the best way to help.

a ton of you have been asking how you can help JP05 bring the good word to the fuzzie wuzzies or somesuch... ok.. maybe not a ton. maybe only a fraction of a passel have been asking, but i'm gonna let you know anyway of a couple of things you can do to keep the bucket humming.

First of all, you can download the poster below for our upcoming show @ Brooklyn Lyceum on Friday, Sept. 21st and make it your default profile image for the next few days until the show next week. The plan is to cause a mild stir in our virtual and actual vicinity.





Second of all, you can, at the moment, download JP05's entire album for FREE through Mediafire

Third of all, you can actually BUY the album on CD Baby.
Fourth of all, you can go check out PADRE, with whom I have been drumming drums.

Do it now...







um... please?

8:24 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

polly-o!!

went to the store to get some DR strings because i've been playing without a high E for about a week. they didn't have the right gauge so i wanted to just buy maybe one high E and I asked the dude if they sell individual strings... he was like "WHADDAYA WANT??!!!" like he was wicked put out... I said I need an 11, he said "a high E? I got a 10." no no.. i want an 11. so i kind of start looking on my own and he goes out for a smoke.

I ended up getting these dean markley jimi hendrix pure nickel strings. They're pretty sweet, though more expensive i guess for the hendrix name plus the pure nickel instead of nickel plating around a steel core. not to sound all cheesy over strings, but they do feel more vintage like. not as brigh or edginess, rather a mellow round sound and longer sustain. not better just different.

I must note that on the packaging they say these are the designed to be like the strings that hendrix used in his earlier career. They also sell nickel plated hendrix strings which represent what he used later in his career. I looked them up on their website and they go through this whole thing like scientists were researching jimi's strings.... that's all good, but their merchandising department must have fucked up! they put the cover of Axis: Bold as Love on the packaging of the nickel plated set and the cover of Electric Ladyland on the packaging of the pure nickel. You'd think that they'd be a little more aware that anyone that would buy these strings would know that Axis came before Electric Ladyland... anyway.. I think they should have put the cover of are you experienced? on the pure nickel and electric ladyland on the nickel plated because who knows what kind of strings hendrix used in the middle there, eh?????!!!!!

11:18 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

my mutilated space

click here go there buy this!!!!

as you can see my young apprentice, i've injected a good amount of lard into this crap-hill space... but i assure you, I am still the same-old-me believing in believing and so on. what the hell is all this and how did we get here?

there's stuff to buy... 99 pennies for a whole song.. though i do encourage going the CD route myself.. it was long hard trouble baby stepping through Adobe Illustrator let alone getting the coin enough together for an insert, a jewel case, shrinkwrap, and a disc.. all of which may seem quite disposable these days.

Yet for me, there is STILL something about putting on an album for the first time and holding the case in your hand; you read the liner notes over and over, and whenever the next song comes on you look at the song list again as if it changed three minutes ago and maybe, just maybe you listen to the whole thing. That's how we did it and we liked it!!!!

This is SERIOUS SHIT!!!

I think i'm going to take down the Demand JP05 thing... it's wicked stupid and useless.

Back in 97 or 98, bill bennett had this t-shirt that said www.fucktheworldwideweb.com, and this teacher of mine asked if he was a luddite. We laughed it off, like we did most things.. but here I am ten years later teetering on the brink. Clutching to CDs as if they were Tapes as if they were Records. What a cliche right? But it's really Happening and it's always happened!!! Another cliche. Time loop theory.

To change the subject, I am very excited to get the new Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face and Octavio pedals from Dunlop. I know... Dunlop? They're not going to do it right. But these are supposedly handwired.. plus the fuzz face is silicon based so we're talking later Hendrix sounds, which I prefer.

These days I like:

spicy black bean veggie burger from Morning Star
vitamin water energy drink
broccoli
DR strings
moongel (for drum dampening)
wilco - sky blue sky (bought the CD)
dinosaur jr. - beyond (didn't buy the CD.. i know, i know...)

I have started recording some new stuff at Ave-R. You may hear something before year's end. You hold. Hold until I get back.

fly on!

10:53 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

offical tissue.
Current mood: pensive

PEOPLE ON PLANES SINGING AIRPORT SONGS is out and available for purchase in the non-virtual world from me. It will be available eventually, I suppose, through online ordering and/or downloading.

This album started a long time ago and it almost feels like the nature of its existence was that it was always and always would be in the process of coming out. "Everything You'll See" was the first song I recorded for it in the middle of the night in December 2003. Mary Lou Lord was doing some all night elliott smith radio tribute on WERS (i believe). I took a break from it and recorded that song.

There's a ton of nods to elliott on the album not only by way of musical gesture, but rather the underlying theme of the album: leaving and arriving.. the process of travel, which I think solidified itself out of the terrible loss I felt over his unexpected death coupled with the sweet anticipation of graduating from college, which in itself is an obvious bittersweet experience.

Those wounds would heal and new ones would come and still the record wasn't done. 6 months went by without touching these songs. I was in Los Angeles, it started raining, and I realized I should get back to work. Make that the point of what I was doing there because in all honesty I didn't like it there. It wasn't soley an issue of comfort or finance or insincerity, though they seemed like the only reasons at the time, but the truth is I would probably have felt lost wherever I would have been. Hadn't felt that aimlessness since 97 or so. Of course, I can't deny that there were good times.. brief moments where it felt like we were really working towards our higher goals. (Anyway, that was quite the tangential outpour which I will continue in an offical unwritten blog.)

Completing the album was the only way to achieve escape velocity from LA. Most of the instrumental tracking was done. A couple of final vocals. Mixes were all for the most part very rough, like halfway there. Two songs hadn't been tracked at all. Probably worked on it for two months at Underdog and got it done two days before I left CA for good. My dad and I drove Bill Bennett to the airport w/ a Uhaul attached to my car. Suspicions arose when two cops noticed that the trailer had no license plate. They pulled us over and were pretty much convinced that Bill was a terrorist...

Eventually Bill got on his plane and we started driving east on the freeway. What did it mean to be coming back and was it returning at all? We talked about god in texas. He said there's nothing while I fought for my soul and the power of self. We ate at Friendly's in Pennsylvania and said let's go a little further than we're comfortable going. made it back to Ave R a little haggard a little broken.. but at least autumn existed here and you could get a good slice of pizza anywhere.

The album was mastered by Doug Van Sloun in August 2005. I was following Juliana Hatfield on her tour following her self-released "Made In China". That tour was fierce, yet somehow we were all tragically self-aware that it might be the last one out. I received the final master in the mail and couldn't believe that the album was finally done and sounded as awesome as it did (does). I tried to get it out about three times over the course of the following year +, but it was never right. Had the money and no artwork. put up a website and took it down. spend-save-spend-save-spend-spend-travel-save-spend. Then I had artwork and no money. Then I changed the artwork and still had no money. You know how it ends.

There was a lot of talking and hoping going on about what this album could do. There have been a lot of supportive people while support is so hard to find. I'm blessed with some excellent friends who come out to shows even if they've heard these songs a hundred times or I barely see them otherwise.. friends who bring roomates and their friends... coworkers who never see this side of me.. friends who drive long ways... friends on the buses and trains.. friends who have played and sang in the band. friends who played shows with us. the squad. people who've just said, "where's the record?" or my parents saying "now what?"

It reads just like ending doesn't it? I've been living with this album for a couple of years and now it's time to set it free. It's weird to see it go, knowing the imminent struggle it faces to find its own place in the world.


some remembering the making of people on planes singing airport songs:

I remember eating vegetarian chili at Rustle House; everyone went to see Neil Young's "greendale" concert at UMass.. I was trying to nail the drums to happyendingman. 4 hours later john, anna, and aaron came home and asked if i got anything done. "nope."

I remember rush-packing up my "studio" while it was snowingafter the housing director pam came up and said that every other div III student had the same idea of working during spring break and no.. blankets and towels did not stop the guitar from bleeding through to the rest of the campus.

I remember kicking bill + lisa out of Underdog so i could record the final vocals for "faded blind + paper thin"... or rather politely suggested that they go see a movie. As soon as I set up the mic and got a good sound, Cockpit starts practicing next door.

I remember playing the same keyboard part for about 8 hours straight.

I remember cutting my finger open at AVE-R replacing a battery for my big muff while recording "sad song"

I remember the morning of October 21st, right before i found out we were all about to go out to breakfast at karen's kitchen.. checked my e-mail got one from dancat. couldn't believe it was true. went out to breakfast. didn't kick in until after.

I remember my dad's first listen: "sounds professional," he said. "now what do you do?"

7:06 PM - 2 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

RETREAT!!!!!

my iPod is dead. Lots of music wiped... gone. It started freezing up while playing music thru iTunes hooked up to my computer. I tried backing it up using iPodRip and that's when it died... couldn't read it or somesuch. but at least it still turned on and I could listen to it on its own... but i wanted to find the problem and solve it... and now it won't turn on.

and now i just restored it so hopefully it will work now. oh well.

on the other hand. I just bought First Rays of the New Rising Sun by Jimi Hendrix. Why and how does nobody talk about this? it's fantastic. the cover looks stupid and awful i guess that's why it's ignored. SERIOUSLY though, listening to it makes me want to work really hard to get better. it's got some funny parts too. this album came out 10 years ago.. but it's the best goddamn new release out there.

5:04 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

birthday reds

a few days before, the bashdown teetered on the brink of disaster, but everyone still involved cut the fat out and refused to give in to what is easy. Erik joined the Lemondudes and then Steve called to say that he and Noah would indeed be attending. I wasn't sure Turnbull was coming until he called from just outside New Haven the day of. Drove up to Zamboni house on friday to practice and play a rain-soaked bottom of your pantleg yet awesome show with Foguey in Fairfield... only to come back to brooklyn to be secretly duped into revealing my cake history to the ever sly Neave and calculating frances...

"i like alfredo" was a reference to an earlier conversation, but i used it in response to: so you don't like any cake at all? Then I mentioned that they should make alfredo flavored Doritos, which set the wheels in motion.

the next morning i awoke 28 and psyched that The Lemondudes had a bass player and that I would see The Billy Ripken Fuck Face Card later that night not to mention GK, dev dev bean, and my old butler, Andrew Tynan. ate some mom fried rice w/ bacon, garlic and eggs... went to the Toto for coffee, picked up a check. I got paid for thanksgiving! STYLE!!! erik had to help frances with an "art project". I seriously didn't suspect a thing.

The Turns and The Fogues met me at AVE-R and we drove to the LHT listening to The Execution of All Things, which is my favorite album EVER... STILL. Got scared for a second there because we disassembled the house kit w/o permission, brought our own stuff without letting him know (which was my mistake)....but it turned out to be fine.

The party itself was fantastic.

Good people. Half the people have already been mentioned, but we can't forget that my great co-workers came out as well including over-drunken LT newbie, Raul.. and in addition to that: the world traveler: matt, my old master: marvin k, and the truest buffy fan i know: L Scott B(aka ms. popular)

Good beer. I had 4 brownstones, though I dropped one. Good pizza. It tastes better when it's free which it was for me, but also worth paying for fer surely!

GREAT GREAT music.

Shawn warmed us up toasty w/ a witty remake that incriminated me with my emporium colleagues. No foguey, i do NOT get my toys for free.

I sat front row for Billy. I immediately remembered their first show. I came back to 102 staggering "Best... Band... EVER." How do we go on without them?

Dan Turnbull blew my mind with an impromptu 1/2 set of electric piano. for those few minutes, it was like he became a diarama that we were all standing in. The leaves were falling.

The Lemondudes made their comeback short and sweeett.... It was a dream come kickass true. Louder and tighter beyond hope and physics and the current real band itself, i bet.

Erik Neave just might have the best voice of anyone I know; second only to my cousin, R Kelly. He brought his 1/2 of CEDARWELL just briefly before the big surprise, but i'll get to that. He kicked ass on a song I don't know, then he kicked ass on two I do know. Then he kicked ass on one that I sort of know. Overall he kicks ass Beachead style.

Then Hilary and Frances lit up the candles and brought em towards the stage. what is this fucking thing? i thought. Dorito Alfredo CUPCAKES!?!?!?!?! don't ask em how, though I do hear they documented the process on FRAFRA's macbook. Turned out to be damn tasty, but I only got to have one. I probably could have eaten two more. Then it came to me like Kaiser Sauze... there was NO ART PROJECT!!!! I'd actually been surprised on my birthday. Which has never EVER happened before.

Then JP05 version CRAZY played a mega bashblow set which was one of our best ever if not our most fun. the highlights for me were the covers: Cedarwell's "WI Skies" w/ Erik singing, rare GK/JP duet on rilo kiley's "So Long" and blake babies' "Train", an off the cuff on the fly "Schizophrenia", the party closer 90s high school, "Say it ain't so". I also liked all the originals we played, except for maybe one.

afterparty at georgia's. opened the knob creek that steve and noah got me. heavy. good. tamalach. good mix playing. eventually the fellowship split and half of us set out for AVE-R. ate some chicken. Not really wanting the night to end, I never said goodnight when the time came to go to bed.

All in all, one of the best birthdays in a long long time. maybe since that first one way back.

8:21 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

gamboge

oh man...

CEDARWELL put up a few new songs from their new album entitled "Gamboge". go to their myspace (in my top "8") to check it out.. I'm wicked excited to get this record.

and come to the shows we're doing together in early November!!!

this northeast mini-mini will proceed "version" wise as follows:

nov 3 @ Stain, williamsburg, bklyn NY - 3.0
nov 4 @ Brooklyn Lyceum, Park Slope, NY - 1.1
nov 5 @ Las Vetas Lounge, Fairfield CT - 0.0 (maybe 3.0??? what do you say h+f?)
nov 6 @ TT the bear's Place, Cambridge MA - 1.1

I'm thinking about weekday nights at Jalisco's, Joel jumping over that subie, and the line, "always in motion is the future."

10:57 PM - 3 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

the way of it.

haven't posted in a while even though lots of good stuff has been going on lately. been getting into a groove of booking shows and playing them alternating between version 1.1 and 3.0 combining both at one show a few weeks ago.

i should explain the version system to anyone who has no idea.

0.0 = me solo
1.0 = trio CHD on bass, The Fogues on drums
1.1 = duo Shawn on drums
2.0 = duo Bill Bennett on drums
3.0 = trio Hilary and Frances Pharr singing

We're doing a few northeast shows with our great friends from Sheboygan WI, Cedarwell. They have a new album which I can't wait to hear. More than anything, I can't wait to see them play in person again.

Also booked is my birthday party down in Red Hook which looks to be fucking awesome, no pressure... Check out the special appearance roster: some Dan Turnbull/RAY's action, some Tsui action, the might action of The Shakes, maybe some Billy Ripken action??!!!!!!! steve promised he'd learn three more yo yo tricks and do those if anything....... I AM PSYCHED. everyone should go.

switching to saving mode. building an ark. who's coming with me?

10:05 PM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

ender vs. bean

bean wins in my opinion. more calculating, less deliberately freakish.

anyone out there read those orson scott card books? i only read the ones that focus on ender and bean.. ender's game and ender's shadow. they are excellent because they cover the same chronological science-fictional time, but they are told from different points of view and focus on different characters.. so you might have the same scene in either book, but completely different. and i guess there was a good amount of time between writing the books, so that must've been cool to revisit those scenes after so long and see it from a new perspective.

9:10 PM - 5 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

the only true currency....

A letter from Juliana, published in the current issue of The Weekly Dig

Evidently not punk rock

Its one thing to not like Soul Asylums music (CD Reviews, 7.12.06) and to consider them avatars of all that is irrelevant and even ridicule-worthy, but to wish Soul Asylums tour bus would "careen off a cliff or explode or something" because their new album isnt cool enough for youbecause they have the nerve to continue to existis incredibly harsh and insensitive, not to mention not funny, not clever and not punk rock, especially when you consider that one of Soul Asylums longtime members recently died of cancer. Im assuming, Debbie Driscoll, that you werent aware of this information, because if you were, that would make you not just a snotty brat but kind of a sick, mean, heartless bitch. Still, I cant help but wonder: Do you actually believe that a person should die for committing the crime of uncoolness?

JULIANA HATFIELD

ps: I can't find the new some girls' album anywhere in brooklyn. i've been listening to a shitload of les miserables.. it rules. right now i'm listening to "WI skies" by cedarwell. it also rules. happy birthday to jh on the the 27th.

10:39 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment