This Yellow Taxi Cab In Which I Ride

By the time you read this, I am most likely in Virginia Beach with some friends. This trip was more planned than my Hard Rock Cafe road trip. There are four of us and we are riding in a car together. Four. Of. Us. I really enjoy being on the road with nothing but my thoughts and a great playlist. When you travel with three other people, however, you have three other brains coming up with thoughts and three other playlists, leading to a lot of arguments over whose music choices are the least tolerable. The upside is that you have others to take over driving duties from time to time and, if you brought ear plugs, you can attempt to nap through intolerable playlists. I suppose I'll write about VA Beach when I get back, but let me move on to the exciting conclusion to the Hard Rock Cafe road trip. This posting is a continuation of earlier postings. Read those first: Part I Part II Part III (The itinerary)

My evenings, lately, have been sitting quietly in my apartment listening to the two Jackson Browne, solo, acoustic, live albums that exist. Man... this guy has melancholy down pat! Fountain of Sorrow ? Listen to that without getting sad. I dare ya! Anyways, there is also a tribute album that was recently released in which a bunch of different musicians cover some of Jackson Browne's greatest songs. One of the best covers, and best songs, is Running on Empty. I'm sure most people are familiar with the original, but have you heard the cover by Bob Schneider? It's wonderful and even more melancholy than Jackson's version. Loving both versions, I noticed something in the lyrics. Schneider changed two things. In the original version, Jackson sings, "In sixty-five, I was seventeen..." and "In sixty-nine, I was twenty-one..." I don't know without googling, if Jackson really was those ages in those years, but Schneider sings, "In eighty-five, I...

Continued from here . Before I knew who J.R.R. Tolkien was, I saw countless cars with bumper stickers that advertised the line, "Not All Who Wander Are Lost." Mostly, the cars were in rough shape and belonged to hippies... but that is really neither here nor there. The line struck a chord with me, as I'm sure it does with many. Alone, the line is pretty deep and introspective. It's somewhat empowering to the loner who seems to not have a focus or path to follow. In the context that it is written -- a poem or song that a god-esque wizard uses to describe an exiled king who protects hairy footed short people from tormented elves and goblins and a dark lord -- seems to suggest that we may not be advertising our true purpose or path and that when we do, look out. I used to feel connected to this line and felt pride in my wandering ways, because, someday, my path will be revealed to all and my wandering ways will suddenly make sense. With utmost confidence, I can share...

I took a somewhat spontaneous road trip this past long weekend, because I needed to get the heck out of here ("here" being a physical and mental state of being). The sensation of desiring an adventure slowly seeped into my consciousness over the course of a few days and so I asked for Friday off from work, giving me a four day weekend with the Labor Day holiday. Back in 2010, I took a couple of days and roadtripped to Washington DC via Philadelphia and Baltimore, stopping at Hard Rock Cafes along the way, busking, and exploring some of the cities. I wrote about that trip here and here . Shortly after that trip, which was a lot of fun, I researched and mapped out an itinerary for a much longer trip heading to some big cities to the west. This past week, as the wanderlust began to creep in, I cut out a couple cities and shrunk the itinerary down to something that I could manage in the span of the four day weekend. First Leg: Broadalbin, NY to Niagara Falls, NY. 274 Miles...

It seems to be that there are two major things in any one person's life that have the most effect on that person. One is the job. You need money to survive. Some strive for certain type of jobs. Others take what they can get. Regardless, your job dictates a lot about who you become in that you need to live somewhere that is close to your job, your day is scheduled around the time that you work, and your residence and property is dictated by how much money you make. The other thing that has the biggest effect on a person's life is the whole significant other thing. Who you are "with" in an adult relationship effects a good portion of how you spend your time. If you are with someone who is controlling, then you are limited in making decisions. If you are with someone who has clear goals, your life may change as your significant other achieves their goals. If you are with someone beautiful, they may get hit on constantly and you may develop a fear that they will cheat. I...

I've been seriously under the weather for about a month. So severely that I was practically bed-ridden for two weeks. There have been lots of doctor visits and tests and procedures. At this point, I'm recovering quite well and the prognosis is that I should be back to my usual self at some point in the not very distant future. Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to focus on positive things to keep my spirits up. I've been recalling some fun adventures from my younger years. I thought I'd share one with the world. I was probably like 13 or 14 one summer when my parents took me, my brother, and my cousins to the beach. We weren't camping, but the beach was located at the Northampton campsite on the Sacandaga lake. The part of the beach that we were at is right on an inlet where boats go to dock and where people put their boats in the water. We've come to this part of the beach before and always spent the day swimming back and forth across the inlet...

Now that my songs are in a recorded format, more people are hearing them, commenting on them, and asking questions about them. I couldn't be more excited about all of this. In particular, people ask what the deal is with Little Paper Boat , which doesn't surprise me since it's somewhat of a bizarre song. I've told the story about how Little Paper Boat came to be a handful of times previous to recording it. It all started with a picture on facebook, posted by someone who I know through the music community, but not really in person. She was into origami at the time and posted a picture of a boat that she had made out of paper. I said to myself that I'd like to sail in a little paper boat and a flood of images, thoughts, and ideas came to my mind. I saw a concept for a song. It would be about perception, in particular, the way we perceive the world and how it would be much different if we were littler and sailing around in a paper boat. The music came to quite ...

My New Year's resolution of wearing pants all the time has already been broken. Also, I'm sorry for the mental image. It appears as though I'm going to write a New Year's post on New Year's Day. This, I think, is a first. As I've said before, it's customary of my blogging to do the obligatory (and viciously cliche) thing and reflect on the last year and look ahead to the coming one. It's cheesy, and I kind of hate myself a little bit for doing it... but, what are ya gonna do? Last year, I wrote this: twenty-thirteen . I just re-read that and felt a little bit of pride in that many of the things that I was looking forward to doing did in fact occur. To start, I have now lived in a tiny apartment in Broadalbin for over a year. I didn't die (despite the giant downsize from a house) and I'll probably stay here for at least another year or so. I mean, it's working out and if it ain't broke don't fix it. Last year, I wrote: Twen...

Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Turkey. Stuffing. Rolls. Oh, those warm buttery rolls. There is something really wonderful about the common Thanksgiving dinner. There is an associated fulfilling warmth that follows the meal. Today, I'm enjoying the above described meal while watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This year, above others, I looked forward to eating Thanksgiving dinner more than I ever had. I wasn't really sure why. As Smeagol argues with himself, and I await the warming up of a plate of seconds, I think I've decided that the warmth of the Thanksgiving dinner is more than just the temperature of the food. When I was a child, I most looked forward to Thanksgiving for the days off from school. I would spend Thursday, Friday, and the weekend playing video games with my brother or visiting my cousins. There was often an outdoor game of football or something similar, as well. I don't recall a disappointing Thanksgiving dinner in my youth. As a child, I wa...

I had a really wonderful music experience last night that come up serendipitously. It began when I received an invite to see one of my favorite bands, the North and South Dakotas, play in a barn. The invite included the promise of beverages, food, bonfires, and a trebuchet: all elements that seem necessary for a party that takes place in a barn. I attended, not really knowing what I was in for. When I arrived, there weren't may people there. I'd say about thirty or so folks were hanging out in the barn and near a small fire that was set up outside of the barn. There were sofas and comfortable chairs set around the fire. I chatted with members of the band and a couple other friends that were also there. I drank a beer and searched for a cup to pour the whiskey that I had brought in to. Then, I heard that the trebuchet was going to be launched to start the first bonfire. I walked outside and stood near the trebuchet. A few rolls of toilet paper had been soaking in some so...

I named the upcoming album Stepping Outside . This may sound familiar as the phrase is an integral part of my song For the First Time . I almost named For the First Time Stepping Outside , but decided that For the First Time fit better as the name of the song. Stepping Outside works really well for the title of the album. Being that it's my first album, Stepping Outside is an indication that I'm putting myself out there. While I have been playing my songs for a long time at open mics and in videos and home recordings, this album is the first time that I have made my songs what I believe they are meant to be (full band, additional instruments). And I'm putting them out there in that form. The other piece to this title is that Stepping Outside is a metaphor for experiencing things (I know; it's broad). The collection of songs on this album are all experiences (when are songs not experiences, though?). The point is, it works as a title for the album. I'm s...

You can't predict the future. Who really wants to, anyway? I mean, if you could -- and you knew exactly what would transpire in days/weeks/years -- what fun would now be? Still, right now is pretty awesome and the way in which things (music related things, that is) are going, the future seems to promise even more awesomeness. Right now, I'm recording an album. It's really shaping up to sound great. Each recording is really impressing me with the instrumentation, the parts played by friends, and the tone. It seems like every time I hear a track, it's my favorite until I hear one of the other ones. It looks like tracking should be done in two or three weeks. Then, mixing and mastering. Then, printing. Then, I'm releasing the album. I'll be sending it out to radio stations and venues. I hope to be booking gigs and doing some radio interviews and performances. Right now, I'm playing with a band. Foxmen, the band, has been playing at open mics and rehears...

When I woke up this morning to my alarm clock (the first time in nine days), I felt the most intense lack of desire to be alive. It was as if I had awoken just before the good part of a really great dream. This, of course, wasn't the case. I was simply waking up to my first day back to work after a week long vacation. My job isn't that bad. I don't know why I dread it so much. Waking up and going to work is always a chore -- mostly because at work you are doing things that you are told to do instead of what you choose to do -- but, it's even more of a chore when it comes after not having to wake up and go to work for over a week. Florida -- where I went on vacation -- was fantastic. I did a lot of nothing. I joined my dad early in the morning to watch the sunrise. I laid by the pool. I swam in the ocean. I repeated this most days. I had some amazing dinners with my grandpa and his wife, my dad and his wife, and my step-sister and her daughter. (It just occurred to...

Trips, vacations, and the like are wonderful and problematic. For some reason, my mind associates taking a trip and/or a vacation as a next step or some sort of progression of my life. I find myself, in the time leading up to a trip/vacation, developing an I-no-longer-care-at-all-about-anything-current attitude, which I suppose is due to the misconception that I am leaving all of the current anythings behind. While it is true that current anythings are being left behind, my brain does not wish to allow the reality of the situation (that I will, in fact, be returning from the trip/vacation and, thus, will need to pick up where I left off, so I shouldn't leave too big of a mess) to be present in my thoughts. This makes me wonder... is it just me? Or do we all have that sense of "moving on" from the current when we take a trip or vacation? Sadly, trips and vacations are not permanent. They are not "next steps" to something other than the current. They are sim...

The end is nigh. It may seem silly to say that the world ends at the point of each individual's death, but I believe it does. For when you die, your world certainly ends. I'm heartbroken, right now, and disappointed in myself. A former coworker of mine passed away last Sunday and today is the funeral. I missed the calling hours. I'm missing the funeral now. I can't bring myself to go. Joe Maher was a really nice guy. He almost always had a smile on his face and told jokes quite often. He had a real cynical sense of humor at times and delivered his sarcasm with an ironic laugh. Joe often joined myself and a handful of others for group lunch outings and was always part of the group for outside-of-work activities. Joe wasn't cut out for the work that we do. I'm not cut out for it either; I don't think anyone really is. Joe drank to attempt to wash away that emotional burden that we bear. Joe was a big fan of "Pumped up Kicks" by Foster the Peo...

I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that I sold my house almost a year ago. Home ownership just wasn't for me. I wrote a song about it. It's called One and Only Home . Shortly after moving into my apartment and sitting down with lawyers and the buyer, I started writing about what was going through my mind as it pertained to moving out of the home that I had lived in for most of my life. There were a lot of thoughts and feelings and it didn't come to a cohesive conclusion and, thus, wasn't a song. One idea that I had jotted down stuck with me. It was that of a gingerbread house that didn't taste good. I had written about trying to build a gingerbread house with ingredients that made me sick, which was a great metaphor for my experience owning a home. This became the first verse. The second verse is an inside joke in a way. You see, I had married a former pageant girl who was very concerned with how the home looked. Everything had to be perfect...

It was the summer of 1997. I was driving an ’85 Camaro that was just as much bondo as it was Camaro parts. Much of the summer was spent in that car with my brother and my cousins, driving to Lake George for mini-golf and to the mall for Laser Tag and the movies. The gas gauge didn't work and we had to guess at when it was getting close to empty. We never did run out of gas. I had two cassettes that we used to play most of the time: Summertime by Will Smith and Whoop! There it is. The four of us knew all the words by heart and when we would walk the streets of Lake George, we would sing acappella, badly. The adventures of that summer culminated in August. My cousins had to go home to New Jersey, college started for me, and high school continued for my brother. The last hurrah, if you will, was a concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). I was always a loner. I didn’t have a whole lot of friends in school and was incredibly awkward around my peers. However, when I wa...

I used to go to concerts at SPAC a lot. I saw numerous bands back in the 90s and early 2000's and often attended multiple concerts each year. Over the past 10 years, there has been a change in popular music and the bands that were coming to SPAC weren't worth spending on, in my opinion. The bands that I wanted to see were playing smaller clubs, which was great because it was often much cheaper to see them. So, I hadn't been to SPAC in a while when I saw Tom Petty there this past Sunday. Back when I was going to lots of concerts, I was always searching for the key to snag the best seats. The "pit," as the orchestra pit at SPAC is known, was always the holy grail. These seats were as close as you could get to band that you were there to see. And I was never in them. I would log on to ticketmaster.com on the day that tickets went on sale with multiple browser windows. I would select "best available" and hope that I would end up with "pit seats....