A\D|S/R

the last 6 weeks of travel finally lead me to Berlin...

2010-11-25T16:29:00.000-08:00

It's time for a new blot entry, or maybe a blog entry, or maybe entry of blotter, acid on my tongue says goodbye to old ways and hello to new days. so viel ich furze jetzt, weil ich so viel Knoblauch gegessen habe. And so to all of my friends, fans, and followers, liebe Grüße aus Berlin. Although at the very moment i'm sitting in Tegel Airport, about to embark on a relatively short trip to paris, it's early and I've already been up for almost two hours, after about two hours sleep. it will catch up to me sooner or later.

Since I last wrote, really so much has happened. This is problem with not blogging regularly, i will probably forget one or two or many more details from the passed time. Last I wrote, I had embarked on a highlands adventure with new friends met in Edinburgh, Shelley and Benk. This was the last adventure for the TBS trio in Scotland, but you will hear a little about others later...BUT first....

After climbing of Ben Nevis, the UK's tallest mountain (what was it, 1200 meters or something? Not even a mile high), I proceeded to make the mistake of getting very drunk on beer AND whiskey. Um, usually I'm a little smarter than that, but good company can often get the better of me, and my friend Nora strong-armed me into it with "You wouldn't let a lady drink whisky alone, would you?" With prompting like that it was hard to say no. So, the next day, the mathematical equation of:

(Strenuous Exercise + Not Enough Water + Two Bus Rides) x (Beer[squared]+Whiskey[squared]) = Pain/Misery

proved to be quite true. so true in fact i've named it the Ben Nevis Aftermath Theorom.

Anyway....I don't remember how many days I stayed in Edinburgh, but it was at least a few, maybe a week or a bit longer. I stayed at Hailey Beavis' flat, which was a grand display of friendship and affection, as she vacated her place so that i would have a little place of my own to stay, which I truly value. I made good use of the fact that I was alone, there was a guitar, bass, and microphone in the house by writing a song whose working title is Highlands, as it's quite influenced by the TBS trio trip. Speaking of which...Benk and Shelley return! They stayed with me at Hailey's for two nights, before I was to leave...on a fast train...down to London. No, wait. It was a slow bus, not a fast train. During the Krycer's stay with me in Edinburgh, I was turned on...to the TV show "Spaced." Pretty funny, and it's reassuring to know that there are a few TV shows that I find myself still liking (though why it's reassuring and not disturbing I'm not sure; I hardly ever watch TV for a variety of reasons, many of which you could probably guess, so I don't need to go into it here). Yadda yadda.

As I said, I caught a slow bus from Edinburgh to London. Those long bus rides always seem like they might be okay, but the last 2 hours of a 9 hour bus ride are the ones where I feel like I'm on a bad acid trip, the seat scratching at my skin, my muscles aching and stiff, a feeling of psychological trauma from being enclosed in the same spot for so long. Not helping these feelings is the fact that I was reading the novel "Crash" by J.G Ballard. (which i still need to mail that back to Hailey). This book is like an erotic novel for car accident survivors, in which such a survivor is able to find a new sexual life by....wow, i don't think I can summarize this book in one sentence at 6am. Sorry. But, go and read it.

I arrived in London on Thursday October 7, too late to get to the Brixton Market to play with Phil, and too early for anyone to be home at Victor's. So I waited. For a while. Exactly how long I cannot say, maybe about an hour and a half, but just long enough. In fact, EXACTLY long enough (uh oh, I feel another moment of BMSS coming [that's Burning Man Synchronicity Syndrome]). At a certain point, after waiting calmly outside Victor's door while the house light lit every time I moved or shifted my seated position, or while the neighbor once came out to stare at me until I told him I was waiting for Victor, I decided to get up and walk to the Railway Tavern, a local pub where I know the people who run it from oso's many performances there (one of which definitely ranks up there in the top 5). I left my drums and keyboard hidden in the bushes, always a risky enterprise in any major city, and began to walk. I crossed the street, walked about 20 meters (that's about 66 feet for all you nincompoops in the US who still use feet and inches..come ON America, get with the program!), and then hear a voice call my name, twice, from behind me. I turn and who do I see but another good London friend, Fiona. She was just walking back to her house (about a block and a half up from Victor's) from samba practice, and JUST HAPPENED to be walking at the exact moment that I was.

Okay. Now, some of you are like, "so, what?" but after waiting as long as I had, really, what are the chances that I would get up at what really seemed like it could have been any moment in the stream of time and then find a friend within 45 seconds? Nay, 30 seconds? So, BMSS strikes again. Fiona took me back to her place where she gave me roobois tea and fed me some meat and vegetables, which were very tasty after eating only prepared food from Marks and Spencer for the last 10 hours or so. Not to slam M&S, they've got some pretty good pre-pared food. But of course, nothing like a home cooked meal. After awhile, Phil returns to Victor's, I bring my stuff in out of the bushes, and thus begins the London portion of this wild and crazy trip.

London has more and more seemed to me a bit crammed, with narrow streets and sidewalks, and you'd better be careful crossing the street - I've gotten the sense that people would rather run you over with their cars than give you the right of way. Oh, and this whole thing with driving on the left. You know, I used to think it was weird, of course, having really lived my entire life on the right side. But, after biking quite a bit in Scotland, I began to feel otherwise - maybe the Brits do have it "right" by driving on the left. Don't ask me to explain, it's just a feeling. Now being back on the continent where people drive on the right, it feels familiar, but somehow backwards. Strange.

One of the best parts of being back in London, beside the obvious reunification of friendly faces, was being reunited with my drumset and my accordion! Hooray! Finally, a place to practice and instruments to practice on. I had really been craving just getting to hit some drums, and not having an accordion to practice on either had been taking its toll. So back to practicing I went, playing drums when no one else was home, and practicing accordion in Victor's son Johnny's bedroom. I worked on learning some new balkan-style tunes, in particular, Ginsberg Racinitsa, Kerta Menga Dae, and a few others. Also, now I had the chance to practice the right-hand-drums + left-hand-accordion combination, which would consist of playing rhythm parts or bass lines with my left hand on the accordion buttons. Some songs that this worked really well on are Miserlou, Take Five, Pravo, Geamparale, Cocek, and a few oso tunes, like Railroad Disaster, Alkaline Soil, and an extended version of Moon Radar. On other tunes I would play accordion with both hands and keep the basic rhythm with my feet. If I could play snare with my left foot, I'd be able to have most of the sounds of the drumset along with the accordion. It's been a nice change of pace to incorporate both these instruments at the same time. Now if I could just do it while riding a unicycle....

Phil and I did most of our playing on a corner with a very wide sidewalk in Brixton, in front of the KFC. Some days were better than others in terms of earnings, but almost every day was quite a fun time playing together. Often we would get a small group of audience members, often with children, but most often people were just there waiting for one of the many buses that would stop by, as the corner was just up the street from the Brixton Tube station. I think people were generally impressed to see Phil riding his unicycle and playing guitar while I played drums and accordion simultaneously. We gave away quite a few CDs as well, and sold a few.

Not only did we play on the street, but also at Victor's new pizzeria, the Agile Rabbit, based in the Brixton Village Market. Normally open from early morning til about 6pm, the Village also experimented with holding late night events on Thursdays til 10pm. Phil played a few before I got to town, then we proceeded to play nearly every Thursday thereafter. This was a more laid-back atmosphere, still fun to play, but not as demanding as playing on the street, and not as fun as playing the Railway Tavern in Tulse Hill.

Ah, the Railway. It's been so good to us. This time around they gave us a gig on Oct 30, shared with another band. Unfortunately, the Railway failed to inform the other band that the bill would be shared. Phil and showed up about halfway through the other band's first set, which was quite enjoyable, a throwback to the smokey days of vocal-led jazz. Really well-performed. However, when the band announced that they'd take a 15-minute break between sets, Phil went to ask them about us playing just a few songs during the pause. It became quickly obvious to us that the other band had no idea who we were ("Do you know who I AM?!"), and rather than trying to come to any kind of understanding, decided to give us the cold shoulder. It was extremely frustrating to be treated like that, as it was really unprofessional on their part, and on the part of the bar for not communicating to the bands what was supposed to happen. So, we decide that we'll just wait until they're done with their second set, then play. This would have been fine had they decided to actually take a 15-minute set break, but, to add insult to injury, the band decided that they would instead take an HOUR break, so that they could eat dinner! How infuriating! We could have easily set up in front of them and played for 40 minutes while they ate dinner, trading sets back and forth on the stage. It was one of the more frustrating experiences I have had while waiting to play. Luckily, Phil and I quick to set up. We were set up and playing within 10 minutes of the other band ending, and we did play an excellent set. Once again, the playing of the music makes it all worthwhile, not to mention the Railway did pay us well for our troubles.

I took another trip up to Scotland for 3 days with my friend Ali, who I had met previously at Burning Man. She was moving back to Scotland/Europe after traveling for about 18 months, so I helped her get her stuff from London up to Scotland, and we had a nice time up on the rocky coast of northwestern Scotland, in a little town called Arisaig. A beautiful and rugged place, we could look out of the little cabin we stayed and watch the tide come in. It really is amazing to be able to watch it come in and see how deep the water becomes. It was also amazingly WET up there, as water fell from the sky in some form or another for about 85% of the time, ranging from light mist to raging winds and huge drops pattering against the roof. The wind sometimes would push so hard the wall would shudder, thereby jittering the couch which was placed against it! it was a cozy time, with lots of ginger tea and blankets :)

Upon returning from Scotland, it was almost time for me to get on with my travels to Berlin! Just a few days in between.... I had my train tickets from London to Paris (very early morning) and from Paris to Berlin (overnight train). As it was, I ended up with about 8 hours layover between trains. Since it was cold and rainy upon my arrival to Paris, I stayed in the train station and read, and practiced melodica. When the rain let up, I wandered around the area around Gare d'Est. A little after 18:00 my friend Lezle Brochet met up with me for a drink. I had met Lezle in London in 2008, when oso was playing a show at the Shunt. She's my real first French friend in Paris, and it was great to see a friendly face in a new city.

On the overnight train to Berlin, I had a bed in a Liegewagen, a room with six bunk beds. I shared it with one guy, a Venezuelan (I think) who had been living in Germany for 11 years. Also, he is a singer! Of course, BMSS strikes again...so we talked a lot about the music scene in Berlin, and what kind of personalities I might meet in Berlin. He was a very helpful and informative guy, and also supportive of the idea of Berlin as a place to live and be a musician.

Nov 9, 2010 - FINALLY!!!! Arrival in Berlin at about 9am. My very good friend Micha met me at the train station. A little history for those of you who don't know...I met Micha during my first travels ever to Europe, in 2003, when I traveled to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. During my German studies at UCSB, we participated in an online forum exchange with students in Kassel, Germany. Micha's girlfriend Katrin was in my online group, and she invited me to stay with her and Micha during my visit. We spent about 3 weeks together, and traveled to Prague together. So, I had already started a good friendship with them, and Micha was ready to help me out this time around.

Micha met me at the station and helped me carry my gear to the taxi stand, where we grabbed a taxi to his flat in Prenzlauer Berg. It was still very early (well, early by German standards, ie 10am) and the neighborhood seemed pretty quiet. I was pretty hungry so we went for a walk down the block til we found a place that was open and serving breakfast. In the UK I had become a big fan of the big British breakfast, and luckily this place had a good copy of it! For those of you who don't know, the typical big British breakfast (from my experience, anyway) is eggs, baked beans, sausage and/or bacon, potatoes of some kind, and toast. If you're a vegetarian they usually substitute grilled tomatoes and mushrooms for the meat. Myself, I usually ask for the vegetarian option AND some sausage! British sausage is unlike any others I've had; it's a little softer and lighter in taste, but very satisfying. And pretty cheap!

After my hearty breakfast we headed back to the flat. I don't remember what we did, but I think we just hung out and talked, figured a way to configure his one-room studio flat so we both had a place to sleep. He's got a comfortable air-mattress I've been using, and really comfortable bomber sleeping bag - I could zip myself up in it completely, looking somewhat like a huge cigar reading for clipping and smoking.

In the following days, from Nov9-20, I spent a lot of my time researching practice rooms and sending out emails about places to live. I spent hours on various websites that advertised places to live, as well as making postings on Craigslist to try to get drum students and English students. The first thing I found was a practice room. It's located in Pankow, only a few minutes away by tram. It's my own room, available 10am-10pm weekdays, and by weekend by appointment. I'm also hoping to be able to share it with a couple of other musicians a week in exchange for help with the rent or use of some of their equipment. So, goal #1, a place to practice, accomplished!

A woman responded to my request about a room for rent in her flat, so I went to check it out. Located in Kreuzberg (one of the more culturally active parts of the city), it's right next to Görlitzer Park, in a neighborhood that I became familiar with in 2008. The room itself is about 20 square meters, maybe a bit smaller, with it's own "oven" (fireplace, but not to look at, just to heat the room), bed, desk, couch...and a PIANO!!! Wow, was I ever thrilled to see that. A nice Yamaha upright, in tune, and in great shape. That was the first plus, the second being the size of the room, and the third being the location, and the fourth being the relatively low rent. The downsides of the flat are that there's really no living room (ah, whatever), the bathroom is being renovated (it's a little messy right, but my rent is cheaper while it's being redone), and there's no shared kitchen. That for me was the hardest thing to come to terms with, as I really do like to cook. The kitchen that does exist is in the same room that is the other renter's bedroom, so it's more difficult to use. So, I'll have to compromise by using a hot plate or a little propane camp stove...no big deal. I could also get really rustic and just cook on the top of the wood/coal-burning oven in my room! I told her i needed a couple of days to think about it. As I was walking to my practice room the following day, I thought "Wow, a room with a piano. Cheap rent. Okay, no kitchen so to speak...but I can make do. Minimum of two months...if I don't like it I can move after." So I called her and said yes. At that moment I felt very good, that I had accomplished two very important things within a week of arriving!

Staying with Micha during this time has been really great. He's helped me with my German, with getting around, with looking for places to live and practice, as well as just all around being a really cool guy to hang out with. He's a writer, working on a novel/multi-media project. We've exchanged ideas about working together (he wants to make a video for one of my songs, I want to make music for his project), and I am really looking forward to collaborating.

Okay, that's about it for now. Kudos to you if you made it this far. It's been a long post, and a long time coming. Many thanks to all of you who do actually read these; I'm amazed that people are actually interested in this little life of mine. I'm glad to share it with you all. Lots of love....Tim

first highland adventures!

2010-10-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings fellow humans, aliens, and other life forms! I've returned just last night from a 5-day adventure in the highlands of Scotland, someplace I've wanted to go every time I've been here. Most of the other travel times here have been like a working vacation with the band, so the time was slimmer. But now, wow! The time finally came along. Back to the beginning of this week...

I have to think for a moment...Ah yes. My good friend Nora graciously allowed me to store my stuff at her flat. I awoke there Monday morning, checked the internet for an update from my new sibling-friends Shelley Krycer and Benk. We met late last week, and made plans to confer about some kind of northward exodus. Meeting at the Forest, we decided to make haste and catch a bus to Inverness. We got there, made our 1-minute walk to our hostel, the Inverness Tourist Hostel. I highly recommend this hostel - it was clean, the staff were very friendly, not too expensive, and they had a piano and an acoustic guitar for playing. (I was given a very nice compliment by a man listening to me play piano: "I was feeling very narrow inside, and your music gave me space." How nice is that!)

We ended up spending two nights in Inverness. During that time, our first day was filled with getting down to Drumnadrochit, which is quite near to Loch Ness. We did a nice day hike of a few hours length, taking photos, talking, and just generally enjoying being in the trees. It was the first time for me to be out of the city and feel some earth under my feet! What a beautiful country.

From Inverness we took a bus down to Fort William. We had originally thought of going to Isle of Skye but decided Fort William was more in the direction we were headed (more towards Glasgow), and that getting around places in Fort William would be easier. So, arriving on Wednesday, we got a hostel and did a day walk around the town, following the West Highlands Way a bit from downtown over to the locks on the Caledonian Canal. (Caledonia - the Roman name for lands north of Brittania).

The next day was the big one. We got up, got some foodstuffs together, and started our walk to Ben Nevis. Obviously not as tall as some other mountains, this was still a 5-hour hike for us up to the very top of the ben (scots for mountain). We were lucky to have some very good weather - no rain, and very little cloud cover, which allowed us to have some AMAZING views! Needless to say, my legs and knees were very sore by the descent. But this was one of the highlights of the highlands trip. I feel proud to say I hiked the tallest mountain in the British Isles!

Some more pictures:

that's all for now. Off to London tomorrow to meet up with Phil! I'll be spending my birthday down there! :)

love to all of you readers out there! xoxoxo

2010-09-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

let's see...where we been? what's been happening? Phil arrived last Friday morning. We've played two gigs so far, done some busking, and have a show at the Forest tonight and at Henry's Cellar tomorrow. It's been good playing the duo street outreach set, making new friends like Rocco, a short but loud bagpipes player, with whom we had an impromptu jam. It was a first for all of us, Phil and I jamming with a bagpipes player, and Rocco jamming with a guitarist and drummer! hooray for cultural interchanges. We've also met some other new friends from playing at Henry's, and also saw many old friends too.

I've been fighting a little cold the past few days, sore throat which has since moved up to my sinuses, but at least it's not in my lungs! Staying up late and socializing, working, and traveling doesn't help. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Tuesday I took the bus to Glasgow to meet up with Bruce Wallace of Super Adventure Club fame, who works at the Glasgow Academy of Music and Sound. He invited me to give a little workshop/performance for about 50 students. I gave a short presentation on using Ableton Live in performance context, showing examples of how to use it for live looping (which was accompanied by its own technical glitches), as well as demonstrating playing along with pre-recorded samples. It was a good lead on possibly being able to do some full lectures later in May, when I'll be back in the UK.

Back on the bus shortly after ending the lecture, I finished reading Fahrenheit 451, which I had never read. HOW did I NOT read that book for sooooo long? What an amazing story. I felt alive and invigorated reading it. Upon arriving back in Edinburgh, I went down to the Forest to prepare for running sound for a monthly show they have called the Golden Hour. All in all a good experience, it's fun getting to do live sound, but stressful as well, as any FOH engineer knows...When bands don't come to soundcheck, of course those are the bands for whom the problems creep up. Some good music and poetry, and storytelling. Glad to be able to do some volunteer work for the Forest, as it's been such a central hub for oso on our travels. I also helped out the other day attempting to assemble 3 different drumsets from the pieces they had around. I was able to get two together, but the third needs a lot of work! Luckily it will get used the least of all...

and now, today, Thursday, 12:52 pm. it's a grey rainy day, and I'm sitting here typing. gotta finish a piece of music for Andrew Schoneberger today. I'm glad to still be getting work while I'm traveling!

out for now...love to you all!

September 15, 2010 - geekery abound

2010-09-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2010

A warning: this blog post contains a bit of geekiness, don't worry if you don't get it all! :)

Today marks one week of being in Scotland. I've spent more money than I wanted, and of course some things just had to be purchased (a new charger for my laptop, a voltage converter, which I may end up returning). I probably should have expected it, though it's not like I'm down on my luck yet. Just trying to be frugal.

Good developments - Phil will be joining me on Friday for some gigs at Henry's Cellar this weekend, "oso street outreach team" style. That should be fun. I've also been working on my set as well, working on stripping down my equipment load even further. My setup has been: laptop, Roland Juno, Digidesign audio interface, nanokontrol midi fader box, and two delay pedals, and whatever drumset I can get my hands on. But that's a lot to carry around, especially when I'm trying to design something to be very portable, even busking worthy. So, it seems like the best goal has been to do away with whatever extra weight and possible. I've decided that I should be able to do almost everything with the computer itself. Bye bye, digi, delay pedays, and, at times, Juno. I've discovered that I can use my Zoom H2 handheld recorder as a microphone/audio interface combination, and today I was able to create some simple loop-based stuff using the H2 instead of a mic and the Digi. This means two less microphones and cables to carry, and if I can figure out a way to attach it to my hi-hat stand, no mic stand either. Also, no DIgi to have to translate the sound waves to zeroes and ones...the H2 does that as well!

Onto the next gear drop - the delay pedals. I've got two (anyone want to buy one, or both?) that I had been using mostly just as loop pedals. These are also redundant, with the computer around. I've learned how to use Live's Looper instead. One of my biggest challenges has been using Live for looping, but not having to rely on listening to a click for the tempo. It seems like it should be easy....and NOW it is! The Looper will start recording on cue (usually a midi command via key or footpedal) and will record until you hit the command button, at which point it immediately analyzes your loop for tempo and meter, usually fairly accurately. It couldn't catch that I was doing something in 7/8, but it looped it in terms of 4/4 (strange, I know), but it's good at accurately guessing tempo. This is the key I've been looking for! Now I don't have to worry about guessing what tempo i want to play at, then setting a click, then playing along with it. The Looper makes it sooo much easier! I found out how to use it HERE.

Next is learning to use the computer keyboard as a midi keyboard. It's not great. It works, though, for simple melodies and bass lines. I would end up using it more for street performing, but prefer using the Juno live, even if for a midi controller....I'll have to see about running the Juno into the line input of the H2 to see if it will record through microphones and line in at the same time. Otherwise it becomes quite difficult to record the Juno without the Digi....hm, quandry. Must ponder it more.

On the personal level, there have been moments of realizing my solitary nature. The past few days I've done not much except stay at the flat and write, or hang out at Henry's Cellar. Thanks to the kindness of Claire and Nora, and the owner's of Henry's, I've been able to come in during the daytime, as long as Nora's around, so that I can practice drums and other stuff. It's been a real boon to have a drumset to practice on. I've also been thankful for some other human company - just hanging out at the flat can get a wee lonely. So, hooray for human connection and growing friendships. Nora's great - a sound engineer and fellow geek, she's been super helpful with anything soundwise I need, as well as lending me drum equipment for busking when the time comes, as well as just being great company.

I've just ended playing an open mic. Fun, but it's hard when most of the people in the bar are ignoring you...

September 9, 2010

2010-09-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

Second day in Edinburgh. slept late, woke up, was up for a couple of hours but then needed a nap. My body is still catching up with the time change and the traveling, both can take so much out of a man. But so far I have two gigs this weekend at Henry’s cellar, so that should be fun, as long as I can get some practice in! It’s been a few weeks since i’ve done any of the TICK TICK BANG stuff…but not too worried. There’s a session tonight that Hailey and Jed are running, I’ll be heading there soon. Eating a falafel at the place across the street from the Forest, where I spent most of the afternoon working on a piece of music. It is nice to just have time to write and practice. Hopefully the forest will come through on getting me in their Cave practice space.

and back after a really wonderful session down at a place called Nobles Bar, in Leith. Wow! What a fantastic time! Started off with me, Hailey, and Jed Milroy, Hailey’s partner in musical crime. We played songs of all sorts, some traditional, then took turns doing originals. Never have I felt so accepted and welcomed as a musician and songwriter. It was so casual that everyone felt welcome. At a certain point more people showed up and played too. Dougie came and we chatted and caught up. He’s got some long hair now! Holy crap, i didn’t expect THAT.

Today most of my transit was by foot, which made me realize that this city, at least the main part of it, isn’t too big. I was able to walk from Cutter’s to the Forest, then from the Forest all the way down to Noble’s Bar, not a short jaunt, maybe 25-30 minutes, but it didn’t seem too far. I'm basically trying to save money by not spending any on taxis, and as little on buses as possible. gotta make my money last!

Tonight was one of those experiences that makes me feel like i’m doing the right thing by being here and by reaching out to play music. It was a fun time, great fun indeed, and I can’t wait for the next session!

2010-09-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hello to all of you out there. I write to you from the capital of Scotland, the lovely town of Edinburgh. I arrived today around 2pm, got through immigration with no problems, thankfully. My friend Cutter picked me up from the airport, we went to the grocery store to get some supplies, then back to her flat. It's really great of her to let me crash on her couch. i took a 3 hour nap (the travel has been non-stop for a few days, it seems), then met up with the lovely Hailey Beavis for a couple of pints. It is really great to see her...for those of you who don't know, we attempted a long-distance relationship last year, which was okay, but ultimately too difficult across continents and oceans. So it was really good to see her and feel all those good feelings of love and appreciation that we all have for the special people in our lives. She is one in a million. I'm looking forward to playing music with her again!

Speaking of which, looks like I might have a slot at Henry's Cellar this Saturday Sept 11, if anyone is around...and soon Phil Taylor of oso will be joining me here, where I'm sure we'll do some music together.

I'm just so excited to be traveling again, seeing friends, playing music. And keeping my blog more up to date! Also looking forward to hearing from anyone and everyone who wants to say anything about anything!

love to all...

2010-07-21T21:59:00.001-07:00

an open ended conversation between, myself and the computer screen, a reaching out and stretching out of threads once spun, will they still hold, will they still catch me, a safety net, a lucky bet, i'll never take what isn't given, how so driven to take a risk, on the chance that things could really lift off, or blast off, or take off my head. want to meet and make music, play drums all the time, write pieces for a variety of musicians, whoever's around to play, travel the country and surf the pubs, livin with grubs, a true tender dashing of life on the run, take in the rum, crawl through the parks or sit in the shrubs, ride the rail from one north to south to pass over the mouth of the hillsides, building trains collide in a wild delight, true blue album strewn covered street please resume this linking life, the webs of light, the endless forward pushing of righteousness, of uplifting those surrounding us. to all you out there who've known me at all, think low or think tall, i'm asking for blessings, good luck charms, and to leave behind nothing but good memories and love. for now the first time in many years upon me where i have no commitments - no job, no band, no school, and no girl, so it is incumbent upon me to stretch beyond my previous boundaries, to live elsewhere than this continent. i dream of cityscape wide art structures, permeated with music, an orchestra of concrete, distinctions of distance, moving about on foot and public transit. there is music everywhere, to be heard, to be played, to create. i want to believe that what i dream can become reality, and that it's not beyond my reach to materialize these visions. i have been fortunate enough to have come as far as i have, that there has always seemed to be some sort of guiding force in my life, and it has largely manifested as music. i would never be where i am without it, and it has led me thus far into so many wonderful experiences i would have never expected. it has led me to meet all the amazing and talented people in my life who have gracefully shared their time, energy, and creative juices, and it is juicy, a whole big pot of hot sauce sure to rile people up. the people i've met have made everything worthwhile, and the people i'm sure to meet, man, i can't wait to see what is in store. to ask for more, to demand the best, be put to the test, i mean, can i stand or will i fall, it's a question on my mind, to fear my own demise, to lose everything in a glance. it can and does happen, sure as sunshine, let's hope for rain to cool down the heat, take a back seat from the stress of everyday duress and make caressing gestures of sweetness. i'm sure i'll be battered a bit, be knocked down on my knees, nothing i can't handle when necessary. still safety's a first and it would be worst to be mugged at gunpoint for my stuff. i watch the euro to usd money fluctuate, wait and wait for the best day to buy, still got stuff to sell. i should just get rid of this stuff, the piano, the car, the drumset. still stripping down instrumentally to just a few things - small midi keyboard and laptop based stuff, seeing what i can really get away with. i want to be able to create songs using live looping. i also want to be able to play along with pre-programmed stuff, as cheesy as that may be. preferably, i would just get a band together to do songs that i've written. i mean, is it really that hard, or do my songs just suck? or maybe it's because i've yet to actually TRY. just a little bit harder. that's right, try harder. connect to AC220, ya basterds.

overdue like a 12-month pregnant woman

2009-11-05T22:51:00.000-08:00

i have heard some people say, tim, why aren't you keeping up your blog? well, the answers are many, though none are a good excuse - i fell in love, then got my heart broken. i work 50 hours a week. i play in a band another 10 hours a week. is that enough in the way of excuses?

but for those of you who really want to know what's been up with tim, what am i doing day in, day out, what's my inner story, what's the haps with the band, well there is so much to tell it might take me a little while.

i finally am on the receiving end of a breakup, one i didn't want to have happen, but was beyond my control. put my heart out there, gave a lot, sacrificed a lot, hoped a LOT, and it all crashed and burned. it's only been a few weeks so i'm still healing. i've been sad, angry, depressed, confused, and okay about it all, milling around back and forth between these emotional states. mornings are the hardest, waking up with memories or songs in my head, a particularly lovely voice singing to me through the first rays of dawn's light. i'm getting better, generally, day by day, some days are harder than others. i'm thankful for friends, for my cat, for my music, though my inspiration has run a bit dry since my birthday, the day it fell apart. i guess the truth is that i really loved this person, and gave a lot of myself, my time, my effort, to maintaining this relationship, when the other person really didn't feel the same, ultimately, which was manifested in things like me doing all the phoning, the emailing, the emotional outreaches, with very little return from the other side. i think i've learned maybe now, after this my third long distance relationship, that it's not a good situation to be in. i'm trying hard to let things be, to not be angry with her, but it's hard sometimes to feel just let down and rejected, hard to not be pissed off at her lack of effort, hard to get past the hopes, no matter how unrealistic, that i held on to. at least we don't live in the same town, where i'd have to see her. ultimately, i'm still healing, and still hoping that a friendship can exist where a relationship couldn't, and that still has to be seen.

my job is another ball of wax. ultimately a great job, i enjoy teaching the students, but i don't feel like a good teacher - i have a hard time planning ahead very far, and sometimes i don't feel like i'm reaching the students the ways I want to. Also dealing with the administration can be extremely difficult - twice now this year they have done things that have directly affected my life outside of school, and it's difficult to just be a nice little lamb and go along with things. it's a tough situation - it's a great job, i love teaching, but the confinements of a full-time job are getting to me. i want freedom and flexibility. hell, what i REALLY want is to be a full-time MUSICIAN, not a teacher! and this job is keeping me from pursuing that goal. for now, it's great, but I don't know how long i'll be able to make it work beneficially for both myself and the students.

and, finally, oso. a great band with great guys. we've recently past our 5-year anniversary, and there's been so much review, talk about the future, talks about moving, talks, talks, talks. we need to record a new album. we need to get out of santa barbara to a real city. these two things are clear. we've been working so damn hard, but sometimes it feels like, god, is it really worth it? are we really reaching people? are we really appreciated, or are we just a flash in the pan? is our music actually good? would it appeal to enough people for us to be pushed beyond just being the nobodies that we actually are? it's a hard spot to be in - we know that it takes years and years of hard work and dedication to "make it" as a band (what DOES that mean, anyway), and sometimes I think we all just feel like we're tired, we've been working hard with very little return - no interest from anyone who can really help us reach whatever the next level might be. and yet, we continue to write, continue to practice, continue to gig, with the hopes that someday things might grow.

it seems like some of the things i've been learning lately are - don't force things, they'll happen in their own time. maybe i pushed too hard with this last relationship, trying to get something from somebody that couldn't give me what i want. sometimes things ARE actually okay the way they are, and yet we feel the need to "improve" them, so we try, and we make it worse. be patient. i'm trying to sleep enough, maintain a positive outlook (very hard), and stay creative (also hard). i dream of being a one-man band (in the works). i want to travel more, work less, enjoy the freedom of just living on the road and playing music.

to my friends, thank you for all your support. i wish i could spend more time with all of you, individually, in groups, all ways.

this is me.

post-Jesusita fire

2009-05-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

Thankfully, our house is still here. The fire was stopped not more than 20 yards from our house. Dead serious, and so grateful that things are still here. Though, on some level, I was so ready for them to be gone that it's strange to come back to them still here...

oso just got back from a weekend up north, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Santa Rosa. Santa Cruz, Crepe Place, home of lovely food and a 3-1 female:male ratio. Good show, shared with Mountain Animal Hospital and Arch. Unfortunately, our lucked turned sour the next morning when, while we were dozing in the morning, sometime between 8-9, someone entered the house we were staying and burgled Nick's cell phone and cash, my cell phone, and Phil's unicycle! What a creep! What a jerk! Hard to believe that people do such petty stuff as steal, especially from people who, in some sense, are trying to make life better for not just themselves, but others as well. (by the way, i actually HATED that cell phone, so I hope whoever has it now hates it to. Using a motorola after having a nokia was just unpleasant).

San Francisco show, okay, now if the first band shows up late, takes their time setting up, and instead of starting their actual show, their bass player and drummer "jam" while waiting for people to show up; if they play an hour-long set, not aware or not caring that all loud music has to be done by 10:15 (a bad situation to begin with), and leave your band a mere 25 minutes of playing time, wouldn't be you be more than a trifle upset? I certainly was. To make matters worse, there was a woman who couldn't stop bugging EVERYONE about the music being too loud for the neighbors she was TEXTING at the time, ASKING them if it's too loud, them texting back yes. What the hell? Did she WANT there to be live music at all, I wonder? So, San Fran, not the most satisfying time, at least this time around.

oh, it would be amiss of me not to report that our lodgings for that night were unique - a boat in the Sausalito harbor! Sadly, there was only room for two of us, so Nick and I slept in the van, while Andrew and Phil got gently rocked to sleep. Lucky the van is actually roomy enough for two of us!

Santa Rosa turned things around for us - we played on the street for an hour and made some good money, at the same time advertising for the show that night, which was at our Santa Rosa hotspot, the Russian River Brewing Co. Always a lot of people, great pizza, great beer (esp if you like pale ales, which I generally don't, but still, good beer), and great audience response. And earnings! Amazing how that works - sometimes I come home with more money than I had going out (of course, this time around I had to buy a new cell phone, a NOKIA!).

and just counting the days until August...oh damn. not soon enough! A dear friend is coming out to visit, and I'm quite looking forward to then. :)

gah, six days gone already!! no! no! don't make me go back...

2009-04-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

okay, this was a draft I should have put up before, now I'm just posting it, and then I'll pick up where we are, now, tomorrow, when I'm not aching for sleep....

talk about living deep, traveling into spaces visited before, but seen in entirely new lights...well, sorry to all you who actually read this blog that have been waiting anxiously for the next post. Playing shows every night, staying up some nights til dawn, taxi transits, walks through the park...often I don't have a continuous block of time until I'm on the train! i wrote my last post on the train north to Scotland, now I'm writing on the southbound train.

rrrrrrrrr.....Wednesday - Andrew, Nick, and I get to Edinburgh around 1600. Out of the train, into the crowds of people. I swear, this city is full of people every time I come here! This time of year they're doing a TON of construction too, probably trying to get it all finished before summer brings the Fringe Festival (which i may, on a whim, attend...). We phone our friend Cutter, with whom the three of us are staying - she's busy helping a friend repaint his parents' house (a surprise to them, with which they were very happy), so we head to the refuge of the Forest, a cafe/community space run by volunteers. They've got three floors of stuff going on - the basement is filled with rehearsal spaces, the ground floor is cafe/art gallery/performance space, and the top floor is another larger rehearsal/performance space. While we were there, we all collectively witnessed a spanish conversation group, skype callers, ballet classes, and a nice old phonograph someone brought in to play great old records. We hung out here for awhile, originally intending to leave around 7, meet up with Cutter, relax...life on the road. Instead we talked with some of the Forest volunteers, one of whom was a violin player. We set up our stuff and had a nice little jam session - bass, drums/piano, and two violins. Different, nice soft stuff, ambient, pretty. It was good to play, get warmed up for the upcoming shows. We finally got out of there around 10, headed to Cutter's, warm greetings, cool house. Squeaky cat named Ziggy, a real sweetie. Cutter herself is also a sweetie, letting three guys into her house - she even gave up her bed for us! If anyone reads this, lives in Edinburgh, and knows Cutter, give her props for having us there, seriously! It's people like her that make our travels possible, fun, and safe - if we had to find a new place every night, it'd be much more hellish and doubly as exhausting.

Next day - Thursday. We wake up in a dark room. Cutter's got one of those black-out curtains. Has anyone ever seen one of these things? It seriously is as though NO sunlight gets through. I think we got up at 10:30 and it was as dark as 3am. A little disorienting, but wonderful - no need for our little eye blankets. Ah, we're hungry - what did we do for breakfast that day? I don't remember. There's a few patches of lost memory floating around these days, chalk it up to lack of sleep and change of routine. Somehow we end up ultimately at the Forest again. Coffee up! We set up a show there for that night to replace the one we were SUPPOSED to have played the night before (Phil still wasn't there at this point, remember). Okay, play the Forest at 9pm, then head to Bannerman's for an 11pm show. got it. we get in touch with Dougie, the original patron saint of oso in Edinburgh - he's hosted us for 2 summers in a row, always a generous soul, we'd wake up and there'd be bowls of fruit, fresh bread, tea, coffee waiting for us. This year he was unable to host all 4 of us as his housing situation changed - he could only host Phil. Hence the rest of us staying with Cutter (who, by the way, has been elevated to patron saint status as well!).

Anyway, the three of us head out to Dougie's for a visit that afternoon. Catch the bus 31 out to East Craigs, really right on the border between the suburbs and the countryside. OH - have I ever mentiond how DAMN BEAUTIFUL this country is??? I've only been to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and everytime I come all I want to do is escape to the Highlands, something I must do in this life. Maybe this summer....

Back to Dougie's - we arrive...and he's grown his hair out! Looks like he's coming back from a 70's party - in a good way! :) We're invited in, and of course, there's bowls of grapes and strawberries gracing his table - good old Dougie! What a wonderful man. we hang out, drink tea, he shows us his new musical toy, a Kaosscilator. Pretty cool! so much fun packed into a little 8"x8" box! Oh, and wait, who's at the door? Great! Great! Phil is here! He made it. Whew - can't say I wasn't more than a little worried, but I'm so glad that it all worked out! We reconnect, discuss our plans. Time to catch the bus back to town...

We head back to downtown, bus 31 our friend again, head to the Forest. I don't think people there really know what's coming up as we're setting up, because when we start singing Hurdle the Bushes, there is a visible shift in people's attention - no longer can people practice their spanish, or just read. We've captivated them with our sound, our presence, and of course, Phil on the unicycle. (a total aside, everytime another one of the trains goes by while I'm typing, it scares the crap out of me! it's so close, and pretty loud, and damn fast. hate to think about how terrible train accidents can be!) we play for the almost an hour and a half, finally finally reunited after worries and travel time. There's someone in a tutu that I recognize in the crowd! We break down, all the while selling some CDs and shirts, our income! Unfortunately...

I mentioned earlier that we had two gigs - the first at the Forest, the second at Bannerman's. Apparently, when we arrived at 11:15 for our 11 slot, we overstepped a boundary - the sound man at Bannerman's reads us our rights - "You guys were supposed to be here four hours ago for soundcheck, this is terrible, blah blah blah." Stuff we've all heard before, but come on, is it really that big of a deal. Most of the people are in the bar anyway, not even in the performance space, which itself is little more than a dank rectangular concrete room with no windows, blinding stagelights, and an over-amplified sound system. We suffer the admonitions of the sound man ("if you guys aren't ready in 5 minutes, you're not playing"), get up on stage. I'm using the house drumset now, something that can be quite dodgy. Luckily this one sounds okay. We are up in running in 4.5 minutes. the crowd is digging it! it sounds alright, for a concrete square with a crackling monitor system :( We play for about 30 minutes on stage, then descend to the floor for another 15 minutes. These moments in the crowd prove to be some of the most enjoyable for everyone, as we continue to see in our time here...We be done, to uproarious applause, to the chagrin of the soundman people want us to keep playing, but we're saving it for later, we've got another 4 nights of shows! Merchandising, merchandising, sell those cds, sell those T-shirts, email list, posters, stickers. shared beer with green eyed woman, the one in the tu-tu...

Turns out that Bannerman's decided that we weren't getting paid that night. No matter that they gave the first two bands probably 90 quid each - we get shite. Warning to all people thinking about playing music at Bannerman's - DON'T. They're swindlers and cheats, one of those pay-to-play places - "oh, you've got to bring in 30 people first before we give you half of whatever comes in after that, and no drink discounts for band members. and the sound man, door man AND bartender get paid from the door." wankers!

wir sind zuruckgekommen!

2009-04-08T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, well, could you, would you believe, here I am, back on the train! Train to where, you might ask? "I'm on the night train, and I'm lookin for stuff, I'm on the night train, and I can never get enough!" No, actually it's noon here, somewhere north of London, on the way to Edinburgh. Headed back to the greenest place on earth! oso is 3/4 arrived to the United Kingdom - Andrew, Nick, and I have all made it safely, no issues to speak of. Phil, on the other hand...well, you see, Phil lost his passport last year in London, got a replacement/temporary one, lost THAT one in Michigan. Usually Phil is pretty up on things, not procrastinating the important stuff, and yes, the five weeks that he left for the Passport People in the US to make and send his new passport should have been enough. In fact, it WAS enough, and IF they would have sent it to his mom's house in Palatine, IL, he would have gotten it Saturday, and been to the UK on Monday, as previously planned. The best laid plans of mice and men...it turns out the Passport Authority sent it to his house in Santa Barbara, where it arrived Saturday. Which means his girlfriend mailed it out to him on Monday, which means he got it Tuesday, which means he had to buy another ticket to fly out of Chicago Wednesday to arrive to the UK on Thursday.

The biggest bummer about this entire fiasco (for it certainly has been one), is that we had to cancel our first two shows this trip. Our record for show cancellations has been very good, we figured with these two, we've got a total of three in the past five years. Crappy that they had to be shows that we traveled so far to play, and also crappy that we ended up not making any money those first two nights. So instead of playing 11 out of 12 nights, we play 9 of 12. Still not bad, but...At least we are moving forward. At least Phil's third passport request wasn't denied for any reason. That was my biggest fear, and I'm glad it's been assuaged.

All in all, it's great to be back. The feeling of finally getting out of Heathrow after sleeping poorly for three hours on the plane, the tube breaking into daylight, looking out past the grassy patches onto the rows and rows of chimney-top houses, realizing, YES! I've finally made it back to London. Picadilly Line to Hammersmith, jump onto the District line to Embankment, then Bakerloo line south to Elephant and Castle, find the train to Tulse Hill, barely make it on the train, i have to piss so bad, there's two guys at the ticket machine in front of me taking FOREVER to find their ticket, it's 14:31:30 and the train is coming at 14:33...lucky for me it was a few minutes late. Wait, I think, did I get on the right train? As we're moving, nothing looks familiar. Nothing at all...so I wait, in hopes that it's the right train, and oh, yes, it is, here's Herne Hill. Out the window the right I can see Brockwell Park. Tulse Hill is the next stop. Off I go, down the stairs with my bag on trolley, clack-a-clack-a-clack, out the station, down the path, cross the street to Palace road, only one more block to go, Victor's car is in the driveway, i ring the buzzer, the door opens and it's Andrew! hooray! Finally, the home away from home. The drumset I left from last summer is still set up in the corner, waiting, beckoning. Johnny comes out to say hi, little Johnny, I keep expecting him to be all grown up, but he's still growing! He's been playing the drums, which is great, I'm glad to hear they're getting used. They're going to get used again, VERY soon!

delays, delays, always de-de-de-lays-lays-lays

2009-02-17T08:14:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Santa Cruz. The date is February 17th, the time is 8:14am. I've obviously been away from writing consistently on this blog, and I owe all of you an apology for not writing about the last two weeks of my European tour, something which I will soon do. But let's see if I can work backwards somehow.

Why do I have enough time on my hands now, you may ask? Well, I'm sitting at the Subaru dealership, having my car looked at...it's making a funny wobbling, and I'm praying that it's no more than the new tires I just had installed needing to be rebalanced/realigned. If my prayers aren't answered, it's more likely that it's the axles needing to be replaced, which wouldn't even get to the dealership until next Tuesday, which means finding transpo back to SB today/tomorrow, and possibly missing a day of work, and spending way more money than I have to spare right now. okay, big breath...trying to stay calm through all of this.

This long weekend (up until this point) has been one of the better vacation weekends I've had in a long time. It's one of the only long weekends that the band isn't doing anything (Andrew is in New Zealand with Hayley), so I drove up to San Francisco, visited the Quickchange girls, who threw a fantastic party, the "Bitter Bawl", for all us heart-broken folks. How nice to be welcomed in and taken care of by four fantastic women, all of whom are extremely talented and beautiful.

and...I just found out it's the axles....gonna cost me near 6 bones. Damn damn damn. That's the same price as an airline ticket to London! But, gotta be safe, no taking chances with breaking down on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere on my way back to SB....

so, let's see what good stuff I can post to balance all this yucky stuff. I'm writing new songs. oso is doing great, working with a management company who's supposedly working on getting us a booking agent by March 1. We'll see, hopefully they'll hold up their end of the deal. We've got shows booked for spring already, and are hoping to get on some festival spots this summer, and tour for a few months next fall. I think we are all really trying to manifest a collective vision of touring for a few months, taking a few months off, touring again, writing/recording...

still waiting to hear back from the mechanic, car fixed yet? killing time in Santa Cruz cafe, i'd like to be downtown playing me accordion, making some pocket change.

this isn't the blog I wanted it to be, put I'm putting it up anyway! more later...

continental adventures

2008-08-25T06:21:00.001-07:00

whew, these posts get further and further between. sometimes finding the time to write can be difficult. let's see...last post was from Edinburgh. this one is from Berlin, where we've been for more than a week now.

after playing our last shows in Edinburgh, which was at Henry's Cellar. What a good time! fun crowd, great energy from everyone around. We headed back to London on the 7th of August, and after a grueling 7.5 hour train ride (flooding due to torrential rains shut down one of the tracks, making us stationary for about an hour and a half), we played a little showcase at the Cross Kings - it probably would have made more sense to take the night off, especially after such a train ride...Next night saw us at the Alma in Crystal Palace again, a good night, after having a near violent collision with a man who piercingly whistled along with song after song... he stopped after Phil and I had a sharp word or two with him. It was hard not to be annoyed, though I'm sure he was just drunk and meant no harm...Next night was our final show at the Railway in Tulse Hill, as I've mentioned, kind of a meat-and-potatoes gig for us, where we had a very large crowd, an excellent performance...it was one of those nights that for me starts off a bit self-conscious, there being no green room before or after playing, it's a very intimate space, and sometimes I catch myself realizing that people are watching us, sometimes very intensely, and I have to try to not let it affect me. It's such a zone to be in while playing, sometimes very personal, but I guess that's one of the things that people enjoy, getting taken on a ride of some kind, a sharing of an internal world made external. That was Saturday...Sunday saw us at our last two shows in London, first at Brockwell Park, lastly at the Bethnel Green Working Man's club, where HungaMunga held an animal-themed party. What a great vibe they had there! The upper floor of the working men's club, they decked it out with animal art, mobiles hanging from the cieling, and best of all, a whole corner filled with arts and crafts supplies - paint, brushes, fabric, needle and thread, all kinds of stuff available for the creative impluse. Santa Barbara needs something like that.

so, that's it for London! Nick left the next morning, headed off to Spain to play a bunch of gypsy jazz shows - when we met up in Berlin he said he hadn't had a single night off! Unlike the rest of us...Phil, unfortunately, had a fall from his unicycle, hurting his wrist, so he took the week off for rest - lucky that this happened at the end of our stay in the UK. Andrew and I did some touristy things, visiting the Tate museum as well as an architectural art exhibit entitled Psycho Buildings. (Blogspot won't let me make a link there, so here it is http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/gallery/2008/may/28/psycho.buildings?picture=334400344). Very neat exhibit - the boating on the roof was probably my favorite, as well as the exploded apartment caught in stasis.

Wednesday I headed to Munich to visit my friend Maria, who I met when she was studying music at UCSB. Munich is a "nice" city - very clean, people are friendly enough. It was very nice to have a few days off, relax, rest, before heading to Berlin to meet up with the rest of the guys. Phil had gotten there the day before me, then Nick and I showed up on Sunday, Andrew came on Monday or Tuesday after being in Paris for about a week. It was great to be reunited. Berlin has turned out to be a challenging city - maybe we had our expectations set a little high. Of course it would be difficult to just pick up shows on such short notice, and few of the nights we just ended up playing for tips and CD sales in some small cafes, and a few nights we didn't play much at all. Berlin is a great city in general, but we need more than a week to really break into it. It's also where the gremlin of missing items finally struck me - somewhere, somehow, my bass drum pedal decided to go for a walk and never come back....*sigh*, so I went and bought another one today. Money I didn't want to spend, but at least it wasn't my passport like Nick and Phil...oh, did I mention one of Phil's bags went for a walk too? He lost his passport and a good amount of money. funny how these things happen.

Andrew went back to London on Sunday, he's probably on the plane back to the States right now...Won't Hayley be happy!!! Nick leaves wednesday...right now we're staying in a hostel, our first time ever having to pay for a place to stay, so i guess we can't really complain. It's kinda fun to be in such a situation, but I definitely need to keep an eye on my stuff - i don't leave my laptop here, ever. Phil and i leave Thursday, probably first for Prague, on our way to Istanbul. Looks like we'll hit Prague, Belgrade, Skopje, and Istanbul. I feel myself getting more run down as the days go on, my feet are sore almost all day long, and I can't wait to sleep in my own bed, but the adventure will soon close and I'll have many good memories of this trip.

alright, that's it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

time to catch up!

2008-08-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Dear friends and family, greetings from Edinburgh, Scotland, the greenest place on earth! It's probably because of all the rain they get up here...but boy is it beautiful. It's nice to be out of the big city of London and in a smaller city. Most of you probably know about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is starting this weekend. We'll be leaving before it's in full swing, but there's already 4 times as many people in the city as usual (as we were told by a redheaded local woman at the bus stop last night at 2:45am).

since it's been awhile since i've posted, i'll try to catch you all up on what's been going on. let me look at my calendar...(the best way for me to keep track is to look at our listing of shows and remember what was going on...). Okay, my last post was July 18. We were in London then, just starting a string of 5 shows. we played on the 18th of July at the Lambeth Country Fair, a huge fair in Brockwell park in Herne Hill. At first we tried a guerilla set, only to be quickly shut down by the men in construction-orange blazers posing as authority figures, quoting fines of 18,000 pounds for not having a permit...yeah right. So, Nick took the initiative (way to go Nick!) and found the people who actually do the booking, and got us a slot for that day on the small stage! We actually played on the grass out in front of it. It's great how may people just ring around and listen, some dancing, while our friends helped disseminate flyers and stickers, as well as sell a few CDs.

From that afternoon performance, we piled into Merve's van, a man we met at the fair who hired us to play for his daughter Lalita's 21st birthday party. What a great time! I think Lalita was maybe unsure about us, but after phil serenaded her in his Nusrat way on his unicycle, she was smitten. Apparently a great party for her. We also had a great time playing that night, very relaxed and good performance. This was also the night that made me decide to buy a crash cymbal to go along with my kids set, as Merve had one I borrowed that night...gave me another degree of expression which I greatly appreciated.

Okay, we're not done! same night...midnight, we headed to another party we were invited to play at by another guy, Jon, we had met also at the country fair. this was a party of parents and kids, and we played upstairs in a studio/library type of room. If you're on Facebook you can check out the videos here. (scroll down and check out some of my older posts, the videos are there). Another fun night! 3 shows in one day. working hard, but earning our way...

the next few nights were good, playing the Jester Bar and Biddle Brothers. Biddle Bros is up in Northeast london, a train ride and bus ride transport. Nice to be up there, a change of pace from south london, where we normally stay. Our friends Amy and Molly continued their kindness by opening their house to us after the show. We stayed with them last year, and it's great to have such wonderful friends.

on the 23rd of July, we played THE COOLEST VENUE EVER!!! It's called the Shunt consists of 70,000 square feet of catacomb-like caverns. It's underneath the London Underground station, is filled with dark corne, andrs, damp air, nooks and crannies waiting to be made out it...I seriously felt like the air there made me somehow drunk. what a great place. i don't normally have the desire to volunteer my time for many things, but i had quite the urge that, if i were living in London, i would volunteer for the Shunt. This picture is us onstage there...The people there were all so friendly and cordial, giving us many free drinks and friendly smiles...

Let's see, this was wednesday. I don't really remember what happened thursday...sometimes the days escape me...but Friday we played at the Alma, a pub in Crystal Palace, London. Nice thing about pubs is they actually tend to pay pretty well. 100 pounds that night, plus CD sales, plus requests for songs at one of our upcoming shows. I must say, we've been getting a great reception everywhere we go! It's reassuring to hear how much people like us...even on nights where maybe I don't feel like it was the best performance.

Saturday the 26th we headed up to Alechemia, a school of recording arts, where we were invited to do some recordings by our new friend Jack, a student there. Great guy, great gear, we got there about 4pm and recorded some new ideas til about 9pm or so. Non-stop as we normally are, we headed back to the Shunt, as we were told we would be on the guest list for free entry. An interesting evening...we were kind of specifically asked to not play that night but somehow, in our anarchic DIY leanings, we set up during a lull in the evening (which usually consists of many different acts spread out over the huge area) and played a 25 minute guerilla set. What fun! drunken mobs dancing and shouting, and the woman who had hooked us up with the wednesday show and asked us not to play saturday came up to us at the beginning of our last song and asked us to be done within 15 minutes - we were done in 5. Some people might look at what we did as disrespectful in some way, but I would argue that we were merely going with the fluidity of the evening. We didn't interrupt the flow of any of the other acts, and there would have been nothing going on during that slot anyway...I have a great respect for that venue, and wouldn't have played had it actually looked like it would have caused problems. I believe we probably added more to that evening than we detracted.

The following monday (July 28) we headed up to Edinburgh via rail. What a great way to travel. The 4.5 hour train ride is incomparably more enjoyable than the 9-hour overnight coach ride! We got to Edinburgh, headed to our friend Dougie's house (our patron saint in Edinburgh), rested for a little bit, dropped off some stuff, then headed back to town to catch the bus to Glasgow, where we played a venue called the Bloc. (earlier in the day i was able to leave my 55 pounds of drum gear at the rail station, as they have a place you can leave your luggage and pick it up later. how much easier that made my afternoon!). we got to Glasgow, where we had probably our first real bummer of an evening, and that only because Nick's backpack was stolen while we went out for some food. Sigh...I guess as much as you want to be able to trust people, there are people out there you have to watch out for. So, Nick had his wallet, passport, ipod, and bunch of oso shirts stolen. He had to go to the Embassy and get a new passport and go through all the hassle one goes through when their stuff is stolen...The show at the Bloc was pretty good, probably not my best night, but i guess you can't expect every night to be excellent. We split up into groups of two, Phil and I, and Nick and Andrew, and we ended up at two different houses. The next morning Phil and I headed to the pedestrian area, where we busked for about an hour, earning enough for lunch, bus fare, and pocket change. It's pretty amazing how generous people have been up here, even the older generation! A lot of them were very generous with their coins and their stories.

Okay, almost to the present day...Back to Edinburgh on the 29th, we played at Henry's Cellar, a small joint down in the cellar of a building. Another fun night (sorry if i'm not more descriptive, sometimes things are simply good!). July 30 at Club Medina, a night where the show didn't even start til 11 (glad we didn't show up at 6 for sound check!). Luckily we were first that night, though the audience wasn't drunk enough to spend their money on CDs...:P. another fun night, though we didn't stay out too late, as the buses here run less often than london, and we wanted to avoid having to get a cab...July 31 open mic performance, acoustic style, me with just my accordion and snare drum. Also, earlier that night we went to see Trianglehead play, a great jazz trio of drums, keys, and sax. a little pricey, but worth it.

August 1, friday, busking day. made 20 pounds each in an hour. love that kind of income! went to the Forest cafe, hung out, drank coffee, came home. in bed by 2am.

August 2, saturday, yesterday, I caught a ride with my friend Cutter up to the Traquair Fair. She is studying taiko drumming, and had to get up there early to help crew for the drummers. I helped out too, got in for free by doing so, got to enjoy these drummers great first set. The weather was very fickle yesterday, going from sunny hot patches to torrential rains, neither of which seemed to last longer than 20 minutes each time around. Luckily Cutter lent me her umbrella...the rest of the guys got up there about 2pm or so, Nick being a real pal and bringing my drums up for me (Cutter's car is a Toyota MR2, very small, no real trunk...). We set up in the corner of the beer tent and played for about 40 minutes or so, before being talked into playing with this scottish marching band as part of the fair. you know, the highland dancers and all that stuff...i strapped on my snare drum and improvised military marches as we crossed the fairgrounds...after the evening was wrapping up, i was actually able to throw my drums in Cutter's passenger seat, allowing me only a few inches of sitting room - lucky i'm flexible! The night continued in grand fashion (after a nap on a Cutter's couch and a cup of coffee), as we were headed down to the Forest Cafe around 11 or so. full of people, we went for falafel, came back and started playing about 1:15am. we played two sets, interrupted only by Phil breaking a string. people were really enjoying us last night, dancing like mad. it really does make it so much more fun when people cut loose and move their bodies to our music! a little bit of hanging out afterwards, then we caught the 4am night bus back to Dougie's house, slept til 12:30, and now i'm typing this...

today we head back to Glasgow for another show at the Bloc (no backpacks left out this time!). then a few days "off" (haha, funny) - we'll probably busk in Glasgow tomorrow afternoon, then play the forest cafe again tuesday night. we have another show at Henry's cellar wednesday, then it's back to London thursday for shows thursday, friday, saturday, and two shows sunday. damn, we're busy!!

alright, that should bring me up to date. i hope everyone's enjoying their respective summers, wherever you might be! big hugs to all my friends and family!

-Tim

shows every night!

2008-07-18T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I just realized that so many of you have been posting comments on my blogs (takes me awhile...just started this blogging thing), and it's really great to hear from everyone! thanks for the messages, keep 'em coming!

in our life here...let's see, sunday we played at the Railway (again!), the local pub down the street. Our good friend John Brown puts on shows once a month, usually at Brockwell Park. This month they had to cancel his show because they are prepping for the Lambeth Country Fair, a pretty big event here (where we'll be doing some guerilla performances), so he held it out at the Railway's beer gardens. Played about a 25 minute string of songs, Phil attempting to ride his unicycle on the VERY rotted picnic tables...he chose wisely to not chance the shaky old wood breaking underneath him! New fans at every show, it seems, which is a great thing, as is selling CDs! ;) We were a little disconcerted when our host announced that we had T-shirts for sale at 15 pounds each, and the audience burst out laughing! umm...it wasn't a joke, guys!

later that same night we played at our friends' BBQ party, kind of a pre-travel party, as a lot of folks are taking a few weeks off for vacation. This party we played mostly dance tunes (gyspy jazz and balkan songs), to which people swayed and danced like crazy! You'll find pics here of said party...one of our friends has a particular affinity for the ghost-like shots...

Thursday night was the first night of a string of 5 shows we have lined up in a row. we played at St. Barnabas Chapel in Soho, London, to a very attentive and appreciative audience. The space is set up more for good listening shows, not necessarily rock performances. I had to be very cautious to not play too loudly! (this trip has been very good for me refining my brush technique). Late night bus trips after wandering for a few blocks trying to find the right bus stop...got us home a little after 1am. (PS, don't buy fish and chips in London, you think you'll be gettings something good, considering WE'RE IN THE UK, but no...)

The show last night was pretty shite, the typical soundcheck-at-5:30-wait-til-

11pm-to-play situation, the no-free-drinks-for-band members-and-don't-bring-your-own-food-or-drink, don't-get-paid-cuz-ther-ain't-no-audience-to-pay-the-door kind of situation. the show "promoter" and the sound woman in cahoots with the Ice Queens, I think we're going to cancel our next show there, after such a negative first experience, why go back? Bands - don't bother to play at the Cavendish Arms Stockwell! i'm not really that upset about it, it's kind of hilarious on some level. and i chipped one of my accordion keys, but I was able to fix it this morning. we did make some new fans at the show, I think at least 6 of the 8 people there were thoroughly impressed.

today we play at the Lambeth Country Fair, where last year we played guerilla-style, and sold many CDs. hopefully today will also be successful on some level.

alright, I think that's good for now. Thanks to everyone for your comments!! It's good to hear from all y'all.

finally settling in...

2008-07-13T03:08:00.000-07:00

greetings all my friends out their in the quantum internet wave world (more on that later)...things here have been definitely improving. I think finally being here for a few weeks has gotten me used to being here. I wake usually around 9 now, instead of 10 or 11, stretch, coffee/tea, eggs, cereal. it's finally gotten sunny, at least for a little while, the weather here is so fickle! i've been composing more music too, which is good, just to keep my brain working on some of my own stuff...

oso is doing well as well. we've been playing a few shows a week, busking a few days a week, and practicing. this past week we played at the Old Nun's Head Pub, in Nunhead, which is apparently named for the fact that Henry VIII (i think) cut off some nun's head and put it on a pike for all to see...The venue was upstairs, a cosy little dark room hosting an open mic-type night. Hankdog, our illustrious troll-toothed host, books a couple bands for the night and fills it in with solo acts. He started off the night with some nice guitar playing, and was followed by a man called The Boycott Coca-Cola Experience tongue-in-cheek British humour with a slightly politicized. Listen to his music on myspace, he's got thezed edge. Hilarious! Following him was another band, Probably Robert. We followed, and I think I could honestly say we surprised people in a very good way. I'm not sure people know what to expect from us, then we play...and people are pleasantly taken on a journey heretofore unknown to them. We sold CDs that night, giving us a little income. The photos to the right are from that show...

Let's see, that was Wednesday the 9th of July. We busked the next day. For those of you unfamiliar with busking, it's basically street-performing for tourists for money. It's work, let me tell you, not all fun. It seems that maybe the recession we feel in the States could also be somewhat world-wide; it seems that people aren't quite as willing to give money so much as look at you for a little while, take pictures, and move on to the next performer. We did take home a little money, but it was quite a tiring day...

Then came Friday night, our first show at the Half-Moon Pub in Herne Hill. This was kind of a thrown-together last-minute show. Andrew and I came down to meet the booker, at the invitation of our good friend and ally Felix, and we set up this show. I contacted a band here in London called Instruments, who helped us out last year by getting us on a few of the shows that they had set up. All in all the show was quite a success, selling quite a few CDs and grossing a fairly large amount at the door. This really helps us out, as we're currently looking at train/plane tickets to the continent for music travels in the second half of August. It certainly is expensive here, especially if you're spending US dollars, but once earning pounds, it's easier to get by.

There are some videos on Facebook of the Half-Moon show, but I can't post them here unfortunately...visit my Facebook Page!

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..a little video of the South Bank, not that interesting, but I'll get some more good video footage later...

Missing my friends and girl back home, and my family! love you all...

The past few days...

2008-06-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Let me think back to Thursday....ah yes. In the spirit of Wimbledon, Nick and I went and played tennis yesterday morning. Good to be moving our muscles, get our blood moving. Andrew arrived later that day, as did my drums ($190 later!), and Phil, so we are all here. We are still waiting for our new CD shipment, Phil's amp, and Andrew's electric bass to show up. In the meantime, Nick went down to Paris for the DjangoFest, a musical celebration of Django Reinhardt and his influence on gypsy jazz. I'm glad Nick went, it was something he was vacillating about, but you know how you feel later when you look back and realize, damn, I should have just spent the money and went...now Nick won't feel that way. I made a trip out the a drum store to pick up some brushes and sticks (my stick bag is in the mail with Andrew's bass), which was a nice few hours out of the house. i guess sometimes that is the hardest thing, not just sleeping in til 11 and lolling about the house all day.

i think it was Saturday night that was the crazy night, up til 4 am, couldn't sleep, having visions of heaven and hell, apocalyptic fiery flashes. In some ways this trip has already been a test of faith in myself, in my friends, in God, and in our ability to struggle through hardship and make it through. That night I also dreamed of my death and rebirth, the sort of the death that you know is going to happen, that actually has to be done by you, some sort of self-sacrifice, then you are reborn. This death was followed by a rebirth back into myself, but with some sort of understanding of life that I didn't have previously. What that is, consciously I couldn't say, but I'm sure there has been some sort of unconscious growth from this night.

yesterday (sunday) Phil, Andrew and I practiced music (finally, feels good to be doing what we actually came here to do), and went to the tennis courts for some round-robin, best-of-3 series. It must have been my lucky day, for I went undefeated for 6 sets in a row. I attribute my wins to having played Nick for a couple of days before, thereby giving me a little more of a warm-up than Andrew and Phil had. but maybe not...later that day we went to unserer Freund Felix's flat, a crazy huge two story apartment in an old middle school that itself is huge, cavernous stairwells, long hallways, many unused rooms. I guess that owners of buildings like that will contact this company Camelot ("Camelot! Camelot! Camelot!.....it's only a model") to take care of such buildings, and they way they take care of them is to rent them out to people. Anyway, we went to Felix's to watch the final game of the Euro Cup (Germany vs Spain, Spain won, verdammt Deutscher!), and lo and behold they have a ping-pong table in a common area. My tennis luck held over - I think I lost 1 game out of 10 or so. Let's hope my good luck will continue and spread into other areas of my life.

Today we practice more, probably go play some more tennis, and later there's a capoiera training class that we're going to attend. I'm sure I'll feel very sore tomorrow, as I don't think I've ever been to a conditioning class of any kind, and though I'm fit, I'm certainly not as in shape as I could be. Nick should return from gay Paris today, so maybe tomorrow we'll head down to the south bank and try to earn some MONEY. Definitely running low on funds, especially after having bought an accordion, for which I'm still waiting to arrive.

This video below is a the three-minute walk from the Tulse Hill train station to our friend Victor's, where we are camping out when in London.

London, England 6-26-08

2008-06-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

Nick arrived yesterday. So much serendipity happening already. I went for a walk in Brockwell Park yesterday to get out of the house (it's so easy to just be lazy when I'm here, especially when we're all sort of just trickling in). It's a huge park, with a cafe, tennis courts, lots of green lawns to lay in (I took a nice nap in the sun/shade of the passing clouds). I was walking up towards the cafe, looking for a table to sit and write at, and I see a man sitting there. Hey, he looks like John Browne. I said "John!" and he turned his head, and sure enough, it was him.

for those of you who don't know, which is probably most of you, John was key in helping us get some shows last year, as well as providing a portable PA for some guerilla shows in the same park during the Lambeth County Fair (where we sold something like 20 cds in 5 minutes after a performance!). An excellent soundman as well, he brought a few of his vintage mics for us to use at a few shows, providing my kids drum set with the extra oomph it needed for electric shows. This year he's helped us out by getting us a few more shows, and recommending us to some of his friends who do bookings around London. It helps to have friends in this world, certainly, and John excels in that category. He's even got an accordion I can borrow while I'm here!

So, after the chance meeting with him, we hung out and talked a bit, he told me of dates he's got shows for us, and of other friends of his he would talk to for us. I thanked him, gave him blessing for his wife who's expecting a baby boy next week, and walked back to Victor's. Upon entering, Nick is sitting on the couch! Hooray! The team regroups slowly... We hung out that night, not doing too much, a lot of reading and talking. Glad to have another friend in the midst.

London, England 6-24-08

2008-06-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

today arrival in London, long flights, 112 degree phoenix flames lashing my skin for 63 seconds as I walked from the plane to the terminal, tossing fitful sleep on the 747 double decker airbus. three tubes and a train to victor's Tulse HIll palace, finally arriving. it's 10:30am in CA, but 6:30 here, and i'm about ready to descend to the land of dreams, catch up on lost sleep, awake and explore. Victor is as always hospitable in his manners, philosophical in his speech, and an excellent cook. he's cooking up some kind of magical stir fry right now, and after eating I think I'm going to pass out and catch up on my lack of sleep...

and I awoke at what I thought must have been just before dawn, due to the faint light creeping in the double-windowed doors, turns out it was about 4am, still trying to adjust to GMT, stayed up til about 5:30, upon which point I fell back asleep til 8, wake to the sound of Victor making breakfast for his 11-year old son Johnny, crash of dishes, pots, and pans. today i'm going to visit friends met last year, see if they still are around, and maybe find some lotion for my tattoo...

Pre-Blog Blog

2008-06-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

so, i'm finally starting a bog...er, blog. after realizing how much of a pain in the butt it is to send emails to all my family and friends AND post stuff on Facebook AND on Myspace, i've decided this is just much easier, so here we go...