Musician, Freak, Dayjobber, Etc.

Ever get that feeling, the one that says "I need to go away for awhile, like, NOW"? That's me this week. I just don't feel like writing or doing much. Sure, I finished my Todd Rundgren "Liars" review last week -- that's a plus. Sure, I recorded a bunch of experimental guitar parts for a new Tribeca song -- that counts for something. But, really, all that's been on my mind is the week off I have scheduled in a few days. I love nothing more than planning a good trip, then executing it. Next week, I plan on spending a few days exploring the NAME REMOVED, up in NAME REMOVED County (don't mind the photos of the naked hikers (link removed)). I'm going solo -- Nipper doesn't really do camping, and I wouldn't want to subject her to the rigors of outdoor life (all that beer and BBQ, yuck). The NAME REMOVED river supports a remnant steelhead trout population, and, if I am lucky, I may spot one or three. I may or may not find myself -- thigh deep -- in the river, fishing. Or not. Maybe I'll lie naked in a secluded cove in a thundering gorge, far from it all, and laughing, inside. I'm hoping for blue skies and green water, warm breezes and smiling wildflowers. I'll be heading up north via some backroads -- through some of my favorite areas of southern Kern and San Luis Obisbo counties -- and returning via the more conventional highway 101. I may or may not Solvang, depending on if I Gorman. And that, my fiends, is that. I'm valium-tired now, so I must go lay down, even if I am at work at the moment. Remember.....zzzzzzzzzz.....until the week after next, love ya! x0x0x kErrY x0x0x

Hi there, thanks for dropping by -- with your homemade marijuana coffee cake and fresh squeezed lime-orange juice spiked with LSD -- and paying little old me a visit. Little and old -- that about describes me these days. Hahaha; sob. So, what, if anything, is there to report? "Very little", he whispered in hoarse, whisky-scented breaths, "thankfully." Last week was the first week this freaking YEAR wherein I had four consecutive nights with absolutely nothing to do, commitment-wise. It was niiiiicccceeee, to say the least. Niiiiicccceeee. I stayed home and practiced guitar. I stayed home and worked on some demos. I stayed home and read (I'm currently reading "A Confederacy of Dunces" -- brilliant!). I stayed home and worked my backyard into full-blown party shape. I stayed home and practiced a little more guitar. In fact, I spent no less than two full evenings playing my new Danelectro through my Berhinger V-Amp, sitting there, hunched over, losing myself in the shredness of it all. I spent an evening working up some guitar parts for a new Tribeca song, and even threw down a few ideas in demo format. I listened to NoneRadio, where my song Ducks, Fucking got some play recently (thanks, Rich Pike!!!). I spent some time in email correspondence with Mike Keneally's European drummer Schroeder regarding his participation on a track I wrote last year, a little thang called Mylk of Mygnysya (link goes to demo). Dear Schroeder -- a monster drummer, if I may -- is going to lay down a drum track for me, in between his free-jazz improv gigs in Italy, his upcoming Keneally gigs, various high-paying corporate gigs, and a potential gig with Ed Mann´s Zappanale. He's a busy guy, to put it mildly, and I am beyond grateful that he's interested in working on my silly music. Thanks, Schroeder, if you're out there reading this (you should be dancing). All in all, it was a nice, ultra-relaxing week. The weekend continued onward with the mellow vibe; in fact, Nipper and I spent most of said weekend kicking back at her place, with the exception of a party we went to Saturday night, hosted by the gracious Lee Arenberg and his bewitching wife, former New Times LA writer Lisa Derrick. It was an intimate gathering of friends, with great food and libations, and good conversation all 'round. We both had a blast, and got home at a reasonable hour (12:30AM) and stayed up until dawn watching all kinds of stupid television: dog shows, the movie "Identity" (written by an ex-tenant of Nipper's), The Man Show, Breed All About It, and other silly shows -- good times. Also, Saturday afternoon I was off to Los Feliz to hook up with Tribeca's Dave English for a vocal recording session. Yes, yours drooly was asked to lay down a short -- but oh so sweet! -- vocal line for one of Dave's kickass tunes. After we finished tracking, Dave played me a couple of his songs slated for the full-length album (due to be released in late July/early August 2004), and I was blown away by the tracks. Once again, I'm thinkin' that this album is going to be pretty fucking cool. Meanwhile, this week finds me tracking some acoustic and electric guitars for the Abe Lincoln Story, as well as continuing to work on some guitar ideas for the aforementioned Tribeca track, and working on my prog-rock demo, time permitting. I also need to continue tweaking things around the yard (including my girlfriend): pruning, raking, sweeping, minor fixing, all the little things that a single family residence demands. It's SO worth it: I have a really kickass, comfortable old-school Valley Ranch backyard, and my best songs have always had their genesis when I'm out in my flagstone garden, naked, playing away, with the waterfall tinkling and the tiki lights ablaze, the crickets chirping and the gang-bangers calling out to each other -- violently -- in the warm Van Nuys evening. And with that disturbing image, I shall bid you, dear reader, goodbye. Until next week, remember: architecture is frozen music, so build yourself a cool concrete-n-wood 80's-styled modern house with two pools, a stream, and a grotto, today. Hike your own hike! xoxox kErrY xoxox

Hello, and thanks for reading my weekly message. Happy April (sad May). Sorry I missed last week's entry -- it was a crazy-daisy week, what with the live debut of the Abe Lincoln Story (which was a smashing success -- click here for audio and video), an all-day extreme trout fishing advenuture, and, of course, the dreaded day job. Let's start with the gig, shall we? What can I say, other than it was a blast! We played to a full Spaceland house, with lots of friends -- old and new -- lending their support, making us feel like returning heroes. I spotted Steve McDonald hanging out in the crowd, and lots of Silver Lake regulars who I've come to know and love over the past few years. We had people up and dancing like crazy -- it was cool! I had a fantastic time, although I was a bit worried about having a string break on my main guitar (an ESP 4000 series strat copy). It never happened, but I was prepared with my new back-up guitar on hand, a black lefty Danelectro, which calmed my nerves considerably. By the way, the Danelectro kicks ass! It sounds incredible through my Vibrolux; I think I'm falling in love with this guitar. So, after all this, the Abe Lincoln Story is now officially in demo mode; we're planning on going in to record a new album before the year is out, and now is the time to demo, demo, and then demo some more. All good by me! Also last week, I went on yet another extreme trout fishing advenuture with the man you've all come to know and love, the one, the only Bernard Yin. We hit a remote fork of a local stream, which involved an 11-mile, 2,000ft +/- elevation gain/loss bike ride, and at least 5 miles of off-trail bushwacking through extremely difficult terrain. We were joined by new friend Jonathon Davies, a fly fishing buddy Bernard hooked up with via an internet newsgroup. We chose a perfect day for fishing, with bright blue skies and warm, summery temperatures in the high 70's. The canyon was absolutely stunning, with one of the best mixed forests I've ever seen in my life: coast live oak, black oak, canyon live oak, bigcone Douglas fir, sycamore, alder, California bay laurel, maple, and lots of blooming chapparal and assorted wildflowers. Stunning! The stream was somewhat smaller in size than we had anticipated, so my spinning gear was just a touch on the large size for this creek. Bernard and Jonathan, however, brought their trusty fly rods and proceeded to wreak havoc on the stream (mellow havoc, I might add). Bernard caught several large (12"+) wild trout, coaxing them out of the most unlikely hiding spots with an assortment of dry flys and nymphs. Bernard then helped Jonathan land one of the larger fish of the day by 'spotting' for him, telling him exactly where the fish was holding and how to get his fly in precisely the right spot. Understand that these trout are 'spooked' easily, and it's essential to sneak up on a potential pool, as quietly and as stealthily as possible, so as not to scare off the fish. Anyway, it worked, for I soon heard Jonathan whooping with glee as he reeled in a nice, fat wild rainbow trout. I even managed to coax a few strikes with my gargantuan spinning gear, and even hooked up with a couple of feisty fish, but I didn't manage to land anything -- just as well, methinks. We're all strictly barbless, catch-n-release guys, and I'm always happy when a fish manages to unhook itself harmlessly. After fishing and exploring all day, we headed out for the long, long climb out of the canyon. It took us just over two hours to climb almost 2,000ft to our waiting car -- believe it or not, I made it almost effortlessly, only having to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. All these recent trips are getting me into half-decent shape -- I'm not complaining. And, for those who care, last week Mike Keneally's European drummer, the great Schroeder, received a copy of my song "Mylk of Mygnysya" -- sans drums -- and has agreed to try his hand(s) at laying down his own drum track for me. How cool is that? Thanks, Schroeder!!!! I'll keep ya'll posted as it comes down. As for last weekend, I am proud to say that Nipper and I stayed home the ENTIRE weekend. We did nothing, nada. It was nice! We both got lots of rest and even got a little yardwork done here and there. This week, I'm not sure what is going on, actually. I DO know that I have almost every night free this week, which is nice. Does anyone remember the Neal Morse-influenced epic I mentioned I was writing a few months back? I intend on finishing it up this month -- at least I'm going to try! I'm planning on adding some instrumentation to the last section, then I'll be laying down some vocals for the last two sections, then it should be a complete, one-half-hour long melodic marathon. I also plan on finishing up my review of the new Todd Rundgren album this week, as well as doing a little spring cleaning around my own house and yard. We also have a party to go to this coming Saturday night; email me for info if you're interested in joining us. What else? Oh yes, the master melodicist Jason Falkner is putting on a rare performance at the Troubador on Thursday, April 8th; check his website for details. I definitely plan on being there if all goes well. I think that's it, although I'm certain I'm forgetting something important!!! Oh well, check back for updates, okay? Every one have a happy Easter weekend, and remember: architecture is frozen music, so build yourself mobile home in a trailer park in Mojave today. xoxox kErrY xoxox

Hello, and thanks for reading my weekly message. Happy April (sad May). Sorry I missed last week's entry -- it was a crazy-daisy week, what with the live debut of the Abe Lincoln Story (which was a smashing success -- click here for audio and video), an all-day extreme trout fishing advenuture, and, of course, the dreaded day job. Let's start with the gig, shall we? What can I say, other than it was a blast! We played to a full Spaceland house, with lots of friends -- old and new -- lending their support, making us feel like returning heroes. I spotted Steve McDonald hanging out in the crowd, and lots of Silver Lake regulars who I've come to know and love over the past few years. We had people up and dancing like crazy -- it was cool! I had a fantastic time, although I was a bit worried about having a string break on my main guitar (an ESP 4000 series strat copy). It never happened, but I was prepared with my new back-up guitar on hand, a black lefty Danelectro, which calmed my nerves considerably. By the way, the Danelectro kicks ass! It sounds incredible through my Vibrolux; I think I'm falling in love with this guitar. So, after all this, the Abe Lincoln Story is now officially in demo mode; we're planning on going in to record a new album before the year is out, and now is the time to demo, demo, and then demo some more. All good by me! Also last week, I went on yet another extreme trout fishing advenuture with the man you've all come to know and love, the one, the only Bernard Yin. We hit a remote fork of a local stream, which involved an 11-mile, 2,000ft +/- elevation gain/loss bike ride, and at least 5 miles of off-trail bushwacking through extremely difficult terrain. We were joined by new friend Jonathon Davies, a fly fishing buddy Bernard hooked up with via some internet newsgroup. We chose a perfect day for fishing, with bright blue skies and warm, summery temperatures in the high 70's. The canyon was absolutely stunning, with one of the best mixed forests I've ever seen in my life: coast live oak, black oak, canyon live oak, bigcone Douglas fir, sycamore, alder, California bay laurel, maple, and lots of blooming chapparal and assorted wildflowers. Stunning! The stream was somewhat smaller in size than we had expected, so my spinning gear was just a touch on the large size for this creek. Bernard and Jonathan, however, brought their trusty fly rods and proceeded to wreak havoc on the stream (mellow havoc, I might add). Bernard caught several large (12"+) wild trout, coaxing them out of the most unlikely hiding spots with an assortment of dry flys and nymphs. Bernard then helped Jonathan land one of the larger fish of the day by 'spotting' for him, telling him exactly where the fish was holding and how to get his fly in precisely the right spot. It worked, for I soon heard Jonathan whooping with glee as he reeled in a nice, fat wild rainbow trout. I even managed to coax a few strikes with my gargantuan spinning gear, and even hooked up with a couple of feisty fish, but I didn't manage to land anything -- just as well, methinks. We're all strictly barbless, catch-n-release guys, and I'm always happy when a fish manages to unhook itself harmlessly. After fishing and exploring all day, we headed out for the long, long climb out of the canyon. It took us just over two hours to climb almost 2,000ft to our waiting car -- believe it or not, I made it almost effortlessly, only having to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. All these recent trips are getting me into half-decent shape -- I'm not complaining. As for last weekend, I am proud to say that Nipper and I stayed home the ENTIRE weekend. We did nothing, nada. It was nice! We both got lots of rest and even got a little yardwork done here and there. This week, I'm not sure what is going on, actually. I DO know that I have almost every night free this week, which is nice. Does anyone remember the Neal Morse-influenced epic I mentioned a few months back? I intend on finishing it up this month -- at least I'm going to try! I'm planning on adding some instrumentation to the last section, then I'll be laying down some vocals for the last two sections, then it should be a complete, one-half-hour long melodic marathon. I also plan on finishing up my review of the new Todd Rundgren album, as well as doing a little spring cleaning around my own house and yard. We also have a party to go to this coming Saturday night; email me for info if you're interested in joining us. What else? I'm certain I'm forgetting something important!!! Oh well, check back for updates, okay? Every one have a happy Easter weekend, and remember: architecture is frozen music, so build yourself mobile home in a trailer park in Mojave today. xoxox kErrY xoxox