as the water drips through your fingertips, you can feel me in every drop

     well i am not sure which post this is, but i feel i have established myself to the point where i do not need to add un-necessary parenthesis or poor attempts at jokes.  although, the jokes will somehow find their way into what you will be reading, hopefully soon.  i have officially finished my first semester at this wonderful place in st.paul where i attend college frequently.  i have dipped my nose into the music business much more than ever before, made great friends, and already experienced some interesting & life adjusting situations.  i am so happy i can finally say i truly know i chose the right school to attend, it is often easy to think that before a semester has been finished, mainly because you are focusing on the excitement, excitement with a vast lack of experience.  now that i have some minor experience from my classes and the school in general, i honestly have made a small place in my heart for McNally Smith College of Music (god it looks so good in capital letters doesn't it?) so now that my first semester is done, i am happy to have a three and a half week break.  all the chaos that finals week transitioned nicely into a good sized break, and i am glad to have an open schedule for awhile.  i still have not seen my grades, but i feel good with the work i brought forward to each mind-boggling assignment i completed, and on average at 5am each morning.  too many pots of coffee and smoke breaks.  now i finally have the time to do all those things i told myself to do in the middle of whatever class i was in, and now i find myself frantically looking up new bands, guitars, etc.
     it is also nice to finally have days with the love of my life, and just sit around talking about whatever is the 'hot item' of the day (mamaJ) now that all the christmas plans are taking effect, both anna & i find two giant pulls, each 4hrs away from each other.  it is not easy planning with our family situations, but somehow we have found a decent system to our planning process, and in my opinion it is working out just fine.  anna's older sister AMANDA came to minnesota, i still don't understand why she left that beautiful california weather for this shit. all bullshit aside, i am very happy she hopped on that plane at six a.m. and blessed us with her humor, stories, and most of all her wonderful presence.  she really is unique, and the great thing about the five amazing girls in that family is they all differ from each other (cliche i know, but i am getting to my point dammit) in a very unique way.  on one hand, they are very similar. sometimes you could swear there are no differences (i know, i sound counter-productive here) but then when you take a tiny step back, you start to see all the differences and wonder how there can be so many beautiful qualities in each of these girls (that was totally not intended to be an insult to alan or theresa) but i truly am glad i was finally able to meet Amanda, she is very fun to be around.  so the christmas 'festivities' so far have been very fun, i have ate way to much food, and had some really fun times so far.
     to let you in a little on what i am doing musically, i am sorry to tell you that i am not filling my role as a bassist for Vaudeville anymore.  i don't want to get into it, all i will say is i am flying solo again.  this is not a completely bad thing, i am still listening & playing a lot of the music i did with the band, but i am 'attempting' to strum the chords and hopefully hit the vocal parts over the guitar.  it has been very fun for me, and i hope i can start writing my own material more frequently.  i often find myself writing songs, but not sticking to it enough.  i know there are some interesting and creative things inside my fucked up head, i just need to pull them out.  i have written about five songs in the last (3/4??) of a year and i want to get those perfected the best i can, and start writing new music.  theresa & i were talking the other day and she said she found a producer with a studio in a town she lives close to, so i am hoping that will be an option.  i am just really trying to push my voice and build that up as strong as my guitar playing, that is a big goal for me.  and as counter-productive as this sounds, spring semester i am going to endure guitar lessons.  i am not looking to become a 'shredder' or a 'wowza' type guitar player, i just want to strengthen myself in chord progressions, and just be able to write beautifully composed acoustic songs, and truly make the entire process a much more consistent process.  i am really digging into Thom Yorke of radiohead and his musical approach.  songs you should check out this week (by the way) are Bulletproof....I Wish I Was, Fake Plastic Trees, and Black Star by Radiohead.  splendid tracks, i hope you all enjoy them if you get the chance to listen.  i have already started to pick up some new techniques, and who knows, maybe some of them will carry into my own style, but still keep me as original as i can be.  all in all, i just want to be someone who provides people with beautiful music, never lets the dark deception of money rain down on my path as an artist, and offers people the music that has changed my life in a unique way is all i could ever ask for. i'll play bar's and coffee shops 'till i am 70 as long as i stay true to that thought.  and i think enough shit has gone on lately that i can stay true to hopes & intentions much easier than previous points in my life.  not too much else is going on in my little life, i hope what i have shared has given you a sense of humility and slowed your day down just a tad...nothing is more important than the moment we wander hopelessly, clouding our vision with thoughts that keep us from seeing the beauty of life in its purest form, so don't keep your eyes down the road too far. just lie down and breathe in the moment that is about to pass you by.
just another look inside the mind of another city kid.

the one after the first..

hey everyone. well, i thought i would enter another entry, hopefully it is something that brightens up your mind on these gloomy, cold days here in minnesota. today was my first day of classes for the week, and overall it was pretty good.  nothing too hectic, pretty relaxed day.  i put up an ad the other day on craigslist as a bassist looking for an alternative band, and today i received a call.  the call was from a guitarist who plays in a group called Vaudeville. they are local, but really have a good reputation.  they have recorded quite a few albums (check iTunes) and recorded in Nashville.  they also have played with bands such as forever the sickest kids, meat puppets, and we the kings. they have a really good sound, lead singer chris has a strong but not too over-powering voice. they do a good RATM cover (killing in the name of) and a great "rendition" of Closer by NIN.  when i saw they did some NIN, i was pretty much hooked.  i would compare them to have a broad range of sound, everything from NIN to Muse.  i have a bass audition thursday in minneapolis and am so fucking excited i can't stand myself.  i might add a second bass to my setup, and today on craigslist (so helpful) i found a Fender Aerodyne jazz bass for $350.  that bass normally runs at $800 new.  great deal in my opinion.  so that is a little of what is going on. i am kind of sad, mainly because i am not going to be spending a night in new richmond.  i am use to being there on school nights, but i should probably sleep in the place i am paying to live at. haha sounds funny when you see it staring back at you on a computer screen.  anyways, i want to start something on this blog and that is a "song of the entry".  i will post a song i think you guys should check out, and if it doesn't fit your mood just turn it off.  that is all i have for this entry. take care
SONG: DOWN IN IT-NIN


just a small look inside the mind of another city kid.

~ze first entree (no food what-so-ever)

well apparently this is my first entry on blogger, anna convinced me to create a blog so i went forward with the idea.  other than having some time off from school (i go to McNally Smith in st paul) thanks to the wonderful holiday "Thanksgiving" (hey i finally capitalized something! shit..i did capitalize my school name...but not the city name. harsh feelings? i think not) I haven't been up to a whole lot. just spending time with great people and discovering all the music i can, as well as listening to older stuff.  i have really been into a lot Fall Out Boy because pete wentz is by far one of the finest lyricists of this generation.  he fits so well with the younger crowd, as well as (gotta quit using that combination of words) people like me who have been fans since the "early days".  very deep lyrics, but also sarcastic lines make up for very interesting songs.  also, their sound is great. it goes so many ways, but to me its very soothing and almost a poor attempt at sentimental bliss.  i can remember the first time i heard Fall Out Boy (so worth capitalizing) I thought to myself "fuck. i want to do that" so i called up my uncle mark and he got me my first bass guitar. from there, it has been a crazy ride..so much music learned, good memories with friends, and just the simple experience of joy in the most pure sense.  i am really enjoying Fall Out Boy lately, mainly Take This To Your Grave.  also, i have been into Iron & Wine.  wonderful solo musician from texas is who the group consists of and the sounds are very relaxing.  i showed my mother the song 'fever dream' when i was down for thanksgiving, and she was hooked immediately.  they are a wonderful group, i highly suggest taking a listen to any of their tracks.  right now, i am kind of just playing solo acoustic shows and am in the hunt for a pop punk group looking for a bass player.  the thing i love about that music is the scene it has and the energy the shows provide.  it really is a cool thing to be a part of, and i really want to get into it.  besides my music, i have been spending a lot of time with my great girlfriend anna. it has really been an amazing experience moving up to st.paul and being closer to her & her family.  i have great times over in western wisconsin.  as a matter of fact, today we woke up and i did something i have never done before.  we went to a tree farm and picked out a christmas tree.  even though i do not permanently live here, i'm pretty damn close.  so i will be able to soak in that pine smell for days and days and days.  that was a really fun thing to do.  and if you are reading anna's blog, you most likely have heard (read) something similar to my story, but what the hell two times never hurt anyone.  tonight we are going to see Due Date with Robert Downey jr. and Zach Galifinakis (most likely spelled something wrong and now that i think about it, why do i even mention who is starring in the film? everyone has seen the trailers, people know about the film, why did i take an un-necassary step forward in describing something so un needed?) anyways...i think this is enough for you to read for my first entry. i will update it next time i feel necessary.
just another look inside the mind of another city kid.