ok, i don't know who turned the heat off, but we're back down to the 40's here in the windy city...i mean, c'mon...we were in the frickin' 80's a couple days ago!



tuesday night was just absolutely gorgeous...we opened the windows in my apartment, even though the one in the living room doesn't have a screen on it, and the breeze was just scrumptious...one of the nice things about being in the attic...you get quite a bit of wind up there...



rt & i went to this bar & grill called the handlebar on north ave & oakley...it's a biker bar, but not the motorcycle kind, the old fashioned muscle powered kind...i really like it...we didn't eat cuz we weren't hungry, but the menu looked pretty good...and they have drink specials every day, including buck fifty PBRs on mondays...our bartender was not really a bartender...he was just a waiter trying to learn how to mix drinks...so i tried to get him to make me a vodka lemonade like johnny's at the flower lounge in seattle, but i must be forgetting some of the ingredients cuz it didn't taste anything like johnny's...while we were sitting at the bar, a crew from cozy's cyclery came by, including ryan, who sold me my bike, and this other dude who built rt's racing bike...i like cyclists...i wanna be one too...john always said he'd make a city biker out of me...



so last night i went to a spirituality discussion group @ the aion teahouse...it was interesting...everybody there came from interesting backgrounds...quite a few musicians too, including the guitar player from life at sea...i realized last night as i listened to everyone else how lazy i've been in questioning things like faith and organized religion etc...i was raised with such a narrow view on all that...well, we'll see where all this leads, if anywhere...



tonight rt & i start brewing beer...it's something to do...and tomorrow i don't work but rt does...



been listening to--

bootlegs galaore

nemesisters--babes in toyland

demo--ticklepenny corner

my year in review--bill mallonee

blood on the tracks--bob dylan

very emergency--the promise ring

the bends--radiohead

happy tax day everybody...



well, it's been a busy several days for me...



friday i made my 2nd big transportational purchase in two months...i bought me a bike...rt & i went to cozy cyclery before dinner & movie cuz they're having their big spring sale...rt helped me pick out a lovely specialized hard something or another mountain bike in shiny blue...we also got road tires for it so i don't have to ride around w/ unneccessarily knobby tires...it's a good bike for the price i paid...someday i am going back to that trail in kettle morraine that kicked my ass two years ago and i'm gonna whup some ass myself...



we got pizza subs & and milk shakes and pickles (great combo, eh?) @ potbellys across the street and then saw old school w/ the beautiful and talented luke wilson and the one and only will farrell...i love luke wilson...



saturday, we went & picked up my bike from cozy's downtown...rt switched out the tires for me right on the sidewalk in front of cozy's...i have to say that bike felt really good when i rode around a little in front of the store...now i just have to get used to carrying it up and down 3 flights of stairs...and i need to find a way to hang it up somewhere in my tiny apartment because it's taken over my entire living room...



so rt & i watched bottlerocket saturday night cuz he'd never seen it...and he didn't like it...i can't believe it! like how could you not like bottlerocket??? granted, i'm a bit biased since this movie has luke wilson in it, but still...sometimes i wonder about that rt...



caleb called me after the movie, and he was all excited after the bill mallonee show he'd put on that night...he told me he & kathy & audrey got to hang w/ bill for a couple hours, and it sounded like a really good time...i just wish i could've been there...someday, caleb will play with bill...i know this for a fact...i was just really happy for caleb...



we went to see ethan spin @ get me high after the movie...it was pretty late...like 1 am i think...but it was really good seeing ethan again...and i love the records that ethan plays...he KNOWS his music...rt really misses playing w/ him...



sunday, my friend brandon from bloomington, indy came into town cuz he was gonna go see tom petty & the heartbreakers @ the vic on monday...brandon has the distinction of having opened up for bill mallonee once, and when i told rt this, he was really impressed cuz he calls bill a superstar who hasn't sold out...i suppose rt's disdain for bottlerocket is excused by his admiration for bill's music...anyways, this was brandon's first time ever in chicago, so rt & i played host...we took him around wicker park a bit, including reckless records, which he loved, and then we went to rt's apartment and jammed for a while...i love playing w/ rt...he gets this mischievous look on his face whenever he plays his drums...then we went downtown to pizzeria due (across the street from uno's)...



while we were waiting to be seated, we were outdoors and noticed that the door to the upstairs of the building (which is like this old mansion) was open, and so we went in and explored...the upper floors were totally empty rooms...really dirty...but really cool...there was an unusable bathroom w/ all the old plumbing, including my dream clawfoot tub...and it looked like there was someone squatting in one of the rooms...it was kind of creepy but really neat to poke around in the dark into all the old rooms...



sunday night, i showed brandon the wilco documentary (i am trying to break your heart)...he doesn't know wilco's music too well, so it was a good intro...rt is not very fond of jeff tweedy and made comments throughout the movie, but he had to admit that glenn kotche is a tight drummer...i have to say that i could probably watch this dvd over and over and over again...i just won't do it when rt's around...



i took monday off from work to show brandon around town...it was perfect...like 80 degrees and sunny...rt & i ran out to the red hen bakery in the morning and bought bagels and muffins and pastries and this awesome multi-grain bread...we cut up some fresh grapefruit & oranges, and rt made this scrambled egg & veggies dish...it was like a bed & breakfast meal, which is what rt & i wanted to do for brandon, since he was our guest, and it was his first time in chicago and all...after breakfast, we went downtown to the adler planeterium...there's a scene in the wilco movie that was shot there, and we took brandon to see it...then we went into the planeterium, and when rt asked the guard if our friend erin was working, he got us 3 free passes so we could go find her...we did see erin, and she was so happy we visited...we goofed around a bit looking at the exhibits, and then we headed over to strange cargo to see if they had this pair of pumas i'm looking for...then we went to schubas for dinner where i had my favorite waitress shama who served us when i was w/ jesse & ryan & greg glover & tim & derek...we dropped off brandon @ the vic for his show, and we were exhausted...



i'm still exhausted...



brandon gave me a bunch of bootlegs that i can't wait to hear...one of them is the outta print outtasite one for wilco...i was listening to it on the way to work, and there are some doozies on it...jeff does a cover of my favorite big star song thirteen, which denison witmer does a cover of on his live album...i so love that song...there's also a version of james alley blues and brian wilson's love & mercy...brandon also gave me some emmylou, lucinda williams & VoL...lots and lots of great live music...

something i read this morning.



it's sunny...it's above freezing...the snow is melting...dare i say spring has come to chicago?



'forget him not, still he loves you

life is short, but love's eternal...'

--from ghost of david by damien jurado



music:

ghost of david--damien jurado

a rush of blood to the head--coldplay

XO--elliott smith

quiet is the new loud--kings of convenience

i feel much better now...not the same...but still, better than i have been the past few days...we've changed keys, but now that i know what key we're in, i feel more in tune...



time will tell...

one of my alltime favorite local bands zapruder point now has its own website. about time! they're playing the beat kitchen on 4/23. i'll probably be there. this is the outfit with 2-string guitar dan the man. highly recommended...



i wonder if i stare at the guitar tabs for sunken treasure for my entire lunch hour whether i'll be able to play it when i get home...i am so out of tune with you...yes...that's how i feel...