This past Saturday, I tried out a new venue in Pittsburgh! Papa J’s Centro, right across from PPG Plaza, is an Italian restaurant converted from an old-school brothel, which they advertise fairly prominently. Why they do that, I’m not sure — rarely do you see marketing that lowers your expectations for sexual conduct — but…
….So you’ve all heard “Jerk” by now — it has a driving four-on-the-floor rhythm, which lends itself to an implied drum part. I was on the way to the studio a few weeks ago and was listening to Elvis Costello’s “Get Happy,” and thinking about how much I love “King Horse,” a song that I…
It needs to be said that I’m still buzzing off of the success of my TRAF set, partly because you can YouTube the living hell out of it! Thanks to David Oleniacz for: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRKL0J0LlBE&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0] I think my favorite thing is the two crotchety guys who full-on have a conversation about which way to go…
I had an idea for a transition, and I shared it with Mark at the top of the session yesterday, so we started on “Wonderful Lie,” a newer song about stuff that happened a year-and-a-half ago. Some subjects just stay with you, which is fine, as long as they stay catchy. “Lie” is probably my…
….have been extended through May. We’re going 9 to midnight — come on out!
Going out to Mark’s studio this past Wednesday, I had, for the first time in a while, this amazing Zen-like feeling that everything was where it should be in my life. I mean, let’s not even get into my dating situation — that’s always a mistake, and no one should ever ask how that’s going,…
The first day in the studio with a producer like Mark is all about pre-production. The two of you sit across from each other and talk about your music. You play him a song, he listens to it beginning to end and makes notes about how to make it flow better, trim excess time, tighten…
I’ve looked around for about two years for someone to work with on the new album — recording in Pittsburgh would have meant too much travel expense, and I want to be more present during the process this time around. Last time, I wasn’t there for half of the sessions, allowing the producer leeway to…
When I was a drama kid, I was required to take Theatre History. It was mind-numbing for most of the time, but one awesome thing I took from it was a tidbit about vaudeville actors. Apparently, when vaudeville was in its prime, two complete strangers could meet at the stage entrance, compare notes, and do…
When I was a drama kid, I was required to take Theatre History. It was mind-numbing for most of the time, but one awesome thing I took from it was a tidbit about vaudeville actors. Apparently, when vaudeville was in its prime, two complete strangers could meet at the stage entrance, compare notes, and do…