best of 2006

i realize this is old, and probably incomplete, but i never got around to posting it.
best things of 2006 (in no particular order):
31 knots - polemics
aloha
zookeeper
THE FOUNTAIN
band things
the coma recovery
casino royale
NO HEROES
johnny cash - american V
lamb of god - sacrament
mastodon - blood mountain
north atlantic
russian circles - enter
QUEST FOR THE HOLY TONE
shinobu - worstward, ho!
sparta - threes
tv on the radio - return to cookie mountain
twelve tribes
unearth - 3
darkest hour
tour
tour #2
little miss sunshine
vox ac30
original unedited star wars trilogy dvd
deluxe memory man

the fountain

the fountain was an incredible and sad movie. it is unlike just about every other movie being released these days. the soundtrack alone makes me emotional.

once in a lifetime

it's been almost a month since we've returned from our last tour.  readjusting is the same as always...  finishing new songs, talking about starting work on album #2 tentatively titled "Capital, Capital!"  i have a pedal i'm borrowing from a friend that i need to try out.  i had to perform a late night pickup of a drummer outside his girlfriends house where she had lit a small fire of his possessions.  plans to scale back the pedal board are in order, smaller board, fewer pedals, better music.   ... same as it ever was.

b2b

among the things i missed while away on tour was my bike. i was pretty psyched to hop on the old guy to ride to work yesterday, i inflated my back tire, and while i was pulling the pump off the valve i tore the valve stem. a big wave of "fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck" washed over me, b/c not only could i not ride my bike, but this is an unfixeable problem as far as i'm concerned, so i'd have to buy a new tube. luckily linda's bike was right there and ready to go, so i just hopped on that one. any bike is better than no bike. so it got some use getting me back and forth to work, it's a tricky fellow that one, doesn't shift quite right, and the left pedal axl is a little bent so it feels like your foot is kinda floating. needless to say, when i hopped on my trooper this morning on a fresh tube i was really happy. i didn't realize how dependant i'd become on riding... aside from getting me around in a speedy manor, it just makes me feel good to ride.

the grown-up game

the bummer of trying to be financially responsible is that you're totally broke on your way to getting there. though if i play my cards right, i might be free of credit card debt by the end of the year. i have a basic budget planned out, and next year will come an even more in depth budget to really curb my spending. the problem is this... there's definately a few good records coming out in october that i know i'm going to want to get. we'll see. but i'm 25 years old now, it's time to get my head above water and actually take care of things like paying bills. i'm at least current on my credit card bills and my phone bill now, getting there on a few others. and like i said... hopefully i'll get it all taken care of by '07.

whatever

regardless of the mason dixon line, if a state is in the top 50% of the country geographically, it is NOT a southern state. sorry virginia.

this is the last time.

the unedited, non-special edition original trilogy dvd set was released today.

and of course, i'm going to buy it.

but i have to be honest, i am really starting to feel like an asshole for buying all these stupid box sets. and i don't even have them all.

some cities are hard to book in

denver (doesn't anyone in denver want to actually book shows?). phoenix proper (unless you know someone). san francisco. el paso. dallas. if it were me, i would think that these venues, or promoters would WANT to book shows. it brings in more business. if a band has no guarantee, what is there to lose? 10% of nothing is nothing.

nothing feels good, it all feels shitty

i recently read a book called "Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo", and it was awful, except for a few small sections. i was so disappointed with it, i decided to write an amazon review about it.

"it started out extremely promising, discussing rites of spring and the origins of the term "emo". it made the important distinction that emo actually developed out of hardcore and punk. but very quickly turns into the worst written piece of fluff i've read in a long time. desperately grasping at ways to make his book seem relevant, greenwald consistently forces the same points over and over again told with simple writing and dumb similies. due to poor marketing, the book is aimed at fans of bands like jawbreaker, mineral, and the promise ring, while it consistently just lionizes media darlings dashboard confessional and spotlights "indie" label heavyweights vagrant records. if you love the watered down, emotionless bands, that the media packages as "emo" for the masses, then this book is for you. through about 2/3 of the book, i was convinced that greenwald was trying to make the point that highschool jocks that have virtually no interest in music are pioneers of a new musical movement. and 25 pages about makeoutclub and livejournal? seriously now, what point are you trying to prove here? greenwald is the journalist equivalent of the "emo" entities he spotlights. doing his best to make a name for himself while disconnecting himself from his roots, which in this case is quality writing. scattered, boring, tried too hard to be relevant, and worst of all, trying to cash in on a fad. i find it extremely disappointing (though not surprising) that someone found this worthy of publishing."

weeekend wrapup

the melismatics are a great band made up of amazingly friendly people. we want to go up to minneapolis to play with them, don't know when though. the pita pit is awesome, especially at almost 3am. my pita was scoffed at by my bandmates for being too mushy (hummus AND babaganoush), but after it's smothered with delicious crunchy veggies, there is no equal. also, the employees of the pita pit are most definately high all the time. my bike tires are starting to split and get nasty, i must've run over some glass or something... so now i need new ones... bummer. i'm tired, and need a nap mostly. this book i'm currently reading isn't very good, but i'm going to finish it anyway, b/c i'm stubborn like that. i like our new songs, they excite me, i like booking shows, but mostly i like playing them. i kinda wanna go back east to visit, i haven't been back in almost a year, i miss a few people.

takin' care of business

it's always fun playing this game:
OOOO! I got paid! Now I can buy stuff!
oh, well i owe this much on credit card 1.
ah, and this much on credit card 2.
oh yah, can't forget my student loan.
and band rent coming up soon. so there goes x dollars.
gotta pay for the car loan this month.
and i gotta eat...
okay... well i guess i have enough music for now. :/

peanut butter and jams

my bloody valentine "loveless" is the perfect length to listen to on a lunch break.

again

well... the new mac stuff has been announced. of course it makes me sad b/c all i have is a lowly one year old powerbook. i guess sometime around next spring i'll start thinking about buying a macbook probably, when they're starting to be shipped with leopard installed. pc's are for chumps i've decided. sure i still have a pc desktop... one that is still pretty blazing in terms of speed and ability. but come on... microsoft has been working on windows vista in one form or another for the better part of 5 years, and what do to they have to show for it? how well it rips off osx. i like building computers and all that, but i want my computer to be innovative, not derivative. i've been reading a lot of books written by guys named chuck. they're good. i like them for different reasons, but also for similar reasons, they both seem to have a detached sense of observatory realism. anyway, i ride my bike, i play in my bands, i read my books, i continue.

long time....

tour. tired. books. bikes. shows. gear. i feel like i should have more to say... and probably do... just can't think of it right now b/c i'm too tired.

rain 5 days in a row.

but i don't mind so much, small bike tires with very few treads don't pick up much water... and it keeps the weather cool so i can wear my new hoodie.

yup, i'm excited.

click here.

eeks, welcome to nerd town.

looking at tools on ebay. new level.

veggie supreme

kitty was sick. now kitty is better. bike riding. some movies. shows. summer tour. saving/spending money.

updates

album done, mastered, sent to press.
silent hill movie - second time around was good, maybe even better.
kind of a break from the bands, has been kinda nice. no practices, only 1 show. that one show went really well considering the lack of practice(none).
booking tours is a hassle, and totally annoying.

newish

regardless of what you may read... i feel the silent hill movie was awesome. and i will try to see it again. i especially like this review, "Lessons learned: Never underestimate the creativity of a wronged West Virginian with access to barbed wire." and seeing the movie has driven me to replay through the games. i own all of them, as it is pretty much my favorite game series. i played for about 90 minutes last night, with the lights all out and the sound up loud (the only appropriate way to play the games), and i played until i got a little too freaked out to continue, and opted to watch some seinfeld episodes before going to bed to ease my brain a little.

newsflash

i just watched the documentary "American Pimp" and in fact it's NOT hard out there for a pimp. in fact, it's quite easy for a pimp. it's slightly harder for a ho then it is for a pimp. but for a pimp it goes like this, "bitch, get me my money." that doesn't seem so hard.

batman begins

god damn this is a fine piece of filmmaking.

recentness.

kong. cd mixing. nintendo. reading. v for vendetta. brain dead. eye twitching. cash by johnny cash. sleepy. practice. amps. tone.

landmark songs

some songs are just so good, they make you stand up and say, "god damn that's a great song!" pink floyd's "comfortably numb" is one of those songs.

the oscars and beyond.

martin scorsese = zero oscars, Three Six Mafia = 1 oscar.
ketchup is not a vegetable.

ugh

can't sleep.

eeeeks!

linda should be arriving in about an hour or so... i certainly can't concentrate on work right now.

tomorrow

linda arrives tomorrow. it shall be awesome.

countdown

linda left for santa fe this morning.

countdown

in less than 24 hours, my amazing girlfriend will be on the road and on her way to santa fe... to live. it's almost surreal... but i expect her here on sunday... and i can only imagine that it's going to be totally awesome being able to walk to her house. every day. EVERY SINGLE DAY. And now i leave you with this picture of kittens.

hmmm... well... okay

david byrne's latest project is a video/musical/documentary collaboration with fatboy slim about Imelda Marcos and her relationship with her servent who helped raise her.

yeah, i scratched my head too.

my biggest problem with the star wars special editions

motherfuckers stole my yub yub.

so

2 weeks from yesterday she is leaving for santa fe. 2 weeks from today the whale descends on santa fe. it'll be a good weekend.

super-macro mode

notifications

members of my band are wondering, fretting even, about why we haven't been notified about SXSW. well here is my opinion, we haven't been notified yet because ***NEWS FLASH*** we probably didn't get in. of course there is still about 3 weeks before notification cutoffs. but i'm not holding my breath.

updates

linda's visit has come and gone... but now all i have to wait for is her to move here. zookeeper shows went well... looking at digital cameras... going to a show tonight at the lpad. toys r us is closing. princess daisy from the mario brothers is in american psycho. neat.