ruth's blog

The one downside about being in a band is that you can't ever go and see yourselves live.  The one thing I would just love to be able to do, is jump off my stool, come out front, join the audience who were dancing to our music and then simply pop back onto my stool again. When there is dancing doing on,I start bouncing up and down on my less than springy stool.  It is a pretty unforgiving stool and at times I've nearly taken out as much equipment as Sharon has the potential to do when hopping around on one leg.

Just had a bit of a frustrating day, studio bound. Been locked up in a sound-proof box whilst the rest of the UK population have been basking in Spring sunshine.    

My ever-faithful, rock solid Tama kit has stood the test of time, never complained, rarely let me down in any capacity, yet I can't say I have given it much TLC in return.   It's been nearly 3 years since I brought it back from the Middle East, covered with a fine dusting of sand.  It has been wafted with the odd duster from time to time, and on the odd occasion has seen  a few cogs turned in an attempt to do a bit of tuning, but nothing very serious. 

The human brain produces electrical activity that can be measured as brain waves (Alpha, Beta, Delta and Theta).  If your brain is producing lots of Alpha waves, you are likely to be in a slightly hypnotic state, like for example when you are meditating - not that I do that!  Alpha represents non-arousal, apparently.  The health benefits of being in an alpha brain wave state are a relaxed body and mind, lowered levels of stress and anxiety and emotional stability.

It all started with a seemingly innocent packet of crisps resting on the bar in the Forrester's Arms where we were playing tonight. 

‘Fancy a squirrel crisp?' said one of the bystanders at the bar.

 ‘I'm vegetarian' I replied with a sigh of relief.

‘They are chocolate and chilli really' interjected another.

Inspecting the packet carefully, I saw they were indeed chocolate and chilli.

OK, I thought - nothing meaty about that.

Crunch ..... Crunch.......

Answer:   Very lost!

Sharon, my passenger, will narrate our story of woe - when she's up and about, no doubt.  Perhaps she's still having nightmares about werewolves and vampire bunnies.

The 1st of January has come and gone.  What of my NY resolutions?  Well the gym one has gone straight out of the window, even before I got there.  However, I now have a plan to ensure all parts of the body get an improved workout without even going near a gym.

It's been one of those musically disastrous days. 

The music I played sounded like a cat was being strangled; the examiner clearly would have preferred to have had his hands over his ears and could do little else than look on in total bewilderment at this instrument rapidly turning into an instrument of torture.

I am cross with my violin.  I shall seek solace in playing my drums - they don't screech, are very forgiving and cause very little pain and embarrassment.