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.