new year

it slipped by me... not by
accident... but i looked up
and there it was... the first
month of 2010 is fading fast.
no fireworks here. all is
quiet and we have hunkered
down underneath our quilted
covers.

fawm is coming and i will
be doing that... with much
more technology at my ready
i am texting my muses and
downloading my chorus. we
will bounce ideas into
songs.

i haven't written a damned
thing in awhile and thoughts
have bubbled gurgled shifted
risen quaked trembled pricked
pointed tightened relaxed...
they are ready for breath
pushed by anticipation.

ramshead live show. big stage
small, beautiful crowd.
lawrence was there. good to
see him. he liked the show... especially
the sound... i guess
i could get used to playing
on a stage that size...

oh, ej is leaving the band...
i'm done trying to replace people...
we'll soldier on mike, ryan, jason, burke, timmy, and eye.

grimm

Merry Xmas from Antietam

video?

the wind up

tonight we play
the windup space
more and more
i want to
believe that this
is the venue
i want to
play in baltimore.
russell, the owner,
is attentive and
working on the
the room to
get a good
sound dialed in.
i'm thinking i'd
like to set
up shop there.

we are playing
ramshead live in
january. strange how
that is. big
place. balt. country
festival... all day.
i suppose we'll
have to get
out our more
country material. i
don't think we've
been sounding as
country as we
used to. but
then again, my
banjo has been
making the rounds
into the mix.

chuck prophet, i
don't think i
talked about him.
he's not a
very amiable fellow.
for sure... for
certain... a shame.
but i think
that adds to
his success as
an artist. he
complains and makes
awkward moments adversarial
especially with soundmen.

he wasn't very
polite to us
which was good...
my friend waiting
list is pretty
long and i
cannot edge anyone
out just because
prophet wants in.

the guy can
play guitar though.

see you tonight?

maybe maybe maybe

grimm

that old familiar feeling

it had been
some time, since
i stood in
front of persons,
all sounds emitted
were lost in
conversation, smacking of
lips, semiotics swirling
meaning in two
way communication, the
intruder that i
am... without a
ruffle, the audience
clapped anemically after
i fizzled plainly.

grimm

the long recursive road

since i've been away from the blogosphere... school has been more of a priority than i normally let it be... so sorry for that... not feeling creative to do my normal formatting... just a quick note to say i'll be doing some solo acoustic stuff soon... i miss playing in that mode... it's fun... i've kind of gotten out of practice with carrying tunes by myself... no one can blame me... the current june star line up is really incredible.

tonight i'm playing solo at the windup space in support of my wife... she's giving a presentation and the group wanted music... so here we are...

for more info... click here

later...

grimm

waterfront 8x10

hello... i've been
gone again, haven't
i? well to
not fret over
my void, i'm
here to chat...
each "show" we
play allows us
to get stronger.
mixing up set
lists... playing songs
we haven't rehearsed
these are good
things. for certain.
last night played
new jordan on
banjo with harmonica
long time since
that has been
attempted for sure.
acetone with baritone
look out! people
clapped, people took
pictures... people danced
my in-laws were
satisfied and i
felt good about
what we had
done... didn't even
play all the
songs
on the set
list. how about
that.

grimm

joe squared

it doesn't take
much to be
nice. it doesn't
take much at
all. thanks to
everyone who
came out...
tim heaney took
pictures...
here are some...

awake in the forest

mind numbed tunes
practical bird song
tear away runes
and bottle wrongs

moon to earth
magnet poles orbit
strayed into dirt
transformed from myth

long way under
beneath tidal seas
barely blue hunger
rattled by degrees

skip rope words
played under ladder
children laughed verse
later than rather

succulent nebraska

emerging from mucus
haze drifted away
cleared head lifting
the bug vanquished
throat soothed renewed
passion's pilot light
lit open primed
melodies plans lists
who is the
best unsigned band?
who is the
best judge of
the best of
the fighting and
swinging and hopeful
and desperate and
sad and underrated
and lonely and
busy and unawares.

grimm

bertha's

the van took
a misstep the
other day. unfortunately
i was attempting
to change a
flat tire and
manage to wrench
off the lug
nut and the
bolt it was
fastened too. grinding
noises on the
passenger side also.
hmmm, i wonder.
my father says
it may be
time to say
goodbye to the
van. i think
he's jealous that
i have one.
yes that must
be the angle
he's taking. jealousy.

bertha's was fun.
loose... i didn't
play very well
and apparently we
were too loud.
they were right.
we were... no
pluggies in my
ears and a
ringing they were.

mah wife took
some pictures of
the show. here
is one... yeah!

closing bell

the closing bell sounded
torn ticket confetti
under our feet
poker face smiles


more later?

saluting to people

ellen cherry was
playing in the
early evening hours
at the baltimore
book festival. rhythm
and beer for
me. i saw
her previously at
the artscape place.
very well done
and smart. she
and i have
logged some time
on the road
and in the
baltimore. she has
been doing very
well as of
late. climbing the
hills that have
adequate surface but
ever shifting traction.
i'm happy for
her and the
success she has
been building. we
first met when
i had a
solo show at
mum's and needed
an opener. i
had been obsessively
going to baltimorebands.com
and sifting through
local music, a
precarious activity when
it comes to
quality and i
happened upon her
site. i read
through it a
while before the
show came up
and when pressed
to find someone
to open i
thought... why not?

it was a
good night and
i was happy
to hear someone
playing and thinking
about music... she
plays with ownership
of the music....
that was... 2004ish
2005ish... and i
hear her now
i'm really impressed.
she's found found
her voice and
her songs are
taking a form
outside of arrangement
and rehearsal. good
things for sure.

also... for giggles...
the other night
i googled for
a song i
taped off the
radio in 1988
or 89... 99.1
whfs was a
different radio station
then... the type
of station that
would play a
song once and
you wouldn't hear
that tune for
another three days...

anyhow... i taped
a song by
the jack rubies
called, "the book
of love" because it
had some great
acoustic guitars, which
i was into
at the time...
seein that i
had just started
playing... but anyhoo...
the song that
came on after
"the book of
love" just rocked...
real country and
raw... english country.

i always wanted
to know who sang
it and every
once in a
while i would
google a couple
of words... from
the tune to
avail... but last
night it showed
up... "going back
to Coventry" by
the men they
couldn't hang. then
i found them
on itunes... can
you believe it.

shocking, just shocking.

chapter closed for
me.

grimm

Hood to Hood

hey there... quick
note to let
you know about
wtmd's fund drive.

wtmd has been
really kind to
us and has
played our music
both solo and
band! to say
thanks, i have
signed up to
hopefully get some
donations rolling in
their hood to
hood challenge... please
click on the
links and check
it out!

june star fund raising page

grimm

shows and thoughts

whoa there... slow
down. we have
shows going in
the near future...

we return to
the mum's oh
the mum's how
much fun. the
loud the evil
the easy load-
in the not
too late curfew.

all six of
us will be
there... for now.
usually i make
such promises and
and do not
follow through as
someone falls ill
the swagger of
the evening is
too much temptation
and they cannot
make the show.

hopefully we will
have perfect attendance.

but we'll see.

just got my
martin back and
man it plays
well. it sounds
fantastic... loose and
straight. it is
a straight shot.

sweet.

been listening to
the tenderhooks album
as of late...
lots of good
stuff on there...
some lyrics that
take their time
and seem to
fit more perfectly
or at least
concisely than one
would think possible.

yay music.

grimm

back? again?

operations are back
underway... to type
and to reclaim
my cyber pad.

sorry to be
away... teaching has
taken the reigns
but i have
wrestled them into
my grips. whoa.

music music music
golden west tomorrow
night... with e.j.
mike and timmy.

patrick hughes has
left the state
to settle or
scuttle around portland
oregon grounds much
luck to him
he was one
the best drummers
we played with.

album inching along
we are playing
bunches of shows
and hope to
see you soon.

oh, 1984 is
a seriously scary
novel. i'm on
my third re-reading
and it becomes
more sinister if
that is even possible.

grimm

the outer party

school is dead
on tomorrow morning.
we will see
who is who
and why we
are we and
just what it
means that the
strongest will survive.

brit. lit. for
the first time.
no sweat, i
got it... 1984
is the starting
point. the anti-
universe, the upside
down world where
nothing seems to
make sense... if
you believe the
society is insane
you must be
made insane to
understand it, to
love it. yup.
poor ol' winston
smith. for sure.
i've done my
reading i've made
my bed. i've
gotten up early
and eaten a
bowl of cereal
and drank coffee.
i drove here
without hitting anything
on the road.

these are good
things.

music: same ol'
same ol'... a bunch
of shows though...
testing the new
line up and
making sense of
new instrumentations, voices,
and energy. rehearsal
remains crucial... yup.

yup.

grimm

district 9

one of the best films i have ever seen.
i held my breath the entire time
what a well developed and told story.
oh my god.

wow... like wow.

more later

grimm

in preparation

the new school
year shifts on
its haunches. curious
and frightened it
is awaiting a
signal, a gesture,
a reason to
move forward. the
hunter reads his
books and formulates
his gun, loaded
with words, assertions,
and goals. taking
thorough aim at
the year, he
pauses and concludes
that this will
be his year
to do something
new and good.

master newspeak double
plus good he
will say to
the students rapt
in oldspeak delirium.
in pouring through
the text a
third time, the
hunter becomes keenly
aware that this
forest is no
longer wild and
predictable but deliberate
and controlled. conspiracy!
some folks would
say and thusly
marked as whackos.

but sometimes there
is truth mixed
in that accusation.

orwell is right
and time to
prevent has already
passed, slipped into
the past while
we watched dancing
with the stars
or megan wants
a millionaire or
whatever reality we
wanted to believe
was real on
the HD portal.

the old guard
is dying and
the new guard
is airbrush and
glucose. here are
some words i
put together a
year ago...

when the choices are few
and there's one way to go
television telling you
everything you know

from the back of the line
on the tips of your toes
you're still guessing shit
you should already know



something to remember
i am just
as guilty of
passivity as anyone.

grimm