I have been really enjoying my group vocal class that I am taking this term. It seems as if the other students have taken this class one or more times before. Many of my fellow students are apparently from the drama department and many are amazing singers.
In addition to singing in Italian from a vocal workbook, we each have to sing 5 times solo in front of the class during the term. Today was my first time singing under the scrutiny of my peers. I sung 'Long Black Veil', Johnny Cash-style. I felt I did okay, but it's funny how nervous one becomes when singing in front of a class of people paying rapt attention to your technique. Nervy, but really fun. I can't wait for my next turn up.

We had a really good time at our wetlands show on saturday. The Underlings' set went by in a flash, but it felt really good. Everyone stayed on track and played with guts. The fun was large.
Yoyodyne from portland were a good guy/girl power trio with an edgy, pop sound. Good songs and good arrangements. Worth checking out if they are playing in town.
The Squids and Dan kicked out their slippery jams in a Squid-like fashion. Dave's baritone guitar work laid a low-rumble oomph to their sound. They seemed really fluid and pushin' and the rock was felt.
Back to school, back to reality. Goodbye, bar dreams.

I have been experiencing anticipation and excitement for the debut of my newest Underlings. Tomorrow night feels like it could be an explosive and unique event. The energy level is high. My fingers ae sore from playing large amounts of guitar.
Today, I had my one-and-only guitar student over for a lesson. The hour before he arrived, I realized that I had better come up with something cool to teach him. I looked up "Travis Picking" on google and learned some cool pattern-picking stuff wit me fingers. Now, my right-hand finger-tips feel like they are about to bleed. I guess I got hooked on those new finger-picking patterns and I overdid it during the course of my day's guitar playing. Let this be a warning to all instrument operators out there: practice often and practice well, but don't overdo it or your fingers might regret it.
Also swam some laps at the pool today and went to work. Life is enjoyable in it's plain-ness. Every day is like unflavored yogurt; waiting for some fruit and nuts; waiting to be consumed by a desirous omnivore.

What a hoot!

Things keep happening. The repetition of events in my life is unnerving. Good and bad things happening again and again. Are all the players real, or just a re-creation of kids I knew in grade school? Is it all just some big maze I've been placed in by some cosmic being, and am I just a rat in someone else's experiment? What hoops do I need to start jumping through so that I might make it to the next level of somethingness? For the time being, I am prepared to carry on.

Snow Day! Snow Day! I get the day off from school and work. The little birds flit about the backyard. Dribbles of snow-plobs drabble off of the tree branches. Eugene is a much more pleasant place when it is covered with a blanket of white snow. The streets look pure and un-molested by leaves and debris. Small children are running around pelting each other's heads with snow balls. Today, I am grateful for nature's own slacker holiday.

A new year, a fresh start. It'd be hard to run down all of the events of the past two or three weeks, but I'll try to hit on some key points.
Our household has been enjoying our kick-ass new HP computer that Tina's mom and dad got us for Christmas. We are spoiled shits, I know. It's very nice to be able to finally troll the internet at high-speed instead of hi-speed. Hopefully I'll have more time to dedicate to using this computerized power in a creative fashion, rather than rotting on myspace, defending myself from the forceful, digitized requests of other "people"; entities in "bodies" that look out from "eyes" into some device called a "monitor" and, using punch-keys, try to input themselves upon my life via the internet. God bless this digitized representation of existence.
The Underlings have changed again. I have two new members in my musical army - Bryant Grace on drums and Dave Peterson on bass. Mike Z and Dylan did admirably as the Underlings rhythm section and their service to duty is duly noted, but I have parted ways with them. Bryant is a friend of mine from work and Dave is from the punk rock boonies of Dexter. They're both about my age and we all tend to dig the same kinds of music. Oh, and they're both killer players, too. Practice has been happening more and more often and I am feeling really good about the resulting sounds. I can't wait to share them with you.
School starts today at 2 for me, so I had better get my ass in gear and figure out what the hell I'm doing.
C-Ya,
Ed