have i mentioned i like music?

april has been a very active month.

two weekends ago i managed to catch some great concerts. the first was dan deacon + ensemble. i didn't think i'd be able to get in - it was sold out. i waited in line for a good 3 hours, and for the most part it was worth it. dan deacon continues to utilize a vocal processor, a dr. sample, and a bevy of guitar pedals...but he has expanded his one man show with a 15 piece ensemble (with two drummers and xylophonist!). this means that the typical ear shattering DD show has increased by a solid 15 decibels. still, an entertaining show. if anything, it was further proof that my generation is truly influenced by the minimalism of the 60's and 70's. there were times when i felt like i was at a rave curated by philip glass.

the next night i played with dragonzord in west philly, and then dragonzord's bassist andy black (he was also my equipment handler) had to play a show at the north star with his balls-to-the-wall metal group action park.

a tight, excellent band.

it was quite the scene. they were opening up for dirty diamond, the vulgar neil diamond tribute project! after action park played, a bus of middle-aged swingers got dropped off at the venue for reasons i could never explain or comprehend. we got out of there as soon as humanly possible.

we decided to drive around west philly for a bit to grab some drinks, and we stumbled upon what looked like "animal house". sure enough, it was the pi lam fraternity. they were having a BBQ/rock festival that was headlined by the dead milkmen and make a rising. we missed the milkmen, but make a rising was stellar. they've been one of my favorite bands since high school. they premiered an entire set of new material that was complex, raw, and beautiful. well done boys.

after that, i spent the entire week preparing for the drummers quartet show that i've been organizing along with pavel fajt (dunaj), mike pride (dynamite club, mdc), and jim meneses (chris cutler collaborator and prog-punk enthusiast). i can't believe it, but we somehow pulled it off. i'll post some clips of it when i get the footage and audio.

i feel boring though. i need to read a book or watch a movie. too much music makes you a robot. then again, too much anything does that. diversity is key.

right now i'm driving to the southgate house with adrian belew and julie. we're about to premiere the first 20 minutes of "e". wish me luck!