Monday, October 29, 2012

Mission of Bad Habit Enterprises



I am lucky in that I have no need for anything else.

No. I do not have any illusion that I am a good singer. Yes, I wish I were. It would make things so much easier for me. What I am is someone who tries to make the best of what I have.  And, what I have is a cheap guitar,  the ability to sometimes write songs, the desire to find someone to play the songs I write in public, and (I hope) a lot of time on my hands. And, the cover songs that I sing, I would say they come from a (however brief) part of my life that is important to me in that they tell why I am who I am today, and I want to see if those brief moments mean anything to someone else. Besides, I figure if someone that is no better of a singer than Bob Dylan (remember his work from the ‘60’s)  can make a gazillion dollars with his songs maybe I can learn to provide some entertainment for people from a sidewalk in downtown Megalopolis, America. So, I will keep working at my music. And, maybe someday I will have the opportunity to play for an audience that appreciates the fact that I at least want to use what I have to try to entertain them.

The best that I think I will ever be able to do, and all I really want to do, is make enough money to allow me to travel to work with my photography and music. My retirement pension is enough to keep a roof over my head, and to feed me. So, basically the breakdown of my income from my music and photography will go like this:
25% - to pay travel expenses.
25% - to buy business equipment, pay business expenses and grow my businesses of photography and music.
25% - personal salary for a better diet, luxuries such as entertainment, and an improved lifestyle.
25% - to charities such as Wounded Warriors, a child and elderly abuse center,  a cancer research center.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk
*****
The Red-tailed Hawk measures 18 to 25 inches at maturity.  Common in farmlands, plains, deciduous forest, and open country.  Breeds throughout North America. Usually 2 o3 white eggs with brown spots in a bulky nest in a tall tree, often on a rock ledge surrounded by large rocks. This buteo hunts it’s prey as it soars over open farmlands or prairie, or from a perch from any high vantage point. The main prey of the Red-tailed Hawk is small rodents.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Muscivora forficata)
Oklahoma State Bird.
05/05/2012: d.022_4258. Nikon D700, 200mm, 1/400 @ f/6.3, shutter priority, ISO 200.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

We Are Our Music



I hear some folks saying that Rock and Roll is dead. No, they have just grown older. Rock and Roll is evolving. It has been evolving, and ever since Elvis first stepped onto a stage country music has been a generation behind rock and roll in sound, look and feel. In the '80's country music sounded like the rock of the '60's. In the '90's country music sounded like the rock of the '70's. And, today we are listening to '90's rock on country stations. They are using the same guitar licks as back then. The only thing new, and the only thing that redefines it as a country song is the addition of the steel guitar and fiddle. The good thing is that it is played to an ever wider audience. But, music, almost without exception, is good for the soul.

In the '50's my brother used more Brylcream (a little dab 'll do ya)than my parents used gas in their cars. Actually, he went from waxing his crew-cut to the greasy glob of Brylcream. He wore a black leather motorcycle jacket from early fall to late spring. In the summer his cigarettes were rolled into the sleeve of his t-shirt. And yes, it was white. Remember "Grease". Remember James Dean. My brother, Pat, looked like Elvis Presley, and acted like James Dean. And, although my brother wore his pants 2" below his waist line his pants did not look as if he were wearing a loaded diaper. Gang fights were seldom more than 4 or 5 would-be hoodlums chasing 2 or 3 punks from another town down the street, and generally thankful that they didn't catch them.

In the '60's came the Beatles, and me. My parents no longer bought Brylcream. To this day I have never used anything on my hair but water. Beatlemania turned into an acid trip, free love, and some gal singing about some dumb White Rabbit. The  psychedelic light shows hypnotized the audience and the musicians. My eyes still see things that were never there. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and a whole passel more were lost to the drugs and booze. Free love made doctors rich from treating venereal disease. Everybody went to live in a commune. And, the hippies and politicians got together and lost the first war we ever lost if you consider the Korean Conflict as a draw. We are still on that losing streak.

God, I hate remembering disco. The beat of the music never changed. People were graduating from college, becoming teachers, and staying out of the military. They were so enlightened, and sickening. Thank God that didn't last long. But, someone busted their speakers at a rock concert, and punk music was born. Sic Vicious, Sex Pistols, musicians that were never sure of their gender. But, who cares. They were just pissed because there parents abortion did not take, and they were born.

And, then someone thought it would be cool to wear his pants like a convict. So, they dropped their drawers. Today, after every 3rd step they have to stop to pull up their pants. That's why the cops catch the bad ones so easily. And, they can't figure it out.

I started my music career at the age of 14 when my dad traded his Martin 28 D in, and bought me a Fender Mustang, door rattling, window breaking electric guitar. My music career ended in January of 1968 when I sold my guitar, got drunk, and took to vacations to Vietnam. Life took over after that. I spent the next 25 years with no music in my life. On July 4, 1993 I somehow landed in Fair Park in Dallas, Texas. I watched Sammy Kershaw, and a couple of other country musicians and a military band play that afternoon. That night I watched the rock group America, then Steven Stills, and the what was essentially The Eagles in concert. That night brought me out of the darkest years of my life. I was high on music for the next 6 weeks. And, three months later I bought an Ovation acoustic/electric guitar. Six months later I also owned a 60 watt Crate amplifier, a Fender Strat and a Gibson Les Paul guitars. But, that lasted less than 3 years before life took control of my finances. So, for 14 more years I went without making music. However, as of August, 2010 I am back at it with a cheap little Fender CD-140 acoustic/electric guitar, and a Fender Acoustasonic amplifier. I have written 20+ songs of my own, and I am fairly proficient with 70+ cover songs, and have an additional list of 200+ songs that I am working with.

Many of the songs I play are personal songs that pretty much describes my life as it was lived. And, that is what the best music is supposed to do. Music, with it's lyrics, notes, chords, instruments, musicians, and singers tell stories that pull at the strings that are tied to our soul. We are our music.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Defining My Retirement


Retirement does not mean dying.
*****

It is true. The best time to find work is when you are so busy you do not have time to look for work. At a time when I should have been out photographing local events I have been very busy working on another personal project, all summer long. Since my retirement from a 35 year trucking profession I have spent my life chasing 2 lifelong dreams that being in the working class of society did not allow me to do. Along with pursuing my photography career I am also pursuing a career in music. It is my plan to combine these two careers to enable me to travel, learn and enjoy the rest of my life. Life is short, and sooner or later everyone comes to the final decision of what to do with the rest of their life to make life worth living. Life is either a special gift from God or a random occurrence of nature. Whether it is a one time event for each of us or not cannot be determined. We can only hope and believe that it is not a one time event. Meanwhile we should make the best of what time we have.

Now that temperatures have cooled, and my preparations for starting a career in music is coming along at a good clip, I will be starting to try to get out and do more photographic work. I am, of course, revamping my life as a photographer. Although I will still shoot anything and everything that appeals to me I will specialize in 3 distinctly different areas of photography: industrial (trucking and oilfield), travel and event (especially music) photography. To that end this morning I will re-open my account with Pinterest to start promoting these specialties.

About my specialties: I spent 35 years as a professional over-the-road truck driver. You would think that with all of the traveling I have done I would have been shooting amazing photographs at many of the amazing places I have been too. Well, back then, I was not a photographer except in my dreams. I was a professional trucker, and I had a job to do. And, I done my job to the best of my ability.  I did not have time to stop and enjoy the places I passed through, or where I loaded and unloaded.  My job was to load, travel and unload. But now, I cannot be sure, but I think I will have time to do my industrial work as I travel from gig to gig with my music.

Three years ago I was forced into early retirement due to health concerns. In three years I have made a lot of headway in regaining my health. And, through all of it I have been looking toward the future that is drawing closer with every morning that I crawl out of bed. I am ready for it.

I would like to pass along one simple hint I would like to pass on to my readers. Get yourself a hobby. You may spend all of your life working at one profession while dreaming about entering an entirely different profession. Make your dream profession your new hobby. You may not be able to make the leap while you are pressed with daily grind of living, but I would like to urge you to continue to dream of your new profession. And, I would like to encourage you to work toward the day you can pursue your dreams. Nothing in this life can be totally guaranteed. When you have downtime on your job do not waste it. Use it to make yourself better at your dream profession. It will pay off in the end.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned
Copyright, 2012 - Keith Birmingham
4/4 time@ 120bpm

#1
Every day,
I listen to your stories.
Every day,
It’s the same old tale.
Someone else,
Has made you so unhappy.
Someone else,
Has caused your life to fail.

CHORUS:

Lesson learned,
My bags are in my truck.
Lesson learned,
I can’t stay another day.
Lesson learned,
And, it’s time for me to go now.
Lesson learned,
It don’t matter what you say.

#2
I’m so tired of all
The poutin’ and a whinin’
I’m so tired of all
The drama in your life.
Oh, Lord why,
Tell me why I have stayed here?
I don’t know why
I took you for my wife.

CHORUS:

#3
And, now time,
Time it is wastin’,
I must go,
I must be on my way.
I can’t stand,
To listen to your whining.
I can’t stand,
It hear another day.

CHORUS:

Lesson Learned

Lesson Learned
Copyright, 2012 - Keith Birmingham
4/4 time@ 120bpm
#1
Every day,
I listen to your stories.
Every day,
It’s the same old tale.
Someone else,
Has made you so unhappy.
Someone else,
Has caused your life to fail.

CHORUS:
Lesson learned,
My bags are in my truck.
Lesson learned,
I can’t stay another day.
Lesson learned,
And, it’s time for me to go now.
Lesson learned,
It don’t matter what you say.
 

#2
I’m so tired of all
The poutin’ and a whinin’
I’m so tired of all
The drama in your life.
Oh, Lord why,
Tell me why I have stayed here?
I don’t know why
I took you for my wife.

CHORUS:


#3
And, now time,
Time it is wastin’,
I must go,
I must be on my way.
I can’t stand,
To listen to your whining.
I can’t stand,
It hear another day.

CHORUS: