back on the air...

January has traditionally been my least favorite month and I've been doing a decent job of keeping myself busy or in a stupor for most of it. Now that it's almost through, I can emerge however slightly and fill in the blanks from the baby roots of 2006.

First: I bought a new computer. I worked my ass off and saved a wad o' cash and plunked it down on the barrelhead for a Mac Mini. It's been a joy, although I still lack certain cables to begin recording my music and alleviating my indigo balls creatively speaking. I have been working on "The Rice Papers," realizing the stumbling at the beginning was due to pieces of writing, which although entertaining, don't move the story forward, and I've had to flense some choice bits for flow's sake. Part of writing is killing your babies.

Also on the writing front, I'm on the iseesound.com staff, and I've been doing CD reviews and such. It's a throwback to my News Record days, although I have a lot more freedom to pepper my critiques with toastisms. Most recently I skewered "She Wants Revenge," a band so confined by its own ethos, they've run out of ideas before the formal release of their debut.

At work, I've been given free rein to invent a venue for the warehouse in back which will be redubbed the Bier Hall. In the coming months, I hope to have a week lined up thusly:

Tuesday: salsa dancing (this was brought to us with its own built-in crowd)
Wednesday: Naked Music night (this will be a forum for bands or band members to experiment with different versions of their established tunes, or test out new songs in a stripped-down format: say a guitarist would do an all-keyboard set, or acoustic versions. the point would be to bare the song in a new way, take it down to its basics in front of an audience)
Thursday: karaoke with Sean (who has the best selection in town period.)
Friday: Neopolitan Night: Three different bands (say one electronic, one rock, one hip hop) so as to give variety to the evening rather than having to sit through three samey-same garage acts. And so no one is given more importance than another, construction paper cards will be drawn to determine the order: brown goes first, then white, then pink.
Saturday: Club Bristol Night: sometimes you want to go out and be social but don't want to have to shout all night. I propose a DJ night where they spin trip-hop, lounge/exotica and all around chillout. This night would sometimes showcase art openings as well.

I've been put in charge of it all and when it takes off, this could be a breath of fresh air for Cincinnati's music scene. I'd appreciate any feedback from people who want to see this happen, and from those who want to perform. I'd like to have a backlog of acts before I begin.

I've seen King Kong three times and might catch it a fourth before it leaves the big screen. See it, you fools!

I've been acting MC for the Baryard Burlesque and this weekend we're going on the road for a couple shows with Hogscraper. I'll blog the details upon my return.

Schizo weather is making my allergies go haywire. It needs to stay filthy or stay beautiful. Now time for coffee. Apologies for the lengthy silence...