Hack, hack, wheeze.

Hack, hack, wheeze.

Seriously, tonight I am doing nada but sitting in front of the TV, drinking tea, and downing TheraFlu. I have to shake this whatever it is before the show tomorrow night.

I suppose if that fails, I have all Friday to recover and heal since I'm taking that day off.

Not doing Wright by Obama.

Not doing Wright by Obama.

Look, I've had my doubts about Obama, and continue to have them, but would his pastor please shut the fuck up? Obama has had his own say about Rev. Wright -- rather eloquently I might add -- so one pastor's continuing incendiary comments should not be causing this much of a stir. And the media ain't helping since they're all just too happy to continue to take comments out of context in a manner that is clearly hurting Obama's campaign.

Cut it out, Rev. Wright. And shame on you.

Keyed!

Keyed!

I kept forgetting to mention this, but when I picked up Betty from daycare last week, I noticed this trio of gangbangers toting a 12-pack of Heineken walking down the middle of the street. They gave me the stink eye, probably because I was wearing a polo shirt and baseball cap and they didn't noticed the irony and instead just mistook me for a garden variety yuppie, but I shrugged it off and went inside. Three minutes later i had collected the beagle and as I went to open my door I realized I now had a bunch of nice, fresh gouges along the drivers' side of my car. I had just been keyed! And the fuckers obviously ran because they were nowhere to be found.

Which is probably just as well. Listen, I'm a pragmatic fellow. When I'm walking down the street at night, and there's a bunch of dude on a street corner I'm approaching, I'll cross the street. When some shady dude engages me in conversation I tense up, avoid anything that could even be interpreted as inflammatory, and keep one fist at the ready, just in case. I don't seek out trouble; in fact I try to avoid any sort of street confrontation. This keying incident, however, is the one time I probably would have gotten my ass kicked, because had the perpetrators been anywhere within my eyeline, I would have gone for the trio's collective throat without even blinking.

Whirlwind cough.

Whirlwind cough.

It was an action packed weekend, with Saturday being by far the busiest evening with stops to Empty Bottle*, Double Door, The Note, The Burlington, and Rudy's pad for some aborted porch drinking (and where I managed to lock myself outside with no one noticing for about ten minutes because everyone was playing with / entranced by Zorro the Pitbull). Yesterday was a day of rest, for the most part.

And this morning I wake up with the same hacking cough and occasional chills that were plaguing me LAST Monday. What the hell? I felt fine all weekend and now I start to get sick again? Well, boo to that.

*This stop was the location of the quote of the evening when, after Dark Meat's set, my date said "I'm not exactly sure what that just was, but I think I liked it."

July 18 can can NOT get here quickly enough.

July 18 can can NOT get here quickly enough.


[clicky to make biggie, credz goldenfiddle]

This year is flying by.

This year is flying by.

We broke up five months ago but sometimes it feels like five years, and sometimes only five days. Don't know why that popped into my head, since it has zero to do with what I actually want to write about, but it did. Even now my fingers are moving across the keyboard and I'm not sure why I can't control them.

Stop. Re-start. O.K.

That was weird, but what might have triggered it was the contest entry I just wrote up for next week's Lemonheads show. They're touring behind the It's A Shame About Ray re-issue, and whenever I think of that disc I get nostalgic, and nostalgia always leads me to think of my exes, and so on and so on, and there you have it. Anyway, enter the contest to win tickets.

I also put up a contest for tickets to see The Teenagers next week. My new lady saw them a few months ago at Sonotheque and thought they were terrible, but I'm betting that had more to do with the idea of a live band at Sonotheque amongst the Dark Wave Disco crowd and less to do with the band itself. Anyway, I've been diggin' the disc, and find it's electro-trashy '80s vibe endearing ... uh oh, here comes that nostalgia again! Moving on.

Tonight I'm supposed to go to a friend's party, but there is so much going on that I feel pulled in fifteen different directions at once. In a perfect world I'll make it to Double Door to see Skid and a bit of The Last Vegas, to The Abbey to see The Cells and Off Broadway, and to Panic! to wish the boys a happy anniversary. Maybe I should just save myself the headache and just go to the party?

Tomorrow is packed as well, but the only solid thing I have lined up is seeing Dark Meat at The Empty Bottle. The sound like The Polyphonic Spree would if the Spree gave into all of it's dark urges and turned totally evil. Obviously it's good stuff.

I am super-slammed busy, in other words. Oh! To top it off I'm trying to throw together a show at The Note next week since I really wanted to play there before they stop having bands -- especially since I was the dude that started brining in the rock to that joint oh so many years ago -- but while I would be happy to just show up and bash away it's looking less likely. Grrrrr.

And in closing (Jesus, was this a fragmented post or what?) I'd like to recommend two movies, The Mist and Cloverfield. What? I'm the last person in America to see them? Really? Oh well. The Mist kicked ass with a totally unexpected ending (seriously, even me writing this won't help you expect it, it's genius), and I'm glad I saw Cloverfield on the small screen, because I probably would have gotten dizzy watching it in a movie theater. It was a pretty cool way to twist the monster movie viewpoint on it's head, though.

Jane's Addiction, the REAL Jane's Addiction.

Jane's Addiction, the REAL Jane's Addiction.

Wow, wish I could have been at that NME show. The first time I saw Jane's I started off in the back of a high school auditorium they were playing in, but 30 seconds in I was sucked in by the crowd and suddenly standing right in front of Perry. Just as suddenly I got punched in the nose and the undertow took me to the side of the gym by the bleachers. It was insane. The video from last night's show, the first with Eric Avery since he quit after the first Lollapalooza (which is the last time I personally saw the original line-up) seems slightly more sedate, but I love the fact that the person shooting it is so into the show they couldn't care less if anything is in focus.

It has, thus far, been an unusually good year in music.

It has, thus far, been an unusually good year in music.

Last year I was so "blah" about the music scene in general that I still haven't technically compiled my best of list for 2007. 2008 is the polar opposite though, and I'm gonna have a hell of a time fitting my favorites in this time around ... and it's only April!

Currently kicking my ass are new ones from my Morning Jacket, The Futureheads, Ladytron, Local H, M83, The Duke Spirit, Mystery Jets, Santogold, Supergrass, Walter Meego, Yelle, and Dark Meat. And those are discs coming out soon or that have just been released. Delving further back I run into a wall of offerings so huge I don't even know where to start!

Anyone else getting this vibe? I mean, I am stoked that there's so much great stuff coming down the pipeline this year, but i wonder if it's just me, or is everyone else noticing it too?

Anyway, to hear some of what I'm talking about, come on out to Liar's Club tonight for another Bomb Squad Thursday with me and JB. Feel free to bring your song requests with you.*

*A caveat, no Gin Blossoms. I played that Saturday, thus fulfilling my quota of spinning that song for the next six months, at least.

This reminds me an awful lot of a certain birthday girl ...

This reminds me an awful lot of ...

... a certain birthday girl ...


[Via]

New, free, Nine Inch Nails single.

New, free, Nine Inch Nails single.

Trent Reznor just posted the new Nine Inch Nails single, "Discipline," and it's available as a free download through his site. However you have to register, and get a confirmation email, and bounce back to a download page, and enter a password to get the music. I'm not saying this because I think it's a hassle, I'm saying this because yesterday the site cryptically said "Two weeks" so I'm wondering if this is a test run to see how the servers hold up before another surprise album release.

It's just a theory, but who knows? Maybe?

GET: Nine Inch Nails "Discipline"

UPDATE: The track's metadata says "Go to www.nin.com May 5." I betcha ANYTHING there's a new disc in the offing.

Happy Birthday to Betty the Beagle!

Happy Birthday to Betty the Beagle!

Oh my gosh, my little girl is ten years old today!


Guess who's getting some birthday treats when I get home tonight?

Burlington playlist from last Saturday.

Burlington playlist from last Saturday.

If'n you're interested the whole thing is here. It was a kooky, fun night. I'll be back there versus Gapers Block's Lauri Apple a week from this Thursday on May 8!

Stupid mistakes boys make.

Stupid mistakes boys make.

I bought a new black comforter for my bed because I thought it looked sharp. Of course I never thought about the fact that it would also prominently display every strand of hair that Betty sheds while laying on top of it.

In stasis.

In stasis.


It's been a weird week. I'm coming down with something (blocked sinuses, chills, achy, blargh) but seem to be holding it just at bay with the magical Wellness Formula. The band needs to vacate our practice spot by the end of the month so I'm anxious to get the rest of my drum tracks down. I'm also hoping to play a show at The Note May 1 -- since they're turning the place into a sports bar I was really hoping to get at least one show in there before the transformation --but, again, the practice space situation might preclude us from accepting that. Blargh again.

On the work front I've been busy, which is nice, so I don't really have any complaints there. I got the last of my furniture from Photogal's house yesterday, and we had a chance to catch up with each other since we've both been so busy lately, and that was great.

It just doesn't feel like I have a whole bunch going on, and I don't really want to plan anything right now because I'm just not motivated to do so. I'm sure a large part of that is due to the physical "icks" I'm battling, and the rest of it is probably the end of the sugar rush that was the last two incredibly busy weeks.

Music from reel-to-reel.

Music from reel-to-reel.

This is from an interview with cassette-only label honcho Matt Sullivan.

According to Sullivan, when consumers lost the hassle of scratched records and the tedious process of fast-forwarding our tapes to the next song, the music also lost a great deal of its identity.

I think he has a really good point there. I know i certainly don't listen to albums at all in the same way as i did back in the day when you kind of HAD to go through one song to get to another. Hell, nowadays I'm actually lucky if I get to listen to an album all the way through more than once before slicing and dicing it on my iPod for use when DJing. Songs tend to be revealed more as snippets than full narratives. It certainly creates its own interesting values that can still be rewarding, but I do think we've lost something primal that made music feel more permanent.

G.I. Yes

G.I. Yes

Now I might have to see the damn movie.

Le Burlington!

Le Burlington!


Let's take last night's debauchery and turn it up a notch at The Burlington tomorrow night. In fact, I think we should do our best to try and trigger another earthquake. In our underwear. Surrounded by models. At The Burlington. Tomorrow night.

I will be there from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m., so you should probably get there around 9 p.m. and secure a cozy spot at the bar.

So, you, me, The Burlington, 3425 W Fullerton, tomorrow April 19, 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. Natch.

Yellow Polo shirt.

Yellow Polo shirt.

Today I'm wearing a monogrammed yellow polo shirt my dad used to wear in the '70s. Obviously it's monogrammed with my initials. When I put it on and showed it to kelly this morning she thought I was nuts. However I HAD to wear it because a) it's never actually fit me before (it's a shirt I raided from his closet post-mortem because it really reminded me of him when I was, like, seven) and b) today is just one of those days i'm sort of thinking about him and wearing this makes me feel a little closer to him.

Sappy? Of course. But who cares?

Blame it on Schifeling.

Blame it on Schifeling.

Due to his Clobberin' Time podcast, I just had to look there two videos up. Ancient, but a larf nonetheless.

We're one-year old!

We're one-year old!


Well, the Bomb Squad is, at least. Yup, tonight we celebrate our one-year anniversary since we teamed up to take over Liar's Club on Thursday nights. Previous to that Lisa and I had been sort of filling in separately on Thursdays when needed, and she and JB decided to talk to Herb and pool our resources, and we've been a powerhouse ever since.

So tonight we're doing it up in style, with our friends Gary and L'il Jon barbecuing up hot dogs to pad your tummy before swallowing all the booze Timmy and John Haggerty will pour down your gullet.

And that's not all! I've also got LOADS of stuff to give away, including but not limited to:

An autographed copy of The Kooks Live at Abbey Road on vinyl
A Kooks t-shirt
The newly released collection of Hall & Oates videos
Hardcover copy of Mitch Meyers' The Boy Who Cried Freebird

CDs from:
The Sword
Be Your own Pet
Midnight Movies
Eric Avery
and more!

The party kicks off at 9 p.m. ... whether you're a regular, someone who hasn't been around in a while, or someone who's never been to one of our nights, tonight is the time to come on by.

If you liked Morningwood ...

If you liked Morningwood ...


The Fire And The Reason are yet another NYC dance rock band with a pouty, sneery female singer. Luckily I'm a sucker for that sort of thing. Their debut EP is available as a free download, so you really can't go wrong with that. A word of warning though, if severely polished pop aimed equally for the dance floor and the radio is not your thing you should not give this a listen.

Sure, it's obvious, and almost sounds as if it was written after a dozen rounds of consumer testing, but fuck it, it's fun.

DOWNLOAD: The Fire And The Reason - Shut Up, Dance! EP

Best captcha ever.

Best captcha ever.

Kitties and puppies!

Oom-chk-oom-chk-oom-chk-oom-chk ...

Oom-chk-oom-chk-oom-chk-oom-chk...

Via the always excellent xkcd.

Pigs fly.

Pigs fly.

Eric Avery is going to play with Jane's Addiction. Man I wish I could be there.

My response to Danny.

My response to Danny.

From my esteemed comments section.

Danny: You have got to be kidding me! That shot and a beer move was so phony. She is Bush Lite, with a bad aftertaste.

She has crossed the line in helping McCain over Obama. I can't even pretend to like her after what she's done with this campaign.

Tankboy: I can't pretend to like either of them at this point. I went from being O.K. with either candidate to thinking they're both ego-mongering phonys. The sad thing is I really believed Obama might be different, and I thought he just needed a few more years to ripen, but now I realize he's just as bad as every other politician out there.

Let's hear it for the fucking status quo.

That was a tad forward, wasn't it?

That was a tad forward, wasn't it.

I was walking down North the other night, heading to Double Door to see Lisa DJ, kind of preoccupied because it was after midnight and my paycheck hadn't deposited yet, when this car going the other direction suddenly stopped next to me. The passenger door flew open revealing two attractive girls. The one of the passenger side leaned out and hollered, "Where you goin', sweetie?"

I said, "This way." pointing in the opposite direction.

She said, "Can I suck your dick?"

Without missing a beat, probably because I was actually stunned, and it was obvious she actually meant it, I said, "Nope." and kept walking.

On one hand it kinda creeped me out, but on the other, I have to admit, I'm glad to see the ol' neighborhood still has a little of the old weirdness left in it once it gets late on a non-weekend night.

Taxes.

Taxes.

I went from owing the Feds $180+ in additional taxes to owing $6.

Thank god I remembered to track down how much interest I paid on my student loan last year! This also means I get to breathe a little more easily money-wise, since that was a chunk of cash I wasn't expecting to have. Maybe I can actually get some work done on my car!

Urban farming.

Urban farming.

There's a rooster in my neighborhood. For a while I had no idea where he lived. Then, about a week ago, I could hear his rooster call, about every three minutes, and I could swear it sounded like he was getting closer and closer. At one point we all sat cowering on my couch, convinced the flightless fowl was ascending my rear stairway, eyes filled with birdie vengeance, hell-bent on taking some human, any human out.

That particular scenario never really came to fruition, but a few days later I was walking Betty through our alley when I heard the rooster so loudly I half-expected to turn around and look him in the eye. In fact, the cry was coming from the yard next to mine so I climbed up part of the fence and peeped over to discover not only a rooster, but a single chicken pecking away at the dirt in the backyard!

So I have a chicken and a rooster for neighbors. I really wasn't expecting that.

It should be noted that both birds seem to be doing well, and no one is using them for any arcane blood rituals. In fact, I kind of like having them as neighbors ... keeps away the bad elements like leather jacketed pigeons, and mohawked seagulls and the like.

Carey from Athlete made me get a girlfriend.

Carey from Athlete made me get a girlfriend.

Well, kind of. Last night when I met him he asked how I and the girl I was with knew each other. She looked at me and said, "That's a good question." I said, "Um, I guess you would say we're dating." Negotiations over the changing of various social profile status messages then began.

Also, this DFA remix of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" is so fucking smooth it makes me want to pool into a puddle of steadily rippling water. You may listen but no one better dare spin it before I trot it out at either Liar's Club or The Burlington later this week!

MP3: M.I.A. "Paper Planes (DFA Remix)"

Downward spiral.

Downward spiral.

As I predicted, it just keeps getting worse. Now Obama and Hillary are just being downright dumb when it comes to trying to take each other out. Plus, I don't care how scripted it was, props to Hil for the "beer and a shot" move, and boos to 'bama for sounding like a pooh-poohing ninny. Also, not such good news that Obama was partying with Tony R. just after his Senate win a few years ago.

The irony is that I was starting to teeter towards the Obama side of things, but this all just reminds me that he really is no different from his esteemed colleague and competitor.

1000 nights of pop bliss.

1000 nights of pop bliss.

I played this track last time I was at The Burlington. It's so over the top, so sugary, and so completely awesome I haven't gotten tired of it yet, even though the coda is a bit repetitious.


In other words, I just learned Rach is playing here this week. How did I not know that?! That girl never tells me nothing no more.

Athlete(s).

Athlete(s).

Last night I went to go see Athlete since they're on the label of the gal I'm seeing. I'd heard some track of theirs, and certainly think they're pleasant enough, and sure enough they put on a good show, albeit a pretty mellow one. At one point I was saying they were the new yacht Rock, and I didn't mean that in the pejorative sense. It was an all-ages show, and it was sold-out, so it was a tad warm in the room, but no one seemed to mind at all. Afterwards we bunkered down in the Schubas basement for a few beers and some conversation with the band. And, I have to add, that the dudes in Athlete are incredibly nice. No pretension or attitude, just genuinely friendly guys.

Afterward we visited Rudy for his DJ set at Relax. It seems as if they're trying to make the place over into a rock bar, which I certainly have no problem with, but it seems risky since it's flanked by Five Star and Rockstar Dogs ... two other fledgling "rock bars." O.K., maybe Five Star is the only serious competition. It seem everything Dion tries to open nowadays turns to complete crap in no time, and his current lame attempt at a rock and/or roll hot dog stand seems particularly misguided.

Anyhoo.

So yeah, Relax. Seems like a nice enough place. I dig the decor, and it really reminds me of Happy Endings on the LES. I talked to the owner and might DJ there sometime in the near future.

Other than all that, it's Monday. Time to make the donuts. Tankboy out.

My friend Jim likes eating cereal on the radio.

My friend Jim likes eating cereal on the radio.


He also hosts a hilarious podcast about comics and other assorted pop culture stuff. I didn't realize how much I missed his voice and his drawling delivery of impossibly funny and weird little stories.

C'mon kids, it's Clobberin' Time!

Sometimes I wonder if I've made a huge mistake.

Sometimes I wonder if I've made a huge mistake.

Y'know, it's been a few months, Photogal and I are both happily seeing other people, we still get along, and everything is actually going pretty great. But, I admit, every once in a while I get that nagging twinge that I've made a huge mistake. I mean, that's human, and totally expected, especially after dating the same person for so long.

And we're lucky , since most folks that exit long-term relationships have no one to lean on and we still support each other. And, honestly, I think that makes dating easier since there's no rush to get into the heavy stuff since we still have that support system. There's none of that fear of abandonment or rejection. We're free to just have fun with the people we're seeing because we know there's someone else there that won't get annoyed when we bitch about stuff or need advice. It's actually really liberating. So why would I think breaking up was a huge mistake?

The answer is obvious: change is scary. I've already gotten through the difficult stuff like moving and financially re-establishing myself, but the really scary part is the idea that eventually our paths will grow more divergent until one day the only way we'll see each other is through a random encounter here and there.

We made the right choice. When I think about how miserable I made her at times, and how angry she made me at times, and the fact that we just couldn't seem to move past a certain point, I know we did the right thing for each other. And I can't speak for her even though I suspect the same is true, but I know I've met some pretty amazing people while dating that I wouldn't have gotten to know otherwise. And I really am the happiest I've been in ages.

So when self-doubt surfaces I just think of all the above and, well, it doesn't totally quell the feeling I might have made a mistake, but it sure helps put it into perspective.

Come see me and some fabulous bands tomorrow.

Come see me and some fabulous bands tomorrow.

So a little over a month ago Derron from Subterranean emailed me about putting together a show. I had a month to do it so I said, "Sure!" I had a kick-ass line-up in mind ... and then that line-up fell apart. No biggie. So I contacted a couple other bands. And then some more. And then I had suddenly gone through a couple dozen acts, none of whom could do the show due to one member or another, usually the drummer (which made me wonder if I was missing a drummer's convention or something), not being able to make it. This whole time I was trying to book a specific kind of sound for the show, and I realized I was pigeonholing myself.

Then, a little over a week ago, I decided to take a different track, and contacted one of my favorite local bands. I hadn't reached out to them because I thought they were already playing a show too close to the date, but it turns out I was wrong. So I booked them. And then a band I hadn't worked with in a while, but have loved for so long they used to have a different name, reached out to me. Suddenly everything was falling into place! The final piece of the puzzle came when an old friend was able to pull his band into the line-up, insuring a stellar night of music.

The downside, of course, is that I haven't had a whole bunch of time to promote this endeavor, so I'm counting on you. I'm counting on you to show up. I'm counting on you to tell your friends. And I'm counting on you to have a great time. You won't let me down, will you?

The details, for anyone that might be reading this as a feed sans images:

Saturday, April 12
at
The Subterranean

Tankboy presents:
May Or May Not
David Singer
tenniscourts

17+
$8
9 p.m.

And tyhe fun doesn't end there, oh ho no! Afterwards we're all trekking down to The Burlington to see Lisa and JB DJ!

Don't let me down, folks.

Hey, that's my chair!

Hey, that's my chair!

Believe it or not I actually own a pair of Eames chairs. Apparently they also make them in pug-size.

This is what my hair looked like this morning.

This is what my hair looked like this morning.

Certain people I know take a certain perverse pride in getting my hair to do wholly unnatural things, so this photo should tickle them pink.



After that, I found this in my cabinet!

Caught up!

Caught up!

I have read all my issues of the New Yorker. My RSS reader is empty. I have no podcasts in my listening queue. For the first time in years I'm caught up on the three things that seem to be always dogging me and growing out of control as my attention is diverted from one to the other.

I know another podcast will probably hit my in-box before day's end, and I bet when I get home there will be a brand new New Yorker sitting in my mailbox, and it's probably only a matter of minutes -- if not seconds -- before a new item hits my RSS reader ... but for right now I'm going to savor the feeling that I have absolutely nothing, media-wise, to catch up with right this second.

Little drummer boy.

Little drummer boy.

Recording is going well. Tuesday we were going to try and just get three songs, but ended up recording just about every other song we planned on doing! There's only one left to do. It was funny, it took me forever to nail the drums on the first tune that evening, but then we sped through all the rest and kept adding more when we realized how fast we were going. Keep is working on the recordings right now to see if I need to re-record any drums -- he found a better method to mic them the second day-- so once that's done my part in this part of the recording process is done. I'm really looking forward to hearing the finished results!

Speaking of Keep, guess who is DJing with me for Bomb Squad Thursday tonight at Liar's Club? Attendance has been down this winter (duh) so why don't we get everyone to show up tonight in hopes of forcing Spring to done get sprung!

Tilly and the Wall get cacaphonic.

Tilly and the Wall get cacaphonic.


I'm kinda late to the Tilly and the Wall game proper, but have been spinning remixes of their "Freest Man" single for quite a while. They've got a new disc coming out in June, and are starting to leak teaser material. I dig the jumble and thrumble running through the track "Cacophony" and think it might bode well for the album as a whole.

Give it a listen.

MP3: Tilly and the Wall "Cacaphony"

Matt + Kim + Flossy + Some Little Demon Dude.

Matt + Kim + Flossy + Some Little Demon Dude.

I've posted the remix of this song before, but I never saw this homemade video. I was feeling a tad down this A.M., but this perked me right back up.

Blank.

Blank.

For the first time in as long as I can remember, I've woken up with a blank slate. No thoughts on the night before. No thoughts on the day ahead. No thoughts, not even worthless or self-edited thoughts, to even avoid recording.

Weird.

No time to talk, gotta jet!

No time to talk, gotta jet!

Got lots to do today, but I DID want to let you know that JB, Sean, and I are DJing at The Continental tonight. It's been too long since I hunkered down in that particular DJ booth. JB and I are on from 10 until 2, and Sean is batting clean-up from 2 until 4.* I also believe the most lovely and most awesome Chris Kozy will be slinging drinks.

Come on down, buy yerself a drink, and ask me how tonight's recording session went.

*Which incidentally, due to the nature of The Continental, is of course the busiest time ... so make sure you come out BEFORE then to hang with me and JB!

Monday morning miscellany.

Monday morning miscellany.

Just waking up and can't really focus, so, bullet time!

• Started recording my drum parts for the demos last night. This morning I'm sore. It went well, although I was having trouble being 100% pleased with my performance on one of the tunes, so we played it over and over and over again, which is probably why I'm sore. I needn't have worried. Keep played back the last take to me and even though there was still a minor flub it sounded pretty good.
• My landlord sent over a handyman Saturday to do a bunch of stuff promised in my lease, but the dude only did a fraction of the work, and he did it poorly. Dude, if you're going to needlessly paint a closet door, you could at least warn me there's wet paint!
• My hair is out of control this morning. It's doing this Syd Barrett afro thing. Yikes!
• I learned that The Note is turning into a sports bar. Well, maybe not a sports bar, but they're closing to remodel in May and will re-open sans bands. Ah, the ending of an era.
• I finally saw the rooster and the chicken that live next door to me.
• Did my taxes. I owe money. Hooray.
  
• Saw Textbook Saturday and they were great. Their new album is terrific.
• It's Monday. Time to make the donuts.

Photo by Kimblahg

Textbook FINALLY releases a new CD!

Textbook FINALLY releases a new CD!

I really like the new Textbook album. It doesn't come out until June, but they'll have copies of it for sale tonight at The Note. It's also the last show Brian is playing with The Midnight Shows. I highly recommend attending.

Care for a Me-L-T?

Care for a Me-L-T?

I just re-watched all the Yacht Rock episodes last night catch up before watching the current one, below.

They really need to get these things out more regularly.

As Bruce would say, "Oh noooooooooo!"

As Bruce would say, "Oh noooooooooo!"

I know there's a wave of sentimentality coursing through the loins of almost every single girl I know about these guys, but really, I still remember the first time they were around and how atrocious that was.

Looking for a new space.

Looking for a new space.

Hey, I just found out yesterday we need to vacate our practice space by the end of the month, so America's #1 Sweetheart is looking for a new home.

Anyone got a line on a good practice space, or looking for a roommate? We’re currently at Superior Street and if we could stay there that’d be awesome, but we’re also interested in anything else in the area.

Lemme know!

Reagle Beagle.

Reagle Beagle.

We had the Chicagoist happy hour / writer's meet-up last night at this joint downtown called the reagle beagle. I love Three's Company. And I love Betty the Beagle. But this is not a joint I would usually frequent. However, my usual crankery aside, it wasn't bad for a theme bar (although I sort of did feel bad for the outfits they made the waitresses wear) and we had a good time. High lowlight of the evening: the Miller trivia quiz in which I correctly answered a question from one of the roaming Miller Girls (yes, they had Miller Girls roaming) about how many calories were in a Miller Lite,* but declined the prize of a free Miller lite (you're welcome, Amy).

It was a pleasure meeting all the new writers and having a chance to tell them -- well, mostly through Margaret -- that they were doing an awesome job. We have one of the strongest writing staffs we've ever had, and they are all truly kicking ass, which makes my job a heckuva lot easier. I called it a night relatively early though, since the -ist tab stuffed me full of Maker's Mark and Guinness, meaning I actually missed a Bomb Squad Thursday at Liar's Club. Yipes!

*96.

Rock and/or Roll Girls.

Rock and/or Roll Girls.

I realized that I've never dated a girl in a band. Heck, until this recent spate of dating I went through I don't think I'd ever even kissed a girl in a band! There was one gal I seriously considered dating a few years ago, but then Photogal moved back from New York and it never went anywhere. I think it was for the best since the next guy that girl met is the one she's still dating today, and I probably would have driven her nuts.

I think the main reason I never dated girls in bands is because it seemed a bit too close to mixing business with pleasure. Sure, some of my closest friends are in bands, but if I don't get them a primo show it's not going to bleed into any sort of romantic or deeper emotional issues. Also, when you're booking a band, it just feels inappropriate to hit on one of the folks in the band. In one way you're sort of working for each other -- they need you to get them the show and you need them to bring folks in willing to pay for the show -- so it always felt like I would be crossing some moral boundary if I made a pass at them. And let's not even get into the implications of trying to objectively rate someone's music if you're sleeping with them!

That's not to say any of the above would preclude me from dating a woman who rocks, it's just me trying to unpack why I didn't in the past. Who knew guys like me were so ethical, huh?

Seriously stupid.

Seriously stupid.

I was REALLY late to work this morning and it's been eating me up all day. My alarm either didn't go off, or I didn't hear it before it shut itself off, so I inadvertently slept in. Betty the Beagle didn't even try to wake me up! One of the many little things I've had to adapt to is not having another person around to wake me up when that sort of thing happens.

On top of that I missed a meeting and feel like I let my team down by not being there. If you had told me even five years ago I'd be writing a sentence like the previous one, I'd have laughed in your face, but it's true.

I actually care about the work I do, and the people I do it with, so when I don't feel like I'm giving it my best effort it gets me down.

The crap you forgot you had.

The crap you forgot you had.

I totally forgot I had both Louis XIV albums on tankPOD and diPOD until Paul's review reminded me. I have since deleted both to free up disc space. I too enjoyed the band for about three months ... in 1995. And haven't played the group since.

Man, that reminds me, I probably should just set aside an afternoon some weekend to sift through the 'PODs and delete the flotsam and jetsam that has surely built up as I've transferred collections from smaller versions to their current houses. Also, just how much music has gone on them so I could listen to it for review, never bothering to erase it afterwards because I "had all that space left?" I say this as I edge a tad too close to the 80GB threshold* daily, and just can't afford to spring for new models just to double my storage space.

In other news, band practice was pretty great last night, even though we missed Tom's keyboards. One of Keep's oldest songs is becoming a new favorite -- again -- with this kick-ass intro guitar melody. Everything is just souding heavier lately. I'm not sure if it's confidence, increased dynamics, or what, but we're sounding pretty kick-ass.

*Well, roughly. In fact the true storage space is closer to 74.3GB.

A change of pants.

A change of pants.

I finally dug out the gift cards my mom gave me for the last two Christmases and went jeans shopping recently. I put it off for a while since I wanted to wait until I had lost a fair amount of weight before replacing my tattered, baggy jeans collection. And, for the first time since I was maybe 11 or 12, I actually bought fitted jeans that, well, fit!

Man what a difference it makes.

I've already gotten a whole bunch more comments from folks surprised at how much weight I lost, and believe me when I say that's a mighty welcome boost for any ego. Naturally, as soon as I found one pair that looked good I had to go back and buy another exactly like it to make sure they last for a while. I've mentioned it before, but I tend to be one of those types who sticks with the clothes he likes until they're falling off. I've gotten better, since now I try to stick with stuff that fits, but still ... most of the women I've dated over the years have thought it's kind of nuts.

Of course, now that I've spent all that gift card money on new clothes, I'm now worried that I'm suddenly gonna gain all the weight back! I know it's a silly worry, but still, this is the sort of stupid crap I occupy myself with so I can avoid my deeper, more troubling worries, so let me have my harmless fixations, m'kay?

Hmm, I'm sounding too much like a little girl, so let's wash out your mind with some Danava. They played in town last night and I really wanted to see them, but just couldn't make it out. Anyone else reading this seen 'em on this tour?

M4A: Danava "Unonou"

Ugh, it's April Fool's Day.

Ugh, it's April Fool's Day.

O.K., websites and online pundits trying to play April Fool's jokes are just about universally lame at this point. The first thing I see in my in-box this A.M.? Today's Lefsetz Letter wherein crazy Bob tries to get me to believe Apple is buying Universal and tracks on iTunes will now be available for fifteen cents.

The only thing that's even slightly sly about this attempt at online trickery is how close his fevered prediction actually fits into the regular tone of his postings.

Listen, I don't mind a well crafted ruse, but let's please put a moratorium on lame attempts to be "funny" on April Fool's Day.

UPDATE: Here's another one. And another. Another. And of course, this one. Stop the madness! (O.K., the Virgle thing is kind of funny, but only because they're not even trying to pull the wool over your eyes ... they know you're expecting the joke so they just try to let their imagination run wild.)