Jim Alfredson

Well, there's not a lot of people left who can fix the old tonewheel organs, so I'm sure maintenance is a big factor as to why a church would buy a new one vs the old. I honestly don't miss the analog keying. I do wish they had switchable chorus/vibrato between the two manuals, but they fixed that with the XK-3c.

Ah, I see. You were joking. SS, the New B3s are ridiculously priced, I agree... but Hammond's main market these days is the church market and believe me, they can easily afford a $20,000 organ. The XK System I play has all the goods (minus the analog keying) and costs about as much as a mint B3, sounds great, and is 300 lbs lighter. To me, it's very much worth it.

There have been several incarnations of the New B3 by Hammond Suzuki. One was back in the early 90s and was called the XB3. I believe Joey DeFrancesco, Jimmy McGriff, and a few others recorded with it. It was close, but no cigar. They are still out there. Hammond Suzuki does make a model actually called "The New B3" and it is all digital, using the same "tone generator" as my XK System (which you can see in action on ) but has analog keying (a simulation of the 9 contact keying system used in the original drawbar organs) and a few other bells and whistles. It sounds very nice. I believe Joey is using one on the Legends of Jazz TV program ( ). They also make one called the Portable B3 which has the same guts, but in a "stylish" road worthy package. And they make one called the Ultimo that has "European styling", whatever that means. If you're talking about another manufacturer other than Hammond Suzuki, I have seen pics of some Italian company making a true tonewheel organ, although the generator bears little resemblence to a Hammond.

Matt, good to see you around. Is Musicboy still keeping us down in the "biz"?

Not really, since Bowen is actively trying to hurt people. 'Sheed just acts out like a goof. Does his acting out really affect the game or the other players in the game physically? Of course not. I'd rather have 'Sheed on my team than a bunch of automons who play the game and never show any emotions, which is what it seems the league is after. Boring.

Rasheed is just passionate about the game. Why the league continually tries to beat that out of players, I don't know. It's not like he's out there picking fights with guys. He's just animated and gets into it. The bullshit of it is that Deng did the same thing a few plays later and the refs look the other way. They target 'Sheed like crazy. But it doesn't matter... they can't change the way he is.

Maybe this is the place to recount a funny story about music in the workplace: When I was a student at Michigan State University, I worked at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab to help pay my way through school. But I didn't work with the egg-heads up front, I worked with the machinists, welders, mechanics, electricians, etc. in the back part of the buildling (the actual lab area, where they build shit). All those guys were very blue collar, funny guys. But of course most of them really disliked my music. There was one welder in particular that used to make the most hilarious face whenever he'd pass by my workstation. It was that face someone might get after smelling a raunchy fart. He was always telling me to turn my radio down, too (even though he was usually just passing by, not actually working by me) and would complain to my boss all the time. Anyway, every now and then the Cyclotron would get a bunch of money from the NSA for a new project and they'd have to hire temporary grunters to handle the load. One time they hired this welder, who was a real pyscho. He thought he was a ladies man and was always hitting on my older sister who worked there at the time, which really wasn't a good idea because she a) hated him and b) is a black belt and c) doesn't take any shit from anyone. That led to some funny confrontations. Suffice to say he didn't like me. And he hated the music I listened to (and I used to listen to a lot of stuff; jazz, oldies (singing along at the top of my lung's to the Four Seasons, just for laughs), blues, Zappa, prog classic rock, rap, etc.) So one day I go to lunch, leaving my radio on this big-ass pile of bricks that we're working on (they build the test chambers out of these really heavy concrete bricks with lead shot in them (to help block radiation) and we were moving some walls to open one up). When I come back my radio doesn't work anymore. I finish the day and after my shift is done I take the radio apart and every single wire in the thing is cut. Suffice to say, I knew who did it, but had no proof. So I went to my electrician buddies there and got a close-circuit camera, brought in an old VCR from home, and hid the camera in the room I was working in to try and catch the guy in the act. Unfortunately he got fired a few days later for being a dick to management. Oh well.

My favorite are the people that have obviously never really listened to jazz trying to be funny by snapping their fingers like a hipster... on the wrong side of the beat. Yeah, haven't seen that one before, buddy. Real funny.

Cowens is an assistant coach for.... the Pistons. No joke.

The thing that bugs me the most about it is that it's an admission by the flopper that he cannot hang with who he's guarding. Nobody could stop Chauncey during that run last night, least of all Hinrick, so he goes for the flop. Lame.

He's right about Hinrick's flop against Chauncey last night. Pistons were within 6 before that lame foul. Chauncey got benched with his fourth and the Bulls went on a 22-2 run and put the game away. Chauncey was leading his team to a comeback, putting everyone on his shoulders, scored the last 10 points by himself, single-handedly taking over the game and then he gets benched for a stupid flop. It is those kind of game-changing decisions that refs make that are so frustrating.

That's good to hear, Mark. I'll send him my congrats.

Yesterday was beautiful until around 7:00pm or so, when a nasty line of thunderstorms rushed in. I've been putting gutter guards on my eaves, but haven't finished yet, which means I hadn't the chance to completely clean them. Within minutes, water was literally pouring over the sides of a couple of my gutters, directly in the places that always leak right into the basement. So in the middle of an incredible downpour, I had to go get my extension ladder and clean out the clogs, or face water in my basement (where my recording/practice space). Fun! Today is drizzly and overcast.

Yeah, that was pretty lame.

Do you already have server space or just the website name? I did both the organissimo homepage and the Root Doctor homepage (www.rootdoctorband.com) and I'd help you out, but I'm afraid I have so much shit on my plate right now, it wouldn't get done for months. I still owe Chuck a site (and I am working on it, Chuck... very very slowly).

Hey Allen, look at HostBaby from CDBaby.com. I've heard nothing but good things about them and their customer service.

League suspends Amare, Diaw, and Horry. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007...tory?id=2871615 The Amare & Diaw suspensions are bullshit, especially considering, as Steve Kerr pointed out: "In a play that went entirely unnoticed until well after the game was over, both Duncan and Bowen actually left San Antonio's bench early in the second quarter after Francisco Elson and James Jones were entangled. Replays clearly show Duncan walking several steps onto the court as Elson and Jones appeared to be ready to get into it. Bowen then followed Duncan onto the floor, grabbed him and led him back to the bench. If the league does indeed follow the letter of the law, both Spurs players would also be suspended for Game 5." Add that to Bowen's "physical" play that the league hasn't even bothered to review... and if I was a Suns fan, I'd be pissed.

Just put 'em in the dishwasher. But really, cleaning them in a mild dishsoap and water mix (with not much soap) will probably due the trick. Obviously the jackets are probably not salvagable.

It comes from searching with Google. The search results come up, and some of them might be from the GoogleBot looking at the forum in "tree" mode. Whatever mode you come to the forum using resets your cookie(s) and it stays that way until you manually change it. Pretty simple, really.

There are just too many teams and not enough talent to go around. Oh, and the rule changes that make players like Dwayne Wade untouchable and pretty lame, too. Other than that... the Pistons still rool!

Pistons better take care of business tonight.

8 Track is the new vinyl.

If you like pina coladas Getting caught in the rain If you're not into yoga If you have half a brain If you like making love at midnight In the dunes by the cape Then you're the one that I've hoped for Come with me an escape! Sheer lyrical genius right there, fellas.

There is now! Tony's a great player and a great guy. I like his live album the best, although they all have really good playing on them. I also like that he writes originals.

I think we should consider thinking about the possibility of talking about starting a classical forum first. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.