Check this out :-)

Today is Gary's Birthday :-)

As a birthday gift to him, our friend started a blog. We've been bugging her to get one started for a while now, since we believe that if more people think like she does - the world would be a better place. Check out some of her awesome observations and let her know if you feel the way we do:
http://tamralynnbarnett.blogspot.com/

Also, I've been finding out what was going on the day/year that Gary was born. Check this out and see if you can tell what year it was, and therefore how old he is today. ;-)

• President Kennedy was inaugurated this year
• John Coltrane played "My Favorite Things" in Baden-Baden, Germany, this year
• Tung Yingchieh, founder of Tung Style Taichi died this year
• Magoo's Buggy aired
• The Bay of Pigs occurred
• Our new president, Barack Obama, was born

Thank you to everyone who sent him love today, it was a great/happy birthday :-)
Trudi & Gary (birthday man) Brown

New Review of "Live & Blue" - Shinbone - Nov 08

Central PA music paper, Shinbone Magazine, reviews Bushmaster's CD "Live & Blue". Wow, I certainly did not expect such high praise, and we are humbled to hear what our neighbors and peers have to say about our new CD.

Thanks Shinbone!



or you can read it directly on their website:
http://www.shinbone.net/indexFeatures.html

What do you think about the review, and or soundboard ratings? Let me know, and/or share your opinions with Shinbone on their myspace page (in my top friends) (http://www.myspace.com/shinbonemag).

Thanks,
Gary

It's election day - VOTE - I did :-)

I was prepared to jump every stumbling block. After all the horror stories about challenging votes, needing to prove your eligibility, etc - I was taking no chances. With ID, current bill with my name and address on it, Social Security Card, Voter Registration card, and my "raised seal copy" of my birth certificate in hand we marched across the street to the church that is our polling place. Yes I know all kinds of bs was raging inside my head just from the separation of church and state issue. We got there and four people were standing outside, stating that "I don't know maybe the door locked or something, I guess someone will come along eventually to let us in..." Trudi spoke up and said "Do you need a strong fist to pound on the door, maybe they can't hear your knocks". Just like that I was volunteered - my pounding fist worked, the door wasn't locked after all just stuck and my pounding loosened it and it popped open. I know "knock and the door shall be opened unto you". Ok now I feel conflicted even more about the church as polling place issue... The voting was remarkably painless, easy, and quick. It was like a weight lifted when I saw "your vote has been cast" in bright yellow letters on a blue screen when I was done.

I was prepared to wait in line, stand up for my rights, fight tooth and nail - THANK YOU to everyone that actually has to do that today - DON'T BACK DOWN!

Gary

Don't vote - nobody cares what you think!

Reverse psychology, get it? No, then watch this and you will...
5 More Friends


NOW GO VOTE! Gary is for the first time EVER, it is just that important! Our future depends on it! Your free agency is at stake, use your vote, too many people have fought for you right to do so.

Happy Halloween - Boo!

Happy Halloween - Boo! First let me start with a clip/song from one of my favorite movies "Nightmare Before Christmas". I love this movie from both an artist's perspective, appreciation of the creative mind of Tim Burton and musical creativity of Danny Elfman, and that it celebrates both Halloween and Christmas.


Upon researching the holiday further I found that Halloween was brought to the US by Irish and Scottish imigrants (yeah McFarlane!). Early on it was called "All Hallows Even" because this is the day believed to be when the veil between the alive and the dead was the thinnest or even. This actually is kind of a cool idea, remember the scene in Harry Potter where he gets to see his parents. Maybe we could use this opportunity to say hi to our friends and family members who have passed through the veil. My Grandpa Verdus loved playing tricks, even when it wasn't Halloween. His sense of humor was awesome, I see traces of it in Dan (when he teases his kids), Angie (with her love of water balloon ambushes), ... play a trick on someone for him and for Halloween.

In celebrations past, I remember fondly trips through the neighborhood to the homes of friends, who would lovingly craft popcorn balls (Grandma Vinnie), candied apples (Lulu's house), hauted houses (boyscout troup and/or Kathy & Shauna Davis' house (lots of big brothers)). My mother spent months making cool handmade costumes (jaguar, dog, vampires...). One year I decided to be a clown. I donned the sparkle top hat from my dance recital, taped colorful paper polka dots to my jeans, put desitin (white cream) on my face, and then for the shoes... after some creative improvising I took my Dad's size 12 boots, put my whole sneaker inside, and wore them like that. It was great, I thought I looked awesome! My older brother Dan and his friend Jason decided to go drag (like they had seen on Saturday Night Live) and wore some of my Mom's old dresses and wigs - it was hilareous!

We love seeing what you have done with your kids every year! Robbie did a great job getting Paige, Grace, Whitney, and Crew dressed and ready for their early halloween party - still amazed at how good he is with the girls hair (I remember my Dad hopelessly trying to do two EVEN ponytails for me when Mom was at the hospital when Robbie was born, he finally gave up and made one in the back after several failed attempts). Speaking of hair - OMG Jen (my cousin) the things you do with Karen's hair is awesome! The costumes and face painting for Karen and Michael were really cute!

Gary and I are headed out to West Chester, PA in the next few minutes. He's playing a venue called Vincents. Should be fun, wonder how many people will dress up and come out to party?

Send me pictures about your fun tonight - I'm dying ;-) to see what you've scared up for a costume.

Crazy Eights!!

Crazy Eights!!

Okay so I've been "tagged" to the Crazy Eights Game (thanks so much Cindy & Jen).

Of Course when I was in high school, the "Crazy Eights" were a local horn band (Corvallis, OR) who won on star search. (Still Crazy after all these years)

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch:
1. Hardball with Chris Matthews
2. Countdown with Keith Oberman
3. the Rachel Maddow Show
4. Late Night with Conan O'Brien
5. CSI Miami
6. Dexter
7. Weeds
8. Curb your Enthusiasm (Larry David)

8 Favorite Places I Love To Eat:
1. El Rodeo (this is where we went for my birthday - great Mexican food)
2. Fire Mountain Grill (fun buffet that just opened a site near us)
3. Cici's (pizza, pasta, fun all at an affordable feed-the-whole-family rate)
4. El Pollo Rico (the BEST rotissary chicken I've ever had, you can smell it for blocks, and where Gary & I had our first dinner date)
5. Saigonese (our anniversary dinner - food so yummy we drove 2 hrs to get there last year)
6. the Taco truck where we used to live (looks like a hotdog truck)
7. Little Viet Garden (fun place to have great Vietnameese in DC area)
8. Deli C (take out 24/7 in Carlisle - good Gyros)

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. The new Robin Trower CD - RT@RO.08
2. hearing Gary's new custom made (just for him) amp tomorrow night at the gig (click on the link to see pictures - we're gonna call it the "Viper Verb")
3. Getting the new glow-in-the-dark t-shirts ready to sell online
4. Seeing what "Blues Review Magazine" has to say about the new CD (December/January issue)
5. Waiting to see what "Blues Matters Magazine" (a UK publication) thinks of Live & Blue
6. Playing a weekend gig set at The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino (near Niagra - never been that far north on this coast) (they put us up and feed us for free :-) can you say romantic working weekend)
7. November 4 - Election Day ...DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
8. A record contract would be nice - anyone interested???

8 Things I Love About Fall:
1. Kids playing in leaves
2. Hay-rides
3. Bonfires
4. walks in the woods
5. seeing the leaves change color
6. hot-chocolate
7. stretchy gloves
8. hoodies

8 Things On My Wish List:
1. Trip to Scotland to vacation and gig
2. A Winnebago with cargo room for band equipment
3. lower gas prices so we can afford to drive the winnebago
4. A record contract
5. more radio airplay
6. permanent band mates
7. a job with health insurance
8. a new digital camera with a histogram and video capacity

There was a "8 People I tag" section, but most of my friends/family have already participated. If you haven't and want to share your answers, leave me a comment, I'd love to see your answers too. :-)

Trudi

Mourning the death of Mr. Common Sense

Thanks to my friend Tamra for sending this to me, felt the need to pass it along, especially in these days of hate mongering political advertising...

LONDON TIMES OBITUARY OF THE LATE MR. COMMON SENSE

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. no one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn't always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and the criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you could not defend youself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is surved by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

I knew common sense was on the decline but was unaware that it had passed away. This is indeed a sad day for all. I hope you enjoyed this little excerpt, I found sadness, truth and humor in it.

Have a blessed day and think of me.

All About me (Trudi & Gary)

Thanks to my cousin Pam (& her husband Troy) for this:

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your friends. Copy then change all the answers so they apply to you, then post on your blog. The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 11:30 which is actually early for us since we usually don't get to bed until 5 or 6 am.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Pearls - especially the uncultured one I got at a street vendor's cart in Hawaii when I was young.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? I don't like the theater much as you can't pause the movie when you need a drink... the last/only time we've gone to a theater in the last several years is when a hurricane knocked out the power to our whole neighborhood for 2 weeks, we drove several miles found an open theater and watched Pirates of the Caribbean (I think) just to sit in the air conditioning for 2 hours.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Tie between Late Show with Conan O'Brien and Countdown with Keith Oberman.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? I don't eat until I've been up for several hours and had some exercise, then it's usually lunch type stuff.
6. What is your middle name? McFarlane (Trudi), Duane (Gary)
7. What food do you dislike? Food with faces (Trudi), 7-11 nachos (Gary)
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Eric Gales "Story of My Life"
9. What kind of car do you drive? 1996 Honda Odessey (got it as a wedding gift from Trudi's Dad)
10. Favorite sandwich? Just had BLTs, but also love Italian subs
11. What characteristic do you despise? Hypocracy (amen Pam & Troy)
12. Favorite item of clothing? Bushmaster t-shirt, and McFarlane Family Reunion t-shirts
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Scotland
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Starbury
15. Where would you retire to? Retire? I don't think musicians ever do that - do they?
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Gary's birthday/gig last year at Frisco Grille (got video clip on our myspace page)
17. Favorite sport to watch? Boxing (did you see Shane Moseley last weekend?)
18. Furthest place you expect someone to look at this from? England and Oregon (which is further?)
19. If you had a superpower, what would it be? A truth lasso like wonder woman - I hate when people lie to me
20. When is your birthday? August 3 (Trudi), November 25 (Gary)
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Always been a night person, love to sleep in
22. What is your shoe size? 7.5 (Trudi), 12.5 (Gary)
23. Pets? Pryor & Wilder - stinkpot turtles
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Gary registered to vote for the first time ever, he finally feels like his vote might be worth something!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? an acrobat (Trudi), a scientist (Gary)
26. How are you today? Happy that justice is going my way
27. What is your favorite candy? peanut butter cups
28. What is your favorite flower? chicory (Trudi), roses (Gary)
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Thursday (when Gary gets his amp)
30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Blue Bunny pistachio almond
31. What are you listening to right now? MSNBC
32. What was the last thing you ate? BLTs & chips
33. Do you wish on stars? Every night :-)
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? cornflower (same color as my favorite flower chicory)
35. How is the weather right now? starting to get cold
36. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? District Attorney Birbeck
37. Favorite soft drink? orange drink from McDonalds
38. Favorite restaurant? Siagoneese in Silver Spring, MD, and El Pollo Rico in Arlington, VA
39. Real hair color? Blonde (Trudi), mostly gray (lol) (Gary)
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? lincoln logs at Grandma Gladys' (Trudi), any kind of ball (Gary)
41. Summer or winter? I think the snow ought to stay in the mountains where it belongs, I love spring and sunshine
42. Hugs or kisses? both
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? vanilla bean
44. Where was your last vacation? McFarlane family reunion at Malibu Dude Ranch in PA
45. When is the last time your cried? yesterday when I fell into the floor fan and hurt my arm
46. What is under your bed? the hard wood floor (no bed frame)
47. What did you do last night? I watched the vice presidential debate, gave more evidence to Officer Groller, and ordered something from Adan's (Angie's son) fund raiser catalog
48. What are you afraid of losing? My family or my sanity, they are really tied together (good answer Pam and Troy)
49. Salty or sweet? both
50. How many keys on your key ring? 8 (2 for the car, 2 for the apartment, 1 from my grandma's skeleton key collection, 1 from our first apt, 2 for the lock box)
51. How many years at your current job? we've had the band since 1993
52. Favorite day of the week? Monday, (the first day to rest after gigging all weekend)
53. How many towns have you lived in? 7 towns, 6 states (Trudi - Las Vegas, NV, Riverside, CA, Philomath, OR; Gary - Palmer Park, MD, Daytona, FL, Buffalo, NY; together - Arlington, VA, Rockville, MD, Silver Spring, MD, Carlisle, PA)
54. Do you make friends easily? people are naturally drawn to us because we are musicians, but we usually like to just hang out with each other, or a few close friends, or family

For my sister Angie-lala :-)

HAPPY PILL

We argued on the phone today
Because he lives so far away
The words he said gave me a chill
I think I need a happy pill

Wanted to hear what my shrink would say
But she’s out on holiday
The nagging doubt I can’t fulfill
I think I need a happy pill

Want to clear my head and play
Might help me keep the sad at bay
Head is pounding like a drill
I think I need a happy pill

Walked past the pet store by the pharmacy
Got a baby pig from New Guinea
Her happy cute nature helped me chill
I think I’ll call her “Happy Pill”

Made up with him, by the way
Everything is now okay
The tension I no longer feel
Now that I have a happy pill

Rootstime (a Belgium publication) reviews my CD "Live & Blue"

I received another humbling review from Rootstime today. This is a publication based in Belgium, and it was written in their language which is closest to Dutch. After utilizing several online translation services, I was truly humbled to read their glowing review. - Thank you Rootstime!
Here it is (both in Dutch and English) for your perusal. Please leave me (and them) a comment with your opinion of the disc and/or review. The website is http://www.rootstime.be/, and their myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/rootstime (in my top friends).

New Review for Bushmaster's "Live & Blue" - thanks Blues Bunny

Wow! All I can say is Thanks Blues Bunny! :-)
Blues Bunny (http://www.bluesbunny.com/) is a publication out of Glasgow, Scotland, that reviews all things blues. Here's what they have to say about my new album "Live & Blue", please read and then let me and them (in my top friends: http://www.myspace.com/thebluesbunny) know what you think.

Bushmaster's CDRelease Party for Live & Blue

For years I've been hearing "Gary, I love the way you play at the shows, you get sooo into it, I can tell from your facial expressions that you are just in the moment...", then it usually gets followed up with "... I'd love to record your shows", or "... can I buy a copy of the board tape the sound guy recorded", or "... make me a tape...".

My new CD "Live & Blue" is just that. It was the right circumstances coming together at the right time, my desire to do a live album, and my good fortune to take advantage of the opportunity. Jay Turner and I choose the best ten tracks from two live gigs with two different drummers. Follow-up included mixing, mastering (Brad Blackwood - EuphonicMasters.com), artwork (again I'm fortunate to have an in house graphic designer - Trudi), and sending everything off to press. The day I sent the package off to get reproduced, I crossed my fingers, and choose a date a few weeks past when I was told they would be completed and back to me. Previous projects have been consistantly frustrating and last minute trips to pick up the discs the night before the release parties had me gun shy. I must have generated some good kharma this time, however, because I got them back a few days earlier than I was told. :-)

Our CD Release Party was held at one of our favorite venues - Ram's Head Roadhouse, in Crownsville, MD. We sent off hundreds of invitations on the email, websites, and phone messages. After only receiving two RSVPs, I was resigned to just let it be like a regular gig and not get my feelings hurt that my friends must be all busy with summer vacation and the like. All that was for naught though, because people came out of everywhere and each friend that surprised me with their attendance was overwhelming after a while. ... Cheryl Robertson, wife of long-time friend Steve Robertson, just happened to be in town from Keller, TX, and brought family with her... Joanne Walker, Al "Bundy" Austin, both with family and friends in tow, we haven't seen in years, but feel like no time has passed at all... other friends like Dan & Becky Rodgerson, and Paul Kuharick brought new friends with them to introduce them to the band...

Needless to say it was a wonderful evening that was way too cool to have actually happened.
Thank you to Jay for bringing his camera! (and playing his ass off!)
Thank you to Jessica for helping take pictures!
Thank you to Tiffany for loaning her video camera!
Thank you to Trudi for taking video!
Thank you to Paul for bringing his A game (and a whole bunch of friends!)
Thank you to Mike and the Ram's Head Roadhouse for hosting our party!
and mostly Thank you to our friends and fans and family for helping us ROCK THE HOUSE!!!!!

Here are some pictures and videos from our fun that evening - please send me a comment to this blog and/or the pictures - I'd love to hear your thoughts from our fun evening and your opinion of our new CD. :-)





Night Shift

Drowning on Dry Land

Arlington Blues

Bad Bad Pain

Sex Machine

Every Time I Turn Around

Nappy's Boogie

Mary Had A Little Lamb
Bushmaster - Mary Had A Little Lamb - 09Aug08
..

Love you all... thanks again for making our special night soooo fun!
Gary

My Birthday

I can't stop laughing...
My dad said "how old are you anyway...are you 39 yet?"
My nephews and nieces sang "happy birthday Aunt Trudi booty..."
My friend's grandkids sang "happy birthday...", then "1,2,3... how old are you...", then "hey Trudi it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday..."
Love how they threw in the 50cent lyrics in their little kid voices.

So I turned 6 on Sunday (add the two digits together and you get a number that the little ones can grasp... lol)

Gary took me out for Mexican food, something that is surprisingly hard to find on the east coast. In DC we usually had to settle for Salvadorian, Puerto Rican, or Cuban. Purely by accident however, we found a really good Mexican restaurant here in our tiny-town Carlisle. By no coincidence it's right outside the gates of the Army Barracks. It is my favorite birthday food due to all the years in Las Vegas having authentic awesome Mexican dinners to celebrate all manner of birthdays and other celebrations.... Anyway small towns have small minds and we had several funny conversations going on around us as we tried to eat (took me twice as long to eat due to all the stiffled laughter). I never thought that I'd hear someone mispronounce the spanish word for "chicken" so many different ways.... also how in the heck did the next table over get on the subject of "Pablo Escabar"?... we had "Pollo Chilango" and "Carne Asada" and "Taquitos con queso" and all three were awesome (yes we had the leftovers after we went for a walk and watched a movie).

Great day - nice to not have to cook or do dishes - I was happy :-)
Thanks for all the calls and ecards :-)

Kings Gap Fairy Forest

"Deep in the heart of the hundred-acre woods..."
Yes - Winnie the pooh is my favorite Disney character, unless it's Tinkerbell (I forget).
Either way, a recent excursion of one of our nearby nature reserves "Kings Gap" had me thinking of both Pooh and Tink. OK, yes I'm in my early forties, but sometimes I still feel ten inside. Might be one of the reasons I get along soooo well with my nieces and nephews. Here's some pictures from our day in what I like to call "Kings Gap Fairy Forest". Let me know what you think...

Happy Fourth of July

Hope this Independence Day finds you happy, healthy, and safe! Wish we could be there to share some watermelon, or water balloon fight...
Here's something to get the party started - the music is Gary playing the Star Spangled Banner (Hendrix style at a recent gig), the pictures are from Fourth of July's past. Send us some pictures (or even just a note) about how you celebrated the nation's birthday this year, we'd love to share...

Yeah - CD Release Party date set!

Ok so after six long months of work, planning, agonizing, and stumbling blocks...
We finally sent off the artwork, duplication master, and money orders to the duplication house to get our new live blues album done and ready to sell! Therefore, we have set the date for the CD Release Party for August 9, 2008, from 9:30pm-1:30am, at RamsHead Roadhouse in Crownsville, MD. Hope to see you there, it should be quite a party! We will be celebrating all things "blue" ;-)

Happy Father's Day 2008

Today we want to honor our fathers, both those that raised us, and those brothers and friends who are raising their children and being good fathers - Dads ROCK!.... (the video and pictures are from our McFarlane family reunion last summer, the music is from Gary's CD.)

Before the beginning of the Brown family

Hi :-)
We are Gary & Trudi Brown, we live in Carlisle, PA, and have two turtles...
Everyone always asks us "how long have you been together", and we always just laugh. This is our running joke because it's a trick question.
A: 18 years

B: 17 years

C: 8years

D: all of the above

Pick any answer and you'd be correct. We met in August of 1990 when Trudi moved to the DC area from Oregon and almost immediately found a job at the Pentagon City Mall where Gary was working. Starting off as friends, we would laugh over lunch at the bad dates we'd had the night before. In late October, Trudi decided that she liked Gary too much and asked him out on a proper date. Then Christmas eve, after taking a dinner break in the back corridors of the mall, away from all the panicky shoppers, Gary pulled Trudi into an alcove and got down on his knees. Her first thought was "what are you doing you will get your pants all dirty". ... After only 6 months of engagement, they moved into a itty-bitty apartment in Arlington, on June 13th of 1991. Ten years, four apartments, and many attempts to set a date later, we finally found a time when all of our family members could be in the same place at the same time. Trudi's family turned our friend Annie's backyard into a garden chapel, and after tears, cheers, and hugs all around we partied till the next morning.... but all that is the topic of another blog. Here's a few pictures from our early days together.