TABLE FOR TWO

Our stay in the basement following Erin's return from Europe has been less than pleasing. However cheap the digs are, the space is plagued by water damage, mold, and all other things unsuitable for proper living. Thanks to our pal Louis, Erin and I secured a top-notch domicile on Jefferson St. in Ann Arbor. We'll be living a floor below the lad in what might be the most aesthetically pleasing residence I've seen in Ann Arbor or Ypsi (and for the space, the price cannot be beat). We met with the landlords Saturday night, a laid-back older Greek couple who made us eat almost an entire watermelon during the hour we spent with them. It'll be a full floor of a beautiful house to ourselves and I'm anxious as all get out to get in.

Post-watermelon, Erin had to race to the Yellow Barn (formerly the Art Barn) to model in the monthly Bizarre Dance fashion show. It was art-y to the point of hilarity at times but sans pretension for the most part and completely unpredictable. I crushed out hard on Erin who looked gorgeous in a dress by Epidemick Clothing. She danced a little and spoke about Hott Lava & Maya Deren to great response. Somethin' else.

Meanwhile, the Benoit Pioulard 7" is in the bag. The masters, deposit, and paperwork have been mailed in and we're expecting physical copies in just under two months. Roj's 7" is up next.

Now located in (the bad part of) California (and I don't mean L.A.!), Lloyd passed along some porn. This guy totally knows me. It's a 1976 musical porno take on Alice in Wonderland. Here's the trailer:

I PASSED OUT

Shadow Art Fair was this past Saturday. Woefully unprepared to play a set of "serious" compositions at Corner Brewery, I spent the morning mixing Skate Laws material sans vocals (thankfully, only a few of the songs actually have lyrics so practicing wasn't exactly essential). That Erin would miss the show was a total bummer; her inner-teenager has a major soft spot for SL.

The Fair did gangbusters and a good crowd had gathered during Laurel & Halolos' set. A nervous pang struck me hard when they finished so I plugged my mic in and started immediately -- there will be no second thoughts about doing a conceptual hardcore band. And despite SL being a conceptual hardcore band, I got into a cathartic spot pretty quickly and sweated my hairline off.

"Man Would Not Exist" and "White Columns" jammed particularly hard but that may be because they're the last songs I did and a little rougher. I'm thinking the future will see more SL shows with some a capella shit and poetry mixed in. Oh yeah -- methinks there will be photos and video to come.

Hott Lava went great, by the way. It was more than a bit hot in the house but everybody seemed to enjoy themselves, no one puked all over our toilet, and Windy's performance was thick intensity.

TOMORROW HAS SOME IDEA

Tomorrow will see the third edition of Erin and I's little cinema club, Hott Lava. It's our first "HL" in a year after canceling two in a row (following the successful Sexx Lava, that would be the Halloween edition called The Devil's Lava and the anthropological Hott Humans). This one might as well be called Hott Love if everyone didn't cringe at a love-themed night, loosely themed as it may be, although Erin would love the T. Rex reference. We've got a heavy feeling that this one will go beyond capacity but plans for a larger, more ambitious Hott Lava are in the works -- pardon me if I keep mum on those plans at the moment. The wonderful Ms. Windy Weber will be joining us for a live scoring of Sergei Eisenstein's Romance Sentimentale (this performance follows a recent jam in Portland with our inaugural performer, the brilliant Benoit Pioulard). Windy's increasing presence in our lives has been a very positive one. Totally killer human being. Also excellent about tomorrow's Hott Lava is the return of Travis Galloway and John Zeichman, represented in both art and film. True gentlemen if ever there were. After this, I gotta' get my ass in gear for my first live performance in some time. If you read this before the 19th, catch me at the Shadow Art Fair. i'm DJing elsewhere in Ypsi following the performance.

So, I finally got over my hardcore thing while abroad and dove into most things guitar: Gabor Szabo (esp. Dreams), John Fahey (The Yellow Princess), and Sandy Bull. Although Earth's latest, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull, has been on near-constant rotation of late, Fucked Up's "Year Of The Pig" is threatening to bring the HC back into my life. It was so fucking killer on 12" last year, Matador had to sign them and re-release the fucking thing in the original 12" format and three alternate versions on three different 7"s. Like the Earth, it sounds so much better loud. When customers ask what band it is, I can only reply "it's Fucked Up," and they're like, "yeah, I know but...."

DJ SETLIST

The Grammar Boys - "The Gentle Rattling of Teacups"
Cheerio Pascal - "Windsocks of the Mind"
Laserlips - "Mardi Gras Switcheroo"
Risky Risqué Riskee - "Dance-a-Ham"
Bernie - "Hooker Heels (She Made Me Wear)"
Little Corndog - "Beach Car"
Mel - "Leonard Pt. 6 Theme"
Camp Clickety-Snare - "Do It on a Frugal Budget"
The Hat Girl - "Goodbye Diet"
Monique Livermore - "Strange Pantry (Bonus Beats)"
Rev. Marco Polo - "You Can Have My Drippins"
Wet Burrito - "U2 Jam"
Fancy Sally & The Smart Bunch - "Thou Wert a Beest"
Kisses in the Mist - "Jewess (Hey Bonnie)"
The Marsh-Rays - "My Wife Calls Me Swampfoot"
Lana From Georgia - "Is Birkenstocks Mad?"
Los Hamburguesa - "Pistolwhipped in Cairo"
Los Cubos - "Sherlock 'Robin Hood' Holmes"
The Changers - "Rubber Belt"
Gas Mask Sam - "Give the Jockey His Rubles"
Grosbeck & Walther - "In Bed (Pretend We're Siblings)"