Trying to force my thoughts into rhymes I’ve started over too many times. Lost my way more often than I can count Paying for the future from an empty account.
I lived in a palace that is now Smoldering ash and dust. I thought I was a Man of Steel Turns out I’m a bucket of rust.
Running down-hill you can only go so fast Falling head first, now your feet aren’t the last. Told a good story, played the main part Some if it science, some of it art.
I lived in a palace that is gone Smoldering ash and dust. I thought I was a Man of Steel Turns out I am a bucket of rust.
Sometimes you are forced to gamble Usually there is no preamble. For some it’s fun to shop until you drop For me it was just impossible to stop.
I thought I was a Man of Steel What’s left is a bucket of rust.
I stole the main theme from my older brother. He would often say he thought he was a man of steel but looking around he saw a bucket of rust. He was a wrestler and chess player in school…. an avid reader and ready for any challenge. Even after his third stroke and 2nd seizure this year, he remembers his wrestling days in high school more clearly than many other accomplishments. It is plagiarism, but he is my brother so I think I can get away with it this time.
As usual, I like to share pictures of my local parks and city when the seasons change. Climate change is here and things are slowly changing.
I hope you enjoy a few pictures from Ault Park and extensions of the Wasson Way path.
Here are the latest pictures of the continuing Wasson Way bike path, part of Cincinnati’s CROWN project. Along with other acquisitions the city is using old railroad tracks and bridges to connect areas of our city that were split into fragments (like so many others) when the major highways were built.
The new section connects Wasson Way Trails I have shared before with my favorite park in the city – Ault Park. For years as I was growing up Ault park was left to disarray from lack of care and budget. Recently restored and now connected to another area of the city, even more communities will be able to enjoy this small jewel. I think the path looks great, and I love the hill sign for bikers!
Still working on the bridge overpassStaircase from Ault Part trail to Wasson Way bike pathNew connector of Wasson Way
Out for a ride yesterday and they are almost finished. This will be a great resource for decades to come. I believe the mayor of Cincinnati will be on-hand to officially open the new section of the Wasson Way Trails tomorrow.
Even though I took a sneak peak and ride before the path was officially opened I can’t wait. Only a small section will be needed to connect to other bike and walking trails in the city.
Bicycle riding is something I have loved since being a kid. I get exercise, fresh air, new scenery and a little bit of escape all wrapped into one. Recently cities in Ohio and other states have purchased unused train rights of way and turning them into bike and walking paths or trails. This is perfect because the train tracks are fairly level, the perfect width, and they go through neighborhoods that are rarely connected any other way.
Case in point is the latest addition of the CROWNsection of the pathways including Wasson Way. When I-71 was built around 1966 to 1975 it split Cincinnati in drastic and unfortunate ways like every other town. Once built, many neighborhoods were completely severed from each other and in some cases from the business districts they created. This is a point in history for me as my family was renting a house on a street that was demolished and we had to move for them to build I-71. The neighborhoods I used to ride through with my friends were no longer accessible to a kid on a bike.
Strollers enjoying the Marburg Avenue section of Wasson Way
Anyway, they are about to extend that section next week so the Wasson Way path connects to one of my favorite local parks of all time! I have shared many pictures of Ault Park here and it is still a lovely place to see. When this section is completed I will be able to take bike trails (including on-road lanes) from my house all the way to Ault Park. The big plan is to have various trails in Ohio that will take you from the southernmost point in Ohio near the Ohio River all the way to Cleveland at some point in the not too distant future.
I took some pictures of the progress made to the unfinished section so you have an idea of the work they are putting into this.
Existing trail on Wasson Road
New section connecting to Ault Park
Erie Avenue overpass
They are almost ready to open new section!
Truck pouring another cement foundation for drainage
They will start planting trees along the current paths next week. As old as I am it is still nice to get out and take a ride through familiar neighborhoods like I did when much younger. It is satisfying to see the city I have lived in for almost ever finally embracing these outdoor activities and unique neighborhoods long cut off from each other.
In no specific order here, we have our third vocalist working with my cover band called The Chase. Performing with us now is Sean Bandy (Shoeless Sean to his followers). I don’t think I have any real pictures of this time. I will keep looking but so far nothing great.
Sean also played acoustic guitar and does a great job of working with the audience. We played songs from the Beatles to Zappa and from James Brown to Queen and he kept up with them all. I am playing keyboards and electric rhythm guitar, as well as back up vocals. I am not running sound at this point from what little I can remember. I posted a couple videos of us on my You Tube channel earlier. See the following links THE CHASE LIVE 1 and THE CHASE LIVE 2. These are more like music with pictures and old video clips. The video recordings I made for that time did not translate well to the leap in resolution 30 years later lol.
The Chase and vocalist Sean Bandy performing “Cross Eyed Mary” by Jethro Tull The Chase and vocalist Sean Bandy performing “I Feel Good” by James Brown The Chase and vocalist Sean Bandy performing “Freeway Jam” by Jeff Beck and “Black Friday” by Steely Dan
Which vocalist is your favorite from the few examples here?
Continuing on in this series, the cover band I performed with is trying out new vocalists. Fortunately I record often and want to share with you some of the live performances during this time with The Chase. The songs were performed by James Fidelli and he also played a bit of electric rhythm guitar.
The Chase vocalist Jamie Fidelli singing “Stone Cold Crazy” by Queen and “Red House” by Jimi Hendrix The Chase vocalist Jamie Fidelli singing “Tight Rope” then “Digging in the Dirt” by Peter Gabriel The Chase vocalist Jamie Fidelli singing “One” by Creed
For a quick recap, I have been going through archived recordings I have made over the years. Recently reviving performances with the bands I have played in, I want to give you a few samples of recordings I made with The Chase.
For a period of time we were reforming the band Euphoria and looking for a new vocalist. These recordings were during that transition period working out with different vocalists. Short story for new visitors, I worked at a local instrument store as a salesman when asked by The Chase to fill in for their sound man while he was on vacation for a few weeks. I had never run sound (with the exception of one hotel gig band that was in desperate need for one night.) I filled in, loved it and the band, the sound man could not return and I became their regular sound guy. The band was smart and paid the sound engineer the same as the other members of the band. They knew the house sound was important.
Once running sound, the keyboard player took a break for a few years and I worked really hard to fill in for him. Soon after that I started playing rhythm guitar too………. and yes, in the early years I ran sound, played keyboards, rhythm guitar, back-up vocals and percussion all at the same time from stage. For a period of time I ran sound from the audience and had my instruments next to me. Not as strong a player as the others in the band I tried to “earn my keep” by being a jack of all trades.
I have recorded music since I bought my first four-track reel-to-reel when I was around 13 years old. I am closer now to 70 years old. When working with bands as a sound engineer or member, I record for a lot of reasons. Some were not intended to be hi-quality recordings and often were stereo cassette or DAT machines connected directly to the main outs of the sound board. Usually there was no level test and the band members would not know I was recording at all because it was so basic.
In the next few posts I will share cover songs we played live with three vocalists. In some I am playing Keyboards, rhythm guitar etc., and some I am running sound using various techniques to find quick ways to get a decent live recording. Many of these I have detailed here in my Live Sound Reinforcement Series.
Here are a few samples, starting with Gary Jefferson as the lead vocalist.
Vocalist Gary Jefferson performing The Rooster by Alice In ChainsVocalist Gary Jefferson performing Middle Man by Living ColourThe Chase performing cover of Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson
I am working on writing a new song with some friends over the Internet. Recording final tracks now and will release “Peanut Butter Hill” hopefully later this month. 2021 is off to a good start!
My 6th CD, “The Eye of the Storm” has been released through CD Baby. I am closer to 70 years old than not, so I do not use Spottify, iTunes, Deezer and the rest. If you use these services you will probably know how to search for an artist. Look for the above title or Michael S Kennedy to make the search easier! Looking forward to 2021!
I just released my newest project on CD Baby. This is my sixth album release over the years.
Very soon the Album/CD titled: “Eye of a Storm” will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Deezer, Pandora, and about 150 other streaming services globally. Search for Michael S Kennedy and with a bunch of luck it will appear on the list. The songs and CD are cheaper on CD Baby so you can also save a little cash there.
I think I settled on 18 songs since my last release. I post almost everything on this blog first so if you have been here a few times you may have heard many of these tracks. I really like a lot of these new songs and they include some of the best lyrics I have written. In the year we have had, there were few opportunities for my friends to add vocals or instruments to some of my songs as in the past. As a result, all of these songs were written, performed, recorded and mixed by me. While it is a lot of work and I really wish someone would do it for me, it is also a lot of fun and I am proud to look back at this collection. I hope you try a few out because they are all different in their own right.
MidiMike 