Just Because You Can

Alright. So I've been thinking. (Maybe that's a bad thing.)

So there is a *ton* of music out there these days. More than there ever has been? Yeah. For sure. Why? Simple: access. To what? Technology. Everyone has a computer. And nearly every computer is powerful enough to run an audio recording program like Pro Tools, Live, Record, Cubase, Logic, Nuendo, Acid...

So I've asked myself something: is any of it any good? And if the answer is yes, how do we wade through the three feet deep, thousand mile wide swamp of mediocrity to find the real gems? Or maybe a better question to ask, from my perspective, is how does a band rise above the festering marshland to a status of known and beloved? I have two insights.

1. Because of the ubiquity of social networking websites and the internet, in general, the internet alone is not enough to make loyal fans. True fans come by true relationship: fan-band interaction. Granted, this can happen online, but it doesn't happen naturally, or even easily. True fans also come to your shows, where fan-band interaction is obvious.

2. In order to succeed, a band has to remain true to its own sound. The bottom line is, there are a hundred indie bands out there that sound like any one, major label band: Mute Math or The New Pornographers or Cartel or even John Mayer. The difference is not in the music a band puts out, but in the people who have a financial interest in their success. And that's okay.

Bottom line: a band can never, ever be so proud as to think that they have a unique, amazing sound that everyone should (and will) enjoy. And, never be jealous of another artist's successes.  If you've ever seen Fight Club, "You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake." You're just like every other band out there - some working harder than others.

A New Band to Check Out

After you check out the recordings from my new album, Glimmer, check out these guys:http://www.myspace.com/wearemosquitofleet. Pretty excellent stuff going on there. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come up with down the road here. Some serious Jars of Clay influence, really good songwriting, great guitar sounds, good production, but probably a bit over-tweaked in the studio. Check 'em out. They're one of the best new bands I've heard in a while. By the way, Alex Mrackovich and I were in youth group together, but he was a few years younger than me.

Security Questions on Facebook

You know that Facebook is beginning to go the way of MySpace when every time you want to make a comment, you have to enter a captcha phrase. Yes, it is true. Today, I entered my first-ever captcha phrase on Facebook. Bad news I say. That's why my entrepreneurial mind is trying to figure out how to develop a better way. Oh yeah, and I'd make millions of dollars by starting my own social networking website. And of course, my ultimate goal would be to take over the world...

Baseball Season Already

Yes, it is true. I am a baseball fan. And to anyone who has a problem with it, or says that it's boring, I have one response for you: well before the first American football player was in diapers, pitchers were pushing off the ole rubber to guys with wooden bats. Don't you ever forget the sport of America's past-time.

And so begins another season of Cubs baseball. We've started out pretty well here, winning the first two of three, and losing that middle game in an extra innings outing against the Astros. That's okay. It's early, and the bullpen didn't perform. They'll only get better.

It's already 10 AM here, and I've wasted enough time online... It's time to get back to work on my recordings... And, of course, I can't forget to bug my brother about getting his account info for Gameday Audio...

Snow in Spring, Rain in Florida

So this past week, Megan and I went to Florida for a couple of days. And yes, you may have noticed that there wasn't a video because of it... We had a great time, traveling all over the state: from Daytona to Cape Canaveral, to Orlando and Disney, to Tampa, on the Gulf. We were able to catch up a little with some good friends of ours, spend some time at the beach, and eat. And eat some more. The only downer, you see, is that it rained for two and a half days of the six that we were there. But at least it was in the seventies...

We came home on Saturday to 40 degrees and a snowstorm in the forecast. Completely unpleasant, and absolutely unnecessary. And as our pilot said, "Apparently Chicago still hasn't gotten the memo that it's Spring."

Wearing a Retainer at Age 26

"Yes," is the answer. I went to the dentist a few weeks ago - just for a regular check-up and cleaning, and it conveniently coincided with the week I chipped a tooth. Yeah. I wasn't doing anything crazy to chip it - it just kind of happened. If you want to know how, it was pretty simple: I was chewing a piece of gum!

So anyway, I went to this dentist in Glen Ellyn. I had never seen her before. Actually, I've never seen a female dentist before either. I was hoping for someone a little bit more caring/gentle/whatever with my teeth. Let's just say I was pretty happy with her performance.

When she saw the small chip (and I mean very small), she said it was probably caused, in part, by some natural shifting that was going on in my mouth. She could tell I had braces when I was younger, and suggested that I might try to wear my retainers again. Maybe by re-correcting the bite, she thought, we could prevent any more damage to the tooth. Yikes! Yeah, you can say "painful."

So this past week, I finally bit the bullet, so to speak, along with the metal and plastic of my retainers, and put them in again for the first time since high school. As you can imagine, I'm in some pretty serious mouth-pain right now, but I'm expecting it all to pay off. Also, I have to be honest: I didn't really think I was going to get these things in again at all...

Looking ahead to the next few weeks, even with my teeth all out of wack right now, I'm looking to finish up lead vocals for the new album. No, I won't be singing with my retainers in! I couldn't imagine the horrible lisp I'd have!

So wish me luck as I "thsths-ing" my heart out!

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Do you have an interesting experience with your retainers? Post about it here.

Grapefruit Stitched Up

In high school, when my grandmother lived with us, I used to eat a grapefruit for breakfast on my way to school. My grandma liked them, so I thought I'd give them a shot. I liked them. I thought it paired well with an extra-sweet, three-sugar coffee. No cream. I didn't eat grapefruit again for nine years.

Today I ate half of a grapefruit for breakfast. It was the best grapefruit I have ever had in my entire life.

And while I was eating the best grapefruit I've ever had in my life, I listened to a song for the first time ever - a tune by John Mayer called "Stitched Up." It was awesome. Probably one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. This man never stops amazing me. If you've never heard the song before, find it, and savor every note.