Apr 19 1032hrs --- I'm here at Liz's house in Whitefield among good friends old and new. Two of them are sleeping in the loft, but the rest seem to have taken off somewhere for the morning, maybe out for breakfast. Last night I got a bit sauced and took a long loud bath, singing at the top of my lungs for an hour or so until finally my voice broke. I didn't care. It was a full-sized jacuzzi tub, six feet of tub for six feet of Tozier, with skylights above, windows all around. It was three in the morning.
Woke up this morning to a cat snuggling up and making peculiar throat noises. That would've been fine if the cat had been weaned at the appropriate time. She licked and bit and scratched my head until half an hour later, when the enormous European wolf-killer dog took over, flopping down and dozing, half on top of me.
Finally I got up, stacked cans and bottles, broke down cardboard boxes, swept the floor, poured cereal, and sat here at the kitchen table with my laptop...
...looks like nobody left this morning after all, they had just crawled off into the far corners of the house to sleep last night. It's nine-thirty and the house is stirring. There's Jake and Leah, Ryan and Molly, Brandon, and Liz. We've got onions, bacon, and eggs happening, everyone's smiling and laughing, mostly---a few are visibly hung over...
...just took a walk outdoors with my cereal. It's only ten but the weather is already warm. Dog followed me everywhere, looking pleased with what little of the cosmos she can see.
1747hrs---At my folks's home, struggling to stay awake. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. This afternoon my father and I worked out another twenty-five songs for our acoustic duo. We're having a good time with this little pet project.
Alright, I oughta run, maybe take a nap on the couch, maybe watch a movie with my folks. Sounds like "American Graffiti" is likely; I've never seen it.
Today was spent in good company. Favors given, favors taken, good times freely had. This week I start a new cafe schedule and hopefully a new sleep schedule to match. Thanks for reading; enjoy the warm weather this week!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
New Territory
1110hrs. Added some new songs to my repertoire this week, like “Why?” by Andrew Bird and “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” by Neutral Milk Hotel.
“Why?” is a jazz number with great lyrics and a swingin' melody. I had never played it all the way through, and I don't know its recordings very well, but at The Mad Dog last night I played it as true jazz: improvising the vocal lines and extending my guitar chords to add little solo parts. It was challenging and much more rewarding than singing the same old by-the-book Johnny Cash tunes every week. I love Cash, but I don't want to play any song into the ground unless there's space to play with it and keep myself interested.
Speaking of new things, I've got a laptop now to treat like a tape machine. My desktop is seven years old and still kicking with its 128MB of RAM, but it is neither quick nor reliable... and even less portable. The poor thing can barely keep both a jukebox and a web browser open at the same time. Monitors must have improved, because text looks pretty sharp on this machine. It should be great for getting this first album recorded and promoted. Progress is good. Hopefully I'll be on time and have it all done by early June.
Had an adventure this weekend; at around 2330hrs on Friday I locked myself out of my apartment with nothing but my guitar. No toothbrush. No food. “No problem,” I said, “I'll crash at my neighbor Amanda's place and pick up the spare key from The Village Jeweler in the morning.” Wrong. The chap who carried the apartment keys had left the business not two days previous. I called my landlady, but didn't receive a response until long after my shift at the cafe had already begun. Two shifts wearing the same clothes, no shower, eight hours of sleep? I was not at my best. But last night I got back in early enough to take a shower before the gig, and that gave me a boost.
Marianne and Auta at The Mad Dog gave me a key to their apartment building two doors down so I can do laundry. I love bartering.
I think that's all.
“Why?” is a jazz number with great lyrics and a swingin' melody. I had never played it all the way through, and I don't know its recordings very well, but at The Mad Dog last night I played it as true jazz: improvising the vocal lines and extending my guitar chords to add little solo parts. It was challenging and much more rewarding than singing the same old by-the-book Johnny Cash tunes every week. I love Cash, but I don't want to play any song into the ground unless there's space to play with it and keep myself interested.
Speaking of new things, I've got a laptop now to treat like a tape machine. My desktop is seven years old and still kicking with its 128MB of RAM, but it is neither quick nor reliable... and even less portable. The poor thing can barely keep both a jukebox and a web browser open at the same time. Monitors must have improved, because text looks pretty sharp on this machine. It should be great for getting this first album recorded and promoted. Progress is good. Hopefully I'll be on time and have it all done by early June.
Had an adventure this weekend; at around 2330hrs on Friday I locked myself out of my apartment with nothing but my guitar. No toothbrush. No food. “No problem,” I said, “I'll crash at my neighbor Amanda's place and pick up the spare key from The Village Jeweler in the morning.” Wrong. The chap who carried the apartment keys had left the business not two days previous. I called my landlady, but didn't receive a response until long after my shift at the cafe had already begun. Two shifts wearing the same clothes, no shower, eight hours of sleep? I was not at my best. But last night I got back in early enough to take a shower before the gig, and that gave me a boost.
Marianne and Auta at The Mad Dog gave me a key to their apartment building two doors down so I can do laundry. I love bartering.
I think that's all.
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