1/9/04: Happy New Year, X-mas truth / CD update, band auditions / TM on hiatus (again) / R.I.P. Elliott
            Smith / hiding from police / deli terror cell

So Happy Freakin' New Year! I don't know about you, but I'm happy to see last year go and am looking forward to the year ahead. How was your holiday? Good? Good. Mine was OK. Had off work between Christmas and New Years' (I know you hate me for it. All my friends do, too). Spent some time in VT over the break. Saw a moose. Almost got lost on a wilderness hike. Ate much. Drank more. Did some "extreme tobogganing" (my bright idea of going down half a ski slope on a toboggan. Not smart. HUGE wipeout. Bruising. FUN!).
Interesting the family gems you pick up during the course of Christmas dinner with the family. As the wine flows, secrets previously kept from you in your youth mysteriously surface. Case in point: I'm at the dinner table at my Mom's and we're talking about past family pets. We've had parakeets, fish, dogs, mice and hamsters. When I was nine I had a hamster named Bugsy (for the bug eyes I assume?) among others. Busgy mated with one of the other hamsters and soon had a bunch of baby hamsters. Cool. My mom thought they were cute. Sometime later I discovered some babies missing and Busgy in the cage dead. I was upset. Mom said hamsters, like all things, just die sometimes. I moved on. But here's what really happened: One day my Mom comes upon the cage and discovers Bugsy attacking the babies. (It's a little known fact that in limited spaces, rodent parents will sometimes eat their young to save themselves! Guess I should have fed them more...). In an attempt to save the babies, my mother reaches into the cage, grabs bugsy beats his head over the top of the cage while screaming at him for eating his cute little babies (!), and throws him back in the cage. "I didn't mean to kill him; I just wanted to teach him a lesson." she says now. I'm sure OJ thought the same thing. Glad I asked for seconds...
The best part of the holidays for me right now? THEY'RE OVER!!!! That's right. I said it. I'm know I'm going to hear about it for writing this, but I'm not a big fan of the entire Christmas season. Maybe for a brief moment on Christmas day I feel that "holiday spirit", but for the most part, for me, Christmas is a stressful time. I don't know. There's just so much rushing around. So much expectation. Distractions. Transactions. The meaning gets lost. Just like Hallmark did to Easter. More and more each year I feel the actual "spirit" of Christmas gets lost in the commerce. I DO believe it is a special time and by all means, a festive occasion. I'm not against the holiday itself, just the red light special mania that comes with it. And it soaks up your time for weeks. Sure, Christmas is one day but think about how much time you spend on preparing for that one day (I love Thanksgiving; one day and out). I guess I like partying on New Years Eve. But you can't get a damn thing done personally/business-wise until the holidays pass. It's like your life is on hold until they're over. And now they are!! Time to get things rolling!!!

Spent another day in the studio a couple weeks back. Helped out the vocals on "Anywhere But Here", almost finished mixing "Daylight". What a pain in the ass that song is. A lot going on there. We spent 6 hours on it that day (not including the 2 we spent in a previous session). And they're both still not done. I want to make the solo in "ABH" a bit louder as well as the guitar verso intros on "Daylight" Might add another elec. guitar track, too. I think the first chorus and the bridge still could use a little more oomph, more wall-of-guitars. Hear/download for yourself; they're both up on the Music page. "Mountain" and the compilation remix are next. I'll being going back soon thanks to getting an iPod as a gift. Let me explain.

I got a 20GB iPod for Christmas. Best gift ever, right? Until you try and use it. Seems it's incompatible with Mac OS 9. And you need Firewire. While they make a USB converter cable for PC users, Apple continues to screw it's faithful customers by making product you have to upgrade your computer to use. So on top of spending the money on the iPod, I would've had to buy a new computer with the OS X operating system to be able to actually use it! Because I have a couple thousand to throw away every couple of years on a new computer! While I still defer to Mac as my computer of choice (WAY easier to use & diagnose problems) I'm a bit enraged at the fact that they don't make new products compatible with the ones that have gone before it. Thanks for the "support" Apple. So after 2 days of phone calls with tech support, getting answers with varying degrees of accuracy, I came to the conclusion that I simply couldn't use the iPod with my computer no matter how many upgrades/downgrades of software I made or hardware I bought. So I had to return it. Strangely enough, it's worth the exact amount I would need for another day in the studio. Which was what I really wanted for Christmas anyway. How fortuitous.

Regarding money for studio time, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize those fine individuals who have contributed to the Massimo CD Fund:

Suzanne Marra
Jill Zutty
Linda Curnyn
Elizabeth Massimo (Hi, Mom!)
Theresa Bruno
Laura Cihocki (from Ithaca, NY!)
Paul Ingrassia

Thanks to all of you, I was able to take this project one step further. I wish there were more out there like you. Maybe people thought I'd just spend it on beer. Maybe people think there's no point in sending even as little as $10. But that was the original idea. A lot of people contributing a small amount of money. Like these folks you could earn a free pass to the next show, an autographed CD upon completion (with your name in the liner notes of course), and a copy of the Massimo compilation CD, Now and Then. Tracks selected so far:

1. Accident (live at Bitter End)
2. I can See That Far (live)
3. Legacy (live)
4. The Journey Is Divine (CD)
5. Wasted (live)
6. Terms Of You (CD)
7. Anywhere But Here (demo)
8. Asylum (live)
9. Back To The Wood (CD)
10. Mountain (live)
11. Everything (live on WBZC, Burlington County College)
12. Precious Seconds (live)
13. Deliver Me (NEW solo acoustic recording)

Should be a nice career overview when complete which I'm hoping should be mid Feb. Also, a minidisc recording of a show from last year, once thought lost forever, has just been found which may yield even more live gems. Now about the band I don't have...

Been auditioning players for the band on a semi-regular basis. I haven't seen this many frosted flakes since I looked inside a box with Tony The Tiger on it. I'm trying to weed out the weak but they still keep getting through. From people who classify their sloppy, grooveless playing as a "stumble groove" (stumble your ass home, then) to people who start out so enthused with the project over the phone and then simply refuse to return phone calls or show up at the studio where me & Roger are sitting around waiting for them. Case in point: when I called a guitar player to find out where he was, he answered the phone, pretended he was someone else (!), told me to hold on as he went to look for "him", and then hung up the phone. What the fucking fuck?! This is starting to become a pattern. People get in touch, they're excited about the project, then they disappear. Roger seems to think they realize they're in above their head with the material and rather than just admit that to themselves and/or me they opt to just disappear. Suckers! All of you! Suckers!!! Just as well. I have no use for you then. And some of the emails I get are truly hilarious. Here's one indicative of what I'm dealing with:

Hi my name is gary i'm 18 and willing to go all the way I've been in trained achepela chiors and been playing guitar for 6 years if ur interested mail me bak

You have to be kidding me, right? I'm sorry, but if you're so lazy that you have to abbreviate the words "your" and "back" (or if you're too stupid to spell them right) this is not the band for you. (I shouldn't be too cruel; maybe he's blind.) But seriously, you're almost half my age which disqualifies you right off the bat. I'll tell ya, kids today...
I might have to consider the fact that I may not be able to get the band I want before the record deal. I might have to just finish this demo and shop it until I get a deal then have the label help me put a band together for me to tour with. That happens, right? Or maybe just do a couple of showcases with paid guys if I get the label interest. Not the best way to go about it but I hate sitting around with my thumb up my ass (it's pretty uncomfortable!). Roger thinks we should go out as a duo. I'm anxious to play but I don't want to shortchange the music. I've done that for far too long. Maybe we'll do a few low key gigs. Should the band come together, I'm working with a friend to finish a business plan to help get some big money to finance the optimum, long haul, 2 year build.

Did a show with Tequila Mockingbird at The Office in Summit last month. This was our first show back after taking new pics, making a new demo (see Other page). We finally had everything together. Or so I thought. The evening started innocently enough. We rocked solidly pretty much the whole night. But between sets 2 & 3, shots were distributed. Several shots. Still, though we powered through the third set and ended strong. Later I was chatting with the staff as they were closing up and suddenly mayhem erupts from the stage area. Christmas decorations coming down, screaming, shouting, 2 band members in a fisticuffs. Not good. Not good at all. The result? After months of hard work trying to pull it together to start gigging again, our bass player quits. So now, just like me, this band is looking for a bass player. And we all know how I still don't have one yet and how long that takes. What a shame. I was actually beginning to enjoy myself there for a minute. Rock and roll...

I'd like to take a moment to remember singer/songwriter Elliott Smith who committed suicide last month. Best known for his song "Miss Misery" on the Good Will Hunting soundtrack and playing at the Oscars that year (later elated his song didn't win for best song). His songs were delicate and beautiful. Check out XO and Figure 8. However, like so many other musicians before him, drugs and depression got the best of him and he chose to end his life. But here's the thing: he didn't just cap himself like Cobain (anyone can pull a trigger), he STABBED HIMSELF TO DEATH. Imagine the will to do that! What a statement. I have to say, in some strange way, I'm kind of impressed. Hey man, nice shot!

So I had to hide from the police the other day. There's this street I speed down on my way to the train station (never mind it's a block away from a police precinct) and I think one of the residents has about had it with me. I've been warned more than once by passing police cars afer I've parked. One day, as I shut off my car, I see a police car turning onto the block far back in my rear view mirror. I take evasive action. I lean down over the front seat below his field of vision. Out of the corner of my eye I see the police car roll to a stop next to my car. But there is no car door slam. No one gets out. There is no tap on the glass. There is no ticket. Once again, I escape from The Man.

(OK, I just have to vent for a second because I'm hearing "Outside" on the jukebox as I write this: I hate Staind! And I hate Puddle Of Mudd! Hate Hate Hate! HATE! Understand? I know I've said it before, but I just can't leave it alone. And Limp Bizkit was voted worst band of 2003 by the readers of Guitar World magazine. Well deserved. Bravo. I couldn't agree more. Except maybe voting them one of the worst bands EVER. Fred Durst (the "creative" braintrust behind Gimp Triscuit and person responsible for signing both Stain and Pile Of Shit), a seat in Hell is being reserved just for you. But I digress...)

Another story: It's the night of my office Christmas party and I'm on my way home from the Upper East Side. Knowing I'll need singles for the Metrocard machine, I stop into a nearby deli to make change. I figure a Yoohoo and a candy bar should set me straight for the ride home. Greeted warmly when I enter the place, I head toward the beverage cooler and discover there's no YooHoo. "Aw, c'mon. Who doesn't carry YooHoo?!" I say out loud. Then I go to the counter and discover they have every other candy bar but my personal favorite, 3 Musketeers. Again I say out loud, "You've got to be kidding me. No 3 Musketeers?!" At which point the middle eastern man behind the counter changes the way he looks at me. Not welcoming like before but suspicious. I guess the goatee threw him at first. Surprised, he says, "You speak American" (note he doesn't say "English"). I say, "Yeah, of course, we're in America right?" He then looks me up and down, squints his eyes and menacingly states this observation: "You say too much". At which point he purposefully gives me my change and slowly says, "You have a good day 'my friend'." A chill runs up my spine as I realize he thought I was one of his own until I spoke. His demeanor changed so significantly upon discovering I was American. From friendly and warm to patronizing and adversarial in a matter of seconds. I felt like he was about to let me in on the details of the next terrorist activity until he knew who he was talking to. Not like I could call the FBI on it or anything, but I think something suspicious is going on at that deli. Keep your eyes peeled, America. The enemy is everywhere, just waiting for the signal. No bullshit.

In the CD player lately:
Let It Be...Naked - Beatles (great)
Waiting For My Rocket To Come - Jason Mraz (still! He's finally getting a hit with "You And I")
Close To The Edge - Yes (the roots for "Daylight" were born here)
Slanted and Enchanted - Pavement (this album keeps coming up on critics best lists. I'm not getting it yet. Maybe I have to listen to it a few more times but it just sounds like some lo-fi demo with a singer who sounds like Lou Reed. Am I missing something here?)
CABLEVISION MUSIC CHANNELS!! PROG/ADULT ALT ¹ CH 817 (Love it! Great education of what's out there.)
The Road To You - His Patness (of course)

The Rolex 24hr Grand Am race at Daytona Speedway is coming up in a couple of weeks (see the gallery for previous years' pics). Cars racing for 24 consecutive hours, soaking up sun, defending slotcar championships, riding motorcycles, riding go-karts, crashing Porsche's wine & cheese jazz party, sneaking into the pits in the early AM, lighting massive bonfires on the infield in a ditch you just dug, driving your car on the beach. Daytona, here I come! Tune in to SpeedChannel for 15hrs of coverage. The race is 12 noon Sat. 1/31 to 12 noon Sun. 2/1. Maybe you'll see me waving from the infield. I'll be the drunk guy on top of a U-Haul.
Shouldn't be too hard to spot.
Unless I catch myself on fire again.

See you next month.

MM