Wednesday, April 23, 2008

check-in

i'll be back.. mhmm..
it's just that we're moving to the city on sunday, and i gots to get things in order.

kar's in bed right now.. man, life has been frigged up lately.. but in a good way. just crazy stuff. she's been studying like a champ. just going at the books with both barrels, and i've been doing my darndest to get this new job off and running while still getting home to make dinner (heat up frozen stuff) and do dishes (rinse everything and leave on drying rack), while at the same time pulling together a few random tasks every night/morning in an attempt to widdle down my big list (get boxes for moving, get demos to jimmy, get van for moving, get parking permit for toronto, get bills paid, get sleep..) The new job has me starting at usual time (6:30am) but finishing around 6:00pm, so including drive time, i've been finding me out of the house from about 5:00am till 8:00pm.

like i said though.. good. the job is good, the move is good.. all good.

i'll get back eventually, but for now, gotta do some stuff.

will get to the record again in time, but currently, jimmy's music is in position A. followed by a few life things...

that said, moving to Toronto should make it easier to get in and finish up vocals and other things in the evenings without dealing with the devil drive afterwards.

also, I'm taking kar to banff. cause i think she's great!

J

Monday, April 14, 2008

You Bett-man!

There are so many reasons why NHL hockey is incredible right now, and why these playoffs have me locked in:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

These guys are just plain fun to watch. A team full of kids with unbelievable amounts of skill, and a harder work ethic than you'll find on any other team. Seriously, in game 1 against the Sens, it looked like the Sens were absolutely shocked at the speed of play. I can't count how many times a Sens D-man would start skating up through centre looking to create a play only to be picked from behind by Staal, or Malkin, or Crosby, or Kennedy, or even Gary Roberts. Their goals are pretty, their power-play is devastating, and the simple level of star-power harkens back to the days before I was watching hockey, when Gretzky and Messier and Kurri and Coffee were suiting it up for the same team every night.

2. Dion Phaneuf

This guy is Scott Stevens but with a bigger shot and a more style. He lays guys out in every corner of the rink, and even better in open ice. Plus, than he scores while you're lying on the ice like a tool, just to add to the insult.

3. Ovechkin

I can't believe this guy. I've never seen anybody so excited to play. It's one thing that he's such a monster with the puck, but the fact that he does it with a huge smile on is face... he's like a big kid. If we end up with a Pens/Caps series in one of the next rounds I'm gonna take the week off work. That would probably be one of the best ever.

4. The fact that we once again have legitimate superstars in the NHL means that we once again have legitimate enforcers. As soon as Chris Neil gets a hand up on Crosby, he's immediately mugged by at least 3 guys. I swear, it's like these kids have just busted open the trap, cause they're too fast to be defended by it, and the result is just this whole new level of intensity.

5. The Bell Centre

Do yourself a favor and watch a montreal game. They have the best crowd in all of hockey, bar none. 5 minutes into the game and they're all on their feet, singing 'olay!' and going crazy every time somebody gets drilled. After so many years of watching New Jersey win games in front of a crowd of 3000 strong, it feels like Canadian hockey is alive again. If/when these guys go deep (Conference finals) the roof is gonna blow off. Seriously, picture a Pens/Canadians Eastern Conference Final!!! How intense would that be?? Two arenas full of utterly crazy fans, massive parties, lots of star-power and goal-scoring, two hot goalies... man.. I'm holding out hope.


Granted, if it ends up being Dallas vs. Minnesota for the prize, than this entire blog goes to crap.
J

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Ed

I just walked by Ed from 'Barnaked Ladies' in the hall at work. Isn't that veird?

I wanted to make some sort of song reference, but then the only one i could think of on the spot was 'hey ed, what would you do if you had a million dollars..' and that just seemed lame and un-imaginitive. So, i just said hi.

J

Friday, April 4, 2008

Hey, watch this!!! I'm going to empty my brain onto this blank page!!...

FRIDAY BABY YAAHHH!!

I'm glad to be headed into a weekend that holds little for me other than some playing around with music in an unfocused and undirected manner whilst drinking several coffees.

My excited mind is clogged with thoughts on uniqueness. Various sources with which I've recently been in contact (Jimmy, John Mayer... 's blog, Ronstock, etc.) have brought this idea/word to my conscious mind. I suppose I can't worry much that this record sound 'unique'. Cause it won't. Let's get back to the point of the whole thing... international magical cooperation... no. Sorry. Harry Potter joke. Kar? No Time... But it was.. NO TIME!! Jimmy?

Who's reading this?

Back at it. Seriously, this record is about having fun, and trying to explain myself in some form or another. Or at least exposing my thoughts in a semi-vulnerable manner. Why am I saying this? Because for the past 2 months, I have listened to nothing but snare drums. Exclusively. It doesn't matter what track is playing, cause all I'm hearing is snare drums. What a lame thing. Who cares about the snare drum anyway? It's gonna be what it's gonna be. It's gonna be what I decide I want it to be, and that's it. And the decision is gonna be based on the fact that it makes me feel good to hear it that way. And not what's supposed to be done, or what somebody else did, or is doing. And not what I suspect will garner the most accolades.

And then at the end of it all, I'm going to hold close a season's worth of work, and something that I'm proud of, and it's going to be my 'chase this light' in physical form.

L'Engle talks about how art is a calling. I think in 'Walking On Water.' How any true artist is answering that call... they're people who have put in the time, and have maintained that sense of ever-readyness. Ever waiting, hoping for that extra push, that extra wind in the sales, that infusion of reality thru which good art becomes meaningful art. The moment where 'I am going to push myself to learn, to improve..' meets 'I was created to do this..'

So am I a true artist? Ya. I think I am, and today, probably for the first time, I'm not bothered by the sound of discussing that. Because I'm thinking outside of 'artist' in the pop-culture sense. I'm thinking outside of snare drums. I'm thinking outside of verses and choruses and middle 8s, and I'm realizing that, when this is done, it will be all of me. My fullest effort, the great push, where I reached down, and scraped out the very sides, and left nothing behind for the sake of somebody elses version of me.

Can I chalk that up as uniqueness?

Hey, do yourselves a favor and keep one watchful eye on Jimmy's www.myspace.com/thisiswhatlovesoundslike He doesn't have new tunes up right now.. well, unless you haven't heard the ones he has up right now. But we're working on some new ones, and I'm sure they'll surface in the coming months. He's got heavy skills friends. Boy knows the meaning of melody.

Alright, everybody don't forget to look under your seats and take all of your personal belongings. Watch your step on the way out, and we'll see you again soon.

J