Dave Rat - Roadies in the Midst

Hotel Frogger 3rd time staying here this year, like a home away from home. Painless flight and I am quite adept at sleeping on planes. The only real excitement was when the pilot somehow felt that announcing the "we will be landing in twenty minutes" warning about ten minutes before touchdown, was a good idea. That sent all the flight attendants scurrying around really fast muttering things like "forget the headphones, get the passengers seated or we will have to abort the landing." While disgruntled passengers standing in line for the restroom reluctantly got herded back to their seats. Also I had the pleasure of sitting near an especially over zealous flight attendant that kept barking something about shutting off our cell phones while the engines were running, so in the back of my mind I reconstruct the series of events leading up to the 'no cell phone on' rule.

 

**** Big Important Meeting with Brilliant Airline Decision Makers****

"OK, I have called this meeting to discuss how we are going to deal with the proliferation of cell phones and electronics on airplanes. As you all know, if a cell phone is on, a plane could get lost or fall out of the sky. Also I am sure you are all aware that while taxiing around the runway after landing, cell phones could potentially mess with something but we are not sure what that is. Any ideas on how we can deal with this life threatening issue?

Arm raises

Yes, you in the back...

"How about we use the tried and true method called the Honor System? We could ask people to turn off their cell phones and then try and catch them with them on. That way anyone holding a phone would sometimes get caught and we could be rude to them."

Excellent idea, that will work perfectly, let's make that our policy!

Another arm raises.

Yes, you over there.

"What if a passenger forgets and leaves the phone on in their bag?"

Hmmm, I don't think that will happen, that is a stupid point. Security, can you escort that man out, I think he is planning on smuggling lip balm onto an airplane."

Meeting adjourned.

**** End Big Important Meeting with Brilliant Airline Decision Makers****

During the break, as I always do, I spent some time up at the Rat Shop, lets go take a look

That is Sarah, roadie in training putting up with the grueling day to day of working at Rat headquarters. She started as an intern with us, did the audio equivalent of boot camp by doing Warped tour as a main stage 3rd and most recently was the winner of the Rat Sound Raffle sending her and a pal to Aruba for a holiday. Plus she looks really cool driving the Rat forklift!

**** Ebay Update ****

Also during break, the responsibility of acquiring FOH theme decorations was a major concern. Sadly, finding Tiki items in November proved a challenge beyond the scope of my capabilities. Disheartened and crushed I drug myself up from the depths of apathy and had to think clearly. "If not Tiki, then what? Underwater? Hmmm, the scuba outfits may prove cumbersome. Mexican? Oh, that would be great, we could set up a tequila bar and have pinatas and invite Grier to run a taco stand, maybe get a horse. But horses go poo a lot and we would have to get a mighty big road case made for it. Hmmm. Roadies are kind of like pirates, crusing around the world looking for booty, maybe I could just drop by the local Pirate Store and see what they have. I guess I will give that a shot."

Hmmm, I wonder if this is the right place

"Excuse me, my name is Dave Rat and I want to redecorate Front of House with a Pirate Theme, would you perhaps have any pirate stuff around here for sale?"

And magical people I did meet, I love the pirate store and the piratesses were wonderful. They assisted me in my quest and if you are ever in need of piratey items check out http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=90228266 and http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=65273652.

Ohhh, I want a cannon!

Maybe for the US leg as I don't have a suitcase big enough to fit that. Instead I will just sing.

Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me.
We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle, and even highjack,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we're really a fright,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We're beggars and blighters, never-do-well cads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

The sailing off of to distant lands,

Dave Rat

Today I get to jet far far away. You know the feeling of anticipation, stomach butterflies and excitement that makes time fly and adds momentum to your life? Just the thoughts of far away journeys, leaving it all behind and the curiosity about what will happen in distant lands can make the doldrums of life vanish. Well, I don't feel any of that, at least not yet. What is on my mind is "Oh boy, the sheer thrill of hauling 3/4 of a million pounds of gear through gray cold wet trudging European winter." Though the tour does culminate in the amazing and beautiful city of Stockholm, full of life and beauty, it is currently basking in darkness.We will be arriving there within two weeks of the winter solstice, the festive naturally occurring shortest day in the northern hemisphere. The day of depression that every major religion has plugged in a holiday to inspire clustering humans to celebrate. What this means to us roadies is that we will be in Stockholm when there is about five hours of daylight and the sun rises sometime after 9AM and sets before 3. Well at least it will be freezing cold. I should probably bring a jacket.

Now that I think about it, though, I love Sweden. Vikings are kind of like furry pirates with horns on their hats! Did you know that in Sweden they dug a big old viking boat out of the mud in bay and put it in a museum? The whole17th century ship is huge and is in near perfect condition. I guess some 'king guy' wanted the biggest boat ever, had it built spending way too much money and then they paddle it out into the harbor and it sinks. Too big, oopsy daisy. Imagine that, some dumb ass guy wanting to build the biggest toy he possibly can. Oh, and that reminds me, pretty soon I get to go play with the big huge sound system, hurray!!

Here is a booty shot of that big boat called the 'Vasa'

And here is the dreaded start to a Euro morning I have ahead

And the misery of a past Euro eve

And a giant spider in Bilbao Spain, where we are not going this time

The determined to enjoy the adventure,

Dave Rat

eBay Auction Alert!!!!!, just in. there are issues with the Tiki decorational theme! Last minute changes still unraveling, will update you as soon as we know more.

**** Random Pondering ****

In my life, my experience has been that if I desire to achieve something and I stay focused on it, that inevitably over time, it will come to be. Though I do not always remember to do so myself, this concept somehow makes natural sense in a logical way, to me.

This morning I awoke pondering, slightly more clearly than before, that the world is filled with entities and organizations everywhere that offer or sell this exact concept in so many forms. Some offer a hand in guidance, while others choose to describe the methods so individuals can achieve their desired outcomes and yet others take on the form of powerful organizations that have hi-jacked it, branded it and and use fear to extort money from their believers. Regardless, the story remains the same. Pure, heartfelt focus on a direction or achievement will bring results over time, that is a given, in my opinion, like a natural law, like gravity. And just like with sound systems, anyone that claims that their way is the only way, is leading you their way not your way

People often ask me what type of sound system they should buy, even my dad, and invariably I give the wrong answer. Somehow the concept of "right" has crawled into the perceptions of sound when actually sound systems only come in forms of more and less desirable to each individual. Buy your sound systems just as you would buy your art. Buy something that you find aesthetically pleasing, buy something that fills the desired space. Spend according to your budget and desired quality, buy what makes you happy. The music that you choose to immerse your mind and the hardware chosen to reproduce it are as diverse as the clothes we choose to wear. Clothes is a good analogy. Most people are fine with the threads they purchase from a large chain store and add in a small bit of individuality with a mix and match. Others derive pleasure from seeking out the uncommon. Neither is better or worse and great music collection will be stunning through all, as beauty shines through. So when I said "wrong answer" I guess what I meant was that I do not give the answer that they want to hear.

Where as when it comes to putting systems big huge complicated rock shows, it is so much easier. Rather than being faced with tailoring sound to the complexities and demands of a perfectly unique individual, I am in the fairly straight forward position of pleasing the average. I can focus on the essentials rather than the idiosyncrasies and I shoot as high as I can at the clear 'window of sonic acceptability.'

Oh, do I sound like I miss road?

**** End Random Pondering ****

Adventure highlight.

If you are ever in Rio de Janeiro, I highly recommend jumping off of this cliff, with a hang glider of course and a local Brazilian in tandem helps too!

And when you land and look back up, wow!

The love to fly,

Dave Rat

Peppers did a secret show yesterday at the Roxy and seeing them do a club gig is always fun but this was especially rocked!

**** Living Room Reinforcement System ****

Today is 'meet my stereo' day. For the tech heads that like the specs, it is comprised of a 15" on the LF, 12" on the LF, 6" mid plus dual 3" mids, a 2" compression driver highs and a super tweeter for the ultr-highs. The frequency response is from 25 hz to an unbelievable 45Khz and every component has been hand selected to perfectly align and meld into a coherent and unified sonic presentation system. Whether you immersed in the articulation of the delicate high fidelity glistening and cascading toward your ears or drawn in and mesmerized by the connected fluidity of the rolling hypnotic lower registers, one thing is for sure, the sound you here will be unlike any other you've heard before, so let's start with stage left:

Radiating the lows is an unusual triangular shaped single 12" cabinet most likely about four decades old, made of thin laminated wood with a brown wrinkle finish. None of those features improve the sound but I like the way it looks and it has warm husky tone to it. When I purchased it and inquired about it's history I was told that it originally came with an old movie projector. It was really the only cool thing they had at the yard sale up the street, but for for five dollars I figured what the heck. So, I guess would make me the Decorator

Just above, please feast your eyes upon two small side by side 3" speakers originally from Bose system. I personally modified them by spray painting the outside black over the previous owners choice of white spray paint. They were designed to be full range but I put a radio shack capacitor on the back that makes it approximate a midrange. It and 9 of it's twin brothers were purchased at an auction from another much larger sound company that has since faded from it's hey day of admiration to a niche of insignificance. They were in a tub in my garage for a few years before I used them so I am the Utilitarian.

The little shiny speaker on top is a Pioneer ET-703 and is, in my opinion, one of the most incredible tweeters ever made. With a near flat frequency response out to 45K and a 1 1/4" beryllium diaphragm, it has the capability of high frequencies more than double what they say we can hear to. It originated as a demo unit maybe 15 years ago that I ended up buying or maybe they forgot I had it. It is the only thing in the system that actually was built to sound great and I have it because I am the Audiophile (hmmm, which type?)

The silver thing balanced on the pole is an old Shure 55 mic. It does nothing but I like the way it looks more than I like listening to Elvis who used to sing into a mic like it. I guess you could refer to me now as the Show Off but in some stretch of the term.

Moving left to stage right the lows on this side are handled by a single 15" speaker mounted in a wooden floor standing enclosure. I discovered it in an alley while bike riding with my daughters a few years back and drove over later in the day as the image lingered. Surprisingly the only issue with it was a torn grill and some bad wiring. Especially interesting is the coaxially mounted 6" speaker. I wired this up with some bits I had laying in my electronics box to be a mid range, though it was originally the mid/high speaker. I figure it was born in the 50's. It has a name on the speaker that I could spend time looking up but I don't need to know anything more than it seems happy in my home. Since it's big for home speaker, it is the Thrill Seeker in me that likes it.

The heavy thing plopped on top with four copper plumbing pipes holding it up is called a Jim Lansing 375 signature series by Ampex 2" compression driver. Jim was a brilliant speaker designer and this is one of his most legendary creations. Though she was meant to be mounted on a horn and was originally designed as part of a battleship siren, I enjoy her just as she is. Her creator's middle initial is B and went on later to start his own company using his initials JBL, a company you may be familiar with. She came into my life while on tour, I found her lost and lonely and saved her from a life discarded. She is not especially outwardly pretty but there was something about her that has inspired me to keep her in my life all these years. Perhaps Jimmette's presence is my Vintage side showing?

If you look carefully, you will discern a little black oval below Jimmette. That is a very precise sonic redirector unit that began it's life as leather cup coaster given to me by the Offspring and it has a little scull on it. Other than the fact that it falls down occasionally, it helps bounce Jimmette's sound in the general direction of the listener kind of. Sometimes I switch it out for the nearby wooden Babushka doll purchased in Prague, to change the dispersion pattern to circular.

Sweeping a bit back toward center I introduce you to the driving forces behind the sub sonic's of this motley crew. The black boxy thing is Jimmette's great great great cousin and plays the part of a self powered JBL sub woofer and adds the warm rolling vibrations to the sound presented. It was bestowed upon me as a thank you gift after I arranged a ticket to Coachella for someone's daughter.

The remainder of the speakers are supplied their pumping power by a BGW Model 85 rack mount power amp. In the 'live world' we used to use them as headphone amps, though it tended to fry the headphones. BGW was known for building some of the most robust amps ever made before being eaten by another company and fading into nostalgia. This fairly clean beauty set me back $ 50 at an auction last year of yet another sound company sold off as modern times has done to so many. With it's industrial heritage and blood line The 85 carries enough credibility make me the Professional.

Last and most likely least, dressed in red for show is an 80 gig MP3 player loaded with an eclectic mix of music that spans decades of diversity. It will play for days and someday I hope to hear everything in there. MP3's sound like crap, all of them but who cares that it is the first major step backwards in audio quality and it is the most successful format. I find them unlistenable at the standard 128K rip rates in headphones but miraculously they sound fine in my living room. In order to get the best of the mediocre, I found myself forking $ 350 over to Costco which is a very cool company by the way, you could say they are an anti-Wal Mart in their business practices. Why not an iPod you ask? LOL! That is a story for another day.

My stereo has no EQ, no special effects (well maybe inside of the red thing, but no reason to go in there), no dolby, no 5.1, no loudness button, no remote control and no matter what you do, you can never get the left and right sides remotely close to sounding the same. It was never planned out, just an ongoing evolution of clustering stories wired together with cut up AC extension cords and anything else I find around the house. Each item makes it's own donation to the sound with which I have no quarrel with, leaving me nothing but the sound of the music and a decision of how loud I want it emanating from my Lo-Fi unbalanced mess.

Gee, I wonder if I need some of those $ 450 wooden knob? Maybe that will fix the sound and make me happy

The already happy,

Dave Rat

P.S. If you were wondering where the turntable is, I keep it in my bedroom next to the scratched records.

Success is built with constant pressure in a chosen direction. When the mind set toward achieving the desired outcome is never given the option of doubt all that remains is embracing the time frame needed to accomplish the goal. In my life, that has been the recipe I use to create the things I consider successes. I write it here as much to share it with you as to bring myself some clarity in the tangled web of interwoven adventures, sometime in harmony and sometimes in conflict. Sometimes the task at hand can never be completed so working in a positive direction becomes the definition of success. Speaking of that, check this out:

If you are not familiar with Surf Rider Foundation and you have a moment, take a look https://www.surfrider.org/whatwedo2.aspx

The Surfrider's are fighting an endless battle a small gift to them is another step in the process of fulfilling our end of the eBay auction.

**** Sound Nerd Speak - Home Edition ****

In my constant quest for the holy grail of audio perfection, I leave no stone unturned. In the professional edition of Sound Nerd Speak which I have presented up till now, I have shared many of my theories and methods I follow or create to present audio at rock shows. Since I am at home, today we will take a step sideways and take a look at the other side of the coin.

There are many types of home listeners and we can drop them into a few useful categories:

The Utilitarian - Music is the goal and purpose, speakers are just a tool to listen, equally at home with a ghetto blaster or any set of speakers laying around, the utilitarian does not let the hardware interfere with the purpose, to listen and enjoy.

The Decorator - Similar to the Utilitarian, the Decorator adds in the visual aspect and speakers are chosen on aesthetics first. Heard and not seen is the motto and if seen, it better look good.

The Thrill Seeker - Size does matter and so does loud. The Thrill Seeker basks in the adrenaline rush achieved from incredibly loud heart pounding sound and usually has a favorite song that they play for every visitor to blast their socks off. The Thrill Seeker is not the favorite neighbor on the block.

The Show Off - Typically the Show Off does not really know much about sound reproduction itself as they are too busy remembering the useless details about how the tubes were made of hand blown glass and the liquid titanium poured speaker cones. More often than not, these details sound quite impressive when described and sound not so good when the music travels through them.

The Vintage - Like coin collectors and other humans that have chosen to live their lives in reverse by clinging to the past, the Vintage attempts grab a snapshot of some historical era and present it as superior rather than the relic that it is. Half the time they are right and the other half is just silly nostalgia.

The Professional - After scanning all available options, the Professional has come up with an interesting concept."If the record the CD using studio monitors, why don't I get studio monitors for my house?" Brilliant idea and definitely interesting yet one thing to consider though one perspective is that studio monitors are often designed to highlight the audio flaws and home Hi-Fi speakers are built to cover them up.

The Audiophile - Unlike the other categories, the Audiophile actually comes in two versions: Confused and not Confused.

The Confused Audiophile is basically for all practical purposes an idiot. Ouch, a bit harsh, please let me re-phrase. The Confused Audiophile is so passionate about finding sonic perfection that he/she (usually a he) has become totally and completely blind to common sense and logic. These are often seemingly normal humans that can be persuaded to believe just about anything when it comes to sound if you charge enough money for it and use un provable flowery sonic descriptions to describe the products.

For example this company sells something that you can buy the parts at Radio Shack for costing about 2 dollars and there is no measurement device known to man that could prove any of their claims-

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAM&Category_Code=VOLUME

of course if you are going to buy that you definitely need two of these:

http://www.referenceaudiomods.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=NOB_C37_C&Category_Code=VOLUME&Product_Count=2

because just like fancy lug nuts will make your car faster, wood knobs must sound better. And to plug in your gear, buying audiophile ac outlets for $ 75 of course make sense rather than the $ 3 version that comes with the house.

http://www.tweekgeek.com/product.asp?pf_id=OyaideACReceptacle

Hmmm, even if it was not a complete scam, I wonder if the entire rest of the wires leading to my house and the 30 miles of power cable is audiophile as well?

Not to mention people selling unidirectional wire as electricity travels both ways, true unidirectional would be terrible. Sadly and pathetically there are hundreds and hundreds web sites, store and thousands of products forming an entire industry that prey's upon the Confused Audiophile.

The Not Confused Audiophile - This is a rough place to be. Here you have a person that truly seeks great sound but has to navigate the minefield of deception and scammers that plague their path. Often products will be a mixture of false magic and technical quality leaving the Not confused Audiophile in a compromising position.

Next up "Which type of home listener is Dave Rat?" stay tuned...

**** Sound Nerd Speak - Home Edition ****

The angry at people that take advantage of the naive,

Dave Rat

For those of you just joining us, here is a link to our ebay auction:

http://www.ratsound.com/ebay_auction/ebay.htm

And the comments and questions:

http://ratsound.com/ebay_auction/Show%20All%20Questions.htm

The eBay auction exceeded our expectations beyond comprehension. It was announced on the radio in Portland and Northern California, it was a top pick on goofyauctions.com:

easily squashing "the carrot that looks like Paris Hilton" selling for 15 times the price:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160040787512&rd=1&rd=1

The bidding was fierce but a victor emerged and has staked his place in the history of mankind. The time line of : Weapons, Fire, The Wheel, Anti-Biotic's, The Telegraph, Advertising on a Roadie and Landing on the Moon will all surely forever be the markers by which mankind is judged.

The auction winner is George.

Not only is he the proud temporary owner of the Dave Rat and Scott backs for a yet undisclosed show, he also owns a sound company in Ontario, Canada called Crank Sound Distribution. Though I had no idea who the winner was till after the auction, here is an excerpt from an email I received from George in September:

"I have been involved in the audio & lighting business for almost 20yrs. Working with various outfits across the country. In 2003 I decided to start my own sound company & I could not be happier with that decision. I was partly inspired by you to do this & in particular by an interview you gave to Professional Sound magazine back in December of 2000. That magazine sits on my office desk to this day."

Other than the fact that helping to inspire people to follow their dreams and life passions is one of the most important things in the world to me, no big deal. I had a really hard time with accepting the payment from him but then the realization of how badly we need to redecorate as well as the importance of following through on agreements overruled and so ahead we sally forth into the future.

Sallying forth with a bit of a stumble that is. Unfortunately the bank did not recognize Scott the Lampi nor myself as Dave Rat neither Scott nor I had ID that matched Even after much pleading and showing of the blog, we were unable to cash the check causing a slight delay in the process. Since then we got it all straightened out and are ready to proceed with the adventure.

**** Begin Important Memo ****

Sent: Nov 11, 2006 9:58 AM
Subject: FOH crew memo

Attention All FOH Roadies:

First Please welcome roadie Lee to our FOH world as he will temporarily be replacing Nick the Fly for the upcoming Euro run.

As you all are aware, we will be changing out our FOH 'Autumn Motif' to a summer/tropical presentation for the upcoming leg. I realize this is a major undertaking and there are a few details that will need to be addressed.

1) At least for the early stages of the tour, tropical attire will be mandatory. If you are in need of bright flowery shirts, let me know and I can bring extras. Bermuda shorts and sandals are recommended.

2) As you are well aware we have a significant and extraordinary budget for the decorations nearly $300! Obtaining tiki items in london may pose a challenge, so please do your part by acquiring any relevant items and bring them with you. Keep your eyes out as this could be more difficult than you think.

Figure up to about $50 each should do it for solo buying and we will hopefully be hiring outside consultant Lyssa B for guidance with the remainder. Please forward any suggestions or ideas ASAP! In order to keep everyone in the loop and avoid cost over runs, it is imperative that you notify us of any billable purchases.

Do not forget to save your receipts and remember, the quality our FOH world is how we are judged, this is our FOH world, let's make something we enjoy and are proud of.

Oh, and as far as all that sound and lighting stuff, we can deal with that later.

Sincerely,

The Front of House Management Authority

*** End Important Memo ****

Well there you have it. Looks like the hammer has come down and we have a plan. With the eBay auction reeling in a whooping $ 406 we were stunned and laughing. We of course provide full accounting, copies of all receipts, cancelled checks and such as this progresses but here is our preliminary budget:

Total income: $ 406

25% to Surf Rider Foundation: $ 101.50

eBay fees: $ 13.84

Miscellaneous surcharges and handling fees: $ 0.66

Leaving us $ 290.00 for our spending spree!

The ready to shop,

Dave Rat

One of the most enjoyable parts of traveling as we all agree is without a doubt the fun we have at the airport. Especially enjoyable are the lines we get to stand in and meet new people with the common goal of making it through security. Another fun part is checking bags. Notice below roadie Daniel's excitement at having the opportunity to delicately repack his belonging neatly in the traveling enclosure with the assistance of roadie Lyssa. It is my understanding that the airline employee had informed him that his other bag was over weight. The other roadies in line had much compassion that we expressed by laughing at his plight before several other roadies had to do the exact same thing.

As painful as it is to see the cycle of life in action and compassion for the fallen lives that were lost in the hunt brings tears to our eyes, we must face the realities of natural selection and survival of the fittest. Look, there, just as you have seen on the discovery channel when lions feast upon a fallen zebra, I have spotted three roadies that consuming three burgers that were not fit enough to escape their captors:

**** Roadies in the Midst 101 ****

If you were struggling with the mid term finals, do not fret, you can boost your grade by signing up for winter school and performing one or more of the following extra credit exercises:

1) Do considerable 'sound research' by listening to music. For the advanced listener should you choose to partake, there are many perspectives one can take while listening. Typically the most pleasure is derived from 'immersed,' where you become lost in the flow. Other perspectives are objective, analytical, technical, comparative and on and on. One way of taking an analytical view is to have a set of things that you will listen for, perhaps: kick, snare, cymbals, bass, guitar, vocals in that order, would be a good start. Then as the song progresses, you mentally cycle through them doing a level and tonality check. How loud is the kick in relation to the other instruments? Picture the tone. Is is complementary of conflicting with other tones? Keep in mind that for this exercise, no judgment or musical preference is made. Purely neutral and tonal and volume. How do the results from the cycle of listening differ from pop to reggae to heavy metal to punk? Which typically has the loudest kick drum? Which has the loudest bass? How do the vocal levels compare?

2) Practice your 'meet a roadie' skills on random humans by introducing yourself randomly to new people. Feel free to do this naked if you are so inclined.

3) Avoid stepping in poo.

Complete any or all of the above and you will receive an A+ for semester1 of 'Roadies in the Midst 101'

**** End First Semester of Roadies in the Midst 101 ****

The rarely bored,

Dave Rat

I like to think of it as charitable gifting into the unknown, accidental altruism, the natural osmosis of items from a higher density (in my possession) to a lower density (worldly elsewhere's). Everyone else calls it 'losing things.' Like any skill, some people are naturally gifted in such a way to be better at it than others. I can proudly say that I happen to be quite talented in this particular art form and I am a master 'misplace-ist.' Losing passports, video cameras, back packs and my car every time I park it anywhere but my driveway are all merely mundane accomplishments that don't even phase me. 

This time it is something new, I am excited to say and perhaps a few of you were wondering as I know a certain Jane Doe was, "What happened to Detroit?" Aha, I have lost an entire city not to mention the day off preceding. Where did it go? Was it stolen? Maybe in one of my bags? Nope, I have looked everywhere and can honestly say it is gone. Just like losing a laptop but still having the power supply all I have left are a few snapshots to offer. So here goes:

The hotel bar doubles as a roadie magnet like a watering hole in the sahara:

And since we are nearing the end of the second quarter this impromptu shot can also double as the midterm test. There are 6 touring roadies shown plus another identifiable human.

Name 3 = C

Name 4 = B

Name 5 =A-

Name 6=A+

Name 7=A+ and you get a free Rat Sticker if you come find me at a gig!

Remember to use a #2 pencil and this test will be timed and yes, calculators are allowed.

The 'if we can't laugh at ourselves it just leaves us grumpy,'

Dave Rat