BigRalphN’s Ramblings (Formally Ralphies)

For most of my life I was a person that lived in the now.  The past was the past.  I would think about old friends and colleagues from time to time,  but keeping in touch was not something I did.  If I am being totally transparent,  my thoughts seldom drifted to anything other than what I was doing that day or the upcoming weekend.  That has changed.  Now it seems like thinking back is the norm.  I guess my illness, or age, has suddenly made my own mortality sink in.  It could also be that I seem to have a better long term memory than others.  I can't remember where I put my keys yesterday but I can remember that I paid $4.00 for my first Kiss album from Nichol's (or was it Nickles)  department store in Herkimer New York. More recently, time in Icu and emergency surgery (pulmonary embolism), and learning of high school classmates that we have lost, has me thinking even more of the past. Memories good, and bad, flood in. I find myself telling stories frequently. I wonder if othe...

I always say I am going to start writing again. Writing was my strong point in school. Any academic awards and accolades I achieved were in writing. Now, after living in the grammar hell of Western Pa, I question as to whether I can even write a cognitive sentence. I might need my daughter or a friend like Robert Cairns to proofread my every word. I do not even want to think about structure! My last serious writings were music reviews and ads. If I am going to do this I hope you will all bear with me as I learn all over again. I actually started a book back in the Air Force. I wonder if it is around somewhere?

In case you have not heard, I am battling a disease called Sarcoidosis. I seem to have contracted a fairly bad case. For information on this disease, please go to http://WWW.stopsarcoidosis.org . I plan on starting to post again, but I wanted to raise awareness of this disease. Please read and consider donating to help find a cure. This is a side note posted today, June 5, 2025. I still suffer from chronic sarcoidosis. Most of my issues have been neural. The biggest being small fiber neuropathy, a condition more recently associated with sarcoidosis. It has caused a lot of numbness in my feet, hands, and face.  Since this original post, there have been many changes, and I ended up on disability. I get IVIG treatments through a port in my chest two days every other week to control the issues in addition to several daily meds.  Most people go into remission with sarcoidosis. I may have started a time or two, but it always returns with a vengeance if not treated.  If you see ...

Ace Frehley When I read that had a new cd coming out at about the same time as a new KISS CD I was  intrigued.  I had just read an interview with Ace in a popular Guitar magazine and the bitter feelings between them were evident.  Also, with Ace's famed substance abuse problems and his inability to even play during part of it, I wondered how good it could be. Well, the Starman has done it again.  Much like his first solo release in the Kiss solo releases way back when, Ace has trumped any solo release the band hs made.  It totally blows Paul Stanley's recent solo cd out of the water (and I thought Paul's was pretty good).  In fact, it blows the most recent Kiss CD, Sonic Boom, out of the water.  Tommy Thayer does his best Ace impression on Sonic Boom, but just does not have the same power or feeling.  In fact, he often copies Ace too much. Bruce Kulick and Vinnie Vincent each brought something a little different and unique to Kiss, where Tommy seems content to be an Ace imp...

  One of my best finds in guitars as this VG Strat. I got rid of my Carvin CT3 to get it. Fender has discontinued these and I do not know why? No sales? Was it misunderstood? It the root it is an American Strat with all the great feel and sound off an Amrican Strat. But inside it is so mucch more. With the Roland picckup it is a Strat, Tele, Humbucker guitar and an acoustic. It has a varieety of alternate tunings and doe each well. It can also be a 12 string in all but the first mode where it is a sanddard American Strat. I love the feel and vversatility of this. The only downsie is the batterry usae which is about 4 hours with standard double A's or 6 to 8 with decent rechargeables. So I just keep a spare set charged at all times. I hope they bring these back out in the future. I love mine.

Tone Factor - Dedicated to bringing you the finest in hand-made, boutique effects pedals, Guitars, amplifiers and other accessories I love delays.  But I am really like a more natural old style delay with out all the wild space effects.  So today I was searching Tonefactor for delay that I might really sink my teeth into and saw this one. Subdecay Echo Box - Start out with a great delay sound, add intuitive and useful features, and you have your self The Echo Box. The sound is somewhere between a digital and analog delay, but without the coldness of the the typical digital delay, or sometimes "icky" artifacts heard with analog delays. The repeats degrade each time they are recycled, but without any clicking, or popping often caused by "noise reduction" compandor circuits in older delays. Instead the Echo Box uses a discrete noise reduction circuit designed from the ground up. Natural decay mode allows the echo effect to naturally trail off after being bypassed....

SONIC MARTYR Ok.  So I ripped the description for this off of their webpage, but this is going to be one killer CD. Pop by the link above and listen to the clips. If you like bands like Kings X and  Alice and Chains, but with a dose of originality and conviction, then this is for you. This should appeal to the younger listener as well as the old who like a little bit of metal grit in their soup! From Trinity Records Site: The music of Sonic Martyr mixes elements of modern hard rock & heavy groove with an industrial atmosphere! This is a concept EP that deals with our broken nature.  However, it's also the story of someone who is very close to me.  I pray for this person daily.  The music will deal with sin and the negative effects it causes the mind, body & spirit. Lyrically it won't be for the faint of heart. The wedge that sin creates between God and His creation should not be sugar coated and packaged in fuzzy feel good language. We all need to hold the mirr...