Rob Bartsch's Miscellania!

Last Updated 1/31/02

If you'd like to get a hold of me to chat, just Page me through ICQ

The Latest Updates (1/31/02)

FINALLY!!!! The Bartsch dude lives again. I'm back guys n gals and still plugging away with music, computers and all my audio/video crapola. I've got several updates for you. Stay tuned with my SchizoPhobia pages as I've been uploading new tracks as well as getting my radio station up and running. SO TUNE INTO SCHIZOPHOBIA RADIO HERE!!! As for the other sites above, there really hasn't been much to report. I'm going to try to put together some better information on my Robin Williams site as he's been a big draw for hits which I DESPERATELY need...;-) Hope all is well with everyone and drop me an email if you just wanna say HEY.

Origination and Explanation of the Above Links

Welcome to my world of....well....anything and everything. This page is for all kinds of people out there. It originally consisted of 2 bands that I felt deserved a place on the net. Then, when I started to think about all the things that I would like to have on my web pages, it has been metamorphasizing into a "miscellania" of various hobbies. Thus the name of my home page. What started out as a simple little band page has turned into a corny-copia (yes....I know it's spelled wrong....I meant it that way) of pages from comedy to tragedy so I've got it all.

Over the 2 years I've had my web pages up, I've changed providers around 4 times, so it's no wonder that I'm not visited that often...:-) I felt that it was time to finally get myself together (or my home page rather...heh heh) so here I am! And you wanna know what I'm about huh? Well.....make yourself comfortable and I'll try to make this as painful...er...I mean painless as possible. Let us start with a breakdown of the buttons that I have setup up above.

Musicomania is a jukebox that I've set up with links to 40 bands (so far) that allow you to go straight to the home page, listen to some music, or just buy one the artists' albums. I spend WAY too much time trying to find music so I thought it'd be cool to have a quick means of listening to some music, and being able to buy a CD from the same page without searching the world for music.

Music Matinee was the web page that started it all through the very beginning of time. Well.....2 years ago to be exact. Anyways, the Music Matinee refers to 4 different bands that are all somewhat together. It covers the bands Giraffe, Toy Matinee, 3rd Matinee, and Kevin Gilbert. If you are into Rock/Pop stuff, give it a shot. I have Real Audio sounds up so you can listen to the entire tracks rather than getting just a taste of the groups.

CD Stores is a simple text listing of CD Stores that I usually go to in order to find the CDs that I have too many of. This is here for you to be able to quickly get around from one to another so check it out if you are like me and are always in need of music that is hard to find.

Robin Williams Tribute needs no explanation I would hope. I've always admired the actor/comedian Robin Williams so I wanted to pay tribute to a man that gave me a lot of laughs over the years. There are links to various Robin sites all over the world as well as my interpretation and humor to boot (or so I'd like to think I have a sense of humor). I'll let you be the judge of that...:-)

Tribute to My Dad is my personal story about the loss and admiration of my father. It was more of a "thing I wanted to do for myself" but thought that I might be able to help those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. I decided to put this page up after the loss of one of the musicians that I was supporting from my Music Matinee pages, Kevin Gilbert. I think it helped a lot of Kevin's fans that were hurt by the loss of a good guy and musician, to hear how one tries to get on with their life when faced with tragedy.

Other Sites I Dig is a list for all walks of life. I've been putting everything I'd typically bookmark on my computer on this page. Then, I could use it as a jumpstation to check out other places of interest.

Eleven is a group I have been listening to since 1990. When I recently tried to find some info on the web regarding their music, it was next to impossible to find any information. So, since I started the Eleven page a good month ago, I've now got some great contacts through their label at A&M Records about their upcoming album.

SchizoPhobia is my band! It consists of.....well......just me! Jump over there and take a listen to what I've been working on and let me know what you think of it. Just try not to be TOO critical...:-

I hope you enjoy my little corner of the net. You are more than welcome to e-mail me if you'd like me to add something or have any other ideas to make my pages better. I'm always open to just good ol conversation too if you're up for it! In the meantime.....HAVE FUN!

Rob Bartsch

Who is this Rob character?!?!

Who am I do you say? Let us find out. *GULP*

Me: Robert James Bartsch
Current Status: Single (after reading this autobio...I think you'll understand why!)
Birth Place: San Mateo, California on July 31, 1972.
Age: You figure it out. I told you when I was born! ;-)
Now Residing in: California
Life: Not much of one when I've designed a web page like this. :-)
Death: Not right now, thanks.
Short-Term Goals: To wake up in the morning.
Long-Term Goals: To live long enough to die.
Realistic Goals: Huh??!!
Education: I received a B.S. (that's for BullSh#t) at Psychotic State University in Communicative Ethics (also called common sense) after going to school for 12 years. A.K.A: High School Diploma.
Achievements: I'll have to get back to you on this one.

All kidding aside, I'm just your average Joe (but my name is Rob) who tries to make the best out of what I have. I work full-time trouble-shooting computers at the local University. It gives me a sense of reassurance knowing that I'm doing something that I enjoy. Who am I kidding?? I hate having to actually get up day after day to do something! (What a powerful figure I am for my generation huh?) Doesn't everybody?!?! ;-) (I'm kidding again of course)

I spend most of my spare time being what some call a "technoholic". That means I'm always trying to keep up with the newest breakthroughs on the market. Whether it is new music, video game systems, computers, CD players, VCRs, etc. Let's just say if it has anything to do with audio and/or video equipment, I either bought it, or would die to have it. Don't believe me? Check out this sad list of game systems and computers alone I've been through:

Atari Ping-Pong, Atari 2600, Atari 400, Atari 1200XL, Atari 520ST, Atari Lynx, Commodore 64, Amiga, Colecovision, Intellivision, NEC TurboExpress, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Sega Master System, Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Neo-Geo, Sony Playstation, IBM 286, IBM 386, Apple IIe 128k, Apple Macintosh Plus, Apple Macintosh SE, Apple Macintosh SE/30, and Apple Power Macintosh 7100/80AV. And that is just hardware. Now...a listing of all of my games and programs for these machines. Just kidding. I may be cruel but I'm not THAT cruel!

I've also spent a great deal of my life playing Trombone in jazz, symphonic, orchestral groups but got extremely burned out by the whole competition aspect of it. Also, knowing what a great career I could have playing Trombone in a famous Rock & Roll band was the finishing touch to that career. I do, however, enjoy playing off and on just so I know that I can still pick up the horn that I spent 10 years trying to perfect.

Speaking of music, I've been very busy investing in my CD collection. I'm at the 1,100 CD mark and going strong. Music seems to soothe the savage beast so it is perfect for me ;-)

Most recently, I've been spending TONS of time working on my own compositions. I'm not taking it very seriously because there are so many instruments I'm trying to keep myself busy with. My background in piano has helped me with the keyboards. And I've been getting into bass guitar and guitar big time. I spent a lot of years in choir so I've also been singing in addition to some of the writing I have been doing. I can truly understand why people SPECIALIZE in just one thing. Although, I haven't convinced myself of this yet because I'm determined to do everything myself. The band I came up with is called SchizoPhobia and I have NO idea what is going to come of it. Right now, I just want to be able to put songs down and record them. Hopefully, you guys will like it! I promise I'll try and become more COMMERCIAL musically. Right now, I going through an odd musical stage since I'm into so many different bands...:-) To make matters worse, I'm forcing myself to get into the engineering process of it all so that I can get some really nice CLEAN production work out of my music at the same time. So I guess you could call me the "Rob of all trades"...heh heh

I hope you enjoy my pages. Right now, I've set up sites for 4 music groups: Giraffe, Toy Matinee, 3rd Matinee, & Kevin Gilbert. Of the 1,100 C.D.s that I have in my collection, these 4 groups are some of my very favorites. Considering they aren't mainstream, I wanted them to be a main part of my pages.

Technoholism and Me

I've tried to look at the bright side of life (why do I have the sudden notion to break into a Monty Python song?....those that don't get the pun....move on)! My problem is that I just don't understand how one could schedule their day if they had the hobbies I do.

I can describe myself in a nutshell of being a TECHNOHOLIC! For those that aren't Technoholically savvy, I'll refreshen your memory with a quick questionaire.

Q: Are you always trying to get the newest video game system because it has "cool graphics"?

Q: Do you notice that the day after you bought your computer that it's already "needing more RAM"? Not because you NEED it but because you want to run 10 programs simultaneously.

Q: Does your computer monitor need to be upgraded because you can ONLY SEE 1,000 colors on the screen at once and you need 1,000,000 colors instead?

Q: Were you the first person on your block to scrap all your records and cassettes so that you could go and buy the same ones on CD?

If you answer YES to all these questions, GET HELP! This was the start to my ruination! And it hasn't stopped. Be satisfied with what you have. Don't suffer from Technoholism.

I find myself getting worse every day. What started out as an "innocent" hobby turned into an OBSESSION! To put things into perspective for you, right now, I have 2 rooms that are separated. One is my computer room (with both IBM and Macintosh computers) and the other is for my Surround Sound set up devoted to a 35" Television, VCR, DSS Satellite dish, Surround Sound speakers (6 ft. front speakers by the way), 5 CD Player, and 5 Video Game Systems. All because I started small and thought H U G E ! ! Now, I'm surrounded in my sickness because of my little ploy to upgrade a few items.

So....if a friend or loved one is thinking about getting those bigger and better speakers, for starters, make sure they don't get BIG speakers. That is what started my Surround Sound bug. I, innocently got two 6 foot speakers that towered over my 13" T.V. at the time. So....I did what any technoholic would do in that situation. I went out and doubled the size of my T.V. so that it wasn't humiliated being in the middle of two massive blocks of sound. And it all went downhill from there. But hey....what really matters that I'm using the heck out of it. And boy am I!!!!

In Closing

Just have fun with these pages! You'll find times when I get downright lazy getting new things up and then, you'll see new things up everyday. But isn't that the way all web pages are for that matter? Just look on the bright side. I could've done a page about "me and my computer" and helped all the insomniacs out there get some sleep at night...:-) And if you have any questions for me, by all means, E-mail Me!

HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUSELF!..........Rob Bartsch