It's Our Weather, Whether Or Not You Like It

Summer is always a time of revelation for me: I have lots of time to sit down and read and think about things that I don’t have time for during the school year. Also, the beautiful weather makes creativity much, much easier, for, in the cold, you really have to try to be happy and inventive all the time. This is part of the reason why I love Chicago: one is never happier than that first day Spring decides to envelop you in a warm, windy embrace. (He says as he looks out his window at the very wet, windy weather.)

One of my recent revelations is that, sometimes, it’s okay to just sit there and watch the grass grow. In fact, not only is it okay, but one should revel in that time spent doing nothing. Everyone runs around like chickens with their heads cut off in order to make money so that they can have more free time to what…make more money? No! You make money so that you can afford to give yourself a day off every once in a while or, depending on how much money you make, give yourself the day off more than you don’t.

Another revelation that I’ve had is that, sometimes, it’s okay to like something popular. When you go to an arts school where more than 50% of the population is hipster (if you don’t know what a hipster is, go to urbandictionary.com and look it up), it seems as though anything that’s popular has no merit. I actually sat in a coffee shop once and listened to two hipsters attempt to name bands and songs that the other had never heard before just to show the other how “eclectic” their own tastes were. In my opinion, that’s conformity in the form of trying too hard not to conform.

I used to hide the fact that I enjoy certain popular (and stereotypically upper class) things like tea and rollerblading, and then, one day, I realized something very important. Maybe…just maybe…these things are popular because they’re good! Sure, there are more than a fair share of popular things out there that suck (Kanye West, Starbucks, and any computer that runs Windows…just to name a few), but many things are popular because they’re good!

This is a debate that comes up in jazz all the time. Was Miles Davis really as hip as everyone made him out to be? Yes, motherf***ers! He still is even almost two decades after he’s died. Another debate that is constantly raised: “Is Wynton Marsalis really a good musician even though he has a very classicist view of jazz?” He makes well over a million dollars a year by only playing, writing, recording, and teaching the music that he loves. What the hell else could you want from the man? Seriously!

Another revelation I’ve come across is that, sometimes, the best thing to do in a situation is to just not think about it. Based on the number of romantic, musical, and social situations I’ve messed up as a result of thinking about them too much, I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to realize this. However, when you don’t think about something, you don’t worry about it, and, when you don’t worry about it, you generally don’t mess it up.

This brings me to my last, and probably biggest, revelation of my summer thus far. If you leave it alone and don’t worry about it, everything always works itself out. I didn’t know how I was going to pay for the rest of college. BOOM! Scholarship drops in my lap. I started looking for a place to live for last school year about fifteen days before I had to move. BOOM! I found the perfect place to live, for cheap, on my first day of apartment hunting. Ex-girlfriend tries to have sex with me the last time she was in Chicago, and I don’t let her. BOOM! Six months later she is pregnant because of failed birth control.

Everything works itself out. EVERYthing.

Taking A Step Back

Taking a step back without tripping can be a very difficult thing to do. It's so easy to get caught up in all of the things that you're supposed to be feeling. I'll be the first person to admit that I often get so caught up in trying to achieve a particular goal or feeling that I lose sight of what I'm doing in context of the bigger picture.

It's every musician's dream to practice alone, rehearse with many different groups, perform in many styles of music, and record every opportunity that they get. Being a musician, this is also my dream, and I've spent the last three years at school trying to put myself in a better position to attain this dream. This summer, I've spent so much time thinking about this dream that I didn't even realize that I was living it.

In the last month of my life, I've performed in styles ranging from jazz to blues to ska in many different settings from hotels to clubs to outdoor festivals. I've met and had conversations with so many different types of people from people who've never touched an instrument to those who've only just played in high school groups to those who are far greater musicians than I. I've also been able to get into the practice room a fair amount this summer: it's nice to sit down and s l o w down what it is that you're doing and be able to think about it in a very academic manner.

Last night at the recording session, as I started to get down on myself about some out of tune notes that I had played on a particular take, I took a step back. I'm living the dream. There I was in a really nice recording studio with a bunch of musicians that I love playing with making music that we all love to make. Who the f*** cares if I played a few slightly out of tune notes? When I think of all of the things that could've gone wrong (illness, injury, equipment malfunction, etc.), it's a f***ing miracle that I even made it to the studio and was able to do what I did.

This is a reminder (to myself mostly) that I need to constantly take a step back from what I'm doing and realize that, in so many ways, I'm living the dream. Is it a perfect dream? No, and I still have much practicing to do in order to improve my musicianship and, in turn, improve what's happening around me. Is it a start that not many people experience until many years after they graduate? Yes, and I'm going to run with it as far as I can and do my best to make it last forever.

It's Been A While...

...so, I'm just going to cut the crap and get right to the point.


Saw this beauty waiting for a green light outside of Panera Bread at the intersection of Congress and State in downtown Chi-town. Yes, that's a Coca-Cola commercial playing on the side of the truck.
















'Bout to play with The Radioactive Squirrels on Friday night at Bloomin' Days in Kenosha, WI.
















'Bout to play with Our Own Syndrome on Saturday afternoon at Bloomin' Days. The pamphlet that we were reading told us that Our Own Syndrome has one of the largest and most dedicated fan bases in the Kenosha area. They must've all been on vacation...
















'Twas a bit chilly that afternoon.
















Some of the street musicians at Bloomin' Days...
















My parents' new dog that effectively gooed all over me.
















This label reads:
"Use only to dry hands and face. Any other use can be DANGEROUS."

I'm not really sure what they think people are going to do with this towel in this bathroom, but they can bet they'll get sued for it if they don't say something.
















(No caption needed.)
















Herbie on the far left, Dukes of Hazard on the near right and the Mystery Machine on the far right.
















BAHAHAHAHA!!!
















Busy, busy weekend. See you folks soon.