a month beyond

hello friends... i
have come back
from the dead
to tell you
all that i
am not really
anything remotely
kind of close
to being hamlet.

j alfred prufrock
truly needs a
hug. and some
rubbing, apparently. sorry
to be absent
so long. i'm
winding the school
year down and
there is an
awful lot of
grading that needs
to get done.

june star is
rolling right along.
ep is out...
it is fantastic
and super awesome.
you should buy
two dozen copies.

you should come
to our shows
scream for our
new hot songs...
you should go
to a lynyrd skynyrd
concert and yell
"Sugarbird!" you should
tell your friends
about us... fun
shows abound ahead.

thursday night, timmy
and me will
be playing at
holy frijoles @ 10pm
get a quesadilla
and listen to
us tickle yer
ears with acoustic
versions of songs
you normally hear
super loud...

saturday june 13th
we at mum's
with Ohio's Wussy.

it will be
a party for sure...

full ep uploaded
to the myspace...
go listen and
weep for why
you didn't go
to the cd
release show and
buy your own copy.

grimm

the tendencies (blahg #41)

inherently we all
try explain ourselves,
contortions and rationales.
twisting and bent
just to reverse.
this is not
what i meant,
says the women
yapping about michaelangelo.

funny but true.

we're sent into
this hurlyburly with
pathetic gear. our
tongues flap and
sputter between our
teeth and yet
it feels like
we're not heard.
for all of
the screaming and
yelling, one's voice
is a pitch
below a whisper,
when you really
think about it.

sometimes that's how
i feel about
the june star.
recognition and art
are not the
same thing, desire
for compliments fished
are not real
compliments after all.
are they? so.
here we sit.
e.p. ready to
go? must call
tim about that.
andrew grimm solo
effort ready for
deployment. must rehearse.
must must must.

grimm

tales told twicet from some memories long since past (blahg #40)

"get caught up" she says.
there's no catching up with her talking

teeth and tongues clicking and clinking.


seriously, if she ever took
a moment to just breathe she'd
find god and maybe then she'd shut up.

the yap, the trap,
it is open for giving me
the business. like i
had thought before, "Why not
give in, stop calling the fouls and
and the unnecessary roughness and fall
limp. possum dead. she would sniff and
scratch a little and convinced you're not
worth it she could scuttle on."

but it doesn't work that way. nope... she was
named after saint tenacious. terror and treachery
were gifts grafted on to her by her mother.
out of control, a career in firing up careening emotions.

mother means thorough
mother means deliberate
mother means permeate
mother means absolute

she did her job on that daughter.
the other daughter too, she meant to warp them and
water damage takes time. the single drop every few minutes
that pools eventually and seeps deep into the grain.
expand and contract... wet then dry then wet again.
yup. that's the stuff. right there, that's not a
twinkle
in her eyes... but a twinge... a reaction the well conditioned
emotion muscles that weigh down the lips, forms the crease above
the brow, taking the reasonable straight line to glorious new
angles. each lift marks or beeps a new stage of disappointment.

at some point i need to pause, or block out the talking,
to ask,

"has anyone ever done anything right?"

grimm

welcome (blahg #39)

i've been keying
in the wrong
passwords? all this time?
the memories i've kept
tied up in a glad handy cinch
sack, that thing you probably
call your mind, yeah that thing,
it's funny what you find at
the bottom. at the bottom of the
patch of leaves you raked months
ago and there they sit. browns and
dull yellows. and at the bottom,
moist funk. waiting... for the you
to dive into and release the
air and damp. as the early
morning approaches and creeps.
the yes to the no
the right to the "sort of"
warmth is all that i long for
no matter what no matter what
every picture i see from when
is now digital and hasn't lost it's
glow.
not
one
bit

grimm

jpeg (blahg #38)

some slips of pink seem
brushed in, someone's
hand, a moving
humidity, holding delicate swaying
ribbons in layers.

there are no lies nature.
contracts are concrete, petrified.
deception is only for survival
there. the purpose is not
sheer meanness but preservation.

that sky, a polaroid developing...
being waved so the chemicals
mix with oxygen and
a lasting document, is made
like a memory or a dream
you can't shake. no matter what.

defragmentation (blahg #37)

music stuff, artwork
for solo disc
complete. uploading to
digital music site
today for 100
dupes. some say
i aim too
low, i say
i'm being realistic.
will not be
sending discs out
for review. no
sirreeee. but will
get the moutain
halo, palace to
palace, and wolves
on the itunes
and other outlets.

"almost home" is
getting to the
itunes as well.
thank heavens. cd
release show on
may 8th will
feature dave hadley
on pedal steel.
i started rehearsing
last night in
the basement. the
show should be
good.

"june star" just
picked up another
show... april 16th
@ the talking
head with our
nyc friends, the
dig. this should
be a solid
night of fun.

nothing intellectual for
now... just the
basics. see you.

grimm

posting again (blahg #36)

indeed another posting.
my friend in
paris, maybe? taking
in the french.
plodding their streets
making marking moving
until they are
his. a knight
with anne by
his side. i
think that is
how it goes.

grimm

from the black out (blahg #35)

i have under
estimated time. truth
certainly will make
anyone give in.
anyone with a
heart, soul, or
mind. to catch
you up short.
andrew grimm solo
album is completed
and will be
shipped off for
duplication today. yes
today. cd release
show is may
eighth at el
rancho grade, with
timmy bracken and
mark mckay. should
be a fun
evening. june star
update: double album
has had major
gains since my
last email and
we are certainly
on track to
finish...well tracking
in the next
couple of weeks.
the e.p. is
close to done
and will come
out first. to
let people know
we're still around.
school has been
busy... i have
smart teenagers in
my classes... some
who read this
blahg. hello students.

feeling creative and
i must clean
the basement, now.

grimm

hungry times (blahg #34)

after repeated delays
the compact disc
digital download ready
forthcoming rock effort
is reaching the
middle of the
process. tim and
i were in
the thick of
chords, conversation, and
conducting. back on
the recording treadmill.

solo effort nearly
mixed. one remix
of a song.
i think i'm
doing the artwork
this time out.
will be posting
more about the
songs and when
they will debut.
i'm thinking, may
11th at el
rancho. tim has
booked a show
there with our
good friend mark
mckay. it will
be good to
see him. you
know. i do
have a track
listing for the
disc. it is:

losing
turn around
pretty lies
all i see
beautiful shot
all my heart
so low
waiting time

will let you
know more when
i know more.

grimm

up and up (blahg #33)

heads up, the
show on sat.
has been cancelled
someday the new
six piece band
will make its
debut. perhaps
may 15th at
the windup space.
timmy and i
may be playin'
the pie shop
that night for
an acoustic thing.
we'll see. there's
not much else
to say. I'm
not really recording
anything new and
the songs have
dried up for
now. check back
later? maybe i'll
try to write you
something. later ya.

grimm

secrets in the dirt (blahg #32)

i have stolen
many minutes this
morning. the purpose
is the direct
communication to you,
friends and friends.
where haven't we
gone wrong. with
seconds ticking narrowly,
dots of sweat
trickled quickly filling
the lines, the
wrinkles, the canals,
the trials and
grooves, we wait
until "til" it
is time to
move to motivate.

everything is better
under immense pressure.

the songs and
the muses are
tickling my dreams.
burst sudden words
not so fluid
as rounded or
coaxed. maybe someday
soon the fluttering
will slow enough
to hold in
my hands, freely.

grimm

now we are here (blahg #31)

so long time
has been stagnating
without any time
to spare. i'm
now writing as
quickly as possible.
new solo album
to be completed
during this week.
the work was
slow but has
been somewhat rewarding.
new june star
dates... new june
star sounds and
players. we're a
six piece sometimes.
full keyboards from
mike ward, and
guitar mastery from
burke sampson... primary
drums to be
jiggled by patrick
hughes. we sound
immense and excellent.
full throated and
throttled. my wife
will read this
later and find
out more about
me. ha ha.
anyhow. will let
you know when
cd release show
will be. enough
for now. one
must ease back
into the blahgging.

oh... new church
album coming out
too... oooh boy.

grimm

Canceled Show (Blahg #30)

show tonight has
been canceled due
to flurries and
windies. some day
we will play
again, and on
that day may
you be there.

grimm

professionalism.... (blahg #29)

spent 13 hours
at the school.

going to bed
now, going to
bed now, going
to bed now.

need to go
back and do
more work. bad
grimm. kitty cat
on my lap
says, "purr." i
have not lost
my mind, merely
resting it for
the moment. ciao.

grimm

snow to ice (blahg #28)

another day off.
saw rodney henry's
new band, the
cold cold heartbreakers.
they opened for
scott weiland of
the stone temple
pilots. they sounded
good... rodney seems
to be at
home most when
the amps are
loud and the
drums were crashing.

ramshead live was
huge as usual.
scott weiland went
on, i stayed
for exactly 15
seconds. was heading
with rodney and
crew to some
sort of "lounge"
and was stopped
cold by the
security guy who
asked, "where are
you going to?"

"with them." pointing
to rodney. "no
you aren't." "of
course I'm not."

so i thought,
maybe i should
get out of
here. i took
off and got
text from rodney,
he had gotten
backstage pass for
me... but alas,
i was already
in the parking
garage. he's a
good friend, that
rodney. eat pie.

john updike died.
that was surprising.
i read rabbit,
run in college.
i don't think
i got it.
i'll have to
go back and
re read it.

here's a site
with Updike poetry.

grimm

the patience pays (blahg #27)

this is a
day where we
don't have the
school. reprieve? maybe.
still, i must
continue to gather
the plans for
script writing and
video production. a
class i'm not
sure what i'm
doing with, exactly.
it will come
to me eventually.

i will, however,
be online today.
timothy is scheduled
to come over
today as well.
record record record.

last night i
purchased a neti
kettle. my sinuses
are horrendous and
i snore like
some prehistoric sub
creature. a dose
of mucinex D,
salt water in
my nose and
a breathe right
strip and i'm
sleeping a lot
quieter. and better.

yes!!!! take that
nose. i'll catch
y'all later. grimm.

in truth i (blahg #'s 21-26)

should be working
but here i
sit at the
computer tickling keys
whose top have
letters printed on
them. they are
well worn and
greasy from my
fingers and food.

in truth i
am a slob
i am a
dreamer i am
now certainly lost
and drifting, treading,
reeling, hoping, wishing,
sinking, praying, lurching,
sliding, searching, and
kidding my way
to the top.

some days i
feel like j.
alfred prufrock's little
brother, younger, more
successful but genetically
coded with doubts.
i think about
music ninety percent
of the time.
i envision myself
playing and writing.
some mornings i
do. some evenings
i don't. balance
is some strange
country i'd like
to visit someday.

albums and guitar
strings, wires and
hard drives coupled
with RAM. digital
notes and real
emotions? i haven't
written a song
that relied on
my real experiences
for a while.
the songs, the
voices that creep
out are not
so much cinematic
as they are
public service announcements.


here's a tip
for you kid.
be yourself, sure
it hurts a
little but there's
less you have
to remember than
if you're living
a lie, and
if it's just
a dreamworld... you
don't have to
wake up... like
a certain prufrock
i read about.

i was talking
to sharon adedijgiieedk
this morning, she's
my department chair
at the school.
i was explaining
this concept from
borges, the existential
argentinian, about the
aleph. the aleph
is the single
point from which
you can see
the entire universe.
borges' unsuccessful writer
"friend" discovered the
aleph during a
childhood accident. if
you lie on
your back, in
his basement, and
you stare at
the 19th step,
the aleph makes
itself apparent.

something very interesting
had occurred to
me as i
went through this
explanation... i'm now
entering a separate
stage of who
i am. evolution.
i have been
reading more, striking
out in new
territories... undiscovered places
curiosity is not
an impetus in
this case. in
truth it is
a broadening, a
re-calculation of my
facts and psyche.
who i want
to be as
opposed to what
you might see
me as. i

do think people
see what they
want to see...
members of the
faculty see me
as some curmudgeonly
bitter, mean elitist.
others see me
as a professional
and others, i'm
quite sure don't
even see me.

now the process
of murdering and
creating the faces
i prepare to
meet the people
who come and
go talking of
real housewives and mojitos

lyrics from forth
coming andrew grimm
solo disc...

the things you
thought were right
were all against
the rules.

when you lose
yourself you can
laugh out loud
or laugh alone.

the last time
i felt i
was anyone was
in you arms.

and how we
start to how
we end is
nothing new.

all i see
is smoke.

show me your
hands show me
your smile i
want to see.

where you go
where you've been
where i want
to be.

breathe in clouds
cigarette smoke
is catch
release.

you can't lose
a game
if you never
play.


i hope this
makes up for
time spent away.

take care and
talk to you
tomorrow. Bye now.

grimm


"Truth cannot penetrate a closed mind. If all places in the universe are in the Aleph, then all stars, all lamps, all sources of light are in it, too." Jorge Luis Borges "the Aleph"

history's motion (blahg # 20)

naysayers ratchet up
beckon screaming and
kicking rants against
the president elect.
funny, when you
lose... you lose
hard, eh? blog
posts talking about
his dangerous nature
and that we
have been scammed
we won't be
so happy in
three months time,
nay, three weeks
time, nay three
days time. he
will apparently destroy
our country. that's
too bad, because
i was ready
to become reaquainted
with the old
u.s. but apparently
i will be
sorely disappointed. however,
i don't believe
those angry bloggers
pounding their keys
with insolent fury
and dire expressions
twisted and contorted
on their faces...
one eye bulging
as if it
may "pop" at
any moment, shoot
across the room,
and up rolling
underneath the coffee
table. when taking
a broad view
of the election,
i saw the
choices with macro
lenses. obama: smart
young african american.
mccain: bitter old
white man. hmmmm...
most folks wanted
a change in
politics and to
my surprise they
voted for it.
they got it.
for the first
time in my
voting career i'm
enthused to do
something, to take
heed and pay
attention... i may
even listen to
the weekly radio
address. wow... who
knows... here are
some final words
on this topic...

so deep under
water counting seconds
and pressure on
the outside matching
the pressure within
light trickles through
the murk and
makes a promise
"air is abundant
on the other
side, i swear.
all you have
to do is
float up to
the top." the
promise becomes desire
and the weights
others have tied
to either ankle
can no longer
pull downward silently.
that first breath,
drawn in full
makes good on
any unspoken promise.

grimm

disenfranchised (blahgs #16, #17, #18, and #19)

i have left
you for dead.
not even turning
my head, i
logged into my
computer and glazed
my eyes to
not log in,
to not blahg
out. apologize mean
zero when multiplied
by the original
effort. it is
true. you can
look it up, but
we've all been
in similar circumstances.
we ask people
to be honest,
we let them
in, and they
do terrible damage
to us. greg
brown says, "I
can't believe your
hands and mouth,
did all that
to me..." truth
doesn't need to
wash its hands,
ever. this weekend
my wife and
i went to
see barack obama
speak at city
hall. we didn't
get into the
plaza but we
ended up in
harbor place ampitheater
watching a big
screen... i guess
i'd rather be
somewhere warm, but
it didn't matter.
i felt like
crying the entire
time. at a
couple points my
tear ducts did
fill up. to
summarize how i
feel about obama,
as it gets
closer to his
inauguration i feel
like i am
getting my country
back... that may
be a bit
dramatic so maybe
i can see
it as a
renewal of dialogue.
a re-introduction, yes?


"Andrew meet the
U.S. U.S. meet
Andrew. Play nice."

something like that
i suppose. the
energy where we
were standing was
good and positive.
when bush's name
was mentioned there
was no overly
loud booing or
name calling, just
a collective sigh.

the sigh is
probably the most
underated form of
communication by the
way. i don't
think most people
get a good
read on a
sigh because of
its subtlety its
sneakiness, ducking and
hiding its meaning
behind non-confrontational communication.

i plan on
the inauguration at
school. i'll try
not to cry
too much. just
a little. right.

june star played
at the ol
bertha's saturday night.
fun times. but
man, time dragged
on. we ended
up playing three
sets and limping
over the finish
line. for no
practice, we did
alright. album work
is coming along
slowly. it will
happen. but what
to do about
FAWM? i'm not
entriely convinced that
i can do
it this year...
so many things
happening. so many
things left undone
at this point.
kind of like
starting four novels
and wondering if
there is something
wrong with you...
there's nothing wrong
with me. i
guess... kind of
like james mcmurtry
when he says,
"if anyone can
say they're alright,
so can i."

grimm

my missed blahg (blahg's #14 and 15)

i am sorry
a missed appointment
trajectory not accounted
drifted from focus
out of view
obscured without lenses
purpose and dedication
slacked and ridden
promises folded, burned.
nearly forty-eight hours
and no statement.
sorry apologies shame.

june star is
a magical band.
i write and
play with the
people who communicate
clearly. some new
satellite additions
to the band
are coming up.
will post their
names at some
point... but most
folk'll agree that
it is good.
the tim and
the grimm duo
shows are sounding
great. tight, expressive.
times when we
play i feel
invulnerable and immutable.

emerson... you said
"no harm could
ever befall me..."
that is how
i feel when
playing live. i
don't always feel
in control but
i do feel
like an authority
an archivist and
a commentator. these
roles bound and
wound into tight
lines percussing off
of the microphone.

see you soon

grimm

wtmd (blahg #13)

june star rides
the airwaives tonight
wtmd.org 89.7
at 8 o'clock.
excitement

grimm

lonely (blahg #12)

joe squared pizza
sits on north
avenue. it looks
out on urban
retooling. hipster. MICA.
excellent and new.
their pizza is
square. get it?
it's hip to
be square, once
sang Huey Lewis.
although last minute,
i had a
good time... playing.
rodney henry gallivanted
in and played
some songs. like
usual his guitar
skewed a bit
out of tune
and barked to
his command a
a well used
instrument will do.
fun times, indeed.
i played while
sitting in a
chair, which was
new to me.
got some new
friends who were
sitting in the
back. doin' their
pizzas. I was
able to talk
about House, the
doctor, you know.
funny. the night
was recorded, we
got a free
pizza, free national
bohemian beers and
twenty dollarinos. whatever
domino's... i'll never
go back to
you, i swear.

grimm

rolling on and on (blahg #11)

oooohhh... joe squared
is back on.

me solo playing

last night was
fun, in gettysburg.
josh of booker
lee was way
friendly and a
fun room. timmy
and i didn't
joke around nearly
as much as
usual. i will
be posting something
i recorded there.

yeah.

tonight at 930
pm soon, excellent.

grimm

in the morning (blahg # 10)

the early morning
hours are about
my most favorite,
i suppose. i
am my most
creative as well.
it is unclear
as to why
but it's true.

the cold morning
air patiently slipping
under the door,
the coffee pot
gurgling to completion.
my wife breathing
sleepily under covers.
these are the
sounds that accompany
my typing and
my thinking.

if the moment
is broken with
the ring of
the phone or
a knock on
the door, momentum
may never return.
it does not
seem to be
a muscular concept
does it? momentum
is not merely
exercise. it is
will and physics.
emotional physics perhaps.
yes, that's the
jaunx. emotional physics.

makes sense, right?

grimm

the late (blahg #9)

oh consistency here
is the mistress
we all need
portable muse who
speaks when not
spoken to... she
is the magic
the mojo, the
whatever. the detail
and the cracks... the
devil and her
best friends forever.
the sunday night
show is not
going to happen...
speedbumps are playing
the metro gallery.
good deal for
them... baltimore on
a sunday is
not conducive to
live music, period.

so take that.
gettysburg here we
come... tomorrow night
we delve into
history and weed
out the civil
war tunes... we'll
let our ancestor's
know that we
love them with
our special sounds.

grimm

the tooth fairy (blahg #8)

the parking lot
was behind me
and my foot
teasing the gas
pedal. root canal
here i come.
first one ever.
got my evaluation.
yes sir, you
need one, let's
schedule you for
later on, down
the line. lights
out. pay with
plastic? yes, plastic
indeed!

grimm

focus and clarity (blahg #7)

let me direct
the course open
but decided, consistent
today the blahg
will focus on
"tired," "hopefulness," and
"dreams unfulfilled, diminished."

"Tired"

on waking today
my body ached
i coughed and
rolled out of
bed. i slunk
down the steps
creaked to the
computer, hunched behind
the keyboard and
began to type.
each key stroke
an effort, true.
i'm 36 and
should not be
this tired. my
alarm went off
and i clicked
it's switch to
silence the urgent
persistent beeping and
i realized i
could sleep forever.

"hopefulness"
not a favorite
word or concept.
i believe that
hope indicates desperation
and that, in
some capacity, the
person who hopes
either has two
issues he or
she must confront:

a. the situation
is dire and
urgent, failure imminent

b. the ability
or the option
in self confidence
is not available


"dreams unfulfilled, diminished"


it feels as
though i am
dreaming, day dreaming
about stuff out
of my reach?
as my unfulfilled
dreams morph from
"dream" to "goal"
to "scheme" to
"fancy" to "oh,
someday it'd be
nice." i would
like to think
that recharging to
charge ahead is
in my nature.
defeat is initiated
only by self
acknowledgement, dream suicide?
when others doubt
i suppose, homicide?

today i will
twice as many
push ups, that
will show them.

grimm

wintery mix (blahg #6)

ice forms somewhere
atmospheric tension shifts
droplets plink deftly
shining pavement crystalline
asphalt slides glimmer
brakes tires lights
warm bed dreamed
blanket wool cat
sleep heavy lids
good mornings too
good nights abandoned
until tomorrow, farewell.

grimm

quick notes (blahg #5)

woof, the school
appeared from the
corner and my
foot, booted in
leather and tied
with a bow
knot, pressed the
pedal that makes
me go "forward."
thirteen days after
leaving the building.
thirteen days of
sleep and imbibing.
thirteen days of
eating, sleeping, rejuvenation,
writing, recording, singing,
laughing, remembering, fleeing,
watching, reading, reading,
reading, reading, and
sleeping. new rules
are created for
my path and
speed. full steam?
why not? don't
you fear burn
out? Mr. Grimm?
i will give
you my best
my all, my
effort, my sweat...
maybe not my
soul... that i
own outright, no?
rarely do we
feel "okay" and
i'm feeling "okay"

grimm

the show (blahg #4)

hello all, last
night i went,
with my wife,
to the caleb
stine show at
the ram's head
live. huge venue
crowd of 100-
150? maybe, i
didn't do a
head count. but
ellen cherry opened
the show and
she sounded good,
as usual... after
playing with her
over the past
four or five
years she's become
more comfortable with
her voice and
her playing. so
it was a
solid set. caleb's
set was good...
he was battling
a flu type
thing, but he
was able to
pull it out...
chatted with him
for a while...
hadn't seen him
in a while.
good times had
by all. now
to the basement.

grimm

the history of things (blahg #3)

here's how it
goes. it is
relentless and moving,
sleep may be
induced to a
minimum. the transparent
second hands sweep
clockwise, of course...
why wouldn't they.
or at least
clockwise on this
plane. history writes
itself, we're just
part of the
cogs spinning along,
even if we
think we're spectators...
baby, no, obligation
is our middle
name. even a
coma patient, delicious
pun eh?, plays
his or her
or its part.

slink slank slunk

june star has
26 some songs
sung slow and
fast for the
new album. recording
lurches slowly and
dangerously. my solo
disc will have
ten tunes on
and it is
nearly done. will
work on it
in a few
minutes. yes, begging
time. we have
some shows coming
up and would
like to invite
you to the
places we play.
gettysburg... i can't
believe it... my
great great great great
grandfather's fought there.
one made it,
one did not.
they fought on
the same side
union union union.
venerable wesley is
buried there somewhere.
maybe i'll go
early and connect
with the history
that set forth
my own path.

grimm

test this (blahg #2)

yes, here is
the spririt, the
hutzpah to stay
consistent. day two
and my blahg
is out of
control. watch
me write, click
and muse. recording
today with timmy.
maybe i could
post a video?
shows are coming
up and i
will be playing
soon. funny, el
rancho is coming
up on a
year's worth of
life. will be
playing their party
with other local
luminaries. hoorah. great.
have been reading
jorge luis borges,
a gift from
lawrence... he, borges,
has some great
stuff in there.
including a couple
poems titled, limits.
here's a taste:

I imagine, in the dawn, I hear a worn
murmur of multitudes, faltering, fading away.
They are everything that has loved me and forgotten;
Space, Time, and Borges now are leaving me.

take that, universe.

grimm

the new year begins (blahg #1)

so let's see
if i can
make this happen
everyday i will
attempts i will
make to contact
you on a
more consistent basis.
punctuation may suffer
however, the cat
to my right
will purr awesomely
she is this
little moon, satellite
in constant orbit
around me and
the couch, the
couch is a
stable, comfortable, almost
human. a good
friend. no work
out today. not
lazy, but the
gym is closing
at one pm.
will continue recording
the album, i've
been working on.
written last year
the songs are
good, the music
sounds great, the
vocals need some
tweaking, for sure.
what is it
about recording my
voice that bothers
me. it never
sounds how i
envision. compressed and
baritone. clear to
eq. i think
i will be
mixing the album
on our stereo
compact cd player.
if that works...
wow.

grimm

pre resolutions

more music made
less light beer
more flavorful suds
less silly television
more deliberate films
less couch time
more texts read
less coffee, really?
more good fuel
less trans fat
more saving money
less savory bacon
more soy milk
less sleeping late
more spirited mornings
will learn drums
will learn banjo
will fulfill obligations
to students and
to administration and
to my wife
to my friends
to my self

happy new year

grimm

the poetry

the poetry and
the time it
takes to make
it work... to
force it out
push pull cram
must be unbearable
suffering must commence
be commanded be
loved coaxed cajoled
leered lacquered lavished
time seems to
be shortened, what
is this in
my bones, sunken
with marrow that
whispers in a
coarse and slight
voice, work now.
tomorrow is no
guarantee. light to
your horses hoist
the banners, pump
the ink prime
the brain, stretch
the tongue, toil
toil toil. hang
the lethargic and
tighten your grip.
hang on for
dear life and
perhaps your life
will be something
to remember.

grimm

shadows move

shadows are moving
pointing their fingers,
fingerless as they
are, to suggested
points of interest.
my tour guides.
they are magnetic
and random. my
heroes whom i
used to worship
with a wish
of transference, have
not grown old
in graceful manners.
awkward and lumbering
they forget the
mine field they
tread. any hazard
in their way
is negligible, as
far as i
can tell, and
they lurch with
heavy shoes, dancing
wild and wanton.
what happened to
those artists that
seemed, in view
from younger eyes,
limitless in power,
wisdom, wit, and
energy. tired, they
all must be.

hope does spring
from Lou Reed.
"The Power of
the Heart" generates
or regenerates both
passion and competition.
"oh if i
could write that
well i would
be happy, perhaps."

i think i
can i know
i will i
have no doubts
new records will
be made, permanent
and well listened.

grimm

tip tap

"tip tap" goes
the drops of
water while "click
clack" turns my
brain. three in
the morning and
i'm awake. not
the restless awake
but the rested
alert awake i've
been searching for.
it is dark
outside and in
my bedroom a
warmth radiates from
the iron accordian
in the corner.
random thoughts settle
on school and
students, my work.
my job, my
ethics, my worries.
laguna the cat
pounces on my
foot. the prey.
the kill. in
the wild, my
other cat, honey
would not survive
too long I
think. she seems
to have no
claws. although i
didn't have them
removed, she seems
to not engage
them half as
much as the
purr box in
her throat. that
is a well
oiled machine. for
sure. coffee is
done. time to
go to school.
let me commit
this blahg to
cyber reality and
off i'll drive.

into the darkness.

grimm

holiday

here we are
tipping the scales
of holiday madness
the shopping, clawing,
racing, wrapping, unwrapping
smiling, smirking, jumping,
slap happiness. all
is well i
say to myself.
tomorrow in the
morning we will
rock again, we
will be taping
the radio segments
for baltimore unsigned.
they will ask,
"How do you
write a song?"
i will respond
"I don't know,
it shows up,
i coax it
along, nurture and
discipline are the
keys to creating
something that lasts.
they never ask
about my favorite
food or my
favorite Seinfeld episode.
alas the world
may never know.

grimm

time is an abstract

where does time
collect? in pools
of porcelain? or
streams of silver.
the rapids of
age and tradition
slowly chip at
the banks, glittering
with memory and
shaded by doubts.
songs we heard
so long ago
are like friends
we used to
know. like worms
doing their job.
consuming and refining.
squirming and embalming.
reorganize i say...
let out the
bitter air, stale
and reactive... less
each year, true,
but what of
last year, don't
you remember what
you did? what
pacts you may
have made, betrayed?
hmmmmmmmm... frowns are
as equally inexpensive
as smiles. so,
take that, punk.

grimm

the clock monkeys

my first band
i played bass
i was bad
i was young
i was silly
i didn't know
neal gentry was
patient i suppose
he said there
are no one
chord songs, just
because three chords
came together doesn't
mean it works.

facebook memories, yes.

i remember this
show. we were
in a basement
whose i can't
recall but i
remember that the
folk watching were
sitting and not
moving or dancing
we were a
bit put off
by that sort
of thing. so
we played anyhow
songs... kisses told
shane thrush
8 o'clock round up

i didn't know
how to play
the bass guitar.

grimm

macbeth

clickety clack
i remember seeing
christopher plummer as
macbeth at the morris
mechanic theatre when
i was fifteen. not that
i was a big christoper
plummer fan, mind you, however
i had seen in him in several
dracula type films and
that was my exposure to him.

the facebook has flared
up and the high school
reunion is full on. funny thing.
i was looking forward to never
knowing anything about
the people i went to high school
with... and here i am... up to
my knees in catching up with
people... i can't help
but think that myspace and
facebook will start high
school reunion services...

ah... recording continues...
i've got four songs finished...
another 6 to go for the solo
disc... i think it sounds good
and will be a fine disc... then...
touring. yay.

grimm

Sebald

i started reading
Sebald's "Rings of
Saturn" last night.

in earnest lawrence
i admit it.
good read, really.

some great lines
that i will
reprint here, soon.

he's got this
knack for description
and a sense
of place, not
setting, but place.

it made me
think about my
freshman year at
Western Maryland College.

I lived in
room 307 in
rouzer hall. and
early in the
morning when there
seemed to be
a gray light
covering everything. not
illuminating but coating
color, making red
bricks slate grey.
there was a
building, public works
maybe, down the
slope of the
hill behind the
dining hall loading
dock and dumpsters
that the trashmen
would slam to
jostle the hungover
college kids on
saturday mornings. beyond
those cans and
in the one
of the alleys in
westminster sat this
small building, water
treatment or something?
i will look
this week and
report back for
us. this building
had lights on
all hours of
the night, but
it was in
the mornings when
i would get
up and look
out the window,
and i'd stare
at those lights
and i'd lift
the window to
my room and
let the cold
air mingle with
the dry forced
air of the
heaters. my line
of sight always
brought me to
that building with
it's small exhaust
pipe constantly puffing
small clouds of
smoke steam marshmellow.
whatever it was
i don't know
but the security,
unexplainable and comfortable,
of those lights
being on meant
that someone was
awake and manning
the switch. whatever
that switch was.
someone had it.
under complete control.

grimm

the quick and the dirty

disconnected from internet
more because of sleep
than anything else.

much has happened
in five days.

i myself would
not have expected
such shifts slowly
pivoting and reaching
to new horizons.

but these horizons
are severely short
of actual "newness."
they were the
things i knew
were already there.
just dormant, sitting.

push came to
shove at the
local tavern, and
i remembered my
words to students.

just walk away.
remember how old
you are and
act out accordingly.

the anger was
shaking in me.
the toothless clod
prying and poking
for a confrontation.
his thumb pressing
the sensitive nerve
and a reaction
expected was not
going to happen.

i spoke my
peace, i used
my language, both
fair and foul
foul and fair
ha ha ha
and walked away.

enough of this
talk about machismo
and doing the
right thing. there
was movement in
the recording of
songs I wrote
a year ago.
ten songs selected
from fawm 2008.
I will do
fawm this year
as well. my
intention is to
crank out as
many great songs
as i can.

songs selected for
the new solo
album, no order

breathe for me
a beautiful shot
turned around
drowning
pretty lies
smoke
no sense
waiting time
all my heart
non titled

grimm

news from the world

pardons for everyone
what matters if
you've been wrong
or hurt people
dishonesty schmishonesty, man.

what does it
matter? who cares?
pardons are cheap
and unfortunate to
see who mr.
bush will let
slide by values.

great.

we, june star
are flirting with
a booking agent.

fairly unbelievable for
us, to have
someone interested in
working with the
band. ooooh. Baltimore
unsigned taping will
be soon. please
come out. reserve
your tickets. yah.

grimm

dah rulez

my leaf turned anew
much more reading to be
done.
will i finish that
hawthorne biography
i started this summer? yes
i will. i will finish this
week. my solo work... needs
to start... needs be finished
for sure...

click goes the mouse
turn goes the page
sigh goes the lungs
whirrr goes the firing neurons
purr goes the cat
sleep goes the grimm
pluck goes the pick
grrrr goes the guitar
meh goes the bun
blah blah goes the tv
shallow goes the hills
darkness goes the culture
submit goes the paper
scratch goes the pencil
bling goes the blang
uh oh goes the blue ray
no goes the maybe

yodel at ya later

grimm

p.s. I will get into "The Rings of Saturn"

''No matter whether one is flying over Newfoundland or the sea of lights that stretches from Boston to Philadelphia after nightfall, over the Arabian deserts which gleam like mother-ofpearl, over the Ruhr or the city of Frankfurt, it is as though there were no people, only the things they have made and in which they are hiding. . . . And yet they are present everywhere upon the face of the earth, extending their dominion by the hour.''

the show, the disappointment, redemption

friday's show...there is video...
good to see some people at the
show... good to hear the other folks,
abby mott, jason dove, and mike beresh.
cool stuff and very nice people.

my set... uneventful... my throat was
so dry and the monitor was real "high
frequency" i had a hard time focusing.
some songs worked out really well...

there was an overly exuberant group
of folk in the corner... they essentially
yelled through some songs... we all
got an earful about their late night
habits.

the wife took a video of one of the songs...
i haven't seen it yet... but perhaps i can
post it if it's worth it.

the next night we played a private party
at towson university. oh this was fun. i
don't normally like playing parties... but this
was different, an after party for the closing
night of a friend/fan's play... lot's of
sound... lots of rock... lots of fun. had a
cup of cabernet... wine is becoming a bit
more attractive to me these past few years...
don't think i want to become some... expert, but
i think i want to enjoy some of them thar finer
thangz. i suppose

but anyhow... good times had...

somethin' of note... good to see kevin
as a lurker... you should see his blog...
smart... someone has been keeping up on
his reading... Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock.

Eliot was the first computer.

I should have been a pair of ragged claws
Scuttling across the floors of silent seas

grimm

the solo

solo acoustic
stretched out songs
that tickle and curve
slower to faster
faster to slower
different voices from
different positions
on the neck from my neck
songs to play:

back of my heart
anymore
sugarbird
thrown
without you now
gone
valentine
back to the valley (new song)
new jordan
local 48
thunder

Shall I record it?

Shall I post the "Recording?"

HMMMMMM?

I should I should... perhaps a blurry photo of my in half shadow, off center...
Video?

Grimmeo

iotas

we played last night
at the iota in arlington, va.
twas a rough show
uncomfortable on stage playing
timmy's songs on bass. it's not
the songs, it's the cohesion
of the guys playing... i could've
played better... i suppose. it was
fun though.

playing with timmy is easy... we're
both in the same position in music,
as a career. we're meticulous about
detail and songwriting. we're
searching for originality. we are
and unknown quality/quantity to most folks.

strange but true.

i sold 5 discs, no easy feat.
people seemed to like the songs.
my guitar was bouncing in and out of tune...
but overall, good stuff.

work on the album has reached a standstill...
more on that, when there's something
to say.

more music... more writing. maybe i should post
some stuff... i was supposed to be working on a solo
album too... i got through one take and stopped...
what kind of album should it be?

maybe I'll get timmy to play on it...

lately, i've been thinking about school.
my first period class has been keeping me on my
toes... let me qualify... i like all of my classes...
i'd just like to talk about first period... for a bit.
they are a smart bunch... sharp... interested in what
is happening in the literature.
we have good conversations and their analyses are
fairly accurate... i'm looking to push them harder
for huck finn. funny, some students in particular
are reading and immediately interpreting the characterizations,
internalizing that knowledge and then applying it
to either theme or the text. awesome... and funny.

oh school... schmool.

Please come out Friday night to Joe Squared Pizza... I'm
going solo acoustic and I might play some new tunes...
no kidding... I just might.

I'm out.

Grimm

10th Anniversary and a Day

thank you all
my goodness it's
true that baltimore
loves us, truly.
the 10th anniversary
show was reinvigorating.
tim heaney, thank
you for taking
pictures friday night
and for the
past four years.
so many people
coming up close
to hear us
sing and play
lovely time had
by all. lot's
of shirts were
sold to cool
people. encore was
suggested by clapping
we played well
and are very
fortunate to have
nice people who
support us strongly.
last night, timmy
and i played
at el rancho.
good night for
music. timmy was
under the weather
and I was
ready to play
some music, music.
here's a drawing
by katy feild.

short round

not much time
but enough to
keep you informed.

june star plays
10th anniversary show
on november seventh

a decade ago
the band started
strumming singing plateauing.

we are so
fortunate in our
history to share
with many others
the creation and
delivery of songs.

new songs though
are not showing
up in a
timely matter, true.
scary darkness where
ideas used to
live and "become"
now only the
dirt is there.

dirt and water
there's a combination
that strikes at
the essence of
every life and
form. we need
that dirt. we
do. we need
that water. we
do. don't ask
me why or
how, but the
something inside me
needs to speak.
dirt and water
love and loss
fire and sulfur
sun and earth
up and over
around and still

bad poetry is
as bad poetry...

is.

checking in

shows comin' up
galore galore galore

the songs aren't
flowing like they
used to, now.

working up some
new material for
some expression i
am quite scattered
today. yes, today.
tommorrow will be
better for me.

i swear so.
reading some hawthorne.
he is great
really was, interesting
life and times.

blahg got me

grimm

Ego and CMJ

Carla wrote: "I don't know, but I keep thinking of a word you brought up earlier. Ego. I am not sure how it fits in."

ego is my
enemy and I
know this to
be so true.

never can I
seem to function
as the musicians
I have read
about or seen
in person. they
are into themselves
because that is
a part of
the business. there
is a musician
in baltimore who
warned me of
playing shows with
bands that aren't
altogether there, yet.
pick and choose
who you play
with, he said.
interesting advice, indeed.

small ego small
success? correlation please!
Lou Reed huge
ego, Paul Westerberg
huge ego, no
doubt. if we
keep paging through
the catalog of
my influences ego
is probably a
main factor in
success. ego is
tough and slowly
I build mine
like some monolithic
tribute to my
superior artistic ability
swinging full golden
measures, vanquishing ignorance
and captivating the
masses, them swooning
and swaying lithely
to the thumps,
skips, scrapes, and
plinks of my
instruments plucked wildly.


Carla then wrote: "It is no fun to not have an audience especially when you and Timothy are such good musicians. You two play together really well and are both talented."

yes it is
true I do
think that we
will be the
underground band that
no one will
know nor discuss.
my ego is
resolved on that.
it does not
change my music
it does not
change my person.
id does not
hurt my ego
id does not
say my name
louder than ego.



Carla finally says, "In the meantime, there is also that old trick called ADVERTISING which can increase audience size."

oh time and
money you are
not my friends
both leave the
party as it
starts getting good.

street team, huzzah!

CMJ Marathon

we had a
nice crowd
attentive and listening
timmy and me
went through about
twelve tunes, altogether.
made a couple
friends and fans.
googies is a
nice place to
play. we enjoy
the crowds and
will work on
another show there.

the new york
times did an
article on cmj.
we were not
mentioned but Wye
Oak and Arboretum
were talked about.
we are under
the radar's radar.

hugs and kisses.

dewey beach debacle

so... we roll into town
around 7:30 pm
and we go to the motel.
we check in...

lamp falling off of the
the wall... lights barely
working. the top sheets of
the beds, scary.
big back area that was tiled...
perhaps for a quick clean up?
eh.

we drive to the rusty rudder.
and look around... we get get
drinks... we get bored. other
bands starting to arrive...
first guy goes on. he's
okay... seems like he's
getting his sea legs performing... interesting
guitar chords.
first band outside was seriously tone
deaf... like wow... paint by numbers,
typical alt. country americana drivel
about a pick up truck and lost... everything.
going inside we saw crabmeat thompson...
he was funny and good at what he did...
then it was back outside to see a great band,
curly and the rocket... great stuff...
on the inside... drivel.
back outside... drivel. back inside... jam
rock classic rock... drivel.
last band outside was truly horrorfying.
then we go inside... the band on Stage C didn't
show... so the sound guy says... we'll move
june star to the C Stage... bigger stage, "better sound"

sounds good?

we go on at 12:30... most people had left...
we had to beg for 3 schlitz beers... the lights
weren't on the stage... we played in darkness... we played
to no one... we had a good time joking with
each other... delaware doesn't sell carry out beer...
we end up with a check for 100 dollars...
wow... and we paid 27 dollars for the bar tab.

after some great late night wings...

we sleep for a while... hoping that our gig next
morning will be canceled.

here's the deal... we got 50 bucks for the festival
and an extra 50 for the next day playing at some
relay race... so they set up our "stage" literally
two feet from Ocean Highway, in a liquor store parking lot...
we play from 10-11:45 am... there was no one there... at 10
am at Dewey Beach... at one point
I begin laughing maniacally and cannot
control myself... there was a brief
moment where timmy and I thought about
buying some hard liquor to soothe the ruffles...
after 40 minutes... we packed it in... talked to
the sound guy and said, "We're leaving... this is lame."
he agreed.

It was a pretty low time for us...
like we took money to take money...
sad... sad... sad... sad...

Timmy and I laughed about these things...
just sad to know that we were apart of it...

dirty feelings.

grimm

friendly musik

press the button
marked record
push the string to
the fret
slide your hand
left to right
sounds transfer to
bytes, bytes click
to a chip
and there they
sit, waiting to
be recharged, listened
to again.

judgment comes with
the second listening
of the tune
and the hanging
of my head
headphones clamped to
each ear creating
a music vacuum
total enclosed environment...

progress note by
note. more later...

it's been a while...
the blahg had to pause
while life got a fair
shake. Dewey Beach
American Fest was
awful. awful. awful.
we were okay... but
it was demoralizing...
like seriously, we
thought about making
good on a suicide
pact in the
Sand Palace Motel.

The saturday show
I won't go into.

Bertha's was fun...
good people... lots
of music... I
even played drums at
one point... which
was fun... but foolish...

now I'm gearing
up to go get my
gear... from the
bertha's.

more on the album.
timmy's tunes are
taking more shape these
days which is cool...
we're trying to be
more expansive on the
sounds... Ryan Finnerin
said it sound like 80's
esque... which was
meant as a compliment...
I know. We have been
listening to a boat load of
Steve Kilbey and the Church.

Yes!

my cat is looking
at me asking for a pet.

by now.

grimm

CMJ

so we backdoored it
into cmj. college music journal.
it's a big deal?
a big deal in what capacity?
where? new york new york
when oct. 24th when 9:30 pm
where? googies. why? because
music is fun. music fellowship
for human thinkers.

cmj to me feels like
sxsw in a lot of ways. only
established bands w/ incredible
luck seem to get accepted. we
just booked a show and were
ushered in pretty quickly.
excitement. ellen cherry is joinging
us for her own set. marshall... my
good friend from college, my
intellectual college friend,whom
works in a museum and recently
opened a show on george tooker, will
be there. he enjoys fresh food and
good beer/wine. he is compact and
worth the worth.

in the mean time
we will be playing at the
dewey beach americana festival.
yes... delaware... home to biden.
no sales tax. i will buy something
i'd normally buy in maryland
just to stick it to the 6% md sales tax.

which gets me thinking
if taxes are meant to become
public money that is used
for improvements in education,
streets, social services, and the like
why is it such an awful thing? we volunteer
to live in amrerica... ya could
leave if you really wanted to. i'm
just typing out loud here. of course
some folks who don't have children
question why they should pay taxes
that will be used for education? the
nearest answer for why is that those
kids will become the caretakers... and
frankly i'd like them to be literate
critical thinkers that can problem
solve, right? right?

whatev.

I'm a bit bored with the blog
this morning... so i'll split...

here's to you, maryland.

grimm

the end experiement

looking over the blahg.
man i got a lot of pictures of
myself on this page. what
an ego. eh? from here on
out i'm going to limit that
idea. if it's a great picture,
well okay. but i'm going to look
and take other pictures that
may be interesting.

deal?

deal.

obama and biden
mccain and palin
i've been jaded for a while
i don't believe that any
politician will be happy until
they've murdered everyone.

obama is someone i want to believe.
smart, young, idealistic.
seemingly untainted.
but the reality or at least
projected reality i fear is
that he holds the same secrets
as most folks striding towards
power... same old cliches.

whatever.

has our country always
been this way?

take that baltimore

grimm

synced

last night at the hexagon
me, timmy, dave hadley
guitar, guitar, pedal steel.
one of the best shows
we ever played
energy and sounds
at a handy pace,
interpretation was smooth. s
eams in the the songs,
double stitched and
triple stretched.
ten people
in the audience
no money
paid out.
classic june star
show. brilliant
and heard by
a
few.

book festival part two

carla asked,

So did you get any questions when you were on the panel?

an older gentlemen asked about Bob Dylan's pilfering of Henry Timrod as plagiarism. I responded that technically, "yes" his "lifting of lines" would constitute a charge; however, Dylan was probably doing something bigger than just trying to fill space on an album. Lyrically... he was doing what we've all been doing musically... reinterpreting Chuck Berry.

Did an audience ask the questions or were they pre-written?

Most of the questions came from Erik Deatherage of WTMD. He had pre-written the questions and asked them specifically of some panelists and other questions were for anyone and everyone to answer. Good questions... the impact of reading on our music... what is the link between author's and inspiration... what is the common key to good writing in fiction and in song...

Did anything interesting get said by people other than you?

Yes, there were some good things being said... Jason Tinney of Donegal Express talked about Larry Brown and kinship between him and Alejandro Escevedo.

Do musicians influence authors or do only authors influence musicians?

Both... Stephen King has been putting lyrics from songs he'd been listening to into his books... although Stephen King may not be literary academia so to speak. But certainly it was my perspective that author's have influenced my writing in terms of creating mood or a characters voice... making something real... Raymond Carver comes to mind for me.

Did the parking suck?

We got lucky. I don't think Sunday was as packed as the previous days...

This is the second post I've attempted with blogspot... on this topic... first one was lost...

Yikes...

Photos are by Tim Heaney... he's great!

baltimore city book festival Part One

there's a book I haven't gotten through.
my friend and listener lawerence gave me.
must finish. must read. will get on it
lawerence. I know.

today I'm on the panel.
"I'm with the band." Author's influence on musicians.
what to chat about.
Erik Deatherage is le moderator for the panel.

I will take pictures.

thinking about the new songs
the new record. anxious and looking forward to
making it happen.

shows...

Oct. 3rd @ the Hexagon (formerly lo fi social club) w/Theron. we go on at 10pm David Hadley will be playing pedal steel.

woooo hooooo.

more later.

grimm

hmmmmph

the time has skulked by.
now i'm back to myself.
the break from blog, due to school.
appearances are truer than you would ever assume.
i am appearing places. with bands.
old and new faces.

sun. sept. 28 @ Baltimore Book Festival, City Lit Stage 2:45 (talking about authors and rock.

fri. oct. 01 @ the Hexagon (formerly Lo Fi Social Club) w/ Theron and someone else.

fri. oct. 17 @ Dewey Beach Americana Music Festival, Rusty Scupper 12:00 am

the big news is NOV. 7th June Star is 10 years old. Show will be off da hook. Old members playing... original june star line up... Grimm, Alan Zepp, and Shane Poteete will be on hand playing songs from 10 years ago. Wow... stuff i had forgotten over the years.

the barn burners will be playing their last show as well. i'm sad about that. bob kannenberg and his crew played the first june star show at gandalf's in frostburg maryland on nov. 7th 1998. that was our best show ever.

grimm

here is a space

here is a space for a
few words to be planted
the thoughts will someday
become words and phrases
delivered straight to the
ears. fed by time, hydroponic
closet light, burning
purple. patience is nothing
that floats. it anchors and
reassures. smooth, wriggling
pupa sit at their desks
and wonder. is it wondering?
wondering takes energy, energy
takes effort, effort always
reveals itself, even in the dark.
this may be the year. this may
be the mark. this may be the chance.
this may be news. the theatre is
dark and the actors do not
have moves anymore than birds
have lips.

the bar

we played an exciting show at bertha's
last night.

they were nice and receptive.
we were nice and rusty. sold discs and
talked with some folks who said,
we were "a sweet band." never had
heard that before. nice to appreciated.

that's for sure. trying to get people our
for sept. 12th. are you going to be there? it's
going to be rad. it's going to be sweet.

tours are being planned. october to chicago
then to new york and portsmouth

sorry i've taken a few days off from
yonder blog... school has started for the
teachin' types and so i must attend to that
gunk til' it settles... i still have
shows and timmy and i are still
pressing record and letting the notes
drift and settle where they may.

shows!

Aug. 21st @ the red and the black grimm solo
Aug. 23rd @ sapphire cafe, bethesda MD june star acoustic
Sep. 12th @ the 8x10, baltimore MD june star, caleb stine, and ellen cherry
Sep. 20th @ el rancho, hampden MD june star acoustic
Oct. 16th @ tbd, pittsburgh PA
Oct. 17th @ tbd, Chicago IL
Oct. 18th @ tbd, Columbus or Cincinatti OH
Oct. 24th @ googies lounge, New York NY
Oct. 25th @ the press room, Portsmouth NH

Grimm

the artist

i'm not too sure how this is all supposed to work out. the art thing. what a strange little creature. my 5090 has halted for the most part. i'm concentrating on the june star album, using mostly songs from 5090. irony is a two faced trickster. isn't he. or she. i have written a bit more. i have a song in my head. old lyrics refurbished. hey ray sounds good from here you're pure genius they oughta name a star after you don't hold back set fire to fear breathe so deep you can burn out the atmosphere i don't know you anymore i don't know you anymore hey ray last shot to miss you're pure genius when you're blind your aim is just a guess so there they are. let me tug on your sleeve about something. went to the iota tonight to see brandon butler. i first met that dude when he was in canyon. i was an engineer at phase recording, where june star recorded its first discs. anyhow i remember meeting him... he had long hair and blankets of tattoos on his arms. he scared the shit out of me. he was a real rock and roller. and all he could talk about was getting a burrito from down the street. and unexpected high pitched singing voice croaked his desire for said edible. anyhow, canyon plays some great shows... goes on tour with jay farrar, comes home and breaks up. end of story? brandon ends up not doing too much musically, puts out a couple of albums and plays out sporadically. tonight when i saw him play i was reminded of canyon a bit... but mostly i was reminded of how great music is and can be. it made me want to write. he was doing some great things with little effort and so off handed that one would hardly think that it could inspire anything bigger than its own sway or lull. but it was good and i'm glad i went to see him play. it was worth it. we chatted for a bit and re-connected. it had been awhile. tomorrow timmy and i are back at the recorder. drums and guitars tomorrow i think. maybe vocals? the album will be very good. timmy still is thinking that it should be a double album. while i am skeptical of the cohesive thematic connections we'll just have to wait and see. i may do some writing tonight. i'm also trying to post a video of a song i wrote during the tour with ellen cherry. speaking of ellen cherry. you all must come out on sept. 12th @ the 8x10 club. ellen cherry, caleb stine and the brakemen, and june star will be playing... this will be a big show. lots of fun... lot's hand holding.

telling a story

summer quickly folds,
cool days unexpected.
the mosquitos buzz,
stick and drink.
sounds bubble out.
strings become magnetic.
under microscopes tiny
things glare large.
sleep craggled man
shuffles middle aged
feet. clickety clack
the keys report.
a writing a
missive to keep
all informed about
new sounds new
words sung and
strummed for anyone
to hear or
to buy or
to steal or
to love or
to hate or
to think or
to dance or
to revel or
to blog about.

as erratic as
the punctuation in
this here submission
the words are
coming foward slowly.

they are only
waiting for acceptance.

grimm

the tour has ended

the tour completed

we traveled:

new york city
cambridge, ma
providecne, ri
northampton, ma
manchester, ct
portsmouth, nh
portland, me
burlington, vt

great times. thank you to everyone
who let us sleep at their place...
i guess i should comment on the radio bean.

burlington is the new york
of free spirited women
and shaggy boys.

my goodness. seemed like there
were some folks living
just to live, regardless of
money or direction.

refreshing no doubt.
my performance was okay... i didn't take
it too seriously. there wasn't much
of an audience... some nice folks who clapped
but that was about it.

ellen cherry played well... it was little
hard to hear on stage but
that's no big deal... there were no monitors.

so now i steer toward teaching.
this is my last week off before going back
to work. i am trying to build energy
to do it up. to make it happen.

my sleep scheduloe is a bit whacky
as well. i sleep 8 hours but feel so
tired when i get up. it takes an hour
for me to perk up... so to speak.

i will write some songs today and record.
must work out... tone the muscles... sit
in a sauna. it is nice though in baltimore.
weather wise... i'm on the front porch...

sipping coffee... thinking about the future.
should i make a list of goals? should
i invest in brainstorming ideas about music...
at times i feel so lazy... it hurts.

off to the future...

grimm

last night out

hey

last night out and we're in
burlington vt
where, apparently, all the kids
are

what a young and free thinkin' bunch of
folk

very new age-ish.

so last night in portland we had
a good show...

my set...

dug deep and it paid off. brightly.
will most likely post audio when i get it together.
shaun, ellen cherry's boyfriend videoed a
tune and i'd like to get it on the
ol' youtube.

you know.

tonight...
pass the hat
pass the bucket
hope to get some moolah
not holding breath
just holding court.

i'll be friendly. you
be cool

grimm

Killing Time In CT

The video above was taken of a tour guide
at the mark twain house... he had quite the flair
for dramatics.

our gig tonight was
at the main pub in manchester.

very nice folk. lot's of claps.
we sold some discs and made some friends.

Dan Prindle was the host
and very effecient he let us do our thing... which
was very nice.

yay manchester.

Grimm!

new york city bands

they swayed moving
their heads in unison
impossibly skinny
with fingers
2 fee long
pinpoint harmonies
the dig were
there

northampton MA
was not kind for the tour
good people
good coffee
not enough people
not enough coffee
a drink was needed
but abstained
great set
no pay
hotel with
rock star
rate

chatted up the dig
very pleasant
nice fellers
you should go see them.

now to twain's homestead
i'm hoping to buy
a mark twain action figure.

or maybe a king and duke lunch box.

grimm

The 11's

oh john cale.

words for the dying

how wonderful

northampton, MA

playing at the 11's opening for nyc's the Dig.

looking forward to the show... yes we really are.

last night we played the everyman lounge and saw
some really talented folk. very interesting interpretative
dance. which was nice, i suppose. wish i had
videoed it.

anyhow. we stayed with john windle and enjoyed
the company of a couple of cats... cosmo and azrreal.

our set was fairly fantastic! so take that. world.
ellen cherry has been videoing stuff and posting
it on her you tube and blogspot account. check it out.

grimmz

new york city to boston

picked up kristin at 12:30
enjoyed a longer than usual trek
went through pennsylvania.

you know pennsylvania. the song
immortalized by robbie fulks
for scrapple! scrapple! the pride
of pennsylvania.

it was a good drive
we caught up on musician gossip
a couple of old hens we are.

made it through the holland
tunnel with little to no traffic,
truly amazing. what is truly amazing
to me is playing new york.

when me and timmy played cbgb's in 2002
it was plumb awful. two people were
there and it just sucked. now one of
those two people was jd foster, the producer
and we wanted to meet him. so it was
okay.

anyhow, googies has yet to disappoint
us with a bad evening. I was a bit rusty
I can admit my bad playing when I hear it.
I don't think it was horrendous... but i've played
better for sure.

ellen cherry's set was good... she's a good
entertainer... sometimes a bit verbose
as she would probably admit, herself. the
funny thing is that she seems nervous
but there is no need as the audience always
likes her and she pulls off her songs and banter
with a real sense of humor.

met up with my college friend, marshall.
marshall is my favorite new yorker. he is
a curator of a small museum, uptown. his upcoming
show is on modern painter, george tooker. pretty
great stuff that has found great relevance with
today's issues of isolation and self imposed
imprisonment.

look em up.

we awoke, we got cleaned up and
headed to boston. ah the club passim!

what a great show... under attended but attended
by the right people. Brett, a fan... yes
and actual fan from oregon, now situated in raleigh, nc
was in town for a conference and he brought a bunch of
friends out to see me. wow. this does not happen
often for me and it meant
much.

i find crazy that people can buy my discs
listened to them, know the words, and then
come out, from great distances to see the performance.
we chatted after the show and he revealed
that he is a super swell person!

bill malonnee... side note... ellen cherry says,
"bloggity bloggity bloggity"

bill and his wife were really great... i mean... wow.
we traded discs and chatted about the difficulties of
music.

great folks.

okay... so we're in a whole foods eating breakfast
and then it's off to Providence.

more later.

okay?

eve of the tour

will there be people
good question?
bad attitude?
perhaps not...

june star has embarked on recording the next
album in my basement.
timmy and me are playing most of
the instruments as usual... however
ryan and jason will be
getting on "tape"

the digital digital digital
age is in full effect
downstairs.

amazing what you can do
with compressed things and
encoded jots!

oh ee cummings would
be a twitter for the
zigs and jags splashing
toward the lighter exapansion
of the cyber heart
the virtual canvas
usb paintbrush

pictures anyone?

yes... photos
to show the process...

songs started

Back to the Valley
Fake Name
Waiting for the Snow (working title)




ellen cherry/andrew grimm tour


aug 2 googies: nyc, ny
aug 3 club passim: boston, ma
aug 4 everyman's lounge: providence, ri
aug 5 the elevens: north hampton, ma
aug 6 the main pub: mancheaster, ct
aug 7 rudi's: portsmouth, nh
aug 8 one longellow square: portland, me
aug 9 one bean: burlington, vt

grimm

blasting the clink

hmmm ruminations...

i can't remember when i first heard that word... how or where it
was spoken.
i can however remember thinking it was
a high "falootin'" type of word... like
jocularity. 5th Mrs. Smith's class we watched
some sort of film that had a grasshopper
or inch worm or some type of invertebrate introduce
that word.

tour is coming up. aug. 2nd through aug. 9th ellen
cherry and i will be making our way through new england
to play our lil' hearts out for folks.

sounds like fun, but sounds like work. summer is closing
its doors. the time i've spent on the couch is exciting.
june star has a few shows and a few more... and a few more.
that's good. i like playing. going to work on my banter
for the next few rounds. haven't seen too much music, which
is funny as i'm into music.

strange moment happened a few months ago. i went to see a band
and i couldn't get into it. they were good and all that but
i just felt like i should be on stage. playing my songs.

ego.

just wasn't interested in listening to someone else's
failed relationships. he could tell it better than me.
hmm... yeager... my friend in chicago has her own radio
show now and i have to submit a list of what i've been listening to...

here it is so far

steve kilbey: unearthed
the church: priest=aura
the roots: rising down
an alaskan mixed disc of open mic music
lou reed: street hassle
steve forbert: if i want you now

i guess that's it...

tell your friends about my blog... come out to see us play... would anyone like me to put a video up? when anyone watch it?

oh! i'm doing 50/90 challenge... you can hear all of my songs

here's my link

encourage me... tell me that it's brilliant!!!!

lost track of time

hey y'all

been out of touch lately
internet gremlins and stuff preventing
me from posting...

working on a lot of things these days... hopefully
more stuff is on the way...

i signed up for the fawm... 50/90 challenge
timmy b. also signed up... so please check out the
songs and feel free to download them... you're supposed
to write 50 songs in 90 days... i'm also going to post video
on my youtube channel...

yes!!!!

my 50/90 challenge page...

home team advantage

timothy and i have started
our journey
our tour
our travels
lead south
into heat
and beer.
step up to the mic
and sing some
songs to plasma
screens yes
plasma screens
let's qualify
this darrin is our host,
as usual, in richmond
he is the
best. treats
us like artists
and cares. he
secured our money he
secured our space he
secured our accomodations he
is cool
please enjoy
yonder video
my first foray
into
movie
making thanks.

grimm

eve of the tour

so here we go, the tour begins tomorrow morning
i will drive in my car to timothy's house and we will
take his ride to the south, the land of pork bbq
i'm looking forward, with great anticipation, to playing
with tim on this tour. the past few months we've
been making some good decisions musically. we're both relaxing
our guards a bit. i think about tim's abilities and
am honored to play his tunes and have him play mine.
we often ask each other about whether a song is good. they're good.
we know. but we need to be reminded. sometimes tim's talent
seems bottomless. and his perfect pitch is commanding. i feel
that of the two of us, i'm the one who is raw and visceral... while
tim is the one who is specific and linear. combined you
get something new.

the first gig is at home team grill. our friend darrin works there and
he just called to ask if we can go on earlier than planned.

you see... there's this basketball game coming on and... well you
get the picture.

we have a youtube site... http://www.youtube.com/factoryhorse so take that.

other dates

june 12 home team grill richmond, va
june 13 blues bbq roanoke, va
june 14th tbd
june 15 city stages festival brimingham, al
june 16 eddie's attic decatur, ga
june 17 the cave chapel hill

grimm

the state of the state

ooo... monday morning
has arrived. listened to the
8x10 show from friday.
recording is better than i
thought we played.
obvious flubs... dubious flaws.
certainly killer versions
of pope of mexico, engine, this
love won't let me die.
the stage is set for the summer.
must get iTunes together and
and mass duplication of cora belle.
working... i'm just so lazy on
sunday.
lisa and i schnoozed all day on the couch
with the world famous honey.
definitely a needed break from
everything else. but still.
tonight, i must catalog
and create some mp3's.
look at paying some bills and
seal the deal on some venues to
get the promotion machine working
again.
long summer awaits
will go by fast... slippery fast.
next show may be june 9th @ 8x10...

almost forgot,
the caleb stine show was incredibly fun
recorded that too... maybe i should post it.
loads of fun fun fun fun fun fun fun...
i almost forgot how great it is to be a side man.

live long revolutions

grimm

best of baltimore

so the rollingstone
says that they have
declared baltimore the
best scene in the world.
or at least,
the united states.
not my first choice.
was thinking to myself
what would they pick as
representative. the stuff
i thought would go was the
simple things.
bands at the ottobar
wham city
golden west
beach house
dan deacon
everything that it seems
they've reported on before.
am i envious of the named,
me being the non-named.
i don't think so.
non-recognition is okay
with me. caleb stine keeps
telling me to get out of town,
maybe i should. quit playing the
bars and start playing real shows.
that'd probably be something i should
do. touring this summer. oh
alabama
please
call me
i want drive
south and eat
some ribs.
dreamland bbq
you are my food savior.
the past few days have
breathed some fresh air
into my lungs about playing
some more show and creating
some more friends
making music, writing.
inching closer to reading
even more than i did before.
gettin' interested. this
should be a great summer.
a swell summer.
come on summer.
hi ellen cherry.
how's texas?
texas always seemed so
big
but you know you're in
the largest state in
the union when
you're anchored down
in anchorage, alaska.
leroy says, hello
leroy says, send a picture
leroy says, awww keep on a rockin' girl.

ah yes ellen cherry
you say i don't update my
blog
so here i ams
updating
uploading
upchuckinig
updrafting
upupping
how post modern?

shaun's birthday dinner
was nice
good to see people out and
about
rocket to venus
i'm never too comfortable
there
seems too cool
but really it's a collection
nerds in black, ill-fitting
clothes

seems like they just
can't seem to get it together.

yes the bar gig
berthas
this saturday
night.

tell your friends
3 hours of june star
we will be playing all
of our hits

even the ones everyone has missed in the
past

uh.

rehearsal tonight
tour looming
booking not working
help on the way

no despair

grimm

visualize myspace

i haven't really kept up with myspace all that much lately. there has got to be a better way to input yer information into that sucker. it's kind of like writing this blog. i start with the gusto and then my attention veers to reading news or thinking about something else i should be doin'. uh... so tough. but i'll trudge. i'll:
click
click
click
ecapskcab (when necessary)

but the evolution will be blogged. i know it.

music is an upswing... i bought kathleen edwards new one Asking for Flowers. very cool disc with a lot of mid tempo rock tunes and some fairly revealing lyrics. i've only listened to it twice but i must say it is havin' an effect on me... "asking for flowers/is like asking you to be nice." very cool line... there's a tune called "sure as shit" funny stuff. i saw her open for richard buckner a while ago... she was good... funny... foul mouthed.

more shows are coming up i swear it... and we're heading out on tour soon... wheeeeee... how would we not?

shows:

april 11 @ loads of fun Baltimore, MD
april 12 @ dawson street pub Philadelphia, PA
april 19 @ bertha's Baltimore, MD
april 23 @ vermilion Alexandria, VA
april 25 @ 8x10 Baltimore, MD
april 26 @ awesome grill Silver Spring, MD

uh.

grimm