What Is Happening? (TL;DR)
April 21st, 2010
Hello! If it seems like I’ve disappeared from the internet it’s because I’ve been in prison. Kidding! They have the internet in prison!
First, please note that the following shows are happening:
May 7th-9th
MaxFunCon!
Lake Arrowhead, CA
Pretty sure it’s too late to get tickets to this, but even so: www.maxfuncon.com
Thursday May 13 at 8PM
The Hat Factory in Richmond, VA
With Paul and Storm
Tickets: bit.ly/9DUbkg
Friday May 14 at 9PM
The Lincoln Theater in Raleigh, NC
With Paul and Storm
Tickets: bit.ly/9yGzhH
Saturday May 22 at 8 PM
Sympho’s “Tweetheart”
Church for All Nations in NYC
Sympho is an orchestral concert series run by my friend (and fellow Whiffenpoof!) Paul Haas. Tweetheart is an evening of classical, electronica, and pop songs about love. I’ll be doing one of my songs that he’s arranged for the symphony – it’s going to be really cool I think.
Tickets: bit.ly/awryfl
Thursday May 27 at 7:30PM
Just for Laughs in Montreal, QC
With Paul and Storm
Tickets: bit.ly/aBraSC
If you think I am not going to do “Re: Your Brains” in French while I am in Quebec, then you are crazy. There are still PLENTY of tickets available, if you know what I mean.
Friday May 28 at 8PM
Gladstone Theater in Ottawa, ON
With Paul and Storm
Tickets: bit.ly/92ShRK
Sunday May 30 at 8PM
Enwave Theater in Toronto, ON
With Paul and Storm
Tickets: bit.ly/98K68o
And now for the long wordy part in which I talk about me.
Yes, I have been hiding out of late. You may have noticed my last blog update was OVER A MONTH AGO, and I’ve been awfully quiet on the Twitter. And of course I continue to completely ignore Facebook and MySpace, though that’s mostly because I am an old person. This year had a busy start with a lot of touring, all really great shows with some lovely audiences, including the exciting opportunity to open for They Might Be Giants for a few shows. But all that travel time and road food and T-shirt counting tires me out. I have been resting.
As I keep saying in interviews, “Whine whine, success is a terrible burden, etc.” I was as surprised as anyone when Thing a Week started generating audiences and income, and the last few years have been about sorting that out: figuring out how to play live and tour, tweaking the business side of things, counting huge stacks of cash, finding a decent helipad maintenance team, the usual. There hasn’t been a lot of song writing, which is supposedly a large part of my job. I understand now why bands tour for a while and then stop so they can write the next record – it’s very hard to write anywhere near a tour, especially when you’re running everything yourself. Sometimes I feel more like a traveling salesman than a musician.
So I’m going to keep a much lighter tour schedule for a while, and I’m going to really buckle down and make some music. For serious this time. Not even jocoserious, I’m talking SERIOUS serious. In fact, I am currently working on a thrilling super-secret project, and if it comes together I’ll be able to talk about it very soon. I’m slightly terrified about it, which means it’s probably the right thing to do. And it will involve lots of new music and creative stretching and growing, which is something I desperately need if I’m going to stay engaged and satisfied and relevant. Thing a Week was excruciating, but I miss it. I’m ready for The Next Project, and I think I finally know what it is.
So that’s why it’s been quiet around here, and I promise it’s going to get less quiet soon. In the meantime, thanks for your patience and continued support.
P.S. Does anybody know how to write songs?
I know how to write songs. If you want to take a hairpin turn away from geeky irony into biting social satire, and if you need a collaborator, contact me.
“I’m slightly terrified about it, which means it’s probably the right thing to do.” <—– TRUTH!
Looks like my last post got spam filtered. I was just saying that it’s weird you haven’t mentioned your relationship with topatoco (the merch distribution company). Can’t include a link because that’s probably what got me filtered, but go to topatoco.com and read the most recent news post.
It’s time to stretch out into other media.
I’m seeing:
“Re: Your Brains, the Broadway Musical!”
Good luck with your new project. I can’t wait.
More songs? – fantastic!
I’m going slowly through thing a week. It would be wonderful if the new ones started up just as I finish (and I’m on ‘not about you’ so don’t dilly dally!).
“Does anybody know how to write songs?”
Yes.
Sit reverently at the feet of Lennon & McCartney…and then steal their shoes.
Dude, write a duet between a Little sister and her big daddy from Bioshock. It practically writes itself. And its a nice temporary bookend for the portal song before Portal 2 comes out.
“OttAwa. With an A. Crap. Sorry Canadians…”
I believe, rather than Canadians, they prefer Ottawatians.
I’m thinking he’s been working hard on the music for portal 2.
Is there any chance at all you might make it out to Bonnaroo? TMBG will be there, and I think I could die happy if I got to see you too. Should I put a request in at Bonnaroo?
Re: “Does anybody know how to write songs?” In this particular case, you make nebulous allusions to Aperture Science, neat guns, cake, and burning in fires. The rest just flows from that.
…
Yes, I went to the Musical Guests Panel at PAX East. Super-secret things were said by a certain bushy-bearded man with long hair. It caused the room to lose its shite.
Argh! JoCo’s finally coming to Ottawa but I’m going to be on the other side of the world visiting the in-laws!
*Sigh*
I hope my fellow Ottawans sell out the show to make it worthwhile for him to come back!
Yay! I was just wondering yesterday, “Hmmm, been an awful long time since JoCo released any new music. I hope he’s OK…..” This is good news. All the best on your new venture!
Re: “Does anybody know how to write songs?”
I don’t know. But I think you know how.
If its song writing you’re wanting to know about, may I suggest something like Plastic Seat Sweat? That song, if counting Carve That Possum, was a freaking 17 minutes of jamming with a bittersweet twang to it. And I loved it.
Oh, and YAY for the new project. Images of Portal 2 come to mind.
oooh. How about “Thing a Lunar Cycle Segment”? You’d have the waxing song, the waning song, a full moon song clearly about werewolfs, a New Moon song hopefully not about whiny teenage vamps…
I thought I knew how to write songs until I took a few tips from yours. Extravagance and over-technicality were like a crutch I used to mask my lack of structure. If you read this I owe you one!
We miss you. We love you. Remember, no matter how exciting this “new project” is, WE love you MORE.
BTW….Bob Dylan has managed to “stay relevant” for the past 30+ years and, as far as I can tell, all he has done during that period of time is jack off and stare at his navel. Not that I’m recommending that route…. Just, that, y’know, sometimes staying relevant is more a matter of perception than doing something new. XO, HB
OMG NEW PROJECT =D!!!! I had a huge smile on my face when I heard you were doing a new project and seriously writing new songs! (cus btw im getting a bit tired of listening to I’m Your Moon a lot, BUT ITS SO AWESOME). You should write more epic/deep/catchy songs! (Maybe a normal song so i can get my friends hooked on you ^_^) You should really make more like Pull the String, I’m Your Moon, When You Go, Octopus, You Ruined Everything, and of course Still Alive!!!!
Please Please Please come back to Colorado soon! I know the last time both shows didn’t sell out but I think that was because people didn’t go to both nights in a row like I did. The Soiled Dove is a great place for shows, but they don’t advertise well. You should look into playing at our sci fi con held in April every year. That would be a huge crowd of people that appreciate and understand your music.
Rock On! Write On! Right On! bring us more JoColicious music to enjoy!
P.S. Mad Scientists Rule! Zombies Drool! But the JoCo lives forever!
Glad to hear you are working on new stuff — I discovered your music a couple months ago and have been playing the albums nonstop. Love it all, can’t wait to see your next project and maybe see you play live!
P.S. It’s almost the 1st of May! Woohoo!
“I’m slightly terrified about it, which means it’s probably the right thing to do.”
Crazy, but oh so true!
P.S. Does anybody know how to write songs?
Manatee Balls
If Jon comes back to Denver, he should try Swallow Hill rather than The Soiled Dove. He’d pack it.
As for writing songs: it’s like trying to figure out exactly how to move the muscles in your throat when you eat. You’ll choke. I have no idea how I write songs; I look back at them afterward and analyze what I did. Or what they did as they spntaneously self-assembled in my brain like viruses inside a cell.
I wrtite – but must remain anonymous you see?
I have just been introduced to your stuff and would like to say “Thank you” Code Monkey is a smiler!
See you at the Hat Factory, JoCo.
Now if you’d said something beforehand, the wife and would have treated you all to very decent Thai food in Portland and you wouldn’t have had to eat nasty road food. You gotta learn to use your social media connections…
Just wanted to say thank you for the great show in Raleigh, and thank you for playing “I’m Your Moon.”
When is it going to get less quiet?
Welcome to canada JoCo!
See you tomorrow!
“P.S. Does anybody know how to write songs?”
You could always pull a Dr. Seuss and make up words. Even if we don’t know what they mean, we tend to get the gist of them. =]