Why? Why? Why?
Why is "Dream Not Of Today" everyone's favorite track off the record? It seems every person I talk to thinks it's the best song off the CD.
The reason this comes as quite a shock to me is the total jackass way in which it was created. In short, I never actually wrote the song. I was just messing around with Aaron's computer once he left after the first recording session. Trying to figure out how the software worked, I played a little mellow progression into the mic for about 4 minutes, making minute, on-the-fly changes here and there. Then I threw in the bass and a bit on the tubano and egg. Lacking lyrics, I just crooned along and read something a spirited bit of geek propaganda I had written in high school.
It all seemed to work together reasonably well, so I gave it a little elementary mixing and made it an mp3 for Aaron to listen to the next morning. In true Aaron fashion, he completely hated it, likening it to "the Enya crowd" or some similar newage hippie reference. Well, since Aaron didn't like it, I was putting it on the fucking record. And, as it turns out, everyone likes it.
But, the real catch is I never actually wrote the song, and thus can never perform it live. It was a song I never played before and haven't played since. I was just fucking around. Apparently I need to fuck around more often.

The show last night was most righteous. Much appreciation to everyone who made it out to this completely unadvertised show.
It's getting easier to play by myself, but as the beginning of the last show was clearly indicative, I'm still pretty insecure about it. I was mere inches from faking a lost voice to try to get out of it, but in retrospect, I am *very* glad that I went through with the show.
Moreover, with all the recent disappointments, sometimes the only thing that gives me enough encouragement to keep going is the smiles and laughs from some special girls that still sing along with my songs. It means more than the world to me.

Sadly, the news came in last night that Dr. Jim Johnson, professor of music at Hastings College, died of a heart attack. I'm doing alright, as I wasn't very close to him, but, unfortunately, I have a lot of friends who were. The manly musician qualities he possessed are reflected in every tear shed with his passing. Many are broken up over his passing. Words simply don't work at a time like this. Only solemn memory.

Although I might like it for one afternoon,
I don't want to live on the moon.
Some little bits of updating occurred about the site. Deleting portions of the site relating to Drew, and such. The goal, of course, is not to delete his memory or the indeliable mark that he made on the Shaft, but to, at least for me, begin the reality of the Geek Rock Revolution without him. It's still hard.
But, lots of things are hard. I'm ready for a real change.

There are lots of places that I'd like to be,
But none of them permanently.

I just got back in from visiting Shaft friends howie&scott in action at their CD release party. "Near and Far" is the name of the record, and it is quality by any standard of measurement. Check out the site, listen to the tunes, and find yourself smiling at the next show they have.
One of Howie and I's perennial favorite conversation is on the future of our music. The directions we're going, where we want to be in the coming years. Of course, we change our minds constantly and each time we meet up we seem to each have a completely different course of action than the last. Last time, for example, I was chastising him for wanting to use pre-programmed drum tracks in his live shows. Tonight I was telling him how I am using sampled drums for the recording I'm currently doing.
Though, I always feel jazzed for the future after talking with Howie. And it was absolutely righteous to buy their new CD. It is an exceptional moment for an artist to have a new, *professional*, with-shrink-wrap-and-everything CD made from the hard work and unpaid shows of long hours behind the guitar and though not a lot of people made it out, I could tell by their rocking that they were very excited. And all of us Fewer Folk should be. We can make it happen. Yeah.

Took a trip last night to Lincoln to visit some folks I haven't seen in a while, and generally escape the humdrum of Hastings. The evening was most eventful and a fantastic time, though I believe it is due in no small part to the very productive drive over to Lincoln.
The drive from H-town to the state capital is just long enough to be annoying as hell and not in the least bit scenic, leaving one to his own devices to find entertainment. Fortunately, the comrade who came on this trip was my associate Hobbes, a man of little shame and less conscience.
Driving on the way, we noticed that we were passing a lot of school buses. This could not possibly go without some sort of retribution, after all what were *these* buses doing on *our* Interstate? After a quick assessment of the situation, we discovered that A) I had a sun roof and B) Hobbes had an ass. With intrepid expedition, Hobbes proceeded to pop out the top of the Millennium Falcon travelling at roughly 85 miles per hour, introducing as many members of the Nebraska Public School system as possible to his windburned, white cheeks. Our success rate was phenomenal, causing the last two buses to actually *pull over* in the middle of I-80.
Sadly, no law enforcement officials seemed to notice our antics, though they were later duplicated by a 80s-ish Cavalier full of moderately obese women. They were wearing thongs, in case you were wondering.

I'm taking a fascinating epistemology class, and one of the things that we discussed today was really wicked. Dr. Bertland was speaking about a dude named Husserl who was talking about what it is like to experience things. To Husserl, tactile sensation is superior to sight. This has some rather serious implications, as when philosophers generally speak of establishing stuff as real, they usually speak on sight (ie I know the rockstar is real, because I see him rocking). The reason that touch is so significant is because of the two different sensations that one feels with it. It's sensory perception in stereo because on feels both the object and the effect that it has on your hand (ie I feel both the large metal spike going through my hand and the weight of it weighing down my hand). Life without touch is like a video game; one can see everything, but without touching it you are just an involved spectator.
I felt compelled to agree. It's after you touch when the desire begins.