You can check out Dan's site for his perceptions on the show we played yesterday. I had fun and it was great to see Casey from PDX + all our regular friends from about town.

The Eugene celebration parade was fun yesterday morning - virtually a duplicate of last year. Spent the morning behind the Kiva with Mark & Richard, Scottk & Laura + Jill Freemanguy and the Crusher + Jill Catino and of course me and Cosmo. The floats seemed to be not as good this year; my least favorite was the giant picture of Eugene's new classic rock 'morning guys' on KZEL. I don't even remember their names - Jake and Jerk or something - but it just seems so lame that they're just a couple of syndicated jocks from LA - so why put a 7-foot picture of them on a trailer and pull them around Eugene? (Plus, it was a bummer that Scottk can't yell "F**k Cyd and Mark" anymore!) For the record, I HATE CUMULUS BROADCASTING and I hope the recent FCC ruling that was overturned in DC will force them to give up their maximum share of our area's TV and Radio stations.

more later

Went yesterday with Cosmo to get him a clarinet for his first year of band. I know that might sound mundane, but he was totally stoked to get his hands on a new instrument and his enthusiasm was contagious. After the rent-to-own runaround, we got him a decent student model for the highly indecent price of $735 !!! Highway fucking robbery!! Next time, I'm doing my research and finding a used one. So now, it's all honks and squeaks around our house. He hasn't quite worked out 'Paranoid' but his C major scale is coming along.
I've been practicing with Dan J for his upcoming Eugene Celebration set tomorrow at 4pm 10th and Olive. With me on bass and Brian Gardiner on drums, Dan's set is starting to sound like a frantic mid-west Meat Puppets/Minutemen/(slightly)Wilco thing. I like the slower numbers better 'cause they don't put a cramp in my wrist. Come; see; hear.
Otherwise, life is unpredictable but slightly less horrible than usual.

I was stoked to find a nearly-new computer monitor at VOS for only $70 yesterday. My old monitor was really biting the dust. Now I can view the outside world 17" x 17" ...apparently, it's beautiful outside.
Zookie and I caught Bourbon Renewal at Mac's last night and marvelled at how long it took to get a drink in a half-full bar. Good to see Tony and Humper. Whoever their guitarist is, he rips it up on that trad-blues stuff.
Still helping Cosmo put together his art show at Feinstein's Museum of Unfine Art. It opens October 1st and I believe there's going to be a party on October 3d sometime in the evening with wine, cheese and Jolt cola (do they still make that stuff?) I really hope some people come down to show their support for juvenile creativity.
I'm mega-looking forward to the show I have coming up with Yeltsin at the Tiny Tavern on Saturday the 26th of September. Their website looks great thanks to Mary's web skills.
No conclusive dreams last night - I think I slept too well thanks to Black Butte Porter.

More later

Awake once again, life takes on the surreal quality of a dream. Is life indeed just a series of random, dissconnected events that we try to make some kind of sense of, or is it exactly what it seems?

Here's my latest dream:

8th and Blair, Eugene. I'm hungry; all I want is a burrito. Where Sweet Life should be , there is a row of run down restaurants. I walk in - it's absolutely filthy inside. The clientele are a surly bunch of homeless kids and mall rats. I think better of getting food there and walk out. Outside, I meet up with Chris Ross and he lets me ride his new invention - a bicycle that looks like a modified skateboard with two wheels on ski poles. It is exteremely hard to balance and I fall off. I walk across the street to meet Spirit. She's hanging out with Gordon Smith and his charming family. Spirit tells me that Senator Smith is going to be the new bass player for our band. It turns out he's really into Sabbath. I consider the possibility that my ex wife has turned Republican. Still hungry, I attempt to cross 6th Avenue; there's a train track on a bridge that runs over the street. It's very hard to climb over, with huge gaps directly over the racing traffic. I drop 1/2 an orange that I was eating onto the traffic below. Gordon Smith's charming wife shows me an easier way to get across using a ladder. I'm across and suddenly, I'm in my van, approaching an unknown mexican restaurant near an overgrown river bank. As if by telepathy, the woman inside the restaurant starts talking to me while I'm still approaching in my van. "You don't even have to get out.", she says, "You don't even have to order. We will serve you directly. If you would like us to, we will talk to you as if you were a woman. We will call you 'bitch'. We know what you like. " I get out of my van anyway. I am very hungry and just want to eat something. The restaurant is a diner-style burrito joint. The lady in the restaurant brings me an order even though I haven't asked for anything. It's a double burrito smothered in ravioli. She tells me it's $15.99 . I tell her this not what I wanted - I just want a burrito. Annoyed, the woman dumps half the plate into the garbage, fashions a very small burrito out of what is left and serves it to me. It's not what I want, but I eat it anyway. End of dream.

Don't forget to check out Cosmo's Blog! Cosmo Cole's World Of Horror

Yippee!! Another day!! I can hardly contain my enthusiasm!! At least I can count on a.)Coffee always being good and b.) If I stay busy enough with assorted projects outside of work, I can usually stay zoned out enough to complete my necessary daily tasks without thinking too much.

ScottK did give me a great report from the sold-out "Black Flag" show he and Reed went to in L.A. He put it like this: (used w/o permission - sorry, Scott!)

"Opening band Mike V. and the rats (with Mike Valleley) sucked playing stupid new style tough guy punk. Then Greg Ginn came out and an unknown drummer to play the MY WAR album,
along side a pre recorded BASS LINE! Mike V returned to the stage to play like Henry Rollins
and down hill it all went. I can barely continue. after 5 or 6 songs the booing from 4000 ex fans
of Black Flag cut the My War set short. 20 minutes later DEZ Cadena, Robo and Greg Ginn hit the stage again, and for a second I thought this might turn around. but no ...........
Stopping and starting songs along with the PRE RECORDED bass they pissed through all
the favorites, so half heartedly, trash cans, shoes and trash rained from the sky above,
the boos getting louder than the shitty AND I MEAN SHITTY sound system, they scooted off stage with no good bye. people  were in shock. 'Fuck Greg Ginn!' was the chant that echoed through the doors and out onto the street."

Geez! This makes me feel like I need to step things up if I REALLY want to start disappointing people.

More later

Love, Ed

Too many dreams to keep track of these days…

Yesterday was a fantastic futuristic/nihilistic dream straight out of an Ursula K LeGuin novel. In the not-too-distant future, a city of skyscrapers was overgrown with vegetation. Vines, trees and shrubbery poured over high buildings, which seemed abandoned save for the forest inhabitants that lived there. The buildings seemed very close together and jumping from one to another seemed to be easy.
At the start of this dream, I was in the undergrowth of a forest alongside a gravel road. The military police patrolled regularly for renegades (why? I don’t know.) Along with a friend, I snuck up on a military helicopter and stowed away on the outside of the chopper and rode into the overgrown city.
The downtown looked similar to Crescent City. I seem to remember the Bank of America. I made my way through a faux trail up to the top of the wooded skyscrapers and found a secret penthouse apartment that was dusky and old. Once there, I turned on the lantern and hid, thinking subversive thoughts in my little hide- a-way while the helicopters patrolled outside. I felt cozy and warm.
This dream made little sense to me, but the feeling was great – that good old "alone against the world police-state" feeling. Society was crumbling. Nature was taking over the territory that humans had assumed was their own. Plus, the vision of a nature trail that wound up and over the tall buildings was amazing – like seeing pictures of lost Mayan and Inca cities covered so completely that you can’t tell building from natural terrain.

This is what I daydream about while at my job.

Awwright!! Another Monday! Don't ask me why, but I'm actually in a good mood today - it must be the fact that I actually caught some sleep last night. I have to take my doggie in for ear surgery (and wallet surgery for me) in a couple of hours, which will mean more missed work (Gods of commerce, don't fire me yet!) but I've got to take care of my critter since she takes care of me.
I'm anxiously awaiting the report from Scottk about how the Black Flag reunion show was-did it measure up? Was there blood and missing teeth? Did people get called "Posers" for being middle-aged, ex-punks who were trying to be the badasses they were "Back in the day"? Only two or three people in this town will have the perspective to answer these questions, so stay tuned.

Cosmo has his own blog now!! it's kind of weird to think of your own kid getting out there in the potentially creepy world-wide web, but if you're not a pervo, then go check out www.cosmocole.blogspot.com . IF ANYONE GETS CREEPY WITH MY KID (i.e. gross emails, e-stalking etc...) I WILL MAKE YOU PAY. Back off, creeps! peace and love, Ed

Just another crusty Sunday... The debut of Giant Robot Head was kind of shaky. Too much spiked punch from the prom, I'm afraid; plus, the club was almost empty since everybody in Eugene seemed to be at one of the many insane parties going on. Still, it was fun to be making some new sounds and I've got a hunch GRA will raise it's ugly, digital head again.
The aforementioned "Prom" at T and K's house was amazing. The decor was out of sight - gold stars hanging from the ceiling and walls; cheesy 80's new wave hits being spun by DJ Sleeve and tons of beautiful people dressed to kill. I don't think I've ever actually seen so many people dressed up in Eugene ever. It was nice seeing many friends, especially Mr and Mrs Random, various band members and many other acquaintances. A gala event, to be sure.
Now, it's another recovery Sunday. My poor dog has a hemotoma in her ear, which is inflated and painful looking - hello, veterinarian + bills. I can't wait until I can put my pet on my work insurance plan. (Cold day in hell)

Talk to you all later

John Ritter was a man. John Ritter was a good man. John Ritter was, hands down, my favorite sit-com actor to ever portray a single gay man living with two Malibu bimbos. He will be sorely missed.

I suppose we all saw the imminent death of Johnny Cash coming, so I can't say I'm surprised to hear about it today. I'm just grateful the man ever existed in the first place and survived as far as he did into his life, staying creative and vital up until he died. Now, just as with so many other popular icons, we'll have an assault of tributes to Johnny in our various small and large media and interest in his amazing body of work will soar sky-high for awhile. With some icons, that might seem like cheap fanfare. But Johnny Cash . . . he really was on a higher level of humanity than so many other fallen rock stars. More sincere than those British Invasion rockers. More relevant than the entire history of punk rock. More populist than most world leaders ever will be. Johnny Cash's presence in this world felt like love.

Addendum: I will be playing at Sam Bond's on Saturday, appearing as Ed's Giant Robot Head , a somewhat Hello Lobster - inspired set. Makin love to soda machines the mechanical way.

Hello brain...how ya doin' / it's been a long time / nice to know ya / back before you were fried...


Suffering from brain rot this morning. I actually had fun doing a product demo at a store with (co-worker)Geri yesterday. Not as mortifying as I thought it would be. We just stood around feeding people and kvetching about work and life when things got slow. At least T dropped by and said 'hello'.
My house is getting appraised for a re-fi tomorrow - everybody cross their fingers for me. I can't wait to get my home remodeled into the ultimate rock and roll party house from hell. Boo-ya! Gotta get a new car, too - the Big Red van has been trying to commit vehicular suicide for some time now.
I may be playing a solo set at Sam Bond's on Saturday, opening for Binary Band (from somewhere? I don't know) 'cause Hello Lobster cancelled.
Still having withdrawals from giving up on glue but I'll be damned if I have to go back to Betty Ford one more time.

Back to work. Today, I'm doing my first "Product Demonstration". I suppose that forcing yourself to do new things and expanding your job skills is ultimately a good thing, even if it seems moderately humiliating at times. All hail the Product!
I'm very much enjoying the dark entrance of fall into our fair little town. I'm ready for some darkness and rain. Summer is like optimism and fulfillment; Fall and Winter are more like a yearly death and rebirth.

Tuesdays are the new Mondays. I think I made it to work on time today. Last night, T and I went out to catch NY songwriter Jesse Harris + another dude named Jonathan Hickelman or something. I’d seen Jesse some years back with a hot combo of musicians playing what I thought of at the time as being "Coffee-House-Songwriter-Rock" . this time around, it was just Harris + an upright bass player. Really good, Paul Simon-esque, literate tunes, but also BORING AS HELL so after awhile we left and walked through the rainy night home.

So, Wilco at the McDonald theatre was great last night. I was having a hard time standing in the crowd - an amazing turnout, actually; damn near sold out. (I remember friends telling me they barely had ANYONE at their last WOW hall show 3 years ago) The band tore it up with it's post-country, noise-infused rock. Some of the numbers were straight-up renditions from earlier albums. For me, the sweeter songs really hit the spot much more than the gargantuan noise-burger country stuff. I was heartily reminded of Dan Jones' while watching Jeff Tweedy do his thing - there are some undeniable simularities between their styles. DAN - GO FORTH AND GET BIG TIME LIKE THESE DORKS SO I CAN RIDE YOUR COAT TAILS!
Carla Bozulich's opening set was great, although I was hoping that Nels Cline would be playing with her (he wasn't). She (as far as I could tell) stuck to Willie Nelson songs, accompanied only by her electric guitar and some nice electronic drone sounds. 'Red Headed Stranger', her opening number, got a great response from a nearly full house. Alright Eugene! Way to finally show your support for some artists who deserve it. I hope you all spend your money on some of the amazing smaller-time artists and songwriters who come through town instead of saving it up for that next String Cheese Incindent show at Herbalife Amphitheatre.
Now, I'm extremely late for work and not at all feeling like going, considering I stayed up til the wee-wee hours of the morning. Beer, coffee and cigarettes. I hope they invent some new food groups soon.

So, things are rolling along; not so much rocking. All bands that I play in seem to be at a standstill at a time when I could really use the distraction of having something extra-curricular to prepare for. Gigs are elusive at present. I feel like I've crossed the threshold from Punk Rock to Adult Contemporary. Scary thought.Time to get back to the drawing board and start writing until something comes up. I'm presently finishing up "Forgotten Hits" , which should come out in November if all goes well. Still working up a tour with Pellet Gun for late October - I think we have 2 NW dates so far.

I'm mainly filling up space, as my brain is full and might start leaking if I don't turn on the spigot. See you all at Wilco + Carla Bozulich tonight.

The weekend is over. Back to work. The Hot August Ty Connor show was fine-what I remember of it. I'm just glad Mars was high enough in the sky to guide me on my crooked walk home.
Last night, Billy and Chantel hosted a Labor Day party, which I attended in a semi-vegetative state. After croquet and some food + drink I was feeling better. Mostly, I just hung out with Raenie & Patrick + Scott & Annabelle + Steve & Molly.
After viewing Mars through a nice telescope, it was time to go back home, this time feeling slightly less crooked.

Thank Jeebus it's Friday. I'm tired of selling selling selling product product product. Time to kick it with beer, music and video games with the kids. Cosmo and his cuz Steel spent the whole day goofing around in the garage studio, cutting homemade hip-hop tracks and scratching records. Some of the stuff they came up with is pretty hilarious. It is my opinion that all kids should be turned loose with noise making devices and recording gear. Footballs and frisbees should be banned, as should hot dogs and apple pie.
Tomorrow night is the Hot Summer Nightmare show at Sam Bond's Garage - several Eugene band members playing in one-off, made-up bands, one time only. I think I'm playing drums in the Unbathed and I'm pretty sure it includes Ty, Scottk and Waylon Spoden. Should be a strange and wondrous night. I hope to see you there.

Watched an awesome video on Charles Mingus last night - my co-worker Marta loaned it to me. Mingus was an amazing personality and an amazing talent. Very inspiring to see footage of him I'd never seen before + the footage of Eric Dolphy was quite cool. These guys played music like their lives depended on it - and in Dolpy's case, he lost his life for pursuit of bringing his music to an audience that wanted to hear it . (He was killed by racist thugs in Germany while on tour; he'd been threatened there on previous tours)
Seeing the amount of work these characters put into their music for little or no material gain brought to light the fact that, in this age of extreme commercial radio conglomorates gobbling up the airwaves in order to push their crap "Product" on a sea of anesthetized zombies, people seem to care more about shopping for clothes at Old Navy than they do about true expression and artistic genius... aww, who am I kidding. I'm listening to Beyonce' on the mp3 player that's in the pocket of my Dockers right now. See you at TCBY after I get my hair cut at Super Cuts. Ciao, baby!