Saturday, August 28, 2010

Once upon a time I was a busker

Once upon a time I was a busker.
I was a bad-ass motherfucker busker
Cutting my teeth sharp
Go play 100 gigs to your clapping friends
or hit the streets for a few days and see what you really got
I had some of my best shows ever at Park St Station and Harvard square
Sometimes I wouldn't make much
Sometimes I'd make a lot
it all depends on your spot
amplification is also key
I'm not much of a busker anymore
My skins gotten too thin
or I'm not desperate enough
I suppose I got enough validation from strangers to start playing for clapping friends
I remember long Saturdays playing for burrito money
going underground in the cold
coming out of porter square station in a blizzard
20 dollars richer
huffing all my gear through the snow covered streets to an apartment in Cambridge I shared with 2 roommates
I lit Harvard square on fire one night
Burnt it down
I could hear the smart kids screaming
my fire hurt so much
made 100 bucks in an hour
thats not every night
thats not every time
Sometimes I'd make a buck
take a beating
shit luck
no meaning
I played all originals
Sure I guess its easy to please the masses and go out and play a bunch of covers that everyone knows and throws
dollars and quarters
pelting you in the head
you can play freebird for that asshole walking by
or play happy birthday for Mr Impressive out with his girl dropping 50 cents in your case like your a jukebox
are you a jukebox
or a joke?
Get a job if you wanna do that shit
I play happy birthday my own way
or I don't play it at all
go play your own shit your own way and see what people really think
see if they listen
see if they know what you mean
are you an artist, a performer
or both?
have you ever made someone cry
with your own tears
transformed into notes
and words
somehow magically like some sort of soul stew
Or you can go do Bonjovi songs
whatever man
whatever floats your boat
I find myself in Berkeley California with a handful of new songs and very little money
the more things change the more they stay the same
Figure I'll check out the busker scene
the more things change the more they stay the same
no amp
no mic
just me and a guitar
A few people dropped me some loot and a nod
a crazy lady got in my face and started yelling at me about making her cry last week.
Someplace I never was and something I never did
2 paralyzed homeless dudes got most of the money coming out of peoples pockets
one woman yelled from down the corridor that "I was pretty good. Keep it up"
I yelled back "Thanks for the validation. I was just about to quit until you told me that"
Mostly people ignored me and went about their business
as I do when I ride trains
a lot of people looked over their shoulder
I made 6 bucks and a condom
almost covered cost
The motherfucking BART is a goddamn ripoff I don't care what anybody says
everyones a comedian
I did get to work on my new songs without disrupting the landlord
I wasn't expecting much
I know you need an amp and a mic and a mic stand and a good spot to make anything
I killed a friday night dead though
that night is dead
so dead
not breathing, not eating, not complaining or straining
dead
I bought 3 tacos for 39 cents each
what a fucking deal
went home and looked for jobs on the Internet
Once upon a time I was a busker
I'm not cut out for busking anymore

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

If shit rolls down hill

If shit rolls down hill
I am not going to work on a hill.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

I'm about as Irish as

I'm about as Irish as an Italian sub from Dimitrios Greek pizza shop on Dorchester ave, purchased by a Vietnamese woman driving a Japanese car, who brought it back to her apartment in an African American neighborhood, that was once a Jewish neighborhood, and ate it in front of a TV while watching the World Cup and listening to Reggaeton being played by some Spanish dudes that were driving by, on Saint Patricks Day in 1978.

http://www.bryanmcpherson.blogspot.com

Saturday, August 14, 2010

The New Paparazzi

The New Paparazzi are your friends. They are your family. They are complete strangers. Their newspaper is whatever the social media of the minute is. You are the new celebrity. Be prepared. They are watching and waiting. They have an unlimited supply of film and the capability to send it to thousands of people in seconds. Red eye? Stupid face? Criminal act? Anonymous 12 step meeting? They ask no questions. They are lurking in the shadows waiting to strike and tag your ass all over the web.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

What I been up to?

Q: What have I been up to?

A: To respond publicly(eeek) on the interweb to a few friends and family who have been asking. I'm in California! Since I been here, I been relatively quiet on the web and on the phone. I have found it useless and boring to blabber on and on on facebook and blogs and myspaces and chose to rather soak it all in. Before I left Boston, I went in to the studio to lay some songs down. I recorded 10 and learned how I want to record the rest of the record. Half of the songs I recorded I will most likely release once I mix them. They sound really good. It was a marathon 2 day lesson in intensity. It was a great learning experience for how I want to do the rest of the the songs I been writing and have written recently. Possibly a collection released in 3 easy installments!
California is rad. The bay area is awesome and chilly and conducive for creativity. I have written 5 songs since I been here. I've gone on some adventures and played some of the most unique shows ever. From Live at The Stork(look for possible 7 inch), To Campfire Fest, to the Mel-o-Dee lounge, Santa Cruz, and Todd's 4th of July Shindig. The shows have been rad and so have all the bands and artists I have played with! Its been great meeting a lot of new people. Everyone has been really welcoming and I've had a lot of fun.
The fun is over! I feel its time to get to work, literally. I just got a new day job to feed myself and keep a roof over my head while I plot my next move in global domination. Muahahaha! I also want to start exploring studios and recording for 2 more installments. More on that at 11.
That being said I need money to do all of this. That's where the work comes in. Unless I magically get signed to some label in a decaying industry, I will most likely be self-releasing this stuff. My path playing songs has not been easy, but I'm gonna keep it up, even though sometimes I wanna just say fuck playing shows and pursuing this and go to college. Believe it or not, a TON of work goes into this stuff. Everybody loves the college though. Smoking is bad for your health and wear a bike helmet too, asshole.
Anyways, that's my music stuff update. Other than that, the tacos out here are amazing and they are as available as Dunkin Donuts in Boston. The coffee can take the rust off of metal and there are dollar stores everywhere. I'm good! Next I wanna see some redwoods and head north for a possible one off or 2 in Portland and Seattle. A couple of my favorite places. That's it. Gonna go hit up a taco truck. Peace out!

P.S. I am well aware of my elimination of the word "have" from phrases like "What I been up to". So officially take your PHD in Grammar and stick it somewhere.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Campfire Fest 2010

Some pics from The Campfire Fest I played this past weekend at Lake Shasta, California. I didn't take any pictures of myself because that would have been too difficult.









Alexander Hudjohn


Brian Hanover


Larry and His Flask