Rainy/Sunny days in SF....

Tha title of this post is taken from a Wee the Band song - available soon on CD, and thru itunes! Woot! (even tho ah hate itunes).

Let's see, what have ah been up ta....

Last Wednesday ah went to a bday party for the guitarist in the pop/rock band ahm playin in. We currently don't have a name, so ah refer to us as tha Junk Bumpers. It's a long story how my friend n ah came up w. that, n while ah think its actually a decent name, it doesn't fit our musick. Anyway, tha bday party was at a Karaoke Bar in Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is a touristy obnoxious part of tha city that you see if you visit (ah don't really know why, except that tha cable car gaes thar), n then ignore completely when you move here cuz it's fawkin lame. Generally, ah dont gae out like that (party started at 11) on weeknights, but when ah told Lavi that, he made such a sad face ah reconsidered. It was a pretty good time, ah sang a Pink song (ah let tha cat outta tha bag about my crush on her), n we took tha first pics of us togetha. Of kerse, ah ruined it by wearin my glasses, so it's nawt very indicative of me. But check out my beard (n tha fact that ahm smilin! Ahm tryin ta git bettah at that in photos):


Howevah, this next picture is much more what yer used ta:


Saturday aftahnoon ah took a Bikram Yoga MASTER CLASS w. head Teacher Trainer Craig Villani and it kicked my ass. Ah balanced on my tip toes in awkward pose until ah fell outta it - twice. N awkwards my GOOD pose!

Then think13 played a set - what tha? Yes, thar was a VAGABOOM! fundraiser featurin us, a performance troupe, a contortionist, some dude on a guitar, a synthesizer jam-band, a dj, and BURLESQUE. And what burlesque - ah was swoonin durin thar brief set (which featured big band versions of "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Baby Got Back"). On a total whim (meanin, ah saw them n made sure our drummer shared) ah snagged a bit of some "truffles" in chocolate form. Ah sorta fergawt about them, n was startin ta git concerned w. how funny everythang was when ah was reminded what ahd ingested, n thangs gawt really nice n relaxin aftah that. Ah spent tha nite laughin w. friends, talkin shit, n bein loud. Finish it off w. a nice bike ride home - aww yeah.

Sunday ah wen ta see Anvil: The Story of Anvil and it was really awesome. Thars a reason this movie has been gittin rave reviews from everywhar - it's fantastic. It's one of those movies you certainly don't need ta enjoy tha metal genre (er even be aware of) ta appreciate, n ta those of us in tha know, its amazin. It's so good, ahma include tha trailer here:


Now, tha rest of my week hasn't been THAT excitin, but yestahday ah bought some organic black beans n bulk n they are currently makin my kitchen smell really really good. Ta self-sufficiency!

Yes, ahm in on a Saturday

It's been a long couple weeks. So ahm takin a nite off. At least ah am as of 10 pm. We'll see if ah stay here.

So - thar was an awesome fundraiser fer VAGABOOM! last week n a bunch of bands played great musick n we didn't raise enuff money. It did give us a great stage to play on tho n we met some fun people. Some of them mite even have lawts of money ta give us! We also rawked Kimo's on Wednesday nite w. our friends Dirty Orange Sun n a metal band from Concord which was a suprisingly good nite.

In otha news, my hair is gittin kinda crazy now that tha red is washin out - which is part of tha point. Here's a shitty pic from my phone while ahm at werk - check out tha view in tha background from my cube (of tha office buildin across tha alley).



Also, here's a shot of tha sweet truck that brought our gear to tha House of Shields gig in mid-July:



Our crew has style, eh?

Today was a VAGABOOM free event in Golden Gate Park, which ended up being a good learning experience but took a lil trial n error. All in all tho, ah think we pulled it togetha pretty good - just weren't promoted er high profile enuff. Tha vibe is captured pretty well by tha front sign (of which ah was partially responsible fer puttin togetha - altho NAWT paintin)



Finally, anutha reason why SF is so much fun - nawt only was tha weather in tha Mission fricken AWESOME (especially aftah a cold cloudy mornin in tha park), when ah met up w. my buddy in Delores Park in tha afternoon, a funk band was playin thar fer free. From time ta time, youd see/hear a crew of bicyclists passin by, one of them pullin a speaker blastin 80s musick. Eventually they ended up at tha park, n a bunch of people dressed in 80's club gear (Especially tha girls) showed up w. beer, drinkin n dancin like it was 1988 on a Friday nite in a club n thar was blow fer everyone. Check it:



Ah apologize fer tha crappy phone-pics, but thar all ah have as of recently. Bettah then nuthang tho, rite? RITE!

Finally, ahm in a good mood cuz at my organization my roommates n ah are supposed to ahve a house dinnah this monday - tha first time we've all been in tha same room talkin to each otha. Could be good....could be AWKWARD. We shall see.....

Before ah gae....

offta sweaty pretentious Ft. Lauderdale, ah thought ahd make a brief update:

-Ah gawt my 50 dollah haircut today - we'll see if it was worth it in 2 weeks.

-Lawts of potential w. tha jawbreaker cover band, depending on many factors out of my control. But gawdamm did it feel awesome ta sing n play w. a band backing me. Maybe thars a frontman in me still.....

-Takin tha bus on Friday, it began to speed off while an angry patron ran aftah it. He knocked on (more like straight-up punched) tha plastic part of tha front side door n actually broke it. What surprised me is that tha driver still stopped, told him he broke tha window, then LET HIM on, while tha guy mumbled an apology. Tha guy gawt off at tha next stop, n ah think tha driver made a phone call but thar was NAE follow-up. Maybe ahm naive, but that surprises me.

-think13 rawked kimo's pretty good on Friday, fer tha first time it felt like we were a band, nawt provin ourselves ta be a band. AND we gawt a real soundcheck. and drunk. and late-nite supah burritos.

ah guess ah need ta pack. ah dont really think ahm ready fer tha next 7 days.....

Weekendin'

Thursday night was my last gig w. Warren Teagarden fer who knows how long - he's takin another bassist and drummer on tour at the end of July so tha next SF show will be w/ tha new guys. It's a bit of a bummer, as we've gotten pretty tight over the last couple months and I can only think of how solid we would be after two weeks on the road. But its nawt meant ta be - altho ah think thars a pretty decent chance he'll be in touch when they return. We shall see.

We rawked Kimo's pretty good, openin was some dirty punk kids from Spokane, WA (tha Sissies) who played a jawbreaker cover (boxcar) and were cool dudes. Aftahwerds tha Interchangeable Hearts did thar thang - they were tha first band WT played w. so it was a nice kind of "full circle" thang. Ah chatted up tha soundguy n scored a think13 show fer next friday - hell yeah. Aftahwerds some guys told me how awesome ah was but didn't offah ta buy me a drink - gae figure.

This mornin think13 (minus percussion) played at a Burning Man picnic thang in Golden Gate park, which was fun and relaxed. Free food and beer is always a good thang - even if tha burners are a bit too intentionally out-thar fer me. My old boss came out which was nice - apparently he's been playin tha game pretty solidly out here (tha datin game) so we made tentative plans ta hit up tha town togetha one of these nites. Then ah went to bikram - prolly tha first time ahve evah gawn on Saturday evening (usually ah gae on sat. mornins). It's quite impressive actually - tha last couple months ah haven't had tha time ta gae regularly n was losin some muscle definition and tone. 3 classes this week n ah feel like ahm almost back ta tha excellent shape ah was in late March/early April. N this studio is even closah then my old one - w. nae big hill ta bike up on tha way back!

Tonite ah should totally gae out n party my ass off as its my first weekend in tha Mission, but ah don't really know whar ta start. How dae you make new friends when yer 27 n nawt in skool? At least folks are friendly out here (if ah was in Bawstan ahd prolly die lonely), but despite tha tons of kickass places around tha corner from me, how dae ah know which ones are good, n what does it take fer me ta strike up a conversation w. strangers? Cuz ahm nawt at tha point whar ahm gaein out by myself to a bar - at tha very least ah need a wingperson. Maybe ahll figure it out in a few weeks, but fer tonite ahll prolly just continue ta frustrate myself w. tha best way ta put my room togetha - hurray!

Also, ah gawt tha new Weezer album n ah like. It's nae Pinkerton, but those are high standards, n its way bettah then tha album they put out aftah that. A review may be comin....er may nawt. Ahm unpredictable like that!

Back to Back Shows fer this rawkstar....

Friday nite was tha first think13 gig in way too fricken long (late March) n we only gawt 30 minutes so we had ta make them count. On tha up side, it was at tha very swanky Red Devil Lounge, w/ a backstage n everythang. Us n 3 otha bands gawt a half hour, n then thar were two headliners who gawt a bit longah. B/c we are 5 fricken people that are a combination of picky about thar sound n nawt especially skilled at at effective soundchecking, we did nawt git a great mix. Howevah, tha energy was up, n ah had a blast. We revealed a brand-new song, as well as one that had been provin especially difficult to "nail" n gawt pretty close ta nailin it. The Red Devil Lounge also sells 24 oz. Red Stripes fer 6 bux, which is sweet (altho someone fawkin stole mine from tha stage while ah was fiddlin w. tha amp - bollocks!). A late nite of alcohol ensued, but eventually we took our cabs home n said adieu.

Then Saturday mornin Warren Teagarden went ta Reno! It's about a 4 hour drive n we left w. plenty of time - almost too much. Showed up at Warren's neice's place who has 4 kids n a puppy. It was a lil hectic. Eventually made our way down to tha Zephyr in downtown, nestled between porn stores n tattoo parlors - my kind of place! Tha second we gawt thar two locals were "fighting" w/ each otha, throwin a drum skin at tha street n stealin each othas beer. We quickly learned that thar wasn't much of a PA n crossed our fingers that Trigger Effect would be prepared to help us out - Ah still don't have an amp!

Trigger Effect were really nice guys who totally had thar shite togetha - they showed up w. a full PA, bass amp, guitar amp, n monstrous drum set in a case (played by a huge Navy guy they called "Animal.") We figured out what we'd be borrowin n started drinkin - fer free cuz renos good like that.

Tha Teagarden boyz had potentially thar best set - high energy, well-performed songs, n tha small-but-thar crowd seemed pretty intae it all. 3 songs in tha bass amp started smokin - apparently this is a new problem they've been havin w. it. ah plugged intae tha PA which sufficed, but tha sound was nawt quite as good aftah that. Nonetheless ah had a total blast on tha supah-tiny stage n Trigger Effect seemed ta really enjoy what were spittin out.

Trigger played some very enjoyable punk/metal w. some green day influence, n had high energy. Thar drummer was a fawkin machine, n by this point in time Teagarden n company was feelin good. A good nite was had by both bands n Reno secured a lil place in my heart - altho ah don't think ah could live in a valley like that. A local was tellin me how Reno had everythang: nature, hiking, geology, mind shafts, history, skiin n then tha convo went sour when he also told me thar were hills ah could gae ta n shoot autmoatic weapons n that it was completely legal ta carry one in Reno. Yikes. He latah told me ta "nevah stop rockin n ah mean that. Keep on rawkin hard, please." Ah assured him ah would think about it.

Ah thought it was ovah but instead we ended up at a pool hall until 3 am eventually gittin home n crashin out on some flimsy bunk beds that had pink sheets (we were in tha girls room). A long drive back finished us both off.

Ahm quite sorry ah dont have any pictures of tha good times fer any of you :(. Perhaps next time.....

Ah know you want some pictures....

Of my new digs, rite?

So just ta reiterate - ah live on one of tha busiest streets in tha city, nawt quite at tha busiest intersection thar is, but its nawt small potatoes. This does have its advantages - fer 1, three buses stop rite outside my door that take me directly to werk (ah actually werk on tha same street ah live on, just 28 blocks south), as well as tha UU Church w. tha most young adults. Ahm also a 5 minute walk from tha Light Rail n a 10-15 minute one from tha BART. Ahve biked to n from werk all week in about 25 minutes each way (its a touch faster going to b/c of tha slight hill ah live on - but nuthang even close to tha hill ah used ta live on). Ah also live at tha bottom of Bernal Heights - which is big fawkin hills. Honestly, anutha block er two east n my commute would blow donkey goats. So its convenient as hell - but also loud, busy, n a bit run-down. My biggest concern actually is that ah have a glass front door w. nae grates/etc. Ahm hopin ah ken git some installed - if nawt, its almost definite ah wont stay here all too long. Ah did install a werkin deadbolt on my room - it werks, but its nawt a glove-tight fit exactly.

Ah live w. 3 otha guys (all of whom ah think are gay), but one of them is nevah here (only one weekend out of tha month - altho ah guess he has friends that stay here from time to time), tha otha is barely here (werd is he spends most nites at his boyfriends place and is currently bikin to LA so he wont be around til mid next week at all), n tha otha does sleep here most nites (21 year old, slightly shy, just moved outta his rents n werks front desk at a hotel downtown).

And now - tha pixs!

My living room (which ah think functions more as bike storage):
(not pictured are various board games ah doubt have evah been played).

my giant kitchen - fully stocked w. pretty much everythang imaginable (except fer a cheese grater - wtf? n an electric kettle - ah bought both today) -
(thars two bad thangs about tha kitchen - 1)nawt enuff outlets which is a bit scary, n 2)stupid electric stove. Otha then that its tha best room in tha house).

My bedroom, messy n outlookin tha main street itself, but a decent size w. a walk-in closet (a weird one, but ah ken walk in it) -

AND tha ginormous backyard overrun with weeds -
Tha big bushes ahm pretty sure are fennel. Tha first buildin in tha foreground is actually nawt on our property, but tha second one is, which is a cool lil enclosure space. Tha yard does extend all tha way back to tha bbq n lawn furniture (n that is astroturf). Most of tha weeds are actually growin outta concrete, so tha potential fer gardenin is nawt quite as great as it seems. Thars also a fallen hammock in thar somewhar.

This will be tha last update fer a couple days as tomorrow nite is friday which has a pretty high-profile n important think13 gig, n then Saturday Warren Teagarden gaes ta Reno. Pretty spiffy, eh?

What daes it take to find a good Hand Percussionist?

An earlier blog chronicled the firing of think13's previous hand drummer - a great guy w. a problem w. sticking up to women who wanted to take advantage of him. Since he left, thar's been a hole in our sound - one prolly only noticeable to me n tha rest of think13. Ah've taken it upon myself ta aggressively look fer a new one b/c, well, thas how ah am. Especially when ah want somethang done. It's nawt been gaein well.

Initially, ah had several misses on replies - folks who didn't have their schedule under hand, or didn't get back to me about ANYTHING (including their name - man it weirds me out when someone's email has a name attached to it - that is nuthang like tha name they sign it with), etc. Finally thar was a potential fit who was less then responsive, n cancelled tha day of b/c of strep throat. She seemed a bit spacey, but hey, we're looking for musicians (n psuedo-drummahs at that) so ah let it fly. We re-schedule fer next week - she even calls to confirm it tha day before - n nevah shows up. Nae call, nae email, nuthang. boo. Unfortunetly, ah wasn't even that surprised.

Next add, ah git anutha email from a very interested n recent transplant to tha area - calls me right back, chats me up fer a while, sounds like it could werk out. Ah send him an email latah w. a tune - hear nuthang (back - nawt necessarily a problem). Call tha guy on Sunday ta confirm, n he tells me tha mp3 didn't gae through, but he heard some of tha otha stuff - will see him on Sunday. Guess what happened?

Dee's convinced thars lurkers on craigslist that dae this just fer kicks - n ah can't say ah disagree necessarily. Ah didn't really expect findin a new drum-guy would be tha EASIEST thang in tha world, but ah was definitely more concerned about havin ta listen ta gawdawful drummin then ah was some person flakin. It's sorta amazing how awesome n awful craigslist ken be dependin on tha day, huh?

New Rawk Videos!

Interestingly enough, even though I haven't played a show in 3 weeks, two videos of me rawkin out w. a band have found thar way to my inbox in tha last 24 hours. Note - both of these videos are significantly less choppy if you go to the youtube page, so links are below.

Tha first is a clip from think13 at Rock It Fest in late March. It's pretty homemade, but if you can get past the shaky camera and so-so sound quality, not too shabby!

youtube (say what you mean live) -

think13 live on youtube

Tha second is from a Warren Teagarden practice in my basement, and is also a bit homemade - this one is from a camera phone. It's one of my favorite Teagarden songs though, and you can *sorta* hear my two bass solos. "Crystal Palace"


Warren Teagarden in my basement

Enjoy!

Weird Dreams

Ah usually don't remembah my dreams so well. Thar are a couple theories floatin around on this, some of them havin ta dae w. my consumption of a certain plant native to North America, whcih ah dont know enuff medical schtuff about ta argue w.

Howevah, ah remembah a big portion of last nites, n how frustrated it made me fee.

Specifically, the focal point of tha dream is that ah moved. But instead of movin intae tha city like ah wanted, somehow ah moved out to a suburb of San Francisco, a suburb in tha hills overlookin SF. Note - ahve actually seen these hills in otha dreams, undah tha guise of australia and bawstan mostly. Ah also remembah thar bein a particularly steep hill just before my house, one that ah could nawt even climb as tha wooden beams set in place ta make it more accessible were rotting. Ah remembah bein very pissed at myself fer choosin such an inconvenient place ta live (n rightly so).

My new housemates were a family - ah remembah bein very pissed at myself fer livin w. anutha family (nawt that my current family sucks, but ah thought ahd moved on). They were pretty straight-laced, but somehow undah tha impression ah would be makin a livin from teachin bass lessons, which ah would dae in tha house (my room - which ah nevah saw). Ah resolved ta instantly start searchin fer a new place ta live, n hoped my current situation was month-to-month.

Latah that evenin, ah biked to a friends place w. tha drummer from think13. My friends place ended up lookin identical to my current basement (but wasn't). My drummer had some crazy big wheel bike, n in makin room fer it, he knocked my own bike ovah.

Ah gawt up n beat tha shite outta him. Now - ahve prolly only punched someone in tha face once er twice in my entire life, as most of my physical entanglements were via wrestling, er punching shoulders. But ah nawt only punched him in tha face, ah kicked him when he was down. Ah remembah thinkin "Why are our friends lettin me beat tha crap out of my drummer?" but instead just told him "ah didn't kick you that hard."

Then ah was woken up by a phone call that ah didnt take.

Ah guess in tha grand scheme of thangs, that dream isn't really all that weird. but tha fact that remembered it is. Why is this one more important, er how did it slip through my unconscious so that it could stay w. me all day?

In otha news, think13 (a very very stripped down version) will be performing this evenin at a Mission alleyway, hopefully w. firedancers. Warren Teagarden opens fer tha guy who used ta play w. tha New York Dolls, but as a solo acoustic show. Ahm glad April is here, n startin ta dae some more significant househuntin werk.

sorry fer such a borin post, but a saturday mornin w.o obligations is a rare thang (one ah created fer myself b/c tomorrow is jam packed w. band practice n open-house attendance).

Weekend again

Last thursday marked 5 months in tha SF area, so lets see what ah was up ta, shall we?

First off, fer those of you unaware, my basick schedule these days is this: up around 7:30, out tha door between 8 and 8:30, 7.5 hours at my job, n then ah gae ta eitha yoga er band practice. On tha days ah have neitha (er skip yoga, as has been my march trend), ah generally gae home n veg, altho sometimes ah dae somethang bettah (like gaein to tha berkeley library er git a haircut). My weekends start w. me out tha house at 10:30 fer 11 am yoga, n then ah hop on tha BART fer practice w. think13. This usually takes me till about 5 er 6 pm, when ah usually gae home n collapse. Sunday, ah try ta take off.

Ahve been keepin up this pace all year, which is a lil surprising even ta me, but its a lawt of fun.

N this last weekend, think13 showed tha world (er at least tha Rock It Room) that we ain't all about tha handdrums n acoustic geetars all tha time. We brought 25 minutes of rawk to tha house, keepin up our end of tha bargain (as thar were 9 otha rawk bands, n if we didn't kick some ass it would've been very easy ta be tha weakest link). Even bettah, we were on kinda early, so that left tha rest of tha nite ta drink our hearts away (on our dime cuz tha rock it room doesn't take care of its bands - sorry guys, its tha truth. Ah will say that tha sound guy was phenomenal n worked way way way too hard).

Of kerse, whar alcohol is involved, thars opportunities fer bullshit. Especially when drunk frat boys think its funny ta pinch tha ass of our lead singers date. Over and over again. While it was quite a fine ass, it was made abundantly clear that she was spoken fer, n this guy did nawt take a hint. Nuthang came of it, but ah was surprised how quickly and easily East Coast teenager Anthony came to tha surface when confronted w. a total jackass who might have actually benefitted from gittin his ass kicked. Tha fact that thar was a dozen of us (mostly irish) who were of a similar mindframe helped...while ah continued ta tell myself that it wasn't worth it, nor a good idea, n that my karma would NAWT be rewarded, ah found myself shouting at a scumbag, n if ah hadn't been so inebriated ah might've even tried a curse. DOWN BOY!

tha rest of tha nite was fun, but its becoming obvious that ah need ta find myself a female companion in tha city, as at tha end of our gigs ahm crashin solo on a couch while tha otha band membahs spend "quality time" w. thar wife/gf/groupie. Perhaps ah should start talkin in a paddy accent in ordah ta make myself more exotic.....

Sunday was cold...actually its been ratha brisk in general out here since spring hit. Ahm told its b/c thars less cloud cover which makes sense. Despite tha sun beamin down all day, we're still hangin out at about 55/60 degrees, which is a smidge less then what ah consider "good weather." ahm sure my east coast friends like ta hear me complain.

Sunday afternoon was practice w. Warren Teagarden, which felt really really good. Partially b.c ah think our last live set went off so well and we're starting to feel a lot more comfortable w. each other and willing to dive into the songs. The CD release fer Warren is next Friday, and it should be a great nite. We play a particularly fantastic cover of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Right Round," which you can hear if you buy tha CD (er email me and ask me nicely maybe).

Tha new job is startin ta settle in, altho ahm currently nawt busy enuff ta have an excuse ta nawt dae some of tha tedious busy work (mostly data entry). Howevah, my co-workers are quite competent at thar jobs, which is excellent, n thar promises ta be a shit ton of work as we gear up fer 2008 elections. It is a bit exciting to feel like in some way, ah could just maybe be makin a difference.

Ah also came intae some cool luck, as an old friend of mine from college had apparently moved w.o letting me know his new contact info. On a whim, ah googled his name, and found a number for him as he's been a guitar teacher fer quite a while. Ah rang him outta tha blue n had a great 2 hour conversation with him whar we reflected on how different our lives our - He's married n teaches almost 60 kids a week, but hasn't had a gig in so long he can't even remember. He's also just about 20 miles away from his home town, n gittin excited about tha prospect of buyin a house in tha relatively near future. Different priorities and different circumstances indeed.

It's spring. how about that. Thars a bitchin wildflower patch on my bike path that ah should take pictures of. This state is fricken beautiful, n everyone should move out here so they ken watch my bands play.

Sunday is MY DAY!

MY DAY ta bike all ovah tah fricken place. Mostly via tha ohlone greenway er tha Bicycle Boulevard. Apparently it was also Easter, which ah always think is in mid-April.

HAPPY ZOMBIE JEEBUS DAY!



In case anyone is wonderin, ahm diggin my new job. It's a bit slow at tha moment, but ahm part of a 4 person department (thars actually two otha folx in tha department, but they don't werk in SF) n ah like that we're a small department on a big floor. Essentially my job is ta learn this online database well enuff so that ah ken eventually train n support volunteer leaders across tha country w. usin it, so ah think it will be a good fit.

think13 has a big gig this Saturday whar we will be debutin as a full-on RAWK BAND, w. electric guitars n kit drum. It's part of a fundraiser, we'll be playin w. some great bands. Watch out SF, thar will be rawk.



Also, ahm very excited b.c this week ahll git ta meet up w. an old Mysterious Odors band mate. Ah haven't seen any of these guys since our last gig, which was pandemonium. mmm, pandemonium.

LADIES & GENTLEMAN:

think13!



(ah have nae idea why ahm nawt lookin in tha same direction as everyone else)

Hellz yeah musick musick musick!

Yoga - a bit on tha meh side fer me this mornin. Aftahwerds ah told my favorite instructor "I'm sorry you had to see that," and she just told me "No problem." Then ah (slowly) biked home (ah biked very slowly both to n from yoga today....nawt sure why) in time ta have

Warren Teagarden practice - Good, thar was a few new tunes to play that are now stuck in my head. We also rawked a few tunes especially hard n ah planted tha seeds that WT should record a live album in a little bit. Shortly aftah was

think13 practice - a blast, even minus a key member. Much talking about how to play tha drums was done on my part, n we were able ta amplify our hand-percussionist fer tha first time. While geetar+vocals were out pickin up food, ah made some rawkus distorted noise w. tha drummer boys n received much acclaim on my own skills n approach to tha instrument. A new song was just about finalized as well. Almost immediately aftah ah gawta

phone call from someone that has made me feel bettah about thangs in general. Also reinforced how busy ah am, but w. good thangs (such thangs bein band practices, yoga, acupuncture, n tomorrows electronics instruction traded fer a bass lesson). Gae california!

Like anyone really cares how cold it is in California...

In my zip code, it is 34 degrees. 34-fawkin-degrees!! Ah just biked home in that crap.

Ah didn't feel near as cold in SF, whar think13 just played a gig (videotaped, n tha video will tell how it actually came off. Our drunk selves thought we were absolutely brillant....), so ah checked dowtown n saw its 46 degrees. EVERYONE told me tha East Bay is warmer then SF, so what gives?

Also - w. BART prices rising slightly, ah recently figured out that a m-f commute from my house will cost me OVER $150 bux a month. Which bumps me intae a completely different pricing brackett, especially if heat continues ta be so costly. Ah've bought a new space heater, but am afraid ahve been ripped off, er at least nawt gawten what ah thought ah was gittin. So we'll see how that gaes, when it arrives.

Upside - think13 rawked fairly hard tonite
Downside - ahm still lettin people git inside my head even when ah don't want them ta (completely unrelated but consistent thought at this time)

It just aint stoppin....

So tha con was a total blast, exactly what ah needed. Ah haven't danced so hard, fer so long, in quite a while. Whoda thought a parachute n a smoke machine could transform a sanctuary so quickly?

Friday was weather fer shit. Sideways rain, inch-deep puddles on my way ta werk. Places flooded, areas lost power, trucks turned ovah, n bridges were closed. My house was one of tha ones that lost power, which was totally awesome as ah was tryin ta pack/showah fer tha weekend aftah werk. Ah walked ta tha BART in my suit cuz ah hada crappy job interview that day (tha job was crappy, tha interview went fine) n was all sorts of gross by tha time ah gawt home. Blech. But we made it ta Marin, safe n sound.

Last nite, Warren Teagarden rawked tha fawkin house, n then ah proceeded ta drink n stayed out a bit too late. Most of tha mornin was hang-ovah healin, n then ah scuttled off to tha Billy Graham Civic Center fer Project Homeless Connect. our set went pretty well, especially considerin that tha band hadn't practiced in 3 weeks. Latah that evenin was tha reception w. tha mayor, n then a troupe meetin. Good stuff is in tha horizon!

THa Plant Studios lost power, so tha recordin is bumped until an undetermined time. N now ahm busy 3 days a week w. think13 practice, so we ken really fawkin tight. Ahm about ta be even busier....

Two interviews this week, n many many resumes ta send out. Ah continue ta dae otha stuff at my temp job, n they continue ta be flexible w. my schedule, os its werkin out quite well. But tha jobs are still borin as all hell. Ahm nawt really complainin, they like me n are payin me.

So its midnite n time ta git some sleep-age...altho ahve just kinda resigned ta nawt sleepin this week. Just two much on my plate. Bettah then bein bored...er at least ah tell myself!