Posts from — April 2009

So I wrote a little chord progression for a song, and my boys Ben Smith and Matt Parmenter decided to make it happen one night.  They just slapped some stuff on top of my riff and this is the result.

I laughed my ass off when I heard this.  No, it’s not PC.  So what?  It was pretty funny considering all they had was the piano track.  I am not sure, but that may be me playing the drums..

Enjoy “Shake for Me” ’cause I know I did.

Shake For Me.mp3

I met Ben Smith and Matt Parmenter, two dudes from out of state that now live in Austin, when  Matt purchased my two Vocal Booth sound isolation booths last month (sorry about the missing parts guys!).  I just didn’t have room for them anywhere.

Now – I am starting to work on music with these guys and I got to tell you it’s a blast.  Both are very talented musicians in their own right, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to remix some of their stuff.

Matt plays bass in a great Austin banned called Quiet Company – they also have a myspace page.

Matt and Ben both also play with James Kinney, a local Austin musician.  I am going to see them at Speakeasy on April 30th, time permitting.

This song is fully realized on Ben’s myspace page, but here’s the acoustic version I whipped up last week.  Just Ben and his guitar.  His vocals and songwriting talent really shine on  this one.

missed-connection-acoustic-vocal-2

Man, Ok so Facebook (hereafter f8) is a phenom.  Seems like in the last six months I have 200 new friends.  On f8.  Yeah.

Which I have no issue with.

A girl I dated in eighth grade that I treated badly.

Some dude that cheap-shotted me at a park in high school.

The mom of someone I dated,  whom I can’t remember.

It’s an unprecedented outpouring of connection and community.

But…

Seriously.  When is someone gonna tell it like it is?  I mean, so many people are so concerned with what other people think they never tell the truth.

Tell me you haven’t seen this:

• The “OMG you look exactly the same as you did 20 years ago comment.”  Uh, right.  I’ve gained 60 pounds.  And the girls?  When they say this?  Uh huh.
• The “hmmm…we didn’t really even LIKE each other in high school…but let’s be friends now” request?
• Who the heck are you again?

It’s out of control.

Don’t get me wrong.  I like f8.  But, it’s due for a course correction.  When people stop being nice, and start being real, perhaps unlike now where you have 600 friends you’ll be back to having the same 12 friends you had in high school, plus a few from college and your job.  Which isn’t a bad thing.  Is it?

I made an innocuous comment one day to a girl I hadn’t seen in 15 years.  BLAM-O!  I had to delete it.  She took it the wrong way.

Rather than saying “oh, you  misunderstood what I was saying.”  I just packed up my tent and left.  Because 500 of my friends might see it.

Jeez.   I am nothing if not usually uncensored, but f8 makes me censor myself?  Good thing?  Who knows.  But I am not happy about it.  Not at all.

Start being real.