5.16.08

Oh, to be a photographer last monday night...
If I only had a camera on me Monday after having been at the Middle East to see These Modern Socks, I would have captured an amazing image.
I got on the red line back to Davis, and sitting in the corner of the car was a man, sleeping or dozing or drunk, with a priority mail envelope on his head like a hat. The envelope is the kind that's made of tyvek, and is sort of soft... with the nice blue stripe down the middle of it and a little accent of red on it, it actually makes a fantastic hat. The man was curled up against the end of the train car, with the back of his hand supporting his head, which would intermittently swing back and lean against the window, then down again onto his hand. The priority mail envelope stayed firmly in place the whole time. It gave this otherwise drunk and/or homeless man an air of style and humor...
I am thinking of starting an urban fashion line.

5.3.08

My thoughts today are all about phase. This little train of thought was sparked by seeing Greg Davis and Keith Fullerton Whitman perform a duo electronic drone set at the Lillypad. They opened for my friends from North Carolina, Megafaun. The drone set was sort of a mind-blowing experience; I had never seen anything like it live, and it was unlike any music listening I had ever done before. The sounds and textures were less about harmony and tonality, and more about frequencies shifting and modulating in subtle ways... the sounds would start somewhere in the back of the room, behind me, and creep forward and through my brain and out the other side. Then a subtle noise would come from the left side and sweep over and crash into one hovering above my head. Frequencies would rub against each other, and create beats while they shifted in and out of phase with each other. The sounds would change as I moved my head back and forth, so I caught myself slowly turning my head from side to side. Must've looked really silly. All this was done with knobs and pedals and patch cords.
Incredible.
The other thoughts I was having about phase were more abstract- the concrete phase shifting in the music made me think about brainwave functions and something I read once about binaural beats... from there it snowballed to my moods, one's life lining up with other lives on and off, circadian rhythms and chronobiology, and other hippie nonsense like that.
Oh yeah, and to further derail my train of thought, one of my sax quartet guys sent me a link to this video of metronomes synching up.
Welcome to my brain today. Please shut the door gently on your way out.

3.22.08

Well, it sure is spring...
I can tell, because apart from the gale force winds, the warmer weather, the lengthening days, and the easter basket of flowering plants sent to me by my mom, there is also so much change around me that it hurts. How can it not be a different season?
For me, change means that between my last post and this one, I have secured a shop space with the aforementioned guitar makers. It's going to be great. It's a fifteen minute walk from my house, in fact.
As far as the playing thing, the Smalls have some upcoming gigs- most notably a week from today, Saturday, March 29th, 6:00 PM at Atwoods. And roughly once a month from there on out.
The pickup ultimate frisbee game I hope to join starts up next weekend, too.
I can just feel myself un-stagnating.
So, um, happy spring?

3.15.08

After long last, my website is up and running again! Hooray!
I know, I know- you've had a gaping hole in your life from the absence of this website and my oh-so-regularily kept up blog (erm...) in your life.
Here's a brief update for those that *only* keep in touch with me through this site...I have been living at the 952 house in Somerville now for almost a year, with Rose and Nickles and Brian. We have fun times for sure.
I am working at JSI in their rental repair department, which allows me the distinct pleasure of working on loads of cheap Chinese cellos. (Which, by the way, is a great phrase.) I've been looking for shop space with a couple of guitar makers, hopefully that will pan out soon.
I have been doing the music thing, both playing and going to see lots of music. There is so much of it in this town!
I have been otherwise trying to get out of the house and playing frisbee in small windows where it's warm enough... I can't wait for the return of warm weather so I can go out and play more.
Otherwise, same old Jess- not enough sleep, too much coffee and beer, wry smirk. You know the drill.