Wow, it’s had to have been a while since an update, eh? Since May. Well, check it out!

My tomatoes are flourishing, altho tha pepper has seen better days. It’s pretty impressive what the oregano looks like – and it smells great!

Oregano!

A kale plant I picked (and made curry with – will blog about that soon as I took pics) that started in an egg carton in my window (sorry so blurry):

Lettuce of three different varieties, also started in my window:

The front patch of plants on the left is butternut squash, which sprouted 4x faster then the black beauty zucchini in the back (barely visible from this angle – way less sun on that part of the garden). To the right are the string bean plants:

Seriously, look at this tomato plant!

I’m a bit concerned about the fence that threatens to fall over and squash this plant, which I guess you can’t see very well from this picture. The fence broke off and is getting worse, so I’ve written the neighbors a note – it’s been REALLY windy recently too, so that doesn’t help.

June 25th, 2010
Categories: Gardening . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

Strategy – A plan to achieve something
Method – The way you attack a project
Technique – A skill used to accomplish a goal
Tactic – A method used to accomplish a goal

Similarities:
You use all of them
Strategies and Methods are similar in that they are structural
Techniques and Tactics are similar in that they are more associated w. handling parts of the strategy

Differences:
Strategies are somewhat laid out. You can approach setting up your strategy via methods, but methods are specific plans, whereas strategies are more comprehensive and general.

Tactics are specific methods to accomplish something – I think of them often as somewhat universal methods or approaches to solving a problem that can be applied to whatever is at hand.

Being a musician, I tend to think of techniques as learned skills – or at least versatility. When you practice something enough that it becomes natural, I see that as yer technique.

June 14th, 2010
Categories: Technical Blog . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

So for whatever reason the other day I looked up the only youtube video I’ve uploaded (for now). It’s a cover of Jason Schwartzman’s “Ethan’s Song” (the credit music from Slackers), and it’s not my best effort but I do like the song. I’m playing in my bedroom from El Cerrito in a sweatshirt and my pj bottoms, so it’s pretty informal. All in all, I think making the video and putting it on youtube was less about sharing the song (especially that cut) and more about seeing what kind of quality to expect from my digital camera and youtube.

Anyway, when I looked it up, I saw that I had Six hundred and sixty-six views! Considering the video has been up for about a year n a half, that’s really not impressive in terms of quantity, but I sure do like that number. So I took a screen shot for everyone:

You can find the video itself here. It’s not my best cover, or performance, but I’m sort of happy with it. It’s always fun to get haterage on my musick – one of the comments is “You should never sing again ever” or something to that extent.

HORNS!

June 14th, 2010
Categories: Severe Blog . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

I realize I am a little late to the game on this, but I am still getting better at this “blogging in a relevant time frame” thing. I hope it makes you feel better that I started this post on May 17th, the day after his death.

Irregardless, I strongly feel the need to write a post in memory of the most awesome, Ronnie James Dio, who passed on away on 16th b/c of stomach cancer. A man of his stature deserved a longer life and a less painful death. From his wife’s statement, it sounds the legend at least went on after seeing many personal friends.

I was never a massive Ronnie James Dio fan – in that I listened to him endlessly or followed his career actively throughout the years. I knew a few of his songs, appreciated him as a rock legend, and deeply respected what he did for the genre. However, upon retrospect, he had one of the most solid careers in the hard rock music industry. And he never sold out or went on reality tv – he just kept making and performing musick. Reading a brief biography of his is inspiring – studying an in-depth one written by a fan is flat-out humbling.

Personally, my favorite of his music is actually from his solo portfolio. While his work w. Rainbow and Black Sabbath is beyond impressive, I feel like the that was just the beginning. He’s obviously most famous for his song “Holy Diver”, which is one of the best rock songs ever. That’s no hyperbole – the more you listen to that song the better it is. Harder rocking then anything Sabbath ever put out, darker then Led Zeppelin. He was a force – someone who knew that the best thing they could do – for themselves and everyone involved, was to write, record, and perform rock music. Thank you for that, Mr. Dio.

He also helped popularize the universal “horns” symbol, which I think its quite fitting. It’s the pure embodiment of the genre and the vibe, without being trite, or a glorification of excess. You’ll notice there’s no “Behind the Music” for Dio, because there’s no tragic emotional breakdown, or crippling drug addiction, or larger then life ego that consumed everything. Ronnie James Dio just rocked for over 30 years, and did it with style.

While I was quite saddened when I heard the news, I have to admit that it has been a gradual acceptance and realization for me, which has hit me a little harder then I was expecting. The amount of respect I have for this man and what he has done is very hard for me to recognize. Mr. Dio has always been one of those musicians that came up in passing now and then – and when you checked him out finally you felt like you had been missing out on a great secret of the world. The more I learned about him, the more I have respected him. His career is most inspiring – a real champion of the music world. Exactly the kind of person I want to be.

I had the honor of seeing Dio in concert, one I barely appreciated at the time. It was 2002 at Merriweather Post Pavillion. Motorhead, Dio, and Iron Maiden. I don’t think we made it in time for any of Motorhead (who I’d seen recently w. Anthrax), but we did catch the whole Dio set. I have to admit I was not completely engaged the whole time, but I did know I was watching a legend (from very very far away at least).

Mr. Dio is an aspiration to hold oneself to. For his music, his method, his genuine nature, and his incredible talent, I am continually saddened by the thought that he is no longer with us. However, the fact that this post is but a small (and likely rarely read) contribution to this man is proof enough that he will not go forgotten. Long live the spirit of Ronnie James Dio, the spirit of rock incarnate. Full horns, Mr. D. Full fucking horns.

June 1st, 2010
Categories: Severe Blog . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

It’s a little interesting that the first Cooking entry on this blog is about Amaranth, considering that I don’t often cook with this grain. In fact, this is only the second time – the first it was an attempt at making a sweet breakfast-like Amaranth that I just didn’t enjoy, but could eat.

Amaranth doesn’t taste like that much, but it holds flavor pretty well. However, the main reason I’m assuming this grain isn’t widely used is that, despite being incredibly healthy, it has one of the oddest consistencies I’ve ever encountered. Slightly squishy little blobs, more or less congealed together (depending on the method of cooking [or really amount of water from what I can figure out]), that kind of “pop” (or at least ooze) when you bite them. It’s not necessarily bad, although it’s not exactly growing on me just yet.

I made the first dish on the website I linked to, w. a few notes:

• I jotted my notes down on both sides of a post note to take to the kitchen with me. My notes were very shorthand, and I spent the majority of the time cooking it on the phone w. my Uncle
• Because of this, I boiled the amaranth in the water, instead of adding afterwards
• This one will alarm you – I don’t generally cook w. garlic or onions, and when I do, I use drastically less. I often substitute ginger, chopped bell peppers, or just oil and seasoning. This time I used a teaspoon or so of chopped ginger and a shake of garlic powder, along w. the dried basil and oregano. I should have used something a little spicier, some cayenne or ground chili powder, although it didn’t need much spice to taste good. I always use more olive oil then recipes say.
• I added the mushrooms late, forgetting about them
• Finally, I used a little veg stock to the tomato mixture because it seemed dry and I was using a frying pan. I think you usually can’t go wrong w. adding a little veg stock, especially if you want to simmer your food

It came about pretty good, so I definitely advocate giving this recipe a try. I’m just realizing now that I forgot any pictures, I’ll need to take some and will update this post soon. For now, I need to do a little yoga in my room to help my knee stop bugging me.

May 19th, 2010
Categories: Cooking . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

Sometime before I actually moved to SF, my plan was to do this for a few years and then return to graduate school (“this” being, work a decent, although probably low-paying, desk job at a non-profit while playing musick and generally digging San Francisco). My reasons for attending graduate school varied, although the general idea was so that I could become a better leader/force for change (as well as a better person). I was very much into this idea because I wanted to do JUST SCHOOL for a few years, giving me the opportunity to concentrate on the work at hand, as well as focusing on living the kind of day to day that felt right to me. Having done both school and work a few times, I’ve learned I get way more out of education when I don’t have distractions like “working some job so I can pay the rent”, which makes sense. However, I’ve been thinking…

What if getting my education means quitting my job and just immersing myself in what I want to do with myself?

This, for me, is radical thinking. I often take some of the “safer routes” in order to try to sustain a certain quality of life, so to speak. These safer routes are not always easy, or even logical, but they are safer. Example: Instead of throw myself into my music headfirst, I choose to first attend, and eventually graduate from, a reputable music school (with considerable financial help from my family). Not logical, and definitely not easy, but certainly safer then taking any gig that I could land and later trying to make ends meet through whatever I can find, month by month.

However, I’m starting to think there’s another way. It’s not right here or right now for me, but one of the reasons I’m starting this website is so that I can start to find and also create a network that is comfortable to me. Eventually, that network might be something I could live off. Or not. Doesn’t matter – what matters is that I want to connect with awesome people because I also believe I am awesome and have something to offer.

So what now? I prove how awesome I am.

In the meantime, I think about little things that would make my life more self-sustained. Ways I might not need to work a job in the traditional sense to have a place to live, food on my table. And then I could devote more time to my kickass life, and sharing it with other people. It’s not unheard of – lots of people do it. Lots of artists do it. At least so I hear, according to all of the inspiring people I follow on Twitter.

I’m pretty cool now – and with the right focus I could likely do amazing things. So maybe I can swing this kind of thing eventually. Stranger things have happened I’m sure.

May 17th, 2010
Categories: Severe Musick . Author: Severe . Comments: 1 Comment

I never tell you about anything else anymore!

I’ve put tomatoes in the ground:

Planted most of em on May 1st. Here’s one of them not quite two weeks later

The lettuce is going well:

Some beans and squash seeds are sprouting:

Milk thistle is FREAKIN HUGE:

and look how green my oregano is:

Yeah, I dig gardening. I need to come up w. some structures for the tomatoes to grow over. Putting my thinking cap on…

May 13th, 2010
Categories: Gardening . Author: Severe . Comments: 1 Comment

In the world of growing food, things move relatively slowly, with spurts of advancement. Sometimes those spurts are unnoticeable, however sometimes they are obvious.

Like when I spend 3 hours back there, as I did today. I moved and I shook, I hustled and bustled, and there is some activity going on!

The majority of the work involved utilizing my container beds a bit more. I’ve moved all of my seedlings outdoors by now (save a few slow-growing basil, wormwood, and kale plants). For one reason or another (mostly that I didn’t have enough space in the two beds), I also transplanted a few plants into their own cell-pack:

That's spinach and cilantro in the far bed, mascara lettuce in the closer one, and each cell pack has either basil, kale, or cherry tomatoes.

Behind that is the patch of oregano I transplanted a few weeks ago.

(Note: Before transplanting anything into the ground, I first worked some planting soil from the local nursery into the earth, and then followed up by putting a substantial amount of worm castings both in the holes where I planted, as well as across the top of the soil afterwards.)

I ended up moving out the tomatoes that were in the bed a couple weeks ago into the ground. No pics on that yet, but the plants look like they’re taking root (which is good b/c I think I moved them about a week earlier then I should have). The rain this week has helped I’m sure. When they get some strength to them I’ll update ya!

Also put in the ground were my lettuce seedlings. These seeds were really prolific so I had more sprouted seedlings then I expected. However after a few days later, what was a very crowded garden bed no longer looks so overrun with potential plants. This here is mostly Crisp Mint, although I think a few Yugoslavian Reds survived….

Lettuce in the Garden!

Behind that bed is a lot of junky soil (read, there’s concrete and glass mixed in), that I planted some Morning glory seeds in. I hope to have them climb the fence behind it. First I’ll need to get the seeds to sprout and then guide them up there. Luckily I cut some branches off of a neighboring fig tree which I think I can use. On that, I had to move the plant that came back to life b/c it was in prime tomato space. The far back of this side of my backyard is quite plentiful w. some sort of yellow flower, milk thistle, and now said plant! The fig tree was encroaching on the area where the plant currently is (note to self: figure out what that damn plant is called!).

It’s hard to believe all that milk thistle came out of 3 or 4 seedlings I started from some seeds from the food coop. Better yet, it’s starting to bloom finally so I can harvest the seeds soon! Then I’ll trim the plant back pretty rigorously. In case you’ve never come across milk thistle, it’s sharp and pointy, and grows like crazy.

The next update will be awesome. You’ll want to read it. And maybe I’ll actually write about something other then gardening in the meantime!

April 29th, 2010
Categories: Gardening . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

Right now I am putting together my plan for the backyard. I’m pretty happy w. what I have so far – the space is not measured out exactly, but I think I spend enough time back there to be pretty close. Here’s where I’m at.

April 9th, 2010
Categories: Gardening . Author: Severe . Comments: No Comments

(Actually, the majority of this happened last weekend on March 27th, but I am taking longer and longer to make updates to this blog)

Anyway, most of my first starts have germinated and sprouted cotyledons. Cotyledons are actually part of the seed and serve as food sources until true leaves are formed and the plant is capable of photosynthesis – in case you weren’t aware (I think I had been but I forgot). It’s very exciting! The bottom layer is doing better then the top layer, but I guess that’s the nature of the light/heat/etc. Interestingly enough, the wormwood sprouted first but has grown the least since doing so. Here’s a pic at 10 days:

I also started another bed, this time w. 18-cells. I decided to grow lettuce, tomato, and kale. I had three types of lettuce and tomato, so I gave them the majority of the spots, and then the final three for kale. Here’s the organization and freshly planted seeds:

I decided that the previous roaster tray had proven itself fairly successful, so I purchased another for the window.

BTW, this time around I did a bit more internet-researching and found that I was missing a lot of specific steps – such as using a soil-less mixture, putting the seeds under plastic, factoring in which seeds need more vs. less light to get started, etc. I ended up deciding to just do what I’d already been doing, which I’m sure comes as a surprise if you know me b.c I’m so totally un-stubborn, hah. Anyway, I did come across the About: Gardening page and think it has plenty of helpful hints for the Anthony of the future. But what I’ve really learned is that if you start right, and things seem healthy, you are usually doing just fine.

Some of the lettuce has started to barely sprout already – I always take it personally when one seed starts and another doesn’t, and I think I just need to let it go. The tomato and kale seeds were buried a little deeper – and for good reason. I think I commonly forget that light is really not one of the things that starts seeds – heat and good soil is. But once the cotyledons show up, then it’s time to bring on the sun!

Next up, I need to sit down and map out how I want my backyard to look. I moved a few herbs that I started from cell packs out of the garden spot to make room for actual veggies – and also to slowly turn my backyard into a real growing space. I’d like to be able to do it w. the supplies I already have for the most part – but I also know that I have TONS of concrete and a new plant is just a container and some soil away, so who knows how far I will take things….

Here’s some of those herbs I moved:

Oregano

Mint

Chives

My friend Josh swung by as well and helped me prune my Thunderbird Plum Tree. Yardwork is always SO much more fun w. company!

Here’s what it looked like when he was done:

Finally, check out the two largest (of 5) parsley plants (almost as big as the fennel they replaced):

So lemme know if you want fresh parsley!

I’m realizing that I seem to be posting a lot about gardening and website stuff for a place that is supposed to be a celebration of Severe Bass, so I’m working on that, I promise. Just let me get a handle on my interface (that’s what she said)! 🙂

Hey, do you follow me on twitter? I can’t think of a good reason to, other then I spell weird and am occasionally entertaining. Do you expect much more from twitter?

April 6th, 2010
Categories: Gardening . Author: Severe . Comments: 2 Comments