The Weblog of Daniel Tashian

Well we went to Kirk and Margie’s yesterday for Margo’s birthday party. It was a nice time and they had local tacos. They were yummy but I drank a really sweet margarita and it made me sleepy. Walked when we got back and then to Whole Body and we got some interesting things: Maca- Incan energy herb. B-12 vitamins – what else? Mangosteen! Some aromatherapy stuff. Then I watched a movie about the history of elctronic music in Britain. Wow. The Human League were so good. But Throbbing Gristle were really innovators. Also, the coolest, loudest song was “Cars” by Gary Numann. Wow. Also, I liked the guy who started “Mute” records, Daniel Miller – when he came out with the song “Warm Leatherette” as “Normal” — such innovative stuff. So it turns out our new puppy likes Kraftwerk. I bet she would probably like The Carpenters just as much, it’s just how you play it to them. Lillie off to teach this morning. I gave her snacks for class. I think I want to get a new jacket so I can cycle when it gets colder. Really visible. Like red. Watched Elizabeth Gilbert on Ted Talks. She’s just effervescent.

Well I had to learn this song for my cover band. I feel….kind of melancholy when I listen to it. It just has this futuristic kind of sadness to it that transcends. Found this article on Salon from 2000. Interesting. I wish MTV would just throw in the towel so something else could start.  Or wouldn’t it be cool if some kind of military coup took over MTV and started broadcasting full videos again with nobody talking over them? You could go live to the basement where a VJ would say: “I’m here in the basement of MTV where we are playing cornhole with DVDs of the HILLS! – now here’s video from Janelle Monae!” It’s important to let the whole song play sometimes. It’s like a baseball game. You need those moments of quiet reflection in life. If that happens to be during a guitar solo, so be it. I just feel that it used to be so much about sticking it to the man. Everything about the early MTV said “Fuck You!” to the establishment. It gave me hope and inspired me by showing me the great artists that you could look up to. Police, Men at Work, David Bowie’s China Girl – what a strange and beautiful video – Eddie Grant – these artists had very little technology to work with to make videos. Now everybody has WAY more on their laptops right out of the box. Now, MTV represents corporate teenage hell. “The Hills” and all that. And they STILL won’t really pay for music. When they started, they couldn’t pay because they’d go broke: here’s the opening broadcast: first moments of MTV – I miss that old logo, and I know they have retro stations for “old ” people like me, but I wish that MTV Music Videos occupied the same psychic space that it did for me. And it’s important to wait. Wait for your song to come on the radio instead of instantly getting it on YouTube. Wait and watch. Then it’s exciting, and you can appreciate how different it is from everything else. I don’t know….somehow we have to keep sticking it to the man, but what do you do, when MTV becomes the man? Gotta break it down again! Fuck MTV!

Well we went to Monteagle TN for the 4th. Chilled with all the preppy people – guys in pink pants. I looked semi-preppy. Lillie’s cousin Samuel had a birthday too – “More presents!” he kept saying. Actually, if you think about it…I kind of know what he means. Then Jon and Kat came over and Kat let me feel her belly to see if I could feel the baby kick, but it didn’t. It did for Lillie though. We bought a little Weber charcoal grill and I assembled it on the porch, got bit by mosquitos, then set it on fire. We grilled some eggplant and it was good. I spent the 5th working on some laptop music and set up a little mini-studio in the dining room. “So you don’t have to take the trouble to walk outside!” said Jon. We also got some Ikea furniture for the office. Delivered on Friday. They say an extra 200 bucks and they build it for you. “You know the deal with Ikea.” says Lillie’s uncle Walter: “Building it is what the real work is.”

Well it was an interesting week. I can’t seem to get on here everyday, but oh well. Here’s to better behavior. Saw Melissa Mathes’ record release show at the basement and she had a full string section. I wished I had a string section. I guess you just have to be organized. So then I worked with Courtney Jaye yesterday. We did a cool song called  ”You and what army”  we had fun and I played uke and made a simple drum loop. Mixing – even demos – stresses me out. But I often think back to what T-bone told me: “I picture myself in a club – really great sounding room – like i’m listening to a band – and if I think: “Sounds great, but I wish the vocals were louder.” – then I turn up the vocals! ”  So it’s a very simple concept, but it expands out quite far, such as “The snare hurts my ears!”  -etc. Lots of cucumbers from the garden –  so many we had to (sniffle) throw a few out. Rubbery ones. They just got rubbery in the fridge before anyone noticed. But the tomato deluge will happen in about a week. What else? Lillie packaged up and sent out lots of Silver Seas pre-orders today. It was very impressive! She took several armloads to the UPS store. I love that place. “Is this the UPS store?” I always ask when I walk in. Dinner was gourmet hotdogs and cold broc. with salad dressing. mmm. Tomorrow maybe I will work on Daniel Tashian.com.

Well Friday afternoon I was supposed to write with Liz Rose but she was sick so I got the day off.

Well it was a relaxing weekend, and we got some stuff done around the house. The garden required some pruning and L. and I got out there and whacked it back. Lots of afternoon thunderstorms and the occasional nap. To the Barron’s for dinner and to my parents for Roger’s Hoolie. Came up with a new band name: “The Royal Figs” but L. not sure about it: “It sounds kind of heavy.” she says. To dinner at City House. Well I really want to write everyday but I get bogged down. We listened to the whole Beach House record (teen dream) and I sat on the couch and played guitar along with it and it was really depressing how good it is. It zags when you think it’s going to zig. The sounds are all unique and the chord movements are original. I played along and it was nothing I would ever think of. So that kind of depressed me, I don’t know why, but there are times when I feel my music is too conservative- I don’t force myself to take big chances. The sounds are too predictable and whatnot. But I also feel appreciation for Beach House and their creativity and willingness to forge new ways ahead in songwriting and production. Leann came and delivered an organ from the 70′s from Joyce’s house and I made space for it in the studio. It has little buttons you can press for “Samba” or “Rhumba” and they sound very good. So that lifted my spirits.

Well I finally got some sleep last night. Been at a writing camp for Matthew Morrison, the Glee-guy. Wrote four songs in the last 2 days: “Shine On Me” “Bring On The Rain” “Forgive Me” and “How Beautiful You Are” or something like that. Anyway, “forgive me” is sort of like the Scissor Sisters. Lots of people were there, Jamie Kenny, Jeff Cohen, Natalie Hemby, Dave Barnes. He was funny. Angie Aparo. Well, the other thing is my favorite band right now is Air. They are just so good. With like 20 records and the chords are always interesting. I like Love2 a lot. They always seem to be getting sounds I haven’t heard so many times. What else? Well it’s too hot here to really do anything. Lat night we had Quesadillas and Lillie watched the Next Great Artist show on Bravo. I banged on a keyboard until my fingers hurt.

Well I tried to write a novel today. L and I were reading Anne Lamott’s Bird By Bird and she talks about how if you survive childhood you have enough material to write a lifetime of novels about. Which is a great theory. Here’s some starts:

“The ocean is a cold, grey and mysterious place. It’s also deep. It also contains sharks and octopuses.  Also, when there is a storm,  it can be a very rough place for a boat.  And that’s exactly the conditions that were plaguing

“I want to see the captain!” said a young sailor from Milwaukee named jim.”

Here is a rough plot outline:

Cars – monkeys – monkey and a car. Race car driving monkey.

Anyway. It suffices to say that I learned quite quickly that writing novels is not in my set of skills. I have some other pages but i’m too embarrassed to quote them.

Got out and fussed around in the garden for about an hour. The zucchini had to go because some kind of bug critters got into it. When I took it out, I found some amazing eggplants behind it that were just so happy to have those giant leaves be gone. I staked them and put some food on the tomatoes. There are already like 200 green tomatoes out there. I love the smell of tomato plants. Then made (from the garden) : eggplant sauteed then baked with mozzarella and tomato sauce. Then served over spag. with sliced cucumbers on the side. Also we had Sauteed green beans in garlic and sesame oil. Szechuan beans. They kind of sucked because I waited too long to pick them. Eggplants were fantastic. Then I went to Blockbuster and didn’t know what to get so I got Crazy Heart and A Serious Man and we watched Crazy which was real good but not as good as Shelter Island which we watched last night and we both thought it was fantastic.

Well I’ve been working in the studio this weekend with Didi Pop on a new Hawiian themed children’s record. We had a lot of fun and particularly the Hawiian alphabet song I thought turned out really great. Also some cool surf music. A new country session last week: 6 songs. Oh, also we’ve been watching Bonnaroo on the webcast. Wow. It looks/sounds really great. We watched the Kings of Leon and I was just so impressed. I thought they were fantastic. The songs were so weird and dark and they looked so cool. We also watched Jay Z and he was amazing. Then last night we watched Dave Matthews and Jeff Coffin was there on stage and man. Dave really puts on a show. But it was the best webcast i’ve ever seen. The film was clear and the music was synchronized correctly and everything. It was the wave of the future. I really want to start a jam band. I’m going to do it! Not the kind where you just play solos all night but….that would be fun too. We had cucumber soup from the garden and I made quesadillas. Avocados. Reading the Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.