Well, after witnessing my brother get a ball attached to his ankle, it
was off to guitar shopping in the general Phoenix, AZ area.
There is just nothing for lefties out there.
Eventually we stumbled into a Guitar Center and were greeted with three
LPs - two new Standards and a `71 with soapbars, all priced at $1799.
Odd that the new ones were as expensive as the old one.
The salespukes had no idea what they had on hand, so I scouted around,
finding an Am Std Strat, an SG, and the LPs.  The first was Cherry
Burst, the second Tobacco burst.
I think they had to call the paramedics, because all I can remember is
that both of them played REALLY well.  I don't know what happened next.
Never got to check out the `71 as it was really high up.
On the way home, we had a layover in Dallas, where we met the invisible
Dave Taylor, who mentioned that $1799 was a nice asking price for a new
Paul.
Hmm.... maybe I can trade them a `vintage' Electro Harmonix Switchblade
for the Paul  :)
Picked up some new musical stuff:
Marc Bonilla:  shred d00d, lefty, great sense of humor, decent tones,
recommended (and I don't like shred).
Rutles:  great parody of the Beatles by Monty Python's Neil Innes and
Eric Idle.  Frighteningly close chording.
Georgia Satellites:  I prefer Dan Baird's solo stuff way more.
misc native American stuff:  great for relaxing, bad for water noises if
you have to pee :)
Queen Live at Wembley `86:  inspired playing and great personality, they
pull the tunes off very well live - who'd have thought they'd cover
"Hello Mary Lou"?
Queen - Night at the Races:  a great memory from vinyl, stunning on CD
Dream Theatre:  it would sound much better if the right reel weren't
SHREDDED and missing its spokes.
Doyle Bramhall II:  son of Stevie's buddy, former Arc Angel featuring
Double Trouble.  He's a decent player and singer, but this cd would have
benefitted from harder-edged production instead of Wendy and Lisa
(yuck).
In other fun news, I spent a few hours in a Mesa hospital in severe
pain.  Just two days ago, I gave birth to a small kidney stone.  Nothing
like IV pain meds when you have this.
None of the cars want to cooperate now that we're back, due to dead
battery or inspection woes, and it's COLD here.  I am moving soon.  I
can deal with 75 degree winters where you can actually see the sun, as
opposed to some strange diffused glow through clouds.
It's good to have my son back though.
 * SLMR 2.1a * There's not an original idea left in radio.
--- Maximus 3.01
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