wed 5-7-08
san francisco, CAswear words ahead, proceed with caution
i have a bone or two to pick with the people over at blackberry.
on the last tour, i threw my cell phone out the window of the van.
call it tour fatigue.
i lost all my numbers.
the whole thing.
it sucked. then it felt freeing. then it sucked again.
so i went out and bought a blackberry pearl... which is,
like, the smaller sexier version of the normal blackberry...
which, btw, looks miserable to talk on...
like you're holding george kastanza's wallet up to your face.
i have never had a phone that cost me more than $20.
but, i figured if i spend some real cash on it, i might be
more reluctant to hurl it into oncoming traffic.
well, so far so good.
i treat it with love, i respect it's power
and for the most part, we are friends.
but there are some days where the balance shifts.
where the blackberry pearl reverts to it's puritanical,
righteous roots. and refuses to do as i say
and on those days, i regret my decision immensely...
who doesn't say 'fuck?'
even occasionally?
i mean, i know there are people that don't...
i just doubt that they are the target market for the blackberry pearl.
right?
how about this...
how often do you use 'duck' or 'ducking' when texting your friends?
um, yeah.. NEVER.
sure, you might text someone, 'hey, i saw the cutest duck today.'
but how often does that happen?!
my blackberry's 'auto text' function REFUSES to spell 'fuck.'
100% of the time, it spells 'duck.' or 'ducking.'
now it has learned some word doozies...
my friend ayappa's name comes up after i type 'a' and 'p.'
'NYC" comes up every time i click 'n' and 'y.'
so it is paying attention...
it just REFUSES to swear! AH!
it's a conspiracy.
'shit' comes out 'shut.'
'fuck' comes out 'duck.'
it understands 'ass.' it understands 'tits.'
it just won't bend for the big ones...
and it is driving me ducking bits.
(that's 'fucking nuts' if you text it from my phone.)
ugh!
help!
we can put people on the moon, we can make babies in labs,
we can talk/video chat across the world for free on computers....
but we can't get the blackberry auto text function to accept
perfectly legitimate swear words?!
where are our priorities?!
sun 3-23-08
ann arbor, MIdaze off
does anyone else think it's creepy that you don't have
to refrigerate those tiny half & half thimbles full o' cream?
i always assumed that the one half is milk,
the other half is cream...
but, there's a sucker born every minute,
'cause milk and cream need to be refrigerated.
those tiny half&half thimbles are free of that burden.
they just sit there, in a big basket, in the hotel lobby...
no expiration date. no ingredients. no excuses.
like little aliens.
in the food pyramid, they must fall
somewhere between twinkies and pop tarts.
and i, for one, LOVE twinkies and pop tarts!
but that doesn't help me shake the fear.
a few more questions....
would we live longer if we replaced the worlds
milk supply with half&half thimbles?
i could totally see school kids pounding those
things with lunch... would it preserve them?
also, who's job is it to handle the liquid they put in
those containers? what does THAT assembly line look like?
it must be lawsuit-city over there...
somebody call erin brockovich!
alright. i'm going to get back to watching 'van helsing.'
sun 2-24-08
spokane, WAwhew.
being an opening band.
i forgot what it feels like...
i got spoiled.
headlining. playing long
sets to people who know my stuff...
tonight was definitely the first night of what
will have to be a very swift learning curve.
i forgot the feeling of having to convert.
i forgot the glassy eyed looks of people watching
THROUGH us, waiting for the headliner.
i'm not complaining. not at all....
i just felt a bit like someone who has been running
on a tread mill, who then decides to run a marathon
because they think they can. without training.
and tonight, i felt like the audience wanted a rock star.
i found myself thinking at one point, how would bono have handled this.
how would he have won the night if u2 were the opening band, where
1/2 or more of the people don't know who they are, how would he have connected?
not that i think i'm bono.
he's just where the bar is.
charisma personified.
would his songs have carried the show? his crowd interaction? his passion?
it's daunting. having a night like this...
but it's also kind of cool.
a shot in the arm...
something to figure out.
a place to stretch to...
wed 1-9-08
san francisco, CAthis looks a lot like a thesis...
ugh.
i was on Fox Business Network this morning
to talk about the state of the concert/music industry.
ugh, again.
it did not go the way i would have liked.
i was not particularly concise in my answers...
and it was sort of akward and unnatural to talk to a camera.
not a person. not a monitor. just a camera. and an ear piece.
in a room. and it went by SO FAST.
i definitely have a new found respect for good politicians...
being able to convey a point. with emotion. and grace.
i just couldn't boil it down into soundbite-y stuff fast enough.
the first question was something like, "the music industry is fucked...
why and will it recover? and GO... 30 seconds!"
yikes!
an A.D.D. nightmare!
i guess the reason it rubbed me wrong, is because i am SO
passionate about this subject... and have SO MUCH to say!
my friend bruce and i have been
going back and forth about this for awhile now...
anyway, enough whining.
it was still super cool to be a part of....
i thought i would share the pre-interview questions i was sent,
and the (significantly more articulate) written answers i sent back.
i still didn't flesh out my points as much as i would have liked.
but hopefully it will spark discussion for you all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Why do you think there is disinterest in seeing major tours for 2007?
this question has a bunch of answers..
first, there is very little, if any, loyalty between newer artists and their fans.
this is the music industry's achilles' heel. years of strip mining acts for
one or two hit songs and underestimating the crucial step of artist
development through good old fashion hard work and mystery.
skipping this step has finally come back around to bite major labels in the
ass, because there are very few acts now that have loyal fans, who have
grown with them and who are willing to follow them through their careers...
the second part is that there is TONS of competition
now for peoples entertainment dollar and for their attention span.
third, the internet has changed the discovery process.
there is no mystery anymore.
going to see shows is not as exciting as it used to be, when someone
can download the show on you tube.
the zepplin reunion wasn't half as cool to talk about, when you could see
it 10 minutes after it happened. where is the myth? the myth is CRUCIAL.
would dylan plugging in at the newport folk festival have been nearly
as cool if everyone could have seen it?
this brings up another point, which is: interacting with a computer. and files,
is NOT interacting with human beings.
and there is no substitute for that. and technology is creating
a whole generation who are growing up IN that
environment, with computers in hand. so to them,
the act of seeing a band live doesn't really hold the same
significance as it might to someone from another generation.
fourth, ticket prices for most shows are TOO HIGH!.
tickets+parking+t-shirt+drinks etc= a pricey night.
2) Will this trend in the music industry continue?
yes. the trend will continue until a new music industry
business model is created that is more effective at promoting
music without overexposure... while building an artist to fan loyalty
at a more organic pace. the music industry has to work WITH
technology from here on out, if they want to survive. for so long it's
been, and still is to some extent, the music industry vs. technology.
that kind of fear based business model is what got the industry
in trouble in the first place
3) Is there still a place for singer songwriters?
yes. singer/songwriters are the cheapest way to tour.
and touring cheaply allows you to do it
for longer. to build the fan base brick by brick which is,
at this point, the only real proven way to
make a living playing music that is (mostly) not subject to outside forces.
4) What is it like to carve out your own niche in the music business now?
for me, it is the same as it has always been. brick by brick. fan by fan.
i have seen MANY of my peers come and go. i use the analogy that
i'm taking the stairs in my career.
if it's too good to be true, especially in this industry, than it probably is...
all the hype. and push. and money
it takes to 'break' an act... it doesn't hold a candle to winning
people over through true discovery on their part, and the
organic build that happens with time.
5) Has the internet helped or hurt you as an artist and why?
the internet has done both. it has helped spread
the word about artists. and touring.
it has become INVALUABLE in this way. in an instant,
people can know where you are playing and how to
quickly buy tickets. but it has hurt the industry in the same way,
in regards to the music itself. in an instant a person can hear
your song. download your song.
and play it. all without lifting more than a finger.
this lack of human contact... with the store. the clerk.
the record bin. the CD itself, this difference...
between a person interacting with a record/CD
as opposed to interacting with a digital file...
this difference is CRUCIAL.
and as a society we underestimate the negative
impact this has on us as human beings and,
consequently, on music.
6) What artists are still having great tours now that are
appealing to broad spectrums of people and why?
i'm hard pressed to come up with too many
examples of bands with mass appeal
to a broad spectrum, but the ones that come to mind...
- nostalgia acts. big bands that built their fan base
in a different time. and either reunite or continue
to put out records now. (police, U2, genesis, springsteen)
-tween acts. acts who sell from television shows. hannah montana. etc.
-country acts. country is amazing because that genre STILL sells CDs.
fans of country music STILL go to the store to buy cds...
- dave matthews, o.a.r., dispatch- bands that are
destination spots for people.
a place where it is the event of going
and hanging out with your friends, with music happening around you.
music is part of a whole. not the whole itself.
bands like radiohead. wilco. pearl jam. my morning jacket.
these are what we, as artists, can aspire to be.
they are realistic bands to try to emulate.
bands that can tour because of their loyal fan base.
they keep ticket prices low.
and they use technology to their advantage.
these are the bands we are going to see in the future.
bands that don't get to the scale the same heights...
but are able to constantly tour and make money and grow.
because they build organically and constantly evolve.
and challenge their audience.
fri 1-4-08
san francisco, CAbaby's got the bends
i just finished watching radiohead's
live new years broadcast thing.
i tivo'd it.
it was cool...
and the new record is cool.
but kind of in the same way math is cool.
to watch them play it.
gave me perspective.
gave the music more identity.
but it just doesn't MOVE me the way
i used to get moved by them.
it just feels like long division with good flow.
i miss The Bends. and i miss Ok Computer..
fuck, at this point, i miss Kid A.
i never really dug the 60's. the music.
i mean.. i dug dylan. i loved the who.
but i never really appreciated how crucial
rock and roll was back then, culturally.
and how there were so many amazing bands
constantly changing and shaping the landscape.
i just finished a book called 'white bicycles' by joe boyd.
and one called "i'm with the band," by pamela des barres.
and they both deal with the '60s.
and the music of the '60s.
so i'm feeling pretty deep in that time.
and i guess i'm a little jealous that
music doesn't do that anymore.
not on the scale it did.
records and bands aren't crucial to the fabric of
our society like they were then..
or in the '70s. or 80s. or even early 90s.
it's rarer and rarer that people invest
their emotional weight into a band.
into music.
and i miss that.
and i wonder if it will ever get back to being
essential again... on a large scale.
'i wish it was the sixty's, i wish i could be happy,
i wish, i wish, i wish that something would happen'
-radiohead.
wed 1-2-08
san francisco, CAE.V.I.L.
i'm totally over dessert.
especially caramel popcorn... ugh.
that shit is the devils work!
it is jan 2nd.
the time for food as recreation has passed.
i am now onto phase 2...
food as survival.
that is all.
goodbye cookies. and caramels. and gingerbreads.
and cakes. and waffles. and chocolate. and ice cream.
and goodbye evil, cruel, manipulative caramel popcorn!
thu 11-15-07
san francisco, CAcrushing me right now.
some songs try really hard.
some songs don't try enough.
i seem to always get obsessed
with songs that just seem to show up.
don't feel labored over....
but are still so HEAVY!
death cab do it sometimes. like 'title and registration'.
they could go for something bigger, but they don't.
because it would just be... bigger.
and who needs bigger.
it's hard enough to move as it is.
some songs are small. and enormous.
like a clown car.... no, more like a poison dart...
hits you quietly, and before you know it, you can't
see or move. or think.
go here
and click on the song "breakable" in the player.
ingrid is truth.
mon 11-12-07
san francisco, CAmy respite.
i want to take back the word 'facial' from the folks in porn.
either that, or i want a new word for the spa treatment.
or maybe i just need to grow up and get rid of this 5th grade sense of humor.
but for real, it is impossible to hear non-porn people ask for a facial.
i CANNOT be the only one affected by this....
also, today i decided that i need to play a les paul live during
the song 'car crash.' i've been playing a 335. and it no work-y..
les paul sounds WAY tougher. and i'm all into tough.
yesterday was sunday. we made gluten free cupcakes and tried,
in vain, to see the 4:05 showing of '30 days of night.' this was
attempt number three to see the movie.
the first 2 times failed due to lethargy on my part. yesterday, it was traffic.
is that irony? or is that only when it rains on your wedding day?
i have been home from tour now for 4 days.
my decompression has begun.
i watched the tom petty movie, 'running down a dream.'
which was inspiring. and amazing.
i decided that i need to be more frivolous with my money.
and buy more guitars.
not that i have gallons of excess cash with which to be frivolous.
but TP and company had a different vintage guitar in every picture.
and at every live show...
so many, in fact, i lost count.
of course, he is tom petty. and he is very rich.
but they had great gear even back when they had no money. ah!
i also decided, while watching the movie, that i have to
write a song as good as 'the waiting'... and 'learning to fly.'...
and 'you got lucky'.
he has great songs like he has great guitars.
maybe it's a one for one thing, i don't know...
ugh. tom. why must you set the bar so high?!
and for those of you reading, i am very aware that i didn't
update this blog/journal thing once while on tour.
and for that, i apologize.
it was a great tour, but crazy time.
lot's of stuff... and i never even cracked my murakami book.
or my magazines (paste, harp, rolling stone, Juggs)
and my only respite was 3 downloaded episodes of 'gossip girl'.
one more thing. i was talking to my dad today..
and i pronounced 'respite' like 'despite.'
he corrected me by telling me it is pronounced like 'res-pit'.
and i'm sure he's right.. but why the fuck did they put the 'e' on it
if they wanted it pronounced like that? what a bunch of dicks... or is it dickes?
sat 9-22-07
hello from cincinnati, OHhome of one cancelled flight to hartford
and one re-booked flight into laguardia
with a very fast car ride to my show tonight
at trinity college, in hartford.
pretty exciting stuff.
you know, you really don't get to know an
airport intimately until you've spent at least
10 hours in it. and me and cinci.. we are officially dating.
with the potential for l.o.v.e.
a little late breakfast at wolfgang pucks.
a leisurely stroll through the hudson news.
a couple of changed terminals and gates.
and a starbucks or 3,
what more could a boy ask for...
except maybe better ventilation in the mens rooms.
my eyes actually burned when i went in to wash
my hands... like chernobyl.
great solo show last night in provo.
saw tons of folks i hadn't seen in years.
and we tore that sh** up -note: mormon friendly way to say 'shit'-
rehearsals with the band last week were rad too.
new drummer nick is killing.
our choreographed dance moves rival the ones in
your high school stage production of Grease
and our pyro-technics put Rocklahoma to shame.
we're gonna sweep through your town, and plunder and
pillage like the rock and roll barbarians we always knew
we could be.
you should see john and aaron in their loin cloths!!
ok..
that's it for me.
they just announced we've got to move gates again
this has been another banner day in my air travel history!
i might have to kill someone.
matt
wed 9-12-07
atlanta, GAin DOG we trust!
the past few weeks have been a blur.
totally kick ass, but a blur.
and if i was on the fence before
i now officially hate flying.
and airlines!
i'm not sure how, but airlines have quietly
taken first place in the "service industry
comprised of the least helpful fuck wads" race.
way to go, you miserable turds!
anyway... back to my blur:
radio promo tours. radio shows. new merch designs. shark week!
lots of cross country flights. meeting suzanne vega! new drummer
rehearsals. my first video shoot. tour rehearsals. seeing rob
zombie's 'halloween' twice (don't ask) and one of the biggest
regrets of my adult life... seeing DOG, the bounty hunter at SFO,
but missing my chance to say hi. now i am forced to move
on to my plan b. which is far less glamorous:
move to hawaii, get myself addicted to 'ice', whatever that is...
go to jail and then jump bail and hope he and his crew come
to bounty hunt me.
i should have done more of these journals.
cause now i'm sort of overwhelmed with the recap.
i've been trying to at least take pictures.
im currently on a plane back to san francisco from atlanta.
this was the last week of radio promo before the tour starts
i'm listening to antony's cover of 'if it be your will' from the
'leonard cohen: i'm your man' soundtrack.
it is some serious shit. if you get a chance, download it.
or better yet, rent the movie and skip to his performance.
he just levitates and connects... and holy poops, it kills me!
what else...
i'm home tomorrow for a day, then fly BACK to georgia
(yay routing!), to play savannah, then back home on
sunday to start real tour rehearsals on monday. then
warm up shows in provo (solo), connecticut (college),
seattle (radio) and indianapolis (radio). then we start
the tour in cleveland with a new tour manager and a new drummer.
pretty rad, actually... having all these things happening.
the video shoot was amazing, by the way.
it took place on one very long, 13 hour day in los angeles.
it was shot by justin francis, who is my new hero.
and it was pretty much aaron, john, konrad and i playing
'car crash' 256,000 times.
we should have a rough cut soon. then it will be all over
the VH1, or BET, or wherever videos are shown these days.
youtube anyone?
anyway.
just wanted to let you know a little bit of the goings on.
and no, i haven't seen britney's VMA performance.
it is tivo'd, and waiting....
more later,
matt
