benadrian wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:09 pm

Owen wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 5:47 pm Everyday I go through the local craigslist "musicians" thing, and I have been doing this for years just for chuckles and now it is starting to bum me out for some reason.

Craigslist in L.A. is just a nightmare. It's people wanting to make it, people looking for 21-26 year olds, old metal guys who think 1986 was the best year for music and don't want to change. I stopped looking there years ago.

My wife, seeing that I've been grumpy and depressed from not playing music, put u pan ad or me on the local nextdoor page, as well as a neighborhood facebook page. She got a lot of people who were like "oh my 45 year old husband used to be in weird bands." It ended up working well and I've met some really cool people.

What a great wife! The October before the pandemic I had just started a new band; my first in over a decade. From Oct-Feb we were just getting our shit together and than the pandemic, and the band called it quits due to various reasons. It sucks because I had just got my taste of being in a band again.

My wife and I lead a very solitary life now. She has several chronic medical issues that not only makes her extremely high risk for COVID that even with the vaccine she is incredibly high risk for long term COVID and it would just be disastrous for her heath if she got it. So going to rehearsals spaces is a no go and meeting new people is hard when you can't really hang out or go places.

Last Spring came and I said fuck it, I am just going to do everything myself. We decided to turn our basement into a band area with some basic recording gear, I spent last Spring-Now writing and I wrote 14 songs in that time (an incredible pace for me). I realized though I really missed the collaborative aspect of being in a band. I reached out to a few old friends and shared the music I had been doing and they were keen to take part. With just two other people who are close friends, my wife is thinking it would be cool to allow them over to practice a couple times a month with them having to take a rapid test right before and wear a mask while over (them the breaks, but it's our lives at the moment). Then Omicron showed up so now its a wait and see again, still the hope of playing with a group again is enough at the moment.

benadrian wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:09 pm

Owen wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 5:47 pm Everyday I go through the local craigslist "musicians" thing, and I have been doing this for years just for chuckles and now it is starting to bum me out for some reason.

Craigslist in L.A. is just a nightmare. It's people wanting to make it, people looking for 21-26 year olds, old metal guys who think 1986 was the best year for music and don't want to change. I stopped looking there years ago.

My wife, seeing that I've been grumpy and depressed from not playing music, put u pan ad or me on the local nextdoor page, as well as a neighborhood facebook page. She got a lot of people who were like "oh my 45 year old husband used to be in weird bands." It ended up working well and I've met some really cool people.

That was YOU?!?!?! I saw that go somewhat viral from a film critic/writer I follow! Tbh, I was almost certain I knew who that was, and glad it's working out for you buddy!

tallchris wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:12 am

benadrian wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 8:09 pm

Owen wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 5:47 pm Everyday I go through the local craigslist "musicians" thing, and I have been doing this for years just for chuckles and now it is starting to bum me out for some reason.

Craigslist in L.A. is just a nightmare. It's people wanting to make it, people looking for 21-26 year olds, old metal guys who think 1986 was the best year for music and don't want to change. I stopped looking there years ago.

My wife, seeing that I've been grumpy and depressed from not playing music, put u pan ad or me on the local nextdoor page, as well as a neighborhood facebook page. She got a lot of people who were like "oh my 45 year old husband used to be in weird bands." It ended up working well and I've met some really cool people.

That was YOU?!?!?! I saw that go somewhat viral from a film critic/writer I follow! Tbh, I was almost certain I knew who that was, and glad it's working out for you buddy!

Ha! Who was is that shared it. I think Claudia will be amused!

Would be amusing if there was a way to recap/summarize that thing. It sounds similar to the recent "Man Park" SNL skit..

Johnny Doglands wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:15 pm Town is full of Fairground Travellers and Pickpockets ahead of Lincoln Xmas market. There have been six people attacked/robbed near the train station already. I got followed from the train station, then up and down the bus station. Guy followed me onto the bus... heard me ask for my destination from the driver and then tried to blag a free ride to the same place I was going. He was eyeballing me all the way home.

I started to become very uncomfortable, so I threw him for a loop by saying "see you tomorrow" and then got off a stop earlier to avoid having him follow me down a dark side street. Police aren't really out in force til the market starts tomorrow.

Okay so, an update on this situation, which is rapidly getting worse. Feel free not to read on because it's getting both disgusting and scary....












....We've been having problems with what I thought was someone letting their dog shit outside my house. It's all up the wall and there's piles of it on the pavement. One of my upstairs neighbours accidentally brought some in on the bottom of their shoes and I recognised the smell immediately. It's not dog shit, let's put it that way.

It gets worse.....A friend of mine is working the market and he tells me that the travellers are staying in vans on the next street to mine. So I came to a horrible realisation.... not only have they been hanging around outside my house using the outside of my building for a toilet, but that guy was not just following me to rob me....Now I realise why he looked so confused when I got off a stop early on the bus. It's because they've been watching me and they know where I fucking live. I dress as smart as I can for work and they probably think I'm rich/ and or an easy target. Or maybe they follow me because I know the way 'home'. Either way, I aint messing with them. I can understand what it's like to be a bit hard up in these times, but these guys are next level.

Police won't help, they'll only make it worse. As soon as the market shuts at night, the market visitors and cops go home and it's deserted out of hours. I've seen the fairground people on the streets really early in the morning way before the market starts. They all look like they are on booze and speed and I'm wondering if some of them even sleep at all while they are here.

Let's just say I hope they move on soon and I'm going to be staying indoors for the next few days.

Guess I"m smoking again.

Johnny Doglands wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 6:09 pm

Johnny Doglands wrote: Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:15 pm Town is full of Fairground Travellers and Pickpockets ahead of Lincoln Xmas market. There have been six people attacked/robbed near the train station already. I got followed from the train station, then up and down the bus station. Guy followed me onto the bus... heard me ask for my destination from the driver and then tried to blag a free ride to the same place I was going. He was eyeballing me all the way home.

I started to become very uncomfortable, so I threw him for a loop by saying "see you tomorrow" and then got off a stop earlier to avoid having him follow me down a dark side street. Police aren't really out in force til the market starts tomorrow.

Okay so, an update on this situation, which is rapidly getting worse. Feel free not to read on because it's getting both disgusting and scary....












....We've been having problems with what I thought was someone letting their dog shit outside my house. It's all up the wall and there's piles of it on the pavement. One of my upstairs neighbours accidentally brought some in on the bottom of their shoes and I recognised the smell immediately. It's not dog shit, let's put it that way.

It gets worse.....A friend of mine is working the market and he tells me that the travellers are staying in vans on the next street to mine. So I came to a horrible realisation.... not only have they been hanging around outside my house using the outside of my building for a toilet, but that guy was not just following me to rob me....Now I realise why he looked so confused when I got off a stop early on the bus. It's because they've been watching me and they know where I fucking live. I dress as smart as I can for work and they probably think I'm rich/ and or an easy target. Or maybe they follow me because I know the way 'home'. Either way, I aint messing with them. I can understand what it's like to be a bit hard up in these times, but these guys are next level.

Police won't help, they'll only make it worse. As soon as the market shuts at night, the market visitors and cops go home and it's deserted out of hours. I've seen the fairground people on the streets really early in the morning way before the market starts. They all look like they are on booze and speed and I'm wondering if some of them even sleep at all while they are here.

Let's just say I hope they move on soon and I'm going to be staying indoors for the next few days.

That's completely, ridiculously disgusting. Which bit of town are they staying in? I haven't been into town this weekend (because market), but they usually set up by the castle, are they all over the place this year? I used to work near the Washy camp, and the behaviour I've seen was truly astonishing. Mind-blowing insanity/vileness. Hopefully they'll move on soon.

Adam_I_III wrote: Sun Dec 05, 2021 10:43 amThat's completely, ridiculously disgusting. Which bit of town are they staying in? I haven't been into town this weekend (because market), but they usually set up by the castle, are they all over the place this year? I used to work near the Washy camp, and the behaviour I've seen was truly astonishing. Mind-blowing insanity/vileness. Hopefully they'll move on soon.

Burton Road. I asked my friend how many are staying on the next street and he said "too many to count". There are also some who set up in caravans in the car parks around the Castle, yes. These ones are the guys who are here to do the heavy work. Putting the fairground rides together and tearing them down. I've met these types before and they can be dangerous. Southern accents, not Irish like you might expect. Fairground travellers. Carnies. Think less 'Snatch' and more like the caravan dwelling people in Peaky Blinders. Romany types.

I've not had cause to venture to Washingborough, but I have met some settled travellers living in quite nice homes around the city and they are generally not as bad as the reputation they have. We've all heard stories, and travellers seem to be the one group in society today it seems that it's still acceptable to be prejudiced against.

There are some that come to visit every year after Brigg Horse Fair. In 2020, the papers were scaremongering about them, but you know what? They cleaned up after themslves, bagged up all their rubbish and did their best to leave everything the way it was when they got here. I didn't hear about them causing any trouble at all, and a large group stayed very near me.

Don't mess with them and they won't mess with you. Don't be rude to them or come across as stuck up and you'll usually be fine. I don't know what I have done to deserve the shit all over the place, they seem to have specifically picked my house to poo on/by. I'm not sure if I've pissed them off somehow, but I would prefer not to mess with them or upset them as they are here every year. NEVER ever will I use the G-word or the P-word. I hear they really don't like that.

Anyway, the fairground guys...There have been rowdy ones on the same bus as me multiple nights before the market even started. The one that was following me reminded me of some housemates I had years ago who would shoot up speed into their arms and then drink super strength lager for days on end. By his body language, I could tell that the guy on the bus was steeling himself to fight with someone - I think it was most likely going to be me. Nearly all those guys fight for sport and could pummel a large man into to submission in minutes.

Market is finished now, so maybe they will move on soon. The rain will wash away the mess outside, but we are going to need a carpet cleaner to sort out the mess on the hallway stairs. I may adjust my plans next year. I would have liked to have gone around listening to the musical acts, but generally the market causes so much travel chaos and other general chaos in my neighbourhood that sometimes I just go away til it's over. Might have to do that next year.

Sunday night after I posted that...Just as I got in bed and was about to sleep I heard someone shouting "I'M GOING TO BREAK IN! I'M GOING TO BREAK IN!"' and someone else shouting something incomprehensible. The ground floor is workshops, storage and retail and is empty at night. There's a door, some stairs and another door to get past before me or any of my three neighbours in the flats indoors would be in any danger. I waited for the inevitable crashing and banging sounds, but nothing further happened thankfully.

I saw some smaller market vehicles rolling out yesterday morning. The fairground takes a bit longer to pack up, but hopefully it's all gone now. I've not had time to go down there and look around. They're probably gone by now.

****

Anyway, Hi FM Adam I ii, how are you doing? What are you up to musically and otherwise these days?

I bought a Pax 3 last week for vaping flowers and it is the most awesome thing since the Volcano. Fuck yes.