Sunday, December 29, 2013

A New Year Brings New Plans

2013 has been kind a down year for me at least as far as writing is concerned. The new year had ushered in with thoughts of continuing to grow as a writer and podcaster and instead ended up being a series of ideas never fully realized surrounded by a lack of productivity. Now I know I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to being objective concerning my faults and successes but I really feel that I'm being honest and not over analyzing myself. There are so many things that I could have done better and the best that I can hope for now is that I've duly learned some important lessons from my results.

Some things were from a lack of preparation. These would include not investigating and then podcasting while I was in Peru for three weeks in the Summer. That ended up being an opportunity wasted and lost, however at least now I am armed with information for the future and feel that the next time I go I will be more than ready to make my thoughts turn to reality. All was not lost though because it was a wonderful vacation and I got to spend some quality time with my wife (as well as her family) and my son. Look for more in the coming days about that vacation. The food in Peru is wonderful and I really feel that within two to three years we'll be living there. Guess that means I need to get more serious and learn to speak and read Spanish.

My truck has been having problems and they only seemed to get worse as the year moved on. Right before Thanksgiving I took it to a mechanic hoping that all would be well. I was wrong. It turns out he was the wrong mechanic because not only did the problem persist it got worse. Luckily I found another mechanic (a good one this time) and not only did he fix my truck for cheap he did it fast and right. Hopefully the days of having my wife take me to work and then pick me up so that I could take her and our son back home and then returning to work to finish out my shift are over. I can't describe the feeling of once again being able to drive my vehicle when and where I want. Perhaps it's just a mental thing but suddenly I feel free again.

With my truck fixed I now have renewed feelings of positivity and hope and my intent is to follow through in 2014. I want to follow the advice of Steven Pressfield and stop letting my inner resistance win and leave me thinking "what if." What if I had actually done something I'd dreamed up in my mixed cauldron of a brain and let it stand on it's own? Be it a success or a failure the idea is to create and let the rest sort itself out, That is my plan for the new year. I've never been the sort to make resolutions when beginning a new year but this year I sort of feel the need. It isn't necessarily something to be shared with others but that I at least can recognize myself.

So there you have it. With a feeling that anything can be done I intend to write the stories, lyrics and movie scripts that have been floating around my brain for some time. I intend to make my plans for furthering my podcasts and gaining an audience. I intend to investigate my ideas for a t-shirt company and comic books. I intend to do a lot and the only thing I have to hold me to these thoughts is this blog. For myself and anybody else who reads it. It's a lot to do and fairly bold but it can be done. The only thing left is to go and do it. Let's see how that goes this year.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Ep 49: Not A Christmas Song To Be Found



Editors note: I messed up the track order and had to corerct it on 12/27/13 though it's still wrong on the podcast. What can I say, I'm an idiot sometimes. That's what I get for rushing.

It's Christmas Eve but this is not a Christmas music episode. I don't really listen to Christmas-type music, just not my thing so it doesn't get played here. It also isn't an end of the year favorite songs episode either because that would take entirely too much time for me to pull it together and time is not something I have a great deal of. Of course this week there were problems with the music and I had to replace a few songs but in the end I think it came out rather well. Don't take my word for it though, judge for yourself.

Gordon Gano's Army - First Song
Bob Mould - Taking Everything
The Skints - Out My Mind
Admiral Fallow - Guest Of The Government
Blue Peter - Same Old Place
Line & Circle - Roman Ruins
Molina Y Los Cosmicos - En El Camino Del Sol
Calexico - Splitter
Gina Chavez - Gotta Get
The Archives - One More Time

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly, new wave and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 048: Late Yet Again



Man, I've really been messing up lately. This episode was meant to come out last week even though I knew it would be late. But then one day passed, then another and another and it was clear that it wasn't going to happen. I have good intentions however that never seems to be enough. I've got stuff for my other podcast notmovingpictures (which is languishing more than this one believe it or not) for months. Anyway, here's another episode, hope you like it, not gonna bore you with the details of how it came to be. The music is good and that's all that matters.

Stevie Stiletto - Brazil
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Sons Of Cain
The Subways - I Want To Hear What You Have To Say
FM359 - When The People Check Out
Off - Toxic Box
X-Ray Spex - Let's Submerge
Stumpf AG - Bergvagabunden
The Chills - Wet Blanket
Flatfoot 56 - Son Of Shame
Sydney Ducks - Esprit De Corps

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly, new wave and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics 
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 047



This episode originally was supposed to come out on the 19th however thanks to a virus that my laptop contracted I was unable to make that happen. Now it's a week later but at least the virus is gone and this episode is ready to make you love music, okay at least that's what it did for me. I found the HAERTS song from the KEPX live concert podcast, the Beirut song from the HAERTS video on YouTube, the Divine Fits from there and the Nick Cave song from streaming a college radio station from Fordham University. The rest (old and new) I had stored away and it just felt like it was the right time to play them. That's about it, time to get this done and go to bed. Got a long drive ahead of me tomorrow.

Superchunk – Digging For Something
HAERTS – Wings
Circle Jerks – Coup D Etat
Beirut – Santa Fe
Divine Fits –Baby Get Worse
Magneta Lane – Wild Gardens
Ladyhawk – I Don’t Always Know What You’re Saying
Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Radio Radio
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – There She Goes, My Beautiful Heart
Slaid Cleeves – Hard To Believe

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly, new wave and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Birthday Blues? Not Likely Mate.

So today is my birthday. Forty-nine years ago I was foisted upon the world and it's been a trip. The first year we were married my wife threw me a big party attended by my friends, her friends and lots of people from church. About five minutes after I walked in the door I was safely ensconced in the kitchen with a friend or two where I remained for quite some time. The thing is, I'm not much of a party guy, not much of a celebrator. I'd rather do something low key like go to a movie and or hang out with my loved ones and friends. Parties just aren't my thing. Actually celebrating holidays period aren't my thing. When I was single I never decorated for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween or any other occasion.

I don't know why this is I just know it's what I prefer. Of course now that I'm married and have a kid I don't really have a choice. The house is decorated not matter what my preferences are and I get that. I want my son and wife to enjoy life and if that means I have to make repeated trips to the attic to bring down and put back up boxes then so be it. My wife did learn that it's better to just keep everything low key for my birthday and that since I'm not a party guy if she wants one planned for her birthday then she's better off having someone else plan it. It's just not a skill I've mastered nor do I care to. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do my best not to cock it up.

Oh, and by the way, I did make it out of the kitchen during that birthday party and actually talked and was sociable to those attending. I appreciated everything my wife did that night for me. I just don't want to go through it again if I can help it. I'm nobody special so it's just another day to me. Perhaps I should have been a Jehovah's Witness. Then I could have a reason for not celebrating (although it's a rather strange one in my opinion) but that's neither here nor there. Hopefully I'll get some rest, have a little cake and go buy something I don't necessarily need but just want. That's my idea of a good birthday
.
Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 046: Back To The Late 70s and Early 80s



This weeks episode comes at you fast because I'm under the gun to get it out in time. Tuesday kind of rolled up on me quickly so last night after getting off of work I started gathering the songs and that is when the problems started. I couldn't find some of them and the digging and searching began. At any rate, that's all done and the show is ready. All of these songs were important to me in high school and college and no matter how much they get played I still love listening to them. Hopefully you'll like it too.

The Clash - Tommy Gun
The Sex Pistols - Holidays In The Sun
Devo - Girl U Want
The Ramones - Cretin Hop
The Cars - My Best Friends Girl
X - The Have Nots
U2 - New Years Day
The English Beat - Save It For Later
The Police - Man In A Suitcase
The Specials - Monkey Man

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly, new wave and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Veteran's Day And Service, What Counts?


Last year I wrote a post about finally admitting that I am a veteran. Not that I was ashamed of it or anything but for me I always have tended to downgrade what I do or have gone through. The fact that I was not in combat somehow seemed to negate what I had done, even when friends and family would say nice things about my service. So though I gave up a chunk of my life for the 1st Gulf War, I looked at it as if my service was on a lower scale than others. Plus I'm not what I'd call a showy person, I'm not the guy you'll see wearing anything that would identify me as veteran nor do I go around talking about my time in the military. I know I did it and so do my loved ones and that's enough for me.

The thing I’ve come to learn after all these years is that service is service. No matter what your job was or the length of time you served nothing can take away the fact that you served. Does this mean that I think that all service members are now equal? No, I still put the combat veterans on a pedestal for what they sacrificed and what so many lost. However now I’ve raised the rest of us veterans to a higher level, not that any other veteran cares a bit about what I thought.

So yesterday for the 2nd year in a row I went out and took advantage of restaurants giving a free meal to veterans. It’s kind of hard for me to believe that it took me so long to get around to it. I mean I got out of the U.S. Army in 1995 and 2012 was the first year I really accepted a free meal? If you knew me at all while I was in college or in the Army you’d know that as a single guy (or separated guy living in the barracks) wherever there was free food I could be found. When you’re not sure where or when you will find your next hot, home cooked meal you took advantage of free food wherever you could find it. And I did that well. At least I've got that going for me.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 045



It's been three weeks since the last episode but I have a good reason for being so tardy. No, I wasn't being lazy, instead I've been sick. Well I still am not quite over it but almost. The very day I put up episode 044 was the day it hit me hard, I even missed work because of it and still have no idea of exactly what I had. In addition my wife and son were also sick so you can see what I've been doing. At any rate I'm well enough now to return to my podcasting ways.

I get this podcast called The Current Song Of The Day that comes from a Minnesota public radio station (The Current). Basically they give you the best new, independent and unreleased songs. If you go to www.thecurrent.org you will find that you can download these songs as well. A few days ago I really liked the song of the day so I went to the website and poked around and before you know it I had six songs. I decided to include the Clutch and Avenged Sevenfold (listen closely, I mangle their name on the podcast) and then yesterday there was another song of the day that I like so all I had to do was add the Downtown Struts and the episode was complete. Do yourself a favor and check out The Current. I can't say I like all of the bands on there but I like enough. Where else can a guy like me find cool music for free? That's what I thought.

Noah And The Whale - All Through The Night   
Bare The Traveler – Weedle   
The Wallies – Subtle Romance
Wampire – Trains  
Best Coast – This Lonely Morning
Typesetter – Hell Is Cold    
Downtown Struts – Anchors  
Brilliant Beast – A Child On Fire   
Clutch – Crucial Velocity     Earth Rocker 2013
Avenged Sevenfold – Shepherd Of Fire    

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly, new wave and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Old episodes can be found by searching for Ten For Tuesday at www.archive.org.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 044



For this episode I first came up with the middle group of songs and then added from there. I became aware of The Dopamines and Rumspringer from the Kpunk podcast. The Peter Hook song was already sitting there waiting to be used. Avenged Sevenfold came from a friend on Facebook and they are a band I've overlooked before but I like the song so there they stayed. The last song added was this very catchy one by Superchunk that I got after seeing the video for it. rock. So it came together rather quickly and is mainly a rock, metal and punk show and I hope it resonates as it did for me.

Superchunk - Crossed Wires
Peter Hook - Pictures In My Mind
Bob Mould - Spiraling Down
Newsted - ...As The Crow Flies
Avenged Sevenfold - Hail To The King
The Evidence - Crossing The Rubicon
Helmet - Seeing Eye Dog
The Dopamines - 10 Stories
Rumspringer - Killer Boots, Man
Redd Kross - Choose To Play

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Lyrics And Lunch, Is It Podcast TIme?

I came up with a few lines last night after I came home from work. Not enough for a song unless it's a rather short one but that's okay. Maybe Tommy can flesh it out. Strange how I can go for weeks with nothing moving me to write and suddenly I get sparked into creativity and it seems to flow forth. I'll take it for as long as it lasts.

Talking head with a machine gun mouth
Drive by spraying innocents with hatred
Taking aim out of context
It doesn't matter you don't believe it anyway

Bobbleheaded yes men so quick to agree
Who knew the populace has such hostility
Believe what you hear not what you learn
Deceived and seduced by false piety

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with Tommy, Henry and Jimmie, the three guys that I went to see Journey with in Oklahoma City back in 1983. I'm leaning towards taking my recorder and using what we talk about as an episode of notmovingpictures whether they realize it or not. That podcast certainly needs the content. Henry is coming from out of state and he and I pledged Sig Tau together back in the day. We didn't always get along perfectly but you know what? None of that junk matters anymore. We're a bunch of old guys who have a lot of history. Bobby's death and funeral certainly put that all into perspective.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Answering The Call

Right. So I came home last night and as I wound down by surfing the internet (this is pretty much standard operating procedure for me) I somehow linked over to an interview that had been done with Michael Been, the singer/bassist for the band The Call. The interviewer was talking about how with Been's music you were left wondering if his lyrics were about God, a woman or the dichotomy that existed with wanting both in your life. I felt inspired and didn't even finish reading the interview. Instead I decided to try to write in a similar vein. Now, Tommy and I do already tend to write rather ambiguously about our subject matter so it wouldn't be much of a stretch except for the fact that I usually don't write about personal things like love, lust and so forth.

After an initial burst of creativity I backed off and finished reading a book that I had and then was drawn back to what I had started. What followed was a process of me writing and revising as I recognized the lines that I didn't like or felt as if they didn't fit. After about forty-five minutes of this I was done and I posted the results on my Facebook account. After doing so though I realized that I wasn't finished after all and ended up editing it all over again and adding two final lines. As much as I like this now I know that when Tommy sinks his brain into it there will be change and perhaps it will be drastic. He has a tendency to see through my hyperbole and draw out the core ideas and help sharpen them. That's if he feels this is something that will fit with the band. So that's the plan at least. You tell me if it's any good.

           The Call

Bring me up the right way
Teach me about what is wrong
Straining for a little glimpse
These battle hymns are just a song

Build me up then let me down
My conflicting emotions rage inside
Set my heart on fire with a look
Tell me rules in which we have to abide

I still need you in my life
You help keep my feet on the path
The friction's burning up my mind
How long until I feel the crash

That smile has filled my dreams
My lust for learning still grows
Drawn closer by shared feelings
Kept apart by what we know

I turn to you in best of times
Then away when in distress
Will you give me what I need
Will I earn only nothingness

The left and the right can't agree
What future remains for my humanity
I no longer believe in what they say
The glory boys still preach insanity

Every place I go every face I see
Yearns to draw you closer to me

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 043



This is another of those Ipod podcasts. I'm not trying to be so silly as if to make everybody believe that I just turned it on and hit shuffle and these ten songs came up in this order. No, several of them did and I wrote them down, then I'd skip a few for various reasons like I've already played them on Ten For Tuesday before or they just didn't seem to fit. Pretty soon I had the ten songs and the order of procession came rather quickly afterwards. I actually had the entire thing done and ready to upload by at least four days ahead of time. That never happens. As for the next episode, well I've already got nine songs selected and am waiting for a tenth to make itself known. Strange feeling, this being ahead of the game. On to the music:

Bad Religion - Only Rain
Rat City Riot - Signs Of Distress
Chris Murray & The Slackers - Rastaman Rock
Radio 4 - Everything's In Question
Jaya The Cat - Two Ships Passing
Matt Mays & El Torpedo - Ain't So Heavy
Sugar - Believe What You're Saying
Paul Westerberg - Waiting On Somebody
School Of Fish - Unrecognizable
The Godfathers - Cause I Said So

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Friday, October 4, 2013

New Lyrics/Poem - Starting All Over

Here's something I wrote yesterday but I guarantee that it isn't about what most people will think it's about. I've been in a pretty dark place in my head lately as I contemplate life and it's problems that always seem to crop up but I'm on my way out of that....for now. At least when life seems unfair or that it sucks we can console ourselves with the thought that while true it's also pretty much that way for everybody. At least I hope so. Otherwise that could be rather depressing. At any rate maybe this will turn into a song that I can console myself with.

Starting All Over

Starting all over yet you swore
It would never happen again
Trying to make a go of it
Make all the pieces fit
I’ve been down this road
Too many times to comprehend
The details all run together
Names and faces where and when
How much is too much
How long before I give in

Call it a midlife crisis
Not even sure what that means
Afraid that life is more
Than halfway over
Or are my eyes finally open
Recognizing what is real
Tell me it will all even out
Just the nature of the beast
How long til I give up
How long til I’m worn out

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

New Podcast Episode notmovingpictures 018: Road Trip To Iron Maiden

A few weeks back Tommy and I (and his son Chris) took a road trip to Kansas City to see Iron Maiden and Megadeth in concert. While there, we met up with Shane (guitarist/vocalist for Alloy) who has been working in the area. We went to book stores, music stores and ate lots of good local food. Although there was a good deal of talking going on it wasn't until we started our drive back that we decided to record this episode. We talk about the concert and how the experience differs from when we were Chris' age (a lot more orderly and a lot less of a smoky haze enveloping the venue) my summer vacation to Peru, our old fraternity friend Bobby who was in a Hospice, society changing away from personal responsibility and Alloy's next show. It's basically a recap of what has been going on since our last episode was recorded in June. Forgive the rough sound, that's what happens when you record in a moving vehicle.



Opening music: Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing music: Iron Maiden: Can I Play With Madness

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday Episode 042



Another week goes by, life happens and then another episode of Ten For Tuesday pops up. This week finds another interesting mix of styles and genres and I think it all blends well together. I'm trying to get this one posted on time so I won't bore you anymore with my rambling.

Fugazi - Burning Too
Bruce Foxten - Number Six
Bottle Rockets - The Long Way
Gypsy Pistoleros - Forever Is Para Siempre
Hurricane Party - Roadstar
Jizzy Pearl - Do You Wanna Get High
Supernova - Chewbacca
Half Pint - Have A Little Faith
Smooth Beans - Turn The Coin
Buccaneer (feat. Rancid) - Bruk Out

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

New Podcast Episode: notmovingpictures 017 - The Forgotten One



Oh my poor neglected podcast. It's hard to believe that the last episode uploaded was over three months ago but it's true. What's even harder to believe is that this episode was actually recorded on June 9th and has sat ever since. I had intended to upload it while I was on my Peruvian vacation but that didn't happen. As a matter of fact I was sure that while I was in Peru I would be able to record a ton of new stuff with lots of interesting people. That didn't happen either. Don't get me wrong, I met and spent time with those people but nothing ever got recorded. At least I can be assured that the next time I travel I'll be armed with experience, hopefully that will be enough. The good news is that the next episode is already recorded and it just needs to be edited. Once I get around to it.

As for episode 17, well Tommy and I talk about the process of writing a new set of lyrics that perhaps soon will be melded with music to form a new Alloy song. The title we came up with for this new opus is When I Get You Alone. We also discussed a disturbing trend in education in the U.S. where high schools have been withholding diplomas from graduates because of some idiotic rule supposedly broken during the graduation ceremony. Listen up for all the details and our pithy comments.

Opening song by Alloy - Live To See The Day
Closing song by The Nods - Raygun Sally

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

New Stuff I'm Working On

I've had a lot on my mind lately and as such some of it is starting to leak from my brain. All of this is basically first draft stuff so take it for what it is.

9/17/13
I have no choice but to follow
The dance of make believe you regurgitate
Creating it as you go along
Changing the rules on a whim
Keeping everyone off balance
Unsure of what the day will hold
Do as you wish not what’s best
Wield your pretend power
Keep it going as long as you can
Take full advantage of it
One day I’ll disappear from here
Not that it matters though

9/16
Tell your tall tales
Standing six feet above
Spread your cancerous rumors
With no hint of love


Some Of Them 9/16/13

Some of them drift in
From time to time
Some of them remain
To this very day
Some of them stay online
Keeping a presence known
Some of them disappeared
From the start faded away

Missed opportunities
A prayer left unsaid
Vowed never to repeat
Left with bowed head
Never again, never again
Mutter in fevered prayer
Open my eyes to the world
Never fail you again my friend


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 041


Another week, another episode, although this one is much more of a mix of styles, decades and genres. Sometimes they come together like that. I'd thought to use a particular song but Audacity was misbehaving again so I had to quickly find another and Newsted was added at the last moment. That's about all I've got to say about that.

Daze Alone - Survival Of The Fittest
Torpedohead - Gasoline
The UnGnomes - Georgie The Pumpkin
Newsted - King Of The Underdogs
Langhorne Slim & The Law - The Way We Move
East Park Reggae Collective - Love Radar
Ondatropica - Linda Manana
Slade - Run Run Away
The Members - Sound Of The Suburbs
The Moondogs - Who's Gonna Tell Mary

Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

New Podcast Episode - Ten For Tuesday: 80s Metal Rules



Today's episode is in honor of my road trip from this past weekend to go to Kansas City and see Iron Maiden and Megadeth in concert. I had the idea for these bands in an 80s metal themed episode many months back but the time never seemed right. That is until the date of the concert approached and I knew there was no better time to do it. If the ten groups I have seen three of them in concert although only one took place in the 80s. That one would be Judas Priest whom I saw in Boeblingen, Germany at the end of the 80s while serving in the Army. While there I should have also seen Ozzy but for some unknown reason I didn't go and seemingly was on post by myself that night. Such is the stupidity of youth.

Iron Maiden - Wasted Years
Accept - Balls To The Wall
Quiet Riot - Metal Health
Dio - We Rock
Badlands - Highwire
Ozzy Osbourne - Miracle Man
Scorpions - Blackout
Judas Priest - You've Got Another Thing Going
The Cult - Wildflower
Jetboy - Feel The Shake

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Road Trip To Iron Maiden

Here's a couple of shots from the concert Saturday Night. Tommy, Chris and I took a road trip to Kansas City to see Megadeth opening for Iron Maiden. Yes we had nosebleed seats and right now my Sony Bloggie isn't usable so I had to use a dinky little one so the vast majority of the pictures are unusable. At least the trip has been fun. More to come later.




Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

New Podcast Episode - Ten For Tuesday Episode 39: Back To The Eighties


As I was rummaging around on my external hard drive I came across two Cd's from a collection called Lost 80s and I started saying this song could go with this one and this one and so on and so on. Within a few minutes I had ten songs selected and a few more minutes after that I had the order identified and that quickly a new episode was on it's way. If you love 80s music you should remember most of these and hopefully you're not too sick of them. Luckily (?) for me there is no 80s radio station in Tulsa so I am not forced to hear that music until I'm sick of it. At any rate, here's the music:

The Kinks - Do It Again
Greg Kihn Band - Reunited
Dave Edmunds - Information
The Rolling Stones - She's So Cold
Phil Seymour - Precious To Me
Marshall Crenshaw - Someday, Someway
Peter Wolf - Lights Out
Berlin - No More Words
Ultravox - Dancing With tears In My Eyes
Talk Talk - It's My Life

Email: notmovingpictures@gmail.com Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

For older episodes go to www.archive.org and search for Ten For Tuesday.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Maybe These ARE The Droids You're Looking For

Every year when it gets close to Halloween I start asking my son the same questions and I always get the same answers. Do you want to be a Jedi? No. What about Darth Vader? No. How about a Stormtrooper? No. Why don't you try Boba Fett? No. The answer has always been no. Until this year that is. This year he announced that he wanted to be Darth Vader. The thing that helped to bring him around was that he spent almost two months in Peru this summer and his uncle Gary got him hooked on playing The Force Unleashed video game. Gary is probably a bigger fan of Star Wars than I am, well, maybe he's equal with me.
 
Now, it wasn't as if I was derelict in my fatherly Star Wars duties before he went. I showed him the movies as well as The Clone Wars animated series (whenever we could catch it) and he enjoyed them all very much. But it wasn't until all of that was tied in to his love of video games that it became more of an obsession for him. He's already accumulated three lightsabers of varying styles and is wanting more. To that end my wife is making his Darth Vader costume (she's pretty good at that kind of thing) and he couldn't be happier. He's already wearing his cape around the house.
 
After I commented about his choice of costume on Facebook my brother from other parents Tommy asked me if I wanted any of the Star Wars books that he had. You see, about a decade ago I had given a box full of Star Wars books to his sons. I had read them all and they were only taking up space so I thought why not pay it forward and give them to someone who might be interested in them? At that time in my life I was positive that I'd never marry again and that I would never have a child to share these kinds of things with. How wrong I was. 
 
 
Fast forward to the present and now these books that were a part of my past will now become part of his future. Sure, he's only six years old and not quite at the reading level to start on these books yet but give him a few years and he'll be ready to start tearing through them. I've always been a voracious reader so hopefully he'll take after me in this area. I may even read them all again just to familiarize myself with the story lines and then maybe I can finally get caught up with all of the more recent ones. I've only read a few that weren't associated with the story lines from these books in the past several years so I know I've got some catching up to do.
 
Another thing that I also gave away were my old concert t-shirts from the 80s. Those went to my nephew because they no longer fit me and were also taking up space in a box. I've got that one covered though. You see I haven't stopped going to concerts (my wife is still waiting for me to grow up but I refuse) and I'm making sure I'll have some for his future use. Mine too, I still wear them all the time. Plus it won't be much longer before I start taking him with me and then he can get his own shirt. Of course at the rate he's growing he may have to wear mine sooner rather than later. He's already standing over four feet four inches tall and doesn't show any signs of stopping anytime soon. I can't wait.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 38


For this episode I was in the mood for ska, in whatever wave or form it appeared. These are all songs that I like and don't get to hear enough and this mix has a lot of songs from the 90s when ska I first started listening to ska (again). There's not much more to say about it than that.

The Skoidats - Rootsawalkin
Stubborn All-Stars - Back With A New Batch
Cold Spot 8 - My Little Life
Pressure Cooker - Holly O
Satelite Kingston - Sound Pablo
Hepcat - Together Someday
The Void Union - Higher Guns
Buck-O-Nine - My Town
Reel Big Fish - Sell Out
Big Lick - Way-O

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Didn't I Used To Know You?

As I arrived late to church last week I sat down at the back and just in front of me I noticed a man that from my vantage point looked like someone I had known a long time ago. Well, just briefly that is and only if I allowed myself to believe it. In truth he barely had a passing resemblance to an old fraternity friend that I haven't seen in about twenty six years. If I narrowed my eyes just so the illusion held for a few seconds until common sense prevailed and I realized that it wasn't him.

Still, the idea persisted in my head of what if it had been him? After all that time I knew that it was very likely that he wouldn't recognize me as I had changed greatly over all those years. Would he even remember my name? This is relevant because this person had been an alcoholic and the last time my best friend Tommy had seen him was just a few years after graduating college and this man had barely known who he was then. Even after prompting him with details he seemed disinterested at speaking with this person he had know day in and day out for several years.

The more I thought about the idea of friendship the more I thought about how it changes over time. Back in those college days I had more friends at one time than I ever had before but by the definition of the word a lot of them were in reality acquaintances. We spent a great deal of time around each other but we never really got to know each other. There was a certain core group of individuals to whom I was closer to and within that group another smaller one comprised of those that I would do just about anything for. With all of these groups I felt as if they were family to me. What can I say? I was young and unencumbered by the problems of life at that point.

As we all got older and graduated or (in my case) left school our lives changed. People moved away to other cities, other state and sometimes other countries. They got married, had children and started careers, not necessarily in that order. The more their schedules filled up with day to day minutiae of grownup life the less time there was for old friends and even less for old acquaintances. Without even realizing it we all left those who used to matter so much behind.

In this modern, brave new world it is much easier to keep in contact than it was back then but that comes at a price. Back then answering machines were not commonplace nor was caller I.D. so you had a better chance of reaching someone. Of course you had to call from a place that had an actual telephone, unlike today where people have the freedom to call from anywhere they want. Be it from their car, the store or even from their toilet. Strangely though even the practice of calling is changing depending on your generation.

Nowadays it's even more extremely convenient to simply send a text or an email to be read at the recipients leisure. Actual verbal contact isn't required at all. With that we pass from one era to another. There are things my son will never experience and some of that is good, some not so good. The thing is, we really can't do much about that. It's the way things are, the only thing constant is change and you either adapt to the world around you or stay where you are and grow stagnant.

So how can I sum up how I feel about my old friends? Some of them I am in constant contact with to this day. Some I see or call occasionally. Some I am friends with on Facebook. Some never respond when I leave them a message. Some are never seen or heard from again. And some have already departed. As we get older the last group will only get larger. Hopefully at some point we'll wake up and try and find the time to see each other even if it's only once or twice a year. Even more hopefully every once in a while we'll also make new friends that we will hold as dearly to us as we do the old.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

New Podcat Episode: Ten For Tuesday Episode 37


Another week, another episode. Before I say anything about this episode I have to make a correction from Episode 36. After I actually looked up the information I found that Dave Edmunds is in actuality Welsh, not American. With that out of the way this episode has something for everyone. There's ska, 80s, 90s and new wave. Quite the musical smorgasbord if you will. Often times I like presenting a mix of different styles and genres (like this week) and others I feel like gathering songs from a certain style or period. There will be some of that coming in the near future. It just depends on my mood really and that's a difficult thing to predict. So for now let's just enjoy what we have, this episode, in all it's glory.

Rancid - Timebomb
Inspecter 7 - Hub City Stompers
Rocket From The Crypt - Lipstick
Oingo Boingo - Who Do You Want To Be
The dBs - Black And White
New Town Kings - La La World
Checkered Cabs - Darling Boy
Wool - Medication
Queen - One Vision
Steve Stevens - Atomic Playboys

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday Episode 36

This episode had to be changed after a problem last week with one of my music files and it delayed me getting it done for reasons I describe in the podcast. If you don't like music from different genres, decades and languages then you won't like this episode at all. Artists from Peru, Argentina, Spain, Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S. are all featured. It's got old music, it's got new music, it's got good music. Now I just hope I get it out in time.



Dave Edmunds - Me And The Boys
Au Pairs - Come Again
La Oreja De Van Gogh - Soledad
Grupo Fantasma - Hijo
The Forthrights - Lord I Pray
Put3ska - Moonstomp Tonight
The Big Six - Groovy Geezer
Souldier Of Fortune - Payaso
Pedro Suarez Vertiz - Los Globos Del Cielo
Los Autenticos Decadentes - La Guitarra

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

It's Storming Outside

I was sitting at my desk in the bowels of the hospital tonight when the lights started dimming. Suddenly the power flicked off and came back on. As I attempted to restart my computer I could hear the fire doors in the hallway closing themselves over and over. That was my indicator that there was a major storm brewing outside. Then came the call from my wife informing me of how bad it was outside as she implored me to wait until it blew over before coming home. I assured her I would and then clocked out and stepped outside to assess the situation for myself.

It was bad, really bad. From the entrance of the parking garage to where I was standing was at least one hundred and fifty feet but I could clearly see the wind fiercely blowing rain a good forty feet inside. That was enough to make the decision for me. I pulled my truck around to where I could observe what was happening and so here I sit waiting for it to die down enough for me to drive home.

Nature is funny that way. A storm can brew up seemingly from out of nowhere and catch you unawares if you let it. Here in Oklahoma we suffer from tornadoes and severe thunder storms. In Lima, Peru where I just spent three weeks they have earthquakes (as well as regular power and water outages). I'm sure wherever you are Mother Nature does something potentially nasty or at least bothersome. It's the way things are in life. You just have to learn to ride it out as best you can and wait for your chance to get to safer ground. I think it's time for me to try it now.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

The Name Says It All



We  were in the bus station in Pisco, Peru when I decided to step outside and see if I could find someplace where I could get a snack and some change. Across the street was this sign over a beauty salon and I had to take a picture of it. You see, in Peru regular business owners don't let little things like copyright infringement worry them too much. They'll use famous peoples faces or names or logos without giving it a second thought. I mean realistically is Facebook going to send lawyers to Pisco and look for this shop in order to give them a cease and desist order and then hang around to verify that it is followed? I think not.

The funny thing is that Christian (the boyfriend of my wife's cousin Melissa) had gone out of the station as well and when he got back he showed me a picture he had taken on his phone of this very same sign. I guess great minds think alike. A great site to find these kinds of photos and other funny things is www.perufail.com and I believe this shop was featured there several years ago. As long as you keep your eyes open you can see funny things like this a lot. Now as to the question of whether or not using a prominent face, name or logo will help your unassociated business increase its clientele, well, who knows if it's effective or not, but I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 35



www.tenfortuesday.podomatic.com

It's been a while. I originally had this episode all but put together before experiencing software difficulties. Then I went on vacation to Peru for three weeks. Really. So after returning I finally got around to trying to figure out what was wrong and get the episode out. While I never did find out what was wrong I was able to replace a song and re-record my spoken part and voile, ten more nuggets of sonic splendidness are now available for your listening pleasure. You're welcome.

Bob Mould - Star Machine
Rat City Riot - Highway Hymns
The Nods - Ray Gun Sally
Barbara Y Los Rotos Del Rock - Tu No Sabes Quien Soy
Blondie - Mother
The Slackers - Bin Waitin
The Urge - All Washed Up
Robbie Robertson - Showdown At Big Sky
The James Hunter Six - Minute By Minute
The Generators - City Of Angels

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.

Email: tenfortuesday@gmail.com   Twitter: @notmovingpics
Blog: www.notmovingpictures.blogspot.com

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Urinating In Paracas, Peru

 

I saw this sign in the bathroom of the right on the beach restaurant we went to in Paracas, Peru after we had taken a boat trip to the Isle de Ballestas. The thing that stood out to me was that if the owners or manager or whoever felt the need to put this sign up there was a reason and that reason could only be an ongoing problem with people urinating on the floor. I mean, you don't put up a sign like this in order to prevent something that isn't already occurring.

The food was great and the restaurant was nice so I can't think of too many reasons why they would have this kind of problem. Unless of course some patrons were consuming so many cervezas that they found themselves unable to aim accurately when it counted. Since it's a place where you get many tourists, both national and international, it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case.

At any rate I found the sign amusing enough that I took the picture, alright I took two pictures but this one was the best.  I won't comment on whether my aim was steady or not back in the days that I used to drink. I'll leave that to the imagination.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Back In The States!!!!


After three weeks (wish it had been longer) I'm finally back in the States. What better time than now to start writing about my trip to Peru? Actually when I planned this whole thing out I envisioned myself blogging and podcasting while I was down there. Didn't happen that way. One thing I learned about life in Peru is that plans are always just that, plans. Things change from day to day, hour to hour and even minute to minute. Just because someone says they'll do something with you doesn't mean it will happen. You have to learn to be fluid and ready to adapt to the ever changing situations that present themselves.

Some of the things I wanted to do the most never came close to happening but that's okay. While I didn't get to go to Marcahuasi (I need to get in better shape) I did go to Ica and rode in a giant dune buggie and even sandboarded at Hucachina, well sort of. Our driver gave us the boards and instructed us to lay down on them and go down the dunes. I guess it's safer that way. I also took a boat (with about 40 other people) and went to the Isla Ballestas in Paracas. I even went to Ticlio which is 4,818 meters high and very cold. All this was done from a revolving cast of family, friends and boy/girlfriends.

Of course I'm disappointed about some of the things I didn't get around to but I guess there's always the next time. This time I got to live everyday life with my wife's family. I road in taxis, the electric train, combis both big and small, buses and even a mototaxi. The train would have been on this list as well but we couldn't wait around in Matucana to see if one showed up or not. My wife was pleasantly surprised that I was able to take the combi by myself to pick up our son from school (he went for a month) and then adjust on the fly and take a different one back when good old number 21 didn't stop to pick us up. Given my limited knowledge if the Spanish language I'd say I did okay for myself.

Next time I hope to make a few things happen and venture out more on my own. That means I need to make a serious effort to speak more Spanish. Unless of course we move there, then immersion will take care of that for me.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

On The Road To Peru Without Sleep

Today finds me sitting in the airport awaiting the first leg of my flight that will ultimately land me in Lima, Peru. Actually the first leg of my journey is already over. I drove a rental car from Tulsa to Dallas because it was supposed to be cheaper than flying. Notice I said supposed to. It ended up not being the case after Dollar ripped me off. My contract says it was $70 (and some change) but after I dropped it off I was informed that it is really $205 dollars. I'm not just going to take it though, I will resist this bold attempt at thievery.

When I finally got to the terminal after dropping off the overpriced rental car I found that my bag to be checked in was over the weight limit so I had to pay an extra $50 to cover it. Maybe if my wife hadn't given me that list of things that she had to have I would have been okay but probably not. I'm sure I would have used the extra space for more clothes or books or something.

So now I'm waiting for my flight to Atlanta which precedes the flight to Fort Lauderdale before finally flying to Lima. I had about an hours nap before making my extremely overpriced drive to Dallas and none since I got here. It's raining heavily so we'll see if that ends up having some kind of impact on the situation. Did I mention that the replacement battery I acquired for my laptop crapped out on me 2 days ago? Yeah, It's been that kind of weekend for me.

I don't care about any of this. I am going on vacation, a long overdue one I might add, and I can't wait to see my family. I fully expect to see more of Peru than I did five years ago and to accept more challenges ( with food and otherwise. It can be a wonderful place with many incredible experiences if you're willing to search for them. I finally am.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

And The Award Goes To........................................

I won an award in college once. Well, strictly speaking it wasn't an award so much as a joke, but still, it counts. I had joined the Northeastern Activities Board (NAB) the office which was responsible for the social activities on campus such as dances, concerts and so forth. Students were allowed to choose which committees you wanted to be on and mine always dealt with music. None of which had anything to do with my "award."

At the end of the school year the NAB would host a banquet where they would give out real awards and quite a few joke ones. Mine was for having surgically attached earphones due to my penchant for not only walking around campus with my Walkman on at a screechingly loud volume but also for having it on in the same manner in the office and still being able to maintain a conversation. I'm sure a lot of people thought I'd be deaf by now.

I used my walkman the way I did for two reasons. First, because it did allow me the freedom to walk around and listen to the music I loved whenever and wherever I wanted. Secondly, and more importantly, for a painfully shy, insecure young man such as myself it gave me a social out. I mean, I couldn't actually be expected to look at people and say hello (or some other innocuous greeting that may or may not have elicited a response) while jamming out to insanely loud volumes of heavy metal now could I?

I've never been comfortable or even adept at making small talk or just plain speaking with people I don't already know. So back then, whenever I came upon someone who looked in my general direction, I was quickly able to affect a look of intense concentration towards my Walkman. I would pretend I needed to fast forward to a different song or that I needed to change to another cassette or any of several other various pre-thought out reasons. It was foolproof, guaranteed to work almost one hundred percent of the time, except of course when someone could hear the music and have interest in it. Of course then I would be on common ground with them and was able to speak clearly and concisely about the subject at hand.

Now more than likely this whole process wasn't such a good thing for me. Without having it I might have been forced to come out of my shell and actually interact with people. I guess I thought of it as protection against having to deal with all of the jerks out in the world but at the same time it never allowed me to find those rare beings that weren't jerks unless as mentioned before the conversation dealt with music. Ah well, such is life. It was the way I was and I did learn life lessons from it one way or another.

Nowadays I use my Ipod while I roam the hallways at work. However I've noticed that far more people ignore the fact that I can't hear them, in an effort to force me into a conversation with them, than ever did back in the eighties. When this happens I just slap on a look that feigns interrupted concentration in the hopes that they will notice and leave me alone. See, I have learned lessons about interacting with people after all.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

New Song Lyrics - When I Get You Alone

Tommy and I got a chance to work on lyrics today and this is what we came up with. We used three or four sets of lyrics and hacked our way through them taking only the best lines. It was sluggish going at first but then picked up and it all started to flow together. We're pleased with the result and hopefully soon it will be set to music and become the newest song in Alloy's arsenal.

When I Get You Alone

 
I've got blood on my mind
But not on my hands         
A frozen smile painted on
Just to meet your demands
A ghost never seen
Casting shadows over me
My imagination breeds
The start of your misery

          (bridge)

Who else can I blame
For the decisions you've made
Confess your truth
Before I end your pain
 
         (chorus)

I can't sleep tonight
My mind is inflamed
The result in the end
Is always the same
When I get you alone

If I explained to you
Beginning middle and end
Don't seem so surprised
That your act's wearing thin
Filled with white hot anger
Spilling over the brim
I can't control what I feel
Can't control who I am.............When I get you alone


Written by Don Leach & Tommy Terneus. Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the authors.

A Temprary Bachelor

As a youth I was closest to my paternal grandparents. Still, I never really got used to an extended family and didn't feel much of a connection to either side of my family other than a few individuals for the most part. I was always the quiet kid, alone with my thoughts, rarely trusting anyone enough to share with them who I was or what I felt about anything. I grew up used to living with just a handful of people in the same apartment and even with them feeling as if nobody really knew me or even wanted to.

My wife's experience growing up was while not the same did share some similarities as far as her parents not being around a lot. As such she and her brother Gary were left to fend for themselves at times. Still, most of her life was lived in a big house with a lot of family under the same roof. There were always aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents to live in and around. As such it must have seemed like there was always something going on or somebody to do it with. My son appears to be enjoying his time with his extended family along with the extra attention I'm sure.

His three year old cousin that lives close to Memphis was also able to go to Peru and spend time with the family. I remember when she and her mother came to visit with us for Christmas and it was only the second time she had seen us. She didn't really remember us because the first time she had just turned one year old. Shortly after getting here she started to ask my wife and myself "Are you my family?" It was adorable to hear but to me it seemed as if having a larger family was something she was craving.

Hearing my son talk on the phone over all these miles makes me think that perhaps he feels the same way. He doesn't just want more family, he needs them. Maybe I'm only fooling myself with selectively remembering my past the way I do. Did I really crave a larger family or at least more contact with the ones I had who accepted the geeky, awkward loner that I was (and in some ways still am)? It's hard to say with hindsight being the way it is. I'd like to find a way that would allow my son to have it all without sacrificing anything. Of course life rarely turns out to be that easy now does it? Still, if I could find a way.............

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

New Podcast Episode: notmovingpictures Episode 16



Well, It's been quite some time since there has been a new episode of notmovingpictures. As a matter of fact it's been over three months. Thankfully it appears that the dry spell is over. I expect to have quite a bit of content coming forth in the next month or so. So long as everything turns out the way I think it will there should be a plethora of it. I also have a solo episode that I recorded about two months ago and once I get a chance to listen to it I can decide if it's worthy or not of being posted. I mean, who wants to hear me whining and complaining for over half an hour right? Basically I have to make sure that it's listenable before releasing it.

Enough rambling, let's talk about this episode. Tommy and I first discuss the status of his band Alloy and the updates that was made to the band's website (www.alloyrocks.com). Then we speak of things like creativity difficulties and I mention how important I feel that Steven Pressfield's books are to recognizing and then combating resistance.

After this I posed a question to Tommy. What if the Hot Tub Time Machine taken from the John Cusack movie were a real thing and knowing what you do now you could go back in time and see not a single concert but a music festival? Which would he choose? We discussed the Texxas Jam (one of which Tommy did attend) and the US Music Festival from 1982 and 1983. After that the conversation devolved into a general talk about 80s music and it's relevance to today's youth before coming to a sudden end as we realized we were out of time. All in all I feel it was a worthwhile slice of what goes on in two faltering, feeble, nearly old guys minds.



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 34



Thanks to those that have left me comments and thoughts lately, it is very much appreciated. I'm trying to keep the episodes coming regularly but in the coming weeks I also will have to spend time on my other podcast, notmovingpictures. It's been a bit neglected lately and I foresee quite a bit of content making it's way in the coming weeks. At the same time, I don't want to lapse on Ten For Tuesday so hopefully I'll be diligent and show a little discipline. On to the music:

Los Furios - Heats Rising
Babylove and the Van Dangos - Jump n Swing n Sway
Matisyahu - King Without A Crown
Kings X - Pray
Brides Of Destruction - Revolution
Andy Taylor - I Might Lie
Hoodoo Gurus - Crackin' Up
Australian Crawl - Errol
Go Jimmy Go - Ease Up (Rocksteady)
The Jolly Boys - Rehab

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Updating The Website And Stuff

I actually used some of my temporary bachelor time (more on that later) today to work on the website for my friends band Alloy. You can go to www.alloyrocks.com to see the changes that we made. It was nice to actually get something done creatively speaking and to just hang out with Tommy, my brother from other parents. hopefully next week I'll be able to make it to their practice and get some pictures and video to work with. We plan on also working on some much overdue lyrics as well. I really need to get some work done on the creative side of the wall. Too many ideas and topics and seemingly never enough time to mess with it all.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

New Podcast Episode: Ten For Tuesday 33



Hmm, the results of a long drive accompanied by a lack of sleep are evident in this episode. Listen and you'll understand. I was so out of it I kept saying Tito Larriva's name wrong. I probably don't make much sense but then when do I? Enjoy the music.

Bob Mould - The Descent
Redd Kross - Stay Away From Downtown
The Men - The Seeds
The Plugz - A Gain, A Loss
Cruzados - Bed Of Lies
Psychotic Aztecs - Levantate
Tito & Tarantula - Angry Cockroaches
She Wants Revenge - Kiss Me
Alejandro Escovedo - Five Hearts Breaking
Los Lobos - Don't Worry Baby



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Poem For Grandpa

Tall and gaunt Not very vocal
When You Spoke It meant volumes
Solitary in nature Thinking it all out

When you grabbed The children
Rubbed stubble On their faces
Shrieks of joy disguised as terror

I was young I lived to visit
I turned older As did you
Those visits became Far less frequent

She left her body There but not there
Never to return To your home
You gave up Life had no meaning

I never said I love you
It was implied And reciprocated
I never got To say goodbye


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

New Episode: Ten For Tuesday Podcast 32



Let's start of with the obvious, I made an error when recording my spoken part. I messed up the order of songs but hey, I wanted to get this out so I decided not to re-record it after I figured it out. The order listed below is correct so go off of that. This episode features some new music but also a lot of stuff from the 80s although not necessarily what you might easily remember.

Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine - Shock-U-Py
Santogold - L.E.S. Artistes
Tom Tom Club - Kissin' Antonio
The Long Ryders - Lights Of Downtown
Jason & The Scorchers - White Lies
The Blasters - So Long Baby Goodbye
Phantom, Rocker & Slick - Men Without Shame
Knucklehead - Cold Civil War
Pilfers - Dr Kervorkian
The Specials - It's You

Ten For Tuesday is a podcast dedicated to playing the music I couldn’t find anywhere else. The music I like varies from style to style, genre to genre and era to era. You will hear punk, ska, rock, Americana, metal, country, rockabilly and more from all over the world. It doesn’t matter if it’s a major label or indie as long as I like it then it gets played. The motto is Less Talk More Music which means you won’t hear me waxing poetic for fifteen minutes between songs. At TFT it’s all about the music…..and me of course.


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

On Saturday night I was able to see Will Hoge for free at Mayfest in Tulsa. To see an artist of his caliber let alone for free at an event like this is incredible. I missed the first few minutes of the show because I couldn't find his location. As it turned out there were two separate areas in downtown Tulsa that had streets blocked off and I wasn't in the one I wanted to be in. After I found where he was playing I was finally able to reach my wife by cellphone and she and our son found their way to me. My son enjoyed the music but by the time it was over at 11 PM he was more than ready to go home. 
 

At that point we had been there for about five hours and even though we missed the hottest part of the day (92 degrees) it was still plenty hot and we had walked around a good bit. There were lots of vendors there selling everything imaginable under the sun and lots of interesting looking people as well an exhibit of cars as art. After the sun went down it cooled off nicely which made listening to the music all that more enjoyable. This was the first time I've ever gone to Mayfest but if they keep bringing quality musicians like Will Hoge I guarantee it won't be the last.



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

New Podcast: Ten For Tuesday Episode 31



Lately I've been feeling the pointlessness of giving tag lines to these episodes so I've decided to simply give the episode number and only give them a tag line when it's something special, like when I go on a road trip. Maybe I'm just lazy, I don't know. Anyway, the episode features some new punk, some ska from the latter 90s, a new one from Brazilian group Stop Four and various other surprises. It's an eclectic grouping but hey, it's what I felt like playing. So there you go.

Downtown Struts - Lost In America
Harrington Saints - Revolution
See Spot - Last Dance
Stop Four - Rei Na Barriga
Radiation Kings - Murder
King Django -Lyrics Architect
Brave New Girl - One Of These Days
Rev. Horton heat - Pyschabilly Freakout
Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper - Elvis Is Everywhere
Checkmate - So Suspicious


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

New Podcast Episode:Ten For Tuesday Episode 30



Episode 30 finds me playing mostly new music from 80s radio stalwarts, rockers from Myanmar and other places as well as street punk from Boston and lots more. Go to www.tenfortuesday.podomatic.com to stream, download or subscribe via Itunes.

Tom Keifer - Solid Ground
Loverboy - Heartbreaker
The Thermals - The Sunset
Pretty Maids - Mother Of All Lies
T&N - Slave To The Empire
Side Effect - Moe Nya Ate Met Myar
La Ira De Dios - Todo Arde En Llamas
True Believers - Gipsy Son
Street Dogs - I Got Drunk
The Amazing Royal Crowns - Shiverin In The Corner


Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 29: More Digging


Common Rider - Classics Of Love
Los Mocosos - Somos Los Mocosos
Urge Overkill - Sister Havana
Continental Drifters - Live On Love
J-200 - Good Cry
The Heptanes - Your Cheatin' Heart
Catholic Girls - C'est Impossible
Ozomatli - Como Ves
Ricanstruction - Mad Like Farrakhan
Bio Ritmo - Yo Soy La Rumba



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Ten For Tuesday Episode 28: Digging Up The Past

This past weekend as my wife cleaned our sons room she proceeded to lay into me about my music Cd's that are in his room occupying space on the bottom shelf of a bookcase. Her gripe is that I don't listen to my Cd's and they only take up space so I need to get rid of them. What she doesn't understand is that while I do listen to my Ipod or go to YouTube and listen to music I still have a need for my physical music. Case in point, the latest episode of Ten For Tuesday. Since she was griping so much I decided to go through the Cd's in my sons room (there are a lot more in other places) and as I did so I started finding music that I wanted to play on the podcast. That's where some of these songs come from. Others came from watching 80s movies like Up The Academy and Get Crazy. Now I'm loading some of my older music on my laptop and I've already got another episode figured out so with any luck it will be ready to go well before next Tuesday. Until then, here's the music for this episode:

Freetown - She's A Natural
One People - Boom Shock
Hepcat - No Worries
Mike Ness - Don't Think Twice
The Big Dirty Band - I Fought The Law
Argies - Inundados
Todos Los Rayes - Kind
Blow-Up - Kickin' Up A Fuss
The Romantics - Rock You Up
Nada- I'm Not Gonna Take It



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

(Podcast) Ten For Tuesday Episode 27: I Need A New Logo

Alright, a new episode is up playing some great music, old and new and in various languages. There were some technical difficulties getting the music to play right so hopefully all is well. This is a unique blend of styles and I don't claim to know everything that's being said but man is the music good. Hope you enjoy.

The Descendents - Nothing With You
Las Cafeteras - La Bamba Rebelde
Dende & Band - Como Comcou
Very Be Carful - El Rapidol
Bodeans - Fadeaway
English Beat - Hands Off She's Mine
The Del Fuegos - Don't Run Wild
The Clash - Armagideon Time
Big Country - Another Country
The Heartbreakers - Born To Lose



Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Robbery That Wasn't

My wife had a scare this past week which is a roundabout way of saying that I also had a scare this past week. She took our son to school and then went to her English class and after leaving went to the store to buy some sillao which is soy sauce. She prefers the Peruvian kind if she can get it. Once she got to the store she discovered that her purse was missing and she went into a panic. Convinced that somebody had stolen it out of her car at the school she raced home and woke me from my fitful slumber to deliver the bad news.

I asked her where she had last seen it and she said she had it at the Hobby Lobby the night before but she knew that she had left it in her car afterwards. Leaving her purse in the car has been her standard procedure and many times I've spoken to her about how it's inviting someone to steal it. Now I told her that she needed to go back to the school and call the police to file a report. As she left I started compiling a list of who we had to notify and what we had to replace. Important things like the credit card company and the bank were at the top of the list but other things were important as well. Her drivers license, her social security card and more were all in there.

She didn't come back to quickly so I was sure that the police had came and were taking her report. After a bit longer she showed back up with a sheepish look on her face and I knew that it had been found. At the school she found out that her car was parked in a blind spot for the cameras so that was no help. Once the police came and took her report she decided to go to the Hobby lobby store that she had been to and, you guessed it, they had her purse.

The night before while there our son had needed help zipping up his coat and she lad laid her purse down  to help him. She the proceeded to walk out not realizing that she hadn't picked her purse back up. Against all odds nothing was missing which was a major blessing. After it was all over we were able to laugh about it but I made sure to make clarify the dangers in leaving her purse in her car like that, not that I think it will make any difference. Perhaps at least she'll make sure it can't be seen.

The truth is there really isn't much anyone could get from robbing us, we're that bad off. Of course in our current predicament financially anything we lost would be hard to overcome. Later that night I started thinking about how little interaction I actually have had with thieves and robbers in my life. In my forty-eight years on this planet I can only think of two instances when something along those lines has occurred and both have been since I married my wife. Does this mean I assign some kind of blame to her? Of course not, it just worked out the way it did.

The first was right after we got married. We were living in her apartment intending to only stay until we found something better. She had already had a problem with someone with a key entering her apartment and stealing small amounts of money (mostly from a cup of coins) but we thought we had fixed that problem by keeping the front door locked and installing a padlock on the back door. That way only we had the key to it. It worked for a while until one night after coming home from work we found that the thief had jimmied the lock open in the bathroom window, crawled in, and made off with her laptop as well as the camcorder we had bought to film our wedding with. Then he or she had left through the much larger bedroom window.

To top it off her jerk landlord refused to believe that it had happened from one of his employees (relatives) and basically accused us of faking it. It was all I could do to restrain myself from punching him out and I think he realized he had crossed a line so he dropped his point and left quickly. Needless to say my wife no longer felt safe in that apartment and we got out as soon as we could.

My second encounter with a thief occurred in the house that we bought and currently live in. It was somewhere around three years after the previous break in and my wife came home with our then less than a year old son to find that we were the victims of a burglary. Some scumbag had busted our door in and grabbed what turned out to be mainly things that had sentimental value. He was in and out more than likely in less than five minutes.

The hard to take thing is that our neighbor saw the perpetrator exiting our driveway with what turned out to be one of our pillowcases stuffed with our belongings. She give the info to the police and they did basically nothing, probably because she didn't see him leaving the house and couldn't one hundred percent identify him. I know, it's a garbage excuse from them but honestly I didn't expect much in the first place. The powers that be in Tulsa have more important things for the police to do, like give out speeding tickets.

So there you have it, my life experience with getting robbed (so far). Two burglaries, no holdups, no car break-ins and nothing stolen from my desk at work, at least that I can recall. After all, I am getting old and my memory isn't quite what it used to be. That sound you hear is me furiously knocking on wood hoping that I haven't jinxed myself.

Written and Published by Don Leach. May not be used without permission from the author.