I'm stuck at home until Monday without a vehicle. My truck's in the shop having a wheel bearing replaced along with a bunch of parts in the exhaust system (one of the drawbacks of living off the dirt road from hell is that your car takes a beating every time you leave or return home). Hopefully it'll pass inspection when that's all done.
 
I'm trying not to think about the cost for all this and instead focus on finishing some of the songs I've been working on lately. I'm not really sure what to make of my carefree attitude these days- it's almost like I've stepped outside myself to observe someone else living my life. It's weird. This is the sort of thing that should make me at least slightly stressed- or send me scrambling for a plan to make up the expenses- but I'm not stressed or worried at all. It's completely irrational but I'm totally at ease, with an overwhelming assuredness that everything will work itself out. Try as I might, I just can't seem to get worked up about it. Who the fuck is this giddy, grinning idiot and what have you done with my responsible, semi-intelligent self? I'm so happy these days, it's scary...
 
So being stuck at home, as I mentioned, I'm trying to finish off some songs for the upcoming shows in March & April. The goal is to have about six or seven new tunes this spring- and definitely at least one or two ready for the March 5th show.
 
Ever notice how each part of the process seems like the hardest part? Coming up with the idea is torture... until you've got the ideas for the first & last verse... then coming up with a way to get from the first to last verse is the hardest thing in the world... I keep taking breaks (to write a blog & procrastinate any which way possible). Here's a good procrastination destination:
 
PomplamooseMusic
 
I love these guys- they're the bomb! Love the videos & their strange little takes on some well-known songs (check out the Beyonce cover, haha!).  Their originals are awesome, too.
 
Okay, back to that middle verse.

Today was spent drinking tea & lots of liquids, with a heating pad on my back & an ice pack on my head while it snowed furiously outside. I haven't even looked out to see what the shoveling situation will be like, but I'll just deal with that tomorrow... I'd been fighting off what seemed like allergies for about a week, but this morning things had clearly progressed into a full-blown chest cold- coughing, congestion, and my voice sounds like a bullfrog being stepped on. Lovely.

I was out late last night so that might've been enough to tip the scales, but it was totally worth it. I trekked up to Portsmouth, NH to hear Heather Maloney play at the Red Door Hush Hush music series. She's a talented singer/songwriter from Turners Falls, MA with an exquisite voice- so clear & strong, with a great command of pitch- & she writes some very cool songs. It was also interesting to check out the venue- a small, artsy, hard-to-find gem, tucked upstairs in what feels like a living room setting. Leather couches all around and a small stage- very, very cozy. She played a great set & afterwards, I crossed the street to hang out with my sister & her old college buddy (first time they'd seen each other in about 30 years- very cool!) in one of the pubs. Portsmouth is such a cool city- I love it.

So anyway... it seems like a proper update would probably be a good idea since all the posts lately have been lame & half-hearted. Perhaps a quick rundown of this year's overall goals & their progress would be a good start, since I never did write up that blog back in January.

SHOWS
With the CD now available, I wanted to play more often in 2010, in new areas to new crowds. I've put some hard work into booking these first couple of months, and it's paying dividends: new bio, new promo photos on the way- (we did the session yesterday so we'll see how they turn out), and a ton of new contacts all over New England. The shows keep coming, so I'm pleased with the progress here. Keep an eye on the shows page to see where we'll be next.

I also wanted to start playing House Concerts this year. It's something I've been considering for a long time but wasn't really sure how to manage it, but we've booked the first one for the end of March & I'm really looking forward to it! I need to make a website page that explains what exactly a House Concert is and how you can host one if you're interested, but for now: concertsinyourhome.com has some pretty good info.
 
WRITING
This one is in-progress. I would've liked to have had some new songs done by now, but there are definitely some cool ideas in various stages of completion, and some are close to done. Even though nothing's complete just yet, I am back to writing on a regular basis, so there WILL be new songs in March. I promise. (there IS an actual deadline, which is always a good thing with me!) New ideas are swirling around all the time- just have to sit down & work them out now- always the hardest part.

VIDEO
I bought a video camera to address the distinct lack of video on the site... We've been shooting some footage at shows & it's also capable of webcasting, so that might happen later in the year when we have some time to try it. Perhaps a video blog every now & then, too? There is now an EL YouTube channel so keep an eye out for new content.

PIANO
It was important to get back to playing piano/keys this year, both at shows and also on my own, so I dragged my keyboard out into the living room where it's much more convenient (and warmer!) to play. I've been doing just that- quite often... Look for some piano arrangements in the upcoming shows. 

WEBSITE
I've done a lot of work on the site this year, but it still needs a ton more. The shows page & the news page are both easier to update now, so things are becoming more streamlined at least on the back end. That's good, but some major overhauls are still in the works- big ideas that will take some time that I just haven't had. There will be a Video page as well as a new Community page to replace the Myspace link. It'll have links to all the various EL internet pages like YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, etc. I'm also looking for a better music player. Any suggestions you have about any of it, send them along.
 
So overall, the goals for this year are all about creating more music- playing, writing, recording, collaborating. I've made some good progress so far but there's still so much to be done- I'm impatient & restless. The plan for the immediate future is to ditch this cold as soon as possible and get right back to work.

I am really tired. I worked for ten hours straight today on the computer and it feels like it would take about a day of stretching to untangle all the knots in my muscles. My eyes are burning, so I'll keep this short. *Someday* I'll post a real entry in here, I promise.
 
Tiredness aside, it's been a very productive day & a very productive start to 2010. If I'd had time to write out this year's goals in this blog, you would know I'm making good progress towards nearly all of them. Maybe it's better not to publish them? Can't jinx it now.
 
Today, I created a map of areas to target for shows, and finally pulled together all the booking contacts I've gathered from all over the place into one giant excel spreadsheet. It feels good to have things organized on that front. Press & Radio are the next big-ticket items for the year. If I were really good (and/or had a team of interns!) the CD would be in the hands of a lot of them already, but I'm one person doing it all so it goes a little bit at a time. Today was booking and that's under control, so yay! I'm going to bed feeling content.
 
Plus, I enjoyed the added bonus of two cool (and complete!) verses to an unwritten song just popping into my head while I was washing dishes. I have no idea where they came from or what to do with them, but they sound like they're going somewhere. Usually- no, not usually- ALWAYS- the music comes first. The verses arrived on a melody, so they still weren't technically first- but at least they weren't added later after months of pain & struggle, heh! We'll see what happens...
 
Anyway, I can't look at this screen any longer & my back is screaming at me to stretch, so it's time for a VERY early bedtime.

The days have been crammed full here for the last little while. Some of it is the really fun stuff- playing gigs, writing, rehearsing, etc. Some of it's the "nerdy but still sorta fun" stuff- working on the website, researching venues for bookings, etc. And some of it is just plain work- accounting, scheduling, phone calls, etc. Blech. I hate being on the phone. 
 
I had every intention of writing up a new year's blog, reflecting on some of the highlights of 2009 and where I'm hoping to steer the ship in 2010, but I haven't had an actual block of time to sit down & reflect. It's all just random thoughts pinballing in my head with mental post-it notes to be included in said hypothetical blog.
 
Hopefully I can take some time this week to gather my thoughts & write something real. If not, it's probably because I'm playing music and that's nothing I'll ever complain about.

I hate winter. Used to LOVE it but now I hate it. I think that means I'm old...
 
Last night I was making salad for dinner and my fingers turned a lovely shade of corpse. The veggies were cold & the kitchen was cold and thus, within three minutes, I was cold.
 
Today the wind blew so hard there were ruby slippers sticking out from under the house. The canoe sailed by the living room window at one point in the afternoon.
 
Can we just fast forward to May?
 
I don't want to have to look like I'm about to rob a bank, just to work on the computer.