(insert name here)

just like the jeffersons

2006-10-31T10:47:00.000-06:00

that's right, boys and girls, i've packed up my shit and moved to a new site.

you can now find my little slice of nirvana over here.

please adjust your links, bookmarks and lives accordingly.

my blog sucks.

2006-10-25T16:01:00.001-05:00

really it does. el sucko. gone to hell in a handbasket even.

here are the issues:

-i don't really consider myself a blogger. i'm a musician who started a blog so he could get stuff off his chest when necessary and promote his music as much as possible. lately, i haven't been doing much playing out (been recording and trying to write). so, not much news worth reading. on top of that, i haven't had many bones to pick and haven't had the opportunity to do much "happy days" posting about my recent trip to new hampshire or the start of hockey season.
-i've been really, really busy. i took a new position at work to make more money (meaning i probably sold a little bit more of my soul), which limits my free time at work. that was, quite frankly, when i would do most of my posting, so there goes a handful of posts each week. i've also been volunteering 2-3 nites a week for congressman ford, trying to make sure he gets elected to the senate. frankly, this year's election is a lot more important than whatever i'm doing with music or life in general, so...
-blogger.com isn't mac friendly. that's why i did most of my posting at work. now, even if i had time to post from home i couldn't because my laptop took a nosedive in the past 3 weeks and i don't have the money to replace it (see above "more money" comment).
-my templates all f'd up and i don't know how to fix it. something got messed up a few weeks back and all of my links and whatnot got shoved to the bottom of the site. chris wage helped me fix it once, but i forget what he told me to do. frankly, i want a neato, new template all together like what jill's done over at she said what, but i don't have the time to make it. if you wanna make one for me, be my guest. i'll buy you a beer. maybe even two.

so that's where i am.

i know that a few of you have been concerned about sadie, mine & bwe's lovely little sexy puppy. she's been getting better - still not where she was, but the antibiotics and steroids have helped, her blood count's coming back and she's got a little more energy than a few weeks ago. lemme tell ya: that's one expensive dog. since the last week in september, i guess about a month ago, we've spent somewhere around $1000 or more on appointments, ultrasounds, drugs, blood work, tranfusions and stupid chicken breasts from sam's wholesale (that i don't want to buy but that are the only stupid things you can put her pills in that she'll eat). so basically, i need a laptop right now, but i have a dog that's alive and (mostly) well. i'll take it.

you're not the boss of me...err, um, well, actually...

2006-10-12T17:26:00.000-05:00

check out this picture:

that's a "vote no on 1" poster on the wall of my 3.5 walled slice of heaven aka my workspace.

i've had it up for a couple of weeks and haven't gotten any negative feedback on it until today when my bosses came to me and told me that i needed to take it down to avoid possible "hr issues."

being the easy going nice guy that i am, i obliged. now, however, i'm wondering: can they force me to remove it or punish me if i don't? i don't want to cause trouble, but my guess is that if it carried a different message or supported a different cause, that nothing would've been said. in fact, i've had peta, aclu, and ralph nader flyers and material prominently displayed on my walls for the 3 plus years that i've been here.

just looking for advice and/or guidance...

dog update, cd update, travel?

2006-10-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

busy boy, sick boy.

dog update: sadie's up & down, getting better but not as fast as we'd like. we're back to the vet tonite (again, franklin road animal hospital is staffed by saints and angels. this would be much more difficult if not for their kindness and desire to fix the dog, not buy a new hummer). we're hoping that the blood test today shows that her count's going back up and that she won't need another tranfusion. she's been pretty mopey since friday, just lethargic and not her bright, bouncy, VOCAL, normal self. fingers crossed, prayers for dogs, hoping for the best...

cd update: i finished burning and labeling all the cds for those that purchased heater in august last nite. i've got 20 or so copies ready to mail and, Lord willin' and the crick don't rise, i'll get the rest ready tonite and mailed tomorrow or wednesday morning. sorry it's taken me so long. who knew it took a month to get all that stuff done?

i'll be heading to new hampshire for a couple of days of rock climbing this week and playing in a friend's wedding this weekend, tacking a show on to the end of the trip for good measure (hello, tax write off).

sorry the updates and posts have been so sporadic lately...lots going on, undecided as to whether it's good or bad...

dogs, weddings and keith olberman

2006-09-26T12:42:00.000-05:00

first, congrats to the new orleans saints and their fans for beating the dog piss out of atlanta. i wish that john carney would've kicked two more field goals (fantasy football implications...i lost to my brother.), but i'm glad they got the win. after what the team and the city dealt with and is dealing with, good on them.

i missed the majority of the first half because i was taking two of my dogs (mugsy & lokie) to the vet (franklin road animal hospital. can't recommend it enough.), to see if we could draw blood from them to give to one of our other dogs (sadie). we don't know what's wrong with her, but it's either anemia, erlikia (don't know how to spell it, but it's a blood disease), leukemia, or cancer. she's been on antibiotics & steroids since friday, with no real improvement, so the vet said we should try a transfusion, since she's obviously losing blood somewhere. anyway, we drew blood, i took the dogs back home, with a stop at sonic for ice cream treats for everyone, and bwe stayed with sadie at the vet until 10.30 or so while they put the new blood, fluids and other things into her. she was at the vet for about 6.5 hours yesterday, i think without a break. sadie still isn't acting much better today, but i'm hoping that the medication has her feeling badly while she gets better. if things aren't noticeably different by thursday, we go back. i can't imagine doing this with kids. i'm a "hope for the best, don't worry about what you don't know" type guy, but even i'm worried about this.

while brooke was at the vet, i was at home, working on music for a friend's wedding. i'm playing in it. no, i don't know why he picked me. yes, he's heard me. it's a non traditional wedding (kind've), so i'm playing a couple of hymns, a couple of songs by hem, an atrocious bill gaither tune and "no depression" by the carter family, among others. i got almost all the songs charted last nite, which will be a big step toward not being the embarrassment of the wedding*. if you guys want a good laugh at a bad vocal arrangement, check out the gaither tune "tho autumn's coming home". i can appreciate the sentiment, but the vocal makes me want to bust into "my way" about halfway through.

after working on the tunes, and partly while working on them, i caught countdown on msnbc. boy lemme tell you, keith olberman was spitting nails last nite. he had an editorial at the end of countdown regarding chris wallace's (fox news) sneak attack of president clinton regarding his record on osama bin laden et al. once he got done with wallace, olberman turned his attention the commander in cheat himself, w. olberman ripped the pres for, among other things, sending a moron (wallace) to do a man's job (slandering former president clinton), dropping the ball on bin laden, and generally being a blight on the american presidency. right on, keith, right on. as soon as i can find a video of olberman's editorial, i'll post it. if you haven't seen chris wallace get what for from president clinton, check it out here.

all that said, i'm pretty stressed out about the situation with sexy sadie. say a good prayer for me, bwe and the dogs tonite.

*(chad, if you're reading this, DO NOT PANIC. we've actually got a good handle on things and i'm only exaggerating for the good of the story and the reading public.)

edit: condi does the dance for the w. wonder if she's gonna wind up dancing her way on top of a sword. or, for you snl fans out there, s words.

the saints are comin'

2006-09-25T19:34:00.000-05:00

i'm normally not one for pre-game or halftime performances, but the green day/u2 performance floored me.

the 2nd song ("the saints are coming") sounded familiar, but i guess it's not. it's by a band called the skids.

i especially like that the bands, while remaining positive, musically acknowledged the issue.

attaboys.

ch-ch-check it out

2006-09-25T00:03:00.001-05:00

before you dig into me about not posting lately, hear me out:

i've been busy.

busy running, climbing, working, writing, recording (yes, new songs soon), and trying to plan on planning a video.

i've also been trying to find new ways to make it into your hearts, dear listeners. and here's the newest way:

newton dominey ringtones.

check out the banner!

i'll be adding it soon to my sidebar, as well as my (sorely needing to be updated) website and myspace profile.

check it out and let me know what you think!

(if you guys like the idea, i might just...well, tell me if you like it first)

poco a poco

2006-09-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

my spanish is terrible, but i know enough to know that the above means little by little or maybe even gradually.

well, that's about how quickly my "free cd for cds" promotion fulfillment is coming. last nite i managed to put 10 of the 40 cds together. all the labels and covers are printed. now i just have to burn 30 more cds (which takes longer than you think), cut out 30 more covers, attach 30 more stickers to the cds, print out mailing stickers, stuff the envelopes and get to the post office.

i promise i haven't forgotten, just been busy and didn't realize how long it took to get this stuff done.

you guys are awesome and i wish that i had the ability to show my thanks to each of you in some larger way. maybe when i'm rich and famous...

drum roll please...

2006-09-05T12:23:00.000-05:00

i've been checking my email every 15 minutes since september 1, waiting to find out if my 62 cd sales this month (SIXTY FLIPPIN' TWO!!!!!!) was enough to earn me a spot on cdbaby's compilation cd. well, here's a portion of the email i just received from them:

Hey Newton -Your CD (NEWTON DOMINEY: Heater) was the # 50 top-seller at CD Babylast month, so it's eligible to have a song on our free compilationCD to be given away to our customers.

*blink**cough*sputter*whatthefock?!?!*

did i see that right? the number 50 seller for the month of august? little bitty me?

if only i had a video camera so i could show you guys what the "color me ecstatic" danced looks like...

thanks to all of you who bought cd's (multiple copies at that), told friends to buy cds, put messages up on myspace or on your blog, etc. it's the additional effort that you guys made on my behalf that got me on the cd.

i'm flattered...i'm thrilled...i'm dancing...

(oh, and i haven't forgotten that i owe approximately 56 people copies of my "unreleased" record. i decided it would be easier to do it all at once. you should have your copy by the end of the month.)

1 shopping day left...

2006-08-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

tomorrow's the last day to order my cd and receive a copy of my unreleased lp, good morning sunshine, for free.

in case you haven't been reading for the past month, i'm trying to earn my way onto a compilation that will be distributed to 5000 people over the next few months, and i believe that 50 cds will be the magic number. so far, i've sold 45 cds. in order to count towards cdbaby's promotion, the disc has to ship by the 31st of august, so i have just about 24 hours left to sell 5 more cds. i started off gangbusters, but now i'm not even getting 5 hits a day.

so, spend $5 and help me out. not only will you get heater, my debut ep, but i'll send you a cd for free, AND you'll have my undying gratitude, AND AND, who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to claim that you helped me keep things running before i got big and famous...

(for those who have already ordered a cd, i'm waiting until all orders are in to start making & shipping cds. i'm hoping to have them mailed out by mid september and i might even give you a choice on a couple of different cover options. who said beck fans get to have all the fun?)

new logo

2006-08-22T10:21:00.000-05:00

for those of you who might've ventured over to my myspace probably noticed a new logo that i'm using. for the rest of you, here it is:

what do you think?

august cd promotion update:
havent' sold any cd's in a few days, getting worried that i might not hit my goal of 50 cds sold this month. please help me meet my goal by clicking on this little linkity link right...here. remember, everyone that orders a cd before august 28th gets a copy of my (soon to be released) album, good morning sunshine, for free!

(ps - my little brother actually made the logo above. he doesn't have a website or anything, but i've got to make sure and give credit where it's due.)

cd promotion update

2006-08-17T15:22:00.000-05:00

35 down, 15 to go...

11 shopping days left!

a-hole alert

2006-08-15T14:35:00.000-05:00

i hope this guy's balls get caught in a pepper grinder.

really, who does shit like that? throw an animal into a frying pan while it's ALIVE?

there's a special spot in hell for people like that. right next to pedophiles and whoever invented the designated hitter.

stalking the symphony

2006-08-15T09:53:00.000-05:00

yours truly is one of the featured artists this week on the stalking the muse page!!!

head on over to their site to check out my songs and my essay about the creative process behind my (soon to be smash) single, we r a symphony.

if you're unfamiliar with stalking the muse, you should definitely check it out. it's sort've like a co-op for nashville based artists to talk about their creative process and to help everybody get in front of everybody else.

drop me a line and let me know what you think of my essay, and send the stalking the muse guys a friend request.

(ps - the farmer's almanac says that this week would be a great week to come see a rock n roll show. i can help you with that. be at the basement on thursday at 9p. bring $5.)

with respect and reverence

2006-08-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

i'll address the subject line in a second. first an update on august's cd promotion and sales. as of this morning, i've sold 37 cds. that's AWESOME!! i've got sell 13 more in the next 14 days to hit my goal, so (not to beat a dead horse), please get your orders in soon and please tell all your friends and coworkers about the promotion. (remember...i'm giving away free cds to everyone who orders and some other as of yet undetermined item to those who order multiple copies!!)

now, on to the subject at hand. as most of you know, i enjoy rock climbing. there are many things i like about it, but one benefit in particular is the "quiet" that i get when i climb. i've tried lots of sports, but climbing's the first one where things get quiet in my mind. when i'm climbing well, it's almost like there are two of me on a route - one that talks with my belayer and other climbing partners and one who focuses on breathing, on footwork, on focus. i don't mean to get all zen on you, but it's very meditative. i love it. you're pushing yourself to your physical and mental edge, but (if you climb with the right mental approach and mindset) it's somehow very relaxing and fun. very fun. in a world where you're always around noise (both mental and actual), an afternoon of mental stillness is prize to behold.

well, i turned b.w.e. onto climbing with my enthusiasm and, while she's not like me - going to the gym 2-3 times a week and reading every climbing publication available - she wants to get into it a little bit. with that in mind, we bought her a pair of climbing shoes and headed out on sunday to foster falls for her maiden sport climbing voyage. my goals were simple: get her up a couple of routes, complete my first lead climb, complete a route that kicked my ass last time (not me in the picture. i still have a lump on my shin to prove it and it's been 2 months) and, more importantly, have fun and get everyone home in one piece. 5 goals. 4 completed.

i fell. the details would bore most of you, but i was attempting to lead a route (still not me in the picture) that i'd previously climbed. i was just starting the route, lost my footing and fell to the ground from about 6 feet up; not far, but enough to hurt. here's where the subject line comes in: that's how i tell myself to climb,. with respect and reverence for the rock. it sounds hokey, i know, but it's how i approach the sport and the rock. well, when i started to climb gravity boots (the route that i fell from), i approached the rock with a cocky and flippant attitude. no respect. no thought. no attention to the placement of my feet. when i turned to look for another foothold **WHAM SMACK BOOM** i was on the ground. i had failed to pay attention and paid for it with a left foot that's almost too sore to walk on this morning. luckily, i didn't break it or even sprain it. in fact, i climbed for another 8 hours with a constant throbbing reminder to be smart and mindful.

lesson learned. for the next two weeks (or until this thing quits hurting) every time i stand up or jog or whatever i'll be reminded that next time i'll approach the climb with an open mind and clear head. i'll also remember why they say that footwork is the most important aspect of climbing...

(we DID take a few pictures. they'll go on the laptop tonite and hopefully up here tomorrow or wednesday. i'm sure b.w.e. got a great picture of my ass in a climbing harness.)

news flash

2006-08-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

i now have a mohawk. a real live mohawk.

film at 11.

oh, and i also have decided that the music i play will now be called acoustronic rock n roll.

no, i haven't been drinking.

(oh, 50 cds in 28 days update: 28 cds sold, 21 shopping days left. there are 30ish cds in stock, so place your orders now! don't forget: you get a free copy of my unreleased lp good morning sunshine with every order, but you've gotta follow the rules i set up. don't worry, they're easy. hit the link.)

not much news to report...

2006-08-08T15:14:00.000-05:00

50 cds in 28 days update:

no new sales over the last couple of days, but they only count it as sold when it ships, and they haven't shipped any cds since they ran out this weekend.

my best guestimate is that i currently sit at about 30 cds sold, which puts me 20 short of my goal.

that's not a bad place to be on the 8th of the month, but i'm a bit of a pessimist, so i'm gonna ask everybody again to tell a friend or pick up a cd for themselves. the promo offer (click the 50 cds in 28 days link above) still stands: get me a picture of you with my cd (be creative with it like jag) and i'll give you a free copy of my unreleased lp, good morning sunshine.

there's a convenient little link on my sidebar now that takes you right to the cd...

quick hits:

2006-08-07T10:13:00.000-05:00

-thanks to everyone that came out on saturday. i'm glad you liked the new songs! make sure to come out again.

-i'm going to be working hard on new loops and new arrangements this week and next in preparation for the big show with perrin lamb & the jubilee year at the basement on august 17th. sorry if the show's have gotten a bit boring the past month or two; it takes a lot of time to make new arrangements, and that's one thing i haven't had enough of. i'm going to elbow out some room to get some serious work done over the next two weeks, so please keep coming to the shows.

-50 cds in 28 days update: as of this morning i've sold 27 cds in 6 days!! if you've tried ordering a cd and been told they're out of stock, please leave your email address with them so you'll be notified when more are in stock. i thought i'd sent enough for a week, and i was pleasantly surprised to learn i was wrong. more will be in stock mid week. what's that? you don't know how to find my cd? well it's right here, silly! thanks to everyone who's placed an order. don't forget to send me a picture of you and your cd once it's arrived so i can send you your bonus cd!!!

-i'm working on some new artwork that i'll have up shortly for your review and input. for the people, right?

-rock n roll weekends make for sleepy desk job mondays...

sleep deprivation

2006-08-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

i don't think i've been sleeping well the past 2 weeks. i definitely haven't been sleeping much. between concerts, trips to tunica, helping friends move, training for a fall climbing trip, writing new songs, and house chores, i've barely had time to even notice how tired i am. i have noticed that my dreams have been weird though. i don't remember them, i just remember waking up and saying to myself, "now THAT was f-ed up." i wonder if there's a correlation between the two...anyway.

speaking of new songs, i've got about 4 in the works and 1 that's pretty much finished. it's ready to drive around the block, to use a car metaphor. so i'm gonna try it out in front of people saturday nite during my show at christopher pizza co. if, like me, you got stiffed on tom waits tickets, come hang out with me. i'm no tom waits, but i'm working on it.

(50 cds in 28 days update: 6 sold, 44 to go. 27 shopping days left. for those of you that have tried to order the cd and been told it's out of stock, please try again later today. they should have new inventory this morning and your order should go through. thanks for everyone that's told a friend, bought, or tried to buy a cd.)

did you vote?

2006-08-03T10:15:00.000-05:00

i did. the line was really short and, aside from getting some static from a blue hair when i asked if they offered a spanish version of the ballot or a translator (i was just curious), it was mostly pain free. this is the first time i've ever voted in a primary; it feels kinda neat, like i'm doing a better job as a citizen to be involved this early.

here's your political action statement of the day:

GO VOTE!

and here's my question:

how much english do you have to speak in order to gain citizenship? can you be a citizen and still not read enough english to vote? i'm not trying to start an argument, i really don't know.

(august cd sales update: as of this morning, i've sold 1 cd. one down, 49 to go, 28 shopping days left. PLEASE HELP ME!!!)

with a little help from my friends (and fans)...

2006-08-02T13:00:00.000-05:00

i need your help. and the help of your friends. and possibly your friends' friends. here's what's going on:

cdbaby, the company through whom i sell my cd is having a contest. in a nutshell, they're going to produce a cd later this year that goes out to their customers that will contain 1 song from each of their top 100 sellers during the month of august. this cd will go to 5000 people (that's a shitload)!!!!!!!!!!!
i need you guys to help me be in the top 100. that sounds nuts for a little guy like me, but here's the thing: last year it only took about 50 sales to make the top 100. i can do that. but i need your help...

i know that many of you have my cd. thanks very much for buying it. please consider buying another copy (they're only $5) and giving it to a friend. if you don't have it, please go to my cdbaby page and pick up a copy. digital sales don't count, only shipped cd's, so please don't use itunes or rhapsody (at least not until september 2nd).

i'm not above bribing people in the name of marketing, so here's what i'm going to do: if you buy a copy of heater between now and thursday, august 31 and email me or "comment" me with a picture of you holding the cd once you've received it, i'll mail you my a copy of my as of yet unreleased 10 song lp, good morning sunshine. i'll even make up artwork for it. if you order more than 2 copies, i'll also think of some other, bigger way to show my appreciation.

thanks for listening to my music, coming to my shows and to helping me reach more people by helping me get on that cd!

he started it...

2006-08-01T15:29:00.000-05:00

short and fat says he doesn't. i'm gonna tell you that i do, and i could care less if you know.

that's right, boys and girls, i go commando. with a very, very high degree of frequency. to put it another way, you can bet that if you see me wearing blue jeans, you can bet that i didn't bother with boxer shorts. c'mon, if you're wearing jeans that fit like they're supposed to, you don't have a whole lot of room to spare, so why mess with another layer of fabric?

i don't bring this up to gross anyone out but to pose a question:

how many of you guys roll commando? be honest. we're all friends here...

(edit: and when i say "guys," i mean everyone. i know that some of you ladies do it, too.)

traffic laws for dummies

2006-07-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

here's a memo for the lady who gave me not one, but THREE nasty glances after i turned right at a traffic light as she was attempting to turn left (across the intersection):

I HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY, FOR THE LOVE OF STATE FARM!!!!!!!!!!

if i wouldn't have been arrested, i would've hopped out at the next traffic light and explained to her that, not only is she stupid and wrong, but that she needs to work on her "eat shit" look.

it's moments like this when i learn to not pray for patience...

leftovers...

2006-07-24T21:54:00.000-05:00

i saw this over at friday's feast and couldn't resist taking part.

appetizer
fill in the blanks: i _____ when i _____.
i whistle while i walk.

soup
name something you use to make your home smell good.
nag champa.

salad
if you could receive a coupon for 50% off of any product, what would you want it to be for?
a hybrid car. unless you count my mortgage as a product...

main course
besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical doing?
wishing i was playing music.

dessert
what can you hear right now while answering these questions?
bruce springsteen's darkness on the edge of town (the song, not the album), people talking at work. my loud keyboard clack-clack-clacking away.

the way i wanna go

2006-07-21T11:56:00.000-05:00

i've been thinking about how i want to die. no, i'm not ill and, no, i don't plan on dying anytime soon. i just started thinking about my grandfather's death a few years ago and it got me thinking about my own eventual demise. and in that regard, i've made a decision. i want to die like my grandfather, more or less.

i want to die slowly. i want to know that i'm dying and, while i don't want to be in any pain or anything, i want to have the opportunity to wrap all my stuff up and make sure that everyone and everything i need to take care of is taken care of.

i want to have a "last moment" with my friends and loved ones and be able to express my gratitude and devotion and eternal love to bwe (who at that point will be very old, but still one smokin' hot babe). i want to talk about old vacations and tell stories and do a bunch of "remember whens," maybe even take a last big trip. i want to cry and laugh about it.

i don't want to lose my mind, because i like it very much and i think it's one of my better assets. that's actually my biggest fear, having dementia or alzheimers.

i don't think i'm afraid of dying, as long as it gets to be on terms somewhat similar to this. i'm actually not afraid of death itself because, the way i see it (i'm a church going protestant), i'm a christian and christians go to heaven. what i'm afraid of, other than losing my mind, is leaving my family in a pinch, causing them unnecessary grief or pain, or leaving the land of the living with lots of stuff unsaid. that's how my mom died...just ****WHAMMO**** and she was gone.

so anyway, i know it's a little dark and morbid, but now you know how i wanna go.

does anyone else actually spend time thinking about this? when your number's pulled, what's your preferred method of bitin' the big one?

your daily dose of 4th grade humor

2006-07-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

i saw this next to the snickers bars, novelty lighters and glow in the dark alien keychains up front at walgreens...

rock of ages!

2006-07-16T21:55:00.000-05:00

you're bringin' on the heartaaa-aaa-aache!

one popular bastard

2006-07-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

i'm currently on hold with ticketmaster in memphis. i'm also frantically refreshing and re-searching for available tickets through ticketmaster.com, trying to get tickets to see tom waits at the ryman. tickets went on sale today at noon central.

i logged on at 12.00 sharp. razor fucking sharp. there were no tickets available.

it's now 12.14, i've searched for tickets probably almost 60 times and still nothing. and i've been on hold with the memphis folks for about 6 minutes (the nashville line is out of service due to all circuits being busy).

i know there's lots of people out there, but i have a hard time believing that all of them logged in nanoseconds ahead of me and scooped up every last fucking ticket for this show.

i'm beyond pissed. i'm nuclear right about now.

(update: (12.38) i finally got through to a ticketmaster guy in memphis who said he had two singles available, no where near each other and that one had an obstructed view. fuck this.)

i didn't know i had it in me

2006-07-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

so there i was, at the climbing gym on tuesday nite, hanging out and working on a few problems, the bouldering sort, not the personal sort.

from across the gym i saw a familiar face, a guy that i used to work with and used to be friends with. key words: used to be. without going into the details, the guy screwed me over. twice. i'm pretty sure he knows that i know he did it once. he doesn't know that i know that he did it twice. i've forgiven him and, to be quite honest, moved on. but i don't want to be his buddy and hang out with him.

back to the action: the former friend sees me and calls my name from across the gym, walking towards me and another friend of mine (acquaintance of his). i give him a head nod and a, "hey," as he gets closer. we stand there, him with his hand extended for a shake, me holding my chalk bag. we exchange pleasantries for a brief second before he asks, "are you not going to shake my hand?" to which i reply, "nope."

i'd never done that before. ever. i've always talked about it, but had never actually followed through. i always thiought it must be cool to be like doc holliday in tombstone, casually mumbling, "forgive me if i don't shake hands," to someone i don't care for. and i did it! i stoned the guy. i stunned him.

i wanted to say, "you can't just fuck me over and then walk up to me a year later and offer your hand like nothing happened." i wanted to tell him that i think he is a shallow, hypocritical prick with bad breath and a napolean complex. i wanted to reveal to him how many people had told me they were glad he had moved and was sorry to see him back in town.

but i didn't. i just said, "nope," and watched as he tried to figure out what had just happened. he talked with my friend for a second, obviously still trying to put it all together. when he turned to walk away (my attention was already elsewhere) i gave a quick, "see ya," to his back, to which he threw up a frustrated hand as if to say, "whatever."

i'm sure i'll run into him again, and i'll probably tell him why i wouldn't shake his hand and that, while i don't mind being polite, we won't be friends.

he's probably already figured that last part out.

wait! don't shoot!

2006-07-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

i was prepared to tell you guys all about how cool and awesome and scary and personally rewarding this weekend's shoot was today.

in a nutshell, we shot for about 30 minutes on saturday morning. then the shoot got cancelled. i don't feel like doing a recap as to why, but everything's cool and i'm still doing the film. so, in lieu of a recap, i'm going to offer you this neato picture that i found:(yes, my first thought was, "i wonder if i can climb this?"

again with the randomness

2006-07-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

my sincere gratitude...
thanks to everyone that came out to the show last nite! i didn't know how much, if any, of the blogger party would roll on over to the east side, but i was pleasantly surprised (and, to be quite honest, touched) that so many of you came out. i'm hoping that you all liked what you saw and heard enough to come back future shows (the next of which is august 16 at the basement).

so...
before i went to bed last nite i read a quote from president bush's interview with larry king that goes something like this:
"When history looks back, I'd rather be judged as solving problems and being correct, rather than being popular."
umm, mr. president, do you have any evidence of you being a problem solver or of being correct? we're pretty clear on the popularity thing...

in the movies...
i head out of town this weekend (okay, clarksville) to begin filming on fireflies and roman candles. if they give me any pictures or video clips or anything fun, i'll try to post them.

hope everyone has a muy fabuloso weekend!

(edit: i think that i've dropped by everyone's blog who came out last nite and left a personal comment of thanks. if i missed anyone, please let me know so that i may make amends.)

sort've random

2006-07-06T15:35:00.000-05:00

-really excited about the rock n roll show tonite, but i'm wondering if i'm gonna feel any blogger love. nashvilleistalking is hosting a blogger party and i've offered to be the post party party. we'll see...if any of you bloggers read this and want to come out, be at the 5spot in east nashville around 9. bring $5 and your party shoes. i promise you'll have a good time.

-we start shooting this weekend for fireflies & roman candles. i'm excited and nervous and apprehensive and all kinds of hoping i don't embarrass myself with my acting (in)ability. i still don't even have all my lines memorized for this weekend's scenes. i'm really hoping that it just kind've, i don't know, comes naturally to me. i'm sure i'll have a report on monday...

-there's a climbing competition at climb nashville tomorrow starting at 6.30. i wish i was entering, but i'm gonna hold off until july's comp. it's free to get in from what i understand. it's not as much fun as watching (or playing) a rock n roll show, but i'd bet you a red bull and a clif bar that you'll have a good time if you come by.

-i'm thinking about getting a mohawk. actually, i've made up my mind, i just have to wait until we're done shooting the film to do so. we're not talking anything extreme like rancid or anything. just nice and tight on the sides with a 5-6 inches of mohawk goodness on top.

-once again, come to the rock n roll show tonite. really. come to the rock n roll show tonite.

i need a kamera

2006-06-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

for the past month i've been unable to climb due to a back issue. by back issue, of course, i mean that i've had lower back pain that was so bad that, were it not for my extremely high pain threshold, i would be bed ridden. seriously. the 25 minute drive to work had me on the verge of tears many a morning, and not just because i want a new job.

anyhoo. thanks to the wonderful chiropractor that i stumbled across i was able to chalk up again on tuesday. i'm still taking it easy, but i'm on the rock. that brings us to last nite. bwe had a little date nite that i would rank in the top 10 of our date nites, ever. the only thing that could've been better was if i'd remembered to get the camera out to take her picture...

she picked me up at work and we headed to the frist center to see the pulitzer prize photography exhibit: capture the moment. this is all i have to say about the exhibit: go see it, but be prepared. as a human race, we've been very bad to each other in the past 60 years, and photographers have done a very good job of capturing that. it was the most difficult exhibit i've ever seen, and there were pictures that i couldn't even look at. still, go see it.

we needed to hit the mental reset button, so we stopped off at qdoba on west end for a veggie taco and then headed to the climbing gym. i was really apprehensive about climbing with the wife. not because i didn't think she could do it, but because i was afraid of overcoaching, or talking too much or barking out orders or getting frustrated or being the "guy using a sport to dominate the girl emotionally" guy. i mean, climbing is special to me, as is the wife, and i want both to be able to coexist peacefully. i wanted climbing, especially her first time on the wall, to be something that was positive, like it is for me. our relationship is such that i told her all of this and after a very brief "aww shucks" moment we headed inside to sign her up and get her climbing.

visibly apprehensive and nervous, bwe went through her belay lesson; threading the rope, using her brake hand, learning the motions, trying to keep it all straight. i walked off to talk to some friends, just to make sure that i stayed out of it and didn't make her nervous or self conscious(she's not one for being watched...she was a nervous wreck before our 60 person wedding, and not just because she was sticking herself with me.).

once i ascertained that she was wrapping it up, i strolled over for the real test: belaying me while i climbed. this was a test for both of us for obvious reasons: neither one of us wanted me to fall, but if i did, we sure as shit didn't want me hitting the ground. i took it slowly, since she was still getting coached and i wanted to make sure that she could keep up the slack (again, the falling thing). all the way up and all the way down without a problem...

now for the fun part, getting her on the wall. after taking my chalk bag and clipping in, up she went. she was still nervous, but took to the wall like a frickin' mountain goat. up she went, without a slip or hesitation. well, until she got to the top. it took her a few trips up and down to get used to trusting the rope, but she was starting to get the hang of it by the end of the nite. i probably had more issues climbing than she did, but climbing with a brand new belayer is a bit nerve wracking the first time: does she have me? what if i fall? will she freak out and let go of the rope? how badly will this hurt? i'm sure i'll get past it...

we did routes; she never fell. we did bouldering problems; she topped out on her first attempt (that means she solved the "problem"). we went all over the gym and, with each route she ticked off, her confidence grew and her smile widened. as the gym closed and we got ready to leave she said, "i'm gonna need my own shoes," instead of the rentals she'd used all nite. in climber talk that means she's hooked.

i had a handful of worries as we walked into the gym; all of them proved to be baseless. i was concerned that she would hate it. i was concerned that we'd argue. i thought this might be something that we couldn't do together. turns out i was wrong. and in being wrong i discovered something about my wife:

she might not trust the rope, but she trusts me. and that's the coolest thing in the world to be wrong about.

freaky thursday

2006-06-29T09:47:00.000-05:00

saw this on a friend's blog and had to play along...it's a semi creepy exercise, as you'll see.

The rules:

1) Put your music player on shuffle.
2) Click forward for every question
3) Use the song title as the answer to the question.
4) No cheating!

The Questions:

1) How am I feeling today? Central Park West - John Coltrane
2) Where will I get married? The Shrovetide Fair - Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring
3) What is my best friend's theme song? Roll - Richard Buckner
4) What was high school like? Pry, To - Pearl Jam (hah)
5) What is the best thing about me?And Your Bird Can Sing - The Beatles (again. hah.)
6) What is today going to be like? Kamera - Wilco (fun)
7) What is in store for this week?Equilibrium - Jay Farrar
8) What song describes my parents? Make the most of - David Mead
9) How is my life going? Christmas All Over Again - Tom Petty
10) What song will they play at my funeral? Money - Pink Floyd
11) How does the world see me? Closer to You - The Wallflowers
12) What should I be doing right now? Rent A Cop - Ben Folds (now that's f'in classic)
13) Do people secretly like me? Driving Sideways - Aimee Mann
14) What do my friends really think of me?Better Get Hit in Your Sould - Charles Mingus (creepy)
15) How can I make myself happy? Witness - Cyndi Lauper
16) Will I be happy? Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi Trio (from Charlie Brown Christmas...what's with the christmas tunes?)
17) What is some good advice? Needle In The Hay - Elliot Smith
18) What is my current theme song? Silver Bells - Bing Crosby (again with the christmas music...what the crap?)
19) What does everyone else think my current theme song is? Us & Them - Pink Floyd
20) What should I do with my life? Clothes of Sand - Nick Drake
21) What type of men/women do I like? Yeah Yeah - Cyndi Lauper
22) Will I get married? Miss Williams' Guitar - The Jayhawks (nice)
23) Where will I live? night is still - neilson hubbard (scarier than anyone realizes)
24) What should I do with my love life? Spooky Girlfriend - Elvis Costello
25) What will my dying words be? I Think - John Coltrane
~~~
i wanted to, but i didn't cheat. now that you've seen mine, show me yours. put it on your blog and leave me a comment with the link.

caption fun...

2006-06-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

(photo courtesy of espn.com. ap photo/michael dwyer)

i couldn't resist posting this photo of pedro "the yankees are my daddy" martinez and having some caption fun when i saw it on espn.com. so here's my caption:

"jazz hands!!"

c'mon, people. show me some caption love...

is that a steel rod in your johnson, or are you just happy to see me?

2006-06-27T23:37:00.000-05:00

saw this on countdown with keith olberman and just had to share it. charles "chick" lennon might not be able to hang out in any playgrounds, but he'll always have something to do on a slow nite...

i'm just curious...did he have to testify on his own behalf? how did he prove in court that the "permaboner" was broken ("i'm tellin' ya, judge, it's stiff as a board. see for yourself.")? did he not ask for referrals before having his weenie slinky installed? can he sleep on his stomach? has he contacted the circus?

i could keep this up for hours.

(that's what he said. buh-dum-psh.)

(oh...jd, the french lesson podcast that i listen to is called french for beginners. i think that the "producing" artist is french ecole. hope that helps.)

your weekly to do list...

2006-06-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

i don't care if you have to throw some elbows around in your schedule to make time to see this movie, you need to get your butt down to the belcourt tonite at 7p to see the directorial debut of my friend drew talbert and the premiere of his film The Gospel According to Marquee. all indicators are that this will be a very, very funny film. not to mention free...

best wife ever & i went to see an inconvenient truth last nite. wow. i'll have more on that later, but, for now, my advice is: go see this movie. then change your lifestyle.

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-06-25T23:17:00.000-05:00

who can resist something from a vending machine called nothern beaver...

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-06-23T19:35:00.000-05:00

friday nite's alright for rockin'...on the way to clover destroy clarksville, tn

picture o' the week

2006-06-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

picture o' the week. that's right, its a breast cancer sticker that reads, "save the ta-tas.

classic.

pod-diction

2006-06-23T09:43:00.000-05:00

or maybe it's an addict-cast. or maybe it should be called pod-crack.

whatever you call it, i'm addicted to podcasts. i can't get enough of them. like a crack head stumbling across the urban wasteland looking for a hit, i wander around the internet, haggard and gaunt (and probably scratching myself), looking for my next nugget of podcastic satisfaction.

i currently subscribe to eleven podcasts. if given more time this week to search for the virtual dens of iniquity known as the itunes podcast "store" or google's podcast directory, i would probably have almost twice that many. how can you resist?

want to learn french? we have podcasts for that. want news about music and culture? hope you packed a lunch. house music? check. drum n bass mixes for running? yup. yoga? got it. wanna be a better climber? right over here, sir. video podcasts? don't get me started...

here's a list of everything i subscribe to:
-channel 101 - yacht rock: the funniest show on the internet. f*ck you, loggins! the 80's can suck it! (wooderson, if you've got your ears on, this one's for you.)
-french for beginners: took french for 3 years. don't remember anything except a bastardized version of the french anthem and bits and pieces of "champs elysses." haven't listened to one episode...
-groovelectric: drum n bass. 60 minutes each of pretty decent music. nice for having in the background at work.
-kcrw's morning becomes eclectic: all things indie. stella, this one's for you.
-npr - all songs considered: like their all things considered show, just for music nuts.
-npr-music: i don't know why they have two shows, but i listen to both...
-paste culture club: podcast version of one of my favorite media magazines.
-pod climber: climbing news, training tips, stories, etc., for those of us who like to hang by a thread (or a fingernail).
-podrunner: tempo setting d'n'b music for runners & spinners. titles like soleburner, groundpounder, & trailblazer let you know that it's wicked fast. like 165 - 180 bpm fast.
-ricky gervais show: it's a shame that guardian decided to charge for the second series of these podcasts, because the first one was hysterical. 3 brits sitting around a room talking about nothing. it's like seinfeld, only funnier.

do you guys do the podcast thing? what podcasts do you swear by?

me & my sled, part deux

2006-06-22T10:32:00.000-05:00

i've often wondered what it would feel like to blow a tire while driving down the interstate.

last nite i got to find out.

there i was, tooling down i-24 towards home after dropping off some promo kits when, all of the sudden i hear a pop, like i ran over something. except that i didn't see anything big enough in my headlights that would've made that kind of a pop.

first thought: "some idiot kid is throwing crap at cars on the interstate again."
second thought (immediately after first thought): "nope. that's my tire."

for the record, i didn't officially blow the tire. it's still in one piece. but the tire went completely flat in less than half a mile, so i'll count that as a drastic tire failure. back to the story...

lucky for me i was right at the harding rd/i24 exit, so i limped it on to the shoulder to assess the the damage and determine if i could make it to the shell station across the street so i could put the donut on. 30 minutes and some dirty hands later, i was on my way home with the big tire in the back, the little tire on the road and a tallboy of busch beer in the passenger seat waiting for me to pull into the driveway to be opened (it's amazing how working on a car makes me crave cheap beer).

this is the 3rd time in the recent past that i've had to replace a flat tire in a hurry. i'm getting pretty good at it. so much so that i'm wondering if i might have a future as a tire changer on a nascar pit crew. i mean, really, if i can change a tire manually, with a "roll up" jack and a tire iron in 10 minutes, shouldn't i be able to zip a couple off and zip a couple on in 12 seconds if someone else is doing all the heavy lifting?

long story short: by the end of the day, i will have spent a total of $2000 on my shaggin' wagon in the past 3 weeks, and i've still got to replace my brakes in the next couple of weeks. i could have a coke habit for this kind've money, and not have to worry as much about keeping my girlish figure...

(edit: long story longer...i know that a lot of you guys already own my cd. i appreciate that. i know that a lot of you guys don't. for those that do, if you like it, please tell your friends how much you like it and recommend that they pick one up through itunes or cdbaby. hell tell them i'll mail 'em one if they send me a check for $5 plus $1 in postage. if you have previously considered picking it up and passed, please reconsider. i'm broke like a $5 watch.)

i heart stanley (an open letter to the nhl)

2006-06-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

dear national hockey league-

they're still probably passing lord stanley's stein the locker room at the rbc center in raleigh, but already i miss you. it's only been 14 hours since the final horn sounded (not that you could hear it, thanks to the deafening roar of the cane-iacs), but i'm already itching for rookie orientation/camp. do i really have to wait until september? is it possible to extend the draft to something like a 4 weekend bonanza?

thanks for such a fantastic regular season and the best post season in recent memory. thanks for a fantastic game 7 that went down to the wire and had me on the edge of my seat, even during intermissions. i was really pissed that i lost a season because of the lock out, but the hockey (especially during the post season) was worth it. you've still got a little work to do (like that delay of game rule. let's fix that, okay?), but the pieces are there for hockey to move ahead of basketball and baseball in popularity. keep it up.

thanks for bringing hockey to the southeast. thanks for bringing it to nashville. thanks for fighting for us during the lockout so we can believe that, like carolina and edmonton, we too can compete for a chance to kiss the chalise and raise it high above our heads. i know that some will say that hockey doesn't matter in middle tennessee. well, it matters to me and the wife. we love it. it's what we do for entertainment. it's something we share a passion for. it's become part of our identity. we tell people, "we're predators fans," or, "we're season ticket holders." we (okay, i) talk about the day that our kids (that we don't have yet) can play hockey. i dream of the day that i can skate backwards...but that's not the point. the point is that i wouldn't have any of these things if it weren't for hockey. sure, i could tell people i'm a titans fan, or a vanderbilt fan, but i don't think i'd take pride in that like i do when i tell people i'm a predators fan. for that, thanks.

now, about my draft bonanza idea...

house cleaning

2006-06-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

i guess i'm not really cleaning, just adding some links (check 'em out) to the sidebar and looking for an excuse to get something off my chest. here goes...

speaking of cleaning house, i just found out that a friend of mine has decided to leave his wife. after she caught him sleeping with someone else.

fuck that. you wanna leave your wife to play the field? fair enough. but at least be man enough to admit it beforehand instead of going behind her back. at least respect her enough to talk with her instead of just...well, instead of being an ass.

i'm hoping that i'm jumping to conclusions and that, once i hear your side of things, i can look you in the eye. for now, though, you've lost my respect, my admiration, and my friendship.

what a hell of a way to start a tuesday...as if the bulging disc in my back weren't enough, now i'm going to feel sick all day. this is really like a bad dream. maybe i'll wake up soon and find that all that's wrong is that i overslept for work due to some awful fucking dream that wouldn't end.

quick hits

2006-06-14T09:29:00.000-05:00

run, don't walk...
steven segal and thunderbox will be playing at exit/in on thursday nite. which direction you run is up to you. it might be your opportunity to hear, "i missed. i never miss," in person. it also might be an opportunity to do anything (yes, anything) else.

mama said knock me out...
bands/artists that i'm currently infatuated with:
-jason collett. i saw him opening for...
-feist at the belcourt not too long ago. who is in...
-broken social scene with jason collett. they are in no way related to...
-the oranges band.

look out! here comes...
matt riddlehoover. matt's a filmmaker friend of mine who's been kind enough to work with me on a short film/music video for we r a symphony. turns out that i'm not the only person that thinks matt is super cool and uber-talented. look for him in filmmaker magazine very soon (really). you should also check out his two shorts on strays don't sleep new cd/dvd, which came out yesterday. i was so excited after our meeting last nite that i could barely sleep...the 2 cups of coffee and a coke on the way home didn't hurt either.

now for the interactive part...
what's getting your ya-ya's off? a book, a film, an artist, a band, a candy bar...tell me!

let the good times roll

2006-06-12T15:23:00.000-05:00

beginning with today, i am about to get very busy with shows and movies. if you ask me, that's a good thing. i'm usually my most productive and happiest when i'm busy. here's the upcoming calendar of events:

jun 12 (tonite!!) - 8p, NO COVER!!! myspace monday @ 3rd & lindsley. lineup includes dawson, some hot chicks & bob; denitia odigie; emily deloach and yours truly.

jun 17 (saturday) - 9p, $3. christopher pizza company (on demonbreun). cheap cover, good pizza and beer, and 2 acts (me and someone whose name i don't recall).

jun 22 - 9p, NO COVER!!! east side music scene nite at the 5spot. there's something like 10 bands/acts on the lineup. it's possible there's a cover and i don't know it, but even $10 for 10 bands is a sweet deal.

july 6 - 9p, $5. the 5spot. w/perrin lamb and (hopefully) brian ritchey.

july 9 - filming starts for fireflies and roman candles, the full length indie flick that i have a part in. first movie, so i hope i don't totally suck.
--
if it's been a while since you came out to a show, please try to make one of these. the lineup's are great and most of them are on the weekend or later in the week. if you've been coming to shows regularly and digging it, please keep coming and please tell your friends (or better yet, bring 'em). at least half of the equation in music is the audience, and it's always good to have one that's larger as opposed to smaller. you'd be surprised about the difference a full room makes - and not just to the wallets of the bar owners.

that's it. see you at the shows!

in the news...

2006-06-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

why not just call it "reality based sex-ed"?

oh my achin' back!

2006-06-09T10:07:00.000-05:00

apparently God's punishment for my sins is a bad back.

for the 3rd time in 3 years i'm dealing with back problems so severe that my knees buckle and my breath is taken away. say what you will, but i will trade back pain for a lifetime of childbirth any day.

i'm trying to hold off as long as possible from going to the doctor, since my last visit resulted in me being diagnosed with lumbago. to quote clark w. griswald: "no shit" (that'll make sense if you click the link). he prescribed physical therapy 3 days a week for (i think) 4 weeks. physical therapy taught me that my back problems were most likely due to weak abs and tight hamstrings. so i did core strength and balance exercises. i stretched my hammies.

i guess that's the infuriating and frustrating part. my core strength has never been better, thanks to a good workout program and climbing. my hammies are still a little tight, but not like they used to be (draw a mental image of a flimsy bungee cord strapped over the top of an '85 buick regal holding a mattress, box spring and television to get an idea of how tight they were...). i'm in the best shape of my life (minus the back thing). so why is this happening now? dammit.

surely out there in the land of the blog someone has back issues that they self treat. i'm all ears.

how do you fix a bum back?

it might not be e street...

2006-06-06T16:32:00.000-05:00

but i got me a band, kids!

woo hoo!!!!

(details later)

heard it on the x

2006-06-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

i don't know how many of you know of a relatively new, internet based radio station in town called xradio. so far as i can tell, they do the best job in town of supporting local music, talking to & about local bands, and publicizing shows.

tonite at 8.30 i'll be doing an in studio interview and performance with daina, the host of the nashville rocks show. daina's been playing some of my songs for the past couple of months and has been kind enough to ask me to come down for a few minutes.

this is my first one of these, so i'm not all that certain what i should expect and i'm a bit nervous (i'm notorious for suffering from foot in mouth disease) about it. please "tune in" to see what the night has in store...

here's a link to the site. just click on "listen live now" to start hearing the broadcast.

(and then tomorrow come back and tell me how i did!)

me & my sled

2006-06-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

any of you who have known me for any length of time know that my luck with cars is only slightly better than my luck at the lottery.

all of the cars that i've had since my first car (a purple subaru impreza, God rest its soul) have had major malfunctions whilst in my stable. not your run o' the mill problems either. weird things like doors falling off, fuel pumps (yes, multiple) refusing to work, cylinders or something like that breaking and, the latest problem, an a/c compressor blowing a diode and needing to be replaced 30,000 miles before it should've even been possible. oh yeah, and i have to have a tie rod replaced, too. and that's only two cars, kids.

so, today, i will become the proud new owner of an a/c compressor and tie rod for my 2001 saturn wagon. for those of you who think it might come up in trivial pursuit later, that'll cost a man approximately 15% of what he paid for the car 2 years ago last month.

fuck me.

(for the record, my luck with cars is the main reason why i really (really really) want nashville's public transportation system to be improved. if i could catch a bus to work and around town i wouldn't have to jack with this shit.)

timing is everything

2006-06-01T10:29:00.000-05:00

burrito's post about a sheister landlord made me think of a story that i thought i oughta tell. as all good stories go, this one starts with

"once upon a time...

i got a call from the "new office manager" of an apartment complex where i once lived - 2 years after i moved out.

"you owe us a cleaning fee," she said, "because we had to clean the freezer after you moved out."

she wanted the entire deposit (that had long ago been refunded, divided amongst roommates and spent) to be mailed to the apartment complex.

here's how the rest of the conversation went:

"why are you just now calling me about this?"

"well i was going through some old files when i took the job and saw that you weren't charged the cleaning fee."

"really? i'm pretty sure that that freezer was clean when we moved out. i'm not going to send any money without some proof. do you have anything you can send me?"

"we have a polaroid of your freezer. you're welcome to come by and look at it."

"i'm at work anytime you guys are open and live all the way across town. i'm not coming by on my day off. can you make a copy and fax it to me?" (quick on my feet, i wasn't ABOUT to give her my new address...)

"it doesn't copy well."

"well. i think it's the only option."

"i'll try it. what's your fax number?"

i proceeded to give her my fax number at work and waited a few minutes to receive a faxed copy of a big black blob in the middle of the piece of paper and a note that read something to the effect of, "you can clearly see..."

no, no i couldn't. into the trash it went, along with the lady's call back number and any thought i entertained, even for a second, of paying some stupid cleaning fee based on a polaroid that might or might not have been my freezer that i might or might not have cleaned before leaving the place.

needless to say, she didn't call back.

i don't win often when i go mano et mano with the man, kids. but i won that round...

more tales of my rebellious youth (and not so youth) as i think of 'em. now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

question:suggestion

2006-05-31T14:03:00.000-05:00

i've been working almost every day on those two songs that i "excerpted" the other day. i've changed a verse here, a chorus there, i might have even changed an entire lyrical and melodic structure (i'm not saying).

well, they're almost done. close enough for government work. if these songs were wars with certain foreign countries, we'd declare mission accomplished and move on.

but it's not government work and it isn't, as far as i can tell, costing tax payers money so, if i'm still undecided on this word or that, should i begin playing them live yet?

i'm dying to play them...what do you think?

~~

by the way, this guy's cd is officially out. yours truly plays drums on 2 tracks, added some cowriting on another track and clapped his pretty little hands off on a couple more. i've heard some of this stuff in one form or another for longer than either of us will publiclly admit to. trust me when i say: it's wicked good. go buy it. in fact, buy it from the man yourself (more on that later).

his debut show, with his bad-ass band, was late nite at the basement. women were wooed, men were jealous, vows may or may not have been compromised. he's doing it again, this time on the lineup with me, at 3rd and lindsley, on monday, june 12th. it's a free show and is guaranteed to be better than anything else you would normally do on a monday nite. mark your calendars. it's been a while since we've done a show together. we're both going to bring the goods (see why i want to get these songs out?), and we're both gonna make sure that all in attendance get their fair share.

ready? set? rock.

review: t bone burnett & jakob dylan

2006-05-25T12:37:00.000-05:00

after waiting ninety minutes past the scheduled start time for the show to start (apparently it's much harder to move an event from the ryman to city hall than you might think), young mr. dylan took the stage with what appeared to be a pre-war martin guitar and a keyboard accompaniest for the opening set. we'd seen the wallflowers a few times before and were very excited to be seeing jakob play solo, not knowing if he'd do wallflowers' tunes or if he had a bunch of new solo material. (as far as i could tell he did all wallflowers songs, so don't go thinking the wallflowers are busted up.)

i have two complaints about his set:
1) i know that jakob likes using an sm57 live. thing is, he kills the plosives from time to time and it kinda sounded like amateur nite when he did it. maybe switch to a 58...
2) he really played an "opening" set. 35 minutes max. i would've thought he would've done an hour and was disappointed to only hear what i heard.

now on to what i liked about it: everything else. it was great. the songs still had weight to them minus the full band arrangements and it was nice to hear them so stripped down. dylan was personable bordering on funny at times between songs. the setlist included here he comes (confessions of a drunken marionette), everything i need, babylon (my fave 'flowers tune), beautiful side of somewhere, how far you've come (i think.) and a few others that are escaping me right now. again, coulda been longer, coulda used a better vocal mic, other than that was stellar.

on with the show...after a quick change over tbone burnett took the stage with bad-ass band in tow. i have never heard a t bone song, only what he's produced or played on, so i had no idea what to expect. if you've been reading this week, however, you know that little fact had not diminished my excitement.

let me just tell you now. t bone burnett is incredible. the songs ranged from texas country shuffle type songs to bizarre avant garde adventures and almost all stops in between. the small band (stand up bass, keys/multi-inst., drums, rhythm and lead guitars) covered all the sonic bases - screamy, wail-y, weepy, strutty, you name it. i wish i could tell you what he played. i can't. all i can tell you is that i enjoyed every damn note of it. i can also tell you that jim keltner is quite possibly the most bestest and versatile drummers to ever apply stick to skin. words cannot describe all the things he on the drum kit. hell, words can't describe the way his drum kit is set up. seriously, look it up.

it's a shame that the promoters of the show did such a poor job promoting that the event was: a) moved to a smaller venue and b) still half full. if i was mr. burnett or mr. dylan i would be pissed off to a level never achieved by anyone other than eric cartman at great big shows, the company in charge of putting butts in seats.

the performers get an a+.
the venue gets an a.
the bar in city hall and bar twenty3 both get a's.
the promoter gets a d-. try harder next time, folks.

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-05-24T23:36:00.000-05:00

jim MOTHERFUCKING keltner is playing drums!!!!!!!!!! if you don't know, look it up!

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-05-24T22:04:00.000-05:00

t bone teaching school.

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-05-24T21:10:00.000-05:00

the younger mr dylan.

pretty. excited.

2006-05-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

happy wednesday! you'll hvae to pardon the typos today...between climbing 3 days a week and wrestling with my guitar (and those lyrics) every nite for the past 4-5 days, my fingers are more than a little bit sore. i'm also more than a little tired from 4-5 days straight of drywalling, climbing, writing, yardwork, writing, climbing...so forgive me if i wander here...

it's 10 minutes past 10 and i'm already ready to leave work for the day. why? because me and bwe have tickets to the t bone burnett/jakob dylan concert tonite at city hall. i've never been more excited to see a band/artist that i've never listened to than i am tonite to see burnett. the records he's produced have, in no small part, influenced my tastes and my writing. i'm also really excited to see jakob dylan, another guy who i think is criminally overlooked and who has been an influence on my music. i'll try to have a report for you tomorrow.

note: today's subject line contains two seperate items. the first, excited, is discussed just above. here's the second: pretty.

i'm wearing a brand new tshirt today. it's quite pretty. it's charcoal grey with a yellow-ish sillhouette of a muscle car on the front. it fits like a dream and was made right here in nashville by my friends at myhotelromeo. if you haven't heard of them, don't be surprised. if you have heard of them and haven't bought anything, shame on you. they have some great gear, they're local and (AND!) they support indie & local music. they even have a shirt just for you. yes, you. so go check them out and buy a shirt (i highly recommend the baby clothes. the term modern classic comes to mind...)

like cameo said, word up.

finally! (with notes)

2006-05-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

after a gestation period that seems to have lasted as long as that of a whale, i picked up my guitar last nite and managed to write something that wasn't immediately tossed into the "worthless pile of horse crap" bin.

it's funny: i used to force myself to finish a song in the same "sitting" that i started it, and i'd never rework it. never. i guess you could say i wrote in pen (i always write in pen, but you get the metaphor, right?). at the time, i chalked it up to wanting to write while i was "in the moment" and that, in 2 weeks or whenever, i would no longer be in the moment. for those of you looking for songwriting advice, grab a pen and pad. DON'T WRITE THIS WAY.

here's a couple of bits from the two (TWO!!!) new songs. both are as of yet unfinished and as of yet untitled.

and i could use a little sunshine now
i could use a little silver cloud
won't you be my rainbow beam?
won't you be my pretty little thing?
(not that it'll help much, but this is one of those semisweet, midtempo-y songs that i seem to write a bunch of.)
~~~~
i cut my gums
trying to brush the salt
from your skin
off my tongue
i miss the smell of the sheets
i miss your busted smile
and the way you say good morning sunshine
(i guess you'd call this one upbeat. a rocker even. stop the presses...)

progress report

2006-05-18T22:58:00.000-05:00

the pictures of today's blown out hands are brought to you by climb nashville's bouldering problems b5 and b7.

did i mention how much i'm enjoying climbing right now? anyone else out there climbing?

i oughta be in pictures

2006-05-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

kids, i feel like roscoe p coltrane this morning. no, not because those damned dukes pulled one over on me again, but because i feel like rubbing flash's ears and saying, "good news! good news!" (i also wouldn't mind giving that dipstick a piece of my mind.)

on friday evening i read for a part in fireflies and roman candles, a film by josh raby, a clarksville filmmaker who found me after poring through apparently loads of myspace profiles. the film centers around the unnamed "boy", a young man dealing with obsessive compulsive disorder, and his relationship with the also nameless "girl", who happens to be bulimic.

the part that i read for is that of bell, boy's pretensious indie-rocker brother (i know that's a stretch). i guess i did a pretty okay job, since they offered me the part. filming is supposed to begin in late june or early july (i forget which); rehearsals i guess will be ongoing until then.

i have no idea what i'm doing and, from what josh tells me, he's cool with that. i have no desire to be a "real" actor, mostly it just seems like a pretty cool experience and that it might help me tap into something different in my songwriting (it all comes back to that, doesn't it?).

i'm sure that, over the next few weeks, i'll have more thoughts and stories to share about my new artistic endeavor. for now, i've got to get back to working for the man...

sign of the apocalypse

2006-05-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

whilst driving to work this morning, the person behind the wheel of the infiniti behemoth suv next to me swerved to avoid running over an itty bitty tree limb. it was slightly larger than an olive branch, slightly smaller than a potted plant.

no one, including the tree limb, was injured.

you're driving a gargantumobile why exactly?

cirque du AWESOME

2006-05-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

we had a great time (for the most part) at cirque du soleil last nite. first a story, then a review.

the story:
i met the bwe at qdoba in brentwood around 6 for a quick bite before heading downtown. we'd never been there before, but had heard good things. i give it a "meh" review at best. as in, "meh. i guess we can go there since it's close." we then stopped in the cold stone creamery next door for some lt. dan time ("lieutenant dan. ice cream!"). it gets the same review. maggie moos and ben and jerry's are definitely better, no doubt.

cut to downtown.

we got free parking on gateway blvd (sweet) and had no problem getting the tickets from the the gec's new will call "atm" machines. we even got upgraded from the 200's to the 100's because of an obstruction in our original section (supersweet). we found our seats and quickly settled in. that's where things started going downhill faster than a pinebox derby car with lead in the floorboard.

dinner started disagreeing with me. the people sitting next to us (we were seats 3&4, they had 1&2) seemed less than thrilled to have to stand up to let us in, nevermind having to get up to let me out 5 minutes later. when i say less than thrilled i mean the guy looked punch-me-in-the-mouth unhappy. i missed all of the opener and had to hang out in the concourse for the intermission, just to make sure i wasn't gonna barf or pass out. i really felt like warm dogshit. anyway. when we walk back in, as politely as i could, i told the "happy" people that i wasn't feeling well, might have to get up a few times during the show, didn't want to impose on them by making them stand up repeatedly, and asked if they minded swapping seats with us (remember...we're talking about 2 seats). the blank stares on their faces quickly told me that their answer was "no." luckily there were some open seats, albeit with a slightly obstructed view, a few rows up, above the entrance to our section. they gave me good aisle access, so the bwe suggested we move there. i really thought about going down and barfing in the dude's lap at some point, just because i thought he was pretty rude and inconsiderate, but decided to hold my dinner...on with the show.

the show:

in a word: badass. i'm glad that i was thinking i'd be disappointed, because it made the show all the more enjoyable (barfy feelings notwithstanding). i couldn't tell you the first thing about the story (at least in a way that would make sense). what i can tell you is that it was the most amazing (non musical and non sports) live production i've ever been to. it definitely lived up to the hype that a cds show generates. one of the main characters spent 95% of the show on stilts that must've been 10 feet tall. another character, brian, spent the majority of the show suspended above the stage hanging from a balloon.

acrobats spun from hoops and ropes and balanced on each other and on platforms the size of saucers. dancers and musicians filled the stage. lights and multimedia images bounced off the side screens and the translucent curtains that moved back and forth across the stage. singers floated above the stage. a hula hoop dancer spun hoops off anything she could get it around (at one point i counted 5 - 2 on the hips, one on a knee, one on a foot held above her head and one on her wrist). it was an amazing production and, even without being able to recount the storyline, a fantastic story.

i wish i could see it a few more times to more completely soak it in. i'm sure there are things i missed and there are definitely things i would like to see again. if you're free tonite and have a little extra coin, i would highly recommend taking in this show.

let's get delirium

2006-05-09T13:51:00.000-05:00

pardoning the stretchy reference to the prince classic, i'm ready to get delirium tonite! bwe and i are heading down to the gec, not to watch hockey (unfortunately), but for our maiden cirque du soleil voyage.

all reports that i've read say that this show is less freakshow circus and more arena rock concert sideshow. i'm kinda disappointed, since i spent half a kidney for the tickets thinking it was going to be a "traditional" cds show, but i'm hoping that all my preconceived notions will prove to be nothing but delirium (thanks, i'll be here all week) and that i'll be pleasantly surprised.

update and review tomorrow...

tshirt slogan of the day.

2006-05-07T21:10:00.000-05:00

"if running were easy, it would be your mom."

picksher from a partee

2006-05-03T22:45:00.000-05:00

its jill's party, but they got a springsteen concert on the tv. just like heaven...

the last time this happened i wrote a song...

2006-05-03T15:14:00.000-05:00

the a/c in sammy the shaggin' wagon has gone kaput. just in time for "sweating through your shirt" season. BADASS!!!

okay, it's not officially kaput. i just need to put more cold stuff in it. and i'm hoping that i can find my cold stuff kit before my ass melts into the driver's seat.

jill's in town for a few days for girl jag's wedding. gonna get to hang out with her and her 8gamillion friends tonite at a smart little shindig she's put together. she said cocktails...

new look for new-ton

2006-04-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

i updated the look and some info on my official site tonite. i know what you're saying, "that's an exciting saturday nite." you shoulda seen me vaccuming the house this afternoon!

head on over to newtondominey.net and let me know what you think.

by the way, did any of my fair readers run the marathon?

2006-04-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

i joined the climbing gym last nite. it's going to be a little bit larger than the chunk of budget that i've set aside for exercise and recreation, but i've been enjoying going so much that i've decided to commit to it and pick up the members' perks.

there's something really visceral and primitive that appeals to me about climbing. you start at the bottom and, for all practical purposes, claw your way to the top. it's also a hell of a workout that doesn't feel like a workout. don't get me wrong, it's really tough and my muscles today feel pretty tight, but i wasn't sitting in a gym like i have been for the past 2 years lifting weights. i was playing around on a big synthetic rock for 2 hours last nite, trying to "top out" on 4 different routes (i managed to finish 2 of them, my first 2 ever. i was pretty pumped). maybe i'll go back on sunday. i think i can beat those other 2 if my arms, fingers and hands are fresh...

for now, i'll be sticking to the indoor climbing thing. but maybe in the fall i'll be able to get out and get on a real rock, like this one. this is called bouldering. it's not rope climbing like you see where some guys shimmying his ass up a wall using nothing but a crack in the rock to climb up. bouldering is pretty much what it sounds like: climbing big rocks to get on top of them. (i think there's a competition this saturday at climb nashville. if you're around, you should check it out.

sidenote:
you know, the funny thing about this picture is that, while the guys underneath the climber are spotting him, they really look like they're chasing after him and he's scurrying up the boulder like some sort of mutant freak. you can almost hear them now, "curses!! foiled again!!"

it's a matter of perspective

2006-04-27T09:55:00.000-05:00

i'm sure you remember my post from a few days ago questioning everything from my ability to my desire to my sanity. here's an update:

i had a show last nite. for those of you that could make it, thanks. for those of you that couldn't, there will be more. yes, for sure, there will be more. why? last nite's show was great. i could've played better, sure. i could've sang better, absolutely. but what i did last nite that i haven't done in a while is lock in. i connected. with the audience, with the songs, with myself.

it's something that, for reasons i wish i could figure out, i haven't felt in a while. maybe it's from putting too much pressure on myself to be the next costello/springsteen/strummer. maybe it's from exhausting myself trying to do everything, all the time. maybe i've just had a couple of off nites. who knows?

i don't think that i'm out of the woods entirely. i'm still not writing or hearing new music in my head (don't ask.), so i still have the feeling of being stagnant, but i'm seeing new images and starting to picture different scenes that i think might spark my lyric writing. i just need to remember to not be afraid of writing a bad song.

the other thing is that, after the last couple of shows, i thought that i started doubting myself and my ability to perform and connect with people. seriously doubted. now, for reasons i'll explain in just a second, i'm not doubting myself. not as much anyway. there are still things i can improve on - i could project a little more confidence and excitement in my between song banter, i could probably make fun of myself a little less, but that's my personality and i'm pretty okay with that.

here's the big story from last nite. i'm feeling good, feeling loose, not smoking a cigarette every 8 minutes to keep my mind off of the past 6 weeks, ready to rock. then, HE walks in. i won't tell you who he is, but he's a music industry guy who has been responsible for the "discovery" of a couple of my friends as well as some other people that you definitely know of. we're only casual acquaintances (of the "hey! how are you? good. see you later." variety). but i've always felt like he didn't like my music and my performance. YIKES. i started thinking about it, but very quickly thought to myself, "fuck this. he's not here to see me. if he doesn't like it, shit on him."

turns out he liked it. alot. and he told me so in no uncertain terms. told me that i almost had a guest on stage because he felt like he should be singing along with me. i don't know who he was there to see, but he saw me. and he liked me and gave me a flippin' boat load of encouragement. in case you can't tell, i'm still kinda high off of it. does it mean he's gonna work with me? i don't know. but he knows about me. and he likes what i'm doing. for now, that's enough.

it's also enough of this post. i'd love to tell you that i'm back to regular posting, but who am i kidding? i'm going climbing tonite after work to blow off some steam. i think that i'm getting ready to start telling you guys about how much i'm enjoying that.

peace in the grease.

breaking up is hard to do

2006-04-25T09:24:00.000-05:00

for the past few days i have to admit that i'm thinking about breaking up with her.

it's been about 8 years and, while things are steady and stable, they're not quite as exciting as they used to be. oh, we still talk, and she still does a good job, but i don't think the effort to make me happy is there like it once was. sometimes i can tell she's just going through the motions, not really "into" what she's doing. it makes me a little sad but, to be honest, i think i've been thinking about it for a while...

what? like you guys haven't ever thought about switching stylists? SHEESH!

seriously, i'm thinking about going to a different hair cutter (stylist sounds really pompous i think). but i really have been going to my current cutter for almost 8 years, since right after bwe and i got together. all the above is true. she still does a pretty good job, but i don't think she's trying to keep my business, ya know?

here's my question, and dilemma, for today:

if i'm gonna step out on her, how do i do it tactfully? cancel an appointment, get it cut somewhere else and, if i don't like the new cutter, go back in a month? should i tell her that i'm thinking about stepping out? i'm pretty sure i'm the only guy this side of heterosexuality who's ever been concerned about his relationship with his cutter but, after all, we're talking about my hair. it's not like it's a doctor or something trivial like that...

suggestions and comments needed...

everybody's working for the weekend

2006-04-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

i've been living life like a loverboy song lately: workin' for the weekend. and my weekends have been good. it's the rest of the week that's been shit. you see, when i sweat things, i sweat them hard. and as you all know, i've been sweating the office gig/music thing like a sauna set to high, extra water please.

i'm really trying to relax a little bit about music. this high strung stuff just doesn't work for me, you know? so this weekend i didn't think about it at all. bwe and i went to the predators' stanley cup playoff game on friday and had a blast. we went sunday as well, but watching your team get pasted 3-0 isn't nearly as fun. i spent most of the day saturday watching hockey and sleeping. (it'd been a long week!). saturday nite we had dinner at the bwe's mom's house and (surprise) i watched hockey. i even got to go for a skate on saturday. i'm bound and determined to learn to play hockey (whether it be ball, roller, or ice), and that means learning to skate. forwards, backwards, sideways...all ways. i won't be lacing 'em up for team usa anytime soon, but i'm getting better. i went about 2.5 miles around our local greenway and (hopefully) will do another 2.5 tonite, assuming it doesn't rain.

now...wednesday's show is going to be fun. jason howes and brian ritchey are awesome and i've heard great things about quincy coleman. everyone's doing a little bit shorter set than normal to accomodate such a large bill, but that should mean that everything's wrapped up around 12 or 12.30. things get cranking around 9, so bring a friend and $5 and your partying shoes to the basement, dangit. (i'll even be sporting my playoff beard for all to see.)

seacrest out.

wednesday is the new thursday...

2006-04-20T19:09:00.001-05:00

more on the last post later...mark your calendars...this is gonna be a bad-ass show:

been thinking...

2006-04-17T16:58:00.000-05:00

(this is long. i think it's a good read, but it's long. don't say you weren't warned.)

so yeah, it's been 11 days since i had a post. i've stopped looking at sitemeter, because i know that all of my hits are coming from some picture i posted of an old lady kicking some dude in the junk. the thing is, i really haven't had much to say. and i've been busy with "real" work and trying to not be depressed about what i want to do, which is play music. it's not ALL that i want to do, but it's pretty much the whole enchilada, minus maybe the mole sauce and sour cream. get it?

we went to austin this weekend to see my family. we had a great time. an honest to goodness great time. i was able to spend a few minutes with my grandmother (i wish it could've been days, but i'll take what i can get), my great aunt (who's like a back-up grandmother), and my aunt (who's kind've taken over in some of the "mom" duties over the past few years). i also got to hang out for a while with my cousins and their kids - whom i treat like neices and nephews. this is where today's conundrum started.

my cousin's husband is in sales and does very well. big house north of town, disposable income, independently wealthy, kind've well. while he doesn't like what he does, he's happy. i mean truly happy. you can see it in his face and the way he acts around his wife and kids. he's got joy.

me? i don't make as much money ( i probably could) at my paying job, but i honestly can't make myself do the work any more than i do because i don't like what i do (stick with me, i'm going somewhere with this, i swear.). so i'm talking to the wife about this - how happy he is, compared to my relative misery - and i give her my theory:

i want to be great.

i don't mean that i want to be great at sales. i want to be GREAT. like ghandi. like springsteen, costello & the clash. like jim wallis (the founder of sojourners). like albert einstein. like andy warhol. the kind of greatness that people who don't know, know. i really mean that. i think that, whenever it's my time to die, if i don't feel like i've had an impact on people, not just a person here and there, but THE PUBLIC, that i will have not had a fulfilling life. like i won't have lived up to my potential. and i really do feel that i have that potential. maybe it's wrong-headed and maybe my self evaluation skills aren't what they ought to be, but i feel it.

the thing that i've been so conflicted and concerned about is: do i feel it in the same way that the fat girl who can't sing that you seen on american idol feels it? she thinks she's great. her family supports her.

but she sucks. not only that, she sucks and no one wants to look at her (you can fix one or the other, but not both).

what if "this" is all i'm supposed to do and be? what if this is it? if greatness isn't in my genes, in my divine plan, can i be satisfied with...normal? i've never thought of myself as normal. i tried to be normal in high school and felt like i was cheating. normal wasn't part of college. it's not part of me now. so what happens if it turns out that this is what i get? a non normal dude stuck with a normal life? a "corporate" life?

it scares the hell out of me and, being terribly frank, makes me sad to the point of fighting back tears some times.

what's worse is that this fear/realization/whatever is crippling my creativity, or at least i feel like it is. i'm trying so hard to be great and to be "not normal" that i'm blowing songs up before i let them begin.

i spend most of my time around people who have no aspirations to anything other than what they have in front of them - working their job until they die. in a corporate box. in the face of this i'm trying to keep my individuality and my sense of purpose (cue steve martin from the jerk. "i have a special purpose!!!). and my visions (or delusions) of greatness.

the wife posed a question to me that i've been struggling with, in light of my cousin-in-law's happiness:

would you trade greatness for happiness? if you could be great, but you wouldn't be able to have things you want and do the things that you do, would you want to do it? or would you rather be happy, but anonymous?

damn that woman and her questions...

happy pills

2006-04-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

sorry i've been such a stick in the crap lately (and an infrequent poster at best). things really have been a grind lately and it gets to me every now and again. i'm normally an optimist, but when i get on the negative train, we go full bore. such is the life of an aspiring musician i guess.

i started a song the other nite, as i tend to do when i get into one of "those" moods. i don't know if it will be good, but it feels honest and that's a good start.

seems like all i'm thinking about lately is laying it down. and, if patterns hold true, that means that something nice will pop up - either a particularly good show or a nice review or something - and that i'll be back on the happy pills again. it's scary how long i can go on one good review or one good show. just imagine if i was doing this full time...i'd be like the leprechaun who finally got his damn lucky charms. speaking of lucky charms, i've been craving sweets (particularly ice cream) like a damn pregnant woman lately...
--
on a slightly different note, i was chosen as the season ticket holder of the game for the predators' home game this saturday. that's pretty f'in cool if you ask me. if you're going to the game, i'll be the guy on the budlight band stage during the 2nd period standing next to gnash - the predators mascot - wearing my "we want tacos" tshirt.

topic o' the day

2006-04-05T14:00:00.000-05:00

i'm bored. with music. the day job. life in general.
i'm also tired of all of the above.
burned out, too.

i need a nap.

discuss.

2006-03-30T12:26:00.000-06:00

here's a few random things that've been on my mind lately:

-watched in good company last nite with b.w.e.. "they" bill it as a romantic comedy. it's really more of an indie flick that wants to be a romantic comedy. good soundtrack, good storyline, bad hair from all involved. one of the more enjoyable and thoughtful movies i've seen lately.

-i can't seem to get into much new music lately. actually, i want to get into new music, i'm just broke so i can't buy any and i refuse to steal it. does anyone use that emusic thing? any feedback?

-my boss (not THE BOSS, my day job boss) got married this weekend. great service and reception. the whole thing was done up to the 9's. a former co-worker told me that he'd heard my praises sung by my boss and a few of the other suits that he knows quite a bit lately. i guess that's cool, but being praised for doing my job is like someone congratulating me because my hair's dark: in the end, it really doesn't mean anything to me.

-in my quest to look like a former marine turned yoga instructor, i've started a new workout program this week. in a word: ouch. bio-freeze and cheap table wine are all that have gotten me through the past few days...

clearing the cobwebs

2006-03-24T10:11:00.000-06:00

sorry i haven't had much to say lately. it's been a hectic few weeks since getting back from maui (it HAS been a few weeks hasn't it?). i don't think jetlag's supposed to last this long, but i still feel out of sorts since we got back. maybe it's just exhaustion. if there's one thing i'm certain of, its that i'm exhausted. and tired. mentally and physically.

i think my body's actually breaking down in revolt. i won't go into an exhaustive list, but it takes 2 hands to count the different aches and noises that currently exist within my 76 inches of newton-ness.

so anyway, here's what's on my mind:

-i appreciate everyone that made it out to the show wednesday nite, honest i do. like i said in my little sermon on supporting local music, i truly hope that you were entertained and had a good time. knowing you guys are digging it makes all the effort that goes into the songs and the "business" side of things worthwhile. those of you that couldn't make it - you were missed. i'll be playing again at the basement on the 26th of april (tentatively), hopefully you can make

-despite the exhaustion, i went out to mercy lounge last nite to see my friends strays don't sleep and garrison starr. it's a good thing that i'm married, because if not i'd be in love with g starr. she rocks my ass. it was good hanging with her and the strays. they're both getting ready to be out on the road for a while in support of new records. jealous.

seriously, the strays record isn't out yet, but when it's out you MUST go buy it. it's one of my top 10 records from last year. garrison's new record is out and, from what i heard of it when we played together last year and what i heard last nite, it's another don't miss album.

-tonite, i'm debating on whether i'll stay in and watch hockey with the wife (which is what i really want to do) or if i'll go to 12th & porter to trent dabbs' cd release party. wonder if i can somehow do both...
--
last thing (thanks for hanging with me this far): go support local music. tell your friends about how great your favorite local acts are (hopefully i'm on that list). bring them to a show or buy them a cd. put us on your ipod and play your favorite song for coworkers. pick your favorite club and just show up once every couple of weeks to hear new bands. we (the nashville music community) can't do this without you guys, and i've heard from quite a few musician friends how little they enjoy playing in their hometown because of the lack of support. that's all the soapbox time i have...

the promotional efforts begin now...

2006-03-16T13:56:00.000-06:00

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-03-14T21:57:00.000-06:00

"high water bills? pipe water taste bad? have your own water! DIG A WELL!!" marketing campaign of the year...

when in need of a post...

2006-03-13T12:43:00.000-06:00

and you don't have anything good to say, make a list. here's some things you need to check out:

1. if you can't beat 'em, feed 'em sleeping pills till they pass out: barry bonds isn't such a bad dude compared to this guy. most interesting and obvious quote: "Fauviau's 16-year-old daughter Valentine is a rising star in French tennis..." well no shit, since dad's been knocking her opponents out with sleeping pills before the match.

2. friendly skies my ass: nevermind that delta seems to specialize in losing my luggage. you wanna know why i won't fly 'em? because their gonna have some pissed off pilots after the suits scrap the pilot pension plan.

3. best news all week, and it's only monday: you can now get all of channel101.com's primetime shows as a video podcast. yes, that includes yacht rock. as if you needed another reason to drop $300 on a new toy. if you can't buy an ipod, there is still no excuse to know who hollywood steve is.

4. as if you needed another reason to not eat meat...

a good idea

2006-03-10T09:42:00.000-06:00

i've often said that you never reach someone by screaming at them. all they do is turn you off and all you do is waste your breath. the most powerful methods of coersion and protest are the subtle methods, in my non-expert opinion.

serrabee posted a link to the army men project, which aims to spread plastic army men all over the world as a subtle reminder that...actually, i'm gonna let them explain it to you. here's a quote:

We’re spreading plastic Army Men around the country and around the globe as small, everyday reminders of the ongoing horrors of the war in Iraq and to serve as tools to foster dialogue, action and resistance to the war. Here in the United States we’re encouraged to forget about the war, to go on with our lives, to “go shopping.” But what if everywhere people went there were little plastic Army Men nudging them to remember that we’re waging war? At Home Depot, on the gas pump, in the 7-11, at the post office, on the hood of the car, in the public restroom, at the movie theatre, in the produce section of the grocery store … in your neighborhood …?

i'm in. gonna go to toys r us tonite and pick up a batch. print me up some labels. have me a little protest. who's in with me?

maui pics

2006-03-08T11:57:00.000-06:00

i forgot that i can resize pics in photobucket, so i'm going to repost them here in a more friendly size than i wound up with last week. i'll have more up this week. we took lots of pictures. specifically:

300 digital
7 rolls of 400/800 speed on the slr
3 rolls on the avantix
45 minutes of video

there was a lot to see! here's the pics:

first, the characters. i'm the one with the hot blonde.

sunset from our balcony at the fairmont in weilea ("why-uh-lay-uh"). it didn't suck.

sunrise on our 2nd day. we went snorkeling around molokini ("mole-oh-keen-ee") island with a bunch of people. the winds and water were rougher than sex at tommy lee's place. 4 people barfed the whole time. we were not included in that group. 40 mph winds. white caps the whole way back. we sailed back at 10 knots. with the motor, the boat would only do 6 or 7. it.was.AWESOME!!!

the following all happened in the same day:
the beginning of sunrise on haleakala ("holly-ohk-uh-lah"). it's about 6.20. we've been up for 4 hours already...

picture of b.w.e. and me just before sunrise. it was colder than a polar bear's pecker!

sunrise. check out the fog waterfall on the right hand side.

a photo op whilst riding down the volcano. we went from 10k feet to sea level in 38 miles. we rode through a eucalyptus forest, a lavender farm and a little hippie town called paia ("pie-ee-uh"). i was the only dude to get on the front wheel for a picture, but you probably could've guessed that.

this is me, at 4.30 that afternoon, boogie boardin'. i was told that i looked like a kid who'd been taken to the beach for the first time...i couldn't play enough! we wouldn't crash until 11p that nite.

i've got more pictures from the 2nd half of our week that i'll try to post in the next few days. we stayed in hana ("hahn-uh"), which is on the wet side of the island. it's a rain forest. no shit. a rain forest.a rain forest and a beach are seperated by maybe 25 miles. the volcano? it's on one side of a national park. the 400 ft waterfall that i saw? it's on the other. who's up for moving to maui?!?!?

the big cover-up

2006-03-07T11:45:00.000-06:00

last week i was listening to one of my favorite records of all time, eveningland by hem. i'm singing along to one of the songs when it all of a sudden hits me:

this is JACKSON! the johnny cash/june carter song! i know both songs and had never put 2&2 together to realize they were the same song. duh.

i actually like the cover a tick more than i like the original, which got me thinking:

what other covers are better (subjectively, of course) than the original?

right off the top of my head, here's what i came up with:

song - cover artist (original artist)
the ballad of el goodo - evan dando (big star)
$1000 wedding - evan dando & juliana hatfield (gram parsons)
song for you - whiskeytown (gram parsons)
the man who sold the world - nirvana (david bowie)
where did you sleep last nite? - nirvana (leadbelly)

feel free to add to the list...no answer is a wrong answer...

today's topic

2006-03-06T17:05:00.000-06:00

jetlag sucks.

discuss.

You have new Picture Mail!

2006-03-04T20:44:00.000-06:00

a good omen for the flight back to home sweet home...

hello, hana!

2006-03-02T11:20:00.000-06:00

after spending the first few days of our vacation in wailea ("why-uh-lay-uh") the wife & i set off down the road to hana ("hahn-uh") for a few days of relaxation on maui's east coast, away from the resorts and busy-ness of the first few days. the place we're staying, hana hale malamalama (the middle word is "holl-ee." you figure the rest out!), is a little group of cottages in hana bay. we're staying in the pond side bungalow which overlooks the japanase fish pond at the center of the property and gives us a view of the black sand beach in the distance. it also gives us free wi-fi access, so i thought i'd post a few pics of what we've been up to.

enjoy! we definitely are!!

sunset our first nite, from the balcony of our room

i'm having a problem with the images not resizing, so i'm going to post the link for the album on photobucket instead:

http://photobucket.com/albums/d94/newtondominey/hawaii%202006/

i also can't remember how to make the link (maui does the nuttiest things to your brain...), so you'll have to cut and paste.

don't look now...

2006-02-22T23:40:00.000-06:00

but i've got the 2 new songs up on myspace. the link's in yesterday's post (i'm terrible with my html knowledge and blogger kinda sucks for the mac).

i'm teribbly terribly nervous about putting these out in a public forum because it's my first foray into engineering and my first attempt to self produce. i also played all the instruments, created all the loops and did all the vocals. needless to say, if you guys think the songs suck, it's on me.

i really, really, really want everyone's honest feedback on the songs - the music, lyrics, style, everything. if you don't critique it, i won't get better.

i appreciate everyone following the process through my blog. hopefully i'll come back from my meeting in l.a. (the whole reason i'm doing these recordings) with good news...

signs you're an addict

2006-02-22T11:05:00.000-06:00

i had every intention of NOT recording last nite. until i got within 10 feet of my studio last nite. so from 10-12, i finished up the 2nd song of 2 that i'm doing on my own. all that's left is to check my edits and fades and then bounce the files to disk (the protools term for making them audio files, not data files. kinda.).

set your watches for tomorrow around 9 central; i'll be posting both songs on myspace late tonite for everyone's listening pleasure. one is called rock n roll. the other is called storybook. give 'em a listen and let me know what you think.

did i mention i want to be your myspace friend? and your friend's friend? send me a friend request, by golly.

(ps-i got a new pair of trail running shoes last nite. not only do they make my ankles feel snug as a bug in a rug, they don't have a stitch of leather on 'em. bitchin'!)

huh.why.ee!

2006-02-21T17:07:00.000-06:00

this time next week i'll be sucking up fruity alcohol drinks on some beach in tropical maui, hawaii. on the man's nickel. many of you might recall stories of my escapades whilst in bermuda on a similar trip last year. turns out i've still got them thinking i'm pretty good at what i do, or i haven't given them any reasons to keep my ass out. i might not like my job much, but free trips for doing my job sure beats a swift kick to the balls.

anyway, on to this weekend. i pretty much lived in the studio. i was in my hole for 3 hours friday nite. 5 hours on saturday. 8 hours on sunday. 11 hours yesterday. not to mention 3-4 hours every day since february 11 (yes even on my anniversary and valentine's day. i got permission!).

as of today i've got all 3 songs almost completely finished. one of them IS finished since i've hit the limit on maximum audio tracks allowed in my version of protools - 24 - that's a lot! i've got to double check the last song and make sure there's nothing that needs fixing or tweaking or general shining up. probably gonna get into that on wednesday.

tonite? i'm gonna go buy some trail running shoes, reintroduce myself to the bwe, go home and let my brain quit thinking about the same 9 minutes of noise that have been my sole focus since...what day is it again? maybe catch love monkey (if the twits at cbs didn't cancel it). catch up on scrubs and the office. go to bed before 1. who knows? the options are endless...

tagged by muffy

2006-02-17T15:27:00.000-06:00

a reprieve for those of you not enjoying my audio geek commentary the past few days. muffy done tagged me...here we go:

remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot, like so.
1. Radmilla
2. Riri
3. Huts
4. Karmadgeon
5: (insert name here)

next, select 5 people to tag: fancypants, wooderson, fritz, short & fat, and nik d.

what were you doing 10 years ago?1996?
barely hanging onto life as a college student, dreaming of being a rock star.

what were you doing 1 year ago?
probably the same thing i'm doing now. working for the man, trying to be a rock star

five snacks you enjoy
1. pistachio nuts
2. snack mix (not choosy)
3. Lays(c) Salt & Vinegar potato chips
4. popcorn w/tabasco sauce
5. chips & salsa

five songs to which you know all the lyrics (other than mine, right?)
1. radio, radio - elvis costello
2. straight to hell - the clash
3. i'm in love with a girl - big star
4. suspicious minds - elvis
5. incident on 57th street - the boss (most of his songs, actually)
(i tried to at least pick a couple of songs that i haven't covered. can anyone guess which two?)

five things you would do if you were a millionaire
1. quit my job to go balls out for a music career.
2. debt? what debt? that includes the house payment.
3. buy the wife something neat. a beetle, maybe. convertible.
4. take my dad to a bunch of nascar nextel cup races
5. go to europe. for a month. maybe two.
(we're talking more than one million, right?)

five bad habits
1. smoking
2. not very tidy. not lazy, just don't notice.
3. fidgety. very fidgety.
4. i tend to interrupt. i chalk it up to enthusiasm and being easily excitable.
5. i'm great at washing clothes. i'm not great at putting them up.

five things you like doing
1. anything involving music (could make a list out of the specifics alone)
2. watching hockey
3. travelling
4. hanging out with the b.w.e. (best wife ever for the uninitiated)
5. being nice to people

five things you would never wear again:
1. parachute pants
2. a "striped" shirt (never worn one, but had to make that part of the list.)
3. tighty whiteys
other than that, i'd probably try anything...

five favorite toys:
1. new video ipod
2. protools & reason
3. the ibook
4. my gibson j-45
5. my predator bobbleheads

whew! that's a mouthful. i need a drink. who wants to meet me at slow bar? oh, wait...

iwannacompressyou

2006-02-16T14:52:00.000-06:00

for the past couple of nites, i've been taking lessons in compression and eq. i don't understand either well enough to explain them, so you'll just have to take my word on it: they rule.

by adding the right amount and kind of compression and eq, i can make something more audible without making it louder. it's freakin' amazing. however, my ignorance makes the process take much longer than it probably should. it's all part of the learning process, though, so i'm cool with it.

that's all for now. bwe's having dinner with her moms tonite, so i'm gonna be mixing from the word go as soon as i get home. i'm hoping to have one song finished tonite and the other song ready for the bass tracking by saturday.

i'm really nervous saying this but, as soon as i get these 2 songs finished i'm going to put them on myspace for all of you to hear.

a good two hours

2006-02-15T09:07:00.000-06:00

(please note: if you haven't read yesterday's post, i'd recommend reading it before reading this. actually, you'd probably do well to read most of the posts from last week and this week in chronilogical order.)

i was planning on taking last nite off, but when b.w.e. announced 34 minutes into coffee & cigarettes that she couldn't hold her eyes open a second longer (and it wasn't quite 10) i told her that i was gonna go work and would come collect her in a couple of hours, since she wouldn't know the difference between me sitting there watching a movie and me sitting in front of a computer. in true b.w.e. fashion, she agreed and sent me with her blessing. so off to work i went.

things went well last nite. with some phone coaching from my friend dawson, who has already taken on a similar project and learned quite a bit about mixing and editing, i was able to get the second song, storybook (not the song from the nite before), in pretty good shape for completion today (minus the bass...a friend's working on mine to make it sound pretty. it's good to have friends!).

tonite's menu will include, but will not be limited to: getting the strings and guitars balanced on storybook, a song that some of you have heard live, but that i've been afraid to record. i might have to drop a part in here or there, but i think i just need to add some compression, reverb and eq.

it's amazing what reverb, compression and eq will do for a song. one day when i'm famous i'll have all of you over to my mansion of a studio to let you hear the difference. you'd be astounded. speaking of mansion, the man's gonna shun me if i don't get crackin'.

no rest for the weary...

chasing the mix

2006-02-14T20:49:00.000-06:00

last nite i mixed. and i tracked. then i listened. and i mixed. and i tracked. and i listened. and i tracked. and i cursed. i don't know what real producers and engineers call it, but i call it chasing the mix (race car drivers "chase the track" or "chase a setup" when they get behind the changes that a track goes through in a race. that's where i got it.). i couldn't get happy with what i had, so i added more to it.

more reverb.

more compression.

more delay.

more more.

that didn't work, so i started getting weird. i recorded a phone ringing. best wife ever's voicemail. my dog's barking (no, not my sore feet). nothin'. it didn't matter what i threw at the mix, it didn't work. this happens from time to time, so i did what you're supposed to do when you find yourself chasing it.

i shut it down. after 4 hours of head banging frustration, i realized (about 2 hours after i should've) that it wasn't gonna happen last nite. if i'd caught myself earlier, i could've moved to a new song and seen what was working. instead, i walked out of my studio at midnight last nite with probably less than i went in with (it's funny how adding more often gives you less). i was so busy trying to figure out what was missing, that i didn't hear what was missing:

it.

every good song has it. it's not something specific, it's just it. maybe it's the lift that a guitar lick creates in a chorus. maybe it's the spooky keyboard part that announces the bridge. athletes have an "it", books have an "it". songs do, too. i spent 4 hours trying to create mine, instead of backing off and coming back with fresh ears tomorrow (taking valentine's day off, thank you very much) and letting it happen. it always just happens. kinda like love i guess. you dont force it. you can work on recognizing it and taking advantage of it (in a good way), but you can't just make it (note: like love, you can't buy it and you can't hurry it.).

tomorrow's a new day. i'll find it. i know it's out there. i just have to listen.

the art of the comp

2006-02-13T14:30:00.000-06:00

some of you will know this and some of you won't: most of the singing you hear on your ipod and your radio is not "live". what i mean is, most of what you hear is a collection of the best parts of a handful of takes that have been pieced together for one solid "best of" vocal track. it's called "comping". some people, famously, do stuff live (ryan adams does it quite a bit from what i understand), but most people have their vocals comped and "pro-tooled", meaning they're dissected, pitch corrected and shined up for final presentation. trust me, it's a good thing.

it can be a fairly arduous process, the comp. i had a vocal track comped almost syllable by syllable a few years ago (before singing lessons and before hours & hours & hours of practice & rehearsal...). it took hours, approximately one hour per minute of singing. i wasn't allowed to be in the studio for fear that i'd never ever want to sing again. the last time i was in the studio we did comps phrase by phrase or line by line, i was allowed to help, and it took about an hour per song, a sure sign that things are improving.

last nite i attempted to comp a vocal track, mine, for the first time on my own. the nite before i had recorded vocals for two songs, approximately 7 takes per song to make sure i had plenty of material to work with (good engineers/producers only keep 3-4 "best" takes...more on that later).

here's how the process works and why it left my brain in a big mushy pile inside my head: you take a phrase you've sung, "it's a girl, my Lord in a flatbed ford" for instance (from a shit song, but it's what i've got in my ears while i'm on hold). you listen to the various takes for the best one. it's really pretty simple, you'd think.

sometimes it's obvious which one's best. most of the time it's not. maybe the "or" in "Lord" is a little longer than you'd like. maybe the pitch on take 3 isn't as good as take 2, but the sprit's a little better. it's not just editing, it's critical listening to the nth degree. do you remember the multiple choice tests in high school and college that made you pick the "best" answer and not the "right" answer? well, i had 7 good answers. i had to find the best answer for every phrase in 2 songs. by now, it's probably clear why most sensible producers only keep a few takes, not a half dozen or more. let's say one song has 8 phrases per verse, 4 phrases per prechorus, and 4 for a chorus. it's got 2 verses and the chorus doubles at the end. (i'll wake you up in a second). 7 takes. that's 252 choices. in three and a half minutes. twice.

i'm not complaining, it's fun and it's a challenge. i learned a lot about how i sing and lots about consistency and what makes a good take last nite. hopefully i'll remember that later this week when i do it again.

one thing, though...next time you see a musician, producer or engineer and he (or she) exhaustedly says to you, "man, i just got out of a 8 hour session and i'm worn the crap out," don't think of them as a lazy musician. they've been working hard, just from the neck up...

more updates later if you guys want 'em. is this stuff interesting at all to anyone but me?

progress report

2006-02-12T20:10:00.000-06:00

i'm starting to get nervous about getting these songs done by the 23rd. i'm so nervous that i can hardly enjoy watching shaun white tear the halfpipe up at the winter olympics.

i better get my shit together and have the vocal tracks done before the olympic hockey starts or i'm mega-screwed.

okay, shaun white's done. bode miller can wait...time to go mix.

wish me luck!

2006-02-10T21:43:00.000-06:00

a quick note to all the normally semi-intelligent nashvillians who go absolutely nucking futs when they see snow start to fall:

IT'S SNOW!!!! YOU SEE IT EVERY DAMN WINTER!!!! YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET OUT OF YOUR DRIVEWAY TOMORROW!!!! SHIT, YOU MIGHT EVEN BE ABLE TO WEAR SHORTS!!!! THERE'S NO FUCKING NEED TO DRIVE 20MPH UNDER THE SPEED LIMIT AND THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO NEED TO BUMRUSH THE GROCERY STORE!!!! ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S 38 BLESSED DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!! THIRTY-EIGHT!!!!!!!!

"tell ya the truth, i don't think this is a brains kind of operation..."
-the way of the gun

ps-it's raining now. nice job, snowbird. you asshat.

rapid fire

2006-02-07T09:41:00.000-06:00

gonna be a busy little beaver today. so here's what's on my mind and what's going on today, all quick like:

-i'm attempting something i've never attempted before: recording songs "for real" at my home studio. not demos to take to a producer or to musicians to learn. i'm recording the real deal at my house. all the loops and sounds i've been working on have given me the confidence to try a few on my own as producer, engineer, band and...actually i think that's it. so far things are going really well. i'm getting good sounds, finding good parts and moving pretty quickly (2 songs halfway done recording). i've got until the 23rd to get 3-4 songs done, so keep your fingers crossed that i can keep with the pace.

-my new ipod arrived yesterday. holy marty mcfly is this thing badass!!!! i'd forgotten how much i missed my old one, but this is like having a pet hamster that "disappeared" when you were a kid only to find it replaced by a brand new puppy. wow wow wow.

-speaking of ipods, the guy that's suing apple for hearing loss due to the ipod's loud volume is a fucking idiot. i guess he got the special ipod without a volume control. and, (AND!) he isn't even claiming to have hearing loss. i guess all those former break dancers that used to rock the block with the box on their shoulder should sue sony. or maybe run dmc for making block rockin' jams. someone should drop a 60 gig ipod into a sweatsock and beat this guy with it.

-the nashville predators will make me stroke out by season's end. win 5 straight, lose 3. beat detroit twice in a row in two nites in their barn, lose to minnesota and columbus. play like worldbeaters last nite for half a period in dallas, play like dogshit the rest of the game.

-having just raved about my ipod, i must admit that i'm buying records lately. not cd's. not downloads. vinyl records. 12 inch discs (careful how you read that aloud). i'm loving it. i'd forgotten how thrilling it is to open a big cardboard sleeve, slip the record out of the jacket and see my favorite songs in grooves on shiny black platters. it's all quite sexy really. so far my new collection consists of: born to run, the wild the innocent and the e-street shuffle, the river, greetings from asbury park (all bruce springsteen) and sergeant pepper's. in the next few days i'll be the proud owner of 3 costello records and hopefully a big star record or something. long live vinyl! thanks to the best mother in law ever for letting me "borrow" her old record player.

that's all. the man's on my ass this month, so i better get back to work.

of dads and sons and bands

2006-02-02T13:13:00.000-06:00

i think i'm about to make an ass of myself. i really don't care. i'm not pissed off or anything, just put out with this post today thanks to nashvilleistalking.

it seems that this guy ryan was very recently divorced from his wife and is moving across the country. now, i don't know ryan, nor do i regularly read his blog. i know nothing about him other than what i read today. knowing nothing of his circumstance, i won't make judgements about him. but i will take issue with something he said. here's what set me off :

I embrace the mere thought of reconnection, independence, and responsibility...I look forward to introspection and nothingness. To crassness and conviction. To experience. Fucking Christ, how I have missed experience.

ryan has a son named emerson that he loves dearly. i don't know how old emerson is, but i'd guess he's about the same age as i was when my parents split up. my dad wanted to experience things too, i'm sure. to be out from underneath the burden of a wife and kids.

you know what i wanted? i wanted my dad. i wanted to play catch. i wanted to be like the other kids. i wanted experience, too. with him.

you know what he wants now? experience. to see me play a show. to have experienced my growing up - to teach me to drive, to shave, to see my first date. he wishes he'd been there for those experiences. he'd trade in all the ones that he had for all the ones he missed. too bad, so sad. we both lose.

i hope when ryan's older that he can fix his relationship with his son like my dad did with me. actually, i hope it doesn't get messed up in the first place. but i have a hard time believing that he has to go across the country for experiences. my guess is there are plenty to go around right there in his old house.

so there. i think divorce is stupid and that dads & moms are supposed to work things out and that kids are forever the ones getting fucked over in this deal. does that make me an ass?