the busy bee, is he me?

Hey, wow. It's been ages. I don't really count that Novels thing because I just copied and pasted that from myspace. I swear this post is a Rockumentary exclusive. By the way, I had a very, very nice time playing with the Novels. I watched videos of myself at 17-18 to gear up for it, while I was packing up my belongings. Whaaa???

Let's get the personal stuff out of the way. Yes, as of the last 2 weeks I've experienced a change in relationship status, which has resulted in a change in living situation. Marisa and I called it quits after 2 1/2 action packed years. It was mutual and we parted as friends, with only the best wishes for each other's futures. And I get cat visitation rights.

So bachelor Brian now resides elsewhere in town, but you'll be seeing me in all the familiar places.

In any case, music and more music has readily filled any void. And in fact I can say it now can take up the space it deserves as opposed to upsetting the domestic balance.

Can I run it down? (yeah! yeah! do it!) Lemme run it down! Can I run it down? (yeah, yeah, Brian, run it one time!) Ok! I'm gonna run it down!

Recordings:

I am absolutely honored to be on two fantastic CDs which will be released and celebrated in the month of September. On September 13, HAUNT's CD, The Deep North, will be released w/ a show at Pearl St. Matthew Hebert has a revolving cast for his band, and I was lucky enough to be sitting on 23 Red when the wheel stopped, so I got to tbe the drummer on this record. The record contains both some of the heaviest and some of the prettiest tunes Hebert's ever recorded. The weekend of drum tracking with Hebert and Jose Ayerve up at Mike and Ruthie's in Woodstock is one of the best weekends I'll never remember.

Flip the coin, wait 2 weeks and another amazing album lands on this planet. School For The Dead's A Telephone Built For Two not only features great songs and performances, but, to these ears, it's the best sounding Ohlenbusch production by far. It jumps out of the speakers and makes your neck cave in. We'll be celebrating that ass at the Elevens on Sept something. Last weekend of September.

Double back, kick and cross, and you are now ready for The Figments new one. It's called Twelve Belles and, what the hell? Why does everyone keep getting better? No really, I swear. I may have lied to you in the past, like when I said the last Sitting Next to brian cd was awesome, but for real, Twelve Belles is the best, most consistent, best sounding and most confidently played Figments album. It's also the most lyrically bleak, while being the most musically heavy. I know that I for one approach drumming moments that would not be out of place on a Rush or a Rollins album. (oh Christ, everyone's walking away)...I mean on a Jicks or a Devo album.

We have no plans for a CD release show, due to all the members not being in the same area, but it'll eventually happen, but well after the CD is released. We are going to make this largely a digital release. We just wanna get it out there. Because who can afford these things? We can't afford to press it and you can't afford to buy it. because you already bought the new SFTD and Haunt cds.

What else? Yeah, Sitting Next to brian. I have 5 songs I'd like to make into an EP. I have them all in demo form on an iPod playlist and feel they fit together quite well. Problem is, I'm convinced my stuff is warm weather and I keep releasing my cds in winter. Gotta change it. Problem is, releasing a record is the only thing that makes me happy in winter.

And then there's SFTD being XTC at Transperformance. Holy effing ess. I am SO psyched. I've been a Beatle, a Door, a Monkee, a Velvet Underground...all bands that have consumed my life at one stage or another. And now XTC. Did anyone ever guess what songs we're doing? We get 10 min and they have like 1000 amazing songs, so we're going for a) popular b) done when they were a young, energetic live act c) can be played by mere mortal earthlings as opposed to these friggin Limeys who were born and still live in crop circle central. Oh, of course they're part alien.

Off the top of my head, before I go, lemme pay tribute to the XTC mix tape my first girlfriend Joni made me, which exposed me to much more than I knew. It said 3/30/90, to Brian Love, Joni.

It burned in the fire, but I wonder if I can remember the order, because she did some segues which, until I got the albums, thought were how the albums went.

You're My Drug, Beating Of Hearts, Wonderland, Seagulls Screaming, No Thugs, Generals and Majors, Great Fire, Love on a Farmboy's Wages, Jason and the Argonauts, Yacht Dance, Another Satellite, Brainiacs Daughter, Love at First Sight, Senses Working overtime, In Loving memory of a name, Snowman, Towers of London, Dying, All of a Sudden..I got all out of order, but in the obsessive part of the releationship, I was convinced that the subject matter of each song told the story of the relationship, though she denied it. But I bet it did. Girls are smart.
Even if it didn't, it set me on a path of XTC obsessiveness.

Jeff Garlin's film "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With", viewed last night with Henning, Lesa and Jason, has two great quotes which I'll paraphrase:

when you're young it's great to obsess over someone, it's expected. but as you get older it's creepy.
and
Jeff's friend: you seem like you're comfortable with yourself, but you're really not.
Jeff: that's the magic of self-loathing, my friend.