Monday, November 17, 2008

Video from Oswego.

This is from the pre-show, midnight, house-jam, with Bread and Roses, Vessel, Jeff Rowe, and Goodnight Neverland. Oswego NY. Beardfest. November 2008. P.S. Its a hookah.


Don't Terrorize Me


100 Cigarettes

Viva Oswegas










Oswego is a town in upstate NY, near Canada and on a great lake. They get an obscene amount of snow up there and they have a real appreciation of music. I was told by people that have played upstate that playing music there is awesome and after this weekend, I agree.
I went up with Vessel and Bread and Roses in the Bread and Roses Van. The ride up was hilarious. I didn't know these guys very well but quickly realized we were on the same page. We stayed with Goodnight Neverland, another awesome Oswego band who are also very nice. Which also means we got up there at 10pm on Friday and weren't playing til Saturday night, so we had an impromptu house show and traded songs and sing alongs til roughly 4 am.
After crashing on the floor in my sleeping bag, we got breakfast and hung out at the house for a while. This nice dude came over and bought all of us pizza which was also really nice. There are a lot of nice people up there. Either that or I met a lot of nice people.
So, The Show.
The lineup was. . .

Goodnight Neverland
Mayflower
Vessel
Colorwheels
Bryan McPherson
Bread and Roses

Everyone was awesome. Truly a kick ass bill. The energy was amazing. Goodnight Neverland tugs at an emotion in me that's very nostolgic and 'feel good' at the same time. Mayflower was a straight up, in your face, melodic, punk band. Vessel now has singer songwriter Jeff Rowe with them and they were foot stomping, fist pumpingingly awesome. Colorwheels was a lighter indie rockish outfit that I couldn't pay too much attention to because I was getting my stuff ready to play but also sounded very good.

My set,
Possibly the best show crowd-wise I ever played. Its an amazing feeling when you start playing and the place goes fucking nuts. I played solo and on the floor. People were crashing into me and it seemed like the whole place knew the words to my songs. A bunch of guys were right up front and screaming along with me. At one point I saw raised glasses crash in mid air and glass flew everywhere. The floor was soaked and I kept slipping around. My guitar got all fucked up and I had to stop the set a couple of times to address technical issues, which was a bummer, but shit happens. Eventually Jeff Rowe gave me his guitar and I finished the set with his. Thanks Jeff!

Bread and Roses finished off the night. They too were awesome. People were square dancing and singing along and having a great time. They were having such a good time that toward the end of their set Adam, the fiddle/saw player, was hoisted up and crowd surfed while continuing to play the fiddle. He also got "Viva Oswegas" tatooed on his knee before their set.

I'm not bullshitting. Probably one of the best, if not the best shows I've been involved in. Boston, its time to step up. The bar has been set.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Collect This! $^%#$%#$

The following is a myspace email correspondence with a complete stranger. His name is also Brian and he's from New York.

Brian: Hey there Bryan,
was just browsing the Bay State Rock website and saw that you'll be in studio tomorrow night with carm and Brian James. Just wanted you to know I'll be tuning in via the internet from NY and was wondering if you'll be recording the acoustic set.If so, would you be gracious enough to get me a copy as well?I'm a huge fan of all the bands that air on BSR and the acoustics are great, and would love to add yours to my collection.
~Brian~

Brian: Hey Bryan,
that acoustic was great last night. If you have a cd and want to send via mail, my address is below. Just let me know if you want comp for time spent/shipping costs....I'd be more than happy to oblige.

Brian

Brian Noname
19 &&^$$ ave
Blablabla, ny
00000
*just let me know if/when it was sent so I'll know to keep an eye out

Brian: Hey there Bryan,
just writing for an update on that acoustic I inquired about a few weeks ago.
Did you get the copy/my mailing address?

Brian


Bryan: Hey man,
I'm not going to be releasing the whole set. I will be posting 2 songs on the web for free download in the coming week. I will let you know when I have them up. Thanks for your interest!

Bryan

Brian: Are you going to be releasing the rest afterwards, or not at all?
I'm pretty much a collector of the entire acoustic, not segments, which just getting one or two songs doesn't do me much help.
Which is also what I remembered you saying you would send to me, but whatever.........

Bryan: Well that's flattering .

Bryan: Actually, go fuck yourself!

Brian: wow, forwarding this to my pal Carmelita....very classy dude

Bryan: Go for it. Let me know if you want your house painted in the meantime or perhaps some yardwork.


The End.

So this is the actual conversation. Myspace deletes sent messages after 14 days so I don't have my initial response to this guy. I know that I was hesitant and slightly annoyed at the request. I was advised that maybe I should just send the guy a copy out of goodwill, karma etc... After the show, which went really well and was a general good time, I decided I would just release 2 of the 4 tracks onto the web for free download. 1 is an unreleased song and the other I wasn't happy with the performance. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to satisy this "collector".

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Rot in hell MBTA.

Rot in hell for eternity. You miserable, rude, making me late motherfuckers and all of your miserable, rude, making me late motherfucking employees can rot in hell too.
Dan Grabauskas MBTA general manager, I hope you die slowly of thirst in a desert surrounded by the terrorists you constantly remind me of, who only laugh at you and shoot you periodically with squirt guns. "See something say something?" See this Dan. FUCK YOU.

P.S. Closing the T at 12:22 in a "major" city is laughable, an embarassment, and a major inconvenience. This is a city where the bars are open until 2am, with strict drunk driving laws and a public transportation that closes at 12:20. How many people have to die before you piece of shit hacks get your heads out of your asses.

Long live Bikes.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Yesterdays Boston Globe


I'm in the Boston Globe and I'm smiling! I had no idea.

Monday, November 3, 2008

From The Regent Theatre. Photo's by Jon Cohan.




Some pics from the "Celebrating Belushi" fundraiser.

This is from Jim Sullivan.

We remember when John Belushi died. We remember how, with whom, and the long dark shadow it cast. We remember Robert Woodward's horrible book, how it miscast everJohn Belushiything known about Belushi - comedy, taking risks, rock 'n' roll, and drug use and abuse. A catastrophic misreading of something rock people understood, entertained and battled with. We remember a joyous, raucous Belushi crashing into the backstage area at the Paradise when Black Flag played there - Belusi, a Blues Brother on stage, but a punk at heart. And when he overdosed, we remember that hollow feeling we had - we was grasping for ultimate, if wrongheadeded, pleasure, to dull the pain (the boredom, the routine?). How do some escape and others succumb? These thoughts resurface in contemplating Right Turn's Third annual "Celebrating John Belushi" show at Regent Theatre in Arlington Saturday Nov. 1 at 7:30. Right Turn is the organization founded by ex-Del Fuegos drummer Woody Geissmann, that helps addicts turn their lives around, especially addicts who have some artistic gifts. (The Rolling Stones support Woody's cause, and, in fact, have hired him to "protect" them on the road in recent years.) There's irony, of course, in an event that celebrates Belushi being a straight, no-drink and no-drugs event, but irony abounds everywhere, and you have to think had Belushi got sober this is where he'd be now.
At the Regent Theatre, the comedy will be provided by Mike Prior, Tony V and Jack Lynch, with music by the Right Turn Orchestra (a lot of in-recovery celeb-rockers could show up here) and special appearances by Belushi's widow, Judy Belushi Pisano, and Bunny Lake along with penetrating singer-songwriter Bryan McPherson.
http://www.jimsullivanink.com/content/view/1284/43/"


via http://bryanmcpherson.blogspot.com