July 24th 2008

Well, I'm back. This is my first update in six months. Why? I guess I didn't feel like writing.

Actually, it's more complicated than that, but I won't bore you with the details because your life is boring enough. Let's just say I plan to do regular updates from now on. Look for a new version of this web site soon.

So, what's changed? Same old wars, same old oppression of the working class by the imperialist swine. What's the solution? Drink a few beers, play some music, and let it all come crashing down.

Also, pizza. Eat a pizza, and make sure it's a good pizza. Seriously, if you eat at Pizza Hut, please leave my web site. Because you suck.

Music News

I went to see The Hub Kings at an outdoor show in Metuchen. They totally kicked ass. These guys play some kind of crazy jazz I'd normally despise, but for some reason when they do it, it's really cool. Maybe because everyone in the band is such a great musician— yeah, that might be it. So check them out sometime.

Zigman Bird has a new drummer. They've also got a new CD coming out, uh, any day now—right about the same time as my new CD, in the Spring of 2025. Look for George Jetson to play a little guest guitar.

Book News with Music

Check out the book In Hoboken written by Christian Bauman. This is a great little novel about the 1990s singer-songwriter scene that once happened in that city.

Personally, I never cared much for Hoboken, because I sat at Zell's Open Mic one night for two hours before the guy in charge told me he "wouldn't be able to get me on," due to the fact that his friends kept showing up, and of course they had to play—even though I was there well before any of them, which is exactly the kind of thing that made me say, you know, this city is a big pile of shit. Of course, I was exaggerating, because Hoboken isn't that big.

Anyway, Zell's went out of business, boo hoo, R.I.P., good riddance.

But back to the book. In Hoboken is a top-notch piece of literature. It's a sweet little story about a bunch of likeable characters trying to navigate broken relationships and broken gigs and life and death and Day Job Hell. I think anyone can enjoy the story, but I think a musician will love it best. This book really took me back to a time in my life when the only thing that mattered was going out at night with a guitar in my hand. You know, before I got older and more responsible and everything turned into bullshit.

Nowadays, Hoboken is expensive. You need big money to live up there. That's how it usually goes—the creative people with no money who make a place cool attract the attention of all the mindless banker/finance/imperialists-in-training who move in and ruin it. But of course, the Indians probably felt that way about the white man. And the monkeys probably felt that way about the humans.