...life just keeps getting packed up by the minute, doesn't it?
At this moment, I'm still sorting out what needs to be sorted out for Ciplak (the FINAS issue never dies), sorting out administrative stuff, beautification, and other things at FYI that no-one really thinks about when imagining the 'glamour' of running your own company, taking on one of those editing jobs where you cut down a raunchy international music video for local airing, trying to sort out other jobs for FYI Films, producing tracks for other artists, sorting out the tour (which starts this weekend!) and other such silliness.
On top of all that, I now want to take up a new hobby: guitar-building. It's strange - I always need something... 'new' to learn from or be inspired by. Always. It's a strange addiction that I can't curb.
Turning to music isn't much of an option. The last great album I bought (and by great album, I mean one of those discs where listening to the whole album from beginning to end is more satisfying than listening to a couple of hte singles) was Green Day's 'American Idiot', and the last one before that was the Darkness' debut. Nothing has tickled my fancy since, leading me to back-track to great oldies like Nazareth (and no, 'Love Hurts' is not the only single these guys put out. In fact, I reckon it's their weakest when put against 'Hair of the Dog' or 'Black Betty').
Turning to movies isn't much of an option either. The majority of movies I've been watching are big-ass blockbusters, which are fun, but don't exactly inspire me to greatness (although last night I watched 'Brick' which was fucking cool, even though it kinda starts off dodgy). The last inspiring movie I saw was 'Hustle & Flow', and that was a while back.
Sound engineering? Theory's pretty much learnt. Anything new I can learn is only gonna come from experience, and that's gonna take me the rest of my life so it's pretty much a given. The thrill of searching for articles and information and books on the subject is pretty much dead.
Books? Comics? No such luck. I can only think of two comics I want to pick up: the new 'Fables' (which I heard was one of the interim issues) and the Garth Ennis run on Ghost Rider. I still find it strange yet highly ammusing that Marvel hired Mr. Ennis. Reading his 'Punisher' had me in stitches.
So it's time for a new hobby. And it looks like that hobby is guitar-making/building/whatever. That zest, that craving for information and knowledge is back. Unfortunately, it's also probably one of the toughest hobbies I could have chosen.
For starters, it involves woodwork. I was never good at woodwork. I don't have the patience for woodwork. Creative Design Technology was the one thing I got a 'C' in during my GCSE's, simply because I couldn't make anything I designed. I could design like a motherfucker, with blueprints, insane yet logical schematics, etc. But give me a saw and a block of wood and I can't even cut a straight line. Shit, I can't hammer a nail straight! Thankfully, (a) I'm not making an acoustic guitar and (b) I've got Alel of X-Cited Screamers helping me out.
The electronics, on the other hand, I don't mind. Always loved electronics. Always loved physics in general. The only problem during my education was that I was cursed with the dullest physics teachers in existence. Seriously. A long time ago I wanted to be a scientist, for God's sake (probably because of Back to the Future, the A-Team and Macguyver) and all these teachers pretty much made me destroy that dream with a large troll hammer.
Maths comes into play when it comes to designing a guitar, too: calculating tension, fret distance, pickup output, etc. Not too worried about the math.
Another thing that's involved with guitar work that I was never good at is painting. I can't paint for nuts. I can draw, I know that, but when it comes to painting the fucker I'm dead in the water. I know I'm not exactly painting the Mona Lisa on the plank of wood that will be my guitar, but even then. I don't trust myself with paint.
So why, God, WHY am I picking this, of all things, as my new hobby? Three reasons:
1. I'm lefty. Thus, I am left with only standard model guitars as a choice. To have those other, more interesting guitars will cost me a bomb (example - left handed Fender '72 Tele-thinline: 800 pounds, 200 pounds more expensive than its right handed brother).
2. I'm curious. It's my damn instrument, I should know how it works, godammit.
3. Why not?
I'm gonna be starting up a new category soon, showing a pictoral progress, of sorts. Which will probably make me lose some of my audience. Ah well.
