I have limited time. Limited upload speeds. Fuck it. Here’s some things that are awesome so far. 1500 miles, 10 distilleries, 4 breweries, 7 states, and lots and lots of strip clubs.
Maker’s Mark, My Pictures…
Monika’s Pictures…
Well, this is the start of our vacation. I’m going to try to keep up, but there’s no hope.
My prediction. Best Song, Best Recording, and Best Female Performance of the year.
So, here’s a little sampling of some shit’s she done without a Grammy so far.
No, this is not a cover. This is who wrote the original.
I can’t remember exactly how I came across the band “Nothing.” Maybe I wrote that down in a previous blog somewhere, but who can remember everything? I think it was when I started to revisit my shoegaze romance back in January, and a few months later, they released their first album, and I was sold.
Lucky enough, a few months after that, this past Sunday, I got to see them live. And it kicked ass. Dominic Palermo is a crazy ass bastard that pulls off the rock star “I-don’t-give-a-fuck” attitude way better than I’ve ever been able to do. Sure, once when I was pissed, I threw down my bass, flipped a keyboard off a stand, and jumped off the stage to go to the bar and do a shot. That was once. I have a feeling Mr. Palermo pulls that shit every single show.
First thing first. When they took the stage at Boot and Saddle, they asked to have all the stage lights turned to red (which isn’t so great for the following photos). You have no idea how shitty it is to be on stage with lights in your face. It’s hot, it’s annoying, and who the hell wants to see my face anyway. Dirty Robots have a similar want. We don’t need to be seen. I’d rather not be, actually. Just let us turn up our amps.
Which is the second thing. These guys got to play at the volume we TRY to play at before the owner of whatever bar we’re playing freaks the fuck out and yells at us. This shit was loud and my ears happily rung for 24 hours. Damn straight. That’s fucking rock and roll.
It was like the 90s again. They were loud, and heavy as hell, with a shit ton of distortion and endless reverb, and not a soul in the crowd did much more that nod their heads. True shoegaze. But the best part is this. Twice, Dominic finished a song, swung off his guitar, and aimlessly threw it into the crowd, still plugged in, for that organic wall-of-sound finale!
And another time, nearer to the end of the show, he took a good old fashioned stage dive. And I’m not talking about that pussy shit stage dive where you slowly lean back into a dozen pairs of hands to ease you up into the air. No. He dropped his guitar, got behind the drum set, and took a running swan dive into the dark and crowded floor and hoped for the best.
Oh, and the biggest rock star move of all? Check out the video I shot of what the band pulled off in the middle of Broad Street immediately following their encore. Bad Ass! It’s no surprise Dominic served time in jail for stabbing a guy at a show. Clearly, this dude doesn’t give a fuck! And I really admire that.
I recorded some of the set, but I knew before hand it would be nearly impossible to capture the sound properly. But this video gives you a slight idea.
SO, HEY, DOMINIC PALERMO…IF YOU EVER NEED A BASS PLAYER, I’M IN!!
This is their official video, which was shot in the the same bar. The crowd seems just as enthusiastic in the video as we were in real life. Hey man, that’s the way this scene is. Enjoy.
As I’ve said before, our last anniversary we couldn’t spend together because I was working and Monika was having an adventure. But, we’re trying to make up for lost time. Even though it wasn’t a surprise, I had gotten us tickets to one of our favorite bands for our fifth anniversary. It was Memorial Day Weekend, and we both had off the next day (surprisingly).
It was the first time I’d ever been to Revel Casino, let alone the music venue there. I could have gotten us seats months ago when tickets went on sale, and that’s what I usually do because, to be honest, Monika is short and General Admission can be a bitch for short people. Even though I’ve seen DCFC a few times, Monika never did, so I opted for the GA tix in the hopes we could get close, and she could actually see Ben Gibbard up close. We ended up 15 feet from the stage, and it all worked out.
I know some people think this band is too emo, or too sappy, or too girlish, but for me and Mon, they hold a special meaning. Transatlanticism was released around the time we started dating, and I listened to that album on repeat (along with a few others…). When we got married three years later, we walked down the isle to my long time friend, Johnny (lead singer of my band), singing one of their songs. And then afterwards, as morbid as the lyrics actually are, our wedding song was the second song below, from the concert we enjoyed together a few days ago.
I, being the one of us who is usually first to cry, didn’t this time around, but during these songs, she lost it. And it was adorable. She wasn’t the only one. I looked around, and realized that these songs don’t mean something important to only us. A lot of people there that night identify with the words and intentions of these songs. And it is a great, sometimes overwhelming feeling to share a collective rejoicing in words that speak to us, and to enjoy melodies that remind us of what it is to feel.
Those moments are the reasons I go to concerts, and why I am a musician. Music often cuts deeper than words because it is a universal language we all share. It’s why I enjoy writing with notes as much as I do with words.
“This is a song for all the lovers.” If you listen carefully, you can hear almost everyone singing…even us.
Well, me and Monika got around to getting our yard together. Sometimes we get to it early, and sometimes later than usual, but this year I think we made out pretty damn good. Planted the veggies two weeks ago, and got flowers (most of them, but still some work to do) and mulch (three yards moved by hand) into the yard before Memorial Day. I call that a success. It’s always tough, and I can’t exactly say that I find inherent pleasure in moving mulch, digging holes, and general yard cleanup any more than I enjoy cleaning a toilet bowl. But I do love the feeling of accomplishment when a dirty job get done, and you can relax, sit down and enjoy it.
Here are some of the pics, in random order. Expect progress reports.
Well, I guess this could be about things that you can use to kill a vampire, but it’s not.
My fifth wedding anniversary was last weekend, and though we haven’t officially celebrated back at Valley Green yet, we did exchange presents on Sunday when she got home. We picked gifts for each other that are considered “traditional,” though one of us went old school, and the other more modern.
Interestingly, we did both go with a hand made gift. We both found artisans on Etsy that craft their work by hand, from scratch, to make the things we will have for the rest of our lives (hopefully).
Like the friend that got me into them herself, I like to give away Field Notes to people as gifts. And, lucky for me, the recent Shelterwood edition was conveniently made out of real wood. She’s been using a few of mine recently, and probably eyeing up more, so I bought her a subscription to their limited edition “Colors” series.
Now notebook are cool, and they’ll get used, but eventually she’ll have a bunch of them, and no place to store them. So I bought her this…
Her new storage box fits the Field Notes perfectly, is made of a bunch of different types of wood, and was made by Kingswood Creations (check his page out, he has wonderful stuff). Fits in nicely with our other storage boxes, but the one she now owns puts my storage box on the left to shame. 
She overdid herself. I’m okay with buying gifts, but when I got married I thought I could finally stop worrying and let her buy all the gifts. She’s way better at it than I am.
When we got engaged, I found Monika a 100 year old vintage diamond ring that was bought at an estate sale, was made of platinum, and was beautiful. Later I had a wedding ring made to match the shape of it on her finger, so she could wear them both. On the other hand, I didn’t really care about my own, and ordered a simple titanium ring out of a catalog and wore that for five years.
She decided it was time for an upgrade. She tracked down a gentleman on Etsy (who also does amazing work and is highly recommended) to make a ring for me that actually meant something. It’s a spinner ring made out of a 1930 Irish Florin, which is one of the originally coins minted by Ireland after they declared independence. Conveniently, it is made out of silver.
The translation of the words on the ring are “The Irish Free State.” Obviously I have an Irish heritage, but it means even more. She is Jewish, and both our peoples have suffered genocide, diaspora and discrimination in our histories, and the declaration of a free state signifies victory in both our heritages.
The ring fits perfectly and I love it.
Monika and I have been together for 8 years now, and I know for some that doesn’t seem like too much time, for others, that’s far longer than they’ve ever been together with one person. It’s been a hell of an adventure. In that time, we’ve gone to Canada and Italy and Mexico and The Dominican Republic , we’ve bought a new car (after teaching her how to drive) and a home (which I told her she was just a guest in when we moved here because we were only dating at the time), we’ve both started new careers in entirely new fields, we’ve seen friends married and start families and unfortunately, seen others divorce, we’ve “adopted” three cats, made new friends and lost touch with others, some moved away and others moved back “home”, lost love ones and gained new ones.
Marriage is a hell of a fucking ride. And we’re only five years in. But if I make it another 55 years, I’ll get a diamond of my own!
Back at work this morning after spending the weekend alone. Not really alone. Monika was away, but I still found some friends to hang out with. Sunday was the first day off I’ve had in about a month, and like an idiot, I stopped by work to say hello and ended up working for three hours or so.
The name of Florin is on my mind (and you’ll know why soon). It brings to mind the name Florian, which is a beautiful name, and very close to the name Dorian, which has been on our minds lately. And, it brings to mind this chick.
still hung up on this one. But, this is the original.
Such a simple song.
Okay, so several of my friends question my taste in music. Even battling me for who has the better collection. I guess when you really love music, and talk to other music lovers, it’s bound to happen. I guess we all love what we love. So, eat this!
I’ve decided today is cover day. Maybe if it’s done another way, you’ll learn to enjoy these songs.
Metal and Pop, what a beautiful combination. When I was younger, all I listened to was heavy metal. Metallica, Deicide, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Slayer, you name it. Now I listen to a lot calmer music, and I’ve never lied about loving good old pop music. I think Michael Jackson had something to do with it.
Speaking of my girlfriend, this happened back before the short, hot pixie cut and tattoos.
I had Billy Joel on my mind this morning.
okay, technically this is a cover of a cover (maybe) because Natalie Imbruglia made this song famous, but she stole it herself from someone, I can’t remember who.
I always loved this song, and tried to get my cover band to make it happen. Never happened.
Neither did this one…yet.
This last one is on I think most people would say the original is just fine, but…you know, it’s cover day. I’m allowed to love Pink.
Had a great weekend, complete with garden planting, two debates over the benefits of raising our own chickens, a show over in Philly, drinks with friends and neighbors, a prom, and the usual work/laundry/house cleaning!!
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!! ( a day late)
I love Chvrches, and this is awesome that they covered this song. Hilariously, the video is exactly how they act on stage, so it’s pretty boring. They supplement with a kick ass light show.
Obviously I’ve been on a huge 4AD kick lately, and I was never really into the Mountain Goats when they were on that label for a decade. But, I’ve been really digging this song lately, and the video kicks ass.
I once went to see Damien Rice with my girlfriend because she was into him. I thought it would be a laid back show, but it turned out to be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. It rocked and he sang his ass off, and we were in the front row. I’ve never seen this movie..yet. Maybe soon.
On The Verge of Tears 