goldengram

washed up but not

hi,
i was going to write today to tell you about this dude i sat next to at the breakfast place in LA we ate at last week. and i was going to be kinda mean about it, but now i'm not. i will tell you that i knew for sure that the guy i sat next to was an actor that played the lead in a community musical i was in almost 20 years ago. he was the coolest guy then. all bright and young and witty.
very likable by all.
and he knew about what i considered to be good music at the time.
so here he is sitting next to me with his 2 friends, a couple, and he is reading while they wait for their food. his cell phone is on the table and his legs are folded in his pleated pants with shirt tucked in and skinny black leather belt.
oh, screw it, i'm gonna be kinda mean anyway. i haven't been for a while.
so he is reading the paper at the table instead of having a conversation with the people he is eating with.
i don't know how it happened but the people i was with (some of whom happen to be fashion snobs like me) ended up talking about pleated pants and how they are so wrong, cuz they don't really hide your tummy which i think is what some people think they do. they don't.

so he is sitting there and i am feeling all self righteous, like ha ha, look where he ended up. a washed up actor, and look at me. my nails are painted black and i don't shower often and i spend most of my time in a tour van.
huh?
where am i going with this? that i shouldn't be so intolerant. maybe he is still a rad dude. i was dead sure it was him, cuz coincidentally, i had just looked through an old photo album and saw the cast picture with him at the center. gosh. now i'm feeling bad that we made comments about pleated pants, but whatever, at the time, i didn't notice he was wearing them.
today, as i decided to write this, i started looking around for this dude on the internet. i'm not having much luck and so i'm still writing about this struggling actor, and then i refine my search and find out that he just moved out to LA with his band, from dallas.
i told you it was him.
so i look some more and find his band's website. there is even a picture of him. i just listened to a song and its pretty nice. it sounds like coldplay or something good and majestically british.
now who's the jackass?
not only did i not find out that he had a bit part in some crappy 90's sitcom, but he is in a good band that seems to be doing pretty well.
damn.

he just happens to dress differently and has put on a few pounds since i last saw him 15 years ago. ain't nothing wrong with that. more power to you dude.
this is an obsession that is going to plague me for a while i think. a friend of mine first got me into it by searching for people from high school online to see where they ended up. its a dangerous game.
tomorrow i go to LA to meet the folks and grandfolks and cousins for turkey eatings. then back here to get warmed up for our Kitchen sink 2nd anniversary show on dec. 4th. its @ lobot gallery and its gonna be hot. rogue wave hasn't played loud in oakland in a long time.
we usually end up doing acoustic stuff like we did this sunday @ mama buzz. radness.
for those of you not in the bay area, we are starting to get details of rogue wave tour dates. we'll basically be gone from january 20 to march 20. that takes us pretty much everywhere in the us and a good bit of europe too. thats gonna be awesome.
and no, i am not going to tell you the dude's name, or the band.

love and mashed potatoes,

gg

toured

we did it. evan is rad. he is in for at least the next 4 months.
he rules.
we sold out cafe du nord with oranger last nite.
what a rad show. things are good. we play a private party tonite for the folks that do our website. then hopefully we hook up with Vells, who we toured with last week. they are rad. yes.
they are playing @ edinburgh castle tonite and you should freakin go.
i am moved into lobot and it rules. the east bay express had this to say about the show we are having on saturday: How Touching
Shake yo' Sno-Globe
Touch Me -- Feel Me 
11/20-12/2
If you've been feeling kinda touchy lately, join the party. But this ain't no function for thin-skinned whiners. Hypersensitive is out and hypersensual is in at LoBot Gallery's Touch Me -- Feel Me show this Saturday night, where a cadre of local artists has fashioned a mini-universe of tactile works for you to frolic in. You'll be getting friendly with art by Amy Friebertshauser, Kristen Wanek, Amy Morrell, Adam Hatch, Erik Groff, Jeff Fare, Bertie Pearson, Jamie Nelson, Johnny Schroeder, and Emma Spertus. Worn out by squeezing stuffed animals and shaking Sno-Globes? Neither are we, but be sure to note the location of the lounge rooms, the masseuses, and the kissing booths in case you're in need of extra stimulation. And, oh yes, there will be bands: San Francisco's Paradise Boys and Dealership, Plan B from Seattle (not named after an Ed Wood movie), and Oakland's own Lovemakers and Run_Return. Maybe after they're done playing, they'll let you touch them. And if you miss the party, you can catch the art until December 2. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., bands start at 10, and the touching goes on till the breaka breaka dawn (4 a.m.), you feel me? $5-$10 sliding scale. LoBot Gallery is at 1800 Campbell St. in Oakland. LoBotGallery.com -- Nora Sohnen

so there ya friggin' go. why wouldn't you come?
also, rogue wave rules,
love,

gg

back in action

alright folks,
feeling better now, we're all practiced up good and tight. we played in reno with death cab and it ruled. now we go to seattle and stuff.
things are good. love love love, gg

sad sad sad

i tear up when i even think about it or read anything about the election.
i am actually ill now. i made myself sick i know.
i've beeen drinking a lot since tuesday nite. but not today. not for a while.
i can't believe i care this much.
i think its mostly cuz my dad voted for bush. even though he said neither choice was that great, it is so hard for me to understand.
he is such a level headed compassionate person. and so fair and intelligent.
it hurts. i hurt.

and the fact that the same percentage of youth voted this time as in 2004 isn't helping either.
we screwed ourselves.
i guess kids just don't care. they live in the suburbs and they don't know any better perhaps.
my mom voted for kerry so i guess they cancelled each other out. didn't really matter since they live in alabama.

i am having trouble distinguishing the root of my sadness today.
all i know right now is i'm upset. when i hear about how people's parents voted for bush, or even about good things like how moveon.org helped to win some former bush states, my eyes go all watery.
like this from the moveon email i got:
"And our heartache does not diminish our pride in what you've done. We're proud about Wisconsin, where MoveOn volunteers turned out over 27,000 voters and Kerry won by only 11,813 votes. 
And New Hampshire, a former Bush state where we turned out 9,820 of the people on our list and Kerry won by 9,171 votes. 
Other groups were working with us in both states, but it's clear volunteers were at least partly responsible for the margin of victory."

my sister is a minister and she thinks bush won becuz people voted out of fear:
"It's debatable whether it's ok for a minister to put a political sign in their yard. 
Well, at the rally where Clinton spoke we got 2 signs that were great. 
Jonathan really wanted to put them in the yard- and we did.
They just said "Vote hope".  No candidate's name or political party. And that's what I want for our country- for people to vote their hopes instead of their fears. 
So much of our lives and actions are guided by fear and it's terrible.  I think Bush won because people are afraid- not just of terrorism or moral decay, but of different people, and different thoughts, and change, and uncertainty."

she's so smart. i love her.
i am trying to move into my new place with my 12 awesome and totally supportive roommates and i am sick and weak and weepy.
and i'm not sure listening to The New Year's new record is helping either.

Age Of Conceit from the album The End Is Near by The New Year

i guess maybe i do need to wallow in this for a minute to get it out. and this record is helping.
rogue wave has gotta be awesome for our show with death cab in reno on sunday.
and then awesome for all the shows actually.
especially seattle since it will be subpop's first time seeing us with our new bass player.
he is so so so good. man can that guy play. i think everyone is going to love him.
i sure do.
zach and pat are sick too and on top of that we've been practicing for 5-8 hours a day to get ready.
i'm not sure if that helps or hurts being sick. its definitely rough on the throat.
things in my world are on the way to being a lot better. i just have to make it through till sunday.
sigh.

you're all ok. we're alright. alright. that's what i always say.
the country is in a bad way, but maybe its got to get much worse before it gets any better.

pass me a tissue please.

love,

golden gram