The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

Walked early and went back to bed for a while. Then Holly Williams came over and we practiced some background vocals. She went to go work out. I took a short nap and took Posh over to my parents and went to Corner and rented a bass amp and went to the Exit Inn. Matt Kearney was there and he’s such a nice guy. He was having a photo shoot and I was holding one of the reflectors. He was talking about his memories of 12 @ 12th and he’s really gotten so good. They were expecting a duo for Holly’s slot, but they let us play with the whole band anyway. God, that’s irritating when people don’t advance shows properly. But the show went okay, I thought. I met David Knopfler who came with Mack Starks and he was very nice. I started to feel like I was coming down with something so I listened to a couple of Matt’s songs and went home.

Walked early, then went to SIR to rehearse with Holly Williams and we rehearsed for a while, then went to the Taproom for a quick beer. Then I went home and got dressed to go to Keri Pisapia’s birthday party. It was a small, but nice party and I was eating all the snacks like crazy because I didn’t eat any dinner. Marc and Joe Pisapia were there, and Katie Cook. I told Barbara Moutenot that Leslie and I were breaking up and she was startled. Dan Tyler was there and he’s funny. I talked to Adele for a while, and she just got her degree in Life Coaching and I secretly wanted to go see her. I met Joe’s neighbor who was funny and there was a bonfire outside, and it was nice sitting out there. Melissa Mathes showed up, and she was kind of quiet. I stayed awake as long as I could and Curt Perkins was there and he had a date, and they were making fun of my moustache so I went inside. Pearls before swine. Went home about midnight and went right to sleep.

Woke up and walked early, then took Posh home and went to the dentist. Diane made me get X-rays even though I told her I wasn’t feeling anything. I think she was punishing me for being late. Then I went to Brad Jones’s house and we practiced for our set tonight. Brad’s a very quick study and it sounds good with just 2 ukuleles. Then we went to the Belcourt theater to see “From Shtetl to Swing” and it was pretty good. We saw Kim Ritchie. There was some amazing footage of Al Jolson putting on blackface and singing “Mammy” and some other cool footage of Gene Krupa playing drums, but we both agreed that overall, there were too many edits. Went home and Jeremy Lister and his brother Ritchie came over and we wrote a pretty cool song called “Plain Jane”. I really liked it, i’m not sure if they liked it as much as I did. Then I went to the Basement and Patrick Clifford was there. “We need to get you into a Peter Sellers movie!” and I took that as a complement. I talked to Hillary Lindsey for a minute, and Brad and I opened for Angelo’s band and it went well, I thought. There’s something about the ukulele that captivates people! They were totally silent! I saw Kate York and Brian Sprouse and had several whiskys. I had to start drinking water and Tom Littlefield was there, and I hadn’t called to tell him about the gig, but he was having fun. I asked Butterfly Boucher and Heidi Ross what the chances of a menage a trois with them were, and they laughed. Took me a while to sober up, but I finally did about 2, and we went to Angelo and Eulene’s and hung out for a while over there and Frank Swart made egg-in-the-hole and they were burned, but good. I didn’t recognize Billy Beard’s wife because last time she was here, her hair was short and blond, and now it was long and red, and that’s enough to throw me off. Talked to everybody for a while and played one of Angelo’s Gibsons and then I got depressed that I didn’t have a Gibson and went home.

It was still raining when I woke up, and Emily West was coming over to write, so we tidied up and she came over and she said what are you all dressed up for? and I said I didn’t know. Lately I’ve been wearing this rumpled blazer and colored button-down shirts and cuff-links, and it makes me feel good for some reason to dress up a little. Feels like life is more official. Anyhow, she heard this song Kate York and I wrote, and she wanted to do a vocal, so I recorded her, and it sounds great. Then we worked a little on an old idea, but she was tired, so that was that. Then I went to Hopkins for dinner and Leslie came and we walked the dogs and I went home and got in bed and Leslie rented some movies and she watched “Nacho Libre” and I fell asleep.

Walked early and took a shower, then Melissa Mathes came over and we practiced some songs for her showcase tonight. I finshed Holly’s songs, then went to Bill Demain’s house, and we finished a song we started called “Looking for a Place to Live” and it came out well. He’s such a good lyricist. That happened pretty quickly, and I was hungry, so I told him about Chinatown and he said he’d never been, so we went, and he enjoyed it. Then I went to SIR to rehearse with Holly Williams and Lex was there and it was just me and Lex and he said he was feeling under the weather, and I took him to the Tiger Mart and he got some DayQuill and we went back and then Holly came and we rehearsed until 6 and went to the Taproom for a quick beer. Then I went to the Basement for Melissa’s showcase and Jerry Flowers was there and he said he can have 2 drinks only, so make them worthwile. Melissa was good and I was having a few beers and having fun. Grimey played the Bees after Melissa, and Mooch ran away and I was trying to get a search party together but it was pissing down rain, so we went to Sunset Grill with Melissa and her brother and John Deaderick and I and Peter from New West. It was a good meal, and I got a whole fish, with the head and everything, and John said he could never eat that. I guess some people like things with the head still on. Went home about 11:30 and I was bushwacked big time.

Well it was a Monday, and there were lots of low, lingering clouds. Walked the dogs early and had breakfast with my Aunt Joy. Went home and Holly Williams came over and she played me some of her songs and we talked for a while and I mentioned to her that I was looking for an apartment and she said “Well, I need a roommate.” so I don’t know if it would work, but I went to look at the place and it was nice. On Belmont. Right next to International Mkt. So maybe. Went home and went to Hopkins and we had a meeting with Bob and Lynn, and we talked about options and what to do with the house and it was good but exhausting, and then I went home and charted Holly’s songs and went to bed.