tree trunk progression

Last night I hosted a band meeting; one that I've wanted to do for some time now.
We're coming into our last leg of recording. Our producer, Mike Tompkins, is currently enjoying some much-needed rest in Mexico with his wife. Upon his arrival in less than a week, we'll be hitting the recording studio again for the final recording sessions on this album.

This fact scares the shit out of me.

Being a musician, and having been one for many years now, you begin to take very special care of how your music takes shape. Just as a parent would make sure their child was guided through all the proper steps, given the proper attention, and sent off into the world proudly, musicians are equally enamored with making music that properly represents their passion and vision for their music.

This fact excites the hell out of me.

Firstly, I'm no song writer. Never have been and never will be. I am far too critical of anything I write that even touches poetry, I have no gift for melody, and if I were to finish a song I would hate releasing it because I'd hate to hear people analyze it. So with this aside, I'll touch upon my true passion: the rest of it. The day I picked up a guitar I knew that the instrument alone would never be enough. When I sat on my bed strumming my first chords, I heard possibility. It was like a canal had just been built in my brain that had the ability to channel all of my creativity, vision, and passion. It was only when I picked up drums years later that things were coming full circle - I learned what rhythm was. Fundamentally, knowing these two aspects of music (melody and timing) opened up a valley of creative potential.

This fact brought on curiosity.

Yet, like anything, practice is necessary.
When I listen back to the first album Danny and I ever recorded, Fly Away, it sounds exactly like what it was: two teenage boys sitting in a room discovering a range of instruments, one at a time. If we were to re-work those songs now they would be infinitely different from their original sound. Yet this is the very thing that makes this progression special. I'm sure that if you were to look at the progressive career of a musician in terms of growth, it would look very similar to a tree trunk cross-section; some years were more progressive than others, yet it continues to grow and expand exponentially.

This fact influenced progress.

Now, staring down yet another album, we have more experience, more fantastically talented members, more songs, and more opportunity. Yes, we have all these things, but what do we do with them? Get to fucking work is what we do.

The entire purpose of the meeting I previously mentioned was to take a somewhat different approach to the recording process this time around. As was the case with the previous record, I would say that most of the songs were executed with a "face value" approach. By this I mean that we knew how to play these songs, and we played them just as they were (with maybe the exception of 2 songs). There's nothing wrong with that in actuality; the record turned out nicely. However, due to time restraints we weren't fully able to explore the songs sonically.

This fact makes my skin crawl.

I mentioned yesterday to the band that I was interested in over-recording this album. (p.s. drummers should never hold band meetings). By over-recording I mean that we should really strive for the "no-idea-is-a-bad-idea" approach. Instrumental tracks can be discarded as easily as they are recorded. What I am interested more in is what sounds can transpire from experimentation, because if you think about it, most great pop songs have one strange sonic aspect to them; something that differentiates it from the guitar/bass/drums formula.
I also mentioned that we should bring every instrument we own to the recording sessions. I believe that having extensive opportunities in front of you is far more advantageous to your practice than none at all (I've been trying to put an analogy here for an hour, but couldn't think of anything worthy of comparing).

Another thing I'm interested in, personally, is what to do with silence, if anything. Last night we were all sitting together around the old modern campfire (Danny's mac) listening to rough mix-downs of the record. During certain moments there would be dead silence in the middle of a song that would suit the track just perfectly. Other times we'd sit and think that silence wasn't even an option.
And that's just what do to with the silent parts. Think about how we are going to execute everything else. Thankfully (not luckily), our producer is exceedingly talented at what he does. The quality of the demos (not actual recordings) that he has given us so far almost surpass the quality of the last record already, and they haven't even been manipulated/balance/compressed electronically yet. His talent has obviously been recognized and he deserves every bit of it, so there are obviously things that are completely dependent on mixing that we just have to leave in his hands, which are made of gold, by the way.

This part will be continued...

rollin'

we're playing again, tomorrow night, at El Mocambo. 11:30.
since the venue is across the street from our rehearsal space, nobody's driving.
therefore we're all partying for the first time.
having a license can be a burden.

i sweat

I'm all done my drum recordings.

Am I pleased with the parts? For now, yes.

Am I happy it's over? Fuck no.

We stretched the recording session over two days at the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technologies. Since we recorded two songs with some young blood there over a year ago, we were pretty familiar with the studio space. This time around we recorded in a separate room from the control center, which was nice for me because I didn't feel as if I was under a microscope the entire time from everyone watching. Just me and the Lodge.

I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain a few things seen in the second recording diary.



The "acoustic demo's" seen being recorded at the very beginning of the video are strictly for my benefit and will never make the actual recording. They are just for me to play along with and are recorded to a metronome.

I brought six shirts this time mostly for jokes, and for the fact that it's hotter than hell in that room and I play with a little bit of impact to say the least. And I sweat. When I'm drumming, oh boy do I sweat.

What get's me most is when people come up to me after shows, hug me or touch my back, and become disgusted by the amount of sweat on me. What, are you fucking surprised? What do you think would happen to you after an hour of using every extremity to it's peak stamina? Do you think you'd break a sweat after pounding the shit out of something while sitting under KFC heat lamps, on stage, in a 20-plus degree club? You're damn right you would. So please, try not to be surprised when you come in for a hug and I warn you that your clothes may not come out the same once the embrace is over. Because drumming is a sweaty procedure. Trust me.

I should say something about Birdman.
Birdman can simply be described as a "road game" or something to be played amongst close friends. You know that childhood game where you'd make a ring with your fingers and if the person looked into it you get to punch them? It's a more instense version of that.
Basically, if you make eye-contact with someone who's giving you the Birdman face, you have to lay flat on your back - no matter where you are. On the road, in your kitchen, in a restaurant, at the mall: it's all fair game. Meme, BK and I are all really good and crafty at it. It just takes some creativity and a sense of humor and you're off. I think it's hilarious, because it's like the feeling a black person gets when slamming down a Domino, except anyone can play.

The 3 broken sticks? I can't explain that either, because I've been breaking sticks like crazy lately. Even at our cottage show in Kincardine I broke four during one set. Strange.

"2 really tired guys". They went out drinking the night before. Colin barfed under a table at Joe Kool's and I laughed really hard when I heard that. I sided on staying in for a nights sleep.

The fact that the 6 tracks that needed recording was done in 5 hours was a two-sided effort. On my behalf, I was very ready to record and even impressed myself at the speed in which the takes were completed, even though most of the songs were more difficult than the previous recording session. More importantly, our producer Mikey T and recording assistant Jeff worked with a notable expedience that did not go unnoticed. I can honestly say I was thoroughly impressed by their diligence and input they put forth. They met my every demand (such as cue's, playbacks, and coffee breaks) and were patient during equipment change-overs. If there were a manly way to send flowers, those boys would have gardens from me by now.

At the end, the "misunderstanding" was Mike coming in for a hug, which I assumed was a chest-bump. Needless to say, I chest-bumped him and we had a good laugh.

ps. the line from Mike at the end was a Care Bears reference. If that doesn't ring a bell, nothing will.

hue video diary one

due to the lack of posts, i'll justify myself by putting this video up

happy 200

200th Post. Something monumental I guess.

To celebrate, I'm throwing in some Three Stooges for good measure. I'm not sure what my hankering is all about to watch Three Stooges clips all night, but maybe it has something to do with the show Dan, Darcy and I played tonight here in Toronto.

Because clearly Dan is Moe, Darcy is Larry, and I'm Curly. Enjoy.

ringing ears

We had rehearsals today for the first time in almost a month. Jess was in Portugal and Andrew was pissing out his ass in Peru (Dan and I sympathized, as we had similar stomach problems in Fiji - needless to say, we all had a good laugh).

So with them back, we had a really fun Sunday afternoon jam and went over most of the material we've been working on, as well as a couple new diddy's. On top of that, it had to be the loudest jam to date. The boys bought a beautiful new VOX amp for electric guitars, which means we now play with two electrics, bass, keyboards, and drums all at the same time. As you can probably notice from the photo, the space isn't huge. This is the first time I've ever left a rehearsal with my ears ringing probably because we played Rooftops today about six times, which is about this loud and this fast.

Here's a pretty irrelevant shot of my studio. I thought I'd take it because my wide angle lens gives me a pretty nice view of the place. You can check out some of the notes on my Flickr. There's some funny treasures in there.

startin fires tour

Show tonight in Kingston.
Yeah.

until then

I was listening to this song the other night and decided to bring it back to life by making a video for it. Seeing as I had a camera full of travel footage, I thought why not use it somehow? The thing I find kind of funny about the video is that it was entirely shot by myself, my dad, and my brother - something which I can guarantee you won't happen again for the rest of history: the Schmidt boys filming music videos.

Needless to say, here it is.



Aside from that, it may be worth watching on Youtube's site, seeing as the format of my blog cuts the sides off videos when viewed on certain screen sizes, like my own.

sometimes you just gotta pat yourself on the back

americanos with cinnamon

Well friends, it appears we're back at it.

There's been serious talks about recording the next Hue record. We've applied for the government grants, talked to past produced Mikey T, scoped out studio locations, and have begun honing in on certain songs and possible other considerations for the album. The more interesting part of all this is we're possibly recording in March. That's not very far away.

The process of writing and recording is a very fun and tricky thing. Personally, when I sit down at the drum kit to write parts for new songs, I do it somewhat vaguely. Like in painting, I'll rough in an idea to expand from. Timing signatures, fills, splits, cymbal work, absences, different sticks and percussion etc etc. From there, after about a dozen or so run-through's, I should have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing. However, when writing an album, everything counts and you have to be prepared to play those same parts for the rest of your life. I've never actually regretted a single drum line that I've written, but some are just more strenuous than others (like Until Then, which is around 7 minutes of the same thing).

However, it's all quite exciting. I love the process. I pride myself on being fairly expedient in the studio; we're aiming to record all of my drum parts for this record in one day, maybe two. Like the recording process of the last record, I'll have an americano in my hands at all times. I can't drink one of those things without feeling the tight hug of studio headphones wrapped around my ears, and the smell of sound-proofed foam covering the walls.

The writing process has also been quite refreshing this time around. Seeing as we've added two new members to the lineup, the variety of sounds, instruments, and harmonies has opened up gigantic sonic possibilites. The rehearsals have been sounding as good as listening to a record. Writing with five people is a lot of fun, especially since it's less of a stage circus because there is little instrument change-overs when playing live.

Another thing to take into account when writing a record is the songs themselves: not so much the songs on the record, but the ones that don't make it. It's honestly like losing old friends. We have songs we've been playing for literally years that I know won't make this record. Dozens of them. Because as you start to form a record you realize thematically and sonically what it is and where it's going. Some, actually, most songs don't make records because they are either too "this" or too "that". Some rock a little too much, sound like somebody else, or are so over the deep end that it doesn't even sound like it was written by the same band.

Although we'll be cutting songs like chops of meat, the finished product is going to be something very special I think. I want to say it's very different from the last record, which it is, but not too far away. Don't expect to hear any rap or reggae on this record. I will say that we're far less timid this time around, timid in terms of exploration and limitations of the songs themselves. There's grooves, holes, length and chances taken in almost every track. Given that we've had a huge amount of time around to write and demo songs, the work has been allowed to group and expand organically amongst the group, unlike the last record, where the small amount of time to write and record reacted to some material like a miniature dinosaur that expanded in warm water.

Either way, I'll continue to post about any advancements over the next couple months, amongst other things.

east and dp

Dan and I realised a while back that not only have we been friends for a long time, but we've been making music together for almost just as long. I'm fairly sure we've been involved in some sort of group together at any given time over the past 7 years.

I remember it like it was yesterday. We'd arranged to have a "jam" at my house in my bedroom. We planned on playing Credence Clearwater Revivals single, Down on the Corner. Hours before he showed up to my house, I pleaded with my sister to teach me how to play it, even though the song is only three chords. My fingers were getting sore even before he got there. I fumbled with the tabliture terribly, almost like a child learning how to ride a bike.

After several attempts together at completing the song, I looked over to the bongo I'd been given that Christmas (this one is specifically known as an Indian tabla), began to play, and the rest is history. I brought the beat and Danny played the guitar.

We continued to play together, comparing calluses in the cafeteria, and then we began playing with our good friend Nathan, who actually had a fairly decent understanding of the guitar. After only three or so practices, we played our first show together, under the name of Gerald Pessy at a coffee house. Later that month, we entered in our high school Battle of the Bands (how 'right of passage' does this sound for young boys?), and came in second.

Another story of this sort comes from the days before we played our final show together at The Embassy, which is all but a pile of rubble now. We decided to "electrify" our sound by putting Nathan on electric guitar, and me on drums for the first time. I really want to say this was because we were listening to a lot of Oasis at the time, but who really knows. I distinctly remember, much like the session with my sister, my brother sitting me down and teaching me the one and only beat I'd ever be structurally taught. It was the simple 4/4 beat that is most common in percussion. That night at the embassy, it was the only beat I played for every song. The tapes from that show exist somewhere, and I'll be damned if I don't find them someday.

Years later, after disbanding with Nathan, we wrote and recorded Fly Away under the name Hue. Seeing as we were the only two members of the band, we wrote and arranged all the instrumental parts together under the chord progressions and lyrics from Dan. The album is roughly recorded, but there is innocence, vision, and sincerity in the execution of the each song. I still have a few copies kicking around.

To this day, we are still best friends and continue to make music together. We have full confidence in each others talents, yet are never hesitant to provide feedback when needed. We compliment each others work, and never forget to pound knuckles after each night we play. Even after all these years, I think the one thing that keeps us from feeling stale musically is the fact that we're excited to hear what we can both come up with, whether alone or collectively. It's either that or we're both really good at freestyling.

...to another seven Danny boy.

peas and tarot's

Two shoots. Two days. Rush rush rush.

I was experimenting with a flash setup I bummed from school, except the sync chord they gave me didn't sync at all, so they were only really good for spot lights, but I made do.
I snapped some band shots last night of the lineup we've currently been rehearsing with. Who knew that one day we'd have another ginger, who's name is also Andrew, who also went as Tin Tin for Halloween? I don't know if I like the sounds of those similarities. As long as he can't freestyle as good as me, I'll be okay.

There are more shots, but they'll be released on our Myspace when we're good and ready: probably after a few more rehearsals.

The next shoot was this morning at Blair's urban planning firm.

I was hired on by Cal Brook and Anne McIlroy, who are quite possibly the two most gracious and patient bosses I've ever met. The shoot went very well. I allowed myself a little over three hours to shoot, and the production meeting we had weeks beforehand helped us craft the sort of images they were looking for to add to their website.
Despite my serious sickness, I managed to pull together a fine body of work (and even got to use a ladder). I'd add more photos to see, but they currently don't belong to me. Oh to be a business. Fun day nevertheless, and I even got another job out of it.

On a final note, Anne told me my personality is reflected in my work. Probably one of the best compliments I've received all year.

There you have it. Another capper on one of those "Impossible Weeks" I seem to keep having.

get your shit right

get your shit right

Hue | MySpace Video

If you have an hour, watch this video a few dozen times. I guarentee you'll find something hilarious in it every time you watch it.

not even a twizzler/oh baby it's tight i tell ya it's tight

A while back during tour, I was going to write a post on the delicate procedure of packing a van full of equipment. There is seriously a fine art to the entire ordeal. The MuteMath boys explain it best.

Those guys are big enough to have a real trailer. My band, on the other hand, gladly tour in a minivan. When I was a kid I did a lot of grocery shopping with my dad. One of my favorite parts (aside from using Loeb's Cookie Club membership) was putting all the items on to the conveyor belt at checkout. I was so good at finding places to put items, and still am to this day. I could probably fit an entire grocery cart on one reel of belt. It was all about shapes.

Same thing goes for trailers. Everything just seems to find it's place over time. And the longer you tour, the easier it is to fit everything. We actually had more space in the van than when we started the tour, despite collecting things along the way.

However much credit I lend myself as a packer, I have to hand it to Darcy. On top of being freakishly strong (due to either leverage or his Grandfather, Gumby), that guy can pack.

to some it comes easy

Lately it appears I've been a part of some good media exposure.

I had an interview in last months issue of Scene , which I wish I had to show you because it was hilarious. The title of the article was called Hue Looks For Northern Exposure at NXNE. The introduction to the article was a bunch of garbage about how a lot of bands have made it big at this festival in the past by playing one amazing show, and that we hope to do the same. I retorted by saying that becoming popular by playing NXNE is unrealistic and very assuming, and that all you can really do is play your best and hope that those in the audience remember your name. If you really want to read the article, I have it at home. It hangs by my fridge.

Secondly, I got a text the other night saying I was on tv. I assumed it was from an eTalk segment filmed earlier that day, where I creeped into Kevin Brauch's shot by standing behind him during his report on Luminato.
Turns out it was another re-run of our segment on Rogers Cable's London Calling. Although the rest of that episode was irreverant trash, our segment turned out half-decent. You can usually catch it on your local Rogers Cable network, between the hours of 3am and 5am.

Then, last Saturday I was at the Bovine Sex Club watching Inward Eye play their NXNE set. If you've never heard of these guys before, you probably will before you're dead. They are probably the closest thing to a young version of The Who. They're an incredible live band, they sound super tight, and most of their songs are rad to the boner. Just when I thought we were a hard working band, I watch these guys and they make me feel like a blubbering vagine. That, and Dave the bassist doesn't make me feel bad for sweating like crazy on stage, because he sweats buckets.
Anyway, on to the point. Our manager Cory Gram-Cracker pulled us out of the bar for some unknown reason. We were all pretty bagged by that point - mostly due to the vodka he was forcing on us behind Reverb before the show started.
Turns out he met some of the guys from Aux TV earlier in the night and they wanted to film an interview with me. I was pretty much forced, which is cool because I like interviews.



You can see my four-second clip at around 5:02. Here are some of my thoughts on that single clip:

a) I looked good. Earlier on in the night I'd seen Riverdance, and then went straight to the shows once it was over. Cool white shirt and a nice crisp vest. Daaaammn.

b) I'm yelling. As you can probably hear in the background, it was noisy as hell. Throughout the interview (which may or may not ever be seen), I continuously needed questions repeated because I couldn't hear jack shit, and then had to scream the answers just to hear myself think. I do wish it was available in full though, because I said some funny drunk shit.

c) I look like Bobby Flay. There's nothing really to add there.

d) The other guests. Okay, if you continue to watch the clip, you'll see some other artists. Those artists include Gentlemen Reg (whom I listen to on a daily basis) and John from In Flight Safety (who I once listened to on a daily basis). This made me shit myself because they both make amazing tunes and I'd never imagine being butted up against them in a video reel.

e) I'm the youngest. That's just the facts.

f) I'm well on my way to the "Big Kahuna". If you don't know what that means, you'll understand in about a month.

The only thing that would put the cherry on top of all this exposure would be if we end up doing this radio interview we've been slated to do in Ottawa in two days.

pon de dungle

the insanity continues.

more shows. no sleep. some fun. lots of ontario.

damn i'm going to miss my friends.

if you were a latino, I'd be fucked

There they are: the two official handsome chauffeurs of the Hue 2009 East Coast Tour.

I don't believe I've ever mentioned such things on this blog, but my band is touring the East coast of Canada starting next week (June 24th to July 25th to be exact). To be totally honest, I'm equally excited and uneasy. It's definitely not the most legit tour ever compiled. On top of slightly shotty tour dates, we're camping. How you like me now? It's going to get really, really greasy. But hey! That stuff is right up my alley.

I've been very fortunate to have seen the many corners of this country at such a young age. It's been some time since I've visited the East, which is nice because I have an altered appreciation for pretty much everything since last visiting when I was 13. Wow, a decade ago? Where does the time go. I still know the feeling of being nearly blown off my feet by the wind, atop a hill in St. Johns. I still remember the smell of the ocean, and I definitely still remember the smell of my No. 5 Dippity Doo hair gel I used at the time. That shit could impale.

Speaking of greasy travelling, Dan and I are no strangers to it. Him and I have traveled half-way around the world together and done some of the most despicable things you can think of, all in the name of survival. Sleeping in parks, eating out of the garbage, shitting in the outback, stealing hundreds worth of drinks, using other peoples towels (fuck), trying to catch food, chasing kangaroos - although I wouldn't call that survival, I just really wanted to box that mo-fo. He took it like a bitch.

Needless to say, we know what we're doing in the wild. We became men at a very young age. Some of that shit I can't even tell you about. Either way, for the tour I'm going to re-open the Spreken Ze Talk blog, just to extend my travel stories this summer.

And it's not even over yet!

The first week of August marks my fourth annual "Men With Clubs" tour. It's basically me and a bunch of retired teachers/principals golfing Northern Michigan for four days. It's really just beer, golf, dudes, and jokes. I love it.

I'll post again before we leave. Show tonight at the London Music Club (big hall), then tomorrow at Mitzi's Sister around 9, then Friday at Pogue Mahones in Sarnia. I have to put up some paintings at Vdara before then.

My life is a circus.

picture sifting

I'm currently sitting on my old PC here in London and thought it would be funny to search through my received files from the past few years. Some of the stuff was just too good to not share, so here's what I'm talking about:
That's Adam Green. Him and his babe wife own The Little Red Roaster. He is one of the only people I've ever met that I would truly call a character. He is instantly quotable and never ceases to make me laugh. I could tell you a hundred stories, but I won't.

That would be Dan and I sitting in the Melbourne airport during one of the longest layovers I've ever experienced. That night we decided it would be unwise to stay in a hotel when we could just spend the night in the terminal. Looking back, I'm wishing we did. By that point I hadn't slept in over two days. I spent the night safeguarding our gear and writing in my journal while the others attempted to sleep. I can never sleep when there's the risk of losing my belongings, especially my Thai fisherman's pants. Check that shit out!That was taken at the second-last Joe Schuster Way Halloween party. I've been going to those for years and sadly they just got too crazy and were forced to discontinue them. But it was nice to party with Mario, Whoopie Cushion and Emily Rose. That party always had the best costumes.
Way back when, Hue was a circus. When we'd play live it wasn't uncommon for each member to play every instrument on stage during different songs. It was so, so hectic between songs because everyone would change positions and end up playing something entirely different from the last song. I can be seen here playing the bass, which was always a fucking pleasure.

That is Harrison Ford in a speedo. I never really cared to delete it from my received files, probably because it makes me laugh every time I see it.
This photo above was taken two years ago on the patio of CTO. If you haven't already figured it out, that is my gay twin, and his name is Andrew. I was freaking out. Nobody there could believe what they were seeing, and neither could I. The entire night felt like a segment from A Christmas Carol.
This man is a famous Fijian, at least to me. We stayed on the island of Mana and noticed this man strutting around with his huge gut, just building stuff and throwing down huge Fiji-Life style naps (that's when you lift your t-shirt above your belly to relieve some heat, and it only looks cool on them so don't try it)
Again, another crazy Hue lineup of musicians. Mary-Beth is probably the most talented musician I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Her accomplishments trump most seasoned orchestra players, and she's not even 30. Before she played for ex-president Bush, she was recording with us in the studio and the CIA would call her periodically for security checks. That was a trip.
That's my friend Ferris rocking the Indian look so hard with that hand drum.
That's my friend Stephen. He is the most asian person I know and also happens to be a super genius (don't those usually go hand in hand anyway?). He once proved to me that 1+1 does not equal 2. Maybe I'll call him up and ask some day how this is so. He likes history.
That's Gary. Bike and I found Gary in a Wal-Mart parking lot. He was trying to cross the road and held up traffic until we scooped him up and took him home. Later that day we did our research, built a habitat, and fed him crickets. His tongue was long and lethal. In fact, I used to have nightmares that Gary would grow ten times his size and suck my eyeballs out of my head with his incredibly long tongue. He changed color with mood and would always try to escape from his tank, and he usually succeeded. He would climb curtains and the fake trees in my brothers Africa-themed bedroom. Gary is now dead and resides in Dans freezer awaiting a proper burial. Peace out Gare-bear.

Open Apology - Lee's Palace

Hey friends,

As you may or may not have heard, last week I fell on my hand and managed to fractured and temporary misaligned my fifth metacarpal bone in my right hand (the one that went wee wee all the way home). This has disabled me from doing much of anything, including playing the drums. Believe me when I say I tried everything possible to get that hand to work, but the plaster cast I'm wearing allows no wrist flexibility and only the use of three fingers.

With great regret, we've been forced to cancel this Fridays show at Lee's Palace. We considered many other options, but felt this venue deserved a proper show for a proper crowd. I even considered playing the songs differently using a different grip, but this would strongly compromise the precision and execution of the songs. It takes a whole lot for us to cancel a show. In fact, I believe this our first cancellation. Either way, I'm personally sorry and can't wait to get back on the stage with the boys.
Who knows, maybe I'll end up like that kid who broke his arm in Rookie of the Year, but instead of throwing incredible fastballs, I'll be able to drum like Buddy Rich, sans the attitude.

Be well.

click, click, boom

I'm tired. 

Do you ever get that sensation where you know your body needs food but you're just not hungry, or when you know you need to sleep but you just can't? That's good stuff. 

It's been, and will continue to be, a very busy few weeks. Working towards completing works for three separate shows, all within two months of each other, and I've been having trouble connecting works together. I've painted over the same canvas three times already and plan to do so again tomorrow morning. There's a certain click that happens when I begin a new painting and I can usually sense what the finished product will look like by the time of completion. I'll toss and turn every night and wake up early just to work on it, and to see what the final product looks like. Lately this hasn't been happening. My mind has been in other places and I become really unmotivated when I enter the studio to see that my oil brushes have dried over. I really detest cleaning brushes sometimes. This is mostly due to the fact that I don't enjoy the smell of Taltine, and linseed oil can really muck-up your kitchen sink. Needless to say, I'll get it all done.

It is now nearing 3am and all I can seem to focus on is watching GG Allin interviews, which is not necessarily the stuff anyone should be watching before bed. 

Last nights show at The Supermarket went really well. I smacked my hand right near the beginning of the set and it didn't stop bleeding for about twenty minutes. The really sad thing is that I was playing another bands drum kit and I had to wipe the blood off in between tracks.

Tonight we recorded in London with the gentlemen from the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology. That went very well, but I felt that my own bed would be a nice way to cap off the day. We got some Timmies and I drove the boys home to Toronto in our new van. The portable radio scratched and fuzzed between stations the entire way and we heard the same Kings of Leon song three times going in one direction. 

I've been really craving a good, concise, blogathon lately. One where I can rant passionately about something that's been on my mind, except I just haven't really allowed myself the time to do that. Hopefully this weekend. 

Oh, and St. Paddy's was good. I was in bed by twelve and still have splinters embedded in my left hand from climbing a ten foot wooden fence into somebody's backyard.