Archive for March 2005

To catch up a little with my blogging, here are just a few highlights from the past few weeks:

• Playing a really fun show with Eric @ Mother Fool’s in Madison
• Seeing the Wisconsin Dells for the first time driving around at two in the morning during off-season
• Bottle of wine at the top of the Hyatt in downtown Dallas (the one with the big ball on top)
• SXSW — seeing Michelle Shocked, Harvey Sid Fisher and the Ditty Bops, among others
• Seeing Mama, Lucie, Marshall, Lilly, Lindy, Mimo, Uncle Dan, Lee & Lisa… anybody else I forgot?
• My own SXSW showcase
• Feasting w/ Eric @ Golden Corral in Texarkana
• Back in Chicago, seeing Blackbird’s Patty Red Pants at the Chopin
• A wonderful lazy Easter weekend with you-know-who, starting with an off-the-cuff dinner at Mi Tierra

Low point of our Austin trip: Taking Eric to the top of Mount Bonnell and finding a BUILDING under construction up there, WTF!?!?

Tonight (=last night) we saw the movie Heat at the Gene Siskel Center. Fuckin’ awesome — almost three hours long but I never thought about the time.

A review by Stephanie Holmes that appeared in today’s Monitor…

A lovefest at this year’s South by Southwest

(…) Two of my favorite showcases Saturday were by homegrown Texans, Edith Frost and this year’s SXSW superstar Daniel Johnston. (…) With her ponytail and simple clothing, Frost, a traveling singer based in Chicago, comes off as a quiet country girl with a voice for duets. Her older duets with Jason Molina (Songs:Ohia) and Mark Kozelek’s solo work are my favorite.* (…) When she is on stage playing songs from her three Drag City records and others she’s collected along the way, she takes command, searing through songs and burning holes in your heart. (…) The oddest thing about these two fabulous Saturday shows is that both venues were packed but neither had long lines. (…) I have no idea why people did not turn out in droves for Frost, but I know that Johnston had so many showcases that there were ample opportunities to catch him. (…)

* I’ve never sang with Mark Kozelek. Never even met the guy.

Are you bored ‘cuz I haven’t blogged in so long?  I’ll get around to it, presently.  In the meantime read a little Succinct News, it’s pretty hilarious.

SXSW showcase at Latitude 30
512 San Jacinto St., Austin, TX 78701
21+

My band: Via Nuon (guitar), Ryan Hembrey (bass), Jason Toth (drums)

Lineup:
8pm  Faceless Werewolves
9pm  Novillero
10pm Sluts of Trust
11pm Manishevitz
12pm Edith Frost
1am  The Shells

Daytime show: Chicago Pop Renaissance Party
Held from 1pm to 6pm at MOMOs Club
Upstairs above Katz’s at 618 W. 6th St., Austin, TX 78701

My band: Via Nuon (guitar), Ryan Hembrey (bass), Jason Toth (drums)

Lineup:
1:10 pm - 1:50 pm  Head of Femur
2:00 pm - 2:40 pm  Manishevitz
2:50 pm - 3:20 pm  Edith Frost
3:30 pm - 4:10 pm  Canasta
4:20 pm - 5:00 pm  Grizzly Bear
5:10 pm - 5:50 pm  Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

Solo show at Blayney’s
415 Westport Rd., Kansas City, MO 64111
AMERICANA MONDAYS Series: Free show, 21+, 9:30p
With Eric Ziegenhagen opening and The Gas Lights hosting / headlining

Hey y’all!  We’re in Minneapolis about to head to Kansas City, I haven’t had a chance to blog until now.  I’m feeling pretty good thank god, yaayyyyy.  We had a great show in Madison at Mother Fool’s, I love that place.  They were so welcoming and the audience was so great, we felt right at home.  Last night at the Bryant Lake Bowl was fun too, though we didn’t draw enough people to make any money.  I think pretty much everybody there but maybe two people were there to see Eric, since he’s from here.  Lucky for me they all stuck around for my set — or maybe some left and I didn’t see them, and for that I’m glad.  The lights were REALLY harsh and bright, I couldn’t see jack out there!  That’s kind of a drag because as much as I like to pretend they’re not there and close my eyes while I play, in reality I do like to have at least some kind of rapport with the audience if I can.  Hard to do that if you can’t even see ‘em.  So anyway, tonight is K.C. and then it’s a straight shot down 35 to Austin.  Can’t wait to see my mom.  It’s so fun traveling with Eric, this is our first trip together.  I knew it would be fun, we get along so great.  :-) Okay, gotta run, we have a long drive today!!

Solo show at the Bryant Lake Bowl
810 W Lake St., Minneapolis, MN 55408
7p Doors, 8p Show, $8 in advance, $10 at door
All Ages!
With Eric Ziegenhagen opening

Solo show at Mother Fool’s
1101 Williamson St., Madison, WI 53703
8p Showtime, $8, All Ages
with Eric Ziegenhagen opening

I’m getting ready to get outta here tomorrow.  By "getting ready" I mean I’m eating ice cream and watching TV of course.  Eric and I are renting a car, we’re picking it up in the morning.  I picked up the merchandise today at Drag City, two big boxes.  I’m always shocked when I see the size of those boxes, but I usually end up running out of stuff, so whatever, long as we can fit everything in the car!  I’m pretty excited about the trip.  I’m not exactly at 100% yet but you know what?  That’s right, I don’t give a fuck.  I’m gettin’ there and it’ll do me a lot of good to go back home and see my folks a little.  And if I’m not feeling up to the music show-hopping I can always just veg out at my mom’s house until the day of my show.  I can handle that!  Last night I had a great dinner with Sarah at Smokin’ Woody’s, I pigged out on beef brisket.  There’s no way I would’ve been able to say that a week ago so I must be getting better!

I had a rehearsal this evening with the Manishevitz boys, who are going to be backing me up at SXSW like they did on the tour we did a few months ago.  Today was the first day I actually left my apartment since last Monday when I went to the doctor!  I look like hell, pretty much, but oh well, at least I’m up and moving around and getting myself out there.  We were sounding a little rickety but not half bad considering.  There’s one more rehearsal on Wednesday; we would’ve had a few more but I just wasn’t up to it last week, oh well.  Better a few rehearsals than none at all.  I’m really glad me and Eric are playing those solo shows before SXSW, that way I can get my hands and my voice a little more in shape without having to compete with a full band behind me (vocals vs. band I mean).  I’ve been so sick for the past month I haven’t practiced even once, but hey.  I’m doing it.  Unless I get sicker again (god forbid!!) I’m going to do these shows come hell or high water.  I’m so pissed at that freakin’ virus!!  I don’t give a fuck!!  I don’t care if I have to go out there in a wheelchair with a surgical mask on, I DO NOT GIVE A FUCK!!  I’m doing these shows, and I’m playing SXSW and if you think I’m not lookin’ or playin’ so hot, you can kiss my ass ‘cuz you know what?  I DON’T GIVE A FUCK!!  Heheh.

Thanks so much for all y’all’s get-well comments, I really appreciate them.  I’m still sick, but the medicine has helped and I’ve been doing a little bit better every day thank god.  I still have to be really careful though ‘cuz this illness has been such a trickster; I’ll think I’m getting better and then bam! I’m down again, but for now things are on the upswing.  I no longer feel like I really ought to be in the hospital instead of at home!  I’m no longer running a fever.  And I’m no longer losing weight like crazy, ‘cuz I’m learning how to eat again.  I still don’t have any appetite to speak of, but I have found certain things that my body will accept.  I was living on yogurt and Ensure for awhile there but now I’ve graduated to slightly more normal foods thank god.  I’m still in a lot of pain, but now that I’m getting some nutrition in me, I have more energy to fight back.  So that’s all real good.  I’m also spending more time during the day awake than asleep, another positive change.  So, please keep crossing your fingers for me and lord willin’, I’ll get out of this nightmare soon and get on with my life!  I’m so sick of talking about it on my blog.  I don’t want the focus to be on my illness here, I’d rather get back to talking about my boyfriend.  Heheh.  I mean, my life and my music.  :-)

Still don’t know whether I’ll be able to play the shows coming up… just cross your fingers and we’ll see. I’m hopeful but the fact is that I’m still pretty sick, and it would be foolish to go out on the road in this condition.  But I am getting so much better so fast… the next few days will tell.  I’m still hopeful.

If it weren’t for my friends, I’d truly be up shit creek right now.  Thanks to them I’m hanging in there.  I think it must be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, trying to recover from this evilness.  I’m in a whole lot of pain.  I’m having a real hard time eating; got no appetite whatsoever.  I’ve been losing about two pounds every day because of that.  But I have to eat, I have to get myself through this.  I have to get beyond the pain and the sickness, I have no choice.  Sorry to be such a drama queen but I’ve really never gone through anything like this in my whole life.  But it’s nothing compared to what other people have suffered, I have to keep that in mind.  I have to fight it.  And I have such good friends helping me out and cheering me up.  I have to get better.