Several years ago, back in college, I was working at a small radio station in Rochester during my summer break.  While I was working, the station started playing a new canadian band called BareNaked Ladies.  I fell in love, hard.  I, in turn, infected my then boyfriend, now husband, with a love for this band.  He has finally returned the favor in a big way.

A while ago—back when I was remembering to post—I posted a link to Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton.  Since that time we have bought his whole catalog, and I have spent hours working to it.  His songs just click for me in a way that hasn’t happened in a while.  He is geeky, quirky, funny, and profoundly musical. The guitar work and harmonies are truly delightful. Please go to site and listen to some of his stuff: my current favorites are When You Go, Mr. Fancy Pants, I Crush Everything, and DNA. Hopefully you will be as hooked as I am.

We are going to see him at the Great American Music Hall in January, I can’t wait.

This morning I am getting ready to head out to Black Oak Casino for a Fast Times gig. I am happy cause I won’t be taking photos or video, I will just be able to enjoy myself– this is especially good since I am just starting to see the other side of cold/flu thing that has knocked me out.

It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been 13 years since Dan and I had our medieval wedding at my parents house. During that time, we have moved 4 times and lived on two coasts.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Happy anniversary, darling, here is to 13 more!

Dan found this song, “Skullcrusher Mountain”, by the guy that wrote “Still Alive” for the video game Portal. It really is possible a perfect song for me—not only is it a little like Barenaked Ladies, and the riff is very similar to the Indigo Girls song “Love’s Recovery”, it’s a love from an Evil Doctor.  I would think that it was inspired by Dr. Horrible, but it was written several years ago.  I am including a like to a youtube video, but honestly, close your eyes, and just listen.  Now I can’t get it out of my head.

Sunshine Brown was my best friend in college. We met during orientation and bonded over Tudor history and became close friends and later roommates for the length of college. We were both TV/R majors, both spent a semester in England and both ended up in NYC after graduation. Sun was my Maid of Honor at my wedding. Both it became harder to keep in touch after moving out here to California. Sun got married several years after Dan and I, and now has a beautiful little girl, Elizabeth. And since we were in Rhode Island for Ian’s Wedding we arranged to meet up and see Elizabeth for the first time.

Again after too many years

Sunshine and her little sunshine

So last weekend I traveled to the east coast to be in my brother’s wedding. I have to say I was a little more emotional then I expected to be. The wedding was lovely, and Joy, the bride, was so beautiful and far more calm than I expected. Dan and I were both in the wedding, and Dan spent the day drinking with the boys, while the girls got up early and spent the day in the beauty salon. The couple are now honeymooning in Prague!

Joy and Ian and the Altar

Aren't they sweet!

These are two photos I took after arriving at Future for a day in the office.  They were take two seconds apart looking in two different directions. Gotta love California weather.

on the left looking west, right looking east

On Saturday I humored Dan, going to a couple of different guitar shops that he never gets to go to, since they tend to be closed when we are in the area. He has been lusting over the Taylor Solid body guitar’s and it just makes me nervous. Great instruments for sure, but how many to we really need.

I feel guilty for my bass contribution to the problem because I don’t play well, or that often. I have my dream bass, a MusicMan Sterling in a gorgeous blue. I also have an American Fender P-bass that I got at a great deal used, a total surprise, but too good a deal to turn away from. Dan and I also share a Vertigo that we had custom painted, cause it’s cool and rare in the states. And I have a Nomad, a travel bass with a built-in speaker, which is short scale. I loved the nomad at first, because of the short scale, but because I have an aversion to playing bass loud enough for anyone but me to hear, I never use the speaker, and it doesn’t “fit” my body that well.

So I was kinda happy that Dan didn’t fall in love with the Taylor’s that he saw in the first guitar shop. When he asked to stop in the other shop, I was a bit worried, but agreed. I actually played with my iPhone in the acoustic room while he looked around. He came back and said that there was some basses he wanted me to see. I followed him and saw the great stick-style upright basses. They were cool and so out my ability and price range. I looked over and saw some cute metallic flake guitars in with some basses, but they looked odd. And then it hit me, they were basses. Adorable basses. I picked up the blue one and Dan quipped “Way to say I’m a girl bassist and proud of it.” They were obviously made for the Hannah Montana set, but I love it. I made Dan play it, becuase even though it felt good to me, I didn’t want to miss an obvious flaw. Dan plugged it in and tried it. It sounded really good, and it was extra surprising since it was on sale for $159. Insanely cheap.

So, it’s mine. And it’s replacing the Nomad, that will soon be on ebay or some such place. The nice thing is the Nomad isn’t made anymore so it should more than cost the cost of the new bass. Here is a link to Dan’s blog, since he already wrote up all the techy info on the bass. I have already spend quite a bit of time playing it, and it feels really good.

2008-08-18 21:59:55 -0700, originally uploaded by katrinauch.

Somebody posted this photo on facebook of Dan and I with our friend Greg in the summer of our sophmore year of Ithaca College. Dan’s Hair is almost as long as mine, and mine is the original color.  We are in one of the audio studios that we spent so much of our four years in.  I have a feeling we were recording a project for  class— I know it’s not Edge of Darkness, because of the shirt I am wearing.  Goodness we were cute, all thoses years ago.