Layers Of Earth

So I have an idea. There are all kinds of caveats to it, asterisks and potential problems with it, but I want to share it anyway. Think of this as a big brush on canvas thing, where the devilish details still need to be fleshed out.

I think NASCAR could use a good “fuel war”.

Imagine a race day where there is no “official fuel of NASCAR”, but several suppliers. NASCAR would set a maximum emissions standard and leave the chemistry to the fuel suppliers. Suppliers and teams would have to choose between power vs. efficiency, between exclusive deals and flexibility. The on and off track intrigue would be interesting at the least.

But this fuel war would be more than simply an additional competitive variable. If properly executed, it would transform the sport and capture the imagination of the public.

The underlying purpose would be to fuel innovation. I’m not talking about hydrogen power or anything that experimental. The world’s reality is that fossil fuel burning vehicles aren’t going anywhere. Even if America at large changed its way of powering its transportation, there is the rest of the world. What needs to happen is development of alternative fuel formulas that can be used in current cars. And that’s what makes NASCAR the perfect testing and marketing platform for that movement.

As the governing body, NASCAR can progressively incentivise fuel companies to make better, cleaner adaptive fuel technologies (whew, that sounds pretty corporate speak). Seriously. All NASCAR need do is police the emissions. Then, they can even go to the point of using weight-reduction incentives to push the emissions lower. Say that the NASCAR emission standard was “X”. If a fuel supplier made a fuel that burned with an emissions level of “x -3%”, teams using that fuel could reduce their running weight by say, I dunno, 30 pounds or whatever. More strategies, more choices for crew chiefs and race teams. Could be very interesting.

The positives here are that NASCAR could go back to using motorsports as a test bed for innovation. That is what racing has historically been, from seat belts to anti-lock breaks. NASCAR could be at the forefront of “green” development, which is becoming a trend that the entire automotive industry is embracing. The positive publicity that NASCAR and the participating fuel companies would get would far outweigh the amount of money NASCAR currently gets from its exclusive supplier.

The downside is outright cost. NASCAR would have to open an emissions study lab and have a few chemists added to the payroll. All those aero template inspectors rendered obsolete by the COT would have to be replaced with other types of inspectors. But the key here for NASCAR isn’t to get into policing the chemistry per se, just the emissions.

The big cost factor would fall to the teams, one which would hopefully be offset by the fuel companies. Aerodynamicists of the old car age would be replaced on the payroll by more engine tuners and chemists and such. Again, hopefully the marketing positives for the participating fuel companies would warrant some spending that would end up at these teams.

I think that’s it in a relatively big nutshell. I know there are holes, incomplete thoughts and whatnot in here, but I hope it would bring about some discussion. Fuel wars… what do you think?

He is there, all brave on his bike at the end of 194th street. The run up to the ramp is, in retrospect, a bit long for the legs of a 8-year old. They will surely tire before he reaches the ramp, falling short of the maximum velocity necessary to complete the jump successfully.

But he is brave.

He is invincible

He is Evel Knievel.

Well, not really. He is me, George, circa 1974 or so. Like many kids with Huffy bikes, no PlayStation, and impressionable psyches, I am reenacting one of the many jumps of the iconic daredevil. This time, I really intend to jump far, not fake a crash like so many times before. I will touch the sky as I leap my bicycle over a ramp of plywood and milk crate, the world will slow down and Angie Dickinson will film me in all my glory.

And therein lies the problem.

Angie Dickinson, the buxom blonde bombshell of 1970s “Police Woman” fame, was there in 1967 when the real Evel bounced like a rag doll at the base of his landing ramp in the parking lot of Caesar’s Palace. She actually ran the camera. That famous footage of the real Evel breaking every bone in his body - that was her shaky camera work. A curse, the woman. She must of been there that day on 194th Street, because I developed one hell of a case of road rash in the ensuing moments.

One second, a ramp in front of me. Then sky. Then road. Then pain.

My dad cursed Evel that day as he bandaged my wounds. Thereafter, I was out of the daredevil business. I did however beg for (and receive) an Evel Kinevel Stunt Van for Christmas that year. My best Christmas present ever. Yes, EVER.

So thanks for the memories, Robert Craig Knievel. The 8-year old in me will always find you a hero, and the adult will always have a scarred knee to remember you by…

I hate when old bands reunite. Like when The Police reunited this Summer for an overpriced trip down memory lame (that’s no typo). “Yuck!” I say. I saw these guys in their prime, when the really fuckin’ ROCKED, in the Orange Bowl, with 40,000 people, presented by MTV, MC’d by Martha Quinn, opened by The Fixx - yeah man, that was the real thing. Now here they are, grossing more money as washed up old fucks, playing “Every Breath You Take” for the ten-millionth time instead of “Canary in a Coal Mine”.

I hate reunions. They suck. That is, of course, unless you are in one of those reunions. LOL!

Yes. Age entitles one to a few bits of hypocrisy now and then, damn it. Black Janet is reuniting for a show next weekend, November 24 at Alligator Alley. Jim Wurster called me, and we’re putting the band back together, man! Well at least for a night. The line-up includes Jim Wurster on acoustic guitar and vocals, Marsha Lewis (yes, the original “girl in black” is back) on vocals, John Papolardo on lead guitar, Frank and Dave (whose last names I can’t remember after all these years - sorry guys) holding down the rhythm on drums and bass respectively, and yours truly on keys and whatever else I can cram in. I don’t know how in the hell we will all fit on that little stage over at Alligator Alley, but we’ll manage.

Last night was the first rehearsal I was able to attend, and what a blast from the past it was. Everyone’s older, wiser, greyer and wider (except for Marsha, of course). Best of all, in spite of all the aforementioned lameness of old bands reuniting for a one off show, we sounded pretty freakin’ good. How good? Get off your lazy ass and come see us on November 24 and find out! For an added incentive for my drunken friends, Alligator Alley has our beloved DOGFISH ON TAP!! Now what’s your excuse…

REMINDER: Tonight is Shawn Snyder’s CD Release Party. I’ll be accompanying him. Check out his website at www.ShawnSnyderMusic.com for all the details!!

There is nothing quite like the moment when a project’s promise is fulfilled. Two years ago when I first met Shawn Snyder, I had no idea that an offhanded comment like “you know, one day you should come record at my studio” would become this. Yet here it is, empirical evidence that passion can be harnessed and resolve rewarded. In my hands, I hold a copy of Shawn Snyder’s new CD, “Romantic’s Requiem”.

This project began with some rough sessions back in February. What were initially demo tracks became the real deal, settled on through a comparative game we invented called “Soul or Phlegm?” where takes were evaluated and either kept or trashed. In some cases, entire songs were thrown out and later recorded during our Summer session that took most of August to complete.

The parade of guest musicians was seemingly endless, each producing it’s own magic most of the time. In most cases, these sessions were one-nighters where the musician would give us several takes which were then edited into a fluid performance. Interesting results came from this, with musicians who had never met each other melding their  parts together as if they were in the same session. This is particularly evident in the song :I Wrote Songs” where Aaron and Allison, who never met each other in the real world, weave threads of guitar and violin together into a rich, dark tapestry.

The final bit of blessed goodness was the intervention of Dom Flores. Dom is one of those musical masterminds who understands not only music, but SOUND. He took our screwed up, haphazardly engineered project and melded it into a fully mixed sound that really brought the whole thing to life. It shimmers, it sings. Best of all, it sounds like we kinda knew what we were doing.

What does it sound like, this Shawn Snyder thing? I say a mix of Paul Simon and Bob Dylan with a dash of soul like Ben Harper. But check out some for yourself. Here is the aforementioned I Wrote Songs as well as one of my favorites, Graduation Day (I have a MEOW solo in this one!). If you like it enough to support the worthy endeavors of a budding artist (and all around nice guy), email Shawn here and buy a copy. Or visit www.shawnsnydermusic.com for more details.

Also, make plans to attend the CD release show for Romantic’s Requiem on November 16… again, see his site for details…

….should be called “In Dulgent”….    

Seems as if my beloved Radiohead have run out of things to say, err, mumble. This band had a nice sonic progression going from The Bends through OK Computer and Kid A. There, they found the beeps and bloops hop sketchy “sound”, fell in love with 5/4 time and stopped evolving. The only progression, or REgession thereafter was in the songwriting, if one can call it that anymore. Songcraft, which was still present even through the most grating of production choices, has dissolved into cheesecloth - thin layers of itchy fabric covering the fake plastic shell of what used to be best band in the world.

Bah. Glad I only paid 2 pound 45 for it.

Of course, I reserve the right to fall in love with In Rainbows. Afterall, I did in fact hate OK Conputer the first time I heard it…