- The plumes of fog rising from the mountains on the road to Kingston, New York.
- Life is so much better with music in it and music is so much better with life in it.
- You know a venue will be good when its bathrooms have free tampons in them. (This is about Tubby’s in Kingston — it’s a GREAT venue!)
- Another adorable northeastern orange lizard.
- The pools of dandelion fuzz gathered on the Troy, New York venue’s steps.
- Kevin Kelly repeating a good nugget of wisdom: “Anything you say before the word ‘but’ does not count.”
- Walking around the Ashokan Reservoir.
- A tour day off in Horseheads, New York.
- A cathartic show in Buffalo, New York. Scheduled with four-days’ notice after Liam’s passport was stolen while on tour with Sam Evian, preventing our planned Toronto show from happening.
- The last show of this run, at UFO Factory in Detroit.
- Staining the components of our recording desks.
- Applying edge banding to our recording desk components.
- Playing with Sima Cunningham at the historic Green Mill (for the Paper Machete variety show), and then later at the Hungry Brain.
- Cooking, crying, napping on a bean bag, and listening to music with Casey.
- The tiny beads of sap oozing up, gleaming, on a wooden deck.
- Walking with Casey on a rural road at night, Basil’s new collar lamp lighting the way.
- Emerging from a hiking trial to find a woman in her 60s, Stephanie, doubled over, coughing. I asked if she needed help. She said she was OK, “just trying to breathe.” We stood and talked about her former job as a nurse, Native American music, and God for a while.
- Rowing an inflatable boat with Casey for the better part of the afternoon.
- Eating elote with Casey at the beach.
- Preparing for a week in the studio.
- Day one of a weeklong session.
- Chet recording distorted C-3PO-y guitar sounds through a ring modulator.
- Recording Jack H playing a makeshift glass, ceramic, and metal receptacle percussion kit.
- Helping some friends move an old metal desk from one room to another.
- The midcentury “E.G.A. Cemetery Planning Services” brochure we found in it.
- The release of Joan Shelley’s new album, The Spur, including two tracks on which I play drums.
- Sammy’s and my improvised synthesizer-and-drums duo show at Mu Gallery, opening for BSA Gold.
- Casey’s DJ set at Golden Dagger benefitting Chicago Abortion Fund.
- Driving behind a freakily reckless car, whose occupants got out at every stop light to twerk on the street and/or on the hood of the car.
- The last day of a weeklong, lovely session.
- Recording awesome, harsh, angular improvised music with Matt R.
- A horribly botched piano moving job. The professionals showed up with no packing materials, no lift gate, no sturdy dolly… They got it in the truck but couldn’t get it out. Neighbor with forklift came to the rescue.
- Andy Allen: “Why do furniture designers keep designing new chairs? We know it’s not to solve the problem of ‘sitting.’ The chair is simply the medium. The true goal is something bigger — to inspire, to broaden our understanding of what’s possible, or express something unique about what it means to be alive today.
- THE BEAR. A new show from Chris Storer. Chicago through and through, with a Wilco song cherry on top.
- Eatin’ broth. Recuperating.