Flames.

Hello again. As usual it's been a busy time here at The Program. A lot of playing. A lot, yet not enough time in the studio. I say not enough because I feel I have more to do in the studio on Jer's new record, it sounds really, really good, I'd just like to spend more time there because it's a lot of fun. The vibe in that studio right now is electric. We all can sense this project is truly something special. I can't wait to finish it and get it into the world so everyone can understand what I'm talking about. We're looking forward to the upcoming show at Higher Ground on the 21st of March. If you're anywhere within 4 hours of Burlington, VT, you should come to this show. The CD won't be out yet, but you can hear the songs we've all had in our head constantly for the past month and a half.

After getting back from the studio, The Grift had a good show at the new Two Bros. downstairs venue. The space could still use a raised stage, but it's a 30 second drive from my house, so it's hard to complain. The next night I got to participate in my first symposium at Middlebury College. For those of you who didn't go there, Middlebury calls any lecture/conversation with more than one person a "symposium" and they were ubiquitous during my 4 years there. This one was a discussion for the beginning of "Arts Week" about the music business and how alumni from Midd fit into it. The panel was Laura Thomas, Chris Farrell, and myself. It wasn't that well attended (symposiums rarely are), but it was still really fun. We talked a lot about how we got into the business and how Middlebury fit into it. It was interesting to hear their take on it and good to talk out loud about things I hadn't given voice to. We got to play a little too which was fun because I always have a good time playing with those two. Later that night I went to see the Laura Thomas Band play at the afore mentioned Two Bros. They were great. If you live in the NYC region, you should definitely check them out. It would have been nice to see Cletus there, but the band still rocked. I also got to sit in on bass for a couple old Polonius Funk standards. They're still funky tunes.

The next day, Saturday, is when the real shit started. Saturday was one of the most surreal days of my life. A serious 24 hour roller coaster. It started on our drive to Boston from Burlington to play a show we have been looking forward to for months, the CD release party for The Old Silver Band at Harper's Ferry. Actually, the day started with shaving my beard into my mustache tribute to the OSB. Being the mustache aficionados that they are, I knew they'd appreciate it.
Back to the driving... Everything was going smooth. We had a great book on CD by Micheal Connelly and Harry Bosch was getting closer and closer to solving the case. Suddenly there was a loud pop and hiss and then the van started chugging loudly. I was driving at the time and thought we got a flat tire. I may have even said "Shit, I think we just got a flat tire". I braced the wheel, ready for the usual pull to whatever side the tire blew on and nothing happened. I decided to speed up and sure enough the chugging got louder and quicker, right in the area of the engine. We thought maybe we had lost connection with our muffler or something. We were pretty close to an exit for Concord, NH so I pulled off and we looked for a place to park and gather ourselves. After conflicting directions from several people, I called AAA (thanks, mom!) and they told us there was a Sears open 3 miles away. A garage open on Saturday?! We brought it in and they looked at it and thought they could fix it by Sunday afternoon. That's right, they're open on Sunday too! We got a hold of Clint who was already in Boston and he got the OSB's van and came to get us. In the meantime, we're stranded in a mall in Concord for an hour. We pass the time, go outside to meet Clint to go down to Boston and what was a clear, sunny day an hour ago has now turned into an inch of snow and counting. Really!? Could this suck any worse? Luckily we drive out of the snow pretty quickly and make it to the show with just enough time for us to load our crap in before the first band, our friends from Burlington, Bad Suit go on. Finally, we're at the show, we're loaded in, and the music starts. Bad Suit killed it. I had never seen them and they rocked! Then it was our turn and we played really well. I'll say one thing about this band, we play well under stress. It was such a relief to play after the shitty afternoon we had had. We still didn't know how or if we were getting home the next day, but we put all that behind us and brought it. People were psyched and dancing, we were happy to be playing, I didn't drop a stick, it was great. Ahhh...now we could just watch our friends and saviors the OSB and enjoy ourselves. If you've never heard the OSB, it's very happy music. It's good for what ails you. There was a rotating line up of guests with the OSB including all of The Grift boys except one, me. I was too busy enjoying myself dancing and perhaps...(though this is all your going to get) romancing. What started out as a disastrously stressful day turned into a truly great night. The best I've had in a long, long time.

The next day word got to us the van was fixed! Turns out a spark plug blew out of the engine. Whoops! They replaced it and the coil and we were GTG. After walking around sunny Boston for a bit, I met up with Big Time, PD+MLE, and we got a ride back to Concord from our good friend EC (coming through strong!). We got in the van and I slept like a champ all the way back to VT. Sadly, the mustache has come off, but like the day I had while wearing it, I will remember it fondly forever.

SDTK: "Burning Heart" - Survivor (from the Rocky IV soundtrack)

Back to the Lab Again

So, lot of big things doing here for The Program. I just got back from Providence RI where I was laying down drum tracks for the upcoming Jer Coons record. I love being in the studio. It's a lot of work but also a lot of fun. We were recording at Strangeways Recording. I got to use Mike's drum kit and it sounded huge. I'm psyched to hear how the rest of the record turns out. When we weren't recording or watching the results from Super Tuesday, we ate a lot of good food. There are some really nice, cheap vegetarian eats in Providence. Who knew? One of the highlights of the trip was on the first day we got there and we went to Guitar Center and Chipotle in the same hour. That's a good way to start a session, no?

The Grift also just released a new live CD called "Live at Nectar's". I know it's hard to keep track sometimes, but on this CD I play the drums for most of it and bass on a couple tunes that Russ sits in on. Last Saturday night we had a CD release party at (ironically) Nectar's. It was a blast. The crowd was rocking and hopefully so were we. Anyone interested in picking up the CD can email me or hopefully it will be available for sale up on The Grift site soon.

That's all from The Program. For now, I'm going to try to adjust to life back in the snow (Providences weather was much nicer).

SDTK.: Matisyahu "Youth"

I Still Hate the Giants.

I still Hate the Giants.

I HATE The Giants!

It's true. I do. For those of you who don't know, I'm a Cowboys fan. I'm also a Pats fan, which presented some problems earlier in the season. I was hoping it was going to present some problems for the Super Bowl. Now I'll have no such problems thanks to the Cowboys beating themselves while playing the Giants. I won't go into specifics about that last sentence except to say: who slows down their route in the End Zone when you're down by 7 at the end of the game?!? Crayton... I'm looking in your direction...

Anyways, I would rather have not made the playoff than have to lose to the fucking Giants. For those of you who don't follow football, the Giants are the football equivalent of the Yankees. You might think since the Jest play in the same conference as the Pats, they would be the NFL Yankee doppelganger. The NY Jets are really more like the Mets: they're so inconsistent season to season, that they pretty much only have fans inside the NY metro region (and Long Island, but who cares about Long Island?). The Giants on the other hand have obnoxious fans all over New England (and New Jersey, 'nuff said). I'm not saying that Cowboys fans can't be obnoxious too, but this is MY blog, dammit.

So now it's Pats all the way, relieving me of some tough introspection I would have to do if it was a Cowboys/Pats Sooper Bowl. You'd think I'd thank the Giants for helping me out with that. Well, you'd be wrong.


Sdtk.: The sound of my teeth grinding that ENTIRE FUCKING GAME!!

Back On The Wagon

I'm back! I know, the writers' strike is still going on, but if The Daily Show and Colbert can go back on, so can I. I'm so happy to have them back. I laughed hysterically at last night's shows. There's so much going on what with the primaries, Kenya, Pakistan, etc., etc. I'm glad I can now find out about all of them. I didn't realize how much I actually got my news from those shows. I used to get it from NPR as well, but living in Middlebury, I don't listen to NPR as much as I used to.

So what's been going on with me, you ask? The Grift has been very busy playing shows all over. There were a lot before the holidays and a lot after. It's funny, usually people think of the holidays as stressful because of all the running around and for me it was the most relaxed time I've had in a while. A nice change from not running around as much as I do in my everyday life. Just what I needed.

What else? I've been playing a lot of piano recently. I don't know why, but I've really been in the mood to play some piano. So I said what the hell, why not? So I've been learning tunes in the downtimes between doing things I should actually be doing. This week I've learned 3 songs: Lights by Journey, Warning Sign by Coldplay, and Autumn Leaves. I'm pretty psyched about it.

Well, I'm glad to be back if for no other reason than to have back my outlet for telling everyone how funny I am. Like just before I wrote this I was on Yahoo! and saw a news article about how the Russians are winning the race to put a human on Mars first. My first thought was "Well that's fitting, it is a RED planet." HA!! Man, that's such good joke writing, I should go back on strike! Alas, I won't. So look for more frequent posts in the future. I gotta run, my DVR should have recorded through the first set of commercials on The Daily Show by now. Till next time...

SDTK: A lot of Drum and Bass by Aphrodite that I got from my brother at Christmastime.

Solidarity

Hello. Do not be alarmed, but I am not The Jefe. My name is Manuel Elisando. I am filling in for The Jefe while he is on strike. Many of you are wondering why it has been so long since he has posted on this blog. Apparently no one told The Jefe that the writers strike was only for TV and movie writers. The Jefe heard about the strike and did not want to cross the picket line and risk offending the union. He fails to realize he is not in the union nor is he even getting paid for writing this blog. I have been told, however, he still looks in his mailbox for the check after every blog entry.

It seems The Program was getting bored being idle and waiting for either the strike to end or The Jefe to realize he is an idiot so it took matters into its own hands. It found me at a Home Depot with some fellow compatriots looking for work. Since I speak English, am not unionized, and even the mere thought of collective bargaining is punishable by death where I come from, The Program decided I would be a great scab.

I do not know what else to say. I don't think I can muster the stomach to write the same type of sad "humor" that fills the previous blog entries. I also can't write about lame insights I had into the Daily Show or Colbert Report because they are all reruns due to the strike. I also have never met The Burger nor Gus. I guess all we can do is hope for the strike to come to an end. Soon. Please.

Sdtk: "Heck no, we won't go! Heck no, we won't go!...."

Nexus.

It happened last night. Possibly the greatest night of television ever. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The stars were aligning or something. So many things coming together. I think it's got to be some sort of sign. No, not of the Apocalypse. What's the opposite of "Apocalypse"? Well, whatever it is that's what happened last night. Get this:
1) The Season Premiere of The Simpsons guest starring Stephen Colbert. Brilliant. Two great tastes that taste great together.
2) The Season Premiere of Family Guy doing an animated version of Star Wars. I almost peed myself. 80% of it was animated shots directly from the movie with the same music cues and everything. It must have taken them forever. Self-effacing references everywhere. It was quite possibly the funniest thing I have ever seen.
3) Michaels, Madden, and the Cowboys winning on Sunday Night Football.

I almost have a hangover that night was so good.

Sdtk: My sigh of contentment.

Musings on Fascism

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this blog entry are of a political nature and if the three of you don't like it, tough shit.

I was watching the Colbert Report the other night and his guest was a woman who wrote a book about the oncoming fascist regime in the US. In her book she lays out 10 steps every country that had a Fascist dictator went through leading up to the Fascist takeover. She explained some of them on air and said that the US was quickly progressing through the 10. They had to do with the culture of fear being bred by politicians, how they use this fear to extend executive power, and how by the time the populace realizes it a dictator has emerged and the people look the other way.

Now, I'm usually on the side of the Left-leaning guests on the show, but it seems to me she was going a little overboard. I understand her point and a lot of what she said makes sense, but fascism? I don't think any of the countries that have had Fascist states were built on as strong a foundation of democracy as ours is. Sure, we might be in a less democratic time in our history than others, but we have a long established tradition of it that helps to get through the rougher times. Fascism is like a modern monarchy. Take out the whole hereditary aspect, throw in some modern political lingo and what is essentially a king calls himself a "Dictator". The European and South American countries that had Fascist dictators had at one point been under the rule of kings. You could make individual cases for each, but I'm guessing they weren't democracies for 200+ years before falling into fascism.

Fear in this country IS very high and promoted to a needlessly high level by politicians who want to a)have more power and b)keep their power. They have extended their power into illegally keeping tabs on what people are doing. They have promoted the use of private militias like Blackwater (can you say "SS"?). They have done a lot of alarming things that do point down the road to fascism, but doesn't anyone remember our good friend Communism? Has it been so long we've forgotten the Cold War? You want to talk about your paranoia and government spying on its own people. Does the name Joe McCarthy ring any bells? Don't get me wrong, terrorism is a real dangerous threat to be taken very seriously, but don't think for a second they are more dangerous than the USSR was at the peak of the Cold War. Yes, Al Qaeda managed to do what the Russians never did, attack us on our own soil. That doesn't mean they couldn't have. The only thing that kept that from happening was that we knew where they lived and the cost of such an action would have meant an all out war most likely resulting in the destruction of Earth. I think any physical threat posed by terrorism pales in comparison to the literally planet ending threat of the Cold War.

During the many years of the Cold War, this country was gripped by fear. At some times worse than others. We had a serious domestic spying program. We had people in power who thought a world destroying conflict was right around the corner and had convinced large portions of the populace of it. Our whole foreign policy was geared towards fighting it. The good news is we got through it without devolving into fascism. We took some hits to our democracy and still stood. In many of the countries where fascism took root it was a direct result of anti-communist sentiment. We were almost pathologically anti-communist and still didn't go off the deep end. We had some fascist-like policies and practices, we still do, but still in the general framework of a democracy.

Please don't take this as praise for how we reacted to Communism or how we are reacting now to terrorism. I think we were and are far too heavy handed and are going against the spirit of reason and rule of law that this country was founded on. My point is that even if you, like me, think the Bush administration's handling of this current situation borders on criminal, it doesn't mean we're headed towards a fascist state. If we can get through the paranoia of the Cold War, I'm sure we can weather this with our democracy intact. That is, provided we pay attention...

...uh oh.

Sdtk.: Sting - "Russians" or anything by Rage Against the Machine

Bring. It. On.

The 2007/2008 NFL season starts tonight and I couldn't be more exited. I've got the DVR all warmed up for those Sunday afternoon games when I have to work at N&O's. I'm looking online for a crock pot-like item to make chili when the weather starts turning colder. On top of that my man, Mike Golic, has the Cowboys as his pick to go to the Superbowl this year. Will this be the year my allegiances are truly tested with a Cowboys/Patriots Superbowl? I have to admit, last year I was behind my man Satan Manning to get the ring (after all, he DID anchor my fantasy team all year long), but this year....Let's not get too far ahead. Bring on week one!

I'll also be giving updates on my weekly progress in my team football pool. I decided against fantasy football this year. I really don't like the way it emphasizes individuals over teams (how very socialist of me). I would be divided when the Cowboys would score: half was happy they scored, half would be upset because they scored with someone not on my fantasy team. That's just wrong in my book.

Sdtk: Pandora Radio: My own "Bonobo Radio"

Under The Boardwalk

Greetings, programs! I made it. I put in my time, I learned the songs, I played the gigs, and now I can relax...for a while. So, the past two weeks have been busier than most. The Grift and the Laura Thomas Band had a great round of shows last weekend. First was the penultimate gig at The Wife in Manchester, then a trip down to Boston to play at a club called the Lizard Lounge. It was a cool little club where our Midd fans showed up in droves. I got to see some people I haven't seen in a while including my good friend Feebee. That evening ended with the usual "scour the entire city of Boston for a parking spot for Vanna White and wind up at a hotel at 4AM". That was, however, easy compared to the next day's trip to NYC. It took us a mere 6 1/2 hours to get from Boston to NY. The worst part was there was no construction or bad accidents, just a serious number of cars on the road. We finally got to NY and by the grace of Jebus we found a parking spot right next to the club! We got there in plenty of time to hit up my favorite burrito spot, Chipotle. MMMMmmm...burritos. Oh yeah, the gig was good too. It was a good crowd for August in NYC and both bands rocked it. It was really fun to play some bass again. After 12 years of ownership, my bass also finally acquired a name: White Chocolate! (you have to say it with the exclamation mark). Notso and I got a good long laugh when I came up with that.

On the following Wednesday we played our final Perfect Wife show. It was a great show, monetarily the best Wed. night the bar has had there. Why would we stop playing there then? Well, the owner wants to focus more on the dinner side of things and as successful as Wed. nights have become, she wants to keep the late night music scene to only the weekends there. So, we decided it was best if we kept the late-night thing going, just somewhere else. We're moving down the road to the Manchester Bar and Grill. It's not as nice a space as The Wife and I'll miss their ever evolving dessert menu, but it's good to shake things up every once in a while. I'll keep you all up on how it's going there.

This weekend I had a show in the East Coast gambling mecca of Atlantic City. The show was at Harrah's Casino with a band called Keith Lewis and the Shift. I got the gig through my good friend Russ Lawton who plays drums in the group. They play a few days in a row at the casino every couple of months. On this occasion, their bass player couldn't make the Saturday show and as The Grift had the weekend off, I went down and filled in. It was one of the more big pimpin' gigs I've played. The stage had all it's own backline equipment, we had our own hotel rooms (the photo is the view from my window), and there was a cafeteria that is free to employees and open 24 hours. I tell you, there are few things better than getting done with a show, carrying only your bass off stage, dropping it off in your own room, and hitting up the caf at 2AM for post-gig donuts and ice cream. I was so excited with everything else, I forgot to gamble. The slot machines were so ever-present they seemed more part of the decor than something to be "played". There was also a huge pool area. That's the "Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome" looking structure in the photo. In the dome there is a pool and hot tub, but also you can rent these cabanas all around and there are a couple big bars as well. Late night they have patries there complete with rave lights and DJ's. Actually, the day after we left ?ustlove of The Roots was spinning there. The gig itself went really well. The guys in the band were super cool and great players. It's a special thing when you can play with people you've never met before, get along instantly, and really put on a good show.

I did get out to walk on the Boardwalk one day. It was nice. It reminded me of when my family used to come to Jersey in the summers to go to the beach. I had a hankering for some salt water taffy. People always say what a cesspool AC is, but it was ok. I'm sure there lots of parts that are not, but getting too and from the boardwalk area was fine. They could probably help themselves out by changing the name of the street the boardwalk is on though (see photo #2). I never saw AC in it's heyday (if it ever had one), but it still seemed a vibrant place to me. Then again, I live in VT.

So now we're just gearing up for a full Fall. A couple more weddings and prep schools shows will be starting up again. Til next time...


Sdtk: Springsteen's "Born to Run" album. (I listened to it twice in a row while driving through NJ)

Burn Out.

Whew! It's been a while since I posted last and I haven't even noticed the time go by. I have been slammed with all the things going on. We've played A LOT of shows recently of all kinds: weddings, bars, clubs, outdoor, big stage, small stage...which have been fun, but a little taxing on the body (you know, with all the late night hooker and blow parties we have). I've also been learning about 50 songs for a couple gigs I have coming up as a hired gun. It's fun to pick up the bass again, but still just piling on top of the general feeling I have of bread left in the toaster too long. I'm not complaining so much as venting. Releasing a little steam before I get back to work and learn some more tunes for the week's shows. They should be good one's though. We're playing with The Laura Thomas Band in VT, Boston, and NYC. Good times. Hopefully I'll get some pictures for my next post. Until then...

Sdtk: Common - "The People"

No Band Is An Island...

...unless that band's 6" stage is surrounded by 4" of water. You always hear about flash flood warnings, but who really pays attention? I will from now on. We were at a wedding in the Northeast Kingdom of VT this weekend when thunderstorms of biblical proportion took over. One minute I was dealing with a dripping tent, the next I was pulling anything off stage onto the stage to avoid it being completely submerged in water. There's really nothing you like to see more than your power strip completely underwater. Luckily we got everything out of the water safely, I think. We'll see the next time we plug it in.
So Pete and I are standing there on stage thinking hanging out in a pool of water during a thunderstorm is probably a bad idea. However, as you can see from the picture, the bar was also surrounded by the water, as was the dance floor and the food, so most everyone else was not taking the same precautions. That was until lightning struck somewhere close by and everyone in the water got shocked. Nothing severe, but enough to close down any hope of an impromptu pool party.
The rain eventually stopped and the water receded enough for us to pack away all of our nonessential gear. We ended up moving onto the porch, rocking out, and saving the day.

Sdtk: Michael Connelly - "Chasing the Dime" (as read by Alfred Molina)

Nerd Alert!

So my brother got me a Playstation game for my birthday. Thanks Jon for a very good and thoughtful gift. The catch is that it's not the latest 1st person shooter or "Run Over Pimps and Ho's in Tanks 3". It's not even as mild mannered as golf. Yes, it's a crossword puzzle game. While the rest of the world is using their Playstations to destroy Gozer and Zuul with Nuclear Accelerator Packs (anyone?), I am doing crossword puzzles. Now maybe you all can help me figure out which is more nerdy: the fact that my brother thought it would be an appropriate gift for me OR the jolt of excitement I felt when I unwrapped it.

Sdtk: "Cleanin' Up The Town" - The Bus Boys

July 21st, A Day That Will Live In Infamy

Hello again. It's been an event filled time here at The Program. On the 21st I turned the big 32! Now for some of you, that might not seem like that significant of a number, and in all honesty it's not. However, for those of us still indulging in our adolescent fantasy of rock stardom, 32 is pushing it. Really pushing it. Also on the 21st was our fifth Do the Deck in West Addison. It was a great day to be outside surrounded by friends and family, playing music, swimming, and eating cake (it was my birthday after all - not that I need an excuse to eat cake). The weather this year had to be the best yet. Sunny but not too hot and not raining for 8 hours straight.
I also received the new Harry Potter book on my birthday (thanks Jess!). I decided not to open it that day because I had so much to do. If I had started to read it right away, I would have spent all day inside missing my own party. As I know now having finished the 750 page book on Tuesday, it would have been worth it. I won't give anything away, I'm no spoiler, but I will say I liked it. Like the last 2 books it was slow at times, but finished strong.
Now on to an action packed August! Someone pass me my Geritol...

Sdtk: The ever-present construction noises of summer in VT. Are they repaving the whole freaking state?!?

The Force is strong in this one

In a move considered both wise and dangerous, The Jedi Council has decided to move up young Gus Leashwalker from the rank of Padawan to full fledged Jedi Knight. The Council bestowed this honor after Gus successfully completed the Jedi trials with exceptionally high marks. When asked for comment on how the trials were, Gus in one word replied, "Rough!"
"Some of his abilities", says Jedi Master Kyp Durron, "are off the charts. His use of Force Suggestion is unparalleled. Even on the strongest of minds he is able to exert his will. I mean, I've seen him get people to follow him around and pick up his own excrement for him, without even uttering a single word! I'm just glad he's on our side."
Here at The Program, we would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to Gus. May the Force be with him.

Sdtk.: "The Throne Room Theme" - Star Wars Sdtk.

Back on the Map

Finally, after months of living in the 18th century, I finally have internet and cable hooked up in my apartment. Ahhhhhhhh... So hopefully this'll mean more posts, which should be easy considering I'll probably never leave my apartment now. The best part was I got to watch the Daily Show and Colbert. Thankfully they're still funny. I also got to catch up on all the things people have been sending me that I couldn't watch before. Like this podcast entry by my good friend Jer that features an appearance by yours truly:


Sdtk: "Roll With The Changes" - REO Speedwagon

DJ MFC in the Wild

Weddings, weddings, weddings! Tis the season. Last weekend was a big one. Clint and Rhonda tied the old knot here in VT. It was a great time. From the photographer (Ben), to the DJ (me) to the minister (Reddick Watson), everyone involved was a close friend of the couple. It was great to see almost all of my favorite people in one place. The ceremony was well done, the dinner was tasty, and the reception was an all night dance fest (thanks in part to yours truly on the 1's and 2's and in part to the never-ending dance machine that is Rhonda literally booing anyone who left early). It went exactly as hoped all the way around. The evening topped off with some well deserved fries and shakes in the parking lot at the 24 hour McD's. Who could ask for anything more.


With people still kicking around VT for the week, some of us decided to go camping. It might shock some of you that I know what camping is at all. I even know how to canoe (see picture). That's me not paddling when I should be. Someone's got to document the fact that I was there. No one would believe me otherwise. What you can't see in the photo is Gus lying down in the canoe. He was a champ. He had never been in a canoe and he couldn't have been better.

So vacation continues for another week here at The Program. Maybe this'll mean more posts, most likely it'll mean more Battlestar Galactica DVD rentals from the library. So say we all.

Sdtk: The sounds of the Pac-Man machine at Neil and Otto's. (I gotta get the internet hooked up in my apt.) Wakawakawakawakawakawaka....

I Miss Cable.

So, I don't have cable yet in my new apartment. I've really been jonesing for some Daily Show action. In the interim, I've been reading news magazines. That's correct, I've stooped so low as to read. I mean, it's not even like Harry Potter magazines where the pictures move a little.

The good news is that I ran into this article by my favorite regular Daily Show guest and all around smart guy, Fareed Zakaria. I HIGHLY recommend reading it. Do it.

North Of The Border

So, what have I been doing lately, you ask? Well, last weekend I went to Montreal for Clint's bachelor party. I'm not going to go into much detail about that. All 4 of you who read my blog can contact me individually for details, but I don't want to send up too many Homeland Security flags by elucidating what went on there in this blog.

This weekend was Reunion at Middlebury. Despite it's weak turnout, it was pretty fun. I saw some people I haven't seen in a while and we played a good show for all the alums. Let's just say Bon Jovi sounds good with the natural reverb of Johnson Hall. I also got to hang out with Gus (see below). That's always fun. That also meant I got to hang out with the ex. Unfortunately that was really fun as well. I sort of envy those people who have break-ups where they don't like their ex anymore. I certainly wouldn't change how well we get along, but it makes for a lot of sigh-able moments. Especially now that singledom has pretty much lost its novelty.

I'll leave you this week with a piece of Jimmy Dugan's sage advice: Always bring a watch with you to the strip club. Trust me, it's good advice.


Sdtk: Linkin Park - "Minutes To Midnight"

Return of the Feb Five!

So this weekend found me in New Hampshire at the wedding of my good friend Ben from the Middlebury days. It was a great weekend. It started out with a bachelor party on Thursday that consisted of Thai food and my first ever Red Sox game at Fenway. Not a bad way to start a weekend. Other than just being in Fenway, the game was a good one. There were a couple home runs, 3 diving catches, a late tie that was overcome by great relief pitching, stolen bases, etc. Schilling started the game, which was cool because how often do you get to see a future Hall of Famer pitch? We were sitting in center field and had a great view of the line that the pitches were taking. It got crazy when Okajima came up to pitch. His signature pitch, whatever it's called, was fun to watch in person. Even from behind him, I couldn't see where it was going to end up.

Friday we did the rehearsal and dinner thing and then met up with some of the early arrivals in Manchester, NH. The best part of the night was when we got back to the hotel and the night wound down into sitting around our room with 8 or so of my old friends just talking into the night. It was a lot like how our nights would end in college. I missed it.

The big day started with a big breakfast, some more hanging out and greeting of old friends and then bowling. Bowling? Yes, bowling. We hit the lanes and threw rocks! I got some inspirado from the great 80's station playing at the bowling alley. So, I'm at a bowling alley singing Cindy Lauper, drinking Dr. Pepper, throwing strikes (as far as you know), and playing Galaga in between frames. Throw in some parachute pants and it could have been 1985.

We headed back to the inn and after some trial and error figured out how to put on our tuxes. The ceremony was nice. Short and to the point. This was good considering I needed a Kleenex badly by the end. I'm man enough to TELL myself that I don't need a tissue for the ceremony, but not man enough not to actually need one. What can I say, I'm a romantic and Ben's a good vow writer (actually, he's a good all around writer, I'm secretly waiting until he gives up the world of computers and starts his career as a novelist). The reception was also a lot of fun. How could it not be. Some of my best friends and favorite people in the world were there. Some of whom I hadn't seen in a while. The wedding also marked the first time since graduation that the five of us febs were together. It was a special day all around. Every once in a while I would step back and smile, realizing that I know some really great people. People I don't get to see nearly as much as I should, so I stopped my deep thinking and just jumped back up on the dance floor and made like it was 1996 at 2AM in McCullough. The only thing missing was falling asleep afterwards on a couch watching Aladdin.

Next weekend The Program's wedding festivities continue with Clint's bachelor party in Montreal. Uh-oh....

Soundtrack: Bill Evans - Moonbeams