I fell....

These days whenever I have a good weekend I seem to pay for it in physical pain/soreness for another week. Example 1)Bruised tailbone a la weddin in NC. Example 2 occured this Saturday.

It had been a DAY. Boozin w. tha band since 3 in an effort ta relax a bit while we play (they need it, nawt me), then to a bar fer a quick veggie sausage (ah love tha gestalt house). Aftahwerds, we hunted down a party er somethang - nawt that we really expected ta find one. This led us first intae tha Haight ta bother our new guitarist, then intae tha Richmond ta bother our otha one. Unfortunately, our richmond based guitarist passed tha hell out, n we eventually found ourselves at a bar that made us feel like we were back in College. Ah dont remembah what piece of 80s bubblegum pop made us leave eventually, but it was time.

This then began tha best bike ride of my life. Tha richmond district is a bit elevated from tha part of tha city ah spend most of my time in, n by followin my SF native on his bike, ah discovered tons of great back roads that had awesome slopes and were completely void of cars. Tha temperature was about 65 degrees and it felt amazing - a lite fog and mist in the air. Ah was really enjoyin tha ethereal summer/fall that was Saturday.

Of kerse, this led to some cockiness on my part. Roundin a turn, ah remembah feelin my momentum gaein forward. Ah knew ah was leanin forward, but didn't realize tha extent of it - until ah hit tha ground. Luckily tha left half of my body broke most of my fall - ah did have my helmet on but didn't dae anythang ta my head.

This resulted in 6 - 8 scrapes on my left hand, hip and leg. My wrist is sprained - nawt fractured. All this did was prompt me ta gae intae tha nearest convenient store in my daze n git some band-aids. Tha drummer had neosporin - n we were off again.

Just as we were about ta pack it in that evenin, we ran intae this girl he'd been tryin ta find all nite. This turned intae a nite whar we crashed two parties - one in a warehouse, one in a closed bar. Tha latah was an industrial dance party (meanin no one really danced, hah) where they kept givin out free shots of shitty tequila. Finally around 4:30 we dragged my buddy's drunk friend back to our bikes. Thas whar ah discovered my flat tire (tha second in as many days)

So ah walked 4 miles home at 5 am - took about an hour. W. a bruised leg, meanin ah favored my right foot a bit too much. Ah did nawt make it ta yoga tha next mornin.

Ah think ahm on tha mend - took class yestahday n gawt a massage today (serendipity inspired my masseuse ta offer a 20 bux off discount that ah cheerfully took advantage of). Ah played too much bass on Sunday n am takin it easy fer tha BIG ASSED HALLOWEEN SHOW that think13 is playin this Friday (nevah mind that tha flier says our name is Vagaboom) w. dancers n fire n lights n all sorts of great shit (nae juggling or stilt walkers like tha website says tho - we don't dae that).

Anyway, here's tha pictures of just some of tha scrapes ah endured:

Left Hand


Left Hip


Left Front Thigh (my favorite - check out tha spiral in tha scrape)


Good times....

Oh yeah....

Ahm totally in a new band n we have videos n stuff from our stint at Expressions College of Digital Media (see et tu bass?) You can find all 3 of the individual videos here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/weethebandsf

But since ah love ya, here they are:

Postman


Rise


Glass of Wine


Note: The audio came out very quiet for all of them so you'll probably half to crank it.

Unfortunately, our favorite song had some technical difficulties. BUT, you can listen to Absolution on the Wee the Band website. You can even download it - for free.

Keep in mind also that I'd had all of 4 practices with these folks over the course of 5 weeks before playing this. Nawt too shabby. Tha whole video is also watchable from tha website itself.

We played last nite at tha ReTox Lounge in tha dogpatch to a bunch of very nice asian people who were thar ta watch thar friends. Ah managed yet again ta make it through tha nite w.o payin fer a single drink!

Just a taste

I went to North Carolina for a Scottish beach wedding. The UUHC threw a party and everyone was invited (well, almost everyone). I might try to put a couple more up here when ah have time, but thought ahd just dae a small chronicle. How much has changed in 8 years (holy shit, 8 years).

July 2000


Same crew, different poses this past weekend:


Ah think we know who would win in a fight.....altho tha latter crew can probably outdrink tha first bunch of misfits by now.

Green Butter

My cooking experiment yesterday turned out just shy of 2 cups of green butter. Lets hope it changed that color for a reason!



(aka, I'm getting excited about North Carolina.)

I am a financial moron

Well, nawt exactly. Ah have a fairly decent handle on unnerstandin finances, savin, puttin money whar it needs ta gae. Actually ah ken be really good at it. Ah wouldnt say ahve been daein absolutely amazin since movin out here (as thars still a pretty good hunk of credit ta be paid off n nawt all that much in ye olde bank accounts), but ah at least THINK ah have a handle on everythang (nevahmind that ah keep sayin "in a couple more months ahll be out of tha red").

Howevah, things break er ah need new stuff er x, y, and z. Ah just blogged about my bass breakin at tha gig - tha cheapo bass that has all sorts of ugly buzzes n hums. Ah took it ta git it looked at at one is obviously le creme de la creme of guitar stores (36 yelp reviews, 35 of them 5 stars). Ahve wanted ta supe this baby up fer quite some time - n hoped that ahd be able ta dae so fer about 200 bux (maybe plus some 70 dollah pickups).

Tha verdict: It would cost $25 ta git tha White Devil (ah know, its a horrible name, but shes a total bitch) back to functioning. Ta dae tha overhaul ah know it needs - 350 dollars. Possibly a smidge less - we'll see if my small talkin helped. Ah did nawt drop tha "B" word (berklee) n maybe ah should've - er maybe nawt.

He felt obligated ta let me know ah could EASILY git a BETTAH bass fer this much money n then have two basses. Ah let him know ah knew what ah was daein, that me n this bass have some real chemisty togetha n ah really love it. He unnerstood, but ahm sure he was crackin up internally b/c this thang would prolly git me 50 bux at a pawn shop. N has a serious problem w some strings - which ah wont gae intae cuz ah fergit tha terminology n its borin.

Ah mean, ah agreed. Ah also really hope that my amp wont run me anymore then 80 bux so ah ken put tha remaindin 320 from tha sale of my carvin acoustic/electric towards tha upgrade. What really stinks is ah still need ta drop 300 - 600 n git a new cab. AND ah still want a new 4-string, but a really really badassed used one.

anyway, it will be worth it. But its nawt tha soundest financial move, especially w. tha markets n all that crap, ta invest so much in so little. But fawk it. Ahve gawt friends ah ken couch-surf w. if shite gaes down (at least ah hope so).

Altho - My 401(k) kicks in this month. That cracks me up fer SOOO many reasons.

Howevah

Todays nawt all shite, ah went to a grad skool fair today n gawt a lil bit bettah of an unnerstandin of what it means ta actually gae ta stupid grad skool.

Namely:
* Decisions, decisions, DECISIONS (what to major in, where to go, how to actually dae it)
* How tha fawk will ah pay fer this?
* How exciting!

Which really boils down to a recognization of two solid facts (both of which ah shouldve been aware of already):
1) If ah want ta git a decent Masters in Non Profit Business Administration, that means eitha an MBA er a MS. Ah could possibly manage a MPP (Public Policy) but don't think thas what ah want.
2) Ta obtain eitha, ahma hafta git MUCH SMARTER. That means tha GRE n possibly tha GMAT. Ahm nawt supah-great at tests.

Maybe ahll just apply internationally whar tha standards are less rigorous.....

Et tu, bass?

So we know ah trashed my bass cab, which is good n bad.

Yestahday ah went out to Emeryville to Ex'pressions College for Digital Arts to do a free live recording w. my new band, Wee the Band last nite. It was webcast n recorded by some students n we gawt goodies ta promote w. - everyone wins.

Howevah, my bass was not werkin. Ahd played it tha nite before, same as always. This is my cheapo 4-string, featured in most of my solo-pics on myspace. Ah love this bass, picked up fer an even hundred bux off a student of my old teachers, complete w. gig bag, strap, cord, n stand. It plays a lil rough, n doesn't sing like a bird, but man ah love ta beat tha crap outta it. N while a lil shaky, it has been thar fer me - tha only repair ahve needed in 7 years was when ah dropped it n broke a piece of plastic off tha top of it, which cost 50 bux to fix. And some input jacks, which is normal.

Tha problem is one ahm nawt familiar w., n ah cant place tha problem. It just emits loud hum, independant of tha volume knob. Tha show was saved, one of tha students had a bass in her car (that looked, altho did nawt play, almost exactly like mine), so it went on, n went pretty well. Ahm werkin on gittin some of tha videos uploaded, etc. tonite.

This sucks tho, cuz ah love my bass, AND b/c ah need ta buy a new bass cab. Also, ahd planned on givin my baby a checkup at tha geetar docktah anyway, but was postponin that until ahftah my amplification problem was ovah, n ah had some time ta save up fer a real tune-up: new pickups, new bridge, pickguard, cleanin, maybe even some fretboard reshapin. You know, drop some cash but have a geetar that would still be useful in 10 years (Even tho what that will cost could easily buy me a much nicer bass, used, or even new).

Ah hafta git it fixed, n mite as well upgrade it now so it doesn't hafta gae undah tha knife again anytime soon. Ahm just bummed.

Please nuthin else ah need ta use break on me soon?

Guess who needs a new bass cab (again!)?

*grumble*

Bass Amp For Ransom

At least now I have City Car Share to get around when needed.

Somethang that is lame:

Also, ahd like ta gae on record right now n say that if you:
1) Have a date w. someone and it gaes pretty well
2) Follow up using myspace (even tho you have said persons phone number) ta make plans, n then
3) Do not return tha message about plans

You are lame.

Especially if yer message via myspace is breakin potentially established plans, n tha response message offers two otha alternatives. If you don't want to gae out again, then don't. But using myspace ta set up (er nawt set up) a time ta meet somebody when you already have thar contact info, is just lame.

So if any of you readin this (does anybody read this?) have recently done that, it was lame, don't dae it again.

(ahll own up a lil bit by sayin that postin somethang such as this is a touch passive-aggressive as well, but it's my blog n ah ken say what ah want ta. So thar)

More Bakin!

So ah wanted ta make brownies from scratch. Ah did this as sort of a trial run - ah won't gae too far intae it, but lets just say ah wish ta make delectable brownies sometime in October n would ratha screw up now then in tha future.

So ah tracked down a recipe that looked, ta be frank, totally overindulgent. Here it is.

A whole cup of butter and 8 oz. of bakin chocolate. 5 eggs. Yes. This is going to be soooo good for me.

Ah gawt ta use tha house standin mixer (in case ah haven't explained, my house is totally overrun w. kitchen and yard gadgets that don't belong to anyone. We don't even know whose dishes we use. We just use them. It's that kind of house). N it was fawkin sweet. This is tha mixer before thangs gawt sweet:



Ah kinda messed up on tha actual bakin - nawt sure what happened. But ah took them out of tha oven aftah 50 minutes, instead of 40, n let them cool - only ta find tha inside was still underdone (n nawt fudgy, doughy). So ah stuck them back in fer 10 er 15 more minutes - some of em came out a bit overdone (nawt quite burned, but close) n some of em were perfect. Many were neither. Here they are:



(note: ah tried 3 times to upload it n blogspot wants ta keep rotatin tha picture. Fine. Be that way. Fuckface).

Ah will say, tha recipe is pretty much tha bomb. It's more butter then most of them, so ahll hafta take that intae account. But those of you who will be in North Carolina should be quite happy w. tha way they turn out....ahm lookin forward to that.

Sweet - Nick Cave tonight!

Somehow ah missed that my buddy from Berklee (tha The Mysterous Odors' former guitarist) is in SF b/c tha band he is daein sound fer is openin fer NICK CAVE AND THA BAD SEEDS! Ah had nae idea - thought it was gawna be anutha low-key affair w. some instrumental rawk. Altho that does explain why thars two nites at tha Warfield....

Ahm nawt tha biggest Nick Cave fan you've evah met, but he does some very cool stuff n ahm excited ta git ta unexpectedly see a big, professional act w. a fellow musick geek.

Wow - THIS IS SAN FRANCISCO!

So thars this massive fortress of a structure rite on Mission St. between 15th n 14th (near tha highway). It is HUGE and sturdy - looks like a prison. Or a self-contained monastery. Ahve biked past it many times n only realized when ah was almost past how big n scary n mysterious it is. Heres a pic from tha bus:



Anyway, ah just found out that this is tha SF Armory, a building dedicated to filming porn as well as havin parties ta promote porn company Kink.com n its many affiliates (includin "Men In Pain" and "Whipped Ass"). Apparently tha buildin used ta be a church n was sold way discreetly.

Tha ownahs claim ta want ta plant trees around tha perimeter. Ahll let ya know.

Okay, shut up already.

Ah live above a church - a loud church. Some days its just a keyboard (those ken be pretty bad as tha woman singah is off-key and tempo 60% of tha time), but often thars also drums n bass. It's definitely audible, but usually has faded away by 9:30 pm. Some nights thars rehearsal a lil latah, but 10 is generally as late as ahll hear it.

It's 11:05 n thars nawt just practice, but continued full-on church downstairs. Ah ken hear tha muffled commandin voice of tha pastor, distorted and compressed by a pretty big PA system, speaking spanish ah prolly couldn't unnerstand without considerable practice, n ah wondah what tha fawk he's sayin.

But really, ah want it ta be ovah. It's late n ah hafta be at tha yoga studio at 8:30 to start tha laundry n then kick my ass w. a 9 am class (labor day schedule is CRAP).

no mas amigos, POR FAVOR! yo necessito dormir puntas!

Altho, if they did shut up ahd still have tha bar across tha street, tha busses, tha motorcycles, tha drunks, tha car alarms......but at least they wouldn't be downstairs!

FINALLY!

jammed w. some people from craigslist who didn't suck n who have thar shite togetha (ah hope ahm nawt speakin too soon). These folks play some sorta poppy, catchy, vocally driven, mostly acoustic stuff, n they think ahm tha bees knees (nawt tha actual term used), prolly cuz ah could play 3 bars of 5/4 and then one of 4/4 w.o hesitatin. Hopefully this'll turn intae some regular gigg-age fer me - think good thoughts, ah need a stage (er 6...)!

hahahah

perhaps, its nawt tha most productive way ta spend my time, but here is a summarization of what happened w. those guys ah nevah jammed with (thanks gmail!).

augsut 1st - forwarded myself this posting:
Rock / Metal Guitarist and Drummer Seek Bass Player ...

Experienced rock guitarist and drummer seek a bass guitar player with some chops.

Originals with a few covers and also looking to write new material.

Sound is very crunchy, melodic, hard, and dynamic.

Reply for more information ...

8/3 - email to poster:
car-less, in mission, looking to be busier

8/3 - email from poster:
looking for bassist, practice all the time, will call me.

8/6 - email to guitarist:
down with meeting, have a gig that evening. Had seen a
repost so I'd emailed again b/c he did not call

8/6 - email from guitarist:
rehearsals wed n sat @ 6:30. they are flexible

8/7 - email to guitarist:
lets jam on Saturday (2/9), what should we play, amp situation

8/9 - phone call from guitarist:
can i jam today still, i can't, he will send me some songs
for me to listen to

8/11 - email to guitarist:
never gawt an email, can jam on tues

8/11 - email from guitarist:
mp3s

8/12 - email to guitarist:
acknowlegement, have drummer call me tomorrow

8/13 - email from guitarist:
drummer can't make it, saturday at 6:30?

8/13 - email to guitarist:
Can probably do that, referenced my other band.

8/16 - home by 6, emailed.

10:15 pm - email from guitarist:
got stuck at work, shooting for Monday or Wednesday.

8/19 - email from guitarist:
will let me know on wed if it will work

email to guitarist:
wednesdya wont work. Sat is a gig. Can do monday.

8/21 - call from drummer
monday lets do it. I will call him.

8/25 - voicmail for drummer at 5:30.

7:30 pm - voicemail from drummer:
forgot to call, maybe tomorrow

7:40 pm - voicemail to drummer:
tuesday is no good, busy this week, will give next week a
try if they still want to.

8:15 pm - convo w. guitarist
they're moving on b/c im too busy.

okay, next please?

Gripes by Humble Observer

* pickin up whar a previous post left off, think13 needs a new guitar player. Ahm saddened that Christoph has left, but tha way he did it n his motivation have left me significantly more pissed off then sad. He was literally going to play a show w. us on Saturday night, quit the band, and then drive to Burning Man overnite. Luckily, fate wasn't going to let the coward have his "graceful exit" as ah think he saw it, n we found out two hours before tha show at tha practice space. So we at least gawt ta show him how lame he is. Ahve nevah shared a stage w. someone ah didn't even want to talk to before - good thang he wasn't on my side. Then ah gawt drunk.

* Tha guys ah bitched about a week ago flaked on me again - will ah nevah learn?? Tha drummah called to apologize n we set up a time today ta git together. Ah left werk n gave him a call, as was tha plan. He left a voicemail w. me minutes ago (at least 45 minutes AFTAH we were supposed to START jammin) sayin he was sorry but maybe tomorrow. Ah responded by leavin a message lettin them know ah MITE be willin ta try it again, but phrased it in a way that ah doubt they will call.

* Ah haven't seen any mosquitos, but ah have gawten 4 bug bites this weekend. Fricken annoyin.

* Apparently Warren Teagarden would rather play without me then have a bass player, at least thas what his Thursday guitar-n-drums show seems to indicate.

Okay, ah think ahm outta thangs ta bitch about (otha then my finances, which could be in slightly bettah shape). Thanks fer lettin me git off my chest (whoevah you are, if you are indeed out thar, faithful readers).

drinkin

evah notice how some hangovahs manifest themself gradually ovah tha first hour er so ya wake up?

Ahm blamin tha cheap tequila shot.

BAND DRAMA!

Tha best kind of drama, rite?

So ahll gae intae details(ish) (maybe) when its nawt 3 am, but today we dealt w. a pretty a somewhat-expected surprise.

A long, weird day, consisting of more drinks then usual, n said drinks hittin my blood stream earlier then is tha norm. Fer some reason, karma wanted me ta walk tha 3+ miles home (which took way longah then ah thought it would - almost an hour! must've been one of those contemplative walks....)

anyway it was frustrating. ahll sweat it out in bikram tomorrow at noon.

Ah BAKE!

At my job, Thursday is Snax day. Every week, a different employee prepares/buys a snack of some sort and those who are interested snack and chat together for a half hour or so. This week was my week (Actually, two weeks ago it was my week b/c ah double-booked myself, but that week was slammin w. gigs n crap so ah just bought some day old cookies from a local bakery).

Ah was determined ta actually make somethang, n wanted ta make somethang savory as opposed to sweet - nawt that ah succeeded. Ah ended up gaein w. pumpkin bread and zucchini bread b/c my moms pumpkin bread is one of my favorite thangs in tha world, n ah wanted ta give some selection as well (in case people didn't like pumpkin bread). So, ah bought a ton of ingredients n went ta werk (these days, whenevah ah use a new recipe it requires a lawt of purchasin b/c ah dont have many ingredients in my house. Also, anytime ah have a new spice ta play with ah insist on buyin it in bulk at Rainbow Grocery, which while pretty cheap fer organic spices ends up bein a bit more expensive b/c ah also buy a shaker fer every spice. But thas my problem.)

Anyway, this is one of my first solo bakin experiments so ah hoped it would come out good - even tho ah couldn't find a teaspoon ta measure (seriously, ah couldn't find a teaspoon in my house. Mixer yes, but teaspoon, nope. We have a spoon problem ovah here). Ah really enjoyed it actually (except fer gratin tha zucchini) - somethang very cool about werkin fer a solid half hour er so, n then throwin it in tha oven ta dae its thang - thinkin "well, my werk is done, we'll see how it comes out."

Ah think it came out pretty damn good actually. Sure, both breads were a bit sweeter then ah wanted, n ah couldve given tha zucchini bread anutha 10 minutes in tha oven, but ah enjoyed them, n they tasted similar ta my moms food. Whas really important tho is that werk loved it, n ahm pretty sure most of thar praise was genuine. Check it:



Tha best thang howevah is that ahm startin ta gain a lil confidence in tha kitchen on my own. Even tho ahve cooked fer myself pretty much tha whole time ah lived w. tha rents, n definitely before then, ah didn't dae much branchin out (minus tha whole gaein-veg thang). But knowin ahll be able ta continue some food traditions in tha family one way er anutha feels good. Ah wouldn't say that cookin necessarily runs in tha family, but ah dae feel ahve inherited some good instincts from my rents - instincts that'll make some lucky lady very happy one day should ah evah become a stay-at-home-husband!

Tha Universe

also sent me an email today about grad-skool-fairs specifically fer non-profit-orientated-majors. Of kerse, one of em was takin place in SF in tha end of Septembah when ahll be in tha city, so ah guess ahm gaein. 1st real step towards gaein back ta skool - excitin but scary.