MQ 2015 No.1

At 3:30 pm today (Friday) I headed over to Mount Wachusett to hike the Harrington Trail.

It was a perfect day, dry and cool. The hike took about 45 minutes from car to summit, and for a first hike of the season, it went amazingly well (most likely because I am 30 pounds lighter than I was last year at this time). At the summit I ate a white chocolate Kit-Kat and took a few photos. The trip down was about 30 minutes. I listened to Author and Pete Yorn.

Then I went to the lake to soak the pair of custom selvage jeans I got from Brave Star last year. I got into the inner tube with nothing but the jeans, and floated in the middle of the lake for about a half hour. They didn't dry before I left, though because it was too late in the day, so I left them in the trunk of my car until Sunday, when I washed them, and wore them damp for several hours.

It was a great day.

12 Years Ago

July Interlude: Day 6

text & photos later

July Interlude: Day 4

Today began as a day of sloth, and ended with a lot of action.

I had coffee & Pop-Tarts for breakfast, after walking across the street to buy ½ & ½. I watched "Gangster Squad" (pretty good). I built 2/3 of my Y-Wing LEGO kit. I drew a demon fairy. I had McDonald's for a late lunch after bringing Sabrino to his check-up (so far, so good!). I watched sports TV (surfing in Fiji, and "ATH" & "PTI").

And then at 8:30 pm I shaved & showered, and headed out to the Gardner Ale House to hang out with Mike, Pete, Jim, Dave, Ann, Nicki, Randi, Robert and Kim. What a blast. Our short haired blonde waitress was a sweetheart and hot, and I had the lobster quesadilla and four of the house XSB beers. There was live music -Audio Wasabi, with Johnny Snowpants and "Summer Songs. I am so glad I went.

July Interlude: Day 3

Not a lot going on today:

I did manage to shave my head, and read a trade paperback ("X-Men: Supernovas"), plus neaten things up a bit around the apartment. I ordered out for a double bacon cheeseburger deluxe for supper. Sabrino was obsessed with the mouse in the walls. And I added some music to my iPod Nano, including the remastered version of "Explorations" by Bill Evans Trio.

Oh yeah, and I did some drawing, and had a beer too:

July Interlude: Day 1

8 am Breakfast: a plum, a bowl of shredded wheat, and half a cup of coffee.

9 am to 1-ish pm: Work, and then it was a fantastic commute home, with a stop at my longtime local comic shop.

3 pm Lunch: cold fried clam strips & half a Pepsi, as I read several of the comics I bought, and watched "Restaurant Impossible" and "Bar Rescue". Then I read the latest issue of "Wired" magazine and watched "ATH" and "PTI" on ESPN.

7 pm Online Time: Listening to a new CD that arrived in the mail: Sansyou "When We Become Ghosts". I spent the extra dollar for the physical copy when I bought the digital version on Bandcamp. Lee cancelled for her slot at WPMF4. I'm looking for a replacement via Twitter. I added lots of new music to my iPod (well, mostly from my CDs).

10 pm TV and more comics: I read a big chunk of the comics I bought, and I watched "Friends" and "How I Met Your Mother" reruns until midnight...

New Music, Lately

Last night I snagged some new music from the following bands:

• 28 Degrees Taurus - "Vast Majestic" EP
• Gospel Gossip - "Atlantic Blue" 7" and "Drift" EP

The "Atlantic Blue" EP is also winging its way to me as a vinyl 45 as well!

WPMF IV

For this year's 4th Annual Wyman's Pond Music Fest I sent out invites to the alumni:

• Elizabeth Lorrey
• Almanac Mountain
• Vanessa Kafka

...and I am looking for two new acts to round out the event, which I am hoping has an 'after dark' element this year.

New Music - MBV

I just bought the new (it's about time!) album from My Bloody Valentine, "MBV". I got the special bundle, which includes the music on 180 gram vinyl (I am going to buy a really good turntable soon, I promise!), on compact disc, and an immediate download of the album in mp3 format. Sweet.

Offtober Day 2

I made sure I got eight hours of sleep last night, so I got up at 11 am (haha). I had cereal and coffee for breakfast, and spent the first part of my day reading the latest issues of Wired and Smithsonian in front of the television, as I watched the latest episodes of "Copper" and "Revolution" .

Later in the day I finally took apart my old computer and scattered its parts throughout my various trash cans. I also sorted a bag of old comics that Dad got for me from Grammy & Grampa's house. It was a ton of old "Archie" comics, which I will most likely give to Sarah's kids, as they are the most suited for them. I had cold chinese food (leftover from yesterday) for a late lunch, and watched some of the KU / K-State football game, as well as most of "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull".

I spent the next several hours listening to my iPod, reading & playing games online, drawing, and working out (7:00 - 8:30). I got some cool new music from Tipi Valley and The Dust Mice too. It's 10:30 pm, and I am going to shower, make Ragu over angel hair pasta & ground beef, and finish my drawing. Then I will most likely veg in front of "SNL" before bed...

New Music Monday

I bought some new music today:

• The new album from Saint Etienne "Words and Music By Saint Etienne" (I will be seeing them live at The Paradise on Saturday 10/27).
• The "Food" 2-song single by The Lovely Eggs.
• And "Mr. Dolphin" by Pale Saints, an album I didn't even know existed! I'm so happy about this one...

Day Three: The Mountain and The Guitar

Most of today passed by pretty unfocused. But I decided around halftime of the Patriots' sorry loss to the Cardinals that I would hike up Mount Wachusett, and kickstart the rest of "Mountain Quest 2012". I decided to go up via the West Side Trail as far as I could, and then finish with the Indian Head Trail. I got to break in my new hiking boots (resulting in a blood blister on the outside of my left big toe), and my new iPod nano as well (my descent was accompanied by the amazing album "All My Lovely Goners" by Winterpills). It took me an hour to ascend, and about 45 minutes to get back down, with a ten minute break at the somewhat crowded summit. I arrived at the top to find the new watch tower finally completed, which was cool, but the overly-loud 'expert' pointing out & naming all of the surrounding peaks to his companion was most definitely not. It was a great day.

When I got home, I ate the half chicken, corn bread and mac & cheese I picked up from Boston Market (now I know why I haven't gotten food there since 1999: lame service, and the rotisserie chicken at Hannaford blows BM's away!). Then it was "Date Night" (Carrell & Fey) and "The Great Food Truck Race", before breaking out my guitar to retune it, and mess around with it for a bit.

Kickstarter Stuff

A few days ago I received in the mail the download card for Abbie Barrett & The Last Date's second "Triples" EP. I redeemed it today, and can't wait to listen to the three new songs.

I also got the notification that my LAKE R▲DIO package (a t-shirt, an original EP, two cds, free digital downloads for life, and 'on the guest list' for any shows to which I am local) will be sent out shortly.

All kinds of new music, both live and recorded, plus a cool t-shirt! A great day indeed...

WPMF3

Well, it didn't turn out quite as I'd imagined, but this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest happened.

The Rafters (minus Miki, who was packing for her & Dave's trip to Disney World) played a great set while the sun lasted. Sarah Blacker (and her percussionist Sheesh) performed for an hour under the canopy while it rained. And finally, Kristin Cifelli played a handful of sings w/o plugging in during the downpour that followed. Chris (Almanac Mountain) and Elizabeth (Lorrey) were gracious enough to agree to perform at a later date, in either August or September, since the weather was ridiculous, and everyone had left by 4:30 pm.

Since the first two years were both sunny, warm and dry, the weather was bound to catch up to us...

There was a good crowd. The usual Oakmont suspects (Mike, Pete, Luc, Jody and Dave, plus Ann and Courtney); Paul and Nick both came from work, with their respective girlfriends (Tori and Anna) and friends; each of the musicians had at least one 'special guest' with them; and Sarah had two of her friends' families over with their kids. Relatives in attendance: Dad & Ma, Sarah & Jon and the kids, Holly and the kids (Kevin had to work), Ted & Wendy, Jeff & Jill and Lyndsey, Aunt Carol & Jim, and Jean Marie. Side note: Gavin drove down around 5:30 after everyone had left!

The Rafters

Sarah Blacker

Kristin Cifelli



The Royal Treatment

I got my Kickstarter package from the amazing Natalie Royal this week! Not only did I receive an autographed copy of the physical cd for her new album "Savor", but I also got an exclusive numbered (#14 of 19) EP of seven songs, and a personalized haiku!

Coffee drinker Ken.

Wish I were in New England

for his festival!

These Kickstarter projects are always worth supporting. Sure, you might pay a bit more than you normally would for a typical cd, but the bonuses (not to mention the satisfaction of helping great musicians realize their dreams) are always worth the extra bucks! Thanks again Natalie, and may the rest of 2012 be good to you...



Howth's About Music

I just got the Kickstarter package from a band whose project I supported.

Howth has a fantastic 'beyond folk' sound that just couldn't be passed up when I was scanning through the various music projects. So I gladly plunked down my twenty-five bucks for their latest release, "Newkirk", plus a limited-edition t-shirt and a hand-written thank-you note. The music is amazing (it will most definitely be a big part of this summer's soundtrack), the note is cool, and the t-shirt is a great bonus. Supporting local music (whether it is local to me or not) is always a good idea...

Day of Slack

I have today and tomorrow off, and beforehand I made a list of things I wanted to do and/or accomplish. Due to the rain and a general lack of motivation (it's called a day off for a reason!) as of 5:30 pm I have spent this first day in the following ways: planted in front of the televison and this screen; in my big chair reading (and dozing - I only got 5 hours of sleep last night); buying the next 3 Alan Lewrie Naval Adventures books that follow "A King's Trade" and POPGUN #1; downloading a free album by The Sorry Shop; drinking a lot of coffee; and eating some not-so-good Chinese food from a place that shall not be named to spare the "under new management" place any embarrassment.

11:30 pm update: More online time-killing; I cleaned off my art table; I watched my DVR'ed shows ("Around the Horn", "Whitney", "Survivor" and "Happy Endings"); had more coffee; ordered two custom 15 oz coffee mugs from eCustom; and did other miscellaneous Spring Cleaning. The clutter is steadily going away...

iHappy Part Deux

I came home from work today and my new iPod Nano was under my steps.

I set it up around 10:30 pm and immediately added some songs and albums, including stuff by Katy Perry, Chris Brown, Rihanna, Train and Copeland. I also snagged Sarah Blacker's two albums, "Come What May" and "The Only Way Out Is..." .

I also added Mojave 3 and Vanessa Kafka from my cds.

Let the hands-free hikes begin!

iHappy

I just bought an iPod Nano 6 with 16GB of memory. My old iPod is on its last legs, and I think this new one will be the perfect accompaniment for all of my hikes, vacations, and days down at the lake. Also, I had it engraved with my e-mail address in case it gets lost and is found by a scrupulous person. I should have it by next week, and then I can fill it with music, both new and old!

...oh, and I just snagged Sarah Blacker's "Perfectly Imperfect" EP too, which I added to iTunes, along with Casey Sullivan's "For the Birds" , which I grabbed a few days ago.

Random Music Notes

Here are a few music-related items from my life:

• I got the new Cranberries cd "Roses" and it's great! It sounds like their vintage early stuff. I snagged copies for Jay & Erik too, and mailed them off so they can absorb the new songs before we all go to the House of Blues show on May 11th.
• Kristin Cifelli has agreed to play this year's Wyman's Pond Music Fest! I think fans of the missing Vanessa Kafa will enjoy Kristin's voice equally...
• Other WPMF3 news: I'm still waiting for responses (either 'yea' or 'nay') from The Rafters, Barnaby Bright, Whitney Doucet, Winterpills, and Casey Sullivan.
• Last but not least: I just backed Natalie Royal's Kickstarter project. I am not a huge country fan, but she isn't traditional country, more of a folk musician who just happens to reside in the Nashville area.