The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

Walked early and took a shower then tidied up because David Mead was coming over. We put the vocals and some electric guitars on a country song and it really sounds like the Eagles. I wanted to make omelettes but he said he was past that point in the day, but I made him a fresh mozarella, tomato and basil salad, and we worked until about 3:30. Took Posh to the pet store and got some chew toys and a couple new links for her collar. But I forgot my bank card so I called my dad and asked him to pay for it over the phone. ($31) Walked to the library and got some latin stuff and asked to reserve the Ken Burns Civil War series. I like watching educational films. Got the idea to have moules et frites so I went to Harris Teeter and got all these great groceries and I was in line to pay and I realized I still didn’t have my card and Posh was in the car so I drove home and fed Posh and got my card, then went back to Harris Teeter and got my stuff ($57) and went by the wine store for a bottle of cold chardonnay ($10.91). Came home just as Leslie was pulling in and she said she had a confession to make and I said what and she said she got a sewing machine. It was a nice one, too and she’s excited about it. I’m one of those people who believes you just have to have things in life to be excited about or else there’s just no point. I listened to Jeff Goldblum on NPR talking about the Pittsburg movie and I felt a little pang of regret that the bees didn’t wind up scoring it, but the score they have is fine and it fits and Leslie said, “next time”. Jeff Goldblum kind of reminded me of James Digiralamo the way he talks. Then it was time for dog class so Leslie said do you care if I don’t go and I said of course not so Posh and I went and she did okay. She needs more discipline and truthfully, I haven’t worked with her enough. So next week is the Level 2 test, and now the pressure’s on. Came home and had a beer and watched some of Leslie’s landscaping video that I got at the library and truthfully it was the most boring thing i’ve ever seen, ever.

Walked the dogs early but fell back to sleep. Made omelettes and they were better with less eggs. Finished a new mix of Melissa’s song and finally finished the mix of a song with Sara Beck. It feels good to clear the decks a little but I still have so many un-demoed songs. It takes a short time to write them, but a lot longer to get the demos done. Noticed T-Bone Burnett is playing the Ryman soon. When I checked out his wikipedia page, it lists tons of artists he’s produced, but no mention of me. sigh. Practiced my Bees songs in front of the mirror. I don’t look too bad. I’d think I was cool, if I was me, but what do I know? I wanted to see this “American Dreamz” movie, and I knew I would like it, because the Nashville Scene gave it only 2 stars. I don’t think they like comedies very much. They give good reviews to dramas and documentaries, but comedies are not respected. Well, they’re really my favorite. Because you can do a lot with humor. It can be very powerful. American Dreamz features among many great gags, terrorist slapstick! Where else can you find that? Leslie didn’t want to go at first but when I acted like I was going to go without her she put some beer in her Nalgene bottle and I put some licorice in a plastic bag and we went at 7:20 ($8.50) and we howled with laughter throughout the entire movie. Then we went to the Cheesecake Factory and had a chicken sandwich and some fries. The food was okay but the interior was really something. Went home and watched some more “Office” and fell asleep.

Walked early and started getting into catching up on stuff. Made 2 hot dogs with mustard and pickles and Emerson came over at 11. We worked on a song until 4 and he has way more patience than me, but thank god because it came out really good. Then I walked the dogs to the library and went to Kroger for ingred. for Beouf Bourguignon ($29). Spent the next 4 hours working on it and it turned out really well. Talked to Grimey and he thinks Guilty Pleasures should rehearse at SIR. John Deaderick called and said he didn’t want to. I better start practicing though, because there’s a lot of songs any way you slice it. I also have to practice the bees for the CD release. The website doesn’t have much to offer. The myspace site is way more dynamic, but that’s just because somebody spent more time on it. It doesn’t look as good, but there’s more stuff to do. Watched some of the second season of the office and among many things, Ricky Gervais has harnessed the power of “the awkward silence” and uses it better than anyone i’ve ever seen.

Made tea and Leslie said she didn’t need lunch but she wanted some snacks so I made her a PBJ and some cookies. The lawn is like six feet high again so I have to mow today. Walked Posh and mowed while it was still cool. Then Comcast came over and finally fixed the internet so I got about 7 thousand emails. There’s no way to answer them all, so simmer they shall. Called David Mead and he said there was a gentleman’s gathering at the Sportsman’s at 8. Spoke to Melissa Mathes’ manager Karl Rybacki and he is very nice. He remembers coming to see the Bees in a hotel room showcase. He said he was really excited about the band, but couldn’t get anyone into it. Melissa came over and I made avacado sandwiches and we worked a little on a song but she had to leave at 4. She “borrowed” me the 2nd season of “the office” which I look forward to watching. Walked to the library with the dogs but didn’t go in. Went to Kroger to get ingred. for Beef Burgundy and it seems like i’m never going to make this dish because I looked at the recipe and it said simmer 3 to 4 hours but it was already 5 o’clock, so I called Leslie, and she said don’t worry about it, we’ll go to Las Palmas. She picked me up and it was pretty good, but we ate too much. I went to the gentleman’s club and I was feeling so fat I practically rolled in there. Shot miserable billards and drank a few Miller lites and went home.

I couldn’t really sleep even though the hotel was nice and the bed was comfortable because I knew we had to drive home so I woke up about 8:30 and turned on the TV. Leslie woke up and we went to Cafe Du Monde and got some coffee and beignets ($7) and I’m glad I don’t live in New Orleans because I would want to eat those things all the time and I would be so fat. The streets smelled like urine and it was getting hot. They have so much trash everywhere they have to collect it every day! We checked out and it was astronomically expensive for one night ($329) but what can you do? We got on the road and I was drowsy but I made it to Meridian. We sort of half-caravaned with Emerson and Nicole and he said they were listening to a book on CD by Bill Bryson. So we got that ($29) then we went to TJ Maxx and I love to go to those in other towns. We found a couple kitchen supplies ($15). Got some Taco Bell and I’m never eating that again. It made me feel awful. Then we got back on the road and it turns out the Bryson was just what the doctor ordered to keep us awake. Holy cow. This book began to freak us out because it can be somewhat apocalyptic if you really think about it. Anyway, the drive back didn’t seem as long and we pulled into town about 7:30 and picked up Posh and her stuff. she was happy to see us. We went home and Leslie was tired and I was in a bad mood because she was grouchy but we went to Kroger ($49) and got some supplies. I made fresh mozarella and tomato salads and some pasta with garlic and parmesan cheese for dinner. Leslie talked to her brother on the phone and I drank some beer and read P.G. Wodehouse in bed. It felt good to be home.

Woke up kind of late and we had to switch hotels which was a nightmare because of the traffic but we finally got it done, then we went to the wedding brunch and Jessica’s father was wearing a shirt that said “Real Men Eat Beaver” and Angelo said there was a whole presentation that we missed. The food was good and then we wandered around the quarter a bit and we bought a nice print of a New Orleans parade ($60) and the alchohol and moving hotels was so taxing I had to take another nap so I went back to the hotel and Leslie went to get her nails done and when I woke up I freaked out because the clock in the hotel was wrong and I thought the wedding was already going but it wasn’t so we got dressed fast and met Angelo in the lobby and walked to the church on North Rampart. It was a nice, short wedding, and then when we walked out of the church, there was a brass band waiting to take us to the reception, so we made our own New Orleans parade! It was so fun. I will probably never get to do that again. These guys were serious, too. Real jazz musicians. We marched through the quarter to the Omni hotel and went right in to the reception. I guess they asked Angelo to take polaroids of everyone when they came in and he needed an assistant so I helped him. Then we sat down and there were numerous toasts and prayers and Jessica came in and broke a plate, which is a Slovakian custom. The food was good but I got full really fast. Leslie made me run around the corner to a restaurant and get a dozen oysters with her. That girl can’t get enough oysters! I bet she could eat a hunderd of them! Then we went back to the reception for a while and I smoked a cigar with Angelo and we started talking “Old South” which was a fun game. Went to bed about 1.

Drove into New Orleans for Troy Verges and Jessica Maros’ wedding and I really had no idea how much devastation there really was. It went on for miles! I think they just need to knock those crappy buildings down and start over! Not the old historic ones, just the crappily-built-to-begin-with apartments that don’t look like they could have stood a breeze, much less a hurricane. We stopped at the welcome center and found a hotel for $129 per night which was good because this weekend was the french quarter festival. We checked in and went immediately towards Felix’s but it was closed so we saw everybody lined up outside “Acme Seafood” so we figured this place must be good. And it was. We had a pitcher of Miller lite, 2 dozen oysters, a pound of crawfish and we split a shrimp and oyster Po-Boy.($50) It was so gluttinous! Then we went back to the hotel for a nap and Angelo called and he was at the Omni and Eulene was in the wedding party so he was at a loose end but it was almost time for the cruise, so we agreed to see each other on the boat. Got dressed and it takes Leslie a long time to get ready sometimes, which makes me nervous when we have things where we have to be somewhere at a certain time, but she did it, and the boat didn’t leave without us. I knew like everyone on the boat and we drank a lot and ate alot and it was fun. Jason and Heather Lehning, Rivers Rutherford was there, and Gordy Sampson and Helen, and Pat Higdon and Chris and Amy Linsey and Brett and Sandy James and it was all the big songwriters and at one point I said to Brett if this boat goes down, they’ll be no more hit country songs, and he said yes there would be. After the boat we went to a rock bar owned by a friend of Emerson Hart (Oh and his wife, Nicole was there) and she was talking about how Emerson was always reading my blog and remarking about how I take too many naps! He said it reminded him of Warhol’s diary, and he couldn’t be more right- that was the inspiration. Went to bed about 1.

Walked early, then went to get some supplies for the drive to New Orleans and the internet was down because there was a huge thunderstorm last night. I didn’t know what to do with myself with no internet. But I went to Wild Oats ($49) and Zoe’s ($16) and I probably spent too much money, but I can’t stand fast food anymore (except McDonalds). Talked to Carl on the phone and he said the Bees site was up but it didn’t come out exactly like he wanted it too, but I think it looks pretty good. ( Beesite ) Took Posh and her food and her bed over to my mom’s at about 11, and it was still pouring! We got on the road about noon and it stopped raining. We listened again to Beston’s new record and it’s amazing. I realize I can’t really listen to music at home because there are so many distractions. But I listened to the Albus Manchild thing all the way through and it’s great. We only made it to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and I hate negativity, but it’s hard to find the redeeming quality about that place. We wanted to stay at the Holiday Inn but it was completely filled and appearantly had been since Katrina. Fema workers. I bet that’s pretty expensive. Finally found a room at the University Motel and got some beer at the Mapco and watched the new HBO show “Big Love” about polygamy which was good (especially Cloe Sevigny and Harry Dean Stanton). Leslie says polygamy is all about the men being sex perverts and doing whatever they want under the banner of religion, but I think it’s more complex than that. Maybe a little bit, but what do I know? Went to bed with Leslie but she moved to the other bed in the middle of the night because she likes to stretch her legs into an “L” shape which drives me crazy.

Had a Bees rehearsal and it went pretty well. I mean, we’re the Bees. Then I went to the Basement to play drums in Brad Jones’ afro-cuban Jazz Band. Tupper Saussy was there and I like him. He makes me laugh. We did a duet on Rogers and Hart’s “Where or When” and I forgot the bridge, but it made me HAVE to get a piano! He played a few of his songs and the power went out and everything was lit by candles and it was very romantic. Drank several ales and I didn’t have to pay because the power was out but I went to bed with a headache.