Home again and back to work. I got in to town around 6:30pm last night, rested for a bit and then went to band practice. Donny and I finished two more songs Thursday before I left for Santa Cruz, last night we finished the song that had the Isis riff in it. The new riff is very different but still cool. I’m very happy with the outcome. We now have six songs which is a good opening set. I’d like to write one more before we do any shows.
Today is the first day at the new track. So far it’s same old same old. I’m building different houses, but other than that it’s the same shit. The new track is very primitive, no power, no pluming which sucks. The trailer has heat thanks to a generator and we have bottled water so we can survive. I have to remember to make coffee in the mornings before I leave the house.
I already feel trapped and sedate. I hate coming home from traveling anywhere. I love motel rooms and strange surroundings. It’s funny the only time I don’t feel lonely is when I’m alone in a strange town and no one knows me.
Listening to Boy Sets Fire, Live for Today. Just finished listening to David Yow’s (ex-Jesus Lizard vocalist) new project, Qui. It’s damn good.
10.02.07 8:21am
I sat home and did absolutely nothing last night. It was fantastic. It’s not often I get a night like that.
We have practice tonight and I can’t wait to show Josh and Kyle the music Donny and I came up with. It’s really coming together.
I made some changes to the site today. I streamlined the pages and took some content down. I decided I’m not going to post fiction or poems here anymore. I plan on designing a better calendar too.
Listening to Arcade Fire, Funeral this morning.
10.04.07 8:41am
It seems no matter where I work I’m out in the middle of nowhere. My last job site was on the eastern most side of Wingfield Springs, and my new site is out by the Stead Airport. I went from the farthest reaches of Sparks to the farthest reaches of Reno. I may have to work this Saturday for four or five hours which sucks. We can’t put in for overtime right now. We have to trade OT hours for regular hours. If I work Saturday, I’ll be able to take off early on the Wednesday before I fly to New Orleans which would be nice.
Practice tonight. We need to get Josh and Kyle up to speed on the new songs so we can hit some stages some time soon. I’d still like to have one more song before we play live. Six songs just seems like a short set to me.
Listening to P.J. Harvey’s new CD, White Chalk. It’s very piano heavy and subdued. I like it.
10.05.07 8:05 am
It’s another lay-off day at work. If I make it through today I should be OK until at least the first of the year. I just need to make it ten more months at this job and then I’ll have no debt and I can move on.
Practice last night was good. Josh couldn’t come because he had a last minute mandatory meeting at work, but Kyle, Donny and I made some real progress on the three newest songs.
Listening to Only Living Witness, Innocents this AM.
2:20pm
I survived another round of lay-offs. My luck can’t hold out forever. Sooner or later my number will come up. Time to start job hunting. As soon as I get back from New Orleans I’ll be on the hunt for new employment.
10.08.07 9:48 am
Short weekend. I had to work Saturday for about four hours. Not a big deal I guess, but getting up at six am on Saturday and going to work isn’t a very cool way to start the weekend. Coming in to work this morning a hawk landed about ten feet away from my truck. That was a very cool way to start the week.
Practice last night went really well. Josh is caught up on the six tunes we have finished and I came up with a riff for a seventh song. We plan on playing our first show in November. I cannot wait.
Listening to Judas Factor, Kiss Suicide this morning. They may well be one of the top five most influential bands in my life.
10.09.07 10:53am
Kyle is working on a very cool show for us in November. Once something is confirmed, I’ll post details.
Practice tonight. I have some more riffs I’ve been working on since Sunday. Hopefully we can hammer them out into a seventh song. I’d really like to have a seven song set before we do any shows.
Listening to Coliseum, No Salvation this AM.
10.15.07 4:39pm
I just talked to Donny and he told me Roger Colestock passed away this weekend. I don’t know how to feel. He was the bassist for Fall Silent during the Super Structure era and a damn fine human being. He was a father of two and one hell of a musician. I didn’t know the guy as well as I would have liked, but every minute I spent with him was a happy memory. He was a genuinely nice human being. He will be missed.
Listening to Fall Silent, Super Structure. It only seems right.
10.16.07 6:24pm
I work with hunters. Needless to say I have very little in common with them. Today two co-workers were talking about hunting birds and killing coyotes. There is no reason to kill a coyote in the wild. You can’t eat them, you can’t wear their fur. Hunters kill them because “they are pests”. It’s insane.
Band practice tonight. Looking forward to it.
10.17.07 8:31am
Practice went well last night. I really enjoy the time I spend with this band. It’s the first time I’ve been in a band with people I feel 100% comfortable with. The music is good and no one is afraid to offer ideas, suggestions or criticism. We work together to find riffs and arrangements that compliment the songs. There is no ego involved; it’s the song above all.
I’m really looking forward to our road trip this weekend. The whole band is going to LA to see Converge and 108. It’ll be nice to spend time with these guys outside of band practice.
Listening to Big Business, Here come the Waterworks.
10.22.07 7:08am
It’s amazing how fast everyday life can bring you down. Just walking up this morning and knowing I had to go to work was depressing. This weekend with the band in LA was amazingly fun. I laughed so much that I’m sore today. The show was great too. I was really looking forward to seeing 108. I never saw them before they broke up the first time and they were a huge influence on me. Seeing them now was a let down. They seemed so bitter and jaded. They were just going through the motions. The kids picked up on that vibe right away. You can’t fool hardcore kids (for the most part) if you have no heart, they can smell it. I did walk away with something from their set however. Seeing them on stage playing the role of hardcore hero’s gave me some insight to why Twice ended the way it did. I knew I was just going through the motions toward the end and I reckon the rest of the band was too. We must have looked an awful lot like 108 towards the end. I can now fully understand why kids stopped showing up. If there’s no heart, it’s just not hardcore. Hardcore is not a fashion statement, it’s not a genre; it’s a way of living your life beyond the boundaries of the 9 to 5 soul-crushing machine. It’s hard to take that look in the mirror and see yourself as others do. 108 showed me what it must have been like for kids who were into to Twice to watch us fake it. Never again. If I ever feel like my heart’s not into my band 100% it’s quittin’ time. Converge were incredible. This is the third time I’ve seen them and far and away the most energetic and honest hardcore show I’ve seen. I was so inspired. Sunday we drove into Hollywood and Amoeba Records. I managed to keep it under $100. The drive home was just as fun as the drive down. I get along so well with these guys. This band feels the way I always thought a band should. Donny, Josh and Kyle are my brothers, period.
10.25.07 5:00am
Sitting in the airport waiting for our flight. We have a layover in Denver, and then it’s on to New Orleans. I’m pretty excited about this trip, I’ve only ever been to New Orleans once and I was two or three years old. Not surprisingly, I don’t remember much of that trip.
I survived yet another round of lay-offs this week. It’s nice to know I’ll have a job to come back to.
4:59pm, New Orleans, LA
Flying is a funny way to travel. I don’t really like to fly too much. I end up wondering what I’m missing out on in the place we zoom over.
We got here at about 1:45pm (11:45am Reno time) and spent the better part of the afternoon walking around Bourbon Street. Our hotel is in the heart of the French Quarter, just two blocks off of Bourbon Street. We left the French Quarter and saw some of the downtown area. Canal Street runs the length of downtown and reminds me a bit of Market Street in San Francisco.
I got some writing done on the plane, started a new short story. I doubt I’ll have much time for writing the rest of the trip, but as always I will try.
10.29.07 11:39pm, New Orleans, LA
Sitting in the hotel room on our last night in town. I haven’t found time to write at all since we got here. We’ve been on the move or trying to cram a few hours of sleep in now and again. We’ve done so much in five days and I still feel like we’ve missed out on so much. I’ll need to come back. This city is like no other I’ve been in.
We took a carriage tour last night and saw 90% of the French Quarter. Everything here is geared toward you leaving your money behind. The carriage drivers get kick backs from the bars so they stop at bars and coax you into buying drinks while on your tour. Some of them are slyer than others; our guide was about as subtle as a train wreck. Amanda and Tom obliged and bought two hurricanes and our tour continued.
This town is entrenched in music and art. We’ve had several meals this week accompanied by live jazz. Music is everywhere. Musicians on the street corner, in the bistros, in the cafes and restaurants. You can find Jazz, Dixieland, Zydeco, Bluegrass and even a hand full of Rock bands. There is an entire street, Rue Royal, which has art galleries in every other store front. It’s strange for a town with such a deep musical history there are few record stores. In fact I’ve only seen one. I didn’t spend much money this trip, which is nice.
It’s a very laid back and easy going town. No one here is in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. And they do love the porn here. Bourbon Street alone has at least six strip clubs, including an all nude club in which you can wash the girls of your choice and a unisex club with live sex acts on stage.
We’ve toured historic graveyards, historic buildings, the zoo, the aquarium and walked miles and miles of historic streets. The party never stops in New Orleans. Tonight is Monday night and Bourbon Street is packed with locals and tourists alike. Alcohol is a driving force in this town. You can walk down any street with a drink in your hand. So long as your booze is contained in plastic rather than glass you can take it anywhere. I can only imagine how many gallons of booze are sold here on a nightly basis.
This town is unique in that there is little separation in class or color. The mansions and regular homes are built side by side on the same block. The poor, the rich, the black, the white, the gay, the straight all share the same streets. It’s something the rest of the world could take a lesson from. I’ve had an amazing trip and I’m really not ready to head home.
10.30.07 4:46pm New Orleans, LA
Sitting in the airport waiting for our flight. Again we have an hour layover in Denver. This was a great trip and I hate to come home. There was a lot more I wanted to see and do.
Today after we checked out of the hotel we walked some of the streets hit hardest by the hurricane. Even two years later the damage is more than evident. On the freeways you can see the water line from the flooding on the concrete walls. This whole region was hit so hard, it’s amazing that it’s come back as far as it has in such a short time.
I did find one more record store
on Canal Street, but it didn’t have anything I can’t get at
home. I’m coming home with almost half the money I budgeted for
the trip still in my wallet. It’s actually a good feeling.