So I haven't been here in a long time. Too much to do, too little to say, I guess. It's not you, blog, it's me. A lot has gone on, though.
Working backwards; I put in my two weeks notice at my job yesterday. So in two weeks I'll play The Austin City Limits Festival and it will be the first show I play as a full time musician. I have a lot of emotions about this, as I'm sure anyone can imagine. I've been working the last 15 years to reach this point and I really hope that a year from now I'm not looking for another job. I'm excited and anxious and nervous and proud and frankly, scared out of my wits. Please tell your friends about Quiet Company, because now, my family's livelihood actually depends on my success.
It's also imperative that our next tour goes well, because this is somewhat of a trial run with this booking agent, who is the booking agent we most wanted. So if you live near any of the following towns, please, please, please, make it your beeswax to be at these shows:
Oct. 20 - NYC, NY @ The Mercury Lounge (Official CMJ show, but you can buy tix at the door)
Oct. 21 - Rochester, NY @ Dubland Underground
Oct. 23 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
Oct. 24 - Akron, OH @ Musica
Oct. 25 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection
Oct. 26 - Chicago, IL @ The Beat Kitchen
Oct. 27 - Chicago, IL @ a house show
Oct. 28 - St. Louis, MO @ Cicero's
Oct. 30 - Pontiac, MI @ Pike Room
Oct. 31 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Smiling Moose
Nov. 01 - Washington, DC @ The Black Cat
Nov. 02 - Philadelphia, PA @ Milkboy
Nov. 03 - Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell's
Nov. 04 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (upstairs)
All shows, except NYC, are with Brick + Mortar.
We just returned a couple weeks ago from our first tour in a long while. We were out for about 2 weeks and I can say with no hesitation that it was our best tour ever, both financially, and emotionally. We had a great time, had generally great shows, and I had a real sense of purpose in what I was doing for the first time in a while. It also felt really nice to be playing outside of Texas. I love Texas more than anywhere but it's been feeling like too much of a good thing.
Last Friday I played my second solo show at the Cactus Cafe. My position on solo acoustic performances is well known to those who know me well. For those who don't: I'm not for it, generally. I've been doing them for a few reasons, 1. it allows us to keep up our presence in Austin without having to play a show 2. it allows me to test new material 3. it gets me out of my comfort zone and forces me to develop further as a performer and 4. because the other guys in Quiet Company told me I should.
This last one was especially interesting for me, as I shared it with Chris Simpson and Lee Bozeman. My obsession with the work of these men is well documented, but getting Lee at the show was a special treat, as he hasn't played a show in 8 years. Friday night was proof of why that is such a tragedy because he was phenomenal. If I could steal anyone's voice, Lee and Freddie Mercury would be at the top of the list.
I played 6 new songs and 2 old ones. My setlist was:
The First Sonogram
The Road To Perdition
Red & Gold
The Parthenon
Hold My Head Above The Water
The Blood
The Pyre
Midnight At The Dairy Palace
Titles are tentative.
Leah sang with me on "Hold My Head Above The Water" which was lovely, and Matt played piano on "The Pyre" and "Midnight..", which also did not suck.
Reception of the new songs was good. So good that it made me more excited about writing the new record. I hadn't realized how excited I was about writing something that wouldn't offend 80% of America until that show. I don't regret anything I said on Belong, I meant every word and I needed to say it, but I am looking forward to not having to worry about other people's reception of the thing being affected or determined by preconceived beliefs. I'm sure our parents are looking forward to having their sons do something new that they're not apprehensive about sharing with their friends, as well.
I flash between courageous and terrified with bipolar rapidity these days. I'm going to go have a panic attack now.
Showing posts with label Leah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leah. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
I aim to misbehave.
Alright.
The record is done and I am proud of it. Please go buy it and tell your friends you like it. Unless you don't like it, in which case, we'd appreciate it if you'd keep your mouth shut.
So far, only positive reactions, which is nice. Sure, there have been a few reviews from religious folk who've been uncomfortable with the lyrical content, but we expected that, and they make for interesting reviews. It feels nice to have it out there, finally.
Now comes the time of promoting the thing. Our partnership with Grooveshark has already proven to be nothing less than amazing. Before we partnered up, we had 2000+ Facebook friends, now we have 15,000+. It feels crazy. It is crazy. Only time will tell if this exposure will turn into something financially significant. We're all optimistic, though.
Done a lot of interviews lately. I think I'm getting better at them but always have, at least a little, self doubt about whether or not I come across badly. So it goes.
Been thinking a little about what our next full length album should be about. I know we just finished one but this is the first time that I haven't already had another album's worth of material ready to work on. Tommy said he wanted me to get political and satirical, call a bunch of assholes "assholes," and what have you. I don't know if I have that in me. I just never feel like I know enough about politics to voice too strong of a public opinion nowadays. I have been following the GOP primaries a little bit, though. To me, there only seems to be one decent candidate, and that's Jon Huntsman. He doesn't seem to be gaining the traction that I'd like though. Not crazy enough, I guess. I don't know if I'd vote for him even if he does win, but who knows, I might. My main concern is that it's the difference between getting to choose between a piece of pizza and a hamburger, versus getting to choose between a piece of pizza and a huge ball of shit. When a lot of people seem to be angry at the pizza, you really need that burger to fall back on.
A friend of mine died, unexpectedly, from an aneurysm the other day. I didn't know him terribly well, but I really enjoyed his company the handful of times we'd gotten to hang out. It made me think more seriously about something I was already thinking about. One of the cool things about playing music is that it has enabled me to meet a lot of really interesting people, many of which I like a lot. My life is full of guys I wish I knew better but never get the chance because my life is also full of a lot of other things, and so are theirs. Lately, I've been trying to make the effort to make the time. It's difficult because I don't want to sacrifice my time with my family, so it largely consists of me sacrificing sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead, and all that, but I am tired today. Last night, after a late QC rehearsal, I went and saw a buddy who was in town playing guitar for New Found Glory. Got in at 2, but still got 5 hours of sleep. I've always felt like 5 is plenty because I have an issue of Batman where he says he only needs 5, and hey, if Batman can do everything he does on 5 hours of sleep, I can surely function.
Ate a fried okra & potato taco at 1 in the morning. Sounded great, didn't deliver on flavor. Shame.
The band is driving to Pensacola, FL tomorrow night to play Deluna Fest. Excited to see several of the other acts, mainly The New Pornographers and The Shins.
Next week, we're flying to NYC to play CMJ Festival and shoot a music video for "You, Me, & The Boatman." Really excited to be in NYC again. I haven't really cared for the city the couple of other times we've been there, but for some reason, I think I'll really like it this time.
Already dreading being away from Leah and Harper though, but I'm sure it will go by quickly and I'll be home again before you know it.
The record is done and I am proud of it. Please go buy it and tell your friends you like it. Unless you don't like it, in which case, we'd appreciate it if you'd keep your mouth shut.
So far, only positive reactions, which is nice. Sure, there have been a few reviews from religious folk who've been uncomfortable with the lyrical content, but we expected that, and they make for interesting reviews. It feels nice to have it out there, finally.
Now comes the time of promoting the thing. Our partnership with Grooveshark has already proven to be nothing less than amazing. Before we partnered up, we had 2000+ Facebook friends, now we have 15,000+. It feels crazy. It is crazy. Only time will tell if this exposure will turn into something financially significant. We're all optimistic, though.
Done a lot of interviews lately. I think I'm getting better at them but always have, at least a little, self doubt about whether or not I come across badly. So it goes.
Been thinking a little about what our next full length album should be about. I know we just finished one but this is the first time that I haven't already had another album's worth of material ready to work on. Tommy said he wanted me to get political and satirical, call a bunch of assholes "assholes," and what have you. I don't know if I have that in me. I just never feel like I know enough about politics to voice too strong of a public opinion nowadays. I have been following the GOP primaries a little bit, though. To me, there only seems to be one decent candidate, and that's Jon Huntsman. He doesn't seem to be gaining the traction that I'd like though. Not crazy enough, I guess. I don't know if I'd vote for him even if he does win, but who knows, I might. My main concern is that it's the difference between getting to choose between a piece of pizza and a hamburger, versus getting to choose between a piece of pizza and a huge ball of shit. When a lot of people seem to be angry at the pizza, you really need that burger to fall back on.
A friend of mine died, unexpectedly, from an aneurysm the other day. I didn't know him terribly well, but I really enjoyed his company the handful of times we'd gotten to hang out. It made me think more seriously about something I was already thinking about. One of the cool things about playing music is that it has enabled me to meet a lot of really interesting people, many of which I like a lot. My life is full of guys I wish I knew better but never get the chance because my life is also full of a lot of other things, and so are theirs. Lately, I've been trying to make the effort to make the time. It's difficult because I don't want to sacrifice my time with my family, so it largely consists of me sacrificing sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead, and all that, but I am tired today. Last night, after a late QC rehearsal, I went and saw a buddy who was in town playing guitar for New Found Glory. Got in at 2, but still got 5 hours of sleep. I've always felt like 5 is plenty because I have an issue of Batman where he says he only needs 5, and hey, if Batman can do everything he does on 5 hours of sleep, I can surely function.
Ate a fried okra & potato taco at 1 in the morning. Sounded great, didn't deliver on flavor. Shame.
The band is driving to Pensacola, FL tomorrow night to play Deluna Fest. Excited to see several of the other acts, mainly The New Pornographers and The Shins.
Next week, we're flying to NYC to play CMJ Festival and shoot a music video for "You, Me, & The Boatman." Really excited to be in NYC again. I haven't really cared for the city the couple of other times we've been there, but for some reason, I think I'll really like it this time.
Already dreading being away from Leah and Harper though, but I'm sure it will go by quickly and I'll be home again before you know it.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The boy who lived
Leah told me yesterday that she got sad when she thought about how I never blog anymore, so here I am again.
My problem is two-fold: No time, no inspiration. But since it's been a while, I may as well post a catch up blog.
A lot of stuff has actually happened. Our record is ALMOST done. It's being mixed and I think there are something like 6 songs left to do. We took a long time to decide who was mixing it because that hugely determines how the record will sound. We originally met with the legendary Tim Palmer. We were really impressed with his past work and after meeting him at his house and talking about the record, we were sure that he understood it, both musically and lyrically. But alas, he was expensive, and we (I) couldn't justify spending the money.
Long story short, we searched though a myriad of mix engineers and it was stressful and far too time consuming. We landed on one of Matt's friends, Adrian, and began working.
We've partnered with Grooveshark.com and Rocket Science to promote this record and I'm really excited about all the things that this could potentially mean. Suffice to say that more people will hear this record than everything else I've ever done combined. Because of our partnership with Grooveshark, and the mixed feelings in the band about how the mixes were coming back, we decided that we could afford to have Tim Palmer mix the record and it would be worth the investment. And it was. Every mix we get from Tim is the best I've ever heard our band sound. I'm so excited for everyone to hear the record when it's done. We're very proud. We're still using 2 or 3 of Adrian's mixes, which are quite good, as well.
We released a video for the first single from the new record called "Fear & Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree."
We've got another one in the works for the next single, and it's animated, which is great because it means we didn't have to be awkward in front of a camera for it. I believe that it drops in August.
Anyway, lots of QC stuff happening, both exciting and scary.
___________________________________________________
Leah and I just got back from London on Sunday. We were there for a week and it was lovely. Just lovely.
We:
-spent a lot of time with Leah's sister, Elana,
-took a double decker bus tour,
-ate lots of really great food (people told me that British food was gross and that the people were unfriendly, I found both of these statements to be incredibly untrue),
-saw some terrible theatre (Shrek:the musical, it was cheap and Leah read a good review, OK?!?),
-went to a cool Doctor Who exhibit,
-drank tasty ciders,
-napped in a beautiful park,
-saw my old friends Nathan and Ashley who are stationed close to London,
-took a quick trip on a train to Paris,
-saw the tower, the Louvre, and walked over what must've been half of fucking Paris,
-saw Ian and got to tour his laboratory,
-went punting,
-fed a duck,
-saw Harry Potter 6 hours before any of you suckers,
-saw wild foxes in the streets on the walk back from HP,
-walked around Oxford, saw more beautiful buildings (they've got them in spades over there.)
-did some shopping in Camden town
-ate Treacle Tart (and sponge w/ custard) because Harry Potter loves it, and it was delicious.
-did some other stuff, I'm sure.
All in all, a fantastic trip with a beautiful lady that I'm in love with. Lots of walking though, and my feet blisters are not healing as quick as I'd like. May be time for new shoes, after all.
Now let's talk about Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, pt 2.
It's great. Really great, and now that the entire series is finished I'm finally able to separate the books and the movies in a healthy way, view them as different things, and appreciate them both. I was surprised that the movie didn't capitalize on actually showing all the deaths of the main characters in the final battle, since it would have been the emotional equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. But I can honestly say that I loved it, and can't wait to see it again and again.
We timed our London trip with the release of this movie because I just LOVED the idea of seeing the final Harry Potter and actually being in London when I walked out of the theater. I thought it would prolong the magic, and it did. Also on the way back to Elana's flat, we saw 5 or 6 foxes prowling around the streets. I've loved foxes since I was a wee lad, watching David The Gnome. I've always wanted one, and of course, it's name would be "Swift." So that was pretty great, too.
We missed the hell out of Harper, though, and we're so glad to be back home with her. It seems that she got even smarter, cuter, and more talkative while we were gone.
My problem is two-fold: No time, no inspiration. But since it's been a while, I may as well post a catch up blog.
A lot of stuff has actually happened. Our record is ALMOST done. It's being mixed and I think there are something like 6 songs left to do. We took a long time to decide who was mixing it because that hugely determines how the record will sound. We originally met with the legendary Tim Palmer. We were really impressed with his past work and after meeting him at his house and talking about the record, we were sure that he understood it, both musically and lyrically. But alas, he was expensive, and we (I) couldn't justify spending the money.
Long story short, we searched though a myriad of mix engineers and it was stressful and far too time consuming. We landed on one of Matt's friends, Adrian, and began working.
We've partnered with Grooveshark.com and Rocket Science to promote this record and I'm really excited about all the things that this could potentially mean. Suffice to say that more people will hear this record than everything else I've ever done combined. Because of our partnership with Grooveshark, and the mixed feelings in the band about how the mixes were coming back, we decided that we could afford to have Tim Palmer mix the record and it would be worth the investment. And it was. Every mix we get from Tim is the best I've ever heard our band sound. I'm so excited for everyone to hear the record when it's done. We're very proud. We're still using 2 or 3 of Adrian's mixes, which are quite good, as well.
We released a video for the first single from the new record called "Fear & Fallacy, Sitting in a Tree."
We've got another one in the works for the next single, and it's animated, which is great because it means we didn't have to be awkward in front of a camera for it. I believe that it drops in August.
Anyway, lots of QC stuff happening, both exciting and scary.
___________________________________________________
Leah and I just got back from London on Sunday. We were there for a week and it was lovely. Just lovely.
We:
-spent a lot of time with Leah's sister, Elana,
-took a double decker bus tour,
-ate lots of really great food (people told me that British food was gross and that the people were unfriendly, I found both of these statements to be incredibly untrue),
-saw some terrible theatre (Shrek:the musical, it was cheap and Leah read a good review, OK?!?),
-went to a cool Doctor Who exhibit,
-drank tasty ciders,
-napped in a beautiful park,
-saw my old friends Nathan and Ashley who are stationed close to London,
-took a quick trip on a train to Paris,
-saw the tower, the Louvre, and walked over what must've been half of fucking Paris,
-saw Ian and got to tour his laboratory,
-went punting,
-fed a duck,
-saw Harry Potter 6 hours before any of you suckers,
-saw wild foxes in the streets on the walk back from HP,
-walked around Oxford, saw more beautiful buildings (they've got them in spades over there.)
-did some shopping in Camden town
-ate Treacle Tart (and sponge w/ custard) because Harry Potter loves it, and it was delicious.
-did some other stuff, I'm sure.
All in all, a fantastic trip with a beautiful lady that I'm in love with. Lots of walking though, and my feet blisters are not healing as quick as I'd like. May be time for new shoes, after all.
Now let's talk about Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, pt 2.
It's great. Really great, and now that the entire series is finished I'm finally able to separate the books and the movies in a healthy way, view them as different things, and appreciate them both. I was surprised that the movie didn't capitalize on actually showing all the deaths of the main characters in the final battle, since it would have been the emotional equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel. But I can honestly say that I loved it, and can't wait to see it again and again.
We timed our London trip with the release of this movie because I just LOVED the idea of seeing the final Harry Potter and actually being in London when I walked out of the theater. I thought it would prolong the magic, and it did. Also on the way back to Elana's flat, we saw 5 or 6 foxes prowling around the streets. I've loved foxes since I was a wee lad, watching David The Gnome. I've always wanted one, and of course, it's name would be "Swift." So that was pretty great, too.
We missed the hell out of Harper, though, and we're so glad to be back home with her. It seems that she got even smarter, cuter, and more talkative while we were gone.
Friday, April 29, 2011
It's bigger on the inside...
Leah commanded me to blog again so here I am...
In the past month, my job has become a real job and my days have actually become relatively full of work. It's weird, and a little bit stressful, but I still function.
I've also been trying to blog at Quiet Company's Patronism site. Patronism is a new site where people can sign up to support your band with a monthly contribution and for that contribution (which can be any amount) you get access to all our releases and rarities, exclusive videos and "behind the scenes" shit, and basically any other thing we can think of to throw up there. Paul says that if Quiet Company were a DVD, then Quietcompanymusic.com is the feature film and the Patronism site is the special features disc. We're still figuring out how to make it as cool as possible so it's very much a work in progress, but we've got some really interesting stuff up there and it's only going to get better.
I also agreed to be a guest blogger for the Vivogig site. I've been trying to think of what to write about and today the radio played a Bush song and it made me think of writing about lyrics.
Apparently, the pollen in Austin has been off the charts this year and as a result I have developed allergies. Or so 2 doctors have told me. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get through our show last night for KGSR's Unplugged at Shady Grove, but I did. At least the second doctor gave me a huge shot of medicine in my ass and an antibiotic to knock everything out. I'm improving, and hopefully by the time we play in Bryan tonight, I'll be something like OK. I have been feeling miserable for the past several days though. I hate not feeling like myself, or rather a frustrated, short tempered, impatient version of myself. Leah hasn't been a fan either, but she's weathered it well enough.
Leah brought Harper to the show last night because it was a fairly early one and a fairly quiet one. I got to watch her a little from stage but Leah tells me that she didn't stop dancing and she would clap for me after everysong, exclaiming "That's Dada!" She. Is. Perfect.
This is another busy weekend, full of shows, weddings, parental visits, and yardwork. I'll miss the new Dr. Who on Saturday but my DVR won't, so you know... Bowties are cool.
In the past month, my job has become a real job and my days have actually become relatively full of work. It's weird, and a little bit stressful, but I still function.
I've also been trying to blog at Quiet Company's Patronism site. Patronism is a new site where people can sign up to support your band with a monthly contribution and for that contribution (which can be any amount) you get access to all our releases and rarities, exclusive videos and "behind the scenes" shit, and basically any other thing we can think of to throw up there. Paul says that if Quiet Company were a DVD, then Quietcompanymusic.com is the feature film and the Patronism site is the special features disc. We're still figuring out how to make it as cool as possible so it's very much a work in progress, but we've got some really interesting stuff up there and it's only going to get better.
I also agreed to be a guest blogger for the Vivogig site. I've been trying to think of what to write about and today the radio played a Bush song and it made me think of writing about lyrics.
Apparently, the pollen in Austin has been off the charts this year and as a result I have developed allergies. Or so 2 doctors have told me. I didn't know if I was going to be able to get through our show last night for KGSR's Unplugged at Shady Grove, but I did. At least the second doctor gave me a huge shot of medicine in my ass and an antibiotic to knock everything out. I'm improving, and hopefully by the time we play in Bryan tonight, I'll be something like OK. I have been feeling miserable for the past several days though. I hate not feeling like myself, or rather a frustrated, short tempered, impatient version of myself. Leah hasn't been a fan either, but she's weathered it well enough.
Leah brought Harper to the show last night because it was a fairly early one and a fairly quiet one. I got to watch her a little from stage but Leah tells me that she didn't stop dancing and she would clap for me after everysong, exclaiming "That's Dada!" She. Is. Perfect.
This is another busy weekend, full of shows, weddings, parental visits, and yardwork. I'll miss the new Dr. Who on Saturday but my DVR won't, so you know... Bowties are cool.
Monday, March 28, 2011
peanus.
One of my co-workers just gave me an extra hamburger and fries that they brought back from their lunch meeting and it was easily the most gluttonous thing I have ever eaten. First off, the fries were a) delicious and b) easily more than 2 whole potatoes (and he didn't even bring back the full order, apparently).
Secondly, the burger was a) sizable, and b) filled with cheddar and pork. I don't mean that there was cheddar and pork on the burger, mind you. I mean it was meat, stuffed with cheese and another kind of meat. So good, and yes, I am now consumed with self loathing.
The place also serves a completely fried hamburger, a burger with cheese enchiladas on it, a burger with a Krispy Kreme donut on it, and a burger where the buns are two grilled cheese sandwiches and there's a fried egg on it. Ridiculous....and kind of impressive. What mad scientist has started a burger joint in Austin?
I miss my family. Leah and Harper have been in Toronto since last Friday and Harper does not agree with Canada. She has not been herself and it's been incredibly stressful for Leah, which makes me feel extra shitty about not being there with her. I'll be there in a couple of days but I hope things have gotten better by then. I think she's doing a little better today, at least she seemed to be when I spoke with Leah earlier.
Secondly, the burger was a) sizable, and b) filled with cheddar and pork. I don't mean that there was cheddar and pork on the burger, mind you. I mean it was meat, stuffed with cheese and another kind of meat. So good, and yes, I am now consumed with self loathing.
The place also serves a completely fried hamburger, a burger with cheese enchiladas on it, a burger with a Krispy Kreme donut on it, and a burger where the buns are two grilled cheese sandwiches and there's a fried egg on it. Ridiculous....and kind of impressive. What mad scientist has started a burger joint in Austin?
I miss my family. Leah and Harper have been in Toronto since last Friday and Harper does not agree with Canada. She has not been herself and it's been incredibly stressful for Leah, which makes me feel extra shitty about not being there with her. I'll be there in a couple of days but I hope things have gotten better by then. I think she's doing a little better today, at least she seemed to be when I spoke with Leah earlier.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Hours of energy now, no crash later! Sugar free! 4 calories!
Listen: the thing about me and donuts is that I love them. Not the jelly filled kind (those sick me out), just the normal glazed and chocolate covered ones. I could probably eat about 20 donuts in one sitting, no problem, and enjoy myself the whole time. That is, if I did not care about my health and/or looks and/or the respect of my peers. It's unfair how many calories are packed into such delicious treats when you think about it.
Have you ever had Shipley's Donuts? For my money, there is no greater master of pastry than the mythical Shipley. The way the sugar crumbles when you bite into it is unlike any other.
Here is a list of foods that I wish I could eat with caloric impunity:
1. Donuts
2. Buffalo wings and ranch dressing
3. Pizza and ranch dressing
4. Ranch dressing by itself
5. Tacos from Taqueria El Lugar covered in their amazing sauces
6. Jambalaya
7. gumbo
9. Coke floats
10. Blue Bell Pistachio ice cream
11. Sodas
12. Gyros with lots of tzatziki sauce
13. The 75704 Burger at Phil's Icehouse
14. French fries from Wingstop
15. French fries from Pluckers
16. Strawberry Cream Pie Shakes from Sonic
17. Vanilla Dr. Pepper
18. Snickers bars
19. Cadbury Cream Eggs
20. That bacon pasta that Leah makes sometimes.
21. Anything that can be conceivably dipped in ranch dressing
Here is a list of foods that I wish I liked more:
1. vegetables
Harper ate something that didn't agree with her yesterday and we got to deal with baby vomit for the first time. It sucks to watch your kid suffer and not be able to explain to them what's happening or fix them. That being said, it did make her extremely cuddly, so you know....silver lining. Near the end of the night she seemed to be pretty much back to normal and I got her to eat some oatmeal which she was able to keep down. After her bath, I dressed her in her Batman PJs and we laid on the couch together watching Justice League Unlimited. It was perfect.
Leah took her to the doctor today, just to be safe, and she's fine. No fever or anything, so we think she must've just eaten something bad and needed to flush it out.
I agreed to do a photo shoot with Leah tonight after work and Leah and Harper leave for Canada tomorrow morning so this morning may have been the last time I'll see my daughter for several days. She gave me a hug, a kiss, and a smile this morning though and even called me back into the room for another hug on my way out the door, which she never does, so maybe she knows we won't see each other much in the next few days.
I am really tired. For the last week or so, my brain has been doing this weird thing in the morning. When my alarm clock goes off, my brain has been perceiving the piercing beeps as maniacal laughter. Seriously, I've been waking up thinking "Who is laughing at me?!" Maybe I should get more sleep.
Speaking of being tired, those 5-Hour Energy shots really work. I love them. I will be taking one in approximately 4 hours. I prefer the extra strength, but the normal ones are OK too. Just so you know.
I hope everyone that can is planning on being at our DVD release this Sunday. I really think it will be a fun night. If you still need a ticket or would just like to order a copy of our live DVD, you can get it here.
Have you ever had Shipley's Donuts? For my money, there is no greater master of pastry than the mythical Shipley. The way the sugar crumbles when you bite into it is unlike any other.
Here is a list of foods that I wish I could eat with caloric impunity:
1. Donuts
2. Buffalo wings and ranch dressing
3. Pizza and ranch dressing
4. Ranch dressing by itself
5. Tacos from Taqueria El Lugar covered in their amazing sauces
6. Jambalaya
7. gumbo
9. Coke floats
10. Blue Bell Pistachio ice cream
11. Sodas
12. Gyros with lots of tzatziki sauce
13. The 75704 Burger at Phil's Icehouse
14. French fries from Wingstop
15. French fries from Pluckers
16. Strawberry Cream Pie Shakes from Sonic
17. Vanilla Dr. Pepper
18. Snickers bars
19. Cadbury Cream Eggs
20. That bacon pasta that Leah makes sometimes.
21. Anything that can be conceivably dipped in ranch dressing
Here is a list of foods that I wish I liked more:
1. vegetables
Harper ate something that didn't agree with her yesterday and we got to deal with baby vomit for the first time. It sucks to watch your kid suffer and not be able to explain to them what's happening or fix them. That being said, it did make her extremely cuddly, so you know....silver lining. Near the end of the night she seemed to be pretty much back to normal and I got her to eat some oatmeal which she was able to keep down. After her bath, I dressed her in her Batman PJs and we laid on the couch together watching Justice League Unlimited. It was perfect.
Leah took her to the doctor today, just to be safe, and she's fine. No fever or anything, so we think she must've just eaten something bad and needed to flush it out.
I agreed to do a photo shoot with Leah tonight after work and Leah and Harper leave for Canada tomorrow morning so this morning may have been the last time I'll see my daughter for several days. She gave me a hug, a kiss, and a smile this morning though and even called me back into the room for another hug on my way out the door, which she never does, so maybe she knows we won't see each other much in the next few days.
I am really tired. For the last week or so, my brain has been doing this weird thing in the morning. When my alarm clock goes off, my brain has been perceiving the piercing beeps as maniacal laughter. Seriously, I've been waking up thinking "Who is laughing at me?!" Maybe I should get more sleep.
Speaking of being tired, those 5-Hour Energy shots really work. I love them. I will be taking one in approximately 4 hours. I prefer the extra strength, but the normal ones are OK too. Just so you know.
I hope everyone that can is planning on being at our DVD release this Sunday. I really think it will be a fun night. If you still need a ticket or would just like to order a copy of our live DVD, you can get it here.
Monday, March 21, 2011
It gets cold in Canada, or so I am told.
Now that the festival is over, everyone in Austin gets to remember what their real life is like. For me, it means I get to remember that we're still recording a record. Leah and Harper will be leaving for Canada 5 days earlier than me, which will make me lonely and sad, but productive where the record is concerned. We really should be done with all the tracking in the next few weeks and we've starting conversations with and about several people to mix the thing. I just got back from a lunch meeting with the artist and I'm really excited about the concepts that he showed me. Things are really rolling now.
Thanks to everyone who voted for us a while back in the Austin Chronicle Music Awards. We didn't win any of them but we came close in a lot of them. Some friends of ours, The Bright Light Social Hour, swept the thing. They had a great year and worked their asses off, so as much as that childish part of me would love to say they don't deserve it, it can't. So congrats to them.
Last year, we placed in two categories: #6 Best live Indie Band and #9 Best New Band.
This year, while not winning anything, we're still all over the place.
Band of the Year
The Bright Light Social Hour
2. Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
3. Quiet Company
4. Bob Schneider & Lonelyland
5. Los Texas Wranglers
6. Speak
7. Los Lonely Boys
8. One-Eyed Doll
9. Grupo Fantasma
10. Reckless Kelly
Musician of the Year
Roky Erickson
2. Bob Schneider
3. Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
4. Sahara Smith
5. Will Sheff (Okkervil River)
6. Jack O'Brien (the Bright Light Social Hour)
7. Taylor Muse (Quiet Company)
8. Carolyn Wonderland
9. Kimberly Freeman (One-Eyed Doll)
10. Alejandro Escovedo
Album of the Year
The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bright Light Social Hour
2. True Love Cast Out All Evil (Anti-), Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
3. Myth of the Heart (Playing in Traffic), Sahara Smith
4. Songs for Staying In, Quiet Company
5. El Existential (Nat Geo Music), Grupo Fantasma
6. Texas Treasures (Deep South), Los Texas Wranglers
7. Break, One-Eyed Doll
8. Hexadecagon (Peek-A-Boo), the Octopus Project
9. Up Close (EMI/Vortexan), Eric Johnson
10. Street Songs of Love (Fantasy/Concord), Alejandro Escovedo
11. Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon), Black Angels
12. Let the Light In (Root House), Amy Cook
13. Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites (Shout! Factory), Jimmie Vaughan
14. The Bright Lights, Saints of Valory
15. The Laziest Girl in Town, Elizabeth McQueen
16. Codename: Rondo (Trashy Moped), Ghostland Observatory
17. ¡Està Bueno! (Bismeaux), Texas Tornados
18. Green Diamond, Eric Tessmer
19. Downtown Church (Credential), Patty Griffin
20. New Morning (Hollywood), Alpha Rev
Song of the Year
"Detroit," by the Bright Light Social Hour
2. "How Do You Do It" by Taylor Muse for Quiet Company
3. "The Real Thing," by Sahara Smith
4. "Carrie," by Speak
5. "Who's to Blame, Senorita?" by Shawn Sahm/Doug Sahm for Texas Tornados
6. "Could've Been a Country Star," by Julian Fernandez for Los Texas Wranglers
7. "Back and Forth," by the Bright Light Social Hour
8. "Austin," by Eric Johnson
9. "Telephone," by the Black Angels
10. "Beautiful Freak," by Kimberly Freeman for One-Eyed Doll
11. "Anchor," by Alejandro Escovedo/Chuck Prophet for Alejandro Escovedo
12. "Providence," by Saints of Valory
13. "Green Diamond," by Eric Tessmer
14. "Faint Green Light," by Mother Falcon
15. "Lucky," by Kat Edmondson
16. "New Morning," by Alpha Rev
17. "If I Had My Way," traditional, arranged by Patty Griffin
18. "We Pourin' Up," by Lady & the Amp
19. "Summer of Love," by Josh Zee/Teal Collins for the Mother Truckers
20. "You're To Blame," by Elizabeth McQueen
Best Indie
Speak
2. Okkervil River
3. The Bright Light Social Hour
4. Quiet Company
5. Mother Falcon
6. One-Eyed Doll
7. Los A-T Boyz
8. Saints of Valory
9. The Shears
10. Marmalakes
Best Rock
Los Lonely Boys
2. The Bright Light Social Hour
3. Quiet Company
4. Okkervil River
5. One-Eyed Doll
6. Spoon
7. Saints of Valory
8. Vitera
9. The Mother Truckers
10. The Black Angels
Best Bass Guitar
Jack O'Brien (the Bright Light Social Hour)
2. Jojo Garza (Los Lonely Boys)
3. Harmoni Kelley (Lonelyland)
4. Chris Maresh (Eric Johnson)
5. Matt Parmenter (Quiet Company)
6. Danny Gomez (the Frank Gomez Band)
7. Gavin Jasper (Saints of Valory)
8. Francie Meaux Jeaux (the Jitterbug Vipers)
9. Aaron Davis (Vitera)
10. Ronn Roberts (the Eggmen)
Best Drums/Percussion
Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
2. Jo Mirasole (the Bright Light Social Hour)
3. Jason Rufuss Sewell (One-Eyed Doll)
4. Ringo Garza (Los Lonely Boys)
5. Gerard Bouvier (Saints of Valory)
6. Conrad Choucroun (Lonelyland)
7. Don Harvey (A Is Red)
8. Jay Nazz (Reckless Kelly)
9. Jeff Weathers (Quiet Company)
10. Brannen Temple
Best Keyboards
A.J. Vincent (the Bright Light Social Hour)
2. Oliver Steck (Lonelyland)
3. Matt Hubbard
4. Floyd Domino
5. Stephen Buckle (Saints of Valory)
6. Ian McLagan
7. Thomas Turner (Ghostland Observatory)
8. Earl Poole Ball
9. Pinetop Perkins
10. Taylor Muse (Quiet Company)
Best Songwriter
Sahara Smith
2. Bob Schneider
3. The Bright Light Social Hour
4. Quiet Company
5. Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
6. Eric Johnson
7. Roky Erickson
8. Kimberly Freeman (One-Eyed Doll)
9. Matt the Electrician
10. Alejandro Escovedo
Best Record Producer
Danny Reisch for The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bright Light Social Hour
2. Emile Kelman for Myth of the Heart, Sahara Smith
3. Will Sheff for True Love Cast Out All Evil, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
4. Matt Parmenter for Songs for Staying In, Quiet Company
5. Ryan Radar for Texas Treasures, Los Texas Wranglers
6. Dwight Baker for The Bright Lights, Saints of Valory
7. Jason Rufuss Sewell for Break, One-Eyed Doll
8. Chris "Frenchie" Smith for Speak
9. Gurf Morlix
10. Erik Wofford
So I'll take it! I wonder what could happen when we actually release an album.
I'm really looking forward to the next month. Virtually no shows, lots of recording, our DVD release, and a trip to Canada. It's going to be a good time.
I imagine that if you're in Austin, then you're probably a little burned out on going to live shows after last week, which is why we decided not to have one for our DVD release. Instead, this Sunday, March 27th, we'll be doing things a little different at our DVD release party at the ND. First off, your ticket price includes a copy of the DVD, a copy of the poster for the event, and a digital download of the audio for the DVD. The night will feature acoustic sets from Brandon Kinder of the Rocketboys, and Ram Vela from Whitman. We will show the DVD on the huge projector screen while members of Quiet Company serve you free popcorn and Sweet Leaf Tea. We'll also be running drinks from the bar so you won't have to get up, and there MAY be some free cotton candy, if we're feeling saucy. It's going to be different and I'm looking forward to it. Go to our site to buy advance tickets.
Also in amazing news, I taught Harper to smile on command.
Thanks to everyone who voted for us a while back in the Austin Chronicle Music Awards. We didn't win any of them but we came close in a lot of them. Some friends of ours, The Bright Light Social Hour, swept the thing. They had a great year and worked their asses off, so as much as that childish part of me would love to say they don't deserve it, it can't. So congrats to them.
Last year, we placed in two categories: #6 Best live Indie Band and #9 Best New Band.
This year, while not winning anything, we're still all over the place.
Band of the Year
The Bright Light Social Hour
2. Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
3. Quiet Company
4. Bob Schneider & Lonelyland
5. Los Texas Wranglers
6. Speak
7. Los Lonely Boys
8. One-Eyed Doll
9. Grupo Fantasma
10. Reckless Kelly
Musician of the Year
Roky Erickson
2. Bob Schneider
3. Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
4. Sahara Smith
5. Will Sheff (Okkervil River)
6. Jack O'Brien (the Bright Light Social Hour)
7. Taylor Muse (Quiet Company)
8. Carolyn Wonderland
9. Kimberly Freeman (One-Eyed Doll)
10. Alejandro Escovedo
Album of the Year
The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bright Light Social Hour
2. True Love Cast Out All Evil (Anti-), Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
3. Myth of the Heart (Playing in Traffic), Sahara Smith
4. Songs for Staying In, Quiet Company
5. El Existential (Nat Geo Music), Grupo Fantasma
6. Texas Treasures (Deep South), Los Texas Wranglers
7. Break, One-Eyed Doll
8. Hexadecagon (Peek-A-Boo), the Octopus Project
9. Up Close (EMI/Vortexan), Eric Johnson
10. Street Songs of Love (Fantasy/Concord), Alejandro Escovedo
11. Phosphene Dream (Blue Horizon), Black Angels
12. Let the Light In (Root House), Amy Cook
13. Plays Blues, Ballads & Favorites (Shout! Factory), Jimmie Vaughan
14. The Bright Lights, Saints of Valory
15. The Laziest Girl in Town, Elizabeth McQueen
16. Codename: Rondo (Trashy Moped), Ghostland Observatory
17. ¡Està Bueno! (Bismeaux), Texas Tornados
18. Green Diamond, Eric Tessmer
19. Downtown Church (Credential), Patty Griffin
20. New Morning (Hollywood), Alpha Rev
Song of the Year
"Detroit," by the Bright Light Social Hour
2. "How Do You Do It" by Taylor Muse for Quiet Company
3. "The Real Thing," by Sahara Smith
4. "Carrie," by Speak
5. "Who's to Blame, Senorita?" by Shawn Sahm/Doug Sahm for Texas Tornados
6. "Could've Been a Country Star," by Julian Fernandez for Los Texas Wranglers
7. "Back and Forth," by the Bright Light Social Hour
8. "Austin," by Eric Johnson
9. "Telephone," by the Black Angels
10. "Beautiful Freak," by Kimberly Freeman for One-Eyed Doll
11. "Anchor," by Alejandro Escovedo/Chuck Prophet for Alejandro Escovedo
12. "Providence," by Saints of Valory
13. "Green Diamond," by Eric Tessmer
14. "Faint Green Light," by Mother Falcon
15. "Lucky," by Kat Edmondson
16. "New Morning," by Alpha Rev
17. "If I Had My Way," traditional, arranged by Patty Griffin
18. "We Pourin' Up," by Lady & the Amp
19. "Summer of Love," by Josh Zee/Teal Collins for the Mother Truckers
20. "You're To Blame," by Elizabeth McQueen
Best Indie
Speak
2. Okkervil River
3. The Bright Light Social Hour
4. Quiet Company
5. Mother Falcon
6. One-Eyed Doll
7. Los A-T Boyz
8. Saints of Valory
9. The Shears
10. Marmalakes
Best Rock
Los Lonely Boys
2. The Bright Light Social Hour
3. Quiet Company
4. Okkervil River
5. One-Eyed Doll
6. Spoon
7. Saints of Valory
8. Vitera
9. The Mother Truckers
10. The Black Angels
Best Bass Guitar
Jack O'Brien (the Bright Light Social Hour)
2. Jojo Garza (Los Lonely Boys)
3. Harmoni Kelley (Lonelyland)
4. Chris Maresh (Eric Johnson)
5. Matt Parmenter (Quiet Company)
6. Danny Gomez (the Frank Gomez Band)
7. Gavin Jasper (Saints of Valory)
8. Francie Meaux Jeaux (the Jitterbug Vipers)
9. Aaron Davis (Vitera)
10. Ronn Roberts (the Eggmen)
Best Drums/Percussion
Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
2. Jo Mirasole (the Bright Light Social Hour)
3. Jason Rufuss Sewell (One-Eyed Doll)
4. Ringo Garza (Los Lonely Boys)
5. Gerard Bouvier (Saints of Valory)
6. Conrad Choucroun (Lonelyland)
7. Don Harvey (A Is Red)
8. Jay Nazz (Reckless Kelly)
9. Jeff Weathers (Quiet Company)
10. Brannen Temple
Best Keyboards
A.J. Vincent (the Bright Light Social Hour)
2. Oliver Steck (Lonelyland)
3. Matt Hubbard
4. Floyd Domino
5. Stephen Buckle (Saints of Valory)
6. Ian McLagan
7. Thomas Turner (Ghostland Observatory)
8. Earl Poole Ball
9. Pinetop Perkins
10. Taylor Muse (Quiet Company)
Best Songwriter
Sahara Smith
2. Bob Schneider
3. The Bright Light Social Hour
4. Quiet Company
5. Julian Fernandez (Los Texas Wranglers)
6. Eric Johnson
7. Roky Erickson
8. Kimberly Freeman (One-Eyed Doll)
9. Matt the Electrician
10. Alejandro Escovedo
Best Record Producer
Danny Reisch for The Bright Light Social Hour, The Bright Light Social Hour
2. Emile Kelman for Myth of the Heart, Sahara Smith
3. Will Sheff for True Love Cast Out All Evil, Roky Erickson with Okkervil River
4. Matt Parmenter for Songs for Staying In, Quiet Company
5. Ryan Radar for Texas Treasures, Los Texas Wranglers
6. Dwight Baker for The Bright Lights, Saints of Valory
7. Jason Rufuss Sewell for Break, One-Eyed Doll
8. Chris "Frenchie" Smith for Speak
9. Gurf Morlix
10. Erik Wofford
So I'll take it! I wonder what could happen when we actually release an album.
I'm really looking forward to the next month. Virtually no shows, lots of recording, our DVD release, and a trip to Canada. It's going to be a good time.
I imagine that if you're in Austin, then you're probably a little burned out on going to live shows after last week, which is why we decided not to have one for our DVD release. Instead, this Sunday, March 27th, we'll be doing things a little different at our DVD release party at the ND. First off, your ticket price includes a copy of the DVD, a copy of the poster for the event, and a digital download of the audio for the DVD. The night will feature acoustic sets from Brandon Kinder of the Rocketboys, and Ram Vela from Whitman. We will show the DVD on the huge projector screen while members of Quiet Company serve you free popcorn and Sweet Leaf Tea. We'll also be running drinks from the bar so you won't have to get up, and there MAY be some free cotton candy, if we're feeling saucy. It's going to be different and I'm looking forward to it. Go to our site to buy advance tickets.
Also in amazing news, I taught Harper to smile on command.
Friday, March 4, 2011
A secular mantis
January and February blew by, and March has arrived in a hurry. I am not happy to greet it. And I would be, if it weren't for SXSW. The thing is that I know that when the festival does actually arrive, we'll get around just fine, despite the traffic, and though we'll have to park and load a million miles away from the actual venue, we will survive like we always do. And we will probably have a great time, like we always do, but it just creates so much anxiety beforehand.
However, I'm excited to play in Bryan tonight, because our last couple of shows there have been really encouraging, and I'm super excited about next weekend, when we return to the two best venues I've ever played: the Houses of Blues: Dallas & Houston, respectively.
The record is almost done and we've lined up an artist to do the design. Things are coming together on that front.
Leah has recently broken through another career goal for the year and it's still early. I imagine she'll break through a couple more before the year's over. Another reason I'm looking forward to being done with SXSW is that right after that, Leah, Harper, and I are heading to the Great White North for a few days to see our family in Toronto. We're not terribly anxious to put our increasingly squirmy daughter on a crowded airplane, but I think she'll really love seeing her Canadian family.
Woke up stressed this morning because I had a dream where I was on a boat with an older Harper and her friends and the waters were full of sharks and killer whales that kept bumping into the boat, almost capsizing us. I'm somewhat phobic of large bodies of natural water, and the reason is probably not unrelated to a religious observance of Shark Week in my younger years. The dream ended with me chaotically piloting the boat down the hilly streets and busy traffic of San Francisco, frantically weaving between cars until finally coming to a stop when the boat became airborne and crashed. Everyone was OK, but it was one of those that feels too real.
I don't know much about Rob Bell, and by "much" I mean "anything," but apparently he's very famous, as pastors go. I've been seeing him take a lot of grief over his soon-to-be-released book, in which, I guess, he's making claims that are getting him called nasty words, like "Universalist." I haven't read it, but apparently there's no Hell. Great news! Well, I don't think it particularly noble to believe things based solely on wishful thinking and circular reasoning, but if you're going to do it anyway, why not choose the belief structure where everyone wins?
I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but I really hope that I'm wrong and that Rob Bell is right.
But he's probably not.
So it goes.
However, I'm excited to play in Bryan tonight, because our last couple of shows there have been really encouraging, and I'm super excited about next weekend, when we return to the two best venues I've ever played: the Houses of Blues: Dallas & Houston, respectively.
The record is almost done and we've lined up an artist to do the design. Things are coming together on that front.
Leah has recently broken through another career goal for the year and it's still early. I imagine she'll break through a couple more before the year's over. Another reason I'm looking forward to being done with SXSW is that right after that, Leah, Harper, and I are heading to the Great White North for a few days to see our family in Toronto. We're not terribly anxious to put our increasingly squirmy daughter on a crowded airplane, but I think she'll really love seeing her Canadian family.
Woke up stressed this morning because I had a dream where I was on a boat with an older Harper and her friends and the waters were full of sharks and killer whales that kept bumping into the boat, almost capsizing us. I'm somewhat phobic of large bodies of natural water, and the reason is probably not unrelated to a religious observance of Shark Week in my younger years. The dream ended with me chaotically piloting the boat down the hilly streets and busy traffic of San Francisco, frantically weaving between cars until finally coming to a stop when the boat became airborne and crashed. Everyone was OK, but it was one of those that feels too real.
I don't know much about Rob Bell, and by "much" I mean "anything," but apparently he's very famous, as pastors go. I've been seeing him take a lot of grief over his soon-to-be-released book, in which, I guess, he's making claims that are getting him called nasty words, like "Universalist." I haven't read it, but apparently there's no Hell. Great news! Well, I don't think it particularly noble to believe things based solely on wishful thinking and circular reasoning, but if you're going to do it anyway, why not choose the belief structure where everyone wins?
I don't believe in Heaven or Hell, but I really hope that I'm wrong and that Rob Bell is right.
But he's probably not.
So it goes.
Friday, February 11, 2011
29.
I really want to write a blog about how thoughtful and amazing my wife is, but I've not yet been able to word it in a way that I feel does her justice (I've started over 3 times now).
Suffice to say that she is the best thing that ever happened to me and she understands me and loves me and I could not reasonably ask for anything more in a partner.
I turned 29 yesterday, at roughly 5:30 AM. Leah wanted me to make a list of 29 things I've accomplished. Cute idea, but I don't know that I've accomplished 29 things of importance. I guess I should think back about all the things I wanted to do when I was younger and mark off the ones I got done. Here goes...
1. Worked at a comic book store.
2. Worked at a toy store.
3. Worked at a pet store.
4. Played music in public (church).
5. Played music at a bar.
6. Learned to use 4 track recorder.
7. Found and bought issues #21 & #155 of G.I.Joe (Marvel).
8. Made a full length album.
9. Got signed by record label.
10. Managed to get off record label.
11. Went on tour several times.
12. Got passing grade in college course by (indirectly) threatening teacher.
13. Had sex with beautiful woman.
14. Made beautiful baby.
15. Married beautiful woman.
16. Grew beard.
17. Heard myself on the radio.
18. Saw a lot of the country.
19. Lived in a different state for a year.
20. Worked with kids.
21. Attended Star Wars convention.
22. Stayed up past midnight.
23. Bought a sword.
24. Ate sushi.
25. Owned pet rats.
26. Survived car wreck.
27. Lost 20+ lbs
28. Finished Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows in one night
29. Camped out for movie tickets (Star Wars)
There. That was a lot harder than you might think. I'm not sure if the word "accomplishment" caries the right connotation, but there's a list of 29 things I wanted to do or was scared to do, but I did and things turned out golden. Now I need to start thinking about Leah's birthday.
Suffice to say that she is the best thing that ever happened to me and she understands me and loves me and I could not reasonably ask for anything more in a partner.
I turned 29 yesterday, at roughly 5:30 AM. Leah wanted me to make a list of 29 things I've accomplished. Cute idea, but I don't know that I've accomplished 29 things of importance. I guess I should think back about all the things I wanted to do when I was younger and mark off the ones I got done. Here goes...
1. Worked at a comic book store.
2. Worked at a toy store.
3. Worked at a pet store.
4. Played music in public (church).
5. Played music at a bar.
6. Learned to use 4 track recorder.
7. Found and bought issues #21 & #155 of G.I.Joe (Marvel).
8. Made a full length album.
9. Got signed by record label.
10. Managed to get off record label.
11. Went on tour several times.
12. Got passing grade in college course by (indirectly) threatening teacher.
13. Had sex with beautiful woman.
14. Made beautiful baby.
15. Married beautiful woman.
16. Grew beard.
17. Heard myself on the radio.
18. Saw a lot of the country.
19. Lived in a different state for a year.
20. Worked with kids.
21. Attended Star Wars convention.
22. Stayed up past midnight.
23. Bought a sword.
24. Ate sushi.
25. Owned pet rats.
26. Survived car wreck.
27. Lost 20+ lbs
28. Finished Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows in one night
29. Camped out for movie tickets (Star Wars)
There. That was a lot harder than you might think. I'm not sure if the word "accomplishment" caries the right connotation, but there's a list of 29 things I wanted to do or was scared to do, but I did and things turned out golden. Now I need to start thinking about Leah's birthday.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
When I was young, I couldn't stand them, but at 28, I can't get enough of those Reese's peanut butter candies.
After seeing The Fountain, I swore I would never see another Darren Aronofsky movie, and I've held strong. But now he's directing the new Wolverine movie. I love Wolverine, even though the last 2 x-movies were sub-par, so now the question just becomes "Do I love Wolverine more than I hate Darren Aronofsky?"
I'm sure I'll probably see it, if for no other reason than the fact that even a blind, deaf, mentally handicapped squirrel finds a nut from time to time. If it gets great reviews from people I trust, I may see it in the theatre even. Especially if the reviews say things like "very un-Aronofsky" or "a real departure for Aronofsky" or "Finally an Aronofsky film that's not soul-crushingly pretentious and boring." Something like that.
Anyway.
March is looking like the craziest month ever. It always is, if you're a musician in Austin. The South by Southwest music/film/interactive festival rolls in and takes over the entire town. Every place of business with electricity becomes a live music venue. For better or worse, it's a big part of what makes this city what it is. I can't see a festival like this flourishing in any other city the way it does here, not any city in the south least ways. I always go into the festival with equal parts excitement and dread. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also looking forward to being done with it.
The week before the festival, we've just booked two more shows with Bob Schneider at the Houses of Blues, Houston and Dallas, respectively. I'm really looking forward to those. We've always had a great time with Bob and the Houses of Blues are the best venues in the world.
At the end of March, Leah, Harper, and I are going to Canada to visit family. Leah and Harper are going 5 days earlier than me so they can see Leah's sister as long as possible. I'll be hanging out at the house alone. Probably bored, probably naked. OK, I'm kidding about being naked....or am I? Now you don't know where I'm coming from. In all seriousness, if there is still recording to be done, I'll probably spend all my time at the studio, and get in bed early every night.
I'm sure I'll probably see it, if for no other reason than the fact that even a blind, deaf, mentally handicapped squirrel finds a nut from time to time. If it gets great reviews from people I trust, I may see it in the theatre even. Especially if the reviews say things like "very un-Aronofsky" or "a real departure for Aronofsky" or "Finally an Aronofsky film that's not soul-crushingly pretentious and boring." Something like that.
Anyway.
March is looking like the craziest month ever. It always is, if you're a musician in Austin. The South by Southwest music/film/interactive festival rolls in and takes over the entire town. Every place of business with electricity becomes a live music venue. For better or worse, it's a big part of what makes this city what it is. I can't see a festival like this flourishing in any other city the way it does here, not any city in the south least ways. I always go into the festival with equal parts excitement and dread. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also looking forward to being done with it.
The week before the festival, we've just booked two more shows with Bob Schneider at the Houses of Blues, Houston and Dallas, respectively. I'm really looking forward to those. We've always had a great time with Bob and the Houses of Blues are the best venues in the world.
At the end of March, Leah, Harper, and I are going to Canada to visit family. Leah and Harper are going 5 days earlier than me so they can see Leah's sister as long as possible. I'll be hanging out at the house alone. Probably bored, probably naked. OK, I'm kidding about being naked....or am I? Now you don't know where I'm coming from. In all seriousness, if there is still recording to be done, I'll probably spend all my time at the studio, and get in bed early every night.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Anyone know a good trumpet player in the Austin area?
I'm very proud of my wife today. And everyday, for that matter. Today she met a professional goal that she set for herself, and I never doubted her for a second. I always knew she would be successful because she is talented and driven, and also, I thought her goal seemed a little low. She thought it was realistic, and I'm sure it was. I just probably have more faith in her than she does.
We've got a pretty full week ahead, with multiple rehearsals, shows, photoshoots, and even a recording session in there somewhere. I'm looking forward to Thursday night, as it will be the only evening Leah, Harper, and I all have together this week.
The record is starting to come along. I'd say we're about halfway done now, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. We're going to try to play a new song from the record at the shows this weekend. It's pretty simplistic, but we only left ourselves one rehearsal to prepare it. Better cross those proverbial fingers.
Yesterday, I engaged slightly in a Facebook discussion about Calvinism, and one of my best friends from school called me out for not capitalizing "god." I don't generally capitalize it because it's not a name, it's an occupation. I guess I probably should for the same reasons you capitalize "dad" or "mom" and I don't have any problem capitalizing Jehovah or Yahweh or Elohim or Osiris or Allah or Tash or Aslan, etc.
But if you think about it, it's weird that Xians call their god, "God," and not one of his actual names, isn't it? (Sub-question, if "God" has a personal name does that imply that it has peers [i.e. other deities], because why would it need a personal name if it had no need to differentiate itself among others?) I can't think of any other religion that just calls their god, "god." Anyway, food for thought.
I'm reading a book right now that traces a lot of Christianity's history through non-scriptural records and it's pretty fascinating. I think it's really interesting to see how old gods are created, renamed, combined, and then largely forgotten. Makes me wish I'd studied anthropology in college...and also finished college.
Hope to see people at the shows this weekend.
FRIDAY, JAN 28
THE PARISH, AUSTIN,TX
SATURDAY, JAN 29
GROUND HALL, HOUSTON, TX
We've got a pretty full week ahead, with multiple rehearsals, shows, photoshoots, and even a recording session in there somewhere. I'm looking forward to Thursday night, as it will be the only evening Leah, Harper, and I all have together this week.
The record is starting to come along. I'd say we're about halfway done now, maybe a little more, maybe a little less. We're going to try to play a new song from the record at the shows this weekend. It's pretty simplistic, but we only left ourselves one rehearsal to prepare it. Better cross those proverbial fingers.
Yesterday, I engaged slightly in a Facebook discussion about Calvinism, and one of my best friends from school called me out for not capitalizing "god." I don't generally capitalize it because it's not a name, it's an occupation. I guess I probably should for the same reasons you capitalize "dad" or "mom" and I don't have any problem capitalizing Jehovah or Yahweh or Elohim or Osiris or Allah or Tash or Aslan, etc.
But if you think about it, it's weird that Xians call their god, "God," and not one of his actual names, isn't it? (Sub-question, if "God" has a personal name does that imply that it has peers [i.e. other deities], because why would it need a personal name if it had no need to differentiate itself among others?) I can't think of any other religion that just calls their god, "god." Anyway, food for thought.
I'm reading a book right now that traces a lot of Christianity's history through non-scriptural records and it's pretty fascinating. I think it's really interesting to see how old gods are created, renamed, combined, and then largely forgotten. Makes me wish I'd studied anthropology in college...and also finished college.
Hope to see people at the shows this weekend.
FRIDAY, JAN 28
THE PARISH, AUSTIN,TX
SATURDAY, JAN 29
GROUND HALL, HOUSTON, TX
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
So you won't be going to see Country Strong, then?
Salutations.
Only 2 1/2 hours before that figurative whistle blows and I get to go see my girls. Tuesdays are always a little rough because, at best, I get to see my wife and child for about an hour after work before I head off to Quiet Company's regularly scheduled rehearsal/recording session. It's certainly better than not seeing them at all, and we really need to get the record finished so I'm sure we'll be in the studio more often and for longer hours in the coming weeks.
My dad came into town randomly for his work yesterday, so I got to meet him for lunch and then he took us to dinner after work. Harper was so excited to see him and behaved really well at the restaurant. She's often in the best moods for company. I'm sure she's very conscious of the impressions she makes.
When I got to the studio, the first thing we did was record the Vivogig podcast with Daniel, from Vivogig. He was British and it was fun. Thanks to anyone who submitted questions for it. It should be posted in a week or two, I don't really know.
After that, I re-tracked the guitar on a song called "You, Me, & The Boatman" which we're tentatively expecting to be the first single we push from the new record. I spent the rest of the night doing the main vocal for another song called "The Easy Confidence," which is easily the heaviest song on the record. I was screaming my balls off, y'all. It's not like Korn, or anything, lest anyone get the wrong idea, but it is very different.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the music that my friends make. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where the local music scene can go toe to toe with the national scene (quality-wise) any day of the week, and more often than not, probably knock it on it's proverbial ass. All that to say, Austin has a lot of really good bands.
Lately, I've been finding music more rewarding if I actually know the person who made it, even if I barely know them. I guess my brain realizes that, "Any work of art is half of a conversation between two human beings, and it helps a lot to know who is talking at you," as papa Vonnegut said. Anyway, I wanted to blog about a few of the records I've been enjoying made by people I love, like, and/or have recently met.
Matt first told me about Stoney a few weeks ago. I don't know how Matt met him but he came to our show at Emo's and I met him there. Another nice British man living in the ATX. Matt had told me that Stoney's record was cool, so when I saw ran into him again at a mutual friend's show last weekend, I was pleased when Stoney gave me a copy of his EP, The Soar Before. I've been playing it incessantly ever since and my only complaint with it is that it goes by far too quickly. Four songs is not enough to satisfy me when something is this good.
The Rocketboys have been some of our best band friends for a long time. They are all genuinely lovely people and a phenomenal band. I've been especially impressed with their latest EP, Wellwisher. Brandon's lyrics are great, and there are a lot of really cool things about the production of this EP. Once again, my biggest complaint with this is the length. Fuckin' EPs, man! Four songs is just not enough.
Tommy began telling me about Buttercup almost immediately after joining the band over 5 years ago. They're from San Antonio, where Tommy went to college and he would regale me with stories about Buttercup shows he'd seen and the crazy shit they did on stage. Buttercup likes to periodically make their shows into strange events. For example, the first time we played with them, they took the stage in winter clothes and snuggies, playing slow, somber songs. As the night progressed, the tempo picked up and the layers came off, until they were dressed for summer and pumping out appropriate jams. It's weird. We've played with them a few times now and I finally got a copy of their latest record and now that I've had time to absorb it, I've realized how great their songwriting is. Joe has been sending me some demos of new stuff so I can also say that the best is yet to come for Buttercup.
Jason Poe is probably my favorite songwriter in Austin, which is saying a hell of a lot, honestly. On top of that, he's just one of my favorite people. I was also a big fan of his old band, Jets Under Fire, which had another one of my favorite people, Todd Meador, on bass. The songwriting hasn't changed drastically from Jets to this. Jason's more focused on piano than guitar now, but that's about the only change. If you enjoy thoughtful lyrics, emotive melodies, and distinctive voices, then Jason Poe is the man for you. I really can't say enough nice things about the guy.
The New Frontiers aren't a band anymore. Haven't been for quite some time. However, I'm including this album because it's simply that damned good. Their breakup is one of the sadder band break-ups in our band clique. They were great people, making equally great music, and they are missed.
Only 2 1/2 hours before that figurative whistle blows and I get to go see my girls. Tuesdays are always a little rough because, at best, I get to see my wife and child for about an hour after work before I head off to Quiet Company's regularly scheduled rehearsal/recording session. It's certainly better than not seeing them at all, and we really need to get the record finished so I'm sure we'll be in the studio more often and for longer hours in the coming weeks.
My dad came into town randomly for his work yesterday, so I got to meet him for lunch and then he took us to dinner after work. Harper was so excited to see him and behaved really well at the restaurant. She's often in the best moods for company. I'm sure she's very conscious of the impressions she makes.
When I got to the studio, the first thing we did was record the Vivogig podcast with Daniel, from Vivogig. He was British and it was fun. Thanks to anyone who submitted questions for it. It should be posted in a week or two, I don't really know.
After that, I re-tracked the guitar on a song called "You, Me, & The Boatman" which we're tentatively expecting to be the first single we push from the new record. I spent the rest of the night doing the main vocal for another song called "The Easy Confidence," which is easily the heaviest song on the record. I was screaming my balls off, y'all. It's not like Korn, or anything, lest anyone get the wrong idea, but it is very different.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the music that my friends make. I'm fortunate enough to live in a place where the local music scene can go toe to toe with the national scene (quality-wise) any day of the week, and more often than not, probably knock it on it's proverbial ass. All that to say, Austin has a lot of really good bands.
Lately, I've been finding music more rewarding if I actually know the person who made it, even if I barely know them. I guess my brain realizes that, "Any work of art is half of a conversation between two human beings, and it helps a lot to know who is talking at you," as papa Vonnegut said. Anyway, I wanted to blog about a few of the records I've been enjoying made by people I love, like, and/or have recently met.
Matt first told me about Stoney a few weeks ago. I don't know how Matt met him but he came to our show at Emo's and I met him there. Another nice British man living in the ATX. Matt had told me that Stoney's record was cool, so when I saw ran into him again at a mutual friend's show last weekend, I was pleased when Stoney gave me a copy of his EP, The Soar Before. I've been playing it incessantly ever since and my only complaint with it is that it goes by far too quickly. Four songs is not enough to satisfy me when something is this good.
The Rocketboys have been some of our best band friends for a long time. They are all genuinely lovely people and a phenomenal band. I've been especially impressed with their latest EP, Wellwisher. Brandon's lyrics are great, and there are a lot of really cool things about the production of this EP. Once again, my biggest complaint with this is the length. Fuckin' EPs, man! Four songs is just not enough.
Tommy began telling me about Buttercup almost immediately after joining the band over 5 years ago. They're from San Antonio, where Tommy went to college and he would regale me with stories about Buttercup shows he'd seen and the crazy shit they did on stage. Buttercup likes to periodically make their shows into strange events. For example, the first time we played with them, they took the stage in winter clothes and snuggies, playing slow, somber songs. As the night progressed, the tempo picked up and the layers came off, until they were dressed for summer and pumping out appropriate jams. It's weird. We've played with them a few times now and I finally got a copy of their latest record and now that I've had time to absorb it, I've realized how great their songwriting is. Joe has been sending me some demos of new stuff so I can also say that the best is yet to come for Buttercup.
Jason Poe is probably my favorite songwriter in Austin, which is saying a hell of a lot, honestly. On top of that, he's just one of my favorite people. I was also a big fan of his old band, Jets Under Fire, which had another one of my favorite people, Todd Meador, on bass. The songwriting hasn't changed drastically from Jets to this. Jason's more focused on piano than guitar now, but that's about the only change. If you enjoy thoughtful lyrics, emotive melodies, and distinctive voices, then Jason Poe is the man for you. I really can't say enough nice things about the guy.
The New Frontiers aren't a band anymore. Haven't been for quite some time. However, I'm including this album because it's simply that damned good. Their breakup is one of the sadder band break-ups in our band clique. They were great people, making equally great music, and they are missed.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Now I spend my days in ever increasingly complicated ways, convincing myself of the rightness of each word I say.
I'm getting old, you know.
I was sick last week, and continue to be. My girls caught it and got to spend the holiday under the weather. By the weekend I was operating at about 85% so I tried to let Leah sleep as much as she could to knock the illness out, while I took care of Harper. We had a great time because she seemed to have no intention of letting her illness dictate her mood. I hope she's always like that.
She has such personality. Her laugh is simply one of the best things in the universe.
One of the things that I found/find so endearing about her mother is that Leah would do things to make herself laugh and if other people thought it was funny, then great. Sometimes, I catch Harper doing that, and it breaks my heart in the best possible way.
Leah and I spend a large part of the weekend watching Friday Night Lights, the TV show. I put off watching it because, frankly, the premise doesn't attract me. But the show is undeniably good, and speaking as someone who grew up in "small town, TX," they really nailed it. A lot of the characters were hard for me to like because they remind me so much of specific people I grew up around. So far we're into season 3 and aside from a strange, writer's strike induced, season 2 ending, the show is consistently good.
Leah and I recently watched Easy A, that movie with Emma Stone. It provided a few chuckles but the more I reflect on it, the more I hate it. I don't know if there was a single believable character. Clearly, the writer has never been or met a teenager. I was especially annoyed by the Christian characters. Speaking as someone who was part of the overly self-righteous, pious club in high school; nobody acts remotely like that. Amanda Bynes seemed to be playing a caricature of Mandy Moore's character in Saved (which I think is a great film), rather than making an attempt at any relatability. One of the things that I think the writers of Friday Night Lights do extraordinarily well, is capture the role that religion plays in the lives of small town teenagers in Texas. It's such a consistent undercurrent in their culture. The kids are flamboyantly impassioned one day and conveniently detached from it the next, which is what high school religion is mostly like. Peaks and valleys.
Anyway, good writing is good, bad writing is bad.
I don't really have any big goals for this year. We're going to be releasing a new record, which I'm excited about. Shortly after, we hope to release another EP.
Other than that, I'm hoping to:
-watch my daughter grow
-continue adoring my wife
-keep off the 20 lbs I've lost
-live simply
-simply live
-etc.
Easy peasy.
I was sick last week, and continue to be. My girls caught it and got to spend the holiday under the weather. By the weekend I was operating at about 85% so I tried to let Leah sleep as much as she could to knock the illness out, while I took care of Harper. We had a great time because she seemed to have no intention of letting her illness dictate her mood. I hope she's always like that.
She has such personality. Her laugh is simply one of the best things in the universe.
One of the things that I found/find so endearing about her mother is that Leah would do things to make herself laugh and if other people thought it was funny, then great. Sometimes, I catch Harper doing that, and it breaks my heart in the best possible way.
Leah and I spend a large part of the weekend watching Friday Night Lights, the TV show. I put off watching it because, frankly, the premise doesn't attract me. But the show is undeniably good, and speaking as someone who grew up in "small town, TX," they really nailed it. A lot of the characters were hard for me to like because they remind me so much of specific people I grew up around. So far we're into season 3 and aside from a strange, writer's strike induced, season 2 ending, the show is consistently good.
Leah and I recently watched Easy A, that movie with Emma Stone. It provided a few chuckles but the more I reflect on it, the more I hate it. I don't know if there was a single believable character. Clearly, the writer has never been or met a teenager. I was especially annoyed by the Christian characters. Speaking as someone who was part of the overly self-righteous, pious club in high school; nobody acts remotely like that. Amanda Bynes seemed to be playing a caricature of Mandy Moore's character in Saved (which I think is a great film), rather than making an attempt at any relatability. One of the things that I think the writers of Friday Night Lights do extraordinarily well, is capture the role that religion plays in the lives of small town teenagers in Texas. It's such a consistent undercurrent in their culture. The kids are flamboyantly impassioned one day and conveniently detached from it the next, which is what high school religion is mostly like. Peaks and valleys.
Anyway, good writing is good, bad writing is bad.
I don't really have any big goals for this year. We're going to be releasing a new record, which I'm excited about. Shortly after, we hope to release another EP.
Other than that, I'm hoping to:
-watch my daughter grow
-continue adoring my wife
-keep off the 20 lbs I've lost
-live simply
-simply live
-etc.
Easy peasy.
Monday, December 27, 2010
The dude abides.
I hope everyone had a happy holiday. We did.
I was nervous going in because I weighed myself before we left and saw the lowest number since college, 174.5 lbs. I was very happy. Progress, you know? But I knew that my parents' house is no place for a diet, especially on a holiday. However, I was pretty proud of myself, and although I did allow myself a shred of gluttony at Xmas dinner, I diligently counted my calories otherwise. So today, I weighed in at 176.0 lbs. Not bad, not great. It won't be too terribly difficult to recover from anyway.
Harper had a great time, and Leah and I discovered that, at her grandparents' house, we don't matter as much. We're not offended, we get it. Kind of a pain in the ass when she doesn't eat good because she's too pumped up, but oh well. She got to play with her cousins, which she loves, especially her cousin, Rylan, who is only 6 months older than her but the same size.
I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time, ate some pizza, did some bowling, saw some movies.
We actually saw two movies, because having grandparents around is free babysitting. On Friday, we saw True Grit and we really liked it. Not my favorite Coen Bros. but still really great. On Saturday, we saw Tron: Legacy 3D. IT'S A JEFF BRIDGES CHRISTMAS!!! Tron was OK. Pretty forgettable, but OK. It was in 3D but after the movie we all stood around saying, "Was it in 3D? I don't remember seeing anything that looked 3D."
I'm rounding out the weekend by watching The Big Lebowski at work today.
I had designs to blog about the Old Testament today, and how Christians justify all the crazy shit within, but all the profound ideas I had in the shower escape me in this chair. So it goes. Perhaps I should blog about my ever dwindling desire to engage in religious discussions. I really had a stomach for it a year ago. Now, not so much. I'm sure this blog is significantly less interesting because of that.
I think I've just decided that if any real progress for free thought and/or Humanism is to be made in our culture, it's going to be made through art and/or humor, so I've been exercising those demons by working on the new record. Which I plan to do more of tonight.
I was nervous going in because I weighed myself before we left and saw the lowest number since college, 174.5 lbs. I was very happy. Progress, you know? But I knew that my parents' house is no place for a diet, especially on a holiday. However, I was pretty proud of myself, and although I did allow myself a shred of gluttony at Xmas dinner, I diligently counted my calories otherwise. So today, I weighed in at 176.0 lbs. Not bad, not great. It won't be too terribly difficult to recover from anyway.
Harper had a great time, and Leah and I discovered that, at her grandparents' house, we don't matter as much. We're not offended, we get it. Kind of a pain in the ass when she doesn't eat good because she's too pumped up, but oh well. She got to play with her cousins, which she loves, especially her cousin, Rylan, who is only 6 months older than her but the same size.
I got to see some friends that I haven't seen in a long time, ate some pizza, did some bowling, saw some movies.
We actually saw two movies, because having grandparents around is free babysitting. On Friday, we saw True Grit and we really liked it. Not my favorite Coen Bros. but still really great. On Saturday, we saw Tron: Legacy 3D. IT'S A JEFF BRIDGES CHRISTMAS!!! Tron was OK. Pretty forgettable, but OK. It was in 3D but after the movie we all stood around saying, "Was it in 3D? I don't remember seeing anything that looked 3D."
I'm rounding out the weekend by watching The Big Lebowski at work today.
I had designs to blog about the Old Testament today, and how Christians justify all the crazy shit within, but all the profound ideas I had in the shower escape me in this chair. So it goes. Perhaps I should blog about my ever dwindling desire to engage in religious discussions. I really had a stomach for it a year ago. Now, not so much. I'm sure this blog is significantly less interesting because of that.
I think I've just decided that if any real progress for free thought and/or Humanism is to be made in our culture, it's going to be made through art and/or humor, so I've been exercising those demons by working on the new record. Which I plan to do more of tonight.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Everything louder than everything else
Don't Ask, Don't Tell was repealed this weekend. Good job, America. Way to fix your horrible, shameful ideas. Leah happened to be shooting a gay wedding on Saturday when everyone found out. That seems like a pretty great place to be when such a step towards true equality is taken.
Leah obviously worked on Saturday so Harper and I hung out all night together. It was really great, especially because last week found Harper in a strange, "mom is awesome, dad is less so" mood for a few days. By Saturday, she was over it, and she was a perfect angel for me. We ran around trying to find my father an xmas gift, trying to find a certain cable to remedy a band issue at Guitar Center, hanging out in Terra Toys and then getting some delicious tacos for dinner. It was a great day, though I did miss my wife something fierce. I continue to.
The next morning, we all went to IHOP for breakfast, which was lovely. Then Leah had more errands to run, so Harper and I played at the park and went to Target where we finally decided on my father's gift. So our holiday shopping is, more or less, complete. Yay.
After Harper went down for her nap, I trekked over to Matt's studio to record. Recording always takes longer than I think it will, and I always leave sessions feeling like I should've accomplished more. I've recorded 3 albums, I should know how it goes by this point, but alas... I apparently do not. It's not that we're particularly slow (well, I don't know, maybe we are) or lazy, it's just that this shit takes time. Setting up mics, taking down mics, setting up different mics, bringing in amps, moving out amps, bringing in different amps, tuning, re-tuning, adjust the tone, not quite, adjust the tone, not quite, adjust the tone, there it is, play the part again, I can do better, play it again and again and again... When I finally got home at 11, I was dragging. I did remember to take the Flip camera with me and got some footage of the process. I'm going to try and do that every time from now on. Maybe we can get someone to edit it all together for a "making of" thing.
Tonight, I'm back in the studio to knock out more acoustic guitar, and probably some vocals and piano. I always get so anxious about doing vocals and try to put them off as long as I can, but they always have to be done eventually.
Leah obviously worked on Saturday so Harper and I hung out all night together. It was really great, especially because last week found Harper in a strange, "mom is awesome, dad is less so" mood for a few days. By Saturday, she was over it, and she was a perfect angel for me. We ran around trying to find my father an xmas gift, trying to find a certain cable to remedy a band issue at Guitar Center, hanging out in Terra Toys and then getting some delicious tacos for dinner. It was a great day, though I did miss my wife something fierce. I continue to.
The next morning, we all went to IHOP for breakfast, which was lovely. Then Leah had more errands to run, so Harper and I played at the park and went to Target where we finally decided on my father's gift. So our holiday shopping is, more or less, complete. Yay.
After Harper went down for her nap, I trekked over to Matt's studio to record. Recording always takes longer than I think it will, and I always leave sessions feeling like I should've accomplished more. I've recorded 3 albums, I should know how it goes by this point, but alas... I apparently do not. It's not that we're particularly slow (well, I don't know, maybe we are) or lazy, it's just that this shit takes time. Setting up mics, taking down mics, setting up different mics, bringing in amps, moving out amps, bringing in different amps, tuning, re-tuning, adjust the tone, not quite, adjust the tone, not quite, adjust the tone, there it is, play the part again, I can do better, play it again and again and again... When I finally got home at 11, I was dragging. I did remember to take the Flip camera with me and got some footage of the process. I'm going to try and do that every time from now on. Maybe we can get someone to edit it all together for a "making of" thing.
Tonight, I'm back in the studio to knock out more acoustic guitar, and probably some vocals and piano. I always get so anxious about doing vocals and try to put them off as long as I can, but they always have to be done eventually.
Friday, December 17, 2010
I'd rather be a forest than a street
So, several months ago, I weighed myself and I was not happy with what the scale said. "193 lbs." I've been telling people that I weigh 175 lbs since college, so the facts weren't going along with my story. I tried exercising, and I fucking hated it. I even tried Yoga for a couple of days, and while you can't argue with the overwhelming amount of success stories, it really hurt and made me feel stupid. So then I bought a fairly expensive diet pill, and actually saw some results, but upon introspection realized that it was probably only working because it was coupled with eating a lot less. So that's what I've been doing: eating less and taking a ton of green tea. And do you know what my scale said today? 175.5 lbs! Yay me!
I'd like to get closer to 170 before next week because I know the holiday food is going to set me back. So will the free BBQ that our regional manager just bought the office, and the free BBQ that is being served to the bands at our show tonight.
I've been wanting to blog a lot lately but couldn't think of anything to really talk about. That problem has not been resolved but Leah told me that she was tired of coming to the page and seeing the entry about my penis, so...here I am.
Tonight we've got a big show here in Austin. It's the celebration of KGSR's 20 year anniversary, and we are honored to be on the bill. We're sharing the stage with Alpha Rev, Joe Ely, and The Old 97's, so it should be pretty well attended.
Xmas is coming up. Leah and I went back and forth about whether or not we would celebrate it. We eventually decided to, for Harper's sake. It will probably be just like Halloween, where my level of involvement correlates directly with her level of enjoyment. We still haven't gotten her a gift though, which I'm not terribly worried about. She has toys, she has clothes, she has, generally, everything she needs. If we were smart, her gift would be the beginning of a college fund, but who knows.
Doing a lot of recording in the next couple of weeks so I'm looking forward to making progress on that. Tommy and I have been slightly obsessed with guitar tones for this record, but so far, it's paying off. Whenever I look at our recording "to do list" I start feeling underwhelmed by the amount of things that are checked off, but the next couple of weeks should make a significant dent.
Happy Holidays, true believers.
I'd like to get closer to 170 before next week because I know the holiday food is going to set me back. So will the free BBQ that our regional manager just bought the office, and the free BBQ that is being served to the bands at our show tonight.
I've been wanting to blog a lot lately but couldn't think of anything to really talk about. That problem has not been resolved but Leah told me that she was tired of coming to the page and seeing the entry about my penis, so...here I am.
Tonight we've got a big show here in Austin. It's the celebration of KGSR's 20 year anniversary, and we are honored to be on the bill. We're sharing the stage with Alpha Rev, Joe Ely, and The Old 97's, so it should be pretty well attended.
Xmas is coming up. Leah and I went back and forth about whether or not we would celebrate it. We eventually decided to, for Harper's sake. It will probably be just like Halloween, where my level of involvement correlates directly with her level of enjoyment. We still haven't gotten her a gift though, which I'm not terribly worried about. She has toys, she has clothes, she has, generally, everything she needs. If we were smart, her gift would be the beginning of a college fund, but who knows.
Doing a lot of recording in the next couple of weeks so I'm looking forward to making progress on that. Tommy and I have been slightly obsessed with guitar tones for this record, but so far, it's paying off. Whenever I look at our recording "to do list" I start feeling underwhelmed by the amount of things that are checked off, but the next couple of weeks should make a significant dent.
Happy Holidays, true believers.
Monday, November 29, 2010
It's comforting to come in after a long weekend and NOT find an avalanche of accumulated work.
Happy belated Thanksgiving, true believers. I hope everyone's holiday was spent being well fed and surrounded by loved ones. Mine certainly was, though we didn't leave town to see family. Well, not blood related family anyway. We spent Thursday night with the Davis family and it was pretty great. Great food, great company, what more is there?
My parents went to Nashville to celebrate their 35 year anniversary/Thanksgiving and stayed at the Opry Hotel. Apparently, they had a great time and enjoyed everything that that spiritually bankrupt town has to offer. Don't get me wrong, Nashville is a great place to visit, so much so that a visit there years ago convinced me to move there.
My parents' marriage is a rare case; 35 years and never a whisper of divorce. I've never even actually heard them raise their voices at each other. I guess they really love each other or something. They got engaged something like 6 weeks after they met, and were married 6 months later. Quick! It was supposed to be 3 months but apparently my mom's family was hung up on the fact that my dad had been briefly married before and the Good Book said that that made my mom an adulteress, so they tried to convince my mom not to marry him at all. To her credit, she said "Eff that, I do what I want!!" They did, however, succeed in convincing her to wait a year. She told my dad and he said "Eff that, I'll wait 6 months." (I'm paraphrasing, of course. I don't know if either of my parents have ever said the F word. I tend to doubt it.) So, 6 months later they were married and roughly 4 years later they were pregnant with my brother, and 3 years after that, pregnant with me. Hooray, life! Boo to the fundamentalism that tried to snuff me out. Hooray to parents who have always shown me that all you really do need, is love! Hooray to parents who have always been slow to anger and quick to forgive!
Hooray to 35 more years!
This weekend we had our "Twitter show" where we projected a live Twitter feed on the wall beside the stage. It was really fun and interesting. Undoubtedly, it convinced everyone that they were a comedian, and as we predicted, it became really obscene really quickly. It was all in good fun, though, and I think everyone had a good time.
Slept badly last night. Zombie nightmares and cold sweats all night. The zombie nightmares I can explain because of The Walking Dead (How amazing is that show?!?) but the cold sweats are a mystery. Oh well, I guess my life is just way harder than everyone else's.
One of the best moments of the weekend was Leah getting Harper to say "Oh man!" but it coming out (like the native Texan that she is), "Oh Main!"
My parents went to Nashville to celebrate their 35 year anniversary/Thanksgiving and stayed at the Opry Hotel. Apparently, they had a great time and enjoyed everything that that spiritually bankrupt town has to offer. Don't get me wrong, Nashville is a great place to visit, so much so that a visit there years ago convinced me to move there.
My parents' marriage is a rare case; 35 years and never a whisper of divorce. I've never even actually heard them raise their voices at each other. I guess they really love each other or something. They got engaged something like 6 weeks after they met, and were married 6 months later. Quick! It was supposed to be 3 months but apparently my mom's family was hung up on the fact that my dad had been briefly married before and the Good Book said that that made my mom an adulteress, so they tried to convince my mom not to marry him at all. To her credit, she said "Eff that, I do what I want!!" They did, however, succeed in convincing her to wait a year. She told my dad and he said "Eff that, I'll wait 6 months." (I'm paraphrasing, of course. I don't know if either of my parents have ever said the F word. I tend to doubt it.) So, 6 months later they were married and roughly 4 years later they were pregnant with my brother, and 3 years after that, pregnant with me. Hooray, life! Boo to the fundamentalism that tried to snuff me out. Hooray to parents who have always shown me that all you really do need, is love! Hooray to parents who have always been slow to anger and quick to forgive!
Hooray to 35 more years!
This weekend we had our "Twitter show" where we projected a live Twitter feed on the wall beside the stage. It was really fun and interesting. Undoubtedly, it convinced everyone that they were a comedian, and as we predicted, it became really obscene really quickly. It was all in good fun, though, and I think everyone had a good time.
Slept badly last night. Zombie nightmares and cold sweats all night. The zombie nightmares I can explain because of The Walking Dead (How amazing is that show?!?) but the cold sweats are a mystery. Oh well, I guess my life is just way harder than everyone else's.
One of the best moments of the weekend was Leah getting Harper to say "Oh man!" but it coming out (like the native Texan that she is), "Oh Main!"
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
In the city of the future, it is difficult to concentrate. Meet the boss, meet the wife. Everybody's happy, everyone is made for life.
If you're looking for a significantly tasty burger, Phil's Icehouse on Burnet Rd. can supply you with one, no problem. Most of the band just took Paul to eat there for his birthday and I was impressed. I'm not often blown away by burgers, and I'm not sure if the term "blown away" really applies here either, but it was pretty damn good, nonetheless.
Anyway, Leah and I just got back from vacationing in Orlando, FL, a place I would probably avoid (bad drivers, bad radio, and an absurd amount of televangelists on TV) if it weren't for that little slice of heaven, The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I've had such a boner to see this place since I first heard they were building it and it did not disappoint. My only complaint is that the excessive amount of muggles crowding the streets in their wife-beaters, fanny-packs, and daisy dukes sometimes takes you out of the moment. Everything is so well done and authentic, though, that it's hard to be unhappy about anything while walking the streets of Hogsmeade or the halls of Hogwarts. Leah and I spent the better part of two days mesmerized by all things Potter, and thanks to Butterbeer, I regained 3 of the five pounds I lost the week before. Oh well, back on track now. Now we just have to figure out how to see The Deathly Hallows as soon as possible.
Leah and I had such an amazing time together and it was nice to get to do whatever we wanted as a couple without having to worry about nap times or snack times, etc... That being said, we missed the hell out of Harper and I could literally feel my heart lighten when we saw her at the airport. I know I've probably said this before and it probably doesn't make for the best blogging (but fuck you, this is my blog and I do what I want), but I love being her father so much, it's ridiculous. She's getting so smart and funny, so full of personality. I can't wait til she's a teenager and screams how much she hates me in a public place.
Quiet Company has begun working on the third record, in earnest. I have no idea when we will actually be done with it, but it's going well, albeit, slowly. Well, it's actually not going slowly, it's just taken us a long time to get started. Everyone is really excited about the new material, and I'm very interested to see how it all turns out. It's a different direction for us, focusing more on guitars and drums than pianos and synthesizers. Basically, we're just trying to pick up where Staind left off.........
Our episodes of My Generation are now available for streaming at Hulu.com and ABC.com. We're in episode 3 (though if you blink, you might miss us), and "How Do You Do It?" has a really nice placement at the end of episode 4. Episode 6 has "The Biblical Sense Of The Word" in it somewhere but I haven't gotten to watch it yet.
Really excited to catch up on our TV shows, especially The Walking Dead.
Anyway, Leah and I just got back from vacationing in Orlando, FL, a place I would probably avoid (bad drivers, bad radio, and an absurd amount of televangelists on TV) if it weren't for that little slice of heaven, The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I've had such a boner to see this place since I first heard they were building it and it did not disappoint. My only complaint is that the excessive amount of muggles crowding the streets in their wife-beaters, fanny-packs, and daisy dukes sometimes takes you out of the moment. Everything is so well done and authentic, though, that it's hard to be unhappy about anything while walking the streets of Hogsmeade or the halls of Hogwarts. Leah and I spent the better part of two days mesmerized by all things Potter, and thanks to Butterbeer, I regained 3 of the five pounds I lost the week before. Oh well, back on track now. Now we just have to figure out how to see The Deathly Hallows as soon as possible.
Leah and I had such an amazing time together and it was nice to get to do whatever we wanted as a couple without having to worry about nap times or snack times, etc... That being said, we missed the hell out of Harper and I could literally feel my heart lighten when we saw her at the airport. I know I've probably said this before and it probably doesn't make for the best blogging (but fuck you, this is my blog and I do what I want), but I love being her father so much, it's ridiculous. She's getting so smart and funny, so full of personality. I can't wait til she's a teenager and screams how much she hates me in a public place.
Quiet Company has begun working on the third record, in earnest. I have no idea when we will actually be done with it, but it's going well, albeit, slowly. Well, it's actually not going slowly, it's just taken us a long time to get started. Everyone is really excited about the new material, and I'm very interested to see how it all turns out. It's a different direction for us, focusing more on guitars and drums than pianos and synthesizers. Basically, we're just trying to pick up where Staind left off.........
Our episodes of My Generation are now available for streaming at Hulu.com and ABC.com. We're in episode 3 (though if you blink, you might miss us), and "How Do You Do It?" has a really nice placement at the end of episode 4. Episode 6 has "The Biblical Sense Of The Word" in it somewhere but I haven't gotten to watch it yet.
Really excited to catch up on our TV shows, especially The Walking Dead.
Friday, November 5, 2010
15 records that made my year (musically).
This may be one of my favorite pictures Leah has ever taken. It's Harper, Estlin, and Olivia on Halloween. I think it captures all of their personalities pretty accurately.
Anyway, here's a list, in no particular order of 15 records that came out this year that are all very much worth owning. Some are even "must haves."
Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Belle & Sebastian - Write About Love
The Thermals - Personal Life
Starflyer 59 - The Changing Of The Guard
Eminem - Recovery
Tim Kasher - The Game Of Monogamy
Menomena - Mines
The Toadies - Feeler
Sufjan Stevens - The Age Of Adz / All Delighted People
Stars - The Five Ghosts
Quiet Company - Songs For Staying In
OK Go - Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky
The New Pornographers - Together
Jason Poe - Now Is The Winter
Autolux - Transit Transit
There's a few records that came out this year that I'm sure deserve to be on this list, but I just don't have them yet. For instance, the new Colour Revolt and Rocketboys records.
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Life I Love
Today is the day!
If you didn't know, my wife is an amazing wedding photographer, and she and her partner are launching their website/business today. I'm so fucking proud of her. She is so talented and works so hard and deserves huge success, which I'm sure she is destined for.
Click on the banner and go hire her for all of your photography needs.
Leah's sister, Elana, and her boyfriend, Ian, have been visiting this week from London and we've been having a great time. We went to the hockey game on Tuesday, barbecued on Wednesday, ate at Trudy's downtown and went bowling/karaoke-ing on Thursday, went down to the South Congress bridge and saw the bats, ate at the Green Mesquite, and saw Red(2.5 out of 5 stars) at the Alamo Drafthouse on Friday, took Harper to a lame ass fall festival, and then hung out at the Quiet Company/Bob Schneider Halloween show at Antone's on Saturday (which was awesome and we were all zombies), and went trick or treating with the Davis family and then ate wings and watched The Walking Dead on Sunday. It was a great time and we're sad to see them go today.
I've never celebrated Halloween. I wasn't allowed to when I was a kid, for religious reasons, and then when I was old enough to do whatever I wanted, I just didn't give a shit anymore. Most people are shocked when I tell them that this weekend was the first time I've ever dressed up for the holiday; I still don't think it's that big of a deal. That being said, I did have a great time being a zombie at the show on Saturday. I do feel like I'll care more about it the more Harper enjoys it. I'm definitely looking forward to many years of trick or treating with her. She was a shark this year...
...But she has the makings of a Jedi.
I caught the end of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive on Comedy Central. I'm sure I'll watch the rest of it eventually but I just wanted to comment on Jon's closing statements. They made me feel hopeful for humanity in America. Also adding to my hope was the fact that Glenn Beck's rally had 80,000 attendees to Jon Stewart's 280,000. Eat it, pig face.
Patriotism is something I've never excelled at. School spirit is the same thing. I just can't get all riled up with support for a team that has been assigned to me based solely on where I just happened to live. However, I find myself supporting the Texas Stars, which is the minor league hockey team in Cedar Park. I've been to 2 games so far this season and am planning on being at their game against Toronto this Saturday. Maybe the difference is that I chose to live here. I wasn't born here, I didn't move here with my parents, nor was I displaced here by some natural disaster. More importantly, I love it here. I love the people, I love the place, I love the community. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (in Texas).
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