Issue #38

Spring Cleaning

The past month has been a good reminder that as the seasons change, so do my needs and priorities. It’s completely healthy to shed dead skin, winter coats, and baggage. Onward!

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Cat Power on her The Greatest 20th anniversary tour. She was effortlessly charming, funny, and a joy to witness. After seeing several over-produced shows recently, it was refreshing to see an artist with a personality on stage.

Cat Power kept dealing with feedback from her monitors, and instead of angrily gesturing at the sound guy¹, she joked, “this is a song where I keep having to walk back and forth because the monitors, the subwoofers, are trying to catch me. They know I got a bunch of candy.” I’m pocketing that joke for later.

After the month I’ve had, I’ve needed a lot more levity. My band, Terrazzo, has had some turnover. We brought on a new bassist in January, and while catching them up to speed, we let a guitar player go. None of it was fun or easy, but these are standard growing pains. All in all, I feel happy with the direction we are moving in, and relieved that practice is fun again.

I’m trying to shed unnecessary stress where I can. I have a nagging jaw issue that has led to tooth pain, chipping, and wearing, which is exacerbated by stress. What feels good right now is cultivating spaces and relationships that aren’t overly taxing or restricting. I took a step back from a stressful situation recently, and realized what I needed to change instead of kicking the can down the road. This perspective shift has helped me feel lighter and more present in my day-to-day. I’m trying to channel my inner rage in rehearsal instead of on my poor teeth.

At work, I am dusting off the old photoshop and illustrator skills. Some projects call for a different hand than contemporary rendering services can provide. I tend to favor a less realistic rendering than most softwares are designed to produce. I often collage materials and linework together to create a new environment. This is an example of my rendering style.

Spring cleaning is knocking at my songwriting door too. I took a little break from songwriting in December. But I’ve picked it back up and started approaching songs from a more rhythmic lens. So far I’ve tried bossa nova and latin jazz rhythms and had a lot of fun.

Speaking of spring, my band Terrazzo has a show next month. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the terrazzo is freshly mopped!

Come see us play Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg on April 25th at 11 pm.

No opener, no cover charge, just bring your favorite nite owl. We have new songs and a crisp, new lineup to debut <3

1. Aside: did anyone else get secondhand embarrassment from that Kesha video?