So much to write about. Alright, well, it was another good weekend, for starters.
We (Glint) were supposed to have our CD release party this past Friday at this big ol’ club called Vertigo here in Nyack, but the booking guy forgot he had booked the last Friday of every month for this DJ, so we got ousted (that and, the CD’s not finished yet… more on that later, maybe). We couldn’t do the next night because Adam was at a wedding, …it just got rescheduled to September 22nd, but the point is, mom and dad were supposed to come down for the gig. I have two uncles in the area that got word of all this and were planning on coming to see the band themselves, so in the end, since we had all blocked off the time anyway, we met up in Manhattan for a swanky dinner. Uncle Sam, Aunt Alex, and cousin Josh came from NJ; Uncle John and Aunt Stacey came from NY, just across the river from me. Just a nice mini-extended family reunion.
And the night before, I showed mom and dad around Nyack. We hit Casa del Sol for dinner (the entrees… eh, not bad… the chips, salsa, and tableside-prepared guacamole… awesome), and were planning on returning there later to rock the open mic night (as much as bossa nova music can rock anything) but it turned out they had scheduled a band instead. No matter... we had a jam session at our apartment instead, featuring dad on trumpet. Ines, Jamie, and some other peeps stopped by so we ended up having a bit of an audience anyway. I think mom and dad had a good time. They got to see my new “stomping grounds” and meet some of my new cronies.
After dinner on Friday we drove back to NJ for the night and the next day I got to hang and be a moron with my cousins, Josh, Ben, and Jordan (age 15, 13, and 10, I think). Highlights…
-Bagels for breakfast
-Walking to get bagels for breakfast (just a nice cool and overcast morning to be walking outside)
-Getting beat by all three cousins at ping-pong (last but not least by ten-year-old cousin Jordan)
-Beating Josh at this Star Wars video game (yes! redemption!)
-Uncle Sam donating a bunch of Stella Artois to me upon our departure
…which leads me to the party Saturday night. It was our friend Jamie’s birthday, so we let her convince us to have a party at our place, especially since she and her friends took care of the keg(s). Overall a fun time. The obligatory jam session started off with some bossa nova… “Wave,” I think… then mutated into some Santana, with yours truly trying to sing above the party banter (until Roberta shoved a microphone at my face, hehe). Oh and some guy was –breakdancing-. To Santana. Yeah. I mean if that’s not a sign of a good party, I don’t know what is.
Sunday:
-Slept wicked late
-Avoided cleaning
-Too much laughing with our neighbors Rob and Kevin
-Ran outside in the rain storm with Rob and Kaley
-Watched “Half-Baked”
…again, am I really allowed to have this kind of fun on a Sunday? I feel like I’ve reclaimed the day as actually just another day in the weekend, not having to do any homework or be at work-work. This newfound freedom is strange.
I’ve had some silly musings, mostly musical, I’ve wanted to write about… but this post, like most of my others, is too long, so, later…
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Casa-taco weekend
Alright, well, I don’t like to brag, but… I think that was pretty much the best weekend ever. I don’t know if they get better than that.
The show went well. We played at this Mexican restaurant/bar, Casa del Sol, right below our apartment on Friday night. I think one of my favorite moments was actually during soundcheck, when we were playing to people that were just finishing their dinner and (I would have guessed) not intending to stick around for this rock band that was about to take the stage. We played “Now I Know,” which is just, a catchy, disco-dance-y head nodder of a tune and, we really got peoples’ attention. They gave us a nice earnest round of applause. Sometimes I get a little down about the fact that we’re playing in the band’s hometown, if even maybe just “for now,” and getting compliments from friends and family, which are nice, but not objective… so this felt pretty good. Anyways, the rest of the show went well. We’d been practicing all week and it showed (except for “Loneliest Motel,” heh).
Raging party afterwards at our apartment…
…I am starting to learn what my criteria for a good party is, and I think at the top of the list is dancing to Jamiroquai with a small group of people. With some MJ thrown in. Hell yeah.
I also did my first keg stand(s).
Sunday, I played tennis for the first time in, years. Beautiful day for it. Adam and I drove down to the courts by the Hudson and played a (wimpy) 45 minutes, then Mateus and I met up with Roberta and Ines later that afternoon at the pool where Ines lifeguards and swam and hung out there until dinner time. We got to talking about tacos, and good beer, and I started preaching the word of Magic Hat #9, and… boom, the idea for a taco night was born. It had been a while since the last one, in Worcester… months!
Playing cards and looking cool... by the pool.
Boats on the Hudson.
Mateus and I went shopping and went right to work when we got back. We had just cleaned the apartment that morning… the girls got dressed up… jazz and salsa music playing… it had a real dinner party vibe to it. Roberta’s impromptu black bean, cheese, and scallion concoction was amazing. And finally I was drinking Magic Hat out of the Magic Hat pint glass and not Natty Ice. I’m still buzzing from it all Monday morning. I felt like, “is this really allowed on a Sunday night?” We hosted a pretty damn nice evening, Mateus and I, if I do say so myself.
Roberta and hippie Phil.
(and for those that know me and my taco-eating history, no, I definitely didn’t break any records)
It feels so good to be making something of my weekends like this. This is a reflection of a few things… being out of school and not having homework, the fact that Nyack is a “cooler” town than Worcester, Waltham, or Concord, but also definitely because of the full time job. If the downside of being the only one in the apartment in such a situation is the clashing of sleep and party schedules, the upside is the contrast I personally get to appreciate between work week and weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not getting much sleep, but I am having fun. And I’m 23 so that’s o.k. for now. ☺
Also, P.S., just so “everyone” knows, due to my neurotic organizational nature, I’ll be posting some pictures from past shows, the wedding, etc., in the post I originally talked about those events. So uh, keep scrolling down. Cool.
The show went well. We played at this Mexican restaurant/bar, Casa del Sol, right below our apartment on Friday night. I think one of my favorite moments was actually during soundcheck, when we were playing to people that were just finishing their dinner and (I would have guessed) not intending to stick around for this rock band that was about to take the stage. We played “Now I Know,” which is just, a catchy, disco-dance-y head nodder of a tune and, we really got peoples’ attention. They gave us a nice earnest round of applause. Sometimes I get a little down about the fact that we’re playing in the band’s hometown, if even maybe just “for now,” and getting compliments from friends and family, which are nice, but not objective… so this felt pretty good. Anyways, the rest of the show went well. We’d been practicing all week and it showed (except for “Loneliest Motel,” heh).
Raging party afterwards at our apartment…
…I am starting to learn what my criteria for a good party is, and I think at the top of the list is dancing to Jamiroquai with a small group of people. With some MJ thrown in. Hell yeah.
I also did my first keg stand(s).
Sunday, I played tennis for the first time in, years. Beautiful day for it. Adam and I drove down to the courts by the Hudson and played a (wimpy) 45 minutes, then Mateus and I met up with Roberta and Ines later that afternoon at the pool where Ines lifeguards and swam and hung out there until dinner time. We got to talking about tacos, and good beer, and I started preaching the word of Magic Hat #9, and… boom, the idea for a taco night was born. It had been a while since the last one, in Worcester… months!
Playing cards and looking cool... by the pool.
Boats on the Hudson.Mateus and I went shopping and went right to work when we got back. We had just cleaned the apartment that morning… the girls got dressed up… jazz and salsa music playing… it had a real dinner party vibe to it. Roberta’s impromptu black bean, cheese, and scallion concoction was amazing. And finally I was drinking Magic Hat out of the Magic Hat pint glass and not Natty Ice. I’m still buzzing from it all Monday morning. I felt like, “is this really allowed on a Sunday night?” We hosted a pretty damn nice evening, Mateus and I, if I do say so myself.
Roberta and hippie Phil.
(and for those that know me and my taco-eating history, no, I definitely didn’t break any records)
It feels so good to be making something of my weekends like this. This is a reflection of a few things… being out of school and not having homework, the fact that Nyack is a “cooler” town than Worcester, Waltham, or Concord, but also definitely because of the full time job. If the downside of being the only one in the apartment in such a situation is the clashing of sleep and party schedules, the upside is the contrast I personally get to appreciate between work week and weekend. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not getting much sleep, but I am having fun. And I’m 23 so that’s o.k. for now. ☺
Also, P.S., just so “everyone” knows, due to my neurotic organizational nature, I’ll be posting some pictures from past shows, the wedding, etc., in the post I originally talked about those events. So uh, keep scrolling down. Cool.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Hm, title...
“I’m against picketing, but I don’t know how to show it.” – Mitch Hedburg
Hehe.
I’ve become a Wikipedia fan. Good stuff.
I have been busy… good busy, but busy. I got back to Nyack Sunday night after the wedding and we’ve been practicing every night since then for the Casa del Sol show this Friday. –And- having people over after practice a couple of those nights. Crazy. I half-jokingly think of Oregon Trail, when you’re setting a pace for your wagon… “grueling: you go non-stop every day and your health suffers.” Not that my health has been “suffering” per se, but man, I sure could use some more sleep. It reminds me of my lab-by-day, radio-station-by-night summer a few years ago in school. Except everything then was within walking distance. Heh. So goes the life of a… just check my tagline.
Over and out…
Hehe.
I’ve become a Wikipedia fan. Good stuff.
I have been busy… good busy, but busy. I got back to Nyack Sunday night after the wedding and we’ve been practicing every night since then for the Casa del Sol show this Friday. –And- having people over after practice a couple of those nights. Crazy. I half-jokingly think of Oregon Trail, when you’re setting a pace for your wagon… “grueling: you go non-stop every day and your health suffers.” Not that my health has been “suffering” per se, but man, I sure could use some more sleep. It reminds me of my lab-by-day, radio-station-by-night summer a few years ago in school. Except everything then was within walking distance. Heh. So goes the life of a… just check my tagline.
Over and out…
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Moonlight in VT
The wedding! Was, awesome. For anyone that doesn’t know, I’m referring to my buddy and former bandmate Myles and his longtime girlfriend Dominique.
A successful canoe ride(!) from the church.
Dylan (bassist from Glint) needed to get to New England that weekend as well, since he had a gig back in Braintree, so we found ourselves scurrying around New York Thursday evening with our respective weekend luggage, trying to make the 8:00 “Fung Wah” Chinatown bus to Boston. I do like any excuse to get into the city... it was a nice day to be outside and nice to have a travel companion to shmooze and take in the city scenery with. We met a yoga instructor on the train from Nyack… if I may make a generalization here, I’ve found that people involved with yoga tend to be very socially comfortable people.
Right. The wedding. It was such a nice change of scenery (and weather… in the 70’s!). It took place in the rural Vermont town of Greensboro, in the northern part of the state, probably only an hour from Canada. We’re talking, don’t-leave-the-water-running-too-long, “take a left down the dirt road and follow that for a mile or so” Vermont. Very pretty, and peaceful… right on a lake. The ceremony took place at the town church, but the rest of the weekend was centered around the Matteson’s summer house, just up the road. This thing was built in 1912 by (I’m guessing) Myles’ great grandfather (maybe great-great?) and is –huge-. The Mattesons will tell you it sleeps 22 people. They had done a lot of work on it since I’d seen it years ago and it looked amazing.
I got a real kick out of being a groomsman. Being part of that “team,” not just a guest. There were –seven- of us (including my brother), more than I’ve ever heard of at a wedding. It was fun being an usher, all spiffed out in my suit, seating aunts and grandmothers. Heh. Myles had asked me to play piano for the processional, a song off of Dominique’s recent album (she is an excellent singer and harpist) and it went off without a hitch. And I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding where church bells actually rang after the ceremony. I was kind of tickled at that one.
La famille Selesnick.
It was one of those days where you felt tired before your normal bedtime because of all the activity (er, for those of us going to bed around midnight). Lots of contra dancing… a short-lived but nice Clan Du reunion set… Dad, Jeff, and I played some jazz, again at Myles’ request, amongst all the Celtic and folk music and musicians, which was well received… kegs of Smuttynose beer, a New Hampshire microbrew… some frisbee action… nice to see my family again… don’t try mixing white wine with fruit punch because it’s about as good an idea as mixing Magic Hat #9 beer with vanilla ice cream (what moron and his friend Hogan would do such a thing?)… awesome. At night we had a huge bonfire on the back lawn, complete with a very Wet Hot American Summer/Napoleon Dynamite end-of-the-movie-weird-guy-proving-himself-at-the-talent-show fire dancing exhibition by the day’s token weird kid, backed up by Mike MacNintch, friend of the Mattesons, on bagpipes. It was actually pretty cool, kind of like a raver with glowsticks, except with three-foot long ball-and-chain things on –fire-. Yeah. I was impressed.
The new extended family.
Oh! Heh. And the bachelor party. No, no strippers, nothing like that. The groomsmen and some friends “kidnapped” Myles from an all-too-peaceful Friday evening post-dinner shmooze session, blindfolded him (read: someone threw a t-shirt over his head), threw him in the back of the van, and drove off to a field to have a bonfire and cookout. We toasted and “here-here”-d, told stories and limericks, drank good beer (a nice change of pace from all the PBR and Milwaukee’s Best at the Nyack apartment parties) and ate way too many s’mores and American cheese-topped hot dogs.
Jeff and Ted in the van after successfully kidnapping Myles.
Overall, a great weekend. Congrats to Myles and Dom. And props to the Mattesons for putting on such an affair.
A successful canoe ride(!) from the church. Dylan (bassist from Glint) needed to get to New England that weekend as well, since he had a gig back in Braintree, so we found ourselves scurrying around New York Thursday evening with our respective weekend luggage, trying to make the 8:00 “Fung Wah” Chinatown bus to Boston. I do like any excuse to get into the city... it was a nice day to be outside and nice to have a travel companion to shmooze and take in the city scenery with. We met a yoga instructor on the train from Nyack… if I may make a generalization here, I’ve found that people involved with yoga tend to be very socially comfortable people.
Right. The wedding. It was such a nice change of scenery (and weather… in the 70’s!). It took place in the rural Vermont town of Greensboro, in the northern part of the state, probably only an hour from Canada. We’re talking, don’t-leave-the-water-running-too-long, “take a left down the dirt road and follow that for a mile or so” Vermont. Very pretty, and peaceful… right on a lake. The ceremony took place at the town church, but the rest of the weekend was centered around the Matteson’s summer house, just up the road. This thing was built in 1912 by (I’m guessing) Myles’ great grandfather (maybe great-great?) and is –huge-. The Mattesons will tell you it sleeps 22 people. They had done a lot of work on it since I’d seen it years ago and it looked amazing.
I got a real kick out of being a groomsman. Being part of that “team,” not just a guest. There were –seven- of us (including my brother), more than I’ve ever heard of at a wedding. It was fun being an usher, all spiffed out in my suit, seating aunts and grandmothers. Heh. Myles had asked me to play piano for the processional, a song off of Dominique’s recent album (she is an excellent singer and harpist) and it went off without a hitch. And I don’t think I’ve ever been to a wedding where church bells actually rang after the ceremony. I was kind of tickled at that one.
La famille Selesnick.It was one of those days where you felt tired before your normal bedtime because of all the activity (er, for those of us going to bed around midnight). Lots of contra dancing… a short-lived but nice Clan Du reunion set… Dad, Jeff, and I played some jazz, again at Myles’ request, amongst all the Celtic and folk music and musicians, which was well received… kegs of Smuttynose beer, a New Hampshire microbrew… some frisbee action… nice to see my family again… don’t try mixing white wine with fruit punch because it’s about as good an idea as mixing Magic Hat #9 beer with vanilla ice cream (what moron and his friend Hogan would do such a thing?)… awesome. At night we had a huge bonfire on the back lawn, complete with a very Wet Hot American Summer/Napoleon Dynamite end-of-the-movie-weird-guy-proving-himself-at-the-talent-show fire dancing exhibition by the day’s token weird kid, backed up by Mike MacNintch, friend of the Mattesons, on bagpipes. It was actually pretty cool, kind of like a raver with glowsticks, except with three-foot long ball-and-chain things on –fire-. Yeah. I was impressed.
The new extended family.
Oh! Heh. And the bachelor party. No, no strippers, nothing like that. The groomsmen and some friends “kidnapped” Myles from an all-too-peaceful Friday evening post-dinner shmooze session, blindfolded him (read: someone threw a t-shirt over his head), threw him in the back of the van, and drove off to a field to have a bonfire and cookout. We toasted and “here-here”-d, told stories and limericks, drank good beer (a nice change of pace from all the PBR and Milwaukee’s Best at the Nyack apartment parties) and ate way too many s’mores and American cheese-topped hot dogs.
Jeff and Ted in the van after successfully kidnapping Myles.
Overall, a great weekend. Congrats to Myles and Dom. And props to the Mattesons for putting on such an affair.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Is it really August?
(I'm going to throw something at that woman who coughs all the time... stop smoking, hon, do yourself and everyone else a favor... honest to god...)
Ahem. Anyways.
Pretty good weekend. The show went well. We spent almost all of Saturday setting up, moving the Clavinova digital piano (kind of a pain in the ass, admittedly, but worth it in the end sonically), soundchecking, and pimping out the stage with tapestries and candles. Adam wanted to give it the "Alice in Chains Unplugged" vibe (which apparently meant lots of candles) since it was an acoustic show. We even had some sweet lighting, thanks to Evan and Jonathan's help. It was a long and at times stressful afternoon... Jase's guitar was feeding back and he broke a couple strings... I cut myself shaving (who needs to know this?!) and wasn't too thrilled with the outfit I picked out, although it did involve some pretty stylin' pinstripe pants (thanks Vicky)...
...in the end, our patience and persistence paid off. We finally got a nice sound out of everything and rocked the show. The Marilyn Manson(!) cover sounded good, "Coma White," as did Jase's new tune "One of a Kind." Some of our jammier tunes are good, yes, but songs like these last two sound more professional than the others because everyone's parts are more set in stone. We also worked up an older Glint song, "Don't Leave Me," one I've always been a fan of. The local radio guys were impressed and have rebroadcasted the show a couple times since Saturday night. And we were asked back on a monthly basis. I'll try and post some pics when I get them because the stage really looked awesome.
And before all that I had a nice little Saturday morning to myself strolling around sunny Nyack. After the haircut (god it's nice to have short hair again) I hit up one of the thrift stores, got a shirt and some nice bookends (for my growing Dr. Seuss book collection) for $5 total, then hit the library to apply for a card. I've almost finished the book I've been reading for (too embarrassed to say years) and have been amassing a small list of books I want to read in the meantime, so I figured, what the hell. Once I get the Volvo down here in a couple weeks (if I decide it's really worth the extra $$ for gas, etc.), I won't have that reading-on-the-bus-ride-home time anymore, really the only time I -have- been reading, but I'm hoping I will make the time. Besides that, the library has a pretty nice DVD collection, and for those that don't know, we just happen to have a totally sweet projector and large white wall for watching such DVD's with/on at the apartment. Hell yes.
Alright, enough for now. Oh and Jonathan's Nashville documentary rocks. It's 12 minutes long and nicely chronicles our time there (although I wouldn't have minded seeing footage from the bar, eating local "po boy" sandwiches, playing darts, and listening to the all-too-appropriate-sounding for Nashville "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits, one of my new favorite tunes, on the jukebox... such a complainer Phil!). We're going to try and post it on the site soon.
Wednesday night I am -finally- going to this jazz session in Orangeburg, 10 minutes away, that I've been hearing about for weeks now but until now couldn't get to because I didn't have a car (I'm borrowing Adam's car this week, since he's in Nashville [yes, again] with Jase mixing the last two songs we added on this past month and mastering the whole album once more). I'm excited to network with local jazz guys, to finally strut my stuff, to play that kind of music again.
There are good things in my life right now. Some neat people and lots of things happening. Our apartment is great, our neighbors are cool guys and Nyack is a cool town. Sometimes it's hard to focus on what's positive because my future is still uncertain and I do have my doubts and frustrations with the band. And the job, the job is alright, it's not excellent. The living situation is a little crazy at times... that's a topic for another day. But I'm sticking with all of this because the bit of "life" I experience here is nice... cooking for myself, open mic nights, being able to go into the city... even the little things like shopping or applying for a library card... and also because I believe -someone- will take notice once this album is out. I can't wait to be on the other side of that fence. Having a CD, a product (and a pretty damn good one at that), will make such a difference.
Ahem. Anyways.
Pretty good weekend. The show went well. We spent almost all of Saturday setting up, moving the Clavinova digital piano (kind of a pain in the ass, admittedly, but worth it in the end sonically), soundchecking, and pimping out the stage with tapestries and candles. Adam wanted to give it the "Alice in Chains Unplugged" vibe (which apparently meant lots of candles) since it was an acoustic show. We even had some sweet lighting, thanks to Evan and Jonathan's help. It was a long and at times stressful afternoon... Jase's guitar was feeding back and he broke a couple strings... I cut myself shaving (who needs to know this?!) and wasn't too thrilled with the outfit I picked out, although it did involve some pretty stylin' pinstripe pants (thanks Vicky)...
...in the end, our patience and persistence paid off. We finally got a nice sound out of everything and rocked the show. The Marilyn Manson(!) cover sounded good, "Coma White," as did Jase's new tune "One of a Kind." Some of our jammier tunes are good, yes, but songs like these last two sound more professional than the others because everyone's parts are more set in stone. We also worked up an older Glint song, "Don't Leave Me," one I've always been a fan of. The local radio guys were impressed and have rebroadcasted the show a couple times since Saturday night. And we were asked back on a monthly basis. I'll try and post some pics when I get them because the stage really looked awesome.
And before all that I had a nice little Saturday morning to myself strolling around sunny Nyack. After the haircut (god it's nice to have short hair again) I hit up one of the thrift stores, got a shirt and some nice bookends (for my growing Dr. Seuss book collection) for $5 total, then hit the library to apply for a card. I've almost finished the book I've been reading for (too embarrassed to say years) and have been amassing a small list of books I want to read in the meantime, so I figured, what the hell. Once I get the Volvo down here in a couple weeks (if I decide it's really worth the extra $$ for gas, etc.), I won't have that reading-on-the-bus-ride-home time anymore, really the only time I -have- been reading, but I'm hoping I will make the time. Besides that, the library has a pretty nice DVD collection, and for those that don't know, we just happen to have a totally sweet projector and large white wall for watching such DVD's with/on at the apartment. Hell yes.
Alright, enough for now. Oh and Jonathan's Nashville documentary rocks. It's 12 minutes long and nicely chronicles our time there (although I wouldn't have minded seeing footage from the bar, eating local "po boy" sandwiches, playing darts, and listening to the all-too-appropriate-sounding for Nashville "Sultans of Swing" by Dire Straits, one of my new favorite tunes, on the jukebox... such a complainer Phil!). We're going to try and post it on the site soon.
Wednesday night I am -finally- going to this jazz session in Orangeburg, 10 minutes away, that I've been hearing about for weeks now but until now couldn't get to because I didn't have a car (I'm borrowing Adam's car this week, since he's in Nashville [yes, again] with Jase mixing the last two songs we added on this past month and mastering the whole album once more). I'm excited to network with local jazz guys, to finally strut my stuff, to play that kind of music again.
There are good things in my life right now. Some neat people and lots of things happening. Our apartment is great, our neighbors are cool guys and Nyack is a cool town. Sometimes it's hard to focus on what's positive because my future is still uncertain and I do have my doubts and frustrations with the band. And the job, the job is alright, it's not excellent. The living situation is a little crazy at times... that's a topic for another day. But I'm sticking with all of this because the bit of "life" I experience here is nice... cooking for myself, open mic nights, being able to go into the city... even the little things like shopping or applying for a library card... and also because I believe -someone- will take notice once this album is out. I can't wait to be on the other side of that fence. Having a CD, a product (and a pretty damn good one at that), will make such a difference.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Bossa nova!
Well I'll be damned. We open mic'd it last night and, killed. I mean, kind of. It went over well. I'm just surprised we ended up doing it so soon. Roberta sounded more confident on all the tunes in practice, so we made some arrangements and convinced ourselves tonight was the night. Er, last night. Right.
Mateus and I lugged the Clavinova downstairs and in the back door of Casa del Sol... some of the house band musicians joined in, on acoustic guitar and hand drum... everyone was smiling and having a good time.
Our setlist (ha!):
Wave
The Girl from Ipanema
Tarde de Itapoa
Desafinado
These are all bossa nova standards, mostly by a guy named A.C. Jobim.
It feels good to be playing something remotely close to jazz again. I impressed one of the house band guys too, which was cool. Anyways.
Acoustic gig (Glint) this weekend at the Hudson House. Apparently they make a ginger martini there. May have to try it. And I just got word that Jonathan, our video guy, is coming down for the weekend to record the show but also to show us a DVD he made of all the footage we shot in Nashville last April (while we were mixing the album)! Again, stoked. We've been waiting to see this stuff for a while.
Mateus and I lugged the Clavinova downstairs and in the back door of Casa del Sol... some of the house band musicians joined in, on acoustic guitar and hand drum... everyone was smiling and having a good time.
Our setlist (ha!):
Wave
The Girl from Ipanema
Tarde de Itapoa
Desafinado
These are all bossa nova standards, mostly by a guy named A.C. Jobim.
It feels good to be playing something remotely close to jazz again. I impressed one of the house band guys too, which was cool. Anyways.
Acoustic gig (Glint) this weekend at the Hudson House. Apparently they make a ginger martini there. May have to try it. And I just got word that Jonathan, our video guy, is coming down for the weekend to record the show but also to show us a DVD he made of all the footage we shot in Nashville last April (while we were mixing the album)! Again, stoked. We've been waiting to see this stuff for a while.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
This damn muzak...
Seriously. They pump muzak through the intercom where I work. I'd say I like 1 song for every 20 they play... Sultans of Swing comes on every now and then, Oasis, Sting... but mostly it is SHLOCK (I've really been liking that word lately... shlock!). Would I rather it go away completely, though? Hm. Adult-contempo music or none at all?
Anyways... here I am at work, about to start the day, ...I guess this is when I feel like posting the most, for some reason?
Last night Mateus and I watched "Be Cool" (is this a sequel to something?). I think I liked it, but there was something about it I just couldn't put my finger on... a -tad- bit cheesy, way way too many cameos/big stars... yeah, there was some pretty lame acting. We tried to watch Wayne's World 2 first, but like most of Adam's DVDs (heh), it skipped to high heaven.
Thursday! :) Awesome. Thursday means open mic night at Casa del Sol, right downstairs, and $2 Coronas. I wish it were easier for me to take part in one of these things... I guess all it'll take is keeping the Nord (keyboard) at the apartment instead of the studio, and just bringing it down... I don't know. I don't think I'd want a bunch of other guys playing it, to be honest. But it would be cool to add some ORGAN to some of those Santana/latin jams the house band does...
And before that, Roberta is coming over to jam on our usual 3-4 bossa nova/A.C. Jobim tunes. She is a little shy about singing into a microphone, so I'm not sure if performing at the open mic is in the near future, but we'll see. I was saying to Mateus, I like the "instrumental exclusivity" of our little trio... piano, hand drum, voice. Chords, rhythm, melody. Everyone's got their own "thing." It reminds me of that one gig Tyler, Alissa and I played years ago at one of the Concord auditoriums with Ty on cittern, Alissa on cello, and me on conga drum. Technically an offshoot of Clan Du but the vibe was more Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (mostly thanks to Alissa). Yeah. Anyways. Alright, time for work.
Anyways... here I am at work, about to start the day, ...I guess this is when I feel like posting the most, for some reason?
Last night Mateus and I watched "Be Cool" (is this a sequel to something?). I think I liked it, but there was something about it I just couldn't put my finger on... a -tad- bit cheesy, way way too many cameos/big stars... yeah, there was some pretty lame acting. We tried to watch Wayne's World 2 first, but like most of Adam's DVDs (heh), it skipped to high heaven.
Thursday! :) Awesome. Thursday means open mic night at Casa del Sol, right downstairs, and $2 Coronas. I wish it were easier for me to take part in one of these things... I guess all it'll take is keeping the Nord (keyboard) at the apartment instead of the studio, and just bringing it down... I don't know. I don't think I'd want a bunch of other guys playing it, to be honest. But it would be cool to add some ORGAN to some of those Santana/latin jams the house band does...
And before that, Roberta is coming over to jam on our usual 3-4 bossa nova/A.C. Jobim tunes. She is a little shy about singing into a microphone, so I'm not sure if performing at the open mic is in the near future, but we'll see. I was saying to Mateus, I like the "instrumental exclusivity" of our little trio... piano, hand drum, voice. Chords, rhythm, melody. Everyone's got their own "thing." It reminds me of that one gig Tyler, Alissa and I played years ago at one of the Concord auditoriums with Ty on cittern, Alissa on cello, and me on conga drum. Technically an offshoot of Clan Du but the vibe was more Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (mostly thanks to Alissa). Yeah. Anyways. Alright, time for work.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Three little things
1) The "Tappan ZEExpress" bus gets me to work faster, giving me 40 extra minutes of sleep in the morning.
2) Haircut this Saturday. This long hair is frustrating. Time to chop it off and look all good for Myles' wedding.
3) Tom says he's recovered some video tapes of the last few Edition shows and is putting them on his computer! I'm really pretty stoked about this. Our last Chum's show, in February... our outdoor Springfest show... awesome. Nothing with dad or Jeff, unfortunately, but hey.
2) Haircut this Saturday. This long hair is frustrating. Time to chop it off and look all good for Myles' wedding.
3) Tom says he's recovered some video tapes of the last few Edition shows and is putting them on his computer! I'm really pretty stoked about this. Our last Chum's show, in February... our outdoor Springfest show... awesome. Nothing with dad or Jeff, unfortunately, but hey.
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