May 2005 DIARY ENTRY
This may be a long one, but it's been over two months since I've written in here, so hopefully this is justified. Not too long ago, I got a call from a fan/friend who lives in France, and she was talking to me about these diary entries, telling me she went out and bought the most recent Ted Leo/Pharmacists album on my suggestion, and so on. So apparently there are in fact people out there who read this stuff. Pressure pressure.

My last entry left off with us prepping to go into the studio, I believe, so I'll start there. I think I mentioned some of our frustration with recording dates being pushed back several times. Well, the good news is that at the outset of March--March 6-7, to be precise--Bob, Jeff, and I finally made it to Stratosphere Sound to begin our work with Mr. Geoff Sanoff. It was a marathon few days: We'd been rehearsing pretty steadily and then Bob and I went to Philly to do a show on Friday night (this was supposed to be a full-band affair, but Jeff was a little under the weather and wanted to conserve energy for the weekend of recording that lay before us). So we started off a little shaky that Saturday morning, Bob and I exhausted from playing and driving the night before, and Jeff a little logy with cold meds. Mr. Sanoff was sick, too, so we were all kind of in the same place. But despite our initial lack of energy, when it came time to play, we pulled it together as we always seem to do. At the end of that intense weekend, we came away with lovely-sounding basic rhythm tracks laid down for the four songs that will comprise the new Jason Brody EP, which I am still wrestling with a title for. Those of you who often come out to see us live are probably familiar with the tunes--"Broken," "Bitter Pill," "Siren Song," and "Vanity." Going into the studio is always a learning experience, and I feel like I came away from these sessions hearing things a little differently, thinking about the songs and what they might sound like in new ways. More on this new recording is forthcoming, but we're looking to finish up in the next month or two.

The month of March was also intense because of five guys who came into my life in late February. Namely, a band called Benzos. Long story short, their lead guitar player wasn't able to go to SXSW and the Miami Winter Music Conference, and they needed someone to fill in. A mutual connection introduced us and turned me on to their music, we all seemed to click after playing together and talking for the first time, and I agreed to step into this position. So in addition to working on my own music, suddenly I am learning almost all the material off of Benzos' forthcoming album and rehearsing with them a couple times a week on top of my own rehearsals. It was complete madness and mad fun. So, a rehearsal-filled week after Bob, Jeff, and I began our work at Stratosphere, I played a triumphant first show with Benzos at a packed Pianos here in NYC--just the beginning of our adventures together. There are gory details, sure, but I will spare them here (this is getting pretty long already, and it will only get worse). Suffice it to say that we had an amazing time together, replete with all the ups and downs that come with the territory of being a band on the road. A couple weeks and several shows (in Norfolk, VA; Austin; and Miami) later, after maddeningly long van rides up and down the eastern part of the country, I rolled back into NYC grizzled and filthy with friends I hope to have for a long time. This minitour with Benzos could have gone any number of ways, I guess, and I think we all lucked out. They are a great and talented bunch, and I hope you'll all be hearing about them soon. Their debut album, Morning Stanzas, comes out in stores the middle of this month--May 17, to be exact--and it kicks ass, so go out and buy yourself a copy.

Stuff I'm liking lately:
I recently discovered The Mars Volta. I haven't gotten so worked up listening to music since Appetite for Destruction came out. Their new album, Frances the Mute, is epic, dark, dynamic, and gorgeous--everything we love here in Jason Brody land. There are moments that remind me of Zeppelin (which seems to be a common comparison), but there's Buena Vista Social Club, RHCP, and all kinds of other stuff in there, too. And John Frusciante and Flea do make guest appearances, which is rarely a bad thing.

I've reluctantly fallen a bit for another guy with a buzz about him--one Ray Lamontagne. His album Trouble is great from beginning to end, even though it's stuff we've heard so many times before. I guess that's ok, though. I just can't help myself. He's definitely worth a listen.

Go see the Metallica documentary Some Kind of Monster. It's right up there with I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (the film made while Wilco was recording Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) as far as band documentaries go. You know, speaking of RHCP above, another band documentary I used to own that's really worth seeing is Funky Monks, which is about the Chili Peppers' making what in my opinion is by far their one and only masterpiece, BloodSugarSexMagic. If you can dig that up, I highly recommend it. John, especially, is fun to watch, because he's fucking insane. He is also a guitar hero of mine, so I may be a biased about anything he's involved in. Oh, and while I'm at it, another great band documentary has been showing on the Sundance channel kind of frequently, called Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns, which is about They Might Be Giants. Band documentaries in general, I notice, can be really engaging whether or not you're actually a fan of the band's music. I'm not a Metallica fan, and I don't follow They Might Be Giants all that closely, but I love these films. While it's hard to gauge if this sort of thing interests nonmusicians, my feeling is that it should and that it does if you care about music culture at all. So watch them. It's good for you.

I've developed a weird fascination with Emeril Live on the TV Food Network. I'm not sure why. I feel like I keep watching to figure out what all the fuss is about. Why does he even have a live cooking show? Why do people applaud every time he puts butter in a pan? Why on Earth does he have a band? Is he some kind of Creole alien/swamp thing? It creeps me out the way that every sentence out of his mouth begins with the word "Now," followed by a pause, as though someone behind a curtain is typing the rest of the sentence into the supercomputer that could be Emeril's brain. I could go on and on, but these are some questions that keep me up at night. And yes, I DO have better things to do.

Have I mentioned that I've been watching too much TV lately?

Back to reality: Upon returning from Miami, my body went into severe shock, I think. I realized then more than ever how sensitive my body is to seasonal changes. I think my system was convinced that it was spring or summer, being in the 80+ degree weather down in Florida, and so when I got home suddenly I felt like shit. It took me a week of kind of lazing around to readjust to the wintery beginning of April we had. That whole first week back was all gray and rainy, and frankly it reinvigorated my fantasies of leaving New York.

But the great part of coming home to a cold and rainy NYC was reuniting with Bob and Jeff and getting back to work on Jason Brody music. Generally, I've found that a little break from regular rehearsing here and there can really invigorate us--and our March hiatus was no exception. Lately I feel like we've accelerated the pacing of things, and have been a bit freer and less precious when it comes to working stuff out. I feel like we've really evolved as a band since we started playing together nearly two years ago, and I am proud of the progress we've made. We've gotten to know and trust each other musically to the point where things just seem to come together on their own now as we move through each song. As if we've started the machine and now it kind of runs itself in a way. Does that make sense? I hope so. This is not to say that we're no longer deliberate about what we do (in fact i think we're even more so nowadays), or that I am less demanding about the way we put the songs together. But there is something more liberated about the whole business these days, I think. What can I say? It feels good.

When I got home we began to put together a show for our first gig at Pete's Candy Store in lovely Williamsburg. I've seen many a show there, solo performers and bands, and I've always liked the vibe. Those in attendance seemed to enjoy our set well enough, but I didn't feel that it was our best. I would like to go back to Pete's sometime and do a solo or a duo thing, something more low-key, but I'm not sure about doing another full-band show there. Not only was I having amp issues that night, unfortunately, but I think that all of us felt a little cramped up there, and having so little room to move made for kind of a stiff performance, I thought. Still, we had a good time, as we usually do.

Our show at the Living Room a couple weeks later was much more satisfying, and I want to thank everyone who made it out for that. We kicked off the set with a new arrangement of "Broken," and as soon as Jeff's sticks hit the drums and the three of us were in full swing, I was uplifted. That show was one of our best to date, I think, because the vibe was really smooth all the way through, and I felt really connected to the audience and the songs. I don't usually say much regarding what my songs are about, but that night I found myself doing that a little bit, and I noticed how it sort of reinvigorated me and put me back in touch with the music in a sense. I guess sometimes it's good to remind yourself where you come from, especially if you haven't thought about it for a while. Anyway, that show featured the debut of two new songs, "Destination" and "Signals," as well as our interpretation of the Liz Phair classic "Fuck and Run," which people seemed to go crazy for. We had a lovely evening, followed by the requisite debauchery. My only regret is that I actually did not get to see Bill Frisell perform at the end of the night, as much as I had been talking about it the week or two leading up to the gig. Supposedly, video of the show is on its way to me. If it's palatable, I'll see what I can post on the site.

What else? Well, kids, watch your strawberry intake. A couple weeks ago, I apparently shocked my system by chowing down on so much of the tasty red fruit that I became all rashy. To make matters worse, because I don't have any food allergies that I know of, I just kept on eating 'em, not knowing why whatever I had wasn't going away, or what it could possibly be. After a visit to the doc, it all made sense. So be careful with those strawberries, even if you're not officially allergic. Too many all at once can fuck with you anyway.

Much ado in Jason Brody land these days, and much of it will be going on behind the scenes, at least during this summer. My head is positively swimming with music and words these days, to the point where it's distracting and I just need to get more of these new songs I'm working on closer to completion. In addition, there's much that remains to be done with this new recording we hope to release in a few months. There also, hopefully, will be an official new addition to the band, and it will take some time to get this new person up to speed. So don't be alarmed if we're laying low here in NYC over the summertime. There's a lot in the works and I can't wait to share it with you all. More in the next installment. Until then, spread the Jason Brody gospel, and if you're here in NYC, be sure to come out and catch us at Crash Mansion on Friday, May 27, at 9pm, for what promises to be a rollicking, rockin' night full of good music, cool people, and free-flowing booze. A perfect hello to summer, really. See you soon.