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The BIG Reason

Music, opinions, and portfolio of Mark Eagleton, musician and web developer in Northern CA.

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Recent Articles

  1. Gary Vessel on stage at a bluegrass festival wearing a Gary Gary Gary shirt.

    Help Support Gary Vessel’s Stroke Recovery

    My friend, band mate, and luthier, Gary Vessel suffered a severe stroke on May 7, 2025. Gary is facing massive medical bills, and is unable to run his shop or perform for the foreseeable future. Affordable health care is a luxury most musicians and many small business owners don’t have access to in the United States. He and his family could really use financial support if you are so inclined. Consider contributing or attending a Red Dog Ash performance in the future.

  2. Canada Not Enemy!

  4. I Deleted Facebook 7 Years Ago and Everything’s Fine: A Musician’s Experience

    Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads) is making news again that it’s doubling down on being more friendly to shitty behavior and misinformation again, prompting another exodus of people who care about marginalized groups, facts and science. I left Facebook 7 years ago for some of the same reasons, so I thought it might be helpful to give an update on how it’s going.

  5. Four brand new spray cans of contact cleaner on a kitchen table

    Service Checklist

    Amp techs often throw around the phrase “service the amp,” but what does that really mean? Are all service technicians on the same page when they say they are going to give your amp “a full service?” Probably not. I know what’s on my page, though, and it seems like I’m always refining it, so I thought it would be helpful if I shared my checklist. Yes, it is an actual checklist. It can be hard to keep track of where you are on every repair when you have multiple items, waiting on parts, approvals, or for you to be finished with the previous thing.

  6. Patrick Kauffman on vintage amps and repairability

    This planet is literally being covered with disposable junk and a shrinking knowledge base on how to fix anything. It’s weird to me that we live in a world where we fetishize the repair persona. There is so much online content on how to make your new jeans look like you fix oil rigs in the badlands of South Dakota rather than actually showing how to do something.

    —Pat Kauffman

  7. Mesa Walkabout amp chassis on a work bench
  8. Bottom Dwellers receive a cake on stage at their 20th anniversary party

  9. On Having Guns

    I don’t believe citizens should be allowed to have guns. Not to buy, not to inherit, not to have in any capacity. Because efforts to sufficiently regulate them in the United States have been unsuccessful, I think applying a severe social stigma to having one might be the most effective option at this point.

  10. Screen capture of a Rational Funk episode with Dave King pointing at the camera holding a drumstick. The caption, “And that’s how you get the gig.” appears at the bottom of the image.

    How I Manage A Busy Gig Schedule

    I played 100 shows last year, and I’m on track to play at least that many again this year. These aren’t back-to-back touring shows with the same band every night. There is no tour manager, itinerary, or even a single set list to memorize. This is by far the busiest I have ever been, and it’s really quite challenging to manage a schedule like this. I get asked quite frequently how I do it. This is the answer.

  11. A lone pink puzzle piece lays in the street with the photographer’s feet at the bottom of the frame.
  12. Album cover for Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing, depicting Kassi Valazza sitting in a field of wildflowers playing an acoustic guitar

    New Music Tuesday: Kassi Valazza, Kassi Valazza Knows Nothing

    Starved for live music during the pandemic, Kristyn and I stumbled upon Kassi Valazza one evening as we desperately scoured social media to find artists streaming online. We were instantly lost in the somber, delicate delivery of her songs, punctuated by the most tastefully haunting electric guitar. It would be three more years before we got the chance to catch her live.

  13. A custom-built guitar tube amp on a workbench powered on

    I Built A Guitar Amplifier From Scratch

    I’ve been studying the art of tube amplifier design for about ten years now, and actually repairing them for about five. I love analizing schematics, pouring over the inside of an amp chassis, and studying the layout choices made by the designer. It was only a matter of time before I took a crack at it myself. That time finally came.  

  14. Stygian Bough performing on stage

    Bell Witch Canceled

    Bell Witch has been one of my favorite bands since I discovered them some six years ago. Seeing them live has been a huge priority for me. They came through my area a few times prior to the pandemic, but each time, I was booked myself. And then there was the pandemic, of course.

  15. Julianna Riolino All Blue album cover
  16. Annotated aerial view of the County Fair Mall in Woodland, CA.

    The Continuing Downward Spiral of My Commute

    Longtime visitors to my website will remember that I once worked my ass off to land a job in the town where I live that was only an 8-minute bike ride from my house. That job moved to a neighboring city at the start of the pandemic, and has been the cause of much turmoil ever since.

  17. Fireside album cover by the Bottom Dwellers featuring a burned down abandoned hotel

  18. Floss Archive

    I have launched a website dedicated to my former band, Floss. I was moved to do this after the untimely passing of two of our friends and band mates. The website features a brief history of the band, music from our 1993 demo tape, a full-length album we finished recording but never released, and a small gallery of images.

    This project was more difficult to complete than I had initially anticipated. I have never had a stronger urge to get the band back together while digitizing and mastering these old recordings. The realization that this can never happen is extremely upsetting to me.

    Please enjoy the music on this website. I plan to release these recordings on all the streaming platforms in the near future.

  19. The Target Distribution Center in Woodland, CA is HUGE!

    I was looking up some directions the other day and couldn’t help but notice the footprint of our local Target Distribution Center. It’s HUGE! After a quick scan of the surrounding area, I determined that not only is it the largest building in town, but the largest in the county, and the greater Sacramento area as a whole.

Upcoming Events

I play double bass for a few bands. Here is where I’ll be next: