Bad wood underneath the veneer
Sunday, July 23, 2006
Cut
At work, Jaden, who is five, talks to his para.
Para: Jaden, how 'bout you eat your sandwich.
Jaden: How 'bout I cut you.
later...
Para: You need to do your numbers.
Jaden: walking over to the only male in the classroom. You need to beat her.
pfffttt! ¶ 1:35 PM 1 comments
Para: Jaden, how 'bout you eat your sandwich.
Jaden: How 'bout I cut you.
later...
Para: You need to do your numbers.
Jaden: walking over to the only male in the classroom. You need to beat her.
pfffttt! ¶ 1:35 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Holiday Inn
Vonnegut!
Yes, living in Midland, I know what you wrote was true. For instance, take your character Dwayne Hoover (from Breakfast of Champions and Deadeye Dick) and his gay son. Hoover disowns his son, and his son plays piano at the Holiday Inn. Anyway, I was talking to my old guitar/piano teacher about Midland being a dragging scene and so forth. Then I mentioned you, Kurt Vonnegut, in passing and how you stayed at the Holiday Inn in Midland and wrote all these stories about how horrible it is here and how you were and are right and blah, blah, blah. Apparently, my old teacher used to play piano at this Holiday Inn (this! Holiday Inn, which is less than a mile from my house) presumably around the same or a little after the time when you visited Midland. And apparently, the owner of the Holiday Inn's real name was Whittaker, and his son, who had a pronounced lisp, was a piano player too. My teacher's last name is Widiger. Well, if you can imagine, he was hit on a great deal by the passing gay men. They used to always buy him drinks, and, while he didn't appreciate the male attention, he did appreciate free drinks. But he never knew why all this happened until I mentioned this character from your novels.
Weird? Yes. Should my old guitar teacher read more? Probably. ¶ 10:11 AM 0 comments
Yes, living in Midland, I know what you wrote was true. For instance, take your character Dwayne Hoover (from Breakfast of Champions and Deadeye Dick) and his gay son. Hoover disowns his son, and his son plays piano at the Holiday Inn. Anyway, I was talking to my old guitar/piano teacher about Midland being a dragging scene and so forth. Then I mentioned you, Kurt Vonnegut, in passing and how you stayed at the Holiday Inn in Midland and wrote all these stories about how horrible it is here and how you were and are right and blah, blah, blah. Apparently, my old teacher used to play piano at this Holiday Inn (this! Holiday Inn, which is less than a mile from my house) presumably around the same or a little after the time when you visited Midland. And apparently, the owner of the Holiday Inn's real name was Whittaker, and his son, who had a pronounced lisp, was a piano player too. My teacher's last name is Widiger. Well, if you can imagine, he was hit on a great deal by the passing gay men. They used to always buy him drinks, and, while he didn't appreciate the male attention, he did appreciate free drinks. But he never knew why all this happened until I mentioned this character from your novels.
Weird? Yes. Should my old guitar teacher read more? Probably. ¶ 10:11 AM 0 comments
Monday, July 17, 2006
Hoist That Rag
I recorded a little demo of the Tom Waits song "Hoist That Rag" today. Out of respect for Waits (and the law), I'm not posting it anywhere. But if anyone wants it, let me know and I'll email it to you. It's a sort of folky, dirgey version w/ banjo. Hardly does it justice, but who could ever?
¶ 4:55 PM 3 comments
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Update
Wait for it. My album is underway and I'm real excited about it. I should make you all suspense-full and not tell you anything about this album, but I don't think anybody comes here. So if nobody comes here, Ryan, you're just processing this information - this trite and meaningless information - for yourself. Right. Whatever. I will break this down into about 2-9 exciting facts:
1. I have assembled a very professional crew to fill out my sound! They are as follows:
2. Dave Malinich is a great engineer/producer and is real good to work with. About me, Dave sez:
"He has nice chord changes."
Gibbs says in my ear:
"pleaseletmeshowyoumypenis"
That crazy guy!
3. I have overhauled most of my songs. Which is probably a good idea, considering the wide subject matter and the two years over which these were written. Most of them have been fingerdicked so much in the last month or two that it'll show just where I am musically these days.
4. Tracklist:
5. Title: Back To From Where You Came, which is from two things: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" by Bob Dylan and something out of the Bible which is about the east wend blowing back to from where it came. I think it's in Ecclesiastes.
I am about 35-40% through. Friday, we're recording the pedal steel and piano parts. Saturday, the drums, which leaves bgvs, bass, sax, mixing, mastering and other odds and ends along the way.
Safety tip for the studio. Keep pop away from electronic stuff. It's a bad idea. Unless you need it. And YOU need it. Bad. ¶ 7:05 PM 1 comments
1. I have assembled a very professional crew to fill out my sound! They are as follows:
Drums: Ryan O. (An intense, heavy metal drummer. Wow!)
Bass: Bax (Andrew Bakke in my last band.)
Piano: George Widiger (Man, he's good.)
Sax(es?): John Anderson (Managed to fit me into his superbusy schedule.)
Pedal Steel: Rodney Colmus (What a break! Glad I got him.)
Hard guitar parts and some keyboards: Dave Malinich! (also at the controls)
BGVs: Daniel Miloch (a brilliant cat with creativity out the butt crick!)
Chorus: (various) Chuck Powell, Matt McConnell, Jess and Katherine Leng, Jonathan Ault, Joanna Lodico, Dan Miloch, Tory Spence.
Guitars, Vocalz, Banjo, Harmonica, Whistling, Easy Percussion, Mandolin: Me
Bass: Bax (Andrew Bakke in my last band.)
Piano: George Widiger (Man, he's good.)
Sax(es?): John Anderson (Managed to fit me into his superbusy schedule.)
Pedal Steel: Rodney Colmus (What a break! Glad I got him.)
Hard guitar parts and some keyboards: Dave Malinich! (also at the controls)
BGVs: Daniel Miloch (a brilliant cat with creativity out the butt crick!)
Chorus: (various) Chuck Powell, Matt McConnell, Jess and Katherine Leng, Jonathan Ault, Joanna Lodico, Dan Miloch, Tory Spence.
Guitars, Vocalz, Banjo, Harmonica, Whistling, Easy Percussion, Mandolin: Me
2. Dave Malinich is a great engineer/producer and is real good to work with. About me, Dave sez:
"He has nice chord changes."
Gibbs says in my ear:
"pleaseletmeshowyoumypenis"
That crazy guy!
3. I have overhauled most of my songs. Which is probably a good idea, considering the wide subject matter and the two years over which these were written. Most of them have been fingerdicked so much in the last month or two that it'll show just where I am musically these days.
4. Tracklist:
1. Sunlight Dialogues
2. I Got Memories
3. Just Give Me a Minute!
4. Heaven-ward for Rabbit Byrd
5. The Fall
6. Can You Not Stop?
7. Lucero
8. The Lambs
9. Only October
10. Lunita
2. I Got Memories
3. Just Give Me a Minute!
4. Heaven-ward for Rabbit Byrd
5. The Fall
6. Can You Not Stop?
7. Lucero
8. The Lambs
9. Only October
10. Lunita
5. Title: Back To From Where You Came, which is from two things: "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" by Bob Dylan and something out of the Bible which is about the east wend blowing back to from where it came. I think it's in Ecclesiastes.
I am about 35-40% through. Friday, we're recording the pedal steel and piano parts. Saturday, the drums, which leaves bgvs, bass, sax, mixing, mastering and other odds and ends along the way.
Safety tip for the studio. Keep pop away from electronic stuff. It's a bad idea. Unless you need it. And YOU need it. Bad. ¶ 7:05 PM 1 comments
