I Should Be Sleeping...

...but I am not sleeping. Obviously. I have had some trouble sleeping lately, but that's another story.

I am working on some tattoo designs to start a tattoo parlor in Oldtown. It's going pretty well so far. I figure I'll do a few more web sites to pay for the start-up costs, and then get going. How hard could it be?

Well, I need to go to bed because I have a call out to fix a computer.

Working...

I've spent the vast majority of this week designing websites in Flash. I am not sure why the suidden interest by people for websites designed with this God-awful program, but, whatever. It pays the bills. Or, rather, it doesn't, because, in fact, both of these projects are non-paying in the traditional sense. The one, which I am pretty sure I mentioned, is doing a website for a recording studio guy who is starting a rap record label in Spokane. He's not paying me money, but he is trading me recording time in his studio. The other one, which I am positive that I didn't mention, is doing a web site for 1970s singer/bass player Suzi Quatro. I thought I was getting pretty close to being done with both sites, but then, last night, I get an e-mail from the record company saying that he hates the design. I suppose that all this means is that I will be getting more recording time.

I do (mostly) enjoy my work; I haven't enjoyed it all this week. Working with Flash SUCKS ASS.

In other news... we didn't have band practice at all this week.

Show

I went to a Christmas party at Kenny's boss' house. We were the entertainment. Me and Kenny played acoustically and people watched us raptly as we did so. We even did REALLY well, which was surprising. Well, to me, it was.

A Day Off

I plan to take this weekend and do as little as possible. My feet are killing me. I performed last night wearing a pair of shoes that are really old. I think I've had them for about four or five years. They are really worn out. The heels are worn funny so that they are slanted, and there is no support in the soles AT ALL. So, here it is, almost 12 hours later, and my feet are still killing me. I won't ever wear those shoes to perform again. I SOOOOOO need to go shoe shopping. Maybe I can use some gig money for that. Hmmm. What I'd really like to find is a pair of open-toed wedge sandals with straps... preferrably in black. Something sparkly could be cool. I see a Google search in my future. /:-

Stuff

There have been a rash of computer problems here lately: my Mom's computer, the drummer's computer, Kenny's work computer, and Kenny's boss' home computer. I am seriously thinking that I should start a business where I just go around and fix people's computers. I would tell them, "It appears to be a faulty chair-to-keyboard interface." HAHAHAHAHA.

Lastly, I was domestic today. I made chocolate chip cookies for the first time in I don't-know-how long. I even did the dishes afterward.

Very Busy

There's been a lot of work piling up in the last few days; mostly templates and whatnot. Unfortunately, due to other things, I haven't been able to get to it. There was some excitement caused by the bassist getting us a show at the Northern Quest Casino. I know that this is going to be a big deal because already the biggest booking agent in Spokane has called me and said that he would talk to me next week about booking us shows in Spokane. Oh, and tribe there at the casino already wants to book us for the 4th of July at the pow-wow grounds in Cusick (or wherever that is) and for some "other things" that were undefined as of yesterday.

The show yesterday went really well, despite that we only played 15 or 20 songs. They are still paying us $600+. Amazing, huh? Much better than a night in a bar!

I came home so tired... not sure why. We didn't play as long, certainly. I guess it would have to do with the fact that I didn't go to bed until 3 AM Monday night and then got up at 7:30 AM. Then we had to pack up all the stuff, load it into the van, drive to Airway Heights, unload everything, set everything up, wait for an hour and half, play for and hour and a half, break everything down, re-pack everything, load it back into the van, drive back to Priest River, and unload everything. Of course, I have Lead Singer's Disease and don't do any heavy lifting... well, that's only partially true. I try to stay out of Kenny's way because he is very cranky whenever someone prevents him from doing whatever it is he is doing, even if the other person is helping him. So, I avoid it. But, all the same, I was so tired when we got back that I fell asleep on Mom's couch and was in bed by 10PM.

Blah, Blah, Blah

I'm still working, which is a great thing. Not that I like it, mind, but it's still good to make money.

I went to a bar last Friday. It's called The Rio. Anyway, I talked to the bartender who books the bands, and, if we get her demos, she said she'd book us for every other Wednesday and alternating weekends, so it'd be like, Wednesday one week we'd play, and then not play that weekend, and not play the following Wednesday and then play Friday/Saturday following that, and then play the Wednesday after that. And so on. This would be good. They pay the bands well.

I have to go to bed now. I have to go to Spokane at 8 AM.

Writing

Life has been busy, what with the working stuff, the party planning, and the writing. I am still toying with my book, at this point. I figure, sooner or later, I'll have something worth showing people. For the moment, however, the book is slow-going. And as for the sequel to Night Cries, it's even slower going, but I've finally started it. I just threw out everything that was holding me back. Here we go.

Oweee

Can you believe my luck? I hurt my neck. I can't turn my head to the left or I almost pass out and/or puke. It's AWUL. I've taken over 2,000 MGs of painkillers today, and it only makes it marginally better.

Oh, but here's the best part: how I hurt my neck. Are you ready for this? You might think that I hurt myself at the band's performance on Saturday whilst headbanging to "Crazy Train." Nope. You might think that carrying around a 14-lb guitar for four and half hours did it. Nope. I didn't even hurt myself moving equipment or playing with the kids or falling like an idiot or getting hit by a car or hitting a deer or some stupid shit.

No, I hurt my neck SLEEPING.

Yeah, that's right: SLEEPING. I can't believe my luck.

In other news, I am throwing a surprise party for Kenny's 38th birthday. His birthday is Oct.6, but I am having it on the 7th at the American Legion in Cusick. This will be fun. I am having a cake shaped like a golf course done for him, and I'm getting balloons, and streamers, and the band will play!

Oh, and the band is playing the Friday before Halloween at King's in Priest River and at The Jammer in Priest River the Saturday before Halloween. We're also booked for New Year's at The Jammer.

Speaking of The Jammer, the gig was okay. We had Major Technical Difficulties during the first set, specifically, Kenny's wireless guitar router thingy had a dead battery, so he couldn't play for half of the first song. Then, there were feedback issues on the P.A. all freaking night. And there wasn't much of a crowd. We're working on the P.A. setup so we don't have to play as loud and we can be more Dynamic.

Also, I am going to post the stuff about the trip to Denver. I am. I've just been Work-Swamped for days now. But I will get to it. Sooner or later.

I'm Excited

Short and sweet of it, 'cause I have to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 10 AM:

• Band is entered into contest on MTV2, now, and we're at #6 for the Seattle region!
• Gig went well.
• Band is focusing more on practicing for a while, in case we do get a gig at the Spokane Fair.
• Got a personal letter from programming director at KCDA!!!
• I'm almost done working on the two sites I have been working on.
• Getting more printed material ordered Monday.
• I NEEEEEEED a laptop!!!!

I will write more in-depth on these topics Sunday or Monday.

'Tis Me, Again

The show I whined and blogged about... well, it's back on... sort of. The owner called me back the very next day and asked us to play. After Kenny went down there and picked up all our equipment. So, Kenny agreed to play there for $250, even though we all wanted $350. Grr. Well, anyway.

I re-did my personal site, and I re-did my book site. I am contemplating the band's site, now. Not sure what to do with it, but I want it to look professional, and I want it to pop. Still, I've been looking around, and getting something to look really good when compared to most bands is totally do-able. Most band sites suck. And most author's sites suck, too. In fact, in general, most web sites suck ass.

Okay, I'm off to get some pudding.

Like A Rollercoaster

The other day, I spent 4 hours making these cute little posters for our show at the golf course. We'd played there the 21st and 22nd, and we were supposed to play there this upcoming weekend. Well, I say "supposed" because, after making the posters, alerting all my friends to the show, posting stuff all over the Internet, and generally just publicizing the hell out of it, we got to the bar tonight to pick up our check and give them posters, only to have owner tell us that he is NO LONGER HAVING MUSIC!!!!

Because, you know, a phone call letting me know that he isn't having music anymore and let me know to bring my van down and get my band equipment that they were storing in preparation for our next show there... or even save me the work of making posters or telling anyone to come see us play.... It makes me wonder if he was planning to wait until we showed up there on Friday to tell us.

So, I was in a pretty bad mood when I got home. Just depressed. Anyhow, I logged on to the computer and found out that VH1 used "Riding The Bell" in one of their podcasts.

So that made my night a little better, but what happened next really made my evening. One of the guys I sent a CD to put up a review of the CD on Amazon! Here's what he had to say:

This is the kind of rock-and-roll I've been looking for! The haunting and
powerful first track sets the tone with exquisite guitar-work and Charity's
silver-tinged vocals. And the band always keeps it interesting. "Wicked Ways," a
serious up-beat rocker is followed by the "Soul of the Sea," a beautiful ballad
set in a timeless mythic otherworld. Not only does Make Me Shiver truly rock but
all the songs are elegantly arranged and well-written. Charity's lyrics are
intelligent, succinct and honest. "Piss You Off" is one of the many highlights
on this album, a witty and catchy tune that simply tells it like it is and the
infectious "Riding the Bell" is simultaneously accessible and mysterious. "Too
Much to Dream," was my number one beach CD this summer and I can't wait to see
what they come out with next.

See the comments in context HERE.So, summation: no show; we're on VH1; got a good review. I guess more good than bad.

Finally, the dam has burst, and the words are coming. It's been a long drought without anything creative to sustain me. But, finally. The words are coming forth, and the story's practically writing itself, and, sweet relief? Yes, it is.Here's the best lines I wrote tonight. Tell me what you think:

"Shelby Guilfoyle," one of the men said to Maggie. His head reminded me of a
brick with a Brillo pad glued to the top, what with his exaggerated square jaw
and decidedly "ruddy" complexion caused by very pale skin in unrelenting
southeast Oregon heat."Where is she?" the other man demanded. This one was very
tall, had an almost graceful body – especially compared to Brick-noggin – and
his dark skin shimmered slightly with sweat in the noontime sun, the sheen of it
only overwhelmed by the stunningly bright glint of his too-cliché cop-type
mirrored sunglasses.

Maybe it doesn't make any sense out of context.

Anyway, so, yeah. It's not the sequel to Night Cries, but I am writing again, so maybe that's not far behind. You think?

It's A Mystery To Me

Nothing much happened today. I called a booking agent and invited him to the shows over this coming weekend. I also called a bar owner and invited her. We'll see what happens.

I completely updated my web site. New look, new content, whole nine yards. See it here.

So, I am going to start writing again. I'm almost ready to do it again. What will I start writing? I don't know. Something, though. I am feeling very uncreative, though. Have been for a while, and I am at a loss at what to do with myself. I don't have a creative outlet anymore since I finished all my projects. El sigho.

Busy Weekend

I was SOOOO busy. In fact, I was busy all week, pretty much. On Tuesday, we had band practice with our regular drummer. On Wednesday, we had band practice with Cactus. On Thursday, we had band practice with the regular drummer. Then, Friday morning, I had to get up early to help my Mom go shopping at Wal*Mart. I helped her load the groceries into the truck, bought lunch; got back to Mom's; helped her unload the groceries; took a shower; dried my hair; got ready for the gig; went home; finished getting ready for the gig; went to the bar; helped set up some; soundchecked; and then the show started.

The show was weird. At first, there was almost nobody there, and Kenny set up the PA funny, so there was only sound coming out of one side of the speakers (so that had to be fixed prior to the second set). And it was kind of disheartening, at first, because there were so few people there, but, come about 10 PM, more people came in (and stayed, thankfully!), and then about 11 PM, there were more people, and people started buying us drinks and coming over to talk with us and buying our CDs and stuff. By midnight, the place was packed. And it ended up pretty cool, but there was one incident: the drummer, during the last song, decided that he was going to take a leak, so, in the middle of "Freebird," he got up from the drums and RAN to the bathroom. So, being as I have played drums on that song before, I slipped behind the drum kit and, with my guitar still hanging around my shoulders, I played the last half of the slow part to "Freebird." Just as the fast part kicked in, the drummer returned from the john and took over playing again, although, getting him BACK behind the drum kit and me OUT from behind it while not breaking the rhythm was some of a feat, but we did pull it off.

The next day, my Dad came over to get me (as Kenny borrowed my car for work), and I went out to his house, ate lunch, and got ready for the gig at the Owl. I get there, and Kenny is already there setting up equipment, but the drummer is nowhere to be seen. He had called Kenny at, like, 3:30 PM, and said that he was on his way, but, there it was, 5 PM, and he wasn't there yet. We wondered if something had happened to him or if he was going to just ditch us. But then, Cactus showed up, and we, at least, would have someone to play drums if the drummer didn't arrive. Long about 6 PM, the drummer finally shows up. His said he had been waiting in the parking lot the whole time. Cactus had already set up the drum kit, so, at least we started on time. We had fewer technical difficulties this time, which was good, but I got pissed off at Kenny toward the end of the night for skipping one of my original songs on the set list. the drummer pulled the "I-gotta-piss" ploy twice during the night, and Cactus filled in both times. Someone (or multiple someones) stole 3 CDs out of my backpack.

Today, I was TIIIIIIIRRRRRED. I wasn't ready to be awake when Dad got here with the equipment today, so I didn't help him unload anything, and I feel bad about that, so I will have to buy him some Primo Beer to make up for it. I'd planned to either work or write when I got home tonight, but I got home too late to feel like doing anything. Now I am super tired again and I think I'll got o bed soon. I am feeling rather dehydrated at the moment, though, so I may watch TV and drink some water.

The antibiotics seemed to work on the tonsilitis, finally. I wonder which "rare" bacteria I had?

Blech

I'm feeling rather useless. I read a book over the weekend off-and-on, and I liked it. I picked up the book because the author's last name is the same as my favorite teacher in college, and the story looked interesting, so, I bought it. The book is called Blood Ties Book One: The Turning by Jennifer Armintrout. It wasn't great, but it was fun, and it occurred to me that I don't write "fun" books. In fact, I'm not really a "fun" person. I wouldn't want to be my friend. I suck. But, anyway, I digress. I've decided that I am going to write another book. A fun book. Something interesting, yet fun. Funny, even. Because right now, Life In General sorta stinks. The swelling has gone down in my tonsils, but they still hurt to swallow sometimes. I am starting to worry that I am REALLY sick.

Weirdness Abounds

I went to the doctor today. He said that whatever it is giving me tonsilitis is not strep. So, basically, he thinks I have mono, which, you know, I don't. The only other things that could be causing it are two pretty rare bacteria. So, I have a prescription of Cephalexin (500 mg) to take, and, hopefully, I'll feel better soon. Otherwise, I gotta go back in next Friday for blood tests.

I don't do spring cleaning. I don't clean, really, but I had not cleaned off the crap from my hard drive very recently (like since 2004!), so I did so tonight, and ran across some MP3s I did for this other band that was looking for a lead singer back in 2003. When I did the songs for them, I changed up a lot of the vocals from the way the previous singer had done them. The band told me that they didn't like what I had done, and ended up not using my vocals... or so I thought. I went and looked the band up tonight and I found that their new singer is using a lot of the unique vocal inflection I'd arranged on the song. I guess I had more of an impression than they wanted to admit, huh?

This Space Intentionally Left Blank

I have a doctor's appointment today. I am supposed to get antibiotics for my tonsils.

I found an urge to work tonight, but I didn't. Hehehe. I will tomorrow night, though, unless we have a show on Saturday, in which case, I will put of working until later, because I will have lots of band practices all week for shows and whatnot.

I heard from VH1 tonight, and they were asking for the MP3 of the song, so that must be a good thing, and means that our song appearing on the program is coming soon! Yay! Our music may also be heard on a Washington, DC podcast soon, and we might play in Denver. Who knows?

Updates

So, I woke up Tuesday morning with one of the worst cases of tonsilitis that I have had in a long time. The tonsil on my right side was so swollen I felt like I might gag at any second any time I swallowed, and it was bright red and goopy-looking. Just nasty.

And I had to perform yesterday.

Saturday, we had band practice with Cactus, who is filling in for us on the 21st and 22nd, as our regular drummer can't play on those dates. We practiced with Cactus again Sunday.

Tuesday, I woke up with horrific tonsilitis, but I did perform, thanks to two Tylenols and a healthy dose of my magic throat elixir. My throat still hurts, incidentally, and we may be performing again on Saturday. Lovely.

Booger-pickers & the Wonderful World of Nostril Mining

We played at the Elk Days festival-thingy Sunday. Everybody said that we kicked ass. Everytime I told the monitor guy to turn up my vocals, he turned up my guitar, and it was starting to piss me off. But, oh, well. I sold CDs and made $45 and everything worked out OK.