• Bus Adventure

    I went to visit my girlfriend in Atlantic City the other day. She does the motorcycle/trapeze act at the Steel Pier. Here’s the part about my awesome bus ride.
    Getting there:
    I take the Academy bus from Port Authority. It’s $29 round trip but depending on what casino you get dropped at, you get at least $17 back. (Get dropped off at the Tropicana or Showboat. You get cash and not a gamble card , with all your info given away.) I gambled $5 on video poker. I won 3.50 and then lost it all. That’s the way it goes. I don’t have gamble magic. Tim Delaughter does. He wins all the time. But, I’m cool losing a five.
    Anyway, my bus stops at the Cheesequake rest area for a second pickup. There’s not enough room for everyone. One old dude was told to leave because a fellow who was waiting in line before him couldn’t sit down.
    Bus guy: You need to get off. Come on.
    Old guy to Young Dude: But I’m here.
    Young dude with backwards visor: Come on.
    Old guy: I don’t have a problem with you.
    Young dude with backwards visor: Yeah, well I got a problem with you. I been waitin’ 2 hours.
    Some old dude behind me yelling: There were six people before you.
    Bus guy: Come on get off.
    Old guy gets off. Young guy sits down. Old dude in back yells again.
    Old guy off bus yells at bus guy. He’s turned to the side so as not to be so threatening and walks away, then turns around walks back and yells again, this time to the bus guy’s face. I think I counted four walkbacks and then we left.

    Going back:
    I took the 7:45 bus at Resorts. There’s no bay assignment to line up at so there became 2 lines, each hoping that the bus would stop at their line. I’ve never heard people clap for a bus until last night. I guess I should have. Well, it was my line the bus chose and every one from the other line came rushing to our line. One older lady ran to the front and was immediately yelled at by other ladies.
    Bus guy: I only have room for five (out of 50 waiting). There’s an empty bus arriving at the Taj Mahal at 8:30.
    So, we go to the Taj Mahal. Four women go the wrong way so I yell for them to follow me as I am a denizen of Taj, walking to the big red letters that spell BUSES thru the forest of stupidity called slots, and onto another long line of people who want to go home because the house always wins.
    The older lady who cut earlier is there and is promptly yelled at again.
    Older lady: Don’t yell at me. My husband is right over there!
    I don’t know what that means but it shutup the other ladies, so I’ll know to use that one someday.
    Well, this bus isn’t empty like Surefire told us back at the other casino. Then, it gets awesome. People start cutting in line like crazy and the other waiters (people who wait?) are booing and yelling at the line-cutters. The fantastic four behind me are telling each other how the bus driver should do his job, who is letting the persistent line-cutters on the bus.
    Then, the coolest thing of this bus fiasco: This little old man starts yelling. Like a bark-yell. Holy shit was he loud. It was like a dog barking at a mountain lion who’s about to destroy him.
    Then, the line moves and I’m two people behind those who can’t get on the full bus.
    Then, security shows up. Not just bike cops. I’m talking the kind that you see in the movies: the old guys with secret service wires and suits.
    And then Young Blowhard says: Can you all hear me? There is another bus leaving Showboat at 9:40.
    Lady 1: We’ve been waiting for 2 hours!
    Lady 2: You keep moving us.
    YB: It’s first come first serve.
    Lady 3: You let people cut in line.
    YB: I’m sorry for the . . .
    So, I leave because I don’t want to spend my evening waiting for buses. I opt to stay one more night and leave in the morning. Colt wants to go drink at the Pic-a-lilli but I’m too tired.
    I get up at five, thinking no one will be on my bus. I take the local bus to the Taj and then realize I should go to Trump Plaza so I can leave earlier, 6:15am. An older couple is there and when I’m more awake I furthermore realize that my earlier realization was blurred and that I need to haul ass to the Taj but that’s too late so I head to the Claridge and tell my new old friends to follow me or we’ll miss the bus.
    There’s a short line at the Claridge. And it gets past bus due time so the old guy shows me his schedule and compares it to my bus schedule and they’re different. I got mine on Saturday as I was departing at the Tropicana. I don’t know where he got his.
    Old guy: Why don’t you call this number?
    So, I do. The guy tells me my schedule is wrong and I tell him that there is a line of 50 people who don’t know that and that they should get their shit together. The old guy and his wife leave to catch another bus and I stay in line and wait for the ghost bus. I call another number and a sweet lady says, “I just sell the tickets. Call this number.” So, I call and the bus shows up.
    Boy, am I relieved. I have an empty seat for about 15 minutes and then get Coughy-sleepy next to me and I play some chess on my phone and then I too fall asleep.
    Visit Atlantic City!

  • To All My Friends!

    Go see my friends in:
    Jollyship the Whiz-Bang Episode 6:
    “CRABQUISTADOR: Scavenger of God”
    Thursday
    June 28th
    10 pm
    Bowery Poetry Club
    308 Bowery
    $8
    Its puppets and pirates and rock and good writing. A definite must see. I will be there.

    And then go see,
    Ben Ickies’ Failure
    followed by his Ambitious Orchestra!
    Saturday, July 30th
    9 pm – $8
    Galapagos Art Space
    90 N. 6th Street, between Kent & Wythe
    L to Bedford

  • Cookie’s Trow

    Tha cappain’s visit were delitefool. He ate all I make and thain ask for more. The porter ask for some but I say No Sir. All food go to da cappain! Whence did I could eva. Make a timely dinna. Whence! Could I make a cum uppance on putting victuals on a fayr! Fourteen yeas a rowin’ inside a pot I tale ya. I unce pummeled a live ‘pus on the pup deck wit an oar and sliced ‘er tensticals off with a scabard and made a seaghetti outta her. Most delicious! Aye, but da cappain is a stubbon mouth and only want what made outta flour and ale. I make a nigh bread and cake but I winked inside a clam whats made a ocean grand. Aye, aye Cappain!

  • The Diary of Camus’ Unka Dan

    Damn Pullman Strike! I guess that’s what they’re calling it. I just wanted a damn Twizzler and the store’s on fire. So, I’ll just sit on the stoop and write and complain. There goes Harry, throwin’ molotov cocktails at the coppers.
    “Hey, Harry, where’s Billy?”
    “I don’t know, man, but-hold on I gotta throw this before it-”
    *
    I don’t know why I gotta bother people when they do stuff. That how shit gets all messed up. I guess I can go into the store, it being on fire and all.
    “Hey Charlie, you got any Twizzlers?”
    “Get off your ass and go burn something. Aren’t you sick of being shit on?”
    I’m just gonna keep writing. I’m gonna move, Diary, because its hot and i gotta go lay down.

  • Va Va Variety

    Tuesday, July 26, 9pm
    Va Va Variety
    Corn Mo and a host of other performers
    Triad Theater
    158 West 72nd St., 2nd Fl.
    New York, NY 10023
    Tickets: 212-352-3101
    $15

  • Detroit

    The coolest thing about driving into Detroit wasn’t the burning Ford Explorer across from The Majestic. It was the air conditioner in my dressing room that served as an oasis to the extreme heat that the Majesticians love at their venue. It was really hot. So hot you could fry an egg mid-air due to the constant rising of heat which could also give a good jolt to a Frontier jet, the one that rivaled hydralic cars so well that they turned around and went back to the airport. (“We don’t know why we just have to go back.” Later, found it was a maintenance problem. Hi Ho.) Magically, the heat didn’t deplete the energy of the audience. They had a good time. And I didn’t need to take off my wonderful sparklejacket, Sparklecoats.
    Thank goodness the venue didn’t read my rider. I put Pabst on there so I don’t rock the boat so to speak and they brought me Sierra Nevadas. I didn’t really get to drink any of my free beer so I gave it all to the Budget Rent-a-car guy who assured me he liked beer.

  • Boulder 2

    I got 2 nosebleeds today. The first one just started flowing and wouldn’t stop. Nosebleeds are beautiful nuisances. Just like my friend’s pomeranian who pisses in my hallway every time she brings him over. Then, I got one in the shower. Blood going all over the tub floor. I felt like Carrie. Except no one was around to laugh at me.
    Everyone supposedly gets nosebleeds when they come to Boulder.
    The show was very intimate. Some guy offered me some shoes. My shoes are getting worn. I may take him up on his shoes. I bet Boulderians are apprehensive about buying white shoes because everyone would have obvious blood on their shoes as opposed to the silent blood shoes of a brown-shoed diabetic. My uncle has awesome diabetic shoes. Clowns in Ringling get fitted for their clown shoes. Those are some shoes you don’t want to see blood on. In Colorado they tie sacks to cover shoes and do the Emmet Kelly imitations. Works like gem. My shoes are gray. Shoes.

  • TMBG Tour

    Tour with They Might Be Giants!

    July 9-10
    Boulder, CO
    Fox Theater

    July 12
    St. Louis, MO
    The Pageant

    July 13
    Indianapolis, IN
    Music Mill

    July 14
    Detroit, MI
    Majestic Theatre

    July 15
    Cleveland, OH
    Odeon

  • Indianapolis

    The Music Mill is part of a shopping strip off 82nd St in Indianapolis. Its very nice to be able to go to Barnes and Noble to kill time and best of all I went to Office Max to get some cd’s to burn for I ran out of my other ones. I began my factory work at the bar of the extremely clean venue. Goodness is that place clean.
    It’s so new that the ghosts are confused. “Hey where do I go? Where was the Burger Chef I was eating at before I said, “I don’t feel good.”
    One of the bouncers was telling me about some fights he had to break up at a show there recently.
    “Who is this band playing?”
    “They Might Be Giants.”
    “Rough crowd?”
    “You’ll be throwing out at least 50 hooligans that love to fight when ‘Dr. Worm’ starts playing?”
    “Moshing too?”
    “Yeah, they go shithouse violent when Robot Parade starts playing.”
    “Give me a nod when that happens.”
    “You got it.”
    Just kidding. That conversation never happened. It started out as such, though. But it should have.
    I had to play extra long because I went on too early. The set was interrupted after 3 songs and was told to start the set over 15 minutes due north of then but then came to the idea of just keep going. What did I say? Anyway, so I did. And I looked to my right at the ghost holding his ill-fated cheeseburger shaking his head in disbelief that the Burger Chef was going to have bands playing.

  • St. Louis

    Last night was awesome. It was the best Giants show I’d ever seen. I’m no TDK (dude with over 101 shows and counting) but I’ve seen a lot of Giants shows and this one was magic.
    I had a good time playing. A real good time. My old roommate, Matt, helped me out with my merch table. I did a cd with him called MC Duncan’s Dog and Pony Show. He’s a good songwriter. It was good hanging out with him and his dad. His dad use to be a band director in town. He’s got some good stories about the inner workings of St. Louis. Good folks!
    Again, the Giants put on one of the best shows I’ve ever seen them do. Holy wow was it good. And I met some cool people and some nice people and some pretty people and I left feeling on top of the world.
    And Hocus Pocus rocked again!
    I can’t remember this one dude’s name but he was in fourth grade and he told me about his four page report about Ben Franklin and recommended that I read “The Adventures of the Blue Avenger.” I told him to read “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” before he hits the fifth.
    Dammit it was such a good night. I can’t even go into detail right now. You just have to buy me a beer someday and I’ll let that story spin. I’ll tell you about the crazed Cardinals fan, the pretty girls who hit on me, the store, the requests for writing something dirty on the cd’s and what I wrote (people still think goats are funny), and the zombie that was eating wings from Blueberry Hill. One beer.

  • Clown Car’s Out of Control This Time

    A bullet was stopped by a man with a plate of gravy. white gravy. He was on his way to table where chicken fried steak was being served. The gravy was from home. He made his own gravy. With flour, salt, water, pepper, and some grease. He had covered the plate with cellophane to keep dippers out and freshness in. A man named Poison Ivy Sally pulled out a civil war instrument called a musket and shot the man, delivering a bullet through the cellophane and into the gravy, splattering the onlooking Shriners. Templar Steven pulled out a gun and rattled off “Android” to the man with the gravy, thinking he had the white blood. As he shot his 22 pistol he had a second thought and then noticed red blood flowing out of the man’s arm, like a tattoo pop-up.
    “Sorry about the bullet, Justin. It was the gravy that threw me. I’ll wash your car for a month. Starting next year.”

  • Getting Ready For TMBG

    I’m getting ready for my tour. I’m stressing a bit. I’ve never taken a piano on the plane before. I know they’re gonna overcharge me for bringing it. But that’s the way it goes. I added a few dollars to fly Jet Blue straight on. I don’t want to chance losing anything due to changing planes. And I’ve had good luck with Jet Blue so far. There’s some airlines I avoid. Truly avoid.
    Northwest is good at being mean. I mean really good at it. So good I would say they are masters at being mean. And the lady who called me to apologize about the ordeal was mean, too. Kudos!
    Air Tran was good at being mean to cover up their mistake and then being nice to keep their mistake covered up.
    Continental is good at copying the customer service of the post office.
    One time I was flying with Continental to the UK and they wanted to charge me $90 for checking my keyboard stand. My keyboard stand was a walker from Goodwill. I told her she could have it. She threw it on for free.
    You know who didn’t give me shit about oversize? Air France. That’s a good airline. They didn’t blink at the size of my keyboard. And they gave me a bottle of wine with my meal.
    This is one of those weeks where my life has been dropped on the floor and I can’t find the pieces.

  • Boulder

    Jet Blue was real good to me. They didn’t charge me for oversize bags (ie my piano). Continental did. They even called me from the gate to come back to the ticket counter to pay for it: $75. I hope they put that money to good use.
    My friend, Eric, picked me up at the Denver Airport took me to the great town of Boulder.
    It was good seeing everyone again. The Giants are really good guys.

    And tonight we debuted “Hocus Pocus” by Focus! That song is awesome. They brought me out on their 2nd encore and we rocked the shit out of that song. wait, they did and I ran out of breath due to the rocky mountain levels and couldn’t yodel the second time through but squeezed in some “Stayin’ Alive”. That’s a good song, too. The Bee Gees wrote good songs.
    Oh, and some guy named Dave is bringing me some beer he made tonight. This is our second show in Boulder and he’s coming back. “They’re in cans. I hope you don’t mind.” Home brew in cans? That’s fantastic drinkin!
    Speaking of drinking, we went to K’s China afterwards. Its a good old fashioned frat bar. This drunky dude was telling me about the time he “high-five-saturday-night”-ed Chuck Woolery at the Kentucky Derby. I enjoyed his brief company. I did a shot of Tuaca (girls drink that) with a Vailian local. I was on NY time in Boulder and had been up since 5am so I was getting sleepy. Me and Eric and his sweet ladyfriend, Jen, drove back to Denver and I passed out as Eric was telling me how hot it was in the house.
    I woke up to an atomic alarm clock and made up something in my dream state on how important that alarm was but that I didn’t need to get up at 6am. When the clock goes off it shoots a beam to the ceiling with the time on it. I was too tired/stupid to turn it off.
    I got up and hung out with JC. Not the famous JC but the fellow who was visiting from Dallas. He showed me the obsidian knife he was making. Yeah, it was a blade made from obsidian rock embedded in a deer antler, wrapped in faux sinew. That blade was pretty. Its translucent purple. I’ve never stabbed anything but I bet it’s not too hard to stab with a rock blade though its probably only good for slicing a piece of flan.
    JC’s part Native American but doesn’t know which tribe because his grandmother won’t give up that info. I think I’m part Native American but am too lazy to find out if its true. That’s a shame. I have alot to be ashamed of but being a fool has its prizes.
    I gotta go practice Hocus Pocus by Focus with the great They Might Be Giants now. I’m lucky today.

  • Bad Day

    If you’re having a bad day, call this number. It may help or hurt more. I like this lady’s voice: 510-351-7654

  • Jesse’s Girl

    I got this witch to come over. She had some kind of lizard’s breath sealed in a jar. I called bullshit on her because you can’t seal breath.
    So, she farted and said, “You smell that?”
    “Yes.”
    “Hold on.”
    So, she grabbed a mason jar out of my cabinet and went to the bathroom where I heard her fart again but this time it sounded muffled. She came out and showed me a sealed jar.
    “Here.”
    “What.”
    “Open it and smell.”
    “Okay.” And I did. And it smelled like a fart.
    “It smells like my fart, right? Cause I just farted in front of you earlier and it smells the same, right?”
    “Yes it does but it doesn’t answer how you got a lizard to breathe in a jar.”
    And then, she levitated and slid on her toe tips to my bedroom and came back out and said,
    “You want to see what lizard’s breath can do?”
    “Okay, but Jesse will be home, soon. You shouldn’t try to come on to me. You’re kind of seeing him aren’t you?”
    She opened the jar and out came a light the color of rainbows and I was blinded by magicked rave lights and when I could see again, the room was filled with water and a giant goldfish (larger than a koi, smaller than a whale) and I had gills.
    And then Jesse came home and the water fell out the door. And when he saw that I had gills he thought that I had had sex with his girlfriend. How did he know?  What an amazing day!

  • The Blood House

    Once I went to this haunted house and it was nothing but blood. Blood, blood, blood. Blood this, blood that. All just blood. No characters like ghosts or zombies or vampires or anything of that sort. Just blood. That’s it.
    Huh.

  • Field Monitor

    Two field monitors waited for someone to pass by. There were many cicadas about making their wondrous noises blending in and out of the bursts of wind. One fellow who popped out of the wood about 300 yards in the distance made his way to where the monitors stood. As he got closer they noticed he had jerking limp, almost as if a puppeteer had something to do with the way he walked.
    “Hello, stranger, have you got a pass?”
    “No, I don’t think I want to come this-a-way. I think I should be going that-a-way.”
    And his leg jerked out.
    “Oh dear,” said a monitor.
    “Look at my foot!”
    And as sure as there is a good time to be had somewhere else, this fellow had a fishing lure stuck to his shoe and was being reeled in.
    “I was a little sheepish at first. But anyhoo.”
    And he limped on past the monitors, turned around and goes,
    “Happy Stoopid Day! You assholes!” and he pulled the lure out of his shoe and limped away a little more, falling over himself and landing limp-style on top of a sheep and stayed there for a very long time.

  • June, 2004

    JUNE, 2004
    TMBG TOUR!
    I received this email a few days ago:

    the second week of July we are going cross the US and then we got a couple of
    shows on the weekend after. You want to open ?

    – Mr. John Flansburgh

    So, I’m taking that offer and will see many good times ahead.

    Speaking of the Giants, you can download Particle Man featuring the Linnell/Corn Mo duet.

    Dallas Genius, David Hanson, Makes Another Robot Head
    The first one was his wife. This one is Philip K. Dick. Brilliant. I think you can see it at Wired’s Next Fest.

    Read his paper on making robots look like humans as opposed to machines.

    “When a robot looks too much like the real thing, it’s creepy”. – Osaka University Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro.

    So, more on robots, if you’re in Edinburgh visit here. They had a robot jellyfish in the window. It’s really cool. Real nice folks.

    Shoes
    I bought some black dress shoes for shows. I’ve never bought dress shoes.
    My friend, Quincy, wore his grandfather’s preacher shoes during his set.

    Automatons
    Oh, and the Tiffany Automaton is a Fake.
    And so are the monkey ones.

  • Sorry about Seaports

    For those that came out to the show Saturday night expecting a full show, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I was supposed to do a 30-45 minute set and was told 15 minutes before I went on that it was going to be a 3 song set. I had my piano and drummer with me and had to leave those offstage. After hearing some lamentations from folks after the set and from those who missed it completely due to the debacle (what a lovely word) I decided to treat myself to an Italian ice. Cherry. And it was tasty. But for real, I feel a little showtime blue balls (I don’t know how else to put it). So, I’m hoping to do a set, soon. Keep watching the site because I may get one this week.
    Ding Dong,
    mo
    The Giants are very gracious.