Clarky: I went to the dojo with the wrong intentions... and left with all the right answers.... I love that statement man!!.... btw, glad the cd arrived!!.... Time for all hell to break loose, lol, and from your later post I see hell is well at hand!!.... And Clarky will tame it, lol!!....

GregM: Way to go brotha!!.... Introducing a friend to Gilberto, lol, those are life changing moments!! :-)

mick87: haha, did you say Dr. Victor Alpha India Rules!!.... Awesome dvd isnt it!! :-) btw, I love the LA Rehearsal footage!!....

michelle: Hope the new tv makes the Satch 'Sperience that much better!!.... You go girl, and glad your son is gonna pick up the base!!.... Oh, I mean Bass!! ;-) btw, glad to see Bryan is doing fine, and tell him Happy Birthday from T2J!! :-)....

slanshroom: Have a blast with the project, and I hope your safe from that terrible blast on the train!!.... Fuc*ing (Yes, I said Fucking!!) Terrorist's will get what's coming to them!!....

alexandrecaetano: Glad to hear you got PhryDom' cd!!.... Great player and songwriter, and I missed Womens Day!! Give a kiss to your loved ones for me!! :-)

marimariSRV: Wow, I knew there was something special about you, lol, a competitive bodybuilder!!.... That is so kuul!!.... btw, yoga is a great form of exercise and meditation.... It will make you feel better than you were 23, just ask Sting!! ;-) One of the best parts of our Karate class was the mokuso or meditation at the end of the class.... Very hard to do after a tough workout.... Kneeling on the floor, sweating and concentrating on the sounds of nature outside while meditating!!.... When you really get good at it, you feel like you are floating above the ground.... Amazing experience!! :-)....

/\/\/\R|<: Glad to hear there's nothing wrong bro!! :-)

eta: Work has been busy.... Being an Aircraft Mechanic is always full of surprises!!....

Miranda: Please hold Bil's hand for us and channel the T2J energy to him.... Godspeed, and we are praying for him!!.... He will not leave, not now!!.... He has much yet to do on this earth!! :-)

Songs Of The Day: Visions Prelude and Bleeding Heart.... Angra.... Edu Falaschi has an incredible voice, and Kiko Loureiro has long been one of my favorite guitarists....

1... 2... errrr... 1... 2... jeez.. woz next.. ah yeah.. 3.. I think so.. yeah must be 3 'cos thas the one like an upside down 'e' right? or somethin'?.. err.. yeah I think so?.. huh.. 1.. 2... 3.. err.. shit this is like way too tuff man... 1....2.....3..... err.. this is just too much man....

1.... 2.... 3.... something that sounds like or!!!!

I luv the Marine Corps... !!!

Hey Shogun, how does work as a mechanic and guitar playing jive these days? My bro was an auto mechanic and once told me that when I took my car in, I should look for the guy in the garage with the worst possible barked knuckles!!!lol He said that was a surefire sign about who was the best mechanic in the place, the guy who will go the extra mile for ya!!!!

Shogun walks softly and carries a big airplane.

michelle - well girlie.. if you're getting into ancient Chiness proverbs I guess I'll add a few of my own...

he who walks with a limp runs with a hop...

and

The Prez - Joe doesn't play certain markets because local promoters don't want to book him. I'm sure Joe doesn't like the way things have been recently (hardly any gigs in the Pacific Northwest [G3 2001, SBM], skipping Texas on this past G3 tour, etc.), but there isn't much he can do about it.

Your best bet is to support other similar acts when they come to your part of town, to show the promoters that there's an interest for instrumental rock. Go see bands like Dream Theater, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Morse, etc. whenever they come to town.

I think that I will jump on this Chinese Proverb band wagon.....

The bigger they are.....the more bones they break!!!

You know what they say about people with big feet........big shoes!!!

bluebuffalo9 - The only real way to prevent that is to play with no strings, but the problem with that is that you don't make any sound. I actually like the string noise, especially on an acoustic. It sounds realy rootsy and organic.

Clarky: hahaha!!.... You know, the great thing is that I'm a civilian.... On the inside, but on the outside, lol, no strings attatched, but UH-RAH, do the Marine Corps kick some ass!! ;-) I'm proud to help 'em out....

mikesb: Yes-sir-re buddy, the bare-knuckled guy in the garage is the best mechanic!!.. I'm a good mechanic, but a better guitarist!!.. Only cause my passion for guitar is almost better than sex, so I guess my mechanic skills come in third, lol, lmao!! ;-)....

michelle: Shogun walks softly and carries a big airplane!! That says it all right there girlie!! ;-)....

Proverbs: Man who go to bed with love-life problem wake up with solution in hand!!!

"Bad Horsie" Nice one Shogun, you are a man of many names indeed ;-)

You guys may notice the name change, yes it is true - keep off the UK roads I'm a comin'............. mwahhahaha !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just ordered the tickets for G3 UK at Birmingham as well - yeah!

VFRrocker: WOHOOO brotha!!.... Make the roads as you drive 'em!!.... ZZZZzzzzzzzoooommmmmmmmmm!!.... I like it like that!! ;-)

btw, I am so psyched you can get to see the G3!!.... YEAH!!.... Next time JOE comes to Japan I gotta buy plane tix!!.... No excuses!!

yoda - another cure for squeeky hands is to oil the joints...

I agree especially with the accoustics.. organic is exactly what I'd have called it too.. sounds nice with a pile of reverb.. to some small degree I actually try to make that sound in places just because it sounds so nice.. so for some changes I'll purposely get a touch 'lazy' with the technique.. in moderation it just sounds way to cool not to...

however.. I do hate that sound bitterly when I'm riffing and I try really hard to make sure it's not there.. but with all the compression, over-drive and top in the eq it gets real tough..

there's just no easy way.. just got to play clean and tidy..

Clarky - Good point. And with mountains of gain it's gonna sound pretty fucking nasty... lol