At this time every year I think to myself “I should write and end of the year wrap up. I’ve had a hell of a year”. Well once again I’ve had a hell of a year, except this year I had the idea to write an end of the year wrap up at 3 in the afternoon instead of the usual 3 in th morning. Let the multi media year in review begin!
I’ll begin at the beginning. January 1st, 2010. I rang in the new year as I always do, with 2000 of my closest friends seeing Umphrey’s McGee. There is no place I’d rather be on New Years Eve.
Shortly after NYE Monica made the decision to cut her dreads. This was a day I knew was coming, but I didn’t know how much time and effort it would take. We spent a total of at least 50 hours combined combing them out. The end result was pretty awesome and I still think Monica should have kept her hair that way. Also, I used he dreadlocks as a mustache stand in. Burliest mustache ever?
I finally bought an HDTV in February. Really isn’t that exciting, but I love my TV. Everyone should have a high definition television. They’re fucking awesome.
In March the gang (I’m going to refer to Monica, Louie, Steve, Allie, and myself as the gang for the rest of the post) went to Covington, KY to see Umphrey’s McGee at the Madison Theater. We all had a great time, though Louie may not have seen as much of the show as he had liked. The open bar at the hotel prior to the show may not have been the best idea.
Also in March I was given the opportunity to design the Umphrey’s McGee Hall of Fame logo. I can’t thank the people in UM enough for all of the opportunities they’ve given me to design various things for them. They are always a pleasure to work with and it’s very satisfying to see my designs on tangible goods.
In April we took in a cat. It was still fairly cold outside, and we had seen this beautiful cat wandering around the front area of our apartment. It was very obvious she had no home, and whatever home she was in before wasn’t very good to her as her entire belly was covered in matted hair. We soon learned from the neighbors that in fact she was left behind by someone and no one wanted to take her in, though they fed her from time to time. Well, she’s a part of our family now, and her name is Penny, though I like to think of her full name as Penny “Yngwie” Meowmseen Engelman.
If there’s anything I look forward to at the beginning of every summer it’s Summercamp. I’ve gone every year since 2004 and it always proves to be one of the best weekends of the year. Working for USTORM is always exciting, UM played some SMOKIN sets, I got to see LOTS of other bands, and all of my friends being in one place? Priceless…
Leading up to Summercamp I was in quite the demand. Not only did MIDWESTpeeps debut a couple new shirts, but my designs were also featured on t-shirts and hats from Umphrey’s, USTORM, and The Hue. It’s a pretty amazing feeling to see the merchandise you designed being sold and worn.
On June 5th, I was featured on a website called IWearYourShirt.com. I won the day from Jason Sadler (the head t-shirt wearer) for buying an IWYS shirt a few months prior. I did 2 paintings for the day. One was given to Jason and the other was given away. I also made sure they talked about MIDWESTpeeps and sodagiant. It was super cool to be a part of the IWYS process, and Jason liked my work so much he comissioned me to do a larger painting for his house. I’m really proud of the painting, I think it turned out awesome.
I might as well include the video Jason did for me too…
Later on that month my good friends and one of my favorite local bands The People reunited for one show. It was great to see them play together, and they sounded better than ever. I shot video of the entire show, and I know they have a ton of footage they shot so it’s getting put together into a documentay. I’m real excited to see the final result, the trailer is fucking awesome.
For the 4th of July weekend Monica and I drove to New Jersey for her cousin’s wedding. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Monica’s family for the weekend. The wedding was outside and it was HOT, but it was beautiful and the reception was tons of fun. Definitely getting a photo booth for our wedding.
We stopped in Springfield on our way to Princeton to make a stop at Wine Library. Unfortunately Gary V. wasn’t there, but it is an amazingly large wine store. The kind of store you shop with a shopping cart and not a hand basket. My pockets aren’t quite that deep, but I did pick up a couple bottles and enjoyed them both. I really should have taken notes…
I also got to go to the Rhombus while I was there. While referred to as “the rhombus” in the Phish community, the rhombus is actually called “New Piece”. From phish.net: - “New Piece” sits in Princeton, NJ, beside a lake in a wooded, relatively secluded area near the Institute for Advanced Studies lab where Trey’s father (and Albert Einstein, among others) worked. Trey, Tom Marshall, Dave Abrahms, and Aaron Wolfe - all Phish lyricists - gathered there during their pre-college days, and several Phish songs were borne there. (“Divided Sky” was crafted around sounds beaten from it.) It was on exhibition at the Museum Of Modern Art (the “MOMA”) in New York City from 7/22/98 to 9/22/98. - It was a really cool place to visit, plus I got this kick ass picture of myself in front of it.
We had car troubles on the ride home. Big time. It sucked balls. I’m trying to leave the suck out of this post though…
On July 7th, just a couple days after we got home, we headed south just 1 hour to catch Umphrey’s in Toledo. Seeing the best rock band in the world and being able to drive home ONE HOUR to your bed is the shit. The only thing better are shows in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Just a couple weeks later UM came back through the area so the gang took a road trip to Grand Rapids for a show at a really killer venue with Chihuly glass all around, and then we headed to Indianapolis for a show at White River. There were thunderstorms all around and the band played every song like it was the last tune they’d be able to play due to the weather. Really killer time, and the lightning added another level to the light show and the performance of the band.
At the beginning of August I was lucky enough to see another one of my favorite local bands reunite, Smokestack, and I got to see them not once but twice. They played 2 shows that weekend. One was at a new festival in downtown Ypsilanti, MI where they played a great set. They sounded as if they’d never taken a day off, and what’s more they were BETTER than I’d ever seen them. The following night I was lucky enough to attend a wedding where they would be playing the reception, and once again I left floored. Probably one of the best shows I’ve seen all year, and from a band who hadn’t performed together in over 4 years. Big thanks to Steady and Jade for letting me attend!
At the end of August I attended Hoxeyville Music Festival with the gang. As we neared the festival the rain got heavier and heavier, and when we arrived we were told the bands were not playing and no one was being allowed in. Not a great way to impress a first time attendee of your festival. Once word made it’s way to us while hanging outside a convenience store in the rain the The New Deal’s set had bee cancelled and no one was getting in until morning we headed for a campground that was just down the road. It was a wet evening, be we made the best of times with drinks and laughter. Too much laughter apparently, as we were told to quiet ourselves a few times, but whatever. Once we made it inside (after another round of bullshit) I found the festival to be quite a good time. I really liked That One Guy whom I had never seen, and My Dear Disco KILLED. I’ll attend next summer for sure. Here’s is a picture of an oversize Barbie doll. Her name is Tour Bitch. It’s the only picture I took at Hoxey…
September was another HUGE month for me. I turned 31 (sigh), visited Seattle for the first time, and went on tour with Ali Baba’s Tahini. Seattle was an amazing experience, and I can’t that Monica’s brother Doug for flying us out for a week. Getting to visit the Experience Music Project was something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and the Science Fiction Museum was even cooler than the EMP was. Seeing Kurt Cobain’s bench was another intense moment of that trip for me. Leaving Seattle I had CRAZY delayed flights, but finally made it to Chicago for the start of Ali Baba’s tour. It was truly one of the best time’s I’ve had on the road, and I can’t wait to hit the road again in the future with my friends ABT.
October saw another few Umphrey’s shows, including my 100th UM show and an amazing 2 night run in St. Louis at the Pageant. Having a hotel one block from the venue is really the way to go! Even more amazing than those Umphrey’s shows was seeing ROGER WATERS perform the wall live. I probably won’t ever see another show quite as spectacular and breathtaking as that one.
…and that pretty much brings us to right now. I saw Laith Al-Saadi perform for the first time in November, and I’d recommended him to literally ANYONE. Spectacular player. I also worked the 8th annual USTORM Holiday show with Jake and Brendan from Umphrey’s. I had a great time working it as usual, and we raised a bunch of money for the kids so that’s always good.
So, even though I’ve had all of these awesome times in the last year, it’s been a rollercoaster. I’ve had a lot of tough times too, but I’m trying to focus on the positive and work on what I can control. I’ve started my own framing business, Pretentious Framing, and am already feeling like it’s the right thing to do. I really enjoy making art look cooler than it already does. If I can keep getting orders, carve out my niche, and make money I’ll be happy. To summarize: the 2010 rollercoaster can kiss my ass. I’m ready for a smooth ride in 2011.
