...............................

definitely not an explosion

2010-02-10T19:36:00.000-05:00

definitely a building on fire falling down

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1249885/New-World-Trade-Center-9-11-aerial-images-ABC-News.html

.

strong work

2010-01-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

a hole in the sky

2010-01-27T01:45:00.000-05:00

listening

2010-01-05T07:47:00.003-05:00

o o ☆ released in late Feb / early March.

.

mvp

2009-12-16T23:16:00.004-05:00

"the more u have what u want, the less u can do what u want." - melvin van peebles

.

we fight wars for corporations

2009-12-10T00:40:00.005-05:00

Excellent article explaining the origins of the war in Afghanistan, as we're now being told that this war is about to get even bloodier.

.

the word

2009-12-06T05:46:00.002-05:00

What's this?!

Could it be? Just in time for the holiday? The definitive Berlin NH dictionary?

Rachelle, kicking ass per usual. Fortunately, I was able to lend a hand...

My entries included: chicka-blaow, Eeee, franglais, minu, piton, roost, sliding, the dirt road, the East Side Mall, the Sari-Sari Shop, the Tombola, the water tower, scroggin', the Rainbow Shop, and WBRL.

Guaranteed to fire up some cross-generational history lessons, and help you laugh your ass off.

Awesome stocking stuffer! Order yours now or go pick up a signed copy on December 19th at Wonderland Bookstore in Gorham between 11am and 2pm. Rachelle is a really cool person, you should definitely meet her.

le chat sicroff

2009-12-06T05:33:00.002-05:00

RD

2009-11-29T15:02:00.000-05:00

Divi Zheni

2009-11-22T23:53:00.003-05:00

Just found out that Workfriend Debra sings Bulgarian Choir music. Her group Divi Zheni performs in Brighton MA at 1pm on Dec. 6th. Not unlike this group...

gratitude

2009-11-22T17:32:00.001-05:00

this is it

2009-11-19T23:50:00.002-05:00

but first..."what it is and how it is done"

perks ears, soothes heart

2009-11-13T02:59:00.003-05:00

RH turned me on to this guy recently, and I was able to catch him live just down the street from my place.

"Northland's Finest"

2009-11-10T23:43:00.001-05:00

haiku-fire '09

2009-11-06T23:43:00.004-05:00

if any blog-lurkers want to join in on a postcard / haiku exchange to help keep warm from january thru march, email me. some of my contributions from one that's going on now.

one to which i send
care and love clothed in penstrokes
these few syllables

narrow, tree-lined fear
in all the good of the world.
an emerging path

sexting keystroked chi
undercover tearstreamers
banging on the line

.

be your own tv

2009-11-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

2008 The Flaming Lips Would Like To Encourage You To... from George Salisbury on Vimeo.

ccs fashion

2009-10-26T18:57:00.002-04:00

jonny 1 ball sporting "the ball-shawl" - in a festive holiday print

Brilliant!

2009-10-23T14:12:00.000-04:00

http://www.nydailynews.com/travel/2009/08/27/2009-08-27_keep_on_rockin_in_the_free_rooms_motel_6_shakes_up_image_by_offering_free_stays_.html

.

plumb

2009-10-17T18:38:00.003-04:00

pretty notes the pipes sing in an old bathroom

.

fixing sound

2009-10-17T02:28:00.002-04:00

supergroup (no dancing?)

2009-10-03T16:27:00.003-04:00

...about David Kelly, a chemical weapons inspector in Iraq who committed suicide in 2003 after being connected to a leak of British intelligence about weapons of mass destruction."[7] In an interview with The Observer, Yorke said that "Harrowdown Hill" was "the most angry song [he'd] ever written in [his] life"

"Don't walk the plank like I did
You will be dispensed with
When you've become inconvenient
Up on Harrowdown Hill
Where you used to go to school
Thats where I am
Thats where I'm lying down"

when melted

2009-10-01T18:51:00.003-04:00

incredible she is.

half complete mixing o o ☆
afinos songs chosen for record, just need time to do it.
logjam to release free 3-song download for the holidays.
the church of flying dreams seeking a vision for ourselves, working in the meantime.
friend mike's record out in october.
60 x 60 art project to go online soon and tour a few galleries.

worlds

2009-09-16T00:05:00.002-04:00

"didn't we deserve a look at you the way you really are?"

2009-09-10T01:44:00.002-04:00

shellac + documentary footage of lotan baba, the rolling saint - who traveled 2400 miles this way.

Cool Site

2009-09-07T00:09:00.005-04:00

Check out Kickstarter.

.

covered in blood

2009-08-21T01:10:00.003-04:00

we're in afghanistan to see that a pipeline is built. pipelineistan. wanna find out more, read up on the connection between bridas and the taliban, as well as the bridas vs. unocal case. feels terrible to know that my workday is fueling this ruse.

8/19

2009-08-19T00:10:00.002-04:00

8/16

2009-08-16T01:13:00.005-04:00

"It is not that feeling can control emotion. It is that consciousness can control energy. People think they can control thoughts, emotions or the body. It is not functions that we can control, it is the energy behind them. The secret of control is over energy, not over manifestations.

The possibility of realizing our destiny depends upon a force that is not our own and that has its origin on a much higher level than the human. Therefore, everything for us really depends upon the possibility to come into contact with that great force."

- J.G. Bennett

Last time = 1998. Next time = 2015.

2009-08-14T13:10:00.003-04:00

worn, but well

2009-08-10T01:03:00.003-04:00

the kylie m. art gallery- now showing: "frogs"

"the church of flying dreams" gigging at a luau in RI. spent a portion of the show connecting with this little guy who stood quite near to me with big, wide eyes. brought to mind my first experiences with music as a 6-year old.

enthusiastic audience, which included one of Mr. Bennett's sons, with family. he has played a key role in my connecting with the group at CC. warm, kind person.

sold some CD's, G and I both feeling like it was a strong performance.

afterwards we headed over to Providence to check out their "Waterfire." incredibly beautiful. tasteful selection of music and overall approach to the event. didn't feel like you were in the midst of a city.

earlier that day, Matterson and I painted Circle Circle Sound "Startling Blue." feeling more and more like an extension of home than a rehearsal space. Sunday we spent a good part of the day tracking. blown away at how great this record is unfolding.

"friday night, august the 14th"

2009-08-07T02:09:00.007-04:00

Just realized that this date appears on the calendar in 2009. The search for the appropriate dancefloor is underway.

Free your mind...and your ass will follow. Mr. McCartney should've given this advice to the crowd on Wednesday at Fenway. Stiff stiff stiff- plenty of fucking camera phones though.

E told me the story of how when Mr. Bennett would read to groups, he would begin with-

"Sense, my children...sense."

I mentioned this when presenting the theme of "Listening" at the CC Summer Seminar in June. Requires much more than our ears, and from what I saw around me, people paid a good deal of money to get only a flake of what was available.

Amazing show, but a little disappointed that he didn't play any material from "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard." Perhaps a wish to not visit the Mills era of his catalogue. The man generously made space during the evening to celebrate / mourn George and John, and taught us a great lesson in what keeps a 67 year old man young- a sense of humor, love, and creativity.

.

GC Performance Sign

2009-08-01T01:25:00.002-04:00

.

2009-07-28T22:48:00.002-04:00

new year

2009-07-26T23:36:00.003-04:00

o o ☆ gets closer. beginning to discuss packaging- maybe 7" vinyl -w- full length CD inserted. complete possibly in october.

other three projects...

church of flying dreams...aside from keeping repetoire in check, we're now swapping weekly sound/noise recordings. seems songs might come out of this.

afriendinouterspace. addressing drum parts and working on tunes with bday gift : ) see below.

logjam. likely no show unless something surprising happens. working on just getting the record together...meet in sept. hopefully.

bday gift to myself!

all with "japan" from cocorosie as my soundtrack on endless loop in my head.

Family Reunion

2009-07-14T12:58:00.004-04:00

Off to my family reunion this weekend...I believe this is year 43 or 44. Timmy B. and I made a movie about it a few years back. It takes a couple of minutes for narration to begin- it's not just a slideshow to music. The soundtrack is almost entirely made up of music created by different family members.

July 11

2009-07-11T01:06:00.002-04:00

o o ☆ is making great progress...tracks that I thought weren't going to be as strong as the others are now my faves. One more session before J1 flies off to Africa for a couple of weeks. Should have vocal melodies down for everything by the time he goes, with lyrics only needed for a few.

Some afriendinouterspace work, after ignoring it for so long to wash away any guilt / stress I've been dealing with for having not worked on it. 10 finished songs. Beyond that, 1 is close (just need lyrics), and 4 need major work. Once the circlecirclestar record is done, I'm aiming to get the boys in the studio with me to cut this record quick.

Logjam having scheduling difficulties- possibly not a holiday show? Eeesh. Waiting on the word from my man. Progress is slow.

Life at TA has shifted dramatically, bringing about a windfall of energy of all types. Two waves of silence swooped in as the group gathered in a circle at a recent outing.

CC seminar was incredible. Nose up against my walls by the third day. Sensations / experiencing the feeling center in the chest / solar plexus led me to begin understanding what being awake in all three-centers might be like. Days lasted weeks. Lots of group singing. Movements were the biggest challenge...surprising progress on the Fingertip Dervish and 30 Counts. Paced energy well. Kept my integrity when I fucked up. Very inspired by the folks leading the course- incredible efforts. Presented a theme on Thursday of "Listening," which had me up all night preparing. Sufi/Fourth Way instructor from Toronto was on the course and held Zikr's on two nights...one of which I had the opportunity to whirl. Course wrapped up with a feast. After a marathon dish-washing session, a group of us played and sang Beatles songs while everyone danced. Wine and more wine. Amazing time.

Got rid of another bunch of possessions- some through donations, some through the mail, and some through trash. Just about down to bare essentials and music gear.

Actually bought tickets to some shows...

this month @ the Lizard Lounge(!), the quirky Mr. Eitzel (horns are so beautiful at the end)
next month, a band i vowed i'd see before i shuttle off the planet.

shine

2009-07-11T00:43:00.000-04:00

Trent Reznor's Advice To New Bands

2009-07-11T00:19:00.001-04:00

http://forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?30,767183,page=1

2nd Summer Seminar

2009-06-18T23:57:00.006-04:00

Off to CC for another 9 day course. Theme - "reciprocal maintenance." This facet of the work resonates strongly with me, having come to this sense myself beforehand.

"Understanding Reciprocal Maintenance will provide us with the knowledge that everything exists for a purpose and that man's part in all this, like all living things, is to transform energy. Your "job" on this earth is to transform energy, that is why you are alive."

"The doctrine of Reciprocal Maintenance is that everything that exists in this world depends on other things for its maintenance and must in its turn maintain the existence of something else."

What that "something else" is, I know, but don't understand.

And almost poetically, like last year, rain is forecasted for the week.

Patriot's Heart

2009-06-18T18:03:00.000-04:00

More American Workers Outsourcing Own Jobs Overseas

sleeping at the space

2009-06-15T01:42:00.003-04:00

kitchen building duties with cousin j came to a sudden halt on saturday, but will resume at a brisk pace monday and tuesday evening.

sleepover at circle circle sound, dealing with practicalities and setup.

sunday morning, working on o o ☆ with matterson- new life for a piece requiring work, now tentatively titled "the hard part now." appreciating j1's work while he was away.

later sunday, working with my main man, tim burr, on the logjam record. basics for "the dairy bar girls" captured- drawing heavy on our mutual affinity for queen.

email noise collaboration beginning with G.

ideas forming gig / party planning for both logjam in december, circle circle star, and maybe my bday.

"Honk If You're Happy!" by Shawn Marquis

2009-06-11T18:26:00.003-04:00

daring

2009-06-09T01:19:00.006-04:00

alice in chains -w- new singer. tough uphill climb against expectation, but will's energy and how graceful they're approaching this situation, has me rooting for them. the last footfalls of their previous chapter seemed to have so much sad, tragic resonance...almost as if the show was a funeral for their soon-to-be-departed singer. certainly "a moment"

the o o ☆ track "safe in the middle of nowhere" bears their influence.
.

june

2009-06-08T01:25:00.009-04:00

circle circle sound lives and breathes! spacemates departed, space cleaned out and made sleepable / more like home. first o o ☆ session (today) brought "go it alone" and "long walk home" nearly to completion...just bells and whistles left.

some logjam research up in berlin during my last trip, amongst visiting with friends and fam. some sad news of a friend of the family passing in a tragic accident, and another acquaintance unwell in the hospital.

the pop:

...the pop who swept 10 games in a row of "horse" against me on the courts at brown school.

mom, sowing some love...

brother kevvy, making mouths water...

dropped off a couple of copies of the beef cd to a long-time supporter, after visiting miss pam at a potential venue for logjam's holiday logdrive...

pros: beautiful setting, located downtown- feels like the center of the city, all ages
cons: are we best presented in a party atmosphere?, no booze

still some calls to make.

9-day summer seminar at the MREC coming up. weekly meetings at MIT closing 'til fall.

excited about the church of flying dreams and potential new paths for us. working on a short bio for the record- so far:

the church of flying dreams aims to tickle the spock in you. born out of the rhythm section that provided propulsion to the late 90's dark art rock band, sabot, the duo of glenn hughes (guitar) and shawn marquis (drums) perform tightrope-walk compositions, and make the most of it when they slip and straddle the wire. aside from glenn's original material, their repetoire consists of pieces spun from the work of students associated with a school of music known as guitar craft, as well as its founder, robert fripp.

and why is it that i always mention my solo stuff last?...which is one of my highest priorities. cause i'm crazy and working on it alone at the moment.

maybe not as crazy as rubber johnny tho. (warning: somewhat disturbing, but brilliant)

.

thinks he understands

2009-05-29T20:56:00.000-04:00

not work friendly

.

Not Sweet Tooth, but Sweet Jaw

2009-05-29T13:07:00.003-04:00

Aside from his discipline with his inner life and inspiring me as a musician, Robert's unflagging appetite for cakes and ice cream compels me to say "this is my guy, this here is my man."

.

uff

2009-05-27T23:22:00.004-04:00

seemingly small movements.

still working on the chorus for what i'm calling "red zero"...i'm not quite sure how to count it, but the drums are in 8 and the guitar is in 7, with the beat flipping each time thru (can see how the left foot counting the 1 alternates unison with the right foot).

lots of opportunity these days to transform negative emotion.

a sobering reading from "all and everything" last week. despite our best intentions, we can fuck it up forever, permanently, beyond our deaths. at least this is how it felt to me.

a rejuvenation effort for me at TA. 2 weeks of semi-productive drag. created a vision and a drive to pull myself out of it.

great movement with circle circle star, despite limited time available from all involved. potential paths to completing vocal melodies / lyrics, a solid vision for artwork for the record, and circle circle sound begins its life next week.

talk with g about the church of flying dreams. a weekend of shows in the late summer, and a collaborative project of a cast of characters that i think would be very interesting in a room together. possibly something around beefheart / scientology / devo's 4track work. gang vocals and nudity.

vocals being laid down on mike's tracks in phoenix.

logjam looking at a few different possibilities for berlin around xmas. headed up to the northland this weekend to look into a number of different possibilities. potentially meeting in a couple of weeks to record a version of "the dairy bar girls."

success

2009-05-19T23:06:00.001-04:00

Influence #3

2009-05-19T02:01:00.002-04:00

Mike Patton.

"sunshine and honey flows from her..."

2009-05-17T23:28:00.005-04:00

Tracked vox for "Safe in the Middle of Nowhere" and "Beautiful Memories Bleed" with J1 today.

Received word yesterday that my piece "Fish Hatchery Feeding Song" was accepted by "New Media New Music New England" for their "What If?" project. The project consists of:

live event/exhibit: 60 sound pieces and 60 videos will be selected and intentionally paired based on the curators’ responses to both media. These 60 sound & video pieces are intended for presentation or installation in a wide variety of venues.

web installation: a web site (currently under development) will be constructed using these same 60 sound and video pieces. The web interface will allow visitors to randomly pair sound pieces and videos to create a wide array of juxtapositions and experiences of this collection of sound and image. Additionally, visitors will have the choice to hear/view selected works independently with links to producers. The web site is also intended for kiosk installation in unexpected locations. We are currently making arrangements for showings and installations throughout New England.

The piece was recorded when I was in my late teens, sampling and looping sounds that came out of a delay unit that I was fucking around with.

she who could single-handedly save berlin

2009-05-13T02:12:00.008-04:00

a pleasant surprise today to find that our song "back in berlin again" will be part of a broadcast on new hampshire public radio featuring rachelle beaudoin. always psyched to work in tandem with her. she's speaking about her berlin dictionary project (info below). you can visit this link to either find what frequency to tune into or to stream it live from the net.

Rachelle Beaudoin, visual and conceptual artist, has recently begun work on an illustrated Berlin Dictionary, a book of Berlin specific terms and their meanings to be self-published in the fall. The book is part humor, part fiction and part fact. The book will contain words that seem to only make sense locally, words that originated in Berlin and/or words that have a particular meaning to the community.

Beaudoin is currently seeking "Berlin word" and definition submissions of for the Berlin Dictionary. All contributors will be credited and cited in the book. Submitted words and definitions maybe in French or in English. The book seeks to highlight our unique community, localisms, and the linguistic gems that have developed in Berlin throughout the years. Submissions may be places, events, historical references, things, or phrases but may not be people.

For Example:

Meat Pie: noun, also known as Tortiere; origin -French Canadian. A savory dinner pie made of meat, usually pork, beef or a combination of both with potato spices including clove.

My Memere made 12 meat pies for Christmas.

Submissions may be emailed to: berlindictionary@gmail.com

Or mailed to Berlin Dictionary, 46 Smyth St Berlin NH 03570.

Be sure to include your name as you’d like it to appear in the publication and contact including a phone number where you could be reached for clarification if needed.

***

in other news, our hometown pub burned down.

fagin's pub was undoubtedly a berlin institution...lots of personal history with this place, including it most recently being one of the stops on logjam's 2008 thanksgiving logdrive. we have the performance on vid and will probably post later.

both this and rachelle's work have lit another fire...this one under my ass to get moving with the 09 logdrive. talked with timmy b. about getting together to round out material for the record. will head up north in june to relax and begin the foundations for the event.

**

sketch'd vocals for circle circle star piece and am working with "red zero" for the solo record.

doug stanhope's in town this week.

.

may 9 & 10

2009-05-11T00:27:00.004-04:00

work day in royalston on saturday. nearly completed the task of insulating the attic- generally only contemplating the theme of "what is the purpose of our connection with the material world?" during the stops. felt a little selfish for wanting to spend a night in the room below during the winter to experience the quality of my work. not sure why it isn't enough to know that i'm contributing to someone else's warmth.

worked with a new dance in movements class- "the mazurka," which is seemingly the most joyful of all the dances i've stepped. tho perhaps not as joyful as the morris dancing j.r. invited me to participate in...which he said is a sort of celebration of spring, sex, and beer.

drove back and forth to western ma in a mini cooper zipcar, which is incredible to drive.

sunday...more circle circling. cello in the morning and lyric attempts in the evening.

for any lord of the rings fans, there's a new 40 minute film called "the hunt for gollum," which was written and filmed by dedicated fans. pretty incredible labor of love. the production value and casting is not far off from the trilogy. i haven't watched the whole movie myself, but am planning to. http://thehuntforgollum.s3.amazonaws.com/player_film-low.htm

turned. on. to.

2009-05-07T02:22:00.001-04:00

lucky dragons.

.

May

2009-05-03T19:21:00.007-04:00

"The only bugs seem to be these buxom, busy,
breeding bees who appear as charmed as we by
the flowers on your dress.

The evening breeze wears a perfume
sweet enough to ask in the room,
and warm enough I don't presume it's keeping secrets.

The sun knows only to be serene,
and hasn't learned to scream holes in the screen,
which lines this carriage clean
and protects this fresh, moist, skin of May."

(- Peter Moore , Count Zero "May")

**

and may3,09...

lately...

- recorded a talk at MIT by george bennett, which i'll post some of later

- making progress on "derailed" and "moving force" with CoFD

- saw that it might b a good idea to just go ahead and begin recording the afriendinouterspace record, and complete the 4 or so remaining pieces as the recording takes place. talked a little with the aforementioned peter about working at his space on it.

- circle circle star, which continues recording, is now creating "circle circle sound," a rebirth of our studio.

- saw some incredible boxing last night

.

love u

2009-05-02T03:52:00.003-04:00

via http://ponyxpress.wordpress.com

pssst...not work friendly

.

helpful introduction to 3-centered experiencing

2009-04-30T03:07:00.000-04:00

collapse

2009-04-27T23:28:00.001-04:00

breathing as the stars collide

2009-04-24T00:50:00.005-04:00

.
broken motherglass
water black as ice
alone on the bridge
standing in the sky
never coming back
together on our own
big electric city
no one at home

wheels are turning fast
tears they float on by
kisses are exchanged
take off with my life
everything within you
reflected up above
singing "there's no difference
to be hurt or healed by love"

keep breathing
breathing as the stars collide

keep breathing
keep breathing
breathing as the stars collide

yoo-hoo-hoo
(what are u waiting for?)
you you
(stepping through the clouds)
move through

the rosen

2009-04-20T23:14:00.005-04:00

"breathing as the stars collide" unfolds. small efforts in waves are now carrying momentum. sketch after sketch...and now finally i see it. installed digital performer 6 and tested out the new mic.

workday last weekend in royalston found me insulating a small crawlspace in the dorm building to be used for the 3-month practicum coming up in september. very rough, nasty work that made me wanna run. however the morning exercise was continued work with the "expanded present moment"- where i was mostly present to an aching back and tired eyes, until the 40 min. mark, when i began to near an experience similar to one i had some 10 years ago. no aching back, no tired eyes, no body, i am what i see?

4/1/09

Allison Kilkenny: Do you thinks the drug cartels in Mexico are a byproduct of the trade inequalities you explained in that Post article? Also, if you could talk about the roles international banks and corporations play in the War on Drugs.

Noam Chomsky: I can't really talk about it because there isn't any war on drugs. If there was a war on drugs, the government would take measures which it knows could control the use of drugs.

...Out-of-country operations are just a cover for counter-insurgency, or for clearing land in Columbia and driving out peasants so multi-national corporations can come in for mining, and resource-extraction, and agribusiness, and macra production, and so on. Which is why you have (outside of Afghanistan) probably the largest refugee population in the world in Columbia. [The War on Drugs is] not effecting drug production. In fact, it's going up by, I think, 25% last year. But it's going to continue because that wasn't the purpose.

chopping and mixing different circle circle star tracks, expanding "safe in the middle of nowhere" and beginning it from the drone in "long walk home."

word from phoenix is that the guitar tracks are laying down on my drum takes very very well. really excited to hear them.

work at TA has shifted into a new gear, which here in the first week or two, feels like a higher gear.

my tv-b-gone has successfully worked on a number of sets around the city of boston- tho i've yet to try out a mass-shutoff. i'm surprising myself at how restrained i am in using this new capability.

Influence #2

2009-04-17T00:30:00.001-04:00

Trent on Biz

2009-04-15T07:06:00.003-04:00

I have a feeling I know where Trent's time will go as NIN shuts down shop for awhile. Very long interview here:

http://www.futureofmusicbook.com/2009/04/nin-business-model/

.

it's somebody's birthday!

2009-04-14T01:37:00.003-04:00

another ring on the log for my man tim burr!

i owe a great deal to him.

Phoenix

2009-04-08T01:42:00.008-04:00

Back from my trip out west to visit Mikey and my other PHX folks.

Managed to nail all 5 drumtracks in 8 hours, with "Dent and the Damage" re-visited and tracked at the buzzer. Looking forward to hear how this producer / engineer shapes his songs...drums sounded great untouched.

Great food...a hike up Camelback...drink / smoke / laughs and more laughs...sunburn...4 smooth plane rides (Delta's alright in my book)...the Grand Canyon from 35k feet...a visit to Katie & Pascal. Harsh landscape and architecture, but great weather.

.

Borderline

2009-04-04T05:29:00.003-04:00

Keep on pushing my love.

.

LogJam 09

2009-03-31T02:28:00.005-04:00

Rapped with partner-in-crime, Tim Burr, about the plan for LogJam in 09. Seems like the wind has carried away hopes to get something together for the Spring, so best to just aim for something big around Thanksgiving. Make the '09 LogDrive a grand affair. Have a record ready in time, pull together a full-band, connect with co-conspirators, and let it fly.

Preferred venue...

The Sanborn. Chances? Slim...but that's my namesake, so maybe I can make it work.

ThirteenEven played this stage in what I think must have been 1994, along with my buddy Mike, whom I'm headed out to visit this week. Wondering if I could convince him to take a trip back to the homeland for the fall.

3/27 - 3/29

2009-03-29T23:25:00.008-04:00

Friday night J1 and I tracked all the percussives for the record til 3am-ish. Tambourines, shakers, typewritery-esque sounds, full kit at one point, and my fave- the "sea-foam cymbal."

Saturday, Spring cleaning mixed with procrastination, then into the studio on the late night to work on Mike's material; which I'll be tracking next Thursday in Phoenix.

Sunday, El and J1 track guitar and bass. Moving quick with this record...possibly wrapped by May?

At the end of the session, J1 ventured into the closet and lugged out his Ampeg amp from Chauncey days...almost breaking his back carrying it down the hall. I don't know how we managed to perform close to 300 shows in two years with this gear, and still have functioning skeletal systems. This amp shakes the whole room when he plays and it blasts through your chest. But is also a little quirky...

J1 inspects the situation...

...makes an adjustment...

Then brings the rock...

"Mister Zoot Horn Rollo, Hit that long lunar note and let it float"

2009-03-25T23:57:00.002-04:00

building

2009-03-22T23:09:00.004-04:00

Matterson laying down guitar this afternoon...

Afterwards, I built my first two constructive electronic projects-

Eager to build more! I anticipate a soldering iron purchase in the near future. If you live in Boston, check out Willoughby Baltic- such a great scene happening here.

One more hour of writing to complete tonight to meet my week's commitment with Mom.

Reading more about U.S. involvement in Mexico- seems to me that the supposed threat of violent drug cartels is the equivalent of our 9/11 situation which gave the government carte blanche to repeal our civil liberties and attack whomever they please. Under the "Merida Initiative," we're investing 1.4 BILLION dollars to re-inforce the Mexican army and police, heighten surveillance, and curb drug cartel violence / trafficking. And to the north?

.

breathing

2009-03-18T23:19:00.005-04:00

Neil's answer to money woes.

Solo work has moved from "Red Zero" to "breathing as the stars collide"...which has presented the biggest struggle with lyrics of any of the pieces. They're tied to my walk across the Mass Ave. bridge on Wednesday nights, and my Bennett meetings beforehand. I keep drafting abstract-ish sort of lines, but when I try 'em against the music as I walk across, it becomes quickly apparent that I should be as straightforward as possible.

Fiona resurfaces after being out of sight for awhile. Breaking up her voice wonderfully viciously after the 1 min mark.

.

weekend

2009-03-15T22:04:00.003-04:00

Sunrise over Royalston MA 3.14.09. (i found my camera!)

Morning exercise (latifahs)
Breakfast
Theme meeting (what does it mean to work on one's self?)
Practical work- clearing trees near the garden
Reading- Beezlebub's Tales
Lunch
Practical work continued
Movements
Theme observations meeting

Managed all of the above, plus the drive back and forth from Boston, on only an hour's worth of sleep. Though I struggled with falling asleep during the meetings.

The task I organized for myself from this week's Cambridge meeting was to attempt to only drink using my left hand. Amazing discoveries through trying this.

Tomorrow Mom and I begin our 16 day drive of special efforts. Her to work out 3 times a week, me to sit down and write music three times a week.

More guitars were laid down on the CCS material, which sound great! J1 writes:

"So psyched that this record is slowly beginning to take shape. I really feel like this is going to be a great culmination of all our musical careers to date. Very exciting."

The more I listen, the more this music reminds me of the sort of songs that are strewn through Tolkein's LOTR. Not in subject matter or similarities in the type of music, but more in structure and function. Simple short pieces, meant to warm the heart or instill a certain energy...repeating lyrics.

CoFD records are in...G reports that they sound and look great.

Woke feeling ill this morning. Cancelled plans, went for a walk around the resevoir.

Signed up with Netflix to watch streaming content. Being sick for the first time in a year, I'm thinking I need to relax a bit. Which can be difficult with all the noise coming from the courtyard.

the power will soon be mine!!!

2009-03-12T01:27:00.001-04:00

the haiku fire, she burns

2009-03-11T00:29:00.005-04:00

we're down to one haiku 'til the fire smokes and embers.

e lec tri ci ty
in toasters and touches found.
can zap and catch fire

when the hi-hat speaks....
"ttchiih ttchiih tchiih tchiih" - get ready!
for the rock soon comes.

finding a comfort
in all that tears me apart
and knowing its good

...the starry black sky.*.
along nighttime bridge-walking
...black icy water...

green frog with red tongue
smiley-face lowercase love
window to your heart

"jeweled indifference,"
impotence of governments.
kundabuffer gone?

it doesn't quite tick
like the way i thought it did.
life as explosion

uncontrollable
and everything-involving
living flood water

"your attention please,
moments await only you."
the god alarm rings.

cool art / build / craft place in boston... silkscreening class later this month. hmm.

the o o ☆ tracking went ridiculously well. way ahead of schedule, and everyone eager to continue work. sadly somehow lost my camera over that weekend. $300. fuck.

shifting for me in the bennett work. centered and present, a greater depth with the exercises, and increased frequency in connecting with the themes during the week. this week we're circulating attention on the latifahs associated with the higher emotions, moving on to the next one each hour between 9am and 3pm. i'm occasionally on time, frequently late, and often forget...yet still an improvement.

completed reading "witness."

fripp is dissolving guitar craft as a means of moving it forward. which somehow seemed celebrated by the debut of "the orchestra of crafty guitarists."

earned a promotion at TA, which came unexpectedly...somehow takes the chill off of those many nights of walking home in the cold at 9pm. 2009 will be transformative, and my first hours in this new role brought a challenge that both T and Joel O. convinced me was directly related- in a way. and that was in addition to a presentation i gave to a fairly large body of people.

mr. barao sent over a final mix of one of the pieces i tracked drums on for his new record. very jon brion / jellyfish-ish, which i'm a big fan of, and which is not very removed, in a six degrees of separation way. bleu, who helped eric produce this track, works with andy s. (singer of jellyfish) in a number of musical projects. here's one of the songs i played on, "alive."

o o ☆ recording and phoenix

2009-02-27T01:22:00.005-05:00

This weekend, El, J1 and I begin recording our debut record. 8 songs + some add'l music:

1. Go It Alone
2. Long Walk Home
3. Safe In The Middle Of Nowhere
4. How To Let Go
5. "Casting Call"
6. "Beauty Of The Possible"
7. "5/29"
8. "Opus 1"

Professor B is handling the engineer working, adeptly as ever, in the comforts of our own studio in Arlington. The dominant current running through both the lyrics and music is the theme of "struggle and triumph"...which makes good sense given the paths of the band's lives in the past 5 years.

**

Bought plane tickets today to visit Mike in Phoenix, where we'll track basics for his first solo record. Plane tickets, which by the way, you can now purchase on TripAdvisor. We just today released some slick meta-search functionality for airfare pricing...and I love the design work.

I'll be laying down drums for at least 5 songs:

1. Shine
2. I'll Never Be Your Ticket Out
3. Goodnight To This Bar
4. O To Be Left Alone
5. Dent and The Damage Done

Mike and I have a bit of a history together, and began writing songs around the same time. For me, hearing him sing his songs was like looking into a window straight into his core...very honest expressions, that came from a place that each of us had not been able to connect from in our friendship at the time. That has since shifted considerably. Here's some footage I pulled together awhile back of us climbing around some mountains in our hometown during peak foliage...really amazing day. Sadly, the whole side of the mountain had been scarified by a company installing windmills at the top. The view was incredible though...and we shared some pretty awesome moments. The song is a demo of his that I played on.

**

About to read the chapter in "Witness" about Gurdjieff's death. Amazing stories of his recovery from a very serious car accident,

"The door of one car opened and Gurdjieff slowly came out. His clothes were covered with blood. His face was black with bruises. Bu there was something more, that made me realize that I was looking at a dying man. Even this is not enough to express it. It was a dead man, a corpse that came out of the car, and yet it walked."

"He walked into his room and sat down. He said: 'Now all organs are destroyed. Must make new.' He saw me and smiled, saying: "Tonight you come dinner. I must make body work." A great spasm of pain passed through him and I saw blood flowing from his ear. ...He said "I wish watermelon. Buy watermelon when you come back."

Two weeks later he was back to his routine, and "his old, enigmatic self."

mexico

2009-02-24T23:43:00.004-05:00

"A study by the US Joint Forces Command, a US military planning group, warns that the Mexican state may "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse" because of "sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels... Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone." (International Herald Tribune, Jan. 9 from Reuters)"

...really?... for some reason that doesn't sound convincing.

perhaps?

februarystars floating in the dark

2009-02-22T23:33:00.003-05:00

The kitchen robot inspects my latest offering of organic, brown rice crust pizza -w- onion, fresh tomato, kale, "smart ground," garlic, rosemary, and oregano. Fortunately, he accepts and says it's my best work to date.

The Sony "spare part" robot by Ky and I.

The "Let It Beef" CD release / poker party for the southern NH contingent of Beef-a-Maniacs.

B in her room.

K in hers.

**

Let It Beef is in distribution phase. The first release party was a success, with ears unfamiliar to Beef's work exclaiming "I've never heard of anything like this before! This is whacked!"

The Church of Flying Dreams disc is off to the dupe house. Fripp providing clearance to include our versions of his pieces and wished us luck.

o o ☆ has completed rehearsing for basic tracking of our record next weekend. El has posted 2 of the demos / sketches here.

9 pieces written for afriendinouterspace, with work begun on the tentatively-titled "Red Zero"...the second most challenging piece on the record. Not sure how to count it, but the chorus drums are in 8, while the guitar swings in what I think is 11.

LogJam is looking to keep on schedule. Just obtained footage from our Thanksgiving LogDrive, including the Fagins Pub show.

And David Switzerland mentioned something to me about developing his career, which worries me seeing that some folks at my job seem to think we're the same people.

"...and don't forget the joker."

2009-02-17T21:26:00.004-05:00

"y'know the main thing in your life, sense of humor, lose that, you're done. you might as well blow your fucking brains out." - lemmy kilminster

.

NIN / Jane's Addiction Tour

2009-02-17T01:30:00.005-05:00

Looks like Jane's Addiction are likely making a record with Trent Reznor, then will tour together this Spring. Trent says its his last for a long while.

I had a ticket available to me when I was 17 to see both of these bands at Lollapalooza, but the 'rents said no. Probably a wise move.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/149194-trent-reznor-announces-possible-end-of-nine-inch-nails-tour-with-janes-addiction

the modern face of playmobil

2009-02-16T00:41:00.003-05:00

Brother E sent this along... read the comments:

http://www.amazon.com/Playmobil-3172-Security-Check-Point/dp/B0002CYTL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1234456217&sr=1-1

.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeFMPMo7p90

Robot Synth!

2009-02-13T01:51:00.003-05:00

http://musically.com/blog/2009/02/12/bebot-robot-synth-best-music-iphone-app/

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goldhouse01

2009-02-10T22:39:00.002-05:00

looks like goldhouse records has to setup some paypal action.

anniversary

2009-02-05T02:08:00.002-05:00

today would have been day 10 of my not having tonsils (which i'm glad to not have now) last year. in honor...

bouncing off the walls? take pics of them

2009-02-03T20:00:00.007-05:00

home from work today -w- tummy unwellness and no sleep. i think my body might b made of cable and wood. yoga tomorrow @ TA.

staying home is not a luxury when ur ill. bounced off the walls all day. at least the place is in shape, and recently "complete" in my mind. sussing out the back corner of my bedroom -w- the stereo got the place a bit more thrumming.

...and records can now be played once again, but with improved definition.

and the slowly increasing list of completed sketches can b audited...

...scarf knit by sweet sweet LS...

...and there's that guy...standing in front of pipes that project pretty pitches when plinked...

or in his other guise, courtesy of merr...

this is a comfortable place. i don't expect i'll be here long, but i'm enjoying it thoroughly.

wrote just about all the lyrics for "when you can't have it." this song has come along easy, is very pop, and i have no opinion about it...i seem to like playing it though.

check out "dance dance party party" at the central square Y this saturday at 2pm if ur a woman in the boston area lookin to get ur nerd on. u'll find a great crew of folks there.

off to check out the the future mrs. cory arcangel co-ed bachelorette party on friday night; which is also a celebration of this great partnership. apparently there's a mechanical bull at the venue...which is the second time this week i've come across one.

not work safe

not sure what it is about gemma hayes that soothes me.

Drawdio!

2009-01-31T09:30:00.001-05:00

sleeping machine

2009-01-28T10:20:00.006-05:00

Fripp mentioned E in his diary entry on the 24th, which led me to a description of the CC group that must have recently been put up.

This morning I noticed my sleep. The train ride to TA every morning is one of my opportunities to do work with sensation. Today I said to myself, let's see if I can maintain this work from here on the train, all the way to the office. I quickly reconsidered, thinking it would be too big of a task to maintain this sort of attention for the 12 min. walk from the train. Can I maintain this attention getting off the train and beginning my walk? "No problem." The D Line pulled into Newton Highlands, I stood up, got off the train and began walking to the cafe on the corner. While grabbing for my wallet on the way, I realized that I was gone the moment I stood up on the train.

Let It Beef

2009-01-27T03:28:00.006-05:00

Beef record off to Discmakers.

The Church of Flying Dreams disc should be off to a different dupe house any day now. The final mixing session before mastering left me feeling a bit better about the tracks I was concerned with. It's not a definitive album, but a good snapshot of where we are at the moment...which is painful to own in the case of some songs.

J1 and I met to further o o ☆ along. Laid down sketch vox for three pieces. Slow-moving, small steps. Recording slated for the end of next month will be a helpful shock.

Journeyed off to the 'Shire for a LogJam writing session last weekend. With the latest fires in Berlin staring us right in the face, how do we deal? No positive spin to be found, but there is something about knowing when to say "fuck it" and letting go. The result...a song called "The Paper City," which will certainly be for mature audiences only.

While in NH- R, J, and I also discussed the contra-dancing idea, which seems possible, but will have to be re-visited in April.

Solo stuff moves slowww, between wrapping up the Beef record, other projects, and work at TA. However, this means that I've been listening to the finished pieces quite a bit, and it's reassuring to see how well they hold up for me. Thinking that recording in July would be a nice birthday present to myself.

E and G both responded positively to the suggestion of my spending 3 - 4 day long stretches out their way.

Viva the Fourth Sector! Courtesy of SK.

.

Halloween @ TripAdvisor

2009-01-19T16:21:00.001-05:00

MidemNet Reznor talk

2009-01-18T19:08:00.002-05:00

Conference in France where Trent Reznor's shadow is said to be looming.

.

david comes alive!

2009-01-18T04:35:00.010-05:00

Missed ice skating this morning, erhm um, I mean afternoon...which is usually morning for me on the weekends. Got the cabin fever, so decided to head out with my buddy David Switzerland. He penned these lyrics a couple hours before showtime.

Crunchbar is loaded into the computer. Final editing and wrapping up of the Beef record tomorrow. A fitting tribute to the man.

Mom sent along a LogJam song suggestion based on recent events. You would think the town was built with tracing paper. Maybe we can find some sort of industry in building a firefighting school there. Though, I'm really one to talk, given my early relationship with fire.

Lost in the fire was Dave's Music Mania. Much headbanging went on by me as a denim-clad, 15 year old metal freak, when I first saw Dave perform in the band Damage @ Jericho Lake Park. At 17, I once waited with a few friends for a good part of the afternoon for Dave's UPS shipment to come in, so that I could get a hold of the debut Porno For Pyros disc the day it came out. Dave performed at the Now/When/Then & LogJam event a year ago.

Bartoli's Barbershop was also lost in the fire. Mr. Bartoli was responsible for my bowl cuts through the 80's.

There's a haiku bonfire burning via email to keep warm in these cold months...my contributions to date:

dropped from a cliff-top
with no concern or despair.
unexpected wings

wild animals trapped
in bleeding newspaper and
loveless ideas

green chutes spring up sun
from sweet sweat of hearts in wind
sown 40 years back.

.

the academy

2009-01-13T00:45:00.004-05:00

Mom sent along a scan of a cut-and-paste job I made in the early 90's of my first household in Boston.

What some of them are up to...
Chris
Philly B.
G
Richie (The Manager)

heavy energy breaks

2009-01-12T02:12:00.000-05:00

Working on some lyrics under the name "Safe In The Middle of Nowhere." From an email talking about it:

"I've been listening to the 6/8 piece and began hearing it as a very turbulent ocean. One thing that I found cool was that if you begin the vocal line for the verse right when I solo over the one, it prolongs this unsettled sort of feeling and continues to make things sound chaotic. As I envisioned this, I thought of this story I just read about John Lennon, who had kinda dropped music after a good while into his solo career. Was completely depressed and uninspired...hadn't written in five years. His Pop was a sailor, and you may know about the difficulties he had with his upbringing and his Pop...basically was abandoned. Anyways, John wanted to sail the Atlantic. So he found a captain who had a boat, and got a very small crew of people together. Captain Hank, John says...

...looked like the man on the Zig-Zag rolling papers, with a beard and a scarf on his head and a sextant.

Long story short, mid-way through they hit a ridiculous storm...they call it a tempest, where the boat is just being hammered with waves, wind, rain. The crew becomes incapacitated from sea sickness, including the captain, who just hands the wheel over to John, who has managed to keep it together.

At first you panic and then you're ready to throw up your guts, but once you got out there and start doing all the stuff, you forget your fears and you got high on your performance.

Once I accepted the reality of the situation, something greater than me took over and all of a sudden I lost my fear. I actually began to enjoy the experience and I started to shout out old sea shanties in the face of the storm, screaming at the thundering sky.

Tyler Coneys was a member of the crew- he says:

It was a huge storm and everyone thought we might die." "We were in the middle of it and the waves looked like the size of buildings. He could have been watching TV but instead he decided to be there by choice. Right there in it. It was the perfect situation, I guess. All your life you dream about an adventure. You can't make something like that happen. But he came through. It was right in the heart of the worst part of the storm and he stepped up.

During his stay in Bermuda after the 6 day voyage he wrote "Woman, " "Beautiful Boy," "I'm Losing You," and "Watching The Wheels."

**

Watching footage from Gaza. Such dark times we live in...completely in the dark.

**

Prep'd two different entries for submission to the NMNMNE project, thanks to R's tip.

"Swarm of Fireflies" and "Fish Hatchery Feeding Song"

Both made from my early fucking around with my sweet ass Casio SK-1.

**

Talking with MM about the major supermarket closing down near our hometown. We thought of how it must have been back just before our time, where it seemed every little neighborhood had a store / shop supporting it. Possibly a LogJam song in there somewhere.

**

The live portion of the Beef record is now mixed.

Maila Nurmi

2009-01-09T23:53:00.011-05:00

Just how cool was she?... In 1956!...

By chance I youtube'd her alter ego, Vampira, tonight while looking at Jonathan Richman videos, and realized that she passed away a year ago tomorrow.

Her impossibly skinny waist is really the thing that I find scary about her tho.

and isn't it refreshing to find a vampire who isn't afraid of the sun?

Refusing to sell her character to ABC, they canceled her 11 month run on television...

...and was later down the road ripped-off by Elvira, who originally went by the name Vampira. Maila unsuccessfully sued.

At 83.

She is oft-cited when journalists describe Diamanda Galas' appearance.

a failure and a new beginning

2009-01-04T02:22:00.007-05:00

reflecting on '08 and fripp's aphorism "The end is a finish, a conclusion or a completion."

if i remember his explanation correctly...a finish is an end where something has been lost, a conclusion is an end where nothing is lost or gained (the existing energy carried through to the next stage of the process), and a completion is an end where something has been gained.

tho '08 ended with a failure of not meeting my goal of having a record out by the end of the year, it was a conclusion. over the last week i realized that if all goes according to schedule, i will have 5 records out in '09...

- o o ☆ (plan set to record in march)
- afriendinouterspace (8 songs written)
- the church of flying dreams (recording complete)
- "let it beef: live in madison square garden 2007" (mixing)
- logjam (we'll see!)

this made the failure somehow sting less, but still enough to keep me on my toes. the current demo recordings for afriendinouterspace have been lighting me up lately, and are asking something big of me that i hope i can deliver on. reinforcing my sense of what art and music allows us to access.

mom sent photos of dad and i before and after our ski trip. we look dead in the "after" pic, which i guess we both will be at some point. always wild to think of that. on our trip we ski'd the length of the canal trail at the balsams, which i think is probably some of the most gorgeous cross-country skiing on the planet. there is a small hill on the canal trail with a brook running alongside it, which is where pop wants some of his ashes scattered. had me thinking of the need to update my wishlist for whenever it comes that i move on. not so much for me, but as a final act rolling out from my energy, creating a situation for potential closure for those kind enough to involve themselves. before that, i hope to spend a weekend at the balsams, snuzzling with a beautiful woman near one of the many huge fireplaces.

**

a recent article in the wall street journal had me feeling a sense of "sign me up."

**

eagerly awaiting the arrival of 3 books. one of which included in its description...

"Bennett took pleasure in re-asserting Gurdjieff's contention that sexual intercourse was a mode of excretion."

and also...

"People who want to work on themselves are in an invidious position. They find themselves called upon to take responsibility for actions in which they lack sufficient knowledge, capacity, and understanding. This extends to the enterprise, which in many ways was the foundation of the teaching promulgated by Gurdjieff and Bennett: that of 'making a soul.' The general principles are very fine but their application is shrouded in complexity and uncertainty. This has led in the past to people relying on leaders, teachers, or gurus to tell them what to do. However, an important aspect of Bennett's approach -- that he kept to in both theory and practice -- was that such reliance was suspect and what was needed was the development of 'understanding.'

listening to fripp's "discipline and the act of music" lecture, and realized that this was sort of two connected worlds coming together for me. the lecture was given at camp caravan, and a number of the folks based out of there can b heard on the recording. found myself standing still in the kitchen, connecting with the room caught on the recording, when robert asked "functionally and mechanically, what happens when we are in a state of, what we refer to as, sleep?" (sleep meaning day-to-day waking sleep)

**

ice skating earlier today. enjoyed sounds of such a big echo'y space, with a relatively quiet group of people inside. humming sounds of metal on ice -w- defined scrapes popping up in all directions, kids booming into the boards. always feels magical...not many places where a 5-year old can zoom with confidence past a stumbly 50 year old. there's always the pain-in-ass 8-year old tho that u wanna do this to.

happy '09 to anyone reading.

completed after the wire

2009-01-01T22:48:00.012-05:00

r u n n i n g

out on love
(hoo hoo hoo)
facing off ur life.
if you've had enough,
i'm hundred proof.
true
to ev'ry color in ur light.
i will drink u in, u can speak to me.
tho i know
ain't it true
sometimes
it's better to run.

.

Some Xmas '08 Shots

2008-12-28T05:44:00.002-05:00

boombox

2008-12-23T02:51:00.002-05:00

My friend Colb once owned what are now the crowning jewel of old school boomboxes...very sought after these days.

http://www.owerko.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=8&a=4&p=0&at=0

Pointing this out to him over email, he replies:

"i remember that kickass boombox....shit, like a marine to a drill seargant, i dropped and gave twenty 'worms' at the first site of it..."

Warms the heart for a heart in need of warming.

A moment of clarity tonight while cleaning up and packing for the holiday.

Looking forward to some cross-country skiing with my Pop on Wednesday. Hoping I can keep up...my endurance is good, but I haven't strapped wood to my feet in awhile.

Digging into "Running" and "Your Body." Small advances.

Enjoying Halloween Alaska's "Too Tall To Hide" album. They remind me of Phil, who shot some of this video at my house awhile back.

Close to complete with mixing the Beef record.

Church tracks continue to arrive over email.

rumi's wedding day -w- god

2008-12-18T03:31:00.005-05:00

Tonight is Islamic holiday which celebrates Rumi's death.

Concept together for "Running" sketch. Mixed Beef's "Cycle Town."

Slim, Tim, and Twig of LogJam @ The Northland Dairy Bar:

Yes.

.

o o ☆

2008-12-17T02:52:00.002-05:00

"POTENTIAL SCHEDULE

January thru March
Complete refining material and prepare to record. Rehearse / map out how we'll record the music...score out strings / horns if we'll use them. Possibly play a couple of low profile shows to prepare for recording...not debuting the band, but just putting the material in front of an audience to galvanize it. If a new song or two comes about in this time, by all means great.

Choose covers / add'l songs of ours that we'd like to play in a live set.

Figure out where we want to record the music and how we want to release it.

Late March thru June
Record. Address design / identity / photos. Duplicate.

Assemble pool of musicians for live performance. Consider stage show...lighting / set.

Consider desirable venues / bands to play with and make contact with them. Begin booking.

Consider effective promo ideas / publicity. Y'know, door posters and backpatches.

June thru September
Largely depends on E's schedule.

Perform..."

the android sisters!

2008-12-16T01:49:00.003-05:00

my teenage sweethearts

http://www.nuku.com/android.html

.

"Merry Xmas Asshole"

2008-12-12T01:05:00.007-05:00

I've begun mixing the Beef (aka Heath) record finally. Heath used to make these crazy records as a kid where he'd turn on his tape recorder and just go wild making drum solos and guitar riffs with his mouth. Singing some of the most outrageous shit you've ever heard. Songs like:

"Merry Christmas Asshole"
"Blow Your Nose"
"Pet Shop" ("you couldn't get pussy in a pet shop")

Instant classics to a 6th grade audience...and that 6th grade audience has remained loyal.

Heath had a pretty rough go of life. The story is not a joyful tale, ultimately landing him as a 400lb. paraplegic for the last year of his life. As a means of transcending the situation, I asked Heath if he would resurrect Beef and make a record with me. Happily agreeing to it, as long as "no parents ever heard it," we moved forward. I mailed him my sweet-ass Panasonic 1988 Slim Line II tape recorder, a blank tape, and a note of encouragement. All of which I received back from his brother after he passed away a few months later. Fortunately, for the Beef-a-maniacs around the globe, the tape contained the ingredients for his last record "Let It Beef: Live in Madison Square Garden 2007" and a reading of "The Becoming of Beef," a bio I asked him to write, chronicling his rise, fall, and comeback.

He writes, "When I got into Junior High my life changed. On Christmas Day around 1987 I got a radio with a recorder and my Christmas stocking was filled to the top with joy. I looked inside and there it was...a Metallica tape called "...And Justice For All." It blew my mind. Wow! It was my first taste of heavy metal. I played that tape for hours a day with my new tape recorder. ...I started to play with it and was amazed that it talked back to me in my own voice. So I decided to make a comedy tape. I discovered that my mouth was one giant drum set, and I could make sound effects with my teeth and tongue. Then came that day, it was about 1988...The Becoming of Beef."

So far I have the introduction and 2 pieces constructed for "Let It Beef." What has been interesting in this process, is that on tape, Heath could only sing either the music or vocals at one time...not simultaneously. I'm editing these pieces and looping sections of the music, then grabbing his singing and popping it on top. So I'm kind of hearing the songs for the first time, and can somewhat collaborate in creating them. As Heath designated me as President of "Beef Corp" I feel that I can take such liberties. Once tweaked and twerned, I think the tracks will sound pretty damn cool, given what I'm working with.

About 5 or 6 more pieces to go, then I'm moving on to "Crunchbar," which was a full-band, improvisation project Heath sang for with his brother and some other local musicians. Pretty convincing for being pulled together on the spot. Equally awesome song titles:

"Getting High (on you know what)"
"Picking In The Dump"

Aiming to have it all put together by Xmas or soon after.

**

Appropriate artwork beginning to come back from our designer for CoFD.

**
Received old school ice cream labels from the Dairy Bar that LogJam will use for t-shirt designs...

(can't help to think how their screen printer should have been fired)

Slowly working on afinos sketches for "Your Body" and "Running."

Circle Circle Star meets on Sunday to resume work before the holiday break.

"Wow!"

.

an idea

2008-12-07T23:54:00.002-05:00

...that i think would do very well. in the spirit of punk rock aerobics...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9L0dz3qmsc

but, to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kouo2HMN6HM

.