Home now. "Circus Liqours". The name tantalizes me. It sits at the corner of Vineland and Burbank if memory serves me correctly. You Angelinos can giggle if I am wrong. A giant neon clown holds the big bass drum emblazoned with the words "Circus Liqours". Those must be some crazy drinks. The alcohol endorsed by clowns has got to be pretty good. I take it they might not be big on the expensive wines but the parties would be a lot of fun. I'm now a short flight away from that clown and his psychedelic booze. I was returning a bass guitar today and one of my friend's dogs, who is usually "stand-off-ish", large, and seamingly benign, became unfriendly as I attempted to leave his yard. French Mastiff. This got her brother (usually oafish and friendly) all excited too and he joined in for the torment. My friend was ensconced in his studio and couldn't hear me pleading with the dogs to once again recognize my non-threatening nature. I wonder if, "can't you see you're terrifying me?" is direct enough in these situations? I gave them lots of petting just the other day. I don't get it. I backed my way to the gate and my last burst of anger actually worked and she let me slip out. The downhill of the adrenalin rush is similar to that one you get after the near fatal car accident you realize just about happened to you. I'm worried about her though. When dogs act that way there is something wrong. Maybe someone with flaming red hair, blue boots and a bass guitar has been lurking around there with evil intent and she is going to take it out on anyone who fits that description. I fit that description just the other day though and she was OK with me at that time. WAIT A MINUTE! The clowns! They fit that description! Maybe they put some of their crazy liqour in her bowl. Naughty clowns. There is probably a D.R.F.C.A.P. chapter somewhere in Hollywood. Dogs Recovering From Clown Alcohol Pranks. Well...it IS Los Angeles...maybe there are prescription drugs for dogs in her situation
CN
Full moon. Went into a Subway restaurant on Melrose just after it was robbed. Ever talk to someone just after they've been robbed? I think, in some cases, they may be achieving a form of enlightenment...a zen moment. Maybe that's what shock is. She made some good sandwiches. I know that for certain. Perhaps it was part of her vision quest as a sandwich artist? Perhaps she secretly hoped to be robbed in order to raise this ordinary Monday to a worthy day in the middle of her greater plan?
Simon Kendall of Sharkskin broke a vertebrae in his back today in a construction accident. I think about him every few moments but can't be there to help out. Can you folks send him some kind words through Simonkendall.com? Experts say he'll be OK.
Full moon. I must go bathe in its light.
CN
Driving, driving driving. Raining hard in LA. Hiked up Bronson canyon with the band guys. Wanted to show them the caves. The cave up there is the one they used for the scenes where the Batmobile races in and out of the Batcave. I mean the Adam West REAL Batmobile. The TV Batmobile. Once I went to the auto show in Vancouver and Burt Ward was appearing with the very same machine. He was now into his 30's. There he was chubby in his old and illfitting Robin suit walking down a lonely hallway at the PNE Forum having a smoke (in full dress). I guess its just like the modern Hollywood Boulevard I know now. The vital part of town has moved elsewhere and monster truck tourists hang outside the crummy souvenir shops. Sometimes I feel like I'm in Burt Ward's sad moment but most of the time I don't see things that way. Much later I saw that same Batmobile on a trailer at the Blaine WA border crossing and asked the guy driving the transport truck if I could sit in it. He let me. All the dials and rocket launcher switches were covered in a chipped and faded dayglo paint and the whole thing had become pretty shabby. Gaffer tape covered the rips in the seat and there were mismatched knobs and switches from Radio Shack. Why did I still get excited? Nothing can beat the eight year old out of me.
CN
Had a bit of time and saw my friends today. I was driving around running errands all over greater Los Angeles. Have you ever thought about blood oranges? Think about one. Say it again . . . Blood orange. "Here honey have a blood orange". Its such a viscous image. "Captain Beefheart Bit into the Blood Orange: A California Moment". That might be the name of some rock coffee table book. Listening to Ben Folds today. He plays drums pretty well on that new album. His voice is beautiful and real. I used to think that there was no such thing as rock piano but I've changed. This brings us back to last night's mention of Elton John. The guitars always made the music rock but the piano glued in there with the bass in a nice way. Somehow the grand piano makes it seem like the singer is emoting in a more sensitive way. Somehow more sophisticated, schooled, complex and introspective. A lot of times that just sucks.
Jerry Lee Lewis & Little Richard are, of course, two of the more noteable historic exceptions to my idea.
CN
Long day. Finished it off hanging with Pat Steward & Vince Jones at Vinces gig in N.Hollywood. He's engineering on a record for a band called "Zoo Storey" and Gavin MacKillop is producing. Dr.Dre works at that particular studio all the time. Encore. I was scanning the numbers on the platinum awards as I strolled to the bathroom. I started to think about how rich Dre must be. He's been such a music factory for so long now. He could probably buy a submarine. Did Elton John ever buy a submarine? Don't you think that would be the ultimate "cash money" status symbol? I'd put the studio in the submarine and record the record on the trip to Madagascar. No cel phones. No night or day. Just phat beats and an ocean for a sky...but you couldn't actually see the sky. That would get everyone killed if you tried to do that.
CN
Today I wondered aloud...this is what songwriting is...why smell gets the low priority when speaking of the senses. Why are there not four monkeys sitting in a row -- one with hands over its eyes, one with hands over its ears, one with hands over its mouth, then one plugging its nose? That was a clumsy sentence but you get where I'm coming from. "Smell No Evil" enters into the top ten list of things I will call my first metal record. Evil smells are perhaps much more disturbing than evil sights or sounds. There are words for the state of losing one of the other senses (blind, deaf, dumb, mute). What about someone who can't smell or who doesn't emit any smells? I think they would have a much harder time conjurring up vivid memories without the olfactory trigger. They would have a harder time remembering when to have a shower unless it was ritualized. This brings me to the people I know who have no concept of time. What if they were also deprived of their sense of smell? This leaves the shower thing to a random occurence. Their friends would have to be quite open with them about something most people take offence to. The monkey who is late for the picture would be the fifth monkey. The "no sense of time" monkey. All the other monkeys would resent that monkey for his/her arrogance and selfish behaviour having missed the photo shoot. The only monkey who would be OK with it would be the "see no evil" monkey because he doesn't know the "time is evil" monkey is not there yet. Maybe the "hear no evil" monkey would tell him. It wouldn't be the "speak no evil" monkey because he wouldn't want to cause trouble. You see once again that the "smell no evil" monkey carries the heaviest burden because he has the capacity to try to prop this whole operation up and take some responsibility. Still he gets no respect. Note to self: taste no evil...just a good idea.
CN
Canucks win. I just like to say that. Still up. Have to wait a long time for highlights down here.These commercials are so earnest and positive. I can't wait to buy something tomorrow. TV is really cool. Still can't find the fireplace channel. I've just stumbled accross a show called "Girls Gone Wild". It's a "paid program". I hope nobody got hurt in the process of getting paid. Right now the girls with rabies are soaping up a learjet. They can't seem to keep the soap & water on the plane. I think they must be wild washer ladies. Maybe someone gets some in their eye soon. That would be wild. They keep losing their shirts but are saved by a fuzzy cloud that lands on the picture at just the right time to defend their dignity. They say there is an episode called "Girls Gone Wild on Campus". Do you think that's a Kent State scenario of some kind?. Maybe Patti Hearst in her college days? History has shown that educated women can be very wild. It says there is a show coming up next called "Girl Who Washes Airplanes vs Associate Professor of Anthropology Girl". I think you can wager on it by pushing these buttons on the remote. I hope somebody is taping this.
CN
For anyone who was worried, I made it through the ironclad security at both airports and they seemed to be OK with a guy with flaming-red hair and a dynamic monotone. I'm at my good friend Bud Scoppa's house right now (editor of Hits magazine and ex-Odds A&R man...copy-editing over my shoulder) after spending the day at ASCAP and writing with David Gamson & Oliver Lieber at Oliver's place. He has some nice guitars! Saw Pat Steward at the airport as he headed off to visit his sister in the Bay Area. I'll see the lovely Vincent Leslie Jones in the next few days. As some of you know, he played and helped on "Giddy Up" and works in L.A. as a producer/player/engineer. Lakers & Clippers are on the TV in a crosstown situation, so I'll leave off the net and do as the Romans do and kick back. You can read Bud's review of Giddy Up at:
Hits Music News (registration required).
Just keep scrolling down! The story is titled "Below the Radar". I'll try logging on tomorrow. Up since 4:00 am.
yours
CN
Thanks to Alistair Calder for helping me set up this little journal section of the website. Frank DiSalvo & I have been taking care of things for awhile and now Alistair is helping out.
The gigs in Calgary at One Yellow Rabbit went so well I almost exploded. It was so great to bring the songs from "Giddy Up" to life in the form that they were intended. The solo acoustic thing, although intimate, doesn't get one off in the same way. We got better and better with each night and I know someone was taping the shows. Hopefully, excerpts will be leaked to you folks without me knowing. You all know that I wouldn't stand for that! (Especially if I didn't get a copy).
I'll be in LA writing with Jesse Valenzuela and David Gamson for a bit and I hope you Vancouverites will welcome me back at the Railway club on Feb 6 when I open for Rich Hope with just my guitar.