So, beyond my music endeavors I have a few other things that I enjoy passing the time doing.  One of them is something I’ve been involved with since I was a know-it-all 16 year old.  Ham Radio.  Or Amateur Radio.  It’s a wonderful hobby where I’ve had the opportunity to meet some great people, both on the air and in person.  I owe my career to being a ham operator.

I was part of the CB craze of the 70s when a bunch of us high school kids would congregate on a channel and talk all night long…about nothing in particular.  My dad got involved in it and bought a mobile radio for his car.  Dad was a traveling salesman for some time, and the CB kept him company on long road trips.

I always enjoyed trying to communicate longer distances with the CB.  I was thrilled to be able to talk to someone in the next county!  I also joined the local REACT chapter to assist in emergency communications.

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We all have favorite bands or musicians.  You know which ones I mean.  The ones when you hear of a new recording, you make sure you listen to it.  Back in the day, you would run out to the record store to get the latest “album” by so-and-so.

I thought it would be fun to list my top 10 favorite bands/musicians.  Mind you, they come from all genres and might even surprise a few of you!

So here goes:

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I was poking around youtube and came across this little gem.  It features Wally Peterman on the chord harmonica and a dear harmonica playing friend we lost in 2012, Mr. Jim Lohman.  Jim was one of the finest human beings I ever met and an incredible talent on the harmonica.  He will be missed.

Well, here we are wrapping up 2012 and looking forward to 2013.  It’s that time when we look back on the year and reflect on how the year was.  I think back and see how a storm named Sandy caused many of us to appreciate electricity alot more.  Our hearts go out to those that lost so much.

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As a child of the sixties, and having experienced high school and my early college years in the seventies, I listened to music either on the radio or I bought the record.  Now for those who don’t remember them, a record was a 12″ vinyl disc that had about 15 minutes of music on each side.  These were played on a turntable.  A cartridge mounted on the turntables tonearm would ride the grooves of the record and send the signal to your stereo system.  As time went by, the record might get worn or scratched and you would hear the occasional click and pop…or sometimes it would skip.  If the turntable was on a not so sturdy piece of furniture, or someone walked across the room, there was a good chance it would skip. Read More