Dr. Frank's What's-it

Rock and Rollers Drifting By

So here's the deal with upcoming shows:

This Friday (March 26) at the Boardwalk in Orangevale (near Sacramento) with the Groovie Ghoulies, Helper Monkeys and Riff Randalls.

Thursday, April 8: The Kensington, San Diego

Friday, April 9: Pitzer College, 1050 North Mills Avenue, Claremont, CA. w/Pretty Girls Make Graves. All ages, early show.

Saturday, April 10: the Anarchy Library, Downey, CA.

And solo-acoustic with Phranc, Ian Brennan, and others:

Wednesday, April 28..............PHILADELPHIA North Star
8-11 PM
$8

Thursday, April 29.......WASHINGTON, DC Velvet Lounge
9PM-Midnight
915 U Street NW (202) 462-3213
www.velvetloungedc.com
21 and over
$10

Friday, April 30....................... PROVIDENCE, RI AS220 (matinee)
9PM-MIDNIGHT
11 Empire (401) 831-9327 www.as220.org
all-ages
$8

Saturday, May 1........................BOSTON All Asia Cafe
6-10 PM
344 Mass Ave., Cambridge (617) 661-0993
all-ages
$10
followed by John Waters at MIDNIGHT.

Sunday, May 2.......................NEW YORK Living Room
8PM-1AM
84 Stanton (212) 533-7237 www.livingroomny.com
all-ages
FREE

So that explains it...

I don't know why I read this stuff. Here's the quote of the day, from Wilson Bryan Key, Media Sexploitation:

The question of who is saying what to whom in rock music is one of the most intriguing aspects of lyric symbology. Ostensibly, boy vocalists dominate the industry and often appear to be singing to girls - possibly the ones who might reasonably be the marketing targets. But this would seem to leave the boy audience out in the cold. In fact, both girls and boys identify with the vocalist, however, suggesting something far more complex and devious is involved.

The boy singer does not aim his lyrics directly at the gum-chewing, vacant-eyed teeny-boppers. This would invite disaster at the record shops. The singers and their lyric writers often project their sentimentality at the singer's mother - a symbolic subliminal identification. The girl record buyers can then unconsciously identify with their hero's mother, whom their hero worships and loves. The boy record buyers support the records as they unconsciously perceive the singer suffering the same maternal rejections they believe themselves to have suffered. They have no reason, therefore, for jealousy or envy when girlfriends boost the record...

The designation "baby," as used in popular music, is often a direct maternal reference. The euphemism for mother, sung by a quivering, immature male voice... is frequently at the bottom of a song's financial success... The formula is proven and successful. Dad, of course, is totally ignored in this matriarchal game...

Folk Music: the anti-drug

Here are those east coast solo dates. (People who have attended this thing in the past will notice it's a much shorter list than usual-- the reasons for this are too boring to go into. It's sad that we won't be doing two NY shows this time, but we'll just have to make the one at the Living Room count, won't we?)

All shows are with Lesbian folk heroine Phranc, Ian Brennan, and others. Note that the Cambridge, Mass. experience includes John Waters. I opened for his one-man lecture-show last year at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, to the bewilderment, I guess, of his fans. OK, I was pretty nervous and probably didn't do all that well. Still it was great fun. He's a really nice guy, just as funny as you might imagine.

(Also, don't forget the MTX (w/Groovie Ghoulies, Helper Monkeys and Riff Randalls) at the Boardwalk in Orangevale, Friday March 26.)

See ya there.

Wednesday, April 28..............PHILADELPHIA North Star 8-11 PM $8

Thursday, April 29.......WASHINGTON, DC Velvet Lounge
9PM-Midnight
915 U Street NW (202) 462-3213
www.velvetloungedc.com
21 and over
$10

Friday, April 30....................... PROVIDENCE, RI AS220 (matinee)
9PM-MIDNIGHT
11 Empire (401) 831-9327 www.as220.org
all-ages
$8

Saturday, May 1........................BOSTON All Asia Cafe
6-10 PM
344 Mass Ave., Cambridge (617) 661-0993
all-ages
$10
followed by John Waters at MIDNIGHT.

Sunday, May 2.......................NEW YORK Living Room
8PM-1AM
84 Stanton (212) 533-7237 www.livingroomny.com
all-ages
FREE

Performance Anxiety

We're playing on Friday March 26 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale (near Sacramento) with the Groovie Ghoulies, the Helper Monkeys and the Riff Randalls. All ages. 8pm. Should be a fun night.

There are also a couple of southern California shows in the works for the second weekend in April. Details soon.

Also, I'm going to be doing a few solo shows in the northeast in late April/early May, as part of that west coast singer-songwriter thing I've done for the last few years. I'll post the details as soon as I get them. If I can get my act together in time, I may try to throw together another CDR of demos (along the lines of "eight little songs") to commemorate the occasion. Email requests as usual.

TAQN

Glad to see the trolls have largely cleared out of the comments routine. I haven't posted for the last week because I'm still in the process of depressurizing, getting used to "normal" life. Plus I haven't been able to think of anything of interest to say. That situation will probably change. Right now, though, I still feel almost exactly like a mildly-sedated, autistic chimp, or rather, as I imagine a m.-s. a. c. might feel in my situation. And I *still* have that blasted east coast cold, too.

I finally saw The Passion of the Christ. Just now. It was an intense, deeply moving experience for me, as it turns out. More or less to my surprise. I may have more to say about it later, if I can get my mind around it any time soon. But for now I retreat again to be alone with my thoughts.

Some Things Never Change, Part II

Here's how the world looked to me for approximately six to eight hours of each day while on tour for the last month or so:

And here's how it looks now. Back home, and moving much slower than 85 miles per hour. Otherwise, not too different:

Some Things Never Change

I don't really know anyone from my high school anymore, but occasionally I'll get a cordial email from a former classmate who happens on my blog or band. A recent one of these mentioned the latest high school reunion, and provided a link to a page of photos. I've never been one for events like that-- nothing against people who are into them, but it's just not my thing. Never has been, as far as I can remember. However, my curiosity was piqued in spite of myself, so I took a quick look at the photos. Most weren't labeled, and those that were labeled had titles like "he's the man!" rather than names. Names might have helped a bit. But I was struck by the fact that I didn't recognize even one person in any of the photos. It was just a bunch of random people I don't know. Just like back then.

More Wounds than one Man can Lick

Well, I did a pretty good job with regular updates for awhile there, but eventually I succumbed to the usual tour zombification process I've mentioned before. The last show of the tour proper was Monday night in Phoenix. We just arrived home last night. It will take a few days to de-zombify enough to feel halfway normal.

It doesn't matter how long you're out for: it's always really nice to be home, but really weird at the same time. You're relieved and gutted at the same time.

I think I've put it this way before: touring through this country is like swimming as fast as you can through a stretch of ocean containing around 48 sharks. Each one takes a chunk out of you as you pass by. It could be a piece of your van. Of your voice. Of your already-fragile sense of self. Around halfway through, you start to feel like a shadow of your former self (which wasn't all that great...) Your set gets "tighter," but more and more simplified and limited as you do what you have to do to make it through the remaining shows (leaving out songs with the higher notes, or those whose difficult parts coincide in other ways to some of the missing chunks.) You can try to resist, but eventually your set narrows itself down to the tunes you can pull off easiest and the proven crowd pleasers. Even though you're "tighter," you pick up bad habits that you have to spend the aftermath trying to unlearn, so that the next time you go out, you start the degenerative process from somewhere near the top again. (I will say this: we degenerated far less than in the past. We were still playing a slightly different set every night, right up to the end. I don't think that has ever happened, and that's a testament to how good these guys are as musicians. There was a time back in the 90s when our set had become so predictable we didn't even need to write it down; and that's not much different from being a collective four-man vegetable.)

It's probably a good thing we stopped when we did. I've had a pretty horrendous cold/flu ever since Rochester, NY and the deadly combination of illness and strategically-scheduled Bad Monitors nights has wreaked the usual havoc. I want to start practicing again so we can resume trying to figure out how to pull off some of our more difficult, interesting songs. But despite all that, I'm sad it's over. I could have gone for another couple of months, no problem, though Lord only knows what kind of state I'd be in afterwards. Being in a rock and roll band is totally fun, even when it kind of sucks. I had a great time. Even though I feel like I want to go to sleep for a week or so, or longer, or forever, I can't wait to do it again. What an idiot.

Anyway, most everyone who turned up seemed to enjoy the shows. I'm very glad to hear it. See you next time?