It's about 3:30 am, Monday morning, and I should have been in bed hours ago. I have a lot to write about, though, so I'll try to stay awake enough to share it with you. You should know, as well, that the movie Blade Runner is playing in the background as I'm writing this. I love science fiction with flying cars and androids that's supposed to take place in the next couple of years. So funny.
So I had a great and peaceful day yesterday in San Antonio. I had a good seven hours off in the middle of the day and spent about five walking around the River Walk, a sort of "linear park" that lines the river throughout the city. I probably walked six or seven miles, way more than I usually do when I'm just working at my house, so I was pretty tired by the end. I met a couple of nice people, played guitar with a homeless man named Donnie, and saw a wedding on the shore of the river. I took a picture with my phone...
I just thought that was pretty cool. Tour boats kept cruising by and they would all clap for the couple. It was fun, and made you feel good. I got fairly lost, but didn't really mind. I ate some good Texas BBQ and read some of the Psalms while sipping a cold Bass and doing some people watching. A really nice time.
Alison and Ella are still in North Carolina with my in-laws, but they're flying back in the early afternoon tomorrow. Thank God. I miss them and can't wait to be with them again. Poor Ella has been cutting a couple more teeth, we think, and it's not too fun for her. She started clapping this week, though, which is about the greatest thing in the world. She only moves one hand, and just hits her other hand which she holds steady, but she gets a huge kick out of it. So fun.
I got back to Nashville this morning in time to get to church and hear "Let's pray..." and sing the last couple of songs. They were some great songs, though, and the Lord really met me in that time, and I heartily enjoyed it. After church I met a homeless guy named Mark who was trying to get somebody from the church to give him some food. I took him to McDonald's, we went through the drive-through, and ate some burgers in the parking lot. He was a nice guy, came up from Florida to try and play bluegrass and it just isn't happening.
I go through such a weird thought process with homeless people, probably like everybody else. Alison worked at the Nashville Rescue Mission for a couple of years when we were dating and first got married, and it was an amazing thing to get to know some of those guys. I spent a lot of time there, served many lunches, and occasionally ate as well. After all, I was in the Normals... Anyway, I hate that I always imagine any money I give will go to drugs, or that I'm going to get stabbed. There but for the grace of God go I, you know? Since she left her job at the mission I haven't spent that much time with people in that position, but yesterday and today I did, and I was glad. I don't have any huge realizations or anything, just that I wish I did that stuff more often. Jesus loves them, but a lot of times I don't, and that's not right.
Anyway, after lunch I dropped him off and came home. I hung out with my cousin Dean for a while and spent a few hours fixing hard drives and doing some file management on my record. Oh, joy! I started Blade Runner during a long transfer and had a nice, little nap on the couch. This movie is not very good. After I woke up I finished my file stuff and headed to 3rd and Lindsey to hear Sandra play.
Her band was Cason, Derek, Garett and Mark Polack on bass. They were great. I know most of you like them as well, so I took a camera phone picture for you...
It's not the greatest shot, but it's all I had, and I really enjoyed the show. She played a new song called "Gravity" that was great. Kristi Neumann, an old friend of mine who I haven't seen in years opened up, and she did a good job as well. Sort of random that I'd meet up with her there...
I don't think I've gone to hear music be played without being a part of it in almost a year. Actually, the last time was a few days before Ella was born, and it wasn't a concert. It was Paul Moak's wedding reception. Kenny Meeks played a set for the reception, with Will and Cason and Ben Shive and Kenny Hutson and Weigel, and man, they were great. It was so fun to just sit and listen for a change.
After the show last night a bunch of us went over to Derek and Sandra's to count down to Cason's birthday, which is today. I was over for about an hour, with a bunch of old friends, and had a nice time. I got to spend a few minutes talking with Matthew Jones, who I haven't seen in a while, and who is going with his wife and the Goodgames to Africa tomorrow. You can be praying for them and their trip. I think he has some more information about it on his website. If not, I bet Randall does. I'm just being lazy and not checking, but they're both linked right over here --->
Blade Runner is really not a very good movie.
When I got home my hard drive transfers were done so I went down to shut off my computer, but saw my gear and thought about how much fun hearing music was, and since there was nobody home I cranked up my amp and put some guitar tracks on a song called "House of Mirrors." I wrote this song about a year ago, right before Andy P's last Christmas tour actually, after hearing the Cardigans' "Long Gone Before Daylight" album. It was so inspiring that I wrote the song, trying to capture the way that record felt to me, that next morning.
I used to think it was lame, or bad form, to write a song based on another one, but I don't think that's the case anymore. A lot of times a great song will inspire a good one for me. The goal has always been to take what was so inspiring about another's song and let it become something else. Some times, to get myself started creatively, if I've written a melody and lyric in the vein of one artist, I'll try to perform it like another and see what happens. That's probably what a lot of us do, maybe unconsciously.
Anyway, this song was written around a big guitar melody, like their guy uses often, but over the past year I've gotten far more interested in his rhythm playing, and my performance of the guitar on this song tonight ended up reflecting that instead. I'd always imagined a big Gretsch solo track, but that guitar seemed to want to be a rhythm part instead, and the Suhr Strat felt right for the solo. Turned out kind of Pink Floyd/Matt Slocum on the solo. It's amazing how you can be surprised by your own instincts sometimes. I'll have to see if I still like what I did in a day or two, but it sure felt good tonight.
I guess that's about it. I'm taking the day off tomorrow to spend with my family, and then will rehearse with Andy P on Tues and Weds for the Christmas tour, which will start on Thursday. I'll miss my family a ton, but if I have to be gone, playing Andy's Christmas record with so many of my friends has got to be one of the best reasons to be away.
This movie is so dumb.
I'm going to go to bed now. Hope everybody has a great week back from Thanksgiving. That reminds me of a question we never really settled in the Normals. We were playing Scattergories one day, a game where you have to fill in a series of blanks with words that all start with a certain letter, determined by a dice. The blank was "breakfast food" and the letter was "T". Cason put "turkey biscuit." We didn't count it. He claimed he ate them after Thanksgiving and that it was a breakfast food. I still don't agree, but anyone out there have any opinions?
Ok, I've rambled enough. Good night.
Monday, November 28, 2005 at 03:01PM