it’s a sad and beautiful world, no?
Ah, friends…so much to tell…
First off, let me apologize for neglecting this page for so long. Last post on September 3rd? Inexcusable. But this chilly Halloween weekend in Seattle has found me with a *little* extra time on my hands, so here goes…
I guess you should all know that I broke my right forearm. Fractured my radial head, actually. For all you folks out there who, like me, never took anatomy in high school or college, the radial head is the knobby part of the top bone in your forearm, right where it connects to your elbow. This means that I narrowly escaped shattering my actual elbow, which would’ve been a much more serious thing indeed. As it stands, I’m in very little pain, my movement is impaired a little bit, and I can’t lift anything with my right arm, but I’m not in a cast, and best of all, I can still play guitar.
How did I do such a thing, you might ask? Well, I’d love to tell you that it happened mid-windmill at our recent show at the Tractor Tavern, but all of you who were in attendance (thank you, more on that later) would know that wasn’t true, so I have to fess up: in order to help finance the recording of our new album (which commences this week at Seattle’s Studio Litho), I’ve begun a quite fulfilling career as rock ‘n roll busboy at downtown Seattle’s very delicious Palace Kitchen. This replaces my former supplemental career as rock ‘n roll paperboy, which makes me very happy, but it does appear to be a bit more hazardous than being out on the suburban highways at 3am, because two weeks ago, my sneakers hit a wet patch on the slate floors and I went a-flying. Feet in the air. Arm on the ground. Hard slate. Brittle bone.
This was a very sobering reminder of my own fragility. I’ve never broken a bone or hurt myself seriously before. This won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who knows me well, but I wasn’t really the kind of kid that climbs trees or plays sports. I stayed inside a lot. Aside from the occasional papercut or bedsore (just kidding), I’ve remained pretty intact. I assumed this would remain the case indefinitely, especially with (expensive) studio time on the horizon, money to be earned, etc. Honestly, I had a lot of plans for my right arm…I never realized how much I liked tying my own shoes or using chopsticks until I couldn’t.
The good news is that, despite a little flare-up this past week (replete with ridiculous swelling and more pain than I’ve ever experienced, the night of the accident included), it appears that the show will go on. I’m on a steady diet of Aleve and ice-packs, resting when I can but making sure the arm doesn’t get stiff again, and saving the heavy-duty drugs just in case they’re needed after a long day in the studio this weekend. Here’s hoping they aren’t.
SO, I suppose this serves as a copious and meandering excuse for my absence from the O Lounge stage last night. I was looking forward to trying out a few new/old songs and sharing the stage with my friend Nathan Wade, but alas, I thought it better to leave my arm in the sling and take it easy this weekend. My apologies to anyone who turned up to see me and instead saw “a couple of bald guys” (overheard in the audience—their description, not mine). I promise I’ll make up for it at the Tractor on the day after Thanksgiving.
That’s right—with a couple of long weekends of recording under our belt, Red Jacket Mine will return to the Ballard stage on Friday, November 24 (the day after Thanksgiving) at the Tractor Tavern. We’ll be opening for our friend Tim Seely (his album, Funeral Music, is recommended listening for all RJM fans). The Quiet Ones, who I’ve not met, but do sound quite nice, are also on the bill. Show starts at 9pm and we play first. Studies show that our new material complements a turkey-induced trytophan haze very nicely, so if you’re in town that weekend, we’d love to see you there.
A couple more cool shows are on the books for December, but there will be time for me to tell you about those later (remember, I’m not going to wait so long to post next time). Those of you who like to plan ahead can bop over to the Shows page and read all about ‘em.
As mentioned before, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to the Tractor Tavern on October 5—it was a wonderful show and a long time coming, so it was really a treat to see you all there. If you missed it, shame on you! Our set was composed entirely of songs for the new album, five of them never-before-heard, Patrick played bass, I wore a tie, and a good time was had by all. Head over to the Photos section and check out our good friend Seth Wonner’s wonderful shots to relive some of the magic. (Thanks, Seth!) I’ve also posted the setlist and some other reflections on that and our previous show at the High Dive on the Past Shows page.
Stay tuned for updates from the studio…I plan to post photos, rough mixes, hell, maybe even a video or two. The boys have really stepped up to the plate and brought these songs to life, and frankly, they’re sounding so good that I want to die. I can’t wait to hear ‘em once the studio-savvy hands of Shawn Simmons get ahold of them. I’m really excited to make this record and get it in all of your hands, and sometime next spring, I’ll do just that. Until then, I plan on using this page to provide little glimpses into the process. Keep an eye out.
In other words, the new Pernice Brothers album, Live a Little, is killing me. Killing me. Go get it, and read about my other current and ongoing obsessions on the Favorites page. Take care, wish me a speedy convalescence, and I’ll talk to you all very soon.
xo
LINCOLN
October 29th, 2006