With: Kelly Kessler

My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)

Radio show on WNUR (Northwestern Univ.)

My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass); Gerald Dowd (drums)

Omigod guess what!! I found the greatest place ever, and I’m moving there!! Not the Loyola one — it’s something else entirely. I’m too excited to even be able to type this out right now, but I know I might not have a lot of time for writing in the next few weeks, so I want to tell you about it now. What it is, is… omigod!! Where do I start?!? Okay. It’s a share thing. It’s in the south loop area, right by Truckstop!! It’s a HUGE GIANT loft space, 7500 square feet, that’s SEVENTY-FIVE HUNDRED square feet. (I think that’s what they said… well anyway, it was the biggest loft I’d ever seen.) I’m going to be living with five or six or seven other people — I met some of them tonight and they all seemed very very cool. I get my own room which is 500 square feet all by itself!! And it’s got a door which I can totally CLOSE if I want to!! And — this is the best part. Most of the other people living there are musicians and there’s a rehearsal room right there that I’m allowed to use!! OMIGOD!!!!!!!!! And my two kitty-cats are totally welcome there!!! WOW. There’s already another cat there named Monkey, a young female. I don’t think there’ll be any cat wars or nothin’.

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The cold has pretty much devolved into a sniffle and a slight cough. I’m having a hard time slowing down on the smoking, so that’s not helping any.

I’ve spent the last few days making millions of phone calls, looking at some apartments and starting to pack my shit up. There’s one apartment in particular that I’ve really got my hopes on. It’s a friend of Ryan’s who lives up in the Loyola area — she’s giving up her apartment to go live with her grandma in the ‘burbs. Ryan found out about it and told me, before she’d even had a chance to put an ad in the paper. It’s a really swanky place — same price as my current apartment but much bigger and much nicer-looking. Beautiful glossy wood floors, several closets, a big bedroom, living room, dining room and a nice little kitchen. (Might as well be a little kitchen since practically all I know how to make is coffee!!) She’s checking with her landlords right now to see if they’ll go for the tenant-swap. I’m just crossing my fingers and praying that they’ll take me — getting an apartment has always been a bit of a rigamarole for me, ‘cuz I’m always freelancing and haven’t had a "regular" job in years. I always have to get my dad to co-sign the leases. It’s a little embarrassing considering I’ve never failed to pay my rent, but whatever.

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NOW I HAVE A COLD!! Isn’t that perfect timing? hmmmph. But I don’t think it’s a "real" cold, just a little head thing that’ll hopefully pass quickly. So I’m doped up on cold medicine ‘cuz I don’t want to get too stopped up… I’m all prone to ear infections and they only happen when I let myself go too long being all stuffed up. YUCK!! I know, it’s disgusting.

We had a big blizzard last night!! I was spending the night at Ryan’s…we’d gone to see a movie with George, and got back to Ryan’s place at like one in the morning. And when we laid down, there was some tinkling on the window… I was all, "is that rain?" and he thought it was sleet or something. Then when we woke up this morning (er… afternoon) he opened the door to get the mail and sez, "omigod, have you looked outside?" "No, Ryan I’m in bed!!! duh!!!" Well it was crazy, we got like fucking ten inches or something? In one night! And we hadn’t had any snow in sooooooo long… I think there was only one other real snowstorm this winter, not near as bad as this one.

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There’s a lot of stuff to talk about today!  And I have some time to myself… I’ll try and type 90 words a minute for the next hour or so, and see what I come up with.

I’m pretty frustrated with the whole idea of touring, these days.  I thought everybody on earth knew that I wanted to be touring my ass off right now… but my booking agent says she didn’t even know I wanted to be on the road at all.  There’s been some kind of huge communication gap… don’t know what happened there, but we’ve regrouped and are going to try (again) to get something together, hopefully for May or thereabouts.  What this means, though, is that I’ll probably have to find some other work to do in the meantime.  Which is about the last thing I really want to be doing right now!!  I have to find a new place to live… well I guess I am better off being in Chicago for that job.  ;-)

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With: Devil In A Woodpile

My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass); Glenn Kotche (drums)

It’s been almost a month since I’ve written anything in here! I shouldn’t complain about something that I created MYSELF, but man, this diary is such a thorn in my side sometimes. My intentions were good when I started it… I know people enjoy reading it, and I don’t want to disappoint them but sometimes I really avoid this thing. Like when you’re at a party and you get self-conscious and want to go hang out in the kitchen for awhile. I play the same games with my e-mail.

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Gastr del Sol: CAMOUFLEUR
©1998, Drag City #DC133 (CD & LP)
Purchase at Amazon

I did some vocals on the tail end of the song "Each Dream Is An Example"

Smiling Pets
©1998, Sony Japan
Purchase at Amazon

A Beach Boys tribute.  I did some vocals on the Jim O’Rourke cover of "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (Spring Breaks and Back to Winter)"

With: Charles Kim & Fred Lonberg-Holm

My band: Michael Krassner (guitar); Ryan Hembrey (bass); Glenn Kotche (drums)

Rian Murphy at the Frost Diner (!) in Warrenton, Virginia. We were in town recording my second album Telescopic.

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Recording vocals for my second album Telescopic at Stillness Sound in Warrenton, Virginia. Photo by Ryan Hembrey.

I tried to send this message to my pal Melissa but it bounced back on me… I don’t have another address for her, but I know she reads this diary from time to time so I’m going to put my reply here. So if you’re reading this Melissa, send me your correct e-mail address!! Mister Post is being a bitch.

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