I’m in LA for a short spell, doing more driving than I like to do here already, wishing I could dispel a sense of discomfort. Wishing I could at the very least identify what the source of discomfort is. I don’t think of myself as superstitious, but my mind always goes straight to wondering if I’m having a premonition of ill fortune when there’s an unexplained ill-at-ease descended upon my generally good nature.
(I like to say that out loud—in case something bad happens, whoever reads this can then say: “she knew something bad was going to happen”)
It might be the weather. Mother nature has been busy lately, showing us who’s boss. 1 I footnoted an opinion here, easy to bypass if you don’t want it. Footnoted opinions is actually a genius idea, too bad off the page real life can’t offer that choice.
One thing I’m always struck by in LA is the variety of trees and foliage. Trees are on my mind a bit, because as you may or may not remember, at the top of February, a massive freeze carnaged it’s way through Austin’s trees. It’s taken until now to get the damage cleared, cut and woodchipped away. We are left with spare, lopsided, lonely branches, it remains to be seen what sparse canopy they’ll be able to muster. It’s not easy being a tree these days.
Mine are also frantically trying to shed thousands of leaves while simutaneously creating tiny new chartreuse-green buds. I assumed it was a sign of climate weirdness arbor confusion: maybe Spring was broken. It turns out for live oaks, this is normal and is called “leaf exchange.” Live oak leaf exchanging for me means that one of my spring rites calls for raking and skimming leaves for hours a day throughout March and April.
I try and make out like it’s a Zen exercise, let my mind go blank and succumb to the repetitive motions.
Back to LA: the city always interests me, because I lived here for 27 years, during my young adult years, struggle years, heyday years. Now that I’ve moved, 17 years worth of gone, I drive through the streets slowly, a looky-loo scoping it all out, checking what has changed and what is the same. LA does a good job of keeping proportional parts change and sameness. Some aspects, that if you live here probably just slunk in under your nose, but for me as a visitor, it’s equally surprising what remains and what is replaced.
I was talking with my friend Steven about the old days, when every single band went around the city with homemade flyers and a staple gun—for the metal poles, some paste—to promote your gig. We usually did it late at night because it felt a little like someone could reasonably object if they had any authority to do so, ie a cop. And there were protocols, like not covering up someone else’s flyer unless their gig had already happened. Telephone poles, at any given eye level, were caked in staples, and yet somehow there was always room for more. We were stapling into layers of staples.
Last dispatch, #14, I wrote some about social media and creating content to promote my music and writing—and here’s what occurred to me during this conversation: back in ye olde flyer campaigns, I was the one making the flyers. Getting a photo print, using stencils or adhesive letters, making sketches, arranging and gluing down, taking to the copy place and printing out a stack. Turns out I’ve always been a content creator…and the thru-line of that, the consistency and continuity gave me a little kick.
Do you have any thru-lines, things that you do or like, that you realize in a different shape or form have always been an aspect of you?
The song sausage video shows a little bit of an afternoon in the studio getting live drums on “Hurry.” I’d put down a better-than-the-guide vocal track for Kristy to play to, kind of hoping it would be a keeper, but now that the drums are recorded, and the track is sounding the way I want, I’m going to re-do them—I think the energy and how I sing could be positively affected by the more live sound of the music. I’ll work on a guitar solo next week as well, and maybe that might be it. Whatever happens, I’ll share with interested subscribers. I also look forward to starting a new song.
I’m doing another comic con with Gina, March 25&26 in NYC. I had a blast at the last one, felt loved and appreciated and really enjoyed meeting so many interesting people. Also putting real humans to the names and faces I recognize from online.
A couple of thanky things before I send this out: sounds like the occasional podcast would be well received, thank you for that feedback. thank you to all subscribers, hugs to the paid people. Please share, recommend, gift, or otherwise send the D of M onwards to anyone you think might like!
Not noticing the weather changes happening under our noses is but one of the collective denials privileged first world citizens get to indulge in.
15) Spring Broke