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Something old, something new
Saturday, 16 July 2011 23:10 | Last Updated on Saturday, 16 July 2011 23:24 | 
Written by Jim McDonald | 
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My home is full of treasures. Hidden joys that I probably knew were there once upon a time, but have lost track of. Coming upon them can be a unique experience. Sometimes it’s like finding an old friend, other times like a stranger has entered your home. This has been a constant theme since last April when Jen and I moved to our current home.
During the 5 years we lived at our previous residence we never fully unpacked. Maybe it’s because it was a smaller space than we lived in previously, or possibly because we hoped it would be a short stay while we prepared for something more suitable to our long term needs. For whatever reason, I am now finding boxes which have not been opened in at least six years.
Last week I opened a box of CDs so long in storage I wasn’t sure what I would find. Like a kid on Christmas I immediately took a handful of forgotten gems to the car to listen to on my 3 minute drive to work (including a minute and a half of sitting in the driveway grumbling before pulling out) or more likely on my 20 minute drives to church. I pulled open a Switchfoot case to find Mudhoney’s “Five Dollar Bob’s Mock Cooter Stew.”
I discovered Mudhoney late in high school. I pulled a cassette copy of “Piece of Cake” out of a clearance bin and was immediately taken by the thick, punky aggression. After cutting my teeth on hair metal, like everyone who grew up in that time, and had progressed to other heavy subgenres of rock such as doom and thrash. Eventually I discovered punk rock, buying the Ramones “Loco Live” due to the impressive amount of songs on that release. Mudhoney was a mix of the aggression of thrash, the hooks of commercial metal, the sludgy guitars of doom and the sloppy perfection of punk. I loved it.
“…Mock Cooter Stew” was never one of my favorite Mudhoney albums. Mudhoney’s style was greatly influenced by the 70’s rock I grew up hearing on my mom’s record player. There was a bit of Black Sabbath and AC/DC in the mix. This particular release, like it’s follow up “My Brother the Cow” used 60’s guitar styles. In many ways “…Mock Cooter Stew” is the little brother of the much more successful, and badass, “My Brother the Cow.” Putting this album in the car was like finding a buried treasure.
From the first somber chords of pensive album opener “In the Blood” I was enthralled this previously overlooked entry in my music collection. Maybe I’m just more in sync with this album now – the band was about my current age when this was recorded, and at 16 I surely lacked the maturity to identify with those in their mid 30’s, an age I couldn’t even envision at the time. For whatever the reason “Five Dollar Bob’s Mock Cooter Stew” resonated with me for the first time on this unintentional play of a forgotten record.
In many ways finding this album reminded me of old friends I’ve come back in contact with. Particular people that I thought were pages in my past have returned to my circle of friends, and during the years of separation have grown into people I’m proud to know (Farron, Jer, are either of you reading this?). Something buried which does not show it’s true value until it has been retrieved. I look forward to finding the other buried treasures in my life. Hopefully I’ll continue to find music, books, movies, and friends who seem like something old, but offer something new to my life.
In the blood it getssssssss in the blood...
And so it begins...Friday, 15 July 2011 19:33 | Last Updated on Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 | Written by Jim McDonald | | |
Sometimes you have things laying around the house you just don't know what to do with. Souvenirs, knick knacks and chotchkies that serve little purpose other than to take up space and be a reminder of days gone by. Such has become the status of thenorthsixty.com. Initially instituted over a decade ago, this site was intended to serve as a manner of advertisement and communication for The North Sixty, a band I fronted that took various forms from about 1999 to 2006. During that time we played many shows, met a lot of great people, and released one full length album, 2001's "For A Moment I Saw Clearly." In the last 5 years, those since the final incarnation of N60 became silent, this website has served a single purpose: this domain is where I get my email. Other than this, it is a reminder of good times, hard work, and strong friendships. Every year I get a handful of questions, sometimes from friends, other times from those who used to frequent N60 shows, asking, in one way or another what the status of The North Sixty is. When we played our last show we had already recorded demos for a new CD, tentatively titled "Live, or Die Trying." We were scheduled to begin tracking songs, and were using the website and press kits to try to drum up interest for what I still feel are the strongest batch of music I've ever written. What happened? Life happened. To all of us. I experienced the birth of my second child. Original drummer Joe Szymanski took a job in Christian radio, a long time goal, and bassist Dan Walter needed time to take care of changes in his personal life, and as always, family comes before other concerns. These were the guys that had worked with me on "For a Moment..." Although they were replaced for a handful of shows, it was soon clear that continuation was not appropriate at that time. Over the years I have started recording "Live, or Die Trying" in my home studio as a one man project, but it has never become a primary focus. Over the years since N60 breathed its last I have become the father of 3, started and completed my BS in information technology, and moved from my job of nearly 11 years to a new position at a local school district, one I find both challenging and fulfilling. My family has moved to small town outside of Bradford, PA. I have grown and changed, becoming both more toward that person who wrote of honesty and sincerity, and shedding some of the naivete of that time as well. Joey now has a successful career doing voice over work, and Dan, still a close friend, is a recovering Christian -- meaning he is successfully recovering from the damage that we do to each other in the name of a God who must shake his head at the way we fight amongst ourselves. In short, we have lived life, accepting the successes and failures that have come our way, and quite often we still do so together. So with that behind me it's time to reassess what I do with the domain I continue to pay for. Thenorthsixty.com is now becoming my personal blog. Will anyone read it? I don't know. I guess that's not really the point of this exercise. Sometimes a man just needs somewhere to vent and to ponder. Welcome to the next stage of thenorthsixty.com -- a view into my psyche. It's just like what was hosted here before, but less musical. Unless I add a music player to the site. Yeah, I could add a music player. And dinosaurs. The website has never had dinosaurs. ROBOT DINOSAURS! That's the ticket! A music playing robot dinosaur... This is going to be fun. |
