Old Man had its third and final show for October 2008. Or should I call it Rocktober? This was probably the tightest of the three and Jana was able to play the drums during the entire set with a gorilla mask on. Impressive!
10/31/08 - The Rudyard Kipling - Setlist
01. Undercover
02. Black & Blue
03. Cut My Hands
04. 1987
05. Run
06. One Night Stand
07. This Time (For Real)
08. Appetite
09. The Question
10. Lips To Watch
11. Available
Old Man played at the always interesting Highland Taproom on Saturday. We opened for Pagoda Treehouse and Dying Indiana. The sound there is always weird when you're in the middle of it, but apparently it sounded good out in the room. We had a bit of a rough start when we attempted a two person rendition of "My Blue Room", but things got pretty rockin' as the set went on. The next show is Friday, Halloween night at our old stomping grounds, the Rudyard Kipling.
10/26/08 - Highland Taproom, Louisville, KY - Setlist
01. My Blue Room
02. 1987
03. Run
04. Black & Blue
05. Undercover
06. Cut My Hands
07. One Night Stand
08. This Time (For Real)
09. Appetite
10. Lips to Watch
11. Available
Old Man had a very well received performance at the New Albanian Fringe Fest last night. I'm not used to having working monitors that allow me to hear all the vocals clearly, so that was a nice change of pace. There was a problem with the lights shutting off a couple of times during the set, but we took it in stride. All the Old Manses were satified and we drank plenty of the free, delicious, micro-brewed beer.
10/9/08 - New Albany, IN - Setlist
01. This Time (For Real)
02. Undercover
03. Black & Blue
04. Run
05. 1987
06. Cut My Hands
07. Appetite
08. Lips to Watch
09. Available
10. The Perfect Kiss/Tempation (New Order cover)
I set up an iLike profile for Old Man yesterday. It also created a page on Facebook. I posted the shows we're scheduled to play in October as well as three mp3s (streaming and for download) for "The Question", "1987", and "Run". Over the next few days I'll post more songs for folks to listen to on their iPods and other music playing devices.
What a weekend. Friday evening was fine. Allison and I were craving sushi, so we went to Sakura Blue in order to avoid the potential $70 bill that would have appeared if we went to our favorite restaurant, Maido. Three awesome rolls and $20 later, we were more than satisfied. The rest of evening was low key and spent at home. I played around with a receiver that allowed me to use my XBox controller on my laptop. Look out Team Fortress 2!
Saturday was Caturday as we took Zoe and Harriet to the vet for their annual check up and shots. We also got them microchipped just in case something crazy happened and they got out. They were fairly well-behaved while at the vet and took their shots like champs, the only real problem occurred on the way home when Zoe peed in her carrier. We gave her a bath (and Harriet too, since that's how we roll in the Brown/Cuyjet household) and other than the post-vet hissies, they were fine.
Saturday night we went to the Rudyard Kipling since my band, Old Man was scheduled to perform. Due to double booking, miscommunication, and sound engineering problems, we decided to pull out since we wouldn't be going until... oh... closing time! Instead, we went ahead and booked the bar for Friday Halloween night, so we're going to try to make it one hell of a night.
Sunday was pretty lazy until the evening. Around seven o'clock P.M., Zoe slowly crawled into my lap and started to whine and growl. She was telling me that something was up. When I put her on the floor, she slinked around and continued to moan. I called our friend Lori, who works at another vet's office, for some advice and then called the emergency hotline for our personal vet. One of the doctors got back with me and suggested giving Zoe a low-dose aspirin, which I did. Lori came over and took Zoe's temperature, which was high. She called ahead to her workplace that has staff there 24 hours a day and let them know that we were coming in. They admitted her and started to work on her right away. We left her there overnight and I was a little upset about not getting to say goodbye, but what can you do? About thirty minutes after we left, the doctor called and let me know that Zoe was running a fever of 105° which is about 4° over normal. They gave her some fluids and a shot and would let us know how she was doing in the morning.
This morning I went to work all worried and missing my little girl. Harriet seems to be doing fine and wanted to play, so at least I don't have to worry about her, too. The vet's office called me this morning and said that Zoe was doing a lot better and that we can pick her up anytime. I'm at work, but Allison is going to get her. Needless to say that I can't wait to see her when I get home.
I haven't posted in a couple weeks. Not that I haven't been busy, but its just been more of the same. I thought about posting about Sen. Barack Obama's speech last week, but what can I say that hasn't been said already? It was amazing and he inspires me. I'll take hope over fear any day of the week.
I posted the fourth issue of my fan fiction project last weekend. I'm still having a blast with it and those who comment on it generally have only positive things to say. I'm finally at the part where I can stop rearranging the house and start making the title my own.
Antony and I recorded the second episode of X-Addiction on Sunday and it's currently available for download. We clocked in a little over two hours, but we crammed in a ton of content. All killer, no filler. It's a monthly show, so I don't feel too bad about it running long. The regular Comic Addiction Podcast keeps trucking along every week. We've got some potential guests lined up to interview so that should be fun. I'm still cranking out about three or four reviews a week as well as editing other writers' work, so I'm keeping busy with the site.
Old Man has a show on Saturday at the Rudyard Kipling. I'm looking forward to that, but I wonder how it'll sound. The Rud had its PA stolen last month. I'm not sure if it has been replaced or not, so I'm going in this a little in the dark. I figured they'd let us know if we had to provide our own.
I'm still addicted to Team Fortress 2. I couldn't wait for the updates on the XBox version (due out by the end of the year), so I started playing it on my laptop. It's not as smooth (due to limitations of my computer) and I'd rather use a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard, but it's still a blast. You can have a game with twice as many people on the PC version, so it gets pretty crazy.
With the regular television season wrapped up and BSG on hiatus until 2009 (grrr...), I have a little more time to focus on my various projects (when I can pull myself away from Team Fortress 2 on the Xbox 360).
Old Man: The new Old Man line-up made its debut the weekend before last. We played in a bar that Neil and I had never performed at before. Melissa and Jana had played there before in other groups. It was loud, sweaty, drunken, and very rock 'n' roll. I loved it. The crowd was enthusiastic, too, which always helps.
We've got another gig set up at our old stompin' grounds, the Rudyard Kipling one July 1st. It's with a band from the UK, I think, and on a Tuesday night, but I'm sure it'll be fun. We'll probably use the same setlist. If it ain't broke...
Comic Addiction: I've got a couple advance reviews up at the site this week (another one pending until Chris comes back from his vacation). I'm also working on an article which is an overview of what the X-Men titles for the first half of the year.
I'm still editing reviews by other writers and co-hosting the podcast every week. It can be hassle at times, but I'm still enjoying the responsibility and the work. I'm going to Wizard World Chicago this weekend, so it'll be more comic book overload for me.
Fan Fiction: I'm still having a ton of fun with my take on the Uncanny X-Men. The first issue was well received, and I posted the second story last night. The third issue has been scripted out and is ready to be translated into prose format, and I've begun work on issue four's script.
I don't read much fan fic, if any, because it's usually pretty bad. People tend to replace the regular characters with their own creations or it devolves into slash/erotica. The other folks involved in this project with me have done a great job. I think it helps that most of us are new to writing fan fic, so we'll hopefully avoid those typical pitfalls.
nerd[heart]geek: I've still got the rest of the New Order catalogue to discuss (the last three albums and a single, I think). I'll hopefully get at least one review posted this week. Also, I'll continue to review the new Cure singles that come out on a monthly basis, which will lead to the full length album's release in September. Maybe I'll write and overview of their catalogue next.
Last night, Old Man had its first real practice in several months. The big news is that we tried out a new drummer. She seems like a good fit and is really good behind the kit. She seems enthusiastic about the material and is willing to talk to a friend of hers, a bass player, about the prospect of playing with us. It seems like we've started moving forward with the band, again, which is good... as long as the new practice room doesn't end up electrocuting Neil.
I've been really bad about not posting here on a regular basis. Comic Addiction has been monopolizing my writing "talents" as of late. I'm not complaining; it's been a lot of fun and I'm working with a great group of folks. I've even been involved in a couple of the site's podcasts, too (which is featuring intro and outro music by my beloved band, Old Man). In addition, I'm also attempting to write another comic book script. This time my focus is on an underused '80s property owned by one of the Big Two. I think I've got a great story idea and a solid handle on the characters. I wouldn't waste my time making a pitch to a major unless I thought it was really good.
No new developments on the my other comic book project: Daysleepers. The first six pages have been completely pencilled and two of those have been inked. They look great, but I can't help but get impatient at times. I want to have something to show some publishers in November at the Mid Ohio Comic Con.
Old Man is going to audition a new drummer soon. A young woman has expressed interest in playing with us, so we're going to give her a try. I hope she works out, because I'd like to play some shows, again. I'd also like to get moving on getting the record out. All we need to do is package it and mass produce it. Sure, it'll cost some money, but I think it'll be worth it. It sounds really, really good and I think people will really respond to it.
It feels like I'm in a constant state of "almost there" with all these projects. I'm not about to pile blame on anybody that I'm working with. Every person I'm collaborating with is a vital part of the experience and the end result would suffer without their involvement. I also don't want to come off as being pushy. Maybe I'm not pulling my weight. Maybe I'm expecting too much. I don't know. Erg. I just need to relax, I guess, but I'm too excited about this stuff. When I'm working on Old Man or Daysleepers or Comic Addiction, I feel like I'm actually doing something with my life. I'm not curing cancer or anything, but I'm getting a ton of self-gratification. That's not a bad thing is it?
This is where growing up Catholic sometimes really fucks with you.
It's been a while since I've posted. I guess when I've been motivated to write it's been for the comic book review site, Comic Addiction. I'm really enjoying exercising my writer's muscles, again. It's funny, when I was in school and had to write papers, I wasn't as enthused. But, now that I think about it, I didn't have immediate access to a word processor or computer back then, so it was even more of an ordeal.
TV this season has been crazy good. Battlestar Galactica's season finale was a total mind-blower. Lost seems to be putting the pieces together this season. It's slow, but things are really starting to fall into place. To top it all off, Heroes continues to kick my ass week after week. They did the whole X-Men "Days of Futures Past" thing in the last episode and it rocked. The summer hiatus is about to hit, but I've got the 4400 to look forward to. At least, I'll have more time for other things, like the band.
Speaking of which, I've got the last of the money we owe the fellow that recorded our album. I've left him a voicemail, so I'm sure he'll be happy to get his money and us out of his hair.
My band, Old Man, played our first show in over two years last Friday. Wouldn't have known it from the where I was standing or from the reactions of our friends. It was a fun, energetic set and the new songs seemed to go over really well. Now, if we can only get that record out...
Speaking of music, I've been listening the hell out of a few new albums. Besides the previously posted about Shins record, I'm listening to heavy doses of the new Jarvis Cocker solo effort, Damon Albarn's new band The Good, The Band, and the Queen, as well as the Peter Bjorn & John disc and the new one from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I recommend them all.
I finished the rough draft of the plot/script for the comic book anthology I mentioned in the previous post. I e-mailed it to the penciller last night and he still seems quite enthusiastic about the project. I can't wait to see what he does with it.
Lucky for Marvel Comics, Wednesday was a slow news day. As a result, there was plenty of mainstream media coverage for the "Death of Captain America". This led to a stampede to the comic stores and a swift selling out of, in many cases, the under ordered Captain America #25. If you look at Marvel's side of the story, you can understand that they didn't want to spoil the impact of the issue, and hinted as strongly as possible to the comic retailers to order high. At the same time, the comic retailers are cautious anytime one of the comic companies hypes up their product, and are now angry that Marvel didn't clue them in on the contents of the book. So, this left Marvel in a "damn if you do, damn if you don't" situation. They did overprint the book and plan a second printing, but the direct market is set up in such a way that the earliest stores will get new copies will be Wednesday. By that time, the buzz may have cooled off considerably.
My favorite bit of media exposure was on the Colbert Report. The man (and/or his writers) must love comics because he dropped all sorts of geeky tidbit during "The WØrd". A couple of episodes later, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada, sent Cap's shield as a gift. Hopefully, it will find a proud place on Steve's Wall of Democracy.
I didn't bother picking up Captain America #25. I buy comics to read, not to collect and resell on ebay. I'm going to wait for when the story is collected in the trade. Besides, he'll be back in a couple years, anyway. It's how these things tend to work out in the world of comics.
Friday evening, Allison and I went to the Brown Theater and caught a truly excellent performance by TV on the Radio. They ratcheted up some of their songs to give them that big rock show vibe. I loved their first album but only liked their second one. But, seeing those songs live made me appreciate Return to Cookie Mountain more.
On Saturday, we made a return trip to Lexington to visit my new niece. It's amazing how much babies grow in such a short time. She was also a lot more alert and squirmy. This time, my mother was in town, so it was pretty neat to see her as a proud grandmother. My other sister was there as well, so it was good to see her, too.
And finally, Monday evening my band, Old Man, moved into our new practice space. Talk about a workout! A bunch of amps, a set of drums, and a P.A. system gets kind of heavy after a while, but it was all worth it. The rooms that we are sharing with our friends Lucifigous Prick, are clean, well lit and climate controlled. Now, we've just have to schedule practices around the two bands, but I don't think that it'll be too much of a problem.
I'm officially an uncle now. My sister Beth has given birth to her and her husband Rod's first child. Little Illiana was born Tuesday evening around 7:00. Allison and I are planning to travel down to Lexington Saturday to visit. My parents are now grandparents. That's pretty weird.
My band, Old Man, may have snagged a swanky practice space. The best part is that it's free. That, combined with a couple shows in the near future will hopefully motivate us to get cracking, again. I really want to get our record out within the next few months.
