In which I liked the band.

Thursday after work I met Mr. Brett at the Dead Cock for drinks. He went home eventually and I finished my cocktail and went out to find dinner. I ran into Hattie on her way in to work and said I’d be back to see her later.

I walked around the corner hoping to eat at either La Petit Paris or Revelations, but both were closed and I ended up having tostadas and chile rellenos at Los Portales.

After eating I sat in my car with the heat running – I hate winter – and read Eragon in e-book format on my PPC for about twenty minutes, then went to rehearse with House 11.

The band was tight, the vibe was really mellow, and rehearsal was fun. I’ve agreed to sing with them, so now I have a New Years Eve gig at the Best Western (opening with them for Big Bambu). They’re in that business-model originals-band-with-a-constitution phase, which means more writing/arranging/rehearsal than gigging, but after talking with Greg for about two hours after rehearsal, I realized he’s right: I don’t want to do endless gigs in smoky bars – it’s far better to do fewer higher quality gigs than it is to work your ass off and get nowhere. I mean, who am I kidding? I don’t want to sing covers at The Den Two for pissed off abattoir workers every weekend. (The last time I performed there, someone threw a fucking ashtray at the bandstand.) I’d like it for a month or two, then I’d get sick of it and start to hate the audiences which is always a bad headspace for a performer to be in.

So I’m still going to check out that other band on Monday, but I’ve already committed to doing this House 11 thing.

After rehearsal and then a long conversation with Greg (he’s one of those people I can’t stop chatting with – I just have to say “Walk away now or we’ll be here another hour!” and drive off), I stopped for gas and went back to the bar. Hattie served me a big glass of water (I hadn’t taken any to rehearsal, which was dumb) and sat to chat with me. I got home about 12:30 and crashed.

So: I have a gi-iiiiiig! I have a gi-iiiiiig! Neener neener neener!

In other news, you should go check out Stanford on iTunes immediately and fill your iPod all up with nifty things.