Kazzer and Ron cycled out to join the crowd around the crater of a wrecked UFO one weekend in a busy year.
Where did the year go. I seem to have been awfully busy, despite having a day job for only four weeks. Good thing I booked my holiday in right in the middle of those four miserable weeks.
1. Gigs
I only saw two that I didn’t play at. Blitzen Trapper failed to live up to the hype. They fail to even meet low expectations. Dull, and unfocused. There are probably some who think otherwise.
Our holiday took us out to Seattle to pick up Greg Martens, our pal from Melbourne. At the top of his wish list was the hope to see a rare Green Pajamas gig. He got lucky, they were doing a record release party at Easy Street, in West Seattle. Great to catch up with Joe Ross and crew. The show was pretty funny. Jeff Kelly was very drunk and didn’t want to play the songs on the set list. They still played well, but I think we got shorted a few songs. Greg M seemed to be impressed that we were invited to go back to the band’s house to hang out late.
2. Travels
The Seattle trip included a stop in Missoula, and couple of days in Glacier Park on the return side. We had an incredible dinner in Missoula, as it was Kaz’s birthday. There was a lot of wine, so I couldn’t actually tell you what I ate. We got a little time at Ear Candy, the only record shop worth seeing in Montana. We were a bit too early to see all the sights in Glacier, but the lack of tourists made it a pleasant trip. I missed the trip to Yellowstone, so I missed the bear sighting. Tom Azure held his 50th at the Izaak Walton Inn, just on the edge of Glacier. Being that his birthday falls on Halloween, it was a costume party. It was surreal taking over an otherwise empty hotel. They wisely closed the bar at 11pm.
3. Outdoor Activities
We started the year with a major ski trip in West Yellowstone. The Sunday blizzard, was followed by one of the most incredible winter days I’ve ever had. Blue sky, and the snow was like skiing on a cloud. Not a soul on the Fawn Pass trail either. We managed a couple more days of skiing before the snow melted. The goal this year was to bike all summer, so we’d be in better shape for skiing this winter. Weather kept us from the spring ride in Yellowstone.
They open the park to bikes in the period after they clear the roads, and before they let the insane tourists in. Midway through summer we signed up for the Fall ride. This meant we needed to do some serious training. Bozeman is laced with trails, so there is plenty of riding in town. We also got out for two serious hikes. It was a long late spring here, which meant the trails were muddy or still had snow well into June. I think we went to Yellowstone more this year than I ever had. Angie Pepper, her sister and Max Tek asked us to take them around the park in July. This isn’t the best time of the year, but we made the most of it, and had a fabulous time over two days.
The Fall bike ride was a benefit for the YP Foundation. I insisted we not try to do the 60 mile round trip. I’d been sick for a week prior to the big weekend, and had just bought a road bike, which I’d only ridden twice. Our friend Sarah for the YPF had invited us, and knew there was a 30 mile option. We took a van into Old Faithful, and did the return leg. This proved to be a wise choice. There was a strong head wind on the last part, which might have been discouraging if I was tired. At the end, I felt like I could have gone another 3 miles. As it happens, this was the first time they’d had good weather for this event. Unforgettable.
4. Making Music
Except for the week on the road to Seattle, I worked non-stop on the Donovan’s Brain record. I had set a pretty comfortable schedule, but in the end we missed the deadline by nearly a month. Gear failure stopped everything for nearly two weeks. In the end I thought it best to take my time and make sure it was done right. Having Deniz overseeing the final mixes helped considerably. By the time we were done, the band seemed to have lost a couple of long-time members. They just quietly drifted away. Not a bad thing. Deniz brought in Bob Brown to play bass, and as expected, he was the man for the job. The drum seat remains unresolved. Mike Musburger stepped in to do some of the critical work, and reminded me I know a lot of great musicians.
As soon as that was done, I had to sit down and learn the Soul Movers set. I didn’t have time to stop and think. This would be the first time I would be playing keyboards full time. I was lucky to get two rehearsals with the band. By the second night I could finally relax and breathe. Plans for a 2010 tour are being discussed. Meanwhile some of us are doing music for the daily ski films on BridgerBowl.com
5. Movies
I know we got out a few times…. right Star Trek. Finally, a film that lives up to the series. They had better make more. Great villain, great actors, and a good story. Too bad it took ‘em a dozen tries to get it right. We went to see Zombie Land not knowing what to expect. It delivered some great Saturday Matinee laughs. Well worth the time and effort. I am reminded once again why I love cinema, on the big screen.
A film I’m in and worked on was finally released. Penny Ikinger is in it, so you do the math. It’s been a long time in the making. Where The DJ’s Roam is a documentary that tells several related stories centered around KGLT, the college/community radio station I work at. I have had the rough cut for several years. We started work on the sound track while we were working on Roy’s album. Despite watching it over and over, I never realized that Keith Lockwood had done such a great job with it.
7. Records
Don’t ask me what new bands I like. I spent the early part of the year squandering what little money I had on a quest to fill the holes in my 60′s UK 45 collection. Did it. Picked up all the Who, Move, Small Faces, Rolling Stones and a few others I was missing. I have a lot of stuff in my collection, some of it very rare. I reckon I was satisfied with US pressings on having the song on an album. Not any more. There is nothing like the sound of a rockin’ single.
New bands? I was introduced to Tony Miller’s band, Ideal Free Distribution. I liked them so much I asked Tony to sing on our record. The Norwegian band, Deleted Waveform Gathering was the other discovery. Their new release is even better.
Other than that, it was the old favorites. The new Wilco is a great one. I understand they are a band people love, or don’t. I’ve always like their sound, but since Nels Cline joined, I think have kicked it up a notch or two. Old favorites, REM had three releases this year, or is that four? The reissues of Murmer and Reckoning gave up bonus live concerts. Both are from their early prime, the one on Reckoning being my favorite of the two. I think Accelerate must have been released last year. The Live at the Olympia was recorded over five nights of live rehearsals for Accelerate. The set list was pack with old songs, some which hadn’t been played for years. The slimmed down band tears through them like they mean it. Drummer Bill Reflin finally gets to cut loose and show he is the perfect replacement for the much missed Bill Berry.
In the midsts of all this, Scott McCaughey managed to complete a new Minus 5 album and get the long overdue Young Fresh Fellows record out. Scott, Linda and Steve Wynn stopped by Career HQ on their way out on a Minus 5-Baseball Project tour. I think Scott had Robyn Hitchcock gigs as soon as he got back to Seattle. I’m sure he would have played on some Donovan’s Brain songs if he’d had been here for more than two hours.
I quite like the Soul Movers record. I had no reason to think it would turn out as well as it did. The song writing makes it. When I sat down to learn the songs, the story told finally became clear to me. Roy Loney’s new record with Senor No struck me the same way. An ep recorded a couple of years ago was good fun, but nothing on it would have lead me to expect Got Me A Hot One. Their sheer enthusiasm, and power make up for any lack of finesse. Roy had a great year. The reunion with Cyril put them both back in the spotlight.
8. Reading
Haven’t had much time to spend with a good book. There was yet another newly discovered PK Dick novel on the shelf. They promise this is the last one. I haven’t finished Voices From The Street yet, but it is classic early mainstream PKD. The other good news is Shindig on a regular schedule, six time a year, rather than once every six years. The writing is getting better and the new layout is easy on the eyes.
9. Politics.
The harsh reality that 8 years of Bush-Cheney left us with a massive pile of shit to sort out. Not an easy task for anyone. Had no reason to expect it to get better in January. The good thing is there is now intelligent discussion of real issues.
10. Food
Curry dominated the menu for most of the year. Stops in Billings for a dose of Siam Thai was always welcome. A brand new Thai in Bozeman, Lemon Grass holds promise. The switch to white wine has been difficult, but produced some real surprises. Pretty much have gone off the beer.
