stronger".

Have you been hitting the wine again eric

Nah. That was posted before the drinks started!

Hey now! How did you get a hold of my senior portrait???