Month: January 2010

What makes a band the band?

/ hsoi

Some years ago at a Scout campout we adults were sitting around the campfire, talking about whatever. The subject of bands came up, specifically trying to think of bands that did OK after lineup changes. Many names arose, and ones we struggled with the most were bands that changed the lead singer and still did OK.

Spike has a list of 9 bands that did better after changing their lead singer.

  1. Van Halen
  2. Genesis
  3. Pink Floyd
  4. Joy Division
  5. Black Flag
  6. Iron Maiden
  7. Journey
  8. AC/DC
  9. Survivor

Pretty good list. Reading that prompted me to revisit this question that our campfire discussion ultimately turned to:

What is it that makes a band a band?

Is Van Halen still Van Halen with Sammy singing? Maybe, but then how about when Gary Cherone took over? Or perhaps less volatile a discussion is Bon Scott and Brian Johnson. In both of those cases, the singer and frontman changed. Sammy vs. Dave was certainly a bigger change, with Bon and Brian being somewhat similar in vocal style. Then you look at Journey… Steve Perry’s vocal sound is so vital to being able to hear a song and say “that’s Journey” that since Perry left the band they’ve only been successful when they had a new guy up front that sounded like Perry.

So then if the frontman is so vital, is Guns-n-Roses of today still GnR? Or is it really just the Axl Rose show. Would Velvet Revolver be closer to say what GnR really is?

Look at KISS. The prime creative forces there were always Gene and Paul and that remains the case today. Or is KISS more about the other stuff than the music? Is what makes KISS KISS the make-up, the theatrics, and the merchandising?

Did it matter to have a rotating slew of drummers in Slayer? Or would Slayer be the same if Kerry and Tom left?

Was it right to end Led Zeppelin when Bonzo died, but yet somehow call Page and Plant playing together a Zep reunion? Or how about when Keith Moon died and now Entwistle… is Daltrey and Townshend and a bunch of hired session guys still The Who? Consider as well many bands still touring on the nostalgia circuit that maybe just have the horn player as the only “original” member. Is that still the band? Consider a band like Napalm Death where today none of the founding members are still in the band but by 1990’s “Harmony Corruption” a lineup solidified that essentially remains today and has come to define what the band is.

I’ve often felt that what makes a band a band is the creative force behind that band. Who are the primary songwriters? Who are the primary “expressers” in the band… meaning the people that primarily give the expression to the band, which could be the vocal style, could be the guitar sound, could be the drumming, could even be who is the one out there getting all the face time on TV and such (e.g. Scott Ian is Anthrax, or at least he’s the one keeping himself on TV and is the face most associated with Anthrax). For example, Metallica wouldn’t be Metallica without James and Lars, because it’s them and their creative drive and tension that makes that band. They could replace Kirk with another shredder (remember, Kirk replaced Dave Mustaine) and they have demonstrated they can replace bassists… but you can’t replace Lars and James and still call it Metallica. You can’t replace the Young brothers and still call it AC/DC. You can’t replace Steven Tyler and Joe Perry and still call it Aerosmith.

So what do you think?

Sunday Metal – Death

/ hsoi

I never was a huge fan of Death (never been a big death metal fan), but Chuck Schuldiner certainly was a pioneer of the genre.

I did find it cool how they progressed over time, with later albums growing more technical.

OK, so a .22 can be used for home defense

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

11 year old boy in Palmview, Texas (right along the border with Mexico) uses a .22 rifle to protect himself and his mother from a home-invasion. Story here.

The homeowner said she and her 11-year-old son were in bed when she heard banging on the front main entrance door.

She got up to check and she saw two Hispanic males men masks and armed with handguns walking towards her.

To leave your safe, defensible area to go investigate? That’s a judgment call. General rule is it’s better to stay where you are, arm yourself, call the police, and hunker down. But sometimes going out is what the situation calls for. And in this case, the situation revealed two Mexican males in masks with guns. There’s nothing in the story that says why these men were or might have been in the house, but for sure that’s a “up to no good” situation.

The masked man kept telling her to open the door and she would not open the door.

DUH! What was she supposed to do? “You didn’t say the magic word!” Geez….. 🙂

Her son had a 22 cal. Rifle and shot back at the alleged robbers.

The woman waited, opened the door, saw that the suspects were no longer there and called 911.

A .22 isn’t my first choice, but something is better than nothing.

Deputies said Border Patrol agents detained two Mexican nationals who were found in the area.

So, they’re illegal aliens. Not surprising, given it’s a border town.

Makes you wonder what the context was for this home invasion, and I’m not going to hazard any sort of a guess. For all I know the woman could be in the wrong as well. I point out this story because:

  • A .22 in the hand beats 3 violent criminals trying to bang down your door in the middle of the night. Sorry, no restraining orders, strongly worded letters, or a little understanding would have been of much use here.
  • A child had access to a readily dischargable firearm, and I guess thank God he did.
  • You have to fight to live.

New Hi-Point Carbine

/ hsoi / 2 Comments

GunBlast looks at the new Hi-Point Carbine.

About a week or two ago a flyer came in the mail from Cabela’s. That very carbine was listed for sale. And just prior to receiving the flier I been thinking about getting a Hi-Point Carbine. Yes, there’s a 20 gauge shotgun ready for Wife and Kids to use when the zombies break into the house, but one of these Hi-Points could be a lot more manageable for them.

Decisions… decisions.

Mandating Education

/ hsoi / 4 Comments

Bob S. has started a small series on mandated education for firearms. Post 1, Post 2, Post 3.

Then as I’m catching up on my blog reading this morning, I see this posting from Roberta X.

Given what we see in Roberta’s posting, it just feeds into what Bob was saying about government mandated firearms education: what’s the damn point?

Of course, I take a step back beyond just gun/firearms/concealed-carry education and look at government mandated education in general. Hey… I homeschool my kids. Tells you what I think about government schooling.

For those unsure of my stance, I think education is one of the keys to success in life. The more you know, the better you’ll do. Rarely is ignorance the better route. But mandating education? That opens up a whole ugly can of worms, mostly because no one is going to agree where to draw the line. Look at the mess of our public government school system and failures like No Child Left Behind.

In the end, those that understand the value of education will seek knowledge. Those who are satisfied to remain ignorant will do so. Best we can do is ensure folks don’t infringe upon another’s ability to live their lives.

More Knife Blarg

/ hsoi / 6 Comments

I was able to stop into GT Distributors‘ Austin showroom today.

I looked at knives.

I saw nothing that interested me. Well, there were some interesting things, but in the end the more I looked at things and compared things gosh… I just don’t think I’m going to find something that fits the need I want. If I really want something that blends better I’m likely going to have to go fixed blade. If I have to stick with a folder, I might as well stick with my Delicas (tho something a bit bigger and heftier would be nice, like an Endura). I’m still curious about some particular knives, like the Kershaw ZT 0200. I also am pretty sure that any time I go into a store that sells knives I’ll look at them and fondle a few and continue searching. I may find something some day, but for now, I think I’m just going to have to make due with what I have. And to be honest, that’d probably better for my wallet.

I also got to do some side-by-side comparisons of Aimpoints. Yeah, the Comp M4s is what I’d want. I’m pretty sure of that now.

Also looked at some OC spray. I’m wanting to carry some OC on my person. Discussion for another time.

Ignorant and Civil

/ hsoi

Due to my line of work I knew about The Project Triangle. In short, when it comes to the quality of your product or project, what do you want? Fast? Good? or Cheap? Pick two.

While composing my previous posting I found Wikipedia has an entry about The Project Triangle and of course I read it. In the entry it listed some spinoffs. One really struck me:

Nation’s populace: Ignorant, Free, Civil – Pick two.

I guess that explains why we’re losing our freedom.

Pick One

/ hsoi / 13 Comments

Was reading something this morning about “speed vs. accuracy”. The article was about not choosing between the two but striving to have both. I would agree with that. However, I still believe there’s ultimately one that can edge out the other for the top spot. Thus this post. I’ve got a list of things and am going to “pick one” and tell you why. This isn’t gospel, just rambling. But I’d be curious 1. what you’d pick and why, 2. if you’ve any other “pick one” situations to share.

Note, this isn’t purely a gun thing, so you non-gun folks are welcome to read on. 🙂

Continue reading →

Of course, of course

/ hsoi

Via referral from foo.c, I purchased about 600 used .38 Special cases off a guy. They arrived today. Threw half in the tumbler and by the time I was done with dinner so too was the brass clean enough.

I spot-checked my Lock-n-Load. Looks like it started throwing 3.7 grains of Titegroup instead of 3.5. That might explain why the last batch felt a bit snappier. I readjusted back to 3.5 grains and it seemed to hold steady there. I’ll try this load out vs. the previous load next time I’m at the range and see what differences I can perceive.

Oldest helped me out. Something about the factory-nature of it all appeals to him. It’s cool. Got to spend time together. Let him run the press for a bit. He’s coming to understand “the feel” of it all.

As mentioned previously, there’s one slot in the shell plate that refuses to come in line at the priming station. Actually that’s not the correct way to describe it, but it’s the way I’m able to keep track of it. The guy at Hornady told me to adjust the right pawl. So I adjusted it… I kept adjusting it…. good grief how much to adjust it before I’ll see a difference? And then I saw a difference. Every time the ram went up, things would jam. You see, the right pawl affects the advancing of the shell plate at the top of the ram (bottom of the stroke). It’s the left pawl that advances the plate when the ram comes down (the handle comes up). So…. I put the right pawl back where I started and started to adjust the left pawl.

Lo and behold, things seem to be working.

Unfortunately I didn’t have enough primers left (only brought so many into the garage) so I didn’t get to go through a lot of cycles. But I do think things are better now. Or at least, now I know the correct one. I’ll chalk it up to the Hornady guy not fully understanding what I was saying or that I didn’t explain it to him well enough (i.e. gonna blame myself before I blame him). Oh well. Learned from it. 🙂

Got about 165 more .38 Special rounds loaded. Hopefully that will be enough for the Claude Werner class next month.

The End?

/ hsoi

It sounds like Xavier is going to hang it up and close up his blog.

Given his reasons? I can’t say I blame him.

It’s a shame tho. His writing was always a joy to read. Some things would be simple and straightforward. Other things would be more composed and so eloquent. Little things like how he’d blog from his dog’s perspective or how he’d recount events from a night in the ER. Or even his more recent foray into the world of photography.

I just think it sucks that the vocal assholes are driving him to this. I guess those of us that appreciated his blog should have spoken up sooner, but at least we can speak up now.