I’m booking now for fall ‘08 and spring ‘09, so let me know if you would like me to play in your campus cafeteria, coffeehouse, club stage or lawn! Please email your inquiries and possible dates to tad-at-taddreis-dot-com. Thanks :)
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I just paid my first visit to Moorhead, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota this week, playing what amounted to four shows in twenty-four hours at Minnesota State U and the Red Raven Espresso Parlor.
I sampled the local cuisine some, and although I didn’t get to have a psychedelic bison burger, I can vouch for the Thai Orchid’s coconut ice cream with deep-fried bananas.
Side note: anyone grow up near trains? Trains really sound like they are going somewhere. The rumble gets into your subconscious. The trains in Moorhead and Fargo go by every half-hour, it seems like, but they’re neutered so they don’t whistle.
Thanks to everybody at MSUM and the Red Raven for being hospitable (and in some cases, emo). In the words of Miley Cyrus, I just can’t wait to see you again.
This week it was kind of fun to do all my shows at noon, and then have the afternoons free. I went to Niagara Falls one day. You can smell the increased humidity from the spray for blocks before you even get in sight of the falls. Strangely, everyone I talked to was kind of down on the town, saying it was all commercial and wanted to be Vegas. I don’t know much about the town itself, but come on - look at the huge waterfall! Huge waterfalls are awesome.
At my shows this week I met lovely people eating lovely lunches in Johnstown, Canandaigua, and Rochester. In Wise, Virginia, I played at outside at a cookout and got a little charred myself, despite wearing sunscreen. In auld Edinboro, Pennsylvania, I was given a tie in the school’s official tartan. For this show, we went wholly acoustic, since the amplified sound apparently was disturbing a meeting taking place nearby. “That’s ok,” I said, “I like shouting in plaid.”
Quick thanks to the Raleigh coffeehouse patio crowd on Friday night. It was the first warm evening in awhile and it was really nice to play outside and have friends to play for. Who clapped! I’m packing madly now to get on the road before noon because it’s a long drive up to upstate New York from the Carolinas. This is a week-long tour, and I’ll try and take some pictures and post you some stories as we go. It will be an epic journey and a test of the limits of human endurance. Mush on, sled dogs!
If there’s any confusion about the previous post, look at the date on this one, and subtract 1. Thanks to Wikipedia for the excerpts from their Star Wars theme discussion, and to Steven Snedeker for his awesome Lightsaber Hedgepig image. I received one email from someone who appeared to take my new direction seriously, and I appreciate the concern. Never fear, I do plan to continue using my Jedi powers to make music.
I’ve been thinking about it a long time, and I think from now on, I’m going to focus less on my music, and more on the Star Wars film series.
I’d like to begin with a discussion of the underlying themes found in Star Wars. In Episode IV Obi-wan first explains the dichotomy of good and evil encompassed in the Force. He tells Luke that “For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic.” Then moments later he contrasts the jedi with the actions of Darth Vader: “He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force.” Little other doctrine is expounded on in Episode IV, nevertheless, the violent nature of Darth Vader is viewed in contrast with the mostly passive behavior of Obi-wan Kenobi.
Star Wars stresses the self-destructive nature of fear, anger, hate, selfishness, and lust for power. In Episode I, Yoda summarizes stating, “Fear is the path to the dark side: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Patience, discipline, humility, monasticism, respect for one’s elders, peace with one’s self, trust in things spiritual over things physical, and self-sacrifice are extolled as virtues. However, a stoic position of setting aside personal feelings for others in order to bring about a greater good is also emphasized. For example, Luke Skywalker is told to remain on Dagobah to complete his training rather than rescue his friends from Cloud City, because doing so will “destroy all for which they have fought and suffered.”
This time out, I rented a car and drove up, which was kind of nice, since I didn’t have to worry about flight delays or putting the miles on my car. It’s an eight-hour trip each way from NC to the Philly area, but it’s just time, and I had a new harmonica to break in.
Here’s a stream-of-consciousness account of the conference: the pink tie continues its world tour of 2008. Tattoos were very popular and disappeared mysteriously on the second day, Showcase, Sarab, Mieka Pauley and her band of well-dressed NYC rockers. I was pretty much coherent in performance, not as random as sometimes I am.
What is the deal with chicken parm and mashed potatoes together on the same plate? Cool to meet tons of people, impressed by folks from other schools and other conferences who still remembered me, sorry I’m not better at putting together names and faces, but all those Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen songs in my head take up a lot of space. They each have, like, eight verses, you know?
I need an external hard drive for my brain. Only partially kidding. Not sure how I’m going to cross the bridge when becoming a cyborg becomes the hip and/or necessary thing to do. I mean, I don’t even own an iPod. But it would be cool to have instant recall for everything and everybody.
Sang David Bowie with a comedian. Played a long time Saturday night at the Illegal Showcase and closed the place. Ate lots of other people’s nachos.
Now I’m glued to my computer, catching up and being my own booking agent. I wish I could just be my own pet, but it’s also nice to make a living playing music. I don’t pay my fish very well.
Return of the pink tie. Showcase felt relaxed, took some pictures of the crowd. Hung with Ben Franklin AND Santa Claus. Did not get my RDA of Swiftkick but hopefully we’ll catch up in Valley Forge. Sang “Mrs. Robinson” at the Illegal Showcase with Del Suggs and Kijana Wiseman. Played harmonica with Maxxtone and Rebecca Loebe. Did some dancing during a mighty, mighty jam by Hooked On Tonics and Chris Cauley, including P-funk, Digital Underground, Stevie Wonder, Ginuwine, and pretty much every funk, r&b and rap jam of the last thirty years…
Met a whole bunch of new folks and caught up with some veterans of years past. I’d be more specific but there were like a hundred twenty schools. Met some very nice military folks. Oh yes, and there were multiple tornadoes in downtown Atlanta, and I had lunch with folks from Bossier Parish, Louisiana in the food court of the mall, under a glass ceiling. While the tornado was in the area. But that’s where Subway was, and I HAD to use those free coupons I got a couple weeks ago at KDEC in Iowa.
By popular demand, here is the ninja ducky that was thrown at me onstage at College of DuPage a few weeks ago.
