Saturday, March 31, 2007

I'm watching the Cavs'-Bulls game right now on a 2 hour tivo delay. The Cavs are up by 12 with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter thanks to some inspired play in the past six minutes. Ilgauskas is back in - he's my favorite Cavs' player, and I need him to play well for my fantasy team.

Eric Snow has had three uncharacteristic turnovers so far. Well, he called a timeout to save the last one

40 seconds to go and Z comes up with a huge offensive rebound - and now Gooden gets one as well. It didn't matter in the end, LeBron got called for his second consecutive offensive foul.

...and I am an idiot. The OSU-Georgetown final four game is on RIGHT NOW. Someone told me it was at 5; I don't know why they assumed I knew they meant 5 ET. Oh well, 8 minutes left in the 1st, I didn't miss too much.

Wow, massive block off the glass by Oden.

3:41 - Conley Jr. answers a three with another, then both teams miss threes. Of course, two of the tallest, most talented big men in college are both on the court right now, so this makes sense.

3:43 - good Bud Light commercial with the self-refilling refridgerator. It will probably test well, so they'll run it into the ground over the next month and I'll hate it by Tuesday.

3:47 - where is this game being played? There's a lot of lime green on the court. I wonder what those big Final Four decals they put on the middle of the floor are made out of. Is it a giant plastic sticker? That must be impossible to take off.

Yes, this is my Bill Simmons impersonation.

3:50 - oh, it's in Atlanta.

3:52 - 4 point lead going into the half. Back to the Cavs.

A lot of basketball going on today. Bad start to the start of the 3rd quarter, two missed threes by the Cavs, one made by Ben Gordon and a lucky shot by PJ Brown. This is ugly right now. I predict a 16-4 run by the Bulls. Hey, it's national tv; it never fails with the Cavs.

Another three by Gordon. I think I hate him. But the Cavs are getting Ilgauskas involved.

Shit, yet another lucky three by Gordon. I really don't like him. And now Hinrich just hit a three. Really, I thought I just stopped watching college basketball. So between the 4 (!) quick threes and Brown's shot that's a 14-something run by the Bulls. My prediction might come true.

Ok, Cavs back up by 4. I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Noooo Larry Hughes, stop forcing shots. You're supposed to be the point guard now. Facilitate, facilitate.

Alright, back to the OSU game.

I am intentionally not writing anything. It's a back and forth game.

4:37 - Buckeyes back up by 4 for the eighth time. Hibbert with four fouls.

4:38 - apparently Miller Lite has won four 'best American style light beer' awards at the World Beer Championships. I hate Miller Lite. It's the Ben Gordon of beers. Way, way overrated.

4:42 - after Oden almost rebroke his wrist we get that great Cingular commercial with the guy who gets his phone stolen in Italy. His reaction when the thief gives it back is priceless.

4:49 - this game is electric right now. 2:36 to go and Oden just got his fourth foul, which Hibbert has had for a while now. OSU up by 4, again.

4:54 - a MONSTER basket by Lighty and a foul. That was huge. So huge. OSU is up by 9 now... and Oden grabs a big rebound. Only 1:14 to go. An OSU win will certainly mitigate the inevitable Cavs loss that's still coming to me.

4:57 - things are looking good. 44 seconds left.

5:03 - it's over. 3.7 seconds to go and OSU up by 5. This is great. We could still have the OSU-Florida rematch, and unprecedented event. Seriously, what are the odds of two schools (out of hundreds of D-1 programs) getting to the championship games of the two biggest sports in the same year?

5:06 - and it's official.

Ok, back to the Cavs. I'm going to need a beer.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007


It's official. I'll be releasing an EP on the Polymorphic Records netlabel sometime next month (if all goes well). It will be a 5 or 6 song preview of the new album, which will follow sometime in May, I'm hoping. So the wheels are in motion.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Something happened, and suddenly I am in Ohio.

So it goes.

Here is that demo of a cover I mentioned on the 22nd.


guess_who_wrote_this_song.mp3

Thursday, March 22, 2007



A couple days ago I recorded a cover in an hour and a half. I'll post it later today or tomorrow (I don't have the file on this computer). Bonus points to anyone who can name the title and artist. It shouldn't be too difficult.

Somehow I got myself into five NCAA basketball pools this year. I decided to maximize my chances of winning one of them by making each bracket different. I soon found out that this is a double-edged strategy, since after each game I was both happy and upset on different levels.

The strategy might still pay off. One of the pools has 291 entries, and as of right now, after the first two rounds, team Beer in second place. I tried to post a screenshot of the standings but for some reason it's not working. If anyone can influence the outcome of the Memphis and UNLV games I need both of them to win. Thank you.
I am very, very close to finishing the new CD. The final product is beginning to take shape in my mind. Some songs are nearly fully mixed. I still have some tracks to record, and lyrics to write for a couple songs, but it's coming along. Keep truckin.
After I post the aforementioned cover I will repost a more mixed version of the demo I posted last week. Then hopefully I will post another song, and then hopefully the album will be done. Before the official release there might be a partial EP release on a British netlabel. We will see.

Thursday, March 15, 2007


Just pointing out the obvious today.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007



Screw it, I'm posting an mp3.

Obviously it needs a lot of work - a few new parts, better vocals in places, definitely a lot of mixing, but you get the idea.

It might get a new title too. Suggestions welcome.

I think this is the first song I've posted in about a year.

return_to_glory.mp3

Monday, March 12, 2007


Yesterday I scored 5 goals in my weekly soccer pickup game. I am much more proud of that than I should be. And now I have announced it to the world, or at least the two people who read this.

Saturday I added some much-needed (keyboard) strings to a couple songs. I think there are a few more that could use some digitally-produced sounds to fill in some gaps. After that I'm having a friend come over and record some drums - a first for LOP recordings. We'll see how it goes (I don't know if I'll be able to get good sounds with my equipment/technical know-how).
Aside from the above I still have a few vocal overdubs to do, and I need to replace guitar parts here and there. Then after mixing, I will be done.
A while ago I said I'd post a few demos/works in progress, but I haven't done that. I would still like to, but I don't think I'll be able to decide on just one or two songs. We'll see.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007


I have a feeling today is not going to down in the history books for me. It's still early here in LA, but I'm at work, after which I will probably work on some music or my friend's website, then I have a rehearsal at 8:30, followed by an hour or two of free time before I go to bed in preparation for work tomorrow. Not exactly a day I'll remember a year from now. I probably won't remember it a week from now either.
In a related note, I could hop on a plane and be in the heart of Switzerland within 17 hours. I'm only missing ample time and money.
The Merchant of Venice and Othello were both set in Venice, but I don't think any evidence exists showing that Shakespeare visited there. This is probably one of the reasons why a lot of people don't think he was the author of many of his plays. You don't see me writing many songs about the Iditarod. Then again, I'm not Shakespeare.

Monday, March 5, 2007


Yes, I still do music.

I will say that Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the only album I have liked more each time I listen to it. As my friend Jeremy said, it is as close as you'll get to a perfect album. It's 10 years old but sounds like it could have been released yesterday. Bravo, Magnum.

I don't buy many CDs. The last one was Band of Horses, which was the first album I bought on itunes, but I can't remember what I bought before that. So it's a rare occurrence that in a few days I'll be buying three CDs (maybe more). They are:

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Of Montreal - the newest album (based on a strong recommendation from a friend)
Built to Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love (I used to own this but it was stolen)

I'll try to do a little write up of each after I get through enough listens.

Sunday, March 4, 2007

I just realized that in the picture below, you can actually see Mike Brown on the sidelines with his hands in his pockets. Fitting.