We have gigs in Oswego and Brockport that aren't farmer's Markets! Woo Hoo!! We're working on syracuse, some more rochester, and ithaca. This didn't come about because we wanted to stray from the theme of the tour, but because the nature of farmers markets is that they come and go, and change a lot while they are here. A number of the markets we were planning on stopping at have either changed days or are no longer in existence, which made it necessary for us to book some non-FM shows. We've been working really hard this week, making calls and sending e-mails and all that, but there's still so much more to do. Today, while at Famous Lunch in the downtown (of troy), I made the sign for our tour that we will display while playing. It says "Almost Awake, Farmer's Market Tour 2006" has a picture of some veggies/fruit in a basket, says "CDs $7" and "Next Stop" with a blank after it, where we will affix a piece of paper that says where the next stop is at each new market.
Also today, Dave and I went to see Lisa's painting of us, which is amazing, on display at Clifton Park Center, and will be the back of our next album, which John from Coffee Planet is helping us design, although he doesn't know it yet. We litterally had to force ourselves to stop staring at it. Lisa is going to be a famous artist. I can tell. And she'd better come to Dreamaway with us on sunday or else I will be sad, not that there's anything wrong with a trip to Mass. with dave and phillip (phillip being the car)...it's just that Lisa would be awesome to have along.
Oh my, I've been distracted by instant messanger. Apparently my character in the wrestling game on our ps1 just turned on dave's character...
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Busy Weekend
It's been a very busy weekend here at Almost Awake headquarters. Or should I say, It's been a very busy weekend for almost awake. So much so, that we've barely been home at all, and now that we are, Dave is cleaning at a feverish pace while listening to Appalachian Spring by Copeland, and I'm typing this blog entry.
Thursday Dave got his new djembe. He ordered it at Parkway Music from the remo catalog. It's exactly the same model and design as Jules, but now Dave really owns it. That night he gave jules back to our friend Jo(h)n, and, samantha, as she is called, is borrowing Isabel (Dave's first djembe)'s case (overcoat) until Samantha's Case comes in.
On Friday, we were on WAMC's roundtable performance place, being interviewed and playing a few songs. It was fun, as always, and although I was freaking out a little bit at the beginning, i calmed down by the end and all was well. Afterwards, we went to guitar center where I found the guitar i'd been searching for, was forced to obtain it only partially against my will because it was calling to my soul, and played her (Sarah) that night at our show at the Night Sky Cafe.
Night Sky was a very good show with a nice turnout of couples that had heard us that morning on the radio, some people who had seen us before, and a few random wanderers in. We sold five discs and gave one away. I had a small fiasco in which i didn't have a capo in my new guitar case and had to rush over to Moon and River hoping Richard would have a capo...which, to Dave's great surprise and my great relief, he did. I also had to cut the hole in my guitar strap bigger so that it would fit over the massive peg that I plug in through.
Afterwards we saw Mudfunk and Hector on Stilts at the Daily Grind. A blast. Mudfunk will never get old. They are always god-like. Part of "Into the Woods" sounds like the "Beef it's what's for dinner" song, or the bit of Copeland that is playing in my kitchen right now.
Saturday was filled with Emma Willard. We played at their spring fling (sadly forced indoors due to weather) with the bookdrop bees (friends of ours, and very talented musicians, Gemma and Ilan Halfi) and a random student band called the Chupacabra's, or something like that. It was fun though. We played about two hours, The Bookdrop Bees played about two hours and we did six songs together at the end. It was nice to just sing on a few songs and not play guitar, but I felt sort of naked up there. I didn't know what to do with myself without a guitar occupying so much of my energies. Harmonizing with Dave and Gemma was awesome though. Three-part harmonies on March Neverending kicked ass.
Sunday, today, we played at church, as always...and then went up to coffee planet for some breakfast and tea/coffee before we headed over to the Saratoga County Fairgrounds for the Old Iron Springs Festival of Music and Art. Headed up by the McKrells, it was a fundraiser for St. Mary's School, that apparently has been going on for many years. It's a pretty big event, with rows and rows of craft and food vendors, kids games, live radio broadcasts from the fest, and two stages of music. The weather was horrid: Rainy and windy and all this under a roof with no sides and parking in a lot that doubles as a mud-wrestling pit. It turned out that we had a special spot to park right by the stage though, and the sun came out right when we were supposed to play. We even sold a disc, and got to see some great performers like Kate McKrell, My Friend Other and the wierd and ecclectic Ramblin' Jug Stompers. After that we got to hear ourselves on 104.9's Kaleidescope with Jim Barrett.
And now we're home and the fish has been fed.
It's been a weekend.
Thursday Dave got his new djembe. He ordered it at Parkway Music from the remo catalog. It's exactly the same model and design as Jules, but now Dave really owns it. That night he gave jules back to our friend Jo(h)n, and, samantha, as she is called, is borrowing Isabel (Dave's first djembe)'s case (overcoat) until Samantha's Case comes in.
On Friday, we were on WAMC's roundtable performance place, being interviewed and playing a few songs. It was fun, as always, and although I was freaking out a little bit at the beginning, i calmed down by the end and all was well. Afterwards, we went to guitar center where I found the guitar i'd been searching for, was forced to obtain it only partially against my will because it was calling to my soul, and played her (Sarah) that night at our show at the Night Sky Cafe.
Night Sky was a very good show with a nice turnout of couples that had heard us that morning on the radio, some people who had seen us before, and a few random wanderers in. We sold five discs and gave one away. I had a small fiasco in which i didn't have a capo in my new guitar case and had to rush over to Moon and River hoping Richard would have a capo...which, to Dave's great surprise and my great relief, he did. I also had to cut the hole in my guitar strap bigger so that it would fit over the massive peg that I plug in through.
Afterwards we saw Mudfunk and Hector on Stilts at the Daily Grind. A blast. Mudfunk will never get old. They are always god-like. Part of "Into the Woods" sounds like the "Beef it's what's for dinner" song, or the bit of Copeland that is playing in my kitchen right now.
Saturday was filled with Emma Willard. We played at their spring fling (sadly forced indoors due to weather) with the bookdrop bees (friends of ours, and very talented musicians, Gemma and Ilan Halfi) and a random student band called the Chupacabra's, or something like that. It was fun though. We played about two hours, The Bookdrop Bees played about two hours and we did six songs together at the end. It was nice to just sing on a few songs and not play guitar, but I felt sort of naked up there. I didn't know what to do with myself without a guitar occupying so much of my energies. Harmonizing with Dave and Gemma was awesome though. Three-part harmonies on March Neverending kicked ass.
Sunday, today, we played at church, as always...and then went up to coffee planet for some breakfast and tea/coffee before we headed over to the Saratoga County Fairgrounds for the Old Iron Springs Festival of Music and Art. Headed up by the McKrells, it was a fundraiser for St. Mary's School, that apparently has been going on for many years. It's a pretty big event, with rows and rows of craft and food vendors, kids games, live radio broadcasts from the fest, and two stages of music. The weather was horrid: Rainy and windy and all this under a roof with no sides and parking in a lot that doubles as a mud-wrestling pit. It turned out that we had a special spot to park right by the stage though, and the sun came out right when we were supposed to play. We even sold a disc, and got to see some great performers like Kate McKrell, My Friend Other and the wierd and ecclectic Ramblin' Jug Stompers. After that we got to hear ourselves on 104.9's Kaleidescope with Jim Barrett.
And now we're home and the fish has been fed.
It's been a weekend.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Getting Interviewed...all week...
We're getting interviewed all week. Today was for the Saratogian (I'm actually writing this post from the Saratoga Springs Public Library). Tomorrow for Kaleidoscope on 104.9 and friday for Roundtable's Performance Place on WAMC. Then on June 10th we're going to be on 91.1 WSPN's Soiree.
I don't mind being interviewed, but I do feel like I'm pretty inarticulate most of the time. I think i would enjoy an interview through e-mail better. Then I could have a moment to think about what I wanted to say and write it down with my fingers instead of attempting to speak. It wouldn't hurt that i'd have a thesauraus at my disposal.
I'm near the art section in the library. I started a collage a little while after we moved to 'burgh, but I never finished it. I'm doing more laundry today, and being poor. It's alright though, it's the noble kind of 'pursuing your calling' poverty. At least Dave and I have a skill/talent we employ to get money from strangers on the street and we don't have to beg.
Man! I just remembered that I'm in Saratoga and that means I have to go to Saratoga Guitar and look at guitars. Good times.
I was so afraid we'd run out of gas this morning, but we didn't, and we're still here to tell the tale. There is someone in between my computer and dave's. I think he's on computer three because he's counter-clockwise from me with one computer in between and I'm on computer five.
I love my life. My ear feels a little bit better right now than it did last night. Maybe I won't go to the doctor. I don't think I actually have my insurance card anyway. That's a problem with being a musician. Lack of access to insurance. We could join the union, but then we'd have to pay dues, and I don't have money for a pack of gum right now, let alone union dues.
11 minutes remaining on this computer.
I'm going to wrap it up. I'm getting typing elbow and the mouse is on the right-handed-person side. It's totally time to go to the guitar store. Only if Dave is done with his computer though. We do have ten minutes left until they kick us off after all.
*C*
I don't mind being interviewed, but I do feel like I'm pretty inarticulate most of the time. I think i would enjoy an interview through e-mail better. Then I could have a moment to think about what I wanted to say and write it down with my fingers instead of attempting to speak. It wouldn't hurt that i'd have a thesauraus at my disposal.
I'm near the art section in the library. I started a collage a little while after we moved to 'burgh, but I never finished it. I'm doing more laundry today, and being poor. It's alright though, it's the noble kind of 'pursuing your calling' poverty. At least Dave and I have a skill/talent we employ to get money from strangers on the street and we don't have to beg.
Man! I just remembered that I'm in Saratoga and that means I have to go to Saratoga Guitar and look at guitars. Good times.
I was so afraid we'd run out of gas this morning, but we didn't, and we're still here to tell the tale. There is someone in between my computer and dave's. I think he's on computer three because he's counter-clockwise from me with one computer in between and I'm on computer five.
I love my life. My ear feels a little bit better right now than it did last night. Maybe I won't go to the doctor. I don't think I actually have my insurance card anyway. That's a problem with being a musician. Lack of access to insurance. We could join the union, but then we'd have to pay dues, and I don't have money for a pack of gum right now, let alone union dues.
11 minutes remaining on this computer.
I'm going to wrap it up. I'm getting typing elbow and the mouse is on the right-handed-person side. It's totally time to go to the guitar store. Only if Dave is done with his computer though. We do have ten minutes left until they kick us off after all.
*C*
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Open Mic is Fun
Open Mic is Fun. Yes, that's what I said. For some reason Coffee Planet open mic has been rejuvinated this week. I think it's because half the population of Schenectady randomly showed up. The awesome half that is, not the half with the confusing layout and deadly erie boulevard pedestrian crossing-ness.
Dave just almost got what i believe was an almond thing...ick! We are both glad he didn't. He should get a sandwich though. Or maybe a muffin. The poor boy isn't taking advantage of free food. It is a good thing to take advantage of.
Nik is playing Dave's favorite song of his.
I should write entries that are applicable to people other than those who go to this open mic, but everyone should, so there you are.
*C*
Dave just almost got what i believe was an almond thing...ick! We are both glad he didn't. He should get a sandwich though. Or maybe a muffin. The poor boy isn't taking advantage of free food. It is a good thing to take advantage of.
Nik is playing Dave's favorite song of his.
I should write entries that are applicable to people other than those who go to this open mic, but everyone should, so there you are.
*C*
Monday, May 08, 2006
Goodmorning Allergies
Yes, goodmorning is one word. I made it so with my miraculous powers of making things so.
I cannot breathe through my nose, but it's alright because I don't have a real show until friday. Maybe by then the pollen count will be down or something.
I ran out of soy milk last night so now i'm eating dry raisin bran for breakfast. It could be worse. I could be eating white bread and drinking Dasani water.
On Saturday, after our show at Coffee Planet with Nik, Dave and I went up to Saratoga to see Sirsy at the Parting Glass. That's the nice thing about daytime shows on a Saturday, they allow you to go see other bands that night. So, seeing as we were up north anyway, it was Sirsy, and they were unveiling Sirsy version 2.0, we couldn't really pass it up. Anyway, I am amazed by the versatility of Melanie and Rich. They manage to sound like a full band with only two people! I could go on about it further, but it would probably be best if you just saw them yourself....(seguay to...)...Hopefully with Almost Awake later this summer! We're in the process of trying to put together a show at the Daily Grind with Sirsy and (randomly enough...the techno/electronic/keyboard/accordian-playing) Harry Pyle. Hopefully all will work out, because this would be an absolutely slammin' show!
Speaking of slammin', or should i say Jammin', Yesterdays second set at Heritage Day, kicked ass. Mostly because my dad sat in with his Telecaster and gave a new spin to our acousticness. We rocked out, and there was a lot more of an audience than at the Old Iron Spring. We even sold a few CDs. It was spiffy. And we got to hang out with Nik and friend and father at Coffee Planet, see Lisa dn Kristen and make enough money to buy lunch without going into the red.
On saturday dave battled with a Lion. More on that to come.
I cannot breathe through my nose, but it's alright because I don't have a real show until friday. Maybe by then the pollen count will be down or something.
I ran out of soy milk last night so now i'm eating dry raisin bran for breakfast. It could be worse. I could be eating white bread and drinking Dasani water.
On Saturday, after our show at Coffee Planet with Nik, Dave and I went up to Saratoga to see Sirsy at the Parting Glass. That's the nice thing about daytime shows on a Saturday, they allow you to go see other bands that night. So, seeing as we were up north anyway, it was Sirsy, and they were unveiling Sirsy version 2.0, we couldn't really pass it up. Anyway, I am amazed by the versatility of Melanie and Rich. They manage to sound like a full band with only two people! I could go on about it further, but it would probably be best if you just saw them yourself....(seguay to...)...Hopefully with Almost Awake later this summer! We're in the process of trying to put together a show at the Daily Grind with Sirsy and (randomly enough...the techno/electronic/keyboard/accordian-playing) Harry Pyle. Hopefully all will work out, because this would be an absolutely slammin' show!
Speaking of slammin', or should i say Jammin', Yesterdays second set at Heritage Day, kicked ass. Mostly because my dad sat in with his Telecaster and gave a new spin to our acousticness. We rocked out, and there was a lot more of an audience than at the Old Iron Spring. We even sold a few CDs. It was spiffy. And we got to hang out with Nik and friend and father at Coffee Planet, see Lisa dn Kristen and make enough money to buy lunch without going into the red.
On saturday dave battled with a Lion. More on that to come.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Rainy Saturday
It's a rainy day, it's a rainy day, it's raining outside so I can't go out and play. It's a rainy day, it's a rainy day. It's raining outside today.
(above quoted from a sesame street song.)
This morning I got up really early, and then went back to sleep. Then dave and I got up for read and went to coffee planet. Our show went awesomely. Nik was a hit, Hannah and Chelsea stopped by, and I didn't sneeze during a single song.
We did two ten song sets. It rained. Lisa stopped by. Kristen was working! We sold five CDs and got yummy breakfast. Dave did the super-secret musican handshake.
Dave was slightly injured by a cat that we almost adopted, but his hand has been dis-infected and bandaged, and he promises that we he will be 100% for tomorrow...
..which is Heritage Day!! We're playing from 1-2 at the old iron spring at the end of Front Street in B-spa and from 2-4 with my very own dad, and hopefully some other all-star guests at the gazebo in wiswall park. Whether we are able to successfully tear down our whole PA and move it down the street and set it up again in litterally no time is quite doubtful. I'm anticipating more of 1-1:45 at the spring and 2:30-4 at the gazebo. My dad will be playing lap steel and electric guitar.
But as it is now, i need to pee. I will talk to you all again soon.
*C*
(above quoted from a sesame street song.)
This morning I got up really early, and then went back to sleep. Then dave and I got up for read and went to coffee planet. Our show went awesomely. Nik was a hit, Hannah and Chelsea stopped by, and I didn't sneeze during a single song.
We did two ten song sets. It rained. Lisa stopped by. Kristen was working! We sold five CDs and got yummy breakfast. Dave did the super-secret musican handshake.
Dave was slightly injured by a cat that we almost adopted, but his hand has been dis-infected and bandaged, and he promises that we he will be 100% for tomorrow...
..which is Heritage Day!! We're playing from 1-2 at the old iron spring at the end of Front Street in B-spa and from 2-4 with my very own dad, and hopefully some other all-star guests at the gazebo in wiswall park. Whether we are able to successfully tear down our whole PA and move it down the street and set it up again in litterally no time is quite doubtful. I'm anticipating more of 1-1:45 at the spring and 2:30-4 at the gazebo. My dad will be playing lap steel and electric guitar.
But as it is now, i need to pee. I will talk to you all again soon.
*C*
I'm not sure what's going on
So I changed the tempate on this thing, but for some reason it isn't showing up yet. Maybe my computer is weird, maybe i'm missing something, or maybe the world can sense that i'm off due to allergies. It's up for grabs, but there you are.
I've been up since six am because my allergies are so bad that i can't sleep. I considered having breakfast, but then i remembered that we are playing at coffee planet today, home of awesome bagels, and the best hummus since the invention of the food processor. Additionally, I don't have anything to do between 11 and 12 because Nik is playing for the first hour, and Dave and I for the second two, meaning ample time for breakfast!
I hope my allergies are feeling better by then. I feel pretty aweful, and although the medicine makes my allergies more tolerable, it makes the rest of existance a little worse. A trade-off I suppose, as it everything, but i'd perfer to not be falling asleep at the mic.
Today should be fun overall though. After the show, Dave and I are heading up to saratoga to book another show at Starbucks, and then sticking around the spa city for a Sirsy show at the Parting Glass later in the evening. This is all assuming my health holds out (aren't we always wishing for that with me?). Right now I feel as if I could lie in bed all day.
"The Slight of an Impass..." went really well last night, and i'm excited to play it at coffee planet today. I want to debut another song tomorrow at heritage day, one of our new covers, but I don't think we'll have time to get one ready. We're working on "look what you've done" and "come around again" by Jet, "between the bars" by elliot smith, "don't go away" by oasis and, in theory, "dream on" by aerosmith. We've been threatening to play "torn" by natalie imbruglia for some time now, but for one reason or another we've never really worked on it. I have trouble memorizing covers. I guess it's because I actually need to know the words rather than just having them come out by some sort of reflex as they do with my own songs.
I'm going to try to go back to sleep now. Wish me luck!
*C*
I've been up since six am because my allergies are so bad that i can't sleep. I considered having breakfast, but then i remembered that we are playing at coffee planet today, home of awesome bagels, and the best hummus since the invention of the food processor. Additionally, I don't have anything to do between 11 and 12 because Nik is playing for the first hour, and Dave and I for the second two, meaning ample time for breakfast!
I hope my allergies are feeling better by then. I feel pretty aweful, and although the medicine makes my allergies more tolerable, it makes the rest of existance a little worse. A trade-off I suppose, as it everything, but i'd perfer to not be falling asleep at the mic.
Today should be fun overall though. After the show, Dave and I are heading up to saratoga to book another show at Starbucks, and then sticking around the spa city for a Sirsy show at the Parting Glass later in the evening. This is all assuming my health holds out (aren't we always wishing for that with me?). Right now I feel as if I could lie in bed all day.
"The Slight of an Impass..." went really well last night, and i'm excited to play it at coffee planet today. I want to debut another song tomorrow at heritage day, one of our new covers, but I don't think we'll have time to get one ready. We're working on "look what you've done" and "come around again" by Jet, "between the bars" by elliot smith, "don't go away" by oasis and, in theory, "dream on" by aerosmith. We've been threatening to play "torn" by natalie imbruglia for some time now, but for one reason or another we've never really worked on it. I have trouble memorizing covers. I guess it's because I actually need to know the words rather than just having them come out by some sort of reflex as they do with my own songs.
I'm going to try to go back to sleep now. Wish me luck!
*C*
Inaugural Post
I'm Here, here at Blogger. This is my new blog. I like the setup of this service better than bravejournal. There are more options and whatnot, so I moved my blog. Once I figure out how, I'l lmove all my old posts here as well. I just wanted to get one post up to begin with so things didn't look so blank.
Anyway, we played at Starbucks in Saratoga tonight, and it went really well. It was our second show there, and our second success. Despite the reputation of the establishment, we've always had very good experiences there. I don't mean that I'm ever going to forego a local shop in order to buy a latte at Starbucks, but playing there is nice. The staff are friendly and helpful (one barista even gave me allergy medicine!), we get free food and drinks, booking goes smoothly, and patrons are generally attentive.
The downsides are that the performance space itself if rather small, and there is a strange divider cutting the room in half. It's also a pretty noisy room for a coffeeshop, but the blender is significantly quieter than at a lot of other places.
We got a few new names for the e-mail list as well as sold some discs, made a bit in tips and presented our invoices to be stamped. You see, with Starbucks, you have to make an invoice, fill it out, get it stamped and signed by the shift manager, and send it in to the national office. You also have to fill out a w-9 and pay taxes on your income at the end of the year. It's sort of a big process to make a buck, but it's worth it, and it's not that hard now that we have a standard invoice.
Dave and I also developed a standard contract today. We used a generic one my dad (head AASS) found on the web and altered it to work for us. Emma Willard and Green Mountain College both require contracts, so we thought it would be best if we wrote it out ourselves and made sure we got what we wanted in there, rather than relying on a standard one the venue might present to us.
We had our public debut of the new song "The Slight of an Impass...Stalemate" at Caffe Lena open mic. last night (to which we carpooled with the awesome new trojan musician Gregory Rosenthal) and the gig debut of it was tonight. I really like the song, as does Dave. It's in 6 and it was inadvertantly inspired by Elliot Smith. The chorus and bridge don't have words, just sounds, which is fun, and certainly cut down on the lyric writing.
Also, I'm in the process, with my dad Richard, of getting all my songs copyrighted and registering Switchback Music as my publishing company so that I will own the rights to all my songs. I think that's very important. My songs are my creations, my children, and owning the copyrights and publishing are like having legal custody.
Anyway, I think that's it for the moment. Hang in there folks, and keeping humming that tune in your brain until you infect someone else with it and you are free.
*C*
Anyway, we played at Starbucks in Saratoga tonight, and it went really well. It was our second show there, and our second success. Despite the reputation of the establishment, we've always had very good experiences there. I don't mean that I'm ever going to forego a local shop in order to buy a latte at Starbucks, but playing there is nice. The staff are friendly and helpful (one barista even gave me allergy medicine!), we get free food and drinks, booking goes smoothly, and patrons are generally attentive.
The downsides are that the performance space itself if rather small, and there is a strange divider cutting the room in half. It's also a pretty noisy room for a coffeeshop, but the blender is significantly quieter than at a lot of other places.
We got a few new names for the e-mail list as well as sold some discs, made a bit in tips and presented our invoices to be stamped. You see, with Starbucks, you have to make an invoice, fill it out, get it stamped and signed by the shift manager, and send it in to the national office. You also have to fill out a w-9 and pay taxes on your income at the end of the year. It's sort of a big process to make a buck, but it's worth it, and it's not that hard now that we have a standard invoice.
Dave and I also developed a standard contract today. We used a generic one my dad (head AASS) found on the web and altered it to work for us. Emma Willard and Green Mountain College both require contracts, so we thought it would be best if we wrote it out ourselves and made sure we got what we wanted in there, rather than relying on a standard one the venue might present to us.
We had our public debut of the new song "The Slight of an Impass...Stalemate" at Caffe Lena open mic. last night (to which we carpooled with the awesome new trojan musician Gregory Rosenthal) and the gig debut of it was tonight. I really like the song, as does Dave. It's in 6 and it was inadvertantly inspired by Elliot Smith. The chorus and bridge don't have words, just sounds, which is fun, and certainly cut down on the lyric writing.
Also, I'm in the process, with my dad Richard, of getting all my songs copyrighted and registering Switchback Music as my publishing company so that I will own the rights to all my songs. I think that's very important. My songs are my creations, my children, and owning the copyrights and publishing are like having legal custody.
Anyway, I think that's it for the moment. Hang in there folks, and keeping humming that tune in your brain until you infect someone else with it and you are free.
*C*
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