Other Drivers and Sharing Ike's Interstate System

The guy driving the dodge with the hemi in it who thinks he's better than you probably isn't. The guy driving the Prius might be.

There is a butt load of RV's on the road and no two are alike. The Tioga II Santa Fe Phoenix adventurer by Windstar is by far the biggest and the baddest.

When you see someone driving the same car as you it's not cool to try to bond with that someone on the interstate. It just freaks them out (my apologies to the handsome couple in the white forester from Ohio)

Breaking the Law Safely

The entire state of Wisconsin is a speed trap.

If you think that following the fastest guy on the road will let you drive as fast as him and not get caught, think again. That state trooper's got a CB radio and a buddy up the road.

If you're an out of state driver in Wisconsin and get pulled over for speeding, you have to pay the fine right then and there. That’s a good way to blow your travel budget and make you wish you flew.

The speed limit in Indiana is 70mph. Three cheers for 70mph! Three cheers for Indiana!

Douche bags that drive ford escorts with roof racks should be arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer.

Illinois highway patrol cars are white with yellow trim. Indiana patrol cars are black with gold trim. Wisconsin patrol cars are sneaky.

Geography

The sign outside of Rockford, Illinois that says you're 77 minutes away from O'Hare Airport LIES.

Mapquest sucks, Google Maps isn't much better and the trunk is a bad place to keep your Rand McNally Road Atlas.

You can't drive around Indianapolis without taking a wrong turn, the only way to get past Indianapolis is to drive straight through it and hope for the best.

You will never have a bad time in Ohio.

Drive through the Midwest in the summer and you too will have a hard time imagining this country, nay the world, ever running out of corn.

If you can see the Sears Tower, the Sears Tower can see you.

Just because you can see the Sears Tower it doesn't mean you're almost home. That building is a tall motherf***er.

The Illinois toll way is overpriced and over congested.

In the Midwest, on the interstate, between the major cities are McDonalds, Culvers Custard and Butter Burgers and Perkins Family Restaurants. In between these are truck stops. In between the truck stops are fireworks stands and adult bookstores. (There’s a place just north of Rockford, IL that sells fireworks, porn AND baked goods. ewww...)

California is warm, Minnesota is butt-ass cold.

You will get lost. Baaaaad...

Travel Tips

No matter how much you'd rather listen to music, talk radio passes the hours time ten times faster. Especially the morning zoo.

A slight hangover will allow you to drive great distances without ever having to stop to pee.

It’s NOT ok to return a rental car with an empty tank of gas.

It IS ok to return a rental car with a full tank of gas, vomit down the passenger side, 300% more miles, and a slightly altered wheel alignment.

If you fly enough, eventually you will sit next to some random person you already know.

The air recirculation setting on your car's thermostat is a solid feature.

In regards to the aforementioned recirc setting, go with this as soon as you get about 100 miles north of LA on I-5. It will make driving past the group of 300,000 cows a little more pleasant.

Cruise control is your best friend.

There’s no place like home.

Microtel is nasty.

Checking into a hotel with a guitar and bunch of gear just might make them think you're something special.

McDonalds drive through trash in the backseat eventually smells like stale farts.

Music and Performing

It’s pretty exciting to play in LA, Chicago and New York. But some of the best shows happen in the smallest towns.

Paul Simon’s Graceland really is one of the best records of all time.

In the confines of my car I can sing the sh*t out of you can call me al, thunder road and sultans of swing.

Even in the confines of my car I can't sing anything like Justin Timberlake. And I really shouldn't try.

There is no better feeling than trying to sell someone you've just met both of your cd's and learning they already have one of them.

The soundboard operator at the venue is your other best friend.

Final Thoughts

My Subaru pulls to the left.

Cruise control is also your mortal enemy.

So's the soundboard operator...

I am the only driver on the road with any good sense.

Looking forward to year two.

i haven't broken a string during a gig in years. that is until these last two gigs.

i broke my third string in the middle of 'just like you' in sacramento and again at uncommon ground in chicago this past friday night during 'long island sound.' in sacramento it was in the middle of the set and i managed to change it whilst singing leonard cohen's 'halleluja' as phil putnam (www.philputnam.com) accompanied me on his piano. in chicago we were at the end of the set and we ended up closing with 'captain sutter' sans guitar (so, just congas and violin) it ended up being pretty rad, though i don't think i'll set out to do that again anytime soon.

busting a string is never the end of the world, but it sure changes the axis a bit. when it happens the tension of the neck changes and the entire intonation of the guitar and remaining set of strings is slightly off and everything goes out of tune. you're thrown off, the song is thrown off and it sucks.

right after college i played in a duo for a glimpse of a moment with a chap named brian mcknight (i can't find his music myspace, but i'll add it later.) and he had a theory that i now subscribe to that you only really break strings in performance when something isn't right. you're either nervous or ill at ease in some way and the symbiotic relationship with your instrument is broken. it's almost the instrument's way of telling you that you're not treating it quite right.

had it not happened during back to back gigs i wouldn't be writing this. but as it has, i'm slightly unnerved by it. and i'm going to have to get to the bottom of it.

This is what's in my iTunes playlist this month:

Meaning - Gavin DeGraw (Chariot Stripped Version)
Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones
If I Had A Boat - Lyle Lovett
Snow (Hey Oh) - Red Hot Chili Peppers
One Man Wrecking Machine - Guster
Hollywood Chain Gang (Live) - Tony Lucca
Cannonball - Damien Rice
Beautiful World - Colin Hay
God Gave Me Everything - Mick Jagger
Good Vibrations - Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch*
Resurrection - Common
The Question - Common & Mos Def
Got - Mos Def
Everything I Have Means Nothing To Me Now - Bob Schneider
Laid - James
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap
I'll Fix You (Live) - Coldplay
Cruz - Christina Aguilera
Killer Queen - Queen
Tangerine Speedo - Caviar
Cry Me A River - Justin Timberlake
Bullets - Bob Schneider
Omaha - Counting Crows
Sorry I Am - Ani DiFranco

* Don't judge! The rhythm is his occupation!

Friday morning, February 16th, 2007.

I took La Cienega to LAX from Valley Village to pick up my friend/navigator/roadie, Alex on our way up north to Sacramento for the gig at The Fox & Goose. All is well, except that Alex's flight, like mine, left Chicago at 6am and he, unlike me, had chosen not to sleep the night before. So Alex already has a solid 30 hours of awake time under his belt. Which we felt was a strong foundation for ensuing hijinks and ballyhoo. We were off.

We tore out of Los Angeles via the 405 (and by 'tore' I mean inching along at a scorching 15 mph in Friday morning traffic) and made our first stop in the lovely town of Gorman, California where there exists a Carl's Jr., a lovely looking establishment with the name of 'Brian's Diner' and from all we could tell, that was it. We went with CJ's as it's fine nostalgia from our California upbringing and they don't have it in the Midwest. (They have Hardee's but it's not the same) I ate too much.

After Gorman we continued on up I5 for a few more hours until we came to Harris Ranch and the universally accepted halfway point between LA and Sacramento. The Harris Ranch Inn is known for its steak. And it gets its steak because the ranch itself is home to more cows in one location than you will see anywhere else (250,000). I would also like to point out that it is also more cows than you will SMELL anywhere else. Should you find yourself taking this stretch of I5 an any point in your travels, here's a handy travel tip for you: switch your vents to 'recirc' as soon as you catch a glimpse of the Harris Ranch on the horizon and don't switch back until you see signs for Fresno. Your olfactory senses with thank you.

We stopped for gas in Diablo Hills, which was just weird. There really isn't a better way to describe it except weird. (The weirdest part: on the drive back. Diablo Hills wasn't there. No lie. Weird...) (additionally, I don't actually know if this ghost town was called Diablo Hills or Diablo Dunes or what...I couldn't confirm it on a map later because again, it's not there... the gas station itself wouldn't let me use an ATM or credit card so I don't even have the proper receipt or digital record of the transaction...weird.)

We pulled into Sacramento in good time. Checked into our hotel (our room had a lovely view of downtown Sacto including one of the most interesting attractions in the city, The Crest Theater) and had some refreshments in the lobby bar with Alex's sister. After Alex and she went off to dinner, I made my way upstairs to gather my gear for the show, then it was off to the Fox & Goose to meet up with Phil Putnam, an old friend from high school who is now nurturing a budding career as a singer/songwriter in Sacramento and San Francisco.

The Fox & Goose is a fine establishment. The sound was great and the room was incredibly friendly (and they boast a tasty menu of scotch's and fine beers, including Young's Chocolate Stout). So many people I hadn't seen in years, some in over a decade, made it out and gave a hugely warm reception for both Phil and I. Phil laid out an awesome set and then I had a wonderful time playing my first gig in my hometown since moving to Chicago in 1995. It could not have been better.

(See the entry about breaking strings for an interesting anecdote from this show)

The next morning Alex and I got an early start and for good reason. After a wrong turn near Fairfield, CA and a subsequent stop at Fairfield’s BK Lounge, (and Alex's first experience vomiting out of a moving car...) Alex and I found ourselves in two and a half hours of traffic from Oakland to the bay bridge. Slow enough to drive a man crazy and we were nearly driven so. Luckily we had Hilary Duff's Most Wanted record on repeat to get us through it... No lie. Pop music elitists we are not.

After finding our hotel on the embarcadero we suited up for our old friend T-Bone's wedding. T-Bone pulled out all the stops, not only did she have Blue Label on the menu, but she hired The Cheeseballs as the wedding band. "Northern California’s best 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond cover band." As weddings go, this was an awesome party!

Sunday morning we took the 101 south out of san fran until we got to Morgan Hill where we found a very fine little breakfast place by the name of Denny's. I had something called the all-american slam breakfast and Alex enjoyed a bowl of vanilla ice cream and sides of bacon and sausage. Yum!

We cut over the hills through Gilroy (the garlic capital of California, nay the world!) to get back to I5 as taking 101 all the way back down to LA didn't seem too practical.

After a couple more days in LA (including an INSANE evening parting at the Knitting Factory which will need to wait for another entry) Alex and I boarded our flight back to the Midwest and a plunge in temperature. I have to assess that after a little over a week, three great shows, and a little over 1200 miles, my first California mini-tour was a success. I can't wait to do it all over again in 2008.

Had a great show at Karma Coffee House last night opening up for the Brian Buckley Band. Aside from having about 4 square feet to move around in, the sound was impeccable and the room felt really great. I was surprised with the turnout too given how packed the Viper Room was Sunday. Thanks, y'all, for coming out on a Tuesday, and thanks for coming out twice in one week! And it was pretty delightful to play 'Santa Cruz' for the first time in California. Cheers to the West coast!

Now let me tell you a little something about the Brian Buckley Band. I love Brian's CD, 'For Her.' It's one of the cleanest recordings of one of the best rock voices I've ever heard (seriously, Brian Buckley's voice is one of the best I've ever heard.) And I've been really excited about seeing him and the band play live. Had he not been nice enough to put me on the bill last night I would have been there anyway as a fan. I knew I was going to see a good show...

Holy Crap.

I've actually just sat here at the computer for five minutes without typing because I can't come up with the words to describe how incredible their performance was. I've never seen a coffee shop show with such massive energy behind it. It was almost a religious experience. I felt like I was in the presence of something historical and important and I feel very lucky to have seen this when I did (and honored to have shared the stage!) This isn't hyperbole, they really are that good. They need no endorsement from me, but the precision and passion and musicianship I saw last night is up there with the best I've ever seen and they're five of the genuinely nicest people you'll ever meet. They're going on tour later this year and you simply need to be there.

What a great night! The Viper Room Show was a great success. We had a huge turnout and it was a fantastic time getting to see so many old faces and meet such wonderful new ones. the set went really well and we got a great recording out of it so look for that in the near future.

i have to say, it is so good to be back in california. i never quite feel cool enough when i'm in los angeles, but last night took care of that for me. it was a very rockstar evening all around. (aside from wanting to go to bed at ten o clock, but i'll blame that on the fact that i had been operating on three hours of sleep in twenty-three total, which is very rockstar, so we'll balance it out.)

from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who came out to support last night's show. it was more than i could have expected and something i'll remember for the rest of my life and career.

i'm in chicago's midway airport. it's 6 am. i've been up since four. stupid o clock in the morning is approaching. everything has occured on schedule so far. 25 mins to the airport. no traffic. starbucks serves coffee. word. i'm planning on napping on the flight. because of the time change I gain two hours. which is like free time. i get to take an extra two hour nap and not lose the time that it takes to take the nap. it's a bit like time travel. call me marty mcfly, cause i'm about to get get crazy and go back in time. i feel more like einstein the dog. no more 6:30 am flights. no more blogging at 6am.

Hey folks,

I'm planning on blogging regularly while on this california tour/vacation/roadtrip/wedding weekend and I thought I'd start the night before I left. It's 11:41 pm Chicago time and I'm up listening to SNL in the other room while I wrestle with my computer to get it to print out my boarding pass for the next morning. It's way to late for me considering I chose to fly at stupid-thirty in the morning. I'm now looking at about four hours of sleep prior to leaving for the airport. I'd probably have trouble sleeping anyway though because I'm pretty excited about tomorrow night's show at the Viper Room. Many thanks to everyone who's gotten in touch about coming to the show. I think it's going to be a good crowd filled with people I haven't seen in ages and a surprising amount that I've seen quite recently here in Chicago. Either way, what I'm really excited about is getting away from this silly midwestern winter weather. It was 13 degrees this evening when I was walking to the car. It's 66 degrees in LA right now. I'm about 10 hours away from 60 degrees and no wind chill. Word up.

As a device to help me post more frequently and as a venue for me to impose my pop music elitism, I've decided to create a monthly post of my current favorite iTunes playlist.

The Rock Show - Blink 182
Papers In Order - The Old Ceremony
Flowerparts - Bob Schneider
Rad Chrome Mask - Little Guilt Shrine
20 Miles South of Nowhere - Michael McDermott
Indie RnR - The Killers
Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight - Amos Lee
Unsingable Name - Mike Doughty
Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
20.000 Seconds - K's Choice
Meltdown - Slobberbone
Think Twice - Eve 6
Best Of You - Foo Fighters
Trailer Trash - Modest Mouse
Hyper enough - Superchunk
Penelope - Pinback
Words Too Small to Say - Peter Mulvey
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley

Beautiful Wreck - Shawn Mullins
N.Y.C. - Steve Earle
Rocking Horse Road - Elvis Costello
Naked - Goo Goo Dolls
St. Teresa - Joan Osborne
I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You - Colin Hay
Everybody Here Wants You - Jeff Buckley
Mercy Street - Peter Gabriel
Angeles - Elliott Smith
Tomorrow, Wendy - Concrete Blonde
Believe - K's Choice
Alex Chilton - The Replacements
Come With Me Tonight - Bob Schneider
Saturday Boy - Billy Bragg
C'mon C'mon - The Von Bondies
In Spite Of Me - Morphine
most of the time - Bob Dylan

I love DirecTV. They regularly have these free live music broadcasts that run on the pay-per-view channels for about a month before switching to the next artist. I've seen U2 in Chicago, Bruce Hornsby, The Foo Fighters and the John Mayer Trio. They're well shot and edited and fun to watch. I used to really be into concert videos when I was in high school, but haven't lately until DTV came into my life.

Right now they're airing a recent John Mayer show from a medium sized club in New York of him and his band playing stuff from the new 'Continuum' record (I hope he named it that purely for the two 'u's' side by side.) The record is very good and he and his band playing it is also very good.

Naively, but I think understandably, I resisted John Mayer for years until late one night in Raleigh after my Mother in law's surprise birthday party when everyone was asleep and I was flipping channels. I came across Mayer on Austin City Limits in 2003 and after running through a few of his radio hits that I reluctantly recognized but of course had no trouble singing a long with, he began a set with Tommy Shannon on bass and Chris Layton on drums (Stevie Ray Vaughn's Double Trouble) and suddenly this twenty-six year old kid from Connecticut was inhabited by an 83 year old bluesman from the Mississippi delta. There was nothing posed or phony about anything he was doing, it was just pure and genuine talent; the man is truly gifted. I realized at that point that I had already been a fan - I just hadn't realized it yet. (He was also joined by Buddy Guy at one point.)

Fast forward to this evening as I'm watching John Mayer and his band go through 'Gravity' and just as my wife is sighing over how great he "really is!" I realize that the solo he's been playing has gotten to a point where he's actually bending harmonics.

This is the geeky guitar part of the post.

With his right hand he's hitting harmonics on the twelfth or seventh fret (a way of lightly plucking a string at certain points along it's length in order to ring out harmonic frequencies above it's fretted pitch) and then with his left hand he's stretching the string by pushing on it above the nut (the part of the string that goes from the 'nut,' or zero fret, to the tuners on the headstock) thereby bending the note and creating a sound that's similar to a pedal steel or even a theremin and consequently blowing my mind. It's so simple and so cool and I've never thought of it before and I am sure that once again I will find myself sitting around late at night rewatching this concert and scratching my head as John Mayer does things that I didn't know anyone was cosmically allowed to do.

But before that I'm going to go try to figure out if it's possible for a solo acoustic guy to credibly add harmonic bending to any tunes in his set. I'll probably just break a bunch of strings. Sigh....

I effing love this city. I first visited in 1999 and fell head over heels. As of September 13th it had been about three years or so since I had last dropped in and clearly it was too long.

I was scheduled to leave Chicago on a 10am-ish flight out of O'Hare and promptly got lost on the way to the airport. Getting lost on the way to the airport after living in a city for over 11 years must say something about me. Hopefully it points out an endearing naiveté that I've managed to maintain despite my encroaching thirties. More likely it points to my daft sense of direction.

My flight was cancelled and fears of United losing my checked guitar and Dollar losing my car reservation began to creep in while I waited in the terminal watching the rain on the tarmac and listening to The Californian by Bob Schneider. Thankfully after a smooth flight I made it into La Guardia only two and a half hours later than planned with a dentless guitar in it's newly purchased and now newly scuffed flight case. My car was ready, though a compact Ford Focus it was not. After two experiences with Dollar Rent a Car I now know to expect a PT Cruiser when they've run out of their compacts. It's an odd sort of upgrade unless you're into PT Cruisers (which I am not). This one was cream colored with gold trim and a convertible top. A nice feature if it hadn't been raining and if keeping it up meant you could actually see out of the car. (I don't intend this journal to be a review of anything other than my life, but I wholeheartedly do NOT recommend the convertible PT Cruiser. I've never had worse visibility out of a car.)

The drive out to St. James was just fine. I spent most of it in moderate rush hour traffic but had no trouble finding the town or the venue and made it in just the right amount of time. The Cool Beanz cafe is a lovely place with white fairy lights, high ceilings, warm comfortable seating and a friendly staff. Dave Dircks, the evening's host, welcomed me with a great sound check and I was ready for great evening. After a dinner from a nearby Chinese place of beef and broccoli, I settled in with a glass of Beaujolais to watch the open mic.

The place was packed and I got the feeling that this was more of a community of music appreciators, poets and songwriters who cherish the opportunity to gather once a week and share new songs and stories in this warm and friendly environment. I found them all to be incredibly welcoming and attentive to my own stories and songs and had a delightful time performing for my new friends. After a very memorable experience I got back said goodbye to Long Island and climbed back in the Cruiser and headed back to the city.

I had the great fortune to crash with my friend, Jamie, whose apartment overlooks the Hudson River from the southern end of Fort Tryon in Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, a neighborhood I hadn't previously visited or even known about. After driving around for at least an hour and a half I finally gave up on parking and decided to leave the Cruiser in the nearby Staples public garage until the next morning.

With a gorgeous view of the George Washington Bridge I awoke the next day to live selections from 'Wicked' and 'The Will Rogers Follies.' Jamie is a pianist and music director and was rehearsing for an upcoming audition; his baby grand is just outside his guest room. I have to tell you, there is no better way to wake up then to someone playing incredible music just outside your door.

I spent the first part of Thursday exploring Washington Heights and Fort Tryon Park, a beautiful hilly and green area home to the Cloisters museum which I didn't have time to do more than poke my head into. It was delightfully overcast and grey and just the perfect time of year to be discovering a new corner of New York. I was impressed and enchanted and couldn't wait to come back next time.

I made my way by subway down to the Lower East Side in the mid afternoon and grabbed a quick $20 hamburger (which was frikkin' delicious, but still - twenty dollars?) before meeting up with Olivia Greer. We had planned to meet before the gig we were both scheduled to play at Pianos that night but unfortunately due to some scheduling confusion with the venue, there was only one slot available and Olivia was kind enough to step aside to give it to me since I had traveled so far. I was happy to still have the gig but disappointed to not get to play it with Olivia. Additionally, my show was pushed up an hour and I was scheduled to finish at the time I was planning on starting. Despite this the venue was still very friendly and the band following me was very friendly as well and hung around to pad my audience. (They're called London Egg and I caught the first half of their awesome set.) After the show I made my way with some friends who had come to see the set to a pub next door to enjoy a few drinks before calling it a night.

The next morning I woke up to "The Light In The Piazza" and decided that when I got back to Chicago my Sony "Dream Machine" was going to half to step it up a notch if it was going to compete with Jamie. We had lunch at Bette Midler's restaurant in Fort Tryon and then jumped in the Creme Cruiser to get Jamie down to Rockefeller center and me back to La Guardia.

After I dropped off Jamie I drove through Times Square to get down to the Queens Midtown Tunnel. I don't recommend this, especially in a Convertible Creme Cruiser...

I got to the airport and learned that my flight had been delayed at least three hours. It was raining in Chicago, several shuttle flights had been cancelled and the terminal was filled with angry Midwesterners trying to get back to the Notre Dame/Michigan game that weekend. That was fun. I bought another book.

I finally made it home sometime after 2am. I had a great time, saw some great people I knew and met some great people I hadn't known. I got my New York City fix and planted seeds for the next one. Hopefully it won't be long from now.

-Brian

If you want to listen to my Long Island Show, visit Acoustic Long Island.

I recieved a message the other day from Ty in Newcastle, UK who reminded me that I used to have a live version of 'Secret' on my website. He requested that I put it back up.

Fair enough.

Here ya go! Enjoy!

Secret
Recorded Live in Chicago at Stripped Down at the Space 7/18/02

(Thanks, Ty.)

I found this in a bulletin on MySpace (thanks, jen) and I don't normally do these things but I thought this was kinda cool and might be fun...

It might also be an opportunity to share with the world how vast and lame my music collection can be...

Your Life: The Soundtrack

So, here's how it works:
Open your music player (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, etc).
Put it on shuffle.
Press play.
For every question type the song that's on.
When you go to a new question press the next button.
Ready? GO!


Opening Credits:
Unglued - Stone Temple Pilots (Album: Purple)

Waking Up:
Baby King - Marc Cohn (The Rainy Season)

Falling in Love:
Heart and Soul (Live) - Huey Lewis & The News (Sports)

Fight scene:
The Hell Song - Sum 41 (Does This Look Infected?)

Breaking Up:
Wishlist (Live) - Pearl Jam (Verona Italy, 6/20/00)

Getting back together:
Strawberry Fields - The Beatles (Magical Mystery Tour)

Secret Love:
Tenderness - General Public (Movie Music From the 80's - The Brat Pack Years)

Life's okay:
The Great Suburban Showdown - Billy Joel (Streetlife Serenade)

Mental Breakdown:
Always Be - Jeffrey Gaines (Always Be)

Driving:
Stripping Cane (live) - Jeffrey Foucault (Bootleg opening for Peter Mulvey at The Ark, 4/9/04)

Flashback:
Long Way Down - Goo Goo Dolls (A Boy Named Goo) *

Happy dance:
Mr. Xcitement - They Might Be Giants (Mink Car)

Regretting:
Liki Cat - Jimmy Chamberlin Complex (Life Begins Again)

Spending a night alone:
What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1/Blue Sky Revisit/Transmission 3 - DJ Shadow (Endtroducing)

Death scene:
My Man - They Might Be Giants (Mink Car)

Epilogue:
New York State of Mind (live) - Billy Joel (Live at Yankee Stadium) **


Neat! This was fun and really not that embarrassing. None of the Hilary Duff or Barry Manilow popped up! Now I need to make a playlist out of this in my iPod and figure out what it all means...

* I cheated on this one, one of my songs came up and that didn't seem right. (it was 'Secret')
** I added the 'Epilogue.' I was having too much fun.

Friday night was fantastic. Pick A Cup Coffee Club in Evanston is a wonderfully warm place to play music. You hardly need a PA as the natural acoustics of voice and guitar fill the room sufficiently. The audience has big plushy sofas and couches to sit in and the only distractions are the occasional sloshing of the espresso machine steaming milk (sin-e anyone?). It's a sweet reprieve from the cacophany and haze that accompanies playing in bars and I'm able to dust off some songs that I haven't been able to play out with in a while and arrangements of others that suit the songs far better than what I've been using to force them through. I only wish I had sat down to play because it's been a while since I've played an hour-and-a-half-plus show and I felt pretty exhausted by the end of it.

Thanks to Carol for having me and thanks to the awesome folks who came out to listen. I can't wait to go back in June.

I've always loved the idea of blogging and I've made attempts in the past both personally and professionally but I've never been very successful. This time it's for real. I mean it.

There are a couple of subjects that I'll probably use this journal for. One of which is what I'm currently listening to. (the others are gig recaps and maybe places on the web that concern me or that I think should concern you - but we'll see)

When I find a new CD or a new artist that I particularly enjoy I tend to obsess over the album or number of them until I've totally exhausted my appreciation of it; which, in some cases could take years. I know that I'm not alone in this so hopefully there are readers out there that can appreciate my enthusiastic "over-appreciation."

Right.

So, about two months ago, my buddy Wes gave me Mike Doughty's 'Haughty Melodic' (2005, ATO), a collection of really melodic, kinda sullen acoustic, almost-ballads by the former lead singer of Soul Coughing. For those of you who don't recall, Soul Coughing was the oh-so-cool band whose record would come on around three-thirty am at all of the drama school parties (on Halsted Street) that I attended in college. They were lyrical-jazzy-hip-hop-rock at its best and I'm glad to see that Mike Doughty has found a musical existence since.

In fact, I'm so glad that I'm obsessed.

This record delights every almost-depressed bone in my body. It's upbeat in it's melody, but ravishing in its melancholy. It's exactly what I've been looking for my entire life. I can't turn this CD off. It's absolutely incredible and I think you should get it.

The whole thing sounds like it was written on a guitar with twenty-year old strings while sitting on the edge of a bed in an apartment on the top floor of a three-flat somewhere in Pittsburgh or another eastern-midwest blue collar city and then recorded on said guitar after the rest of the band moved in around the aforementioned bed; the drummer bringing the raddest sounding snare drum I've ever heard. (This is sort of accurate as the album was recorded in the in-home third story studio of producer Dan Wilson in Minneapolis.)

I've spent the better part of the last three years working on my record at home and during that time I think I wrote maybe one song. To my wife's chagrin (she's had to endure my seemingly endless and stagnant tinkering), the instant the final nail was hammered into my new CD, I suddenly started churning out new songs. It makes sense that I would now that the older material has been laid to rest, but I've found that every new song that comes out of me sounds like an outtake from 'Haughty Melodic.' Not that I'm complaining, it's a joy to sound like my latest obsession.

But should Mike hear the new stuff, he might prefer that I come up with something a bit more original.

last night was a lot of fun. silvie's has a great room. it's very different then the last time i was there three or four years ago. back then the music room was all darts. i think it might have been the opening night of 'the family of mann,' a show that i composed music and designed sound for. the thing that i remember most about that night and that room was playing 'suspicious minds' on the jukebox and deciding then and there that it was my favorite elvis presley song; maybe not his best but definitely my favorite.

thanks to everyone who made it out. thanks to dave on sound (the room sounded great, even with the party going on) and thanks to the strange tree group and silvie's for having me.

i'll have to work on 'suspicious minds' for the next time i get to play there.