the ONE thing I failed to do in Portland...

was music. playing, seeing, listening (well, does the radio count?)

Portland, Maine is an amazing little city. I counted 8 restaurants on one block more than once. And every one of those gastronomic temples were full or close to full on a windy, freezing, windy, cold, windy (did I say windy?) Saturday night.

I had amazing oysters at J's Oysters (thank you, Tony Bourdain for pointing us in that direction) and some fantastic Portland Beer, pan seared gnocchi that ruled and probably too much Cabernet which led to the lack of music (Robert Randolph and the Family Band were playing around the corner from our hotel but between the wine and the exhaustion I just passed out)...

I have always thought of myself as many things. The ONE thing that I'm almost...embarrassed? nervous? to tell people I am is a musician. I play music. I write music. I sing music. By all intents and purposes I should be firm and resolute in my "I'm a musician"-ness. For whatever reason - I don't pay my bills with it, I am still trudging through "paying my dues" at the tender age of almost 35, the songs are sometimes too personal - I shy away from telling people what I do. At a recent doctor's appointment, when he asked "what do you do for hobbies" I said "whatever my kids like to do" and it dawned on me 20 minutes after leaving the office that I should have said "play guitar" "music" or whatever.

I'm going to try to...no. I'm GOING TO say it more often. Maybe I can convince myself a little better.

So if you see me falter or hesitate, tell me it's ok, ok? :-)

Ah February.

so, its Feb 1st, my brother's 32nd birthday.

it's (yet another) snow day - our 4th in the past 2 weeks.

it's also the first day of RPM 2011. AND FAWM. They are 28-day music writing "challenges." I hesitate to call them contests because although there is a bit of friendly competition the ultimate reward is the music itself.

That's an interesting phrase "the music itself."

After 20 years + of writing and performing music (I was 16 when I wrote "Believe" which I still play at shows now), some good, some terrible, some pandering, some way too far out there, some great songs done poorly, some sounding much better in my head than what comes out, some coming out better than perfect, the question arises: why DO I do this? I mean, I'll be 35 this year, and I know that Pat Moynahan from Train didn't get his "break" til about this time but I always was hoping to follow the Bruce Springsteen on-the-cover-of-Time-and-Newsweek-at-26 trail. What I have now is the music itself.

I love playing. I love writing. I love that what comes out of my guitar (and piano!) this week is MUCH better than some of the things I did 15 years ago. I also love getting feedback from people, from people watching, people downloading songs, people listening. It is sometimes frustrating to not have the success I envision in my mind before a show, but I have the music itself.

It relaxes me. It excites me. It's a part of me. It might be a cry for attention. It might be therapeutic. It might be a vice grip on my youth. It might be the most mature thing I have ever done.

So, consequently, I enter this challenge challenging myself. Will something awesome come out of it? yes. If I don't knock Ke$ha out of her coveted spot(s!) on the iTunes top 100, I will be merely mildly disappointed, but more importantly I will have harnessed that creativity and honesty that many people lose when they enter the "grown up" world.

My theme this year? Numbers.

Friday Night @ 303 Cafe, East Boston

what a day.

yesterday, as often happens when you have two kids, was exhausting...I got up early, went into school to tutor, came home to run some errands, make some dinner (which in all honestly was awful, and I never cook anything bad), and headed over to 303 Cafe in eastie.

Growing up in New York, I have never been to East Boston. In fact, I bet half of the people I know in Boston have never been to East Boston, except maybe to go through Logan Airport on their way somewhere. It was cute. And dilapidated. And trendy. And seemingly alive.

It reminded me of downtown Brooklyn a little - the Carroll Gardens area - where gentrification is slowly coming in, but there are enough stalwarts of the old school to keep it legit.

So, I get a spot directly in front of the place (i ALWAYS get a spot in front) and walk up. It's an awesome space, brick walls on either side, art collection hanging on the walls, huge open-air-to-the-street windows. The place had an excellent crowd, which was made even more excellent but friends new and old showing up to listen.


Now, due to a lack of communication (mostly on my part - never make assumptions! you only make an ass out of U and Umption. and poor Umption never did anything, did he?) it was a truly acoustic night, but you know, it was kinda cool that way. The intimateness of the venue allowed for the intimateness of an almost living-room performance, and I wonder if amplified music would have been almost intrusive to people's dinner conversations.

As Always, Casey Sullivan was great. Aaron Gage played a beautiful cello along with her. Casey's music is thoughtful, simple yet intricate, and mature beyond her years. (I feel a little bad saying that because I'm sure she hears that a lot, but she is AWEsome and a much better songwriter than people five or ten years older than she.) The only drawback to the quiet music and dinner-crowd-discussion was that she didn't feel able to play her quieter songs. Next time, we'll remember to bring the mics.

But, the intimateness allowed for a certain low-key casualness. After she played a set, I played a few songs and then Casey (and Aaron) came back up to sing a bunch of tunes with me. "When did you guys practice?" I was asked. Haha Casey is just THAT good. Overall, I tried to play the rockier songs to fill the room, but even the quieter songs were received well. And I think that when you have a bar/cafe in Eastie singing along with originals, you've done at least one thing right.

We had a great time and the food was awesome. Thank You, 303 Cafe. I can't wait to go back.

peace,
Dann

the set list:

Parking Lot Kings
Fortunes, Forecasts & Lucky Charms
Dreaming Without You
Waiting For The Dawn
Sigh No More (Mumford & Sons cover w/Casey)
Falling Slowly (The Swell Season cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
Nowhere Man (The Beatles cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
High & Dry (Radiohead cover w/ Casey & Aaron)
No Pain
Ruby Red Hair
Paris
Her Majesty Cry
Year
Don't Say That
It Seems Just Like A Dream (What a Day)

Week Two! (more or less)

ok, so in order to get my act together, here is week two.

It's the pitch week.

Anyone who has ever played wiffleball against me knows that I can hit a ton, but when it comes to pitching I'm just too nice. I like watching other people do well. I don't have the attack mode that a good pitcher needs. So I asked for help.

I put a list on my FB "band" page and asked people what they thought...I had a few ideas. And more questions than ideas. I came up against the "do you want to brand yourself using someone else's brand?" question. and I had the "who cares what you sound like if you can't tell people who you sound like" problem. And of course, the "Hey I sound exactly like Richie Havens." "Who?" problem.

but here are some thoughts that I wanted to share...some are a little more ridiculous than others...some are amazing...and some are "hey, what the hell? why not me?"

some goals I am setting for myself:

1. Play a show (open or headline) with a line outside the venue. before the end of summer 2012.

2. Have Bono or Eddie Vedder sing a verse of No Pain at a concert.

3. Induct someone into the Hall of Fame. (I'm thinking Dave Matthews or maybe Bon Jovi)

4. new CD by Christmas '10

5. open for someone who isn't a personal friend by next summer

6. run the 800 at the 2016 Olympics.

so, the pitch...

it's not wiffleball on 77th street, so I can't lead the league in doubles this time...

I can however, talk about

"All the power and emotion you can get from an acoustic guitar. I play fast and loud, I play quietly, I play with soul."

what do you think?

week one...the intro.

ok.

so I downloaded this book, "Music Success in 9 Weeks" by Ariel Hyatt (http://www.arielpublicity.com/ ) and I guess I have to start doing it. It's a workbook of sorts, step by step helping (I hope) with all the stuff I'm not good at...yet.

I mean, I'm pretty sure I can sing. I kinda like the way I beat my acoustic at 200 miles an hour. And a majority of my songs are good.

I'm going to stop saying "hopefully," but my faith in my strengths and weaknesses, and (whenever the kids give me a second) work on the book.

*raises coffee* cheers.

peace,
Dann

to honor the Holy Day

to celebrate (can you "celebrate" Ash Wednesday?) I was inspired by the TS Eliot poem Ash Wednesday and this is what I can up with (borrowing the first verse from Mr Eliot, natch)

Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Even among the rocks
Our peace in His will
And even among the rocks
Sister Mother Spirit of the River
Spirit of the Sea
Let my cry come to Thee

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how

Teach me to know and not to know
Teach me to be found
Everywhere I get to go
Every road and every town
Let me be the outward sign
Of whatever grace I own
Let me never be resigned
Far away or here at home

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how

It was snowy and the same time not
As I walked the aisle
100 people in front of me
Heads bowed just like mine
And the kids brushed it away
Like they’re trying to hide
Everything the preacher says
Played back within my mind

Won’t you hear me Won’t you listen to me Won’t you hear me now
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate Won’t you show me how
Won’t you lead me Won’t you pray for me Even though I’m down
Won’t you meet me And open up the gate And then show me around