Dave joined me again on djembe for two Nodal Nim songs at the Daily Grind's open mic tonight! It was a way-fun night, and I think we played well. We also met neat new people.
- Hello, Will You Be My Sheep?
- Let Me In Your Hole
Nim played two songs on Rock the World, W.R.P.I. Thanks to Teo and everybody for having me. It was fun!
- E Blue Apparatus [requested by Oliver]
- Hello, Will You Be My Sheep?
Nodal Nim played open mic at the Illium tonight:
- Receptors & Peptides
- Raisins -> I Am Systems
- Shirt Thane -> The Slippery Toad
- Member of the Real
I may have a gig this weekend: Saturday morning. I'll let you know soon!
I'm planning to do a Nodal Nim set during open mic at the Illium tomorrow night (Tuesday), and I think it will be fun. I had a good time there last week, and this week I won't be able to go the Grind on Thursday, most likely. Don't know if I'll have any friends there tomorrow, but I'm hoping to make some.
Much love,
-A
'Twas the first night of open mic at Daisy Baker's, on 2nd street in Troy. Steve Candlen is hosting a Monday night thingy at this restaurant/bar, and I played a set to an audience of mostly middle-aged bar-people. I wasn't their favorite, but it was fun! I debuted a song and experimented with more extended improvisation in Member of the Real (which propelled me into a spontaneous medley). All-in-all, successful for me, even if the audience was mostly indifferent or annoyed.
- Retro Helplessness -> Will We Go Out Together
- Hello, Will You Be My Sheep? [premiere]
- Pablo
- Nimland -> 25% More Monster
- Member of the Real -> Send Me Up -> This Ladybug
- Level 1
- Science
Wonderful percussional brother Dave Shaver joined me tonight on Nim songs at the Grind open mic!
- Javelin Head -> I Am Systems
- Collarbone Pharoah
I played a few Nim songs tonight at a program at the Troy Public Library, prelude to the reading of a short story to a small group of adults who apparently have nothing better to do on Wednesday nights. I think it went alright. I've been happy to play much mandolin lately!
- You've Got Your Own Life
- Numbers Make More Numbers -> Retro Helplessness -> Stripes
- Science
Also, I haven't mentioned that I've finished or almost finished a bunch of new songs recently. I've decided not to mention them by name or put them on the songs list until I have premiered them. Will probably premiere at least one tomorrow night at the Daily Grind!
Hey, so there's an open mic at the Illium on 2nd street in downtown Troy, and I checked it out and played there tonight. It was fun and neat! It wasn't my best performance, but by the end, people were into it. Planning to do that again next Tuesday, and eventually get a real show there!
My set list:
- Science
- I Am Systems -> Will We Go Out Together?
- Vegetables You've Never Heard Of
- Love Song 1
I played some tunes at the Grind open mic tonight with my old and still-broken mandolin. I had to stop to tune after two strings randomly and without warning went incredibly out, but other than that, I thought it went very well! I played one five-song medley:
- E Blue Apparatus -> Rules to Stone Game -> Deposit One Tangelo -> 25% More Monster -> Vegetables You've Never Heard Of
Scott came along for the second week in a row, bringing with him brother Greg, friends Vicky and Chuck, and Greg's girlfriend Kristen (spelling uncertain). They were nice to see and meet and so on! I like when friends meet friends.
I also met a bunch of other cool open mic regulars. The Grind open mic continues to be a wonderful thing. Anybody reading this who can make it to Troy, NY on Thursdays between 8 and 11:30 needs to come on out! What fun!
I got my mandolin back today, not fixed, as I've decided not to invest in it at this time. (I have a new one coming soon, though!) Anyway, even though it still won't stay in tune (and the action is awfully high), I really enjoyed having a mandolin again, and I started brushing up on my tunes. I played a few songs on Rock the World, Teo Acosta's Wednesday night W.R.P.I. radio show. It was really nice to play again!
- Javelin Head -> 25% More Monster
- Let Me In Your Hole
Tomorrow night I'm definitely playing at open mic at the Daily Grind in downtown Troy. I was planning to improvise on electric guitar, but since I have a mandolin now, I'll probably do Nimstuff instead! I may change my mind about the instrument closer to the time, but at any rate, I'll be there and I'll play! Yay for mandolins!
Hearts,
Andrew
P.S. I may have finally finished the inevitable song "Hello, Will You Be My Sheep?" I have a few other songs that I've been itching to write as well, so we'll see what happens. A rock opera about onions I see in my distant future! Hearts!
objects rotate in the rain
I know it’s the same thing you’re always talking about
fields
I’m mentioning it to you now
look outside for yourself
freckled stalks of alibis
coming inside
racehorses
coffee and beans
looking fast and faster booking
crepes and sauce
flatheaded
fickle and steam
fowl creation in the grinding nights
little relaxed-teeth camera
everyone is sad to be leaving town for a while
cutlery moon
a strain on the rose-up staff
staffing my room with paragraphs
falcon toast truth night
saber
clothes
clothes
daily grind
grinding down
winding my head neck around
bending the light around my head
oblivious flies
why do they stare at me?
bending a kind word from a friend
welcome back the sun flies
strain the rose-up color guard
strain the rose-up high
It was an exciting evening! The Daily Grind, a coffee-shop on 3rd St. in downtown Troy, has open mic every Thursday from 9 to 11:30ish. It's always amazing! You never know what the heck to expect, but the people are cool and friendly, and there are usually some amazing performances. I have to recommend this weekly event highly to anybody who can get there!
Still being mandolin-less, I gave up complaining about it and wrote a song this week on my electric guitar. It was a 7 1/2 minute or so oddity, but I think it was well-received. For now, its title is "The Same Thing You're Always Talking About." I'm planning to write another for next week, if I can find the time.
Must recommend these open mics to everybody! They're something to behold!
Hello!
I'm in disbelief that I still don't have an estimate on my mandolin. I decided to stop whining about it though, and play some of the guitars that I have lying around. It's actually been nice! A few years ago, when I first picked up a cheap mandolin, the guitar had become stale and lifeless in my hands, but the mandolin breathed with new purpose. Today, the guitar feels like a new instrument entirely, and I've been delighted to become reacquainted! (However, I do still miss my mandolin and feel incomplete without it.)
So I've been using guitars in some jams, first electric with Scott Marshall, in which we scavenged in the mystical caverns of Elsewhere (played weird), and then acoustic yesterday (July 4) with Dave Shaver and friends by the Hudson River waterfront. My third out-of-self guitar experience will be playing a song at open mic this Thursday at the Daily Grind on 3rd street in downtown Troy. I've been writing something weird just for the occasion, and I'm looking forward to confounding people!
Hope to see some friends there!
Love to all,
Andrew
