Oh man my back is killing me right now. Probably a combination of yesterday: playing drums for 30 minutes (will wear earplugs next time), doing 30 minutes on the treadmill (over-doing it?), and some free weights for upper body. Trying to stay in shape so I can rock out for long, high-energy sets and not run out of gas... and continue to get pegged for being 27 years old instead of 35, heh!


Saturday night with Eric Tessmer went pretty damn good! And fun!

I guess UT had beaten whoever they were playing so there was a crowd downtown, heh. I was well rested and sober (at least at the beginning of the evening) and felt way more on top of my game than two nights previous. Also had my pick fingers back and my fret hand felt strong. Awesome. Only used a pick on "Killing Floor" and "Down". Good long set and people were into it. Having Michael McDaniel with us helps us stretch out the jams even further, additional keys and organ solos and tenor/soprano sax solos. Awesome!

Finally about 2 hours in, Eric, Michael and I went out front for a smoke break as Richard did his drum solo. After about 5 minutes I observed, "Well, people aren't running outside, he must be doing pretty good!" So we gave him a few more minutes and went back inside, and sure enough, the half-circle around the small corner stage had grown! Can be hard to get people to dig on a drum solo, and he did it! Finished out the last hour+ with several free drinks from the crowd.

Afterwards lotta people made sure to come up and say they dug it. "Did you guys play ACL?!?!" "Uh, no..." "WHY NOT?!?!?" I have no idea, either politics or not enough fellating and manipulation of corporate genitalia, who knows. Probably the same reason I've lived in Austin for 9 years and only finally started playing official SXSW showcases last year because I was finally playing in a well-established band who was on a label (The Mother Truckers).


ANYWAY. Next morning HUGE blood blister on my R index finger. *shrugs* It'll peel and heal, no big deal. Just good to have my calluses back.


Yesterday I re-strung my bass for DR .40-.100 guage strings from my usual Dean Markley Blue Steel .45-.105. Wound up with several free boxes of them from the last King's X tour, might as well use them! Will do some heavy playing today to make sure they work. Tried to use them once before but felt too goddamn weird and switched back. But this time I adjusted the truss rod a bit so we'll see if they work. Free strings > the $25 a set ones I prefer...! Would still like a DM endorsement since I swear by their bass strings. But maybe I can at least trade in the DR .40's for DR .45's since they are still in the original boxes.


Trying to fill my schedule for financial reasons but tired of trolling Craigslist. Yes you can find some great opportunities there -- The Mother Truckers (hired), Jackson Taylor Band (not hired), Charlie Robison Band (not hired) -- but those are 1 in 1000 ads. Will start calling talent scout Billy Squire again, and look into others. Maybe also get an agent or something. Tessmer says he is hiring a booking agent to get some road gigs, but The Mother Truckers don't have much going on rest of the year save for the Oct happy hour slots and a Saturday (finally!!!) at Antone's next month.

I want to play well-paying gigs for good crowds in reputable venues, performing music that doesn't suck, and travel a lot.