Musings, Rants, and Ramblings

Amsterdam Bar and Hall Part 2

2012-01-31T10:28:00.000-06:00

Last night I had a show at the Amsterdam Bar and Hall. It was my second time playing there and it was lots of fun.

I put the bill together, which is always a bonus because you can fill it with people you really enjoy being around and listening to. The bands that joined me on stage were The Broken Bicycles, Brynn Andre, and Fairfax, AK.

The sound guy at the Amsterdam is really great and for the first time I think ever Shawn could hear me while he played drums. I just told the guy to crank my guitar in his monitor. Maybe I need to do this all the time. Probably would have been so helpful at so many shows. Lesson learned.

For a Monday night we had a pretty good turn out. Downtown St. Paul isn't really known for its bustling nightlife, so the fact that people came to hang out and listen was really cool. The Amsterdam is also a destination place itself - just a really great venue.

One of my Broken Bicycle friends took some video of one of my new songs, "Adore". I posted it below. The few times we've had a drumset at our shows recently, we never get around to playing this song because I usually put it on the setlist last and then we run out of time - mainly because I babble too much. So last night I put it second to last and we finally got to play. So much fun to play. Enjoy!

Setlist for the Amsterdam Bar and Hall 1/30/12
- Good
- Float
- The Paul Simon Song
- Can't Even Tell
- Beg, Borrow, or Steal
- Here
- Adore
- Cohabitate

Next Up: This Friday, Feb. 3rd at the Studiopolis Black & White art show in the Northrup Kling Building in Mpls. Details on the Upcoming Shows page.

I Thought We'd Play Again

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

Another one of my 10 things for 2012 is to get some of my old guitars fixed before I consider going out and buying new ones. So I brought in my oldest guitar:

I got this guitar when I was around 17. It wasn't expensive. I had no idea what I was doing picking out a guitar. I'm pretty sure I got it some place weird like Sam Goody or something. But, it honestly sounds pretty good. It has a deep warm sound that I've always enjoyed. And it has a built-in pick up for easy amplification.

It was the first guitar to join me on stage at that open mic night back in 2010. I played it all my shows and open mics for the first few months of my performing. I thought I would play it forever. I imagined it being like Willie Nelson's beat up guitar. It would gather dings and stickers and permanent marker drawings and scribbles. It would be my constant companion. When asked in interviews, I would say: This guitar? I got this guitar when I was still in high school. I've written all of my songs on it and I'll never play another.

Me and my old friend on stage for the first time.

But then it started falling apart.

You see, I'm really bad at taking care of my guitars. I don't keep them in perfectly humidified rooms. Sometimes I leave them lying on the floor. I've just never fully researched how to care for them because 1) None of them have ever cost all that much and 2) I always just played them to myself at home.

But then I started performing. And it seems that all those years of treating my guitar like a rag doll and then suddenly taking it out on the town was just too much. Pieces fell off and out of it. The pick-up stopped working...all within a few weeks. And once the pick-up stopped working, I couldn't use it anymore. I'm not someone who can stand perfectly still with my guitar up to a microphone, I have to move around. It needs to be plugged in.

So it got put back in the corner and I went out and bought a new-to-me guitar.

But that guitar has now been giving me problems - probably because I don't properly care for it - and so I thought I needed a back-up. So I pulled my old guitar out from the corner and brought it in to get fixed. Once again, visions of us taking the stage filled my head. I love every dent and scrape on this thing.

But it's not meant to be.

The guitar tech fixed the pick-up, but showed me a big problem looming that would cost way too much money to fix on a guitar that probably originally cost $150.

So, even though it can be amplified again, the bridge could snap off at any second and that would be a terrible thing to have happen on stage.

So, now it sits in my "guitar room". I can still pick it up and play it occasionally. Guitar tech guy said it'd make a great campfire guitar. Like I go to a lot of campfires.

I feel bad I didn't treat it very well.

I'm sorry we never got to live the dream, guitar. But thanks for being there for me in the beginning.

Woohoo!

2012-01-25T20:57:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I almost didn't post about this...

I am officially employed again!

The best part?

It's part-time! 32 hours a week with a flexible schedule.

It's not dog walking, but it's a good job at a good company that does good things filled with good people. And they all seem to understand what my post-work musical life means to me and encourage me to pursue it, hence the flexible schedule.

Things happen for a reason, everybody.

Victory 44

2012-01-25T07:00:00.003-06:00

One of my 10 Things for 2012 is to go to a new restaurant once a month. And so far I'm off to a good start!

I went to Victory 44 for a friend's birthday dinner. I was a little concerned, after going online to view their menu prior to dinner, because I'm a vegetarian and the menu picture they posted on their site showed only meat. I don't mind being around meat being consumed - I'm not one of those vegetarians - but when I go out to dinner, I like to eat something and there didn't appear to be anything on the menu for me. Also, everyone was planning on doing the Chef's Tasting which is a $50 for a five course meal, each course served with a glass of wine that is supposed to go perfectly with the dish. So, to spend $50 on food that I couldn't eat was a slight concern. But, I thought I could just sit and drink wine all night and that would be cool. I choose to be a vegetarian. I put myself in this situation and I was more looking forward to the hanging out with friends part.

But much to my surprise, the chef was happy to work with my vegetarianism and served me five courses all meat free that still each went with each glass of wine. And all of it was delicious. I would try to tell you what they served me, but I am no good with stuff like that so all I can say is that it was all very fancy and that one dish had roasted pears and I love pears.

Dessert was goat cheese and pomegranate seeds and it tasted just like ice cream. So. Good.

The atmosphere is great: Loud, but not obnoxious. Just loud enough where you don't feel like you have to sit and whisper. A very friendly wait staff. Good seating options. Clean bathrooms.

And the food was super tasty.

I'd recommend.