The Reconstitution of IM3

When H.O.G. asked if DNA was planning on attending the Bill Hartley Memorial, of course he said yes. When he asked if DNA might want to play some IM3 songs, well, DNA was hoping it wasn't too presumptuous to hope to play. So, it worked out. No practice, no group preparation, but what happened, whether it was aesthetically pleasing or not, was perfect.

Pictures and a Movie....

Here are some pictures from the show, courtesy of Patrick Houdek.










Dr. Kick Ass is supplying some video of the event. Until then, let me link you to a page on facebook with the video on it: This House

An Easter Story....

One day, not long ago, the Aimones
Annie Mr. Kamikaze
The Kids...
came down to visit DNA and family down in Metropolis. They had an Easter egg hunt. They ate lots of good food. They grilled out, and expressed appropriate awe over the huge HDTV in the living room. The next day, we all drove up to Mt. Vernon, or as we say, Mud Vermin, and met the Rodgers, Smiths, and Mayors crowd.

While we hung out, ate too much, and generally made unruly messes of ourselves at the local Fairfield Inn, around about 2 in the morning, Mr. Kamikaze and Big Mike and DNA ended up in one of the rooms, and Mr. Kamikaze rekindled an old idea we had to form a band, with just DNA and Mr. Kamikaze playing, and Big Mike in an easy chair screaming at people. All the songs we would play were covers, slowed way, way down. Molly, Big Mike's daughter, showed off her Audacity skills and let us listen to samples of songs like "Anna" by Trio, or "Stigmata" by Ministry at less than half speed. That night, we assembled a set list, and it seems pretty clear that we are going to play out sometime soon.

The moral of the Easter Story: Get DNA and Mr. Kamikaze drunk enough late enough on Easter weekend and they become willing to resurrect anything.

The Large Hadron Collider Is Some Funny Shit...

So, if you don't know about it, take a moment to follow this link to a terrific story and images of the LHC, or Large Hadron Collider. Go ahead, DNA will wait.

Now those are some pretty awesome pictures, really, and they just put DNA in the mood to laugh. It's hard to believe that we can wield such forces, yet can't learn not bomb the shit out of each other. With appropriate amounts of sarcasm and humor (read just enough to qualify for no copyright infringement on the images since DNA is using them in an artistic, comedic way), DNA presents

The LHC Funnies

Yes, DNA is a science geek.

Let the Pizza Eating Begin...

So, once again, DNA traveled for his work, and spent the evening in Chicago. Mr. Kamikaze and DNA ordered from Leona's.

On the LaRoma's Pizza Nirvana Quotient (LPNQ) the pizza rated about an 84%. It wasn't bad, but the thin crust was just a little too thin, and bit and chewed more like a flatbread than a pizza crust. But the sauce was good. The cheese was appropriately browned, and the pizza was a circle cut into squares. DNA thinks tonight, we may go for something completely different.

Hey Everybody It's Pizza Time!

DNA travels for the program at which he works. Part of the ritual of travel is to find a good pizza joint wherever he goes. A couple of weeks back, he went to Minneapolis, had a nice reunion with Max, Pat, and Suanne, and then made it back to the hotel. DNA asked the locals where a good pizza place was, and they recommended Carbone's Pizza.

The menu had some good pictures which reminded DNA of LaRoma's Pizza, which is possibly the best pizza ever made, a restaurant which has long since went the way of all pizza joints which were used to launder money.

Wait...you haven't heard of LaRoma's? You weren't in Carbondale during the too few years it was open? You never tasted the deceptively simple perfection of either the thin or the stuffed LaRoma's pie? DNA is sorry for you. DNA was lucky enough to be here when it was here, and some days, the memory of LaRoma's Pizza is the only thing that keeps all the inhumanity he wallows in worth enduring...

Carbone's Pizza had a thin, but not crunchy crust, with lots of cheese cooked to the perfect golden brown. The sauce was a nice mix of spicy, tomato-y, sweet and tangy. It was a circle cut in squares. In other words, it met all of the criteria of the LaRoma's Pizza Nirvana Quotient (LPNQ). Only one pizza has ever score a 100% on the LPNQ. That's a LaRoma's extra large pepperoni. You didn't have to specify a crust, because the extra large was only thin. It came with two 32 ounce cokes, served with pellet ice, which, if you didn't know, is the only way to drink a coke. It was perfection. Well, the pie Carbone's delivered rated about a 91%, and is as close as DNA has gotten to LaRoma's since LaRoma's went out of business. It was a worthwhile trip.


DNA also traveled to Buffalo, New York. Again, on one free evening, DNA talked to the locals, and was recommended Picasso's Pizza. The hotel staff gave DNA a menu, and DNA was faced with two choices: DeNiro's or Picasso's. A heavy-set, pizza lovin' girl behind the counter said between the two, she would go for Picasso's. DNA ordered a large extra cheese.

Now that looked somewhat promising, but when DNA opened it up and had a few slices, he concluded that unfortunately, the heavy-set girl at the counter appreciated quantity over quality. If this was "Western New York's Premier Pizzeria," as the box proclaimed, DNA could understand how chicken wings dunked in hot sauce was the quisine for which the area was known. Picasso's was certainly a step above Little Caesar's, but just a baby step up.

DNA should have suspected that Picasso's was going to be generic, when none of the menu items played up on the obvious art motif: You know, the box should have said something like, "Picasso's Pizza: A Work Of Art!" or on the menu, it should have had a section of specialty pizzas called the "Blue Period" or something like that. Instead, generic. DNA wishes he would have tried DeNiro's. Next time. Next time.

DNA also traveled to Chicago, and stayed with Mr. Kamikaze and his family. Here is an action shot of Mr. Kamikaze:

Every time DNA has traveled for his work, he has ended up crashing on Mr. Kamikaze's couch. But before that happens, we order pizza. DNA doesn't remember the name of the pizza place we ordered from this time, but it rocked. Mr. Kamikaze agrees that the LPNQ is the measuring stick by which pizzas are judged. This pizza probably earned an 85% on the LPNQ. DNA is on his way back up to Chicago next week. There will be a pizza joint or two in his future.

Every Time I See The Wendy Williams Show....

DNA is a nite owl, always has been. As DNA flips through the channels late at night, he always pauses on the listing for the Wendy Williams Show on BET. Every single time he sees this, DNA wonders for just a second what kind of a world it would be if the lead singer from the 1970's and 80's punk band The Plasmatics, Wendy O. Williams, had a show on BET. This is in spite of the fact that DNA has thought this same thought maybe 40 or 50 separate times as he has scrolled by the show listing, and in spite of the fact that Wendy died in 1998. Every time, he still chuckles to himself. He imagines an ageing Wendy, wearing a clear plastic shirt over a G-string, with two electrical taped "X's" over her nipples, saying something like, "Okay, my next guest is 50 Cent, who I'm gonna fuck right here onstage tonight!"















There must be some appeal to the juxtaposition of freaky, unpredictable and cool old white chick
on suave, hip, and cool young black TV channel.
Is it the absurdity of the farce, or dismay over the fact that it would never happen? You see, in a world in which BET exists, integrated programming will not exist on said channel. Integrated programming which appeals to a diverse population is not in BET's interest. In this respect, DNA almost agrees with the conservative social argument that specialized networks, programs, etc., which use race as a criteria for programming or inclusion are contributing to the racial divide, not bridging it. If racial unity and harmony were the goals of TV, then each network would have shows that reflect the actual percentage of diverse populations in America, but NONE of them do. Whites make up approximately 79% of the population; blacks 12% (US Census, 2008). No network reflects this. Major networks are almost all white. Networks that cater to a specific group are overwhelmingly that group as well. The marketplace seems to support separate but equal.

DNA can only wonder, when he dreams of a world in which white punk rock chicks host shows on BET, if, had Martin Luther King Jr. still been alive, would he have been dreaming of that world, too?

Basses DNA Has Loved And Lost

The Current And Past Basses Owned And Played By The DNA Vibrator.

Starting back in 1978, here is the first bass the DNA Vibrator played on: A Kay Upright Double Bass.

Then, in 1980, DNA saved its nickels and dimes and bought this beautiful Fender Jazz Bass:

It had the Fender for a long while. While it had the Fender, it got a generic bass and cut it up, but there were no pictures of it that DNA could find. While DNA was in college, it refinished the Fender twice, and ultimately sold it when money was tight. There was a time at which DNA had no bass, and thought about not playing music anymore. God would not have that.

Next, in 1988, DNA bought a Peavey T 40. It sucked, but it was only thing DNA could afford.


However, in 1989, after its student loans came in, DNA bought a super double kick ass G&L L 2000 bass. Here is an action shot, and then a cleaner view of a G&L that DNA pulled off of the web:


Then, for about 6 months, DNA became the caretaker for a terrific Guild Pilot bass, which can be heard on the "tim Our Leader" CD the Coolies put out (approximately 1991). Even though it never owned the Guild, it sure felt like it:

The Blue G&L was truly a magnificent bass. But it was heavy. As the Coolies all graduated college, the band broke up, and DNA sold the G&L to Mark Grobel, from the band Diet Christ. Couldn't have went to a better fellow. That was the spring of 1991. At that time, DNA had started building his own guitars. DNA's first, and one it still has, is pictured next:

This is the same bass, that years later (2005) The DNA Vibrator put back together and refinished in gold for the big reunion show it did. Here is is, in its new coat of paint:

After this, DNA made another bass, which it called the Liver bass, because its color was a metallic purple that in the right light looked like a kind of sick liver color. DNA does not have a picture of this bass, which it regrets, because although it did not have it long, it did play well. Then DNA made the green spider bass. Here is a picture of it:

This is the bass that the first DNA record and the last Crank CD was recorded with. It had a full P style and J style EMG active pick up configuration, which made it sound bad ass.

Then, in about 1992, DNA bought a beautiful Ibanez SDGR bass.

It had this bass for a short time. It was just a little too pretty, and frankly, couldn't compete with either DNA's black bass or its green bass. About this time, DNA sold it and the liver bass. In 1993-94, DNA saw and really liked this Samick 5 string, which it had until very recently:

The Samick became the back up for the black bass. On a whim, in 2000, DNA picked up this Les Paul bass:

It didn't hang on to it long. Traded it for some recording gear and an SR 16 drum machine. This has been the state of affairs for some time, until 2007, when DNA bought a new Traben:

So, for a few years, DNA's gear looked like this:

DNA got the hankering again in February of 2009 and added a beautiful Ibanez ATK bass and a nice little Acoustic brand bass combo.





DNA doesn't know why his wife loosens the purse strings sometime after April, but she does. He doesn't question it, but he does do some bass buying.

This year, (2010) DNA ordered one of these babies:

A
Schecter DV-4.

Unfortunately, this bass was/still is on backorder, and after a couple of months, DNA decided enough was enough. He ordered one of these:


This was a Steinberger Spirit with an adjustable drop tuner.

It arrived broken. So, DNA packed it up, and a few weeks later received another one of these:


It arrived broken as well. At the end of the neck, the fitting which held the ball end of the string is screwed into the neck wood. The wood was split along each of the screws. DNA did some reading, and found that this was a problem with this model. The real problem DNA had was that after the first Steinberger arrived broken, he called and had a long talk with the folks he ordered it from, and ask them to please inspect the next bass before it shipped, so that any obvious problems, like, oh, two or three splits in the neck, would be caught before it was sent out to DNA.

After that bass, DNA decided it was not worth tempting fate three times, even though DNA loved the way the Steinberger felt and played. So, instead, he ordered this funky chicken:


A Washburn Taurus T-24

What a nice little bass. It is light, smooth, reminiscent of a jazz in tone, and best of all, ARRIVED, and then WAS NOT BROKEN. Here is a picture of it at home in the living room:



After the Washburn, DNA found a great deal on a guess what, the Schecter DV-4 that he couldn't get from Musician's Friend, and not long after that, couldn't turn away from a deal that was just too good to be true on a Warwick Corvette Rockbass. Within a few months of that, he also found a great deal on a Fernandes Tremor Deluxe.

The stable was set for a little while. Then, he had an opportunity to trade the Washburn and the Ibanez for Tobias bass. Of course, he took that opportunity, trading way up the food chain. After that, he had the Fernandes, the Tobias, the Schecter DV-4, the Warwick, and the homegrown loaded with Alembics. This is what the cavalcade of basses looked like at that time:



Since then, DNA has added an SWR Big Ben cabinet to his rig, and painted them his signature color:


Not one to let a stone gather moss, DNA sold his Fernandes in the summer of 2011, and purchased a new Traben John Moyer signature bass, (lovin' the double humbuckers) and a Peavey Tragic pxd bass.

----------------------------------------------


DNA has his sights on one or two more basses. Yes, money from gigs has been good to DNA.

Finally, here is a concept bass that DNA drew up many years ago, but has recently gotten the urge to make. If DNA can scrounge up the time, it will make this bass:

So, now, DNA has its great old stand by, the first bass it ever made, a terrific Warwick, a beautiful Tobias, a great playing Schecter, a thick sounding Traben, and a heavy sounding Peavey. DNA's list of never-owned used to include about half of these nameplates. DNA has never owned a Rickenbacker, Musicman, Pedullah, Kubicki, Roscoe, etc. Maybe day, he will. Until then, this is where the bass page ends.

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