The Kuch and my own UFO story

I'm deeply saddened by Dennis feeling he needed to abandon his White House bid. I know he is completely unelectable, but I for one love a guy who takes his own green tea out to breakfast, and then takes the teabag home to compost it. I'm not sure there's enough idealism in politics.

Danielle and I watched a documentary on Sargent Shriver last night on PBS, ain't no party like a Lakewood party...what a great man. I think people of my parents' generation realize that, but I think JFK and LBJ get a lot of credit in the history books that he deserved, and also that Dennis and Shriver are cut from the same cloth.

My mom and I talked about Obama's win in South Carolina this afternoon, and a bit about Dennis dropping out. Her candidate bowed out a few weeks ago (Dodd). My mom has funny fears about candidates and their electability (the spell checker says this isn't a real word, with the 'a' or an 'i'). I remember her worrying about Obama seeming like too good of an actor after he did a commercial for a football game a year ago which seemed as though it might have been his announcing his candidacy. Maybe a little more of real concern, she worried about the media talking about Dennis and UFO's forever.

When I was little, there were two types of kids in my neighborhood. Maybe not really types, but camps: G.I. Joe and He-Man. I couldn't respect anyone that liked He-Man, it didn't really help that most of those kids lived in houses that always smelled like their moms were cooking goulash in a crock pot. My bestfriend kind of road the fence, but at the time he was the best of the lot. I have a distinct memory of us lying on our backs in the field part of my elementary school's playground (he went to Catholic school), and seeing what I believed were dozens of UFOs. There weren't any lights, but they moved too quick to be planes or birds, and their movement wasn't of this world. Years later I would learn I probably had a case of vitreous detachment (a lot of eye floaters at once).

As for politics:

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger master of Texas?

A friend of Danielle's has a bigger interest in China than I do. He and his wife are there right now, or maybe just got back. On one of his previous trips he wrote down the words to a folk song that in large part lead to the songs I'm working on (writing, not recording) right now. Darren and his wife were asked the following questions when they spent a little time with an English class:

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger master of Texas?

I heard one of The Backstreet Boys died in 9/11 - is this true?

Do you think Alfred Noble traded in death?

Have you ever explained in front of The White House?

Can you give me a visa?

Tell more about Canadian boxing.

I heard someone disappeared the Statue of Libetry. Is this true?

Right now, can you write your family history on the blackboard?

What do you think of the movie The Big Liar?

How many movie stars are your friends?

We saw There Will Be Blood today, and were throughly impressed. The only downside was another movie-goer (I suppose in a packed theater there's always one). She had a habit of laughing at very inappropriate times, like when a character who had been deaf for years spoke...she also checked her watch with a flashlight every couple of minutes. She had one of those canes with four feet, and toward the end of the movie I was rising out of my seat to take it from her (my plan was to make her behave to get it back) when Danielle's cellphone rang. It stole all my thunder.

Space Cadet

There's been a bit of a plague over our house. The details of which seem to be more appropriate for little kids to discuss than you and me, so I'll leave them to your imagination.

You can't stop progress. I'm not sure that's true, but I wanted to say that work continues on the EP.

I've been a bit of a hermit lately, I didn't make it to any Christmas parties this year, we stayed in by ourselves on New Year's Eve, but I have been making a few phone calls to old friends, one of which and I talked a bit about how sometimes absolutely crazy occurrences have fueled amazing bands and recordings. I haven't pulled out all my crazy stops for this EP, but here's a little story with some listening recommendations.

Danielle was a big fan of Koufax (listen to Let Us Know) from way back, she introduced me to them. I'm not sure if we've missed them in Cleveland since, probably, we're discovering we aren't very good at staying on top of who is on tour (if you have a couple of extra Wilco tickets, Let Us Know). A few years ago I had a real musical experience (I know, it sounds a little kooky) at a Koufax show. I love music. I love art, books, poems, architecture and so on, but I'm not sure any of the others have really raised the hair on the back of my neck in a religious sort of way, actually, maybe architecture. Casey Prestwood was playing with one of the other bands on the bill, and sat in on a song with Koufax on pedal steel, and really just sent me reeling. He's been playing with Rocky Votolato of late (I still really love White Daisy Passing, which will always remind me of driving along Lake Champlain on the way home from an interview in Burlington). He deserves all the success and fame in the world, and he's going to appear on one song on the EP. Six different takes are on their way to our mailbox, I can't wait.

Ham-fisted

I'm fairly certain I finished my parts on the EP today...which included a punch-in on Love Poem to fix an out-of-time chord, and redoing the entire guitar part for the title track (it's a better title than song, but still a fine song).

I'm reading Geoff Emerick's book about recording The Beatles...he doesn't seem to care much for George, nor does he really respect GH's playing, which he refers to as 'ham-fisted' more than once. I think the same could be said of me, actually, I think 'guitarded' might be better.

We toyed with running some vocals through a Leslie, but after quite a bit of listening and scrutinizing, I'm not sure it's going to stick...on The Beatles theme, the idea was based on John's use of the spinning speakers on Tomorrow Never Knows.

Danielle is still recovering from a horrible Christmas sinus infection, but we're hoping she can record next week.

We saw Juno on Sunday, it was good. We've been quoting it a lot the last couple of days. Sonic Youth's cover of The Carpenter's Superstar is on the soundtrack...I've always loved the pedal piano notes on it...so I decided to add a few (3) to a little transition...and they're grrrreat - maybe my favorite thing I did today. Metrosync has an old rebuilt Steinway grand that sounds huge.

I had higher hopes for my own singing...there is some chime to the recordings we did with our friend Bob in our living room that isn't there on these recordings, but then again there is a lot that can happen to them still...