Today the company I work for was in the news quite a bit. Lay offs, buy outs, rumors, mystery and magic. It was a long day, but we all got throught it.
Stepping outside from work and smelling, feeling the rain was nice. A reminder that no matter what we’re all going through in life we’re all in this together. Wet socks and all.
San Francisco was lovely, of course. How can amazing weather with amazing company fail? It can’t really. So don’t even try.
I’ve been flying JetBlue a lot this year, but this trip was flown via Delta. Thanks, Delta, for your ultra-wide carts that hit me in the shoulder as you clunked and clanked down the aisle. And thanks to the attendant who leaned over said cart for five minutes to get their credit card reader to work for another attendant. And the ice water you dripped on me at one point. That rocked, too.
So JetBlue, I will come back to you. You will make long flights tolerable, so I can take more nerdy photos like this one.
Looking forward to the miracle of flight tomorrow. Flying to San Francisco will be lovely, as it will be a welcomed change of pace and scenery. NYC is lovely and all, but most of what I see of the city now are cubicle walls and the television screen that sits in my apartment that my roommate owns.
Things are changing. Days are turning into weeks, and headaches come a little more frequent with the pace of life that seems to be the norm these days. Well, at least on this island. Tomorrow I’ll be checking email on my iPhone to make sure nothing has burnt to the ground. I’ll update Twitter and Facebook from my mobile apps and text message the appropriate wonderful people in my life. I’ll fly. I’ll sleep. I’ll fidget.
But by the end of the day I’ll be on the west coast, away from uncertain things and smiling faces on zombies.
Today I was asked if I wanted to speak on a panel at a major university about the music industry, to which I replied yes. I hope it happens, as I really want to start speaking to more than my friends about my wacky ideas about the ‘biz.
It’s insane to think that years ago I was hauling a bass amp around at firehall shows, and now I’m the editor of Noisecreep. As I write this ‘Dammit’ from Blink 182 comes on the radio, reminding me about dingy clubs, JNCO jeans, crappy equipment and distro tables. The only thing that’s changed, besides the tightness of jeans and disappearance of distro tables, is I’m 10 years older and getting paid to do all this.
This weekend should be quiet and clam, as next weekend is a trip to San Francisco. Hopefully I’ll eat pancakes, ride my bike around brooklyn, and make music.
I grew up a vibrant music scene in North East PA in the mid 90s. As a young lad I saw older brothers listening to Iron Maiden and playing guitar in their bedrooms, but I never thought that would be me. In 1991 I started playing bass and quickly found myself playing in alterna-rock bands.
In 1993 or so I came across this wondrous world of “hardcore.” The music didn’t grab me at first, but the “everyone gets to play” idea did. Kids were running their own record labels. There were “distros” at shows. Before the internet there were zines.
This was also a nice break from the hirachal set up in high school. Popular dudes that played sports picked on the skaters and metal kids. Fuck them!
That utopian dream scene died quick, though. Jock mentality seeps everywhere. It seems you can be part of something as long as you agree with the scene. Rock the boat and you’re done.
One time a friend of mine who booked shows got the boot for two dudes from out of town. I spoke up about it. Thought it was unfair. Then I was threatened by the two dudes that they’d break my legs. Yes, for real. Hardcore unity, huh?
And now just recently. A friend says something that someone with more “clout” doesn’t agree with. Suddenly my friend is full of shit. An amatuer. A hack.
Everyone gets to play, just as long as there’s no differing opinions.
Above is Alison, my co-worker and roommate. I’m very honored that I’ve become enough of a character for someone to nail down my wardrobe, and people in the office actually “got it.”
This past weekend was filled with great metal music, good food, new friends and assorted wondrous encounters. Life has become magic in the past few months, in ways I never thought possible a year ago.
In two weeks I visit San Francisco. This will be the second time I’ve been there, the first back in 1998. My, how my life has changed since then.
Last weekend was Maine. This weekend it’s Bethlehem, PA. Last weekend it was security theater, this weekend it’s the joy of bus travel. The smells, the traffic, the lines - all that for about $40 and 4 hours of on the road bliss.
Right now I’m sitting on the floor of the Portland, Maine airport, next to an electrical outlet. The crummy departure parking, security theater and overpriced food isn’t bad enough, I suppose. Charge me $8 for wifi, then ask me to sit on the floor so I can get online. Classy.
Aside from that, this has been a good trip. The downtown section of Portland was nice. Lots of brick buildings, good coffee and tasty food.
On Friday and today, Monday, I worked a number of hours without being at my desk back in NYC. About 95% of my job is tending email like sheep, so if I have a wi-fi connection (or at least my iPhone), I can do my job from anywhere. I made some stuff happen while walking through a mall here on friday. I dialed into a conference call this morning. I drank coffee at Coffee By Design with my hostess and confirmed this and planned that. There’s a few things I can’t do away from the office (eye rolling, notwithstanding), but with time I think those things will change, too.
Work is changing and the workforce is changing. If this is the new “permalancers run everything!” world, I’m all aboard.
My adventures so far have been quiet, and relaxed and chilly. The weather up here is brisk, of course, but not too terrible. We spent a lot of time walking here, so it was comfortable. Of course we got some food and coffee and such, so we were quite good.
This area is Old Port in Portland. It’s really nice here (as you can see).
