Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Parents in town
Sometimes I feel like I'm still 20....and not in a good way. Don't get me wrong, I do really love living in community with my band mates, even if they are all boys. Okay, maybe especially because they are all boys. I love that I come home to the best band on the planet rehearsing in my living room. I love that I get to see Timmy in his flannel pajama bottoms at 3 in the afternoon, and I love that I get to see Simon walk out of his room headed toward the bathroom in a bright red satin robe with bright gold dragons and his hair in a bun on the top of his head. These are bright moments.
But then, there are the other moments, like when your band mate tells you out of the blue that his parents are coming into town tomorrow. Eeek!!!! Suddenly, my shoulders stiffen, I gasp, and my stomach gets tight: oh no, the house is a mess! We are going to look like a bunch of kids!
You see, cleaning the house is a 'band affair' so to speak. I actually work it into the schedule like rehearsal or songwriting or touring because if I don't, it just will not get done. You know how it is: if everyone is responsible then no one is responsible so things just slip through the cracks. Yes, I know we should have a chore list, and I keep saying I am going to do this, and I keep not doing it, so it doesn't get done. And it's really not that our house is that bad -- it's just that it certainly is not in any condition to have both Steve's dad and Timmy's parents in town. Yikes.
So, suddenly I am 20 years old in my first apartment fretting about a visit from my boyfriend's parents. I consider actually taking my afternoon to completely clean the house but then after about 3 seconds I slap myself out of this idiotic notion. Eh, this is who we are -- we have no secrets.
We are the best band on the planet: that is where the focus lay. The housework? Well... I just rationalize it by saying it won't be so important when we are in a different hotel every night. Oh wait a second, there is the issue of the tour bus....
Gosh darn it.
But then, there are the other moments, like when your band mate tells you out of the blue that his parents are coming into town tomorrow. Eeek!!!! Suddenly, my shoulders stiffen, I gasp, and my stomach gets tight: oh no, the house is a mess! We are going to look like a bunch of kids!
You see, cleaning the house is a 'band affair' so to speak. I actually work it into the schedule like rehearsal or songwriting or touring because if I don't, it just will not get done. You know how it is: if everyone is responsible then no one is responsible so things just slip through the cracks. Yes, I know we should have a chore list, and I keep saying I am going to do this, and I keep not doing it, so it doesn't get done. And it's really not that our house is that bad -- it's just that it certainly is not in any condition to have both Steve's dad and Timmy's parents in town. Yikes.
So, suddenly I am 20 years old in my first apartment fretting about a visit from my boyfriend's parents. I consider actually taking my afternoon to completely clean the house but then after about 3 seconds I slap myself out of this idiotic notion. Eh, this is who we are -- we have no secrets.
We are the best band on the planet: that is where the focus lay. The housework? Well... I just rationalize it by saying it won't be so important when we are in a different hotel every night. Oh wait a second, there is the issue of the tour bus....
Gosh darn it.
New Music!
Well, the day has arrived. We have released Tobacco Row and Better Days on our Myspace page. Check it out! It's all completely done in house, with Graham and Steve on recording and Steve on mixing and mastering. Because we are an independent outfit, this is the process that gives us the most freedom and efficiency in getting our music out to you. We hope you enjoy it! We plan to record two more songs in May.
Post a comment and let me know what you think.
Post a comment and let me know what you think.
Friday, April 24, 2009
TapWater on TV
So two days ago I got a call inviting TapWater to play the morning show on KATU Channel 2 in Portland on Friday morning -- today. I accepted and since we have done a couple of these spots in the past so we were quite familiar with how it all worked. It goes something like this:
We also want to give a warm thank you to the audio engineer Mark Sutton. He was super kind to us, a genuine supporter of our music, and treated Graham with respect. He was always checking on all of us, seeing that we had food and drinks. All of the staff was very kind and professional, but Mark was the shining star. Thank you, Mark.
- Wake up at the crack of dawn.
- Get to the bathroom first to get ready before the boys can steal it from me.
- Wake the band up and then put Ravi in charge to make sure that the rest of them actually become vertical at some point in the next 10 minutes.
- Make a very big, very strong pot of coffee.
- Run around getting breakfast together for the band. Today it was a trip to Noah's bagels for a dozen (which was supposed to take 5 minutes but turned into a 25 minute escapade which made ME late for our call time!!!)
- Pile the guys into the Suburban.
- Make it to the TV station by 7 AM sharp.
We also want to give a warm thank you to the audio engineer Mark Sutton. He was super kind to us, a genuine supporter of our music, and treated Graham with respect. He was always checking on all of us, seeing that we had food and drinks. All of the staff was very kind and professional, but Mark was the shining star. Thank you, Mark.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Photos from the Roseland Grill
Hey folks, it's been a bit since I blogged so I'm doing a double post. I'm also recommitting to getting back into it! Here's a couple shots from the Roseland show with The Duhks, courtesy of Brian McLernon Photography. Thanks Brian!
A Night of Wonder
We had one of the most exciting nights on Friday. Thanks to Monqui, we had the distinct honor of opening for the Squirrel Nut Zippers at the beautiful Wonder Ballroom in Portland. You may know that TapWater has been a huge fan of theirs: we have been covering their song "Bad Business Man" for years. The night was awesome and let me tell you why.
There were a number of things that struck me. First and foremost, when you play the club level, you deal with oodles of unprofessionalism. Inadequate sound system, late and mean audio engineers, rude waitstaff, dirty and stinky rugs and bathrooms, no green room to gather your thoughts, no food and barely a drink, inadequate set up and sound check time, and of course, lousy pay. And don't get me started on the promotions aspect of the show.
Now the pay for the show was poor, but besides this the experience was worlds apart from the club scene. First of all, the Wonder Ballroom is a concert venue. So, they have stagehands who help you load in and set up your gear. They budget adequate time for sound check, even for the local opener. They let us park our vehicle with trailer in the lot right next to the venue. (I cannot tell you how much of relief this is -- we're talking major.) They give us our own green room with good beers and water. And the audio system was rippin. From the moment we got there, everything unfolded smoothly.
What was also cool was that the Squirrel Nut Zippers were some of the coolest down-to-earth musicians. They took the time to talk with us, they jammed with us backstage, a few of them listened to our set. We were even invited us to do a Samba parade after their set where they jumped in with horns. They treated us very kindly and with respect.
The best part of the night was that the place was full of about 500 music lovers who gave us an open ear. They walked right up to the stage and watched us. they danced, they cheered, they bought CDs. We played very well with the full intention of opening the show right for both the fans who deserved the most for their money, and for a group of musicians who surely deserve our very best performance to start their night.
TapWater delivered. I do love my band. We recorded the show of course and hopefully it came out well so you'll get to hear all about it.
There were a number of things that struck me. First and foremost, when you play the club level, you deal with oodles of unprofessionalism. Inadequate sound system, late and mean audio engineers, rude waitstaff, dirty and stinky rugs and bathrooms, no green room to gather your thoughts, no food and barely a drink, inadequate set up and sound check time, and of course, lousy pay. And don't get me started on the promotions aspect of the show.
Now the pay for the show was poor, but besides this the experience was worlds apart from the club scene. First of all, the Wonder Ballroom is a concert venue. So, they have stagehands who help you load in and set up your gear. They budget adequate time for sound check, even for the local opener. They let us park our vehicle with trailer in the lot right next to the venue. (I cannot tell you how much of relief this is -- we're talking major.) They give us our own green room with good beers and water. And the audio system was rippin. From the moment we got there, everything unfolded smoothly.
What was also cool was that the Squirrel Nut Zippers were some of the coolest down-to-earth musicians. They took the time to talk with us, they jammed with us backstage, a few of them listened to our set. We were even invited us to do a Samba parade after their set where they jumped in with horns. They treated us very kindly and with respect.
The best part of the night was that the place was full of about 500 music lovers who gave us an open ear. They walked right up to the stage and watched us. they danced, they cheered, they bought CDs. We played very well with the full intention of opening the show right for both the fans who deserved the most for their money, and for a group of musicians who surely deserve our very best performance to start their night.
TapWater delivered. I do love my band. We recorded the show of course and hopefully it came out well so you'll get to hear all about it.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tweet Tweet: Discovering Twitter
Okay, so I am learning to use Twitter. Have you all heard of this? It's microblogging -- you post messages of 140 characters or less, which is basically the length of a text message. And each time you do post, it's called a tweet. I've done a little reading on it and I guess the point behind it is to keep up with a community of people on a moment-to-moment basis.
For example, you know all of you out there are at work and you steal a second to text to your little sweetie. Well, what if you could text your entire community at once? This is one part of the idea behind Twitter. The other part is that you can continue to broaden that community, networking with some of the most interesting people on the planet (like Joe Trippi). It's interesting to see what is on their mind and plate as the day rolls by.
So, rather than be inane chatter or empty promotions, I think the object of Twitter is to be interesting and authentic, and when you do this, you naturally attract people. It's really more about who you are, what's genuinely on your mind, what is bringing you joy or challenging you in the moment. I think with a little time, I will become quite good at it and gain insight into how to be a contributor within the world of Twitter. I am a geek but I still wanna be cool!
Another really excellent feature is that I can actually text Twitter from my phone. This makes it so easy and fun to use. I can be out and about meeting with people, running errands, or even going crazy at my computer, and as I think of it, I just send a text and share with you my state of mind.
So, I encourage you guys to check it out. Go to Twitter and look up someone you are interested in. See what you find. And also, I have embedded it here on my blog so you can check it out. It's bottom right. Enjoy!
For example, you know all of you out there are at work and you steal a second to text to your little sweetie. Well, what if you could text your entire community at once? This is one part of the idea behind Twitter. The other part is that you can continue to broaden that community, networking with some of the most interesting people on the planet (like Joe Trippi). It's interesting to see what is on their mind and plate as the day rolls by.
So, rather than be inane chatter or empty promotions, I think the object of Twitter is to be interesting and authentic, and when you do this, you naturally attract people. It's really more about who you are, what's genuinely on your mind, what is bringing you joy or challenging you in the moment. I think with a little time, I will become quite good at it and gain insight into how to be a contributor within the world of Twitter. I am a geek but I still wanna be cool!
Another really excellent feature is that I can actually text Twitter from my phone. This makes it so easy and fun to use. I can be out and about meeting with people, running errands, or even going crazy at my computer, and as I think of it, I just send a text and share with you my state of mind.
So, I encourage you guys to check it out. Go to Twitter and look up someone you are interested in. See what you find. And also, I have embedded it here on my blog so you can check it out. It's bottom right. Enjoy!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Feeling the Weight
Sometimes I am a dope. I don't know why this happens, but it does. It's annoying and frustrating and it kinda alienates me from myself. Let me give you an example. I couple weeks ago I sent out a request to our fans asking for someone review our EP World Twang. Nathan in Eugene agreed to do it for us. He lives in Eugene but actually was a fan of ours in San Diego. Super! I was excited! So, I packaged up the EP, addressed it, and wrote 'post office' on my list of things to do.
This was two weeks ago. Do you think I have gone to the post office yet? No, I haven't. I could say its because I'm busy, or because the post office is a little bit of drive, or because my dog ate my homework. But when I look inside myself, I am sad to say I honestly don't know why I haven't gone. I think I am a little depressed and tired underneath the workload. On top of it, now we look unprofessional (aka, flaky!) and Nathan may feel disrespected, which really does bum me out because each and every fan is important to us. Ack! Estupido.
Lately I have been saying to myself so often, "I can't wait until I can actually manage the project and stop doing everything all the time!" I daydream about what it will be like to have a staff: a booking agent, a tour manager, a PR rep, a marketing person, an office assistant .... oh, the glee! I know this does not excuse my behavior. I guess I'm in a little slump.
So, Nathan, I apologize. I am going to have one of the guys take the package to the post office tomorrow.
And the rest of you, if you would be so kind, please say a little prayer for me.
This was two weeks ago. Do you think I have gone to the post office yet? No, I haven't. I could say its because I'm busy, or because the post office is a little bit of drive, or because my dog ate my homework. But when I look inside myself, I am sad to say I honestly don't know why I haven't gone. I think I am a little depressed and tired underneath the workload. On top of it, now we look unprofessional (aka, flaky!) and Nathan may feel disrespected, which really does bum me out because each and every fan is important to us. Ack! Estupido.
Lately I have been saying to myself so often, "I can't wait until I can actually manage the project and stop doing everything all the time!" I daydream about what it will be like to have a staff: a booking agent, a tour manager, a PR rep, a marketing person, an office assistant .... oh, the glee! I know this does not excuse my behavior. I guess I'm in a little slump.
So, Nathan, I apologize. I am going to have one of the guys take the package to the post office tomorrow.
And the rest of you, if you would be so kind, please say a little prayer for me.
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