Keep it loud and stay proud of the music you love!

  Jose' Diaz (The Tornado Fingered Texan)

  Generals had gathered around a small table in near darkness. Subdued glows from nearby wafted lazy shadows over every face. There were by this time very few of them left.

  “We have thrown out every sensor sweep we have at these boys since they arrived.” General Port was uncharacteristically un-animated as he sat back in a squeaky folding-chair. “Have any of our ‘geeks’ discovered anything useful?”

  “Dr. Starb is on the way down right now.” General Gray informed from Ports’ immediate left.

  They were a full mile below the earth’s surface. Death Valley lay above and intermittent rumblings were not seismic events. Eyes were locked on the senior general and furrowed brows ran all around the table. A small alarm sounded and a door slid open at the far end of the room.

“Dr. Starb, welcome aboard. What can you tell us?” General Port spoke with a defused ‘bark’.

  The frail little scientist walked up the end of the table and adjusted his glasses before speaking. “Ahem!” The dry air down here told him the ventilation system was failing. “The alien’s modes of transportation are very interesting.” Generals adjusted themselves in preparation for a long speech. “All analysis has uncovered very strange things indeed.”

  “We need to know everything, and quickly Doctor. It may already be too late.” General Nickson spoke up from halfway down the table.

  “Of course General,” Dr. Starb dropped a rather thick folder he had been carrying behind his back squarely onto the end of the table. Glasses of water, or whatever, rippled in the mute light. “These boys are ‘heavy’. The space time continuum is distorted ever so slightly in their immediate vicinity. I’ve ran the calculations myself with all known material specs and found a rather interesting curve along the periodic table. Still, I have no idea what they are made of. Scanners freely penetrate the materials and energy shields but all reflections returned are far less energetic than they should be.”

  A few eyes narrowed in their sockets.

  The Doctor went on, “A detailed analysis made from sensor and live video feeds during our initial attacks revealed that some of the electromagnetic and kinetic energies from our weapons were actually absorbed into the discs. With every impact or stand-off detonation a pressure wave of gravity force emanated from each. They got heavier for a fraction of a second with each energy absorption event.”

  General Juarez spoke up. “You mean to tell us that they got stronger, or heavier, the more we attacked?”

Dr. Starb dipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. “Exactly general,” he began, “They didn’t absorb everything but what they did absorb seemed to strengthen them. There were also noticeable sound pressure level increases each time this happened.”

  A particularly violent shockwave sped thru the darkened facility. Dust sifted down thru a small crack in the ceiling.

  “What about their ‘instruments’ appearing and disappearing?” General Port asked.

  “There has to date, been no instance in which any of their ‘tools’ were seen to be used as weapons. As for the way they deploy and store them, it’s either smoke and mirrors or,” he paused for effect, “flat plane technology.”

  A round of ‘guffaws’ and ‘harrumphs’ went across the table in loose unison as another concussion shook the room.

  Starb continued. “The energy bands now circling the earth are some form of very exotic plasma. It cycles randomly thru odd harmonic frequencies and there may be a correlation between frequencies and density. Nothing I’ve tried can lock onto the proprietary frequencies. The Cray in the basement here is even useless in that regard.”

  Hard sighs made rounds at the table.

  Starb went on. “It’s my guess that we got lucky when we thought we’d found an angle thru their shields. Up to that point most of our attacks were simply attritions. The nano-timing of the EMP and fusion blast may have hurt them but, I think it also just made them angry.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Gentlemen,” General Port addressed them all. “We have one option left.” He studied the raised brows all about him. “Doctor Starb here has a few pounds of antimatter stored on site. He informed me of this today and I ordered him to set up a containment breech.” Port motioned to Starb.

  The doctor stepped outside and returned after a few seconds wheeling a cumbersome metal box that barley fit thru the door. He entered a code on a small outside panel and all four walls silently slid upwards. Inside was a crystal canister about a meter long. It held a snowstorm of what looked to be multicolored cotton-balls that danced to some unknown rhythm.

  As all eyes zeroed in on the spectacle every other light was extinguished suddenly as another shockwave rippled thru. Several sets of lungs inhaled sharply yet no one said a word until Starb spoke up.

  “General Port,” He began. “With your permission?” His hand fell onto a simple valve on one end of the cylinder.

  The general nodded slowly, and then put his head into his hands on the table top.

  Not one man present noticed the electric taste in the air as the doctor pulled the valve open. Only afterwards did that unique flavor become apparent. It also was quickly obvious that they were all still very much alive. The antimatter in the containment vessel should have annihilated everything out to the ohrt-cloud.

  Mouths were forming words but long before any synapses could initiate the actions another ominous glow superseded the anti-matter. With a low frequency crackle a thin loop of blue energy leapt from opposite corners of the door. It wrapped itself around the open bottle of anti-matter and dipped a portion of itself inside. As it did so the sound of a rock band plowing thru an epic tune seemed to rain down from the desert far above. The anti-matter began to fade from the jar. All eyes darted to and from about the room. Looks of frustration and panic, dismay and confusion, all cycled across faces. Everyone present became aware that their atoms were being deconstructed and the hiss of loosed quantum foam was the last thing they heard.

Back then, as the idea was forming I would daydream scenarios where the flying stages would go thru various maneuvers. One had the stage rider keeping his body in one spot while the stage bobbed up and down and twisted from side to side. The stage only moved as much as he could bend at the knees. Of course a dazzling light show emanating from the stage added to the imagery.

  I imagined all sorts of ‘powers’ for the stages and even had a keyboardist platform with semi-circular piano-boards. The speakers on the bottom of each saucer were loud enough to be used as weapons. The musicians could materialize instruments at will of various types. When I started “The Rocknauts” tale back in June of 2010, it was just a blog post titled “There Were Four…”. Many of the displays of abilities that followed simply flowed out of my hyper-active imagination.

  You can probably read a lot of my exposure to science fiction, both vintage and modern, in the story. In any case I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Maybe I’ll publish it in book form, or in “E-book” format.

By the way, music was the ‘muse’, and most of the lyrics are mine. The exception is “If Rock Is What You Need”. That gem was penned by Joel Lopez.

  I've ran all the wiring for the new gear and labeled everything so I don't muck up a mic with 'phantom-power'. It's going to be fun figuring out all the bells and whistles of these pre-amps and discovering which mics sound best with which boxes. Then again, if you've heard me sing...

  I bought the new Jeff Beck CD yesterday. It's a bit laid back but it is a blast to listen to. "Emotions and Comotions"  Proves he still has it and that his talent is unique. His style has no equal and his sound is like no other. The notes he plays seem to extrude from his very soul with effortless yet powerfully apparent emotion. My words cannot do justice to his talent and he humbles me with every note.

http://www.reverbnation.com/page_object/page_object_fans/artist_3774#/main/bes_chart?artist_id=3774&genre=Rock&genre_geo=Local

Now how on earth could that have happened?(humor)

  We are proud of the people we have worked with, and have had the honor of working with, over the years. There are more than a handful of heroes who have left their marks of wisdom on us. Many are gone from this earth but will never be forgotten.

  The oil and gas industry lends momentum to many aspects of the tireless engine that we call America. Despite pitfalls and bloodied noses, the products elicited from the earth are still the fodder for the relentless march of progress. Successes, and failures alike, pave the roads of history with individuals of extremely unique character and unmatched fortitude and unwavering resolve.

  When it’s time, (and trust me, it rarely is ever time), for me to come up for air, life, love, and music are the things I first breath in. Sitting on the couch or walking thru a mall with Glenda is always time well spent. She has her favorite shows and they always seem to grow on me. She has her favorite stores and I like to watch her shop. I got the life part down I think. The love part falls into place because of the life part, and rather easily. A smile a day makes life worth the effort.

  Music is a free range across which my spirit longs to take flight. With music my soul can gallop across infinite plains. With music I can fly to any time or place in the universe. Wherever music takes me, I will always take as much of ‘me’ as I can along. Whatever fits into the mental baggage is always allowed. Life and love compliment the carry-on very well.

  There is a feeling of being kindred in the world of music. Whether you’re a super-world-class-act, or a humble near-silent-do-it-yourself-er, music binds people together across race, gender, beliefs, morals, and time. The hallowed halls of super-stardom rang hollow recently with the passing of Ronnie James Dio. In his wake are timeless treasures of music. His fantasy styled lyrics and uniquely powerful voice will live on forever. No one before him ever shook the firmament the way he could with a scream. My breath of music that day was bittersweet. My CD collection has a few good memorial spins waiting my next breath of ‘music’. My focus is sharp. I know exactly where to start. There are ‘muses’ there too.

  ‘And then, the phone rang.’

  It was someone I had not heard from for over forty years. I don’t remember his voice but I could tell it was him. My Father had called me from Panama. We talked for quite a while and it actually felt good to finally hear from him. For many years I contemplated how I would react. I honestly did not know what my reaction would be. So there it is now. I’ve welcomed him back into my life. There are many questions I have but not all of them are as important as getting to know him. The ‘why-did-things-happen-like-they-did’, and the ‘where-have-you-been’, and even the ‘what’s your poison’ can all wait. I’ve found my father is easy to talk to even though his accent has a thick Central American flair to it. We touched on a few memories and along the way, with each instance, I was more and more convinced that he actually misses his children. He was directed to my main website (legasyssongs) by my older brother and related congratulations to me for some of the things he found there. I’m not sure if he listened to any music, but he did say that my half-sister is a singer there in Panama. He knows that I’ve given him two grandchildren and one step-grandchild but we didn’t get to the great-grandchildren yet. He said that he felt it was time to get in touch before it was too late. I can understand where he was coming from. I could feel the fathers love for his son thru the phone line. I hope he felt a sons love for his father as well.

  So here I am armed with a phone number and few good tears of happiness. I can’t wait to see what these new ‘muses’ can guide me to.

Signed: Jose’ Luis Diaz - Second Son Of: Elvin Augustus Diaz II  

  The inspiration to make music can come from many different people, places, or situations. It can even simply appear out of the blue. Our minds are hardwired genetically to calculate and be drawn to the ratios of resonance in melodies. We know what notes and combinations of notes sound right and which ones are dissonant. Emotions from one end of the spectrum to the other are tied to the music we hear in our brains. We write music with those emotions. Without emotion, music is only, sound.

The spirit of youth is powered by an attentive tenacity locked onto the jugular of fun. If there is no enjoyment in what they are doing, kids move on in search of joy elsewhere. With music, a diverse collection of instruments is only the tip of the berg that can cause creative juices to flow.  We are blessed to have a cornucopia of musical genres to shuffle through and deal out in any mixture our imaginations can muster. (The sound of Linkin Park easily comes to mind.) Making music is like dreaming but with full control over the outcome. Finishing a song is like waking up from a deep sleep more or less.

Adding to instruments and musical styles, newer technologies bring the ability to record and publish to levels unthinkable a generation ago. Physical CDs are slowly fading away. MP3s are gaining like wildfire even thought the sound quality leaves much to be desired (to my old ears at least). PR is only a few keystrokes away on social networking websites where slick graphics and widgets can make an unknown artist or band shine like a supernova literally overnight. Distribution with little budget to work with, or speak of, is still a no brainer with places like CDbaby.com, Discmakers, Oasis, AimeSt, Reverbnation, Mioko Records, and the list goes on throughout the web and around the world many times over! Today the young and upcoming musical hopefuls have an almost infinite array of variables to work across.

Budgeting, which is probably the farthest thing from a young mind has fallen from its lofty alabaster tower of yesteryear. Great places to find great deals abound. The world of DIY has exploded with a tidal wave of new music that easily dwarfs the mainstream. Not only are prices falling on excellent gear, but the knowledge base for said gear is growing exponentially. If the cards are played right the youth of today may well become the audio engineers of tomorrow with no formal training and coffers full of prestigious awards. That is, as long as they have fun getting there. I think they will without a doubt. Having fun is the perfect muse.