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November 30, 2005
Back
The east coast feels good. Homey. And it was great beyond great to see my best friend again. Well, this is a week packed with shows. Played tonight at Di Piazzas in the LBC, along with Max Morgan, Bixby and Mike Marion, the combination of whom proved to be worthy of more shows with the same bill. Di Piazzas is great. Can't hear a darn thing on stage, but that somehow makes it better. Its as close to punk as ill ever feel. Especially with an acoustic guitar. Tomorrow night is at plush with Mike Vitale, thursday is a pet-store-starbucks gig and saturday is at a place i've never been to before called room 5 in la. Excited? Yes. Stressed? Yes. But this is it, right.? I am absolutely exhausted right now. But i feel good.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 03:51 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2005
numb
is my face. but my spirit is really really warm. Im here in boston with my best friend tyrone warren. Got out here yesterday and went directly to new york city. We were so so so excited at the prospect of watching a taping of conan obrien but alas, conan wasn't taping yesterday. So we walked around, drank coffee and froze our asses off. I am very much more of a city person than a tustin, california person. I love it. Im in an internet cafe in the most quaint boston building imaginable. We're playing tonight and i couldn't be more ready and excited. I was a bit worried because i've peen sick for the past couple days, and me singing on a sick voice is about as attractive as george bush reading "the road not taken". But i woke this morning feeling much better. And we rehearsed today and had a great time. Rob Doherty jumped in on drums, inducing many a moment. You know, those moments when the music is floating. Terry Lemanis is playing electric tonight and is quite fanciful.
Speaking of fanciful, i just bought "Try!", the new john mayer record. That guy is just the real thing and that's it. He is in many ways my musical salvation. My musical Jesus.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
Timing
Timing is everything. So getting sick during the week i need to be working harder than ever... not the best. I know im sick when i randomly fall asleep in the middle of the day. Yesterday i took like a four hour nap and woke up feeling rested but not all there. Im going back east on thursday to visit my best friend Tyrone and play a little music. Man am I excited.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2005
Tobias - the world's first Analrapist
Every time i see great live music, I am reminded that great musicians are more philosophers and psychologists than anything else.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 03:00 AM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2005
Togos
Their sandwiches are so good. And the one by my house is the nicest togos i've ever been in. Plates, pickles and chips! But today i got it to go, as i needed to get back home and continue planning and booking the january tour. Man am i excited. I've never been to most of the places were going before. And being on the road with Ty and Moses is really the best. I live in a strange world. I spend all day trying to convince people i've never met of how wonderful i am. I need a reality check. And tonight and tomorrow will be just that for me. Most wednesday nights i go to Java Joes to hear my friend Andy Wadell play. Andy is 18 or 19 and plays jazz. He is unbelievably talented. He either makes you want to go home an practice till dawn or never pick up a guitar again. And tomorrow night i have a little gig at starbucks and then am going to see my hero play at steamers. I think its safe to call him my hero. His name is Joe Jewell and he also plays Jazz guitar. And he will blow your mind. The second set is always better, too.
The starbucks gig is something i do once or twice a month. Its really really good for me because 1) it pays. 2) It makes me realize that i don't want to be that guy in 5 years. Hell, i really don't want to be that guy now. And 3) I get to hang out in the town i grew up in, Long Beach. Belmont Shores to be exact. Whenever i do a starbucks gig i feel like a puppy in a pet store window. A couple walks by outside, and the girl sees me playing. She slows down to realize that im playing a john mayer or gavin degraw song. She forces her boyfriend or husband to go in and listen. He is reluctant, but sees that i have a nice guitar. They stay till the end of the song, at which point the man insists on continuing on their way. I am a novelty. Cute but not cute enough to take home. That is motivation to book this tour and get out and play actual shows.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)
November 13, 2005
Cold nights and hot licks
I played at a wedding tonight. An outdoor wedding. In november. Grated, this is california, but it was a cold one none the less. I could see my breath as i shakely spouted out "ill be, your cryin' shoulder..." Good times, and one hell of a dessert buffet. Things are changing in my life right now. I think i've been living in a fog for, well, maybe my whole life. Or at least since adolescence. And i don't really know if im coming out of the fog, so much as just becoming aware of the fogginess. Currently reading "searching for god knows what" and loving it. Not as much as "blue like jazz" but still great. There is a feeling had at the completion of any given thing. Well, there are many feelings, but one that tends to dominate my self. Its this feeling of "man, i learned a lot from that experience but boy am i glad its over. Definitely can't picture myself starting that now". Do you know what i'm talking about? Anyone who's graduated from high school or college knows what im talking about. And so the experience ends and we go on to the next thing at the end of which we have the same feeling. And i think that at the end of life, this feeling is felt as well. Am i crazy? Anyone else ever think about this stuff?
John Mayer is on myspace and it makes me love him even more. His appearance in the digital blog community is especially timely for me because a couple days ago i listened to "heaver things" again and was re-blown-away. That album is the music i hear in my head. Especially the guitar tone on, well, every song.
I really wish i was more into sports. every time i go to bj's i feel like less of a man every fifteen minutes because the whole place erupts in either cheering or profanity because of whatever game is on. And there i sit, miller light in hand, sheepishly continuing the conversation i was having prior to my being reminded of how not masculine i am. However, a saturday with my dad watching college football is really the best. I really don't even know what is going on but i find myself, at times, yelling "OH COME ON!!! WHAT WAS THAT?" It really all comes down to the fact that i, like you and everyone else on earth, have a need to feel loved and significant. And i am not fulfilled. Yet. And here is the tension. The war waged inside me between american capitalist and eastern philosopher. I want peace. Now, dammit! But i know that i need to live in the moment and realize how not in control i am. Now if i can just figure out some way to market that...
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 01:22 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2005
Oh man
There are times in life at which you realize you aren't getting any younger. This is a good thing. Time to do the damn thing, as Richard Marion would say.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
Beer Floats
My friend Will just got back from a trip quite literally around the world. So to honor his homecoming, we made beer floats. The college students' answer to the popular and flavorful rootbeer float. Only none of us are in college anymore. Were all still living that ambiguous, somewhat directionless life, but aren't in school. Which is great. Anyway, back to the important stuff. A tall glass of cold Guinness with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream will surely take the stress of daily life away. And so after hearing Will talk about the fifty million places he traveled to during the past eight months, i have realized: its all good! Life is good and im twenty four and have essentially no real cause for stress. Or concern, or worry or loneliness or anxiety. Its all good! People in Africa are worried and stressed because they don't know where their next meal will come from. People in Newport Coast are worried and stressed because they don't know how they're going to make the mortgage payment on their 8 million dollar house this month. And so i think: we're all the same. Were all in the same boat and all in need of the same salvation. We in the church use that term all the time. "Saved". What the hell from? I think we all know the answer to that question. Just look around. We're not right. But the semantics of it all complicates things. Therein lies the beauty and need for art. We all know it. Art is the way in which we communicate those things we could never really say even if we tried.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
Back east, out west
My entire life, my mother has always corrected me if i said something like "im going out to the east coast". She has always said "No, its BACK east, and OUT west". I love my mom. So, when i recently told her that i'm going out to the east coast at the end of this month, she gracefully corrected me. Im really excited about this trip, if for no other reason than the weather i'll experience. I know, the grass is always greener. Or, i mean, icier. But im still looking forward to it. Im in the process of booking shows BACK there right now and every time i talk to someone on the phone, and hear their accent, i get even more excited. The Vanguard Sex Rally was wonderful. They did, however, pass out condoms with the phrase "Keep your pants on" attached. Yeah, don't really get that, but i don't have to.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 02:23 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2005
Shouldn't I like, have a real job or something?
The past weekend and holiday were a lot of fun. The boys and I went up to San Luis Obispo on thursday and played at what is becoming one of my favorite places in california, the frog and peach. It's octoberfest in slo right now and the people were out in droves, intent on telling us how much they loved us. Pure chaotic fun. The following night was a cd release party for my friends' the Mike Marion band. They are great and we had a lot of fun. But by far the highlight of the past few days was last night when moses and I ended up backstage at the fallout boy/motioncity soundtrack show. So life is good right now. This thursday were playing at Vanguard University as part of their "sexuality week". The phone call i got went something like "well, were having our sexuality week and most of your songs are... you know..." Ha! Awesome! Im flattered. I watched last night a documentary on the band Lucero. It was both totally depressing and totally uplifting. Depressing because they are an indie band who tour constantly. Depressing because they are in indie band who tour constantly. Its a tough lifestyle to live and I'm pretty sure I'm diving into it. But i know i would be pissed at myself later on in life if I didn't at least give it a shot.
Posted by chriscoxmusic at 08:22 AM | Comments (3)