days of piles & lists

lists:

●places you want to see in person, not on a screen

●todo today
(may or may not include shopping)

●what time I gotta show up in the next few weeks

●where I gotta show up with 'bedlam' in the next few months

●phone numbers on scraps of paper that belong in 2 other places

●rhythms to learn

These are what I'm into, now that all that free time over the holiday was spent dealing with 'piles'. And then there's dishes, but the last of the christmas 6 pack is making it's PFFFSST noise first.

Raining and cold-damp so it's looking like I'll not be leaving the house again today. Had a lovely lunch with pal Greg at Monty's (and back on the veggie wagon).
Picked up a new head for the loaner Snare Drum on the way. Did I mention I love my neighborhood lately?

listen:
Travis and Fripp - Thread (thanks G!)
bjork - Volta
Captain Beefheart - Mirror Man
Talking Heads
Mingus on WORT/Crazeology
Dub Trio - Another Sound is Dying
Fantomas - The Director's Cut

view:
Fantomas - live at All Tomorrow's Parties festival

cover bands are a plague

Last night was something else entirely different. Over-eager dudes rocked out with cheesy slices of the 'classic' variety for 2 1/2 hours. Cover bands can suck.

It's particularly painful when there are many fine bands in Madison playing cover material that are terrific: Shakey, The Gomers, Bon Squad and some others who manage to breath new life into it and remind you why the stuff they perform is still relevant, still rocks.
Steve from Gomers freaking NAILS the original lines and then takes it up a notch or two. That and manage to play the rhythm parts and carry the song when they are a trio. Man, there are so many amazing people in this town!

Starting the day with Dub Trio, the best cleaning solution for classic rock residue. Ready for my day off and mr. sun is showing it's bad self.

2nd jam of the week with the trio of delight and versatility tonight. the P_Soupers have sent indications that Saturday is on. Drumming 3 times in a week, what a treat!

Message in the facebook hopper resolved a mystery that had been hanging around since the summer about a gift that didn't quite get delivered.

Nice lunch at Harmony (I've fallen off the veggie wagon hard) - great food and Sam's wife coincidentally came by with a friend while I was there. Other than that - 3 retired gentlemen playing cards at the table by the window were the only patrons. The cook made a great lunch and passed the time waiting for orders trucking between the kitchen and bar with buckets of prep materials, wearing an "I've lost my dog" look. It's prolly similar to the look on my puss at about 2:30AM last night.

listen:
Dub Trio - Cool Out and Coexist
Otis Redding

welcome to December

Today was the first day it was nasty to be out walking. Ice on the sidewalks and a the wind is biting cold. Made the trek from work to the co-op and then home and I'm out again soon to jam with Patrick and Sam in a few minutes. Layers.

A pal is leaving town to return on Sunday and I'll be tending to his walks and watching for package deliveries while he's away. Hope we don't get dumped on!

The trio is ratcheting up to twice-a-week jamming. We jam, we learn songs and in the not too distant future we'll write some music together. I'm loving where we're at and looking forward to where we'll go. We have a great vibe as a trio - both personal and musical connections going on. I find myself happy much of the time, for no apparent reason. I suspect the return to regular drumming is responsible.

Tom will play the part of WORT DJ from 9-11PM this coming Sunday. It'll be music appropriate for a chill-out end of the weekend type of deal. The fundraiser show I aired last month was more 'pump it up' in character. This time more long pieces, some Steve Reich and whatever quiet beauty I can rustle up.

listen:
Fantomas - The Director's Cut
Joni Mitchell - Hejira
Heartless Bastards - "The Mountain"

no comment

on the weather
but that doesn't seem fair
after all, it's only friends reading this, if anyone
so, if you can't complain about the weather among friends
well maybe you could be a person who pesters total strangers with their take on the weather.
I seem to encounter a great deal of those.
talking about the weather, with hope for some more suitable temp, more or less moisture, etc. is about as useful as a handle for a duck's nest.

the pessimist in me always says 'it will get worse before it gets better' not necessarily aloud.
I often think of eskimos or rain-forest dwellers who have an actual challenge, then marvel at how seriously we take the mild inconvenience of our climate. then again, I wouldn't want to live on the gulf coast or the northeast either. those citizens of the united states are right up there with bad things coming at them from a scornful mother nature.

I took a walk in the sun today, and it was nice.

home early after all

jus got home in time to catch the last 15 min. of RTQE.
called in to work, then cut after 1.5 hours of doing very little. lotsa customers, not drinking.
nice to have an easy night after last nights outing to see Heartless Bastards and AA Bondy.
tonight I reigned in the drinking, had a glass of wine and left before the headliner busted out. K was nice to give me a ride home.

those Heartless Bastards, whew.. I can stop listening to their CDs now, after the megadose.
Bondy turned in a long dark kinda slow set, but was well recieved. I dug his thing.
despite the hunkering down that goes on 'round these parts when the temps get down around 30, people are still coming out to our fine establishment. they are a little tighter with their money as you would expect (I know I am), but the support is lovely. HB was pretty full, I even had to stand halfway back cuz of the crush/heat for the last couple of numbers.

tomorrow is rehearsal with the boys over by lake monona, yeah! played briefly at TLs trailer Sat amidst the personal drama. the reeds-bass-drums trio is prolly no mo. I ain't gonna cry croc tears about it. the less said the better, and tomorrow is a new day to redeem myself with some rockin.

listen:
HB!
XTC - The Big Express
Joni Mitchell - Mingus
Thelonious Monk - Alone in San Francisco
RTQE and Weekly World Noise - WORT-FM

read:
Gabriel García Márquez- Collected Stories

view:
Packers - Bears
SNL
youtubers

second verse, different

last night Tom learned that there may be hip-hop audiences that are remarkable.
so here I remark that Devin's and the opener's fans are a stunningly nice group of people.

the bs level was higher for the bar staff. they were total heroes back there. we could have used another door-bot, but it worked out ok.

I still don't care much for hip hop tho. in the realm of music dislikes it's not quite at the level of opera, jive country-rock, or that hippy chick in the jam band that just plays the tamborine. well, you can't have cake every day.

and the volume level was humane. listening without ear plugs and it didn't seem like an assault. good stuff.

and one young lady gave me a kiss.

bro Halton is not going on the faux-Yes tour (c'mon, Yes without John Anderson!) and is now suggesting we make Thanksgiving at Mom's. I had accepted an invite to P and A's already..a quandry - do I piss off my family or miss a great Thanksgiving Time in the country wif ma frens?

this weekend, there's drumming, Heartless Bastards and more drumming, whee-ooo


listen:
A.N.T. / L.U.V. live
H.B.
björk - singles
Charles Mingus - Blues and Roots
Polysics - Polysics or Die!

then again

tonight I became sure I don't care for hip hop
with very few exceptions
my prejudice mostly being about the beats I hear
tonight it was less than 4 hours and I was 'cut' as we say in barsville. nice
ended up doing some extra curricular work while finishing my shift drink and out before the headliner hit. I'll never know if I'd like me some Pigeon John. He seemed like a nice fellow.

rode in tonight with a t-shirt on, and it was fine

tonight I left my bike unlocked (!) for hours
and it was still there when I left. whew..
thanks to those who chose not to steal bikes tonight

but it seems all I can think about is
the miracle ofObama being our next pres.
I'm elated beyond words, to be rid of bush and his cronies finally.
Everyone's mental health seems remarkably improved since last night. wish I could say that. demons haunt my very soul
and they have microphones


listen:
Air America
TV weather (and it's been great, yes?)
PGT

hope

Well alright, Senator Obama now has the title President Elect!

Thanks to everyone who made the choice and especially those who did everything to 'get the vote out'. My faith in the people of my country is restored, renewed and rebuilt.

Last night's Election Party at the bar, sponsored by TheDailyPage.com and Lake Louie beer was a smash, it was a gas, it was night unlike any other. The good feelings in the room were palpable. A scent of disbelief echoed between us skeptics. The phrase 'I hope they don't kill him right away' still echoes in my noggin. But cause for hope and better days are the landscape today.

The trip to the hardware store on this lovely autumn day is gonna enable some project completion and give me some stuff I can accomplish on the porch. Went and paid my WORT pledge in person, hoping to retrieve the 'spensive water bottle I left there, no go. They promised to call if it turns up.

Listening to Gregory, Terry and Brad just mixed from multitracks by Terry from their Portugal gig. Lovely compelling original gentle unfolding of wonderfullness.

listen:
The Band - Cahoots
PGT - live at Igreha de S. Vicente, Evora, Portugal

it gets easier

last night was a halloween party to remember. fun people came out in droves and the thing was at capacity by 10:15. another night of playing gatekeeper to the asylum for about 6 hours, but still most enjoyable. John said he got punched in the gut but I only managed to collect and distribute lotsa smiles and thank yous.

Mom and her husband (long-time Republican) both voted for Obama, hoo-hoo!

invited to 2 parties tonight, but I'm not feeling too sociable after last night's overload. I don't have to get up in the morning tomorrow AND there is the daylight savings time bonus of an extra hour after setting the clocks back. best get out enjoy a rare Saturday night of curfewlessness.

listen:
Apparently Nothing as Nirvana live
The Low Czars as the Kinks live
The Bears - Eureka!
Bill Nelson - Practically Wired

la petite mort

deeds done dirt cheap today

the deadline for submission for next year's SPARK festival is Friday, I was prodded this AM.
edited and polished a bit of Gregory and I's last recording from Mother Fools in dilligent behavior. and just did the dishes.

deadlines are not a feature of my professional life, in an administrative sense.
there isn't much you would call "administrative" in my life these days. and hooray for that!

Greg is happy with the results of my efforts, so it's a keeper then. for my tastes, the marimba samples sounded too bright. this might be listened to on headphones if listened to at all.

T-Bone Burnette in a recent interview talked about how musicians and producers might be good fellows and gals to not punish the listener. something along the lines of musicians ruining peoples hearing being akin to cobblers cutting off peoples feet!

lucked out squeaking in the fixer upper tracks! whether it increases our chances of a better performance slot remains to be seen. that may be a less than petite death. my preference would be to do our thing in a modest size hall with a seated attentive audience. fingers crossed. our past gig in the nightclub is the less-kind but likely scenario, but that would be fine too.

listen:
Tom Waits - Blood Money
Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays
Richard Thompson
Heartless Bastards
Dub Trio
RTQE


read:
going to the library tomorrow, whooee

notime

to write
deeds not words

nodust

seems like it's busy-busy-busy as we get into the fall season.
a mad rush of social activities and lotsa fun things.

last night there was a wedding and reception at the bar for one of our bartenders. quite the party - I missed the ceremony with coming from playing in Stoughton with the guys on the afternoon. did manage to get all dressed up and roll in around 7:30 but only made it until 10ish thanks to that dastardly Lake Louis Scotch Ale! and then some PBR - hoo hoo A most pleasant celebratory time tho. early to bed it was. today is another fullish one. the usual spit-shine of the bar (done) and picking tracks to play on WORT tonight. that EVP coffee is gonna keep me buzzing tho.
-zoom-

listen:
Tom Waits - Blood Money
Björk - Homogenic
müm - Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy

fallingness

Hiya,

Welcome to fall, my right favorite season. (2nd being Spring)
The leaves are gathering beneath our hooves and the sound of geese flyovers are frequent in the ambience.
It's super sleeping weather, but as of late it's getting to be 'fall asleep on the couch and wake up with that book on the floor' and other behaviors of lassitude.
Thankful to be getting around cycling everywhere still. Winter biking may be happening this year. I'm tough now, yeah.

Another thing is I just can't get enough to eat. It's a struggle with the current vegitarian discipline. With this hunger, how long until I cave in and eat fleshy parts of creatures that walk and have faces?

Music is being played every week or so with the guys in Stoughton. This Saturday is going to be another Primordial Soup jam, lucky me.

Things have been up and down at work. Some busy nites, many slow. The slow nights are difficult. Feels like the future is uncertain for me now. I thought people would always want to come out to drink and listen to music. I'm pretty sure the sun will rise tomorrow.

Leading a boring life, with my lack of consumer confidence and all. As far as the exchange of money defines one's identity. Seldom eat out and currently no TV/DVD option. Cooking and reading.

It's time for lunch, offline.

listen:
bjork - vespertine
Kate Bush - The Dreaming
Heartless Bastards - All This Time
(yes Michelle, I like 'chick singers')
Tom Waits - live '08 (NPR All Songs Considered), Bone Machine
Tortoise - Standards, A Lazarus Taxon

read:
National Geo
Tape Op
J. G. Bennett - The Dramatic Universe series 1 (Hazard)
lotsa news online
..I need a fun book!

another year older

Swell performance from the duo at the coffeehouse last night. Those who attended were treated to yummy carrot cake which pal Shawn baked. The owners of the coffeehouse, Jon and Stephanie, were there working -they are such lovely supportive folks! Went out to Mickey's for a bevvie with Greg and Jolanda afterwards. Amazing that it is still nice enough weather to sit out on their patio.

There's a recording to check out at some point, after the glow subsides. Finally pressing the Gemini iKey into use. A great 'bit of kit' it is for cheap (and green) recording. I have a funny relationship with recordings of my performances. They are certainly useful as a reality check and tool to discover what worked and what needs work at far as the mechanics of drumming. Missing is the otherness of the experience. That is, the connection between audience-performer-music that exists outside linear time. Often the recordings seem hopelessly one-dimensional for the most part. But they are a way to represent oneself at a future date. Sometimes the notes and beats stand the test of time.

Heading down to the Farmer's Market shortly. Waiting for the sun to get up a little higher so the biking isn't so cold.

From the older and perhaps wiser dept:
I bailed on the teaching job. It was the wrong place for me to be. As I get older it sometimes seems like my life is defined by what I no longer find acceptable. I bet that sounds crotchety to you, but to me it's minimizing the potential for falling into traps. I have been trapped by career moves that seemed great on the surface, but once you dig a little deeper the truth of what you are about to be involved in becomes clearer. In this case, the truth is that I do not feel qualified to teach the subject. It would be a struggle to maintain authority and inspire the students. After looking under the hood, talking with folks who have been involved with the school, the red flags were waving at me. Not right is not right. I'd rather be on a tight budget and devote time and energy to the positive pursuits of my life.

Looks like the sun has risen. Time to get some fresh produce.

listen:
The Bears
Joni Mitchell - Blue
Monk - Alone in San Francisco

read:
magazines
Facebook pages and News (online)

in anticipation of the anniversary of my arising

Buddies at the Madison Media Institute recruited Tom with words of encouragement to teach a class and I officially accepted the job yesterday. My first class is on the 26th, which is also my birthday. Mixed feelings about that, but I'm going where I'm needed and hope to earn something resembling a decent living with the addition of this part time gig. As with anything new, it's a little frightening.

And speaking of gigs, Friday at 8PM will be a duo performance with Gregory Taylor and myself at Mother Fools. Huzzah!

I usually don't make a big deal about my birthday, in fact I have kept it a secret some years. This year I'm gonna treat myself to this night of music making and cake and coffee as opposed to getting obliterated. I was planning on some of that Thursday at midnight, but with an 8AM class the next morning (and my 1st one!) that's not going to happen.

listen:
the voices of my friends
the drumbeat of time marching on

read:
MIDI info on the web
National Geographic
Handsonic manual

The first falling leaves from one tree in my 'hood are a gathering on the porch. Some cool nights, good for reflection and much needed deepness of sleep.

Discovered the ease of shopping for victuals at the Wednesday Farmers Market on MLK Jr. Blvd. It has everything I like, without the crowds. The Saturday Farmers Market on the capitol square is OK if you can get there super early.

Passed on a job offer from pals this week. It was kind of them to send this my way, but it was not a place I want to work or a job I want to do. And the commute would suck. Anything that makes me have to drive any distance, especially with winter coming on seems precarious.

2 weeks without a working TV, and it's really not so bad. Reading on the porch and getting through some household tasks.
from the paper 'journal':
make your home a welcoming space
Getting there.

Pal Gregory and I are making with the electro-acoustic duo coming up on Friday 9/26 at Mother Fools.
This day is also my birthday. Task for today, on this re-re-built computer, is to make a poster and some flyers, so this rare gig is not a secret from those who may want to be there.

Tonight is going to be the end of 8 days straight of work. Short shifts for the most part, but a day of nothing scheduled will be nice.

Monday will be a drumming night with Sam and Patrick. Man o man am I looking forward to that! They are good pals and we have a strong connection moving air together. And I need to drum sooo bad. Feel like I'm on a fast or something..

listen:
Xiu Xiu live
High on Fire
The Beatles

laugh:
Pleaseeasaur live

read:
Milan Kundera - The Joke

eat:
spicy Red Beans and Jasmine Rice
Walnuts, Golden Raisins, Romain Lettuce
Golden Beets

the feeling returns

Last night after work, googling a significant name, connected to a significant language of origin:
PURE
lol

Other thoughts congealing in the restless little brain:

First seeing in others and verifying in my self-observation that human nature is to grow weary of and discard what once seemed like THE THING as soon it's 'used up' for us. So the thing is to fight the "taking for granted" with acknowledgment of the continuing inspirational qualities that may still be present after the passing of time. To express gratitude, mostly through action and not words. To remember.

Anything, any person that 'wakes you up', even if my immediate emotional reaction is confusion or anger, or maybe a more positive emotion, is a gift.

A promise is not a gift. The gift is when the promise is kept.

Irish whiskey has a way of shaking loose some odd thoughts..

Down to less lofty affairs, the fall season of cool nights is arriving and I am sleeping much better. Last night I slept over 6 hours strait through for the 1st time in months.1

Sunday marks a 30 day anniversary of the last meal containing meat. The vegetarian diet is really alot easier to keep with than I thought it would be. Wait till I go to Baraboo for meal with Mom! That'll be a test.

Having trouble finding a day Sam, Patrick and I are all free to play music. Patrick is busy finalizing the addition to his house and I am working many nights. That's fine though, cause I need to work as much as possible. Drumming has to take a back seat. Practising on pads in the apartment a bit, to stay loose and not lose the recent return to form. I do need to rock. So much is expressed from cooking at the drum stool that has no other outlet. It's a good hobby.

Tonight, Happyoke with the Gomers early (the return of Biff!) and Xiu Xiu later.

listen:
King Crimson - live at Park West 8/7/08
Heartless Bastards - Stairs and Elevators

read:
Milan Kundera - Life is Elsewhere

view:
___ (TV is dead)

numb

ahhhhh

rabbits, ghosts and heartless bastards

it's been a strange week. anger coming at me and some synchronous strangeness involving appearing where I am needed, when I am needed. someone close is spinning out of control and it hurts my heart. much of this is kind of personal and I don't like to talk shit outside the 'classroom'.

my heart's desires seem galaxies away. brother and musiking cohorts do not call. last night I bought a bottle of Irish whiskey and put a good dent in it.

this morning on the way biking to work, a startled rabbit raced me for a ways. I could claim victory, but there was no clear winner. After all, my finish line was the end of a mop handle and his was the next tasty green morsel.

sleep continues to be difficult, vivid dreams that are somehow more reasonable than other dramas in the real life they reflect. perhaps aboriginal culture is calling.

listen:
Heartless Bastards - All This Time
Richard and Linda Thompson - Pour Down Like Silver
Smog - Knock Knock

view:
The Straight Story

write:
journal

smoke signals

still waiting for the smoke to clear away


listen:
The Band - Cahoots
Talking Heads - Fear of Music, Naked
Byrne & Eno - Strange Overtones

read:
What You Need to Know Before You Fall in Love - David Nicholson, Ph.D.
Transformation - J.G. Bennett

view:
eyes

drummers rocking my world, changes

Last week was the week of bands with 2 drummers kicking it. Strange coincidence that I should see these percussive pairings in the same week. Funfunfun!

First was Sunday, a return of Melvins. Holy shit what an awe-inspiring show. The last time they were here I worked and didn't really get to listen to 'em although they made quite an impression. This time I lucked out and they played on my night off. They are described as 'stoner metal' but for me they are a rocking beast that don't really fit into any category. And those drummers, a righty and lefty sharing a bit of each others kits and cooking up some hellatious rhythms - Wow! This is a band I would never know about were it not for my job at the club, and I am a lucky dog.

Thursday was a trip to Chicago to see "The 40th Anniversary Celebration" of King Crimson at Park West. Just about a perfect day all round. In the company of bestest buddy Greg - we have had many adventures together on and in front of stages and this one was one for the books. Certainly one for the blogs. Got there plenty early and found some parking. Had a swell late lunch at Stanley's Kitchen and Tap. Black bean 'n' chicken chili, blackened chicken sammy. Greg had the pulled pork. We both enjoyed the sweet potato fries and tasty beverages. Got in line for the Gen. Adm. show, I picked the tickets at 6 just before the line began to move us in. Park West is an exceptional place to see a show. The staff are awesome, the seating comfortable and house sound system is damn fine. The new line up of Crim started right on time at 7:30 and proceeded to kick some ass for about 2+ hours. 2 encores (3 pieces) later I said like a young student "My brain is full, can I go home now" so we hit the road and was back in Madison shortly after midnight.

Friday at the bar sucked. In an attempt to not dwell on the negative, I'll leave it at that.

Sat AM up early, trip to to the Farmers Market for tomatoes, sweet corn, eggplant, beets, onions and a way overpriced but yummy cinnamon roll. Been doing veggie cooking for myself (sigh) and its all good. If I eat another piece of pizza this month it will be purely a desperate move. Changing my diet, changing my bad self into something better. We'll see.

The 'jazz trio' held forth in the squalor of TL's trailer Saturday afternoon. Music was good, but the future of doing this seems uncertain, for a number of reasons.

And tonight is the 3rd week anniversary of abstinence from a certain illicit substance which has been a vortex of wasted time and bad luck for too long. I feel good.

listen:
Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree, Passion
Heartless Bastards - Stairs and Elevators
Captain Beefheart - Doc at the Radar Station
RTQE

read:
Nat'l Geo

view:
blue skies

spinning wheel, got to go 'round

My humble stretch of E. Main St. is receiving a total makeover this summer and will soon be a real passable street again. New sewer and water service is done and all the concrete is poured. Soon the sound of beep-beep-fucking-beep will be heard no more! The end of - WHAAAM - at 7AM, road crew playing twiddly-winks with manhole covers. The foot of my driveway has a really nice new curb and gutter. Unfortunately there is no actual road to drive on yet - it ends in a sharp drop off down to gravel. Car is going to be sitting in the driveway unless I get all Evel Knievel. Started gathering wood for a ramp from the garage yesterday, but there just weren't enough big pieces. Hoping for asphalt soon, or one of those flying cars we should all have by now.

Plans afoot to see a longtime favorite noisy combo next week - King Crimson. They are at Park West in Chicago for 4 nights celebrating 40 years of beauty and mayhem. Thursday is a goer. Greg's gonna motor us down, bless him. My craptastic vehicle could never make it. Greg and I have shared some unforgettable experiences and this promises to be another. In September Gregory and I will have another chance to make with our super-fine duo on a stage again. More on that when it gets closer.


listen:
Melvins - Stag
Talking Heads
Fripp
müm -finally we are no one
Dub Trio, Czarbles live
the relentless sound of roadwork

read:
Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Tape Op
National Geographic

view:
Tideland
Mr. Show seasons 1 and 2
PBS Nature

McCain for President?

I will do what I can to flip conservative family members and acquaintances to support and vote for Barrack Obama for the Presidency. Whatever it takes. We want our country back!

The thought of this war-mongering, flip-flopping tool of the militaryindustrialcomplex McCain having any chance of being elected makes me ill. But there is hope, my countrymen and women. Talk to your kinfolk and especially veterans (I am one, there's shock and awe for ya) about how McCain has not supported any pro-vetran bill before him in the last 10 years and most recently was a no-show on a vote to reinstate GI bill benefits for Iraq/Afghanistan vets. The bill passed despite his ambivalence. He most certainly will, if elected to office, (like that tool Bush) have our poor boys and girls fighting in godforsaken corners of the world and then they'll be discarded once they have served. Any veteran or those whose lives have been touched by war should be made aware of the folly in electing this man.

bad things this last week, yikes

As I'm sure you've seen, on the news or up close, lotsa flooding going on throughout the mid-west. Not much of it has affected my life directly, many have lost their homes or struggle to keep them safe. The Rock River in Southern WI is due to crest this week, and I'm sure it's already bad down there. Locally the bike path under major roads near the Yahara (just completed last year) is underwater but prolly still navigable. Glad I don't have to drive anywhere for my job - road closings abound. Hear this morning the the trip to (or is it from) Milwaukee goes via Beloit effectively doubling the distance. We should have more sunny days this week, to dry things up a bit, unless you are at the end of watersheds.

In other news, I was personally quite saddened by the passing of Tim Russert this last weekend. He was one of the great TV journalists of our time. Fair and yet not cowtowing to anyone - he could put both dems and republicans on the hot seat with equal aplomb. His personality was a welcome presence and is one of those people you can't imagine being replaced. One of a kind.

Light work week, catching up on domestic stuff, branching out further on the 2-wheeler and getting back to some gear-building projects: battery operated stereo mic preamp, one good kick drum pedal from two broken ones, put new heads on the floor tom tom, and I'm sure there's more! Hope to jam with some friends soon so gotta get the drum kit humming.

Listen:
Scott Fields Freetet - Bitter Love Songs
Joey Baron - Raised Pleasure Dot
California Guitar Trio - Rocks the West

View:
Bill Bruford DVD

Read
NY Times
gear manuals

A flower?

Summer's here, finally. Wisconsin actually had a reasonable Spring this year. The weather has been great, and the rampant hormonal race of Spring is beginning to ebb. Mother Nature is kicking in with her flora 'n' fauna hugely.

Ahh, 6 days straight attending to the maintenance requirements of the bar are now behind me.

Isthmus Jazz Festival happening, Saturday is a rare concert on UW campus with Joan Wildman. Hopefully we won't be stuck with the Rathskellar as a venue for the free offerings. It's not a room for music, for most groups.
Drummer Roy Haynes (who is 92!) is playing the big theater, but I cannot attend cuz it's pricey.

Brother Hal is passing through town on Monday and we will 'do lunch'. He's between tours, finishing a week with Moody Blues Sunday. Next up is Tom Waits merchandising! He seems very excited too, going to Europe and many shows have multiple dates in the same city, time off to hearseesmelltouchtaste the sights.

Things have been quite interesting around work lately. What else is new?
A personal goal: trying to slack off from the drinking until the wee hours and not being physically and mentally drained the next day. And there's plenty of work, business is OK, for summer. So I am a lucky guy then, he typed with no irony intended.

Otherwise, life is good. The weather is finally allowing the car to be left at home. Biking around almost exclusively. I love biking, always.

Starting up a project with pal Jack helping him tame technology, or at least watching his struggles, eventually to write and perform some of his very sharp music yet this year. A slow cooker to be sure, but I am learning some things I want to dig into (latest Mac stuff for playing samples, with that *old school* MIDI). We'll get there. My trio of yore with Jack and Jon rehearsed for sumpin like a year before playing out.

And thank god for Mother Fools, or I'd seldom get to play drums in public. That's par for the course when it's the 'difficult listening hour' kind of stuff. I told Nicole the other night 'I don't want to play experimental music (anymore). I want to play successful music.' Time to leave the avant guard to others and rock out or something.


Listen:
Adrian Belew - Side One
Ouija Radio - OH, NO... YES! YES!
The Bears
Gateway Trio live 1982
Joni - Night Ride Home
Nels Cline Singers
The Mic 92.1 Madison
WORT-FM

Read:
Sound on Sound mag (thanks Greg!)
National Geographic
J.G. Bennett - Energies
Tape Op

View:
A Scanner Darkly
lots of PBS

whadya know, it's spring

or at least the calendar sez so.

Biked in to see the fun and extraordinary Asylum Street Spankers tonight. The first 2 times the Spankers played at our club I was on door duty, tonight was a chance to see whazzup near the stage. SEE THIS BAND before you can't anymore. I laughed, I nearly cried, smoked (outside) and drank, lol. ASS (great acronym there) play at about the level you would hear if they were in a smaller room without electricity. Fucking ace! They are great musicians, and just good genuine people. Inspiring

Worked on and off all weekend and kinda sleep deprived from the wackiness of all that...time to recline.

Listen:
King Crimson - The Power to Believe
Bill Nelson - Practically Wired
David Bowie - Outside
Latin Playboys

View:
hey I think a repeat of Meet the Press is on about now!

Read:
John Godolphin Bennett
manuals and boring stuff
DPF

back in the saddle again

out where a friend is a friend

And speaking of which, just returned from another fun hang with pal Gregory. Yes, a hearty devouring of Monty's desserts and stuff. We had a fab gig in Minneapolis together this last Saturday. And joined by visualist Mark Henricksen, the band is back together, man!

Quite an adventure, traveling up to Mpls for the Spark Festival on the Greyhound with 2 Samsonites for a performance. Everything worked and we turned in a reasonable little set. Turned around once for a view of Marks kicking visuals and then back to forward focus. GT and I were side by side and about 3 feet apart, Mark and screen in the back of course. Packed house, the other performances were great and a diverse (not all male, not all geeks) and supportive crowd mostly hung on for the ride.

In the world of wage-earning toil, the ladies at the bar lined up a replacement for my Sat AM janitor shift. Now it's back the the good stuff on Saturday: making music with the P.Soup trio. We have a coffee-house show lined up for Sat. May 10th.

listen:
Talk Radio
PGT - temporary habitations
Andrew Pask, Richard Devine and many more - Spark Festival live

read:
Arthur mag

view:
PBS

The long winter of our collective discontent

Long time silent or 'not typing' on this page, no? Long winter of nothing much exceptional, yes?

"I have nothing to say, and I am saying it!"

In lieu of anecdotes,
Winter Tips
based on unwritten anecdotes...

-Car door is frozen shut? Get a bucket of super-hot water and a rag or towel. Pour over the door frame, open and dry quickly.

-If you use Ben Gay, wash your hands thoroughly before taking a pee.

-It's going to keep snowing, make a pass with the shovel NOW, you'll be glad you did (and so will your neighbors)

-Be kind to grumpy folks, even if you feel as grumpy as they appear to be. This one demonstrates the axiom:
The higher blends with the lower to actualize the middle (Gurdjieff)

-Get out in the sun even tho it's cold as a female black magic practitioner's mammary gland.

-Layers, layers.

-Pray that Jimmy the Groundhog got it right.

-If you didn't go out and vote, stop complaining

-If you did vote, thank you, also stop complaining

listen:
Brian Eno - Another Day on Earth
Erika Wennerstom - live 2007
Heartless Bastards - All This Time
Material - Memory Serves
Critters Buggin' - host
King Crimson - The Power to Believe
Larkses Tongues
92.1FM The Mic - Hillary at Monona Convention Center, Rachel Maddow
WORT-FM - RTQE, Weekly World Noise, In One End

read:
Postneshin Jelaluddin Loras Interview
Mastering Audio - Bob Katz
Energies - J. G. Bennett

view:
No Country for Old Men
Enemy of the State
too much television, excepting PBS