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for fanclub members only: BEWARE THE BLACK SAUCER MEN!

july 28, 2005

latest trouble i'm getting myself into: - i just emailed sean [who played guitar on the obliterati project] some demo material trying to get interested in a virtual jam session. watch this space over the next couple of months for the results.

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july 17, 2005

lots of new additions to sounds page, one dating as recently as last year: roma, recorded by tony trunzo.

also lots and lots of updates to the e. rader designs area - go take a look. last night i went to meet with a guitar player in north seattle whose ad on craig's list i answered - we spent a couple of hours sharing war stories and talking about music and life and death, all that good stuff. i'm still mulling over whether to pursue jamming with his band, or beg off. i'm thinking i'm not really ready right now to fully collaborate. i have, however, bought some sneaky technology that might enable me to digitize some cassette recordings i have...mwoo haa haaa.

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july 6, 2005

updated the recruitment piece, due to the fact that someone whose musicians wanted posting at craigslist.org i responded to thought i was only interested in a backup band. god knows, i'd love to find a cadre of willing sycophants, but i'm willing to step down off of my pedestal and jam with other people...so long as they don't suck, and aren't emotionally manipulative tyrants or anything like that.

also i have a much better sense of humor than i used to, so it's really a win win situation all around. give it a shot - send me an email.

july 5, 2005

watched the fireworks over lake union last night.

"you lika the thunder eh? very good...very loud."

there were some boats flying flags at half-mast. perhaps for the soldiers whose helicopter was shot down in afghanistan - perhaps for the whole freaking mess we're in.

still unemployed. well, mostly.

funny to measure one's years between july fourths, rather than between january firsts. what was i doing july fourth last year? on the day of, watching a bunch of very young people drink. wondering how i was going to stay sane. definitely not party to the things that i know now, that's for sure.

i think some noise needs to happen soon. if not today, then this week.

okay...i think i've given it the old college try for this morning, but the pipes are clogged, or the well is dry, or something. better come back to this later when i'm at the lab. ta ta.

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july 1, 2005

it is now the moment for my semi-annual raising my head, briefly, out of the tarpit, and making the important pronouncement that reestablishes my status as resident curmudgeon and hater of everything everyone else likes.

typically inadvisably, i subjected myself to VH1 for the roughly 100 seconds my constitution could stand.

yep, the course is stayed, the status quo verified: still fucking hate alanis morissette.

my best friend G. owns some of her CDs, and i have some musician friends who have either played on records of hers or know somebody who did or maybe they partied at her house once, i certainly can't keep track. but, speaking as a vocalist and lyricist...the allergy is simply too severe.

i am sure that alanis is a wonderful, wonderful person, loves animals, tips generously etc. i'm sure she smells great. she looks fantastic in clothing from the gap, urban outfitters, and/or anthropologie. i'll bet you her housekeeper has nothing but good things to say about her. her loft looked very nice on "cribs".

the sound of her voice and the scan and choice of words of her lyrics cause me migraines. and i don't get migraines.

i guess what goes around comes around - i had to nod compassionately when a friend explained recently that she could not stand bob dylan, neil young, bruce springsteen, tom waits, or any singer with a gravelly or off-tone voice.

i nodded and murmured gently like a good therapist. then i hit her over the head with a fender jazzmaster bass.

just kidding.

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june 28, 2005

confidential to an old friend who emailed me a few days ago: i tried to respond but it got bounced back as undeliverable. so let me know if you have a webmail address that's functioning.

today's big news is that i got inspired to post a brilliant new recruitment piece. i have always depended on the kindness of strangers, but sometimes am too stupid to remember to actually ask for help, out loud, when i need it. remember the old viking folk tale of the guy who cries out to thor to help him move his ox cart that's stuck in the mud, and thor shows up and says "okay - here i am. now here's how i'm going to help you. get the fuck out of your ox cart, put your goddamned shoulder to the wheel, and fucking push." the moral of the story being "the gods help those who help themselves." which might as well be the same thing as saying, "there are no gods, so you'd better fucking help yourself because nobody else will."

i'm not big in darwin, as you probably know by now. if i ever was truly forced to fight for survival, i'd probably lose. however, there simply comes a time when one is so disgusted with being stuck in the mud, that one's level of disgust overcomes their fear of making the attempt. i told somebody that a couple of months ago, and they actually remembered it, so perhaps it'll be saved for posterity as an aphorism. look at me, a regular jack handey.

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june 25, 2005

if you turn the pages back to the most recent archive, you will see an update or two. otherwise nothing much new going on - just continuous updates of the past.

perhaps that is what i am good for right now - continuous updates of the past. however, after this weekend, i have the feeling that's going to change.

june 15, 2005

final exams are mostly done, and work is winding down. the weather in seattle is for the most part sunny, and the temperature is rising. i haven't been writing a lot of music but i have been writing a lot. in my quest for the elusive perfect day job, i am holding out for an opportunity to apply that skill to a greater degree.

i've also discovered a candidate for the next studio i would like to record at. i'm not just going by their web site, but also by the tracks i've heard that were recorded and mixed there. the chief engineer there has an amazing ear. it would be fun to bounce my own creative ideas off of someone that skilled.

i have other news, but in the interests of timing, i will post it when it is most prudent. stay tuned.

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june 10, 2005

well the GFE boys are here, and some are crashing at my place tonight. i'm going to go check them out at the same place they played last time, studio 7 - doors open around 7:30, they hit the stage either 2nd or 3rd on the bill around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.

for those interested, i finally received that videocasette dub of that 80's interview with yours truly, which is pretty damn amusing. if you are up for a few cheap laughs let me know and i will send you a copy.

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june 6, 2005

GFE coming to town this weekend. i will give you guys a login for the sake of fun and cheezballs.

the lovely folks at sonic boom sold me an unopened copy of the rhino records re-release of todd's something, anything for $9.99. i hereby adjure you to give them your business. if you go into their fremont store you might even see the polaroid they took of me holding up the CD and exlaiming, "holy crap!"

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