Walked the long walk early, and felt pretty good. Liz came with us and it was hot by the end. Had “Lay Lady Lay” in my head when I woke up, and spent the rest of the day making my own version of it. It was a fun day of recording. Went to PM with Troy and Jessica and we had several beers. Neil and Katherine and Lisa showed up, and Troy and Jess walked home, and I walked with them. I went back to hang with those guys for a while. Got home pretty late: dizzy. Yuck.
Walked with my dad to the P.O. and got some Starbucks ($4.32). Home and went back to bed for a while, and I was kind of allergic from all the smoke in the pool hall last night. John Travolta was on Ellen, and there’s something about him as a fat lady that bothers me. Watched some of Almodovar’s “All About My Mother”, and it’s good. Fell asleep. Went to International Market and got a Lottery Ticket from the numbers on my fortune cookie. Had lunch and it’s so hot out. Like 97 degrees. To Kinko’s and xeroxed some documents for the publishing co., and I may have to change the name, my dad says. Went to the downtown library to return some books and it was so hot. Later I found out you can return them to any branch. Duh. To Grimey’s to pick up some cash from GP, then to Bank of Nashville and it was closed. Payed my rent and had dinner at Hopkins. Watched some of “Last Comic Standing”, and most people weren’t very funny, I thought. Liz went to the Taproom with Rhonda, and I went for a walk with Posh and Rachel to PM, and Posh was being kind of pesty, sniffing everybody and she wouldn’t be still, so we left after one drink. Feeling allergic, took a Claritin and some Advil and watched a little more of Almodovar, then hit the hay.
Walked with my mom, got a haircut ($17) and went to Jason Lehning’s studio. We worked on a new Seas idea that he had a riff for. It wound up being called “The Most Dangerous Game” and it was pretty cool. Went to lunch at Woodlands ($15) and went home and took a short nap. More errands in the afternoon: wrote a letter to my mom, to PM with Mary and Edie ($40) and had some beers and it was fun. Mary showed me 2 new designs of Tomo and Edie stuff and it looks great. To dinner at J Alexander’s with Liz, and I had the Filet ($29) and she told me all about her trip. She said the place was amazing. Went to Amy Loftus’ and had tea with her, then went down to Melrose and played Ping Pong and Shuffleboard with a bunch of people over there, and Brian Sprouse was there, and Leigh Nash; and Kate York said I was OCD about my dog, because I always have to go let her out. (laughs) They’re probably right.
Walked, and ran lots of errands. Returned phone calls and I saw Liz! She said Costa Rica was amazing, and she wanted to take me to dinner tomorrow. Worked in the studio for a while, and Melissa Mathes came by, and we went to PM. She said she wanted to take her sound in a new direction. She said she’s always been influenced by jazz, and now she wants to do some stuff with that flavor. New Josh Rouse dates, and I told him I wanted to play, but no dice. Maybe he wants to do the “lean and mean” tour. Who knows? Lex Price called me for a drum session. More Guilty dates. I’ve got to ratchet it down, and quit spending so much money going out, but cooking for 1? Where do I start? Home at 11.
Slept kind of late, thankfully. To Hopkins to let the dogs play and I wondered when Liz would get in. Came back and she had already dropped her bags and hit the road again! She’s a jet-setter. Rachel was in the garden and I talked to her for a while. It was so hot outside I couldn’t stand it! To El Mariachi to meet Grimey, Mindy and John Deaderick. Had 2 Tecates and some steak tacos, so that was kind of a lot. Home and took a short nap, then went to see “Ratatouille” with Jessica and Troy. Wow! What a picture! 5 stars, in my opinion. I cried at the end. Then we were going to go to a nice restaurant, and be kind of decadent, but Angelo and Eulene called Troy, and they had just gotten back in from the honeymoon, so we went to PM and had a few drinks with them, and I took Posh, and she sat out on the sidewalk. They told us about their honeymoon and it sounded amazing. They said they saw Ben Stiller. Neither of them checked their email or watched TV for 2 weeks! Ang said he’s writing with Matt Kearney this week, and I said tell him I want to write with him. I like his stuff. Then I went to get a bunch of stuff to grill, and I made dinner for everybody at Troy and Jessica’s. We sat outside, and it was nice. Then I had to go home.
Bastille day, my grandpa’s birthday. “It suddenly hit me last night:” he said, “I’m 92!” We had a birthday party for him and my dad made Armenian soup which was nothing short of magnificent. Grandpa said his battery in his hearing aid was done, so he didn’t have much to contribute. Leslie called about Carey’s Bastille Day party. “There’s a password after 9pm to keep some of the doo-wahs out. ” she said, “It’s ‘Marie Antionette’ ” I wanted to go, but I almost forgot Jessica Verges’ showcase at the French Quarter Cafe’. That’s an interesting place. They said they were having trouble with the sound there, 1st half of the set, but I only caught the 2nd. Sara Beck was there, and Park Chisolm. The part I saw sounded quite good. Sara said, when I met her, I told her she was “acting the lyrics with her face too much.” Why can’t I keep my mouth shut? Who do I think I am? Troy Verges showed me his iphone, and it’s really cool. I want to get one now. I was able to resist before playing with one, but it’s like a little computer. It’s great. To Sunset Grill with Troy and Jessica, and we were talking about how outrageous Pat Dollard is, and Vanity Fair. Troy said I should go to Armenia. Maybe he’s right. I must ask William Tyler about it. You see, Armenia is already in my heart and soul. I guess I should go there sometime, though.
Oh yes, and I forgot to say yesterday I mailed a letter to my dad, and Larry Gottlieb called. “I have 2 words of advice:”, he said “First, I always start a letter with ‘As I take pen in hand…’, and secondly: Floss!!” He’s funny, but I actually did take the floss part to heart. To rehearsal and there was a problem with the PA, so things were pushed back. To Corner Music, and I rented an extra bass cab. Rehearsal til 7, then John and I went to Ken’s sushi ($29) which was fantastic. Home and chilled for half an hour, then John picked me up again, and to the gig. It was very successful, and over 700 people came, and I particularly had fun with “Don’t You Want me Baby” and “Like A Virgin”. I pretty much love everything Madge does. Then my lovely friend Erin helped me load all my gear, because Casey won’t do my cartage. I’m like the only guy in the band who has to move my own stuff, and mine is probably the heaviest. Mike Durham says it’s because he doesn’t have enough storage. Gave Erin a Sprite at the crib and we chilled for a minute, then took her to Kate York’s. Whew. Long day.
Worked on GP all day, and went to the rehearsal. The Big Country tune was giving us trouble and I wanted to ditch it, but Mike Durham made me stick it out and it really came out well. To Mafiosa’s after, for whisky and salad. That’s pretty much my diet of choice these days (laughs). Mike D. came over to get a copy of Amy Grant’s “Baby Baby”, and I guarantee we are the only band to cover that song in the history of humanity. He stayed til 2 and sort of gave me an impromptu guitar lesson on the philosophy of Wes Montgomery. It’s different than I thought: D minor equals G7!
Walked with my dad, and we had a good talk. We don’t really walk often, just the two of us. He’s a lovely guy. I was going to write with Thad Cockerall, but he had emergency dental surgury, so we had to reschedule. Worked on GP songs, and there’s some fun stuff this time. Man, can Cindy Lauper sing. Went to Woodlands ($9) and didn’t eat too much. To Starbucks for the SVL ($4.32)
Powered by WordPress
