If a zombie bites you...

Amy Hendrickson and the Augustine Directive

2011-07-21T12:27:00.000-07:00

onward to St Augustine.

(a pit stop in my old hometown)

where i discovered this mintuization feature on my camera that I would never turn off again. get used to it. Because I use it almost exclusively as the trip goes on.

In St Augustine, there are 2 kinds of people:

Tourists

and Professionals. Its a very simple 2 point economy/income structure.

This is a professional pirate/tour guide.

And his business partner.

For super serious.

St augustine is a magical place

My friend amy hendrickson is a professional musician, I love playing with her when I come into town. She is a true peer, we have so much in common and so much mutual respect for the other's music... and we can share it while getting paid and drinking great beer.

i love going to st augustine.
more of this guy to come.

great dancer.

you know how people's dogs ultimately look like their owner... Amy's dog is a freaky illustration of this phenomenon.

yeay pictures of sweet puppies!

hazah the misfits of st augustine!

but onward i must go.

onward to Orlando to see the Stevers

if you liked cute pictures of puppies and amazing small humans, get ready for

JADEXTRAVAGANZA!

but for now... this.

Michael Williamson: a photo shoot to vanity

2011-07-20T23:41:00.000-07:00

Although at this time and date the epic journey of consciousness and learning has physically/geographically ended, the spiritual growth is just beginning.

And while I am already in my new home, near the San Francisco Bay with my new and old family, (which we'll get to later... a couple months of blogging later) because I am RESOLVED to finish what I set out to do, even if it takes me months.

Better late than never is a phrase I have to keep close at heart, because my projects, while ambitious and driven, get out of hand. But these 2 projects are super important, so they much be done.

1. Completely blog and document the 2 months I spent on the road By myself. Passing through so many cities, so many places, desolate deserts and metropolis(i). Visiting so many people that mean so much to me in so many ways. Many of which I hadn't seen in 1,3,7, even 16 years.

Revisiting people from your past, however small their role may have been, is vital to learning about who you were and ultimately who you are! But you knew that...

2. To finish writing all the letters to my kickstarter supporters. I have not even made a dent in either of these tasks, both much be done. I haven't been too hard on myself about getting the letters out because I didn't want to be rushed, I wanted them to be thoughtful, thorough, meaningful and individual, as well as aesthetically pleasing. So this will take some time. but they WILL get done.

But enough about that! What are these pictures and who is this handsome devil!?

This is Michael Williamson!

One of my most special people bestest friendest. Top Tier, cream of cream friends.

Currently he lives in this swampy part of south-central florida you'd never even think about unless you were retiring, hunting the last florida panther, or studying encephalitis.

If I had to chose a small handful of people to build a utopia with, or die on a desert island on with, or hike Mt Everest, or stay up all night telling stories with... Michael Williamson.

In our search for ice cream we came to a baseball park and caught the end of a thrilling little league game...

"GO ANDREW!! THROW THAT BALL! "

"OH... OKAY! IT'S ALRIGHT! YOU DID YOUR BEST... WE STILL LOVE YOU!... WALK IT OUT!!"

wow modern sports moms.

He has the BEST stories, via this strange energy/magnetism & proclivity to attract the strangest most random shit! Sometimes horrific, sometimes whimsical/mystical but always incredible and nearly unbelievable. And he's a great story teller.

He's also just one of those people, the most amazing kind hearted, straightforward, HILARIOUS, who's been through some ridiculous SHIT and is STILL smiling & laughing about the worst of it and carrying on to the next insane thing with high hopes, positivity, bright eyes and bushy tail.

I've known Michael since we were in 9th grade in health class. I have been to every one of his birthday parties since, even though his parents pulled him out of our high school the very next year and put him in Military school.

So my friendship with Michael has ALWAYS been catching up. but in this way, we have always known each other over time, like climate instead of weather. So we know this weird unchanging parts of our personality over day to day experience. its kind of weird, but that's my friend Michael. And I always make sure I see him if I'm within 100 miles of him.
These parts of ourselves, the 'climate' of who we are, that magical good intangible stuffs that make you who you are, that's the stuff that attracts/binds/& seals you to your most special friends, i'll use the term soul mates for illustration, but I wouldn't want you to think i'm getting all airy on a blog, especially one with black & white pictures. sheesh.

alls I knows is that there is a handful of people on this planet that just... way important to Renee. And whenever I see them, whether it be 10 minutes or 10 years, we just pick up where we left off and connect same as we ever did.

then we had a wonderful photoshoot to which I am now treating you. Mike likes having his picture taken almost as much as he likes taking pictures... he's not vain or anything.. its art god damnit. its all art. another reason why he & I have always gotten along, great taste in music, always making art. go micheal williamson... you are truly one of the coolest people i know, in no particular order, one of the top 5.

Other ultimate cool people of my life that you will see in the coming months include:

Kevin Stever & the Stevers (a family & family band)

Tina & the Bassetts!

Various Pensacolites and the Gulf herself

Various parts of my family Arozquetas (father) and (mother) Van Vleets, Akinas, Bullocks

Amanda & Josh Centauri, my new family...

Liv Free & Family

and of course, my very favorite mr. Chad Smishop.

From this southern most part of the tour (Sarasota Florida) i would venture back northward to St. Augustine to rendevouz with a lovable group of misfits.

For now I leave you with this golden nugget of MW.

Back track - ketchup - South Florida

2011-07-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings and hello all and anyone who might still be following, I have concluded the tour, I am now in Missoula Montana visiting my dearest Chad Bishop before the next exciting chapter.

I'll be here for a couple weeks, so that should be enough time to bring you (and me) up to speed on everything I've seen and everywhere I've been! If you are still waiting for your care packages and letters from the kickstarter fundraiser, not to worry! They are on the top of my list of things to catch up on before I move forward with my life. This is a very tender stage, when was the last time you cleaned out your inbox? your outbox? your memory? the back of your van? or the back of your head?

Last time we left off I was in Macon Georgia, from there me and the Memphibians drove south to their home in Jacksonville. We slept a bunch, did some laundry and then parted ways for a weekend. I went further south to Tampa to play Thursday songwriters night at Tre Amici.

Here are some candid glimpses of my friends there. Rocco is the handsome one with the grey beard.. I hope he doesn't mind these sneak attack shots I took and put on the internet.

And the lady with the strawberries in her champagne is Kirsten Campbell. A lovely ukulele musician who headlined the show. We made plans to share a tour in January, but that may not be happening due to new changes and circumstances, mainly... because I'm a mere 2,622 miles from Tampa at the current moment, yep only 43 hours of straight driving. So give her a little listen if you have a moment. Musicians that make a connection are few and far between, she happens to be one of them.

mmmm, cuban food in gulfport.

So I spend a couple days in Gulfport/Tampa with my friends, but onward I must go, still on very important friend to see, one of my very favorites... MICHAEL WILLIAMSON!!

Ketchup to Macon

2011-05-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

all the kids in macon (view from the stage)

"I've always wanted to see Macon Georgia." - Nelson Muntz, the simpsons.

okay! I'm playing catch-up! My life feel apart! before I even got to Florida! but I'm back okay, i'm back and I'm ready to show you all the things I've seen and places I've been to bring you and I up to date on the current amazing things happening on tour. Here's Macon Georgia for example.

Now, there's not much in Macon. There is a walmart and I slept there, only a little scared.

There is a book store there where some amazing people have been making some art happen.

Its called Golden Bough Books.

they have an amazing array of things to read, both classic and modern. From Shakespeare to Zines and manga.

And in this place Clark Bush (pictured blurrily above) has been booking and bringing bands to Macon for 3 years. I talked to some ladies, all artists of one sort or another, a writer, an actress, a singer. They said that having a place like this, all ages, comfortable, friendly, welcoming that promotes and showcases art... it inspires people... to make more art! Whatever their craft might be.

Here's electric Gazebo!! (Under the Gazebo)

So I just want to give a big thank you to Clark and Macon Noise Records. Thanks for bringing art to your community! you are enhancing the world... seriously, with little to no cheesiness in this kudos. you are making the world a better place. yeay!

(this is the picture i will show people and say, "look how skinny i was then!!") ps... props to fanny packs

Here's a short clip of Under the Gazebo/Electric Gazebo

Can't wait to come back to Macon

Wal-mart Parking Lots and Stone Mountain

2011-05-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Update from Grumbledor:

We have traveled south much further south. Into Georgia and Florida, here's a little catch up. I will promise to you now, (to no one in particular) to be better about documenting, there is so much to show you.

I had an amazing meal inside Grumbledor in the middle of a walmart parking lot. All the windows sealed up with sun visors but cracked to let the air in. Supplemented with a battery operated fan, the temperature stays bearable, almost refreshing in front of the fan.

Fresh cold Veggies.

Ice cold lemons for water, we live in style.

You'll notice, as I have just noticed, the van is still fairly 'tidy' in these shots. Everyday it falls all to hell, literally... every hard left or hard stop, things fall everywhere!

I have invested in more velcro and tape and bungees. And slowly, as everything finds a place, it will all fall into place, and not fall onto the floor.

I think I'll still have to clean the van everyday.

the view from my oasis in the middle of the hot metal sea.

Rachel and Walter! (Nashville)

the captain sits at the helm

(is there a feminine equivalent for captain? captress? no that sounds terrible, I'll get back to you on that).

North Georgia
my long lost friend, 16 years long, Amber, she goes by Alyse now.

the Memphibians

I had some alone time at stone mountain.

it is amazing what we can accomplish when we work together.

and then i found it
a place i had been as a little one.

a special place i have never forgotten.

crushed for ever

i will walk through the tiniest forest.

Solo Tour Continues!: Friends & Visitors

2011-05-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

i've got light in my eyes... and greys in my hair

a quick look at the House Pride show in Murfreesboro, the set went well, this was their reaction. taken right after the set. Everything gelled during this set, I'm ready for the higher pressure shows.

In the morning I had a visitor at my door

Her name is Poptart

and she takes care of the little one.

After some breakfast I headed out to a shady parking lot

by the YMCA!!! yeay! I feel healthy, this will keep me going! yeay!

And on a side note from my last coffee post... free coffee is good coffee. I love all forms of bean water, I appreciate them all, and if you enjoy this Royal Cup provided by your local community center, think how wonderful Kaffeeklatsch tastes to your appreciating palette.

A caffeinated monkey is a happy monkey

Solo Tour Begins: Huntsville to Murfreesboro

2011-05-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hello there, my name is Renee, this is my van Grumbledor

these are my two lovely dogs, but they're not coming...

and this... is the open road.

Grumby says, "honk!"

The first night I spent in Grumbledor was in Huntsville Alabama at my friend Rita's house. We had a small house show, it was nice, still getting my jitters out for shows.

It was very cold that night you wouldn't believe how cold it gets at night while you are all warm and toasty in your inside bed. Thankfully I had Chad's sleeping bag with me, the trusty down sleeping bag that has served us through many a cold night on tour. When I climbed inside it, I felt immediately comforted.

you can imagine my excitement when I came into Rita's house in the morning to find the toilet paper is consciously located directly over a heating vent: "Heated Toilet Paper!? This is the life." (Patent Pending)

this is the kind of person Rita is, she has made you coffee, it is waiting for you.

there is also bagels and lox

Rita rides her bike to work at KaffeeKlatsch, roasters of fine coffee since 1977.

Click here to learn more/buy the most amazing coffee you've probably ever had:

Kaffeeklatsch

I'm drinking Brazil as I write this

The room is as warm as it looks.

While I was there a couple people wandered in looking for Frappuccinos, and while Kaffeeklasch used to be a full service coffee shop 10 years ago, they have now focused their attention more toward roasting. They are primarily a retail store, but you can still get a hot cup of whatever they've brewed fresh for just $1.50!?

And it is fresh, they brew it ever couple of minutes, something different so they can all enjoy Honduran, El Salvador, Brazil... one after another, and don't forget the tea either.

I wondered if they're were places like this, real coffee places now that the SBUX is a prominent fixture in our world. But the Bux is just an tippy toe into the world of gourmet coffee, if anything, starbucks has given the public a taste of what coffee can be. Its only a matter of time until that over-roasted, over-sweetened stuff just isn't what you want. (I worked there, I know). Where is the good coffee?

It can be so good. soo good.

It can be sustainable, fair-trade, and organic. The business of coffee can be beautiful transaction, mutually beneficial and just generally making the world a better place... or a corporate hunk of crap that takes advantage of coffee growers, and then turns around a sells it for up to and including $6 a drink!? (If a company advertises purchasing 10% fair trade as an ethical warm fuzzy... that still 90% of their business that ISN'T FAIR.

just saying is all

But then again, I have frequented the Bux many a time, and I'm sure I'll be back again for my double tall vanilla soy latte...

But if I had Kaffeeklatsch in my town... I wouldn't even bother with the Bux.

good god its good.
Alright! off my soap box and onto my bike, all around Huntsville

making friends
you just want to use me for my bread, at least this is an honest relationship:

back to the neighborhood where Rita lives

The rest of my time in Huntsville I spent alone, gloriously alone.

I sunbathed in Rita's backyard.

I started a book and stretched in the sun

I took a shower.

I met a friend for lunch at cracker barrel

And then had a nap in Grumbledor before heading to Murfreesboro via route 231

Scenic as opposed to I-65:

A sign pointed me down this road,

to Brown's Farm where you can pick your own strawberries!

With my sweet, sun-warmed harvest I continued on, trying to take pictures along the way of old barns, my mom and I love old barns.

see you in Murfreesboro.

designing and re-designing

2011-03-24T21:10:00.001-07:00

its only a month away, a month and a couple days.

feels like tomorrow, so much to do.

i have decided to quit my job asap. I would like 3 weeks to run around screaming,

but I suppose 2 will be enough....

how much money is enough money?

its never enough

whatever I have will be enough

I have been designing and re-designing and RE-RE-designing the designs I had already designed some years ago for the discs to be re-pressed.

here are some sneak peeks.

i need to quit my job tomorrow

i needed to quit my job today

i needed to put in my 2 weeks yesterday

... i especially like what happened with the dinosaurs

i think

2011-03-21T21:08:00.001-07:00

i think i need a manual typewriter...

that is all.

today's practice

2011-02-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

Janky Jigsaw

2011-02-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

i think more than anything, this video says... if i can do you... so can most people.

accomplish your dreams!

a message brought to you by WEP

women empowered by power-tools.

yeay!!

Kickstarter: Musicians Obsessed with Maps!

Kickstarter... how's it going!?

2011-02-10T19:18:00.001-08:00

Musician Obsessed with Maps

2011-02-08T18:59:00.000-08:00

I have just launch my kickstarter campaign entitled... "Musicians Obsessed with Maps"!

see, I'm going on this epic journey, but without art to sell, I cannot hope to fuel my way across America... discovering solitude, loneliness, poetry, and personal growth... .and I do so want to find America.

Please check out the site above!.. click iiiiitt.

The campaign will run for 35 days, ending on my birthday, March 16th.

I dont think I have to tell you what I want for my birthday.... $2500!!!

But this isn't your typical NPR asking for donations fundraiser, oh no! That's not how kickstarter works...

you pledge an amount and in return you receive a reward... in this case, you'd be preordering the art to be printed. its exciting.

k... i have to have a drink to celebrate cuz I'm all butterfly in my tummy.

Pink Floors are for Winners!: Day 4

2011-02-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Flooring day! oh Flooring day, how I have waiting for you to come.

Despite the cold and the wind, we journeyed a very beaten path to Home Depot for supplies.

Here I am being a girl in home depot with a plan... callin the shots!

You there! Cut this foamular to my specifications!

Thanks Tyler.

I look so awesome in my sweat pants. I'm surprised chad lets me go out in public with them.

Back at the factory (the dream factory)... back in the back yard where grumbledor sits I began puzzle piecing the floor together. Remember the Tangigram game where you fit the triangles into the large rectangle? same thing. just bigger.

CONSTRUCTION NOTE: pink foamular is great stuff! use an exact-o knife to cut it, nothing else will do. But the exact-o knife will cut cut smoothly and accurately , you'll think you're working with pink butter!

Once I cut the basic shapes I trimmed, a little awkwardly at first, to fit the ribs of the van and along the wheel well.

CONSTRUCTION NOTE: Use newspaper to make your patterns! Its easier than you think to make custom cuts to fit curves and holes.

Awkward shapes can be further sanded or trimmed with the knife to fit perfectly. I managed to fit all the pieces flushed to each other except this one on the side, I figure I'll just fill the holes with some goopy goo later. I'm pretty proud overall.

Think of all the skills I learned today! I'll need them for next time when I do the same shape game with plywood. Break out the jigsaw!

Rustoleum Fumes are GROOD! - Day Three

2011-01-31T16:07:00.001-08:00

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for a day that is just 50 degrees to work on Grumbledor, he came to me with lots of rust and all the chemicals to treat him require non winter weather.

So you can imagine my glee when I woke on Sunday to nearly 65 sunshine and a whole day off work! Grumble door was happy too.

After I finished bleaching the mold off every surface inside the beast, I put down some truck bed liner on the floor of the cab and the door jams. It looks real nice now. This will seal all leaks in the floor, give a small amount of insulation to temp and road noise and it looks swell. I took precaution to tape over the things I didn't want sealed... like the wiring and the bolts to the engine which shares the cab with me.

I also Armoralled the vinyl on the dash, so its as shiny as a sport's car dash. "Putting lipstick on a pig" comes to mind.

With the truck bed liner down in the cab, I'll probably put the original mats back in, hell, I might spray them with the stuff as well, I really like the finish on them. It looks so... rugged.

Then I moved to the back with another can of chemicals. I had previously treated the rust with a clear coat that is supposed to "stop" rust, but I ran out of spray before I could treat the entire back. Once I got back there, I realized just how much exposed metal needed to be covered.

So I got this white stuff and finished about 90%, it looks 90% better too. I'll need to get one more can to finish the back and bumper, although I quite like how shitty it looks from the back.

The fumes were lovely, today I have a great sinus infection from a cold that's been coming at me like a storm from the west, I'm sure the fumes from yesterday didn't help, but it was a grand day.

Here's a before:

I very much like making trips to the various hardware stores down the road, getting ideas, getting input.... everyone has another idea and something to say about how the restoration should be done. Some are really good, and some are ideas I have already ruled out. But all are good input to process. I take them all, look at them while I lay in bed scheming, and by morning I've come up with a plan for the next step:

The next step: Flooring / Registration legal stuff / Insulation... Insulation Adventore!

pasta nachos?!

2011-01-17T20:50:00.000-08:00

does this look gross?

pasta nachos... its been done, its called mac n' cheez

my jaw hurts... dont know why. i freaked out and called the dentist, the lady who answered the phone said it was because i sleep on my side with my hands under my pillow.

i really can't close or open my mouth

it's crazy and its never happened before.

so i'm eating smushy leftover pasta with cheeze on top...

i'm kinda really into it now
i'm also watching house and sewing!

yum!!

the easy part of being a musician

2011-01-13T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here are 5 random pictures from previous tours.

I am in the throws of tour booking/planning/organizing/promo.

and all i can say is: SIGH!

and lemme tell you folks, writing the songs and going on the tour is the easiest part of being a musician. All this other shit is... hard!

Well its not that hard per se, you just have to do it. You dont even necessarily have to know how to do it, you just have to start doing it. And then its done, and then you can drive around all happy and enjoy your grande trip... take pictures, camp out, eat canned beans, go to art museums, be a bum, sleep on floors, spend all your money on gas and car repairs, pedal your wares all around the country!

Explore!

Adventure!

Soul Search!

Sample Coffee and Beer from all Over the country!!

And play/hear/see music and art every night of the week!

Oh! that is the life for me!!!

but... if it was really that simple... everyone that could form a G chord with their bity fingers would do it.

Before all that fun stuff you have to do some stuff. I have had this conversation countless times... I tell people what i do and they say... "gosh... how do you do it?"

and in conjunction, "how do I do it" I'm pleased to tell them, I think everyone should do it... but if the following is too much to even read... you might consider a different route.

a crash course to being a musician... lets get the phrasing right so i get all the google hits:

"HOW TO GO ON TOUR"

"HOW TO BOOK A TOUR"

"HOW TO BE A MUSICIAN"

"DIY BOOKING, TOURING"

"GET OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKE ART"

1. write songs, record an album, practice and for the love of god, DON'T SUCK AT MUSIC.

... that's just step one folks... lets see how many steps I can ramble about ..

2. plan a route... use google maps, its the best technology has to offer

3. book the tour

... this is about as simple as Tiger Woods saying, "now, just hit the ball 300 yards"

Like i said... its not... hard... it just take persistence and time... and patience. All kinds of shit that dont come cheap.

a)Find the Venues, this is another easier said than done... but we'll leave it at that. Come on people, we ALL have access to the internet. It can tell you EVERYTHING, if you just know how to ask it. COME ON!

b) Email the venue and just ask to play, SIMPLE as that: include the date you want and links to everything you have previously set up: Facebook, Bandcamp, SonicBids, Myspace, YouTube, RevernNation, Cd Baby, Last FM, Blogspot... whatever you've got that can show them what you do and that it doesn't suck. I can't stress the not sucking enough. I have profiles on all these stupid sites, Thats a lot of passwords and usernames to keep up with, but this is our world. I invested about 1000 hours of time into Myspace and then it just imploded in on itself and fell to the wayside. So, what will i have to do when Facebook dies? Is this what the Mayas where talking about?

c) Wait 2 weeks before checking back with another email if you dont hear a reply... you will get a reply for about 1 out of every 10 emails you send out, so be sure you contact MORE than your first choice of venues. Unless you are Matt & Kim, then you can play where ever you damn well feel like... but you probably aren't so... AND EVEN IF YOU WERE... they probably dont have to do this themselves anymore... god that would be amazing... you could just skip to the fun part and concentrate on the music and the beer.

d) After you hear a reply, make sure they use the word CONFIRM. Then gather instructions: Where to send posters, how many, get the local papers name, the local radio station, when is load in time, and most importantly... (and i'm so freakin bad at this)... what kind of compensation do they offer... ARE YOU GETTING PAID... maybe a door, maybe %, maybe just a sandwich, but for god sake, no one is going to give you ANYTHING unless you ask for it.

and that's it! you're booked!

e) repeat these steps for each and every city on your route... voila! but wait... there's more!

4) Promote your tour... no one is going to come to the shows if they dont know about it.

oh wow, this is brand new to me. And completely unfamiliar. With a budget of $zero this can be very... costly... with time. You could easily pay someone to do a radio campaign and get your music all over the waves. You could easily hire a publicist. You could just as easily pay a BOOKING AGENT and skip step 3 all together! But you are probably just some poor kid with a guitar and a dream like me so... onward you must read.

5) Have LOTS OF SHIT TO SELL!! Cds! Zines! Tote Bags! stickers, keychains, t-shirts, snowglobes, posters, wallets, postcards, fanny packs, poems, back massages, kidneys, kisses, grill cheeses... what ever it is that you do, that you can make, that people will want... mass produce it and package it and put it on the merch table.

once you have completed these 5 easy steps, nothing left to do but pick out your most coolest outfits, pack it up, gas it up and go...

6) go on tour... you can figure everything else out along the way, the hard part is over. Enjoy your accomplishment, dont get too wasted on the free PBR at the venues so that you start sucking.

If you can do all that, you have accomplished a huge thing for yourself. I LOVE what I do... I love it. I think about it all day at my other job, I plan while I'm driving, showering, watching TV, running the treadmill, writing blogs... I am obsessed.

Being obsessed the best way to get through a thing like this.... it may take over your life. Your WHOLE life. It is a full time job on top of any other full time job you might currently be working to save up for the fucking gas you need to drive 10,000 miles. You may find yourself neglecting: loved ones, pets, diets, friends, writing music, any other hobbies and WHOLE series of television shows you love so dearly!

Being obsessed may be the only way to do these things.

Upon reflection... if you are in fact this obsessed, you didn't need to read this stupid blog at all, because you were going to do it anyways. You had no choice.

Maybe all you found in this random internet blog was that there is someone you can relate to.

I can't think of any other reason why anyone would still be reading.

But i feel pretty good now. i got all that off my chest. I've got a glass of my favorite chocolate stuff with a straw, and I'm going to take a little break from all this work. I'll get right back to it tomorrow, but for now I'm going to relax in my very warm bed and watch one of my favorite tv series.

love

Renee

out of tune guitar

2011-01-12T11:20:00.001-08:00

new things added to my one-woman band everyday

Day two: operation deep dirt

2011-01-04T18:14:00.001-08:00

today was incredibly warm. when i got home from work i put on the blue jeans that are in need of a good layer of grit and headed out to Grumbledor.

Today was scrubbing mold with bleach water day.

All the ceiling and walls.

Why does it feel so good to clean something that is so dirty?

tomorrow, (weather pending) the cleaning continues. next i shall start to sand down rust and apply Anti-Rust Spray. ARS!

In the morning, against the blue sky

2011-01-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

in the morning against the blue wall of my bedroom... with papers scattered all around me... i drink coffee and put in my hour of being grown up. its a good thing bills take about 4 seconds to pay in this day and age.

my van sits outside... waiting... waiting patiently just like it did for 10 years.

How's your new years diet going?

not super good. on the first we had chinese and vowed never again to eat anything not green and crunchy. yesterday i skipped the gym to have a burrito and a beer with chad. then went for more drinkies with andrea.

so not great.

if anyone's going to get anything done this year... (namely me). I'm probably going to have to stop spending money on alcohol... and stop consuming it. sigh... but its my favorite vice... (whiney voice)

now to dispute a charge to my credit card from freecreditscore.com... yes folks... its totally a scam. if you really want your credit score, just go to your bank. if you dont have a bank... dont bother with your credit score.

love... renee

Operation Deep Dirt - Day one

2011-01-01T20:09:00.002-08:00

Meet Grumbledor...

The White Wizard Van of Infinite Mileage and Compassion:

here he is being coy behind a tree in my backyard... his new home.

I bought him from the local food co-op. He was their produce van. I wont bore you with the details of his purchase, but i feel pretty awesome about it.

He hauled organic produce around for the last decade. And the money went a co-op that I am a member of, i feel really good about that. But i feel best about finally having a van to start work on... so without further adooooooooooooooooo ... adeu?

As you can see, he is a blank slate for my new traveling home.

here is where i shall sit for 10000 miles at a time:

And here... is the first step:

opportunity
artistic shot
side door
oh boy... there's a lot of work in here...

Day one!! Operation deep dirt!

First of all, he does have some rusties... and dirties... lots of dirties. So the first step is to clean him inside and out. Bleach his wall that have spots (beginnings of mold?), get all the dirt out of the corners and... then i found this.

Gross yucky moldy scummy soaking wet insulating under the floor mats!

It had to go

mom lending a hand...

eeeeeewwwww!!

more rust... nothing a little.. a lot of purple duct tape and rustoleum and more insulation can't handle.
getting to work
i am working and working and working so hard
chad takes over documentation
rags and bleach and tooth brushes and brooms and gloves.. i had so much fun on an unusually warm day after christmas.

thanks chad.

2011-01-01T20:09:00.001-08:00

a sea of van

2010-12-22T08:45:00.001-08:00

looking for a van to buy isn't a carmax type of affair.

its more like a craigslist/side of the road kind of thing... and more searching for buried lost treasure than car hunting

you start to get obsessed... or i do anyways,

searching walmart parking lots

taking stray turns in south knoxville for some piece of shit on wheels...

your piece of shit on wheels.

i think i found the right now.

its beautiful.

(its none of these)

oh! and i made this!

2010-12-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

OCTOPUS HOODIE FOR MY SECRET SANTA!!

IF YOU WANT ONE! I CAN MAKE YOU ONE FOR REALZ!

wasting my time wasting my life

2010-12-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

i am a cyclical and incredibly ritualistic person: i get into these phases and carry them out to a tee.

Right now I drink flavored vodka on ice with a straw in a very specific glass and spend quality time with my computer.

we watch x-files, and research. lately we (my computer and me you understand) have been obsessed... with a capital O:
OBSESSED with vans. hitting up craig's list like a facebook feed, like twitter for christ sake. checking, rechecking, finding mpg, dimensions, reviews, price comparisons, engine specs, wheel base measurments of chevy vans. Astros, G-series, cargo, passenger, conversion, hi-top, express...

i've learned quite a bit, and my obsession goes one way or the other every day.

at first it seemed a hi-top american conversion van was the right choice. Plenty of room, bed already built in... big ol' cushy van to drive around in. (Most of these Chevy G-20s). Then i saw some bad vans... some really bad ones, and a really good one that was sold out from under me... thank goodness, because those suckers get like 12-15 mpg... which would cost me thousands upon thousands of dollars on a 9000 mile trip through the west where the gas could be a millions dollars a gallon.

About a week ago i was completely DEAD set on a vw vanagon, a westfalia after finding this blog: Falia Photography

this girl is incredible. not only is she ballsy, super independent, super organized and living a dream that i can seriously get down with... she's smart. and thorough. she explains everything you ever wanted to know about ... everything she has done traveling in her westfalia from sun showers, traveling, organizing to concealed firearm accessories for petit ladies... this i was especially impressed and tickled by. check out her youtube.

i have found many communities and blogs on vandwelling, but this one is pretty awesome.

most people in the van dwelling community have pretty big vehicles, VW owners are a special elite breed. They get great gas mileage... but its more than that... VW van owners are more than just automobile owners, VW are like babies... that you can live inside. You have to be committed to them. Finding their parts, working on them, re-doing their engines/transmissions/interiors/modifications... vw owners become vw mechanics. Its like a hobby... that encompasses your life... its a lifestyle. And I was sucked into it for a few weeks. Its an expensive thing to get into, you have to be 100% about it...

Seeing as how I need a dependable vehicle to get me to a different city everyday, I went the other way. I just don't thing i have the knuckles for a vw.

Chevy astros were my next obsession.
Then i found the dimensions, very small. but i could make it work!
Then i went to a professional conversion man about making it work inside an astro... for a mere $3500... (just twice as much as a chevy astro would cost me and 1/2 as much as a premium vw van or dodge sprinter...)

THEN I DECIDED I CAN DO IT MY FUCKING SELF.
this was my most important realization on this obsessive track i am following.
for you see, i have to see how far i've come, and be proud... and keep going.
i said the same thing to my brother just a minute ago... he is having some trouble with his new chef job in oakland, adjusting to a new level of sauces and equipment... so much different than in a 5 star in florida... this is... big boys club... But he has come so far... 3000 miles to say the least. And now he's on his way to something bigger, much much bigger than any amount of stars that Orlando Florida can hold. And I'm so super proud of him. So i am inspired not just to blog (as he does...: Mex in the City)

but to look behind at the path i came down... whoa! i started way over there... cause i'm going way WAY over there...

up to date:

so now: I am now obsessed with Chevy G-10... the smallest of the chevy cargo G-series vans... 1/2 ton. 20mpg (supposedly) just a bit longer than an astro, same motor. and one is for sale down the street. beat up, with severely low miles, owned by the local food co-op that i am a member of... who better to give a couple thousand dollars to?

i just hope it doesn't sell before i get the money in january... cause i'm going to build the shit out of that thing.

the research continues... hundreds of scketchs, ideas, lists, websites, google searches... and a couple late night drives to see the van... and ask it to go out with me.

cheers

all of this stuff

2010-12-02T19:52:00.001-08:00

is currently for sale at my Etsy Store... only one space wallet though... stars... stars... stars

i am working so hard on shit!!!

2010-12-02T18:03:00.000-08:00

the christmas thing approaches,

people spend in furries

i am frantically putting together a fundraiser for the next year. jesus christ.

only 600 more emails to go thnx

more later

5 ZINES!!

2010-11-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today my friends, I am the proud author of 5 zines!!

It all started when chad and I drove around the country and lost our minds somewhere in Mississippi... and I wrote the first one, Minnows and Rice... this is what we looked like then:

Then when I started hosting full time at Mellow Mushroom I had some time to kill and I wrote these:

"My Issues.... Episode 1: Minimum Wage Jobs"

"My Unhealthy Relationships with Food"

Episode 1: Brownie and Milk...

Episode 2: Chips and Diane

These are of course just shitty pictures from my macbook to tell you how proud and excited I am to have them printed up and ready for distribution! Now! If i could only find somewhere to distribute them too!!

I am putting them up on Etsy in the coming days.

Renee's Etsy

Wallets to come!!

wolf

2010-11-08T13:37:00.000-08:00

Melloween

2010-11-05T10:03:00.001-07:00

yes.... its my favorite holiday, making thanksgiving and christmas very anticlimactic...

My employer mellow mushroom requires all front of house employees to dress up for Melloween and create a fun atmosphere for our guests. we end up having the most fun and I think most customers were frankly just scared... especially of my costume...

so, here's my friends:

John... as ghost

Caroline as "Heidi" from Tool Time

Josh and Gil as "Gil and Josh"

Kyle as ... Kyle

Gentry as Gentry... he always dresses like this

Liz as scary sexy Liz.. or a witch...

This guy kept coming behind the counter and trying to touch the ladies

What a creeper

He smelled of rolling tobacco and "Big League" Bubble gum

Virginia as "Snooki"

Nicki as Darla from the little rascals

Kevin as "Kevin"

The winner of the costume contest...

Tony as "Pizza"

Amanda as manager

Karmin as "Alfalfa"

Creeper as "Buck"

"Come here little darlin"...

(notice the finger waggle)

2nd place costume contest winner... PBR as "Sex Machine"

Splawn as... some one... I think a female rapper... I dont know who,

ooooo! spooky!

Well drinks

Chad as "Teen Wolf"

Happy Halloween everyone!

Gimmi a little kiss darlin...

... hawt

tonight the light is on

2010-10-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

here are some things i made one time,

one time... one time long ago i used to be this person, that made things.

i used to make all kinds of things, they'd just come out like poop falls out yer butt... but i learned that as you get older, things dont just happen anymore. sorry to be gross, but come on people. you are aging, right now.

in any case, i used to sewing up storms of wallets and bags, full of tentacles and dinosaurs and bubbles and zombies.

i used to write so many songs and just sing um out like sneezing

i used to be happy

i used to be fat

i used to dream about traveling

i used to dream about falling in love

i used to be younger than most people around me

i used to be too young to do anything

somethings haven't changed, some things have been completely abolished.

and some things are just different.

tonight there is a significant change. a lot of things that change in life happen so slowly that you never notice until your ass is hanging past your knees.

but tonight, the light is on.

this means of course, that i am up, in my bed doing creative things, (typing, blogging, talking, writing) by myself. The difference is that my partner isn't here. He's asleep in his beautiful new apartment. we house warmed with cider tonight. and then i went home to my lonely bed, my huge lonely bed. have you ever slept in a king size all by yourself? it is an amazing experience that never gets old. of course there is something to be said about sleeping in a king size with the person you love. its entirely awesome in different ways. like how amazing chocolate is to caramel or vanilla. or ice cream to waterslides. or the first day of school to the last. exciting in different ways. so this is good. this is neat. this is different and strange and...

we'll see what comes out of it.

THIS WEEK:

1. Tommy's Birthday on Wednesday

2. Blonde Rednead in Nashville!! (also on wednesday)

3. my first Dentist appt in years, 2:15 Monday

4. Cutting out wallets

5. Distributing zines

6. YMCA

7. Practicing in a new space

8. Designing new business cards and

9. talk of a website?!

**10. Booking the Memphibians at the Pilot Light**

** if i could only get one thing done this week, i would wish you have this done**

EPIC PLANNING!

2010-10-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

hey, I was thinking of going to wordpress... how do you guys feel about this? anything?

but that is besides the point... this map is for illustrating my EPIC PLANNING!!

I shall begin an epic journey next may for 3/3 reasons:

1. Self Discovery/Independence

2. Documentation/Collection

3. Adventure/Music

This tour will circumnavigate the entire country, hopefully accumulating the entire west into my collection... what collection you say? If you do not know I have a 48 state goal, to play a show in every state... but the collecting goes much farther than this yes, much farther indeed.

On this trip I will begin tangible collection, of each city... a soil sample if you will, contained in a small glass vial. BWA HA HA HA HA!

Here is a breakdown of my first draft:

PART I!!

From Knoxville to Carls Bad Caverns... the main obstacle... Texas. so I am currently researching cities. Places to play, bands to play with and venues for my wallets and zines.

Part I begins with Pensacola, my old home, and the surrounding cities.

Part I ends with several state parks including the grand canyon, white sands nation monument, the petrified forest, joshua tree national and finally a visit to my father's hometown of Mexicali.

THIS ENDS PART I!!

PART II!!!

Part 2 takes me up the coast to where the majority of my family lives around the Bay area, from here I hope to steal my oldest friend Amanda from Fremont and take her north... NORTH I SAY! Up to Eureka, up to the Redwoods UP UP UP all the way to Vancouver.

This concludes part 2:

PART III!!!

Part 3 consists of winding and wandering through the northwest, though the unknown and forgotten parts and states, where large cities are few and far between. I mean, who knows anything about Idaho, Montana, Wyoming... Utah... i dont... BUT I WILL!!

Part three ends when i reach colorado where I will tour the many cities for a couple weeks until i reach my ultimate destination... the ecological laboratory where i spent a summer when i was 20... I still have dreams about this place and i hope to get a job for a month in the surrounding area and just be there awhile. explore. discover, think about the next step... which will ultimatly be...

PART IV!

my triumphant return to Knoxville to work the next football season. Climb out of the debt i will no doubtedly accumulate and start again. Maybe this time i will be ready for a big girl job... but if not, i will have a shitty van that will probably need much repair.

now... to find the van.

love u

-Renee

fwiends

2010-10-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

these are some of my friends in knoxville

making friends in a new town is really hard, but the best thing to do is get a job, or go to school... or join a church if you're into that kind of thing.

i got a job, somewhere I could go... a safe place in a strange town where i knew no one... preferably a place with alcohol. when i had a job at starbucks i liked to hang out there too... but seriously, how long can you drink coffee? you got to be like, on your computer studying/working or something. you can just, sit there with a frappuccino for hours on end can you? you'd be a creepy freaky.

so here are some of my friends... and a nice booby pic of me too.

That's nickie next to me (Dylan's sister), i like her a lot.

Above that is Danielle, i like her a lot too... Dylan is her boyfriend (first pic)... and in between is Karmin... Nickie's girlfriend, Danielle's cousin, and her friend... Ham

this is Sean. he's a cook. this is his birthday party. who knew that beer pong could be so artistic?

CARTOONS!!!

2010-10-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

I've been drawing a lot more lately, AND I acquired a scanner for to share them with people.

yes.... this is just panel 1/8 of "Chips & Diane" ... more to come

Artist Bio

2010-09-22T09:01:00.001-07:00

Here is the new Disc Face of Tennessee, i like it a lot.

This morning I was working on getting all my shit together, (which my renewed sense of purpose from the night before tucked under my arm)... I managed to get my digital distribution a paperwork/files for Big Rig Records a Digital Distributor out of Australia... neat huh?

Anyways, below is the artist bio I sent them... I'm looking for some feedback. Lemme know if its too egotistical, or the least bit grammatical, (here's hoping). Does it make sense? I not good at writing thingy.

Renee Arozqueta bloomed from a seaside city on the gulf coast of Florida and like a dandelion seed she eventually sailed away. To the South, to the North and eventually she would go west.

Her first couple of albums fall under the umbrella of folk singer-songwriter. With the release of her double disc “No Sorrow Tomorrow/Lullagoodbyes” in 2008 she began incorporating ambient and environmental influences into the recording process. With a Volvo full of CDs she started to tour the eastern half of the United States, and continues to work her way westward until all 48 states have been “collected.”

In 2009 she joined forces with Chad Bishop, another Pensacola musician. Bishop’s previous bands include, Flat Broke Folk, The Cripple Lilies, Paper Scissors Rocketpack and most recently Spider + Octopus, which the two would tour under. (Renee as the octopus and Bishop as the spider).

As the years and mileage accumulate, Renee continues to grow in new directions with her albums, with new instruments, (accordion, drums, piano, guitar, ukulele, upright bass, singing saw) and new sounds both in the fore and background giving the new songs a different kind of depth while maintaining a style of minimalism. “Tennessee” released in September 2010, takes the idea of environmental sounds from the previous release into the bedroom. “Tennessee” was recorded within a hundred year old house in Knoxville. All of the elements that would normally be eliminated in a sound proof recording studio; dogs barking, mothers chattering, air and dust and sometimes emotion, are all in the mix, making the tracks more like windows than songs.

Currently, (2010), Renee continues to record and play in Knoxville, both as a solo project and with Spider + Octopus. A cross country tour is in the works for 2011.

Alright now onto the other things on the to-do LIst...

1. Clean my office... yea, that'll happen someday...

2. practice

3. find a dentist... its like finding your keys in a haystack!

4. fix bike

5. find a scanner on craigs list

6. Work at 4:30... poop... I know that'll get done.

heart

sometimes

2010-09-21T22:05:00.000-07:00

sometimes i get lucky, and sometimes the dogs bark from the moment i pull into the carport, call my friend in Pensacola, walk thought the door, until i stick my hand in their mouth...

but tonight i got lucky.
1am... i snuck in... undetected.... the secret is... increasingly normal sounds. if I can get the door open... and creep in the kitchen.. AND get the light on... I'm free to eat pickles, almonds and fruit snacks for a bit. if I can do all that with out them going beserk i can sneak into the bedroom, past the sleeping chad and get the computer.... get into the bathroom and type to my hearts content. ...

by the time you read this, the sound alarm will be reset and i will have to sneak some more to get back into bed.

tonight i went out with some of my lady friends... who i call (ladiae)... friends. to calhoun's for drinks and talking about stuff. but calhoun's closes at 10!! so i was off to the pilot light, hoping to get myself and some far away friends booked for the october and december dates. how was I to know there was a PRIME parking spot right in front... like... band parking only... canadian noise band parking only. after perfectly parallel parking...(which is bey0ond Renee's normal operating capacity) I made my way into the Pilot Light

I wasn't planning on staying, my friends were all congregating at a bar next door... but I never made it. because you see... the noise band had cassettes for sale... so... i had to stay. and buy a couple... and then listen to the band. which was amazing.

amazing
...

amazin.

both bands were actually pretty fantastico.

FAKE BLOOD... followed by AIDS WOLF.

just wow.

thus renewing my sense of purpose in the world. lets hope I get up early enough to take advantage of such a sense.

sigh.

Is it possible?

2010-09-19T20:43:00.000-07:00

regardless of what it is... it is possible.

hair brained schemes... all of them were possible.

but will i make it happen?

-more to come

<3 obsessed

weird sounds and weird dreams

2010-09-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

<a href="http://reneearozqueta.bandcamp.com/track/sounds">sounds by Renee Arozqueta</a>

hello, until i get a scanner, I'm not blogging, I really want to put up the new cartoons. very badlys. so... this has been my best excuse for being lazy. I wish i had a miniature jillian michaels to follow me around and yell at me, like a jillian michaels conscience action figure... I'll bet they sell those somewhere, right next to Extra Gum and Exercise Balls.

Today is game day, its Raining, The Oregon Ducks have the distinct advantage, (since it will roll right off their backs)

I think that the things i am saying today are mundane, so I'm going to stop and go look at rain.
c u l8r

Nashville

2010-08-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Discretion Disclaiming... i am aware that some of my family members keep up with my blog... i just want to give a disclaimer that this song contains the phrase "suck my dick"... if it makes you uncomfortable, i'm sorry... its just art, it does that sometimes.

i aint got no song for you
i'm just a sack of blues
and the gutter is already full
of shit thats washed up from nashville

i aint got no look that is cool
i thought that i did when i bought these new shoes
i went downtown and looked like a fool
when i stepped in some shit from nashville

a record label sent me a suit
he said, "aw baby we got to sign you,
and you dont have to work all you got to do is
suck my dick and move...
to nashville"

here is a little ditty i whipped up today for your listening enjoyment.

there has been a trend of tennessee songs, duh.

Speaking of which, i just released a new album called Tennessee. You can stream the whole thing at my bandcamp website.

If you would like to obtain a digital or physical copy of this new album, here are the places you can do that:

Directly to my paypal account: reneeisazombie@gmail.com the amount of $7 (includes shipping)

Bandcamp via paypal

Etsy via paypal

Send me $7 in the mail and trust that i will send it to you. (email for address)

why does god let hikers get eaten by bears?

2010-08-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

chad is in the mountains, and i,

am very anxious for his return

but until then i will try not to think about bears eating him alive.

safe travels my love

spent all my money

2010-08-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

on beautiful things.

we went on tour... blah blah blah blah tour, good shows, bad shows, no shows, okay shows, amazing incredible shows.

we went to pensacola... beach report... no visible traces of oil, turquoise water, live fish, white sand... but you know its there... deep in the sand, sunken below the drop off... lots of cleanup workers loading into buses.

florida... i used to be from you

now i'm... not. but i'm not from here either, i just live here... and will for awhile

vacation is an excellent way to put things into perspective, probably the most effective way, and the most efficient path back onto a diet.

time for school to start up again, i love back to school shopping, I LOVE IT! the fact that i'm not actually attending classes is a moot point. its the planner i'm in it for. borders has the largest selection of planners this time of year, they are not cheap and they are not tree friendly... hell yes.

more of that tomorrow.

till then... eat it.

New Album: Tennessee

2010-07-25T09:07:00.001-07:00

Chad and I are leaving for a short tour this wednesday, just a week around the south. our idea of a vacation... 8 cities in 10 days. yessssssss. including:

July 28th Knoxville @ Time Warp Tea Room

July 29th Atlanta @ The EyeDrum

July 30th Jacksonville @ Infintesmal Show!!

July 31st Gainesville @ CMC

August 1st Orlando @ Ethos Vegan Kitchen

August 3nd Tallahasse @ FarSide

August 5th Pensacola @ End of the Line Cafe

August 6th Mobile @ the Blind Mule

August 7th Chattanooga @ JJ's Bohemia

All around its going to be happy fun times, seeing friends, extended family, and most importantly... playing shows together as Spider + Octopus... my favorite thing to do in the whole world.

For this tour, we have both managed to put out new albums. Chad's is called "-ist" you know, like all the ists you can think of... minimalist, existentialist, fatalist... all of them.

Mine is just called Tennessee, named after this picture i took for the front cover... and because they were all written during out "stay" here in Knoxville... but knoxville is a terrible name for an album.

As you may or maynot be able to see, there are 16 songs. All recorded super lo-fi with shitty hums and dogs barking and recording noises... like the buzz of the actual equipment and me clicking on the keyboard... various other things that make it super fun.

I'm in love with it. I dont usually feel that way about a recording... i dont think i ever have actually. all my other albums were recorded with help from my friends, and while i accomplished much with them and those albums, this one is mine. All mine. i did everything, all of it is my work... in all its shitty glory. And I'm more proud of it than anything i have done in a long long long time. so there.

(this is the disc face)

if for some reason i wont be coming to your town, i will make this album available through CD Baby, Etsy, paypal, myspace or some other bullshit i have to do today. god i'm so happy about this. through all this shit... and i do mean shit... it brings me way down... this... this came out of it, and i am ... alright for now.

email me if you'd like to know more or purchase "Tennessee" and/or "-Ist", which is equally brilliant.

reneeisazombie@gmail.com

i keep these close

2010-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

so that i remember who i am

dreams

2010-06-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

you can't give up on those.

because if you do...

then what?

then you'll be doing something else, and even if its something you kinda like, there will always be that other thing you want to do more. that you regret not doing more. you'll start to wish for younger days, for better times, for open roads and romantic ideals. you will not be able to buy these things with your stable salary. i promise. i promise renee, i promise.

Family Portrait Time

2010-05-19T17:15:00.001-07:00

About 12 times every year my mother insists we all go outside and take a family portrait.

This is the first time I am as excited to grab the tripod and "put on a nice shirt" because this time we get to use my new camera!

Also, for the past 5 years or so, family portraits have just been my mom, myself, and the dogs, and when we had no dogs it was even sadder! But currently our family is full of furry ones, three of them. The male presence really helps balance out our pictures... I'm not sure how chad feels being around 4 bitches all the time, but he's a blessing to us.... and he cooks really really well.

After family picture time it turned into chad and renee + new camera = happy puppy funtime

Fish Eye Lens!!!

my butt was supposed to be in the center to make it really big... this is alright too i guess... so i can tell my children... "look how skinny i was!!"

Ca-Razy "miniature effect" that I haven't quite gotten the hang of yet... it's supposed to make it look like everything is tiny...

chad just wanted to hide behind this tree...

this is our favorite feature... single color selection on black and white.

This is Chad's newest series entitied:

"the Four Seasons of Renee"

1. Nonchalantly Posing for a Belle & Sebastian album cover

2. Crazy-Go-Nuts-Give-Me-More-Candy

("Why must you always do this in the supermarket?")

ah yes, this one is perfectly captured:

3. "Pouty Face"

and of course

4. "Extreme Pouty Face"

Toothy and Peppy

2010-05-16T06:49:00.004-07:00

I'm really into these stamp things, i apologize that i dont have the patience to scan them all and photoshop them into perfection, that's what a real artists would do I suppose.

Gary the Fish

2010-05-15T14:44:00.001-07:00

I'd like you to meet Gary the Fish! He's one of the stamps I made. As I was carving him out, his personality took shape as well...

He's a pretty cool guy, you know... he's a fish, Gary the Fish.

Ok! those are kinda weird! And I'm very into them, I hope they were just slightly intrusive into your day... the way good art sometimes is... eh? EH???

Tomorrow I'll introduce you to Toothy and Peppy...

my new stamps that help us delve into understanding our own unhealthy relationships through personified inanimate objects... my favorite.

Bring your Blogger to Work Day!!and

2010-05-13T13:00:00.008-07:00

Didn't I tell you?

It's bring your Blogger to Work Day!!

Which is almost identical to bring your new camera and stealthily take pictures of everybody trying to work day!!

I work at Mellow Mushroom near the UT campus, I'm a hostess, which means I take to-go orders, fill the ice machine and seat people.

It isn't nearly as stressful being a server, but I don't get paid the big bucks either, and I may or may not be surrounded by ladies 4-6 years younger than me.

Every morning the servers have a pow-wow where they fill salt shakers, roll silverware and generally talk shit about other servers... (no of course not, all the servers are amazing, all the ones pictured here especially).

Here's the prep cook breaking it down, his name is Franklin... or as I like to refer to him: Fwankyn.

The lovely dishpit! Shown here all super shinny and not smelling like vomit as it always does at the end of the night. my how things turn over in restaurants.

This is where all the magic happens, the shinny wonderful kitchen, very warm in here.

This is Matt, he's a cook, today he's on hoagie patrol. He makes really good coffee inthe morning. He's also a fellow musician, and on a side note, he and his friends are putting on this festival next weekend:

Boombutywah 2010

But enough about them! lets talk about mee!!!

"Mellow Mushroom on Cumberland Avenue, this is Renee, how can i help you?"

I'll walk you through my most important task:

(yes... sigh... i do have a biology degree... it's the new High school diploma apparently)

Watch out for the "Leaning Tower of Cheesa!!" (Matt... I'm not nearly that witty or cheesy)

Thanks for tuning in, come and see me sometime, I'll be here:

And then 5-8 hours after that I'll be here:

Tomorrow I think I'll post some cartoons of Gary the Fish, don't miss it!

I'm back!!

2010-05-12T09:40:00.001-07:00

And I'm happy.

why?

still in knoxville, my hometown is covered in oil, i am working a minimum wage job(s) with a degree in marine biology, i have little to no money...

all these things are trivial... except for the oil, i just try not to think about it.

I am happy because:

1. Look at this handsome man! He likes me...

2. I got a new camera! And its long overdue since our digitals keep biting the dust or just plain being crappy. How can you document/blog with no fancy digital toy?!

3. At least I haves a job

(no photo on file)

4. I cleaned up my office... or at least I'm cleaning up the office and making it into a proper studio.

What a Mess!!

Explosions of String and Eyeshadow and bits of Rubber!

The one stop dropping place for everyone as soon as they come in the house... they drop everything here... coffee cups, playdough, bits of ... nail polish... alright, its all mine its my shit.

After! with a clean desk we can create again!

5.And so... My creative things came back! Those things inside me that made me special, that I identified myself by, that brings me happiness... these things are back.

this is Gary the fish... stay tuned for his single panel comic strip coming soon!!

In the form of song and craft. I'm just crazy about eraser stamps.

this tree is for Nat, the dishwasher at my job... his last day is saturday. He is leaving to become a park ranger. go nat!!

this is the first one i did...

okay bye guys! I have lots and lots of stuff to share

A Trip: to the Library

2010-04-07T06:45:00.001-07:00

i just had to share

April Showers...

2010-04-06T12:22:00.001-07:00

... and other generalizations about months.

Knoxville, a place i never thought of, there are lots of those i suppose. more than you'd think.

Knoxville, is where we live.

Pensacola still feels like home.

Our house is just south of downtown

the smokey mountains is south of that.

we made music

we make it still

having some trouble finishing the album,

but I never really heard of an album that was easily done

not any good ones anyways

it'll be finished eventually

(ps... this is my mom's house... i dont have a portrait of myself in my music room or anything... sheesh)

i can't wait to hear it

Chad's album is just about done,

mastering puts on the final touches and the high gloss top coat to seal the cracks

it sounds wonderful

time for a snack

i am the biggest loser:

2010-04-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

of Weight that is!!!

long story short:

*(omitting a life long exposure to american society that has molded me into a self conscience being while simultaneously brain washed me with every advertising media to be overindulgent in every aspect of life... especially food)

**(omitting self-pitiful childhood memories of always ALWAYS being a bit "chubby", long after I knew that the term baby fat was no longer applicable... which realistically people, is like 3 years old... not 14)

" THE BATHING SUIT INCIDENT"

or more aptly named:

" THE BATHING SUIT STRETCHED AROUND THE WORLD" (that started a revolution ...ary war)

i went to target to buy this turquoise bathing suit I had seen. oh it was super sexy in all the right places but not in all the wrong places if you get my mean. After a couple months of hiking and eating much better, I felt like it was time... I would go through the mortifying ordeal that every woman must face when she needs a new bathing suit.

you can see it here: http://www.target.com/Xhilaration-Juniors-Polka-Tankini-Swim/dp/B0033B0FQC

I neglected to recall at that moment in the way too well lit dressing room the amount of red wine, bleached pasta and bread products and ice cream that had accompanied all that hiking and healthy food in the past 2 months. poo

so... instead of a bathing suit... i went to the back of the store and ... contributed to a multi-million dollar enterprise built on the desperate hopes and desires of the plump...

i bought a biggest loser book.

but i really like it!

seriously, i thought i was eating pretty well and exercising enough.

chad is being super supportive... we're both pretty into it.

i never realized how much crap i sneak into my body.

Breakfast: Ham and Cheese Melt

fried egg (made in a ring so its all pretty and perfect... the top of a canning jar lid)

and use cooking spray instead of olive oil/butter/canola oil... /bacon fat (which we do on a regular occasion)

WHOLE WHEAT english muffin... its so moist, it doens't even need the extra 50-100 calories of butter i couldn't resist

some low fat cheese... or whatever you have laying around... say... smoked gouda... ah!

and 2 slices of lean ham

egg = 90

muffin = 120.... 160 with the butter

cheese = 100

ham = 30

________________________

370... not so diet. but so delicious.

stay posted if this interests you in the slightest

since then

2010-02-22T13:57:00.001-08:00

we are still in knoxville

my mom broke her arms... i told you that already... but they are not broken anymore, the casts are off. but we are still in knoxville.

Chad got a job, he starts on thrusday

we will not be here forever.

we will move to Pensacola in the summer and I will start classes to become a teacher of high school biology.

we will hold these more professional grown-up type jobs in the pursuit of putting out our next album on 7 ''.

We will be recording the album in april when my mom goes to california.

i miss my friends most of all.

to see what we have been going since then... please see chad's blog, he updates it regularly with pictures of the hikes we do everyother day in the smoky moutains.

love

renee

Chad's Blog

didnt see that one coming

2010-01-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

you never do do you?

and then... from the heights of the ladder where you were slipping into a youtube coma, trying to decide what crappy job you wanted for the next several months, how to go back to school, how to deal with a new life... you meet the concrete... with your face.

actually in this case, my mom met the concrete... with her face... and arms. I think this is probably my number one worst nightmare of all time, is my mom being terribly injured. funny thing, I was sleeping when it happened and awoke to some terrible commotion... I wont go into details, but it was defiantly the worst nightmare ever... funny, it didn't feel like a nightmare... it just felt... urgent. again... details being spared... mostly because I really dont feel like revisiting them myself. I've already told this story to about a million friends and relatives.... its getting really old.

but anyways, she broke her elbow and her wrist... not the same elbow and wrist... but one from each arm... making her completely immobile and useless to do anything except swallow pills and food. which is all she is expected to do for the next 3 months.

3 months!!!!

of course, if this was just about my mom's life... it would be on her blog... (the thought that she would have one is laughable).

this is my blog.

and my new life. well... my new temporary life. at least I dont have to bother with all those pesky "what am I going to do with my life" decisions... not now anyways. right now I'm primarily concerned with getting those pain pills into my mom's mouth.

she can do a lot more than just that of course, she can walk and turn off light switches and give directions... (albeit loopy, but we managed to pay the bills today). usually my mom talks really well... too well, she talks and talks and talks and talks ... its off the chain, its too much. it makes some social situations impossible. but now... she talks much less, mostly because her face hurt these last few days (thank god the arms broke and not the face... or neck). when you talk less, you listen more. which makes you an exponentially better conversationalist.

since my mom broke her arms on monday we have had 2 conversations we NEVER would have had otherwise, breeching some ground I never would have touched in the real world when i slept til 2 or 3... or 4 and stayed up watching youtube, wasting my life until I had to do something with it. I was just about to start recording an album and get a job and move back to pensacola (like... I was supposed to move tomorrow) when this happened.

I was really really overwhelmed with self pity for a day.

it didn't change anything, and it sure didn't help.

its only been 3 days, but its already getting easier.

and tomorrow instead of moving to pensacola with all these mother daughter issues growing more and more tense through the years, I will be taking her to surgery tomorrow.

we now spend 24 hours a day together, (besides the 4 hour increments I get to sleep).

and its alright.

I'm very calm about what I have to do, what I need to do, my role for the next 3 months.

its really far away from being a touring musician, and in a lot of ways its much easier.

I really dont mind doing the things I need to do, and I spend all day doing things I need to do, for my mom, for myself, for the house, for the dogs... and then I fall into bed. (for 4 hours).

this is what the next 3 months will be like.

jesus,

I'm scared of what I'm going to learn and how much I'm going to grow up.

I'm sure you'll hear all about it.

Holidays are hard

2009-12-24T16:27:00.005-08:00

My Christmas Family is small, almost as small as it can be.

(this is a couple days ago at our new favorite restaurant)

Myself, my mum, and 2 dogs.. one that is evil and one that is good (one is black and one is white... I identify more with one than the other and mum highly favors the opposite).

They're both sugary sweet and snuggly, whiny, bitey, spoiled rotten cuteness of joy. (the good one's breath smells terrible).

anyways, my mom and I made meatloaf, broccoli and cheese and stuff for christmas eve dinner. Something strange happened though, my mom jumped up to ... catch the weather report? ...it was weird.

then we made cookies, our holiday tradition.

mom bought me a bottle of vodka for christmas, other than that we skip the presents. Its sad I know but this is what we have decided. So we dont have to ... buy things for each other. Maybe because we always get it wrong. But isn't it fun to have something wrapped to tear open. She always goes back on her word and wraps something for me, and then I feel guilty because I didn't get her anything. But what the crap do you get your mom? She buys everything she wants the second she wants it. How sad... I'll just have to wait till my birthday.

Nothing says Christmas like...

2009-12-23T18:38:00.000-08:00

Vodka Tonic and a splash of cranberry

And watching Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special (with my mom)

I swear, we've seen it 20 times. It plays like a song I know by heart, all the sights and sounds flow as one. you should watch it too. Search for it on You Tube.

Comparative Animal Physiology... cartoons

2009-12-23T10:32:00.001-08:00

(na... I'll be fine)

A couple summers ago, my best friend Melody and I were in a biology class together, it was called Comparative Animal Physiology. Everyone getting a biology has to take it, and they usually do so in the summer because its just one of those classes.

Thankfully, the professor that teaches it is very relaxed. A serious professional, and a weird individual as well. Just... kinda... not creepy... he's harmless... but...

"YOU have to take responsibility for learning the material... I can't make you learn biology any more than I can make my wife sleep with me..."

what?

Anyways, it was a long summer, but I had Melody.

This week my mother and I are sorting through everything we have stored in every closet in the house and purging. I am throwing away my notes from comparative animal physiology (a big step for me), but before I did I went through them all to salvage the cartoons. This one in particular...

It may not make sense to you, but this was the one that made me lose it. I was laughing so hard I had to not only leave the room, but apologize after the lecture for causing a disturbance. I showed the professor the cartoon in question because I was in fact paying attention, most of the notes go along with the lecture... they just embellish them.

For instance, one theme of animal evolution is Centralization and Cephalization... meaning, as animals get more advance, their sensory organs are centralized to the head... and eventually, we'll just have a long point on our faces for all senses:

This is of course... the teacher who will remain nameless.

Sewing Blog

2009-12-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

I recently watched Julie & Julia... a total girl movie (I watched it with my mom). Its a double story line about Julia Child learning to cook and her 8 year journey to publishing her famous book before she began her revolutionary cooking show that changed the way "servantless" american woman cook. While a struggling journalist with a government/cubical job vows to cook her way through the whole Julia Child book in a year... and blog about it.

I was reluctant to watch this TLC movie, but my mother made me, and I actually quite enjoyed it.

I also got my taste for blogging back. I have never stopped reading my favorite blogs, but I have fallen off my blog. Mostly because the last month or so of touring has blurred into an endless stretch of difficult shows, hard floors and cold toes.

But I have something worth blogging about again! And... more time than I can handle. Chad left today for Athens to visit his grandparents and on to Pensacola for the holidays.

Without my 24 hour companion all I have is my sewing machine, my instruments, and the internet... (and my mother, but more on that later I'm sure).

This is my newest creation. I am without my core material interface. I ordered this very pricey material Online almost a month ago and the warehouse has messed up the order 2 times now. I am furious and demanded express shipping at a discount (5 days before christmas but this is my business we're talking about... I only have 30 days to sew!) And I make everything... everything out of this stuff.

Without my precious doublesidedfusableheavyweight interface I have had to make new projects that don't require them. Tote bags for example. Yesterday I made one with a flap. Which is the perfect pattern for macbook sleeves. Good thing too since I have an order for 2 of them.

(back side)

So these new puce green macbooks sleevey things have 1/2 of foam on each side. Velcro closure and of course my signature design of a zombie on the hill having an epiphany (can't get away from this design... but... do what you know right?

I think they will go for $30 (plus shipping).

Please email me to place an order.

reneeisazombie@gmail.com

see you tomorrow probably. thanks for keeping me company

the drive home

2009-12-19T09:42:00.001-08:00

please click this before reading:

snow

remind me to tell you of terrible battle through the end of 2009: Our last 2 shows were cancelled so we turned the car about face and headed for home... but there was 18 inches of snow, 200 miles and 17 hours between us and our beds. We were literally at a dead stop in the blizzard, the car freezing over for 6 hours. We actually ate a can of sardines to stay alive. Then... our windshield wiper gave out... the ice was too much for it. Now with no visibility... trucks and cars flying off the road every few miles to be lodged in the snowdrifts til morning, all hotel rooms completely booked... and out of gas. We crawled towards knoxville. We had left Blacksburg Virginia at 1pm... and arrived home in Knoxville at 5am. It was... terrifying. But now vacation begins.

Ice and Snow

2009-12-17T09:27:00.001-08:00

Its that magical time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, everyone is running around with their head cut-off, unhindered by school or work or buyers remorse. Everything is red and green and christmas carols assault you in every retail location from Department to Grocery stores.
(Indianapolis)

(i am the ice queen)

In Florida, (much like how it must be in Chilie), this time of year is always permeated by scenery of ... well... cold. And while it isn't quite a southern hemisphere summer in Florida... the temperature only dips to about 40... 35 minimum. Floridians have never really seen winter as it appears on Christmas cards.

And as scared as I was of venturing north at this time... knowing full well what we would find, we did it anyway. Our last tour of the year would take us to the mid-west... we packed more socks than anything else. I stayed in my Narnia issued full length coat nearly the whole time. And it was good. The cold didn't even bother us at its lowest... 18 in Omaha.

(yup... thats my man)

(secret attic hideaway in Omaha)

The novelty of snow hadn't even worn off by the time we reached our most northern point in Ames Iowa.

But a major blizzard was rolling across the US from the west... we drove away from it as it lick at our heels and iced the highway before us. Remind me to really wash my car when we get home... it's covered in salt.

The only time the cold became unbearable was (predictably) in Chicago. Where the temperature actually came above freezing. Large cotton balls of fluffy wet snow fell upon Chicago as we drove to our gig somewhere in the windy city. Fell and melted immediately upon contact with our faces, our guitars, our feet and the road. All was slush.

But a good show none the less.

We have since, completed the mid-west circuit:

Little Rock

Tulsa

Wichita

Lawrence (total bust in the name of Karaoke)

Omaha

Ames

Chicago

Indianapolis (see Chad on the marriage of the divine to the profane)

West Frankfort (with the exception of ourselves, one 20 year old boy... no one over the age of 17)

Lexington

Louisville

It was here in Louisville that alcohol got the better of us. Even if we hadn't gotten the dates mixed up for our last gig in Knoxville, we were too hung over to move much less rock.

For now we are finishing up the rounds, last night in Johnson City, tonight in Blacksburg, on to Greensboro and finally a small town near Roanoke.

And then...

Chad and I will part ways for a whole 30 days as we try to accomplish something

find someone

figure out what will come next in 2010

lots of blogging on the way dear friends. keep me company for a while.

i remember

2009-12-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

i remember... snow. i remember cold. i remember my mom always calling me in before i was ready. always hot chocolate.

i remember the wet when you got in. i remember charlotte that lived next door. we would play forever... if they hadn't called us in

but we were plenty warm running around out there in our snow suits.

plenty warm in 11 degrees.

and i remember snow

snow in your shoes, in your hair, in your eyes in your ears your socks your heart.

but you can never touch snow.

only water that has just recently been snow.

and that might be why we keep scooping it up in our gloved hands and throwing back into the wind. piling it up into mounds.

it will only stick when its just right.

otherwise its just powder to make tracks in. broadcast love notes into the sky upon.

Tour

2009-11-19T10:21:00.011-08:00

It sure feels like a long trip, I had forgotten just how long. To think... we started in Greensboro, then to Charlotte, (where we had our only successful couch surfing this tour).

I lost hope in Savannah, in front of a closed sandwich shop, it was only day 4. But we continued onward... (to another sub shop). That was the night I accidentally ate 2 philly cheeksteaks in a row... one for lunch and one for dinner. As a result... I thought I was dying the next morning in Jacksonville.

In Jacksonville we played in a warehouse space on the outskirts of town in the industrial district under a bridge... with another 11 bands. I will remember that sunset even with out a camera.

There was nothing spectacular about central and south florida. A string of poorly attended shows in towns we have played over and over and over. Even in my home town, it is impossible to get people out and buy cds. But I did see my family and closest friends, and that made it worth it.

We were stranded in Tampa after the show, (a friend fell through). We traveled onward to Punta Gorda where another close friend lives. But, as we found out upon arrival at 3am... with is parents in a huge pristine mansion. So we waited until 5 am to check into a hotel were a swamp buggy convention was meeting. We would spend all of Halloween laying in bed watching lame tv show after lame tv show, including but not limited to, "I didn't know I was pregnant"

We went as far south as Naples and Ft Lauderdale. It was wonderfully warm in the everglades as we hiked kneed deep in swamp sludge with alligators and long legged birds. We met a friend's baby and went for a sunset cruise. The world was alright then. Beer in one hand, food in the other, darkness closing all around to meet with the water.

We spend way too many days in Orlando. I saw a boyfriend I had in 10th grade, and another from 7th grade, and they both worked for my brother.

Then we went home... Pensacola. We spent many days there too. Just being who we were. I spent most nights in my old apartment with my best friend watching movies and just generally giggling.

We cant get away from Pensacola, but thats alright Geronimo, We can't stay either. We just kept coming back, after Mobile, after New Orleans. And we are here now having found out our gig in Birmingham has been cancelled. Really glad we didn't drive there for camping in the cold.

I lost hope again in New Orleans. Woke up... just kinda... sick. Found out that one of my friends is gone to china forever and ever. But I knew that in the back of my mind sorta. The sick faded away as Chad and I walked around the Audubon park. It was just too beautiful to be sick. All the huge live oak trees, the birds, the fat squirrels, the dead squirrels.

Then we continued our search of Banksy stencils. And found them, 3 of them, they were beautiful. New Orleans is the best city to be sick in. It makes you feel better as we just keep moving toward and away from death and the ocean.

We saw a car erupt into flames on canal street. the flames had only a few seconds to reach the treetops before the authorities arrived.

We played in Pascagoula last night, played darts. Found old cripple lilies posters covered in crude graffiti. Left town and drove all the way back to Pensacola. (another couch surfing fell through, this time my fault). Now we are basking in a day off. What will be do? Reflect i suppose.

New Camera!! Finally!

2009-11-16T15:02:00.000-08:00

Ever since that fateful day when chad dropped the last camera into the river... and we watched a pearl necklace of bubbles rise to the surface from its unblinking eye... we have been without photographic documentation... and this has been very bad for blogs

But... as of today we are back on track. We found a decent digital we could afford in the newspaper christmas sale adds. woo! It's pretty good... here are our test pictures

added some to my collection today... very exciting to have a whole pallet of colors.

Here are some pins I carry around with me from an elementary school reading program in north georgia called "Book It!" If you read enough in one month, you could go to Pizza Hut and they would not only give you a sticker to add to your pin (stars for one year, candle flames for another), they would also reward you with a personal pan pizza... we were all literate little children with weight problems... and we still are

Here's the face wash i use religiously... it's awesome.

Here's the toothpaste we use... it's alright, not great.

what's with the date?

long time

2009-11-15T23:09:00.000-08:00

since ... things happened.

we've been lots of places. i suppose there were stories. i just dont remember them. they're all kind of a blur of dark loud smoky places... dont get me wrong. i dig those places... but I also work in them.

This is exactly why I am purchasing a camera tomorrow.

some exciting things are happening.

we are in pensacola, it somewhat strange. people we love, no where to be home, and nothing is ideal.

We recorded Chris's album last night before the mobile show. the record label is just about ready to deserve a myspace...

but better than that... I'd like to do better than that for the label...

another blog.

i know i know!

2009-11-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

i haven't posted in 6 thousand years...

but, like i said... the camera fell in the river

so i have no motivation since i can't show you things.

its been a wonderful tour thusfar... but really really hard too.

money has gone straight to t-shirts, cd's, sleeves, posters, postage, gas, food, beer... and soon, a new camera.

these are the only things I really need anyhow.

been making flyers like whoa

jacksonville

2009-10-25T11:36:00.001-07:00

we're in jacksonville, last night we played a bbq in a warehouse with this record label called Infintesmal, keep them in mind if you ever travel this far south. they're super awesome. acutally jacksonville is super awesome.

I have always said that Tallahassee is full of trees, and Jacksonville is full of holes... but they fill them with love.

Jacksonville is shitty. dont get me wrong, it looks like a bomb fell on it... and no one took notice. But it isn't an especially old city either. the buildings are abandoned, but not condemned. Which makes it a perfect place for artists and activists to come in with little capital and buy a block to start up a bar, a bike shop, a screenprinting shop, and a custom messenger bag shop. plenty of spaces even in the downtown area for small indie record labels to get a space for recording. miles and miles of industrial land, full of warehouses that are super cheap for an all night super loud venue. next to the rail road tracks.. .and under the bridge.

(this morning)

no camera makes for bad company

2009-10-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

Back on tour, which means back to blogging. I have no pictures this time as the camera jumped into the river to end its miserable existence with us. We thought we treated it well. but it jumped and we watched in horror as the bubbles rose very quickly... meaning that his little lungs and circuits were filling with water. But I'm still going to blog... its just going to be boring without pictures.

Pictures with words? What is this a book?! I came to the internet to be intertained.... (i made a new word)

So here's the update as seen in a letter to my friend Billy:

Billy,

All i do is work too!. its fun, and people call it play when you are holding an instrument. but i take it seriously too. I have too. It's awful and I have been warned that it may take the fun our of music... but we gots to make money.

So i spent the last whole week making wallets. When we are in Knoxville its not a vacation at all, we try to go hiking to get out of the house, but there is no money for anything except CDs, posters, T-shirts and fabric.

The last 3 days Chad has been helping me too. I give him the dimensions and he cuts all the fabric out. Then I do all the rest of the steps...

ironing, sewing, ironing, sewing, detailing the front, sewing, and finishing the fasteners (in that order). its quite a production line. The last day we were home we made 12 wallets, usually i can only do 4 in a day. It was awful, we were up til 4 am, I had been sitting in the same chair for 8 hours... just doing these repetitive motions. It really feels like a sweat shop those times. the disc burner as well is going non stop for 15 hours to make 150 CDs. Around 2 am i started getting like telescope vision while looking at the wallets. I'm not complaining though, it was ridiculous, but seriously, i thrive in those moments. Repetitive, meticulous, gigantic art projects (I might have been a wonderful scientist if I could do statistics and write papers like this).

when my first album came out I had this ridiculous ideal of the cover art. I wanted it to be homemade... but really classy and awesome. Simple, but with excellent composition. It was 2 trees (one for each disc) the same tree in sunset and then again in twilight. damn... i just sent you a copy of the cd but i didnt send you the first edition... I'm sorry. I meant to... i just wasnt thinking straight. When i get there I'll trade you (I still have a few left). I must have drawn, painted and spray painted the design about 100 times to get it just right before I did the actual project. Anyways... I spray painted all of 500 cardboard cd cases... with 2 panels each... 1000 panels. and Each panel had a set of 4 stencils. 4000 stencils total. And it has to dry in between each. This was when i was still in school, still working at starbucks. I lived in a house with this great big porch i made into my spray paint studio. I'd be out there listening to music with my respiator on in the heat, in the cold (since I did 2 pressings, of 250 each on in winter one in summer) just feeling like a bad ass. And no one could be out there with me or help me since i had only one respirator. It was awesome. I loved every minute of that work, because i knew i was doing something directly related to where I wanted to be... which is here.

(in a basement in greensboro full of instrumetns with a little black kitty jumping around)