Wednesday, August 18, 2004
so yesterday i went to court. "illegal posting of bills." it was actually kinda fun. everyone there was so pissed off. no one wanted to be there. we all silently communed in our contempt of the system. i'm rarely around normal people. like, normal people with regular jobs who don't write songs or protest things. and yet, in the middle of all that normalness, i met a really nice boy from west philly who directs the lost film festival (www.lostfilmfest.com) funny, that in a crowd of grumbly new yorkers there would be two west philly indie kids with fliering violations.
i was totally obsessed with the security guards in the courtroom. they seemed so sassy and jovial. particularly this fat, baby-faced young italian kid and this sweet-faced, older black lady with amazing orange braids. they had lots of inside jokes that they occasionally shared with the old, skinny jewish guard who came in once in a while to check up on things. the stenographer was a dumpy pregnant lady who looked very morose, and very out-of-the-loop. at one point, the court translator had to come in to work with a latino guy. he was the suavest translator ever, with tight pants that were slightly too short, a natty tweed jacket, and way too much jewelry. he and lady guard spent a lot of down time gossiping over a copy of the daily news. the public defender was a middle-aged jewish lady with very brushed, graying hair, and a big loose patterned shirt. she looked like susan sontag's under-achieving little sister. the judge himself was like a piece of play-doh lumped onto a toy body. he was very old and krinkley, and didn't talk much, except to the jewish guy. he didn't even really seem to be alive. and since i was watching everything from the nearly-empty pews, the whole circusmstance felt so theatrical. i kept smiling at them, and i wanted to applaud when i left.
anyway. i could write other things but i need to work.
be good.
xoxo
d
i was totally obsessed with the security guards in the courtroom. they seemed so sassy and jovial. particularly this fat, baby-faced young italian kid and this sweet-faced, older black lady with amazing orange braids. they had lots of inside jokes that they occasionally shared with the old, skinny jewish guard who came in once in a while to check up on things. the stenographer was a dumpy pregnant lady who looked very morose, and very out-of-the-loop. at one point, the court translator had to come in to work with a latino guy. he was the suavest translator ever, with tight pants that were slightly too short, a natty tweed jacket, and way too much jewelry. he and lady guard spent a lot of down time gossiping over a copy of the daily news. the public defender was a middle-aged jewish lady with very brushed, graying hair, and a big loose patterned shirt. she looked like susan sontag's under-achieving little sister. the judge himself was like a piece of play-doh lumped onto a toy body. he was very old and krinkley, and didn't talk much, except to the jewish guy. he didn't even really seem to be alive. and since i was watching everything from the nearly-empty pews, the whole circusmstance felt so theatrical. i kept smiling at them, and i wanted to applaud when i left.
anyway. i could write other things but i need to work.
be good.
xoxo
d
Monday, August 16, 2004
-this here antifolk festival is so good. everyone is so happy. everyone is so talented.
-our show at sidewalk was big fun, especially when we all fell into the keyboard and it collapsed onto the monitor.
-daoud's show last night was gorgeous. i haven't cried during a show in a really long time, but when he was like, "i don't wanna go to jail again, i'm too in love with all my friends," i just lost it. i stuck around for paula valstein and beau johnson, two people who i wouldn't necessarily go out to see, but i really enjoyed their sets. beau is a really good guitar player. i like his tone a lot.
-the outdoor festival in tompkins square felt so celebratory. it's funny what an organized community we are. just like a church or a synagogue or a bowling league. it was nice to display that for so many passers-by. and somehow it felt so good to see jon berger and joie dbg carry away that crazy guy who tried to attack paleface and lach. it's nice to know we got some big strong men in our ranks who will protect us from belligerents.
-phoebe and i watched this insane documentary about russian mail-order brides! i can't believe that happens! i think i'm going to write a song about it real soon.
-i've been really inspired over the past few days by rachel lipson, the festival (the boy, not the thing), and daoud. their songs have lots of words, and they're all very artfully placed.
-i think i'll end this entry now.
xoxo
dan
-our show at sidewalk was big fun, especially when we all fell into the keyboard and it collapsed onto the monitor.
-daoud's show last night was gorgeous. i haven't cried during a show in a really long time, but when he was like, "i don't wanna go to jail again, i'm too in love with all my friends," i just lost it. i stuck around for paula valstein and beau johnson, two people who i wouldn't necessarily go out to see, but i really enjoyed their sets. beau is a really good guitar player. i like his tone a lot.
-the outdoor festival in tompkins square felt so celebratory. it's funny what an organized community we are. just like a church or a synagogue or a bowling league. it was nice to display that for so many passers-by. and somehow it felt so good to see jon berger and joie dbg carry away that crazy guy who tried to attack paleface and lach. it's nice to know we got some big strong men in our ranks who will protect us from belligerents.
-phoebe and i watched this insane documentary about russian mail-order brides! i can't believe that happens! i think i'm going to write a song about it real soon.
-i've been really inspired over the past few days by rachel lipson, the festival (the boy, not the thing), and daoud. their songs have lots of words, and they're all very artfully placed.
-i think i'll end this entry now.
xoxo
dan
Thursday, August 12, 2004
urban barnyard (dibs/daoud/dashan/phoebe/jacklewis) tore open reality last night. i liked what i saw in the gap. that "whale room whale" song just kills me.
i've been so busy lately. i don't even have time to cook anymore. some vegetables in my fridge have gone bad. i'm spending most of my "free" time recording my solo album with cesar. parts of it are insanely poppy -- like rejects from madonna's "american life," and the songs that actually MADE it to that album were pretty bad!!! haha...anyway for each pop cliche we're going to add something totally punked out and disgusting, so i think the balance will work out pretty well. "antifolk!" in fact. the songs are going to be organized dialectically, like a drama...so you start out with one idea, and then that idea gets tossed around till you come out with something else. i love albums like that. i hope it all works out. cesar's spending september in europe, so i'll have a lot of time to think about it.
i'm super excited about the antifolk fest this weekend. so many great performers. i'm particularly psyched to see major matt and jeff lewis. and a c.o.b. show on saturday! my favorite thing ever.
it's so hard, juggling 3 major artistic projects at the same time: c.o.b., solo album, performance art. and then there's my real job.
oh and did you hear about halliburton stealing over 1 billion dollars in iraqi oil money?
oy. i heard tony kushner speak very eloquently about how artists shouldn't expect their work to have a direct effect on the political world. that we should accept our vital indirect influence, and trust that the humanity we highlight will work for itself.
i really hope he's right.
love
dan
i've been so busy lately. i don't even have time to cook anymore. some vegetables in my fridge have gone bad. i'm spending most of my "free" time recording my solo album with cesar. parts of it are insanely poppy -- like rejects from madonna's "american life," and the songs that actually MADE it to that album were pretty bad!!! haha...anyway for each pop cliche we're going to add something totally punked out and disgusting, so i think the balance will work out pretty well. "antifolk!" in fact. the songs are going to be organized dialectically, like a drama...so you start out with one idea, and then that idea gets tossed around till you come out with something else. i love albums like that. i hope it all works out. cesar's spending september in europe, so i'll have a lot of time to think about it.
i'm super excited about the antifolk fest this weekend. so many great performers. i'm particularly psyched to see major matt and jeff lewis. and a c.o.b. show on saturday! my favorite thing ever.
it's so hard, juggling 3 major artistic projects at the same time: c.o.b., solo album, performance art. and then there's my real job.
oh and did you hear about halliburton stealing over 1 billion dollars in iraqi oil money?
oy. i heard tony kushner speak very eloquently about how artists shouldn't expect their work to have a direct effect on the political world. that we should accept our vital indirect influence, and trust that the humanity we highlight will work for itself.
i really hope he's right.
love
dan
i am so hungry. i am at work waiting for my food to arrive. i am eating a cheese sandwich.
the office orders from a couple different places, and most of them are pretty good about offering vegetarian options, except this one. so i always go with the cheese sandwich when ordering from there.
man. it's quiet in here. where's the rest of the band? i thought dan was relieved that now other people were posting, so that it wasn't so personal, but now it's just dibs and a sandwich.
but it won't be for much longer. tomorrow is my last day of full time work for the summer, so i won't be in front of a screen for so many hours a week anymore. after this i get some weeks off, then back to school and possibly part time work. we'll see. i'm glad i don't have to work next week, i am involved in a bunch of performances. which includes, of course, saturday night with Cheese On Bread (the band) at sidewalk.
Daoud and I layed down some tracks for a short CD EP at Dashan's last saturday. The rest of the band should be doing more this weekend. It should be good.
I think my food is here... I'm going to eat it.
the office orders from a couple different places, and most of them are pretty good about offering vegetarian options, except this one. so i always go with the cheese sandwich when ordering from there.
man. it's quiet in here. where's the rest of the band? i thought dan was relieved that now other people were posting, so that it wasn't so personal, but now it's just dibs and a sandwich.
but it won't be for much longer. tomorrow is my last day of full time work for the summer, so i won't be in front of a screen for so many hours a week anymore. after this i get some weeks off, then back to school and possibly part time work. we'll see. i'm glad i don't have to work next week, i am involved in a bunch of performances. which includes, of course, saturday night with Cheese On Bread (the band) at sidewalk.
Daoud and I layed down some tracks for a short CD EP at Dashan's last saturday. The rest of the band should be doing more this weekend. It should be good.
I think my food is here... I'm going to eat it.
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Rather than be deterred that Matt and I both wrote about cheese on bread, I will write about it everytime I am near a computer eating cheese on bread.
Right now, i'm eating cheese on bread. It is pannini bread, and mozarella cheese. It's actually an eggplant/mozarella sandwich. But it counts. And tomato sauce. Yum. I'm eating just thinking about it.
I found this amazing band in Canada. They are The Barmitzvah Brothers, and you should check them out if you can: http://barmitzvahbrothers.cjb.net/
They're definitely one of the coolest bands I've seen/met. Watch out for them. Geordie and Jenny are killer cooks. They made pasta and tomato/basil/cream cheese soup in my apartment on thursday night. It was delicious. Also, instead of saying pasta with an "ah" sound like the first syllable in "opulance", they say it with a sound like "ah" like the first syllable in "master". Those kids are the coolest.
Right now, i'm eating cheese on bread. It is pannini bread, and mozarella cheese. It's actually an eggplant/mozarella sandwich. But it counts. And tomato sauce. Yum. I'm eating just thinking about it.
I found this amazing band in Canada. They are The Barmitzvah Brothers, and you should check them out if you can: http://barmitzvahbrothers.cjb.net/
They're definitely one of the coolest bands I've seen/met. Watch out for them. Geordie and Jenny are killer cooks. They made pasta and tomato/basil/cream cheese soup in my apartment on thursday night. It was delicious. Also, instead of saying pasta with an "ah" sound like the first syllable in "opulance", they say it with a sound like "ah" like the first syllable in "master". Those kids are the coolest.
