February 19, 2006

De Feet

I hurt my damn foot somehow. It must have been sometime on Friday, but I'm really not sure exactly when or how it happened. I started to notice some discomfort walking on Friday night, but because I routinely punish my feet by wearing converse day after day (actually this happens with other shoes as well) I usually assume that I can self correct the problem by switching footwear and getting on with my life. But instead of taking it easy and maybe resting up a bit, I was running around all weekend and managed to aggravate it further in the process. When I woke up this morning I noticed a big red mark on the side of my right foot. Not exactly a bruise- I'm at a bit of a loss to explain what it looks like. Like a sunburn kinda. Weird.

So I made the mistake of mentioning it to my mum when I talked to her this morning and not 10 minutes after getting off of the phone with her I got a call from my father in California.

"Your mother says you have a red streak going up you leg. I think you should call a doctor and go to the emergency room"

Grrr.

"That's not really what it looks like. It doesn't run up my leg, it runs across my foot - starting at the ankle and going towards, like, my toes. I'm pretty sure I got it from punishing my feet with the same pair of shoes all week. You know, like a sprain or something."

"Well, I think you should check it out and find out exactly what it is."

We drew a compromise where I would call my friend Glenn who is a doctor out in PA, describe it to him, and see what he thought.

After explaining the whole thing, once again, Glenn agreed with what I thought it was and recommended that I just stay off of it for today, take a few Advil every few hours and generally loaf around my apartment. That's fine with me because that's pretty much what I had planned to do anyway.

The bruise, or whatever it is, didn't really show up very well in the photo, but I prepared this dramatization to illustrate what it feels like:

February 08, 2006

Primate Portraits.

Chandler sent me a link to these fantastic primate portraits. They made my morning and so I will share with everyone. Thank you, Chandler.

My favorites are Mr. Biggs and Charlie, Libby and Cissy.

February 05, 2006

100 Guitars Performance

I was born for the stage. This is my latest revelation. It came to me in a vision that I imagine is the sort of vision that comes from playing a trance-inducing symphonic piece onstage within a malestrom of highly amplified electric guitars. How else can I explain it? The excitement and energy is addictive and does not fade easily. After the performance I wanted to run out to the parking lot and overturn a car. Something, anything. Just to keep that rush of adrenaline.

Wow. "Hallucination City: Symphony for 100 Guitars" went amazingly amazingly well. The sold out performance at Montclair State's Kasser Theatre was last night and I am still wound up and excited. It is hard to describe the sound and the feeling of the piece. Certainly it is difficult to describe from the vantage of the stage; the eye of the storm. It is very powerful. And loud. There is a indescribable energy to it. You don't just listen to it, you truly feel it. I mean, 100 amplified guitars, you are going to feel this thing coming at you.

I regret not getting people to come out for it now, but I really didn't know what to expect. It wasn't until the rehearsals on Friday and Saturday afternoon that I started to feel comfortable and subsequently realize that this was going to be a fantastic experience. It was also in New Jersey, and it's hard enough trying to get people to come into Brooklyn. There will be a cd released that was recorded over Friday and Saturday. Maybe if we all sit together and turn it up really loud...

February 04, 2006

Symphony #13 for 100 Guitars

I am performing in Glenn Branca's symphony for 100 guitars Saturday night at Montclair University. I found out about the opening for more guitarists only a week and a half ago and originally felt that taking two days off of work would certainly keep me from participating. I couldn't stop thinking about it however, and the more I thought about it the more I knew I had to do it. Or at least give it my best shot.

I put in a request and got the two days off. As soon as that was settled I wrote to Reg Bloor, who was coordinating the players, and confirmed my place. Within two days I got an email with the sheet music.

This piece has been performed a few times before, most notably at the World Trade Center in June of 2001 where it was premiered. There was also a recording session in Astoria, Queens. It has been reworked quite a bit since then and all of the veteran players I have spoken to say that it a very interesting version. It's a bit more difficult also. We have been rehearsing for two days and will rehearse most of the day tomorrow before the performance at 7:30. It is going well though and although it is difficult to get a good perspective from the stage, I get the feeling that it sounds very impressive.

I am still wired from the rehearsal today (I didn't get home until 11:00) but I am going to try and get to bed soon. We start a little later tomorrow so I can sleep late if I need to. I will probably get up early to work through the music a few times before I leave, though. Nervous energy, you know.

Oh, and I turned comments back on and already I'm getting spam. Sweet.