Coffee Planet OM 4

Not a lot of people came to the Coffee Planet open mic tonight, but fun was had nonetheless. After I played my set, I played some Almost Awake songs with Almost Awake (imagine that!). We also played "will we go out together," and some other time we'll probably play "vegetables". Dave and I played with a good country/folk player named Eric, and it was pretty neat. I don't play my mandolin with other people as much as I'd like, but I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I've decided that it doesn't kill me to play a few covers every now and then, and in fact, it could be plenty fun. I decided to start with "Across the Universe," by John Lennon. I generally liked the experience, and will probably learn some more covers for open mics and whatever else.

My set went something like this:

.. call it home
.. wow [request]
.. this ladybug
.. Across the Universe [Beatles cover, Nim premiere]
.. love song 5
.. lapse into memory [request]
.. science [request]
.. untitled [request]

Hmm, I think I'm forgetting something. I'm not sure what. Ah well. It went something like that.

?

Holy Heck fun at Flavour Cafe!

I had an excellent turn-out at my Nim show at Flavour Cafe tonight! There were quite a lot of people there over the course of the evening. Thanks to everyone who came and especially those who brought lots of friends! It was way fun. My apologies for forgetting to bring my speaker. It was fun to play unplugged, but next time I will have the juice.

My set went something like this:

one
.. science
.. Alan the Duck > level 1
.. retro helplessness > sun flies
.. will we go out together?
.. troglodyte
.. candle bird
.. I am systems [request]
.. vegetables you've never heard of [request]
.. acrobasebombball > javelin head
.. fly this kite
.. present tense
.. deposit 1 tangelo > shirt thane > Maroon Dots

two
.. Pablo
.. love song 5
.. the slippery toad
.. Deenmark
.. Daisy Ran Train
.. Juiceman [request]
.. stripes > Nimland
.. hello, will you by my Sheep?
.. docky docky
.. you've got your own life
.. Superman has friends
.. wow > vegetables you've never heard of
.. love song 1

three
.. 5 songs of fish
.. raisins > Robots: the card game
.. e blue apparatus > receptors & peptides
.. 25% more monster [request]
.. lapse into memory
.. this ladybug
.. call it home [premiere]
.. yellow things

The ordering definitely has some untruths, but I think all the songs I played are there.

In addition to some dollars and coins, my box o' tips contained some special treats, including the following "tips" written with crayon on scraps of paper:

"don't drink antifreeze it could kill you!"
"It's always good to keep your wallet on you in case of emergencies"
"Always use protection - tip # 67"
and my personal favorite: "If a demon asks if your [sic] a god you say YES!!!"

Tip # 67 was not just talk. My tip box also contained a latex dental dam (Vanilla flavored). Yanni and Catharine mentioned something about leaving me something "special" in my tip box, so I imagine I have them to thank. So thanks guys!

And thanks again to everyone who showed up! It was a pretty delirious three hours, and I do hope that fun was had by all. I also hope to see some of you when I play next month at Professor Java's on December 23! Those of you who signed up for my email list can expect an super-neat emailing or two between now and then.

Illium OM extravaganza!

There was a fun pre-tofurkey day gathering of open-mic-tacular music happenings at the the Illium Cafe. I just got very confused because my flannel shirt has two buttons buttoned. I was either taking it off or putting it on when I got distracted. It was probably some time ago, because I have absolutely no recollection of doing anything with the buttons. Anyway, here are the songs I played at the Illium tonight:

.. Robots: the card game > 25% more monster [request]
.. Maroon Dots [request] > stripes [request]
.. hello, will you be my Sheep? [request, with Dave on djembe]

=

Happy tofurkey day.

=

Come to my show on Friday! I play from 8 PM to 11 PM at Flavour Cafe in Troy! It is free and fun! I will have free books for all!

Coffee Planet OM 3

.. Maroon Dots
.. stripes
.. will we go out together?
.. Deenmark [request]
.. this ladybug
.. you've got your own life

After Coffee Planet open mic, I stopped by the Illium and did a bit of jamming with some good gents to close things out. 'Twas fun, and made me realize that I may be missing something by not going to the Illium open mics lately.

=

I've been working on another one-act mandolin opera, one that will be more dramatic and certainly creepier. So far, I'm making some nice progress. I also may have written a song tonight called "I will call it home", but the song-ness of it will have to be verified in the morn.

nnrs EP-003

I have made available for download Episode 003 of Nodal Nim's Rocket Ship.

Grind OM 14

I continue to be loyal to the Grind. I played a longish set of new material and Nim classics, late in the evening, after watching Genghis Blues with Scott, a movie about a blind San Francisco blues singer who travels to Tuva (a region just north of Mongolia) to participate in a Tuvon throught-singing competition. Tuvon throught-singing is an impressive and skilled art of allowing the natural harmonics of the voice to ring out. It is subtle and nuanced, and totally different from Western singing styles. An inspiring and fascinating documentary.

At the Grind, I played:

.. fly this kite
.. candle bird
.. love song 5
.. 25% more monster [request] > vegetables you've never heard of
.. 5 songs of fish

trepanation and the easter bunny!!!

Currently, I have no songs about Easter Bunnies, but I realized there is a bit of trepanation in the song I am systems'

"I am systems drilling holes into your skull."

I like the idea of the Easter Bunny self-trepaning in order to expand his consciousness. Potential in that, perhaps, although I wouldn't want it to be too creepy such that little children would be disturbed.

A link: The International Trepanation Advocacy Group.

Wow.

Hey, readers of the Nodal Nim music blog would enjoy this musician: the boy least likely to.

Coffee Planet OM 2

Coffee Planet continues to have a splendid Tuesday night open mic, hosted by Almost Awake, in their Almost Awakedom. (Come check it out, every Tuesday 7-9) I played a long set and didn't seem to piss anybody off. I premiered a song I wrote last night about a moth, which is still too new for me to know whether or not it sucks, but I suspect that it doesn't. Dave joined me for the last two, and we had nice brother magic.

.. 25% more monster
.. I am systems
.. candle bird [premiere]
.. the slippery toad
.. love song 5
.. let me in your hole [with Dave on djembe]
.. deposit 1 tangelo > vegetables you've never heard of [also with Dave]

Inch / brainstorm

With an old friend, I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch, performed by Three Dollar Bill at the Arts Center in Troy yesterday! It was very excellent, and I recommend that everyone in the area check it out next week, which will be the end of its run. It was great, and makes me wish I were a glam rocker.

I think I should have a song about everything. I'm going to brainstorm some topics that I may eventually get around to writing about. If not, at least they'll be fun to ponder right now. Some are taken from suggestions I've received, and if you have a suggestion, let's hear it!

+ moths.
+ sillyness.
+ brains in glass.
+ creationists (and how they're totally nuts).
+ helicopters in love.
+ the life of an onion.
+ straw.
+ yards of wilderness.
+ yarns of wilderness.
+ icosahedrons.
+ people born with tails.
+ intermediate tree branches.
+ pyramids.
+ pyramids that you can eat.

Fun times with Nim at Flavour Cafe.

I played a full show for a small, cheap, but very loyal bunch of friends new and old at Flavour Cafe tonight! It was good fun for all, I think, and a longish night, as we afterward went out for pizza and sweet potato fries. Here's how the tunage went:



.. troglodyte
.. will we go out together > bodymind
.. e blue apparatus
.. level 1
.. crabnors > I am systems
.. princessdom
.. this ladybug
.. fly this kite [premiere]
.. science
.. stripes
.. birthday round > raisins
.. javelin head > deposit 1 tangelo > vegetables you've never heard of



.. coloring time with Andrew > Maroon Dots
.. Nimland > in my pocket
.. acrobasebombball
.. retro helplessness
.. Pablo
.. magazine chubbies > member of the Real
.. docky docky
.. let me in your hole
.. shirt thane
.. yellow things



.. Deenmark
.. the slippery toad
.. love song 1
.. sun flies
.. receptors & peptides
.. love song 5
.. Collarbone Pharoah
.. buzzelling > a Parade, yes. > 25% more monster
.. Superman has friends
.. present tense
.. hello, will you be my Sheep?
.. you've got your own life
.. Robots: the card game > I am systems [request]
.. 5 songs of fish

Grind OM 13

The Grind was packed with people tonight! It was quite excellent. Some have theorized that many of them just wanted to get out of the cold -- a chilly night it indeed is. Sean Rowe was guest host, and perhaps he did some recruiting. Anyway, it was nice to have a decent-sized audience and some nice folks to chat with.

I played:

.. e blue apparatus
.. Pablo
.. vegetables you've never heard of
.. this ladybug [request]

I played kind of sloppily, but it was fun, anyway. I had some shiny new strings to break in. Looking forward to tomorrow's romp at Flavour Cafe! Be there for fun and books!

Flavour OM 4 / P4 OM 1

I played a couple short sets at Flavour Cafe's open mic tonight. There were a nice bunch of folks there, playing along on djembe and guitar and such. I was impressed by a guy who did a decent job following the rhythm changes in 5 songs of fish! Not an easy task for anybody, myself included.

First Set:

.. I am systems
.. Maroon Dots > Alan the Duck > raisins
.. this ladybug [request]
.. 25% more monster
.. the slippery toad
.. e blue apparatus

Second Set:

.. you've got your own life
.. 5 songs of fish

=

After I played at Flavour, I went down the road to Positively Fourth Street to play at their open mic. There weren't many people there when I played, and those who were there could care less. Bars are truly dumb. Oh well. I wasn't totally turned off, and I'd probably go there again another day.

.. trogoldyte
.. science
.. stripes
.. hello, will you be my Sheep?

Coffee Planet OM 1!

Coffee Planet, a delightful little place in Ballston Spa, under the fine leadership of Casey and Dave of Almost Awake, hosted its first open mic tonight! It was a good time, and will definitely be worth revisiting in the future; the open mic will return every Tuesday, from 7 to 9.

.. vegetables you've never heard of
.. raisins [request] > will we go out together
.. stripes
.. wow [request]
.. in my pocket
.. 5 songs of fish

=

Coffee Planet is also an Official Book Crossing Zone, meaning that here books are commonly tagged and released into the wild, a la BookCrossing.com. Check that website out; it's all about people sharing books with strangers and tracking their travels through the world. I released two books there tonight, and picked one up that looks interesting. I'm encouraging Flavour Cafe in Troy to become another Book Crossing Zone, and yesterday I released two there. I'm seriously thinking about turning all venues I play at from now on into temporary Book Crossing Zones during my gigs by bringing a box of tagged books along for interested audience members to sift through and take from, as long as they agree to participate in Book Crossing. It could be a fun way to get some books out, introduce new folks to Book Crossing, and interact with audiences in a new and memorable way.

YAG Birthday Bash #3

I was surprised to find myself (well, technically, Nodal Nim) performing again at the Mueller Center at R.P.I., entertaining the children of the Young Actor's Guild with my songs of ducks, dots, and monsters. Surprised, not because nobody told me the party was today, but because I had absolutely utterly forgotten. Anyway, I had my mandolin when I arrived, and I pulled off a little show without too much trouble. I had fun, and I think most of the kids did, too. I think they like having their own quirky bard, or maybe I just like being such.

Here is what I played, more or less:

.. Maroon Dots
.. Deenmark > 25% more monster > vegetables you've never heard of
.. birthday round [request]
.. Alan the Duck [request] > will we go out together?
.. e blue apparatus [request]
.. 5 songs of fish

Nim Grind OM 12

I did the Grind open mic thing this past Thursday. It seemed to go well enough.

.. you've got your own life
.. 5 songs of fish
.. 25% more monster

Flavour OM 3

I went to Flavour Cafe's open mic tonight to play and promote my upcoming show there. There weren't a lot of people there, but it was pleasant. I was certainly the odd one out, which is I suppose the norm, anyway.

.. science
.. troglodyte
.. hello, will you be my Sheep?
.. Deenmark

Then later:

.. vegetables you've never heard of [request]
.. fly this kite [pre-premiere]
.. in my pocket

=

P.S. You should all check out the DVD called "Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise." I just watched it tonight, and it's so incredible and inspiring. Sun Ra was quite the nutbag, but boy did he have something unique and amazing going on!