The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

I thought my parents came home at 5 but it was the wrong time so I drove to the airport to pick them up at rush hour and they weren’t there and I was mad, but I went home and had some of the chilli I made and I cheered up. Had a short Bees rehearsal, and I tried to get the guys to do “We’ll Go Walking” with no acoustic but they said they missed the guitar. Picked up my parents at 9 and took them home, collected my stuff and went back to Clayton. Kenda drove up from Florida, so I talked with her and Leslie for a while, then went to bed, and it took me a while to find the right pillow, but I finally found it.

Got up around 11 and took the dogs, and somehow, in the night, Pasha had stepped in some motor oil and gotten on the white couch! I turned the cushions over and you can’t tell. Went around the house and found little bits of oil everywhere and cleaned them up. Went to El Mariachi with Grimey and David Mead and Bob Bradley showed up, and Bob bought the lap steel that I wanted. I should have just had 2 $100 bills and said “I’ll give you two hundred right now.” oops. He said maybe Bob would get tired of it and sell it to me in a couple months. Went home and took a short nap and took the dogs around the block and made a mix CD for Kristy West for her birthday, and that was really fun. Making CDs is cool because on itunes it will print out this little cover for you, etc. So I went to Tommy’s around 7:30 and it was going to be a suprise for Kristy and they had this whole elaborate plan and everything, and she comes in about 8:15 and sees her dad and says: “Dad?!!” and everybody yelled suprise and it was great! There was lots of fattening finger-food and I kind of pigged out. Then Leslie came and I forgot to call her and tell her that the party had moved from Alley Cat and I messed up. She was understandably miffed. Went home and went to bed. Leslie called me and I apologized and everything was cool and Tommy’s house and garden looked beautiful.

It was the 2nd night of Guilty Pleasures and I went by Corner Music and bought another tuner ($87) and rehearsal went well and we finished about 8 and I went home, and this time I didn’t shower. I’m paranoid about getting my hands wet too much when I play bass. The gig went well and the weather was great and the crowd was great. I wish I had a camera because there were some hilarious costumes. Jon Wright’s girlfriend Kat was dressed as Olivia Newton John from “Physical” and she got on stage and danced and was too funny. We were all cracking up. The P-Bass was sounding good and I like playing that Pet Shop Boys song: “West End Girls”. Leslie didn’t come and I guess she was tired. All and all a really fun night and it’s great to just play some rock and roll and Grimey killed on “Infatuation”. Also, Kim Collins has significant poise. Set the clocks back so I hung out for a while and went home about 4.

It was the first of 2 nights of Guilty Pleasures and we rehearsed at the Mercy Lounge. I brought some tea and some cookies but I ate them right when I got there, so we got hungry and went to Sonic and I had a BLT. It wasn’t very good. It is definitely a fun gig, the old GP. We finished around 7 and I went to Hopkins and ate some food Vicky cooked and took a shower and a nap. My hands were hurting. Leslie came by and I was just comatose, so she left. She was in a good mood but I was just tired. Went back down there and saw Amber and Brandy Davenport and had a drink with them. The show was good, and then John and I were drinking Red Bulls and I think that’s my beverage of choice on that gig. We had lots of fun and Grimey always knocks it out of the park vocally. Sara Beck was fantastic on Lucky Star and I don’t know why, but I told her she was a terrific dancer. David Mead told me I had to stay with Leslie, and then John Bruton got us some shots and David did a “spit-gag” with his. I took him home and he said he was in walking in the rain in a three thousand dollar suit and it reminded me how much money we all used to make in the music industry, when we were… (laughs) kids with record deals!

Went home and tidied up the studio and Nini Camps came over and we made a demo of our song, “Everywhere is Home”. She’s very methodical in the studio. She was a good influence and was teaching me some things about Protools. We went to lunch at international market and I had Indian Noodle Soup and it tasted different. Finished the demo about 6 and went home and Vicky and Mel were here and they left and Vicky got her car stuck in the ditch outside. She called triple-a and Mel and I watched the world series. It seems like baseball isn’t as popular as it used to be, but it’s great. “I’d rather play ball than eat.” Said my grandfather. He said when he was a kid, an ex-ball player in the neighborhood showed him how to throw a slider, so he was always the pitcher. “I had a lot of stuff.” he said. I took him home and he almost fell picking up the newspaper in the rain. I yelled at him, which I shouldn’t have, but he didn’t need to be doing that. Leslie came over and ate with me, and I had some left-over chinese food and went to bed.

Another day hanging with my grandma and Leslie, and we went to Franklin. They’ve got a new Puckett’s out there, and I was naughty and had a hamburger. We went to a thrift shop and I got another John LeCarre. Then went home and had a nap and got busy in the kitchen. Overcast and pretty.

I rehearsed with “The Petty Theives”, although they don’t technically have a gig yet. We played a lot of Tom Petty songs and the amazing thing about those songs is that you know them sub-conciously. They always go where you want them to go, pretty much. That’s why I wanted to play with them: to get to know his songs a little better. Turns out I already do know them. We had pizza, and it was pretty bread-y and Dylan Altman said he wanted to write sometime, so I will call him.

Well, it was Monday, and I needed to pay some bills. Went to lunch with Jeanne and Leslie and basically took it easy. Lots of conversations with L. about our sort of “moving on”, and it takes it out of you emotionally. Worked on some Guilty Pleasures stuff and stayed sort of busy. Got a new John Le Carre book going and it sort of fits with the weather: rainy, windy and leafy. Watched “Matchstick Men” and went to bed about 11.

Woke up kind of late and Vicky walked the dogs, thank god. Leslie came over and we had lots of tea and talks and walks and she made Brunswick stew. I made a salad and invited my Grandpa but he was waiting for Vicky to finish shopping so he didn’t want to come. We invited Bob and Lynn, but they declined, so it was just me and Leslie and my Grandma. After lunch I walked some stew down to Bob. Then Leslie and I went to Home Depot and got some plates for the plants to sit on and brought all the plants in at Clayton from the porch. We put them all on the dining room table and it looks like a jungle in there. I was feeling sort of overwhelmed looking around the house at all the stuff we had accumulated, so we decded to go back to Hopkins. More walks and tea and talks and then we went and met with Bob and Lynn and they are kind of like our therapists. Well, not kind of. They are. That was good, then we picked up Jeanne and we all went to Green Hills Grille and for some reason I felt like talking, maybe it was the wine? But I was telling everyone my life story and the history of all my relationships that brought me to this point in my life. I don’t know why, but I had never told Leslie all that stuff before, and she seemed interested. Went home and read some B. Woodward and went to sleep.

Lex asked me to pick him up for the Americana Festival. I asked the organizer Dara if most of the acts were “Americana” and she said “Pretty much.” Arrived about 2 and it was a beautiful day out there at Montgomery Bell state park. The trees were gorgeous and the sky was completely clear. It was actually hot, and Mindy and I were watching Chely Wright. Then I watched excellent sets by Sandra McCracken and Thad Cockerall. Then Jeremy Lister and David Mead and I knew everybody and it was kind of like being at Nashville camp. I was having fun, but it was tinged with sadness because I knew Leslie was at home and would have enjoyed seeing all these shows so I called her and she said she wanted to come so I found a pass for her and she came out. I played with Mindy and I thought we sounded good. It’s kind of easy because she hates drums, so if you hardly play at all, she doesn’t mind. Leslie left and I watched Patty Griffin’s show and she was a lot better than the last time I saw her. She played more up-tempo stuff and Doug Lancio played with her and looked so cool with a cigarette and they sounded good. I was bored so I helped Doug pack up his guitars, then people were starting this late-night jam in the dining hall and I guess I could have stayed but I felt like going home, so I followed Lex and Mindy. The night was beautiful as we drove and I could really see the sky and I started to feel optimistic. I think sometimes you just need to see more sky, and possibilities seem to expand. I was tired though, and when I got home I just crashed immediately.