EDBZ BLOG #42

Last April and May I was having trouble getting my car to pass the smog check. There was something with the catalytic converter that caused it not to work correctly. I learned that because I hadn’t been driving it that much, just to work and to San Diego a few times a year, that it needed to be “reset”. I found the process online and it came down to warming up the engine and driving it at around 55 for a short distance and then coming to a stop, then getting back up to 55 for a few more minutes, then bringing it to a stop. I had to do this until the converter was reset. I was nearing the time to have to get my registration and I ended up doing this driving test on the freeway, going east on the 134 freeway, then north up the 2 freeway, driving at 55, stopping, and repeating on the 2, several times. I did this at 6am, then began doing it even earlier, at 5:30am. As the sun was rising, I’d be driving onto the shoulder and hoping my car could slow to a stop before getting to the next onramp and getting in the way of other drivers. One thing I noticed was that even at this early time of the day, people were driving at over 65mph on their way, likely to work. Everyone was in a rush. Doing these drives was very stressful. I finally passed the smog check with only a few days to spare!

We’re so constantly on the go, getting ready for work, taking the kids to school, getting home, eating dinner, only to get up the next day to do the same thing, five or more days a week. I wonder who has the time to slow down and enjoy the small moments, interactions with their families, loved ones, cooking meals, holding hands, walking down the street and seeing flowers, smelling smells, noticing things like hopscotch squares drawn on the sidewalk in colored chalk, reading a book, just noticing and appreciating the world. Being highly sensitive and an introvert, along with having tinnitus, I tend to not want to be around crowds, noise, people talking, traffic, lots of stimulus tires me. I already work in a noisy environment and usually am happy to be alone or with a friend, talking about things that interest us, deep conversations about philosophy or history or just about movies and comics. But one thing that is always there with me is music. I can listen while reading or playing Baldur’s Gate 3. I usually spend several hours a week listening to music sent to me by publicists, labels and bands and watch great people play music on Twitch and chat with them and their viewers. creators of my favorite music to this day. 

I have people from all over the world drinking from our mugs, carrying stuff in our totes and even wearing our shirts while on vacation (see above picture of Sean F. Schultz, aka Sonder). Buy Sean’s music at: https://sondersounds.bandcamp.com.  It warms my heart to be doing my twice monthly show Friday I’m In Love on the second and fourth Fridays at 6pm Pacific, when others come around and interact with me while I’m live.  I find out what our dedicated listeners are doing, whether traveling or mowing the lawn or listening at work or having a meal or just having a beer on a Friday night or the middle of Saturday on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Get your own Superhero Logo shirt at: https://eardrum-buzz-radio.printify.me

Eardrum Buzz Radio is always on, always playing new and old music and you too can listen to it while cooking, holding hands, reading and talking with friends and loved ones, or simply when you’re curled up on the couch with your cat or dog, maybe being warmed by a fire. It doesn’t take much effort to go to the website, press play on the play button and learning about bands you never knew existed or hearing songs from your favorite bands from the 70’s on.  What would be really great is if you all could share your love of music and Eardrum Buzz Radio and spread the word and get us more listeners! I want to grow our fan base and meet new people around the world and share my station with them too. Let’s stop keeping my passion a secret to be kept to a small group of people and make our family bigger. I appreciate you all and hope to chat with you on Instagram or Bluesky or Facebook. Links are below.

And to whoever took it upon themselves to contact over 80 people to join our group page on Friday, the 13^th of February, while I was doing my Valentine’s Day show, thank you! I got a few new posts about their projects and release and a few new followers and hopefully some new fans of Eardrum Buzz Radio, who will actually listen in to my and our many DJ’s shows.

Listen: eardrumbuzz.net 

Linktree: linktr.ee/eardrumbuzz

Store: eardrum-buzz-radio.printify.me

Eardrum Buzz Radio Patreon page: patreon.com/eardrumbuzzradio

PayPal: paypal.me/eardrumbuzzradio

Follow Eardrum Buzz Radio: Instagram: @eardrumbuzzradio 

Twitter: @eardrum_buzz 

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/Eardrumbuzzradio and facebook.com/eardrumbuzzradio

Podbean: eardrumbuzzradio.podbean.com

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/0VnJNentprOBPIQYnggyck

Send submissions to: bret@eardrumbuzz.net with "Submission" and your band name in the subject. Include your band name, song titles, album title, track numbers and artwork in your metadata. Please no Country, Modern Pop, Blues, Rap or Americana. Please make the song/album link easy to find in the email. Please only MP3 files, no WAV files, no Spotify links, just your awesome music!