2/4/05
DIARY ENTRY, February 2005

January was a busy month, and February promises to be even busier from what I can tell at the moment. Since my January diary entry consisted only of that horrid New Year's Eve photo of me (taken by my lovely friend Nick; see below), I feel like I should give you more this time around. I will try to be brief, which I am sure many of you reading this are thankful for. But don't thank me yet--my idea of brevity is probably not the same as yours. Did you notice that I have a tendency to ramble on a bit?

Things I like this month:
Alton Brown, who is pretty much the only character on the TV Food Network who's worth watching. I love Mario Batali, too, but his appearances are rare, and his screen presence leaves something to be desired.

Stuff from Kiehl's. Especially the tea tree oil shampoo, for my angry winter scalp.

The Kings of Convenience. A bit Simon-and-Garfunkel-ish in places, but that's not always a bad thing.

Rosemary. I've been putting it in everything--even my oatmeal. Not always appropriate, but kind of addictive.

Things I don't like this month:
My guitars and amps, because they all seem to be pissed at me. Not unlike my winter scalp.

My birthday, because it's on the silliest holiday there ever was. Though I guess it does grant me absolute immunity when it comes to all things Valentine's Day.

The weather here in NYC, because it's enough already.

(I am certain there's much more, but I'll spare you.)

Anyway, some Jason Brody stuff: I've just returned from playing at Grape Street in Philly last night, and I am fucking exhausted. I got in at Penn Station on a NJ Transit train this morning at about 2:30am. Now that the Jason Brody Experience is making its way out of town more and more, I am dreaming about wheels wheels wheels. Traveling sans automobile is not always convenient, nor is it economical. I realize that it's really not that hard, even in some major cities, to be stranded until morning if you're relying on buses and trains to get around. Grape Street is in a suburb of Philly called Manayunk, actually, a good ten- to fifteen-minute ride out of the city center. And because outside of NYC everything seems to shut down early, at the ungodly hour of 10pm, when my friend and I left the club, we felt totally stranded out there and were wandering around trying to find transportation back into the heart of town. We nearly hitched a ride, but were utterly ignored when we called out to some guy who was about to take off in his nice warm car. Jerk. (Of course, it doesn't help that neither I nor my friend know Philly well at all--I'm sure there was a bus, or a train, or something that could have gotten us back to civilization other than a costly taxi ride. Do I sound like a spoiled brat? Why yes, I think I do.) Anyway, the main stage at Grape Street is unbelievable as far as sound quality goes--it's a beautiful room and everything is crisp and powerful, just the way I like it. So, while the club was a bit out of the way and the room was kind of big for my second show in Philly, I did enjoy doing my set there, and the people I met were incredibly friendly. Perhaps we will return, maybe on a weekend, maybe with the band, definitely with a car. We shall see.

Our three-hour takeover of the upstairs lounge at Pianos last month went swimmingly, though truth be told I was stressed out of my mind that night. I don't always enjoy running things. I thank those of you who braved what may have been the coldest night of the year up to that point (I think it subsequently got much colder) to come out and watch me and Bob play all of five songs. All in all, it was a good hang, though, and my deepest thanks go out to Devin Greenwood and JF Maher, who came out from Philly to perform, and to the Jealous Girlfriends, who are awesome and who I hope to have back again, if we keep Jason Brody's Tuesday Brood alive. My gratitude also goes out to Jasper Coolidge, who was nice enough to have us in the first place. We'll be returning to Pianos this month on Friday, February 25, and we've got more great music on the bill--namely The Foster Family and Christopher Taylor. I feel incredibly privileged to put together shows like these--for a brief period, I get a taste of my ideal world, where musicians come out to support each other and just hang out, where the acts make some kind of sense together, and where the booze flows in abundance. I hope you'll come out and help to make this as memorable an evening as the last. You will be getting emails, of course.

And what's happening with Jason Brody in the middle of February, you ask? Well, I am proud to write that after much ado and some rescheduling, I head into the studio with Bob and Jeff to begin tracking the new Jason Brody EP, for which I am still mulling over a title. We will be working with Geoff Sanoff at Stratosphere Sound, and I couldn't be more excited about this. Geoff has worked with the likes of Hem, Luna, Fountains of Wayne, and Nathan Larson (formerly of Shudder to Think) and Stratosphere is a gorgeous studio, so I must admit I have high expectations for this new release. Originally I had thought we'd put the thing out in March, but with scheduling difficulties and some exciting things going on behind the scenes, it now seems like we'll be releasing the EP nearer to summertime. I think it'll be worth the wait, and I hope you'll all agree. I will continue to write about the recording process and keep y'all apprised of where things are at.

In other news, it looks like the whole band finally gets to go to Philly when we return to The Manhattan Room on Saturday, March 5. The people who run this relatively new club are terrific, and they have put together a great bill for that evening. This is a show that's definitely worth catching, so I hope everyone reading this will come out and/or encourage their friends to come out. Should be an awesome night of music. I will also be performing in Boston come April. I'm really looking forward to seeing the folks I know up in Boston and making some new friends, too.

Anyway, that's about all for the time being. I think I should go outside and enjoy the balmy above-freezing temperatures we've got going right now. If you see me and my beach ball out in the East Village a-frolicking, do feel free to join me. If you do, I can then ask, a bit chagrined, "Hey--have you been reading my diary?!" I've always wanted to say that to someone.

xo,
Jason