Yup

Boy, it sure is hard not to title this entry “Changes” or something cliché/flowery like that (hm, when I type “cliché” Word automatically adds the little accent… slick!). Because the times sure are a-changin’!

I have left the band. Several reasons: I was tired of waiting… the negatives had been outweighing the positives, musically… I had just been growing more and more doubtful of things. Yup. It was time. I do think there’s a chance these guys could do some cool shit but, it was just taking too long and I hadn’t been enjoying the ride of late.

I do have my tail between my legs a bit and it’s a tough feeling. I wanted to do more with these guys. In their eyes, we had been making progress these past two years but in my eyes, it was slow progress… they had talked pretty big game from day one, and I wanted to believe I’d at least –start- to see the kind of places and play the kinds of shows they were talking about within a year of joining. For various reasons I chose to stay past that point; I wanted to see what we could do with the album we had been spending so much time and money on. It’s been out for four months now, and yes, in the music industry that’s probably not a very long time, but I had just been losing faith and interest in the music in general. It has been tough to be that honest with myself, but, there it is.

There were some fun times, musical and not… I’ve gotten to play at some pretty cool places all around New York… Central Park, the Knitting Factory… but with only modest success, in my eyes. It’s time to try something else.

So what is next?

I shadowed a medical physicist back in December at Concord Hospital and had been thinking about more school for a while. It was only weeks ago I realized I could get things started sooner than I thought… basically, these programs require or recommend basic chemistry, biology, and computer science, which I really didn’t take at Brandeis, so before applying to any master’s programs, I wanted to take some of those classes at a local SUNY school (where I could now get in-state tuition, having been here for a year). We’re talking, 4-6 classes. I had been planning to give the band until this winter, take these classes over two semesters in 2008, then apply in early 2009 for Fall 2009 admission (to the med physics programs). I wasn’t completely satisfied with the idea… worried about letter-of-rec opportunities drying up, about staying away from school for that much longer, about getting it all started that much later. But then I remembered… ah! Summer semester. So that’s the plan right now. Looking to attend SUNY Purchase, just over the bridge, and take chemistry this summer and bio and cosi in the fall. As we say here at New Street, once again… doin’ it. No, I don’t know if this will all work out, of course, but I want to try before it’s “too late.”

Other changes (some trivial, some not-so)… just got my NY license… my fave (read: “the only”) Indian restaurant in Nyack, Natraz, is –closing-… this was the site of many a Rob-‘n-Phil rant-while-enjoying-the-$10-lunch-buffet session; got a haircut (ooh!); “inherited” a queen-size mattress (about damn time); Jeff is graduating from his five-year program at Emerson, Vicky from high school; Hogan shaved his head(!!!); Andy’s getting married…

And, on the not-so-trivial side, since the summer classes I want to take are only offered in the morning (every weekday), I will need a new job… so. Lots to take care of in the next few weeks. Classes start on June 11th. I told Glint I’d play gigs with them up until that point. In the meantime, I am busy figuring out how to front the $ for these classes, applying for NY residency, trying to find a new part-time gig (oy), keeping any references/etc. “fresh,” are we renewing our lease, or trying to convince our landlord to let us stay on a month-to-month basis if Glint really packs up and heads west? …all that. Craziness.

As for other musical opps… well, there will be plenty. School is out and Sabrina will be returning to NY; Michelle V. is out in LA shopping around her demo (which I played on) and will be home soon as well; Dylan may have secured a weekly Thursday night residence at Olive’s for himself, Andy “Rock,” this great local drummer Seth, and me, playing classic rock, Floyd, Doors, Zeppelin, et al; jazz jam across the street will be happening at least through the end of summer; Frankie D., our local blues/soul guy that I sit in with from time to time; and who knows, maybe I’ll up and join some working cover band that rehearses once a week and plays weddings and bar mitzvahs, ha… all joking aside, I have wondered about that kind of gig… I sure could use the bucks, now that I’ll be a student again.

Bottom line: I surround myself with people who really are “doin’ it,” I mean, doing interesting things, and/or planning for the future, and/or just content with where they are: my brother, my sister, Hogan, Andy, Gila, Tom, Dan, Shara, certainly in some aspects Jase and Adam… and I just want to be part of that “club.” Over the past two years I had felt like, at various times and in various combinations, I was not meeting the “doin’ it” criteria listed above.

Stay tuned for a bunch of pictures!