The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

Well it was a beautiful day. No humidity, very few clouds. Perfect for tennis. L and I to the gym, then Radnor with B. Spent some time in the kitch with veggies. Made salads and hot dogs and made a cold asian noodle salad. Went to the east side for a Guilty Pleasures meeting. Net result is I may have bitten off more than I can chew: “We Are The Champions” (laughs). Should be interesting. But how wonderful is Freddie Mercury? Rode bikes to a new boutique that opened. L painted the hallways and in general it was a beautiful day. At dusk to the pool at the Icon, and there’s lots of young hipsters there. That Eric dude, and Shelly Colvin, and the guy from Tommy and the Whale was playing billiards. Then we came back over here and had tacos and rum drinks and then finally to Belmont to meet some of Liz’s friends. Home abut 11.

Well it was a nice weekend. L and I relaxed mainly, and went to Rumours. We met Troy and Jessica there, and there was a big storm that came up and it was very dramatic and blew us off the terrace. We drank some wine and I got sleepy. They were saying how much they loved Weeds. Then we talked about Michael Jackson, and how sad we were that he was gone. I have always loved him, and felt that he really was a very sweet person, deep down. Then Saturday some of L’s high school chums came over and we had a bonfire and shot the bull. I made guacamole and we listened to Tom Petty’s radio show.  Also went for a long Radnor walk during the day, and grocery shopping. L. made roasted tomatoes and I made Kale and pasta. Briefly to the Barron’s to see some of BET’s award show because we don’t have cable. Also, we found a couch we both love, but we can’t afford it at the moment. This was def. a weekend where we relaxed and got the stove going and hung out, the 2 of us, quite a bit. Very relaxing. Inspiring article on Stuart Murdoch in the times today.

Well we’re back. We had an amazing honeymoon and then we went to Sweden and I wrote some pop songs with some of their geniuses. I was a guest at a retreat called “Phrased Differently” and Lillie tagged along as general good-luck-charm and country consultant / wife coach.  We had a great swedish adventure, and I came back with some cool country-pop-ish songs. I started listening to Shania Twain in the morning to get psyched up, like the way Ray Lewis watches Gladiator before a game. Also, I absolutely love the song “Chasing Pavements” by that Adele girl. She’s amazing. So we got back from both honeymoon and Sweden and came home to a sort of topsy-turvy house, but we managed to get things in place. iphone broke so I got a new one and a new laptop so there’s no excuse if I don’t update the blog frequently. Went to Jason’s studio today and the S.S. record is coming along great. We are almost done! I can’t believe but we’ve been working on the damn thing since November 07! So it’s coming up on 2 years which may not seems like a lot for some people but it feels like a long time to me. Anyway, nearing the finish line. There’s a couple more vocals to do, and a string part or 2. Think we are going with “Chateau Revenge” for the title. On other fronts, of course I’m married now, so it’s interesting how much I really like being married. Lillian proved on the honeymoon and the Sweden trip how she’s the perfect blend of characteristics to be a great partner and confidant. She’s encouraging, but also level-headed and supportive. She always has my back and will generally let me set the tone. She’s funny and confident, and believes in me when I don’t always believe in myself. She’s a great one to have in your corner. We have been married 3 weeks now, so I have lots of experience. Anyway. Everything is evolving and i’m just trying to concentrate on what kind of energy I vibrate with, and being conscious of the fact that the universe will always match my vibration. Also visualizing success in all endeavors. I think about that all day long. Been getting a lot of wisdom from the book “Ask and it is given”. Kind of a new age philosophy-type book, but very good!

Well tomorrow I get married. I am home now, L. is at her folks’ house. I guess it’s a tradition for the bride and groom to spend the night before the wedding apart. We are leaving on our honeymoon, like, directly from the wedding, which is very chic, and I think, exciting! But now, the house is empty. Just me and our luggage. It feels kind of melancholy at the moment. I can feel her absence. I miss her!  I guess all celebrations of great joy are tinged with sadness. Like Dylan says in that song about “behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain.” – and I feel that. I know what he’s talking about. But the rehearsal dinner was tonight and it was lovely. Tom Schyler sang “long line of love” and Marcus Hummon sang “The Broken Road” – My parents sang “We got love” and Beston sang “Temple of Fish” and Jon sang “Simple Thyme”. It was really cool. I don’t know. Part of me feels like I am still the same person I was when I was 5 years old…only my body is older. I feel a bit bewildered by all of this attention, like: “wait! I’m just a kid!” But I guess i’m sort of a grown up now. I regret I haven’t posted more often, but I hope to remedy that when I get back. We go to St. John for 10 days, then to Sweden for 8. Double honeymoon. I decided to propose to Lillie sort of out of the blue. I had no idea that that decision would lead to so much of an outpouring of love and affection. Her family is amazing, and my family is too. I feel very fortunate, that in a moment, we set in motion a chain of events that has brought so many people together. I look forward to posting lots of pictures and tales of island adventures very soon. Thanks to everyone for the love and support. We will resume shortly!

Well L. and I went back to the gym this morning. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I ran 2 miles and did some sit ups. Then home and L made hard boiled eggs and we put them in tortillas with black beans and avocado. Delish! The kitchen is mighty set up around here. All the wedding gifts are from William Sonoma. What else? Went to find some shoes for me for the wedding and found some at Brooks Brothers ($2o9) and then we went to Whole Foods ($26) to get stuff for dinner. It looks like we are going to Sweden! Which is really exciting. I told L. that I would be busy a lot, and would that bother her-and she looked at me like I was from Mars. Fuck. Still so much to do. Mike Whitty called and I’m going to ask him to run sound for the wedding. Lawn Mowers came today. It has been raining so much. Everything has that lushness to it, so well hydrated…like the English countryside. I hate that it’s going to be hot soon. I don’t want it to be hot. Jay and Leann came by for dinner and I made my first ever Lasagne. Inaguaral Lasagural. We had a nice time and talked and the Lasagne turned out great. We had whipped cream and strawberries for desert and it was heaven. I am getting addicted to yahoo answers now.

Well first of all I want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone for listening to “Drawback” and responding so positively. We’ll see about the rest of the album. Jason is hard at work mixing as we speak. Lillie directed me to Yahoo answers and I’ve been spending a really disproportionate amount of time on there. I just got so excited because I got 7 best answers! I don’t know why I love it so much, but I really need to get my priorities straight and get to work! I started a new job as a staff writer for a publisher here in Nashville. They are called “Big Yellow Dog” and Mindy Smith and Sarah Siskind both write there, so they are very cool. I’m really excited about it. Let’s see….what else. Madi Diaz broke her arm! What a bummer! She sings a lot of backgrounds on the Silver Seas record, and they are awesome! I had my bachelor party the other night. We had a giant limousine, which Jon rented, and it was hilarious. Jon and Jason and Jason Gray and Marc Pisapia came, and Mark Deaderick came for a while with a bottle of scotch. Gherke was there and Tommy and Grimey and we went to a wonderful new bar called “Patterson’s” that my brother has apparently written a review of, and Jay Barron met us there, and we had a great time. Then we picked up the girls (wives, fiances) and went to Larry’s and did some ridiculous Karaoke, which is so much fun. I got terrifically drunk, and wasn’t even hung over the next day. Although, because of stupid allergies I’ve been out of the Y for days now. Tomorrow I have to get back there. Julian comes to town this week. Let’s see….Stan had to go the vet. Bummer. I really want to get out to the studio, but I will have to wait til tuesday. Oi! Made Vichycoisse and now i’m in the mood to watch Tennis. French Open starts soon.