  Lately I've Been... Listening to : I had my new Rowan Atkinson ("Live In Belfast") on the other day, but I was busy cleaning my room and really didn't pay much attention to it. One of my speakers is still broken down, so I just haven't been listening to much lately. Watching on TV : "Everybody Loves Raymond", "The Simpsons", "Seinfeld", "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn", "Insomniac with Dave Attell", "The Dave Chapelle Show", and "The Daily Show". That's about it this week, I've been spending more time in front of the computer than in front of the television set. Downloading : I've been downloading and listening to a lot of unreleased Bill Hicks performances. Killer stuff. I also downloaded a Mitch Hedberg performance and liked that a lot too. Playing : I've been playing some PC games a lot lately, urlLink Marbles and urlLink Diamond Mine/Bejeweled .
They keep me amused. Reading : I read "Lord Of The Flies" this week. I know I read it when I was younger, or at least, I was supposed to read it. Good book, but I wish the author would have went into more detail about how they got there, even though it doesn't really have anything to do with the point he was wants to get across. Jamming : Played tonight with JP (vocals/guitar), Al (bass), Santana (percussion), Ronnie (saxophone/flute/clarinet), and a drummer named Chris, who was really, really good. It was a really good jam. We jammed on several covers: "Feelin' Alright", "Before You Accuse Me", "Wild Night", "American Girl", "Stuck In The Middle", "Sunshine Of Your Love" (with a killer sax solo and an extended jam at the end that I came up with), "Oye Como Va", "Black Magic Woman" (JP played bass and Al played acoustic guitar on those two songs) and "Can't You See". We did some of JP's originals ("Promise You The Moon", a new one JP wrote called "At Night", "Opportunity Knocks", "What She Loves"), Santana's "Subway Joe", my new one ("Goodbye"... the one in Em which JP created the melody for) and an old one of mine called "Stay Or Go" which I only played because Ronnie brought a clarinet tonight. The music for it is cool, old timey, but I hate the lyrics I have for it, which is why I usually don't play it.
The drummer started several Zeppelin songs and me and Al jammed on "Rock 'N Roll" a bit. We started off the night just jamming on a blues in E, and we also had a pretty good and lengthy jam in Am. JP started coming up with lyrics for it and added a chord change (G-Am) and I came up with some riffs for it.
It sounded great. I wish I had taped it. It was a lot of fun. We were there for four hours, we probably played about three hours altogether and stood around bullshitting and joking around the rest of the time. Very cool night. I am really looking forward to playing more with these guys. I have to get a good amp though, the one they have there just don't cut it. It's either nice and clean or it's super heavy metal distortion, no middle ground. The one I have at home is just too small.
I should go over to the Pawn Shop and try to make a deal for their Marshall if it's still there and if it works well and sounds good. Working : I need to get job hunting. Maybe tomorrow Mom can run me to a couple places. It's been too rainy and hot this week to go out looking on my own. Buying : Nothing. No money. Eating : I've been eating mainly Stouffer's Fish Filet/Macaroni & Cheese TV dinners, Campbell's Chunky Chicken soup, and Rice Krispy Treats. I also had a Boston Market Teriyaki Chicken dinner and Taco Salad this week as well. I've been eating more than I had been, so I have to cut back again. Mom shouldn't have bought the stuff for Rice Krispy Treats. Feeling : Same as last week: anxious, yet hopeful.
I'm feeling better than I have been, physically and emotionally. I'm really excited about the band situation right now and I have a much clearer idea of what I want to do with my own music. But, I'm really anxious about my finances, and my ears still aren't better yet, still popping and clogged (a big concern for me). Planning : I have to get a new amp within the next month, so I need to come up with a lot of money fast. I'm planning on going jobhunting and getting a job, and I'm planning on listing cards on eBay this weekend. I also plan on working on my music more than ever before. Things are looking a little brighter all the time. 
