two things I did tonight

1. I've been tracking Scott and Shannon's increasingly slaphappy songwriting blogathon all day, and I like the first song they came up with. (The second one isn't finished yet.) During dinner it occurred to me that I could record an instant cover of it--something that seemed in the spirit both of their blogging adventure, and the Creative Commons license they're applying to the songs.

After a few hours of increasingly synthesized messing with the song, I realized two things: (a) My sneaking suspicion that the intermittent pain in my chest is aggravated by my atrocious posture? Ding! And (b) laying down all the instrumental tracks first meant that if I wanted to finish by the time Scott and Shannon did, I'd end up recording the vocal tracks in my apartment at 3AM, which wasn't going to please my neighbours. So, I guess that'll be a project for tomorrow.


2. Besides, I had to go see Lisa Dewey, probably my favorite bay area performer. Tonight's show--with music by Kelsi Arnold (sounding great--I'd never seen her play with a band before), Andalusia, and Lisa Dewey and the Lotus Life--was a fundraiser for her upcoming album. Attendees were given the opportunity to purchase $10 raffle tickets, with the winner to receive "a one-hour solo performance by Lisa Dewey at your chosen event or gathering."

Now, I'm not really the event or gathering type, so I didn't buy a raffle ticket on my way in, but as the night progressed--Lisa and the band were great, as usual--I realized that I really wanted to hear the new album, so I decided, okay, I'd chip in my ten bucks, I surely wouldn't win, and if somehow I did, I'd, well, I'd think of something. Just in case, I sneaked outside during the actual drawing.

Needless to say, I WON. (I came back in when I heard Lisa saying, "Did Erik leave? He was here earlier.") And she pegged my reaction just right--"Oh great, now I have to organize an event!" As a variation, she offered to play an opening set for me sometime--or play at my 40th birthday party when it comes around, but since I don't celebrate my birthday, I guess I'll have to try the other thing. Which is awesome, but I'd better be sure I've got a good set to follow her with.

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An anti-affirmative-action initiative will be on the California recall ballot. Too tired to be coherent, and Jeanne's already done it.

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Here's how obsessed I was with reading the Pet Rock Stars blogathon (still taking pledges) yesterday: This morning I woke up from too little sleep and a dream about Scott and Shannon writing songs.

In the dream, rather than reading the blog, I had a movie-camera perspective of Scott's workspace. They'd worked out the second half of a chorus, but were stuck for a first half. Scott, as sort of a mental exercise, had begun, um, writing the lyrics of the song over the speech balloons of a black-and-white comic book, and labelling characters with names--one of them was "Ted", I suspect for rhyming purposes--to illustrate what the song was about. Anyway, just then I had a great (or at least passable) idea for the rest of their chorus!

That's when I woke up, and rushed out of bed to tell them about my great idea for their song! Which, of course, wasn't their song at all, and besides, they were already done and asleep, but I didn't quite figure this out until I was on my feet already. I managed to rescue wisps of the dream song and write them down in my notebook though. Now I'm awake but I haven't looked at the notebook to see if they're any good.

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Joan Osborne, touring with the Dead. "I sometimes get the feeling like I'm living out somebody else's fantasy, like the wish sort of landed on earth in the wrong spot."

A business profile of Trader Joe's. Mmm.

The new Bob Dylan movie.

Project Greenlight sounds better than I'd guessed.

Looking back on Roseanne.

"What Brazil offers to classical music."

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Well, as threatened, I've finished my cover version of Scott and Shannon's first blogathon song, now titled "Southdown". Check out the original and the derivative.