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June 29, 2005
Karma
This last weekend, Carol Ann and Ben asked me to look after their cats, who are so skittish that I went Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and still only saw one of them (there are two), and even then for only a moment on Sunday. Hehe; I’m glad Toby and Griffin are so friendly.
While I was over there, I thought I’d wash the dishes—there weren’t that many, and I just thought it’d be a nice thing to do. It’s not like I cleaned the whole house; we’re talking about a half-hour’s worth of work. Still, it’s the kind of thing I’d love for people to do for me, especially as a coming-home surprise. Jess cleaned my apartment last summer when I was out on the East Coast last summer, and I was really touched.
Anyway, they were also touched, and as a thank you, they took me out to dinner last night to a delicious Brazilian restaurant (mmm, yuca fries… ) and afterwards we went bowling. I gotta say, I’m really coming to like them a lot.
Posted by alex at 08:02 AM | Comments (1)
June 28, 2005
I dig Bill Evans
I just love this music. The song is “Some Other Time” by Leonard Bernstein, and comes from The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
This second recording, “Peace Piece” also comes from Everybody Digs Bill Evans, and here Bill has reworked the initial vamp from “Some Other Time” into a six and a half minute improvisation that takes him into some really impressionistic melodic ideas overlaid on the simple harmonic structure. I don’t consider this a deconstruction of “Some Other Time”, although certainly one could argue differently. But listening to it now after 25 years of the development of hip-hop, I hear this more as Bill having “sampled” the vamp and performed a freestlye flow over it.
The links from the album titles above take you to the Amazon music store; if you want to buy either of these records, do me a small favor and do it via these links—if you do, I’ll get a little love from Amazon. :)
Posted by alex at 05:54 PM | Comments (1)
Lunchtime is over
I don’t know why I’ve been putting off posting about the demise of Sac Lunch; maybe it’s simply that I still haven’t truly accepted it. But we played what may be our last show in a long while last Friday at Velvet, and while there’s some talk about playing Velvet again on July 8th, that’s not definite yet.
Why are we breaking up? Because we’re moving on with our lives and scattering to the four corners of the country. So dramatic. :) A-Bex has already moved to LA, and he’s ridiculously busy—I just got an email from him last night, the first I’ve heard from him since he left St. Louis a month ago. Law school in Tennessee beckons Ill Will in a month, and Danimal will be leaving shortly after that for Miami.
I’m feeling pretty nostalgic about the band. Without a doubt, this has been the best, most fun, most rewarding musical experience I’ve yet had. We’ve been together for two and a half years—longer than most of my relationships—and I’m so close to the other guys. We’re friends, we’re colleagues, and we’re partners, and while I think we’ll probably always be friends, I’m going to miss the rich nature of our multi-faceted relationship.
Dan insists that we aren’t really breaking up, that we’re only going on hiatus. He envisions playing a show once or twice a semester with everyone coming back into town. I think that’d be wonderful, and I hope it works out that way, but I’m not optimistic. When he gets into the swing of school again, and Will as well with law school, I think they’ll both find it difficult to get away. And A-Bex, again, is so busy that he can’t email for a month. He’s working twelve hour days, seven days a week, apparently—but I’m sure he’s absolutely loving it, and I couldn’t be happier for him.
Posted by alex at 07:58 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2005
Habitat For Humanity
What with all the other craziness recently, I forgot to mention what is probably the coolest thing I did this weekend: I attended the initial Orientation required of all new potential volunteers for Habitat For Humanity. Saturday morning I went to the headquarters over on Forest Park Ave. along with probably 150 other people and sat through two hours of presentation and Q&A about the history of HFH, current projects, volunteer opportunities, and what to do next if you’re interested.
I’m interested. Very. In fact, half-way through the presentation, a man got up to make a plug for volunteers to begin training as Crew Leaders, and I came up to him afterwards to get some more information; I think I’d like to try that. I’m a bit nervous, because I think it’d be a genuine commitment, but at the same time, it’s so totally worthwhile and I think it’d be really good for me. It would involve a fair amount of training in addition to the usual volunteer commitment, but I’d learn a lot, and I think I’d like the responsibilty.
I hit on the idea of volunteering with HFH after talking with Phil Valko, Jeff Susor and my mom. I’ve been thinking about the possibility of purchasing an old home and rehabing it, but I feel as though I know very little about construction. Mom recommended that I try to find some volunteer opportunities to help me meet some better quality people, and so combining these two thoughts made HFH seem like a natural fit.
I guess the next step is to email the volunteer coordinator at HFH and ask about the Crew Leader program. I might start doing some actual construction as soon as this Saturday.
Posted by alex at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)
June 26, 2005
The saga finally ends
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Very Important Jazz Fest
Jon writes for Playback magazine, a free local weekly about the music scene. Once in a while they offer free tickets to their writers as an incentive for generating reviews and articles, and so when they asked if anyone would be interested in VIP passes to the St. Louis Jazz Fest, he jumped at the chance. These are, after all, $75 passes, including free food and drink in an air-conditioned tent. They gave him two, and he offered one to me. Thank god he’s not dating anyone right now… :)
We went around 6:30, in time to catch Jane Monheit
To be blunt, she’s a lightweight. She has a pretty voice and a very pretty face, and she puts on a cute show. Complete with facial expressions, hair tossing, gesticulations, and coy posturing, her act is designed to make her come across as the sexy-but-wholesome girl-next-door. She giggled after almost every song, and delivered a well-rehearsed and totally contrived patter. Sure, it’s tired, but of course you can always get men to watch a pretty girl strut her stuff.
Without the act, though, her set would have been completely uninteresting. Samba and songbook tunes dominated her set, as did material from her most recent album (I know this only because she said so, plug plug). She doesn’t reach for anything challenging or new; she’s not aiming high. The arrangements failed to show much originality, and the band—while certainly competent—also failed along similar lines. Your generic, standard-issue instrumentation: piano, guitar, bass, drums. Short, uninteresting solos, bland comping. I could have played in this band and done as well, and the thing is, with a little practice I really could have. The crowd seemed to share my ambivalence with scattered and unenthusiastic applause.
The RH Factor, on the other hand, offered an almost completely opposite experience. It’s a large band, complete with bass, guitar, two (2) drummers, two (2) keyboardists, baritone sax, alto sax, and of course Mr. Hargrove on trumpet. These guys are definitely reaching for something (for clarity’s sake: one of the keyboardists is a woman, but I’m using guys in the gender-neutral sense), although I’m not sure they got there. They seemed to be attempting to resurrect the ’80s era Miles Davis band with it’s funk/soul/r&b/jazz hybrid, and they aped it pretty well (according to Jon. I’m not really familiar with late Miles), including such touches as wah-wah on the trumpet. Overall, they established a solid, interesting groove that would have done really well behind an MC, and occasionally the solos managed to touch something intense. The crowd responded well and enthusiastically.
I ran into Laura there, or more accurately she found me. She was working at the show and together with another waitress (a beautiful asian woman named Kelly who’s waited on me at the Bistro several times) and Jazz Bob, they took a break and wandered over to the VIP area. She’s such a sweetheart; apparently she stopped by my place earlier to see if I was going to the Fest. I had a great time hanging out and chatting, shooting the breeze.
Much fun. Thanks to Jon for inviting me along.
Posted by alex at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2005
Jerking me around
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June 24, 2005
Out on the town with Jon
What a great night. Jon had tickets to a Soulard pub crawl that he wanted to attend because Jupiter Jazz was playing, and he invited me along. We had a fantastic time. The evening started with ribs at Smoking Al’s, then off to The Grizzly Bear to see Jupiter Jazz. I had my first whiskey—honestly, I didn’t enjoy it much—and we listened to the set. I also worked on some PHP stuff, because I’m a nerd that way (actually because I get more work done out of the house than in it).
Then we went to the Broadway Oyster Bar to hear the Fundamentals. They had checked out SacLunch.com and sent Jon an email via his Watt$on account, so he felt obliged to check them out. It wasn’t actually part of the pub crawl, so we had to pay the cover. :( But nevertheless, it was fun. The Fundamentals sound like like a cross between Sublime and Jamiriquoi, and they were fun to listen to. The bassist is really good; I was suitably impressed. Chops, taste, groove, the whole package.
After the set, we introduced ourselves, and they invited us to stay with the possibility of calling Jon up to freestyle in a later set. I wanted to go see Eric’s band Languid play over at Mangia, so we said we’d come back later.
We headed to Mangia, where we ran into Leah, which was cool. She was there with two of her high school friends, including one named Maggie who was really attractive (Jon thought she wasn’t all that bright, though. Hm.). Anyway, Eric was thrilled to see us, and I was glad to introduce him to Jon. We stayed for maybe half of Languid’s set, and we really enjoyed it. They play straight rock, but nicely, and I wouldn’t mind hearing them again. I also got to meet Eric’s girlfriend Erin, who was nice.
Then back to the Broadway Oyster Bar for the Fundamental’s last set. They did indeed call Jon up, and he represented well. Midnight marked his birthday, so I bought him a couple of drinks, and then we came home around 1:00. All in all, a great night out on the town.
Posted by alex at 01:43 AM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2005
It’s a cold day in hell…
…but I find myself in agreement with the conservative wing of the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that city governments can seize and raze private homes in order to make way for private developers if the government feels the development is in the general public interest—which doesn’t seem to have to mean more than new jobs and tax revenue.
The conservatives—Scalia, Thomas, Rhenquist, and O’Conner—represented the dissent, and I have to agree with them here. I think this sets a terrible precident for the power of private developers to seize land and destroy people’s homes, including uprooting people who have lived there for decades. Not to mention that some of these homes have stood for nearly a century, and the architecture is worth preserving. But generally speaking it’s the very idea of corporate interests invasively intruding upon people’s lives that upsets me so much.
Posted by alex at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
June 21, 2005
Hanging out with Laura
I walked to Blockbuster to return a DVD, and when I came home I went in the back way. In the hallway were Laura and an old man—who turned out to be Dennis Lutsky (!)—discussing some electrical problem she was having. He left, and she and I stood and chatted in the hallway for a bit before she invited me in for a drink.
Naturally, I agreed, despite my not really wanting a drink. I had a glass of white wine, though, and we sat and talked for a good while. She’s always been really friendly and I’ve enjoyed the passing-by conversations we’ve had all along, but it was great to finally hang out and talk with her.
She’s not, as I had assumed, a Wash. U. student. She went to Maryville University and majored in Biology, and now she works in the Med School. Her apartment is very tastefully decorated and clean (she does the whole “oh my place is a mess” thing, though, which makes me laugh; my place is a mess, hers is practically immaculate), and she has a pretty black cat named Betty.
And she has great taste in music. Every time I hear music coming from her place, it’s always good stuff; I remember the first time I heard music from her apartment—it was Radiohead’s Kid A and I thought “right on, whoever lives there must be pretty cool.” And she is pretty cool, as it turns out.
Wouldn’t you know it, though, she’s moving at the end of the month. I’ll have to get her number or something and keep in touch; we should get together and hang out more often.
Posted by alex at 11:30 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2005
Domestic Labor
I went raspberry picking Saturday morning. Then yesterday afternoon I made jam from the berries and baked bread in the ceramic bread pot that I bought the weekend before. Yummy stuff.
The picking was fun, as usual. I was joined by Kelly, Ben, Carol Ann, and Caroline, and with Kelly’s yield, I took home about 8 pints of berries. Lots and lots. They’re a bit tart, but that makes for good jam, and the jam is good indeed.
It was nice to introduce Kelly to my friends, but it seemed as if she tried to make sure everyone knew that she’s known me the longest and the most intimately. She almost seemed defensive—not agressively so, but just in the sense that she seemed to be staking a claim that no one else cared much about. I guess I can understand that in a group of people all living in St. Louis except for her, she doesn’t want to feel ancillary or out of place. Still, I worry… I’m not really sure about what, to be honest.
Posted by alex at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2005
Jazz Collection database underway
This could also be under Computer, I guess, but anyway… I started developing my Jazz Collection database application. So far it just allows the user to add musicians to it, but it’s a start and it works. I have a long ways to go in terms of learning how to create advanced and interesting SQL queries, but I’m excited by the early success.
I don’t care what anyone else says; Blood Sugar Sex Magik totally rocks. Flea is a wellspring of The Funk(tm).
Posted by alex at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)
June 15, 2005
Hopefully this will work
I just moved Boycats into its own directory. With my PHP/MySQL files growing, I’ve decided it’s a good idea to keep the files in the WebServer neatly organized. Also, this way I can move saclunch.com into the WebServer so as to be able to start developing PHP code for it.
So this is my first post after the move. Let’s see if it worked!
Posted by alex at 12:50 AM | Comments (1)
June 14, 2005
Posting Infrequently
It’s been over a week since I posted last. I feel badly about that; I’d like to keep this up on a pretty regular basis, but for whatever reason I don’t feel as though I’ve had much to say lately.
I’ve been working steadily at the PHP/MySQL stuff, and it’s going okay. I’m a bit concerned that I find myself just copying code from the book rather than really study it to understand it, but I also think the understanding will come with time and experience.
On Saturday Carol Anne invited me to go to the Central West End Art Fair with her, and we had a great time. I bought a small ceramic pot in which to bake small loaves of bread, which I think I should start to do. We got rained on a little, but that was part of the fun. We talked and laughed and generally enjoyed each other’s company.
Later that evening, she and Ben came over to hang out. I didn’t realize that’s what they were doing at first, in fact I didn’t realize that’s what they did until after they left; I can be so socially naive. Carol Ann called to see if she could borrow my Sopranos DVDs, and so I met them downstairs with the discs, expecting she’d pick them up and then take off, but instead they came upstairs (she had just picked up Ben from the med school where he’d been studying for his boards). We had a good time, but in retrospect I wish I had cleaned the apartment and had something to offer them in the way of food and drink. Oh well.
Alli tells me that Pete Cernaka is coming back to St. Louis. I should email him. He’s a good guy, even if his relationship with Alli seems to have been a bit strained recently. I wonder why he’s been so reticent to maintain it? Of course, I only hear from her end of things; undoubtedly he has a different perspective.
Believe it or not, I’m eager to get back to work, so I’m going to cut this short now.
Posted by alex at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)
June 06, 2005
Relating to Carol Ann
First Monday of the month, and that means Nicole’s pot luck. I made Chicken Piccata on a grand scale, and it was delicious. Ben and Carol Ann were there as usual, and I’m feeling more and more comfortable hanging out with her. I’ve always known her as so quirky and whimsical, which is cool of course but hard to take seriously, and that’s made it hard for me to relate to her. But recently I’ve come to see a more centered, down-to-earth side of her that’s easier for me to talk to. It’s not as if the down-to-earth side negates the quirky whimsy, because she’s still that, but more and more she seems less outright strange and more three-dimensionally interesting.
I’m listening to KMOX, which has just run an ad for Tylanol PM as a sleep aid. I really hope I get some sleep tonight. I’m really tired (so to speak) of not being able to sleep.
I’m hoping to see Mom, Dad, and Duncan in Chicago on Wednesday, but it’ll require moving or cancelling rehearsal with Steve. It’s been so hard for us (Steve and Eric and I) to get together recently that I feel bad asking to cancel rehearsal again, but then the same could be said about seeing my family. hmph
Posted by alex at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2005
PHP/MySQL
This really could go under the Computer category, or even Music, since that’s my only application so far. I’ve undertaken to learn PHP and MySQL this summer. I went to Border’s and bought a couple of books on the subject, and I began working through one of them a couple of days ago. So far it seems pretty accessible, although I must point out that I’ve only just begun.
Jon came over for about on hour this afternoon and helped me to design the database structure that I’ll use for Sac Lunch. I just knew there had to be a way to code MySQL intructions into a separate text file and then import them—doing everything at the command line just seemed to difficult and error-prone—so last night I dug around a bit and finally figured out how to do it. So now I’m working on building the code for the Sac Lunch database.
Posted by alex at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)
Strawberries!
Phil Valko, Ben Alter, and I went strawberry picking yesterday. We had a great time, actually. We met outside my apartment at about 8:15 and drove out to Lakeview Farms, which was about forty-five minutes away. On a depressing note, the signs of suburban sprawl permeated everything we saw on the way out there; it almost seemed as if the farm was tucked in between strip malls. Ugh.
We picked for about an hour and a half, amassing ten pounds each, and then headed home. I gave Ben a ride back to his house, which was nice because I’d never seen it before. He invited me in, gave me a brief tour, and we hung out for a bit before I headed home for a nap.
I think I’d like to make jam. I talked with Mom this morning about it, and it definitely seems doable. I have to get off my lazy butt and do it, though, before the strawberries go bad.
Posted by alex at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)