April Was Music Month

04/29/2018

Throughout the day (most any day), I like to listen back to stuff I've recorded to keep the ideas familiar and to evaluate them.  Most of the ideas I listen to are after 2007, but I also enjoy listening to the Forthright tunes we recorded (both Kevin's Garage  Rehearsal Tapes & The Crystal Cathedral Sessions we recorded in their 24 track studio) as well as any/all of the stuff Scott Rose and I worked on starting in 1991(Jetty Rd, SBG, etc.).  

This month has been a musical blast thanks in particular to 2 folks; Brian Kunz & Kevin Scholl.  Brian has come down from the Bay Area several times to visit, chill, have some dog-time, and to jam/write some music and I credit him with helping me keep sight of my sanity, though from time to time, that has been from a distance, but, I digress...He is a phenomenal drummer and percussionist as well as guitar, bass, and keyboard player and in the top of my list of folks I am musically inspired by.  Also in the top of that list is another brother of mine, Kevin Scholl, who was the bassist/vocalist in Forthright during our 3-Piece formation.  Kevin is a walking inspiration...all he has to do is pick up a bass or guitar (or sit down at a keyboard) and music flows instantaneously and if I'm within earshot, I'm inspired.  Kevin drove up from Riverside, CA and stayed 4 days and 4 nights and music flowed every day he was here.  It was so good to have his company and to have his input and council.  We wrote several ideas and I made sure the computer was recording from start to finish whenever we sat down.  

Kev left on Wednesday morning and the following Tuesday, Brian came down for a musical visit and hang time and we wrote some more music as well as listened back to some ideas I'd written in the previous weeks and he laid some drum tracks down for some select ideas.

Bri always breathes new life into my older ideas and, by doing so, inspires me to write more and re-evaluate some older ideas that had just a drum loop for my "drum track".  He sits at the kit and ideas go from "black & white" to "color" if you follow my thought process.  

My next musical goal is to get Snowman up here (from San Bernadino County) and see if I can also get Kev and Bri to visit at the same time...



...and to take that one musical step further would be to have my brother Sam Harman come down from the South Bay with his keyboard and some guitars.  This is a version of my musical "dream team".  Other versions of the same dream team include Scott Rose with his Bass and Uke, Dan Cooperider with his guitar(s), my nephew Erik Halden on guitar/bass/vocals, and Ed Baumann with his Keys and Reason software.

  I'd love to have Wallace Helms from North Carolina come out so we could create some more music like we did in the late 80's and early 90's in Forthright.  

I wish I had photos of each person I'm thinking of...*sigh*  For now, these are who I have pics of (and each of them makes me smile).

You know, stepping back and looking at this brief list of musicians illuminates for me the realization that God has allowed me some incredible moments in time with some excellent musicians.  Some folks can go through their lives looking for someone to write and play music with, and I've been given several brothers (and a few sisters) who I've written with, played/performed with, and have been inspired by.

When you read this, I hope you can reflect on the people in your life that were not there by accident, and, maybe, reach out to them, sharing your thoughts and recollections of good times and times that you were grateful that they were there with you (in person, in spirit, or in memory).
My list of folks (above) is most certainly incomplete and I don't want that anyone would read this and think that I haven't or don't value their musical input into my life.  The biggest risk when it comes to naming musical inspirations and influences is that some names may be accidentally/inadvertently omitted.  If I have omitted your name from the list above, I truly hope that you'll forgive me.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope to eventually post some of the songs/ideas Kev, Bri, and I have worked on; it will be cool to share them.   =)

Peace, Music & Blessings~
w 

Music Access...

Until I can get some newer music up on Sound Cloud, here is what's up there now, which includes some favorite Forthright demo tunes we recorded *back in the day*  :o)

https://soundcloud.com/wade-odum/

From Brain Fog to Ocean Fog...

4-23-2018

Well, hello there.

Pushing towards 2 years of absence from my own blog...I'm frustrated that I haven't kept this up, but I'm also blessed that my time in absentia has been nearly attack-free, for the most part.  So, in effect, my lack of voice here has meant more time having the option to have more of a voice in other places.

Some of those places have been Orangevale and Fair Oaks (for roughly the last 14 years) until September of 2017 when we moved to the Monterey Coast...Does the title make more sense, now?  :o)   

I hate brain fog.  

I LOVE ocean fog and mist.

On an equally serious note, if you don't have our new address, please email me and I will make sure you get our updated contact info!  

The email address is audiopilotfopc at gmail dot com (just replace the "at" with @ and "dot" with a ".") No underscores or spaces.

The challenge at hand now is where to pick up and how to move forward...so I'm going to begin at the beginning of the blog, what was the purpose of the blog...

Over the past few years, I have come back to this blog and, out of curiosity, I've begun reading several of my posts from 8, 10, and 12 years ago and sometimes I'm caught quite off-guard by my own transparency in these blog posts.  They often seem to be bordering on TMI, social, introspective, recollective and opinion.  When I started the blog in 2006, it began as a chronicling process as my family and I began truly fighting this underestimated disease called HKPP.  It's a demoralizing disease that progressively incapacitates the afflicted person, strips them of their dignity and joy (often on a daily basis) and tests the fabric of family and friends as they watch the disease hit, strike, and chip away in the person they love.

I have learned a great deal about myself and my body, even at the cellular level, as a result of recognizing this disease and accepting it, but make no mistake; recognition and acceptance do not equal surrender or resignation.

Sometime in 2015, the disease began retreating in my body and I have had only a handful of hits in these past 3 years, none of which have landed me in the ER.  HKPP is not known to just "back-off" or quietly fade into the background, so I am giving the credit to Jesus, who I believe used several people to help me adjust to, and rehabilitate from my HKPP.  That said, allow me a (hopefully) brief side note: this disease becomes unique within the person it attacks and though we share similar symptoms and conditions, each person with HKPP suffers their own battle that is unique to them.  This is remarkably frustrating, in that, we can share our experiences and our treatments but there is no guarantee or assurance that what worked for person "A" will work for person "B", so it becomes a "trial and error" process with each of us making suggestions that we hope may make a difference to another, but the reality is that everyone is different.  Medicines (pharmacological and homeopathic), physical therapy, exercise, vitamins, climate, hot weather, cold weather, diet, etc.  All of these are often different factors of relief or triggers depending on the person.

I don't believe that God needs people to be a part of miraculous wonders and healings.  I do believe He involved a number of people in my scenario.  I'm afraid if I start trying to name everyone, I'll unquestionably omit numerous folks...so I'll not risk it, at least not at this point.  The thing is, there were people, families, some churches, and some businesses who set aside effort, time, and finances to help me and my family.  I would not be...well, I don't know where I'd be right now if it hadn't been for God's hand through those people and places.

The disease showed itself several times in my youth.  Unfortunately, it masqueraded as Hypoglycemia, a fairly common condition, and very treatable condition of which I was diagnosed.  It maintained this masquerade until 2005-2006 when it stepped forward and began to show me what it could really do if I pushed the right buttons and pulled the right triggers.  I was completely unprepared to fight it and, within the span of a couple of years, it seemed like it owned my body and I was just renting the life experience, but the rent was due every single day.

Ok, enough air time for that.  And now, for something completely different...

Quick &brief status:

• Missy is in her final year at S.O.U. and is kicking serious ass butt (for lack of a better term).  :o)  I cannot be more proud of my girl!!
• Josh is in his first year at CSUMB and is also doing amazing.  He is continuing to live his dreams, and like his sister, continues to amaze me!!
• CC is the strongest, most amazing woman I know.  She is, daily, caring for and advocating for her family, honoring her parents, and working full time. (she is still having to commute to work, but we are praying for her to have the opportunity to work remotely from home, sooner than later, hopefully.)
• Me? I'm still the stay-at-home house manager and puppy patroller/walker...stay tuned. 

There's certainly more to each of our statuses, but I'll have to get to more of that at another time...

For now, here are some quick pics, post-move...

I'm hoping to start this back up, in some manner, and see if I can transition from posting on Facebook...we shall see.

If you feel comfortable with leaving a comment, short or long, just to let me know you checked this out, that would be a blessing to me.  :o)

Peace, Love & Music

w