American

I live in the United States of America. Maybe you do too? There are two continents in our half of the globe (OK, there's Antarctica and a sliver of Asia..) being North America and South America, last time I looked at a map. So, why do we call ourselves 'Americans' when referring to being citizens of the USA? This vexing nomenclature has troubled me for many years. My guess is that we feel we are so bad-ass, the naming reflects the 'tude that the rest of 'America' doesn't really count. Also, that it's just convenience to claim that title. We are all about convenience. We are also all about asserting our superiority. It seems like 'American' has become sort of a dirty word in the world at large (subject to change!), I'm ready to be done with the usage. That's convenient for me, eh? But there's another reason I'm gonna try to purge this word from my vocabulary:

There is a long-lived 'superstore' in Madison called American. I would hazard a guess that the majority of the goods sold are imported from other countries where they are manufactured, across the ocean. Yet it's AMERICAN. Their TV ads end each little rant about the big savings with "at A-MER-I-CAN" uttered with the melodic inflection of voice one might use to describe a puppy dog or your new sweetheart.


OK, now that my reactionary rant is out of the way...
The gig last Saturday with db and friends went very well. Union Cab delivered Tom and lil' drum kit to Mother Fools with ease and right on time. The evening's performances, they were charming and delightful.
It's weird to sit in the audience for 1 1/2 hours and all relaxed and shit and then get up there!
Duet of db and Kathleen Baird was mind-blowingly great and surreal. Rafi Boehm made a nice addition to db's thing with his superb conga rhythms. Wilhelmina Baker and db thought their performance art portion was off the mark, but I enjoyed it immensely. 2 great creative minds and bodies pouring it out in a way that could probably only have happened there at MF.
db and I locked in to some nice vibes and people seemed to enjoy it. It is so strange to be in a storefront type window of a busy street and keep focused. Moments of 'letting go' and connecting with me bro. The feeling returns.

Monday was another fine jam with Sam and Patrick. We are firing on all cylinders and seem to be developing a group personality. There was one new thing that was so exciting that I cajoled Sam into setting up the recorder and capturing it for further work. It ended differently, but I was clear to say that I liked the shape of v1 as much.

At work last night- the ongoing deep freeze of my toes and trying to keep a positive attitude, not play the role of 'cynical old hipster'.
People having a good time, despite the cold and economy being hosed.
#3 on the 4 band bill Marionette Men sang the line "Rock and Roll is a dead end job". Man, no shit. Glad to be having many 'irons in the fire'. I do have 2 sticks to rub together. Are we all tired of saying things could be worse?

listen:
Arve Henriksen - Cartography
Taylor/Hamer (for reference)

view:
Hank III and Hellbilly Assjack boot DVD
(have worked 2 shows when they played but never got to watch and listen for more than a second)

read:
TapeOp
Thomas Pynchon (1085pp! I'll be living in this one for awhile)

the weekend for somebody

The trio of honking sax/clarinets and swooping fretless bass and I have nixed yet another practice this afternoon. I couldn't be happier about that. After cleaning a particularly grubby night club this AM (for S who owes me big time) Tom could use some inactivity for a little while. It also presents the dilema of how the tiny drum set is getting to Mother Fools this afternoon. I may see how dorky it will seem to be sitting on the Metro bus with an 18" bass drum in my lap.

Pal Gregory has been gastro-intestinally disabled out in Anaheim this week. Wishing him a speedy recovery although I believe he is up and about as I write. Will be doing the Tom version of RTQE Sun night in his stead and it's looking like his walks might need some attention later.

This gives me an idea for a performance piece:

play a 45 of "Let it Snow" on a record player and at some point smash it to smithereens with big shovel.

listen:
Peter Gabriel - Shaking the Tree

just cuz it's cruel, doesn't mean it's not true

I guess that means sometimes the truth is better left unspoken?Unless being a callous bastard (or bitch) is your thing. So we protect those we love from truths that could do damage. I think it's also selfish to do this. Maybe what we fear is the damage to the relationship more than a genuine concern for others? What is love..isn't this the eternal cypher ruling mankind?
Our psyche develops it's own mechanisms for hiding truth from ourselves when it's inconvenient, but the truth is still there, much like the bad weather outside my door. Not that I am hiding any truths myself, I'm patiently waiting for the truth to be spoken most of the time. Honesty is the best policy, y'know. And keeping yer yap shut is a virtue to which I aspire as well.

I've been sitting indoors much of this week with the below zero temps and all. My animal inside knows what's best, so I obey. Working with the public, we trade observations of the weather mostly. I hope I'm toughening up a bit, it seems even us Wisconies have alot to gripe about this winter.

Tomorrow, or later today I get to share the stage with good pal db pedersen. I better get to bed so I can dispense with the early tasks and be fresh for the, er, gig.

Looking forward to the book sitting on my bed to wash away all the badness of the day, be still my thumping blood pump and send something else into the dream hopper.

listen:
Paul Simon - Graceland, Rhythm of the Saints
Talvin Singh - ok
Goat Radio - live

read:
Thomas Pynchon - Against the Day

wishing all a happy newest year

and despite the downturns and suffering, there is a sense of hope and dare I say *faith* floating about. in my orbits anyway. I seem to vacilate betwixt KNOWING the big change in washington is going to pull us all back up, and knowing that these things take time and ALSO KNOWING that the road immediately ahead is going to suck. that said, please join me in some idealism and BELIEVE that 2009 is going to be a much better year for us all.

nose to the grindstone and facing the challenge of getting about in the ice-covered everything today. december turned out to be a snowy snowy month, breaking all records. January is usually cold as a female black magic practioner's mamary gland, but here's hoping for a break from shovelling!

been strategising for upcoming gigs and keeping the chops going. The trio of congealing virtuosity is helping so much. we didn't get together on new year's day as I'd hoped. mon will be a return to form.

broke a cardinal rule: to not depend on borrowed stuff for gigs, again. this sweet lil snare drum with a new head kicks so much ass that I'm a spoiled drum monkey now. thanks B!! the spirit of siggi b pervades it's wood and heavy-duty hardware.

I am so thankful to have a job, that I can do, and we get to rock out sometimes. that's always in the mix somewhere. the various elements of the mix is not to everyone's liking, so I hear. that's just tough. and will pass, like everything.

Always lotsa amazing recordings to listen to. Gets me through a fallow period of no inpiring performances happening. I, for one, do not recommend touring thru these hinterlands this time of year.


listen:
Steve Jansen - Slope
Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians (1997)
Hank Jones (with Billy Higgins!) - Oracle


read:
Dustin Long - Icelander

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"