Prairie Fire Organizing Committee

Dear Elected Officials

2009-11-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

I believe the economy, foreign affairs, health care, the environment, education and on an on are all more significant issues than campaign finance reform, but it is becoming all too obvious that campaign finance, for candidates as well as ballot issues, is the flood gate standing in the way of the will of the people.

I urge you to draft a reform bill that is simple and clear, one that is accessible to the average citizen, and one that can be passed without months or years of debate and gridlock.

This is America

2009-09-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is America, and it is both our birthright to spend money we don't have on whatever we deem fit, and to make money off other people spending the money they don't have...it's our birthright to look at Bill Gates and see that the most remarkable thing about the man was that he dropped out of college, and look at ourselves and see that we too can drop out college, even if we're dropping out as a result of drinking too much and waking up every day wondering if the sun is coming up or going down.

A strange twist of fate.

2009-08-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

What seems like my first memory of Mike Skutt is him being called upon to do a dramatic reading of a call and response prayer from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle in my high school Modern Novel class.

Sometime ago he filmed a magic DVD. Actually, I think he's filmed a few.

A few months ago I asked Mike about the person behind the videography and editing, hoping to maybe talk them into shooting a music video for me. When Mike said they owned a production company, I backed off, I didn't really have a budget, and I'm not comfortable asking a person to perform their profession for free, I was hoping that they were a film student.

A few weeks ago I came across an advertisement by someone looking to shoot a music video for free. Ryan owns a production company and teaches in the film department of a local college, and was looking for a project that he would enjoy, versus the usual work of filming weddings and corporate training videos.

A few days after meeting at an Arabica, Facebook suggested Ryan to me, and our common friends were Mike Skutt and his wife, and it turns out that he had done the video that I had asked about.

We had our shoot yesterday.

Danielle, Bob Willey, Bob's girlfriend Mika, and I had our first show, so to speak.

These are pictures, not stills.

All things go, all things go.

2009-06-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Drove to Chicago.

We finished tracking guitars with Chris Bober at Chicago Sound Lab on Saturday. I have a song that I need to add a little bit of piano to, one to change the lyrics on, and maybe a few vocal overdubs to do. First I have to sort though the original vocal takes and see if there is enough to work with from takes that didn't make the cut as a whole.

Our friend Matt Schulz, one of my favorite drummers in the world (and my boy-crush), put us on the list (for the second time in three nights, thanks Matt!) for the sold out Holy Fuck show at the Empty Bottle. They really have me thinking about music in completely new ways, releasing tension at times with a heavy groove instead of just a consonant chord. The music I'm making right now might be too straightforward to incorporate it, but I'm taking on a new project soon, and I think there's a place for it. More to come on this soon, I hope.

Here's Sufjan on Morning Becomes Eclectic:

I was born during a Memorial Day parade.

2009-06-05T11:32:00.000-07:00

Danielle was born the next day.

The Cleveland Botanical Gardens were open without charge this past holiday weekend.

At times this spring I've become obsessed with popping dandelions. If I see one in our yard, I have to pop it, it's the rule. There were times that the jagged silhouette of dandelion leaves were burned on my retinas. Still, I like blowing on a puff of seeds, and even though I didn't capture that very well in this picture, I like it.

Sweep away your worries...

2009-04-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

I really hoped our friends Joe and Carolina could cast our first video for us. They're one of the best looking couples in Cleveland, and they met at the now defunct 80's night. All we needed was a single dancer.

Putting out some sort of casting call made me nervous, I didn't want to have to reject people on a couple photographs, or even worse, after some sort of dancing audition, not that I needed great dancing, the concept was based on a Mommartz film I found of a short of a mod-ish girl dancing by herself.

Joe and Carolina couldn't come up with anyone, but everything worked out.

Our friend Lauren (her band Chief Bromide just released a new album) did the videography. Stacy Candow shot still photography. Gina Mirto danced.

Oh it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you.

2009-04-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

We didn't drink sangria in the park, but we did have peanut butter milkshakes from Swensons afterward.

Most of our trips to the Cuyahoga Valley coincide with fall foliage, or snowfall. Until today, we've overlooked some of the more lasting beauty of the park for the fleeting splendors.

My poetry was lousy, you said.

2009-03-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

My parents kept the record player in the dining room of the house I grew up in. Most of the time the room was purely utilitarian, and all but a couple of the memories I have of it involve Christmas dinners. The record player, and listening to Donovan in particular, as well as once deciding I was recovered enough from the flu to play ping pong and discovering I wasn't, are about all I can come up with.

My love of Dylan came from my dad, The Beatles too, but by the time I was digging through his record collection, it had spent too much time in an attic in Ohio, and most of it was warped.

My mom on the other hand has at times questionable taste. A fair number of Christmas dinners were eaten with new age versions of carols in the background, but she has moments of clarity too. Tim Buckley, Leonard Cohen. We saw Joan Baez with her on Saturday.

Joan was great. Besides Dylan, she covered John Lennon, The Carter Family, Elvis Costello, and Donovan. I would have left happy having only heard Diamonds and Rust.

My favorite YouTube videos are usually taken from live television performances from Europe. I can't quite embrace home movies made at concerts. I searched and search, and before finding the right version to post, I also found that Judas Priest covered my favorite Joan song. I've never really listened to JP, and even knowing they took their name from a Dylan song, it surprised me. I wonder if the shred bands that covered JP's version and posted their clips knew where the song originally came from.

This is Rock & Roll

2009-01-25T10:18:00.001-08:00

There is no way you won't be disappointed if you stop watching before it's over.

Don't bother concealing your thievery

2009-01-15T16:38:00.001-08:00

This isn't the first thing I've stolen from Even Cleveland. Danielle recommends it for Clevelanders and nonClevelanders alike.

Love is a burning thing.

2009-01-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

Danielle's worst nightmare involves having her teeth smashed out. Sometimes I dream that I'm mysteriously missing a tooth, but I never know why.

Figuratively, my worst nightmare might involve a never-ending episode of Laurence Welk.

The Cincinnati Pops opened a new performance center in the first months of my first year of college, and in true Welk-fashion the grand finale was the Pops playing 76 Trombones , which they brought in part of my college marching band for (I didn't get a choice about being in the marching band).

Ray Charles played a few of his most recognizable songs too, but he didn't play this:

I wrote a simple song.

2009-01-09T04:15:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't kid myself, everything I write is simple. Billy Preston, on the other hand, is a damn liar.

We started recording maybe our simplest song yet last night. Danielle also tracked new vocals, and we continued tweaking mixes, most notably of the trumpet parts on Emptiness Swallows Heaven and Earth. Three new versions of songs are up in the player.

Those funny little plans that never work quite right...

2009-01-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

"When the Beatles were depressed-thinking the group is going nowhere, and this is a shitty deal, and we're in a shitty dressing room-I'd say, 'Where are we going, fellas?' And they'd go, 'To the top Johnny!' And I'd say, 'Where's that fellas?' and they'd say, 'To the toppermost of the poppermost!' and I'd say 'Right!' Then we'd all sort of cheer up."

A few days before Christmas marked a year of recording for us, but that's deceptive. For the most part, it's been a few hours here and there, and waiting for the mailman to bring new parts from elsewhere, or paychecks to cover expenses.

Everything was inspired by Richard Brautigan, and in no small part, Jimi Hendrix (really), and almost everything was guitar driven, most of it by the same strumming pattern that everyone uses for six/eight. Our first sketches of the songs didn't have any bass (although Chris played bass lines on a 7-string guitar), and only one song had drums.

I read a lot about the music industry. I'm not sure if Napster and Kazaa really killed it, but even if they did, I still think Lars Ulrich prick. That said, confronted with the numbers for pressing and printing, as well as distribution, I'm pretty sure that there's no way I could make an EP work.

In June we started recording 6 more songs, so we could release an album. I'm not sure we have an album. The difference between songs written when there were no plans for them, and songs written when you know you'll be supported by the kind of players we've been lucky enough to surround ourselves with is a lot of distance to close.

I'm focused on the full length, with the latest recordings, but two nights from now we'll be in the studio starting the recording of songs that will flesh out the album.

I suppose delays are inevitable. I hope it all proves worth the wait.

This is the New Year (Bandido Americano)

2009-01-01T06:56:00.001-08:00

New Year's Eve has never meant much to me, I only really have a clear memory of one of mine. My parents took me and my brother to a hibachi restaurant where I was convinced every woman at our table was a prostitute, before dumping us off on a cousin who took us to screening of short animation films, most of which may have been pornographic. Back at the hotel, Oliver and I fought a lot, probably over what to watch on television, so I went downstairs and sat outside a ballroom where people were doing the electric slide, and women who should have known better justified offering me drinks because it was New Year's. I couldn't have been more than twelve.

I remember my friend Bob's New Year's (the year 2000?) better than my own. He got up early and went to airport to watch the sunrise.

Bob's a lot cooler than I am. He did a remix of a Sound of Arrows song that ended up getting used on Gossip Girl, and he didn't even know what the show was (although he has been living in Japan the entire time it's been on - listen to his own music at Bobcat).

I resoluted last night to watch the sunrise over Cleveland from Lakewood park this morning. Some of the pictures turned out a little like a Mark Rothko painting, and probably better than seeing the sunrise in person.

One other person came down to the park. I'm not sure if they didn't want to jump the chainlink fence (which I learned today isn't that easy to do with snow boots on), or if I scared them, I kind of looked like a crazy Vietnam veteran with my militaryesque coat and scarf across my face. I know I looked nothing like him, but for a second I thought about Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy in Bolivia.

I saw the sun rise over the ocean, from a plane once. With the curve of the earth, the night sky was still starry and dark towards the back of the plane, with a perfect sun rise in front. It wasn't that far off of pictures from space, I'm not sure any other sun rise will ever compare.

Salvation is Created

2008-12-27T09:36:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school, my family hosted a few kids from the St. Olaf's College Choir after a concert. This footage is from much earlier, but one of my favorite pieces, and it can certainly transcend time and haircuts.

Angel Trumpets and Devil Trombones

2008-12-13T20:23:00.001-08:00

My dad had a trombone in the attic when I was growing up. I didn't really want to play it, but my parents weren't sure I was the kind of kid that would stick with an instrument.

The trombone was good to me. I'm not sure I would have made it into a music program for college with an instrument that more people play, and I certainly wouldn't have had the opportunities that I had.

Mozart said the trombone is the voice of god. He could have been right, but for this project I like the trumpet better.

Alex Schecter recorded a few tracks for us today, on a song (Emptiness Swallows Heaven and Earth) that I posted for the first time in any form today. I left the studio before we had a chance to reference the mix on regular speakers, and there are going to be some adjustments that need to be made, but it's going to be great.

And I’ve become what I thought was dumb (dumb).

2008-12-04T17:08:00.001-08:00

If I were truly paranoid, I'd probably think Doug Martsch was thinking about me a lot. There's something in the way he captures his contempt for other people's shortcomings that matches up with my fears of what people think of me.

Best not talk too loud, you're not as smart as you require of them

Most of my fears are entirely irrational. In middle school I always raised my hand to read aloud, hoping to prove I wasn't illiterate to any of my classmates that might think that.

Summers home from college I thought I could feel myself losing my faculties, I thought I could sense myself talking slower, almost as if I was out of practice. It's an unsettling sensation I had again a few days ago.

Here's a clip of Elliott Smith covering Built to Spill:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw0WcjNjzy8

November 4th, 2008

2008-11-06T13:20:00.001-08:00

If I was Herman Blume, and Max Fischer offered me a choice of his pins for punctuality or perfect attendance, punctuality might suit me marginally better.

The first pass of Election Day canvassing was scheduled for half past nine. The goal was to knock on every door in Lakewood belonging to a person whom the campaign had identified as either a'soft supporter' or 'sporadic voter' three times before the polls closed at seven thirty. I arrived about ten.

Campaign headquarters are strange places, at least on the democratic side. They always pop up in storefronts that can be had on the cheap, places where the plaster is falling off the walls, and the floors are unfinished. Everything is temporary, they're furnished with card tables and folding chairs, and in my experience, they never have cable tv.

The rabbit ears on the television wouldn't pick up PBS, and the networks were still airing soap operas when I set out on my third canvass in the mid afternoon. My only sense of how the day was unfolding was first person. Very few of the doors I knocked on were answered, though all but two people that I spoken with had already voted. I had walked past only one polling location; there were no lines out the doors, which I couldn't come to a conclusion on how I should feel about. Part of me wanted to see an unprecedented turnout, and part of me feared long lines would cause would-be voters to have to abandon their efforts. I did see a car full of what looked like college students ambushing a stranger in the parking lot to take a picture of them getting ready to cast what I'd assume were their first presidential votes ever, instead of 'cheese', they proclaimed 'Obama'. If I had to guess, I'd say the photographer wasn't about to vote their way.

Earlier in the campaign season I developed a few voyeuristic habits while canvassing, nothing criminal or immoral. It started with looking for political bumper stickers on the cars in the driveway, or looking for a network logo if the news was .. hundreds of doors knocked on, and thousands walked past (many with yard signs), I developed a pretty good eye for picking up political leanings based upon such things as the type of Halloween decorations on display. On Novermber 4th, nothing gave me much sense of how things might be going.

As divided we as a nation are, particularly during campaign seasons, there's also a solidarity among the supporters of the candidates or causes. Many nights walking home from the headquarters someone I'd pass on the street, or waiting at a bus stop who would say Obama's name out loud after seeing my shirt, or a button on my jacket. Usually I wouldn't even break stride, I'd just say his name back, or clench a fist and raise my forearm a little.

For some reason on that third canvass, when I saw an elderly black man walking to his car, wearing the same 'canvasser' pin that I had on, I called out to him. I hoped for some news, his experience at the polls that day, or maybe even something journalistic, though I knew that the major networks were holding their exit polling results for a few more hours. What he told me had something entirely different to do with the day. As I crossed the street to greet him, a police badge clipped to his belt caught my eye, and after exchanging pleasantries, he pulled back his jacket to show me his shirt. Worn, and faded to a dull blue, it had the insignia of the Capitol Police embroidered on the left breast. Years earlier it had been his position at times to guard not only the chambers of Congress, but the members. At times he had been assigned to personally guard Strom Thurman.

I am not in a position, by skin color, or even age, to truly comprehend the struggle, nor can I say that November 4th, 2008 was a culminating event. I did not work for Barack Obama because of his race, but because of my perception of his abilities, judgement, and values. When the polls closed on the west coast, I did however feel a sense of pride in my country and countrymen that I had not in some time.

Shake It Off (not a Mates of State post)

2008-11-03T09:49:00.001-08:00

Ten days ago or so when I went to see President Clinton speak, I got there an hour early and ended up in the front row. Actually, I ended up behind the barricade for a few minutes when the organizers needed a little help setting up canopies in what was a strong wind coming off Lake Erie (another kid and I were selected by the Secret Service).

I knew it would be different for Barack and Bruce Springsteen yesterday (John Kerry ended his campaign four years ago in Cleveland, with The Boss, and drew an estimated 50,000, and Kerry certainly didn't inspire like Obama does).

We took the train downtown, which is important to this story for a couple of reasons. The first is that we by chance met Joe from Saint Ohio on the platform. They're great, so open them in another tab and listen to them while you read the rest of this.

The second reason is that it gave me the title. Besides Barack's rally, there was a home Browns game. Had hoped to beat a few people to the line for the rally by taking the Waterfront line to the Rock Hall, which meant we went right past several parking lots of tailgating football fans. For a second it looked as though one particular fan was mooning us, but it turned out she was just urinating behind a bridge pylon, hidden from view from her friends, but aimed right at a packed train.

I really wish I had video taped the walk to the end of the line to get into the rally, which I read one estimate had at nearly a mile long (I personally would have guessed much longer).

In the end, we didn't every make it to the security gate, we ended up in an overflow area from which we could see the stage, as well as a jumbotron. I didn't get any pictures worth posting, it was dark by the time the things really got started, and Bruce and Barack were between us and the world's brightest light. Here's a couple that I found this morning:

The speech was more policy than I would have expected, 36 hours before the polls start closing. My favorite moment however was when Barack asked for a show of hands of those making less than a quarter of a million dollars a year, and told Bruce not to raise his hand.

Old Brown Shoe

2008-10-29T20:46:00.001-07:00

Ramona victimized my favorite pair of shoes a few months ago. She ripped out one of the tongues, and made it her baby. She had to have it under her chin when napping.

I kept wearing the shoes like my second skin, until Barack did them in last week with a cracked sole.

I knocked on 55 doors yesterday, and 82 tonight.

Starting with tonight's canvass I'm not resetting my pedometer until after my last Get Out The Vote effort on the 4th.

Visit BarackObama.com to find out how you can help.

Pinkertons!

2008-10-26T18:03:00.001-07:00

We packed up the dog and headed for Danielle's parents' house yesterday, we were over due for a visit, but we also wanted to make a final pitch to her mom for Barack.

I don't know if we were successful, we were up against a lot. Danielle's great-great-grandfather was once the mayor of the town she grew up in, and his legacy is calling in the Pinkertons to break a strike of steel workers. It's not just bloodlines, a sign with the ten commandments on it is displayed in the front yard, and abortion is a big issue.

On our side, we took Sicko as a discussion starter.

My mother-in-law works in a factory, her last annual raise was a nickel an hour, and her employee share of her health insurance went up significantly, leading to take-home pay that is not only less than last year when adjusted for inflation, or the cost of living, but less in terms of the actual dollar amount on the check - all this while the owner has recently bragged about record profits.

One of the extras on the Sicko dvd is about Norway, a reaction to the Sean Hannity's of the world crying about the horrors of socialized medicine and European socialism in general. Danielle's mom and I talked about education too, in particular, the free higher education of many European countries, she worried out loud where employers would find cheap labor if everyone had an opportunity to earn a college degree.

How did the workers of this country, those who see their paychecks go down, come to have concerns for their employer's ability to find cheap labor when they themselves are unable to take a hot shower, or cook on their stove for having fallen too far behind on their gas bills and having it shut off months ago.

A fluff piece.

2008-10-24T18:05:00.001-07:00

According to the latest filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night, the McCain campaign's highest paid employee for the first half of October was celebrity make-up artist Amy Strozzi ($22,800 for two weeks), who travels with Governor Palin.

By contrast, Randy Scheunemann, McCain's Chief Foreign Policy Adviser, made under $13,000 over the same time period.

In my opinion, these things aren't the things that should decide a person's vote, but I don't think that's what McCain wanted us to think a few months ago when he was running his 'Celebrity' ads.

This comes from the ladies at Bust magazine.

2008-10-23T11:52:00.002-07:00

Give some thought to voting early (you can find out where at VoteForChange.com). Voting early does a number of things, most importantly ensuring you will get a vote. I say this because I recently read that one of the largest counties in Ohio only ordered as many ballots as they did in 2004, despite all predictions of record turnout.

Voting early will also help reduce lines for other people, and hopefully help discourage people from leaving the lines (I've talked to people on my canvasses that waited as long as 3 hours to vote in 2004).

"I felt like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest"

2008-10-23T11:52:00.001-07:00

A long time ago I posted a blog about childhood vision problems and Dennis Kucinich, which I linked by UFO stories. It got picked up by some UFO enthusiast webpage, and my blogspot blog went from a dozen or so views a day to several hundred for a day or two.

The subject line is a quote I read the other day from a pilot in the 1950's that got orders to fire on a UFO. I read it on cnn.com, I'm not UFO crazy.

Below is the complete interaction between Barack Obama and 'Joe the Plumber'. It's not an ass-kicking, but I couldn't come up with a better title, what it is is Barack clearly laying out his rationale for his taxation plan in terms that make a lot of sense.

Do you think Barack Obama is circumcised or uncircumcised?

2008-10-12T16:36:00.001-07:00

I didn't think of that question myself, David Sedaris did.

Some of the most compassionate, thoughtful, and loving people I know are republicans. I know the people in this video don't represent all republicans, nor do I believe in any way they could be convinced to vote for Barack Obama.

Regardless of political affiliation, I hope that disturbed you.

If you are a supported of Senator Obama, please consider adding Barack's myspace you haven't already, and putting him in your top friends. In past elections I've discounted the value of yard signs, and even canvassing, but I recently heard a report on NPR about how both are helping Obama/Biden in areas where race may be an issue, because people see it as their neighbors vouching for Obama.

Also, I recently set up a fundraising account for Obama/Biden. The money goes directly to the campaign, and not through us in any way. I set the goal at an incredibly reasonable total of $250.00, to encourage small donations.