So a lot has been on my mind lately. I thought this experience would change me somehow. I was looking for change. But, I was never really sure about what kind of change. And in the end, I don't think I've changed at all. I'm still the same me. I still act the same way I always did.
I've met a lot of new people. Made some friends. But, people don't always understand me. Even my friends back home. Sometimes I just have to go crazy. It's just pure entertainment for myself. If I'm not getting entertained by the people I'm around, I'll probably go crazy. Usually back at home I'm always entertained by at least one of my friends. We have a pretty crazy group. Our gatherings are just good vibes all around.
I have changed though. It is all on the inside. I shall take part of Florence with me everywhere I go for the rest of my life. Just the little details of it's inner beauty. The cobblestones in the thin windy streets. The gelaterias everywhere you look. The espresso bars. The guy at the deli who will always put on a smile when you want him to make a sandwich. The almost getting hit by a vespa daily.
Thanksgiving is tomorrow........This makes me homesick.... Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Every year on Thanksgiving Day, I have a tradition with my cousins. We've been doing it for the past 7 years. I never get to see my cousins that much. We're too busy. Or they're just a bit older. David is 4 years older. And Albert is 13 years older? They're brothers. Back when I was 13, David would pick me up from my house and we would go meet up with his older brother at Albert's place. Then we would all hop in Albert's Trooper with the dancing bears sticker on the back window with his girlfriend Katie (they're married now), and we would head down to the synagogue. Now I just drive to Albert and Katie's place and meet up with all of them in the morning.
Every year, my Synagogue hosts this event called Meals on Wheels. We would arrive there and sign in. There would be hundreds of people from the synagogue. A lot of familiar faces. Rabbi G and his band are just tearing it up on guitar playing classic hits on the stage for the good atmosphere. There would be plenty of bagels and cream cheese for people to munch on before we all get started. This was like the pregaming while we wait for everyone to arrive. There would be coffee too. Of course, we wouldn't get the coffee because we would stop at Starbucks before arriving to the synagogue. Katie has an addictions for Starbucks. She'll have it multiple times a day. Can you imagine how much money that costs after a year? Wow Katie.
Then It all begins. The synagogue cooks hundreds of meals for unfotunate families. Everything was in order. People would be assigned different tasks. Bagging, Tagging, Sending it to the butcherman in the store (haha, Phish- Reba), There would be people serving the food while others would be in line holding their trays out to get the food packed up. Then after everything was bagged, there would be delivery time. We would have addresses that would be assigned to our car. Sometimes there would be a couple extra bags at the synagogue. One year, we took the extra bags for our car and drove under the bridge in uptown on hennepin avenue. We drove up to the homless people standing outside in the cold weather holding their signs. We stopped at the curb. I hopped out of the car and brought them those extra bags. I'll never forget that moment of joy in their faces. But the families that were signed up in the program weren't homeless. They were in shitty situations as well. One time I knocked on a door with Katie in this shacky old house in Northern Minneapolis. We were like, "Umm.... we're here from meals on wheels! We have your meals!" There wasn't even an adult present. It was like 11 eight year old asian kids just hanging out in the house! That was a sight for sure.
In the process of this day, I would always get closer with my cousins. I looked up to them. They're tight older dudes. They got me into good music. They should be proud of themselves for doing a good job partly raising me. In 9th grade they got me into Bob Marley. In 10th grade it was Galactic and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. In 11th grade it was String Cheese Incident and Widespread Panic. This would always be during the car ride when delivering. My music knowledge just kept building up. When we were done delivering, we would all part ways and go home to get ready to meet up later that evening for dinner at their parents' place (My Aunt and Uncles). I would arrive home at my Parents' house with new music to listen to from Albert. And chill out for a few hours before treating myself with a delicious meal for a good days work of good deeds. In recent years, I was getting more into certain jazz artists. My uncle has a Jazz collection of over 2000 cd's! He hooked me up a couple years ago with some Miles Davis and Poncho Sanchez. Then after the meal, once I finally had a cell phone, I would call up some of my good friends, part ways with my family, and go meet up with everyone with Pat. I treat thanksgiving like Christians treat Christmas. I just get a joyous feeling. Everyone is really happy after their meals. And just happy to see each other and hang out in the same room with friends that are usually out of town.
I've been doing more traveling. Not this past week, but the weekend before, I went to the little town of Malcesine on Lake Garda. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Unfortunately, we were there during the off season. The whole city was pretty much closed. I wanted to hike on top of the mountain, but we didn't really have the time. We were gonna go ride some ATV's on the top. I'll have to go back there someday when the town is hopping with outdoor activities.
Last weekend, I was in Rome. I'm so glad I finally saw the beautiful city. It was unbelievable! I got to do everything on my itinerary too. I didn't think I would be able to. The Colloseum, Roman Forum, Vatican City, Trevi Fountain, Castel di Sant Angelo, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, and plenty more. I couldn't believe St. Peters Basilica. On the inside, almost everything is made in marble! It was the most beautiful church I have ever seen.
I went with 2 girls. They only wanted to stay for 1 night. I didn't think 1 night in Rome would be enough. So I spent an extra night on my own. It was really calming to just walk around Rome by myself. I snapped a bunch of pics. I ended up going to a Jazz Club. It was really cool inside. This dude was just tearing it up on the sax. They even played some of my requests. Watermelon Man and So What. I just kept ordering rounds and rounds of Bombay Tonics. I think that just might be my drink. It is a really good drink.
I haven't been myself lately. Perhaps I'm homesick. It's a weird feeling. I don't know what it is. But it is definitely hurting me on the social scale. It's like feeling depressed but not knowing why? Crazy huh. I might be catching a cold too. That could be it as well. Whenever I get sick, I'm never in a good mood. I just haven't really been talking to anyone for the past 3 days. My dad is supposed to go under the needle today. It's a really big surgery. They're like replacing his hip with a metal object. He'll be sitting in the hospital for like 3 days. He's really worried and nervous. I know everything will be fine. But, I still wish I could be there to support him. He sounded really sad last time I talked to him on Sunday. Maybe I'll figure myself out when I get back on this thing next time.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Playing In The Band
...........It's hard to believe that the same guy who'd driven across the country determined to become one of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys all but gave up the banjo and bluegrass by year's end. Part of the problem, Jerry explained in 1981, was that "in the area I was in there were virtually no bluegrass musicians; very few, certainly nobody very good. I got to be quite a good banjo player, but I was really operating in a vacuum, and what I wanted was to have a great bluegrass band, but I only got occasional chances to put a bluegrass band together that was by my standards even acceptable. Although I had fun, none of them was serious or a very good attempt."
"I think he got disenchanted with bluegrass," Sara says. "it was clear he wasn't going to make it in that world. Socially, it was just too foreign. This was all these West Coast kids, some of them were Jewish, some of them had Hispanic surnames, and there was no way they were going to be part of the bluegrass establishment. It wasn't a good match socially."
But there was something else tugging at Garcia as 1964 turned into 1965. For one thing, like half of America under the age of twenty-five, Jerry had been seduced by the Beatles, especially their film A Hard Day's Night, which depicted life in a rock 'n' roll band as just about the most fun that could be had on planet Earth. The Beatles were deliciously irreverent and in-your-face anarchic; untamable gadabouts on an endless lark, always living in a completely different universe than the pitiably straight forces that were constantly trying to control, or at the very least, restrain them. Certainly the jug band had some of that off-the-wall spirit, but the Beatles were a whole different level of fun- that was obvious. And the screaming girls were real.
"[The Beatles] were real important to everybody," Garcia said. "They were a little model, especially the movies- the movies were a big turn-on. Just because it was a little model of good times....It was like [they] were saying, 'You can be young, you can be far-out and you can still make it.' They were making people happy. That happy thing - that's the stuff that counts- was something we could all see right away."
"The Beatles were why we turned from a jug band into a rock 'n' roll band," said Bob Weir. "What we saw them doing was impossibly attractive. I couldn't think of anything else more worth doing."
But poking at Garcia's other shoulder, all gruff and grumbly but still the essence of a different kind of cool, was Mr. Pigpen McKernan: "He'd been pestering me for a while; he wanted me to start up an electric blues band," Jerry said. "That was his trip. Because in the jug band we used to do blues numbers like Jimmy Reed tunes and even played a couple of rock 'n' roll tunes, and it was just the next step....Theoretically it's a blues band, but the minute we get electric instruments it's a rock 'n' roll band. Because, wow- playin' rock 'n' roll, it's fun!"
"It was always my impression that it was Jerry's decision to form the electric band," Dave Parker says. "That he was not that interested in playing the kinds of music he'd been doing before, and he'd done the jug band thing. That wasn't something you could really do for a long time, and the excitement of electric rock 'n' roll - what the Beatles and the Stones and Dylan were doing- was happening, and Jerry had this surge of energy to go and do that and make something happen.
"There was a feeling all around- and I think a lot of it came from Garcia- that anything was possible, so just pick out what you want to do and do it.".......... (excerpt from Garcia: An American Life)
Wow! I found that crazy when I read it. The Beatles, my number 1 band of all time had just as much of an influence on the Dead, whom I have been pretty much worshipping lately, as they did on me. I'm not in a band. I play guitar and jam every once in a while, but that's about it. The Beatles influence me just in general. But when it does come to an influence for jamming, It's all about the Dead for me.
La Chitarra:
"I think he got disenchanted with bluegrass," Sara says. "it was clear he wasn't going to make it in that world. Socially, it was just too foreign. This was all these West Coast kids, some of them were Jewish, some of them had Hispanic surnames, and there was no way they were going to be part of the bluegrass establishment. It wasn't a good match socially."
But there was something else tugging at Garcia as 1964 turned into 1965. For one thing, like half of America under the age of twenty-five, Jerry had been seduced by the Beatles, especially their film A Hard Day's Night, which depicted life in a rock 'n' roll band as just about the most fun that could be had on planet Earth. The Beatles were deliciously irreverent and in-your-face anarchic; untamable gadabouts on an endless lark, always living in a completely different universe than the pitiably straight forces that were constantly trying to control, or at the very least, restrain them. Certainly the jug band had some of that off-the-wall spirit, but the Beatles were a whole different level of fun- that was obvious. And the screaming girls were real.
"[The Beatles] were real important to everybody," Garcia said. "They were a little model, especially the movies- the movies were a big turn-on. Just because it was a little model of good times....It was like [they] were saying, 'You can be young, you can be far-out and you can still make it.' They were making people happy. That happy thing - that's the stuff that counts- was something we could all see right away."
"The Beatles were why we turned from a jug band into a rock 'n' roll band," said Bob Weir. "What we saw them doing was impossibly attractive. I couldn't think of anything else more worth doing."
But poking at Garcia's other shoulder, all gruff and grumbly but still the essence of a different kind of cool, was Mr. Pigpen McKernan: "He'd been pestering me for a while; he wanted me to start up an electric blues band," Jerry said. "That was his trip. Because in the jug band we used to do blues numbers like Jimmy Reed tunes and even played a couple of rock 'n' roll tunes, and it was just the next step....Theoretically it's a blues band, but the minute we get electric instruments it's a rock 'n' roll band. Because, wow- playin' rock 'n' roll, it's fun!"
"It was always my impression that it was Jerry's decision to form the electric band," Dave Parker says. "That he was not that interested in playing the kinds of music he'd been doing before, and he'd done the jug band thing. That wasn't something you could really do for a long time, and the excitement of electric rock 'n' roll - what the Beatles and the Stones and Dylan were doing- was happening, and Jerry had this surge of energy to go and do that and make something happen.
"There was a feeling all around- and I think a lot of it came from Garcia- that anything was possible, so just pick out what you want to do and do it.".......... (excerpt from Garcia: An American Life)
Wow! I found that crazy when I read it. The Beatles, my number 1 band of all time had just as much of an influence on the Dead, whom I have been pretty much worshipping lately, as they did on me. I'm not in a band. I play guitar and jam every once in a while, but that's about it. The Beatles influence me just in general. But when it does come to an influence for jamming, It's all about the Dead for me.
La Chitarra:
Saturday, November 1, 2008
The ongoing WOW is happening right now!
I arrived back in Florence about a week ago. It was an awesome 9 days of backpacking. Unfortunately our plans changed a couple times.
So it was me and 3 of the most annoying girls ever. I didn't really have a plan so I hopped on their bandwagon and traveled with them. I gotta stop doing that. If I wanna do something, I should just go do it alone.
Some of you guys actually know one of the girls. Her name is Claire. She went to Wayzata and hung out with Robin and Kyle. She was a stuck up bitch. Sorry everyone for the harsh language, but she is one of the most not chill girls ever. All she cared about was her hair. We were in London, and she just had to get this hair spray called Bumble and Bumble that they only make in London. I'm not even sure if it's that good. I think she just wants it so she can say that she has some rare shit. The other girls name is Molly. She's probably one of the nicest girls I've ever met. But at the same time, she was kinda annoying. I couldn't converse with her because it drove me crazy. How can someone be so nice and annoying at the same time? Then there was Deanna, she's actually pretty cool. But then these girls bought a magazine and just started talking about Jamie Spears being pregnant again and Hallie Berry breaking up. I was just like, "Who cares about this gossip trash?" Then they got kinda mad at me. Whoops. Lesson 1, if you're gonna travel with people, make sure there's a couple dudes to keep your sanity. So yeah, I probably won't be traveling with those girls ever again. Sorry Peter and hopefully Andrew as well, Claire and Molly were trying to join us for our adventures in December because they have a similar route. I don't think we'll be joining. We're better off as us 3 anyway. No distractions.
London was the coolest city I've ever been to. I don't really know how to describe it. It was just an awesome time. The people there are really nice. I made some friends at a couple pubs. We would just converse. They have cool accents too. Camden Town is like a Shakedown Street that is a city. I bought some souvenirs. I crossed Abbey Road too. It took us like 30 minutes just to find the exact spot. It felt good knowing that the Beatles were once walking in that exact spot.
Next was Ireland. We only stayed in Dublin. The Cliffs of Moher weren't happening. We just didn't have enough time to do everything. I wasn't too dissappointed because we were planning on seeing the fjords in Norway. We did see some other cliffs outside of Dublin though. That was a pretty site. The Guinness Storehouse was a cool thing to go to. But, I wasn't too crazy about Dublin though. It was just an ordinary city. The nightlife was fun in the Irish pubs though. Those Irish people get really rowdy. There was live Irish music playing. Everyone was singing and dancing around. I feel like if I would've seen Cork or the actual Cliffs of Moher, I would've appreciated Ireland a little more.
So our next stop was Norway. The original plan was to go up to the very north to watch some killer whales and see the beautiful northern lights at night. This was not going to be possible because it takes like 12 hours to get up north from Oslo and we really only had like a day and a half. So then our next idea was to check out the fjords of western norway. I found out about them when I researched them online. Screw whale watching and northern lights. The fjords are where it's at! I was even more excited about those. But unfortunately, we didn't get to go over their either because that takes like 6 hours and it just wasn't enough time. I would love to check them out at a later point in my life. Norway has to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. Except I only saw it in photos. Everyone check these out though.
http://www.visitnorway.com/
http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Stories/Norway/West/
So yeah, if anyone from the Krew ever wants to do a eurotrip in a few years to Norway, include me in! We ended up staying in Oslo. Oslo is a really cool city, except there really isn't much to do. It is big too. Reminded me of like Minneapolis on a coast. Because you kinda need major highways to get from place to place. It's not like Florence where you can walk through the whole city.
Funny story though. We went to a bar in Oslo. There was a one man band playing. He was just singin old classic tunes and playing the piano. We talked with him during his set break. A pretty cool guy actually. He was taking requests too. So I was gonna go request a song for the girls. And as I was about to approach him at the grand piano, some big giant guy stops me. He was yelling in some accent to me. He was like, "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I thought about it for a bit. I answered back, "Hey man. It's cool. Don't worry about it." He wasn't having it though. So he says back "No! What the fuck do you think your doing?" I said back "I'm just doing what I'm doing. It's not your business guy." He answers back, "No! What the fuck are you doing here!" This time I'm kinda pissed. I respond, "Hey Buddy! Don't FUCKIN worry about it! Now let me get through here!" Then he puts his arm around my shoulder and says "Hey! You're cool. I like you. Come on through." And in my head I'm just thinking, what the fuck was all that about earlier? Whatevs. You just gotta show people who's boss I guess.
So that was my midterm break. It was a really good time overall. I saw some autumn colors on the leaves. Reminded me of going to the disc course a year ago in Ptown. I got some stuff done over break as well. Got some of you fools some souvenir gifts.
I checked my messages when I was on break. I found out that one of my best friends, Andrew, might be joining Peter and I for our Euro travels. That got me so excited that we might actually reunite as the 3 of us once again. I don't know if he'll join for sure. But hearing that just got me super happy and I had a lot of inspiration musically. Unfortunately I don't have my electric guitar and amp. I miss playing it a ton.
I've been hanging out in Florence the past week. Went to a soccer game on Wednesday night. I'm glad I went to it. They are crazy about their soccer team here. It was Florence vs. Intermilan. Ended up as a tie score of 0 to 0. The next night we went out again. Stopped at a pub and I did some karaoke. Pumped the crowd up with some Twist and Shout. Had my Ferris Beuller moment. Then last night was Halloween and we did a pub crawl. I shaved my beard into a handle bar mustache with a soul patch, and kept the sideburns that get wider as you go out. I went as a pornstar. And ended the night with some ass from a girl. It was about time. Haven't been doing so well lately. Well I got my game back neuscrill!
So it was me and 3 of the most annoying girls ever. I didn't really have a plan so I hopped on their bandwagon and traveled with them. I gotta stop doing that. If I wanna do something, I should just go do it alone.
Some of you guys actually know one of the girls. Her name is Claire. She went to Wayzata and hung out with Robin and Kyle. She was a stuck up bitch. Sorry everyone for the harsh language, but she is one of the most not chill girls ever. All she cared about was her hair. We were in London, and she just had to get this hair spray called Bumble and Bumble that they only make in London. I'm not even sure if it's that good. I think she just wants it so she can say that she has some rare shit. The other girls name is Molly. She's probably one of the nicest girls I've ever met. But at the same time, she was kinda annoying. I couldn't converse with her because it drove me crazy. How can someone be so nice and annoying at the same time? Then there was Deanna, she's actually pretty cool. But then these girls bought a magazine and just started talking about Jamie Spears being pregnant again and Hallie Berry breaking up. I was just like, "Who cares about this gossip trash?" Then they got kinda mad at me. Whoops. Lesson 1, if you're gonna travel with people, make sure there's a couple dudes to keep your sanity. So yeah, I probably won't be traveling with those girls ever again. Sorry Peter and hopefully Andrew as well, Claire and Molly were trying to join us for our adventures in December because they have a similar route. I don't think we'll be joining. We're better off as us 3 anyway. No distractions.
London was the coolest city I've ever been to. I don't really know how to describe it. It was just an awesome time. The people there are really nice. I made some friends at a couple pubs. We would just converse. They have cool accents too. Camden Town is like a Shakedown Street that is a city. I bought some souvenirs. I crossed Abbey Road too. It took us like 30 minutes just to find the exact spot. It felt good knowing that the Beatles were once walking in that exact spot.
Next was Ireland. We only stayed in Dublin. The Cliffs of Moher weren't happening. We just didn't have enough time to do everything. I wasn't too dissappointed because we were planning on seeing the fjords in Norway. We did see some other cliffs outside of Dublin though. That was a pretty site. The Guinness Storehouse was a cool thing to go to. But, I wasn't too crazy about Dublin though. It was just an ordinary city. The nightlife was fun in the Irish pubs though. Those Irish people get really rowdy. There was live Irish music playing. Everyone was singing and dancing around. I feel like if I would've seen Cork or the actual Cliffs of Moher, I would've appreciated Ireland a little more.
So our next stop was Norway. The original plan was to go up to the very north to watch some killer whales and see the beautiful northern lights at night. This was not going to be possible because it takes like 12 hours to get up north from Oslo and we really only had like a day and a half. So then our next idea was to check out the fjords of western norway. I found out about them when I researched them online. Screw whale watching and northern lights. The fjords are where it's at! I was even more excited about those. But unfortunately, we didn't get to go over their either because that takes like 6 hours and it just wasn't enough time. I would love to check them out at a later point in my life. Norway has to be one of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen. Except I only saw it in photos. Everyone check these out though.
http://www.visitnorway.com/
http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Stories/Norway/West/
So yeah, if anyone from the Krew ever wants to do a eurotrip in a few years to Norway, include me in! We ended up staying in Oslo. Oslo is a really cool city, except there really isn't much to do. It is big too. Reminded me of like Minneapolis on a coast. Because you kinda need major highways to get from place to place. It's not like Florence where you can walk through the whole city.
Funny story though. We went to a bar in Oslo. There was a one man band playing. He was just singin old classic tunes and playing the piano. We talked with him during his set break. A pretty cool guy actually. He was taking requests too. So I was gonna go request a song for the girls. And as I was about to approach him at the grand piano, some big giant guy stops me. He was yelling in some accent to me. He was like, "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I thought about it for a bit. I answered back, "Hey man. It's cool. Don't worry about it." He wasn't having it though. So he says back "No! What the fuck do you think your doing?" I said back "I'm just doing what I'm doing. It's not your business guy." He answers back, "No! What the fuck are you doing here!" This time I'm kinda pissed. I respond, "Hey Buddy! Don't FUCKIN worry about it! Now let me get through here!" Then he puts his arm around my shoulder and says "Hey! You're cool. I like you. Come on through." And in my head I'm just thinking, what the fuck was all that about earlier? Whatevs. You just gotta show people who's boss I guess.
So that was my midterm break. It was a really good time overall. I saw some autumn colors on the leaves. Reminded me of going to the disc course a year ago in Ptown. I got some stuff done over break as well. Got some of you fools some souvenir gifts.
I checked my messages when I was on break. I found out that one of my best friends, Andrew, might be joining Peter and I for our Euro travels. That got me so excited that we might actually reunite as the 3 of us once again. I don't know if he'll join for sure. But hearing that just got me super happy and I had a lot of inspiration musically. Unfortunately I don't have my electric guitar and amp. I miss playing it a ton.
I've been hanging out in Florence the past week. Went to a soccer game on Wednesday night. I'm glad I went to it. They are crazy about their soccer team here. It was Florence vs. Intermilan. Ended up as a tie score of 0 to 0. The next night we went out again. Stopped at a pub and I did some karaoke. Pumped the crowd up with some Twist and Shout. Had my Ferris Beuller moment. Then last night was Halloween and we did a pub crawl. I shaved my beard into a handle bar mustache with a soul patch, and kept the sideburns that get wider as you go out. I went as a pornstar. And ended the night with some ass from a girl. It was about time. Haven't been doing so well lately. Well I got my game back neuscrill!
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