"Kamikaze Girl"

Marthas Summer 2008 Blog IN ITS ENTIRETY

I recently found the last two entries to the blog I wrote (in a notebook . . . it's still a blog, okay?) while on tour with Mick and the Marthas last summer. So for whomever is interested, here it is in its full glory for the first time - JSB's Tour Bloggggggggggg:

-------------------------------

JSB's tour log on the Martha America Adventure (not the real name of the tour, I promise) -

July 19, 2008 - 4:45 PM

We're on the way to Cincinatti in Larry Briggs (our van). We're becoming great friends with I-75 on this leg of the tour. Shawns the GPS says we've got 193 miles to go. Nice.

We played our official kickoff gig at the Lager House last night. It was a splendid time. I hope people dig the new single. I'm tired.

July 20, 2008 - 5:42 PM

The Gypsy Hut was very cool. We opened up for an incredible 13 person group. I met a guy named Chainsaw. The owner of the bar put us up in a super awesome house for the night. Getting to sleep on a mattress and take a shower on the first night of the tour = A+. I woke up early, climbed on the roof and discussed Greek Mythology with Sarah for a half hour on my barely-working phone. The Marthas then went to Kentucky to watch The Dark Knight. It was too good. Renee misplaced her ID and Debit card, oh dear. We're waiting for the next showing to end so we can hunt them down. Finger crossing time!

July 21, 2008 - Midnight - special Renee entry

The back of the van is a treacherous place, like a foreign land inhabited by the tribals. I feel like we annoy the civilized folk in the front, but, alas, they're talking about coca-cola or something at the moment. who cares.

Jesse and Renee are drunk.

Madlibs is our savior.

1:14 AM - back to JSB

Just arrived in West Virginia. Listening to Pyramid Song. Day's inn in Ohio tried to charge us $70 for a room cause of some fake holiday. No way, Jose! I have to hang out the window to write this, it's too dark to see otherwise. The End.

2:26 PM

We're in Maryland. Erik and I are writing poetry and fiction. Renee and Allison are being very patient with us.

I named my mandolin Orpheus today. I think it fits quite nicely. I'm currently quasi-upside-down. Renee is making my hair pretty. Excellent.

6:59 PM

Great news! Some guys broke into the van, smashing the windows, and stole Shawns. Welcome to Washington D.C., Marthas!

10:51 PM - special Allison entry

Some girl in the band before us greeted Renee and I with "So what are you guys? Groupies? Friends? Girlfriends?" I felt like ripping her skull off.

July 22, 2008 - 11:45 AM - back to JSB

We're now on the way to New York. Renee is reading us folk tales in french. She is a delight.

Nothing else has been stolen from us! We made it out of D.C. alive, too. What luck!

Last night at the show we met Blelvis. Did you know Elvis Presley released 1,112 songs? Blelvis knows that. Blelvis knows everything about Elvis. He had to leave the bar after he got tricked into kissing a girl. Poor guy.

After the show I slept in the van. I kept it safe ALL night! I'm the best.

Today we had the worst breakfast ever. Our stomachs are doing funny things. Gross. Looking forward to New York, D.C. was a b-u-s-t. Oh well, deal with it.

7-26-08 - 1:00 AM

Just got done playing in Philly 5 minutes ago. Yaya (plays with Sun Ra) joined us for the set. Best show of the tour so far.

Last night we camped at Elk Lake (I think) in Maryland. It was beautiful there. I discovered good-mind and shared with the band. Erik gets it.

I'm gonna go watch An American Chinese (the Headliners) play. Ta ta.

7-28-08 - 3:08 PM

(Note - before writing this I forgot that I had written the previous blog entry. I'm leaving repeated details in for the sake of blog honesty. . . blogesty. . . )

Man I'm not doing a very good job maintaining this blog with vivid detail. Let me see what I've missed. Hmm. . .

Camped in Maryland, climbed some rocks. Mick and I didn't go to sleep until 5 am. Woke up and did laundry.

Went to Philly. Got an awesome hotel. Played the Khyber with some awesome bands (The Armchairs and An American Chinese) and Mandi Perkins. Larry Briggs got towed. Come on, Philly, gimme a break.

Woke up and got Larry back, then drove to Northampton, Massachusetts. Played at The Basement. It was cramped on stage. For Red Robert I played the Clavi whilst standing on a chair. Great calf workout!

We love Northampton. Hanna let us stay at her house. Her cat (India) is my new best friend.

---Side note - I forgot to mention that I met an awesome homeless cat outside of Don Pedro in Brooklyn. She told me her name was Santina. Mick wouldn't let me take her with us for the rest of the tour. I felt very bitter about that. Oh well, at least the van won't smell like cat urine.---

That's the update for now. We've got a few days off, gonna go camping again. Cool!

7-30-08 - 1:22 PM

Part two of the tour begins today as we head to North Carolina. Stayed in Virginia last night. Saw Step-Brothers with Erik. It was incredible.

You can learn a lot about yourself when on the road like this.

That's all I have to say on the matter.

7-31-08 - 11:22

Woke up a little while ago in Charlotte, North Carolina. Played last night at Snug Harbor. Debuted a new song for the first time since "Give You the City". The ten people watching seemed to enjoy it.

Just med a guy named Fred. He gave me a magnet advertising "Supreme Master Television" featuring Supreme Master Ching Hai. Can't wait to check it out. Awesome.

8-1-08 - 4:41 PM

We're in Tennessee on the way to the Foobar in Nashville. Yesterday we discovered that Boone, North Carolina is the best place on the planet. A wonderful man named Jared put us up at this house for the night. We played at the Black Cat and met more wonderful people there. Mick sang two White Stripes songs with the headliners. A girl named Allie told me I was her favorite. She's my favorite too.

I haven't been to Tennessee in a couple years. I'm pumped.

8-3-08 - 10:50 AM

The twilight of the tour is upon us. We got one last motel in Macon, George. The ride into Macon was absurd. Shawns was sorely missed. Word of advice - never ever trust Google Maps. Their directions took us an hour south of where we wanted to go, which led to us driving directly into a huge storm (you may recall that we lack windows). I sang "Optimistic" while I drove in case it was our final ride. It wasn't.

Made it to the Hummingbird, played for ten people, called it a night. After our show in Atlanta we're driving back to Detroit. No buts about it. The end.

8-4-08 - 6:31 AM

Larry Briggs is making the long trek home. Mick and I have been taking shits driving back to Detroit since 10:40 PM. Everyone else is asleep. Zzzzz. How cute. Awwwwww.

It's hard to believe we actually just completed this tour. For those of you that know the six of us that made this journey, you probably understand what a feat this was. I'd like to take the time to acknowledge the casualties of Mick Bassett & the Marthas' Summer 2008 Tour (to the best of my memory) -

One Keyboard
Two Belts
Two Van Windows
Three Shakers
One GPS
One Snare Drum Head
Two High-Hat Cymbals
One Book
Three Guitar Strings

I hope the blog has been exciting enough for you. I've done a lot of writing on the road. I look forward to recording some of the new stuff for you soon.

-Jesse

This is a couple years old

We discussed purity as opposed to pressure
Aimlessly driving, or so it would appear
Random streets turning, a disregard for direction
Distracted by energy drawn from a mug
Spur of the moment was the dish of the evening
Interest renewed with each matter at hand
Slightly more input than intake at times
Yet never veering from instinctual ease

Fate, a subjective topic at best
Led to lamentations concerning connections
Augmenting our own all the while
Steering through impulse, a disregard for direction
Propelled into imminence with every curve
Any avenue we came upon would have sufficed
But we chose only the roads we chose
Bound to coincidence or cause and effect
Our conclusion awaited unhampered by thought

We dwelled in purity as opposed to pressure
Redundant conundrums a forgotten commodity
At the corner we glimpsed two deer among the houses
Two spirits untainted amid structures man-made
Like liquid they leapt with disregard for direction
We paused for an instant, our awe was palpable
Then we proceeded with our own procession
Unaware of the mirror upon which we’d stumbled

Habitually reasoning
Blockading assumptions before they’re refuted
Caution lost for an instant
Overwhelmingly effortless in the jaws of restriction
Caution lost for an instant
Rapt by the lack of analytic suspicions
A disregard for direction
Is the method with which we’ll fashion our outcome

A Tale Before Playing

I have twenty-six minutes until Erik picks me up to go play at the Magic Stick's Christmas thingamajig. Before I get my Martha on, I will spin you a tale.

-------------------------------

Mick Bassett was just like any other boy in town, except for one very small detail - he was very, very good at baking cookies! He could make any kind of cookie you could imagine - chocolate chip, shortbread, sugar, almond, no recipe was outside of his baker's instinct. Men, women, and children from all over the globe journeyed to get a taste of Mick's legendary cookies. Other bakers and chefs were baffled - how could this nobody have trumped their own deeply refined craft so mightly? One baker in particular found himself so jealous that he could think of nothing else. This baker's name was Jeremy Smith.

Jeremy was a baker in a town not far from Mick's. He worked seven days a week at his bakery, manning the ovens from open to close. Business had been steady until the sudden revelation of Mick's gift. Now Jeremy considered himself lucky to get three customers a day. He knew something had to be done - but what?

The answer came to him in a dream. In this dream two angels came to him from on high, playing their harps sweetly as they fluttered to earth. These angels were named Gordon Smith and Ryan Wiese. They explained to Jeremy that there was a very easy solution to his very big problem. Gordon drew Jeremy very near and whispered the answer. Jeremy couldn't believe what a fool he'd been - the answer was right in front of him all along! The two angels and Jeremy shared a big hug, then went their separate ways.

The next day when the thousands upon thousands came on their pilgrimage to Mick's bakery, they were sorely disappointed. Mick had baked no cookies that day. He had been poisoned with arsenic.

The end.

-------------------------------

Happy Holidays!

-J

Update from the Annex

I'm in bed as I type this. I have a bit of a cold, or a fever, i'm not sure which. My head feels like it's filled with helium. My body is sore for no reason at all. I have become REALLY LAME.

It's been almost a year since the JSB Squad mission began. It started out as Jeremy, Erik and I getting together to play a show because I told Mick I'd have a band ready to open for him, and has now ballooned to an eleven member extravaganza. I'm pleased with the progress. I think those who have been to a squad show have been equally pleased, if not more so. We are, as you may know, the mayors of Pleasure Town.

It's also been almost a year since the release of the first Mick Bassett & The Marthas EP, and we are on the precipice of releasing our sophomore effort. This one will excite you, I promise . . . it's turning out much grittier, rock 'n' rollier. I'm excited.

I lied to everyone and said I'd release an acoustic EP at the end of November. I never ended up completing it. To be honest, it's become very hard to be enthusiastic about music lately. Any artist will tell you they go through their ups and downs, both creatively and motivationally, and this is definitely a period of motivational drudgery for me. I can barely get out of bed these days, let alone set up a microphone or bash out some chords on the piano. It all takes too much effort. I'm thinking of this as my vacation. Hopefully it'll be over soon, I'm getting a little homesick.

I'm going to bed. Hugs and Kisses.

-Jesse

BLUE CIRCLE, RUBBER BANDS

JSB SQUAD
BLUE CIRCLE, RUBBER BANDS

1. The Unfinished Adventures of Agatha
2. Battling Hindsight
3. ????
4. Ezekiel's Habitat
5. Head In the Sand
6. Factors of Astrology
7. Changing of Turns
8. Sunlight
9. You Said You Saw Red
10. The Limit Lost

To be released June 20, 2008! Woohoo!

Okay so I've been slacking

Well it seems it's somehow almost been a month since my last entry. Oops.

Almost all of the recording is finished. I came down with that nasty cold that's been floating around Michigan, so there are still some harmonies left to do as soon as I can inhale properly. Here is the UPDATE:

It looks like the CD has gone from being an EP to an album. The track list isn't 100% final, so i'll just tell you all of the candidates (stuff recording during these sessions and resurrected from previous sessions).

Demigods and Sodapop
The Unfinished Adventures of Agatha
Battling Hindsight
I'm Gonna Be Gone
????
Ezekiel's Habitat
Head In the Sand
Factors of Astrology
Tess
Changing of Turns
Sunlight
The Horrible Blues
You Said You Saw Red
An Update
The Limit Lost
It's Taken Care Of
Cecilia

More info soon I PROMISE. I will tell you (because you've been so kind) that the album will be released on June 29th, 2008. That's very soon!

-J

RECORDING UPDATE #3

Wednesday, February 20th -

Tonight we were joined by Dr. Tomorrow, whose wisdom led to a much improved method of recording Max the guitar. The good doctor also contributed some guitarwork of his own to Changing of Turns and The Limit Lost. After working on a few more guitar tracks, DT and I commenced recording our interpretation of the Simon & Garfunkel classic "Cecilia". I'm excited for you to hear it.


Thursday, February 21st -

Today was a relaxing affair. I spent some time assessing the tracks as they stand, mixing some stuff around, then decided to go to bed early in order to function for the huge day that awaits tomorrow.

-J

RECORDING UPDATE #2

Monday, February 18th-

DJ Malvitch returned with his bass amp, through which I laid down tracks for Agatha, Changing of Turns, and Sunlight. After a few hours of dillying and dallying he made his way back to his woman. At this time I met Erik for a cup of coffee, and we were surprised to see our lovely friend Rachel at the same establishment. She came back to help record It's Taken Care Of. After I recorded the acoustic guitar track, we fleshed it out with Erik's piano work, Rachel's Whistle, and all our combined hands' snapping. After Rachel departed I went back and redid a bunch of guitar parts. I also recorded my voice in a new manner that better suits the recordings. Yippee. Went to bed at 9:30 am.

Tuesday, February 19th-

Erik and I were again joined by Jeremy, who was accompanied by Eric (with a 'c'). We recorded Jeremy's drums for You Said You Saw Red, and after I conjured up the guitar for The Limit Lost, Jeremy threw his hot beats on that. Feeling like perhaps some music besides these few songs deserved to be created, we took a break to jam for a while. After that ended I spent the night working on editing the new tracks. Now it's time for bed - I'm getting better, it just turned 5.

-J

RECORDING UPDATE #1

Saturday, February 16th -

Erik and I spent a few hours converting my house into a studio before we were joined by Jeremy, who laid down some perfect drums for Battling Hindsight, Changing of Turns, Sunlight, and The Unfinished Adventures of Agatha. I threw a guitar part and vocals on Battling Hindsight, Erik added a bass part, and then we called it a night.

Sunday, February 17th -

Erik came over around eight. Shortly after that we were joined by DJ Malvitch and and his woman. We messed around with getting better sounds out of amps and all that jazz. After they left I recorded more parts to the aforementioned songs til 7 am. It was wonderful.