i'd like to knock the previous bitter entry out of the top spot

we feel a lot better about that whole thing now that we're planning on selling the van. i got my igo card today, so we will probably do a test run soon and see how it goes. last night my supervisor gave me and another person i work with a ride home because we all live in relatively the same area. he drove a minicooper on lakeshore drive. it was quite an experience riding in a small car again- a little scary- he almost got hit by people not paying attention twice. i'm not used to that anymore because driving in a giant white van people really have to not be paying attention not to notice it. it kind of draws the eye. but we shall see. i'm excited about the car-sharing program because one of the cars that's right by our place is a honda civic and i really miss my old honda civic so much. i'm hoping that when stefanie is going to buy a car (or we both buy a car maybe) that it would be the same kind of civic as the one that i used to have- it was a stick shift. i hope that our stuff will fit in it. i think that most of the time we actually use less equipment than we used to. it isn't necessary to lug the giant bass amp around as much anymore since stefanie plays pretty much all percussion. now it's a question of getting that awkward ass table into a car. the rest of her drum set will be pretty small. i think that she wants to get a ride cymbal and soon she's going to get a floor tom- she's waiting on her christmas bonus.
so far nothing on the christmas time show front. i'm getting a bit antsy. it would really suck not to be able to do it this year. i'm sure no one else would really give a shit, but it's something i've been looking forward to all year. it's very fun and exciting to be able to play live with billy and it sounds really good.
i think we're going to start learning to play the old songs without loops. i've got big plans on the horizon. BIG plans. i've actually started work on the next two records- one is another ep that's actually secretly a full-length record and the other is a full-length with 12 songs that i want to press onto vinyl. i've gotten a good start on the vinyl full-length. i've got a few tracks that are actually almost done- i initially thought that i'd have to redo things on them with the new little tricks that i've learned, but i realised that the guitar sound i'd gotten was the one that i wanted for that entire record and it's a lot easier to get than the 'down to sleep' one- which requires a lot of mics. the vinyl full-length (which is at this point called 'all hope is blind') will be much more minimal and there will be more space and breathing room in the structure of the songs. there aren't as many loops- a few will be bass loops and then there's a really old song that is being re-recorded for it that has an old shalloboi-style loop- me banging on a pan backwards and shaking christmas bells. for the most part there will just be one guitar part (the ones that have multiple guitar parts have some kind of spare melodic part or a few textural overdubs), drums, voice(s) and i'm going to write string arrangements for all of the songs and record them with a trio- cello, viola and violin. i would like to record the string trio in one go since the cassette machine 8-track is a little overstuffed as it is. i also think that it would sound better and wouldn't have to bounce tracks around (which i have to do with a song with three string parts that's on the 'down to sleep' record). no distortion on this full-length at all. it's gonna be pretty sweet. i want to get a string trio together somehow to play the songs live at least once and do arrangements for a few choice old shalloboi songs. here's hoping it can work out. lately i've found if i persist and don't give up i can usually get things to work out the way i want them to on that front. it takes a little creative maneuvering. i learned how to write sheet music in alto clef already (which is for viola). i was watching a nick cave dvd and they were doing string arrangements and picked something up that might help me write in bass clef (which is for cello). i keep putting off talking to someone who works with stefanie about recording some violin tracks for 'down to sleep' and i will ask her to show me how to write out sheet music in treble clef. i did actually learn to read and write music wayyyyy back when i was first learning to play guitar. i used to be able to play guitar by reading it straight off of the page without tablature. tablature really ruined that. i tried to keep it up for as long as i could and i really wish that i hadn't lost that, but honestly there've only been two times i can think of where it's mattered or kept me from doing something- both involved the moe!kestra. anyway, that's where i'm at right now. i just recorded some guitar parts and a vocal for 'narcoleptic' which is on the vinyl full-length and was played live at last year's acoustic show (mike played the acoustic guitar part). i just finished recording the new version of 'on the bridge' yesterday, which i need to mix down now and post as part of the 'wish' single (which also needs artwork). i've finished a ton of extra tracks for the 'down to sleep' cycle. i did a few decent scratch drum tracks for those as well. i mainly just need to mix it all down and keep listening to all that stuff. i really need to finish this track that's been languishing on a shelf for at least two years, probably longer. i have a feeling if i finish it it might become something really special. stefanie sang it a while back- it just needs the full meal deal. we'll see how it goes. perhaps that could be my little project for the day.
i think i shall cut this off then right here. i doubt anyone made it all the way through.

i'm glad that the person who has slashed my tires FIVE times is going to get away with it

that's correct- someone who lives in a house on glenlake, west of broadway before one of those sides streets (possibly greenview- i'm not 100% certain), has been slashing the tires on my van. why? your guess is as good as mine. i have three theories- 1) it's some prick who should move to the suburbs- the type of person who gets upset when their neighbors don't mow their lawn everyday because it's not enough for them to be concerned about the aesthetic beauty of their own house and yard, they make it their business to make sure everyone else surrounding them does and to this type of person a giant, beat-up old windowless chevy van with hippie stickers on it is the type of eyesore that you don't ask the person to remove, you just poke small holes in the tires facing the sidewalk when you go out to get the morning paper. 2) it's some over-concerned parents who think that the owners of a beat-up windowless chevy van (even with hippie stickers) are doubtlessly child molesters and even though on children have disappeared from the comfort of the neighborhood they must take it upon themselves to stick it to the potential child molesters by poking holes in their tires. 3) it's just some asshole kids who think it's funny to pop people's tires. funnily enough number three upsets me the least. if it's numbe one i don't understand why they couldn't just leave a note telling me that they don't like me parking my van in front of their house- i would've thought they were a prick, but i would've at least respected their wishes. if it's number two people who live on the block have all seen stefanie and i leaving the van- we would be pretty easy to identify if any kids went missing. plus the van is a bit distinct-looking- i think the police would be able to find us in about 30 seconds. number three would be done by stupid kids- and i can understand stupid kids doing incredibly stupid things, but this flat tire plague doesn't seem to be hitting anyone else's car but ours and i don't think that kids (no matter how stupid or reckless they are) would be bothered to single out our vehicle alone. it seems to me that it would have a bit more of a random feel. there is nothing random about these occurences- they are obviously done by someone specifically intending to send us a message. i thought for a while that our tires were getting popped when i'd drive stefanie to work and we'd park on ravenswood, but since the last time (which was only a week or so ago) i've avoided parking on ravenswood and i haven't had a problem until today. what's more it seems that it must be done in the morning before we leave because even if you pop tires it takes them a while to lose their air.
i do also know for certain, beyond any doubt at all that they are being poked- every time i've been to the the tire place to replace the tires they've said 'the holes were in the sides' and it is always on the two tires on the passenger's side- i.e. the tires that are next to the curb and the sidewalk. i haven't curb-checked in months at least. i don't even think i've driven over any glass in a long time either.
whatever the case may be- we're finally saying 'uncle.' we simply can't afford to keep fixing tires that some prick insists on popping. the tab is at $500 (with the current flat that it has- i'm not sure but there might be another flat by tomorrow, which would bring it up more) right now. that's been over maybe two months. in addition to that we had to replace the brakes, which cost $650 (which a friend at work who works on cars informed me is a massive rip-off). i'm on $8 an hour. gas is almost $3.50 a gallon- the piece of shit gets 17 miles to the gallon on the highway. we have a tour in the works in march, but at this point if we have to save $1000 just to cover gas we might as well just rent a car and sleep in a motel every night for that much money. we've already looked into starting an account with igo (a shared-car service). there are four cars within walking distance of where we live. we hardly ever drive as it is. we're just going to sell the stupid van- it's caused us nothing but headaches. it costs $250 to drive home and back in that thing. that's more expensive than flying. i wouldn't have to pay for car insurance any more- we'd be insured through the shared-car service.
i'm so angry and frustrated about this. i can't believe that i have to get the fucking thing towed to the tire store AGAIN (this will seriously be the second time in two weeks) and put more money on my fucking credit card for more fucking tires. the most infuriating thing about all of this is that we will never know who fucking did this to us. even more infuriating than that it's someone who lives in one of those $600,000 houses over there on glenlake- it looks like the suburbs. what fucking asshole does something like this? it's not like we'd drive that thing around if we had a lot of money. the fucking nerve. if i ever find the motherfucker who did this i will pound that $500 out of him. if it's a her, then i'm sure stefanie would be willing to do the pounding.
even better this happens on the day before her birthday.
i even had an idea of making a little note and dropping it in everyone's mailbox in that general vicinity. i know which area it would happen in now. i could probably even narrow it down to three to five houses.
FUCK! i really hate owning a car...

i saw half of the warlocks' set last nite

and i really didn't mind that i paid $14 for the 30 minutes of it that i saw. it was that fucking good. i only saw them play three songs- one was a jam that was naturally really awesome then they did an encore which consisted of 'cosmic letdown' and 'worn thin'- which i hadn't heard yet, but now have discovered that it is on the vinyl version of the new record. i wish i'd bought the vinyl now, but i'll look for it elsewhere. they took down their snocap store from their myspace page, otherwise i would imagine that i could buy it there. if all else fails i wouldn't mind buying the vinyl. i'm planning on buying a t-shirt with the money on my next paycheck. but, wow, it was soooo much better than last time we saw them (and that time was really good). i loved logan square auditorium- i'd always heard such bad things about it, but none of it was true. somewhere i had read that the sound is atrocious there and while i was there i thought that the sound was probably the best that i've heard in town for a show that size. it certainly sounded way better than when we saw them at the metro and it was much more intimate. i'm really glad i went ahead and made the effort to go even if i didn't see the rest of the show (which stefanie and kylie told me was amazing- stefanie even kept a list and i am still a bit bummed that i missed them playing 'hurricane heart attack' which is a fucking AWESOME song). it was nice to see them all fired up- fucking hell they were awesome! someone was filming right by the stage and i am praying that they post the whole show on youtube or at least some of the parts that i missed- i.e. 'warhorses' (which they played last time too and it was what really won me over) and the aforementioned song. 'worn thin' was actually better than the video i have embedded below. watch and enjoy and go buy the new record on vinyl for god's sake! and go see them play- it's so worth it and people are being all lame and ignoring them.

what to say?

i had all this stuff in mind to say... ah, yes-
finally got ahold of the new warlocks cd and i fucking LOVE it. i'm not sure if i like it better than 'surgery'- it's pretty different in most ways. i love the really dreamy billowy stuff on it (which is a generous chunk of it). i've listened to it about three times today. the first time during the first song i was kind of like 'oh, man- is this going to be what the whole album is like?' but it isn't. now i actually like the first track. the last track is super weird, but every time i listen to it i like it. it really isn't like anything else they've done so far. the production is worlds different- it's a bit low-endy and less crisp. at first i didn't like it but then i realised that i've always thought that the guitars sounded a bit too sparkling and crisp, so they gave me my wish. i think one of the reasons i didn't like it at first is because i've been trying to make my own recordings of my guitars sound less low-end heavy and make them a bit clearer, but i realised that if that's what you're going for, then that's what you're going for. it gives everything a very heavy, dreamy feel on the new record. now i'm making it sound like i'm going to go off and make all of our guitars sound that way- no i think that i strive for a happy medium between heavy/dreamy/low-endy and clear/crisp/sharp.
speaking of my own music work some very relieving news to myself- i love the tracklisting that i picked out for 'down to sleep,' so basically now i know what to finish asap. i'm still going to try and get as much of the other tracks done as possible, but so far the songs have seperated themselves pretty well. i have listened to the album several times through and i really like it- it is the kind of album i have been looking to hear for a long time. i was thinking of trying another version of 'ada' with some bowed guitar, and i'm still going to try it, but if it doesn't work better i'm probably going to still put 'ada' on the record. so now i have to buy a bunch of new microphones, two distortion pedals, a voc ac30 and i'm weighing the possibility of buying another doo-dad that makes the low-end all nice and fat, but as luck would have it might not be necessary. for the ten songs i've selected i need to re-record some guitar parts (with the new mics, amp and pedals) and the drums need to be finished (for which i also need the new mics- not as many as i'd thought and i realised we don't have a lot of pieces). so voila! magnifique!
of the incomplete songs only one needs string parts- so i thought i might see if i could get them done while in kansas city for christmas and then i won't have to go back in march- it might be able to wait a while- which will help if we are able to get a tour together for march (hardee-har har!!!). i am going to try and sell the electric piano that i have to make enough money to release the album. i think i'm going to ask for about $1200 for it in the hopes of getting $1000. it's in very good shape, 88-keys and everything on it works and i'll help people move it to their vehicle. this will be if i can get sam's mom's piano as well. i might sell the electric piano first, tho. my dad will be pissed. the fact of the matter is that i would rather have a real piano and i need one for recording purposes anyway. the only times i've used the electric piano is when i've been working on string arrangements.
so that's my news for the moment. more on this as it develops.

i hung out with billy and mike today

it was pretty much like being transported back 10 years. talk about a ten year reunion- that was really the only one i'd be interested in. some highlights and quotes-
new band names-
pussy sandwich
my bloody fudge tunnel
crotch coffee

yes, it was like that.
my visit's been okay so far. today was probably the highlight. we hung out on the lawn in front of the art museum and watched two different bride and groom couples taking pictures. billy and mike bought cigars and were smoking them only to abandon them claiming that they tasted like 'alligator dick.' it has been unbelievably good to be around them again and not have to watch anything that i say whatsoever. this has definitely recharged my batteries and i am really glad that i came. not everything's been so great, but none of that is to do with mike or billy at all.
to stefanie- i have gotten ahold of something you will be VERY amazed to see again (as was i).
end of transmission.

i am a vegetarian no longer

i'm in beans and bagels and i just ate a bacon and cheese bagel and it was so fucking tasty! more later on if it makes me sick. so far i feel a little weird, but mostly good. mostly i am all hopped up and exhilerated. hopefully this will be the result.

i never realised...

here's a post for everyone who hasn't spoken to me in a while. the details of my upcoming trip-
i am leaving on thursday night at around midnight. my bus gets into kansas city at 10 the next morning. i am leaving to come back to chicago on monday night at 8pm. my bus gets back in to chicago at around 6 or 7am the next morning. i am not bringing my guitar back home with me (at least at this point). i am reconsidering this as i was playing it last night and it was nice to sit around and play songs for a little while.
i am indeed working a new job. it's at a lockbox. i am not allowed to speak about it. basically it's just pushing papers around and it's your standard corporate environment where a million people do a million very specific jobs and no one really knows who's supposed to be doing what or what's going on elsewhere. yes, indeed. it's a pointless busy-work paradise. although it is something i'm not supposed to talk about it's not an evil purpose that i'm serving there- it actually is a good purpose, which i'm happy doing.
we are throwing around the idea of going to new york on stefanie's birthday to catch the acoustic mainlines show at the apollo theater. we must procure plane tickets, a hotel and tickets to the show. we haven't really gotten down to the nitty-gritty of this yet and it still looks like a pipe dream at this point, but it doesn't look like the acoustic mainlines shows are making it over this way- which seems odd to me personally as they're playing three shows in california and then one in toronto (?) and another one in new york. i'd think that it wouldn't be entirely out of the question to stop in chicago and play a date, but whatever.
what else? a new song is up on our myspace page called 'angels floating on the head of a pin'- thus far it's only a demo- the guitars and drums will probably be redone soon. http://www.myspace.com/shalloboi.