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On Saturday, October 22, I played an hour long set at a private party, locally known as Tonnapalooza. The hosts, Anne and Kevin Tonn, threw a party for 150 guests in their backyard. “It was good,” my daughter said of my set. “I kinda wanted you to play Satellites,” Isaac seconded. The occasion was so imbued with fall–colored leaves, tents, campfires, a giant grill–there was only one set of music for the event.

But perhaps I should back up a bit. The day before the show, my good friend John Gillespie posted a flattering review of my second album, The Lessons of Autumn, on Facebook. I’ve embedded the post below. I hadn’t had time to reflect on this record in a while, so I decided to play the entire album some 26 years in the future.

What a plus that John Gillespie also went to the show and sat front and center for the whole set. After the third song, “What You Will,” he asked, “Are you going to play the whole thing?,” referring, of course, to the album. I nodded yes.

A few of the songs were a little clumsy on my part, having not even reviewed them before playing them. Scott Carle, the principle organizer of the event and drummer for–I kid you not–all four of the acts at Tonnapalooza, helped by filling out the second half of Lessons with percussion.

At the conclusion of the album, I asked Scott to join me for some Collapsis songs. We also did a cover song by the Cure.

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I love playing private parties, especially when there’s a story behind why you were asked to play in the first place. On Saturday, October 15, 2022, Mark Kano and I performed at long time fan (and now friend) Chris’s 50th Birthday Party. His actual birthday happened a year ago I hear, but due to Covid and other scheduling complications, the party didn’t happen until now.

Chris told us before we set up to play in the backyard that the first song he played in his new car, you know, to ring out and christen the system, was “Automatic.” Dang, that’s a real honor right there. Thanks, man.

During the set, I felt compelled to share a short anecdote about the Athenaeum song “Different Situation.” Up until last night, I wasn’t sure if the tale was 100% true, but Mark corroborated the facts. Back in 1995, when the Green CD was making its rounds among A&R reps and the like, Frank Sinatra happened upon “Different Situation” and said it was his favorite Athenaeum song. It turned out that someone in the Athenaeum camp had family who worked closely with Old Blue Eyes and played the song for him. How much he liked the song and whether he was sincere is up for grabs, but the statement is truth, at least for us.

The party was a great time. We played songs from Radiance and Dirty Wake. Much fun was had by all.

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Do you like scary movies? I do. I especially like to watch them in October as the leaves are changing and as Halloween approaches.

This year, I scheduled a set of five horror films to be watched each Saturday in October. I’ve also enjoyed creating my own vector art posters as a way of reflecting on the films.

My posters and brief synopses of the first two films are below.

The Birds (1963) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Melanie Daniels meets heartthrob lawyer Mitch Brenner in a pet store one afternoon. She follows him out to Bodega Bay, but her lover’s game of cat and mouse takes a bizarre turn when a sea gull dive bombs her in the forehead. As romantic tension builds between Daniels and Brenner, the birds of Bodega Bay turn violent. First the birds attack a group of school children and then the public at large. Daniels and Brenner find safety at the Brenner house, but will they survive the night?

An American Werewolf in London (1981) directed by John Landis

NYU undergrads David and Jack begin a three month backpacking trip through Europe, but on their first night on the moors of Yorkshire, they are attacked by a werewolf. Jack dies. David wakes up in a London hospital three weeks later with newly healed wounds. Jack’s ghost appears to David and warns him of the coming full moon. As David settles in London to further recover, he wonders if he’s losing his mind, what with the bad dreams and seeing ghosts. As the full moon approaches, what will become of David?

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A month ago, John Plymale asked me if I would be interested in playing Joey Ramone at the Be Loud! Sophie charity show. I’d get to cover the Ramones with Jody, Norwood, and him–all from the legendary southeast rock band the Sex Police. And last night, the show happened. It was incredibly fun.

I have no idea how long the live stream of the show will be up, but if you read this in a timely manner, you can probably see it here.

We ran through the set a total of five times before the performance: four times at a rehearsal space and once during the actual soundcheck. I’m glad we did a run through with wigs and glasses. The jacket and wig made things much hotter than I’m used to. The sunglasses and lights made it almost impossible to see on stage.

The Be Loud! event was a great success. If you haven’t checked out the Be Loud! website to see what the organization is all about, you can access it here.

Gabba Gabba Hey!

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On Saturday, September 24, 2022, at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC, I’ll be helping out with the Be Loud! Sophie ’22 charity concert. My job is to pretend, to the best of my ability, to be Joey Ramone.

Several bands are contributing to recreate full cover sets of classic bands. Preeesh will be performing as The Police. What Peggy Wants will be performing as The Cure. The Sex Police & Friends will be performing as The Ramones. All proceeds go to benefit Be Loud! Sophie, a charitable organization dedicated to helping teen and young adult cancer patients.

I’ve participated in cover show events like this in the past. The Cult and The Lemonheads are two bands I’ve enjoyed recreating at other cover shows. It’s a real joy to step back and pay tribute to a great band in this way.

I’ve been familiar with The Ramones my whole life–I think everyone had a copy of Ramones Mania growing up–but, this past month I immersed myself in their records and live shows. Their arrangements and songwriting are much more complex than I imagined. Just about everyone of the songs we’re doing has either a meter change, a key change, or both.

This will be the best show in town, so be sure to get your tickets while you can.

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I’m excited to announce that I’ll be performing with Sex Police & Friends at the Be Loud ’22 charity event on Saturday, September 24, 2022 at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, NC.

More info about the event can be found here.

The Be Loud! Sophie Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to helping teen and young adult cancer patients. All proceeds from the show go to support Be Loud!.

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A tremendous thank you is in order. Thank you for supporting our video crowdfunding project. It was a lengthy campaign and we are delighted to have reached our goal. Raising $10,000 seemed impossible at first. But, with a little strategy, a lot of hard work, and a ridiculous amount of DMs, we made it. Even if you didn’t contribute financially, you probably told at least one person about it and that’s enough.

Over the next few months, we will be coordinating the final details for the video shoot, completing the final mix of “Satellites,” and fulfilling the project rewards. I love Kickstarter projects because the rewards fulfillment stage often creates compelling content. I’ll have two contributors on my podcast in the upcoming months and one of our backers pledged for a custom song. The project will culminate in the release of the video and the release of a new EP soon after. This blog will serve as a hub for updates, so stay tuned.

The project spotlight page is available here.