non copus mentis

this blog is old. ignore it for now.

the end of the affair

tonight is my last show of 2004, at art-o-matic. since the beginning of recording the forthcoming album back in march, public appearences have dwindled. i'm not much into working the musician's network at the moment. i suspect that will change once i release the album and have something tangible for people to label by.

i have also found -- something i already knew -- that i don't much like promoting myself, either as a personality or a songwriter or performer or [insert other capacity here]. i have found additionally, that my time for this blog, a blog in which i promised not to talk about myself, is severly limited. perhaps a new year's resolution will take care of this.

perhaps.

see you in 2005. with an album.

why did i move to southern california?

just got back from vacation in LA. to wit, here are my impressions of socal, in good vs. bad form.

good:
- no one tucks their shirt in
- architecture
- in-n-out burger
- westwood
- KCRW
- driving in a convertible down the PCH
- beach
- UCLA (in-state grad school is cheap)
- massages are cheap
- the girls

bad:
- traffic and everything related to driving other than the PCH
- cost
- disneyworld
- fatburger
- politics
- the girls

boston, as an avenue for thought

i just returned from a weekend in boston, my first time there in years. one of my stops was to see the Paradise Lounge, the premier smaller size, concert venue for indie- and up-and-coming bands/artists. while the DC area does boast Iota, it does not boast a club quite as versitile as the Paradise. For one thing, the PL has two rooms, much like the Black Cat, and both seem to have serious draws (unlike the Black Cat, who's backstage quite frankly, is kind of lame). As well, the music slection at the PL appears to be between the Black Cat and Iota veins, catering to more than one demographic , but with a little more emphasis on WXPN-style music (more songwriter based). DC, of course, has zilch in the way of intelligent music radio, local or otherwise.

i stuck up a conversation with a few members of the band i caught, HEM, who were wonderfully mellow. they are playing at IOTA this friday it appears and i may just catch them so i can more fully appreciate them, via an entire set. sallie, the lead singer, mentioned that they are a full-time band and that she used to be in TV production. as i thought about the fact that they have 7 people in their band and hail from new york city (brooklyn), i had to think to myself "how in the world can anyone make a living in music, espcially in a band with that many mouths to feed. sure, there are supportive spouses, friends and family, but the business plan to me just doesn't add up.

i also spoke with kristen, who books at the PL and my suspicions about the boston music scene were confirmed. while people complain about how weak the DC scene, the boston scene seems to be better - as long as you're from in town. breaking into boston, especially if you're an out-of-town songwriter, is extremely tough. it seems to me that larger cities are all this way because the populace is too spread out establish a consistent reliable draw. philadelphia has the same problem. playing at the grape street is cool, unless you friends live in south jersey or even south philly. practicality can be a major issue when you're an up-and-comer. nyc gets away with this because it is sectioned into neighborhoods. folks who go to the village have their choice of a dozen clubs, essentially solving the problem by establishing a mini-city. austin has done the same with 6th st. of course, asking cities to plan their live music development with foot traffic and proximity in mind, might be alot to ask. but if i'm not mistaking, cincinnati has done it. its an interesting premise i just thought of now as i was typing this entry.

for that reason, i don't have a nice tidy ending.

keep in touch

is it wrong to publish a news update to say that's there's no update? basically, there's not too much new going on musically speaking here. the record is essentially done, but is being held up in end-of-the-year, indie-artist lack-of-time-and-funding limbo. looks like we'll be going else where to mix the record then previously expected. rob just doesn't have the time to do it and i don't have the leverage to tell him to quit his job so he can do it. in the long run, this may save me some cash, which i have been using to travel as of late.

later this month, i will be going on vacation, continuing this open ended hiatus (hey, it worked for the police -- oh wait...) by relaxing in los angeles at the abode of one shawn campbell, who you may remember from such bands as the jillians. i haven't seen shawn since he moved to LA over a year ago and am excited to hear his stand-up comedy routine. its also my hope that we can write a song or two together, since we're pretty good at that, i think.

in any, ase it looks like i'll be playing one more show this year, dec at art-o-matic.

curses, foiled again

i cannot and will not root for the red sox and here's why: i don't trust them. they all look alike. they all are 6-2, 205 lbs with scruffy goatees and scrappy demeanors. in short, the entire team is a bunch of trot nixon clones. also, pedro is a punk and schilling should have been a phillie (again). also also, long live the curse. you trade the babe, you lose the karma. that's the way the universe works.

go yanks. give me the clean shaven team over the scruffy punks anyday.

whoa, look at the time!

wow, the posts have died off already? no, just been holding the card close to the vest. if anyone's reading this and "anyone" happens to be someone who downloaded my song, thanks. we finished 5th on the leaderboard. not bad.

off to kansas city for a work and to visit my brother. be back end of the week. i'm quite sick, but i still plan on playing at dr. dremo's this friday evening.