new sunday

so reflect on the velvets

sunday morning
brings the dawn in
it's just a restless feeling...

lou reed is a poet. of the highest
order he can write and write and
write. his voice, like dylan's,
fits his songs, air tight.

been thinking about my early idols

9th Grade
rem
u2
the alarm
the stranglers
violent femmes

10th Grade
the clash
the church
Lou Reed/Velvet Underground
the sex pistols
husker du

11th Grade through College
the same old stuff...

weird.

heard ellen cherry's song "pastry organ"
on the radio this morning... very good
her new album, "Heart Like a Lion" is well done...
i think i brought that up before. she spent
a lot of time on it and that shows. production is
good and the sound is real warm.

fawm approaches... i'm still on the fence
about participating.
i think i will but i need to get into the
groove.

grimm

stacked with much

where else but home?
thoughts of ease are solely linked
to the early morning hours.
my most creative time is in the morning.
the hard, cold kitchen floor and
hot, sharp coffee.

valentine is in rotation at WTMD
excitement mounts... that doesn't
mean you shouldn't not call them and
request other june star songs...

you know.

pittsburgh is calling...
ohio is a desperate for us...
it really isn't the other way

timmy and me rehearsing
songs sound good... they sound
real and like their going to be fun
to play. fun to hear.

my coffee is staring at me.

grimm

the return

so we're back
so i'm back...
not back but ready
to take the reigns...
the initiative
the know how
the work at hand is heavy
book the tour
tour the states
play the songs
sing the words
speak the mind
mind the store
waves are rolling
faster and stronger
than your last breaths.

thanks to tony
thanks to dogfish
thanks to riverrun bookstore
thanks to googies
thanks to sarah
thanks to 8x10
thanks to ellen cherry
thanks to the wife
thanks everyone who helps us

thank you

february... updates coming soon.

grimm

thank you and thank you

oh last night was
truly wonderful
we came and we played
people laughed and people
clapped
the cd's were sold
the people clapped some more
the ellen cherry took the picture
you see.

if you're in baltimore saturday night
go to ellen cherry's cd release show
her link: ellen cherry
on to new york.

grimm

schnafu

snafu last night was good
made some money... which is good
wasn't too keen on the set up
all three singers in the middle of the
room
and the audience was seated aournd us
good idea
don't think it worked.
but the songs
were fun.
lot's of fun
and all worked out in the end.

yes.

wed. is approaching.
the cd the release.
fantastic.

playing with timmy bracken
he asked me to bring an electric
and a banjo to a recording
session which will be fun.

i'm sure of it.

ahhh... the road. february... tour
grimm and tim.

feb 15 pittsburgh TBA
feb 16 ohio TBA
feb 17 the dirt room chicago, IL
feb 18 mac's bar east lansing, MI

the chore of listening

the show at the lofi
was good last night
red vines
abby mott
some guy
the courtesy line
among wolves

red vines
had a few problems during
a couple of songs
i think it was the fault
of the sound on the stage
but they managed to create
a good sound. cohesive.
good crowd, seemed attentive

spoke with caleb stine. he was
there. he seemed pretty happy.
his new album is coming
out maybe in the spring time.

after the red vines some guy
got added on to the bill last
minute and man he meant what
he sang. wasn't great. wasn't
awful, but after first song i was ready
to go into the next room. i looked
at art.

abby mott was good. she had a solid
band behind her and her songs were okay
wasn't too enamoured with her country
song. seem like it pandered to the stereo-
typical idea of a what a country song would
sound like.

the courtesy line was loud.
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud
loud

by the time among wolves got up
there, most folks were gone,
lisa and i stuck around for
a couple of tunes, then we split.
jim cahill was playing my old
SG that he bought from Ryan.

tonight is the snafu... some songwriter
guy is going to be there and david morreale
should be a good time... i'm supposing.

hoopla on cora belle. i guess i'm curious
to get some reviews back on that disc. i've been
thinking about sending to a few places for review
need to write a new bio of the band and all
that stuff. exciting as always. maybe
we'll get some more pictures

whistling in

so here we is
several days and left abandoned
and wondering, "where is andrew?"
he is in hiding.
this is his heart talking
his brain is sleeping

cora belle, the june star
album is coming out wed. night
at 8x10 cd release of a central
low key affair. all are invited
to come out and listen to
us try as had as we can

cora belle, such an old new
album. 4 years in making
33 minutes. 3 fawm discs between
new ground to be covered.

i think everyone should listen
and buy the record. it's the best
thing done yet. excellent songs
turns of phrases like

"when your heart only beats
as much as it hurts"

take that, heart.

love

grimm

a day in-between

sorry to take the day off from
ye olde blogge.

musical invention
inadvertant and infectious
commenced last night in
the basement.
playing around with
a new pedal i got mah hands
on and boy does
it sound supah cool. messing
around, i found a some neato lil' riffs
and built a song around
it.
layered
layered
layered
as they say.

now for lyrics.

creativity is fun and frightening.
there are times
when i think the well has dried
up. fawm is approaching and
i'm still unsure of my
participation. maybe it will be a
half hearted thing this year. then
i can scrape the bottom of that
barrell for a new collection.
i do want to hit a studio in april
to record a new album.

i dont' care about the june star album
cora belle. so tired of it, i just
wish it would go away and leave me
alone. jan. 16th will be the last show
for a while... i'll be out an about but
june star will be sitting idle
thinking about what it did wrong and
what it needs to do to be a better
person.

grimm

new year, rough start

bad news
bass player
pour le silos has
passed away
drew glackin
wonderful guy
no really... hard
to post somethings
this was a shock to me
met drew back in 99?
june star opened for
the silos at fletchers
drew walked out for
sound check in a pork pie
hat and flip flops
he was a stunner
good guy friendly and
funny the type of person
who would remember
anybody's name
we opened for them
a bunch of times
awesome bunch of
fellahs... big loss for everyone

what else seems fresh
barrack obama. wow. wouldn't
have thought
about that that
really interesting moment
historical i suppose.

many students not
completing the readings or
essays. frightening
i suppose. if someone asked
of another's opinion about
something, wouldn't they want
to be heard? wouldn't they want
to be prepared to give
their thoughts?
just curious i suppose.

where's the love?

teaching is a grind. tired of
it again. could use some
inspiration or so to get through the
lame parts
and believe me
there are some lame parts to get through.

songs working lyrics in a fog
february approaching... i dunno
if i'm going to do it... a lot
would have to happen.

june star breathes in shallow bursts.

grimm

birchmere

sold out
500 people
what a wonderful
time

many thanks go to the
staff of the birchmere
they were kind and gentle

set list as i remember it:

local 48
without you now
somehow
sweet division
released
if you leave
telegraph
declare

audience was very cool
sold lots of cd's
got lots of names on
the email list

feeling accomplished
delbert was cool, nice
guy... his band also
very nice...

it all added up to
a great evening that
gave me a taste
of what some touring musicians

experience. very cool
sound and a plush stage
neato neato neato
on to teaching

grimm

faint sparks

thought about being younger
when my imagination first
started to kick in and really
matter to me

4 or 5 years old i remember
waking up early in the morning
and looking at the bookshelf
by my door and seeing what appeared

to be a doll or small boy
limply hanging through the
the slats
to me it was fairly scary

i too remember a time
where i thought a swarm of
insects circled me to
get a lollipop that i was eating

oh and here's a good one
not on the imagination tip
but certainly a formative
moment in my learning process

i remember asking my mother
what happened to the food and milk
that i didn't finish at dinner
and she said, "I throw it out."

so the next night i refused
to eat my dinner or drink my milk
and got outside by the kitchen
door and waited

i expected to see my mother
open the door and toss out
the food on the side yard
next to the kitchen.

i waited and waited
still no flying food or
streams of milk
after waiting a good 1/2 hour

i went back inside and
asked, "when are you going
to throw out the food?"
to which my mother responded:

"I already did; it's in the
garbage."
"the milk too?"
"Yes."

"in the garbage can?"
"No down the drain in the sink."
"oh."
so much for my theory.

grimm

10,000 watts

listened to that
red vines
disc on the way to school this
morning.
here's a line that stuck out
and I paraphrase, "someday
we'll meet beyond these bars."
man i wish i had
written that.
i'll be giving that disc
a close listen today.

titus andronicus is an interesting
play eh? kind of the shakespearean
equivalent to die hard. gore
death violence sex... kind of
like a bad mountain dew commercial.
i have started reading texts i probably
should have read a long time ago.
however, i don't think i would have
gotten all the meanings and nuances
unless i was as aware of the world
as i am now.

makes for interesting reading for sure.

i'll see if i can pull some good quotes
from the text... yes?

grimm

the vines

was given the new
red vines album...
ryan's, bass player's, new disc
everyday needles for electromagnetic
lovers.
very wonderful album
i am jealous. the sound is smooth
and all parts fit like gloves
inside of gloves.
yes.

wriet was purposeful adam.
i am brilliant.

will be recording more soon and
posting soon... want to upload the video
want people to see me play.
look me up on youtube. does
anyone really read
this blog other than tim and adam?
should i advertise it on the websites?
maybe then more traffic.
maybe then more sales.
maybe then more shows.
maybe then more fans.

tomorrow is school
tomorrow reality sinks back in
like gravity pulling soapy
water into a slow spin

my dream last night
was invasion of the body snatchers
the nightmare wasn't that
we were being transformed into aliens
it was that i had to save us
by using a microscope and somehow
creating a way to biologically and chemically
defeat the invaders.

we lost.

grimm

randoms

the new year is here
in my mind i've been dreaming
of 2008
music is good the learning is good
masters work completed
reading more plays and texts
want to be smart
recorded a new demo last night
here are the lyrics

shaking off the dark
waving past the cold
you've been lying
about letting go

pretty as she does
is as quickly she goes
our past becomes someone
you used to know

as sweet as your are
i'm inside
won't you hold still
for a lil' while

tell it to the sun
anyway you can
i don't seem to mind
the same old plan

the tune is some fingerpickin' and
banjo which is typical... as always
i may post it later... maybe through
video?
june star, the joke,
is going out on that road
then feb. then mar. then apr. then may...
organization is my problem
a major problem
worse than money if you could
believe that.

the birchmere awaits
with delbert mcclinton
i can hardly believe
the future of that eh?
this is the gig where the audience
is not allowed to talk.
all of my hopes I ever had about
playing out now slowly transforms
into my greatest anxiety.

who would have thought.

ellen cherry, good luck on that
new album... i admire her...
she's been playing music full time
for 2 years? she has folders and files
and resources and good microphones
and good guitars... tons of talent,
seemingly endless energy.
i know she would question some of that
but that is the opinion i would have of her.
from my vantage point, at least.

punctuation! that's also something i've
been thinking about. i didn't think that
i would ever love a semi-colon... but boy do i.
it's a great little device; it allows you to combine
two independent clauses without have to use a
conjunction.
what we write is only as important as
how we wriet it. i think most of my
students ignore punctuation as if it didn't
matter much. man are they wrong. punctuation equals
intent. when you don't get it... you get used.

happy 2008

grimm

wake up time

as i have been thinking
now i know
the direction that words seem
to carry a mind
a current
a breeze
a scar
a trail
a ditch

hard to keep momentum

i just got an opening slot
for delbert mcclinton at
the birchmere.
big gig. solo
acoustic.
the writing just became clearer.
no band rehearsals for a month and half.
all rehearsals canceled. new work on
new album halted. until this coming
week. work commences. a demo will be made.
self made. me-made. anyone want to join?
line up for a spot on the recording.

why not?

january tour has shaped up. boston put together.
now the promotion begins.
jan. 03 @ the Birchmere Alexandria, VA w/ delbert mcclinton (grimm solo)
jan. 13 @ the Waterfront Baltimore MD w/ caleb stine and david moreale (grimm solo acoustic)
jan. 16 @ 8x10 Baltimore, MD w/jerry joseph, caleb stine
jan. 17 @ tbd Philadelphia, PA w/ caleb stine
jan. 18 @ Googies New York, NY w/ caleb stine, mark mckay
jan. 19 @ Dogfish Portland, ME w/ caleb stine
jan. 20 @ the Toad Cambridge, MA w/ caleb stine

i am legend

if equations are true
someone calculate success for me
someone tell me how
to add to divide to subract
i need nothing of multiplying

february comes closer
the 14songs in search of a muse
i suppose the trick will be
to finish on time
with quality as previously set

groan to groan
talk of money and a financial
backer to back
my back
not my band... is it my band

passion is as passion does
where to place the next chord
where to feel the song on my
wherever
whatever, boring post, eh?

so if anyone reads this will
it make sense?
do i need a multimedia file
to get attention
should do the youtubes.

t.s. eliot
"Do I dare eat a peach?"

grimm

chit chat

so a few days
no blogger stuff
i'm finished with my masters
the paper
william blake and raymond carver
sitting in a tree
fun to write
nice to hear compliments from the prof.
nice to feel the same pressure
my students feel
when i look at their papers
will tell them a funny story
on monday

in the reconnection dept.
june star played a show
last night at the waterfront

strange joint
and i must say i was surprised
when a guy approached me and
said, "i'm andy fletcher from high school"
wow... i hadn't seen that guy
in years
and just 2 minutes of talking
he had the same mannerisms, amazing
his fiancee was very nice as well...

the past is such a different world,
safely tucked into secrecy behind
everyone's eyes. and that brings me
back to blake...

wow...

if our realities
are based in a 4 dimensional model, as he suppositions...
is that 4th dimension permanently subdivided
into 3 parts such as the past, present, future?
decidedly, would each subdivision need a conduit
leading from the past to the present to the
future? and is that a one way street as
the past can no longer be modified by the future;
but the future can be modified by the past...
only if the present is used as a reflective tool.

i may be getting in over my head here.

sounds like a song.

the title of this entry goes out to
the talkers during acoustic shows.
my patience, once a vast plane of ease,
has been chipped and handled with rude
hands once too many times... i think i'll
need to say something, next time...

grimm

ice storm

i know i know it's been
a few slippery days and
no blog.
sounds like the same old tricks
i used to do. but no
i'm here now, and i mean business
iota on dec. 10th. fresh and nice.
oh iota, why don't you like us? your
audience does. your bartenders do.
your doorman does. lamest question
i get there, "when are you guys playing
here again?"
my response:
"i dunno, call the club and ask
them why they won't respond to my emails."
yes, there it is. i've watched some fairly
lame bands get some plumb opening
shows and i can't even get a call back? i guess
we truly suck.

master's work finishing up. my assertion
is that raymond carver's breakthrough story, "cathedral"
can be read as perfect point for point parallel
to william blake's four fold vision. it's been
fun to write but difficult to find the time to do so.
i should be writing that as i'm writing this.
i don't want to disappoint my two loyal readers. no
no i don't.

waterfront hotel tonight... solo as i can be. lawnchair
headlining the show. there's a band that has come
a long way. good for them. their new album sounds good.
adam, i know you're reading this. i've only heard a few
songs but they are good. i swear.

okay philadelphia. you killed my father and
now you're trying to kill me.

grimm

the ghost of tom joad

"hunger is a powerful thing"
springsteen has it right
hunger is inevitable and an impetus
i've been thinking about music,
bands, motivations, motivators...
what compass do you follow?
how can you be sure your "North"
is heading up and not down?
at what point do I throw in
the towel and at what point do I go
for the gusto... as a 70's beer ad once said
without too much guessing
i suppose we'll reach a conclusion
on these thoughts.
June Star is running its course
i would think that cora belle is the
end. is there really a band?
or just a lovely idea of a band
as a unit we play... but it is
a unit without needing to stick together
each part could stand on its own
merit. after those solo discs i put out
i'm thinking that for the most part
the solo stuff could be june star
stuff
and vice versa
so why bang one's head into the wall
any longer. if i'm really going
to play full time and make a concerted
effort would i not want people to play
as committed and willing to lose money?
that's what it is, right?
losing money... the non profit musician?
things to ponder and
no end in sight.

thanks,
grimm

the morning after is here.
with honey asleep. gentle warm.
so mum's the review.
june star was together.
there was no evil.
thank you.
a couple of beers and a couple of tunes.
the ear plugs in.
the sound was good.
the songs clicked.
ryan's new bass was smooth and crisp.
the sparkle jet. sparkled.
jason butcher on the drums.
highlight was local 48.
higherhighlight was the 15 people
who came from fell's point to hear us.
yes 2 miles makes a difference in everything.
felt good to feel loved by
people who know the songs.

working on a new song.

maybe I can post it soon.

hearts

andrew