Chicago, the darkroom

Another show where we played to a small crowd and where there was a sense of impending doom but somehow ended up being exhilarating. A weird mismatched bill, a loud rock room, but once onstage we were loose and soaring. Afterwards a gent named Rick washed our van windows and spoke of his dead mother.

Then we went to our hotwired 4 star hotel called Aloft that was crazy and amazing — rather like an Ikea hotel. Super modern, sleek and minimal and $20 cheaper than the crappy hotel we stayed in the night before. Go hotwire!!

Here’s some images.

Nashville, the end.

The End: basically a smelly rock club. Gene Ween was playing across the street, though I doubt he cut into our fanbase at all. Also, we played on New Band Nite, which we thought was funny at first, then depressing, then, we realized, all too true.

Another show with the Fervor, who played beautifully. And Pete & Jay, who were Crowded House-ish popsters of a high order.

Our set was mostly fine but hampered by a poor monitor situation that near deafened dave. In future, we will try to avoid these situations. Happy to meet new fans Dave and Kelly.

New orleans, fog, vines

The least said about this show the best. We love NOLA. Holy Liars were righteous fellows. Here are pictures.

pier 6, baltimore.

this is the ceiling of the Pier 6 Pavilion in Baltimore, during CAKE’s set. they had a single mirrorball they used in every show — that was the entire light show. we liked that. our show here was, as all of them were, varied and, as rated by us, really good. we had a long set here (an hour) and got to really stretch out, and the crowd seemed very into what we were doing (i think at most of the shows there was a sense at the beginning of each show of… what is this wispy sweet-sounding band? why are they opening for the joyously ironic and funked-up CAKE? but by the end we had won some hearts.). there was a melancholy to the evening that we couldn’t place until we realized it was coming off the staff — this was the last night of the season and people were saying goodbye right and left. anyway, as usual, we were treated like princes and princesses by CAKE and everyone else, and the water sparkled right next to the stage and the big Domino Sugar sign reflected in the water and the brisk autumn air came in as we played and then we had to drive 12 hours to Maine.

the longest day

We did the first day of summer very right this year. It started with a long drive down to Annapolis, MD. for the WRNR boat cruise. Three hours up and down the Severn River with a very enthusiastic crowd, some fine BBQ, and a bar fit for a Kennedy. Before we set sail, a thunderstorm raged and threatened to shut down the whole gig. Well, it blew right on by. Then, while Dave quoted Melville from the upper deck, the sun came back just in time to dazzle us with its red and orangy beauty as it set beyond the Naval Academy. We headed west, tuned our instruments, and settled in for a perfect end to the longest day of the year.

thank you masked man

the crowd

philip and blurry brian

the thoughtful voyager

beauty

Summer reading/recording

I’m reading a book called Footsteps by a Javanese writer named Pramoedya Ananta Toer. It’s the third in a series called The Buru Quartet, and each volume follows the coming of age, the dawning of political awareness, the socio-political strugglesp of Minke, a native who is Dutch educated in early 20th century Indonesia. Minke is the son of a powerful native leader (Bupati), yet his “European” education leads him to write, found the first native owned Malay language newspaper, and work against the Dutch colonial yolk. P. Ananta Toer composed most of the quartet in prison for political reasons. I’m looking forward to finishing all four books. I’d also like to read the last Harry Potter. I was surprised that Dumbledore didn’t make an appearance during the last episode of The Sopranos.

Bassist Tony Levin has been known to read the newspaper while recording his parts. This may, or may not, be true.

A portrait of our bass player

I drew this during a meeting with Brian and Scott. We were planning the Levelette recording session that is happening this week. Brian, too, is in Levelette as well as Winterpills. I’m also in two other bands with the bassist known as “Twinklefingers.” This development clearly sickens me. All of the bands that I’m in are recording at once. Gazooks!

I had trouble capturing the sunglasses Berette in Brian’s hair. The rest of the page is a shorthand track list for the songs Sleazy Season and Kick Around.
I need to find my Playskool xylophone. I think it’s under the passenger seat of my car.

very nice

Today, we wrapped up the basic tracking for this EP. It went very well I think. During the fleeting moments of down time we discussed the Jew harp, and discovered we share a mutual curiosity concerning the misuses of breast milk.

philip: pianoing

brian: waitin’ and wonderin’

dave: responding to a request to search his luggage

flora: girl in a booth

dennis: preparing to concoct another sonic fable

I have paint in my hair

I’ll rinse it soon, don’t worry. I need to look pretty for tomorrow’s basic tracking. One more song, and then it’s back to my day job as a test subject. I won’t feel let down for too long. It’s been a bloody recording session. I actually put my shoes back on to play drums on a new song which I like to call “He makes a happy party,” when low and behold I realize that my bare foot had crushed a bug. I actually had blood on my heel.

I reminded me of conservative windbag Curt Schilling. Gross.

The song does actually have a nice title that I refuse to acknowledge at this point in time. I was sitting behind the drum set crying over the bug when it occurred to me that if I said a prayer and lit a candle I could call it a sacrifice (an offering to my muse and former nanny) and I knew that I would go on to stomp that bass drum with tenacity.

I’m going to visit my mom and dad on Saturday. They live in RI, and I may spend a few hours at Hazard’s beach. The water is still pretty cold. My mother will offer to pay for a haircut. I may take her up on it. It’s important to look nice.

WMBR radio and policemans.

highlights of the little boston radio gig:

• during the drive to boston, we exchanged notes on the factions of each family that were creepy and weird. everyone, it seems, has at least one psychotic, weird, semi-molesty relative, usually more. i mused on this as we drove through the unusually clear may evening down the turnpike.
• upstairs at the building at MIT there was a bar. we all managed to get in a couple of beers and an inning of the red sox game before venturing into the little studio to create a special mood for the world.
• at one point during the whole thing, i was overcome with agape. 
• jeff breeze learned me all about the russian writer Gorky.
• on the way home, we were tortured by a cop who decided to run his own little abu ghraib   of the turnpike. here is how it works: pull over someone, ask them if they were drunk (i was not, at all), make them do an on-site sobriety test, and then tell them everything is fine and they can go their merry way. then — tail them some more, flash your lights, pull them over AGAIN, and tell them in a friendly voice, “you know, there may be a warrant out for your arrest, just wait here while i go confirm or deny.” for five minutes i was preparing myself mentally for being handcuffed, searched, and thrown in jail. kafkaesque, because bandmates and myself were unable to fathom what warrant could possibly be out for my arrest. plus, what was with that wording? “confirm or deny.” so, 5 sweat-drenched and panic-attacky minutes later, he lumbers up and says, ‘wrong guy, thanks folks! different birth year’ and takes off.

i swear, if i ever find that other guy, i’ve got a birthday present for him.