holy crimeny, when and where am i??



it is thursday morning, and i did not sleep last night...i got a call from ryan (of my boys serene) at 12:30am while rt & i were watching fists of fury that serene decided to come straight to my apartment after their st. louis show. i thought they were nuts, and i wasn't quite ready for them, but there's no way i'm gonna say no to seeing my boys earlier than later...so i drove rt home around 1:30 and then i ran errands like grocery shopping so the boys would have breakfast stuff in the morning...i decided to just come straight to work once the boys arrived so that i could get out earlier today, and that's what's up...



i miss jesse...jeremy's really superduper nice though...i always get along with drummers anyway...



ryan has hair again...i like him w/ hair...reminds me of when i first saw him back in april of last year when he backed up annie quick @ the abbey pub.



so anyways, what have i been up to...well, let's see...tuesday i worked...after work, i went over to rt's and had my first drum lesson...he basically taught me what all the different pieces were called. my favorites are the tom toms and the floor tom. love that sound...one of my favorite beats is joy division's atmosphere. that's a lot of tom toms, right? i'll have to have rt listen to it...LOVE that beat...



last night, rt & i used some of the free burrito coupons that libor gave me @ chipotle. yummy! then rt gave me driving lessons in the chipotle parking lot. it all started when i drove over that curb...rt won't let me buy a new car until i pass his driving tests...i was doing great...until i drove over another curb...those curbs...they're just a suggestion, right? speaking of buying a new car, rt gave me a quiz tuesday night to determine what kind of car i should buy. right now, we're thinking the subaru imprezza or the VW golf...i want the imprezza...we think it's best that i be in a 4-wheel drive vehicle...



after the driving lesson, we went home and watched fists of fury. bruce lee is so awesome...i can't even describe it...and he's so damn good looking too. i think the only asian actors i like are ones who do that kung fu fighting. like jet li. jackie chan. bruce lee.



so that's bruce lee movie #1. i have 3 more. we're gonna be watching kung fu for some time now, i think. which is fine by me. the dialog in bruce lee's films crack me up. it's so stupid it's great, ya know? i love it!



i hope ryan doesn't sleep all day...

well, i got a call from allstate this morning...they told me what i already knew...my car is totaled...it's official folks...I HAVE TOTALED MY FIRST CAR...i now have to go and pay my last respects and get all my crap out of the car...i'm gonna take photos too so you can see what a honda civic looks like after being attacked by a concrete barrier[ed. note--see photo to the left--inserted this afternoon]...it's not pretty, so be forewarned...



i have so many memories in that car...i bought it right before my best friend from college michelle got married...so many cds played for the first time...like when caleb introduced me to the promise ring...it's where i played my first gang of four cd...and bikini kill...and the stooges...and the ramones (also the last cd ever played in that car)...it's the car in which megan, me and caleb (remotely via walkie talkie) and i became friends on our drive to c-stone...it's the car in which i, drunk, sat in the back seat with jesse sprinkle and found out he'd drummed on the denison track that happened to be playing at that moment...it's the car that took me & megan to milwaukee where i bonded w/ ian...it's where megan & i drove around w/ the windows rolled down, smoking cigarettes and singing along to denison this past summer...and then there were all the countless shows it's taken me to this past year...i'm just sad it never had a chance to make it to see its uncle josh one last time out in new york...



well, i guess i'm gonna have to buy me a new car...rt told me to just take his car w/ the insurance money, but his car is worth so much more than what i'm gonna get...and do i really want a station wagon? my friend brandon would say YES YES YES....but i'm not sure...it is 4 wheel drive (which is why rt wants me to drive it cuz it'll be safer for me)...it does have an INDECK 6 disc CD changer...that's the most tempting thing about it...we'll see...i just need something functional...i'm gonna start taking the train for real...

i know it's a little late to be having this thought, but...i sure as hell hope i got all the details right on that damn poster!



i had a strange-yet-appropriate-to-the-hour-between-2-&-3-a.m.-experience at kinkos...the kinkos dude first gives me this look when i tell him i want the posters on bright yellow cardstock. i'm like, 'what was THAT look for?' (i was a bit cranky, i admit...) and he's like, 'oh, nothing, it's just...do you really want something THAT BRIGHT?!' and i'm like, 'i want people to see it.' mr. kinkoman's like 'oh, they'll see it, alright...' they ended up not having yellow cardstock anyway, so it went on a nice glossy white poster quality paper. i liked the result. it was a bit of a splurge, but it's my boys, ya know, and it's their debut in chicago. that's not the end of the kinkos story though...i guess the dude thought i was a pro at making posters or something, and he comes and shows me these postcards for this business that had like hearts and cupid and the words COLON and CLEANSING on it...i gave him this look, and i was like, 'uh, yeah?' and he's like, 'i just thought you might appreciate it...' i have to say it was a sad looking document...i felt bad because he apparently liked it. i'm sorry, but it used a zapf chancery font...you know, that calligraphy font from the 90's. i hate that font.



anyways...i'm off to disneyland...not...

SERENE ARE COMING TO THE BEAT KITCHEN THIS THURSDAY FEB 6TH!!!! DOORS ARE AT 9PM AND IT'S ONLY $5!!!! are you at all curious who my redheaded giant ryan is? well, he'll be rawkin' out on his guitar and singing w/ the rest of serene this thursday night, and he wants to meet you!!! i love ryan. and matt green, an awesome musician all-round who has the loveliest wife you've ever seen. her name's laurel. she's cool too. and sharp as a tack. she's not on this tour, but i thought i'd mention her cuz megan and i think she's the coolest. then there's erik gust, the other redhead, on bass who makes the 'O' face when he plays. it was hard to get him in focus in most of the photos i took on the little shoot i did outside the shoboat. then there's jesse sprinkle on drums of course, but he won't be on this tour. in his stead will be jeremy who toured w/ damien jurado last fall. he's an excellent drummer, which he has to be to fill jesse's shoes. jesse's still my favorite drummer. look for him to be drumming on the summer demon hunter tour near you. those guys are the best death metal you've never heard. you know they're gonna have good beats w/ jesse drumming...speaking of that photoshoot, ryan told me that paste magazine published this very photo you see up there of serene outside the shoboat in the latest edition of their magazine! i won't believe it until i see it for myself. but if it's true, i'll let you all know so you can go get your own copy of the magazine. or go run out to the borders and buy it anyway. it's a good issue. and it comes w/ a sampler cd that's pretty much worth the money. look for the article on serene. i think it was an interview w/ ryan. this would be my first published photo! we'll see...



i gotta make some posters for that show now...



been listening to james brown and VoL all day. the perfect combo, don't you think? ha ha ha! oh, and i got my package from dischord records...finished my fugazi collection plus some q and not u, the entire minor threat collection, and a nation of ulysseus.

i got to see bill play last night at schubas. it was a good show. good crowd, esp. for a sunday night. i was happy. he did a couple oldies like welcome to struggleville & real down town. it's always fun to hear the old stuff...



OH! and rt came to the show too! i bribed him with promises of free beer. so he got to meet tim & bill & brenda & derek (whom he'd met before when watchers played w/ derek's old band). i wasn't sure how rt would take to bill's music because it's so different from what he normally listens to (punk, jazz, latin, funk, soul...) but he liked it!!! i told him i was bummed the drummer didn't make the tour, but he said bill doesn't need a drummer...he's good on his own...it meant so much to me to share bill's music w/ rt...bill and his songs have been a source of comfort and encouragement this past year...and i really wanted rt to meet bill...



it was a fun show for meeting old friends too. saw kriss marion--her hair's a lovely shade of purple! she is so awesome...also ran into peter and caroline, folks i knew @ the evanston vineyard...then there was good ol' scott p. who i first met at bill's uncommon ground show back in june and who i've run into at various shows over the months. he introduced me to his friend david bruce who is a former vineyardite and a local singer/songwriter. he was taking photos at the show too so we compared notes during the show. afterwards, rt & i were having newcastles (*sigh*...newcastles will ALWAYS remind me of jesse...*sigh*...) at the bar, and scott & david joined us. turns out scott's sister & rt's brother are friends! like how weird is that?! david & i had a good talk about our beefs with the church...it's always cool to run into people who understand where i'm coming from...



so that was last night...i can't wait to see bill this weekend...he said we'll do breakfast...we've been saying that every time we see each other it seems! but we will this time...i love that man so much...i told rt that bill was the one who gave me hope for the male population...oh, it's true...and if you don't know bill's music, what are you waiting for? go here and check it out!