Random rambling as I think back over the last week or so

The order of these points in this blog entry have no meaning.  I just wanted to get down some of what happened in the last week.  I am starting with the light hearted stuff and as you get further down into my writing it gets more serious.

My friend Jared Scharff was part of the band for Sting's Rainforest concert which is very cool.  Jared tagged me on some of his photos.  Some of you might have seen Jared if you watch Saturday Night Live as he is the guitarist in the SNL Band. 

Jared's station at Carnigie Hall for the concert below.

Lots more cool photos that Jared has at http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=174804&id=529801052  If you are not on facebook the link may not work for you but I did post a few of the shots here along with the two that Jared tagged me on.

Jared is behind Sting and Debbie Harry.  Under the head of his guitar is some of his 65 Amps stuff.

OK ... this is just a cool photo of Jared and "The Boss"

And I posted the above photo just because I think it is a great candid photo.

Jared plays a 65 Amps Monterey and Tupelo.  There is a cool video on the Tupelo that I pasted here.




It was a busy week at 65 Amps.  Wylclef's guitar player bought an Elvis and a Tupelo on Friday, guess he could not decide.  Michael McDonald was at The Greek and their bass player Grabbed an Apollo bass amp, Sheryl Crow was on Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon with her own London if I recall, and Katy Perry's guitarist grabbed a Stone Pony to take on tour.  Yes, busy week at 65 Amps and that does not even take into account the normal stuff that goes out the door.

Continuing on the musician front, Carl Verheyen made the official announcement that the Supertramp Tour will be in Europe later this year.  Info and dates at http://www.supertramp.com/  Many of you folks know that Carl is perhaps my favorite guitarist and I could care less whether he is doing his Supertramp gig or touring with his own band.  I just like listening to the guy play.  Lots more info on his website at http://www.carlverheyen.com/

I know a number of amazing country players and the name Carl Verheyen may not come to many people's minds as a country picker but ....



On June 3 the Carl Verheyen Band will be at Musicians Institute in Hollywood from 4pm until about 7pm.   A DVD may be shot at this show.  I will be there as I was for the DVD shoot for Rumor Mill.

Here is a bit more on Carl that looks into some of his other work.



News of Homeboy Industries - lays off most employees as financial woes worsen.  The economy takes another organization away.

Homeboy Industries, the venerable L.A. institution designed to provide jobs and counseling to former gang members, laid off most of its employees Thursday amid worsening financial problems.

Father Gregory Boyle, who started Homeboy Industries more than two decades ago, said 300 people were laid off, including all senior administrators. Boyle said he has stopped taking a paycheck as well.

"We cobbled together payroll since November," he said. "But it was not enough to save us or rescue us."

Officials said about 100 people will continue to work at Homeboy, including at the organization's cafe near Chinatown, which will remain open. Homeboy will continue to offer tattoo removal and counseling services.

The Times reported last year that Homeboy had an annual budget of $9.8 million. Its businesses -- including a bakery and cafe staffed in part by ex-gang members -- made about $2.5 million a year. The group needed donations and other sources of income to make up the difference.

Homeboy has also employed its clients in silk-screening, landscaping, solar power and other industries.

-- Hector Becerra

Another story last week - In a Job Market Realignment, Some Left Behind
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/In-a-Job-Market-Realignment-nytimes-3478891081.html?x=0
The last part of the story caught my attention - “Sometimes I think I’d be better off in jail,” she says, only half joking. “I’d have three meals a day and structure in my life. I’d be able to go to school. I’d have more opportunities if I were an inmate than I do here trying to be a contributing member of society.”

More misleading information. Read the last two of the last three paragraphs. One reason the numbers are looking better is because many people have had their benefits come to and end. I also mistrust phrases such as "adjusted for seasonally ..... " Bottom line, more people than ever in the food lines at all the missions downtown and a population increase of homeless who had homes only a few months ago. - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-claims-for-unemployment-apf-1468613804.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=

Over at Union Rescue Misson the activity never slows down.  The crew from The Sportsman Channel came in and served a meal based on their own thinking.  On Monday night's dinner menu at the Union Rescue Mission: tacos made from elk, deer, sheep, wild pig, black bear and antelope. For pescatarians, there were yellow tail, tilapia and tuna tacos. Vegetarians were out of luck. About 250 pounds of fresh game meat was donated for the feast, sponsored by the Sportsman Channel as a part of its national "Hunt. Fish. Feed." initiative.  More on this in a story in the L.A. Times at http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/topofthetimes/topstories/la-me-0511-game-meat-20100511,0,967757.story

Here is a behind the scenes look

There was a lot of support in email and on telephone calls for the folks in Nashville who lost so much music equipment, touring equipment, homes, property and the list goes on and on.  I expect to be spending a lot of time in the near future in a support role with a lot of these folks.  Some of my friends (many of them are in my friends list on facebook) were called in to help and many photos have been posted.

I spent a number of evenings in the skid row area of Los Angeles.  No matter what the news reports about things getting better I see the number of folks on the street and in line at the shelters and mission increasing.  More people are loosing their homes.  As people run out their unemployment benefits they are dropped off the lists of the unemployed.  This drops the reported figures.  The first wave of folks whose benefits are over are falling off the roles of the folks counted.  This makes things look better on paper if you believe what you read rather that what can be seen in front of your own eyes.

Below is a video from Union Rescue Mission about a cool fellow named Austin.  He is an Eagle Scout who took matters into his own hands, came up with a plan and ran with his idea.



Roof BBQ at http://www.urm.org/ with a lot of help from the folks from Wells Fargo.  Sort of makes me a bit more happy that they are the bank I use.

Wells Fargo Acts of Kindness Day on http://urm.org/ rooftop

It has been a busy week and there was a lot I did not cover.  On facebook I followed an amp through the final stages of assembly and test via photos and low res videos.  I talked about the stereo system at the shop over at 65 Amps on facebook, talked to a noted food critic on his quest for the perfect Won Ton Soup and we have plans to go to a place together to check out a few things.  I will stop now even though there is a lot more than went on last week.