Last night I sat down to try and play "Always Touched By Your Presence Dear." It's a Blondie tune that didn't make the set cut...and it was just as well because I couldn't get it. The thing that tripped me up was the hi hat foot. It's one of those things that, if we'd played it, I could have faked that part. But it bothered me that I never was able to do it. I did better at it last night, though still not perfect.
I haven't yet really figured out how to balance myself when playing the left foot. I think that I lean that way a bit and stabilize myself with my left leg being planted into the floor. If I only need to open the hi hat every so often, I can...but if I have to open it on every 8th note even for a stretch of three or so I lose my balance. I've been trying to work on playing all 8th notes on my left foot and on getting the independence with my other limbs while doing it...though mostly I've been air drumming this. To do it on the kit is still just so daunting and ridiculous.
I've also been trying to do some pad exercises. I've been having a hard time forcing myself to go to the kit over the last few weeks...so instead I've at least demanded a bit of practice pad time. Just the basic shit...paradiddles...singles...doubles...triplets. Trying to get my left hand to catch up to my right. Get it stronger and more consistent...and improve the technique. Not PC I know...but my left hand is retarded...truly. It is a spaz.
The saga of the bass pedal continues. I thought for sure I'd posted about this already...but maybe not. So I went along forever just fine using a Pulse bass pedal on my kit at home. And then one day it stopped working so well for me. It started feeling like I was bottoming out. Like I was banging metal against metal and the bottom of my stroke...and it was making my leg and knee hurt. I checked...and indeed that is what was happening...I was wearing the metal away. I tried various things to adjust the pedal, but came up that the chain needed to be shorter, and since it was a cheap pedal, that wasn't adjustable. So I got a different pedal. I had been eyeing up this Tama Camco 30th Anniversary Limited Edition pedal (at like $130), but ended up going with this Gibraltar Velocity 3311S strap drive pedal instead...on sale for like $29 at Guitar Center. I really like strap drive and I really like an open bottom frame pedal...so it was a no brainer.
I like the new pedal a lot. It's great. But now...I'm having a bounce issue. Basically my bass drum (and the attached rack toms) is bouncing too much. It's either the puffy carpet underneath or the bouncy old floor boards...but the thing is out of control. I've tried all kinds of adjustments and have managed to minimize it by raising the front spurs up so that the front of the hoop is off the ground. It works okay for mid-tempo songs...but for a fast punk tune with double kick type stuff...it's really hard on my leg. There's a bunch of energy dissipating in the bounce...it's like you hit the bass...it moves away from the beater...then it comes back. I'm debating some kind of riser or platform to press down the carpet, but I worry that it is really just the floor itself. I don't get why this started happening all of the sudden...it wasn't a problem literally for about 5 years.
Anyway, that makes me not want to play at home and makes practicing fast pedal work difficult.
Update: Huh...this is interesting. They talk about muffling with blanket, etc (have one small blanket) and adding a port (already got one) to reduce bounce. Also they mention that if you bury beater (I do, unfortunately, as it isn't great technique) bounce will be worse. I had already though that if I could bury it less the bounce would be more tolerable. I hadn't thought about adding more muffling to increase the WEIGHT and hold the thing down. Might be worth trying. They also talk about loosening pedal spring.
Hmmm...they also talk in a different place about using a two ply head to reduce bounce. They are talking about beater bounce more than kit bounce...but still. I totally forgot that I not only changed my tuning (I think I've tuned up...which will increase bounce)...I changed my drum head. I used to have a coated Emperor...that's a two ply head. Now I have a Powerstroke 3 (it came with a set of Pinstripes in a propack)...which is a single ply...and not coated. That might have made a difference. I have a falam slam on the Powerstroke3, and also had one on the Emperor, but it wasn't affixed as tightly because there was a sticky patch from using other brands of dots that didn't stay stuck.
A Powerstroke 4 would be two ply...or just going back to a coated two ply. Interesting.
So before I build a whole freaking new floor:
1. Detune batter head a bit. Screw around with different resonant/batter tuning combos (maybe test on that little 12 inch tom I have to see how bounce changes with different combos...cause tuning the bass drum is a pain with all the shit on it)
2. Add stuff to inside drum
3. Loosen pedal spring (don't really want to do this though)
4. Return to a 2 ply head.
5. Go with a fuzzier beater (but might reduce volume too much)
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Pixies Bass Fakebook Update
A week alone in one's office can do strange things to a person. Like make you work on projects that you've been putting off since, apparently, last February (according to the last dated copy). I spent a ridiculous amount of time today updating the Pixies Bass Fakebook. There's still a few things missing or wrong (I'm in the process of revising my part for Mr. Grieves to more closely match the recording, for instance, but it isn't finished yet, so I left it in the Fakebook the old way). At some point I should double check all of the old standards from the first three records to make sure that the tab in the book is what I actually play...but after hours of working on the thing today I got to a point where I just couldn't look at the damn thing any longer.
Still, the thing is getting pretty close to done (or as done as it ever will be). I don't know exactly when I started working on it, but it was probably around January of 2010...since that's when the idea of being in a Pixies tribute band was first put into my mind (though not realized until March of 2010) and I bought the greatest hits record and sat down and taught myself Nimrod's Son by ear after listening to it on the bus on the way home from work. So yeah...two years spent working on learning and tabbing 89 songs.
For sure having tab to start from on most of these made things much easier. But I've poured a ton of work into it just the same...since the tab was pretty much wrong in part I'd say 100% of the time. Of course, some will say that my tab is wrong too. But the songs are playable this way I assure you.
Of those that are incomplete yet, only a couple are must-haves (aside from a perspective of ridiculous completeness)...which is to say there are only a few that the tribute band are ever likely to play. Those would be Lovely Day, and Weird at My School. The rest are entirely unneccessary and not even the Pixies are ever likely to play them again. Ain't That Pretty At All cracks me up and I'd play it if anyone was willing and we could figure it out...but this seems unlikely.
Remaining songs that are incomplete (17 songs):
Lovely Day (the only album based song left)
Rock A My Soul
Make Believe
Weird At My School
Velvety Instrumental
Santo
Bam Thwok
Boom Chicka Boom
Brackish Boy (unreleased)
Evil Hearted You (Yardbirds)
Theme from Narc
Wild Honey Pie (Beatles)...this is pretty close to ready
Ain't That Pretty at All (Warren Zevon)
I Can't Forget (Leonard Cohen)
Born in Chicago (Paul Butterfield Blues Band)
Hang on to Your Ego (Beach Boys)
I've Been Waiting For You (Neil Young)
A footnote: There are a fair number of the 89 songs that the band hasn't learned and played as a group yet aside from the 17 listed above. We know and have played live 51 of the songs and are adding three more (Bird, D=RxT, Blown Away) starting next week. That leaves the following that I've got ready to go that the band has yet to start or plan to start (18 songs):
All Over The World
Ana
Bailey's Walk
Cecilia Ann
Dancing The Mantra Ray
Hang Wire
Havalina
In Heaven
Lovely Day
Motorway to Roswell
Navajo Know
Rock Music
Space
Stormy Weather
The Happening
The Thing
Wave of Mutilation UK
Winterlong
True too that most of these aren't the most popular of their songs...they'll be needed to complete the albums and the more well known B-sides though. And we do stuff for no good reason, frankly.
UPDATE: Over nye weekend I finished Weird at My School...so the only meaningful song left to tab is Lovely Day
Still, the thing is getting pretty close to done (or as done as it ever will be). I don't know exactly when I started working on it, but it was probably around January of 2010...since that's when the idea of being in a Pixies tribute band was first put into my mind (though not realized until March of 2010) and I bought the greatest hits record and sat down and taught myself Nimrod's Son by ear after listening to it on the bus on the way home from work. So yeah...two years spent working on learning and tabbing 89 songs.
For sure having tab to start from on most of these made things much easier. But I've poured a ton of work into it just the same...since the tab was pretty much wrong in part I'd say 100% of the time. Of course, some will say that my tab is wrong too. But the songs are playable this way I assure you.
Of those that are incomplete yet, only a couple are must-haves (aside from a perspective of ridiculous completeness)...which is to say there are only a few that the tribute band are ever likely to play. Those would be Lovely Day, and Weird at My School. The rest are entirely unneccessary and not even the Pixies are ever likely to play them again. Ain't That Pretty At All cracks me up and I'd play it if anyone was willing and we could figure it out...but this seems unlikely.
Remaining songs that are incomplete (17 songs):
Lovely Day (the only album based song left)
Rock A My Soul
Make Believe
Weird At My School
Velvety Instrumental
Santo
Bam Thwok
Boom Chicka Boom
Brackish Boy (unreleased)
Evil Hearted You (Yardbirds)
Theme from Narc
Wild Honey Pie (Beatles)...this is pretty close to ready
Ain't That Pretty at All (Warren Zevon)
I Can't Forget (Leonard Cohen)
Born in Chicago (Paul Butterfield Blues Band)
Hang on to Your Ego (Beach Boys)
I've Been Waiting For You (Neil Young)
A footnote: There are a fair number of the 89 songs that the band hasn't learned and played as a group yet aside from the 17 listed above. We know and have played live 51 of the songs and are adding three more (Bird, D=RxT, Blown Away) starting next week. That leaves the following that I've got ready to go that the band has yet to start or plan to start (18 songs):
All Over The World
Ana
Bailey's Walk
Cecilia Ann
Dancing The Mantra Ray
Hang Wire
Havalina
In Heaven
Lovely Day
Motorway to Roswell
Navajo Know
Rock Music
Space
Stormy Weather
The Happening
The Thing
Wave of Mutilation UK
Winterlong
True too that most of these aren't the most popular of their songs...they'll be needed to complete the albums and the more well known B-sides though. And we do stuff for no good reason, frankly.
UPDATE: Over nye weekend I finished Weird at My School...so the only meaningful song left to tab is Lovely Day
Friday, December 23, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Online Classes
Just a reminder here for me about the ArtistWorks Drum Academy. It's video lessons, but there is a bit of back and forth with the instructors. It's cheap...but I took a look and the sample lessons don't seem that helpful. I think that there are other people out there doing this better. After I finish my first Berklee class I should take a look at what is out there. If I can get video lessons for free or less than $50 per month...I should look into it. It requires more personal initiative...but Berklee is really pricey. Even if I like Berkleee and want to continue on...I might not be able to afford to take 4 classes a year (one per session). Other kinds of on-line video lessons could be a good gap filler. Less stressful than taking live lessons and possibly more helpful.
Friday, December 16, 2011
CJ, Frequency, 12/16/2011
The night after the Mr. Roberts gig, we played a benefit for Dane101. The lineup went like this:
5:15pm The Shabelles
6:00pm Bob Koch
6:40pm Bes Monde
7:30pm Prize giveaway
8:00pm Crackity Jones (Pixies Tribute band)
9:00pm Nick Brown
9:30pm Caustic
10:10pm Naked Girls Reading
10:45pm The German Art Students
11:40pm Prize giveaway
11:50pm Murder of Crowes (Black Crowes Tribute band)
12:30am Tiger Clutch
I was sick. I had taken the day off of work...pretty sure the entire band had the day off in fact. EH played the Shabelles kit (it was tiny and fancy) and I played through Tiger Clutch's bass amp head (it was loud and vibratory). I was in weird shadow on stage and couldn't see the dots on my bass neck...which I guess that I rely on more than I thought I did. I missed the same measure in Wave...don't know what that's about. Flubbed Mr Grieves, but doubt it was obvious. The rest was ok I guess. I had meant to do the Kim Deal banter from the Doolittle shows...but spaced most of it largely due to my cold. I did think to embarrass EH a bit before La La Love You though. Silver went well for the second time...I think RS was severely delaying coming in with the harmony, giving me plenty of time to nail the note. We'll probably never play the song again. We're taking time off until Jan 4th, but we discussed next tunes to learn and it'll be Bird Dream, D= RxT, and Blown Away. I cranked them all out today and will have them committed to memory in no time. Had good talks these last couple of days. I am thankful again for the boys and hope this ride continues on a while.
Best audience comment of the night: "I wasn't so sure about about coming to see a Pixies cover band. I didn't know what it was gonna sound like. But it sounds like the Pixies." Nice.
Also, a woman came up to me in the middle of the show to tell me that there was a piece of lint on one of my bass strings. I left it there just to spite her because it was such a ridiculous thing to interrupt someone on stage about.
Setlist:
Debaser
Tame
Wave
I Bleed
Here Comes
Dead
Monkey
Mr G
Crackity
La La Love
No 13
There Goes
Hey
Silver
Gouge
Here's the pre-show interview I did with Dane101:
Dane101: How did you come up with the name of your band?
Dar from Crackity Jones: We did a web search to see what other Pixies tribute bands had called themselves. Most of the obvious ones, like Nimrod’s Son, had been taken. We were trying not to duplicate. We wanted a song/album title or lyric. We looked at the list of songs and Crackity Jones was on it as a candidate that it seemed like no one had used yet. The song starts off “Jose Jones told me alone his story. He got friends like Paco Picopiedra.” I think Paco Picopiedra means Fred Flintstone…but we coopted it as our stage names. So we play under the names Jose Jones, Paco, Pico, and Piedra. Once that fell into place we had to go with Crackity Jones. Also “CJ” looks like a backwards “P” so it ended up making a nice play on the Pixies flying P logo…but that was just a happy accident.
Who is in your band and what are their backgrounds?
Dar: Well, as mentioned… Jose Jones, Paco, Pico, and Piedra. Jose, Paco, and Pico have been playing in bands together for over 15 years and all went to college together in Minnesota. Most recently, before Crackity Jones, they were The Escapists. Jose and Piedra also currently play in The Drain and The Seven Stone Weaklings.
If your band was a snack, what snack would it be and why?
Dar: Arby’s for sure. Because our practice space is near Arby’s and we regularly abuse our bodies there.
What was your favorite gig you played in Dane County and why?
Dar: That’s a hard one. Before Crackity Jones I think that all of us had grown accustomed to people just not giving a shit about our music. You would bust your ass to prepare for and play a show and no one would show up except your close friends. But pretty immediately when we started playing out as Crackity Jones the whole attitude was totally different. I remember at our second show ever at High Noon people sang along to “Where Is My Mind.” This wave of “oooo” hit us. That had never happened to me, or to any of us, I think before. It was surreal. People just love this music. We’ve had a great time at all of our shows, but I have to say that Mickey’s is like a second home to us. Liz has given us great opportunities there to play huge setlists and the crowd is always amazing.
What other bands/musicians/artists are you interested in checking out at the Fundraiser?
Dar: Tiger Clutch or German Art Students probably, though the whole lineup is awesome really.
Why have you decided to play this fundraiser for free? Is it simply for the free food?
Dar: Wait...there's free food? Is it Arby's? But seriously...we like to play this music. Simple as that. And we haven’t played the Frequency since our first gig in April 2010. We played all of Surfer Rosa at that first show. This time we return to play all of Doolittle. It comes full circle a bit.
You are preparing a special treat and playing the whole album "Doolittle." What do you like about that album so much?
Dar: To be honest I think that Surfer Rosa and Come on Pilgrim probably started off as bigger favorites of most of ours. Doolittle is just so popular in general that we’ve had to learn all the songs off of it over the last year and a half (except "Silver," which we’ll debut at this show). We’d never bothered to play them together before though. The return to the Frequency seemed like a great opportunity to do it. And plus, if playing the whole album is good enough for the real Pixies than who are we to turn up our noses? It is a truly great album for sure.
Do you have a youtube link we can post?
Dar: Our entire second show was filmed and is out there (as well as other performances here and there), but I think something more recent is probably a better representation of our evolution. Here’s a link to “Dead” from “Filth” at the Inferno this past spring.
5:15pm The Shabelles
6:00pm Bob Koch
6:40pm Bes Monde
7:30pm Prize giveaway
8:00pm Crackity Jones (Pixies Tribute band)
9:00pm Nick Brown
9:30pm Caustic
10:10pm Naked Girls Reading
10:45pm The German Art Students
11:40pm Prize giveaway
11:50pm Murder of Crowes (Black Crowes Tribute band)
12:30am Tiger Clutch
I was sick. I had taken the day off of work...pretty sure the entire band had the day off in fact. EH played the Shabelles kit (it was tiny and fancy) and I played through Tiger Clutch's bass amp head (it was loud and vibratory). I was in weird shadow on stage and couldn't see the dots on my bass neck...which I guess that I rely on more than I thought I did. I missed the same measure in Wave...don't know what that's about. Flubbed Mr Grieves, but doubt it was obvious. The rest was ok I guess. I had meant to do the Kim Deal banter from the Doolittle shows...but spaced most of it largely due to my cold. I did think to embarrass EH a bit before La La Love You though. Silver went well for the second time...I think RS was severely delaying coming in with the harmony, giving me plenty of time to nail the note. We'll probably never play the song again. We're taking time off until Jan 4th, but we discussed next tunes to learn and it'll be Bird Dream, D= RxT, and Blown Away. I cranked them all out today and will have them committed to memory in no time. Had good talks these last couple of days. I am thankful again for the boys and hope this ride continues on a while.
Best audience comment of the night: "I wasn't so sure about about coming to see a Pixies cover band. I didn't know what it was gonna sound like. But it sounds like the Pixies." Nice.
Also, a woman came up to me in the middle of the show to tell me that there was a piece of lint on one of my bass strings. I left it there just to spite her because it was such a ridiculous thing to interrupt someone on stage about.
Setlist:
Debaser
Tame
Wave
I Bleed
Here Comes
Dead
Monkey
Mr G
Crackity
La La Love
No 13
There Goes
Hey
Silver
Gouge
Here's the pre-show interview I did with Dane101:
Dane101: How did you come up with the name of your band?
Dar from Crackity Jones: We did a web search to see what other Pixies tribute bands had called themselves. Most of the obvious ones, like Nimrod’s Son, had been taken. We were trying not to duplicate. We wanted a song/album title or lyric. We looked at the list of songs and Crackity Jones was on it as a candidate that it seemed like no one had used yet. The song starts off “Jose Jones told me alone his story. He got friends like Paco Picopiedra.” I think Paco Picopiedra means Fred Flintstone…but we coopted it as our stage names. So we play under the names Jose Jones, Paco, Pico, and Piedra. Once that fell into place we had to go with Crackity Jones. Also “CJ” looks like a backwards “P” so it ended up making a nice play on the Pixies flying P logo…but that was just a happy accident.
Who is in your band and what are their backgrounds?
Dar: Well, as mentioned… Jose Jones, Paco, Pico, and Piedra. Jose, Paco, and Pico have been playing in bands together for over 15 years and all went to college together in Minnesota. Most recently, before Crackity Jones, they were The Escapists. Jose and Piedra also currently play in The Drain and The Seven Stone Weaklings.
If your band was a snack, what snack would it be and why?
Dar: Arby’s for sure. Because our practice space is near Arby’s and we regularly abuse our bodies there.
What was your favorite gig you played in Dane County and why?
Dar: That’s a hard one. Before Crackity Jones I think that all of us had grown accustomed to people just not giving a shit about our music. You would bust your ass to prepare for and play a show and no one would show up except your close friends. But pretty immediately when we started playing out as Crackity Jones the whole attitude was totally different. I remember at our second show ever at High Noon people sang along to “Where Is My Mind.” This wave of “oooo” hit us. That had never happened to me, or to any of us, I think before. It was surreal. People just love this music. We’ve had a great time at all of our shows, but I have to say that Mickey’s is like a second home to us. Liz has given us great opportunities there to play huge setlists and the crowd is always amazing.
What other bands/musicians/artists are you interested in checking out at the Fundraiser?
Dar: Tiger Clutch or German Art Students probably, though the whole lineup is awesome really.
Why have you decided to play this fundraiser for free? Is it simply for the free food?
Dar: Wait...there's free food? Is it Arby's? But seriously...we like to play this music. Simple as that. And we haven’t played the Frequency since our first gig in April 2010. We played all of Surfer Rosa at that first show. This time we return to play all of Doolittle. It comes full circle a bit.
You are preparing a special treat and playing the whole album "Doolittle." What do you like about that album so much?
Dar: To be honest I think that Surfer Rosa and Come on Pilgrim probably started off as bigger favorites of most of ours. Doolittle is just so popular in general that we’ve had to learn all the songs off of it over the last year and a half (except "Silver," which we’ll debut at this show). We’d never bothered to play them together before though. The return to the Frequency seemed like a great opportunity to do it. And plus, if playing the whole album is good enough for the real Pixies than who are we to turn up our noses? It is a truly great album for sure.
Do you have a youtube link we can post?
Dar: Our entire second show was filmed and is out there (as well as other performances here and there), but I think something more recent is probably a better representation of our evolution. Here’s a link to “Dead” from “Filth” at the Inferno this past spring.
CJ, Mr. Roberts, 12/15/2011
We played Psychoacoustics 20th birthday party at Mr Roberts. The Forward Marching Band opened and Beefus played last (Beefus...a kind of jokey funk band...is great. I forgot that we've played with them before. The drummer smiles the whole time. It cracks me up). We did 30 minutes live on air and another 45 to the room only. Let me tell you...you should never listen to a recording of yourself singing if you can avoid it...especially if you had a cold when you were singing and were nervous. Performance is best enjoyed in the moment....watching the game tapes will break your heart.
That said, during the show I thought it went ok. We had a kinda rough start. I was nervous and goofed up strange things...like the intro into the second verse of Wave. But nothing so major that I think anyone noticed. Lots of people told me my vocals were awesome...which is really hard to believe listening to the recording. I was too loud in the mix and my voice is really shaky from the cold.
Towards the end of the first set I started to settle down and I wasn't too nervous at all for the second set. More and more I think that I sound terrible singing Into the White and I wish that we wouldn't play it anymore. I just can't hit the low notes. I probably just need to rearrange the part so that I don't have to do that. Maybe I'll watch a hundred versions of her doing it live and see if she ever changes it up. Truly it is a stupid song to begin with and Charles probably would have thrown a guitar at me too cause I would have hated doing it every night for a million city tour. But the boys love it and it gives RS's voice a rest.
I was sober...had a head cold and a bad day at work. Ate McDonald's for dinner and later a salad. Had a little coffee right before we started. Been down in dumps all week but have had plenty of rest as a result. We loaded in at 6:45pm and didn't play until 10pm...but we went over to Monties and the boys ate from 8-9pm and that was good for us I think.
CT is starting to ask about Halloween more and more. Not sure how I feel about it. But I do dig playing with these guys...so I'll probably concede to the greater desire if they'll have me.
Setlist:
Set 1:
Debaser
Holiday
Allison
Wave
Here Comes
Vamos
Gigantic
Manta
Subb
Tame
Where
Set 2:
Caribou
Bone
Break
Monkey
Isla
Something
Planet
Alec
Into White
Cactus
Is She W
Head On
Ed
Nimrod
River E
Hey
Gouge
file pending upload https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/dsward2/web/tunes/CrackityJones/wort_111215_200001psycho
That said, during the show I thought it went ok. We had a kinda rough start. I was nervous and goofed up strange things...like the intro into the second verse of Wave. But nothing so major that I think anyone noticed. Lots of people told me my vocals were awesome...which is really hard to believe listening to the recording. I was too loud in the mix and my voice is really shaky from the cold.
Towards the end of the first set I started to settle down and I wasn't too nervous at all for the second set. More and more I think that I sound terrible singing Into the White and I wish that we wouldn't play it anymore. I just can't hit the low notes. I probably just need to rearrange the part so that I don't have to do that. Maybe I'll watch a hundred versions of her doing it live and see if she ever changes it up. Truly it is a stupid song to begin with and Charles probably would have thrown a guitar at me too cause I would have hated doing it every night for a million city tour. But the boys love it and it gives RS's voice a rest.
I was sober...had a head cold and a bad day at work. Ate McDonald's for dinner and later a salad. Had a little coffee right before we started. Been down in dumps all week but have had plenty of rest as a result. We loaded in at 6:45pm and didn't play until 10pm...but we went over to Monties and the boys ate from 8-9pm and that was good for us I think.
CT is starting to ask about Halloween more and more. Not sure how I feel about it. But I do dig playing with these guys...so I'll probably concede to the greater desire if they'll have me.
Setlist:
Set 1:
Debaser
Holiday
Allison
Wave
Here Comes
Vamos
Gigantic
Manta
Subb
Tame
Where
Set 2:
Caribou
Bone
Break
Monkey
Isla
Something
Planet
Alec
Into White
Cactus
Is She W
Head On
Ed
Nimrod
River E
Hey
Gouge
file pending upload https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/dsward2/web/tunes/CrackityJones/wort_111215_200001psycho
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Pre-two-gig-thoughts
Tonight and tomorrow I've got back-to-back CJ gigs...
I have no sense of how tonight and tomorrow's shows will go...but if experience is any guide...from past back-to-back or nearly back-to-back gigs...tonight will suck a little and tomorrow will be better (though tomorrow I will be really tired). That said I'm utterly prepared except for being freaked out that my wild ear will fuck with me during Silver. If it took me a year and a half to get the harmony right on Ed is Dead I suppose this shouldn't surprise me if it happens though...and I should realize that #1) I survived fucking up the Ed is Dead harmony a dozen or more times live and #2) probably after tonight and tomorrow...I'll never have to sing Silver live again (unless we have a reunion tour in 20 years...bet Kim Deal thought the same thing once upon a time). Anyway...there's no accounting for sudden brain farts and memory lapses...but I can't say that I wasn't prepared. I know the songs now as well as I ever have.
This week has been totally bizarre emotionally. Work sucked today. I have a cold. If I were drinking I'd be ready to get drunk...but I don't have the desire at the moment (hopefully that will hold throughout the weekend). I don't know how these things will affect tonight and tomorrow...but I know that CJ is in the top five list of best things ever to happen to me. And for that reason I'm happy as hell to have these two shows. Some day this chapter of my life will have passed in all its nastiness...but CJ will have been a bright shining light long after it has ended no matter where it goes from here. Don't forget. Be glad.
I have no sense of how tonight and tomorrow's shows will go...but if experience is any guide...from past back-to-back or nearly back-to-back gigs...tonight will suck a little and tomorrow will be better (though tomorrow I will be really tired). That said I'm utterly prepared except for being freaked out that my wild ear will fuck with me during Silver. If it took me a year and a half to get the harmony right on Ed is Dead I suppose this shouldn't surprise me if it happens though...and I should realize that #1) I survived fucking up the Ed is Dead harmony a dozen or more times live and #2) probably after tonight and tomorrow...I'll never have to sing Silver live again (unless we have a reunion tour in 20 years...bet Kim Deal thought the same thing once upon a time). Anyway...there's no accounting for sudden brain farts and memory lapses...but I can't say that I wasn't prepared. I know the songs now as well as I ever have.
This week has been totally bizarre emotionally. Work sucked today. I have a cold. If I were drinking I'd be ready to get drunk...but I don't have the desire at the moment (hopefully that will hold throughout the weekend). I don't know how these things will affect tonight and tomorrow...but I know that CJ is in the top five list of best things ever to happen to me. And for that reason I'm happy as hell to have these two shows. Some day this chapter of my life will have passed in all its nastiness...but CJ will have been a bright shining light long after it has ended no matter where it goes from here. Don't forget. Be glad.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
