Rhett Miller concert review, I bought a piano and I play the drums

So Friday night I didn't have much to do. My roommate was going downtown for a buddy's 30th birthday, but other than that, most of my friends were staying in (due to the weather I guess). I was in a bit of a weird mood, so I decided to get on Pollstar and see if there was any good live music playing. Lo and behold, my own idol Rhett Miller was playing a solo show at Antone's. I hurriedly got dressed and hauled ass downtown.

Going to concerts by yourself is a lot like going to the movies by yourself. For someone like me, it makes me feel like a loser, even though it probably shouldn't. I mean, watching a concert (or a movie) is not really all that social of a thing. Your attention is fixed somewhere else. Anyway, my experience Friday was marred by the fact that I was by myself.

I'd guess I've seen Rhett Miller in concert a dozen times, so I know a lot about his style. Anytime I go to a rock show, I tend to fixate on the front man, and this is especially true with Rhett and the Old 97s. Up to now, it's been hard for me to figure out why I like him so much. I mean, he's not all that techinically sophisticated of a guitarist (he only plays rhythm), he doesn't have a classicly trained voice, and his songs are very simple. But at this show I realized that is exactly WHY I like him so much. He gives someone like me (who isn't technically sound on his instrument, sings out of tune, and writes simple songs) hope. He's mostly "it" factor, and I don't see that as a bad thing. His good looks and the way he works the crowd are more important to his success than his sense of melody and rhythm. On top of that, his lyrics are very catchy. He's had exactly the level of success I'd want (successful enough to draw a crowd and earn a living, but not so famous he can't have a life with some semblance of normalcy--although he did marry a supermodel, so his life probably doesn't have much normalcy). He's exactly who I try to emulate, whether I'm in my room by myself, practicing with Keith, or playing in front of a group of people.

Here are some things I noticed:

-he makes a LOT of eye contact with people of the audience.
-he mostly uses his 1/2 Townsend windmill strum deal on an open G chord
-most of his songs use the same 5 or 6 chords; he employs a capo to get songs in different keys
-I watched him before the show in the VIP lounge, and I've had a short introduction to him before at an earlier gig, and he genuinely seems like a nice person
-I had a short conversation with Salim Nourallah, who produced the most recent Old 97s record. I went up and introduced myself and told him thank you for writing this article. Turns out, he didn't write it, the lead sound engineer Rip Rowen did. He corrected me, but was very gracious about the whole thing. That article has been an excellent resource for me since I've been trying to gather recording equipment and learn the processes.
-Even though I was by myself, I still enjoyed the show; that said, I REALLY wished I'd had a pretty girl with me.

On a side note, remember when I posted a few weeks back about 2 songs I wrote? Well, I realized that one of them ("This is My Life Without You") was just me unconsciously copying one of Rhett's new songs ("Haphazardly"--it's linked at the top right of this page so you can hear it). I must've heard it at the last Old 97s show I went to, forgotten it, then somehow twisted the chorus when it came back up while I was f'n around on the guitar. I suspect that happens a lot, and not just with me. I've read several interviews with Kevin Griffin (from Better Than Ezra) and one of the things I like about him is how candid he is about his songs' influence. He's not ashamed to admit 'ripping off' a melody from someone else. You could probably take every song I've ever written and find a song that songs exactly like it that I heard somewhere before.

So over the last few weeks I've taken to the drums. I think this stemmed from Keith and I getting a little bored with the same ol' thing when we practice. Also, we both think it would be a cool gimmick if we switched instruments in the middle of a set. Not to mention Keith is a badass on the guitar. I've progressed to being able to keep a beat, albeit with no fills or complicated switches. Friday night after I got home, I was HAMMERED. So my roommate, his buddy and I went into my studio and I hopped on the drums. I don't remember it all that much, but apparently we played a LONG time. Like, non-stop for like 3 hours. I have painful blisters on every. single. one. of my fingers. On both hands. I don't aspire to be Dave Grohl, but I do think it would be cool to be able to jump on a drumset and keep up.

Finally, I bought a piano yesterday. It's an antique (1800s I think) Wurlitzer upright. I got it for $175. All the keys/pedals play and it has all the original (albeit yellowed) ivory. 3 of the keys stick intermittently. I hope to have this repaired when I have it tuned after it's moved (happening today).

A lot of my favorite songs are piano based. I grew up listening to a lot of Elton John and The Beatles, Billy Joel, etc. I don't aspire to be concert style, but just like with the drums, I think it'd be pretty f'n pimp to be able hop on a piano and bang out a tune or be able to write piano based simple chord songs. Plus, chicks dig dudes who can play piano.

Pearl Jam Rocks

I went to the Austin City Limits Festival last night. I originally had a 3 day pass, but sold it so I could go down to Victoria for my cousin's birthday party. Well, this girl I have a crush on was there and wanted me to meet her, so I made a few calls to see if I could get a ticket for Sunday. Turns out a girl I used to work with had a ticket, but it wouldn't be available until like 5pm. So, I got in right as Jack White's latest project, Dead Weather, was playing. Jack White is hard. During the set he played all 4 rock instruments (drums mostly, but also played guitar, bass, and sang). The band was good, but they had a chick sing all the songs Jack White didn't sing. I'm not much for chick rock singers. After they were done, Pearl Jam took the stage. They ROCKED. I've always liked Pearl Jam, but wouldn't have put them in my top 5 bands. They're there now. Eddie Vedder is hard. Their set was perfect. They played Daughter, Elderly Woman, Even Flow, Oceans, and several others. Their encore started off with Evolution, then they brought out Ben Harper for a song. Then Perry Ferrell (the fruit from Jane's Addiction who basically invented the modern music festival by starting Lollapalooza) came out and sang a Jane's Addiction song with them (Mountain? I'm not a JA fan.) Then they closed the show with Alive (top 5 guitar solos on any song ever) and Keep On Rocking In the Free World. It ruled. They were so awesome I didn't even care that the girl I was with wasn't interested in me (at least until after the show).

It's amazing; every time I see a badass concert, it makes me want to lock myself in my studio for like 5 years.

I sold my Jeep

I sold my Jeep last week. Sweet. The list of things I want to do with the money is extensive. One of the things on the list is to buy recording gear. This ranks #1 in "want to do", but dead last in "should do". My patio needs a new roof. My emergency fund is at about 50% of where I want it to be. I need to get rid of my roommates. I need to landscape my yard. My car needs body work. *sigh*

Keith and I didn't practice last week, but I did play a lot of guitar by myself. I have all the songs I've written (or started writing) saved on my computer. I went back and played a lot of them. Some of them are songs I wrote almost ten years ago. It's interesting to see how my style has changed. It's also weird how many songs I've written. There are over 50 songs saved. I'm half convinced that I should go into full on hone mode and not write anything new, just work on polishing what's already there. Didn't Bob Dylan say something like nobody should ever write anything new?

Bored At Work

I wrote 2 songs last week. In hindsight, they're pretty bipolar. The first one was called "This is My Life Without You", which is about what happens every time I end a relationship, which is to seek distraction in all the wrong things (draw your own conclusions). It sort of sounds like Jack Johnson's melancholy acoustic stuff, but I think it would sound best as just a piano/vocals deal. Who knows if I'll ever take it that far. The 2nd song was a complete 180 from the 1st one. It's an upbeat pop tune called "You Are A Miracle" (I don't like that title, but that's essentially the chorus so it is named that by default). It basically breaks down the statistics of what it takes for two people to end up together. I really like it. I think it's the 2nd best upbeat song I've ever written, next to "Getting Busy", which is along the same emotional thread.

Other than that, not too much going on. Keith and I probably won't practice this week, since we're heading down to POC on Thursday to go fishing, but we're sure to pick it back up next week. Still waiting until I sell one of my automobiles before I can buy recording gear. Incidentally, I've got several peices of extra gear for sale if you know someone who would be interested:

-Brand New In Box Electron Blue Standard Mexican Fender Telecaster (with gig bag)- $350
-Unknown brand 1970s 15 watt bass/PA combo with 15" speaker- $50
-Trace Elliot 200W 2 X 10" guitar amp- $150

I'd like to be able to trade these for either an upright piano or a Sennheiser 421 microphone. Maybe Craigslist can come through for me.

Also, I've added a LaLa embed on the sidebar, so each post I'll probably link a new song. This one's is "Scotty Doesn't Know"; it always makes me laugh, especially if you've seen EuroTrip, where Matt Damon does this song at the graduation party. Enjoy.

USAIN BOLT IS A BAD MOTHERFUCKER

100 meters in 9.58 seconds. That is all.

Long Overdue Updates Accompanied by Random Opinions and Observations

So, I'm bored at work and figured I'd waste some time blogging.

Stevenson Road Status Update
So not much has been going on with the band. We got offered a gig at a bar in Livingston, but I don't know if we're going to take it. Livingston is a long way away and I doubt anyone we know would be willing to travel that far to see us. The bar has more of a Texas Country vibe, so I don't know how many fans we could convert, even if a lot of people did show up. I would like to do some solo stuff there if possible (more on that later).

Keith and I have been practicing about once every other week, so we're still alive. Just no gigs or records lined up. The current (ever changing and rightshifting) plan is to get recording gear once I'm able to sell my Jeep and have a quality demo by the end of the year.

Last practice we wrote a new song that I'd really like to finish out. It's kind of like a Vines/Killers song. Hard barre chords in successions with lots of starts and stops and an open chord chorus. We'll see what comes of it.

The last two practices my roommate Derrick has come out and plugged in the bass. He's never played before so it's slow going, but it is nice to hear a much fuller sound.

Solo Career?
I really enjoy playing with Keith. He's awesome. But like a lot of people doing something creative that they care about, I'm sort of a control freak. I like the songs that we've written together, but they're definitely not songs I sit around in my room playing over and over again. Our music is rock. My aspirations have always leaned more to the singer-songwriter style. So I've been thinking a lot about writing a set of songs that I could go play on my own, just me and my geetar. Not only would this let me play the music and write the songs that I really have always wanted to write and sound like, it would let me try and go get gigs and record without having to clear the logistics with anyone else. The bottom line is I want to be Rhett Miller and unfortunately the band is more Seven Mary Three than Old 97s.

Counting Crows
I went to see the Counting Crows on Monday. It was weak. This was the 4th time I've seen them, and each time was progressively worse. I do believe they have gotten the last of my money. In 1994, there wasn't a person in the world I idolized more than Adam Duritz. And while he still has my respect for banging both Jennifer Aniston AND Courteney Cox, he's kind of a tool. He has worn fake dreads for 15 years. He is a dick to his fans. And he's very self-important. Anyway, the show was at Austin Music Hall and they did this bunk format where they came out at the beginning with the 'opener' (Augustana) and played all at once and then the 2 bands sort of traded 3 song sets a few times. Weak. I didn't pay $40 to see f'n Augustana (not that they were horrible, the were actually quite good, but they weren't what I paid to see). I paid $40 to see Counting Crows; not only that, I paid $40 with the understanding that I would see Counting Crows play their hits, as I expect to hear them. So, I was really disappointed in the format and set list. I mean, so I saw the lead singer of Augustana sing "Omaha"? Weak.

Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, and Willie
On Tuesday I went to see the 3 above at Dell Diamond with my older brother llogg.

I'd seen Willie once before so I pretty much knew what to expect. He's good, but a lot of time his voice isn't timed with the music. And the main thing I love about Willie is his crooning. I think he's just too old to croon because his voice didn't have that wavering desperation or carry out the long notes on Crazy or Blue Eyes Crying. But he did have a good energy and put on a pretty good show. It was bloody hot too, so you gotta give his old ass props for hanging tough. He didn't play 2 of my favorites (Red Headed Stranger and Pancho and Lefty), but he did have a pretty good set list overall. I give him a B.

I didn't expect much from Mellencamp. My parents like his stuff, so I'd heard a lot of his catalog, but going in there weren't any songs (except Jack and Diane) that I was thinking would be awesome to hear. Well, he was really, REALLY good. Great energy, good set list, the whole package. He did probably the best a capella I've ever heard (not saying much, but still, it was badass) on a song I can't remember right now. He rocked. I give him an A (more on why he didn't get an A+ later).

Bob Dylan's first song had me thinking he'd be better off dead. He vocals were completely unintelligible and had ZERO melody. I had sort of known what to expect and went in thinking it would be pretty bad, but the way he sang Rainy Day Women to open his set was ridiculous. He got a lot better as the show went forward, but he only played 4 songs that I knew, 2 of which came in the encore. He didn't utter a single word between songs. Not one (I still haven't decided whether or not this is cool). Strictly business. He came out for the encore and started with Like A Rolling Stone, one of my favorite songs ever, but it was disappointing because to me the thing that makes that song so awesome is how he wails on the line "how does it feeeeeeeelllllll". Well, needless to say, there was no wailing. I mean, the dude is over 70 years old, so I guess my expectations were too high. He closed the show with All Along the Watchtower, which totally rocked. Charlie Sexton shredded. I think that song was so awesome because it's not the type that is dominated by the vocals. Since Hendrix redid it everyone sees it more as a guitar song. Dylan would have gotten an F had it not been for at least attempting Rolling Stone (up to a C) and kicking ass on Watchtower, so he ends up with a B.

I truly thought that when Dylan left for the first time that all 3 of them (Willie, Cougar, and Dylan) would come out for the encore. I mean, imagine the three of them trading verses on Pancho and Lefty, Jack and Diane, and Like a Rolling Stone. How fucking AWESOME would that have been?! That would have made for an excellent (A+) show. Either way I had a really good time if for no other reason than I got to hang out with just my brother for 3 hours, and he's fucking hilarious. And, I got to see all those guys before they're dead. Bonus.

Short Side Rant: Musicians not playing their hits sucks and it's bullshit. I fully understand that you get sick and tired of playing the same song thousands and thousands of times. I get that. But that's what everyone is there for. If you don't want to play Jack and Diane, don't play big shows. Don't trick people. Give them what they paid for.

Well, that's enough for now. Have a great weekend.

Fear and Loathing in Ft. Lauderdale

So I called the guy who sold the car, flew out to Ft. Lauderdale, picked up the car, and drove 23 straight hrs back to Texas.

Fear and Loathing in Fort Lauderdale

"We were somewhere over Miramar, when the Citalopram withdrawal began to take hold..."

Backstory:

My jeep starting being hard to start and began choking out at low rpms about a month ago. The problem got progressively worse until 2 weeks ago when it took me over 1/2 an hour just to get it started. I asked my dad, brother, and uncle what they thought the problem was, and since they all agreed that the symptoms were pretty general, I decided to take it into the dealership to get a sure diagnosis. They told me it was the timing chain, and quoted me $900 to replace it. I called my mechanic, who is an awesome guy who I've used several times before and he quoted me $300 for the timing chain. The dealership charged me $100 for the diagnosis and I took it back to my house. My mechanic bought the parts and came over. I was standing behind him when he took the cover off of the timing chain and even I could tell immediately that there was nothing wrong with it. Fuckingcocksuckingdicklickingshiteatingcuntass dealership motherfuckers lied to me and stole $100.

Over the next few weeks, my mechanic came over every day and worked in 100+ degree heat trying to figure out what the problem was. In the meantime, I'm without wheels, relying on the gf for rides to and from work and pretty much f'ed if I wanted to go anywhere else.

The jeep has 150k miles on it, so I knew the time was coming to get a new car anyway. I'd been looking on craigslist, cars.com, and the like. Last week, I saw a Hyundai Azera on cars.com. I'd never even heard of that model before, but it looked cool, so I started doing research. The more I learned, the better the deal looked. I called on it, then test drove it 2 thursdays ago. I liked it. I knew it was a good deal. I told the dealer I'd think about it over the weekend (just to not buy on impules and make sure it was "meant to be"). I decided on Saturday morning that I was for sure going to buy it. I called him first thing monday morning. Of course, he had sold it about 8pm sunday night. Fuckingcocksuckingdicklickingshiteating powers that be fucked me and stole my new car.

So here I am, no leads on any good deals, no clue as to what's wrong with my jeep and how long it will take to fix and how much it will cost.

I don't know why, but for some reason I snapped. There was a lot of other stressful shit in my life to go along with this situation, so maybe that had something to do with it. Regardless, I proceeded to go on ebay and bid on 37 cars. At one point I was the leader in $76,000 worth of auctions. I wasn't even really looking at what I was bidding on. It was ridiculous. This was on Wednesday during the day at work.

That night I got home and monitored the auctions while watching UT get spanked by LSU in the college world series. In the end, I ended up getting outbid on all but one automobile: a 2006 Hyundai Elantra GT in Miramar, FL with 50,000 miles on it. I had won it for $5000.

To Be Continued...

Stock Picks

1. Ivanhoe Energy (IVAN) - I'm heavily invested in this beaten down oil small cap. Their schtick is that they have technology which makes refining heavy (dirty) oil cheap. They have deals in place in Ecuador, Canada, China, and Iraq. Most of the oil in the world cannot be used right now because it is too heavy. If this company has the answer to that problem, hello retirement for Jakey. Warning: don't gamble with $ you can't afford to lose.

2. Qwest Communications (Q) - They've been beaton down over the last 10 years because of their 2001 corporate fraud scandal, but they are paying a ridiculous 8% dividend and are one of the only companies keeping AT&T from an antitrust suit.

3. General Electric (GE) - The financial crisis beat them down, but the stock price took a much worse dive than it deserved. They are one of the most stable companies in the world. They're not going anywhere.

4. Duke Energy (DUK) - Doing a lot to be out front on the alternative energy tip while simultaneously profiting from carbon energy. Pays a steady, spectacular 6% dividend.

5. AT&T (T) - Their financials are very healthy and they pay a high dividend (6.8%).

Grain of salt. Don't ask me why after a 2 month blogging hiatus I decided to post this. No news on the music tip.

All I want to do is drink beer and smoke cigarettes...

As most of you know, I worked in Iraq for 19 months, from October 2005 through May 2007. I saved $150,000 while I was there. I thought that by making the short term sacrifice of spending a year and a half working 84 hour workweeks in a war zone thousands of miles away from home I'd grant myself freedom from the rat race forever. I was wrong. Or was I?

"I got a cousin, he's broke, don't do shit." -Lawrence from Office Space

I filled up with gas today at a station near Rundberg and I35. This intersection is pretty much the heart of the Austin ghetto now that downtown east Austin has been cleaned up. Anyway, while I was filling up, a crackhead approached me and asked me for money. I've had a particularly rough week at work, and today was the worst day yet, so I was in no mood for his schtick. I exploded on him. I won't give details on what I told him but I will say that I was yelling, and ended up chasing him after he ran away.

I got off track.

When I first got back in the US in June of 2007, I got a job at Hula Hut working 3 shifts per week. For the six months that followed, I was happy for the only extended period of time in my adult life. I didn't work weekends. I never had to get up early. I had plenty of money to buy beer.

I don't have expensive tastes. I drive a Jeep Wrangler with over 150,000 miles. I take pride in buying my clothes from WalMart and Target. I'm cool with drinking Keystone Light and Bud Ice. I live in a modest home. So why can't I live my current lifestyle while only working 3 days per week at a restaurant? Is this too much to ask?

In my office, I have a spreadsheet with a formula that refreshes every time you press enter. It calculates the amount of time, to the second, until my (average) life span runs out. So, I literally sit in my cube and watch myself die.

I don't know what the point of this post is, other than to vent on the depression tip. But the question remains: would I be happier as a vagrant?

Ask and Ye Shall Be Brutalized

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Not much (at all) has been happening with the band, and I was pretty determined not to let this blog turn into drivel about my personal life.

So anyway, I see a wave of creativity forming in the near future, so hopefully there'll be some action round here soon.

As soon as I get my tax refund (should be in the next couple of weeks), I'm going to pull the trigger on the rest of the recording gear I want. My goal after that is to record one song per week, be it a polished song with Keith or a 'scratchpad' type deal by myself.

But I need help. Does anyone know how I could take an Mp3 file and load it somewhere, paste the html and have it up on this site? I can't seem to find out how to make that happen. What I'd like to be able to do is record a song at home, convert the file to Mp3, then load it on this blog for y'all to critique. Anybody have any insight into how to do this (easily and for free)?


Keith and I haven't practiced in a couple of weeks. We've both just been really busy. May not happen this week either as I'm going to see Rhett Miller at Shady Grove tonight (our usual practice night), and I have a pretty busy weekend. Hopefully we can get together sometime this weekend and jam. I'm becoming more open to the idea of adding people to the band, if for no other reason than for motivation to practice and/or gig more frequently.

Anyway, thanks for reading, check back soon for new audio (hopefully)!

The Big Mo

No motivation to blog.

Will update when something happens. Could be soon, could be never.

Thanks for reading.