wow
Current mood: anxious

Ok, so I haven't been able to post a blog in a while. I've needed to let some things level out in my life, but now I am getting back in the swing of things and I mean it! Lots of new developments have been surfacing in my music life, a few of which include my having a new manager (kelly newbold), making arrangements to record a new solo record, establishing my website, dusting off my guitar, and beginning to seek out more work with artists I love.

Contributors to the new album "Bad Axe" will include Little Marsh Overflow, Charlie Fenner, Bob Boyd, Matt Rogers, Dan Kennedy, and many others who will come as little surprises.

More soon,

Julia

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fyi

I modified my "may 12" entry

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four walls

With each passing year that I live in Madison, I've had the opportunity to see many gorgeous homes. I have worked as a house-sitter, long term babysitter, and even played some great house concerts .
This week, I am staying with some fantastic kids at one of my favorite unique houses. It is designed as a contemporary sprawling ranch-style home with an extensive lower walkout level, including another full kitchen, theater room, home office and 4 car garage (obviously housing some serious vehicles). It is almost totally naturally-lit by strategically placed windows within the eaves of each room.




I won't share the location of the house in order to maintain the family's privacy, but I will say that it makes the idea of living further out from the city a lot more appealing. I t has also given me so many ideas to add to the plans of a house that I'd love to build in the future. It would be so easy to convert this house to a totally independent-energy living space. Solar panels, wind turbine, and rainwater storage would be the easiest things to integrate.

I have to say that my favorites are: the library room with huge primitive stone fireplace. sunlit dining room overlooking the valley with 6 foot antique grand piano, in-home office, and sub-floor heating.

So cool.

7:12 AM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

may 12

After a long search for the perfect place, Brian, Bennet, and I have finally signed a lease on a great house near lake wingra.

Tonight is the Madison Area Music Awards and Brian and I dressed to the nines and made our way in to see who was voted the best madison has to offer.
Mark was nominated for best pop album and presented awards for the categories he won last year: Best New Artist and Best Male Vocalist.
Clear Blue Betty made a clean sweep of the rock catagory taking home Best Rock Album, Best Rock Artist, and Entertainer of the Year. Lucas Cates Band took Best Pop Album and Best Pop Artist.
I sat behind Clyde Stubblefield and Art Paul Schlosser. Go team.

peace.

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quotables

in response to a performer who was supposed to play tonight at the annex, but backed out because he was too tired after being at the studio recording until 5 this morning:

Punky goth chick bartender:

"Tell him to wipe the sand out of his vagina and fucking suck it up! Jesus!"

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birthday shout-outs

to c&g for the awesome singing birthday card...and especially to G for insisting that I remain 28 just one more year before I turn 30 next year.

To all the crazy peeps that came out to my birthday bash last saturday:
Jenee, Kirk, Stan, DeAnna, Ellie, Jeremy, Bryan, Angela, Gwen, Julie, Charlie, Nick, Stacey, Martha, Joe, Jason, other Stacy, Jodi, Eric, Mark, Kiersten, Kelly, Tony, Alex, Stephen, Melissa, Jonah... I think there were more, but I was so overwhelmed by getting a sony playstation from martha and joe that my brain was partially wiped out.

To the hot belly dancer that gave me a special birthday dance

to lindsey, our waitress at the mediterranean hookah bar that waited on us and brought so many martinis to our tables...

to angela for coming out and bearing gifts from the equator

to gwen for sleeping over tonight so I don't have to be lonely for Jesse

to tanya for driving all the way down from milwaukee to celebrate

to bryan for being my "designated driver"

and to stan, who will never read this, for being such a great friend to her very own "hoo=hah mahaanahaaaaaa"

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organic matter

DeAnna and I took a walk out to governor's island the other day and a fuzzy object caught my eye.

Me: hey, look! That looks like an owl pellet that's started to come apart!

Deanna: No, it looks like a part of an owl that just fell off.

Me laughing in disbelief: DeAnna, that is so fucking funny. You told a joke! Now I have something to put on my blog. Is it hard being a comedian?

DeAnna: Sometimes.


I am house hunting for rental this summer. I have a few options in my back pocket, and there are no cats allowed. Lo ciento cat lovers. Keep your damn animal fur out of my lungs and eyes and mucosa in general.

My mom came to visit me yesterday. she slept over and commented that when i'm sleeping I breathe twice as fast as normal. Can anyone verify this?

I'm going out for sushi tomorrow night if anyone wants to come. I'm going to drink "hot-tuh sah-kee" until I need a designated driver.

Maybe not, considering i work on wednesday.

this weekend I'm playing at the cheeseburger on friday, a wedding and cuda music festival on saturday.

Next week is skillsusa competition that I won last year and for which I am a judge and member of the technical committee this year. Its going to kick ass. I decided.

Mark and I are heading into the studio next week thursday to record new EP, "Permanent Ink" The EP is being engineered by a producer from LA who just finished JLo's last single. I shit you not. For those of you who actually know mark's songs, we're doing permanent ink, can you cry, forgive me, and funk ecclesiastes (not so marketable title in my opinion... decent tune) i think it should be named something that plays on the title of Devil went down to georgia because It has a closely related storyline. But that's just my idea...I could be wrong.

I'll write more later. i just got a year older 42 minutes ago and therefore i deserve a nap.

laters...

10:32 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

hot chocolate
Current mood: drained

On the way to the airport today, I had a perfect "Julia" moment . Jenee graciously offered to take me to the airport in Madison, so we left my place with enough time to grab something to eat on the way. As we pulled into the Panera Bread parking lot, I was craving a smoldering tub of hot broccoli-cheddar soup with a crusty baguette to dip in it. I could taste it already. So, Jenee stayed in the car and I found myself waiting in line to be served by people who seemed to be moving in slow motion. I ordered my soup, a mocha, a chai for my chauffer, and stopped for a moment to think if there was anything else I wanted to take on my flight. The kind, brown skinned, tall teddy-bear of a man who was taking my order chimed in and said, "Well, whenever I'm on a plane I always wish that I had brought a cookie with me." I smiled in response and considered the idea. The intensity and volume of my voice increased with each syllable as I tastefully replied, "Ok, I'll take the biggest, blackest, sweetest chocolate cookie you've got."
When I looked up and met his deep brown eyes with my own almost-albino blues, I felt them widen as I realized what had just come out of my mouth! He laughed casually and said, "Um sure, I'll get that for you." As he turned to retrieve it for me, I tried to cover by blurting out, "You know, whoever invented those things really knew what they were doing." To which he smiled again and replied, "Yeah, they're my favorite too." I felt my face flush, not realizing that my cheeks could get any pinker than they already were. He put the cookie in a bag and fumbled slightly as he folded the top over and pinched the crease. I quickly took the package from him without making eye contact until I began to walk away and looked back to nod in thanks for his help. He waved a casual 'you're welcome' and subtly smiled to himself as he began to ring in the next customer. I navigated through the crowded lobby balancing my extremely hot liquids, praying to God that I wouldn't trip over my own feet as I hurried back to the car. Jenee listened as I poured out what had just happened at the counter and she said she could just imagine my voice accentuating every syllable of those words, biggest, blackest, sweetest, chocolatey and I insisted that she watch the road so that I wouldn't end up with the wettest, slimiest, saltiest, gooiest, lap full of smoldering hot cheddar-broccoli lava.
A few slurps later, she pointed out that even though it was embarrassing, my mouth had won me a special friend at Panera, and most likely all the chocolate cookies I'll ever want.

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ebb and flow...
Current mood: calm

Throughout this time that I've been living basically on my own here in Madison, I've come to realize that my life has lost a dimension since Jesse moved away. I really think that consistent companionship helps to enrich our experience of life. Jesse is a unique soul in the effect he has on the lives of his friends and family (as we all know). Its these little complementary efforts that make him invaluable to all of us.
In college, I was hyper-involved in contemporary Christian groups as a spiritual/social niche and as a musician. The book "I kissed dating goodbye" played a huge role our scene, discouraging young adults from spending any time alone with someone they were intimately interested in. Living together as a couple was certainly out of the question, and, although I had decided to uphold my commitment to remain "pure" until marriage, I was determined to live with someone for a short time in order to figure out if I could actually marry that person (so as not to repeat the disintegration of my parent's marriage).
In contrast, I remember my mother reassuring me that there was nothing wrong with never marrying at all. In fact, she wondered why I wasn't out there having sex with everybody. After all, times had changed since she was 19 and pregnant and I am sure she was slightly jealous of my single-status and young blood. Granted, society has evolved to embrace the lifestyle of remaining single and thriving in this way. However, I have been observing lately that community exists to make our lives easier, and richer.
Having someone around who is looking forward to you coming home, or to tell you about something exciting, or to flop on the couch, or to even ignore (but just know they're in another room, available), or to plan a trip with, or to remind you that you have to pick something up, or to take out the garbage because they know you hate doing it, is so fulfilling. This frees-up wasted time and allows for us to flesh out our lives in ways we otherwise couldn't have. I have been fortunate to have had people function like that in my life, and since the summer, the absence of my close friends and family has made me realize how much I appreciate them being around. Jesse, CGM&A, my siblings, their kids, my parents... I don't think we're meant to isolate ourselves to avoid being irritated and to get our own way all the time. I think that its the irritation and willingness to compromise that help us to build strength to return the favors.
I am stuck in a time of choices these days... whether to stay in my apartment and find another roommate for next year, move into a place on my own, downsize and move in with acquaintances, think about moving closer to family, closer to my industry, closer to jesse... What I really want to do is clone myself so that I can be everywhere with everyone and keep my relationships fresh and growing all the time.
If there's anything I can do for y'all, please let me know. i miss you and can't wait until we can squeeeeeeeeeze again!

J

4:19 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

something to blog about

Tonight I perched outside on my porch and looked out over a blanket of new snow covering all that I could see. Its amazing how quiet the night gets when the softness of snow pads everything around us. Even passing cars whirr across the surface of the road, barely audible except for the breath of the tires as they skimmed past my lookout. Crisp air filled my lungs and then turned to a steamy cloud that escaped through my lips... disappearing into the night sky.
As I slipped back into the warmth of my apartment illuminated by the glow of the fireplace, memories flickered through my consiousness of friendship and family and closeness. I love these rare momentes I get to spend alone, because it gives me a chance to think of how much I appreciate all of you.
Sweet dreams...

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