My Guitar Rig software arrived on Saturday. Since the 828mkII is back-ordered and won’t be delivered until early February, I’m not yet able to process my Stick through the software. All I’ve been able to do so far is install Guitar Rig into my iBook and use the pre-recorded samples to experiment with the huge variety of effect/amp/cabinet simulators. This looks to be a very promising software package, although it may be a bit more of a CPU hog than I had expected. I will definitely need to dedicate my iBook specifcally to my MacRack, and avoid installing other software, or using it for the Internet or email, etc.

Very early this morning while doing some work around the outside of the house, I tried to climb up over a short cement wall with my arms full, slipped and banged up my legs and knees. It hurt pretty bad and I even felt nauseous for a very brief moment, but it passed and I finished my work with a bit of a limp. It wasn’t until I got back inside that I noticed that my right sock was quickly becoming soaked in blood. I managed to stop the bleeding, clean and disinfect the wound, and dress it with some cotton and gauze. The wound wasn’t large or very serious, but it was right on my shin, where the bone is very close to the skin, and I could see something white-ish in the wound. While I was pretty sure it wasn’t bone that I was seeing, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when it began bleeding a bit again around noon. So I went to the hospital expecting to get a stitch or two. The doctor laughed at me, closed the wound with a couple of strips of surgical tape, and sent me on my way. I’m kinda surprised he didn’t offer me a lollipop.

I’ve uploaded a new sound file into the Music section, from my performance at Jive on Friday. The song is called “Lift Off”, and is the first song I ever wrote for The Stick (or any instrument for that matter).

This evening I put in an order for the last two major components of my MacRack: an MOTU 828mkII computer interface, and Native Instuments’ Guitar Rig effects software. Both are currently on backorder, so it may be a couple of weeks before I receive the shipment.

I had a very busy weekend, and today was my first day back to work since December. Derek and his wife Hiroko arrived in Hiroshima on Thursday night. They were both quite worn out after a 6 hour drive from Kita-Kyushu, where Derek had played a gig the night before. We stayed up until about 2am talking and getting to know each other, before turning in for the night. This was the earliest night we had during the entire weekend, as Derek and I made a habit over the next 3 nights of talking about a wide variety of things until after 4am.

After brunch on Friday morning, Derek and I each retreated to our own small spaces to rehearse and prepare for our gig later that night. When we arrived at Jive at about 5pm, Kajiyama-san was already there and half-way to setting up his gear. Derek and I got set up, we all did a quick soundcheck, and then started the show on time at 8pm. I was first up with a 40 minute set (including a few minutes explaining The Stick), followed by Kajiyama-san and then Derek, each playing about 45 minutes. We played to a full house of about 40 people, who were very attentative and seemed to enjoy the show very much. Kajiyama-san is quite well known and respected in Hiroshima, and gave one of his usual powerful performances. Many people had great things to say about Derek and his music (Jamie: “Where did you find this guy?”), and Derek sold 8 of his CDs.

Saturday was a day of relaxation and a very brief tour of Hiroshima City, including Peace Memorial Park and the A-Bomb Dome. We also had a wonderful early dinner at my favorite Indian restaurant, where Derek struck up a conversation with a waiter who was from a city in northern India where Derek lived for a few years.

Sunday night we played at a benefit event organized by Jamie and his wife Natasha, from which all proceeds will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society to assist the victims of the tsunami that hit many Asian countries in December. Derek and I were the first to perform, and then quickly removed all of our gear from the stage so we could leave early. I knew that Hiroko (the driver) would want to get home at a decent hour so she could rest up for the drive back home.

Derek and Hiroko left Hiroshima on Monday afternoon. I expect that he will be coming back to Hiroshima to perform again sometime. We have similar ideas about how we would like to do more gigs and events in western Japan and bring The Stick to the attention of more people, but we are going to move in baby steps.

On the Wednesday before Derek arrived, I purchased an iBook as the first piece of gear in my MacRack. I expect I’ll be able to have the other items I need to complete the MacRack within a few weeks.

I spoke with Derek on the telephone a few days ago to go over last minute arrangements, and then he sent me an email yesterday just before he and Hiroko hit the road. Derek will be playing a show in Kita-Kyushu tonight, and then they will set out sometime tomorrow for Hiroshima.

Jamie is organizing a huge benefit event for Sunday 9 January at El Barco and Barco Tropical, with live music and DJs. The goal is to raise 500,000 yen to donate to the Japan Red Cross to assist the victims of the tsunami that hit south Asia last month. See the Schedule section for more information.

There is an outside chance that I may be able to put together a “MacRack” sooner rather than later. I spent several hours yesterday shopping and deciding which iBook I want, and generally getting a bit too excited before I even have all of my ducks in a row.