Musician, Freak, Dayjobber, Etc.

Whew. It’s been a hell of a week.

Any of you who saw my bitter blog of March 16th, well, let’s just say that it was an accurate description of where I was, emotionally, at the time. However, I've decided to take it down and post a more realistic, less hurtful version of what went down. More on that later, there’s a few other things I wanna drop on ya first. Hang on, here we go....

Last Tuesday I caught an inspiring performance by an amazing musician named Chris Opperman; I wrote a very brief snippet of the experience here, if you’re so inclined. Check it out, would ya?

Last Thursday’s The Abe Lincoln Story show at Spaceland was pretty awesome. I’ve been told we sounded rawkin’, and I think I played one of my best guitar solos – live – so far in this jumbled mess I call my music career. I dunno, something just felt really right about this one particular solo (one which I always improvise), so I was happy. Great, near-capacity crowd, which is always fun. It was cool – albeit a little nerve-wracking – looking out at the audience and seeing my bro’s Darian Sahanaja and Nick Walusko checking the band out. Those guys fucking rule, as does everyone else who stopped by and partied with the Abes. Thank you! Also on the bill this great night, the divine Carolyn Edwards (with an amazing all-star band featuring back-up vocals by my fave Susan West), and, of course, the always-entertaining white trash rock-n-roll jams of Trainwreck. I swore I saw Carnie Wilson there – I even spoke with “Carnie” – but I didn’t ask her her name and everyone told me it wasn’t her and that left me slightly sad but whatever; this chick was a dead-ringer for post-surgery Carnie and, damnit, I’m going to perpetuate the fantasy, everyone else be damned! By the way, the gig was filmed by my good friend Willy Paguntalan and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing it. If anyone cares, there is additional live footage and some slide shows at the Abe Lincoln Story video page.

I took the following day off (Friday), slept in, did some much-needed yard work at Nipper’s, then spent a nice afternoon at my Van Nuys house, getting things ready for Jim Laspesa’s birthday party the following night, which yours drooly hosted. I had a blast hanging out in my backyard, enjoying the sunshine, setting everything up, chopping firewood (I have a cool vintage 1950’s flagstone fireplace/BBQ out back), putting up lighting, just generally fagging out – something I very much enjoy. It was a nice afternoon.

Later that night, Nipper and I somehow found ourselves at Johnny Knoxville’s birthday bash, at Hollywood hotspot du jour the El Centro. What could’ve been a social disaster turned out to be a great time – I mean, I’m not exactly your biggest Jackass fan, and I figured Knoxville’s fan base must be a bunch of pain-loving gen-x slack-monkeys. Well, they WERE, but there were also a lot of really cool people to hang out with – not to mention an absolute plethora of insanely gorgeous hot HOT Hollywood babes. We met some dude we’d seen many times on Animal Planet whose name escapes me now (he had his really cute niece hanging with him), and, oddly, we ran into two party friends that we knew from out and about town, which was cool. All in all, we had a blast. At one point, Nipper was hanging with Johnny, himself (he was brandishing a beautiful crystal dildo -- a gift, I would guess -- I kid you not), and I was off to the side chatting with someone else, and it occurred to me: what if Johnny Knoxville was hitting on my girlfriend – what would I do, threaten to hurt him? Wouldn’t that be redundant? I dunno, I thought it was hysterically funny.....

Later that night we went to Vaginal Davis’ club Bricktops at The Parlor for a set by our good friend (and my neighbor) Kristi Kallan. As always, it’s a pleasure hanging out with Vaginal and the cast of characters that usually make up the eclectic clientele at Bricktops. Good times, good people. What more could you ask for? Oh, Kristi kicked ass, too, accompanied by the one, the only, the legendary Kristian Hoffman. Boy, can that girl sing.

So, the next day – Saturday – was spent doing additional party tweaking at my house, grocery shopping, buying ice, beer, booze, snacks, picking up the birthday cake, etc. Before I knew it, the DJ had shown up (an amazing guy named Keith), set up his stuff in the backyard, and started playing some pretty obscure prog-pop for me; I was especially blown away by some songs he played by an early ‘80’s band called City Boy. Think a mix of ELO meets a proggier Styx meets It Bites; awesome stuff.

Soon enough the guests started arriving and the party was on! I set up my own little whisky sour bar off in a little plant-enclosed alcove in the backyard and made drinks for many of my friends, including Steve Stanley, Andrew Sandoval, Mike Simmons, Tony Valenziano, and a few others I’m forgetting (my memory is hazy). I also had the pleasure of hanging out with not one but TWO Bradys, the awesome Robbie Rist and the lovely Susan Olsen; I also hung out a bit with the ever-gracious Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. (solo album released this week!), and contemplated asking him – total fanboy that I am – to sign my Jellyfish Split Milk poster, but I got too busy and forgot. I also hung out a bit with Bill Bartell and a veritable who’s who of LA-local pop scene musicians: Tony Perkins, Morley Bartnoff, David Nolte, the incredibly beautiful Julie Klein, recent Florida transplant Chris Jackson (of the band Nice Guy Eddie, currently out here recording with Robbie Rist), Patria Jacobs (who gave me a copy of her new album, yeah!), the always-amusing Mark Fletcher, the killer songwriter Adam Marsland and his cool bassist Teresa, Nelson Bragg, aspiring record company mogul Jim Freek and a bunch of other fine, fine people (sorry if I forgot some folks, things got pretty crazy).

I ended up hanging out until 5:30AM with Robbie, Missey Buettner, Nelson, and Chris Jackson (Robbie gave me the new Mocker’s CD!), bullshitting and talking stupid; good -- no, DAMN GOOD -– times. It was a great party and I want to thank everyone who showed up and hung out. Special thanks to the folks who shared birthday cake with Jim at 4:00AM!!!!

The next day was a rest day, to put it mildly.

Then, goddamnit, Monday night at Nipper’s house, my eyes saw something that I wasn’t supposed to be privy to, and I read it anyway (against my better judgement, sadly; hey, I’m human, I make mistakes too), and had my heart broken and my trust totally betrayed. I won’t bore ya’ll with the gory details – it’s really not that bad actually – but I completely understand why my baby did what she did and why she felt the need to keep it from me -- but I’m still crushed. What a bummer, I hate that feeling! However, a little venting here and there, and some seriously rational discussions, and I THINK the train is back on track. Maybe. We’re both old enough to see the bigger picture and we’re both very good about keeping priorities in perspective, so I think this is something we can get through. I’m a tough son-of-a-bitch and I’m secure enough in my own sense of self-worth that no one can truly emotionally destroy me; you can hurt me, yes, but I refuse to let a simple betrayal damage my delightfully upbeat personality. In a way, it’s even liberating, because now I KNOW and I can deal with it. Keep your fingies crossed for us, would ya? Thanks.

So, the party drought is over, the core of my relationship has been irrevocably altered (for the better, hopefully; ever the optimist, I), what else could possibly happen?

How about the day-job situation? Listen: I love my job (been here seven years), I love the work, the people, the corporate vibe, the location, everything. However, a year ago we moved locations and since then I’ve shared an office with a person who has, frankly, made all of our working lives difficult over the past year; I won’t go into the details and bore you, but, trust me, the disturbances were enough to cause me to reconsider my employment options. So this week I figured, since my feelings of security regarding my six-year relationship had changed so dramatically, what was there to lose on the job front? After over a year of letting my supervisors know my concerns – and basically nothing being done about them – I made a stand and demanded that this person be moved to another office or I would quit. Guess what? I got my wishes!!! So things were shaky there for a day – I left my desk and told my supervisor that I would not be coming back until my concerns were addressed. Thankfully, everything turned out for the best and I am happier than ever with the job situation. Whew.

The day I walked off the job, I went home and had a TON of palm fronds to clean up off of my roof and in my yard – high winds had blown a huge tangle of fronds onto my roof. What a pain in the ass, I hate picking those things up, they’re a pain to chop up to fit in the garbage bins. Anyway, as I was cleaning up this mass of garbage, I found – alive – a baby gray squirrel! Man, did that ever break my heart! With all the confusing feelings I was experiencing with the relationship troubles and the job dissatisfaction, this little helpless baby squirrel brought me right back to the fragile reality of life, and, even though this little thing broke my heart, I have it to thank for getting my mind back on the important bigger picture. There’s no way I’d have time to raise a baby squirrel, so I brought it to my local Animal Control Shelter and turned it over to one of their urban rehabilitation specialists and left it at that. Here’s hoping for the best.

Musically, The Ultra Suede are still recording vocals; it’s going a little slower than we’d hoped (when we get together sometimes we tend to party instead of being a recording machine), and there’s a chance we might be going to New Orleans next month for a 3-day weekend of nothing but vocal sessions; that would be a blast, here’s hoping it happens. Meanwhile, The Abe Lincoln Story is preparing for a recording date in early April, hopefully finishing the balance of the basic tracks for the new album. With new killer keyboardist Brian Mendelsohn on board, we are ON FIRE baby. Whoo-hoo! We’re recording, once again, at the esteemed studios of Rob Campanella. Rock me. Also, my prog-rock project is still happening, with my musicians feverishly learning the material for, hopefully, a May 2005 recording date. Details will always follow, you know that.

As far as writing goes, I’ve got three new CD’s to review, and I recently had two reviews published here, for your reading pleasure. Chop chop!

This weekend, more rain is in the forecast, so I’m not completely sure what we’re going to be doing. Tonight, after a vocal recording session, I am catching Astra Heights (featuring my guitar hero friend Bernard Yin) at the Lava Lounge; Saturday is a private party at my friend Shirley’s AWESOME 1910’s Highland Park home (email me for details); and Sunday we’re going to try to catch a reunion performance by Extra Fancy in addition to sets by Aguafantastica and Adam Marsland's Chaos Band. Should be a busy weekend – we shall see what happens.

I told you it was a crazy week! And, honestly, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The extreme range of emotions I’ve experienced this week – from the sky-high party vibes to the lowest rungs of distrust and betrayal -- all mean one and ONLY one thing: I’m fucking ALIVE, baby. I always try to remember that. Thanks for reading this, please stay tuned for updates and, until next time, remember: architecture is frozen music, so write yourself a Beverly Hills mansion today. Oh, one more thing: this blog officially has the most links EVER. xoxox kErrY xoxox

Hey ya – just a quick update, a couple of newsworthy items for your informational pleasure.

First, I’m playing guitar with Silver Lake legends The Abe Lincoln Story this coming Thursday night (March 10, 2005) as part of Spaceland’s 10th anniversary; also on the bill, the incredible Carolyn Edwards and the always entertaining white trash extravaganza of Trainwreck. There’s a chance that Kyle Gass will join us onstage for a number; you wouldn’t want to miss that, would ya?

In other news, the one and only Le Artist has asked your drooly to join his fine band for a private performance in the lovely city of Houston, TX next month. Yes, I’m talking about Stew; how awesome is that? Too awesome for words. Damn, I’d better get practicing those guitar parts!!!

Lastly, I’m hosting a birthday party for the fabulous Jim Laspesa this coming Saturday night, March 12th; if you haven’t received an invitation already, please email me and I will drop the dime.

Now I’m off for a vocal recording session for The Ultra Suede, then I’m a-gonna catch a set by avant-freak musician Chris Opperman (he’s an associate of the ultra-freaky musician Mike Keneally, so you know he’s good). It should be fun, although I must admit I am very tired right now.....maybe some meth would help.....

That’s all, more to come as time permits.....

kErrY

Hi all – so, how’d you like my edible fire entry? I thought it was hilarious – and I don’t have a clue as to why. It was just something I surfed upon one day while I was supposed to be working (um, like now, for instance) and thought it was retardedly funny. I know: I’m weird.

So, for all you listeners tuning in for all the latest and grotesque-est, here goes.

Nothing to report.

Haha.

On the writing front, click here for my review of the latest and greatest power-pop album from my fellow lefty Rick Jensen. Good stuff, as they say down in Maryland. I’m also working up a review of my fellow Ultra Suede bandmate Dan West’s excellent release by his prog-pop-soul band Aguafantastica. And, lastly, I wrote what I consider a cool bio for my ex-Tribeca bandmate (and insanely cool composer) Matthew Gaskins, which I will post somewhere should Mr. Gaskins choose to use it.

Speaking of Tribeca, how about this review? I dunno, I thought it was kinda funny.

On the music front, I recently had not one but TWO of my prog-rock compositions scored and charted out, and I plan on hiring some of my proggier musician buddies to help me record the damn things, hopefully by this spring. I’ve always wanted to record something “old skool” progressive (think ELP or Yes), and, let me tell you, I have an INSANE group of guys who are willing and able to execute the music – I can’t wait to get started, seriously.

One of the musicians who will be helping me out is an absolutely incredible musician named Brian Mendelsohn (Brian’s also in an XTC tribute band called Drummed and Wired along with Abe Lincoln Story drummer Evan Urkofsky). Brian recently joined the Abe Lincoln Story (playing keys, but this guy can play anything), and damn are we ever one happy bunch of dead presidents. Brian has added so much MUSIC to the band, it’s nothing short of a revelation. Please, catch us on March 10, 2005 as part of Spaceland’s 10th Anniversary celebration. Once again, we are scheduled (emphasis on schedule) to open for the one, the only, the rotund Trainwreck. Also on the bill is a dear friend of mine, the incredibly talented Carolyn Edwards (I can’t believe she doesn’t have a website – anyone?), who has been known to tinkle the ivories for The Negro Problem in addition to crafting her own beautiful pop gems. It’s going to be a great show, so I’ll see you there – you can buy me a Crown Royal if you insist.

Meanwhile, my other musical project –- the Turtles-meets-Chicago super-pop project otherwise known as The Ultra Suede (website coming soon, really, we promise) – has begun the wonderful process of tracking the vocals for our forthcoming debut album due this spring. All five of us in the band can sing (I think I’m the weakest vocalist of the lot by far) so, as you can imagine, the harmonies are going to be pretty intense. We’re just getting started but so far, I think I can safely say that the vocals will most definitely be up to the high standards of the music. Not to sound arrogant – please, anyone who knows me knows I’m anything but – but the music is absolutely sublime. I don’t think there’s a weak tune in the bunch of twelve, and I can’t wait to unleash it on you guys and gals. Okay, enough of this for now.

Other than that, Nipper and I have been laying extremely low on the social front; neither one of us enjoys going out in the rain, and this year is something like the second or third wettest in recorded history. Needless to say, we’ve missed more than a few gigs and parties – so be it. Once spring sets in, watch out – we’ll be in full-on party mode!

The rain has made stream fishing all-but-impossible this year; my fishin’ musician bro Bernard Yin and I have managed one trip to Ojai in search of steelhead trout (we were unsuccessful but had a blast regardless). Bernard is off to Europe with The Fuzztones in the next couple of weeks, so it looks like I won’t get in any serious stream-time until April at the earliest. Sigh. Ah well, spring will be incredible this year with all the rain – the wildflowers should be truly mindblowing.

I am going to endeavor to catch the incomparable Mike Keneally this Friday at the Baked Potato; care to join me and have our asses handed to us? Keneally is such a monster, monster musician, and his band is INSANE as well, so join me in giving up playing music altogether. Keneally is THAT good, folks -- scary good.

Until the next entry, I remain your willing scribe. Now, go listen to some Transatlantic (my prog obsession of the week) and keep tuning in. THANKS FOR READING THIS, and remember: architecture is frozen music, so write yourself a tree-house with a view today. x0x0x kErrY x0x0x