Jun. 27, 2002
Another Man's Trash
So, OK, it’s almost July, and I still haven’t managed to come up with a coherent entry for June. I’m telling you guys, time is flying by over here. Wednesday we had a Marketing Meeting at work, and someone said that July 4th was the next week, and I was like, "Get out of town!" Then I was like, "Woo-hoo!" because I get July 4th off! Yippee!
Public service announcement: there's no need to reward your curiosity with a new, pre-bottled Vanilla Coke. It's really not very good.
My car got broken into last night. It was really kind of freaky. But the really incredible thing is that they didn't take anything of monetary value, and there was so much crap in my car last night! I had just moved out of the place I'd been house-sitting, and I'd been there for two weeks, so practically my whole life was in my car - two weeks' worth of clothes, shoes, both of my guitars, books, CD's, etc., etc. - and all they took was my Harry Potter bookbag. Now, granted, I'm a bit sad about my Harry Potter bookbag, which I truly loved, and I'm a bit freaked out about losing both my planner (it was a really cool Powerpuff Girls planner, too) and my address book. My treasure is another man's trash, I suppose. I'm sure my bookbag is lying in a dumpster somewhere, if only I knew which one! But really all that's contained in my address book and in my planner is information, all of which I can get back somehow. I guess that's the good thing about being a disorganized sort of person on a Post-It system; everything that was in my planner is on a Post-It somewhere. I just have to find it.
There is only one thing that got stolen that is probably irreplacable. They took my favorite lipstick. Bastards!
But truly, y'all, I feel incredibly lucky right now. Aside from closing my checking account and replacing my back window, I am absolutely doing fine. I mean, can you imagine how freaked out I'd be right now if both my guitars had been stolen??? I'd be a complete wreck. Oh, and if I used to have your address and phone number, please e-mail it to me so I can write it down somewhere and lose it before I get around to buying a new address book, 'kay? Thanks!
I have been finding out about some great venues lately, both in town and outside of Atlanta, and it really makes me excited again about the prospect of being a touring musician. There are a lot of people out there who really love music and who really want to find places for it to flourish. A good example would be Ron and Alicia of the Playwright Café in Columbus, GA. That is quickly becoming one of my favorite venues of all time, and I would encourage anyone who’s planning on touring in the southeast to check them out. They are just so cool and friendly, and they treat me like a rock star, which in turn makes me want to give them the best show of my life. They even asked me for a signed picture for their wall!!!
Speaking of which, I did finally choose a new headshot. You can check it out on the main page. I’m not totally happy with it; I mean, I’d hoped it would be little less glamorous and a little more me, but I do like it. It’s cute, and, as Kenny said when he was making his case for that one over the others, "I like it because it looks like you might actually be playing the guitar, and plus it looks like you’re about to say something funny." And that’s more or less what I was going for: the idea that I play guitar and put on a fun show.
As for some of the other new venues I’m discovering, check out the schedule for the details of my upcoming July adventures; I’m playing a new coffeehouse in Marietta called Insomnia on July 12th, and the next night I’m heading up to Dahlonega, GA to play at the Crimson Moon. I’m really excited about both of these places. The people who book them are super-cool and friendly, and that just always makes everything so much better than when the people who book places are not very nice at all. I'm also making my debut at The Vinings Inn with an opening slot on July 23rd. This place is adorable; it's an old, historic building that's a restaurant and bar, and the music room is all small and intimate and perfect for acoustic music. I'm excited that I have so much going on right now.
Another thing I’m excited about is TourBaby Atlanta! TourBaby is an idea started by a group of independent musicians (myself included) who all met on the internet to have a national tour that would travel through the U.S. and throw a spotlight on independent music in each city. So the tour travels, but the artists in each city are local. It’s been a bit more work and stress already than I thought it would be when I signed up to coordinate the Atlanta date, but dude, it’s going to rock! I haven’t confirmed everything, and I definitely haven’t announced anything yet, but I just really wanted to mention it because I think it’s going to be so cool! (It’s also a major reason why I haven’t had time to do a June entry before now.) So mark September 14th on your calendars, guys! It’s going to be a big deal.
I promised last month that I would tell you all about the Smith family reunion I went to in May. I never did get a copy of the huge group photo that we took (Uncle Charlie? How’s that going over there?), but my dad posted a photo of the whole dang family right before we took the big group photo. So we're kind of milling aimlessly, but that's probably a more accurate representation of us anyway! (See below.) My parents took some great photos of my show at Orbit's in Fredericksburg that I'm going to post in the photo album as soon as I remember to scan them. I love the pictures because you can see the picture of John Lennon on the wall behind me! I suppose I should have played a John Lennon song, but I settled for getting Steph up onstage to sing a Bob Dylan song with me instead. (Don’t ask how that went. Let’s just say we lived to tell the tale.) All in all, the family reunion was a blast and a half, and it was really cool to see everyone. There were people there I’d never even met! Actually, my cousin Mike claims to have met me when I was very small, but since I don’t remember it, it can’t be true. My mom’s family is really close, and I see them all the time – great-uncles and great-aunts, second cousins, cousins by marriage, you name it, I know them all – but the Smiths haven’t gone in for these big family gatherings since my grandfather died when I was eight or so, and it was really nice to get everyone together and just hang out. I have very cool cousins. And I have little cousins now! They run around and ask me questions and try to learn to play Frisbee! I’m not around kids very often, so that was particularly fun for me. Hopefully it won’t be another twenty years before the next one (although I do think having one of those every single year like some families do might could get a bit taxing).
So there you have the latest installment in what Laurie calls "girlie adventures in musicland." If anyone needs me, I’ll be out by the pool, enjoying the 8:30 sunset. I love summer.
What’s in my stereo at home:
Nothing; I haven't been home in two weeks.
What’s in my car:
What's in my CD player at work:
Again, nothing. I've been on the phone with the bank, though, so I've heard some really bad elevator-type hold music today.
