Outside Lands acts were just announced this morning, for the Aug. 28-30 event in Golden Gate Park.
Headliners are:
Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band and the Beastie Boys!
The under card is just as impressive:
M.I.A., Blackeyed Peas, The Mars Volta, Band of Horses, TV On the Radio, Ween, Jason Mraz, Incubus, Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, Atmosphere, Brett Dennen, Silversun Pickups, The National, Lila Downs...the list goes on, and is available complete at www.sfoutsidelands.com.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Monday, 23 March 2009
There's a new kid in town
Well, I found out that the man behind tonight's surprising Michelle Shocked show at Marilyn's TONIGHT is Scott Brill-Lehn, and he's got quite a line up of shows coming. Two that I'm particularly jazzed about - OK, three - no, four - are rippin' guitarist Junior Brown at Marilyn's on April 9, live techno band BLVD at Beatnik Studios (very cool place if you've not been there, and even if you have) on April 29, Skinny SIngers at Marilyn's on May 2, and Mike (M) Doughty, formerly of fabulous Soul Coughing, at Marilyn's on May 10.
For more details, visit www.sblentertainment.com
Right ON, Scott. I'll do what I can to help.
Here's the line-up.
For more details, visit www.sblentertainment.com
Right ON, Scott. I'll do what I can to help.
Here's the line-up.
Monday, March 23, 2009 7:00 pm
Michelle Shocked
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)
Monday, April 6, 2009 7:00 pm
Papa Grows Funk
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)
Saturday, May 2, 2009 8:00 pm
Skinny Singers (featuring Jackie Greene and Tim Bluhm)
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, US (MAP)
Sunday, May 10, 2009 7:00 pm
Mike Doughty
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)
Tickets: $18 Advanced $20 DOS
Buy now @ "Tickets" page - Tix on sale 3/2/09
Artist Website: www.mikedoughty.com
Buy now @ "Tickets" page - Tix on sale 3/2/09
Artist Website: www.mikedoughty.com
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 7:00 pm
That 1 Guy
Beatnik Studios, 2421 17th St., Sacramento, CA, 95818 (MAP)
Sunday, May 31, 2009 7:00 pm
Melvin Seals and JGB
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814
(MAP)www.jgbband.comTickets: $20 Advance $25 Day of Show: Buy @ "Tickets" page
(MAP)www.jgbband.comTickets: $20 Advance $25 Day of Show: Buy @ "Tickets" page
Saturday, June 20, 2009 7:00 pm
Charlie Musselwhite
Marilyn's on K, 908 K St., Sacramento, CA, 95814 (MAP)
Sunday, 22 March 2009
How the HELL did I miss this?
Michelle Shocked is apparently playing Marilyn's on K Monday night, March 22.
Even my best friend didn't tell me. WTF?
Better to know now than later, however...
Cool!
Even my best friend didn't tell me. WTF?
Better to know now than later, however...
Cool!
Worldfest acts: Indigo Girls, Los Lobos, Jackie and Tim
So, people keep telling me, "I read your blog," and my answer is always, "WHAT, exactly are you reading?" Because I am so lame - and so all over the place, I'm a tad scattershot. I write stuff for SacramentoPress.com, where I am managing editor, and for other publications.
And Facebook has really usurped the blog, to a degree, though you can't write LONG on Facebook. Not even close. But is writing long really still of any value in the era of Twitter? I'd say yes. But not as long as we used to get away with in Features at The Bee. Let alone the New Yorker. But that's not my level.
So, Worldfest. California Worldfest. I've been the last three years, and at this point, would not miss it. Terrific setting, great food and people, and the bands are ALL OVER the place - seriously a more diverse festival of live musicians is not available in this area. I'm a big fan of High Sierra, but it's more a particular realm - "jam band" stuff, with newjazz around the edges - but California Worldfest really does bring in musicians from all over the world, and from all realms of music.
Two artists who stick out from my three years are Eileen Ivers, a remarkable fiddler (with a great band) from Ireland (but with African rhythms) and Fiama Fumana of Italy, who play techno music with "natural" instruments, live. Brilliant concept, great execution.
Now, from Worldfest HQ in Chico, some news: This year's festival runs July 16-19, and there are some interesting acts, most of whom I've never heard of, which I like.
Just added: The Indigo Girls. Other you-know-'em acts on the schedule: Los Lobos, Tommy Emmanuel (great Australian acoustic virtuoso in the Kottke realm, guy plays the guitar so hard it's got holes in it!), Sacramento homeboy Jackie Greene in his collaboration with Tim Bluhm from Mother Hips (The Skinny Singers), and Wailing Souls.
Others:
Lura (Cape Verde Afro-pop)
Old Blind Dogs (Scottish Celts)
Issa Bagayogo (Malian Roots & Dance)
Ledward Kaapana (Hawaiian Slack Key)
Gokh Bi System (Senegalese Hip Hop)
Bearfoot (Alaskan Americana)
Bluehouse (Australian Folk/pop)
Abalone Dots (Swedish Softgrass)
Fishtank Ensemble (Gypsy & Flamenco)
John Cruz (Hawaii’s Singer/songwriter)
Del Castillo (Flamenco & Latin Rock)
Joe Craven (Rhythm Mania) - LOVE JOE!!!
On Ensemble (Taiko Drum)
Cuban Cowboys (Cuban Surf Rock)
Banana Slug String Band (Eco Family Music)
Markus James & the Wassonrai (Blues Connection-Africa to America)
Done Gone String Band (Yukon Old Timey)
MaMuse (Singer/Songwriters)
Handful of Luvin’ (Jam ‘n Dance)
More artists will be added as the contracts are signed. Go to www.worldfest.net to listen to the artists and for a continual line-up updates. Information at 530-891-4098. The Early Bird Ticket Special deadline is March 30 - you'll save $20 off of each adult 4-Day or 3-Day camping ticket.
And Facebook has really usurped the blog, to a degree, though you can't write LONG on Facebook. Not even close. But is writing long really still of any value in the era of Twitter? I'd say yes. But not as long as we used to get away with in Features at The Bee. Let alone the New Yorker. But that's not my level.
So, Worldfest. California Worldfest. I've been the last three years, and at this point, would not miss it. Terrific setting, great food and people, and the bands are ALL OVER the place - seriously a more diverse festival of live musicians is not available in this area. I'm a big fan of High Sierra, but it's more a particular realm - "jam band" stuff, with newjazz around the edges - but California Worldfest really does bring in musicians from all over the world, and from all realms of music.
Two artists who stick out from my three years are Eileen Ivers, a remarkable fiddler (with a great band) from Ireland (but with African rhythms) and Fiama Fumana of Italy, who play techno music with "natural" instruments, live. Brilliant concept, great execution.
Now, from Worldfest HQ in Chico, some news: This year's festival runs July 16-19, and there are some interesting acts, most of whom I've never heard of, which I like.
Just added: The Indigo Girls. Other you-know-'em acts on the schedule: Los Lobos, Tommy Emmanuel (great Australian acoustic virtuoso in the Kottke realm, guy plays the guitar so hard it's got holes in it!), Sacramento homeboy Jackie Greene in his collaboration with Tim Bluhm from Mother Hips (The Skinny Singers), and Wailing Souls.
Others:
Lura (Cape Verde Afro-pop)
Old Blind Dogs (Scottish Celts)
Issa Bagayogo (Malian Roots & Dance)
Ledward Kaapana (Hawaiian Slack Key)
Gokh Bi System (Senegalese Hip Hop)
Bearfoot (Alaskan Americana)
Bluehouse (Australian Folk/pop)
Abalone Dots (Swedish Softgrass)
Fishtank Ensemble (Gypsy & Flamenco)
John Cruz (Hawaii’s Singer/songwriter)
Del Castillo (Flamenco & Latin Rock)
Joe Craven (Rhythm Mania) - LOVE JOE!!!
On Ensemble (Taiko Drum)
Cuban Cowboys (Cuban Surf Rock)
Banana Slug String Band (Eco Family Music)
Markus James & the Wassonrai (Blues Connection-Africa to America)
Done Gone String Band (Yukon Old Timey)
MaMuse (Singer/Songwriters)
Handful of Luvin’ (Jam ‘n Dance)
More artists will be added as the contracts are signed. Go to www.worldfest.net to listen to the artists and for a continual line-up updates. Information at 530-891-4098. The Early Bird Ticket Special deadline is March 30 - you'll save $20 off of each adult 4-Day or 3-Day camping ticket.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Back in The Bee, sorta
Rainy, rainy day. Naked Lounge as crowded as I've ever seen it, ditto the Apple Store - WHAT recession?
I was asked by Daniel Weintraub at The Bee to write an editorial for the paper. It ended up not on paper, but on The Bee's website, here.
And here's the actual text...
I was asked by Daniel Weintraub at The Bee to write an editorial for the paper. It ended up not on paper, but on The Bee's website, here.
And here's the actual text...
Paper is passe, but the need for news lives on
Published: Sunday, Mar. 1, 2009 - 12:00 am
I was in San Francisco recently, sleeping above a quiet residential street. At sunrise, I heard a sound like nail guns: "POW!" "Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow!" It echoed up the street, and as a vehicle drove past, I realized that it was the free daily Examiner being delivered to every house.
It was so industrial, it reminded me that what is changing most these days is not journalism itself, but its means of delivery. The resources required to create and deliver the paper are getting scarcer and more expensive.
But the human need to tell stories, and to hear them told, is not gone. Nor is the need for accurate, dependable information in a free society. With the Internet, the information and the stories are more easily available than ever before. This is good.
But the nature of journalism, like its delivery, is also changing. These days, the Internet has made "broadcasting," in all its forms, passé. The model that traditional journalists take for granted, whether in print or on radio or TV, is morphing. The Internet allows for a "narrowcasting" of the news, which appeals to readers interested in specific topics and advertisers interested in reaching specific groups of people.
But more crucially, the Internet provides two-way communication. I'd like to see more direct input from the public. Readers responding to news stories, readers writing news stories, and all of it delivered via the Web. The Internet has turned the model of large newspapers being the "gatekeepers" of information on its head. Large newspapers are still diligently minding the "gates," but the fences are down. The information is flowing around those gates.
Although the Sacramento Press is largely reader-written, I continue to encourage the age-old principles of newspapers - accuracy, fairness, timeliness - for the simple reason that newspapers evolved over a long time in a very competitive and flexible market, and those principles work. But we are all gatekeepers now.
David Watts Barton is the managing editor of the Sacramento Press at www.sacramentopress.com
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Here comes the weekend!
Sacramento's music scene looks to be pretty busy this next week, from club shows to ticket on-sales for some of the biggest names in the world.
Tickets on sale include those for Coldplay's summer tour, which is scheduled for the Sleep Train Amphitheatre on July 14. Tickets go on sale Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Another is Bloc Party's April 21 show at Freeborn Hall in Davis, going on sale this Friday morning at 10 a.m.
Another big name tour going on sale will not hit Sacramento - at least it hasn't been announced - but it is a show that will please Sacramento's classic rock-hungry concert-going audience: Eric Clapton's duo tour with Steve Winwood. The two were band mates in the 1969 "supergroup," Blind Faith, and songs from that band's one album, including Winwood's stoner classic, "Can't Find My Way Home" and Clapton's prayer-like "Presence of the Lord," will be highlights of the show.Tickets for the June 29 show at Oakland's Oracle Arena, will go on sale Monday, March 2.
Also on sale this Saturday, tickets to see the biggest-selling artist of 2008, Lil Wayne, who will play the HP Pavilion in San Jose on March 27.
Speaking of best-selling artists, U2's last album sold almost 10 million copies worldwide. The quartet's first album in nearly five years, No Line on the Horizon, drops on Tuesday.
More down to earth, a couple of hip-hop classics will be playing Sacramento this week. First up is Kool Keith, once of the Ultramagnetic MCs in the late '80s, will be playing Harlow’s tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 25), but if you're up for someone more contemporary, you can't do better than the lyrical flow and deep wit of Lyrics Born, who will play Harlow's on Saturday, headlining a five-hour show of hip hop and rock acts, mostly from around this area.
Alt.rock fans will want to catch Portugal. The Man. at Harlow's Thursday night, while lovers of old school country blues rock stalwarts Little Feat will probably enjoy the stripped down acoustic duo of the current Feat's main guitarists, Paul Barrare and Fred Tackett. The duo will be playing Harlow's on Sunday night.
Throw in last night's A.C. Newman show and it's clear that Harlow's is having quite a week, as one look at their sign (above) will confirm.
Other shows: Jon McLaughlin and the Rocket 88 will play the Hard Rock Café in downtown Sacramento on Sunday, and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will raise their voices on Friday at the Guild Theatre in Oak Park.
Elsewhere, a Smiths cover band called This Charming Band will play the Blue Lamp on Friday and a band called Everest will play Old Ironsides on Monday evening.
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Catching up...
Jeez. a month since I last posted. I'm most on Facebook now, and SacramentoPress.com, but I felt the need to post here...it is, after all, my original online home.
I'm posting because I want to note what Julie said this morning: I'm on fire. I have eight different gigs this week - I am part of what I just heard called "the Gig Economy" the other day, love that - and I wanted to note them, just get 'em all down.
My main gig, of course, is Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com, and I'm writing and editing daily for that (like, seven days a week). Beyond that, this week I just finished a promotional piece for the Mondavi Center, and will have a long-ago-written piece I did for SMUD's website finally come on line (I think).
More importantly, I'll be hosting Insight on 90.9 FM today at 2 p.m. Still just love that gig, it's the MOST fun.
Well, the MOST fun is playing music (I think), which I'll be doing twice this week: Wednesday night at Luna's with Jackson Griffith, doing the round-robin singer/songwriter thing that got me the Insight gig in the first place. Thanks for having me, Jackson. I'll be playing mostly my songs, which I've not done in some time. But since I'm thinking that I'm ready to record my second (once-a-decade) album, I need to get my chops back.
And on Saturday, even though it's not my show, I'm VERY jazzed to be a part of the "Songs about Presidents" show at Marilyn's on K, with a bunch of local songwriters, including Christian Kiefer and Matty Gerkin, who wrote many of the songs for the epic "Of Great and Mortal Men" CD that came out last fall. I'm singing Presidents Grant and Buchanan, and MCing the show. Richard Marsh and Kate Gaffney will also be playing. It's going to be as big as its subjects.
What else? KFBK tomorrow night before the show (ah, cross-promotion, I love it) doing my weekly thing that I've been pretty slack about. Also, Dan Weintraub of the Bee asked me to write a bit about SacramentoPress.com for this Sunday's "Conversation" in Forum.
And I am doing my regular reporting for Bloomberg Financial News in New York, though sadly - OH, SO SADLY - I am losing that gig at the end of the month, a victim (like many others, even at Bloomberg) of the sucking economy. But that gig kept me afloat and I am very grateful to have had it. And Bloomberg wants me to keep freelancing, I'm just losing my retainer. Whatever. ONWARD!
OK, that's it. For anyone still reading - WHY? - thank you very much. And come down to Luna's and Marilyn's, they're going to be good shows!
Just remembered another thing: I'm speaking to Steve Maviglio's class at Sac state tomorrow morning. This is ridiculous.
I'm posting because I want to note what Julie said this morning: I'm on fire. I have eight different gigs this week - I am part of what I just heard called "the Gig Economy" the other day, love that - and I wanted to note them, just get 'em all down.
My main gig, of course, is Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com, and I'm writing and editing daily for that (like, seven days a week). Beyond that, this week I just finished a promotional piece for the Mondavi Center, and will have a long-ago-written piece I did for SMUD's website finally come on line (I think).
More importantly, I'll be hosting Insight on 90.9 FM today at 2 p.m. Still just love that gig, it's the MOST fun.
Well, the MOST fun is playing music (I think), which I'll be doing twice this week: Wednesday night at Luna's with Jackson Griffith, doing the round-robin singer/songwriter thing that got me the Insight gig in the first place. Thanks for having me, Jackson. I'll be playing mostly my songs, which I've not done in some time. But since I'm thinking that I'm ready to record my second (once-a-decade) album, I need to get my chops back.
And on Saturday, even though it's not my show, I'm VERY jazzed to be a part of the "Songs about Presidents" show at Marilyn's on K, with a bunch of local songwriters, including Christian Kiefer and Matty Gerkin, who wrote many of the songs for the epic "Of Great and Mortal Men" CD that came out last fall. I'm singing Presidents Grant and Buchanan, and MCing the show. Richard Marsh and Kate Gaffney will also be playing. It's going to be as big as its subjects.
What else? KFBK tomorrow night before the show (ah, cross-promotion, I love it) doing my weekly thing that I've been pretty slack about. Also, Dan Weintraub of the Bee asked me to write a bit about SacramentoPress.com for this Sunday's "Conversation" in Forum.
And I am doing my regular reporting for Bloomberg Financial News in New York, though sadly - OH, SO SADLY - I am losing that gig at the end of the month, a victim (like many others, even at Bloomberg) of the sucking economy. But that gig kept me afloat and I am very grateful to have had it. And Bloomberg wants me to keep freelancing, I'm just losing my retainer. Whatever. ONWARD!
OK, that's it. For anyone still reading - WHY? - thank you very much. And come down to Luna's and Marilyn's, they're going to be good shows!
Just remembered another thing: I'm speaking to Steve Maviglio's class at Sac state tomorrow morning. This is ridiculous.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Here comes the weekend...
Stuff you can hear:
Pepper tomorrow night (Thursday) at Empire at 15th and R. Also on the bill, Supervillians and Passafire. Sounds cool.
And Friday night, some very cool acoustic music from the fast-rising alt.bluegrass group Devil Makes Three, at the Blue Lamp at Alhambra and N Street.
They need no introduction, but Cheech and Chong have been gone long enough that you might need a refresher. They'll be at the Memorial Auditorium in Sactown on Saturday night. (And please, no "Dave's not here" references...I grew up on that sh*t.)
And finally, Disturbed headlines a headbanger's bill that also includes Avenged Sevenfold and Skindred, Sunday at Arco Arena.
Here's Disturbed doing a cover of Metallica's "Fade to Black," with Avenged Sevenfold following...
Never could get with the hypermetal beats, but what the heck...there you have it.
Pepper tomorrow night (Thursday) at Empire at 15th and R. Also on the bill, Supervillians and Passafire. Sounds cool.
And Friday night, some very cool acoustic music from the fast-rising alt.bluegrass group Devil Makes Three, at the Blue Lamp at Alhambra and N Street.
They need no introduction, but Cheech and Chong have been gone long enough that you might need a refresher. They'll be at the Memorial Auditorium in Sactown on Saturday night. (And please, no "Dave's not here" references...I grew up on that sh*t.)
And finally, Disturbed headlines a headbanger's bill that also includes Avenged Sevenfold and Skindred, Sunday at Arco Arena.
Here's Disturbed doing a cover of Metallica's "Fade to Black," with Avenged Sevenfold following...
Never could get with the hypermetal beats, but what the heck...there you have it.
Monday, 19 January 2009
And Springsteen opening the whole thing
And this is what Springsteen doing "The Rising" looked like from the crowd. Nice perspective...
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Onward
This blog is slowly - ok, not so slowly - being eclipsed by other forms of media. But jeez, isn't that the norm these days?
Twitter, Facebook and now SacramentoPress.com are proving much more dynamic, and accessible, than this blog has been. In any case, I never much warmed to it. I may find that I go to it more for personal posts, but I may just let it die.
In any case, I have GREAT news to report: I just accepted (duh!) a job as Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com. The site, only up two months, is doing what I wanted to do when I left The Bee - actually, before I left The Bee, but the Bee had other ideas (thanks, RickRod!) - and much, much more. And the two guys running this know the Web far, far better than I. But I'm learning a lot.
So, bloggingthegrid has done its duty to my career, if not exactly to Sacramento (though I like to think it contributed). If you haven't checked out SacramentoPress.com, please do, I think you'll find it interesting, in potential if not in fact. In fact ain't bad - I got a great interview with a guy at The Bee who is training the people from India who are taking his job back to Jaipur - but in potential, it's simply astonishing. And with the crew we are assembling there, it can only get better.
So, thanks very much for paying attention to BloggingtheGrid, and no, this is not goodbye = but my attentions will be even more on SacramentoPress.com, and I'm still covering state courts for Bloomberg News, and then there will be Insight again (soon, I hope) and who knows what's next? A new album?
Good grief, what am I thinking?
Twitter, Facebook and now SacramentoPress.com are proving much more dynamic, and accessible, than this blog has been. In any case, I never much warmed to it. I may find that I go to it more for personal posts, but I may just let it die.
In any case, I have GREAT news to report: I just accepted (duh!) a job as Managing Editor of SacramentoPress.com. The site, only up two months, is doing what I wanted to do when I left The Bee - actually, before I left The Bee, but the Bee had other ideas (thanks, RickRod!) - and much, much more. And the two guys running this know the Web far, far better than I. But I'm learning a lot.
So, bloggingthegrid has done its duty to my career, if not exactly to Sacramento (though I like to think it contributed). If you haven't checked out SacramentoPress.com, please do, I think you'll find it interesting, in potential if not in fact. In fact ain't bad - I got a great interview with a guy at The Bee who is training the people from India who are taking his job back to Jaipur - but in potential, it's simply astonishing. And with the crew we are assembling there, it can only get better.
So, thanks very much for paying attention to BloggingtheGrid, and no, this is not goodbye = but my attentions will be even more on SacramentoPress.com, and I'm still covering state courts for Bloomberg News, and then there will be Insight again (soon, I hope) and who knows what's next? A new album?
Good grief, what am I thinking?
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
A slow start to a great year!
It's a pretty quiet week coming up, with most nightlife activity based on the first Second Saturday of the year. There are some cool art shows coming up, and the new outlet of the Sacramento Bike Kitchen will open at 19th and I Streets. Get more info at SacramentoPress.com.
For music that night, my for-sure pick is the EP release party by Nice Monster, featuring singer/songwriter J. Matthew Gerken, one of the three men responsible for the brilliant three-CD concept album "Of Great and Mortal Men," a.k.a. The Presidents Album. They'll be playing the Fox and Goose on Saturday.
Other shows of note are all local bands, including a great double bill at Luna's on Friday featuring singer songwriters Ricky Berger and Chelsea Wolfe. Here's Ricky...
The local act named 20,000 will celebrate the release of its new CD at Java Lounge, also on on Friday night.
In San Francisco on Friday and Saturday nights, the Wailers will celebrate the anniversary of the release of the great album Exodus, by playing the whole thing live at the Independent. Minus Bob Marley, of course...
The big "name" event of the weekend is the three-day run of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which is now almost 40 years old. That'll be playing at the Community Center Theatre Friday through Sunday.
And the first "battle" of the the Jammies series of "battles of the bands" will take place Friday night at Club Retro, the all-ages venue in Orangevale. That leads up to the big Jammies show at the Crest on Feb. 28. For a listing of the Jammies showcases, go here.
And that's just about it.
For music that night, my for-sure pick is the EP release party by Nice Monster, featuring singer/songwriter J. Matthew Gerken, one of the three men responsible for the brilliant three-CD concept album "Of Great and Mortal Men," a.k.a. The Presidents Album. They'll be playing the Fox and Goose on Saturday.
Other shows of note are all local bands, including a great double bill at Luna's on Friday featuring singer songwriters Ricky Berger and Chelsea Wolfe. Here's Ricky...
The local act named 20,000 will celebrate the release of its new CD at Java Lounge, also on on Friday night.
In San Francisco on Friday and Saturday nights, the Wailers will celebrate the anniversary of the release of the great album Exodus, by playing the whole thing live at the Independent. Minus Bob Marley, of course...
The big "name" event of the weekend is the three-day run of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which is now almost 40 years old. That'll be playing at the Community Center Theatre Friday through Sunday.
And the first "battle" of the the Jammies series of "battles of the bands" will take place Friday night at Club Retro, the all-ages venue in Orangevale. That leads up to the big Jammies show at the Crest on Feb. 28. For a listing of the Jammies showcases, go here.
And that's just about it.
Monday, 29 December 2008
A new year's feint at posting...
A week since I posted, and now with SacramentoPress.com, Facebook - did everyone get Facebook for Xmas or something? - and Twitter, the role of the archaic old BLOG is ever more fuzzy in my 20th century mind.
A great Xmas week, heading into new years with a renewed sense of purpose and an increasing income. And new plans for 2009. Like what?
Well, continuing to make a living is a good. Continuing to be a good partner and dad-like fixture. And son to parents who are more and more like children.
Oh, and on the anniversary of my first album - 1999's Straight - a follow up? I've got the songs, and a potential bookend title: Bent. But that's a gimme. Surely, I can be more creative than that? We'll see. Finding the TIME is going to be the trick.
So, back to work. Life is good. Carry on! See you next year.
A great Xmas week, heading into new years with a renewed sense of purpose and an increasing income. And new plans for 2009. Like what?
Well, continuing to make a living is a good. Continuing to be a good partner and dad-like fixture. And son to parents who are more and more like children.
Oh, and on the anniversary of my first album - 1999's Straight - a follow up? I've got the songs, and a potential bookend title: Bent. But that's a gimme. Surely, I can be more creative than that? We'll see. Finding the TIME is going to be the trick.
So, back to work. Life is good. Carry on! See you next year.
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Christmas Eve thoughts
So, now that I'm managing editor of SacramentoPress.com, and have a number of writing outlets, and the much-desired "multiple income streams," I may go a bit more personal with the blog. That's what they are, right? (And for you tired of my Hamlet routine regarding content, well...you're not reading anymore anyway...)
This has been SUCH an intense year, macro and micro, and not just for me. Christmas Even has me thinking about how it's affected me, and everyone around me.
For me, navigating the currents of no regular job has been a remarkable series of lessons, and I'm glad I'm learning them, though I'm not such a fan of the process. And I'm one of the lucky ones. I've got time and money to be able to sit at my favorite coffee place and drink and surf and chat and yes, write. My confusion about what to write notwithstanding, I'm a writer, always have been, always will be. And that in itself is a blessing beyond measure. Really. I never, ever forget how lucky I am. (And that's not even counting a great family, friends who ARE family, and a soulmate who gets me even when I don't, and who is a model of calm and groundedness.)
But no steady income - or not ONE steady income - has been a frightening thing at times, and the temptation to find a port in the storm is exceptionally appealing. But at the same time, I find myself resisting what I once thought I couldn't live without: Security. I've gotten THIS far, who's to say I can't go further? I've already been through the fire - now it's just a matter of continuing to dance well on the coals.
Still, security beckons. But that's another story...
I'm thinking beyond myself right now. I just visited a local merchant, an old favorite, and she intoned, at some point, in words to the effect of, "You know, it's all going down next year. Total collapse." Coming just hours after I posted a comment on McClatchy's stock price dipping below a dollar (down from $70 four years ago) on SacramentoPress.com, a few days after I wrote a piece for Bloomberg News about the lawsuits flying between state workers unions and the Governor, The Bee on the table in front of me warning of funding cuts for this and that, my friends' comment was jarring.
Sure, it comes through her prism of the ongoing struggle of any small business, but this is a notion I'm familiar with from the past year, and probably longer: It could all just fall apart. And I've got no real protection, everything could be taken away just like that. And then I'm just...done.
Done? What does that mean? For a generation that grew up in the shadow of the nuclear bomb and the population bomb, with AIDS and global warming following on, the notion of everything just going to hell is overly familiar. We're the apocalypse generation.
And while we've been through previous financial crises, this time feels different. This feels like a disaster. The actual forecasts aren't THAT bad - even 10 percent unemployment is still only one in 10 - but you hear about enough things being the worst "in a generation" or "since World War II," and the mind...goes with it.
And then there are all the friends I have who are leaving jobs - The Bee, specifically, but that's hardly the only place - and they're looking for some security, some encouragement, some hope. They don't k now what's next. They're not sleeping well. Their 401k is way down (forget for a minute that a lot of people don't HAVE 401ks - losing is worse than never having, sometimes.) Things feel desperate.
But despite everything that is happening, I find that I can offer hope. Because despite the sleepless nights, the bill-juggling, and the ongoing glimpses-over-the-precipice, I'm still here, and thriving. I'm managing editor of a promising new venture, I'm a regular stringer for Bloomberg News, and I'm even writing for The Bee occasionally. I do my gig hosting Insight on KXJZ whenever I can - a pleasure that I never saw coming when I left The Bee - and I've got a number of freelance clients. I'm even playing a show with Jackson Griffith on Feb. 18 at Luna's.
And I have a hell of a lot of fun. And I'm being a good son. And a good partner. And I'm even paying down my credit card debt.
So, this meander is, at bottom, to say this: Merry Christmas, everything's going to be alright. Everything is NOT going to collapse, even though it may feel that way. Life will go on, there will be ups and downs and challenges and set backs and amazing, amazing victories. And they will pass, too. And through it all, one can moan and worry and fret, or one can still notice the colors of the trees, the glorious noise that is music, and enjoy, yes, the old cliche: the smile of a child.
And that's what Christmas is to me, a certified ex-Christian: the season of hope. We just passed the darkest night of the year on Sunday, and we partied right through it - happy birthday Jon! Congratulations on getting tenure, Hugh! - and our celebration managed, just like the dances of primitive history, to satisfy the gods and start the days lengthening again.
Soon, the rain - which is gloomy, yes, but remember our drought worries? - will stop, trees will bud, the legislature and governor will get a clue, the market will bottom, and mortgage rates of 5.1% will lure buyers back to houses, and things won't seem so dire. Until next time.
And it is my holiday wish to you, that next time this happens, you remember how bad it was in December 2008, how scary it was, and note that it really wasn't all that bad after all.
It's just life. Live it
This has been SUCH an intense year, macro and micro, and not just for me. Christmas Even has me thinking about how it's affected me, and everyone around me.
For me, navigating the currents of no regular job has been a remarkable series of lessons, and I'm glad I'm learning them, though I'm not such a fan of the process. And I'm one of the lucky ones. I've got time and money to be able to sit at my favorite coffee place and drink and surf and chat and yes, write. My confusion about what to write notwithstanding, I'm a writer, always have been, always will be. And that in itself is a blessing beyond measure. Really. I never, ever forget how lucky I am. (And that's not even counting a great family, friends who ARE family, and a soulmate who gets me even when I don't, and who is a model of calm and groundedness.)
But no steady income - or not ONE steady income - has been a frightening thing at times, and the temptation to find a port in the storm is exceptionally appealing. But at the same time, I find myself resisting what I once thought I couldn't live without: Security. I've gotten THIS far, who's to say I can't go further? I've already been through the fire - now it's just a matter of continuing to dance well on the coals.
Still, security beckons. But that's another story...
I'm thinking beyond myself right now. I just visited a local merchant, an old favorite, and she intoned, at some point, in words to the effect of, "You know, it's all going down next year. Total collapse." Coming just hours after I posted a comment on McClatchy's stock price dipping below a dollar (down from $70 four years ago) on SacramentoPress.com, a few days after I wrote a piece for Bloomberg News about the lawsuits flying between state workers unions and the Governor, The Bee on the table in front of me warning of funding cuts for this and that, my friends' comment was jarring.
Sure, it comes through her prism of the ongoing struggle of any small business, but this is a notion I'm familiar with from the past year, and probably longer: It could all just fall apart. And I've got no real protection, everything could be taken away just like that. And then I'm just...done.
Done? What does that mean? For a generation that grew up in the shadow of the nuclear bomb and the population bomb, with AIDS and global warming following on, the notion of everything just going to hell is overly familiar. We're the apocalypse generation.
And while we've been through previous financial crises, this time feels different. This feels like a disaster. The actual forecasts aren't THAT bad - even 10 percent unemployment is still only one in 10 - but you hear about enough things being the worst "in a generation" or "since World War II," and the mind...goes with it.
And then there are all the friends I have who are leaving jobs - The Bee, specifically, but that's hardly the only place - and they're looking for some security, some encouragement, some hope. They don't k now what's next. They're not sleeping well. Their 401k is way down (forget for a minute that a lot of people don't HAVE 401ks - losing is worse than never having, sometimes.) Things feel desperate.
But despite everything that is happening, I find that I can offer hope. Because despite the sleepless nights, the bill-juggling, and the ongoing glimpses-over-the-precipice, I'm still here, and thriving. I'm managing editor of a promising new venture, I'm a regular stringer for Bloomberg News, and I'm even writing for The Bee occasionally. I do my gig hosting Insight on KXJZ whenever I can - a pleasure that I never saw coming when I left The Bee - and I've got a number of freelance clients. I'm even playing a show with Jackson Griffith on Feb. 18 at Luna's.
And I have a hell of a lot of fun. And I'm being a good son. And a good partner. And I'm even paying down my credit card debt.
So, this meander is, at bottom, to say this: Merry Christmas, everything's going to be alright. Everything is NOT going to collapse, even though it may feel that way. Life will go on, there will be ups and downs and challenges and set backs and amazing, amazing victories. And they will pass, too. And through it all, one can moan and worry and fret, or one can still notice the colors of the trees, the glorious noise that is music, and enjoy, yes, the old cliche: the smile of a child.
And that's what Christmas is to me, a certified ex-Christian: the season of hope. We just passed the darkest night of the year on Sunday, and we partied right through it - happy birthday Jon! Congratulations on getting tenure, Hugh! - and our celebration managed, just like the dances of primitive history, to satisfy the gods and start the days lengthening again.
Soon, the rain - which is gloomy, yes, but remember our drought worries? - will stop, trees will bud, the legislature and governor will get a clue, the market will bottom, and mortgage rates of 5.1% will lure buyers back to houses, and things won't seem so dire. Until next time.
And it is my holiday wish to you, that next time this happens, you remember how bad it was in December 2008, how scary it was, and note that it really wasn't all that bad after all.
It's just life. Live it
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