Consequences be damned

I'm a man about town of late

Monday nights I've been a regular at Molly Malone's, enjoying the musics of Brandon Rogers, Amie Miriello, and David Hodges. I highly recommend it, and not just because of Amie's potty-mouth banter.

Tuesday I sat in at the F.O.C.K.R.'s jam at the Kibbitz Room and earred my way through some Billy Joel on the saxamaphone. It's easy to stand out when no one else plays your instrument, that's why I'm in the market for a sacbut.

Last night I enjoyed the music of Geoff Pearlman at Cafe Cordiale. Geoff is an architect with the songs he writes. There's an intrinsic logic to the harmonic lines that weave through his stories that makes me musically horny.

Music enthusiast by night, music creator/meeting taker by day

I'm keeping on a strict diet of writing one new song a day. I'm planting musical seeds. Some will grow into b-sides, some into chart-topping anthems, and some into birdcage liner. Only time will tell.

I've got a new manager. You may notice a more meaty presence on my myspace and facebook pages in the future. We've been galavanting around LA to line up my behind the scenes army. I like meetings that involve sushi.

Illness is my least favorite "ness"

I'm still feeling the lingering effects of a sinus thing. It seems to have settled into my throat (that's what she said). As a result I've skipped my running regimen for the last week. My alarm clock was a calf cramp at 5:30 AM. This is no bueno (I learned those two words on the Drake Bell Mexico Tour '08). I'm going running. Consequences be damned. I'll need a banana afterwards, and perhaps a new throat. Till then.

Leave Me Blue

no metal toilets

And we're back!

Regrettably I was unable to give you the kind of play by play I would enjoy from a tour. I left my laptop at home in favor of a lighter load, and couldn't find the physical/mental space or the thumb flexibility to post from my iPhone.

Here's how it went:

I met some great people.

I played those people my music.

I froze my extremities off.

I finished and enjoyed the book "The Likeness" by Tana French. "Take what you want and pay for it, says God." -Spanish proverb (via Ms. French)

I drove a heaping quantity of hours. For some reason the extra painful early morning shift when everyone else in the van is passed out was my favorite. I communed with nature, music, concrete, and steel. The miles melted quickly away and my mind unwound its nots and knots.

I had my first extended bonding session with my recently acquired alto saxophone.

I had my first extended tour-bonding session with my friend Ryan Cabrera. That's my dawg.

I had my first encounters with Gregg the tour-booker, and Jesse Ruben. We're now bonded for life, not unlike what I guess it must be like to have a cellmate, only without the metal toilets. Here's to not finding out how apropos that comparison is.

Highlights:

-losing my hearing after playing for various screaming sorority girls.

-eating guacamole with truffles in Philly.

-playing my music, and Ryan's music for friendly sold-out crowds.

-seeing old friends in NYC.

Lowlights:

-running out of CDs to sell to the aforementioned friendlies.

-having the box of discs that were sent to replenish my supply lost at the Pittsburgh post office.

-accidentally heaving Ryan's beautiful guitar to the floor at the Bitter End in NYC.

And now that I'm home, what do I do? I pick up the pieces. I decompress. I catch up internet duties. I write songs. I sleep in my own bed. I download this month's supply of new music from emusic.com. Thus far I've picked some winners: The Dodos, Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, Larry Goldings album "Long Story Short", and Sia doing "Paranoid Android". I read "What is the What" by Dave Eggers, which gave me this gem:

"The pain is not great, but the symbolism is disagreeable."

Till next time,