Man, it has been crazy the last few days. I have about sixteen things (exaggeration) to write about, so I’m just going to go stream-of-consciousness on you.

- All the gear is called for but the phaser. Someday phasers will be cool again and you’ll all be like “Andy tried to sell one cheap and I didn’t buy it and now they’re worth 1.6 million dollars. Dang.”

- I think I am going to sell the Tele. I don’t want to give ebay a bunch of money, so tomorrow I’ll start a separate page and we’ll do our own little auction on here. Send me an email if you’re interested and I’ll keep you posted.

- I’m playing guitars on a record for Gotee artist Sarah Kelly. I gave myself the challenge of just using one guitar for the whole record and it’s been awesome. The Les Paul and I are growing closer daily. However, I did need sounds from both my studio board and my live board, so we ended up just using them both. It’s ridiculous.

(Note: this many pedals does not have anything to do with making better music)

- It is Halloween. In a few minutes I will go home to a ladybug and a bumblebee. The ladybug seems excited, though I have a feeling the bumblebee may be a tad reluctant. Either way, Alison and I will eat most of their candy. I know what you’re thinking. That is really cheap rent.

- I just performed a guest spot for Andy Gullahorn’s new record. Here is a picture…

- I love that the New York Times is free online now. I’m a news junkie.

- I’ve started watching Battlestar again from the beginning. It is awesome and no, I’m not a nerd.

- Ok, yes I am.

- My friend Bryan just started a new website discussing the intermingling of sports and religion. Very, very interesting and well written. CLICK HERE to check it out. Even for somebody who knows nothing at all about sports, I found it fascinating.

Ok, that’s about all I can think of right now. Hopefully I’ll get a little more time and can post again tomorrow.

Don’t take candy from strangers.

Unless it looks like really good candy.

So it’s that time again. Got some gear in the “haven’t used in six months” pile and I need to let it go. I’d rather not throw this stuff on ebay, but let folks I know have it, so I’m posting it here. Everything has been on the road, so has the little nick and scuff, but they all work fine, just haven’t used them in a little while.

If you see anything you want, just send me an email - andrew(at)andrewosenga.com

First come, first served. Thanks!

L.R. Baggs - ParaAcoustic D.I.

I’ve got three of these (one is the spare I carry for Cliff) and don’t need this one. Works great and makes acoustics sound a TON better in a live setting.
CLICK HERE to read about it

$100

Guyatone PS3 Phase Shifter

Great sounding phaser. I like it WAY better than the MXR Phase 90 that most guys use. I have this sound on a couple of other pieces now, so I don’t need the single one. With Caedmon’s I always used this on “Before There Was Time”.
CLICK HERE to read about it.

$50

Danelectro Tuna Melt Tremolo

This was the pedal everybody loved from this Danelectro series. Great-sounding tremolo, unreal for the price. Derek, MPJ, Cason, just about everybody I know uses these. I just replaced it for something with vibrato as well, so I don’t need it anymore. Enjoy…
CLICK HERE to read about it.

$25

Danelectro Fish n’ Chips EQ

From the same line, here’s a handy little 7-band EQ, also with a volume slider. I really like to use these to go between different guitars. If one’s louder and bassier, you just set your amp or DI to one guitar and use this to match the other guitar. Very useful.
CLICK HERE to read about it.

$20

And I’m thinking about selling my Tele. A Made-in-Mexico ‘72 ThinLine Reissue. Killer guitar. I’m pretty nostalgic about it, though, so I’m not sure. If anybody’s really into it, send me an email and let me know. I know I should get rid of it, (between the Les Paul and the Strat I sort of have this tone covered) but this was my main guitar for a few years and I’m still feeling a little loyal.

I have not slept much the past few days. Two late night drives got me all off kilter and last night I got excited about a new project and then realistic about a project and then sort of wishing/daunted/excited about it, which kept me up late again.

Tonight it’s quarter to 2 and I just got home from the studio. I put the girls to bed then went to watch Vance mix one of David’s tunes. Alison calls it my “night class”. She wants me to call it that, too. We’ll see.

Then Garett, Todd and I rehearsed with Steven Delopoulos for a show we’re playing with him on Monday night at the Belcourt here in Nashville. It’s going to be awesome. In 35 minutes I’ll be playing acoustic, electric and bass. And juggling burning monkeys, I think (still needs some practice).

Tomorrow morning I’ve got a co-writing session, lunch with my friend and world-domination-conspirator Winn, then I’m planning to head down to VisualSound to have them tune up an amp and see if I can score some free gear, um, I mean, look at all their wonderfully affordable products.

Which of course leads me to tonight’s Top Five:

Top Five Procrastination Tools

Sorry it’s been a few days since I’ve posted last. I was sans internet for a few days and I’ve been having to catch up.

So Monday night the masterful Ben Shive and I piled a bunch of gear in the back of my Ford and drove through some nasty rain up to Indianapolis. Ben had produced a record for a band there, named Connersvine, and had me play most of the guitars on it. The album came out Tuesday so we sat in with their band for their release show.

Usually when you play on a record, as soon as you get the part right you never play it again. It was fun to actually get to relearn the tunes and play them live, see how they worked.

The guys in the band were really great. We stayed with one of the guys, Hunter, the night before the show. He’s the punter for the Indianapolis Colts. Due to some miscommunication we freaked his wife out by showing up unexpected, to her, at 2:30 in the morning. Once she decided we weren’t thieves she was quite gracious.

I drove back last night in, again, terrible weather and then spent this morning sleeping in a bit and then playing with the girls. Too much fun.

David and I finished the last bit of recording on his album this afternoon. A few background vocals, eight bars of guitar, a cowbell and some trombone. Days like this need to happen more often.

I’ve got some free time in the coming weeks now, so I’ll hopefully be able to keep some of it clear enough to dive in to some more writing. Oh, and speaking of writing, CLICK HERE for to read the Top Five Things I Don’t Like that Everybody Else Does.

You. One of these people. Six hours. A Mazda. Two stops. Stereo only sort of working. Who do you want riding shotgun for you? Somebody you thnk would be fascinating AND a good hang. CLICK HERE for mine.

Two and a half years ago at Alison’s brother Clay’s wedding…

Yesterday at Jason and Emily’s…

It’s like I’ve stopped growing and she’s doing it for the both of us.

It’s bittersweet and it’s going too fast…

Danny Bryant had a good suggestion with this one. CLICK HERE to see my list. Very curious to see who might be on yours.

And remember, we’re trying to drive some new traffic to the forum on andrewosenga.net, so it’d be great if you felt like commenting over there instead on these. Thanks.

I played with my friend Steven Delopoulos last night here in Nashville. It was really fun.

He’s a mad genius. You never know what he will do and it makes playing with him pretty thrilling. Todd sat in on the last few tunes as well and pretty much blew me away.

I’m so honored to get to do what I do. To make music with people who I really think are some of the most talented in the world.

Steven’s new record will come out in November, I think, and it’s amazing. One of the best records of all of my friends, I think. You can CLICK HERE and download a free EP that contains a few of those recordings.

I’ve got to run now and get to a wedding rehearsal. I’ll try and think of the next Top Five on my drive home…

CLICK HERE

Everybody loves Top Fives. Top Fives are an American, nay, a worldwide institution. Can anyone think of a better way to see how greatly you disagree with people you thought you liked?

For instance, if we were talking about Top Five Best Albums and you put Steely Dan, I’d know you were nuts. If you put the Spice Girls I’d know you have a good sense of humor. If you put “Achtung Baby” or “The Joshua Tree” I’d know you were brilliant and that we must be related somehow.

So for at least a couple weeks now we’re going to run a daily Top Five here on the andrewosenga.net forum. I’ll post the topics on my blog and myspace page, but link to the forum for the actual lists and discussion. Hopefully this will help kickstart a bit of a community over here.

So make sure and swing by here often and don’t be afraid to jump in the fray. After all, if you really believe Perfect Strangers is the best TV show ever, you now have a chance to change all of our minds and make this world a better place.

TOP FIVE SONGS FOR AUTUMN