Priceless Stupid Criminal Video

I love it when Justice shows up out of no where.



These two are proof the the gene pool needs a good thinning out!

The Worlds Greatest Rock Band

The boys from Texas are back!!!

First Impressions Of My Carvin Cobalt 850T

First impressions are a big deal and Carvin certainly made an amazing first impression. When I took the instrument case out of the shipping container I was blown away by the case. I was expecting a plastic, SKB type, case. It was a very high end, faux leather, brown case with gold hardware and a very nice Carvin badge riveted to the side. The guitar inside really surprised me as well. Just yesterday, in fact, I was at Guitar Center looking at some Taylor and Gibson acoustics that don't look as nice as this Carvin looks. Nor did they play as well. The tone is very warm and round... just like I like it to be. This guitar plays and sounds better than my nephews Taylor 614CE. A guitar that is about 4 times the cost of my Cobalt 850T.

I haven't had a chance, yet, to try out the Fishman electronics. That will have to be a separate review. I've only had the instrument for about an hour now and am very impressed by everything so far. The finish is awesome. I haven't been able to find one flaw yet... I'm still looking. There's always a flaw... somewhere. The body is a high gloss finish, with binding on the front and back, while the bound neck has an awesome satin finish to it. It's very silky feeling and makes moving up and down the neck almost effortless as there is very little resistance. The abalone purfling around the sound hole, in the logo on the headstock, and in the strip on the back of the body are perfect (upon further inspection, this is strip is not abalone. I'm not sure what it is.), so far as I can tell. Nothing stands out at first look.

First impressions... Carvin certainly has this part down to a science.

On A More Somber Note

The pastor of the largest baptist church in Tampa, Bell Shoals Baptist Church, and his 13 year old son are missing. They were flying from North Carolina to Texas in the pastors personal plane. They never arrived in Texas.

Here is the first post on the church web site from last night.

Please be in earnest prayer for Pastor Forrest. On Sunday afternoon, Pastor Forrest left (flying his own plane) for North Carolina, a quick stop before going to a conference in Texas. He reached his destination in North Carolina; however, after leaving from there early Monday morning for Texas, we have learned that Pastor has not yet reached his destination at the time of this writing.

Everything humanly possibly is being done to locate Pastor’s whereabouts. We are, however, appealing to all of our church family to pray earnestly for God’s supernatural intervention. The new Worship Center is open for prayer and will remain so until further notice.

Pastor George Thomasson and Ministerial Staff

UPDATE:
Sadly Pastor Forrest Pollock and his 13 year old son, Prestons remains were found among the wreckage in the mountains of North Carolina.

Here is what Bell Shoals Baptist posted on their web site.

We regret to inform you, our church family, that at approximately 11 AM this morning we learned that search and rescue teams found the aircraft of Pastor Forrest Pollock in the mountains outside of Asheville, North Carolina. Pastor Pollock, 44 and his son Preston, 13, did not survive the crash. Please continue to lift up Dawn and the children during this difficult time. We grieve with hope and assurance that our Lord Jesus will lead us and carry us through these difficult times.

We have lost a great brother, pastor and friend in Forrest Pollock as well as a precious little brother in Christ, Preston Pollock. We owe a great thanks to those who risked their lives, endured extreme hardship, and worked non-stop in the attempt to rescue our pastor and his son.



For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

It Arrives Today!!!

My new Carvin guitar arrived in Tampa at 4:08 AM and at 7:30 AM it was scanned as being out for delivery. My stomach is all aflutter. More than likely that is just because I haven't had anything to eat yet... or gas. Either way... I will post a more detailed review of said Carvin Cobalt acoustic geetar later on today.

Ciao, for now...
Mark.

Still Waiting....

Waiting sucks when guitars are involved. As of 6:43 pm, today, my new guitar still hasn't shipped. Granted the factory is on the west coast.. 3 hours behind Florida. That makes it only 3:43 pm in California. It could ship by end of business today. It could ship tomorrow.

I found out it takes around 6 days to ship via UPS ground from the west coast to the east coast. I'm a little anxious... in case you didn't know. I'm just sayin'.

Here is my wish list of Carvin gear.

1. A Bolt guitar

2. A CS6 California Carved Top

3. A SH550 Semi Hollow Carved Top

4. An AE185 Thinline Acoustic Electric

5. An AC375 Thinline True Acoustic

6. A CL450 Nylon String Acoustic

7. A V3 full stack

8. I'm sure there's more... at least another amp or 2.

If anyone's feeling particularly generous towards me... I'm just sayin'.

UPDATE: Close of business has come and gone. My guitar still hasn't shipped. Tomorrow is the day.

***2nd UPDATE***: I received an email at 10:30 pm est. that my guitar has been shipped. It's on its way. It should be here next Wednesday or so. And not a moment too soon I might add.

My Wife

I was talking with Sylvia the other night about the worship band at church and I mentioned to her that I wished that I owned a decent acoustic guitar so I could get into that rotation as well. She said that seemed like a good idea and asked me what guitar I would like to have. After catching my breath and realizing the depth of the question she asked me... I said you don't want to know.

My dream acoustic guitar is a McPherson. For those of you who don't know about McPherson instruments they are the best. Period. End of story. My opinion is the only one that matters here. Those of you who think Taylor is the holy grail of guitars, please, get a clue! The same goes for Martin or whatever guitar it is that gets you greasy. There is only one... McPherson.

There's one HUGE problem. I don't have 4k to drop on a guitar. My life, as I know it, is over. Not really... but... One day I WILL own one or two or three of these fine instruments. Another very large issue is that pretty much any guitar that I desire to own is well over $1000. So, if any of you out there in cyber land know of anyone in need of a very good sideman... I'm the guy.

Back to reality... this morning my wife, the subject of this story, ordered for me a Carvin Cobalt series, model C850T acoustic guitar. It must be said that I have been a Carvin fan for a very long time. This will, in fact, be the second guitar that I own from Carvin. I already own one of their 7 string model electrics. It is hands down the finest guitar I have ever owned and I've owned some amazing guitars. Including a Gibson Les Paul Custom.

Carvin was my second choice for acoustics. Not Taylor, Martin, Yamaha, or whoever. This Carvin will blow any Taylor away... I guarantee it! Plus the direct price from Carvin is totally unbelievable. I'm hoping the guitar will arrive some time this week. The Cobalt guitars are in stock guitars and not the custom shop electrics Carvin is known for. I had to wait almost 3 months for my 7 string. Waiting sucks when guitars involved. The only reason it might not arrive in a timely manner will be if the guitar is on back order.

Here is what Carvin has to say about their Cobalt series guitars.

" Carvin is proud to offer the Cobalt Series of acoustic guitars. These fine acoustics are carefully handcrafted overseas to our strict and exact specifications. Premium selected woods and the Cobalt's special X-bracing yields a sweet acoustic tone with superb depth and brilliance. The Rapid Play™ low-action neck provides unmatched comfort and playability. Electronics consist of a Fishman® Matrix™ pickup and Prefix Plus™ preamp with built-in tuner for awesome flexibility, plugged or unplugged. High gloss finish on AA spruce top with rosewood back and sides and abalone sound hole purfling. Many will be hard-pressed to find another acoustic that plays, sounds, and offers the same high-end quality and features at an equivalent price."

Specifications:
- AA solid Spruce top
- Rosewood back & sides
- Satin finish neck
- High gloss finish
- Cutaway dreadnought body
- Fishman Matrix pickup
- Fishman Prefix Plus-T
- Built-in tuner
- Abalone sound hole purfling
- Precise Carvin set-up and intonation performed at our San Diego facility

Here is a picture of my new guitar!





To my wife... thank you and I love you with all of my heart!!!