Ah, there is nothing quite like my first payday in six weeks. There are actually AMERICAN DOLLARS in my wallet today, and I was able to hook up the morning with a latte and a fresh bagel. I think I'm heading into my mid-20's bagel phase now, I keep craving them upon waking up every morning. I think Portland did this to me for some reason.

Thank me for not having talked about the Communiqué machine this week, even though I've had either practice or a radio show every night for the past 8 days. Not that I'm complaining, I love playing both at practices and shows, so that's not bad, but it's been pretty exhausting. Somehow though, today I feel refreshed. Maybe it's cause this weekend is the big Lookout! Records 15th anniversary extravaganza, and tonight we're heading to the party to celebrate the label. Sunday is our big show (and first with a new drummer) with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, the Oranges Band, and the Pattern over in SF at The Great American Music Hall. It should be a rock rock rockin' few days. Oh, and I took Monday off work, just in case.

Finished practice early tonight and made it home in time to watch the rest of The Green Mile with MRA on the couch. I've recently realized that I really need this winding down party of the evening in order to settle all the things in my life, and taking the time to lounge in front of the computer, put on some mellow music, and watch MRA read for awhile is time well spent.

Today they finally installed the first of a few speedbumps on our street, which makes us feel a lot safter about letting the kitties out at night, and in the daytime as well. It felt so good to watch the carload of hooligans who usually go barrelling up our street at over 50 MPH have to slam on their breaks before they hit our magic magic lump of concrete. Oh, today is a great day.

Hey look! A new MP3 of the week! Wow! Amazing!

This one is from my current favorite LP, even though I only *really* like about half the songs on the album. Still, those songs are *that* good. Everyone from Peter Buck to Ken Stringfellow played on this one.

People I Met On Tour Who I Really Only Knew Through The Internet, Part One

Ryan from Catbirdseat.org: Our first non-driving day off was in Columbus, Ohio. Our friend had a tiny studio apartment that we all crammed in to, but that night we decided to go out dancing at the 80's club four blocks down the street. We got all dressed up in our best shirts and ties, and Ryan met us out in front of the apartment.

First we went to a bar that was supposeldy haunted, and talked about ghosts and aliens and drank pitchers of beer while playing songs on the jukebox until it got late enough to actually show up at the club. I lost Ryan when we got inside, but found him later upstairs checking out the action. I gave him some money to get me a beer and he came back with a huge plastic cup of suds, a shot of Jagermeister, and the cash I had given him to purchase the drinks. I drank both, and he repeated the favor a couple times that night. That's when all the dancing, making fun of the 40 year-olds humping on the floor, and pints went to my head. I lost Ryan sometime after that, but the next morning I found a Maestro Echoplex CD that he had left for mesitting on the stoop outside the apartment. Ryan is rad.

Audrey from Melody Nelson: Audrey came to our hip show in NYC, the one where we opened up for a couple major label bands, and the applause was nervously scant. She came up to me outside long after the show was over and introduced herself, and then told me how much she liked the band. It was raining and she had an umbrella over her head, and her friends were leaving but she still took to time to say "hello" and give me a Melody Nelson badge, which I wear on my jacket back in California. I was having a horrible evening, but meeting her was the best part. It's also worth mentioning that she's pretty, French, has an incredibly charming accent, and by the looks of her Friendster page, probably has suitors lined up across Brooklyn.

Greg and Kate : I've been reading Greg's website for a very, very long time. He came out to California last year with Kate, but they forgot to call me. I forgave them when they both came to our show in Philadelphia, and we talked nonstop until I could tell they were so tired that if I didn't let them go then, someone would fall down. I look forward to seeing them again on my next visit to Philly, maybe this time we can get a chicken cheesteak together.

You know, I'm a sucker. Tired of six weeks without internet access at home, and "problems with the firewell" making my DSL connection unavailable, I grudgingly dug out the modem from the bottom of my closet and made use of my 45 free days of AOL. I have AOL, I feel dirty now.

Tonight, me and the rest of the Communiqué boys played a couple songs on the big "alternative rock" radio station over in San Francisco. It was actually a pretty cool experience, setting up a bunch of equipment in the studio and seeing what we could do with just us and a couple room mics. The DJ has promised us a CD of the performance, so I'll post some MP3s as soon as that rolls along. If you heard me shout out "down with guitars!" over the airwaves, thanks for listening.