Archive for September 2003
‘Almost Home’ Double CD!?!
With one month until Almost Home is due for mastering, basic tracks for the new record are completely done. Kev and I have had a productive first month. And it’s been a blast. I’d say we’re about 50% done, about half way home. The track listing for the Almost Home double CD should look something…
Read MoreCentral Park’s 150th Birthday
I hustled uptown after work last night to catch Central Park’s 150th Birthday party: a soggy fireworks display called Life Cycle. Ironic, then, that I should return home to the post-break up key swap. My recent proximity to weddings and babies has been a little tough in some ways. There are inquiries, glances, implications that…
Read MoreBecause Of A Song
And so I turn towards home. Past the white steeples, sailboats, and rusted industry of Connecticut, Amtrak Acela #2157 is rushing me there. Outside, the autumn sun strains to burn through a cold fog that refuses to yeild. Skies are gray; it is Monday. Saturday’s wedding, it ends up — this terrific gathering of Slavins…
Read MoreAlone In Cambridge
What, you might ask, am I doing in Cambridge, MA, wide awake — and maybe even slightly buzzed — at 1:27 a.m.? Four pints, Fox News, fig newtons, and Gatorade? I left work at 4:30. My Acela Express — the Amtrak said to whisk one to Boston in three and a half hours — was…
Read MoreA Blank Page
I start each day with a blank white page on a wooden clipboard. On it, I write my to do list, crossing out assignments as I accomplish them. I always write the date in the upper right corner, underlined twice. (I know, it’s all very Virgo of me.) This morning I wrote 9.11.03 and thought…
Read MoreI reached into the freezer last night for a Healthy Choice frozen dinner. ‘Hmmmm,’ I thought, ‘Chicken parmesan? Or chicken parmesan?’ That’s yesterday in a nutshell. Actually, Tuesday wasn’t all that bad. I got an email from my mother reporting that she had in fact given Mrs. Rogers the four-panel heart painting I’d taken her…
Read MoreI’ve been having nightmares about work all week long. Two, three, four a night: buildings crumbling, co-workers disappearing, management railing, business suffering. After a night of fitful sleep, I couldn’t wait for the sun to rise this morning so I could finally go to work for real. Imagine my surprise, and pleasure, then, to find…
Read MoreIf you haven’t tried my brother’s salsa — derived from my father’s recipe — you really must. It’s basically tomatoes, jalapenos, scallions, black olives, garlic, and vinegar. But it’s not so much about what it’s made with, but how it’s made. See, most people would use a Cuisenart or some modern, electric chopping gizmo to…
Read MoreOkay, okay, I acknowledge that yesterday’s ‘What I’ve Learned’ post was a bit of a cop out. Obviously, it was just a coupla’ song lyrics. Lyrics I dig, meaningful lyrics (including one of mine, damned narcissist), but song lyrics just the same. What can I say? It was a daunting thesis, and I was pressed…
Read MoreI was born in Iowa City, Iowa, on September 4, 1971. Since that early morning (12:08 a.m.) so many years ago, I have lived in six states, weathered sixteen years of schooling, and worked (at least) eight jobs. I’ve performed some two hundred shows, released more than ten albums, and published dozens of articles in…
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