On Wednesday, May 14, 2025 Smack Dab had the pleasure of playing what we call a “corporate gig”, which is a gig at a business, or some other entity, but not a bar or private party. We played at Glidewell Dental in Irvine, CA, to celebrate the 80th birthday of the founder of the company, Jim Glidewell. Mr. Glidewell is an interesting person; according to Marc he comes in to the office every day, and according to his birthday speech, Mr. Glidewell said “I’ll retire when I die!” An inspiration for all of us who are planning to work as long as we have our health. Both Marc and Allison work at Glidewell Dental, so we had an in with them, which certainly helps. Now, corporate gigs are high on the list of gigs, since they usually pay well, and the crowd is usually very appreciative. In addition, the hours were good; play from 5pm to 8pm (three sets), and we also got both watered and fed! This was a super fun gig; since Marc works with the Audio-Visual group at Glidewell, he had set up the stage with all professional lighting, and we also had pyrotechnics! Yes, a great gig, a great room to play in, a great stage, and food and drinks (for those who drink of course)! So, we play on, and we had a great time! For a couple of video clips (including the pyrotechnics), you can check out my little YouTube channel: @peterlindwall8875.
Smack Dab at Jim Glidewell's 80th birthday party at Glidewell Dental, Irvine, CA. We play bars, restaurants, private parties and corporate events, you name it! You can reach us at smackdabgroup@gmail.com.
Any gig where you get fed is a great gig!
Stage setup at the Glidewell gig. Marc did all of the lighting.
Soundcheck at the Glidewell gig. Those little white boxes in front of the stage held the pyrotechnics, they shoot 6 foot high sparklers! Lloyd, Allison, myself, Marc and Kent. For those drum geeks out there, I started playing my DW kit as a four-piece, since I pretty much exclusively practice on a four-piece, both at home and at the Blasmo Studios in Laguna Hills, CA where we practice with the band.
The Deadly Raisin Bread... S o it is about a quarter ‘till 9 PM on Thursday the second of October, 2025, and we are just about ready to go to bed. I’m downstairs getting Lars his Apoquel pill for his allergies, wrapped up in a piece of turkey, as is our habit. After his pill, Lars rushes up the stairs to the bedroom where he sleeps. So far so good… We had brought up a couple pieces of yummy raisin bread for a little evening snack (yes, I know, it is not a good habit, but it is soooo yummy), and left it on the dresser upstairs. Well, as you can probably guess by now, as soon as Kathy comes in to the bedroom, Lars is wolfing down the raisin bread, like there is no tomorrow. At first I thought it was funny; here goes Lars again snatching food whenever he can, be it somebody’s sandwich, a whole mackerel, a turkey drumstick or leftovers. However, Kathy quickly realized that grapes can be toxic to dogs, and if raisins are just...
My Presam work ID card, circa 1980. I had combed my hair as a rocker as a silly joke. As I’m writing this, I’ve been employed full-time since the spring of 1976, so it seems I’ve been working continuously for almost 50 years, earning a paycheck! Not bad, and the rewards have been plenty; food, rent money, mortgage money, buying stuff (cars, pickup trucks, drums, houses, horses, education, vacations, etc.), and making sure that my family was fed and had a roof over their heads. I like working, and I’m still at it, and I’ll keep it up as long as anybody is willing to pay me for what I do, whatever that is! A little note about my employment history back in Sweden; back then (1970-1980) it was customary to issue a final written performance review, and for some reason, I saved them all, with the exception of my first job. So, even though I had forgotten the dates, when I found the records (you will see them below), the dates became accur...
As I now enter into my seventies, I’m well aware that for me and my contemporaries, there will be some “normal” age-related cognitive decline; I myself experience situations where I can’t think of the right word, can’t remember somebody’s name, or I lose stuff that I seemingly had right in front of my eyes just a few seconds ago. All of this is annoying to say the least, but I’m thinking that maybe we can slow this “normal” state of affairs a little bit, maybe with some new ways of thinking, and maybe doing! Caveat; I’m not a neuroscientist, I’m not an MD, I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, I’m just a guy that’s been alive on the planet for seventy years, and I’m hoping to be on this side of the grass for as long as possible! So, as I’ve been “slowly” (ha, ha, ha) thinking about this, I’m going to share some of the things that I’m planning to do (or have recently done) in order to keep as mentally sharp as possible, for as long as possible, even though I may no...
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