An Update

~In the early 90's, before I discovered the world of punk rock, I was a HUGE Alice In Chains fan. Which is funny, because the songs were pretty much all drug-adled ramblings and I was straightedge (for lack of a better term). 14 year old Jeremy was stoked to see them play at the St. Augustine Ampitheatre on April 25th, with his buddies Ry and Noah. We (fortunately) missed the opening act, Shooter Jennings, thanks to Greg letting us drink beers in his front yard. Great show, they played all the hits and the new songs were just as heavy and twisted as the old stuff. New singer/guitarist was a welcome addition and the band seemed to be on their game.

~Two days later, KC and I got to see Elvis Costello at the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville with The Sugarcanes, a bluegrass band with whom he recorded his last album. Front row balcony, best seats we've ever had at the theatre. They did a few unbelievable reworkings of older material: "Red Shoes' turned into a raucous bluegrass stomp and 'What's So Funny 'Bout (Peace, Love, and Understanding)" got the fully gospel treatment. Happy 34th to me.

~Pro Surfer, Musician, Hippie Dave "Rasta" Rastovich was spotted at the Cotton Jones / The Eastern Wave show at Cafe 11 last Friday night. I think he left before our set (most people left DURING).

~Got my first tattoo in eight years a few weeks ago. Bo Dillard at Peacock's Tattoo in Jacksonville stabbed ink into my skin and made it look like the Mystery Machine. Jackson is STOKED.

~ LOST is over. What the fuck do I watch now?

~KC and I are headed to NYC September 17 - 19 to celebrate her birthday by seeing SUPERCHUNK at The Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. We have seen the 'Chunk many times over the last 15 years and are more than excited to see them again. We're also planning a Puerto Rico excursion for October with the whole Rogers' Clan (and maybe the Badger's as well). Once again, it seems we'll blow our vacation load in the Fall.

LOVE X 3

Count yourself fortunate if you know love. It takes many forms and knows no boundaries, yet can be boiled down to a singular moment, a breathlessness, a skipped heartbeat, a chill running down the spine. I am extremely lucky to know three loves: Family, Music, and Surf. Not at all equal, however, as I'd be hard-pressed to put them into a logical order. But love takes time and effort. It needs a determined dedication to grow, to expand, to fill those empty, dark corners we all have inside of us. And sometimes, one love can step on another's toes. It's easy to take Family for granted, beacuse, let's face it; even if you're a total dick, they're still your Family. It's not a choice, it just is. The late nights I spend in hazy bars and the early mornings i spend floating in the ocean, my thoughts are of KC and Jackson. 'One more wave and I'll go in and have breakfast with them.' 'If I leave right after the second set, I could be lying next to her by 2 a.m..' But give me that odd weekend without a show or waves and I'm a frothing maniac, pacing around the house, trying so desperately to contain the Rogers' rage (That's a whole other post. Maybe someday..). Sometimes I think I just need to balance my Loves better. Turn down the occassional show and take the wife out for sushi. Go surfing and let Jackson watch another cartoon. But the grass is always greener. I want what I do not have and when I get it, I want something else. Sometimes I think I should ditch one of my Loves altogether, but come on. How could I not surf? How could I not play music? How could I live without my Wife and Child? Passion comes with a price and I am exhausted much of the time. Like I'm stretched too thin, like a favorite t-shirt, the logo long ago flaked off, the shoulders threadbare, the collar stained and yellowed. It's still your favorite shirt but you can't really wear it anywhere.

I'm playing alot of music these days.
I'm always striving to be a better husband and father.
I haven't surfed in a month.

And you?

Random Stuff From The Interwebs

A personal fave.

From the Surf Station surf report.

Lemons.

Rumble / Fuzz.

Dream Board by Tyler Hatzikian.

Oh. My. God.

Bill Frisell.

Fully Operational.

Orgasmic Bo.

Rock and/or Roll

tired from now on

the band

two of my all time favorite bands. same instruments, different approach, both chill inducing.

Thor!

St. Augustine pro surfer Gabe Kling won the Nike 6.0 Lowers Pro on Saturday, taking out Chris Davidson in the final, Andy Irons in the Semi's, and Jordy Smith in the Quarter final! This increases his chances of entering the WCT mid-season astronomically. Go Gabe!

Everybody Happy!

I have the pleasure of playing music with a great, big bunch of friends. We are called The WOBBLY TOMS and we'd love it if you came and shared an evening with us. Our next show is at Ann O'Malleys on Orange Street on Saturday, May 15th. We get wobblin' around 9:30 usually and wobbly for the majority of the evening. Links below for our Myspace and Facebook pages; won't you be our cyber-friend?

http://www.myspace.com/wobblytoms

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=12327857342