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.