June 8

Up 7. Worked on preface at Caffe Bene for an hr. or so. Came back, practiced songs, printed lyrics, got my gear together, etc. Read 2 Greene stories (some are quite short) Left for Brooklyn about 2:30. Read a bit Listened to the Venezuelan comp I got at ARC. Stopped for a coffee at a new Think near Metropolitan - a guy working named Jonathan Douds knew me from the band, put on Refrigerator’s How You Continue Dreaming in My Honor. Posted the incident on Facebook. Read to end of ch. of Cook. Played a fun but, uh, intimate solo show at Pete’s Candy Store. Andrew H., Drew B., David + Rachel Heatley came, + some folks for the other acts. Greg Peterson first, solo banjo w/ some blues, Lowell George covers, a few originals, ended w/ a violin duo on an old reel - impressive. My set:

Signed Curtain (Robert Wyatt)
Our Hearts Do
Man Up!
Model Worker (Magazine)
Illusions
- did a card trick -
Loser on A Roll
Dirty Back Old Town Road (B-52’s/Lil Nas X mashup, w/ Greg on ad hoc banjo - came off well
Control Freak
Each and Every One (Everything But the Girl)
Milkcrate

Rose Thomas Bannister and Bob Bannister after - some new songs from an EP written for a Shakespeare production + older material and a Richie Havens cover. Her voice and their playing dynamic keeps getting stronger and more distinctive, particularly like her “Virgin Mary” song. Glad I got the show together. Followed Rose, her creatively precocious daughter Lilian, Bob, and their friend/bassist Debby Schwartz to the community garden near there house, had a casual cookout. Left around 10, long ride home. Lights out midnight.

June 7

Up for a while around 12:30-2, got back to sleep, up at 7. Once Bree went out, worked off and on, mostly on, on my set for tomorrow. A few covers, a couple old songs, 3-4 newer ones not on the record in progress, almost nothing I play regularly. Went out around 2:30 to try to finish some lyrics at E77, just for a change of scene. Ran into David Heatley. Some ideas, but nothing final: this particular song (“Viable”) has just been a bear - it’s been incomplete for several years now. Came back, play a bit more, hemmed and hawed about whether to try to get downtown early enough to sell a box of books at Codex (i.e., to carry them on the subway); finally couldn’t face it. Left at 4:30. Listened to John Coltrane, My Favorite Things - directly related to things I’m trying to think through in the preface. Called my dad. Met Matt Houser for a bite in Essex Street Market. Decided we wouldn’t look for a Human Hearts show until Fall. Went to Piano’s to see George from Overlord do a solo set, under a fake name I can’t remember - Lester something. Interesting presentation - he wore a silver suit, not unlike Phil Ochs’ gold one, and played in front a video backdrop that intercut Match Game with ‘70s UK music TV - Wizard, Bellamy Bros., and what have you. First song was very Bryant/Bryant. Followed by Tris McCall, with Matt on drums. Liked a song called, probably, “American Flag.” Realized Matt wasn’t playing drums for Palomar, so only stayed for a few songs of their set. Home before 11, practiced a little more, lights out by midnight. Read maybe 20 p. of Cook over the course of the day, and a Graham Greene short story. 

June 6

Slept poorly. Up for good at 9. Post office; dry cleaner; some groceries. Lassitude in the lat am/early afternoon. Read the first item in Graeme Greene, 21 stories. Bree on the phone a lot trying to make an appointment to consult about the kidney stone. After that was settled, left at 2:30, went to a Think Coffee near Canal, worked on Gates/Signifyin(g) for about 3 hrs. Walked (v. close, hence choice of cafe) to Archive of Contemporary Music, made a quick pass through their record sale, spent $62 on the 2CD version of Dylan’s Trouble No More, some Trane, Hawkins, Ethel Waters, Eddie Cantor, 4 Brazilian CDs, a comp of 70s Venezuelan rock-psych, and an unfamiliar Billy Strayhorn LP. Went up to the Parkside Lounge to hear the Sam Phillips/Jules Shear tribute night Tom Shad and Dave Foster put together, with a bunch of good singers. Had 1 beer. Came home, finished listening to Unrest, Imperial f.f.r.r., read a few p. of Foot. Home 11, spent a while learning Everything But the Girl, “Each and Every One,” lights out 12:30.

June 4

Up at 7. Left at 8. Read Berman on train. Therapy; was a few minutes late. Had salmon/avacado toast and coffee, worked on the McClennan interview for about 90 min. Headed to Lincoln Ctr. Library. Got to work at 1:30. Drafted, trying to move quickly w/o too much correction, more of the race section. Accidentally closed the file w/o saving about 800 words in. More or less did it over, probably without losing anything brilliant (these are ideas I’ve been striving to get down for a while, however expressed), and went on a bit - saved around 1200 words at 4:40. Home around 6. Bree had gone for an ultrasound for her GI problems today, and they found an unrelated kidney stone! Strange, b/c she’s had no pain or other symptoms, and drinks more water than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. Waiting to schedule treatment. Rested for a bit, chatted w/ Bree, eventually got around to reshelving books together. Got several boxes emptied/off the floor/broken down, one box of smaller books and some strays left (as well as 2 boxes to sell, CDs that are also a storage problem, an amp I have to sell, and Bree’s unpacked/unhung paintings. Went out for a bite and bottled water for Bree, came home and finished Give Us The Ballot. I understand anti-electoralist arguments, but haven’t quite gotten myself to the place where I think of e.g. John Lewis as a dupe. Put on Matt Mitchell, Phalanx Ambassadors, but fell asleep pretty quickly. Lights out midnight. 

June 3

Up around 8, listened to some music on shuffle. Read more of Give Me The Ballot over coffee, and off and on after; made it to 250 by end of day. Bree was out for the morning. I started watching a lesser-known Errol Morris documentary (Tabloid, 2010), realized it was virtually a podcast with faces, so I kept it on while I rearranged some of our sheet music/LPs/books on the new shelves. Bree will need to organize her own stuff, but I got some piles off the floor. Had the call w/ writing coach from 2-4. Personable, asked some questions based on what I’d sent her, gave a kind of preliminary diagnosis, is supposed to write up a more formal response in the next 2-3 days. Won’t go into everything, but she’s confirming some things I know to some degree: I don’t have as much external support (e.g. trial readers) as I need, am probably guilty of “hoarding” work-in-progress, and should think seriously about how to cut down the scope of my project. (Painful, this last.) Headed downtown to meet some folks to hear Luc Sante read at Club Cummings (an East Village spot owned by Allan Cummings - not as glam as it sounds). Ran into David Nagler on the street on the way. Luc was great: a short piece on summer, and a longer one on the LES ‘80s moment (clubbing, drugs, music), and aging out of it. Also the poet Laura Sims, who has her first novel out, a very odd singer/pianist going by D. Treut, who interrupted simply structured songs with somewhat grandiose modern-classical/clustery passages, all while wearing a Metallica shirt and a Billy Jack hat, and - unannounced, but I’d been told, Deborah Harry, reading about her experience of 9/11 from a forthcoming memoir. Wanted to take a picture, but felt it gauche. Went w/ about half-a-dozen people for soft-serve ice cream and a nosh at the Odessa. On the way back, listened to most of Paul Bley, Complete Savoy Sessions (early trio recordings, largely of Carla Bley and Annette Peacock tunes, which I’d like to learn someday). Read another 10-12 p. or so of Tynes. Home just before midnight, collapsed pretty quickly.