mindee jorgensen

Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends March tour with mclusky!

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I hit the road for a quick 4 show tour with my friends Conan, Dusty, and Tony (aka Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends) at the beginning of March. We did a couple shows on our own in Newport Beach and Bakersfield, and then opened for our friends mclusky at The Echoplex in Los Angeles, and The Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco.

Lots of good times, although I wish it wasn’t such a short tour! We were just getting warmed up! Good news though, we are doing a longer tour in May! That tour will be starting in my hometown of Sioux City IA on May 17th!! Going to be seeing you soon midwest friends!

Scroll to the bottom for a video of our Echoplex Soundcheck of a new unreleased song, “Who Dares!”

mclusky and the Secret Friends (📸 by Monmarphotography)
Live in SF
Soundcheck at The Echoplex
📸 by Monmar
📸 by Monmar
Packing up at 1am
The plexiglass has come between us
After the set…
Before the set…
📸 by Monmar

The Last of the Firsts

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Surviving the year after losing the love of my life.

 

 In 3 days it will be the 1 year anniversary of losing my love Manny. It still doesn’t feel real at times. I know part of me is still in shock. This past year is somewhat of a blur. How did I make it this far? A year of counting the days, weeks and months go by.

  It was also a full year of painful firsts. My first Valentines Day without Manny, which was also the day he was cremated. My first 4th of July without him. July 6th was his first heavenly birthday, which we celebrated with a BBQ in his honor. 

 The 1st Halloween without Manny was a bittersweet one; it was also my last Holiday with Elvis. My friend Heidi and I took Elvis trick-or-treating in his stroller. He wasn’t his usual excited self and slept most of the time. Shortly after I had to make the painful decision to put Elvis to sleep peacefully at home. A decision I wasn’t supposed to make alone. 

Elvis lived a full 10 months after Manny passed. This year is a blur but I know those 10 months were focused on loving and caring for Elvis as a single senior dog mom. It was not an easy task, but one that kept me occupied and gave me focus. It forced me out of bed on the hard days, and out into the sun. I took Elvis on park adventures, hikes, and strolls. I made sure his last days were filled with love and adventures.

 Then it was the 1st Thanksgiving without Manny, and the 1st holiday without Elvis. I spent it with Manny’s family, just like I have in years past. I am blessed to still be a part of his family, but it was a hard holiday for us all.

 My first birthday without Manny was November 30th. Manny always went out of his way to make me feel special on my birthday. I missed him so much this day. My birthday last year was the last time I saw his band live, and the last time we played together on stage. 

 Despite the emotions my birthday brought up, it was a wonderful day thanks to my many friends. I seriously could not have made it through this year without the support of my friends. One thing this tragedy has shown me is how many genuine friends I have in my life, and how much they love me.

I traveled to spend Christmas with my family at my sisters house. It helped to be out of LA spending time with my adorable nephews. It was a nice distraction, although I still felt the heartache of his absence.

 I flew back on New Years Eve, and made it back to my apartment at 11pm. I thought I would be alright. That I would be tired from traveling all day (I was) and would just unpack and snuggle with the cats. About 10 minutes to midnight, a huge wave of panic hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t want the year to end. It felt like it was putting more distance between me and the time when Manny was alive. I wen’t from saying “Manny passed away this year” to “Manny passed away last year” in the blink of an eye. There was also a touch of survivors guilt, that I lived to see 2024 and he didn’t. 

  We always spent NYE together. More recently, we would spend each NYE at home, and watch our neighborhood go crazy with fireworks at midnight. The sound of the fireworks celebrating the new year was like a punch in the gut that night. At least the fireworks drowned out the sound of my tears.

 The only first left is the first anniversary of his passing. I can’t believe the resiliency it took to survive this year of painful firsts. I don’t think I am strong, I hate when people tell me that. I did what I had to to survive this painful loss, I had no choice. 

 There will be a memorial show for Manny on the anniversary of his passing, January 6th, at The Old Town Pub. His band The Richard Ramirez Beatdown will be playing with Altair on bass, and I will be joining them for a song. We are doing a Dangerously Sleazy song or two as well.

 I appreciate everyone who has been keeping his memory alive this year, and please continue to as the years go by. I know I can never forget him.

Conan Neutron and The Secret Friends October 2023 Tour Photos

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Tour Blog of My Time Drumming with Conan Neutron and The Secret Friends.

With all the obstacles and grief this year as thrown my way, I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go on a fun West Coast tour playing drums for Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends on their “Adult Prom Tour” with the band Lung.

Lung and Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends on the last day of tour.

When Conan first messaged me about playing drums on this 9 day tour, it was the night before I was leaving on my Yosemite National Park vacation with my hiking buddy Jazmin. I was like “Yes…well I mean probably yes, but I have some questions, but I can’t talk for like 4 days. Can you hold my spot til then?” Thankfully he did and after nice chat it sounded like it would be a good fit and I said OK.

I did a “practice” show with Conan and bassist Tony in Kentucky in September. That was a fun experience, although there was very limited practice time together as a band. I mostly studied and learned the songs alone, and we got one long practice in the day before the gig. It was a bit rough, but I was able to make notes on the parts I could improve on, nail down the tempos, and be even more prepared for the tour.

The first show of the tour was in Phoenix, and I flew in the day before. Conan picked me up and we went to meet Dusty at her job at Fender Headquarters. This was the 1st time I had met Dusty, but it was instantly apparent that she was a genuinely sweet person who was also a badass musician and super knowledgable about guitars. Getting a tour of Fender HQ was awesome, I don’t think I have ever seen so many guitars at one time.

Due to Tony’s flight being delayed, the only practice we got together as a 4 piece was 5 hours the day of the first show…in the 100+ degree heat of Phoenix. A small reminder that being a drummer is an actual “job” and very hard work that takes focus and discipline.

The first show went pretty smoothly and the four of us jelled well together. It was also my first night meeting the band Lung. Three super down to earth and kind people. Daisy is the drummer, Kate plays electric cello and sings, and Rochelle does all the art. I had checked their music out before the tour and loved what I heard. It was even more impressive live!! I was so excited for the LA show and for all my friends to catch them.

The second show was Los Angeles. I was only in town for about 15 hours. I did get to sleep in my own bed though, and lots of good friends came to see us! The rest of the tour included San Francisco, Sacramento, Reno, Eugene, Portland, Bellingham, and Seattle.

I was so excited about the Seattle show. For one, my best friend Joe Ross came and I got to stay with him and have some nice catch up time with one of my oldest friends! It was also a festival and the stage we played was in the middle of a roller rink. We also got to play with a long time favorite band, Big Business!

This tour was such a fun experience with some kind and supportive people. It was a much needed escape from the challenges and grief I have been facing. I am excited to play with Conan, Tony, and Dusty again in the future, and I can’t wait for the next time I get to rock out to Lung.

Yosemite Adventure 2023

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I just got back from an amazing vacation to Yosemite National Park. A place I have wanted to visit for years. I went with my good friend and hiking BFF Jazmin. Most people are not down to hike 15 miles in one day, but she is! We hiked about 28 miles in 4 days…the 3rd day being about 2 miles during our lunch break on the ride home.

We brought food to pack lunches and had lovely picnics each day, deep within the majestic nature. Thursday we drove up North, stopping in Sequoia National Park for a quick hike, followed by a nice dinner at a special restaurant where Manny and I ate when we visited the park in 2017. They had amazing Chili Rellenos, and we always wanted to return. I probably teared up eating those tasty chilis, remembering the fun vacation Manny and I took 6 years ago. Manny wasn’t a big nature fan, but he went with me that year to check out the Giant Sequoias.

We got to our hotel and relaxed for the evening, preparing for our big day in the morning. Jazmin had a free hotel voucher, so we were staying about an hour and a half away from the park, but worth it for sure! The next day we woke up early and headed to the park. It was a beautiful drive and we were so excited. Of course, lots of traffic getting into the park, and even more once we hit Yosemite Valley. The view after we exited the tunnel was amazing though. The place I always wanted to see, and pictures don’t even begin to do this magical valley justice. The first place we stopped was Bridal Veil Falls. Due to the extreme snowfall this winter, it was rushing and roaring. We got soaked from the mist.

Then, it was a long time of driving, looking for parking. The Valley is beautiful, but overly packed with tourists, ugh. We finally found a spot near the Village store. We walled by Yosemite Falls and through the Valley to our hiking trail. We chose the Four Mile Trail, a steep trail across from Yosemite Falls with majestic views of the park. It is strenuous trail, and thus not as not crowded with tourists. We appreciated the solitude and the other determined hikers on the trail. Lots of steep switchbacks, and constant views. By the time we reached nearly the top we were higher than the falls. We had an amazing view of Half Dome, the Falls, and the Valley.

By the time we got back down the trail it was evening. We walked back through the valley in the dark, stopping to gaze at the amazing stars. We even saw a shooting star! It was a very long day, we hiked about 13 very steep miles, and got back to the hotel after 1am.

Well rested on Saturday, we drove out towards the park. We stopped at a gift and antique shop, grabbing some magnets that we like to collect on our trips. Our legs and feet were sore from the day before, but we ending up hiking a secluded trail to a waterfall, about 10 miles. We then drove around the park (avoiding the Valley…too many tourists lol.). We stayed until Sundown before heading back.

Sunday we packed up and hit the road back to Los Angeles. We stopped at Pyramid Lake for lunch, and got in a couple more miles of exploring before rolling back into LA.

I am really grateful to have Jazmin as a hiking buddy. She loves nature and hiking and is willing to go on these long and crazy adventures. She is more of a risk taker than I am and kind of pushes me out of my comfort zone. We share an explorer spirit and drive to travel and see the world.

One thing I have always wanted to do is explore the many natural wonders of the world. After losing Manny, I was trying to think of a reason to push forward in life, a goal or something to fill my time and give me something to look forward too. I have decided I want to visit as many national parks as I can. There are so many beautiful places in the country, and I would love to explore them all.

Follow Me on Patreon!

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https://www.patreon.com/Mindeejorgensen

Hey friends! I started a Patreon account, and would love it if you checked it out!

This will be a great place to support me on my drumming journey. You will have access VIP video blog posts, longer drum clips, full song drum covers, and watch my progress as I learn a new instrument, keyboards!

There will also be a section just for students! If you enjoy my mini lessons, you need to check this out. I will give longer, more in depth video lessons, take lesson requests, give lessons on full cover songs, and also offer my student supporters a chance for one on one drum chats!

See you on Patreon! Thanks!

ModPods new album “Ma’am” out today!

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Photo by Marissa Lynn

ModPods new album is out today, 1/7/2022. Check it out on Bandcamp! https://modpods.bandcamp.com/album/maam

We had a lot of fun working on this album. Most of the instrumental tracks were recorded pre-covid, but then we had to take a long break once the covid pandemic hit. It felt like forever until we got it completed. Working on this album really pushed me to level up my bass and guitar playing. I am very grateful for my awesome bandmates Myriad and Daniel, and all the hard work they put in to make this album possible. Please check it out, and grab a copy. Get ready to dance!

Hiking Adventure in Sedona AZ

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A collection of photos from my hiking trip in Sedona, AZ.

I recently went on a hiking trip with my lovely friend Jazmin. Our birthdays are close together, and we spent 2 days in Sedona, AZ to celebrate. We hiked for 6 plus hours each day, taking in some majestic scenery! We stayed at a cute Air B+B, where we cooked and watched movies at night. We looked at the stars, enjoyed a zen garden, and encountered a heard of wild boars in the dark.

The Rudiment A Day Drummer Challenge!

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Are you ready to take the challenge??

In drumming, there are 40 standard drum rudiments.  I will be posting one rudiment video a day, for forty days, for the #rudimentadaychallenge 

The video will include a brief lesson and demonstration of the days rudiment.

   As a bonus, at the end of the challenge I will be giving away a free drum lesson to 2 interested participants!

The contest will happen on Instagram, but I will also be posting the videos on Facebook  Twitter and YouTube.

    Here are the details!

1 –  Post of video of yourself playing the day’s rudiment with the hashtag #rudimentadaychallenge

2 –  hashtag the name of the day’s rudiment.

3 – Tag me @mindianaj on Instagram if you do want to enter the contest for the free lesson!

At the end of the challenge I will pick 2 participants that tagged me and each will receive one free hour long virtual lesson!

   You don’t have to enter the contest to join in on the fun either!!!

I encourage all my fellow drummers to join the challenge.  Show your friends and family what drumming is about. Let’s inspire some new people to take up drumming.

Fellow teachers, I encourage you to join the challenge as well, and share it with your students.   Let’s show the world how fun being a drummer is, as well as all the hard work that goes into it.

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LET’S DO THIS!!!!

Rescuing Rosie

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 Rescuing Rosie

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I was out walking our dog Elvis.  Earlier that day I thought I had heard a kitten meowing across the street, but paid no mind to it.  This time I heard it again, but louder and more desperate.  I glanced across the street to a rehab home and some of the residents were standing by the fence.  They saw me looking and yelled to come over, there is a kitten trapped in a bush.

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There is a huge bush just outside the fence.  The residents explained they were not allowed to leave, but had been listening to this kitten crying all day. They asked if I could try to see it.  One resident said she heard it crying the night before.

The bush was thick and gigantic. Probably 7 feet tall 6 feet wide.  It was thorny and I couldn’t reach in.  I could hear the sad cries of the kitten up toward the top.

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I went inside to get a flash light and saw. I told my boyfriend Manny what was up.  He came outside to help too.  We looked hard but couldn’t see the kitten. We could hear her though and she sounded so scared.

The residents handed us some tools through their fence. Garden shears and a shovel.  I had a mini saw.  We trimmed and hacked and spent two hours as the sun started going down, not even able to see her.  We would hack where the sound was, and then the cries would move to the other side.

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As the sun went down, the residents were shining their phone lights to help us, and cheering us on. We were covered in sweat and painful scratches from the thorny bush.

Finally, just as we were going to give up, I got my first glimpse of her! The tiniest little kitten, all black with icy blue eyes reflecting back at me!

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Seeing that kitty gave us hope and we kept cutting.

Around 10pm the residents were called inside, we were tired and defeated. We couldn’t even get close enough to touch her. She could move around in the twisted thorny branches enough to stay out of reach.

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We knew we had to go inside and go to bed at some point.  We brought out a towel, a little bowl of water, and an open packet of our dog’s wet food. We left it where she could reach it and hoped it would get her through the night.

 

We hardly slept. I just kept thinking about her thin tiny body and crusted blue eyes.  I hoped she would make it through the night and we could get her help in the morning.  Manny went and checked on her in the early morning hours and she was still alive, still crying for help.

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The next morning I called the animal shelter.  They took down my name and number and said due to Covid they were short staffed and someone would call me when they were on the way.  We kept trying, and her cries were sounding weaker.

We got a friendly neighbor who loves cats.  We told him what was up and he came out.  With his help, we were able to scare her to a cut area of the bush and I was finally able to get my hand on her!  Manny came over and helped pry the branches apart so I could slide her out of the thorny maze.

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She was thin with crusty eyes and a runny nose, barely the size of a hand.  We fell in love, she needed our help and we decided to keep her.  We couldn’t let her go now.

I got kitten formula and read up on how to care for the tiny kitten. Her eyes were bright blue, and she was still wobbly. We figured she was 3 weeks old.  She weighed less than a pound.  Poor girl had fleas, worms, a cold, and conjunctivitis.

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That evening and for the first few weeks, she was clinging to us like Velcro.  She insisted on sleeping nestled under my chin every night.

 

I took her to the vet a week later and he said she was so small he couldn’t give her any shots or vaccines yet, I had to get her to 2 pounds.

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She is now a healthy and happy 10 week old,  exploding with energy and personality.   We chose the name Rosie.

Her and Elvis are cuddle buddies, but she does get on his nerves sometimes with her bursts of energy.

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I wanted to share her story along with all these cute photos. We didn’t want a cat.  We were not looking for a pet, but sometimes a pet needs you.  She needed help and we were the ones who answered her cries.

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My Quarantine Thoughts and COVID Theories

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God I hate snow. God.

Remember people, human life CAN exist without money.

I was going to go get a haircut on Super Tuesday when Supercuts had a sale…but I got distracted.  Don’t put off what you can do today because tomorrow may never come.

How come no one is just telling Trump “No dude, it’s over.”  Why are we not stopping this? There are people that could stop this.  He isn’t going to understand that he is not the master of America, and he isn’t gonna magically get smarter. He can’t comprehend the constitution.  Just forcefully carry him out of office and put him in a nursing home.  Tell him he is the president of the TV room. He probably won’t even know the difference.

Our president is a delusional bully. He is not mentally fit to be president.  Especially now.

The EPA rollback shit and the selling of government land is really pissing me off.  Trump used his declaration of emergency power to overturn some important regulations and is doing some pretty shady shit when it comes to the environment and public land.  The Earth is healing right now, let’s keep that ball rolling.

Now would be a perfect time to transition our national electric grid and automotive industry to greener options. Wind, solar, hydro, ect.

We could also use hemp to make paper, plastic, ect, and end some of some of that deforestation.

All you oil fucks are already filthy rich and living way higher qualities of life than most people.  Just let us battle climate change, now is the time. There will always be a need for some oil, your children will still inherent millions, quit being greedy dicks and sacrificing the planet.

NASA plans to go to the moon in 2024. I hope the crisis won’t slow their plan down too much.

COVID-19 doesn’t have a super high mortality rate.  It’s danger lies in that it is highly contagious, many people are asymptomatic and it incubates for around 2 weeks.

Everybody dies someday. We need to quit living in fear, and we don’t have to panic.

Just follow the science based orders and do what you can to minimize the risks to yourself and others.

Please don’t inject disinfectant, that is not science based. Trump in general is not science based.

I don’t like the term social distancing, it feels very isolating. Can we please call it physical distancing?

Fear can make you addicted to bad news and makes you search out only the information that affirms the anxiety based beliefs you already hold, and disregard anything that negates it.

Scientific evidence outweighs opinion 100 percent of the time.

This is a new virus and the scientific community is still in the process of collecting data and testing theories. Many things being presented as facts are just theories and opinions.

Many people need to learn how to tell the difference between an opinion (personal belief,) a theory (educated guess based on current evidence,) and a fact (scientifically proven.)

The First Covid-19 death in the US has recently been updated to February 6th in California. They did not travel abroad and would have been infected mid to late January through community contraction.

MY THEORY-  Is that as we do more postmortem testing of suspected deaths we are likely to find it was in the US earlier than previously thought. Also, that it made the jump from bat to human earlier than previously reported.  As we do more antibody testing we are likely to find that more people have already had the virus and it has a lower mortality rate than it currently appears.

Details of the virus’s emergence are still being traced.  Certain genetic mutations needed to happen for it to be so stealth against our immune systems, and I am interested to see if some people contracted the virus previous to these mutations, allowing it to evolve undetected in the earlier stages of human infection.

Tracking the genetic mutations of the virus is like watching Darwinism on a very small scale.

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Here is the scientific source and explanation of this graph.  This is a timeline of the genetic mutations of the virus made from genetically sequencing samples of the virus.  Cluster A is genetically closest to the control bat virus.  Cluster B is where the pandemic was gaining momentum in China.

I love how the scientific community is coming together like never before to fight this virus.  The amount of data sharing and international teamwork is incredible.

I kinda wish I would have been a scientist and not a drummer right now lol.  I’d still have a job, and more excitement.

I wish before this happened…that I had gotten new shoes.  I was about to go shoe shopping. My shoes are very worn out now. My feet are aching. Personal problems. From now on I will have 2 pairs of shoes.

I wish I would have had Elvis’ nails trimmed right before quarantine, or I had taken a full training course on how to trim a difficult dog’s nails.

So, I do personally disagree with one aspect of the quarantine, and that is the lack of access to nature and trails. I admit this is mostly a selfish opinion because I hike and run trails for my own mental and physical health.  Not being able to run while breathing in the fresh air is hard on me and making my depression worse.  Plus staying away from people in nature is a secret skill of mine…I was a stoner in Sioux City Iowa.

Seriously though, I really do,  think access to nature is important for human health and our immune systems.  You can still go outside while quarantined

Even so, of course I am not one of those whiny assholes protesting!!! Shut up and take one for the team! If you hate your hair so much, just quit looking in the mirror.

Understand that during this crisis we are at a point in history where we need to make personal sacrifices and put the greater good above individual freedoms. This is bigger than our temporary inconveniences.

I am looking at the positives of this worldwide pause.  The Earth is healing.  The science geek in me can not wait to see all the graphs showing how this moment in time is affecting smog, global temperature, water quality, ect.  This is what the planet needed. It is a collective deep breath for the planet and everyone on it. Just a moment to rest and reset.

The future is unwritten and filled with potential.  We need to figure out a system that works  better for everyone, including the earth/climate.