Thank You. For Everything.

Yeah, so I released another record.


http://rocksaltshotgun.bandcamp.com

Listen to it for free! Pay what you like if you like.

St. Louis with Stephanie Reese

Last weekend I played a lot of music and this week I made a TV show, this seems to be how my life is gonna be for a while.

I played a benefit show for a dancer who performed with me at Carnegie Hall, a super great dancer named Sergio

This is us after our show.

Then over to the amazing as always Rockwood Music for a show with Second Dan.

The next morning I headed to LGA with Bobby to meet up with Stephanie Reese and our Carnegie Hall group to fly out to St. Louis.

I've never been to St. Louis. I was really nice. We were there to play a concert in support of an amazing organization called Gawada Kalinga (which means To Give Care in Fillipino.) They raise money to build villages, schools, and other building in the Philippines.

We got to The Drury Inn that evening and wow, wow wow wow, what a great place! Free popcorn, a decent breakfast, but they also give you a card for three free drinks from 5:30 to 7pm at their evening dinner bar which had hot dogs, chili, baked potatoes, and chips and salsa. We hit the pool then the dinner bar, then went out to a local Indian restaurant to meet a few of the people who had sponsored our show. After that the boys and I closed down the hotel bar and hit the bed for some rest for the next days show.

Waking up in the amazingly comfortable Drury beds, they had three pillows, soft/medium/hard, totally three bears style. We had plenty of time before we had to get to the theatre for sound check so we hit up the breakfast bar and laid in bed watching tv until we had to get ready for the show.

We played the amazing Sheldon Concert Hall

We played a great show and celebrated late into the night around the "Landing" downtown, at the end of the night I actually stuck my feet into the Mississippi River, then we all went home and passed out. The trip back was uneventful, I poured myself into a cab and went back to Brooklyn.

Easter Weekend

My weekend went something like this:

Rehearsal with Bucky Hayes and the Radio for our Tom Petty Tribute at Bar4 this Friday Night

Bucky was trying out my "Stamp Guitar" I built and covered in old stamps, it sounded great.

Walked down to the Brooklyn Flea Market in the old Williamsburg Bank Building, had lunch in the vault, then continued down to Dumbo and hung out on the waterfront between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridge, then had a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge followed by a walk on the Highline on the West Side of Manhattan.

Saturday we walked down to Red Hook with Arthur, I couldn't help but take a cheesy photo. If you can't see that's the Statue of Liberty.

While exploring Red Hook we found a piano on the sidewalk, after playing it for a while I noticed a slight stain of what could have been old vomit... gross.

So that was pretty much my weekend.

Good Jeans

Six or so years ago now, while still being college, I bought I pair of Levis 514 jeans, they're very bland straight leg jeans that I that would be great for NOT being boot cut. I remember my friend Karanja giving a hard time about how tight they were, though they are quite baggy by today's standards. They were great jeans. They became my go to, my comfy worked in, Lynus' blanket of clothing. As the years past they began to become threadbare here and there, but not a hole or a tare. I bought more expensive jeans, Ralph Lauren were the worst for falling apart like denim tissue paper as my trusty 514s held together and kept going.

Last year I started to really notice how rock solid they were and bought two more pairs of the same jean: Levis 514 32x33 it didn't matter the wash I planned on wearing them until they looked nearly stone washed. I got them for Christmas 2008 from my mother who never is aloud to buy me clothes, how can you go wrong with this? Its like buying a 60's Mustang, it just works. Only 15 months has past since bringing the two new brothers into the fold, and they have both failed. Rips in the knee hole forming after the slightest test, the crotch starting to give way like a leaky dam... this will not end well.

Then yesterday my rock, my old standbys, as I climbed up to hang a curtain rod in my new apartment, rip. The threadbare fabric tore at the knee. The king has left the building, my jeans that held together through 4 tours, moving to NY, countless hours of work, under cars, on stage, in the car, finally they gave up. I know it may seem that is must surely be the fault of a nostalgic guy in his late twenties gain weight in just not fitting into his college cloths anymore, but I'm in better shape now than then.

I'm writing this to remind myself, 30 is getting so close, it may be time to put away childish things. I'm writing this to remind myself, the things you hold onto the tightest are the things that fall apart. I'm writing this to remind myself that I need a new pair of jeans.

Thing never seem to stop changing.

Thing never seem to stop changing.

Since my last post:
Slept in my car
Played Carnegie Hall
Went on tour with Bucky Hayes and the Radio
Started and left two solo records
Have been asked to join and left by two bands
Lost My Uncle Randall
Sold two drumsets
Re-bought my first drumset, which I sold in college
Started producing a new tv show, Photo ID
Found out I may be playing in the Philippines to 20,000 people

So nothing earth shattering, but still, life changing.

I've rekindled my love for Douglas Adams with a copy of The Salmon of Doubt, love it though only 1/4 of the way into it.

Also my love for vinyl has once again been stirred by picking out my new record player I'm getting for Christmas from my parents.

I made a new tour video for Bucky as well, we recorded the song in Chapel Hill, NC with Nick Petersen at Track and Field Recording. We recorded four songs in one day and I've started mixing them at Rola Pola Studios. I think this is a great song...

what's going on?

I truly think I'm scared of just about everything.

I over react in most situations and over act in others, just kidding.

Someone told me this weekend they love staying up on current events, which I think for most people is great, for me its a danger. I hate the apathy of most people. I think that people are terribly ready to say how screwed up everything is but very wary about doing anything about.

FOR EXAMPLE
When former president Bush was said to have lost the election the people said in numbers, "Hey that's not right" then went about there lives of doing whatever to pay the bills. The same sort of situation happens in Iran and the people of the country take to the streets, cause a worldwide spectacle of themselves and their unwillingness to take what is handed to them. I stand with those who protested.

I guess I just needed to get it off my chest, to get a little more of my feelings out that you don't have to except what is handed to you. Make your life what you want it to be and break through the doors that stand in front of you.

Rant over. Sorry.

Music Minus Ego

Last night I went to The Red Lion in Manhattan for a special night of music. The band was "The Red Liners" a cover band, that was amazing. The drummer, Ryan's, girlfriend had just lost her father in a horrible car accident and last night was a benefit concert for her.

I saw some great local musicians, playing in the most cutthroat city, playing for something bigger than themselves. To me it really was a celebration of life, a coming together of artists to do something beyond them. The scene was set for greatness, and many of the performers delivered the goods, stepping up the the mic with power and truth in there voice. Onlookers danced the crowded room as more and more people stepped on the stage to lend their voice and lift the spirits in singalongs.

I stood in the crowd mixing with complete strangers, new, and old friends feeling like everyone got what was going on. So many shows I go to in NYC are total ego trips by artists, me included, that are the same formula:

1 Look sullen or shoegaze, try to real the crowd in
2Talk about how great it is to be playing the worst bar you've ever been in so maybe you'll get a free drink
3 play more songs about self righteous events in your life that changed everything (don't forget to self deprecate, but only slightly)
4 Mention your mailing list or Myspace or Twitter or something else people really don't give a crap about, someone once told me "If they like you, they'll find you"
5 Don't forget to thank the bartender, if nothing else maybe he/she will buy you a drink

Not to go off on the formula, but it didn't happen at this show. No one stepped up to the mic saying "Hey this is my new song about..." It was great. People actually playing music for music sake. I'm aware that it took a tragedy and a huge list of cover songs to make this happen, but it still happened. Making me think that if all of us who step up on a stage to ENTERTAIN people who paid to see us actually thought about what they were there for, maybe the music business wouldn't be so messed up. Maybe artist would be treated as such and not like small children. Maybe people would buy music because they liked it and wanted to support an artist instead of downloading it cause they aren't connected and don't give a crap.

Music minus ego. A concept that could save us all for MTV.

Chipotle - The Football of Food

On a random day four years ago, a friend asked me if I wanted anything for lunch. I was working at a small guitar shop in Greenwich Village were we often grabbed lunch or a snack for each other to save time and just to be generally cool to each other. I said sure, and to my happy surprise I was greeted but a bountiful foilwrapped burrito with everything just as I wanted it. I'm a picky eater. The idea of watching someone make my food right in front of me, in a Subway kind of way, is great for my more-of-this/none-of-that attitude toward food. After that day I became the maven of Chipotle runs at work, I actually started buying enough of the hot salsa and chips, I'd carry the extra salsa in a paper cup brimming with the firemouthed goodness. I'd go for a steak, chicken, or mixed (steak and chicken) burrito as many as 4 times a week, week after week.

My friends would give me gift certificates for Chipotle all the time, it was awesome!

I moved jobs to another guitar shop in the fast moving and uber-expensive Time Square Area. Lunches around the center of the universe are expensive, to the point were I thought I may need to stop eating lunch all together in order to pay my rent. Then... OH HAPPY DAY!!! A beacon of burrito goodness shows up on the very block I worked on. When others didn't want to brave the rain or New York cold, I'd run down the street and for under $10 we'd eat like kings.

I'm no longer a slave to the whip of anyone else, so as I maneuver through the big apple I visit my favorite burrito place as often as I can, knowing if I have a burrito, I may not need to eat for the rest of the day. Now I am a vegan, and my black bean burrito is still just as filling and delicious as I could ever want. I'm so glad that a company as big as McDonald's (who owns Chipotle) would have vegan and healthy carnivorous options in this world of crappy fast food that is never satisfying.

Why am I writing this? I don't know. I had a great, filling, and reasonably price outing today. Yeah! I may eat Chipotle again tomorrow, maybe not, but I will again enjoy the football of food.

Go Here:
www.chipotle.com
Vegan Options at Chipotle


"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."
Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens) (1835–1910).

Arthur

One random Monday in Febuary Bucky, my upstairs neighbor bandmate and friend, knocks on my door and asks me if I was busy today... I not usually busy I spend most of my days watching car shows and Mythbusters or playing guitar with WAY too much reverb on. So he says, " I know you're not much of a dog person but would you mind watching Sugar (his dog) for a few hours?" I've never owned or taken care of a dog, most of my life I've been horribly scared of dogs in fact, but I felt like Bucky was reaching out to me, that he really needed me to do this solid, so I said sure. Sugar came down and we spent the day together. It had turned out, Bucky's other dog was passing and they were taking her to be put down, this is where the tears can start. I spent the day doing my thing, walking into my kitchen to do the dishes, talking to myself, playing guitar, watching tv, but I wasn't alone. I wasn't talking to myself for once, I'm not as crazy as you'd like to think. Anyways by the end of the day, I liked having a dog around, I actually knocked on Bucky's door the next day and asked if he wanted me to watch Sugar, he said it was gonna be home all day but he said thanks.

That night I told Vani I thought I may want a dog. Vani has always wanted a dog, though wanted to wait until she had a yard for it to run around in. Well if I was in, she was in. We immediately started scouring the internet for a great shelter dog that would make us both happy. We looked at picture after picture, emailing each other every hour or so from work the latest find from the far reaching corners of the world wide web, then on a Thursday, a new dog. At the BARC Shelter we found Arthur.

A purebred sheltie (think of a small collie, but more awesome) that had been found wandering the streets of Bushwick in Brooklyn, his top front teeth had been broken off, they think he may have been kicked or something. Vani went and saw him the next day and immediately filled out papers to adopt him. As part of BARC's policy, I also had to meet him before we could take him home. So the next morning, before going to work, we went and met Arthur. I sat down on the sidewalk and put him in my lap. I had a dog.


Vani took this picture that morning. She hates when I say it, but I really think he's my dog. As I spend most of my time at home Arthur give me a reason to wake up in the morning. He gives me a reason to go outside. He makes me feel more responsible. Maybe he's not my dog, he just my friend. He gets me going, you know. He makes me happy when I come home late and he quietly jumps up on me while Vani is fast asleep. I like having a dog. This last year of my life has been so strange. I've changed in so many ways. I recently took Arthur home to Virginia to meet my parents and brother. They could hardly believe I had a dog. Me, scared for so many years, holding a dog in my lap. I try to train him, but he doesn't listen. I try to carry him, but he hates it. I try to let him swin at the park, but he's scared. I guess I'll just let him do what he wants to do. He lets me do what I want. It's only fair.

Jay Bennett died in his sleep.

A lot of people don't know who Jay was, a lot of people know exactly who he is. Jay was 45. He was one of the many lead guitarists / multi-instrumentalists to play with the band Wilco. Jay wrote many of the songs on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (my favorite record) along with Jeff Tweedy. Earlier this year he was trying to sue Tweedy and the band, he needed a hip-replacement that he couldn't afford, he had fallen out of the bright lights that had been his home for so many years.

A mad scientist of a musician, often linking multiple tape machines only he knew how to control through out the vast Wilco loft to create the massive bed of sound that gave the records he worked on the lush bed that made them so special. His work with the band on Being There, Summer Teeth, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and the Wilco/Billy Bragg record Mermaid Avenue was amazing. He played guitars, keyboards, pianos, everything. He's famous for buying and learning to play a Mellotron while recording Summerteeth and adding the famous Beatle keyboard to nearly every track because the band was so in love with the sound. His amazing lead work complimented by his sense of space and texture gave the band the sound I grew to love listening to the records as a senior at Pulaski County High School, it changed my ears. I had been listening to Rockabilly, Grunge, and Punk, but now here was music that spread out like a table in front of you with so many levels of sound to grab onto. It sent me into looking for sounds and no longer listening to the band in college. Bennett left the band in 2001. When I started to listen to wilco again after college, they had changed, I still like them but not for the same reasons.

Jay went on to make music. I saw him at a smallish showcase in Austin, TX a few years back. Last year he offered up his new record as a free download. Some things are magic, they work, fit together in a way that doesn't make sense but is perfect; that is what I think of the tension that existed in Wilco, bickering makes for good music and lousy relationships, which in turn makes better music and more intense lyrics.

I hate I never got to see play with Wilco. I saw the band play at Madison Square Garden on New Years Eve a few years ago with my girlfriend Vani, it was awesome, it renewed my love for a band I had stopped listening to. Shortly after that I bought the Wilco documentary I'm Trying To Break Your Heart as well as tracked down the documentary on the making of Mermaid Avene, and there it was the band that helped change my ears, being amazing, evolving, creating, and finally breaking up. All things end. I just wish they didn't have to.

While living in New York, I've met and hung out with Jeff Tweedy at a guitar shop in midtown, he was mixing Sky Blue Sky. He would tell me about the record, I'd show him the gems of Rudy Pensa's collection, and eventually he called me his "escape hatch." Just a few months ago bassist John Sirratt bought a vintage bass amp from me. Life is so precious and as we go through it, making connections, and letting people leave their finger prints on us, we change. We become everything we ever feared and loved in our fathers, we hear our mother's words tapping on the shoulder as we go into the darkness. Things we've seen, heard, and touch make us how we are. So Jay, wherever you are, you helped me become who I am. It may not to much, I'm sure you don't remember shaking my hand after you got off stage... but I do. I always use to think and pray that if I died, I'd die in my sleep; so I hope it wasn't too bad, and I hope you come back to Earth as a beautiful blue songbird.

My prayers go out to Jay's family and real friends who knew him.










sorry for the rant