The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

Home for a few days, then back out for the US leg of the Josh Rouse Nashville Tour. I’ve been doing laundry, returning phone calls, trying to persuade my girlfriend not to leave me; the usual stuff that touring musicians do when they come home. Also, I’ve been trying to take back the portion of the house which has been threatened to be overtaken by cats. This in and of itself is a full-time job! Leslie and I went to see “Born Into Brothels” which you can read a complete synopsis of on my brother’s site. It was great! I found myself feeling unusually bouyant and effervescant after watching this film! I’ve also been reading the Malcolm Gladwell books, thinking I was very ahead of the world…on the cutting edge; only to find that “Blink” is number two on the bestseller list! I can’t ever do anything original anymore! I sent the Les Paul in to get re-fretted. It sounds like a sitar. Everytime I took a solo, the comments people made after the show were: “It was really cool how you went into that Indian-sounding stuff; making your guitar sound like a Sitar!” I thought: “What? Better get the frets replaced.”
But Richard Starky (no relation to Ringo) who does all of Paul Kennerley’s guitars, as well as Steve Miller said he could do it in a few days for me. This tour has been fun so far, and I hope the fun continues. I really want to get a guitar like that Nels Kline guy from wilco has. I think it’s a Jazzmaster? But it has these P-90 looking pickups in it. That guy is good. I saw him on the Austin City Limits show with Bright Eyes. He was playing all these cool notes; it made me re-think what I should play on the guitar. The songs (Wilco) are good, but the best part is when they go in to the jam sessions at the end. This makes me think of a film…maybe “The Verdict” with Paul Newman. Bright Eyes came to the last Josh Rouse show in New York, and I thought he was a very handsome and nice young man. On the Austin City Limits show, he seemed so full of vitriol, I didn’t know what to think…it made me uncomfortable to watch. I guess he’s good, but I don’t know for sure. I find it hard to trust my instinct anymore…I mean, there’s reasons why stuff should theoretically be good, but does that mean it is?

I’ve just spent the last few days immersing myself in the world of Davy Rothbart. Now this cat is cool!
I downloaded the This American Life series from itunes, including some of Mr. Rothbart’s audio journalism. This stuff is fascinating! You can check out his website, the 21 ballons production co. for some inspiration on taking your dream to the next level. The same principles at work in the audio stories on “This American Life”, can also be “found” in his magazine FOUND, by far the most interesting magazine I have seen in years!
The M.O. is not to miss the stuff that’s right under your nose (or even within your own family) for potential inspiration! This principle is evident in my brother Carl’s excellent essay about my grandmother entitled: tea time. Also, here is a “Talk Of The Town” article about
Davy from The New Yorker

London was a terrific concert! Thanks to all the J. Rouse fans who showed up it was a really special night…We then spent a LONG time on the bus to get to Sweden, but now that we’re here, the reward is an internet connection so I can update the blog! So thanks to anyone who came to the show in London for making it such a fun night! Now I will have to sleep in big time before I even contemplate doing anything else!
more photos soon…

Greetings from Manchester, UK: In the heart of Jolly old England, Manchester Universityis home to the Manchester Academy theater, where tonight I will be performing with Josh Rouse, my good friend and fellow songwriter. The recent album “Nashville” reached #14 on the top 100 downloaded albums on itunes! It was also the featured album of the week on BBC’s Radio 2 with Jonathan Ross. Ross is a very funny guy, and had myself, josh, marc and curt in stitches! The guest on the show after us was Bjork!, who looked strangely translucent without her make-up, but was very friendly. So far the tour is moving along pretty well, and we’re having fun, although the internet doesn’t seem to have caught on yet in most parts the UK. I wonder if they don’t really miss it. I will post some photos from tonight’s concert, as well as some backstage candid shots.
Ta Ta!