the something special

Yes here they are, after only two weeks rehearsal, the Something Special in their first ever show! The Something Special is a musical concept I have been working on and recording under for a few years now. I never thought too hard about bringing my concept to live stage until about a month ago when my friend Greg asked me to perform at their house show in a loft in Lansing, MI. So I rounded up my best friends to back me up, including my friend Andy on drums/Omnichord, his lady Colleen on percussion/slide projector, and my brother Joe on keys/percussion. It was a challenge at first, especially since Colleen and Joe haven't really played music that much before, but with hard practice we pulled it off.

We did have some problems on en route to the show- like sliding of the icy road straight into a ditch. All seemed hopeless as it was looking as though our vehicle was stuck pretty good. One guy with a big truck couldn't pull us out. I also ripped a large hole in the crotch of my slacks climbing into the truck cab. Then another guy came along with a not so big truck. He chained us up, punched the gas and whammo- we were out! We managed to make it on time too. I was so nerve wracked from the ordeal that I was not feeling like playing at all, only to find that we were playing first! Once we started I was really relaxed though. We played two of my original songs as well as a medley of "A Man Obsessed" by Daniel Johnston and Buddy Holly's "Everyday", and we played the famous song poem "I like Yellow Things" to close the set. Also performing were Videotape, Ben Laatch, Longsleeves, and our hosts Clublight, be sure to check out their music.

Everyone was really great and our music was really well received. Thanks to Greg, Ryan and Corban for having us, all the great musicians for your music and your praise, and to Kara for the sewing kit and the photos you see below.