I Love Hate Like NY

We pulled in to New York City a couple days ago and Jen and I have been out doing the tourist stuff. As soon as we got here we ran out and got tickets to a broadway show. Seeing a show was the one thing we hadn’t done yet, so we knew before hand it was on our short list. Back during the Radio City run in Nashville we asked a few people, “If we could see just one show in NY, what should it be?” Several people said “Spelling Bee”…so, that’s what we chose. It was a pretty fun evening although, not surprisingly, they threw in a few too many political things and Jen and I weren’t laughing. It was a shame that they had to drop to that level, because otherwise it was pretty good show.

Oddly enough I had an audition yesterday for a web-based commercial for Altoids. I won’t know for another week or two if I got it or not. Either way, it’s cool…it was worth it just for the experience of auditioning. It’s just kind of funny how I keep running into the entertainment business eventhough it’s not my chosen profession. My comment today to Jen was “A lot of actors work a lot of other jobs until they can find an acting job, whereas I am working acting jobs until I can find another job”.

NY is an interesting city…I very much have a love/hate feeling for it. It’s fun to visit and it’s not bad in small doses, but I can’t imagine living my whole life here. There’s no space for anything, no driving (for the fun of it), no grass or trees, it’s just cold ( and not temp-wise). On top of that there’s just always this fear of people freaking out for whatever reason…walking in silence is a dream…silence at all is a dream! But there’s a lot to do, a lot of places to eat, a lot of culture…but I think I’ll stick with Winchester OH for now.

Speaking of Winchester, one week from today we’ll be home for a much welcomed, but very brief visit. After that it’s the home stretch…only 6 more weeks until Barney is over. In the words of Bill Mallonee, “I’ve got summer in my veins”

my new axe.

A couple weeks ago I started the journey of looking for a small-scale electric guitar. It seemed like an easy enough task, although I have been down this road before with not such great results. However I was pretty optimistic that if I looked in the right places I would actually find something of my liking this time. My requirements were pretty simple…something that would fit my body better [than my current guitar], sound like a full sized guitar, and not break the bank. Well, it’s easier said than done. Most of the guitars I came across were directed towards two different targets- kid or “travel” guitars. Neither side really fit what I wanted…either the quality was lacking…or the sound was.

Long story short, there are no good solutions for someone in my shoes short of having one custom made by hand which is extremely expensive. Then I found giffinguitars.com. Roger Giffin decided some time ago to create a smaller-scale model called the “Micro”. I was put off by the high prices, but I was pretty impressed since I have seen nothing even that has such workmanship in a small scale.

For whatever reason I decided to email him and just say that I admired his work and wished that I could afford one…and then 12 hours later I got an email saying that he had a demo guitar that he would sell for a very discounted rate. So…I’m getting a new guitar! I won’t bore you with all the details, but let me just say, this is probably the nicest guitar I will ever own,or play for that matter. It’ll be a few weeks before I get to lay hands on it, but here’s a pic for now:

giddy as a little school girl…

Let’s Go To Canada!

I don’t know why, but everytime I come to Canada I can’t think of this old song by a Christian-Ska band, “Five Iron Frenzy”. The song is called “Oh, Canada” and it’s lyrics are just kind of a laundry list of things that makes Canada unique in comparison to the USA. It’s just…fun.

anyway…

The Barney tour continues and is starting to wear on Jen and I… I think our touring days may be numbered. Of course that number could be like 300, but there is a day coming when we’ll start working a regular 9-5 and actually living out of a house instead of a suitcase. That day is growing closer and more real every day. We had a (too) short break in Ohio a few days ago and I think it only made it worse for us. Ohio is just…home.

Well…it’s Toronto for the next 3 days, then back to the states…Chicago & NY are just around the corner. I think the next two months will probably be more fun than the last…even if not, summer stars in just 2 months on May 13th.

mmm…summer in Ohio (and michigan, milwaukee, and seattle). Can’t wait.