The Log Book

Don't worry- no deep personal spewings. Just some highlights of what's happening here at SPR.

Feb-March, 2005: We recently saw The Evens at the Swedish American Hall. Ian Mackaye played baritone guitar and Amy Farina did an excellent job on drums. This wasn't no White Stripes BS, this was ethereal and rocking and thought provoking music presented in a personal manner that made us all seem like friends. I used to see Ian with Minor Threat when I lived in DC- it is inspiring to see what he has done with his music and Dischord Records and that he is still the same low key and humble guy that I remember.

January, 2005: Sean and Amy had baby Vivian in early January!! We are rehearsing again, and going over a lot of new songs. I've been practicing a lot lately and feeling pretty good on the kit.

December, 2004: 99 Tales: We are taking it easy for the holidays, and looking forward to the arrival of baby Vivian. We just got word we will be on Bloodshot's 10th anniversary compilation. To that end we are trying to get into SxSW. We are starting to get playlists from stations playing the CD, which is available at Amazon and at Tower.com. Currently it is on a listening station at the Virgin Megastore in downdown SF. The Temple Drake stuff is feeling more comfy.

November, 2004: 99 Tales: We had a show at Kimo's in mid- November. We opened for The Aquamarines, but the show got shut down, which was a weird thing with cops and Karaoke... and had nothing to do with the show upstairs. A crazy scene that will definitely be in my movie. I've been playing with Temple Drake, they are working on new material and want to record soon.

October, 2004: Hi Neighbor: We had a good gig at the Edinburgh Castle on October 9th. Big thanks to The Girlfriend Experience. Sadly it is my last gig with the neighbors, at least for now. I am focusing on my drum studies and things seem to be going really well with Jeff on drums, so we decided it was a good time to make the change over. They hope to be gigging again in a few months.

September, 2004: 99 Tales: We had a last second gig at The Old Ironsides on Saturday, Sept 11th. We are trying to book out some dates in Reno, Oregon & Washington- stay tuned! Hi Neighbor played a little bit. I saw Boz Scaggs recently and had a chance to meet Khari Parker- a great drummer. I also got to meet Jeff Ocheltree, who is like THE drum tech of drum techs. It was interesting to see that he was constantly in motion, yet one of the chillest people at the gig. He has a new DVD out that explains how he set up different kits for drummers and achieved the sounds he did.

August, 2004: 99 Tales had a great gig at the Hemlock Tavern. The band has been working on new material and is in the process of booking shows in the Northwest. Hi Neighbor has finished up vacation and is concentrating on new material. Jeff is coming along and they are working in a new direction with him. The drumkits are done. The Warm Hearted Dullards have a good dialog going- but no music yet.

July, 2004: 99 Tales had 2 real nice gigs- one at the Hotel Utah and the other at The Old Ironsides. The Utah has reopened and is being run by the folks from Cafe DuNord- bravo! Hi Neighbor has been vacationing and such, Ki & Fenz are also working with a new drummer, Jeff. It seems to be going well and could be heading somewhere. The Warm Hearted Dullards are speaking to each other again- let's hope they can get back to the music soon. These drumsets are coming along nicely... will update the page when they are worth showing.

June, 2004: Been working on some drumsets. 99 Tales has been prepping for a recording with John Baccigaluppi of Tape Op fame. The day job has been really busy, so not much going on except rehearsals and such.

May, 2004: 99 Tales had an warm return to an old Sacramento favorite- The Old Ironsides in Mid May. It was my first gig with them and I think it went pretty well. It was fun and Chris finally got to meet everyone. Hi Neighbor just had a nice gig at the Last Day Saloon. It was great to play out... It had been awhile. A new venue for us so we were pretty stoked! We got to see a lot of old friends- my bro Dan made in it from Truckee!

April, 2004: The new CD for 99 Tales is ready for shipping! It is called "Full Moon, Empty Heart" and is issued on the bands own Clementine Label. We have been doing mail-outs to radio stations and reviewers, the street date is set for June 22nd. You will find it at Amazon and Tower, among others. CD release party is upcoming- I will keep you posted.

So Anna the hummingbird did not return this year. However, her daughter Rita took over the nest and she hatched 2 chicks. We named them Harrison and Starr. I will update the bird pages once I sort through all the pictures.

Chris & I had a great time in Hawaii in late March. I took a bad wipeout surfing tho. Sustained deep reef cuts, broke my toe, and bruised my ass black and blue- good thing it happened at the end of the trip. We met up with the family to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday- it was a total blast! all in all a killer trip!!

March, 2004: Hi Neighbor had a good gig at the Greenbelt Alliance fundraiser. Rehearsals with 99 Tales are going real good. The CDs should be back from the printer anyday now. The Warm Hearted Dullards are feuding right now... issues and sub-issues regarding outside matters affecting the band. Hopefully they will work it out and get back on track soon. The Richmond Sound System had finished mixing for now and are listening to things for a bit. we are getting ready for a vacation- could really use one about now...

February, 2004: Hi Neighbor had a great time playing at Bada-Bingo. They are working up a new set list, updating the web site, and casting the net for some new venues. 99 Tales have been rehearsing and preparing for the CD release in spring. Matt G has revamped the Windowpanes with a new line-up and is re-working the sound. He says it is much closer to what the voices in his head are telling him it should be. Good on ya mate! Chris and I just saw The Knitters when they were in town. It was a great great show and Chris even got D.J.'s set list! Local fella Virgil Shaw played a fantastic opening set with his trio... even John Doe was out front with the rest of us enjoying the great music!

January, 2004: Ki & Fenz are back from Europe, so Hi Neighbor is back and rehearsing again. The Windowpanes had a show at the Red Devil Lounge in late January, it was my last show with them, as the band 99 Tales has asked me to join them to help support their new record coming out. I am sad about leaving my bros, but am looking forward to working with, and learning a lot from this new band. I did update the 'panes page with some photos and their new contact info.

December 2003: The man is beating me down this month. Actually, the company I am contracted to moved, so I have just been really, really, really, really super busy getting their new edit suites, audio rooms, and master control room ready. No time for music this month, but i did get the drum page updated- happy holidays!

Holy smokes.... those last 2 entries seem rather blog-like... a thousand apologies!!

November 2003: Hi Neighbor has finished up for the year. KI & Fenz left on their trip to Paris. I have the new drumset pretty well dialed in, and the group is liking the sound. Ken has returned from his trip so the Windowpanes are rehearsing again. Paul & Jen had a baby girl, Zayla... everyone is doing fine. I finished up some snares, one of them I gave to my bro Hal. I also got most of the work finished on a set of Tamas I am refurbishing. My digital camera is in the shop, but I am old schoolin' with a 35mm, so it'll take a little more turnaround to get the images up.

October 2003 Hi Neighbor continued to relax, and rehearsed from over 4 sets of music. The Windowpanes had a really good show at the Edinburgh Castle on Oct 10th. The room was a great place to play- cozy with a nice PA. The band had a fun-tastic time and rocked hard. The crowd was very receptive! Headliners The Desoto Reds played a very tight set of their patented quirk-pop... very entertaining! Thanks to the Reds for having us and to everyone who came out to support live music. The drums I have been working on are taking longer than planned, but these things are not to be rushed.

September 2003 Hi Neighbor worked on new material. The Windowpanes had fun playing the Cherry Bar & Lounge in mid-September. They debuted some new songs during their hour long set, and the tunes were well received. Angela Valley opened the show and played originals in a trio format. Thanks to Consuelo for hosting and to everyone who came out- you rock! I worked on some drums and we will get pictures up soon.

August 2003 Begins with Hi Neighbor playing at the Hotel Utah on Friday August 1st. Dylan Conner of Mheadphone did a great job as a last minute fill-in to start the show. His solo set ranged from Springsteen to originals with alternate tunings. His band will be at the Utah on August 13th, check it out. Jessie P. Cutler played with bass and drums this time. The set was nice and varied and he thinks he will be doing more of this trio format in the future. Many thanks to Will at the Utah for inviting us to play, and to Erika and Gerry for helping run the show. The Windowpanes vacationed in August, so they worked on lining up September gigs. I begin restoring some drums and experimenting with new sizes and finishes. Hi Neighbor is having fun working on new material and arrangements.

July 2003 Another update to the site. Some re-org, and a new Links page. The Windowpanes page gets an update too. Matty returns to rehearsals with both The 'Panes and Hi Neighbor. The 'Panes had a fun and rocking gig at Club Deluxe on July 12th. They debuted some new songs and sounded tight and right in the intimate setting. Paul said he couldn't hear- but he always says that! This was a free show and the band really pulled them in off the street- the place was packed by sets end! Thanks to Jay at Club Deluxe and to everyone who checked us out- you helped us rock! Mixing for the Warm Hearted Dullards continues, as well as for the Richmond Sound System.

June 2003 a busy, busy month! The website got an update, including a review page where older releases get a revisit in the hopes listeners will seek them out.

The Windowpanes had their first gig. On June 8th they rocked a packed house at the Red Devil Lounge. The crowd was dancing and showed their approval of the tunes. Headliners Kill Baby Kill rocked hard and non-stop- a very hi energy set from this Southern California crew.

Hi Neighbor had another show at the Utah. Kristina from Hi Neighbor put together a great show on June 12th that also had Married Couple and Jenny Maybee on the bill. Married Couple played as a quartet, featuring the beautiful tones of tenor sax and trombone. The Jenny Maybee Trio featured piano and the group played with depth and texture. Both groups had Jason Levis on drums, who played expressively and contributed several compositions to the evening. Thanks to everyone who came out, and many thanks to Will at the Hotel Utah.

Matty split for vacation the next day. He and Chris headed to Tahoe, and had a great time. Afterward, he hunkered down in the studio at HQ with the Warm Hearted Dullards. They did some new tracks and it all culminated in a final, fruitful tracking session with Wally Sound. Plenty got done that day and best of all there was no traffic on the bridge on the way back- a miracle for a Saturday!

May 2003 An update to the site adds a page for The Windowpanes and some new MP3s on the music page.

The Windowpanes record a demo at the Wally Sound in Oakland. we get 3 nice songs out of it. Before we can even give our ears a rest and check the mixes, Wally has gone back and done another pass, as he felt he could improve the previous days output... the new ones sound great- what a bro!

April 2003 The web site is up in a simple fashion. Doing little improvements throughout the month, focusing on keeping it clean and simple.

Hi Neighbor had 2 gigs. The first was at the Hotel Utah in mid April. Eccentric Aunt opened the show with Maxine Fortune and Kate White playing vintage jazz and eccentric originals. Hi Neighbor played 2 sets and debuted some new compositions. Thanks to Will at the Utah for having us. The second gig was near the end of April at the Jupiter Brewery in Berkeley. It was raining, so the band played upstairs for the first time- a great space for music. Thanks to everyone who came out.

The Windowpanes moved to a spacious new rehearsal space at Yosemite Studios. It is much closer for all and a bit easier to get to.