Beat Kitchen (Chicago, IL)
Saturday May 2, 1998 – 7:00 pmPlayed at the Beat Kitchen with Roger Manning; The Vendettas; Swing Low
My band: Ryan Hembrey (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)
Envy 13 interview
Thursday April 30, 1998 – 6:00 pmAn interview by Dylan Metrano (of Tigersaw) which appeared on Envy13 in May 1998. (Not sure of the exact date.) You can still read it online on their site as well.
I want to ask you about some recent collaborations. I interviewed Jason Molina [Songs: Ohia]; he mentioned that you are on his upcoming record. What was it like doing that?
I think I read that. That was cool, I was like "Ooh, they’re talking about me!" That was very cool. I was honored that he asked me. It was fun to do. I only had to go in for an hour or two.
Madison, new amplifier
Wednesday April 29, 1998 – 3:00 amI went out and spent fifty bucks on the Patch yesterday… I need to quit smoking, bigtime. (Cigarettes, I mean.) I don’t want to lie and say I haven’t smoked today but I am trying. None of the puffs I took were from cigarettes that I bought myself… that’s a start, I suppose. I don’t know if it’ll work though, with me heading out on tour exactly one week from tomorrow. If I slip up, I’ll try again when I get back. I’m really worried about this smoker’s hack of mine. I’ve had it for years and years… Gerald described it as more of a HORK than a hack. I don’t want it to get worse just when I’m heading out on tour. I know it does get worse when you try to quit, but hopefully it won’t fuck me up while I’m trying to play & sing.
Rathskeller (Madison, WI)
Saturday April 25, 1998 – 7:00 pmPlayed at the Rathskeller (Univ. of Wisconsin). Can’t remember who else might have been on the bill.
My band: Ryan Hembrey (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)
Silver Apples vs Suicide
Wednesday April 22, 1998 – 3:00 amHello there. Well, let’s see, what-all has gone on since I wrote in here, other than worrying about my fucked-up taxes? I’m looking in my little electronic datebook thingamajigger.
I got to see the Silver Apples on the 9th at the Empty Bottle. I’d never gotten around to hearing their music before that, but they were on my wish-list because I kept reading reviews, and hearing good things about them from so many people. And yeah, they were really great. Do you remember the band Suicide from New York, ’round the late 70s/early 80s? The Apples reminded me of them a lot, minus the heart-throbbin’ vocals. I know they came before Suicide but whatever.
Borders Books & Music (Chicago, IL)
Friday April 17, 1998 – 3:00 pmPlayed at the Clark & Diversey store with Kelly Kessler
My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass)
Schuba’s Tavern (Chicago, IL)
Saturday April 11, 1998 – 7:00 pmWith: Chris Ligon
My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)
Are we there yet?
Sunday April 5, 1998 – 3:00 amWell I’m all moved over to the loft now, cats and all… they fixed the passenger elevator (at least temporarily) the day after I last wrote in here. So me and Ryan were able to get all the big furniture over last Friday and Saturday. By Monday I had the old apartment cleaned out and gave the keys back. I’ve spent all this week unpacking stuff, building shelves, arranging the furniture and getting my shit together. I have soooooo much stuff, but there’s a lot more room here than I had in the old place.
Chickfactor review
Tuesday March 31, 1998 – 5:01 pmA review by Gail O’Hara of my Ancestors single that appeared in CHICKFACTOR issue #11 (Spring 1998). I’m not sure of the exact date the issue came out.
there are moments when edith’s voice sounds like liz phair’s and this is one of them (the first b side); it’s almost as if the good lord sent down a liz phair replacement who could continue along making songs unfettered by that laughable production ms. phair is into now. edith has her own style, which is lonely cowgirl; she is from texas so she isn’t faking it. when will she tour with freakwater and virginia dare?
Chickfactor interview
Tuesday March 31, 1998 – 5:00 pmAn interview by Gail O’Hara that appeared in CHICKFACTOR issue #11 (Spring 1998). I’m not sure of the exact date.
chickfactor: when did you write your first song? what was it called?
edith frost: I think that was around ’83, when I was nineteen. it was a song called "rom," about the comic character rom the spaceknight… I did a little demo using keyboard and vocals, and then my ex-pardner bill neubauer fixed up a real kewl arrangement of it, with electronic drums and synths. it’s still a good tune even now, though it’s in a completely different style from what I’ve been doing the past few years!
More of the same…
Wednesday March 25, 1998 – 10:00 pmStill doing the ol’ heave-ho every day. Yesterday Ryan helped me and we moved almost my whole record collection (9 crates), plus a bunch of the heavier boxes. There’s still an alarming amount of stuff in my old apartment, but what can I say… I can only do so much every day.
I sent out a couple of e-mail SOS’s, to a bunch of my Chicago pals, but it looks like Bill Meyer is the only one who’s actually coming over. (Don’t ever believe all the shit they say about him. ;-) He’s going to come by tomorrow and help me do some furniture. What a doll!
Later that night
Tuesday March 24, 1998 – 2:00 amShee-ZUS!!! This shit SUCKS. I just got back from the loft a little while ago… I’m so tired of doing this by myself! ::whine whine:: Okay I’ll stop… I made my bed and I’ll… yada yada yada.
I took exactly 12 armloads of boxes, crates and whatnot over there today. Piled it up, loaded it in, drove it over, loaded it out, hauled it in, locked up the van and rested a minute. Then I start getting everything crate by crate up to the second floor. Rested again. Hauled everything up to the third. Rested for a WHILE. Dragged everything to the fourth… quick rest… got halfway up to the fifth and sat down gasping for breath, until I heard somebody coming. It was an angel from heaven — I mean downstairs — who appeared before my sorry bedraggled ass in a beam of bright light and asked if she could help. Said her name was Kelly… ::whew:: well, I should call her Nurse Kelly, because it would’ve taken me forever to negotiate those last two flights; I was SO tired, my ears were ringing, oh I just felt like I was fixin’ to toss my cookies. (Think: BUNS OF STEEL. BUNS OF STEEL.)
Pack it or chuck it
Monday March 23, 1998 – 7:00 pmI don’t think I’ve EVER used as many exclamation points as I did in that last entry… gawd, sometimes I read these things and just get embarrassed. I type them up and slap them on the web immediately, and I’m always babbling about stupid shit!! This is just a fact of life.
Anyway, I’m in a moving frenzy here. It turns out that there was one really major flaw in that living-in-the-loft idea… see, there’s two elevators in the building and neither of them has been working for the past week. And I’m trying to move to the SEVENTH floor, ME who has more CRAP than practically anyone on the planet!! AND I can’t afford movers so I’m trying to do it basically on my own, with my own van, and I have to be out of here by the 31st. I’ve been making box-runs over there every day, lugging the boxes & crates up one by one, one flight at a time — I guess I’m about halfway done with the boxes — I’ll work all this week and then on Saturday round up a posse for the rest of the furniture that I can’t do on my own. It’s absolutely grueling work, but at least the stairs at the new place are nice and wide, and it’s cool enough so that I’m not sweating too much. I’m soooooo sore all over… but just think of the Buns Of Steel I’m gonna have when this thing’s through!!! ;-)
Jon Langford: Skull Orchard
Monday March 16, 1998 – 5:00 pm
Jon Langford: SKULL ORCHARD
©1998, Sugar Free
More info * Purchase at Amazon
I did backup vocals on the songs "Penny Arcades" and "Tom Jones Levitation".
Chris Mills: Every Night Fight For Your Life
Monday March 16, 1998 – 5:00 pm
Chris Mills: EVERY NIGHT FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE
©1998, Sugar Free
More info * Purchase at Amazon
I did backup vocals on the songs "Chenoa", "1,000 Blue Eyed Girls" and "Crushed Out"
