Month: January 2009

It seems everyone is letting out a huge sigh of relief now that Barack Obama is President of the United States of America. I find myself checking in with a lot of political news sites figuring out what his next steps are and what he’s going to do in his first 100 days.

He’s smart, thoughtful, and I think he really believes in the fundamental values of the U.S. Constitution. I am hard pressed to think of somebody more capable of the job than him. But I think also I’m just a little wary considering how bad things have been politically for the past few years.

Anyway, the good news is that hope is not lost.

I saw Slumdog Millionaire last night. It was perfect. It’s the best movie I’ve seen in a couple of years and it’s going in to the list of top movies I’ve ever seen. I’ll be quiet now and won’t give any of the plot away, but my friends are going to have to put up with me raving about it for the next couple of weeks.

The final episodes of Battlestar Galactica start tonight. I don’t know if watching it gives me as much geek credibility as watching Star Trek, but I’m definitely looking forward to it. I’m even supposed to go out tonight (in which case I’d put it on my DVR), but I’m tempted to ask my friend if we wait until the show is over to go out. Sigh. I might even have a bit of work to do tonight. This is dumb, life isn’t supposed to get in the way of important TV shows.

Popular alternative radio station Indie 103.1 has gone off the airwaves today. They used to be the best station in LA. Of course they get extra points for being the first in LA to decide that we deserve a space in their playlist, but even beyond that, they introduced me to a whole bunch of new bands that I probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. They have been declining in quality over the past few years, but they were still the best to choose from in the bubble gum saturated LA radio market. It’s another unfortunate example of the sad state of affairs in the music industry.

Well, we did it. We had our first gig with the new line up of Saint John and the Revelations.

Me – Vocals/Guitar
Gabriel – Organ, Rhodes, Piano
Mark Schiele – Bass
Ali Lin – Cello
Nick Hanson – Drums

Our first show was last Saturday at 14 Below in Santa Monica, and it was a lot of fun. They’re a good group of musicians and somehow they put up with me. It probably helps that I drug their tea. Anyway, we’re going to be booking a ton of shows and it would be great to meet you, so keep an eye on our schedule.

Cheers, SJ

Happy New Year!

I hope this year is really good for all of you. 2008 was a pretty rough ride in a lot of ways, but hopefully in 2009 we’ll all be able to make some good things happen. I know some people who were fucking their lives up pretty heavily in 2008, so I’m especially hoping for them that they find their strength and make their lives better this year.

All the best,

SJ