tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53414292011-04-21T15:02:44.490-04:00Band Practicenotes toward an autobiography of an alt-indie pioneer of the pioneer valleyNnoreply@blogger.comBlogger331100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1124066885145298372005-08-14T20:33:00.000-04:002005-08-14T20:48:05.150-04:00FROM THE READERS' MAILBAGIn checking out this page's Google searches--and if you've never searched with Google, I highly recommend it--I often find, not surprisingly, peoplel searching the term "band practice" as well as "band practice space." I even get a few for Microdisney and the Fucking Sparklies. But recently I received one that no doubt qualifies as a question from the "Reader's Mailbag":Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1074357453733725812004-01-17T11:36:00.000-05:002004-01-17T11:40:58.343-05:00TRIP If you look if you look up from your book You will surely catch my eye. You could be my one and only girl And I would be your clumsy guy. And if you trip if you trip all over me I will trip all over you. Take a trip all over me And I’ll be tripping all over you. We could walk could walk down rainy streets Look in windows watch the world go by. You could be my disaffected girl And I wouldNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1066715730210794412003-10-21T01:34:00.000-04:002003-10-21T01:58:35.453-04:00A NEW SONGHere's my latest song. Feel free to pilfer it. Now that C-FUS has been sidelined by in-fighting, I don't know when I'll have the chance to use it: A MESSAGE Please deposit five cents Okay lovey. I like calling you lovey. I feel like a soccer mom. You should be a drill sergeant Be optimistic, like he is. Time to yell at the children Need tea and a hug Use your imagination. Should I Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1065205135096660382003-10-03T14:08:00.000-04:002003-10-03T14:18:54.946-04:00LAST THOUGHTS ON AUDIENCE VS. BAND CONTROVERSYWith all this talk of how the band should treat the audience, let me put in a few words about how the audience should treat the band... 1) Arrive punctually. If it says nine o'clock in the ad, be there and be in your seats by nine o'clock. Thank you. 2) Try not to get up in the middle of songs. It disturbs other audience members. 3) When you go to Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1065204179927953822003-10-03T14:01:00.000-04:002003-10-03T14:03:17.490-04:00go hereGo here for the latest dumb blog entry of wonderstuff.Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1063658778914942702003-09-15T16:19:00.000-04:002003-09-15T16:46:19.053-04:00NEVERMIND DAY OF THE JACKS, HERE'S C-FUSAll of my blog readers have been asking me, "what's going on with that day of the jacks reunion show you promised us?" I'm sorry to report that, despite my best efforts, it ain't gonna happen. We were well on our way to getting things together when one of those inevitable band scwabbles broke out. It went something like this: Bill: Joe, your playing "HeavyNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1063226955074634442003-09-10T16:47:00.000-04:002003-09-10T16:49:15.080-04:00FRAGMENTSJust thought I'd post some old fragments of songs I found on my computer, in case anyone wants to borrow them. Sometimes it seems too hard to be Anything at all Our love is in dry dock Time to scrape the barnacles off Chisel off the ediface... Damn me damn me damn me for wanting The priestess of burnt toast and forgotten notes... She dropped me like a bad habit For a day or two Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1061818706677893522003-08-25T09:38:00.000-04:002003-08-25T09:38:26.590-04:00ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I'LL DO ITWell, I wasn't shocked to read in Phil's blog that Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne won't be at Transperformance. Having "seen" Thurston Moore at Harry's, I know what that's all about. But no matter. I'm more than happy to fill in for him. Just give me a call Pricedawg and I'll grab my axe and be there for ya. The only thing is--the only REM song I can play is "Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1059426004247317522003-07-28T17:00:00.000-04:002003-07-28T17:00:04.046-04:00CHECKLISTI remember when I was playing in the Percy Shelleys S.C., our guitarist and other vocalist--besides yours truly of course--developed a checklist for whom he would talk to at gigs and to what extent: 1) People who were already his friends. 2) Significant others of other members of the band. If a relationship ended, this person was no longer on the list, unless they happened to be in one Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1058573038252896112003-07-18T20:03:00.000-04:002003-07-18T20:03:58.123-04:00Quote of the Day: "I wouldn't want to join a band that didn't already have me as a member."Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1057764312491816682003-07-09T11:25:00.000-04:002003-07-10T02:14:42.266-04:00I'M WITH YA, PHILI was just reading Philip Price's blog entry and I gotta say. I know how he feels. I locked myself out of the house this weekend and had to knock on the window for forty-five minutes before anyone heard me and let me in. What a pain in the neck. Oh, and don't worry about not linking to people, Philip. It took me a long time to learn that html stuff too. It'll come to you in Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-1056641284484679212003-06-26T11:28:00.000-04:002003-06-26T11:28:04.396-04:00THE HARPISTI don't know what Geophyte has against the guy in the audience who played a harmonica during Wilco's encore. Anytime one of my bands plays people in the audience are always asking if they can take over for me on the guitar. The rest of the audience always seems to love it. Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-958948102003-06-21T12:17:00.000-04:002003-06-21T19:05:16.000-04:00SHAKEYI was reading Neil Young's biography "Shakey" the other day. The part about him jumping into digital from analog when it was brand new and the problems he encountered reminded me of my own problem with new technology. The first time I used my computer to compile a CD (when I was fronting the Percy Shelley's) I decided to cut production costs and put it all together and burn a couple of Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-958613602003-06-20T09:18:00.000-04:002003-06-20T09:18:48.220-04:00EMOI'm sorry people but whenever you talk about Emo, I keep picturing Emo.Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-957902952003-06-18T09:55:00.000-04:002003-06-18T09:55:15.226-04:00Blog of BeckWell, though I'm probably the last person in North America to find Beck's blog, I will link to it anyway. Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-954723832003-06-09T13:31:00.000-04:002003-06-18T08:56:45.000-04:00NEW NAMEJust thought of a new band name: INVISIBLE BANNED WEAPONS PROGRAMNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-954720532003-06-09T13:22:00.000-04:002003-06-09T13:24:41.000-04:00last gig - a little more vocals in the monitors, please. --more bass, too. ---actually, could you turn off the monitors, we sound crappy. -we wouldn’t sound so crappy if you showed up for band practice. ---I’d show up for band practice if we actually practiced. Last time I was there we spent an hour and a half discussing what to call our new CD, forty minutes choosing our thirty minute setNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-951516202003-06-01T09:23:00.000-04:002003-06-01T09:23:10.113-04:00MELT-BANANAWell, I think this web site for Melt-Banana pretty much makes my decision about Monday’s show for me. I dare say it’s worth enduring the degradation of $5 drafts for a little Melt-Banana action. Oh, and Cyclub too of course! Junko, it’s been awhile. I hope you are well.Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-948421652003-05-24T19:51:00.000-04:002003-05-24T19:52:08.000-04:00I'm gonna get me a hat.Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-943976032003-05-15T12:33:00.000-04:002003-05-15T12:33:53.446-04:00Hear Where You AreSince I’m not the type of guy to talk only about myself, I’d like to take some time to recommend a local CD to all of you, my dear readers. The Mitchell’s “Hear Where You Are” is a great CD. The music is emotive; the lyrics are clever and evocative without straying into pretense as far too many local writers do. In a previous post on this blog I compared Interpol to the MitchellNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-941471772003-05-11T09:31:00.000-04:002003-05-11T09:31:46.676-04:00THE NAMESomeone asked me recently about where the name “day of the jacks” comes from. It seems that people some misconceptions as to how the name came about. While it’s true that we often dressed in matching flannel shirts with suspenders, we had the name “day of the jacks” long before we were all taken in by the “lumberjack chic” craze of the mid-80’s. The name actually comes from my days livingNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-939347652003-05-07T12:23:00.000-04:002003-05-07T12:23:34.006-04:00PRESSAnd I forgot to mention, best of all, we already have members of the press looking to get invites to the show. The comeback is already part of the local buzz!Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-939345922003-05-07T12:20:00.000-04:002003-05-07T12:21:55.000-04:00day of the jacksGreat news! "day of the jacks" are getting together for a reunion show. We haven't worked out the day and time yet, but I'll let you know. I never thought this would happen. After the "incident" things seemed to have fallen apart forever. For those few of you not in the know, the incident was of course when i lost our master tape of what was going to be our masterpiece: "the jacksNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-938436942003-05-06T01:02:00.000-04:002003-05-06T01:02:46.790-04:00JOBSThe "jobs" I've had while pursuing my art: Video Store, Used CD store, Vintage Clothes Shop, "the Soup Kitchen Cafe" (the worst-named Noho restaurant EVER), Used Record Store, substitute teacher, data entry temp, dishwasher (summer camp), personal trainer, Used 8-Track store, Chinese delivery guy. I believe this is most of them. But it's all for the art. Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-938433492003-05-06T00:56:00.000-04:002003-05-06T00:56:48.566-04:00Again, if you'd like to write me and tell me what memories you'd like me to share in this blog, my email is yesthisishappening@yahoo.com. Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-938430532003-05-06T00:51:00.000-04:002003-05-06T00:51:25.940-04:00Well, I've been away from this infernal computer for a couple of days. But now I'm back. Not sure where I'm going with this. Been suffering writer's block ever since someone told me that "Trip" was a jejeune lyric. Damn you, damned critics!!!Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-936672142003-05-02T15:15:00.000-04:002003-05-02T15:15:21.653-04:00CYCLUBI heard some disturbing news today. Cyclub is breaking up. All I can say is Junko, if you need a new guitar player, I'm your man. You'll have to slow it down a bit so I can keep up, but I'm here for you.Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-936671152003-05-02T15:13:00.000-04:002003-05-02T15:13:30.750-04:00MUSINGSWow, I’ve kept myself writing three days straight. I must be enthused. I don’t know how those guys from School for the Dead can blog so much. They got dedication. They got discipline. THE WEISSTRONAUTSSo, Pete Weiss is coming back to town. Saturday night, the Brass Cat. I hope you’ll come out and support him. I have a vested interest in his band becoming successful and famous. I have a Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-936005012003-05-01T11:56:00.000-04:002003-05-01T11:56:43.376-04:00TRIPPINGSo here's a new song I've just written. I'll be playing it out at my next gig. TRIP If you look if you look up from your book You will surely catch my eye. You could be my one and only girl And I would be your clumsy guy. And if you trip if you trip all over me I will trip all over you. Take a trip all over me And I’ll be tripping all over you. We could walk could walk down rainy Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-935485812003-04-30T15:27:00.000-04:002003-04-30T15:27:42.536-04:00ELDER STATESMANAs one of the elder statesmen of the local indie scene, I'm often asked what I think of other bands. So, here's a few thoughts I had today...I'm sure more will follow later. THE MITCHELLS: Interpol sound like the Mitchells. Interpol is cool. Therefore, the Mitchells are uber-cool. I'm going to see them Saturday at the Brass Cat. Maybe Caleb will call me up to play a tune or two. Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-935450472003-04-30T14:18:00.000-04:002003-04-30T15:30:26.000-04:00THE DAY OF THE JACKSI remember when I was in an Uber-alt band called “the day of the jacks”—yeah, all lower case for effect. And that was back before email made never using upper case letters cooler than…well, something that’s really cool. But anyway, after struggling for weeks, opening for filler bands in lame-ass bars we finally got our break and got a second band on a three band bill spot at BNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-935377712003-04-30T12:02:00.000-04:002003-04-30T12:27:43.000-04:00THE KNOWSomeone once asked me where we got our name (The Know was a band I was in 7 or 8 years ago). Well, we had rented practice space in Holyoke--back when it wasn't yet cool to travel down to Holyoke--using some extra money that Paul had. In the space next to us was a theater group who were into Japanese Noh theater at the time. Well, one day we were practicing and trying on names and I Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5341429.post-935372512003-04-30T11:53:00.000-04:002003-05-01T08:01:40.000-04:00HERE I AMWell, as you can see from my Blog title, I'm continuing to work on my autobiography, "JM: The fractional life of an alt-indie-pioneer." Some of you may have read my precis, the one I submitted to a few publishers recently. But I fear that the publishing world isn't ready for my earnest, no holds barred and quite clever approach to unfolding the who and what of who and what I am. Here is Nnoreply@blogger.com