Artistic Statement for New Album

In order to combat the impersonal and mass production trends of the last century, I have come up with the idea to release personalized albums. Each CD will come with unique individualized artwork. Furthermore, if you want to take the extra step to sample the songs over the internet, pick your favourites, and the order they go in, you may also choose to do so, simply contact me for this option. If all that seems like too much work, then I will choose the songs and order for you. It is important however that you ”pre-order” or RSVP your personalized copy, because this will be the only way to obtain one, I will only be making them upon request. I put “pre-order” in quotations because you will not need to actually send any money up front. The CDs will be priced on a Pay What You Can/Want basis (however, a minimum $2 donation would be appreciated to cover the costs. The personalized value of the artwork and music itself will be open for you to decide). The CDs will be available for pickup at the album launch on Satrurday, the 19th of December, 2009 @ Cagibi (5490 St. Laurent, corner St. Viateur) beginning at 9pm. I will also be performing a live set and joining me on that night will be the very talented Kieran Blake www.myspace.com/kieranblake. So please put aside this date and mark it on your calendar. If for some reason it is impossible for you to make it to the album launch then other arrangements can be made, simply contact me if this is the case. In conclusion, if you want to support my artistic endeavours and the personalized format (which aims to add extra value for you) please contact me for your personalized CD now.

My Perfect Life

an excercise: create your ideal life

1. where do you live? describe what your home looks like.

I live on the beach right by the ocean. There’s a fairly big patio with a table to have meals outside and some lounge chairs. It’s warm all year round here. At night I like to light bondfires on the beach, have friends over and have sing-a-longs by the fire. Inside the house there’s an indoor pool and spa area with a hot tube. I also have a home recording studio equiped with numerous instruments, guitars, basses, amps, drums and a grand piano. I also have a vinyard and a cellar in the basement. I have two cats in the yard, life used to be so hard.

2. what kind of people have you surrounded yourself with?

Marya, my ever supportive, creative and stimulating companion. Seb and Wolf my bestfriends and ever creative and inspiring bandmates. All living a clean and productive lifestyle. A very competent and trustworthy team of manager, booking agent, publicist and record label. A personal chef and maintenance people for the house. Also a good road crew for when we’re on tour.

3. who are your bestfriends? what makes the relationships  work?

Marya, love and understanding. Seb and Wolf, a productive, supportive healthy lifestyle filled with creativity and achievements.

4. what do you do on a daily basis that fulfills your emotional, spiritual and physical needs?

Wake up early (to get the most out of the day). Music (writing, recording, jamming, performing). Karate (keeping in good physical and mental shape). Art (of some kind drawing, painting, poster making). Eating well (healthy feasts), sex and good sleep.

5. How would you describe your chosen profession?

Life as a musician is very fulfilling. Get to travel all around the world playing shows, making people happy and have a good time. Get to be creative, write and record every year or so.

6. Describe your work setting.

Phase 1: a very comfortable and inspiring space to write and record in. Phase 2: On the road in a comforatble tour bus with all the basic necessities and playing in accomadating venues.

7. whom do you work with?

My bandmates Seb and Wolf, our road crew and our management crew/record label. When recording I’d like to collaborate with top engineers/producers, starting with Jace Lasek/Jonathan Cummins but also including the likes of Steve Albini down the line.

8. describe your ideal audience and your realtionship to them.

My ideal audience would be full of people that genuinely love music (and don’t just follow trends). Hopefully their relationship with the music would be one that allowed them to find shelter from their troubles and make them happy, have a good time and feel good when listening to it. Hopefully they would be loyal and supportive enough to ensure a lifetime career in music.

9. what do you enjoy most about your career?

I like that I get to travel all around the world. I like to be creative and feel a natural high everytime we write new songs and record new albums. I like getting the chance to perform with some of my heroes growing up such as Sonic Youth, The Pixies etc. I also like to help out the smaller bands that I find good (with exposure, advice etc.)

10. How much money do you make?

Enough to give large portions away to family, friends and the needy.

11. what do you spend your money on?

My girlfriend, my family, my good (deserving) friends and the needy. Personally I like collecting instruments and nice gear for my home studio. I also like collecting art and records.

12. H ave you aquired any awards and honors?

Starting locally we won MIMI, GAMIQ, Polaris and Juno awards (did I miss anything?)  Then eventually down the line a Grammy lifetime achievement award. Also we often topped the charts with gold and platinum selling records. Made a bunch of best records of all time lists in magazines and such (I think that about covers it).

13. How do you think your peers view you?

With respect and admiration.

14. How do you view yourself?

Pride in my achievements (content, fulfilled), yet humble about them. I also take pride in helping others.

15. what do your admirers say about you and your work?

They say they are grateful for our music’s sincerity. That it’s a welcome change from the mainstream, commercial, plastic, phoney pop world. They say it saved my life, got me through hard times, made me feel good when I was down. They say it changed the world for the better, made music good again. They say we’re the best band on the planet with the best live show. Some even say that we are the best band of all time!

16. what would you like to contribute to your field?

A return to sincere, raw, heartfelt, passionate music. Creating innovative albums.

17. what would you like to contribute to your community?

A record label, a recording studio and a live venue. A rock camp for kids. Money for the needy.

18. How do you enjoy your spare time?

Music, karate, art, sex, good food, read, write and quality time with family and good friends.

A New Beginning

Dear Blog,

I wanted to put this in writing and decided to do it here…recently i’ve vowed to start anew, to create a new beginning for my life and that all starts with the  vow to end the nightlife…to cut booze and partying out of my life…my twentys were fun and i don’t regret a second however i have reached a point where i no longer crave such activities and instead want to focus all my energy on my music…music has always been a full-time thing for me don’t get me wrong however i feel that i’ve never really attained all the goals i set out for myself and never realized my full potential due mainly in part to my problems with alcohol and all the subsequent setbacks that resulted from that…so as of last week i quit drinking and already feel my mind clearer and more focused, my spirit more positive and determined…i truly believe that this has been the only obstacle holding me back in the past…and with my new mindset i am ready to achieve everything i ever wanted out of life…also i’ve recently taken up martial arts again which will also help strengthen my mind, body and spirit…i am filled with joy and confidence that this new path will have great results and i can’t wait to see where this new strength brings me…

Sincerely,

Luca

tales of drunken debauchery

man there are so many i don’t know which one to start with…

i guess the epitome of fucking up a show was ”the hooks come back from the dead” (ie. reunion show) on halloween at barfly…this was in the days when my bandmate and i used to work together then go to happy hour after work at cock n bulls around the corner at 5pm and often drink til 3am or more if there was an after party…anyways…just cause we had a show that night didn’t make that day an exception…who knows how much we drank before we headed to barfly to play around 10pm (5 hours later) maybe 5 pitchers maybe 10…we used to have a trick that usually worked but not always (this story is a fine example of not working)…when we’d drink too much we’d just get some ‘’stimulants” to sober us up…so we get to barfly…we buy one of those big beers…i head to the door to make my way to the alley to partake in another dose of stimulants and you know how there’s stairs in front of barfly?…well i managed to do a headplant from the front door to the sidewalk…ok well now my halloween costume was taken care of cause all of a sudden i had blood gushing from my head, i smashed it into the sidewalk pretty hard…everyone was like we gotta calll an ambulance man your losing a lot of blood…i wasn’t hearing it…no no no, no ambulance no hospital, i have a show to play…well i didn’t get my way cause next thing you know i was in an ambulance…doctors or nurses or whatever fussing over me…they did all these fuckin tests at the hospital which annoyed the fuck outta me…and wanted to keep me overnight…no fuckin way i still wanted to play the show…anyways i eventually escaped and wandered like a bandaged zombie trying to figure out where i was and how to get back to barfly…when i found myself at water i realized i’d gone the wrong way, i was in the old port…someone pointed me in the right direction…i eventually managed to grab a cab back to barfly…got there to find out my band played a terribly drunken set with out me…so much for our reunion show

most of my drunken stories happened after shows though as i pretty much learnt to stay somewhat sober prior to playing

this next one wasn’t on a show night but was pretty funny to hear about the next day cause i don’t remember anything…i remember being on tour and staying at some hotel in london, england…it was the type of hotel that has public bathrooms down the hall…well i had bought a bottle of glenfiddich at the airport…and polished it off that night…i also tend to sleep naked…well some point during the night i must have wandered off to the bathroom naked and got lost because the next day a bandmate of mine found me curled up in the corner of the hallway butt naked…the thing that always makes me laugh is pictuing this wholesome family going out for breakfast in the morning or something and finding me there naked passed out in the hallway

another time me and a friend of mine ended up stripping all our clothes of and dancing naked around a party…we ended up falling through a glass table together, again blood all over, and then stiches and drunken scar number two

there was another infamous disaterous show at balafre the first time the hooks broke up…i had copious amounts of booze and a multitude of drugs in the system…i was so upset about the band breaking up as well as my girlfriend breaking up with me that same night…so we rip roared drunkenly through our set and at the end i was convinced that my bass was an instrument of the devil responsible for all the problems in my life…so i smashed the fuck out of it hoping to get the demons out…
here is someone else’s account of this story: http://jeremybrendan.blogspot.com/2004/09/live-dan-livingstone-hooks-casingles.html

ok i’m tired that’s enough for now kiddies time for bed

Broadcast Radio press

Just needed a place to put all this stuff (read and or listen to it if you so desire)

press:

http://www.nightlifemagazine.ca/magazine/view/1325

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/082808/volante.html

http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/082808/disc.html

http://www.hour.ca/music/sevennightstand.aspx?iIDArticle=15866

http://www.chartattack.com/interact/blogs/the-stereo/63520/12/03/08/pumping-broadcast-radio-%E2%80%94-hallways-of-the-twenty-first-floo

http://www.canada.com/Entertainment/story.html?id=1070563

http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca/?module=displaystory&story_id=4097&format=html

http://www.waterloochronicle.ca/printarticle/158302

http://www.partyinkingston.com/music/reviews/broadcastradio.html

French press:

http://www.bangbangtemort.com/broadcast-radio-hallways-of-the-twenty-first-floor/

http://www.punkmeup.com/musique/index.php?section=critiques&title=Hallways%20Of%20The%20Twenty-First%20Floor&date=2008-09-24

http://www.noctambules.tv/GH_ShowArticle.asp?HID=1251&KW=broadcast%20radio

radio + podcasts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Izf-k1JUoA

http://www.partyinkingston.com/music/streetbuzz/interview-broadcastradio.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oPkHmkon1I&feature=related

 

chart positions:

http://www.broadcastradioweb.com/news/news.php?news_id=22

http://www.chartattack.com/news/61602/mighty-vangaalen-rules-for-fifth-week

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/chrw.cfm?dWeekOfID=2008-10-07

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/ciut.cfm?dWeekOfID=2008-10-21

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/cfbx.cfm?dWeekOfID=2008-10-28

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/cfrc.cfm?dWeekOfID=2009-01-20

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/cfrc.cfm?dWeekOfID=2006-06-13

http://www.earshot-online.com/charts/ckxu.cfm?dWeekOfID=2006-06-20

nominations (best of 2008):

best demo

http://www.lastfm.fr/user/candyrunts/journal/2008/12/16/2c7kk9_2008._like_it_came_after_2007_and_before_2009

Re: When did you truly discover music for yourself? on: 18 Feb 08, 05:28

Re: When did you truly discover music for yourself?

on: 18 Feb 08, 05:28

1979, I was in the womb…no one knew i was there yet…my dad owned a bar i spent every night of my first month there in me ma’s tummy as the music blasted til 3am…it was most likely cheesy disco playing.oops you said for (yourself) myself well that’s an even longer story…here’s some things i remember for myself…playing the piano at age 3 in my grandmother’s living room…the first song i ever learned was “silent night” you know the christmas song…i loved playing that and chop sticks and just generally twinkling away with some improvisational stuff then my dad showed me rubber soul…my mind was completely blown…i listened to it every night while going to sleep when i was staying at his place at the age of 4 or 5. for my 5th birthday i got one of those cheesy mini keyboards with the small keys and the different sound effects and drum beats…i still have some recordings i did with that…some of them sound evil and dissonant i must have been a troubled kid at the time..or maybe i just liked augmented and diminished chords and minor keys? I also liked the waltz and swing beats. i also remember getting a little portable radio that i used to take to bed…every night I’d hear “I just called to say i love you” hahah i really liked that song! i remember seeing the thriller video for the first time too when i was like 2 or 3 and getting so freaked out that i had to sleep with the lights on for months after that…i thought at any given moment my parents could turn into werewolves like Michael jackson does at the beginning of the video and i feared dead people walking around the house and breaking through my walls…funnily enough i became a big Micheal jackson fan…i ended up buying the thriller record and really liking it, i even had the red leather jacket with all the zippers in kindergarten and knew all the dance steps to thriller…this is awesome btw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtJRNyPK-lc&feature=related (the indian triller) My grandmother got me into jazz…we used to listen to bird and Billie holiday and Louis armstrong records…i used to like to rotate dancing and drawing to jazz I remember going nuts over that “electric avenue” song and I’d dance my head off…also i used to love to dance to my dad’s James Brown records, “hot pants” was my fav…i also went through a Billy Idol phase loved “mony mony” “dancin’ with myself” “white wedding” etc. i remember discovering NWA and freaking out thinking it was the dopest shit ever i was like in grade 4 though and it was quite explicit hahaha…i used to love “two hard muthafuckers” & “straight outta compton” consequently i also began liking the LA Raiders hehe i dj’ed for the first time in grade 5 for a school dance i kinda put into motion…it was fun cause i remember playing a lot of 50s + 60s music and our teacher/chaperon was all like how come your playing all kinds of stuff from when I was a kid, and i was like cause its good…stuff like “shout” “twist & shout” “blueberry hill” chuck berry, uhm richie valens (who i also adored after seeing the movie la bamba when i was eight) roy orbison, the beach boys stuff like that..i also had this jukebox that came with a compilation of 50s tunes, great stuff! i probably threw a bit of hip hop in there for good measure…hahah i remember liking bobby brown (“my prerogative”), salt n pepper (“push it”) oh shit and “supersonic” that was some dope and super fast rapping I’m really embarrassed to say it but i used to skateboard to NKOTB hahah hangin’ tough soon enough i discovered a chest full of my uncles old records, awesome collection which he gave to me…he had almost every freakin classic rock album you could think of: beatles, led zep, hendrix, doors, pink floyd, janis, the who, jefferson airplane, the stones the list goes on and on… In 1991 the doors movie came out and this altered my path in life completely!!!…i went from being class president all through elementary school and a football player, to a pothead musician…goddamn you Jim Morrison heheh i started to learn guitar, the first songs i learned were all doors songs and beatles, then a lot of dylan Also freakin Nirvana came out around this time…everywhere you went people were playing nevermind and it was the perfect album the catchiest fuckin heavy heartfelt shit you could ever imagine!!! kurt & jim were like gods to me…i bought every album every single every import every magazine with them in it, it was to the point of obsession. i remember my first experience with punk was the the dead Kennedy’s “give me convenience or give me death” my best friend showed it to me when i was in grade 6 and we giggled at the swearing and that story that jello tells about the jocks, the rock and the pickup truck. i also remember really getting into guns & roses and metallica when i was 11 or 12 i even went to that historic show at the big o when james got burnt and axel walked off after about 3 songs and everyone rioted and broke everything…also me and my friend used to jump up and down on the bed to appetite of destruction heheh in my teens i was a big hippie i loved everything 60s…i listened to it all…wore psychedelic clothes, got stoned a lot…loved watching concert footage too from the 60s ie. woodstock, Monterey pop fest, led zep’s concert at madison square garden “the song remains the same” live concerts i had of hendrix, the grateful dead and the doors, we used to have a big screen TV too, so many nights were spent stoned watching this stuff and continually having my mind blown. my first band was a nirvana cover band mind you plus we did some sex pistols and sonic youth, that was in grade 7…then for the rest of “high” school i played in a band that had up to 10 people at times we mostly played our own original psychedelic music but threw some of our own versions of santana’s “soul sacrifice” and some grateful dead etc. in there at times…we were called evenrude after the boat motor i have no idea who came up with that stoner name…we did mushrooms and acid a lot and i have tons of 4 track recordings of acid test like parties we used to play. In grade 9 i played my first show as me & maryjane at the loyola talent show…i played 2 originals and john lennon’s “imagine”, the next year i did canned heat’s “going up the country”, bob dylan’s “masters of war” and an original…at the QAA talent show i did mazzy star’s “fade into you” and an original…those are some of the songs i truly loved in that period In 96 i discovered raves and got into that for a while i liked goa chill stuff and jungle drum & bass, my favourite was DJ Trace from england  it was really evil sounding jungle, also ambient stuff like the Orb, spent many nights falling asleep to “little fluffy clouds” and the live 93 album i think it was…Aphex Twin’s “come to daddy” was one of my favourite tracks as well I forgot also in grade 8 i discovered ska through my friend Tim Doyle…we loved the specials, the selector, the english beat, madness, all that 2 tone stuff, of course the trad stuff like the skatalites, early wailers etc. and some newer stuff like me, mom, the kingpins, the planet smashers, NYC ska-jazz etc. i played in a ska band for 3 years called general rudie, then got fed up and left the band to start a punk band…got on a NOFX kick with a little blink 182 and other kinda “faux” punk. got fed up of that and went through a couple grungy bands The paper heroes which we used to say was like cobain meets lennon and the hooks which was full on screaming and distortion, we got compared to bleach era nirvana a lot. I remember going through a brave new waves on a nightly basis phase…as well as the after hours jazz show that preceded it. then the next break through came when i saw my first AIDS wolf show…i was completely fuckin mind blown i never imagined anyone ever making and performing music like that…also An albatross and ICPMABOYC were pretty mind blowing too! so i started checking out the noise no-wave like scene and finding happiness in other bands as well like Chinese Stars, Duchess Says, Athletic Automaton, Arab on Radar, CPC Gangbangs, Comets on Fire, Think about life etc. then in 05 i think it was, i went back to my roots in a sense because for the past 2 years or so I’ve really been diggin’ acoustic music again and started my Me & Maryjane project up again…i love Hayden (who i initially discovered in high school), Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Lou Reed etc. I still like an odd noise show once in a while…sometimes i feel like jazz (oh man i absolutely love Chet baker, miles davis & billie holiday) sometimes i feel like some bossa nova (Getz & Gilberto)…once in a blue moon i feel like a bit a hip hop (i especially like some older shit like digable planets, tribe called quest, NWA, plus eminem and snoop dogg)…sometimes classical music (i love beethoven, debussy, bartok, satie, rachmaninoff stuff like that) mostly the melancholy stuff in minor keys. i also went through an indian period with stuff like ravi shankar (in my hippie days) his performance at the monterey pop festival blew my mind!!! sometimes i feel like some ray charles, sometimes nirvana, sometimes beatles and/or most of the classic rock. I like some soul sometimes like Al Green, Marvine Gaye, James Brown or Sam & Dave…I rarely listen to techno, ska, “faux” punk or country anymore however Johnny Cash does crop up sometimes…sometimes i like listening to old blues like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Leadbelly, Howlin’ Wolf…I also love delving back into 50s music…sometimes i feel like some punk (ramones, pistols, the old shit) some new discoveries i absolutely love are Emily Haines solo album, i loved the Besnard Lakes album, the Patrick Watson album, the Man Man album, Mark Berube, Camaromance, uhm the Moldy Peaches, rediscovering Lennon, Leonard Cohen, and Van Morrison…i still love Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Hayden, Eric’s Trip, Priestess, Zoobombs, stuff like that I’m continually truly discovering music both new and rediscovering the old…its a life long affair MAN that is the longest post I’ve ever written I’m going to bed now, goodnight!

Best of 2007

Lets move backwards

Mon. Dec. 31, 2007 - Best Nerdy Party!

Brian’s New Years Party complete with head to head Guitar Hero III, Karaoke, the Times Square Ball Drop, ordureves (Cheese Quesadillas, Shrimp Quesadillas, Nachos, Quacomole, Pakoras, little Spinach an Cheese treats, Vegetables plus Dip and these Cheese, Pineapple, Marachino Cherry on a toothpic things) open bar and a 3am Jam Session.

Sat. Dec. 29, 2007 – Best Session!

The best one on one back and forth sing-song session between me and Sebastian (began semi-sober and then took it to another level accopmpanied by a 15 case of Tremblay, a bottle of Jameson and a coupla smokes).

Sun.-Thurs. Dec. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 2007 - Best Family Moments!

Dec. 23 began with some family xmas shopping with Marya (my girlfriend), her sister Vesna and her sister’s boyfriend Jeff. The highlight being Marya and I getting our first xmas tree and all the decorations. On the 24th we had a very nice supper (Sarma (cabbage rolls), Mlinci (kinda like pita bread), with Garlic Beets, Salad & Vino) at her parents place while Simon & Garfunkel played on the record player. This was followed by the opening of presents at midnight accompanied by Louis Armstrong. I got Louis Rastelli’s novel ”A Fine Ending” from Marya. A 20 year old bottle of Port from Jeff & Vesna as well as a re-formated second hand computer that was a present to both Marya & I. Also Marya’s parents got me a $25 gift card for Archambault. I gave Marya a computer version of Scrabble (she loves that game). We gave Jeff & Vesna a Simpson’s videogame for their Xbox and the first two seasons of Niptuck. Her mom a Sowing Machine and her dad a $120 gift card for Bureau en Gros.   Then came xmas morning. My mom came and picked Marya & I up and brought us to their place in St. Lazare. We had a traditional english xmas turkey meal (Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Gravy, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Mashed Carrots & Turnips for lunch and then opened more presents. This time I got a bottle of Jameson from Marya. The Leonard Cohen Anthology, some PJ Pants, some Long Johns, A nice set of bowls and some cleaning stuff for our new apartment from my parents. I gave Marya a book on photography ”Understanding Exposure” and she also got some photoshop tutorials from my mom as well as the ”Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader” Board Game. We gave Garry (my step dad) a 2 Disc set of The Doors and Supertramp’s ”Crime of the Century” and we gave my mom some bath stuff (soaps, oils etc.) and a nice box of Russell Stover Chocolates. After opening the presents we played a few rounds of ”Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader” it was fun! Then it was off to see my dad & his girlfriend Marianne at my cousin Frederico’s xmas party. We were the first guests to arrive and passed the time catching up as my cousin made and fed us sushi. We had some great food & drink that night! The second course after the sushi was mussels, followed by a creamy vegetable portage all the while we were drinking a combination of my Uncle Fernando’s homemade wines highlighted by an 18 year old bottle. The main course was a Japanese dish with some partly cooked and partly raw tuna, veggies in a spicy sauce and a salad with thinly sliced apples. This was followed by wine & cheeses (Camenbert, Cambazola, Friulano etc.) on baguette slices and grapes. Capped off with dessert: Tartufo with Chocolate Sauce, Homemade Rice Pie (but no, as is common, Tiramisu), some Rosee, Digestifs, & more Wine). Boxing Day and I’m off to my Uncle Leo’s  and Nana’s for Canaloni shared with Red Wine and a quiet evening by the fire afterwards. Repeat the next day with Marya except this time we had Filet Mignon with Asparagus and Baked Potatoes for supper instead and a magnum of Rufino Chianti.  What a great holiday season!

Best Nostalgic Rediscovery: Mr. X – Gangster Politics

Best Legend Lost: Oscar Peterson

Best City on Tour of This Year: London, England

Best Parties of the Year: Weekend’s Never End @ Korova, Bridge Burner @ Van Horne & St. Laurent, followed by Scott’s after party on Bernard, all in one night on St. Jean (OMFG!) and the Jonathan Cummins’ NxNE POP Montreal after party @ Theatre St. Cat.

To Be Continued….

Dormant For All These Years

I`ve been dormant prolifically for all these years. 2008 will be my reemergence. I plan to record and release my first solo album 15 years or so in the making and left on the back-burner due to involvement in other projects. I’d also like to finish my novel and screenplay both started almost 5 years ago. This will be the year that I actually get stuff done. I feel inspired, motivated and intent on reaching said goals. Maybe this year I’ll be able to write home to my folks with actual accomplishments for them to be proud of, and hopefully will never again have to hear the words ‘Why don`t you get a ”real” job?’

Dear Readers, The Dears Inspired This Blog

Blogging what a strange modern activity! I avoided it for a while, thinking you had to be lame or nerdy to keep one, however personal opinions evolve over time…And this is how this story evolved…Last night a good old friend Sebastian (Freeman) came over and we discussed how Murray from The Dears was interested in producing Sebastian’s band the Diamond Sea…which lead to me looking up the Dears website tonight…which lead to me finding Natalia Yanchak’s blog…which inspired me to start my own…Also I’ve been listening to their myspace in the background on repeat. Which include these 3 songs: ”There Is No Such Thing As Love” from the album End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story (2000), The title track of  No Cities Left (2003), and ”Acoustic Guitar Phase” off of Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique (2002). And Holy ****! are they ever great songs! So epic, and rich with layers both musically and emotionally. A true inspiration.

 To Do List:

- Listen to the Dears discography

- Also check out The Rolling Stones’ Some Girls (78) the album that has ”Miss You” on it (saw the video on musimax tonight for the 1st time, love that bassline)

- Read and play the Leonard Cohen Anthology (an awesome xmas present I got from my mom)

- Read A Fine Ending by Louis Rastelli (another awesome xmas present from my girlfriend)

- Also David Byrne’s Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars

- Record my album…work on new songs too…compile list of guest musicians

- Go to Kung Fu more often and eventually get my black belt.

- Write more, finish my novel and my screenplay.