Happy Days

My apologies for the delay, but it's been a crazy couple months. Bricklayers has played a couple great shows, and we're still recording our album. Check out our soundcloud page for some updates and rough tracks. Also I'm still doing monthly shows with my friends Wes Perry, he's a comedian/singer who hosts this sweet variety show. Ross and I are basically the house band, also we do random gigs here and there, you can see some videos on Wes' youtube page.

Alan helped write a surgical textbook so he and mom came to town for the big release party, which was sick. I busted out my tux (which somehow seems to be getting bigger) and ate some amazing food with lots of very smart and nice people. They didn't even kick me out! We also got to check out a White Sox game, the weather and seats were pure heaven.

Then we made our yearly trek to Six Flags!!! They have this new ride called X-Flight, it does some twirls through very tight spaces and makes you think you will get decapitated. It was awesome. Also we decided to forego the expensive crappy food options and tailgate instead.

Gabe came to town for a weekend visit, and we did just about everything. He got to see Bricklayers play one our best shows at Cole's, he tried malort, we had some deep dish pizza, watched football, had a ball at the Arcade Emporium, and last but not least, he had the greatest burger of his life at Kuma's Corner. He'll be back.

Halloween was fun, our friend Arjun and his roommates hosted this big party/gameshow. Even though my team came in last place we gave 110% and left it all out on the field.

My calypso group played a sweet gig a couple weeks ago, it was at a glass-blowing facility. No joke. They had plenty of great food and drinks, and lots of young people were digging on our tunes. Now it's time for the steel drums to hibernate.

For my birthday I did some recording with Ross, grabbed dinner with Staci and headed to Headquarters, another excellent barcade (arcade with beer). And this past week we saw the Bulls play the Celtics at the United Center, it was intense. And we won! Great times.

Oh yeah, and some dude got re-elected or whatever. Just kidding, I was sipping champagne as the totals were coming in. Not only did Barack crush the Mitt, but Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown! Nate Silver is the shit.
The real news is that I have a new job. Not just a job, but a fantastic job. It was really hard to say goodbye to all the wonderful dogs I take care of, but now I am officially a Public Ally. My friend Matt did this program in Miami a couple years ago and recommended it, it's basically a 10-month leadership training program that pairs young people up with non-profits and guides them along the way. Four days a week I am working at an amazing little school called Global Citizenship Experience not too far from my house, technically I'm a Summer Program Coordinator but for now I just help out wherever I can and soak it all in. I can't believe how happy I am to be surrounded by these passionate teachers and incredible students.

Alas, I had to give up my dog-walking and guitar teaching, which is a bummer, but I know they're all in good hands. I can still see cats because they are more flexible, but it's time to say goodbye to some of my favorites: Charlie & Toby, Peanut & Butter, and Mika & Xena.

Now it's time to get ready for Thanksgiving and seeing all my family and friends in Boston. Hasta pronto, amigos!

It's that time of the year again...

Summer is just about over, and holy guacamole what a summer it's been. Let's start with the basics: my new apartment is great, my roommates are awesome and we have two wonderful little cats running around. Here's Charlie doing his best to intimidate me as Annabelle Lee relaxes in the background.

But hanging on my bed just isn't good enough for these cats. No, Charlie prefers napping under our sink, behind our pots and pans. To each his own.

The big event of the summer was my college buddy Daryl getting married, and that certainly did not disappoint. I flew to NYC, got to see a bunch of my closest friends, and I even played the church's grand piano as people were walking down the aisle. A little Beethoven, some Pachelbel's Canon, and Mendelssohn's Wedding March for the recessional. It was sick. And of course the reception was top-notch. The weather was beautiful, everyone had a blast, it was perfect.

Then there was our family vacation on Cape Cod. We had ten adults and six kids, five of whom never stopped running all over the place. It was so much fun getting to spend time with everyone, just a whole week of amazing food and drinks, swimming in our little bay and playing with the kids. And I finally got to meet my little nephew Jackson!! So pensive.

And of course Addie just keeps getting bigger and smarter and funnier and awesomer.

                                                     

Man, that place was gorgeous.

                                         

But the fun didn't stop there. My pal Dean visited Chicago for several days, and of course that means good food, bars, arcade games and cribbage. Then we had a little Butler reunion in Iowa, and who do you think I was most excited to see? Dmitri of course!! Even though I live with two cats, I will always miss this little guy.

And last weekend I helped my friends do a short film in Michigan City, Indiana. It's only 90 minutes from Chicago and we had a ton of fun once filming was done. Here's a shot of Julie getting a shot of Matt before the sun completely disappeared.

And that leads us to what you've all been waiting for...my yearly awards! I can't believe I've been in Chicago for three years now, what a treat it's been.

Best concert: Honorable mention goes to the Andrew WK show, I never knew it was possible to get drenched with sweat, dry off and then get completely sweaty again in the space of an hour. That show was intense. But come on, #1 spot has to go to the Hives show. Their new tracks are growing on me, probably because they played them so well live. And every time they brought out an oldie, the place went bonkers. And did I mention I caught one of their drumsticks???

Best movie: I really enjoyed the Dark Knight Rises, especially Bane's jacket (hint hint Christmas present hint hint), Prometheus was super cool, and Drive was really well done, but my favorite movie of the past year was definitely Moonrise Kingdom. The soundtrack was great, as was Edward Norton, and the visuals were lovely as always, but the highlight for me was the performance of the two young leads. They were fantastic. In fact all of the young actors exceeded my expectations. The story gets a little over-the-top towards the end, but even so it's a great movie.

Best sports clip: I like adding weird categories every year, and this is really just an opportunity for me to share some awesome videos of sports moments. Even though it hasn't been the best year in Boston sports (that of course belongs to 2004, or more specifically Feb. 2004-Feb. 2005), we've still had some great moments. Even though I didn't follow it much, this clip of the US Women's Soccer team defeating Canada is pretty righteous. Some amazing shots and headers for both sides, just a thrilling soccer match for the ages. But come on, nothing beats a come-from-behind walk-off home run over the Green Monster. Wait a second, where did that neon blue arc of gatorade come from??? That's pure magic right there. No matter how crappy this season has been, we will always have this moment of jubilation.

Best song: This one is tough, I really like Beach House's Myth for its deep, rich vocals and spacey sound. And the main hook always gets stuck in my head, but I'll say it, the form of the song is kind of predictable. The new Hives album has some really good tracks too, like Wait A Minute Now. But I'm gonna have to give this award to Beirut's Port of Call. I know, it came out almost exactly a year ago, but I never listened to it until recently. My favorite part is definitely the hemiola (when the rhythm goes 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-1-2-1-2), and admit it, this guy's voice is just too perfect. Ok, fine, here are some more great songs: Think About the Days by the Beach Boys (yes, they put out an album this year, and yes, some of the songs are good), All I Wanna Do (also by the Beach Boys, but this is from the 1970 album Sunflower), and how about a little Rosanna by Toto. Deal with it.

Best album: Honorable mention goes to Beach House's Bloom, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Hysterical, but start to finish Dan Deacon's America takes the cake for me. Mixing electronic, classical, and indie music into one glorious hodgepodge isn't as easy as it sounds. But Dan Deacon kills it.

Best book: Although I am thoroughly enjoying Kurt Vonnegut's the Sirens of Titan, and the Razor's Edge was extraordinary, I have to give this award to the recently deceased David Rakoff. I've read two of his collections, which are both hilarious and devastating at the same time. If you have a chance, read Half Empty and Fraud, they are marvelous, and I can only assume his other book Don't Get Too Comfortable is as well. David was a supremely witty and intelligent writer, and he will be greatly missed.

Ok, that's enough for now. It's time to get back into the swing of things and enjoy my day of labor. Until next time amigos!

New digs!

Summer is truly upon us! We had a crazy heat wave here in Chicago, but luckily things have cooled off a bit. I've finally had some time to settle into my new apartment, which is awesome. My buddy Justin moved to New York so I swooped in and took his room, now I live with two of the coolest cats in the world. They're hairy, a little messy, and they really enjoy bellyrubs and hiding under beds. Oh yeah, my human roommates are great too. Here's my new address:
1940 N Kedzie Ave Apt 3
Chicago, IL
60647

Last month was my 5-year college reunion, so I decided to head up to Maine and see the old gang. Needless to say, it was a phenomenal weekend. I hadn't been up there since 2007, and initially it was a little strange being back, but it was so great getting to hang out/dance with everybody.

The campus was as beautiful as I remembered, especially when it never stopped raining. But we had lots to do inside, so no complaints from my end. In addition to all the lobster I devoured, the real treat was seeing my former professor Shende playing with his 80's cover band, Racer X. They even dedicated a song to me!! I've never felt so honored.
I've seen some amazing concerts, from my friends playing in a dive bar to the one and only HIVES! This was the fourth time I'd seen them, and they did not disappoint. They played some tracks from their new album, but their old hits really got the crowd going nuts. Much like at the Andrew WK concert I saw earlier this year, I was drenched with sweat. Lots of jumping and screaming and pushing and craziness all around me. I go to so many shows where people will quietly drink their beer and sway to the music or bob their head, it's nice to see a show where people just go insane and scream along and have a blast. If you're ready, here's a taste.
Last time I saw them, in Indianapolis, I magically got to shake their hands and compliment them as I was exiting through the alley right by their tourbus. This time I jumped higher than I've ever jumped and successfully snatched a drumstick as it was flying through the air, maybe they recognized me and intentionally threw it in my general direction. I will treasure it forever!!!!

Bricklayers Foundation has returned to the studio, we've recorded six songs so far, and will soon go back to mix them and record some more. It's gonna be a great record whenever we finish it, hopefully we can put some tracks online before our gig on the 20th!
And of course there was the 4th, a nice day off to relax, see a movie with my human roommates, and watch fireworks from the roof of an abandoned building.
Yesterday I saw Mahler's 6th Symphony performed outdoors at Ravinia (Chicago's Tanglewood) and it was truly beautiful. I think all classical concerts are better when you can lie down on the grass, bring a picnic and gaze up at the clouds as the music washes over you. Plus all symphonies should include hammers.
The month ahead is going to be out-of-this-world. Next weekend I will be attending/playing the piano for my college buddy Daryl's wedding in New York. Two weeks after that we have a week-long family vacation on the Cape, and I will get to meet my brand new nephew Jackson Briggs, I mean Curtis Jackson, I mean Jackson Curtis! It's gonna be a great summer, my wonderful niece Addie cannot contain her happiness!

Get out of the kitchen

It's getting toasty! Although the nice weather is generally more fun to be in, I must admit that once I can no longer wear my hoodies I feel naked. I'll get used to it, someday. Some of my dogs absolutely love it:

Some animals are not as impressed.

That's the way it goes.
I went down to Indianapolis to experience Wagner's entire 4-opera Ring Cycle back-to-back-to-back-to-back. Yup, 16.5 hours of German opera in a row. My buddy Matt Williams works at the Wheeler Arts Center down there and decided to get the DVDs, project them on a wall and have speakers blasting some of the most powerful music ever written. Of course I had to go and support such foolishness! After way too much pizza, soda, doughnuts and cheeseballs, we somehow managed to stay awake for the whole thing. Some other people came in and out to sample it, but we were the true heroes that night/day. Pretty sure I can legally speak German now, too.
Since I was already in my old stomping grounds, once we caught up on sleep I got to hang with my old professors from Butler, as well as some old friends. Eating good food, drinking good drinks, it was perfect.
I've played guitar for a couple variety show things with our friend Wes, the guy who did the one-man-show with us as his band in February. Basically he's the MC, so he'll sing some songs interspersed with his friends doing comedy or lip-syncing or rapping, it's a blast. Also the show we did is coming back for a second run, Sundays in June at 8pm, check it out!
Bricklayers has played a couple more shows recently as well, we're definitely getting more comfortable on stage. We played with some of our friends at this awesome dive bar Moe's Tavern, you might remember we played there a year ago as well. Things got a little spooky at times:

But it seriously rocked. Then we played at our home turf, Township. Very fun stuff.
A big event in my life was seeing not one, but TWO Red Sox-White Sox games while they were in town. And wouldn't you know, we won both games 10-3. How cool is that? I must be a good luck charm. Here's Ross and I getting ready for the showdown.

My dear mama came to town for a work conference, so we got to hang and eat downtown. As always, all are welcome to my fair city! I will drop whatever it is I am or am not doing to lead you around, just say the word!
We christened the good weather with our apartment's first barbecue of the season, that was excellent. And then there was the weekend of all weekends, my college roommate Daryl's bachelor party in Miami. Wow. It was a group of about 10 of us, we rented a couple rooms in this swanky apartment building, and took Miami by storm. Lots of hanging out, some clubbing, some unmentionables, but all around an awesome time.
On Friday our calypso band played up at Northwestern, they were having a little Carib-fest and we opened the festivities. It was very cool, normally we play at youth soccer tournaments or people's barbecues, so just being on a college campus was a very different experience. We rocked the house, duh.
As for our sports teams, the Sox are gonna be ok. And the Celtics are doing great, it's been a real treat watching them battle these young guns. The Heat are a very good team, but I ain't giving up just yet. Hit em where it hurts, boys!

Back from the Abyss

Don't worry, I didn't get kidnapped. I just haven't had reliable internet for quite some time, I guess that's actually pretty similar. One of my roommates moved to Las Vegas in February and took the internet with him, it's been a long month of coffee shops and libraries. Blech. Also my laptop was busted, but don't worry, it's better! For now.
A lot of amazing stuff has happened since my last post, so I'll try to stay focused. Bricklayers played two more gigs at Panchos in Logan Square, we love it there. I played a couple gigs with my buddy Gregg for his ambient ensemble Sebetha, very cool stuff. And the musical theater thing was really interesting, we got some good crowds and everyone had an awesome time. It was so great that we're bringing the show back this June!
I spent a weekend in Madison with Charlie and Jeanne, the best hosts you could ever ask for. Amazing food, drinks, music, art and a Wisconsin basketball game to boot.
And who could forget my weekend in New Orleans with my bros? That city is too much fun, we had some very long nights of walking around and hearing fantastic jazz and drinking all the local beverages.   The food was spectacular, here you can see a before and after of the best friend chicken in the world:

Needless to say, it was spectacular. I'm still full. And oh yeah, we ate some seafood too. These are charred oysters.

Yup, consider your mind and stomach blown. New Orleans just feels like a different world, I gotta go back.
But hey, Chicago is pretty swell too. Last weekend I saw my hero, Andrew WK in concert. He played his entire album I Get Wet in its entirety for its 10 year anniversary, but the audience wanted more so he played a few more songs too. As you can imagine there was a lot of jumping and head-banging and moshing and crowd-surfing. I lost my watch but then found it under some guys foot, luckily it still works! What a show.
So I guess that sums it up. I must've missed some things, I feel like there was some football in there somewhere...Nah, probably not. It's been fun, looking forward to recording an album with Bricklayers, playing some more shows, and living the life. I'll tell you what I've been reading next time, I'm too tired. Here's looking at you, kid!

Holidays in the Books

Last month Bricklayers Foundation played our first gig with our new singer Keila, and it was awesome. We didn't have much time to rehearse but we played our hearts out at a cool little bar/venue near my house called Pancho's. In fact, we're playing there again in a couple weeks, we're all pumped. Now all we need is a photo-shoot.
Since I spent Thanksgiving in Chicago I decided to head home for Christmas, and I was not disappointed. It was great getting to spend time with family and friends and just hanging out. And the food! Scrumptious!! I bought a CD of Guns N' Roses songs turned into lullabies, because it's never too early for Addie to rock. This company makes lullabies out of everything, it basically blew my mind when I found their CD, I want to do their job. I listened to a lot of their stuff through Spotify, and came to the conclusion that GNR is and will always be the best.
For New Years I was hanging with Anna, Will and Carrie and her friends from out of town, eating sushi, drinking champagne, and chilling at our bassist Arjun's place.
And now for the obligatory food shot: Hot Doug's! Yum!

Those would be duck-fat french fries, tater tots, mini bagel dogs, and a "Brown Ale and Chipotle Buffalo Sausage with Bacon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Sage Derby Cheese." Beat that.
Also our keyboardist Charlie and I are accompanying a one-man show called "Don't Act Like A Girl," and wouldn't you know it our preview performance was tonight! It went well, we're going to fix a few things up a bit and have our big premiere/dance party next Sunday.
Oh yeah, and I gave blood last month! That was pretty cool.
I recently read "The Razor's Edge," which was a great book. It's about a man who comes back from World War I not wanting to settle down, instead traveling the world and basically just wandering in search of some sort of meaning to life. It's not preachy, it just explains one guy's unique point of view and everyone around him who basically think he's crazy. I just love the author's style, and hearing about regular life back then, going to restaurants, having parties, etc.
Other than that, we've been having some AMAZING weather here so I'm just thrilled, and the Patriots take on the Broncos Saturday! That should be exciting, I'll be pet-sitting some puppies next weekend but their owner has a huge TV! Jackpot!