Nate Graham

Devastation in Paoli

2010-04-16T11:43:00.002-04:00

As a musician, I do plenty of traveling to areas of varying degrees of safety during all types of weather. I've parked in fields, on shady city blocks, and in suburban parking lots. I've driven through sunshine, blinding snow, and steady rain. But it was while parked, on a beautiful March day, in a hospital parking lot, that I experienced the worst accident of my life.

It's a tough living as a musician, and I often stop in to help my parents at their office while I'm in Pennsylvania to make a few extra bucks. On March 18, I ended up following my Mother's car to my Father's doctor office. For that reason we ended up parking next to each other; my Subaru wagon to the right of her Chevy Tahoe.

I was doing some exciting office work when at 3:30 I my Father say to my Mom, "was Nate's car parked next to the Tahoe?". I heard another man, who ended up being a security guard say, "it was blue. They were both involved." I jumped up and ran out the door. On the way out I was sure I had been caught in a hit and run accident. Some one had hit my car door or maybe ran into my bumper and had fled the scene. Security had surely seen the accident but were unable to stop the vehicle. What shitty luck! But I wasn't even close.

When I got to the parking lot, the sight of my car was blocked by several trees and an ambulance that was sitting in the middle of the road. As I ran up, the ambulance started to back up towards me. As the ambulance passed, I came upon the wreckage. A BMW sedan was sitting with it's front end like an accordion, lodged against the right rear tire of my Subaru. The impact had crushed the entire back end of my car, and pushed it to the left into my Father's Tahoe. The impact had then pushed both parked cars an entire parking space, while putting the front end of the Tahoe up onto the curb.

I stood there in shock, and finally heard my car alarm blaring. I took my keys from my pocket, and like a scene out of a bad movie, disengaged my now crumpled car's alarm system. Then it hit me... my piano was in the car.

I was home for a gig, and my piano was heavy, so it got left in my car. This wasn't unusual. It was at no risk of breaking in my trunk. It's frame was mostly sturdy plywood, and weighed some 70+ pounds. And I never feared theft. Who would want to move the monster? But I never considered a car accident.

On final assessment of the piano, it appeared that the keys, which would facing the impact side of the car, took most of the hit through the wheel well it was up against on a single low octave of keys. Several of the keys were popped up, but none were cracked. The piano was then forced into other metal stands in my car, which dented thin metal backing of the piano. This forced several of the corner joints to break off with or without screws still in place. The final coup-de-grace, however, was that when the back was dented in, the impact broke the main circuit board in half. Any cosmetic repair was therefore useless, because the keyboarded had lost it brain.

Turns out there was a single 60-year old lady in the BMW, and fortunately no one in my family's cars. I met her husband, who claimed that his wife lost control of the car, perhaps a result of weakness she was experiencing in her arm at the time, and then couldn't brake the car in time. In the process she totaled all 3 cars and 1 piano. A day later, we put together that she was, in fact, late for an appointment with my father for that very arm weakness. She was running late to the appointment, and was flying through the crowded parking lot. When she came to the end of the first row, she went to turn down the next column of cars, and didn't make the turn while moving way too fast. She broke her jaw from the impact with her air bag, and was taken by ambulance 100 yards to the Emergency Room at Paoli Hospital.

This was a truly life-halting experiencing. When a traveling musician loses his ability to travel, and his ability to make music, life basically stops. And I am happy to announce that I now have a new car, and a new piano. But that one simple accident cost me countless hours of work. The moral of the story: Sometimes it's best to just be late.

Safe driving!

Phillies 2009

2009-11-05T02:22:00.002-05:00

Sports... what can I say, I enjoy them. As I write currently, I am dealing with the de-throning of the Phillies as World Series Champs. I might live in Brooklyn, but I will always be a Philly sports fan. The Yankees beat the Phillies in one of the best series baseball has seen in years. In my opinion, the best series since the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 7 games in the ALCS a few years back.

Each game had a new hero. Cliff Lee had 2 masterful World Series games, both of which were capped off by 2 Chase Utley home runs (who in the process tied Reggie Jackson for most home runs in the World Series with 5). A.J. Burnett's game 2 appearance was equally masterful as he totally shut down Philadelphia. Jayson Werth had his 2nd 2-home run game of the post season. Johnny Damon single-handedly created the 9th inning momentum the Yankees needed to pull out a win in Game 4. Mariano Rivera beat Whitey Ford as the pitcher with the most post season and World Series appearances. And finally Hideki Matsui played the game of his life with 6 RBI's and nearly a complete hitting cycle to dominate the Phillies and clinch the World Series in Game 6.

And for me, watching the World Series in "enemy territory" has been interesting to say the least. I try to keep a low profile (unlike many of my Philly friends), but I must say that all the fans I've encountered have been very cordial despite finding out that I'm a Phillies fan. New Yorkers seem to respect the Phillies for their accomplishments and have enjoyed the fight. In many respects, I think their win is that much sweeter having to fight the reigning Champs.

But as I say "fight the reigning Champs", it also occurs to me that sports is really all fight and very little reigning. They say that to the victor go the spoils, but in this situation there are few spoils. Really, just a trophy, a few rings, and some bragging rights. This isn't a Roman conquest. New York does not get to pillage and loot the streets of Philadelphia just for winning the series (though that would be an interesting twist on the whole thing...). There is no real difference in money considering all of the players are already millionaires and any bonus they might receive is pocket change to them. And yet athletes go out year after year just to win that trophy. Just to say they are the best for a year (or 4 years in the case of the olympics... which are coming up this winter by the way).

I enjoy competition, and I enjoyed this series because it was so even. The drama of real, unscripted, fair and passionate play is never dull. Every game has the chance of being record breaking. Every moment can bring a never-before-seen anomaly to the game. And as baseball ends, I look to football to fill the void. I think the 6-2 Eagles will do nicely!

My Apologies to October

2009-10-30T06:16:00.000-04:00

Dear October,

You have come and gone, and I didn't write a single blog during your month. And while I know that this letter to you is dated in October, we both know the truth. It wasn't. I have set the date back so that you won't feel so left out. It's a small offering for forgiveness, but I know that the damage is done. I hope that in time we can mend our relationship. It would really be a shame to see you leave my calender. Just wouldn't be the same.

My apologies October. It was nothing personal.

Sincerely,
Nate

"No Footing" - Film Interview

2009-09-30T21:20:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, friend/writer/director Mike Licisyn has been working for the past 3 years on a film inspired by my song "No Footing". The film is aptly titled, "No Footing", and is in the last stages of post-production. The film is scheduled to come out this fall/winter, but in the meantime, to keep the buzz going Mike has been conducting video blog interviews.

I recently had the chance to sit down with Mike to discuss the origins of my song "No Footing", and it's impact on his film, as well as the interplay between film and music. Edited into this short interview are also scenes from the unreleased film! Have a look at it and let me know what you think! But be nice, it's my first ever filmed "interview". Which by the way, is a very surreal experience... talking and trying to keep it natural while doing an informative interview for an audience that doesn't exist. There's a first everything though. Take a look:

Road Music

2009-08-19T18:14:00.006-04:00

THE QUESTION:

This summer I've spent a lot of time in the car. Whether it be a trip to or from Brooklyn for a gig, a journey with my family to a vacation spot, or long days spent repeatedly covering the same stretch of road while helping a friend (or brother, or me) move apartments, I have had many opportunities to sit in my car. Often in traffic (boo to NYC).

All these car rides have provided me with ample time to go through my entire digitized music catalogue (you would think 11.2 days of music would last longer... and no, that's not my entire music collection). And yet, I don't find myself trying to listen to every song I own. Instead, I find myself drawn to a particular group of artists and albums. This comprises my "road music".

So what do you listen to? Is there a common ingredient in all of the music? Do your "road music" selections stand the test of time... meaning, do you listen to them on trips for years, or are they in one summer and out the next? Albums or mix-tapes? Is it all, music?

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THOUGHTS AND FINDINGS:

- I like rock music with a good beat. It has to be driving, but not too fast. I want to be able to dance, but I don't want to tire myself out before my car ride is over.

- I like songs I already know that I can sing along to. Every time I get in the car with the intention of listening to a new album on a long car ride, I become very burdened by trying to learn the music, and in doing so, I quickly become too tired to drive. Perhaps I listen to my music a bit too closely? perhaps.

- My music selections tend to stand the test of time. There will always be those tracks that slip into the mix because you're just really into (enter any marginally interesting artist name here) this month, but they won't be there for the trip next summer. I have some old favorites that will always feel like a car ride to me. Many are songs that my parents played in the car when I was little. And when I hear many of those songs, it doesn't matter where I am, I instantly feel like I'm driving in my Dad's old Nissan Stanza, or my Mom's big station wagon with the"way back" seats.

- I tend to listen to complete albums. I personally feel that an album is a work of art. It should flow, and it should draw me in. When I find albums like that, I tend to listen to them inside out, making them prime road trip material. BUT, this summer is my first summer with an ipod (don't be so shocked), and I found out that I love listening to my music in alphabetic order by song title. It is so much better than the "random" setting, because "random" isn't actually "random", so you do get repeats. Plus, I like some sort of order, and this provides order while still blowing my mind with interesting song orders (like Radiohead, into Ray Lamontagne, into Yeah Yeah Yeahs, into Chopin Nocturnes, into David Cross comedy, finished up with Oscar Peterson doing West Side Story). Not a standard mix-tape.

- Recently I've discovered that non-music listening can be really nice on long trips. My friend told me that his Mom always listens to books on tape. I know my Dad will often listen to NPR shows on his way to work. But I was never into that until I started gathering more stand up comedy recordings. Now, I love listening to stand up! This is especially true after a gig when I've been singing or talking all night and I don't want to sing along to any of my favorite music. I just want some one to talk to me and make me laugh.

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PERSONAL EXAMPLES:

So what do I like?.... Artist (Album).... in no particular order

- Bonnie Raitt (Give It Up Or Let Me Go)

- The Beatles (Revolver / Abbey Road)

- Mates of State (Team Boo)

- David Cross (Shut Up You Fucking Baby / It's Not Funny)

- Elvis Costello (My Aim Is True / This Year's Model / Get Happy)

- Radiohead (OK Computer)

- The Band and Bob Dylan (Planet Waves / Before The Flood)

- Dave Chappelle (For What It's Worth)

- Chicago (Chicago Transit Authority / Chicago 2)

- Randy Newman (Box Set, Discs 1-3)

- Stevie Wonder (Innervisions / Signed, Sealed and Delivered / Talking Book)

- Jim Gaffigan (Beyond The Pale)

- Keith Jarrett (Facing You)

- John Scofield with Medeski, Martin and Wood (A Go Go)

- James Taylor (just about all of it haha)

- Counting Crows (Recovering The Satellites)

- Lewis Black (again, all of it haha, he's hilarious)

Of course it's not all on this list, but it's a start. What do you like?

Nate on the Radio

2009-07-27T19:21:00.003-04:00

Last week I officially made my live radio debut... though not as Nate Graham, but instead as a member of the Bill O'Meara Band. Bill and I go way back, having performed in many bands together, including our Bon Jovi opener appearance with Dirty Blue, and Bill is always quick to add me to any big show.

The appearance was on Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia. We were to arrive at the station at 2:30, set up, sound check, and play at 5:00. Their estimated audience at rush hour on a Friday afternoon is approx. 100,000 people. I know that many of you were listening because my phone exploded with texts after the show. (thanks by the way).

Inside the studio was interesting. Lots of people walking around dressed up "cool" professional. Because they need to look like they belong in the work place, and simultaneously need to be ready to rock out at any moment. Lots of overly stylish T-Shirts, a few of those communist looking green hats (worn slightly askew of course), and plenty of "cool guy" talk.

And did I mention that almost every door into the place locked behind you? There were several doors requiring a security card for entrance. This was extremely, extremely annoying for load in and load out. What could be more frustrating than coming in for another load of gear, only to have to wait for some one to conveniently go through the door and open it for you.

But my favorite thing about the experience was the green room. Who doesn't love an unending supply of peanut chews, mike & ikes, and 5 different energy drinks? I was seriously sick on peanut chews by the end of the day. mmmm, peanut chews.

All in all a great time. Check out the videos:

Passing Time -

All These Things I Have Done -

Music in the Park

2009-07-18T10:32:00.005-04:00

I had heard people talk about the free summer music series in NYC, but didn't know much about it. Lucky for me, I found out just in time that the New York Philharmonic was playing in Central Park last night.

I attended the 8pm concert, and got there early as suggested by a friend (around 7). He told me he had friends arriving as early as 6, but I thought, certainly I don't need to be there that early. As I walked through the park, I was excited by the stream of people in front of and behind me. Perhaps my friend was right.

When I got to the concert grounds (held on the Great Lawn), I was amazed how many people were already there! A sea of people sitting on blankets, eating cheese and nuts and cherries, and drinking wine and champagne. My party of three found a little piece of grass big enough for sitting, and we ate the sandwiches we brought.

Looking around, people were laughing and talking. There were frequent scenes of people standing up from their picnic with phone to ear, looking around, waving arms, red umbrellas, and hats, and giving a look of exuberance when they spotted their approaching friend. A man in relaxed work attire played kickball with his two little kids on the baseball infield behind me (left empty temporarily because know one wanted to sit on the dirt.... though it too would be packed by 8). Two woman sat leisurely gossiping with a bottle of wine until one of their husbands arrived. The parties on either side were massive: at least 5 blankets large. To one side a family get together, to the other a mass of friends in their 20s.

There was a buzz in the field. Even the police officers were laughing and telling stories as they enjoyed the pretzels and drinks from a nearby vendor. And off in the distance I could see the stage beginning to fill up with instrumentalists. The mood was light, but the sky was growing heavy.

At just past 8, a voice came over the speakers and announced the orchestra. They introduced conductor Alan Gilbert, who will become the 25th conductor of the New York Philharmonic this September (and interestingly, the 1st native New Yorker to hold that position). And the concert began.

First on the program was Aaron Copland's Old American Songs. The piece was light and engaging. A fine opener on a humid summer night. Baritone Nathan Gunn delivered a beautiful performance. But what was really noteworthy was the audience. I am a poor estimator of crowd size, but there were certainly thousands of people in the park for the performance. What was truly moving to me, was how quiet everyone got when the music started.

A whole sea of people, silent so they could enjoy the music. Many of these were people who might never attend an orchestral concert normally. But still, they sat and enjoyed the show from the first note, through to the first lightning. A nice reminder of the power of music.

But yes, I said lightning. Following the Copland, there was a short break and then Mahler's 1st symphony. It followed nicely after the Copland, and just when they had the audience relaxed and perhaps even fading off, a cymbal crash and an attack of brass brought you back to attention.

The piece was going beautifully when a flash of heat lightning appeared. And soon, another. Finally the orchestra stopped and announced they were going to assess the situation. As we stood, another flash came and rain started to form. We turned to leave and the voice came on saying the program would be concluded early and there would be no fireworks. We made it part way out of the park before the rain started. By the time we reached the east 86th street subway stop we were all soaked. It was excellent.

Summer In The City

2009-07-17T13:37:00.002-04:00

It's 9:00 a.m., and I'm walking down 4th Ave. in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. I'm barely awake. I am walking the couple blocks back to my apartment, after moving my car for street sweeping (a new daily activity in my life). It's 9:00 a.m. and I'm already sweating. Tar on the streets has already begun to boil. I can't tell what the temperature is, but I know I'm sticking to myself.

I'm thinking about the week prior to my first night in Brooklyn. I was in upstate NY, on the St. Lawrence River, on vacation with my family. It's far enough north that the nights are still cool, yet warm enough during the day for jumping in the mighty river. And there are plenty of trees for shade. The whole experience is refreshing. I want to go swimming right now.

There are kids shooting basketballs at the school across from my apartment. Perhaps they couldn't sleep either. I haven't been up before 9:00 in months, yet today I woke without the help of my alarm. A mixture of car horns, truck brakes, and sweat forced me awake. I like sleeping with my windows open in the summer, but the noise outside becomes almost as unbearable as the heat inside with the windows closed.

As I reflect, I suddenly understand the words to the song:

"Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head"

I get it now. Well put Mr. Sebastian. I walk inside my apartment. I'm up and might as well start my work. Maybe I can write one as good as John.

A Brief History of Turkeys in Music

2009-06-23T02:59:00.006-04:00

Just wanted to inform everyone that I am now the proud owner of a turkey caller. What is a turkey caller? Well, it's what you use to call Turkeys while hunting, or, the instrument used to achieve needed Turkey gobbles on a sweet track.

Most are familiar with the most popular genre using Turkey sounds: Gobble Rock. But the use of Turkey calls in songs goes back many centuries. There is proof dating back to the 1700s that Turkey calls were being used in songs of the day, as well as church music. In fact, Ben Franklin, who had fought to have the Turkey be the National Bird instead of the Bald Eagle, wrote several duets for glass harmonica and turkey soloist. Franklin also helped to organize the first all-Turkey choir (though his involvement was kept secret due to an affair with the lead soprano).

And it was during the Civil War that one of the greatest American Turkey composers was actively writing. Gob L. Stuffington penned such songs as "Dixie", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and "Goober Peas" (originally titled "Gobbler Peas"). His music motivated soldiers while recording the history of important battles. But Stuffington never received a single writing credit for his work due to strict copyright law of the day, which unfortunately did not acknowledge Turkeys. In 1865, after his slip into poverty, Stuffington was mistakenly killed and eaten by soldiers returning home from the war.

The next great Turkey musician in history was found quite by mistake. In early 1950, a Memphis record producer was passing through a small nearby town when he heard the sweet sounds of "Turkey in the Straw". He followed the sound and came upon a young Turkey named Elvis Giblet, who was indeed stuck in a hay stack. Giblet would pen one of the most famous songs of the decade, "You Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog", which was a true story about a dog he'd known on the farm. Unfortunately, his recording was deemed "too squawky", so they gave the song to another rising star in Sun Studios. Giblet returned to the farm and with his brother, opened the shoe-mending shop Gobbling Cobblers. After several years of struggle, due to the their inability to hold a hammer, the brothers fell victim to a gruesome killing, declared by a judge and jury as a "hunting accident".

In more recent years, the small steps Turkeys had made as a result of Giblet's successes were all but wiped out. Advancements in Turkey sampling technology (i.e. Turkey callers) significantly hurt the market for live touring Turkey performers. And unfortunately, in a business where money speaks, and a government where Turkeys have no real rights, Turkeys have gotten the chopping block. To make matters worse, yearly efforts to unionize are silenced and hung up to dry each year during meetings in early November.

But even though I know I'm making the problem worse for Turkeys, please know that I bought my Turkey caller at a silent auction raising money to fight breast cancer. It really is a beautiful piece. Amish hand-made! So stayed tuned for some Nate originals with Turkey Caller.

Spelling Bees and Rodeos

2009-05-31T04:19:00.004-04:00

Last week I found myself up in the middle of the night while at my parent's house in PA. This is not unusual. It got to be 5 a.m., and as usual, ESPN started showing a rodeo. I will be honest and report that I've seen enough 5 a.m. rodeo programs that I actually know a few of the big name rodeo cowboys by name.

It occurred to me while watching the rodeo that these cowboys have dedicated their lives to a very elemental sport. Can you ride a bull for 8 seconds? It's a past time that I can imagine being practiced for centuries, if not millennia. It's a "king of the hill" mentality. A practice of brute strength combined with talent gained through experience. Man showing his power over animal. Great and all, but not particularly useful in today's service sector job extravaganza.

But then, I channel surfed, and came across another "unusual" sport to find on ESPN: the national spelling bee. This is right up there with the Scrabble championship. These are middle school kids (6th-8th grade) who have an unnatural memory/understanding of the english language. It's very entertaining to watch 12 and 13 year-olds spell words correctly that I have a hard time even pronouncing.

But okay, they can spell all those words that I can't. So what? Isn't that what the dictionary is for? As my 6th geography teacher said, "I don't care if you have all the state capitals memorized, because I have a map." English is a language that man created. It allows us to communicate, and complex communication has allowed man to prosper, yada yada yada.

But what if English didn't exist anymore? What if language didn't exist? Suddenly, memorizing the dictionary, while still impressive, is not useful at all. But, having a rodeo cowboy nearby would become hugely important.

Since September 11, 2001 I've been reading book reviews and news articles hypothesizing the end of the American Empire. In the past year, those war time reports have been followed by economic statistics. People losing money, losing their savings, losing their jobs, losing their ability to take care of themselves. Many people believe that Americans have outsourced their own ability to find work. The middle-management jobs are disappearing, but the low level labor jobs have been gone for quite some time.

And even if those jobs were still in the country, do we still have workers equipped with the knowledge of how to do fundamental trade work? A report I heard while in college claimed that all (100%) of mandatory shop class training has been done away with in high schools. It was certainly true in my high school. I didn't have to take a single shop class in high school.

As a musician, I will always be a supporter of music and art programs in high schools. I see them get cut back each year as high schools strive for higher and higher test scores in math, english, and science (as if that is all life is about!), but I too have been blind to the disappearance of shop class. How many people have designed and built a cabinet out of wood? Can measure and cut lumber to size? Really know how to hammer a nail? None of it is rocket science. We've all done more complicated work in the chemistry lab. And yet, most people would be hard pressed to complete the task.

So what are we all doing? What are we all working towards? How do you build a house? I sometimes downplay my composition and piano training, but my brother's response is always, "yeah, but at least you have a skill".

Do you have a skill? Do you think it matters? Maybe this is all just a lot of hot air....

Breakfast Ice Cream

2009-05-25T05:23:00.002-04:00

Situation:
It's breakfast time,... but you want ice cream. So what flavor do you choose?

Seriously, take a minute to think and respond, because I'm really curious. After all, summer is quickly approaching, and this will become an issue.

If you're like me, this question is hard to answer. What ice cream flavor truly has the ingredients, or at least flavors, of a good breakfast food, while remaining cool and refreshing? I have already blogged about my experience with corn ice cream, which successfully combined the goodness of corn with the comfort of ice cream, but corn is not a traditional breakfast food. I also enjoy green tea ice cream, and heard about sweat potato ice cream. But again, neither are traditional breakfast foods.

With no good answer to the question at hand, I am forced to call upon our ice cream manufacturers to fill this need! And to help them, I have a few ideas:

~ Granola Ice Cream - This would be a vanilla or strawberry based ice cream, with bits of granola for a breakfasty crunch. Comparable to putting granola in yogurt.

~ Oatmeal and Raisins w/Brown Sugar Ice Cream - This would start with a vanilla ice cream that had soft oatmeal mixed in throughout. This base would be comparable to tapioca or rice pudding. Then, there would be the addition of veins of gooey brown sugar with raisins.

~ Belgian Waffle Ice Cream - The combination of waffles and ice cream already exists, but I have yet to find the combination in a single tub of ice cream. We have achieved Birthday Cake and Cheese Cake Ice Cream, so I think it's time we stop ignoring the waffle.

~ French Toast Ice Cream - Much like the Waffle, there is no reason French Toast cannot be added to ice cream in the same way we have with Birthday Cake.

~ Orange Juice Ice Cream - There are already many fruit based ice creams that stand fine on their own, but orange seldom gets solo billing. In my experience, there is only the combo of orange and cream, or the very different orange sherbet/sorbet. This ice cream would instead be a singularly orange flavor, with the tang that orange juice offers. It would also have orange pulp throughout in the same way we get strawberries in strawberry ice cream.

That's all for now folks, but let me know if you have any other good ideas. The need for Breakfast Ice Cream needs to be addressed. Share your thoughts...

Vanity Plate: it's the law!

2009-05-22T04:32:00.004-04:00

I spend a lot of time on the road traveling to and from gigs, and on my way back to NYC last weekend I saw an excellent vanity plate that made me laugh. The brief laughter shook me out of my weary state. I suddenly felt a connection to the car driving in front of me, and felt a little better about life overall. And all because of a vanity plate! Which brings me to my proposition...

It should be the law that everyone MUST have a vanity plate on their car. Now to avoid confusion, lets let Wikipedia define the term...

Vanity Plate: "a special type of vehicle registration plate on an automobile or other vehicle. The owner of the vehicle will have paid extra money to have his or her own choice of numbers or letters, usually forming a recognisable phrase, slogan, or initialism on their plate."

There are many advantages to vanity plates.
1. They give information about the car owner
2. They often make the reader laugh, lifting morale and decreasing road rage
3. They make remembering your license plate number so much easier when you're trying to fill out a registration form for your car. (No more walking the form out to you car to write the 7 digits down! Time saver)

The major advantage is the laughter. Imagine you are driving on a long car ride. It's a 10 hour ride and you're getting bored. Now imagine you have the option of reading lots of funny vanity plates! Much better right?

"Oh but wait, I don't get that one. Hmmm, I wonder what GURUGLY means? OH WAIT! Gee You're Ugly. HAHAHA. That's so funny!"

See? The whole drive is better now. It's a win - win situation.

But there is one catch. They have to be creative. Creativity can be achieved in a few ways:
1. Simple word play, ex. - IH8MYX (I Hate My Ex)
2. In context with the attached car, ex. - BAA BAA - written on a Black Jeep (Baa Baa Black Jeep)
3. As an inside joke/piece of information about the driver, ex. - 10R SAX - for a Tenor Sax player

If you have a lame license plate, you can be pulled over and fined. This will need to be heavily enforced to keep up creativity. And I'm ok with that.

So lets make the change. Contact your elected officials and tell them that you demand vanity plates!

Here are some others I liked:
1000101 - Binary code translating to "69"
2BENVD - To Be Envied
2PCME - To pee, see me - as seen on a Urologist's plate
4XX 4XY - Four girls and four boys - written on a van
F U IRS - this is pretty self explanatory

Check out some other great Vanity Plate Examples

What would your vanity plate say?

If My Beard Was An Animal

2009-05-14T04:04:00.003-04:00

The question came up recently, if my beard was an animal, how long would it survive?

My first response was, not long. I mean, lets be serious, my beard isn't wild like a wolf. It's not large and in charge like a bear. It's not small and speedy like a squirrel. And it's not even full of style like a striped skunk. It has no niche for survival!

But then I think, well maybe it would live for a little while. Being rather generic, yet fairly well kept, it might just fade in to the background. Might just blend in. The leaf-bug of beards. No, more like the less interesting twig-bug of beards. Or, is there a bark mimicking insect?

I imagine my beard would be a rather tame herbivore. It doesn't have quite the spunk to kill. Though perhaps it could scavenge. Hard to say. I suppose it would do whatever necessary to survive. What it lacks in size, speed, and ferocity it would make up in cleverness. That's for sure.

How would your facial hair survive if it was an animal?

"How I Got Into College"

2009-05-13T04:58:00.006-04:00

Many people ask me what I do when I stay up so late. Well, two nights ago, I stayed up to watch a stunning film: "How I Got Into College".

It was awful. So so awful. Really, truly bad. And even after adjusting the scale to account for the fact that it is a high school movie (think American Pie 3.... no, think that American Pie Band Camp movie that went direct to DVD), and the fact that it was made in the 80's (1989 to be exact), it is still bad!

This movie had it all... it had the stereotyped characters (the old dean, the brown noser who wants to become dean, and the "cool" guy who actually attends to the students, a dorky high school boy, a beautiful high school girl, etc.). It had dream sequences (the dorky main character often daydreams while doing math word problems... these were almost funny). It had the classic story line where the dorky boy somehow gets the beautiful girl. And all in only 86 minutes! But I guess you should expect a short movie when all the necessary scenes that move the plot forward are left out!

So why am I talking about this movie? Well, because it opened my eyes! I spend so much time taking in good movies, good music, and good books, that sometimes I forget what makes it all so, "good". I forget that it's not easy to write a seamless story line, or write a perfect song. But when you see a film that uses every cheap trick for every low brow laugh (and does it badly!) and can't even put together a cohesive story without major holes (like how did the dorky guy and beautiful girl go from strangers to love interests after only briefly talking twice?!), you appreciate the classic movies you usually watch.

Basically, the greats make it look easy. And this film reminded me how hard it is. It also reminded me that I have to keep working because there is always hope. I mean seriously, if this film could get made, released, and rerun on TV 20 years later, then I could write an oscar winner. Seriously. It was that bad.

Have you seen any terrible movies lately?

What Do You Have To Say?

2009-05-06T03:10:00.004-04:00

Last Friday I went to see my friend Justin Storer perform at Caffe Vivaldi in the Village. After his set, I was sitting at the bar and started talking with a few hilarious (and drunk) english guys. One was named Rory.

Rory asked me what I do, and I said that I am a musician, composer, singer-songwriter. He was diggin' the music scene at Caffe Vivaldi (though he clearly came in for the booze), and he said, "that's cool man, so what do you have to say?" I didn't understand his question and asked what he meant. He said, "Well if you're writing songs and lyrics, you must have something to say. So what do you have to say?"

He could tell I was a bit stunned by the question, and quickly apologized for "sounding like a cock". He explained that he works in marketing and advertising, and that anything you try to sell has to "have something to say". He also reminded me that he's quite drunk. Then he told me he'd give me a minute to think about it. When I started to speak, he stopped me and said, "no no, I'll give you a full minute, and I suggest you take it". So I shut my mouth.

It was a tough question. I wasn't put off by it at all, but certainly taken aback. What did I have to say? What do I sing about?

The question reminded me of a talk I had with a friend about writers. I had just finished a novel and was talking to my friend (who is much better read than I... and soon to have his masters in English Lit.) about the themes of the book. As we spoke, he made the comment that all great authors have only 2 or 3 themes, if even that many, that form the foundation of all of their work. Basically, each novel is a rehashing of the same beliefs or struggles told through different characters. Then, we all remember the greatest of their work and let the rest fade away. It was quite a statement, but as we talked, I became a believer.

I think the same is true of songwriters. There is a certain personality and message that comes from those "great" artists. But while all this theorizing was great, it didn't help me answer Rory's question. I mean, how many times do you think about what you have to say?

After more than a minute of thinking, I gave Rory my answer. I told him that my songs tend to be about finding personal fulfillment (whether it be returning home and being with friends, or following my dreams), or else they are just stories for the sake of a story! I don't deal with a lot of personal depression, religious turmoil, or political fire (at least not in a way that has become a major theme).

Rory liked my answer, but again he was quite drunk (did I mention that?). But tell me, what do you have to say?

Living in Harmony

2009-04-28T04:04:00.003-04:00

Since my move to NYC last September, I have many friends and family members ask me, "so how do you like NY?" My first instinct is to respond with, "it's great!", because that's what they expect to hear. But then I decide that a little honesty is nice, so I tell them, "it's been really exciting and very overwhelming all at the same time". And that is totally true. But recently, I found my own answer starting to get cliche.

In an attempt to further cut away the fat or vagueness of that answer, I recently gave the question more thought. How do I like NY?

This process led me to a revelation. What I've learned living in NYC is that you have to go with the flow. You can't fight New York City. The place will eat you alive if you try to. You can't get angry that the subway left without you, or that you're stuck in 30 minutes of traffic trying to get over the GW bridge, or that you just paid $7 for a beer you could get a six-pack of for the same price at the grocery store. Life works a certain way here, and it's best to take a deep breath, take your time, and enjoy the ride. And to be sure, planning ahead helps a lot too!

But the same holds true for living anywhere. You cant fight your environment, because your environment will always win. You have to work with it.....

... maybe I'll write more later. I'm tired now.

Pigs Are Taking Over The Earth!

2009-04-27T04:24:00.002-04:00

Recently, I have seen a dramatic increase in the frequency of pigs in the news. And by news, I mean on TV. And by dramatic increase in frequency, I mean from 0 to 3. But still! You can't deny the increase. Lets look at the data:

- That commercial with the 2 pigs eating dinner, and the one is eating pork or something. I forget what the commercial is actually for, and though strange (and possibly cannibalistic), the pig commercial isn't that startling on it's own. So I got it out of the way first

- The Discovery Channel show about life without humans says that if people were to disappear right now, 200 years later there would be 10's of millions of pigs! They would over-run the Earth! They say so in the commercial. I admit, I haven't actually seen the show.

- Swine Flu! It's in America my friends. We all know it's killed some 80 people in Mexico and left hundreds of others sick. But, it's in the U.S. now too! According to the news radio I was listening to yesterday afternoon, there are 4 states with positively identified swine flu, which includes 4 cases in NYC! And although they claim the virus is some mix of avian flu, swine flu, and human flu, I still blame the pigs.

All in all, it adds up to a giant swine conspiracy. They are tired of being treated... like pigs. I think it is very clear what they intend... they will kills us with their swine flu, reproduce like rabbits to become the largest species, and then slowly evolve into "cultured", but cannibalistic, human-like beings!

This is a true emergency. Any ideas for how we can beat back the swine attacks?

Hemingway - Bass Master

2009-04-24T03:48:00.004-04:00

I was at the book store today, thinking about buying another Ernest Hemingway novel. I've already read three (Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls), and I really enjoyed them all.

I looked at the shelf full of Hemingway novels and short stories searching for the right book to buy. As I perused the titles, I noticed some non-fiction... Hemingway's Book On Writing. It was fairly thin, I mean, considering how he "changed the course of 20th Century Literature", as the back jacket read. But then I noticed another book.... Hemingway's Book On Fishing. It was at least twice as thick!

So tell me, did Hemingway have a secret life as a bass master?!

I truly almost bought the Book On Fishing.

One Finger: Bringing Down The Whole Hand

2009-04-23T05:31:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I had the joy of performing a show in Pennsylvania with my New York City based band. It was a great night with a very appreciative crowd. But the whole night was almost ruined by a hurt finger!

I have a very very bad habit of biting my fingernails. Once in a long while I will bite my nails until my finger is infected. I know, totally gross. That is exactly what happened to the ring finger on my left hand last week.

As the right side of my finger got more and more swollen, it also grew more and more sensitive. By Saturday, it was basically useless, and made left-hand glissandos nearly impossible. While preparing before the show, two thoughts occurred to me: 1. how thankful I was to have had the experience playing that piano recital with a broken left ring finger in 7th grade (I broke it playing football, and played The Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin), and 2. how lucky I was that the infected finger was not on my right-hand. If it had been, I would have had to drastically change my playing to account for it, and the show would not have been nearly as good.

This led to another thought... it's amazing how often I use each of my fingers. When you can't touch a finger without wincing in pain, you realize that you use all your fingers frequently every day! But not only do you use them, you rely on them. I realize I'm a piano player, so I may be more affected than some, but I found myself even more bothered with my non-piano playing actions. Cooking, shampooing my hair, computer work, and even putting my hand in my pocket, were forced to become extremely premeditated actions, or risk extremely hurting my finger.

This experience made more thankful for all my fingers, hands, arms, legs, etc. We all take for granted the simple things in life, and that includes having working body parts! Every now then, when I'm feeling really lazy and don't feel like getting up, I tell myself, "hey, better use those legs now and enjoy them, cause eventually they will stop working so well." Yes, it's a grim thought, but so true! So be thankful for what you've got, even if that just means you have 10 working digits on your hands.

ShamWow Guy Busted!

2009-04-10T02:43:00.004-04:00

We all have idols and role models, people we look up to and emulate. We aren't always aware of it, but then, every once and awhile we are forced to confront the reality that our idols are just people too. It is sometimes in their descent from perfection that we realize how high we held them. Today is one of those days for me.

I was at the grocery store when I received a text message from a concerned friend. We have often discussed the impact this man has had on our lives. Her news was far from happy. She informed me that Vince Shlomi, better know as "the ShamWow guy", had been arrested for assaulting a hooker in South Beach.

I wrote back, "seriously?!", but there was no response. I imagine my friend was too upset to text back. I rushed home, jumped on my computer, and scoured the internet for any news I could find. I was immediately confronted with this website:

Read it for yourself. Read it and weep. A national hero has fallen. We are all human. And when a hooker bights your tongue, you might just want to punch her in the face too. Lesson learned ShamWow guy. Thank you.

Side Walk Cafe - Open Mic

2009-04-07T06:24:00.004-04:00

Last night I went to the Side Walk Cafe in NYC (corner of Ave. A and 6th St.). This is a well known club that has been hosting music for what seems like decades (based on how people talk about it). Monday night is their open mic. Sign up at 7:30, music from 8 until whenever they're done!

I got there a bit late for sign up (just before 8), so I got a very very late number. For those who are familiar with open mic lists, they've probably seen lists up to 20, maybe even 25 people. Caffe Vivaldi regularly has 30+, which is a lot! But at the Side Walk Cafe, I was #45!!!

Needless to say, I didn't feel like listening to the hours and hours of random open mic acts that would lead to my number. So I caught the first half of the NCAA men's college basketball final at a great pizza place down the street (which turns out was the exciting part of the game).

Around 10 I went back to the open mic, and waited until midnight. I was get antsy. Two hours is a long to wait and not play or even feel like you're close to playing. I waited longer. Got to be 12:45 and I decided, OK, I'll stay til I play. I mean, I made it this long!

Finally, around 1:40 a.m. I went up. I got to do one song. It was very fun. There were still about 15 people there too. That's how serious this open mic is. At most places it would be empty come 1:40 in the morning. After me, there was one more listed act. He played. Then the host got up and did 2 songs. I left part way through his third. I just couldn't handle anymore! I assume he finished up soon after.

At one point, the host (named Latch... well, tonight was Latch, but I understand the usual guy's name is Ben) made a comment about having run the open mic for some 15 years. He said, "if you figure I hear 100 new songs each monday night, 52 weeks a year, which is 5200 songs a year, for 15 years,... it means I've heard about 78,000 different songs. And that's just counting the mondays!" Pretty incredible to think about.

How many songs do you think you've listened to in your life?

You Remind Me Of...

2009-04-01T05:18:00.013-04:00

I'm sure everyone at some point has had a moment where some one says, "you look like (fill in famous name)" or "you remind me of (fill in famous person's name again)". This happens frequently to me when I perform because people always want to qualify your music and organize it in their brain with other similar music.

I've gotten obvious musical references like, Ben Folds or Elton John. People frequently say I sing like James Taylor. I've even gotten comparisons to Adam Duritz (lead singer of The Counting Crows). And from my one Austrian friend, I was even told that my voice when I try to speak german (and I speak german very poorly) sounds like the german dubbing voice for Richard Gere.

Then today, I was told by a dominican friend that my current myspace profile pic reminds him of his favorite dominican artist. What do you think?

See a resemblance?

Hugh Heffner's Alter Ego

2009-03-31T02:17:00.002-04:00

This is another Caffe Vivaldi story (I'm really falling in love with their Monday open mic)...

So, a few week back, I was sitting at the Caffe Vivaldi open mic, and an old man sitting behind me caught my eye. It wasn't just that he was much older than the rest of the audience, or that he was dressed a bit funny (in that sorta "I'm old, I don't care if my clothes are 30 out of style, get over it" kinda way), but what caught my eye was his striking resemblance to Hugh Heffner. For anyone who doesn't know that name, you clearly aren't looking at enough pornography.

So fine, there's a Hugh Heffner look-a-like sitting right behind me, who looks like what Hugh Heffner would look like if he was poor and living in NYC. And yes, it was funny enough that the siting made it into a twitter message later that night. But it gets better than that.

I wasn't at the open mic for 2 weeks, and didn't see him last week when I was there, but then tonight, about half way through the night, I spotted him again. I laughed to myself, pointed out the resemblance to the newest acquaintance at my table, and didn't think much of it after that. But then we got to the end of the night, and the host Kate announced that "now we will have our last performer." She says, "as always (blank) will end the night" (I don't remember his name!). And with that, the old man reaches down, gets his guitar, and spins his seat around to perform to the remaining patrons acoustically from his barstool.

Well, it turns out that this guy was a professional guitar player and possibly singer for many years. He told stories and sang 4 or 5 old standards. He accompanied himself with a smooth sound, playing very complex jazz chords and moving lines on his old old gibson acoustic. The thing needed new strings, but it didn't matter because he played so well. It wasn't show off guitar playing either, it was just beautiful jazz accompaniment.

In addition to the standards he played, he also played a song that came with a back-story, as if he was presenting a new chapter each week. I don't know if he wrote or not, and I don't remember exactly what the song was about, but he had my full attention. You felt like you were watching the remnants of what was probably a very flamboyant musician 50 years ago! You felt unable to get up, even though you normally had no interest in that style of playing, and certainly not at 11:15 on a monday night when you had an hour trip home ahead of you.

This guy was great. I wish I remembered his name, but hopefully I'll see him again at Caffe Vivaldi. He said that one of his many nicknames was Fresno Slim, though he'd never been to Fresno. So now I can say that I've met Hugh Heffner, if Hugh Heffner had been a touring guitar player in the 1950s.

3 Things You Need To Be Cool In NYC

2009-03-31T02:13:00.003-04:00

I met a great guy named Victor tonight at the Caffe Vivaldi open mic. He has lived in NYC for all but 10 of his 27 years. He not only took me around the city a bit tonight and gave me the low down on some different clubs, he also informed me of the 3 things you need to be cool in NYC:

1. Your own apartment
2. A car
3. A band

As he pointed out to me, I've got a car, and I've got a band, and 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

The Beer Walk

2009-03-29T05:16:00.002-04:00

Scenario: A crowded bar room with barely enough room to move. You move through the crowd slowly, rubbing up against every person, wall, or piece of furniture in your path on your way to the bar. You arrive at the bar, and get your money out. You hold your cash at eye level to get the bartender's attention. You make eye contact, he moves towards you, you place your order. He brings a pint glass full of your favorite beer. Money is exchanged and you leave your tip. But now comes perhaps the hardest part of your journey. Now you must return to your friends in the back corner without spilling the drink you worked so hard to get.

This scenario came up for me multiple times tonight in a NYC bar on the upper west side. It was until trying 2 methods myself that I consulted my brother. He gave me a third idea. Here's what we came up with:

1. "The Comin' Through!" or You hold the beer out in front you - I like this move. You hold the beer out in front of you at about eye level. While it initially seems dangerous to make the beer lead the way, you must remember that it also acts as a warning sign to others. In the noisy bar, you can't say "get out of my way", but you can hold up your prize possession. Most will respect the beer and move aside. Plus, if they don't, then they get wet. Nobody wants this, so this can work. However, in the very busy chaotic bar, this warning sign will be missed and beer will end up down your arm.

2. "The Protector" or You hold the beer behind you - This is the opposite as move #1. In this move, you act as body guard to the beer, putting your body out in front of the beer. You take the hits with one arm, pave a path through, and let the beer follow behind you. This can be quite successful, but has the disadvantage of no communication. You are giving no warning sign or any sign to your fellow bar room patrons. They have no idea what is behind you. So if you happen to run into someone feeling pushy, they will rock your boat and you may lose some beer down your backside.

3. "The Up High" or Hold your beer up above the crowd - My brother reminded me of this move. Pointed out that many waters use this move. It never comes to mind for me, perhaps because I don't like the idea of having a beer above my head. But the idea, is you gain the warning sign affect of move #1, while not putting in harms way by leading for you. You push your own way through, but leave the beer up high as a sign to all that you've got important cargo. It also keeps the beer out of the way of flailing limbs, of which moves #1 and 2 can easily be victims. However, if you should get a hard enough shove from a disrespectful drinker (which is not uncommon in many bars), then you end up with the beer down your arm and/or on your head. This is a major detractor for me... not that I spend much time on my hair or anything... but while I don't mind wiping my hands off on my coat, getting beer running down your neck is kinda gross.

So these are the options I've come up with so far... which has just been tonight. Anyone else have any other suggestions? Or a favorite off my list?

Henry Ford

2009-03-23T04:01:00.009-04:00

I was driving back to NY tonight after a gig in CT. It had been a good gig, but I was driving and reflecting on the big picture of my life and the path up ahead. The thought of slowly building a following for my music often becomes overwhelming to me. But I know I am not the first to feel small and overwhelmed.

While having these thoughts, my mind wandered to Henry Ford. Recently my father told me a vague history of Henry Ford that he had heard on the radio. It was about his years prior to starting the successful Ford Motor Company that we all know today. Turns out, Ford Motor Company was not his first attempt at starting a car company. In fact, he failed several times before he found success! But no one talks about those failures because once he found success with the Ford Motor Company, his failures no longer defined him. In fact, they don't even make a mention in history books.

I looked up a more detailed description of Ford's history online. The following facts come from the Wikipedia entry on Henry Ford: (or skip the bullets points and read on below!)

- Ford lived from 1863 - 1947 (which I just realized encompasses 3 devastating America's wars: The Civil War, WWI, and WWII)
- In 1879, Ford left home to work as an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit.
- In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company
- In 1893, Ford is promoted to Chief engineer, leaving him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines.
- In 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle named the Ford Quadricycle, which he test-drove on June 4.
- Later in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation.
- In 1898, Ford designed and built a second vehicle.
- In August, 1899, backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from Edison and founded the Detroit Automobile Company.
- In January 1901, the company was dissolved because the automobiles produced were of a low quality and high price.
- In October 1901, with the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a twenty six horsepower automobile.
- In November 1901, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company with Ford as chief engineer.
- In 1902, Ford left the company bearing his name because Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant. With Ford gone, Murphy renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company.
- In October 1902, Ford produced the 80+ horsepower racer "999", and Barney Oldfield drove it to victory.
- In 1902, Ford received the backing of Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer. They formed the partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd.". Ford went to work designing an inexpensive automobile. Sales were slow, and a crisis arose when suppliers demanded payment for their first shipment. In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors.
- In June 1903, Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company with $28,000 capital. In a newly designed car, Ford gave an exhibition on the ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 mile (1.6 km) in 39.4 seconds, setting a new land speed record at 91.3 miles per hour (147.0 km/h). The race driver Barney Oldfield, took the car around the country, making the Ford brand known throughout the United States.
- In 1908, the now famous Model T was first introduced.

This timeline is very interesting to me. It's not until 1893 that he has the time and money to actually experiment on the new gasoline engine. He is 30 at that point. And though he has had years of mechanical training by 1893, he is only just beginning his journey towards his own creation of a quality, cheap, car. He then has to work until 1899 (age 36) to get his first try at starting a car company. He tries again in 1901 (age 38), and fails. He tries again in 1902 (age 39), and runs into money trouble. That company is renamed with new investors in 1903 (age 40). And he doesn't find real success until 1908 (age 45).

So think about that, 15 years of working on his own car creations, and nearly 30 years of working on machinery. Only after 30 years of work did he finally find success with his inventions. But none of us remember that period of his life. Instead, we remember Henry Ford as the richest car manufacturer with the biggest car company. We learn about his use of assembly lines. We learn that at one point half of all the cars in the world were Model T's. And while these are all interesting facts, they don't address the real work that he did over the 30 years prior to his success with the Model T.

For me it is important to remember the early periods in the lives of such successful people. I know I am currently in that period of my life. There is nothing romantic about traveling long distances to play for 30 people and enough cash to pay for gas. But there isn't much romantic about a man building cars in his garage for 15 years either. And yet, that is probably the most incredible part of Henry Ford's life. The rest was just the pay off.

Keep working....

This is Henry Ford in 1888 (he is 25). I've included this pic because I'm 25 right now too.

"Cut The Mustard"

2009-03-20T04:35:00.004-04:00

"You just aren't cutting the mustard"

My friend Dan brought this phrase up in rehearsal tonight. To "Cut The Mustard" is a well known idiom meaning the same as "Making The Grade". To perform well enough at something that you've qualified...whether that be making the baseball team, earning an A on a test, properly performing some task, or whatever.

We both understand it's current usage, but what is the origin? I'm sure I could look it up online, but I thought I'd pose the question here first and then look it up later.

Dan pointed out that you can't cut (as in slice) mustard, because it's a thick liquid. It doesn't slice. But how does that relate to the idiom. You wouldn't say "You don't slice the mustard".

I then pointed out that maybe "cut" doesn't mean "slice". I just saw the movie Requiem For A Dream, so I have drug references in my head, and I thought of the usage of "cut" to mean lessen in strength. For example, in the movie they are "cutting" heroine. Taking potent heroine and lessening the potency. At least that's what I always thought that meant...now I'm wondering if I have that right. Maybe cutting drugs just means dividing it up. In which case we're back at the "slice" definition. But still, what does "divide the mustard" mean? Or "lessen the potency of the mustard" for that matter?

As you can see I'm very confused. Leave your opinions on the origin of the idiom. But don't cheat and look online first!

What is Proper Voicemail Etiquette?

2009-03-19T18:13:00.004-04:00

The other day I had a conversation with my roommate about voicemails. He was annoyed at a friend who had just called, and had, as usual, left him a useless voicemail with no information. I asked why he was so annoyed, and he said," well now I have go check the voicemail to make the voicemail notification go away on my phone, but he's not going to actually say anything in the message, so I'm really just wasting time and phone minutes, when I could be calling him back."

Other friends have similar opinions. One of my best friends never answers his voicemails and never leaves them. He feels that they are unnecessary given the "missed call" display on cell phones. He says, "I see that you called, and I'll call you back. There's no reason to leave a voicemail." He went so far as to turn off all visual and aural phone indicators that he has a voicemail. He frequently lets his voicemail fill up to the point where people can't even leave him a message (I know this because I still try to leave him voicemails from time to time, knowing full well he'll never hear them. His loss though, cause usually it's me singing a clip from one of our favorite shitty 80s songs...perhaps "You're in the Inspiration"). When I've tried to argue that he could be missing important info from people who don't understand his personal phone rules, he says, "no I don't miss anything, cause I always call them back." Good point.

But other friends have very different opinions on proper voicemail etiquette. Another musician I know claimed that if some one calls him, and doesn't leave a voicemail, he will not call them back. Simply seeing a "missed call" signal isn't enough for him. He believes that those calls are from people who didn't really have much to say, just wanted to chat. Those calls become unnecessary after the moment has passed. Anyone with real info should leave a message, and by doing so will convey the importance of their call to him, and he will call them back.

But now we've come back to the issue of information in voicemails. As I said, my roommate gets annoyed when he receives voicemails with no information, because they waste his time. Why bother leaving the message? But I have yet another friend with answer to that queston.

This friend is a musician I've played with for years, and so we've left many messages for each other concerning gigs, hanging out, or whatever. But this friend also has the annoying habit of leaving messages with no information! For example, "Hey Nate, Call me back, have a gig opportunity. Later". When I've questioned him about this practice and asked him to give me more information when he leaves messages, his response was, "if I tell you too much info, you won't call me back, so I won't be able to talk to you about it. But if I don't leave you a message, you won't call back either. This way people have to call back." An interesting thought process.

So all this leaves me with no answer. What is proper voicemail etiquette? Any opinions?

Money, Recession, Live Music

2009-03-19T04:07:00.003-04:00

In the past 2 weeks I've been faced multiple times with the issue of money and live music. This is a pressing issue at a time when many people are feeling the economic burdens of the recession, and as a result are cutting out unnecessary spending. As a musician, I have already seen the effects of the trickle down effect of this mind set. I see venues working to stay open while continuing to provide live music, and I see friends struggling to make ends meet as performers. Fortunately I have other means of income that have kept me afloat, but it certainly hasn't made my job as an emerging artist any easier!

The event that first brought this problem to my attention was when my favorite hometown coffee shop stopped providing music. The Gryphon Cafe in Wayne, PA, (30 minutes west of Philadelphia) has been hosting local music venue for about 15 years. The great thing about playing here growing up was that they guaranteed you $50 for the 2 hour set. When I started playing there, I had no fan base except whatever friends I could beg to come out. But the Gryphon paid me $50 anyway. So basically, The Gryphon was taking responsibility for how many people came to the show (or didn't come), by saying, no matter who comes through that door, we have $50 for you.

Well this was all great when business was booming, but now business is slowing down, and they can't afford to be so generous. So what is the answer? Well, don't guarantee the musicians $50. Fine. But then how do they get paid? Or DO they get paid? Well, playing for free is fun when you're getting started, but to get anyone with any experience in there, there must be some perk.

So then the conversation continues... what if you have a cover charge? Okay great, then the musician gets paid. But what about the venue? By charging a cover, you turn away the "stop in for a coffee" crowd who doesn't care about the music. You have also made the listening crowd less interested in buying an expensive item from your menu, because they have already paid to get in.

Well, then have a drink minimum. I frequent an open mic in the West Village, NYC at a bar called Caffe Vivaldi. If you sit down for any length of time, you are expected to order at least one item off their menu. I recently played at another bar in NYC, and on top of their $7 cover charge, they had a 2 drink minimum for being there. This way the bar and the artist get paid. But, if I'm the artist in charge of publicizing for that show, now you've just made my job so much harder. Basically that $7 show just turned into a $15-20 show or each fan! For $20, a person could go to a wide variety of performances, but I'm not sure they'd pick to go see most local artists. Especially if that artist is playing next month somewhere cheaper.

Well what if you lose the drink minimum, and share the cover charge between the artist and venue? This is a popular way to go, and can work well. Neither the venue nor the artist gets an awful deal. It's a little annoying as the artist when you bring a lot of people in and find out that the venue took a percentage of your money, but you have to remember that this is a business, and in essence you are paying to use their space. But cover charges still limit the number of walk-ins you will get. And for performers like me, a walk-in could be a new fan! I need as much exposure to as many people as possible.

The only other plan then, is the tip bucket! This is something I never saw while living in PA, but I see it constantly in NYC. People walk in, no charge. They get to see the place, check out the atmosphere, hear a song or two of this new artist, no charge. Then if they decide to stay, they buy something from the establishment, be it coffee or a beer. So then the venue is happy. But then, if they stay long enough, they have to be good citizens and drop some money in the musician's tip bucket on their way out. This is the part that gets tough for people. The night is ending, you've spent some money on drinks, and you're about to leave. You could a.) walk out with no other expense and screw the musician(s), or b.) drop some amount of money into the bucket to say "thanks for playing all night".

Lately in these "play for tips" venues I've been getting a lot of option a. People think they shouldn't have to pay for live music. And this screws over the artist, but, allows the venue to stay alive. So the options for musicians become, charge the venues, which will kill the venues, leaving no where to play, leaving no money coming in, or hope the people will tip you, and if they don't then you get no money either, but at least you have a place to play.

It's hard to take. I've been playing for little or for free for so long that I've begun to believe that it's not worth any more than $50 for a show. And by the way, that's $50 before you split it with the band. But it's a lot of work.

People need to remember to continue supporting the arts. Music, dance, visual art, writing, all of it. If we leave all art up to popularity we will end up with a society full of commercial artists. People designing new Pepsi logos, and writing awful pop music. That will be art.

I would love to get feedback from people on other payment plans at venues. Anyone seen other options that worked well?

Slush

2009-03-03T00:10:00.002-05:00

Trudging through the slush is one of my least favorite transit experiences. I enjoy a good snow, but like so many things, when it mixes with dirt and asphalt, it becomes much less appealing.

I will also note that NYC subways are disgusting when it snows. You might think that underground it would be warmer and dryer than the above world and its weather, but that is not the case. Don't be fooled. I walked to the West 4th St. subway station tonight, and as I walked down the stairs, the footing got worse and worse with each step. By the time I reached the bottom at the subway gate, I found myself in a pool of thawed slush. My boots were halfway underwater.

You are reminded that thousands of people will use a single set of stairs everyday in NYC when you witness the slush their feet have brought with them and left behind. My hat is off to the workers who clean up after us.

Corn Ice Cream (A Brazilian Favorite)

2009-03-01T04:17:00.004-05:00

Tonight, I experienced a first. It was totally unexpected.

I had performed in a choir concert with the NYC choir C4 in the Village at St. Luke in the Field Church. Following the concert, we had a reception, which included some wine. Nothing unusual there. I talked and drank with our audience.

Following the reception, I overheard someone say that people were going out for ice cream. Being a bit buzzed from the wine, I happily agreed to go along despite the chill of the last hours of February.

We walked down the street a few blocks, though I'm unsure where we were exactly. I believe we ended up on Bleeker, perhaps 2 blocks east of 7th Ave. (perhaps more? like I said, I was a bit buzzed and not really paying attention). We came to an ice cream place that I don't remember the name of, and we went in.

First, let me say that the place was more of a gelato place than an ice cream place. There were big steel bins full of singular colorful flavors of gelato, rather than tubs of traditional ice cream with every imaginable combination of chocolate, peanuts, and caramel. As I looked over the flavors, I was overwhelmed. It was my first ice cream since summer! And again, I was a bit buzzed, so decisions were becoming difficult.

Then I saw it. Right next to the vanilla, the raspberry sorbet, the banana, and the chocolate.... Corn!

"Corn?!" I exclaimed. I was reminded by a member of my party that you could get free trials. I tried the corn, and my only reaction was, "feels creamy, but tastes like,...corn!"

It was truly unbelievable to me. They had done it. Corn in ice cream form. I had to order it!

The sign read, "Corn (A Brazilian Favorite)". While trying to decide what fruity flavor would best accompany the delectable flavor of Corn, I came across another unusual flavor, though one I've had several times before, Green Tea. Initially I thought little of it, but then I noticed that the sign read "Green Tea (South American Favorite)".

I don't know what they meant with these helpful side notes. The only two side notes offered are the ones I have mentioned. None of the other flavors had any extra facts. And what were they trying to say? Do they get a lot of South Americans in there? More than other nationalities? And why did they separate our the Brazilians for the corn flavor? Do other South Americans not like corn? And what was the point of making the statement anyway? Were they really just saying that if you were Brazilian you would like Corn? Almost seemed a little politically incorrect, and yet I wasn't sure why. I mean, Brazilians must have bananas. You might think banana would be a favorite flavor, right? But then, I like lots of flavors that I don't eat regularly from their natural source. I've always loved mango water ice at Rita's Water Ice, but I've had real mango like, once. Well, I've had dried mango a number of times. But whatever.

So back to the Corn... I decided that the only way to make this decision was to combine the two south american favorites. I got green tea on the bottom with corn on top.

The decision about which to get on the bottom is a big deal. You want to end with something pleasing. Something that will leave you happy, and calm. Nothing worse than finishing your ice cream and needing more. Or even worse, if you made a bad choice, finishing and needing to get that awful taste out of your mouth. You want to feel fulfilled. I decided that I couldn't end with corn. Just wasn't confident that it would leave me off well. And I believe it was a good choice. The green tea left me feeling fulfilled.

But the end note of this story is that Corn ice cream is great! And I'm far from Brazilian. I have never seen it anywhere else before. So, I leave this note with two questions:

1.) Have any of you had corn ice cream before, and if so, where?
2.) What other unusual ice cream flavors have you had? and where? (and do you know if Brazilians it?)

Open Mic

2009-02-24T18:34:00.002-05:00

I was once again at the Caffe Vivaldi open mic last night (mondays 7-11), and had a thought I would like to mention. You can add this one to my other blog about how guitarists need to freakin' tune up before they get on stage!

It struck me that a good open mic should work like this...You walk in not knowing any of the songs you are about to hear, and you walk out with several tunes stuck in your head.

This sounds like a "duh" statement, but think about it for a second. To walk in to a music venue and not know any of the songs means that all the songs are originals by the local artists you are hearing that night. And yes, from time to time if you frequent an open mic, you will hear repeats by other regulars, but overall, people should be playing well rehearsed, new songs. And make note that I said well rehearsed. I hate hearing "I just wrote this song while sitting there listening. Lets see how it goes".

The statement also says you walk out with several tunes stuck in your head, which brings up a topic that many refer to as humability. Humability is factor that allows a song to be hummed back by a listener after the song is over. You can measure the humability of a song by simply listening to it once, and trying to immediately hum the song back, or perhaps just the chorus or "hook". If you can do that, great, try again in 5 minutes. Still can? Try again in another 5 minutes, and listen to a song while you're waiting. Still can? Try in an hour, 10 hours, the next day, next week, etc. The greater the humability, the longer it will be accessible in your brain after only one listen.

That said, if you hear a new song one time at an open mic, and you can still hum it 3 hours and 40 songs later, then it's probably a good song. So getting back to my little comment, if you leave an open mic with several songs stuck in your head, it means there were several great songs played that night, and probably by several great songwriters.

So to recap, a good open mic should be full of great original music. And devoid of all bad renditions of songs from 30 years ago. Save that for your local cover bar where you can all pat each other on the back for finally getting through all the verses of Hotel California by memory. Good job. However, I will say that last night I heard a great version of The Beatles' Ticket To Ride by a songwriter named Jeremy Nash who did it in an Amos Lee groove style.

But the real end of this blog, is that I woke up this morning with a song in my head from the open mic last night. The artist's name is Craig Greenberg. I have mixed feelings about his voice. He really chews his words as he sings. I often wish he would straighten out his mouth. But, he has some great songs. I don't know what he calls the song I had stuck in my head, but I call it "Throw My Hands In The Air". I couldn't find it on his myspace page, but he has some other songs worth listening to on there (myspace).

Here any good artists at your local open mic recently? Share them with me....

"In Blindness, a Bold New Artistic Vision"

2009-02-20T02:27:00.010-05:00

How do you experience the world?

This is the title of an article from the Herald Tribune that I found on the train on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning). At the end of my evening seeing The Bad Plus perform (see my previous blog entry), I found myself on the 1:53 a.m. train back home. The ride began with finding a newspaper on my seat.

Finding a newspaper can save you from a long, boring trip home. This paper happened to be the Health section of the Herald Tribune (part of The New York Times). I read multiple articles, but my favorite was about an artist who went blind.

According to the article, John Bramblitt was two years old when he started having seizures due to epilepsy. They have continued at varying levels throughout his life including the present. At an early age he noticed that his vision would often become blurry after a seizure. It would usually remain blurry for a few days before clearing up and focusing again. But, over the course of 20 years of suffering temporary vision abnormality, his eyesight finally decreased little by little until he was totally blind.

This would be traumatic for anyone, but for Mr. Bramblitt it was especially hard because his first loves were art and writing (he had completed a degree in English). But the fact that he went blind didn't mean that his love for art disappeared. He still possessed a need to create visually. According to the article, he started working with glue, spreading it on paper and letting it dry, then feeling the shapes of the hardened formations. He eventually took this process to paints. Over time, he became so tactilely aware of the differences between dried colors of paint that he was able to visualize, and thus paint, the works of art he had in his head.

I find it truly amazing that some one could become so sensitive in touch that they could form complex and detailed pictures in their brain. But then, what makes our eyes so special? I mean, why not visualize through touch? I have to remember that our eyes just happen to be the way most of us are brought up experiencing the world. We rely daily on all of our senses, but it seems that much of the burden of getting us through the day falls on our eyes. Our eyes, and to a lesser extent our ears, are constantly being used to survey our surroundings, give us information about possible dangers, and help us perform necessary daily tasks.

But then I think, no, touch helps me too. I test the water temperature when I turn on the shower in the morning, I dig through my pocket to find my car keys, I navigate across the computer keyboard (orienting myself with the bumps on the F and J keys) and I play my piano without looking. All of these functions would be much harder without our sense of touch, but most of us don't think about it.

Now, that said, I certainly don't believe my sense of touch is sensitive enough to paint based on dried paint consistencies. But, I could probably be trained over time much like Mr. Bramblitt. I went to music school and took 4 semesters of ear training. Across campus was the art school where students studied colors and visual composition. My brother-in-law is a chemist working for a company that creates flavors and fragrances. Within the company are groups of people who have been selected for their naturally sensitive palates and noses, who are then trained to pick out specific flavors and scents from larger compositions. But who learns to be a more sensitive toucher? The blind learning braille. Anyone else? I have trouble coming up with anyone...feel free to share if you can think of some one.

The other interesting thing about Mr. Bramblitt and his new art situation is his outlook on his new painting process. While some would forever feel constrained, Mr. Bramblitt has found it freeing. He says, "It wasn't until I lost my sight that I became brave enough to fail". This really struck me. What an amazing comment. He was so wrapped up in what his eyes saw on the paper, that he forgot to look at what his mind was seeing in his own brain. He was previously trapped in the world of the seeing. Forced to look and be influenced by the inner art he was trying to bring to life. Though blindness brought the challenge of how to convey his artwork, it also freed him, bringing him closer to the inner art itself.

This article made me think of my own experiences writing music. How often I have sat at the piano writing a choral piece, or sitting with my guitar writing a song, and struggled to get past the opening of the new composition. I used to think that the writing took place with the instrument, but in fact, the writing takes place in my own head. Like a good friend who said that song lyrics come out of life, not the other way around. The instrument, and my hands for that matter, are little more than vehicles for bringing the idea to life, they are not the idea itself. And song lyrics represent life, but do not create life. Then I think about the far lesser number of times I have laid in my bed, or sat watching TV, or talked to a very uninteresting acquaintance and had my mind firmly on my music. It is during these times, when no music is being played or heard, when I stay with my thoughts and just let the piece play, that some of my best work comes to life. It is free from the scrutiny of ears, including my own. It simply exists for itself. Then as certain melodies find their way into my memory, they get bounced around and eventually come out through the piano.

Our perception of the world is limited to the ability of our senses to perceive it. So go ahead and train them to be more sensitive. But remember that sometimes our senses and our mental expectations are only holding back a bigger and better idea that is held deep in our brain.

The original article can be found online here. Read it for yourself!

The Power of Live Music - The Bad Plus

2009-02-18T03:03:00.004-05:00

Tonight I went to the Bowery Ballroom in NYC to see the group The Bad Plus. I had heard of these guys before and even listened to a few of their tracks, but didn't know a lot about them. I was invited to go to the show as part of my friend's birthday celebration. I can't say I was excited to see the show (or pay for it), but I wanted to be social and I wanted to see this group of friends who I hadn't seen in 1 year (some much longer than that). And so I attended.

This was my first time to the bowery ballroom, and upon first entering I was struck by the cool lounge feel of the basement entrance. I sat with my friends enjoying a few of NY's classic overpriced drinks, before moving upstairs to the main room. We caught the end of the opening act (the name of which I can't remember). The room holds about 700-800 people my friend told me. It was a nice size, with good sound and never felt overly crowded.

When The Bad Plus came out, I was immediately struck by their age! This is only to say that I had a preconceived notion that they were in their early 30's, when in reality they are in their mid-40's. They went to their instruments: grand piano, upright bass, and drum set. They started and it rocked.

The show went on for a handful of songs as just the trio. Ordinarily the show would have continued and ended that way too, but their newest album (and now the tour to support the album) also includes a female singer. I had heard rumors of this, hearing that they do a Nirvana cover. And so a few songs in, the new fourth member of The Bad Plus Came out, and early on, they played some Nirvana.

Nirvana was cool. Not mind blowing, but did have some cool rhythmic changes from the original that really stretched time. As the show went on, they played songs by other artists including Heart, The Bee Gees, Yes, Pink Floyd and Neil Young. It's hard to go into detail because i was so wrapped up in the show, but I will suffice to say that many of their versions were better than the originals. All of the songs breathed with life, starting at one level and gradually increasing in intensity until you could barely take it, and then releasing it pressure to start the next verse. I was quite moved especially by the performance of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" as part of their encore. At one point, this usually instrumental trio, became an a cappella choir. They sang a few lines with total silence in the room before the drummer brought the instrumental accompaniment roaring back in. Very special moment.

All said, this was a moving experience, a learning experience, and an overall fun time. I truly did not expect to like it so much based on the recordings of The Bad Plus that I've heard before. But tonight I was reminded of the power of live music. Watching three men and a woman onstage bringing music to life. Listening to their chemistry and watching their visual cues. You were aware of the communication on so many levels, and that is what live music is about. Seeing the smiles on their faces (or in the case of the pianist, the unimpressed bored glare on his face) connects the listeners to the artists. We are all fans of music coming together to share an experience.

Maybe I'm getting overly deep, but truly, in an age of ipods, mp3's and low-fidelity digital music played on computer speakers and ear buds, it was refreshing to hear crystal clear piano, rich full bass, and thick resonating drums, and all being played in front of my eyes by sweating, breathing performers. This was the only way music was experienced until 50-100 years ago, but now it's becoming less and less a part of our lives.

I'll have more to say on that later. For now, here's a video I found on youtube of The Bad Plus playing Comfortably Numb from earlier in this tour. Goodnight.

Pet Peeve - Guitar Tuning Onstage

2009-02-17T03:35:00.003-05:00

I attended an open mic tonight at Caffe Vivaldi in Greenwich Village, NYC. It's a great open mic with many wonderful performers. The bar tender/open mic host/waitress Kate is really awesome too. It was only my second week there, so I'm still getting to know people. As a result, rather than conversing with friends, I spent most of my time tuned in to the stage. And when I say most of my time, I should also specify that both times I've been there so far I've had to wait at least 3 and a 1/2 hours to perform! I know, a long time for 2 songs (well, 1 song the first week).

Anyway, all this time listening closely to the performers (what a novel idea at an open mic) has led me to realize a huge pet peeve of mine at an open mics: guitar players who don't tune before plugging in!

Now you might laugh at this, but I'm totally serious. Some people get up with basically in tune guitars. They check their tuning, make a quick adjustment and move on. Fine. Others get on stage with a slightly out of tune guitar. Perhaps that B string is really out. But they aren't quite adept enough to know at first strum what the problem is. So then we get to wait and listen while mr. (or mrs.) guitar player finds the out of tune string and slowly gets it in place. Less fine, but whatever. But then, we have the players who get on stage with a horribly out of tune guitar, and have very little clue or ability or both of how to get the instrument in tune. This is NOT okay! I don't want to hear you start the song 4 times, and each time you fix the same string. It's annoying, and rude to the audience, and frankly impolite to the other performers when you consider that the last guy on the list only gets to go if there's time. So if every guitar player has to tweek his guitar for a minute, that could be 20 minutes I've spent in one night listening to people tune.

Now all that said, I would much rather waste time and listen to a guitar in tune than the listen to a poorly tuned guitar. But don't you see, most places announce who is on deck so you can be ready when it's your turn! That's the whole point. So take the time and tune your guitar before you get on stage. Thank you.

There Will Be Blood

2009-02-12T10:36:00.005-05:00

"I love watching movies. You ever rent a movie that was released a while ago and you enjoy it, but there's kinda that awkwardness because you can't talk about it with anyone? Like,
'Hey I just saw Heat.'
'Heat? I saw that like 6 years ago.'
'Yeah well I want to talk about now.'
'Uh, no loser.' "

-Jim Gaffigan

With popular culture, I find that I am often a year behind. I buy movies for cheap that came out a year ago. I listen to music that friends pass on to me that came out a year ago. But that doesn't mean that when I watch them they have any less impact. A few nights ago I saw a movie that got a lot of oscar talk when it came out....a year ago. But, I'm going to be "that guy" Jim Gaffigan is talking about and tell you how much I like the movie, There Will Be Blood, now.

Whenever this movie would come up in conversation since last year, I would always say, "Oh I haven't seen that yet", and people's response would be slightly varied, but most said, "get ready, it's long". At first I took heed to their warnings, and often put off watching the movie because I'd assume I wasn't in the right mood for it. But while 2 and a 1/2 hours is definitely long by traditional film lengths, There Will Be Blood didn't feel long to me at all.

I was immediately struck by the music. It's hard to miss, considering the drone of strings begins before a single shot of the film has shown. I must admit that I have a bias towards this score for two reasons: 1.) I'm a musician with lots of interest in film scoring, so I'm always paying attention to how the music interacts with the picture, and 2.) I already knew the score was composed by Johnny Greenwood, and I already owned the soundtrack (though I hadn't listened to any of it yet).

Who is Johnny Greenwood you ask? Why did his name alone compel me to buy the soundtrack when I happened to notice it in Barnes&Nobles many months ago? Johnny Greenwood is the lead guitarist and main musical force for the band Radiohead. Ever heard of them? For years now I have been enjoying the intricacies of Radiohead's music, combining electronic, electric, and acoustic sounds seamlessly with a counterpoint that one of my college composition professors deemed worthy of study in class. Of course we all notice Tom Yorke's voice and lyrics, no surprise considering their own strength and the fact that we as humans are most drawn to the human voice, but less people know Greenwood's name. (and by the way, his brother is the bassist for Radiohead. Listen closer to his parts and you'll rediscover how to use register as an important timbre device.). Greenwood comes to life in this score. He utilizes all that he has learned after nearly 2 decades of creating as a member of Radiohead, and shows his maturity by taking his knowledge to the traditional instrumentation of string quartet. He weaves together sections of tone clusters and soundscapes, melodic counterpoint, and bartokian rhythmic surges. Very inspiring.

As the film went on I continued to be drawn into the music. The next scene that really left me with the "whoa" feeling was the scene when the oil pump blows and lights on fire (I'm trying hard not to give too much away to those who haven't seen the film yet!). This scene is marked by rhythmically played percussion instruments. At first I feared that the sound was too present and too small for the scene. This is a huge turning point in the film, and it was being marked not by a huge string section, but instead by a set of small percussion instruments with a very close mic. As the scene continued, the music grew and grew by adding percussion instruments, but never got quite to the size I might have expected. And yet, it didn't matter. Rather than impress us with the size of his orchestra, Greenwood chose to hit us repeatedly with a much smaller sound to impress upon us the dichotomy of the scene; one of personal struggle and monetary success. It's less like getting hit with a 2x4 in the face, and more like chinese water torture with a fast drip. By the end of the scene, you have felt the weight of the events, and you are on the edge of your seat to find out what will unfold. And isn't that the point of a good scene? To set you up for the rest of the movie?

The other amazing musical moment for me was during the last scene. Actually I shouldn't say the last scene, because it doesn't come in until the last 10 seconds of the scene, which is also the last 10 seconds of the film. I won't tell you what happens, but it is, in my opinion, a very appropriate end. The oil man has his money and has lost his mind. There is no music as the final scene unfolds. Only sound effects to display the protagonist's hate. And then, out of nowhere, comes the booming and exultingly happy opening of, if I remember correctly, Brahms' Violin Concerto in D Major. Such an extreme blast of celebratory music could have the effect of confusing the viewer or turning you off after 2 and a 1/2 hours of hard times in the life of an oil man, but instead, it provides the balance the movie needed. Suddenly you get the burst of fresh air you didn't realize you were waiting for the whole film. Suddenly you feel okay and at rest with all that unfolded before you. You don't necessarily like his actions, but you feel balance again.

The final words I will say about the film concern the cinematography and the acting. Beautiful and oscar worthy. The film is full of shots of beautiful expanses of land. Even on the small TV that I was viewing, I felt the grandeur of the space. The United States 100 years ago. Still relatively untapped and wild. (Makes me think...100 years from now, will they consider our United States now to be "untapped and wild"?). And the acting by Daniel Day Lewis (Daniel Plainview - the oil man), Paul Dano (Eli-the pastor), and the boy who plays Henry Plainview's son, H.W. Plainview, is spectacular. The scenes between Lewis and Dano were exquisite. Their characters are foils for each other. One seeming to care only about money, and the other seeming to care only about God, but in the end greed destroys them both, proving money's power to corrupt. The movie cannot exist without both of them, and so the movie ends at the only perfect time (haven't seen the movie? watch it!).

I've gone on long enough, but there is so much to be said about this film. To all those who told me "it felt long", my only response is that after watching it, I was so moved I watched 45 minutes of it over again, and then listened to the soundtrack 3 times consecutively. Good art should move people, and this film certainly moved me. If you have not seen There Will Be Blood, I highly suggest you watch it. If you have seen it, go watch it again! There is so much to be learned artistically and morally from this film that it certainly deserves many repeat viewings.

Converting the Sleep Cycle or Happy Where I'm At

2009-02-10T01:53:00.003-05:00

I'm not really in the mood to write, but I feel so bad that I haven't posted anything since Jan.31! Awful awful awful.

So, it's currently 1:54 a.m., and I'm 6 minutes away from being up for 24 hours straight. For those of you who don't know me that well yet, I have issues with going to bed. I also have issues with getting up from bed. Let me explain...

I'm someone who really finds enjoyment in whatever they are doing at the moment. Like right now, I'm really enjoying writing this blog even though a minute ago when I started it I was just thinking about how I want to watch a rerun of the Daily Show on hulu and go to bed! But no, now I'm writing and quite content. The same goes for most activities in my life: eating, sleeping, doing work, calling people....I even put off going to the bathroom! When faced with all of these situations, I will put off the activity until one of three things happens: 1.) My body forces me (i.e. i pee my pants), 2.) Some outside factor forces me (i.e. i'm going to miss the train if i don't leave right now!, or 3.) There is some mental factor that guilts me into the action (say i'm staying at my parents home, and it gets to be 6:30a.m. and i'm still doing work downstairs...this is pretty common...then it usually hits me that i don't feel like seeing my parents before the go off to work, so i get my ass upstairs to bed). But that's about it.

Now, some would say "it's wonderful you are happy doing whatever you are currently occupied with", or," wow, you really live in the moment man", or, "you have great focus", and all of that might be true, but in the real world, this does make a productive life more difficult. Lets face it, people have been trained to be up at certain hours of the day, and some businesses are only open til certain times, even in NY (i often wake up after the bank has already closed).

So I decided to get back on track. Past efforts to this have been unsuccessful because I try to back track. I try to go to sleep earlier than usual. But this never works! I'm never tired, and my brain is always way to active to slow down enough for sleep. So I decided on Saturday night to go the other way!

By freak accident, I didn't wake up til 6:00 p.m. saturday night, so then I stayed up until 6:00 a.m. and I'd only been awake for 12 hours (pretty standard right? think about high school, you were up at 6:30 and not back from sports and done eating dinner til 6:30 that night). So I thought, lets just stay up till sunday night and go to bed. Well, I got to noon on Sunday and it was getting tough. Finally at 1:30 p.m. on sunday i gave in and slept. I was just going to sleep for a few hours, then back up so I could sleep again that night. But no, I woke up at 9, which totally defeated my plan. So in a plan formed while only half awake, I decided to sleep as long as I could, wake up, and just go til Monday night.

I slept until 2 a.m. sunday night/monday morning. I woke up wide awake and emerged from bed. I got a lot done. Did work, watched 2 movies, went to the market, and ate 2 meals all before noon. Then it go to be 2 p.m. and I started getting tired, but I made it through! Anyway, long story a few sentences shorter, I went to an open mic at Caffe Vivaldi in the West Village of Manhattan and finally got to play, and I met 2 random guys, one from vancouver but now living in taipei, taiwan (I think that's right). He started a sneaker company a year ago. And the other guy lives in Santa Cruz, CA and will be working with the first guy as a writer or something. They just met on saturday night (while I was sleeping!) for the first time. And now I'm back in my apartment and ready for bed.

It's now 2:12 a.m., so I've officially made it 24 hours! Wonderful. And I'll leave you with one last tidbit...did you know that if you stay up mroe than 48 hours straight, you are considered legally insane? It's true. Look it up.

always fun at The Gryphon

2009-01-31T03:29:00.007-05:00

Tonight was another successful show at The Gryphon. Thanks to everyone who came out! Tonight was also the last 9:00 showtime! Starting in February, all shows run from 8-10, so don't be late!

For anyone who doesn't know The Gryphon in Wayne, PA, it's one of the best coffee shops I've ever been too, and as a singer-songwriter, I've been to many. Not only do they have great food (and I'm told great coffee...though I've never had a cup in my life....no seriously, never), but they also have great music. I ran the open mic at The Gryphon for 2 years prior to moving to New York City, and I have to say, that The Gryphon brings out as high a caliber of musician as any open mic I've been to in NYC. Now, it's true that The Gryphon will bring out a smaller crowd, but lets remember, we're comparing the small Philadelphia suburb of Wayne to one of the most highly populated cities in the world, NYC (last I heard there are 17 million residents?). Anyway, point is, The Gryphon is great. Great people. Great atmosphere. And monthly changing art showings on the wall. I play there once every 6 weeks, and there's always something new on the wall. If you're ever in town, stop in. Oh, and did I mention that all their music is free, and yet they still pay their musicians? Very cool.

Check out The Gryphon at www.GryphonCafe.com

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar....

2009-01-28T22:29:00.004-05:00

Lately I have been working my way through an excellent book called Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. If you don't know the book, I strongly suggest you pick it up! I will use the book's own subtitle to describe it "Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes".

Plato and a Platypus... is a New York Times Bestseller, and well, hilarious. The book is broken into chapters with such titles as "Metaphysics", "Logic", and "Ethics". Each chapter's topic is introduced with a joke, followed by a short discussion (and short is often a single paragraph!) and then another joke. I literally find myself learning and laughing at the same time. A truly enjoyable experience.

I want to share a favorite joke with you right now. This is a bit of a music dork joke (how appropriate). I've heard other versions of the joke before, but this version is wonderful. The set up line for the punch line can be changed to suit the teller. I think you'll see what I mean...

" In a bar is a piano player with a monkey that goes around after each number collecting tips. While the piano player is playing, the monkey jumps up on the bar, walks up to a customer, and squats over his drink, putting his testicles in the drink. The man is miffed, walks up to the piano player, and says, 'Do you know your monkey dipped his balls in my martini?'

The piano player says, 'No, man, but hum a few bars, and I can probably pick it up.' "

Here's one for dog lovers...

" A multinational corporation advertises for a secretary. A golden retriever applies for the job, passes the typing test, and is granted an interview. The human-resources manager asks, 'Do you speak any foreign languages?'

And the golden retriever says, 'Meow.' "

I hope you enjoyed the jokes. There are so many great stories in this book that it is definitely worth your time to read. For more info, click on the title of this blog post, or cut and past this link into your browser: http://www.platoandaplatypus.com

I'll leave you with one more because I can't resist! This joke is meant to illustrate the idea of relativity of time...

" A snail was mugged by two turtles. When the police asked him what happened, he said, 'I don't know. It all happened so fast.' "

Today On The Train

2009-01-27T03:19:00.003-05:00

This isn't my best train story, but it's the latest. Worth sharing.

After missing the 7:00 train I was trying to catch, I then took the next train from Yonkers into Manhattan tonight for rehearsal. When I got on the train, I took the first empty seat I could find. It was about 8:00 and it's always busy around that time. So I take the first seat I can find, which is near the door, right behind one of those sections of seats that face each other. And the conductor is standing there by the four seat section recalling a story to the people sitting there from earlier in the shift.

First thing that caught my ear was one of the seated guys saying, "so you broke his jaw?!" The conductor responded calmly "yeah" with a slow head nod and matter-of-fact pursed lips. The seated guy says, "wait, what happened again?" So the conductor tells his story...

"Well, I'm watching the door at a stop a few hours ago, and these two kids get on and you can kinda tell they're drunk or something. So then I'm taking tickets, and when I get to them for their tickets, they take their time getting them out, and you can see it in their eyes that they are just looking to start something."

The seated guy interjects, "so they didn't want to pay?"

Conductor, "No no, they got their tickets out without me asking, but you just got this feeling that they wanted to start something. So I take their tickets, and turn to take the tickets across the aisle one row up, and I have my head down looking at the tickets I'm punching, and out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the kids move his leg back quick. So then I look in the window and see him pulling his arm back like he's gonna hit me in the back. I mean I can see everything going on around me with the reflections in the window. So I turn around and grab his arm before it comes forward, and in the process I bend his pinky back and break it. I mean, it went all the way back". With this comment, he mimics on his hand that the kids pinky stretched back and touched the back of his own hand. The seated girl gives a distasteful groan. "So I have the kids arm with one hand, and then the other kid looks like he's going to come at me, so I just come down on him hard with my hand and break his jaw. One hit. Got all puffy." He uses both hands to show the size of the kid's cheek. "I mean, it had to be broken. So then we came up to the next stop and had to get the police on board and they took a report and all. Ya know, I'd rather just let 'em go after that. They learned their lesson. But I gotta watch my back. I have to report that stuff."

The seated guy says, "well I mean it was self defense. They can't get you for that."

Conductor, "Oh definitely. Cop knew that too. No problems there. I mean, he could see that I got away unscathed, but he knew it was self defense. Ya know. Why would I be going after them? Anyway, it was pretty crazy. Only took about 10 seconds." He shrugs his shoulders. "My hand kinda hurts though."

So all in all, it was an enjoyable train ride. After hearing that story, I suddenly didn't care so much that I'd missed the earlier train. I probably wouldn't have heard as good of a story on the earlier train!

Must Keep My Fingers Busy - an addiction!

2009-01-25T21:38:00.000-05:00

It's January right now, and in NY it's been extremely bitter cold outside. I do not live in NYC, but close enough that there is decent public transit, and I try to use it whenever possible. But in this cold, I am anything but inspired to go walking outside and catch a train! As a result, I have spent countless hours in my apartment in the past few weeks.

I have always had the proclivity to spend a lot of time indoors. I have always been more interested in playing the piano and video games than in going outside to aimlessly throw a football around. (However, being the competitive person that I am, I will gladly go out and play an actual game of football! But I don't go out of my way to organize those games. You get the drift.) But recently, the combination of the cold, my normal desire to stay in, and my new found interest in social media sites (thank you Mr. Hickman), has left me mostly sitting at the computer!

But lets be serious, how much time can one spend blogging, or twittering, or facebooking, or searching for music on myspace? At some point I become overwhelmed and uncaring about these virtual societies. But while I find myself going out of my mind online, I do n0t find myself getting out of my chair. Instead I turn to any of a number of computer games to fill my time, and more importantly, to keep my fingers busy.

The games I have turned to in the past few years have included online poker, a multitude of facebook games (including scramble, words-in-a-box, the now destroyed scrabulous, it's lesser replacement scrabble beta, word twist, pathwords, and tetris friends), and even the mind numbing windows solitaire (of the traditional and spider versions). I find myself occupied by any given game for approximately 2-4 months. During that time I will figure out the tricks to the game, find ways of cheating to enhance my online score, and attempt to destroy friends at these "friendly" games. Generally the obsession ends with a two-part process: 1. I find myself going to bed, closing my eyes, and seeing the game boards in my head (be it scramble boards, tetris pieces falling from top to bottom, or playing cards), and, 2. I find a new game to take over where the old obsession left off. But for what purpose?

Well, as of yet, I have found no purpose. I wish there was one, but I am not optimistic. I have even found myself playing these games and envisioning myself playing in "the world scrabble tournament" or "world tetris masters championship" and winning it all! But do those tournaments even exist? And if they do, who cares if you win?! At some point gaining experience at these games goes beyond hobby and fun, and becomes unnecessary obsession.

So the end of the story here is that I am obsessed with mindless games. I play these games to keep my fingers busy and my mind pleasantly vegetative. Any skills I rationalize myself into believing I am gaining by playing these games are nothing more than figments of my imagination. So now I will leave this post, and I will not go and start playing a silly internet game just to pass the time. No more wasting brain power!

Fictitiously yours,

Nate

p.s. Oh, I also like biting my finger nails. Another bad habit. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

An Experiment

2009-01-25T02:51:00.000-05:00

Hey Folks,

I'm doing an experiment to get my blogger.com blog synced up with my reverbnation.com site. I like one-stop shopping, ya know?

The Graham Blog Begins

2009-01-24T22:15:00.000-05:00

Hello Hello!

I have joined the Blogger.com family, and I'm happy to be here. As you look around my blog, you'll probably notice that I enjoy the ability to add html text here. I think it's wonderful how customizable this site is.

I plan to actively participate in the exchange of information on Blogger.com. Hopefully many of you will find my thoughts and stories interesting. I look forward to all communications!

And to those of you with interests beyond the written word, I have plenty of songs you can enjoy as well. Maybe I'll even meet a few of you out at shows some time.

Bye for now....