Reading the post from Jan. 17 it dawned on me that was the last opportunity I had to play music with the dearly departed Uncle Larry. Unk passed away suddenly on April 25th
obit
I had been lucky to have been in a trio with Unk and Tom Lachmund for 4 years, although we had taken somewhat of a break since last fall. We were called Primordial Soup and played a few gigs over the years at Mother Fools and Zuzu Cafe.
I've learned so much about Uncle Larry in the last week, he was much loved, no surprise there.
How I regret the times we might have played and enjoyed each others camaraderie since then.
I miss him so much.
Don't wait around to tell those closest to you how much you appreciate them.
Listen:
Heartless Bastards
Fripp - That Which Passes
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
25 random things about me
1) I have one phobia: heights (over 20 ft. or so)
2) I grew up in Baraboo, WI on the south side, basically the bad side of the tracks.
3) My parents were divorced when I was 14 y.o. after 25 years of marriage.
4) I joined the Navy at the tender age of 17 with my best friend at the time. I became a radio operator aboard the ship after some scary times as a deck hand hanging from the yard arms (see #1) with a scraper and a bucket of paint.
5) As a young man I was painfully shy and speaking to a group of people was akin to torture.
6) In High School the only class I excelled in was Art. Straight As, but to this day I still can't draw very well.
7) I was once completely lost in rural Taiwan.
8) I was once completely lost in the woods for about an hour. That day I also learned what 'thicket' actually refers to, in 3 dimensions.
9) When I was in 3rd grade we rented a house for a year next to a Mink 'farm'. Working and playing around those rows of caged minks and one day witnessing the yearly slaughter were the beginning of my animal-loving later life. So my neighbors, they was some cruel motherfuckers and I was secretly relieved when we moved back into town the next year.
10) I consider Madison my adopted home town, as it ever will be.
11) I can tell when it's a full moon.
12) I sometimes imagine myself as blind man or what it would be like to have earlids.
13) Punctuality is very important to me. It is a great indication of character. Waste your own time if you wish, but please don't keep me waiting.
14) I used to have the worst case of hay fever in the summer growing up with uber-ragweed in the fields next to our house. It kept me indoors through much of August and September. My 2+ years in California and maybe the fresh sea air worked it out of my system somehow. I haven't had a bout of hay allergy woe since I was 17.
15) I broke my left arm in 6th grade playing 'battle ball'. 3 fingers on my left hand had their tips crunched at work a few years ago. It's good I'm a righty!
16) I learned to drive at age 35.
17) My favorite color has changed 3 times. As a kid it was yellow, then came blue, now it's gray. You'll know it's changed again if start to use Just for Men.
18) I am red/green colorblind, a condition one in 4 males have to some degree, you might be surprised to learn. The degree of my colorblindness is pretty minor, red things on a green background don't 'pop' as they do for most people. So much for my graphic design career. And yes, I can tell what color the stop light is.
19) I dig red hair. My first crush in grade school was a girl with flaming red hair. My first kiss planted on the lips of another redhead.
20) OK, I have TWO phobias. I am not much into the sight of blood. My own doesn't bother me much though. I get over it a little having to dress cuts for folks at work. I just worry that if someone gets their belly sliced open, I won't be of much use.
21) Sometimes I have extraordinary luck and am conviced that unseen angels intervene on my behalf when I need it the most. When I have bad luck, the angels are sleeping.
22) My favorite condiment is salsa, followed closely by mustard.
23) I disike hard drugs, after some trial and error many years ago led to the conclusion that those drugs and people who use them don't like me much either.
24) I had a comic book collection when I was 12 that would allow me to retire comfortably if it magically appeared now 40 years later. I was such a little geek boy - stamp collecting, butterflies (a killing jar -arggh), cowboys and indians, playing army with a realistic 'arsenal' that included a shoulder-holster, OK I'll stop now.
25) I can't dance, but sometimes I don't let that stop me.
listen:
The Beatles Anthology disk 3
T-Bone Burnette
Latin Playboys
2) I grew up in Baraboo, WI on the south side, basically the bad side of the tracks.
3) My parents were divorced when I was 14 y.o. after 25 years of marriage.
4) I joined the Navy at the tender age of 17 with my best friend at the time. I became a radio operator aboard the ship after some scary times as a deck hand hanging from the yard arms (see #1) with a scraper and a bucket of paint.
5) As a young man I was painfully shy and speaking to a group of people was akin to torture.
6) In High School the only class I excelled in was Art. Straight As, but to this day I still can't draw very well.
7) I was once completely lost in rural Taiwan.
8) I was once completely lost in the woods for about an hour. That day I also learned what 'thicket' actually refers to, in 3 dimensions.
9) When I was in 3rd grade we rented a house for a year next to a Mink 'farm'. Working and playing around those rows of caged minks and one day witnessing the yearly slaughter were the beginning of my animal-loving later life. So my neighbors, they was some cruel motherfuckers and I was secretly relieved when we moved back into town the next year.
10) I consider Madison my adopted home town, as it ever will be.
11) I can tell when it's a full moon.
12) I sometimes imagine myself as blind man or what it would be like to have earlids.
13) Punctuality is very important to me. It is a great indication of character. Waste your own time if you wish, but please don't keep me waiting.
14) I used to have the worst case of hay fever in the summer growing up with uber-ragweed in the fields next to our house. It kept me indoors through much of August and September. My 2+ years in California and maybe the fresh sea air worked it out of my system somehow. I haven't had a bout of hay allergy woe since I was 17.
15) I broke my left arm in 6th grade playing 'battle ball'. 3 fingers on my left hand had their tips crunched at work a few years ago. It's good I'm a righty!
16) I learned to drive at age 35.
17) My favorite color has changed 3 times. As a kid it was yellow, then came blue, now it's gray. You'll know it's changed again if start to use Just for Men.
18) I am red/green colorblind, a condition one in 4 males have to some degree, you might be surprised to learn. The degree of my colorblindness is pretty minor, red things on a green background don't 'pop' as they do for most people. So much for my graphic design career. And yes, I can tell what color the stop light is.
19) I dig red hair. My first crush in grade school was a girl with flaming red hair. My first kiss planted on the lips of another redhead.
20) OK, I have TWO phobias. I am not much into the sight of blood. My own doesn't bother me much though. I get over it a little having to dress cuts for folks at work. I just worry that if someone gets their belly sliced open, I won't be of much use.
21) Sometimes I have extraordinary luck and am conviced that unseen angels intervene on my behalf when I need it the most. When I have bad luck, the angels are sleeping.
22) My favorite condiment is salsa, followed closely by mustard.
23) I disike hard drugs, after some trial and error many years ago led to the conclusion that those drugs and people who use them don't like me much either.
24) I had a comic book collection when I was 12 that would allow me to retire comfortably if it magically appeared now 40 years later. I was such a little geek boy - stamp collecting, butterflies (a killing jar -arggh), cowboys and indians, playing army with a realistic 'arsenal' that included a shoulder-holster, OK I'll stop now.
25) I can't dance, but sometimes I don't let that stop me.
listen:
The Beatles Anthology disk 3
T-Bone Burnette
Latin Playboys
Thursday, January 29, 2009
It's tax time and 3 rehearsals this week in between shifts. Not going out on nights off, as much as I'd like to. Starting to assemble the gig rig for SPARK and get my ducks in a row.
Enjoying a 6er of New Glarus Organic. It's great local brew and a welcome addition to the growing number of Organic choices. It's the only Organic item at the neighborhood convenience store, that's for certain.
listen:
john abercrombie - live at merlyn's
xtc - english settlement
david byrne & brian eno - everything that happens will happen today
Enjoying a 6er of New Glarus Organic. It's great local brew and a welcome addition to the growing number of Organic choices. It's the only Organic item at the neighborhood convenience store, that's for certain.
listen:
john abercrombie - live at merlyn's
xtc - english settlement
david byrne & brian eno - everything that happens will happen today
Saturday, January 24, 2009
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)
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)
Saturday, January 17, 2009
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
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
Friday, January 16, 2009
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
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
Sunday, January 4, 2009
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
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
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