Sorry.....I wasn't there

Check out these youtube.com video's of R.E.M. with Bill Berry playing at a benefit in Athens featuring FIVE EIGHT, Patterson Hood and others doing R.E.M. covers.

I found REM doing Begin the Begin and So Central Rain. FIVE EIGHT joined by REM doing Radio Free Europe, Sitting Still, Its the End of the World.

Sonic Youth/Flaming Lips

I had the fortune to be able to see these two bands the weekend before my knee surgery. Adrian and Jim Mckittrick accompanied me to the Pageant in St. Louis. This club is in U-City, near the Washington University campus. This is where you find Cicero's, Blueberry Hill/The Duckroom, Vintage Vinyl.

The Magic Numbers opened the show. I'd seen them on Conan or Dave and thought they were intriguing. I believe they are a British band with siblings in the band. Kind of groovy, but a little out of place on this bill. An all ages show, alot of the kids new this band and even the words.

Sonic Youth played a 1 hour set that was wonderful. They opened with Candle from Daydream Nation. A nice surprise. Jim & Adrian really didn't know what to expect. The level of musicianship in this band is astonishing. I guess being together for 25 years helps. Pattern Recognition from Sonic Nurse turned out to be the show stopper; a 20 minute, feed back extravaganza. This included Thurston going into the crowd and handing over his guitar to the lucky ones up front. It nearly made its way back to us, about 2/3 way back in the center of the floor. Jim was mesmerized by Kim Gordon. Mark Ibold, from Pavement, played 2nd bass. Kim either played bass or 3rd guitar. They also played Catholic Block from Sister which really sent me on a time warp. Sister is the first SY lp that I bought. I think I have every one since. I couldn't think of a better 'opening' act.

At the end of the set, Thurston announced the Flaming Lips by saying, "what you are about to see is going to blow your mind off."

He was right. Now I've seen this basic show from the lips 3 times before, all in theaters. I wondered what they were going to do in this smallish club. (2,000 with balcony I heard) Guess what, they didn't change a thing. We got the full show, up close and personal.

Being on the floor in the middle of 2 giant confetti cannons firing almost non-stop, 100's of 3 ft wide balloons floating through the air, flashing lights, smoke machines, and of course dancing alien females and dancing Santa's, and of course Wayne leading it all like a pied piper of psychedelia. One really can't explain the scene that is set. I think they have filmed this at the Hollywood Bowl for release on dvd. I told Jim that the best effect would be to point the camera's at the crowd the entire time since they are so involved. I've never been to a show where the crowd was more into it. Every song the crowd sang the lyrics at the top of their lungs. Wayne and Steven were both in awe of the crowd's enthusiasm. Wayne said it seemed just like a 10,000 seat arena.

To top it all off, for the final encore, they played War Pigs, full-on, no gimmicks. They place went crazy. I didn't know how Sonic Youth's perfect set could be topped, but I think it was by the end of the Lips, mostly due to the crowd's adoration for this great band.

Diggit's Couch Tunes

Thought I would compile a list of great songs I've found so far in 2006. Recovering for 2 weeks has allowed me to listen to alot of music. (Still hooked on Sirius 63 - Outlaw Country) These are in no particular order. The cd's represented here are all excellent.

Break This Time - Alejandro Escovedo
God is in the Roses - Roseanne Cash
Jack Blue - Chris Knight
Hold On, Hold On - Neko Case
Broadripple Nightclubs - Gentleman Caller
Easy on Yourself - Drive By Truckers
This Old Guitar - Neil Young
Incinerate - Sonic Youth
On the Evening Train - Johnny Cash
I Am a Strong Lion - Robert Pollard
Stop Thinking - Mysteries of Life
The W.A.N.D. - Flaming Lips
Magdalene - Guy Clark
Just Drums - Tapes n Tapes
Mars Red Rust - Human Television
Magnetic Fields - Some Girls
Living Proof - Cat Power
Beauty of the Draft - Keene Brothers
Mission of Burma - Good, Not Great
Oh People - Tim Easton
Powder Burns - Twilight Singers
New Virginia Creeper - Old Crow Medicine Show
Out There on the Moon - Minus 5
Steady, As She Goes - The Raconteurs
Rise Up With Fists! - Jenny Lewis
Sunday Dress - Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass-Kicking Team
Looking For a Job - Todd Snider
Anything Can Happen - Jon Langford
Bruises - Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3
Conventional Wisdom - Built to Spill
My Sweet Unknown - Jon Auer

Recovery Discovery

Hey fans, this post coming straight from the recovery wing (Basement) at Diggit's home in Fishers. ACL reconstruction was one week ago. A week later I'm feeling like myself again, however still restricted to bed, icing, 24 hr continuous passive motion machine and 5 hours of excercises daily.

Check out a couple of cool sites:

Kinkyfriedman.com (The next governor of texas?)

iamnotafraidofyouandiwillkickyourass.com (post your own video here!) CD comes out 9-12!

Mike Watt's hootpage.com (Take a couple of hours and read Watt's Stooges Tour Diaries. It's seems like your reading Joyce or Bukowski or something. Definitely singular, and often funny)

Robertpollard.net (Supernatural Car Lover mp3 download from the forthcoming Normal Happiness CD. Which I found out today will include a 14 song live set from opening slot for Pearl Jam in Cincy. Sweet.....also found out that Pollard and the Ascended Masters playing at the Bluebird in Bloomington on Nov9!

I've also been listening to Sirius 63 - Outlaw Country almost non-stop. Didn't realize the 'Big D' Dallas Wayne hosts on this channel. As does Mojo Nixon and Scooter Jennings.

I watched Heart of Gold (again). High Fidelity (again). Iggy & the Stooges in Detroit (again). Coffee and Cigarettes (Jarmusch first time). Office Space (again).

Allison, Genie, Margaret & Mary Jane

Vulgar Boatmen with The Lovemeknots
Zanies Too, Indianapolis
Saturday August 19, 2006

2 Bands. 4.5 hours. Vaselines, the Band, Ricky Nelson, VU, English Beat, Iggy, Small Faces and so many others. And about 30 of the most original songs ever written.

Thanks to Dale, Jake, Matt, Andy and Kathy for a once in a lifetime show.

Also...Evan, Kyle, Dave, Brad & Rich for another fabulous lovemeknots reunion show.

DC's Car Tunes

Here's what's in Heavy Rotation during the daily commute:

Some Girls - Crushing Love
Juliana Hatfield, Freda Love & Heidi Gluck make believe they are DC's house band. Err, well maybe not, but that's what it sounds like to me. This should be on the radio. If you haven't heard Heidi sing yet, check this out. I suspect she'll be a "star" someday with her songwriting strength and voice. Several songs here co-written with Jake Smith from Mysteries of Life and the Vulgar Boatmen. Go directly to the song Magnetic Fields and you'll see why this is a top-notch group.
Human Television - Look At Who You're Talking To
I just found this at Luna. Imagine a mix of The Sea and Cake and Talking Heads. Jangly, bouncy guitar pop with cool bass lines. Roll yer window down, turn it up, and enjoy.
Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon
I saw this band on Conan or Craig Ferguson. Very cool. Lotsa hype in the media as well. This was an emusic.com selection for me this month. Hard to describe, a little weezer-esque (good weezer only), and also some Duckhills in there as well. You may not remember the Duckhills, yer loss. Worth checking out.
The Sadies - In Concert Volume One
OK, I'm a sucker for the Sadies. 2 cd live set with tons of guests. Most importantly Kelly Hogan and Neko Case and their lovely voices. Jon Spencer too. A great party cd.
Guy Clark - Workbench Songs
Available now on emusic.com. (If you haven't subscribed to this yet, you should. $10/month gets you 40 downloads. Their selection is fantastic as you can see from this new release.) What can I say about Guy? Both he and Townes Van Zandt's music pulled me through living in the cultural wasteland of Watseka Illinois. A new batch of songs and a Townes cover, the understated No Lonesome Tune. Bonus from emusic is a live recording of the Guy classic, Texas 1947. If you haven't seen Be Here To Love Me (TVZ documentary) yet, Guy's scenes are classics. They were best friends and his intro at Townes funeral is hysterical. Current favorite is the sweet Magdelene. Never sounded better.
Mysteries of Life - Beginning To Move
I'm a big fan of these guys. Every one of their cd's is a must have. The latest is no exception. Jake, Freda, Dale & Kenny have created another midwestern slice of life. Jake & Freda are moving to England in Sept 06, and the fate of MOL, Vulgar Boatmen and Some Girls is up in the air for now. Buy this and enjoy. Stop Thinking and Hard As I may Try are going to be classics.
Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Hard to keep this out of rotation. Can't wait to see them live in St. Louis on Aug 26th with Sonic Youth. Yep, I'll be there!
Tim Easton - Ammunition
Jeff reintroduced me to Tim. I bought The Truth About Us when it came out and loved it. Remember Get Some Lonesome? I do. Well I didn't follow up with his subsequent releases. Ammunition is quite different, more in the folk troubador tradition, but the songwriting is just fantastic. Buy this as soon as you can. Another emusic.com selection for me.
Das Kapital - Denying the West
Catch the theme? Emusic review led me to buying this. Man is it good. Don't know much about them but comparisons to the Replacements always make me check someone out. Take a listen at emusic and see if you agree.
The Drams - Jubilee Drive
Another band I know little about. However they are currently starting a tour with Drive By Truckers, so I thought I better get hip to them. Kind of a more rocking Bottle Rockets, who I've never taken to. "Some will go willingly and some will kick and scream. Some will sleep the drunken sleep in hopes of happy dreams. Even the strong grow weak," from the Truth Lies Low demonstrates some cool songwriting. I hope to catch them with DBT in October at the Bluebird in Bloomington.
Brian Deer - Songs from Black Cloud Talk
Brian is a singer-songwriter from Indy who is currently recording a full length cd in Nashville. This ep has 3 songs and each one's a winner. They played at Midwest Music Summit at the Melody Inn during the Phyllis picnic. My first time to see them and I really enjoyed the songs. Brian should have long career in music based on what I heard. Also fun to see Bro Brett playing the bass.
Phyllis - Can't Talk at All (Demo)
The boys from Phyllis have been busy recording live to analog in their studio. Check out their myspace page for this goodie from the sessions. Brett sure can write a perty song. They have been opening with this the last couple of times I've seen them live and it absolutely rocks.

Musical Family Tree

Last Friday night, August 11, began 18 hours of rock and roll for yours truly. First up was the Musical Family Tree showcase at Locals Only. This show, among many others last weekend, was part of the 2006 Midwest Music Summit. I guessed right that Locals Only would be the place to be on Friday night. The lineup included many bands that created and have kept Indy's local music scene alive the past 15 years or more. Musical Family Tree is a website dedicated to bands from Indiana. The idea is to collect info and songs from the past and follow the songmakers into the future, a family tree. Its well worth checking out. Of course with good music comes good friends as well. It was great to see a packed house for the lineup. Highlights for me where seeing old favorites the Mysteries of Life (ending their set with Naive Melody by Talking Heads!), Phyllis (a short set marred by heckling patrons...thanks Pete), Gentleman Caller, John Strohm (Blake Babies/Antenna), and Vess Rhutenberg (Pieces/United States Three). I called it quits before the Vulgar Boatmen hit the stage at 1a or later. Interesting tidbit I learned from Matt Speake, VB guitarist, that a documentary is currently being filmed on the famous band. The story and the art is there for a good doc, hope it sees the light of day. Check out the live show posted on MFT (note the date 5/20/2006...Jeff & Keri's reception night!)


Saturday at 1p brought me to the Melody Inn and the 4th annual Phyllis picnic. Free music and free food! This year's lineup was a real winner. ESW (wild bass, adam white drumming his heart out, and keyboard/sax player!! freaky good), Mckel Vee Kel (another John Sheets alter ego....samples, Richard Nixon, and Television furiosity with Phyllis boys!! Fabulous, thanks Johnny, er McKel Vee), Brian Deer and the Achievers (wow, very good roots rock from Brian..Brett on cuntry bass fiddle and high lonesome harmony), Fuglees (you know em, you love em), Born Again Floozies (come on Joe, you do no wrong, a righteous set), and Phyllis. I've seen a few Phyllis shindigs in my life, this was the best one yet. The boys were dead nuts on it. Thanks guys for rockin us. Can't wait for the new platter. Check out a rough mix from the studio on their myspace page.

Upcoming Shows

August will be a fun month for me musically. Next weekend, I'll get to see phyllis, mysteries of life, vulgar boatmen, the fuglees, mckelvey kel, gentleman caller. And then the following weekend the lovemeknots and vulgar boatmen. And then the next weekend sonic youth and the flaming lips and a cubs/cardinals game. Then I have surgery and will have a dry spell.

The Vulgar Boatmen/Mysteries of Life shows will be bittersweet. Jake Smith and Freda are moving to England in September. Jake's bass playing the last few years in the Vulgar Boatmen has revitalized the live show for them. I believe he has a new Mysteries of Life cd coming out this summer. Also heard that Freda has a new Some Girls cd due this summer as well with Juliana and Heidi. I will miss the boatmen and mysteries of life greatly if they don't play anymore.

I'll report back on these fine events.

No, That wasn't me you saw

space walking to repair the shuttle last month. Things have been a little hectic in Fishers the past few months. I'll compose a brief summary for you:

Jeff & Keri's Wedding reception May 20
school finishes up in May
Adrian takes SAT
Katie trains for Nationals June
Begin weening Katie off seizure medication for 12 weeks after 3 years of medicating
Adrian starts summer school and lifeguarding job
Derek & Amy's 20th anniversary June 14
John Veltri in town for Vulgar Boatmen Show and Beanblossom Festival
Katie's Birthday June 21
Katie & Amy go to Seattle for Synchro Nationals
Derek, Brett, Joel, Johnny V watch the Fishers premiere of We Jam Econo-The story of the Minutemen
Derek joins summer softball league
Visit from Jim & Jamie over July 4th
Jim & Derek's golf clubs stolen over July 4th
Derek tears anterior cruciate ligament rounding 2nd in last softball game of season
Katie gets part-time babysitting job for July
Adrian begins work on Eagle Scout service project
Adrian goes to final Boy Scout Summer Camp in Kalkaska Michigan
Derek schedules ACL repair surgery for August 30
Adrian's Eagle project August 5
Adrian turns 18 August 12
Katie gets EEG to check if still having mini-seizures August 15
School starts August 16

No vacations!!! First time in a few years we didn't go anywhere. Now with knee surgery & rehab, we definitely won't. Planning on going to BJ's bachelor party in Vegas in October and his wedding in November out in LA. Those will be fun and it will be good to see BJ & Susannah.

I'll get back in the habit of frequent posts once school gets rolling.

Living With War

In case you hadn't heard, Neil Young has recorded a new record called Living With War. It comes out for download on May 2. You can listen to it on his website now. I've listened this evening and it sounds very strong. He uses a 100 voice choir on the title track.

Star Sighting

I found a link to a capsule review of BJ's Star Trek, Indiana show. I can't wait to see this live. I saw a dvd version a few years ago and it was extremely funny and touching at the same time. Last time I spoke to BJ, he told me he was trying to get the show produced here in Indy. Fingers crossed for that!

Two, String Quartets and a Power Trio

It's been a busy week since returning from San Francisco. I'll catch up on a few things.

Kronos Quartet
The concert at the Yerba Linda Center for the Arts was fascinating and mesmerizing. Check them out if you get a chance. They closed by playing The Star Spangled Banner ala Jimi at Berkley. That's how they announced it and played it. The level of noise coming from the stage was really incredible. The 2 songs they played with Matmos were genuinely cool. Matmos use computers, unconventional noisemakers, their mouth, and video to create a scene of sorts. This one, with Kronos, showed a close up of a sink drain and they were able to meld all of these noises and instruments together to sound like water swirling down a drain. Then the screen switched to grass blowing in the wind.....very cool.

Alejandro Escovedo
It's a hot time for Al, he's on the cover of No Depression, again, and his new cd, The Boxing Mirror is out this Tuesday. John Cale, yeah that one, produced. If you follow Alejandro at all, you know VU is a huge influence on his music. I cannot wait to hear it. I saw Alejandro for the first time at the Bluebird in Bloomington last fall. It looks like the same band recorded this album. 2 cello's, 1 violin, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums. Here's a swell article by Jon Pareles from the NY Times.

The Minutemen
Check out the release date and info for the Minutemen Documentary, We Jam Econo. This is big. 3 full sets of live music on the bonus dvd!!

WE JAM ECONO - THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN is the acclaimed feature-length
documentary on the too-brief life of one of the most revered, intriguing,
and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the
immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and
singer and guitarist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled
creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking
band which refused to be categorized as punk.

The film weaves together personal tales from Watt and drummer George
Hurley with archival interview footage of the band and rare live
performances. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists,
and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in
the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the tragic 1985 death of D.
Boon in a highway accident in the Arizona desert.

DISC 1:

- "We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen" (90min)
- Original music videos for: "This Ain't No Picnic," "Ack Ack Ack Ack" and
"King of the Hill"
- 19 Deleted Scenes and Interviews
- Uncut Bard College Interview (56min)
- English Subtitles for the hearing impaired

DISC 2:

62 songs from three live performances:
- The Starwood Los Angeles, CA - November 18th, 1980 (Includes multi-angle
feature)
- 9:30 Club Washington, D.C. - 1984
- Acoustic Blowout (Cable Access Show) - Hollywood, CA - 1985
- 16-page booklet with full color photos, flyers, filmmaker notes and
liner notes by David Rees, creator of Get Your War On.

Here are some of the nice things that folks have been saying about We Jam
Econo:

"Lovable documentary about the lovable band... their idealism, their humor
and decency is spellbinding" - Sarah Vowell, The New York Times

"The Minutemen were influential then and now, and "We Jam Econo" is a
valentine to the band and D. Boon’s memory. They’re immortal now, and
that's as it should be." - Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times

"We Jam Econo resurrects and hoists high a genuinely maverick spirit, with
its depiction of the Minutemen's humble beginnings, the band's visionary
music (a hybrid of punk, funk, jazz and beat poetry) and populist approach
to rock-as-lifestyle, and the members' shared sense of mission that
inspired hundreds of other bands to take up the cause. Old fans and
newcomers alike will feel proud to stand before it and salute." - Fred
Mills, Detroit Metro Times

San Fran Update

Day 2 in San Francisco....

This morning I hiked around for 3 hours. Noah's bagel and coffee for breakfast...top notch. What a great city. When you are from the mid-west you tend to romanticize anything that is foreign i.e. deserts, mountains, oceans, beaches, cute girls, er...ok. you know what I mean.( I wonder if people from the coasts romantize pigs doing it in 6 inches of mud???)

I love this place. The city is electric...aside from the cable cars....Tonight I sat on the 39th floor of the Marriott lounge overlooking the bay and surrounding mountains. In Indy, the 39th floor gets you a good view of some cool grain silo's and some sweet subdivisions.

I called BJ and spoke with him for awhile. I really screwed up by forgetting to call him prior. I think he could have come to spend some time with me. Balls. He suggested I try the Irish Bank near Union Square tonight. That is real close to here so I am on my way after I post this. I bought tickets to see Kronos Quartet w/ Matmos & Walter Kitundu on Friday night, right across the street from the St. Regis. I can't wait. I have a Kronos Quartet lp from the 80's in my collection. Apparently they are still on the fringe of the mainstream. I read today too that the David Byrne and Brian Eno lp, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts has been reissued. Joseph Bennet turned me onto that when it came out. I plan on seeking it out this weekend. Hopefully I can find it.

And....BJ & Susannah are getting married November 11, 2006 in Las Vegas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vegas Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so looking forward to this. BJ is one of my soul mates of this world. I wish him and Susannah the best......Also, Jeff Stepp & Keri are getting married soon. The celebratory party is in Danville IL on May 20 , 2006. Congrats Jeff & Keri. Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!

While walking around today, I heard My Kind of Soldier on the IPOD. Why didn't that song make the top 10??? I nearly started dancing at the corner of Market and Powell today!

Air Waves

I'm in San Francisco for a few days attending the annual NERVES meeting. This is an organization of private practice and academic Neursurgery practice executives. The agenda looks very good this year and I look forward to seeing several people that I only see once a year.

I'm staying at the nicest hotel I've ever been to, the St. Regis. Tonight I ate at Ame restaurant here in the St. Regis. Grilled Halibut with olive and chickpea tompenade. Yummy.

This room has it all, dvd, plasma tv, ipod hookup, touch screen climate, lighting & shade control, a bath and separate shower. Even the terlit is behind a glass door. Sweet.

It was a very long day, a 3 hour layover in Dallas, DFW. (reminds me of the Jimmie Dale Gilmore classic, Dallas...have you ever seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night?). I started 2 books on the flight: Staring at Sound (Jim De Rogatis' Flaming Lips Biography) and The History of God by Karen Armstrong. This one is a comparative history of the 3 main monotheistic religions. I read about 100 pages of the Flaming Lips book. It's very informative and reads very fluidly. De Rogatis obviously admires Wayne, who wouldn't? I made about a 5 page dent in the God history book. Also listened to BTS' new cd again, You In Reverse. Its an instant classic. Very powerful and full of hooks. Also listened to Mercury Rev and 3 Flaming Lips lps. This is what the ipod is built for, long distance travel. I remember the old days of traveling to St Louis for a week each month, I would pack about 20 cd's in my briefcase for the trip. No longer.

I have quite abit of free time tomorrow and then not until Saturday afternoon/evening. I'll let the weather be my guide. Didn't see any good bands playing, aside from Dino Jr, who I just saw last week. Really want to spend half a day in North Beach. I loved that area of town when I was here with John Veltri a few years ago.

Car Tunes

Jon Langford - Gold Brick/Nashville Radio Companion CD

Jonboy is on a roll. I've been enjoying these two new releases immensely. Gold Brick is a proper solo album (the logical follow up to Skull Orchard?) while Nashville Radio is the companion cd from the coffee table book that highlights the artwork and lyrics from the mekons to the waco's. This book is beautiful. The songs are acoustic versions of songs from Jon's career. Langford may be the most important songwriter anywhere right now. More on the book from the Bloodshot website.

Nashville Radio is the first collection of his acclaimed art. It reproduces 215 paintings and etchings, along with song lyrics and autobiographical writings. The book also comes with an specially recorded exclusive CD of Langford performing 18 of the printed songs.

Here's what the pointy-headed art history people have to say about it:

"Langford’s 'song-paintings' fuse publicity-shot portraiture with imagery derived from folk art, Dutch still life, classic Western wear, and the cold, cold war—all instilled with sharp, sardonic wit and a Constructivist sense of the power of language. He applies his completely distinctive style to the depiction of American music giants such as Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash, and also to more ghostly, marginalized figures — blindfolded cowboys, astronauts, and dancers — jerked around by the forces of success and exploitation, fame and neglect.

Built to Spill - You in Reverse *UPDATE*
This is the new one for BTS fans. Wow. I've listened twice and it may be their best effort. The song 'Conventional Wisdom' is my first favorite. My initial reaction to it was, 'this sounds like a Phyllis song. So it has to be fabulous. I suspect I'll be listening to this much closer on the plane to San Fran today.

Nick Lowe - Party of One
I found this in the used pile at Luna recently. I love Nick Lowe. There, I said it. His songwriting just hits me in the right place (The Beast in Me is a top 20 fave song for me). Party of One is a fun album from the mid-90's that includes some classics like, You Got the Look I Like, Jumbo Ark, What's Shakin on the Hill, All Men are Liars (a personal favorite). Scoop it up for some fun pub rock.

The Posies - Every Kind of Light

This is the latest from the re-formed Posies. We all loved them in the 90's, but now they are back with a great album. Jack Rabid from the Big Takeover, told me to pick this up. I had been skeptical from some reviews I read, but he was right, it's a winner. Jon Auer wins in the songwriting dual. At least 3 of these melodies will trouble you for days. Highly recommended.

Freak Scene

Tuesday, April 12, 2006, saw Dinosaur Jr playing at the Vogue Theater. I met up with Brett, David Magee and Dave Brown at the Wellington prior to the show. We missed the opening bands and waited for J, Lou & Murph to take the stage. Stage left were 3 massive Marshall stacks! Notoriously loud, this sight pretty much answered why. (kinda reminded me of the Neil Young Rust Never Sleeps tour where he made gigantic stage props, but these where real!) The premise of this tour has been to play only the songs that these 3 played while they were together. Of course J recorded as Dino J long after this incarnation disbanded. The crowd was not dissapointed, as they stuck to this except for "wagon" from Green Mind. (at least as far as I can remember) Frightening loud, but not distorted, very clear. J's solos were out of this world. We were all very glad we plopped down $22 for this amazing show.

You Tube

I've been aware of this site for awhile and this morning tried to find a recent Robert Pollard & the Ascended Masters video. So here we go........from the Southgate House in Covington KY. I was there Feb. 2006, Boy in Motion and Love is Stronger than Witchcraft.





And how's this for some classic GBV......

On Chronic Town.....

Saturday morning coffee with R.E.M. and their debut ep Chronic Town. This record has literally been hanging on my basement wall for a year or so. In that time, I've resurrected my turntable and have been listening to vinyl almost exclusively in the house. So throwing this on this morning has really transported me straight back to 1982, and in a good way. I bought this record based solely on the cover. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't...think Molly Hatchet. The color wash, combined with the gargoyle, and even the font for R.E.M. told me that this record was something different. Sure the guys on the back had some cool 80's haircuts, but titles like Wolves, Lower and Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) didn't lead me to believe these were gonna be songs about Johnny and Jane.

Chronic Town starts off with 1,000,000. What does this guy keep repeating? Then the chorus of "I could live a million.....years." "Living....deadlier.....smarter too...." the rest is still undecipherable. Of course the internet helps us out with that, but do we really want to know? That was the draw hear. Listen again, listen again. Who were these mysterious people and why did they make me dance alone in my bedroom?

Stumble is next. Here the rickenbacher jangle debuts, creating the signature R.E.M. sound. This song too has the indecipherable repeating lyric, "barrrr....tannnnn?!?!" then the chorus "We'll stumble through the yard." Then another 4 bars of the melodic nonsense. Wow, this was a totally different listening experience, my main musical diet of the time being The Police, Squeeze, Joe Jackson and Devo.

Side 2 offered the Holy Grail of indie or college rock. Isn't this where it began? Three songs, Wolves, Lower, Gardening at Night (go ahead and sing it, the melody lives in your subconcious), and Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars). What memory does this run of songs conjure? Charleston, Illinois and a dance club called Mothers. This would be a couple years later, but I can plainly picture parking in a bank lot, walking across the street to Mothers with i.d. in hand, eighteen mind you, and stepping inside. Did they always(only) play R.E.M.? Who would be there? B.J., Cargill, Jim, and who else? Not sure. Probably only the four of us in any combination. But this was the place that solidified my love for the music I embraced the rest of my life. The idea that I wasn't the only person listening to Chronic Town and Murmur; that Boxcars only made me dance. What else do I hear in these memories? Costello, Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, db's, Split Enz, the Producers, Let's Active....on and on. Everytime I went there I found someone new. This was the equivalent satellite radio then. Live with other people. And thinking about it now, Adrian is nearly the same age now as I was then. Huh.

I don't have Chronic Town on cd. I think the reason why is that it's much too small. Chronic Town is a 12" record, not a 5" cd.

Ipod update

I am happy so far with my Ipod experience. I bought a 60gb whitey. It was great in the car during our trip to Chicago. I have a long way to go in filling it up and I now know I'm going to be forced to choose which albums are in and which are out. I plan on copying all of my cd's to itunes, but will have much more than 60gb. I just worry about the reliability of the device. Adrian has had 2 bad hard drives and Katie's mini died on the eve of her trip to NY City last Thursday.

Current statistics:
Song count - 10,299
Size - 34.2gb
Album count - 805
Artist count - 1,142

My best estimate is that this is roughly 40% of my cd collection. I'll have to see, its a slow process.

Mr & Mrs take the Windy City

I love Chicago. If I ever bought a lottery ticket and hit it big, I would definitely spend time exploring the neighborhoods of Chicago. Last weekend Amy and I checked into the Willows hotel in the Lakeview/Lincoln Park neighborhoods. I great little boutique hotel walking distance to some cool stuff. We really only had two goals in mind for the weekend, breakfast at Ann Sather's in Wrigleyville and Robert Pollard at the Metro on Friday night, the rest of the weekend we were leaving to chance.

After some noodles at Tie Me Up, we shot over to the Metro. I was pretty excited to see how far this band had come since the show at the Southgate House in February. We found a spot right beside Wrigely Field and marched in. Now, Mrs. C was not as thrilled to be here as I. I think it was mostly the late hour. We found a spot in the left rear of the floor and waited. The result of several more shows under their belt was astounding. This is as good a band as Bob has ever had and the songs were amazing. He played 4 new songs from Normal Happiness, which won't be released until October. Supernatural Car Lover was absolutely crazy good. This album, according to Bob, is 16, 2 minute pop songs. Needless to say I loved the show, Mrs C said her ears didn't ring too bad, and we were back in the hotel by 2 am! Check out these great pictures from the show.

A few hours later we were sitting in Ann Sathers on Belmont waiting for the world's best cinnamon rolls. I convinced myself to order something different, traditional eggs benedict everytime I go, and had the swedish sampler. Very tasty, especially the meatball. The thing about this place is you get 2 giant cinnamon rolls with whatever you order. Its a gutful and delish.

From here I decided to take Amy to Old Town and walk around to see the sights and architecture. We did a little shopping, a lot of walking, and a lot of ruminating about what it would be like to live in this kind of environment. Final result was a draw, Me = yes, Mrs C = maybe. From there we drove back to the hotel and walked to Yak-zies (Chicago dawg, fries, and toasted raviolies!) for a late munch and some more walking and gawking. Later we had dinner at Tarantino's back in Old Town and it was a nice find. Cozy little corner Italian that you would love to live around the block from. Bonus-found parking on the street and saved some cash. Parking, as with most large cities, is the worst thing about the trip. We had a great time together and drove to Marshall on Sunday to see nephew Jason off to Germany for 4 years. He's in the Air Force and is being stationed in Rammstein. It was nice to see everyone and we let 80 mph winds push us home!

Country Music Tips of the Day

Tip #1 comes from Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover editor:

Buyer's guide to George Jones records: If Jones has a crew cut on the cover, buy it. If he has longer, shaggy hair, listen before you buy!

Tip #2 came from Bloodshot Records:

Cubs home opener is next Friday. For the 7th consecutive year, The Waco Bros. will celebrate the start of the Cubs season with a midday show at Yatzkies in Wrigleyville. Line starts forming at 6a.m. !!! I'm gonna try to make that next year, or call in sick this Friday!

Tip #3 comes from me:

The new Townes Van Zandt documentary, Be Here to Love Me, is just heartbreaking. I had no idea the level of self-destruction that Townes created for himself. I knew that he lived on the edge, but he LIVED on the edged. Only thing I thought seemed missing was any talk about gambling. I know he was a consumate gambler and would bet on anything, but I can't remember one mention of this in the movie. The movie is short on actual performances, but the interviews are very insightful. This is a must for those who count TVZ as a music legend or for those who enjoy being depressed for a couple of days after watching a movie.

Flaming Lips Category

Flaming Lips fans, put away your Death Cab cd's and log onto www.flaminglips.com to listen to the entire new record, At War with the Mystics. I've been listening this evening and I love it.

Secondly, catch the Lips live on Letterman Thursday night (3-30). (last night was Willie Nelson singing an old Eddie Arnold song...very cool)

Thirdly, I read a quote from Thurston Moore that Sonic Youth and the Lips are going to be tour partners this year!! S.Y. have a new one coming out this year too. These two bands have carried the independent flag for such a long time and remain as innovative and important now as in the old days.

Good Reads

I just finished Vinyl Junkies by Brett Milano. A quick read that highlights several vinyl collectors. The famous ones include, Thurston Moore, R. Crumb, and Peter Buck. I consider myself a collector personality, but I'm not as obsessive as the people in this book. Amy would disagree. I'm hoping to get her to read the Peter Buck chapter at least to show her I'm ok!

Last night I started Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail. Apparently the drummer from the Damned is a Holy Grail enthusiast! I'll let you know how it turns out, its pretty good so far.

TGIF

It's been one of those weeks. A good friend of ours had surgery on Tuesday to have what was originally diagnosed as a malignant sarcoma removed. (bad news that) The surgeons removed the tumor and a kidney. Jackie called today and said that the pathology was wrong before and the tumor was benign. Great News!!!!! However they really didn't need to take out her kidney. I believe no cancer trumps one kidney!

My good friend John Moeller and his wife MJ had their baby on Wednesday, Peter Gregory! All are doing well. I visited them today and held the feller. I am so glad that they are embarking on this journey and not me! I love my kids, but I'm not sure I could do babies again!

I met Perry, someone who I need to spend more time with, after work today for a couple of Blue Moon's and to catch up. He told me of this show called Survivor Man. The premise is that Survivor Man, a survivalist, is dropped off in some extreme environment, with zero food or water, and he has to survive for 7 days. The other catch is that he is his own camera man! The episodes Perry related to me sounded fascinating. Tonight I will search the dishnetwork for this show and set to record.

I'm listening to Revolver on vinyl as I type. It just seems impossible that this came out the year I was born and sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. I read a post today on the Strong Lions list (Robert Pollard nerds) that said the Beatles are a gateway drug to so many other artists. Totally agree.

I recieved an ebay gem this week. An original 1972 vinyl copy of Waylon Jenning's Honky Tonk Heroes LP. This is the LP that started the Outlaw movement. I'm so pleased that the vinyl and cover are in fabulous condition. I think 8 of the 10 songs are Billy Joe Shaver classics. Everyone should own a copy of this. Oh, and I only paid $4 for it!

Nick Hornby

Made an impromptu trip to the Butler University campus with Tim Bruner and Bro' Brett last night to listen to Nick Hornby read selections from his books and essays. I've read High Fidelity, About a Boy, and Songbook. All three of these are recommended reading. I enjoy his honest depiction of what makes a man a man. Hornby also has a deep love of music and weaves this through his writing. The movie adaptation of High Fidelity is very well done. It's on the shelf at home, along with the book. I pull the dvd out occasionally and give it another look. I was not as thrilled with About a Boy, the movie, for a couple of reasons. One - Hugh Grant. Two - this a tougher themed book and the movie was a little twee in my opinion. Songbook is great. Anyone who is obsessed with music should keep this on the shelf.

Check out this essay by Hornby at McSweeney's:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/song/hornby.html

What's Moving Me

I've been looking forward to the release of these two documentaries; Be Here to Love Me - A documentary on the life of Townes Van Zandt and Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus - A tour through the American South with Jim White and performances by The Handsome Family, Johnny Dowd, Melissa Swingle, Doc Watson, David Johansen and others.

I picked them up on Friday and can't wait to watch. Townes' songs forged my appreciation of songwriting. His story is a sad one, but I'm sure I will be inspired by this movie. As for Searching, I bought Jim White's cd of the same title many years ago. His music is kind of a cross between Johnny Dowd and David Byrne. Here's a nice summary:

Jim White’s traveling companions are the well-worn sounds of Appalachia — guitar, banjo, harp and accordion — made vital and alien through his peculiar sonic ingenuity... his sound is equal parts traditional song and cinematic atmospheric. Some folks call it trip-folk. Describing his debut album, Jim reflects, “There’s a sweetness and a rage to it that’s universal. But the way they sleep together is peculiar.”


Check'em out online here:

www.townesthemovie.com
www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com

I missed St Paddy's.....

But I plan on making it up today. In about an hour I'll start working on some Irish Stew. We are having dinner with a group of friends tonight and its an Irish Theme. Currently I'm making a Irish cd mix for the gang. Chieftans, Sharron Shannon, Tim O'Brien, some Steve Earle, some old timey appalachian stuff that's drawn from Irish jigs. I'll throw in some Pogues and Flogging Molly for good measure!

End of the Century

Just finished watching the Ramones documentary End of the Century. This seems to be an alarmingly honest look at the band. The band who without question created the punk rock genre. The live footage included in the film kills. These guys were the business. Of course there wouldn't be a story without the drama of the interpersonal relationships between the band members and the confounding lack of 'popular' respect and commercial success these punks endured. The reason Johnny kept them going all those years. To make the punk rock exclamation point mean something to people like me all around the world. Joe Strummer's comments throughout are genius, as are the interviews with all past members of the Ramones.

The Ramones are to music what Ali is to sports; ambassadors who set out to make things possible for all people.

Diggit's CarTunes

This week's CarTunes were:

Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Neko plays her latest real cool. Short, succinct and confident. I can't think of a better American voice. Her appearance on Leno was perfect and it seemed like Jay was somewhat dumbfounded by her rockin performance.

Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery
I had pretty high expectations for the latest from these Texans. Redo the Stacks, their debut from the mid-nineties, makes my desert island list. Then I read that Patterson Hood called Fort Recovery a true classic. Well, I'm not there yet. I listened to it twice this weekend and its a fine album. I'm having a hard time getting past the fact that it sounds alot like the last 2 Varnaline records. (and I like those records) I'll definitely give this more attention in the weeks to come to see if I can find the hidden jewel buried within.

Roseanne Cash - Black Cadillac
Roseanne pulled together a classic here. This is basically a eulogy for Johnny, June & her mom, Vivian who all passed away within one year. But don't think dirge here. This is some heavy songwriting with a bent towards ultimate redemption. This record will easily make all the "best of" lists for 2006.

Lowe Profile - A Tribute to Nick Lowe (2 cd's!)
I love tribute records. I've always been fascinated by cover song choices that artists make. Some tribute collections can be a nightmare, but not this one. The subject, Nick Lowe, has written a handful of classics, and several albums full of songs a notch above 98% of the world. The ringer on this one is Foster & Lloyds take on Without Love. I think Johnny covered this one so you know its one of Nick's classics. Their subtle rockabilly take stands out. Other artists include Eric Ambel, Dave Alvin, Steve Wynn, Terry Anderson, Jamie Hoover, and Duane Jarvis.

Guided By Voices - Static Airplane Jive
I just bought this ep from 1993 off ebay and it came last week. Of course the reason to own it is for the lead song, Big School (One, two, big school). The anthemic chorus alone makes one dream of fronting a band. This is the type of record that makes critics so frustrated with Pollard. He starts off with a song that stands up to the best of all rock anthems, and then throws in a couple of off the wall head scratchers. O.k. by me, the man's a genius. Here's the lyrics to this great song:

Servant to master
Sinister bastard
All the worlds are Colliding all around you
Knowledge escapes you
Society rapes you
I've got my notebooks And I'm going back to
Big school
It's the big school
Now we're talking about the Big School

Now if I could free you
What would you be then
Look at my eyes through the telephoto lens
And notice the traces
Of faraway places
We're both driving my car back to the
Big school

Nash Bash 2006

Adrian's Rugby team, the Hamilton Southeastern Royals, travelled to Music City this weekend for the 3rd Annual Nash Bash Rugby Invitational at Vanderbilt University. We ended up 1-2 for the weekend. Adrian suffered a concussion carrying the ball towards the end line. His opponent grabbed his jersey and flung him around, bouncing the back of his head off the ground, just inches from a try (rugby's touchdown). We went to the Vandy Univ. Hospital ER and had a CT Scan. All normal, but a bit scary. Another Royal suffered a concussion as well in the second game. Last year, we didn't have a concussion all season! It was a great weekend of rugby, and the regular season starts this Thursday against Lawrence. Adrian will have to sit 2 weeks to let his brain settle. Hopefully Dr. Arnold will let him lift so he can stay is some conditioning, otherwise he'll turn to mush!

Digital Revolution

After years of being an LP guy, meaning being able to enjoy an entire LP worth of music vs a single or two, the advent of digitized music and itunes/ipod in particular, has not only changed the way people listen to music, but the way they LISTEN to music.

I've gone from feeling unfulfilled about listening if I can't hear the entire album front to back to feeling unfullfilled about listening if it doesn't have a random feature. Do you know what I mean? Since I started buying music (Eighteen With a Bullet from K-tel) I haven't been a radio fan. For a couple of reasons really. 1. I didn't particularly enjoy what was being played on the radio. 2. Radio was too frenetic, too many bites, not a full meal.

And now, for the love of God, I'd almost rather hear a mix instead of a full album. Mixes were, for me, enjoyed only for the creation of the mix and the satisfaction of giving. Never to be listened to by me.

Now I play this game. I hit random on itunes and see what 5 or 10 songs pop up. A fun game if you enjoy the entire universe of possibilities. (If I was forced to have Ronnie Milsap in my itunes, I might not enjoy this so much.) I'm in the process of loading my new 160gb external drive with my cd collection. I have no idea how long this will take, but currently I have 23gb and that's only 584 cd's, 7122 songs, by 775 artists and counting!! That may be 1/3 of the way finished, I'm not sure. I've been avoiding buying an ipod just like I avoided buying that first cd. I'm really afraid that listening to an album will completely disappear. But with an impending business trip to San Francisco, I'm going to buy one.

Here's a random list for the last 5 songs played while typing:

Far Out Crops by Robert Pollard (from Kid Marine) Oh what a great song live
Today Could Be The Day by the dB's I always wished I could play this song in a live band
Cortez the Killer by Built to Spill All 20 minutes worth!
Everything is Broken by R.L. Burnside A worthy Bob Dylan cover from the Big Bad Love Sndtrk
Big Bottom by Hayseed Dixie Ah a bluegrass version of a Spinal Tap classic

I guess this is why I'm moving towards the ipod age. If I can load 'my music' (this is how Amy & Katie refer to music in our house "your music" "Dad's music"), then I should hear a great selection each time. The last place to listen to cd's will be in the car. But man an ipod roadtrip on random sounds pretty good!

Coffee with Neko

This morning I rolled out at 7a and made the first pot of coffee. I stopped by Indy's best independent music shop, Luna, after work last night and bought a couple of new cd's; Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery, and Flaming Lips - 20 Years of Weird(Fearless Freaks SXSW cd handout w/live tracks + 1 new song from the Mystics). I'm appreciative of the Luna gents that they will sell something before the street date if you ask them. I hate my commute to the office every day, but if I didn't work there, I wouldn't drive by Luna.

Back to coffee, very good this morning, put Neko in the player, and then signed in to see what's going on in the world. I checked out Jeff Stepp's blog and left him a message. Being a blog novice, I need to figure out pictures and managing format of this site.

I gotta tell you Neko sounds great. The cd case does not have a picture of her, anywhere. Also the cover is only artwork. The spine is the only place with the name of the album and artist. I see she's on Anti now. This cd sounds very organic, acoustic guitars, with fat electric guitars courtesy of the Sadies, sounds dusty courtesy of Jon & Joey from Calexico. Of course Kelly Hogan's lovely voice is present and surprise Garth Hudson plays some keys. I must see Neko live sometime. I've missed her three times here in Indy, once with New Pornographers (balls!)

I've heard a couple of the Centro-Matic songs and can't wait to dig into that. Their cd Redo the Stacks is one of my Top 20 all time favorites.

Leisure Kings Review

Spontaneous trip with John & MJ last night to Agio to see the Leisure Kings, Indy's premier lounge act. Sean Baker was unable to make it, so Trout recruited Joe, Ben & Matt to accompany him on an array of funk, R&B, Soul & Disco favorites. So it turns out it was an 'unplugged' Mr. Sparkle set! These gents are so talented. No lounge, but great music nonetheless.

What's moving me?

I try to spend time in the visual arts. One of my best friends in the world is an actor (If you are an agent and are reading this, Ben Livingston is your man). We used to spend hours, talking movies. Movies challenge me. No, theatre challenges me. Movies I can enjoy, when in the mood. I'm really a binge movie watcher. Here's the recent binge list from the last couple of weeks:

Grizzly Man - Holy crap, what a sad and beautiful movie.
Lubbock Lights - Look this up. If you enjoy Texas songwriting and the "myth of texas."
The Aristocrats - doot. I'm gonna buy this one.
The Dreamers - doot doot
Stevie - Anyone from backwoods midwest should watch this. hide liquor and weapons whilst.
First Person (collection) - Errol Morris' foray into 1/2 hour cable. I loved it.
Batman Begins - better than Daredevil, Fantastic Four, and the Hulk. Combined.
40 Year Old Virgin - Steve Carrell for President.
End of the Century - Ramones Documentary - Makes me wish I lived in NY in 1976-77 There are a couple of live shots from CBGB's the shed no doubt on who invented punk. Johhny, Dee Dee and Joey did. Period.

What you should go find if you haven't seen recently:
Fearless Freaks - Documentary on the Flaming Lips, as real people, not just punk rockers
No Direction Home - Bobby Dylan - what else do you need to know?
The Elecrifying C0nclusion - the entire 4 hours of the final Guided by Voices show at the Metro in Chicago. You may have to be a real fan to watch, but moments (probly 2 hours worth of moments!!) show the brilliance of the songwriting of Bob Pollard.

Diggit's CarTunes

I commute about 80 minutes/day. That of course gives me quite a bit of time to think and listen to music. I'll post who/what I've been listening to in the car here. My listening takes place in a variety of settings. In the car, hand-picked cd's play front to back. At work, Itunes scrolls through about 7,000 songs randomly every day. At home I've been listening to vinyl recently. I'm in the market for an ipod, taking a trip to San Francisco next month and will have one by then. I'm sorta bucking the ipod like I bucked the cd. Unfortunately, the itunes/digital revolution has really changed my listening habits. More on that in another post. Now CarTunes:

Tobin Sprout - Carnival Boy
Fresh from the classic GBV lineup, Tobey kills on his first solo shot. Released simultaneously with Pollard's, Not in My Airforce, this stands up track to track. Every song is top o' the lungs sing-a-long. Very highly recommended.

Tom Russell - Cowboy Real
My first Russell album. Still one of my faves. This is a collection of cowboy tales, as you might have guessed. I've often dreamed of being able to play these on my guitar, around a campfire, with a dutch oven of beef stew or chili, simmering over the fire. One of these days......Includes Gallo del Cielo - the best song about cock-fighting ever!

Jenny Lewis w/the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
I've never listened to Rilo Kiley, but this solo shot by Jenny is great. Guests include M.Ward, Ben Gibbard, and Connor Oberst. Her voice sounds like a really fine white russian on this disc.

Steve Wynn & the Miracle Three - Tick, Tick, Tick
O.K. those who know me well, understand I've been a Steve Wynn fan since Days of Wine and Roses came out in what? 82 or 83? Steve's last 3 albums with this fab band have been scary good. Forget Pluto. Steve is the 9th planet in our solar system. If you ever have the chance to see this band live, do it I say. I saw them at Twangfest in St. Louis a couple years back, and I gotta tell you, it was one of the best 1 hour performances I've ever witnessed. Ask Beatle Bob.

Terry Anderson & the Olympic Ass-Kickin Team
Go straight to Milesofmusic.com and buy this. Now. Pay for next day air. You'll thank me.

Robert Pollard - From A Compound Eye (FaCE)
26 amazing songs. Arranged like a double LP, this one just kicks it. Absolutely makes me get over the end of GBV. Bobby Pop is perhaps the greatest living rock songwriter. The first of 5 original releases in 2006, ranks with the White Album and Double Nickels on the Dime as genre-shaking original. Pay for next day air on this one if only to hear every blissful 68 seconds of I am a Strong Lion as soon as you possibly can. I can honestly say I've played this 3-400 times. I have vinyl too, and it sounds soooo good.

Derek & Adrian, July 2005, atop The Tooth of Time in Cimmaron, New Mexico. 

Serious as a heart attack.......

O.K. - Bro' Brett showed me a minutemen video today when I dropped by his house. It was a terrific version of the the song The Anchor from What Makes a Man Start Fires? that you can see on the web-site youtube.com. (i think thats it) d boon completely rocks (note present tense). A true American original. Look close cause this footage is from a boat cruise. Can you imagine seeing the freakin Minutemen on a boat cruise???? I wish We Jam Econo would get released on dvd already.

So this somehow reminded me of an article Brett once wrote for a fledgling college newspaper (The Platypus, published at Eastern Illinois Univ. in Charleston, Il) wherein he set about discussing how he heard about the minutemen and that their music changed his life. That same paper was started by our dear old buddy Jeff Stepp. Jeff, too, loves the minutemen. I believe that same issue reprinted a letter that Jeff's cousin, Jon, wrote about his affinity for this same band. (I have a copy somewhere in the basement) All of this leads me to asking Brett if he had heard from Jeff. Yes he had and that he had a myspace.com page, which I located when I signed on tonight. This led me to Jeff's blogspot, which inspired me to join the blogging nation.

Thanks to Brett, d boon, mike watt, Jon, Jeff and the multitudes of dudes who have inspired me for the past 20 years.