Is it bettah ta blog about nuthang….

then ta nawt blog at all? Thoughts?

In sad news, one of my band members suffered a loss in his family so we did not make it to Sacramento last week. He seems to be doing okay, and we’re looking forward to rawkin the House of Shields before he goes on tour w/o me this Friday.

Nawt much exciting has happened, altho apparently ah gawt gunk on one of my brake pads n it was startin ta scare me a bit… n then somethang excitin happened:

My friend who ah haven’t seen since a few summahs ago in Iowa calls me n invites me to a punk show at her friends house, n ah see her kickass warehouse space n watch 5 folx from chicago play in two different bands w. big assed smiles on thar face n tha one guy tells me that this is tha first time they’ve really felt appreciated since they left fer tour two weeks ago n it was great. Ah was given an aloe plant ta grow n repotted my cactus who’s been suffering, as well as movin em outside fer more sun.

Tha Bay Area knows how ta dae weekends, ah gawta hand it ta them. Doesn’t mattah what tha weekdays been like, Saturday n Sunday are usually drop-dead gorgeous tempratures n climates. This aftahnoon ah biked home from Emeryville, partially along tha coast/highway. Tha Bay has a pungent odor, n thar were a ton of dogs at one particular beach havin a blast.

Also watched Super High Me, wherein Doug Benson stops smoking pot for 30 days, and then spends tha next 30 REALLY stoned. He defintely fawked up a lawt more in his standup when he was stoned, er at least thas how it was intended ta come across. As a movie, it was uneven (big surprise), but it had a decent little charm to it, and is tha most potentially mainstream movie ahve seen that adequately describes how medical cannabis works in lovely CA.

Posted in gardening, punk show, super high me, uu friends, warren teagarden | 1 Comment

A few thangs….

My rents have been in town this weekend, which has been good. It’s also meant a lawt of eatin out at fancy places ah ken only drool about. Hurray fer my genetic contributers!

Warren Teagarden had a CD release on Friday at tha weirdest club ahve evah played in. Tha upstairs is a swanky lounge w. couches (n some jam band playin when we gawt thar). Tha downstairs is a dingy concrete basement with airplane seats. One of tha walls has actually been made to look like tha windows of an airplane – complete w. a flashing light. Strange. BUT, there was two cases of PBR fer tha bands, n a generous jager shot fer $5. Ah think people had a good time – ah was a bit too intae tha PBR ta really be able ta tell….

Ahve been skippin yoga a lawt recently – nawt sure exactly why. Ah keep tellin myself ahma gae, n then, ah dont. My apologies fer bein lame – er maybe ahm tryin ta git my waist size back up. Nawt a good idea tho – cuz ah bought 3 pairs of shorts today – fer a total of 12 bux. Hellz yeah good will!

Ah downloaded tha recent Magnetic Fields album – ahm nawt really a huge fan of them, but ah needed somethang new ta listen to, n figured they might just be able ta win me ovah w. an album called Distortion. Ah was wrong – ah think ah dislike them even more then evah. First off, tha lyrics are really clevah – but they are so clevah ah think they don’t pay too much attention to tha songs themselves. Tha production on this album tries way too hard ta be low-fi, n really, thars nawt a single tune thats been stuck in my head. Tha whole thang comes across as feelin very smug, n thas NAWT a vibe ah listen ta musick fer. While tha Mountain Goats are able ta write smart, sad, amazing lyrics, n combine them w. musick that is at tha worst tolerable, n at tha best, toe-tappin, tha Magnetic Fields make me think of a group of really smart science kids who eat lunch togetha n talk about how much money thar gawna make aftah they graduate from MIT. Blech.

Ah also found Frank Zappa beer today at my local liqour store, which has made me happy. And ah have think13 and Warren Teagarden shirts now – finally. Next Friday ahll play my first outta-tha-area gig in Sacramento w. WT.

And now – Chocolate!

Posted in eatin out, folks visitin, frank zappa beer, magnetic fields suck, pabst blue ribbon, played a show | 5 Comments

HOLY WOW!

It is 81 degrees!!!!! Ah cannot express how excited ah am – Ah ken (And SHOULD) wear shorts!

Ah totally win. (altho ah hafta buy shorts now)

Posted in fricken awesome | 1 Comment

Ah don't know whethah ta laugh er threaten….

so remembah my supah-sketch cell phone insurance company NCOA? N how they took a month ta replace a stolen phone, makin me git my own police report n nawt respondin ta emails etc.?

Today ah git a lettah from them:

“After reviewing NCOA membership activity, including claims processed and settled under the NCOA cellular benefits, we have been instructed to forward due notice of cancellation to certain members. As a consequence, your NCOA membership is cancelled, effective immediately.”

while ahm glad ah gawt a replacement phone, ah wondah if ahm justified ta a refund….ah wish thar was actually someone who could dae somethang about how awful an organization these folks are.

Er that they were local so ah could gae yell n bitch at some folks in person, perhaps urinating in their lobby.

a man ken dream, can’t he?

Note – This is me predicting this phone will die on me within 6 months (more likely 3).

Posted in fuck ncoa, hilarity vs annoyance, insurance fraud | Leave a comment

Flowers, Fire, and drunks!

First off, pictures as promised from tha bike path between my house and the BART:

Makes me think of how badassed a whole field of wildflowers out here will look in tha summer – this was a desolate patch of grey brown when ah moved here.

Next, think13 played at MAPP last nite in tha supah cold windy Balmy alleyway (Balmy is actually tha name of tha alleyway). It was just Dee and Christoph and myself, accompanied by fire dancers and for a little while by a little girl named Haley (probably around 9 years old) who banged on tha drum. Aftahwerds was this total weird duo of weirdos who chanted like ghosts and banged on stuff – total prima donnas. ah knew from tha git gae they’d be hard ta please, havin sound issues w. thar one amp (without which they couldn’t gae “wooo! woo!”), n then when some of our dancers decided to accompany thar weirdness, one of em complained she couldn’t breathe from tha kerosene. Fair enuff, but w.o tha fire dancers, thar stuff was pretty much unwatchable/listenable. N then it gawt werse w. a drunk latino man in his 40s started singing/shouting at them, and they disbanded before finishing. Tha crowd (what was left of them) wasn’t too dissapointed, but they did start gittin annoyed at tha drunk guy who would nawt leave and would nawt shut up.

But thar WAS fire:

Gawta love San Francisco!

Today ah biked around tha mission gaein ta three open houses – only one of them is a potential fit, n its a bit more expensive then ahd like n only has one bathroom, for like 8 people, which could be a problem. but it would be a great space to live in – this huge crazy warehouse w. a 93″ tv screen and bikes scattered around fer parts. We’ll see how it gaes…..

Posted in crazies, drunk assholes, fire dancin, house huntin, warehouses | Leave a comment

Weird Dreams

Ah usually don’t remembah my dreams so well. Thar are a couple theories floatin around on this, some of them havin ta dae w. my consumption of a certain plant native to North America, whcih ah dont know enuff medical schtuff about ta argue w.

Howevah, ah remembah a big portion of last nites, n how frustrated it made me fee.

Specifically, the focal point of tha dream is that ah moved. But instead of movin intae tha city like ah wanted, somehow ah moved out to a suburb of San Francisco, a suburb in tha hills overlookin SF. Note – ahve actually seen these hills in otha dreams, undah tha guise of australia and bawstan mostly. Ah also remembah thar bein a particularly steep hill just before my house, one that ah could nawt even climb as tha wooden beams set in place ta make it more accessible were rotting. Ah remembah bein very pissed at myself fer choosin such an inconvenient place ta live (n rightly so).

My new housemates were a family – ah remembah bein very pissed at myself fer livin w. anutha family (nawt that my current family sucks, but ah thought ahd moved on). They were pretty straight-laced, but somehow undah tha impression ah would be makin a livin from teachin bass lessons, which ah would dae in tha house (my room – which ah nevah saw). Ah resolved ta instantly start searchin fer a new place ta live, n hoped my current situation was month-to-month.

Latah that evenin, ah biked to a friends place w. tha drummer from think13. My friends place ended up lookin identical to my current basement (but wasn’t). My drummer had some crazy big wheel bike, n in makin room fer it, he knocked my own bike ovah.

Ah gawt up n beat tha shite outta him. Now – ahve prolly only punched someone in tha face once er twice in my entire life, as most of my physical entanglements were via wrestling, er punching shoulders. But ah nawt only punched him in tha face, ah kicked him when he was down. Ah remembah thinkin “Why are our friends lettin me beat tha crap out of my drummer?” but instead just told him “ah didn’t kick you that hard.”

Then ah was woken up by a phone call that ah didnt take.

Ah guess in tha grand scheme of thangs, that dream isn’t really all that weird. but tha fact that remembered it is. Why is this one more important, er how did it slip through my unconscious so that it could stay w. me all day?

In otha news, think13 (a very very stripped down version) will be performing this evenin at a Mission alleyway, hopefully w. firedancers. Warren Teagarden opens fer tha guy who used ta play w. tha New York Dolls, but as a solo acoustic show. Ahm glad April is here, n startin ta dae some more significant househuntin werk.

sorry fer such a borin post, but a saturday mornin w.o obligations is a rare thang (one ah created fer myself b/c tomorrow is jam packed w. band practice n open-house attendance).

Posted in dreams, fire dancin, fist fights, house huntin, think13 | Leave a comment

Weekend again

Last thursday marked 5 months in tha SF area, so lets see what ah was up ta, shall we?

First off, fer those of you unaware, my basick schedule these days is this: up around 7:30, out tha door between 8 and 8:30, 7.5 hours at my job, n then ah gae ta eitha yoga er band practice. On tha days ah have neitha (er skip yoga, as has been my march trend), ah generally gae home n veg, altho sometimes ah dae somethang bettah (like gaein to tha berkeley library er git a haircut). My weekends start w. me out tha house at 10:30 fer 11 am yoga, n then ah hop on tha BART fer practice w. think13. This usually takes me till about 5 er 6 pm, when ah usually gae home n collapse. Sunday, ah try ta take off.

Ahve been keepin up this pace all year, which is a lil surprising even ta me, but its a lawt of fun.

N this last weekend, think13 showed tha world (er at least tha Rock It Room) that we ain’t all about tha handdrums n acoustic geetars all tha time. We brought 25 minutes of rawk to tha house, keepin up our end of tha bargain (as thar were 9 otha rawk bands, n if we didn’t kick some ass it would’ve been very easy ta be tha weakest link). Even bettah, we were on kinda early, so that left tha rest of tha nite ta drink our hearts away (on our dime cuz tha rock it room doesn’t take care of its bands – sorry guys, its tha truth. Ah will say that tha sound guy was phenomenal n worked way way way too hard).

Of kerse, whar alcohol is involved, thars opportunities fer bullshit. Especially when drunk frat boys think its funny ta pinch tha ass of our lead singers date. Over and over again. While it was quite a fine ass, it was made abundantly clear that she was spoken fer, n this guy did nawt take a hint. Nuthang came of it, but ah was surprised how quickly and easily East Coast teenager Anthony came to tha surface when confronted w. a total jackass who might have actually benefitted from gittin his ass kicked. Tha fact that thar was a dozen of us (mostly irish) who were of a similar mindframe helped…while ah continued ta tell myself that it wasn’t worth it, nor a good idea, n that my karma would NAWT be rewarded, ah found myself shouting at a scumbag, n if ah hadn’t been so inebriated ah might’ve even tried a curse. DOWN BOY!

tha rest of tha nite was fun, but its becoming obvious that ah need ta find myself a female companion in tha city, as at tha end of our gigs ahm crashin solo on a couch while tha otha band membahs spend “quality time” w. thar wife/gf/groupie. Perhaps ah should start talkin in a paddy accent in ordah ta make myself more exotic…..

Sunday was cold…actually its been ratha brisk in general out here since spring hit. Ahm told its b/c thars less cloud cover which makes sense. Despite tha sun beamin down all day, we’re still hangin out at about 55/60 degrees, which is a smidge less then what ah consider “good weather.” ahm sure my east coast friends like ta hear me complain.

Sunday afternoon was practice w. Warren Teagarden, which felt really really good. Partially b.c ah think our last live set went off so well and we’re starting to feel a lot more comfortable w. each other and willing to dive into the songs. The CD release fer Warren is next Friday, and it should be a great nite. We play a particularly fantastic cover of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Right Round,” which you can hear if you buy tha CD (er email me and ask me nicely maybe).

Tha new job is startin ta settle in, altho ahm currently nawt busy enuff ta have an excuse ta nawt dae some of tha tedious busy work (mostly data entry). Howevah, my co-workers are quite competent at thar jobs, which is excellent, n thar promises ta be a shit ton of work as we gear up fer 2008 elections. It is a bit exciting to feel like in some way, ah could just maybe be makin a difference.

Ah also came intae some cool luck, as an old friend of mine from college had apparently moved w.o letting me know his new contact info. On a whim, ah googled his name, and found a number for him as he’s been a guitar teacher fer quite a while. Ah rang him outta tha blue n had a great 2 hour conversation with him whar we reflected on how different our lives our – He’s married n teaches almost 60 kids a week, but hasn’t had a gig in so long he can’t even remember. He’s also just about 20 miles away from his home town, n gittin excited about tha prospect of buyin a house in tha relatively near future. Different priorities and different circumstances indeed.

It’s spring. how about that. Thars a bitchin wildflower patch on my bike path that ah should take pictures of. This state is fricken beautiful, n everyone should move out here so they ken watch my bands play.

Posted in drunk assholes, gigs, google, old friends, rawkin, think13, werkin | 2 Comments

Children of Bodom review

cross posted from tha BG….

ta prove ahm nawt all Kylie –>

Here is my review of tha new Children of Bodom album Blooddrunk which ah found very interestin actually.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sunday is MY DAY!

MY DAY ta bike all ovah tah fricken place. Mostly via tha ohlone greenway er tha Bicycle Boulevard. Apparently it was also Easter, which ah always think is in mid-April.

HAPPY ZOMBIE JEEBUS DAY!

In case anyone is wonderin, ahm diggin my new job. It’s a bit slow at tha moment, but ahm part of a 4 person department (thars actually two otha folx in tha department, but they don’t werk in SF) n ah like that we’re a small department on a big floor. Essentially my job is ta learn this online database well enuff so that ah ken eventually train n support volunteer leaders across tha country w. usin it, so ah think it will be a good fit.

think13 has a big gig this Saturday whar we will be debutin as a full-on RAWK BAND, w. electric guitars n kit drum. It’s part of a fundraiser, we’ll be playin w. some great bands. Watch out SF, thar will be rawk.

Also, ahm very excited b.c this week ahll git ta meet up w. an old Mysterious Odors band mate. Ah haven’t seen any of these guys since our last gig, which was pandemonium. mmm, pandemonium.

Posted in biking, databases, homeless kids, think13 | 1 Comment

How'd it gae?

My birthday n all that jazz? Pretty good!

While tha 13th itself was pretty lowkey, sushi was bought fer me, n my yoga class sang me happy bday between tortoise n camel (n we were invited ta hold camel fer up ta two minutes if anyone was up fer it, which they weren’t).

My last day of werk was mostly a half day cuz people kept takin me out fer lunch er gelato er tellin me how much they’d miss me.

Ah gawta new phone, finally, it only took a month (literally).

Tha gig was a trip, as expected. Orders gawt switched around, a bartendah kicked SEVERE BASS off early fer bein “too mellow,” n then Warren Teagarden brought tha place down (brought in part by tha fact that ah was absolutely LIVID about bein told my set was ovah when ah had just one more, kickass rawk tune left, n that ah usually play great w. a band when ahm PISSED OFF). People were dancin, moshin, drinkin, screamin. Tha audience demanded an encore, tha second time thas happened in my life (tha first was also a birthday gig, that time w. AllEyesOn), which they were treated too cuz we’re nice guys. think13 played “Whiskey in the Jar,” twice, and a lawt of alcohol was consumed fer free. We were up till four in tha mornin, n my 9-5in self was awake n movin at 10 am.

Today was tha first day at my new job, which was slow n left me w. lil ta dae, but ahm still quite excited about bein a gae-ta guy soon, n showin these folx how smart they were ta hire me. Ah just need ta be less tired…..

so there!

Posted in free lunch, jobness, live show, think13 warren teagarden | Leave a comment