2000 blog

wednesday, december 13th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

what a strange show. 30 seconds before we went on stage, there was about 2 people in the place (and they were from the other band). as chris started handing out shakers, people kept piling in... almost as if a busload of people pulled in. all of our friends came late because they thought we were going on later. we gave away a barrel of monkeys while jay changed his broken string. we need to start giving alex a microphone... he doesn't have to sing, just talk into it. he was making all kinds of wise cracks, but noone but us could hear him. maybe that'll be our resolution for the new year coming up.

thursday, december 7th at the stork club - oakland, ca

we were lucky enough to have some visitors with us... derek, up from florida, and jerry, up from new orleans. how cool was that? as to be expected, the place was completely filled with christmas decorations... the funny thing was that there was only 1 new thing hanging up since our june show. alex dolan played before us, and he had a dancer with fire! we tried to convince her to play when we were up there, but it just didn't work out. not that we have any songs about fire yet. chris debuted his new red hair.

sunday, november 19th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

we had a cool, intimate evening in the richmond. alex was feeling a little bit ill, so ended up skipping out early to recover, but it worked out alright. we told everyone that he was voted off stage, just like in survivor. ethan daniel davidson showed up, so we did some tunes with him. we even ended the night in the pre-thanksgiving tradition and played "alice's restaraunt"... with brian on vocals. we felt so out of shape... kind of like after one of our first harvard square shows. that happens when you don't have a lot of gigs, then play for 3 hours.

thursday, october 19th at club boomerang - san francisco, ca

our second goh show at the boomerang went both good and bad. it seems as though the club is going through some changes.. including the sale of the club, and the booker and the sound person quitting. somehow, the show went on. we ended up playing almost 2 hours later than expected... but such is life. fortunately, our friends ended up sticking around for us to play. a small, but extremely fun and rowdy audience. because of them, we totally rocked. a big thanks goes out to kristin, brian, jp, debbie, jill, garth, lisa, ethan and marla for making it such a great night. in fact, it was one of our better performances of the year (they even cheered during soundcheck... when we played some lynyrd skynyrd riffs).

monday, october 16th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

this was our first night playing on the main stage at the paradise. it's always so much fun to play through a big pa'd system. it was a little slow due to the whole monday thing, but a few people stopped by. we even met some canadians who were docked in the bay area on their way to sailing around the world. they're supposed to do it in 5 years. talk about a long time away from home. peri was the one who was both smart and loud... so she won the homer simpson pez giveaway. there were a couple of dancers in the crowd... one right up in the front, and one way far in the back. thanks for shaking your thing along with us...

wednesday, september 27th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

what a fun night! it was our first show that we really gelled with alex sitting in on bass. and the place was pretty packed too! it's always a lot of fun playing to a full room... and everyone was having a grand old time with the shakers. next time we'll have to get you all into the sing-along thing.

friday, september 15th at moxie's cafe and gallery - chico, ca

our first little trip to this cool little town. chico is in the middle of nowhere... but once you get there, what a great place it is. everyone just kind of assumes that your a friend up there. we played a great show for people that came in and out all night. we hope to get back up that way to meet up with all of our new friends in the area.

friday, august 25th at the sidewalk cafe - new york, ny

the last stop of our little east coast tour. we arrived to nyc quite tired since we drove non-stop from chicago. we figured we'd rather have some time to hang out in the city than to take 2 days to make it to new york. the gig went great! a bunch of our new york friends showed up and hung out... the gig started off a bit slow, but by the end of it all, the room was pretty full, and we played a little longer than we expected (one of the later bands cancelled). mike and mike showed up and played along. this was perhaps our tightest and most energetic show with the full band. playing with them makes it tough to go back out west.

wednesday, august 23 at the chicago underground film festival - chicago, il

our first chicago and our first mid-west gig. we played up on the 10th floor, which was quite different... we're used to playing in basements. on the way to the show, we had to stop at the rock and roll hall of fame in cleveland. they had janis joplin's porsche there... too bad the fishy car got chopped up, or perhaps it would end up next to it some day. anyway, it was good to play and hang out in chicago. thanks to ethan for hooking us up with the gig. we were glad to get the chance to hang with him for a little while (although we saw him twice during the week prior, we were all running around like crazy and barely had the chance to talk). hope to get back to that town again.

saturday, august 19th at hopkinton jam - hopkinton, ma

our tenth year went off great. the weather cooperated (we were worried because this summer has been a little rainy). we managed to coordinate the bands and the food from the west coast without too much trouble (thanks to e-mail and us having all day friday to run errands). all in all, everyone had a good time. thanks to daniel miraglia, sarah symons (and deep water), ethan daniel davidson (and band), eric marcos and the normal noises, willie bernstein, brian hagenbuch (and band), mercy james (and band), i'm thirsty, shiner.jones, stretch and the all star jam. everyone sounded awesome! we were all pretty pleased with the quality of the entertainment this year. it just amazing how far this festival has come along since 1990. see you all again next year.

thursday, august 17th at the kendall cafe - cambridge, ma

alas, another show at the mighty kendall cafe. it was especially fun for us because we put together the whole night of music... starting off with one handed molly (from nyc), then ethan daniel davidson (from san francisco) and i'm thirsty (from boston) and of course, us. it was a great night for us. a lot of our friends showed up. it was the first 4 piece goh show since we dressed up as kiss last halloween. mike and mike did a great job on guitar and bass... playing the parts we worked out for this new cd we have coming out. the crowd reaction was pretty great! everyone got into the tunes. mike dublin did a really cool thing when we played coffee cup and made these crazy noises during the breakup part. we had worked it out the night before, but he was off by a few measures. regardless, it was pretty damn cool (and totally cracked up chris). we gave away a bunch of cd samplers to everyone in the crowd to help get them all fired up about the new album.

thursday, august 17th live on WERS - boston, ma

after getting in late the night before, we woke up at the most ridiculous hour to make an early appearance at WERS' coffee house. fortunately, we were operating on some sort of second wind and didn't get tired until just after the show. it was fun to hang out and chat and play some of our tunes live on the air. when we finished, we turned around to check out a crazed fan at the window... but it wasn't a crazed fan, it was mercy james! he was in the area and stopped by.

wednesday, august 9th at old ironsides - sacramento, ca

my first trip to sacramento to start checking out the scene there. on the way, i stopped at davis, so hopefully, we'll have shows out in the central valley soon. the people were really nice and played really well out there. it seems like there's a pretty thriving and supportive scene going on. i hope to make this a pretty regular trip. lucky for me, i got to play early enough to make driving home 2 hours somewhat reasonable. i didn't even have to drink lots of coffee. --jay

thursday, august 3rd at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

we had a total blast this night! it started out with goh (the duo) playing some of our older or unrecorded tunes for all the people that showed up on-time or early. then we brought dano and tim on stage and reformed as the transcendental hayride. finally, we brought alex up on bass and reformed as goh, the three piece (then 4 and 5 piece with dano and tim for a few late night songs). the crowd was great! our old neighbor, jeff, showed up. we had becky and kim (and sometimes tim) leading things on the dance floor (we even conviced them to slow dance during one of the more mellow tunes). we met some new friends in the corner (debbie, mary, terry and 'los) who were happily shaking their shakers (they were the proud winners of a green tree air freshener). we seemed to have all kinds of handouts for everyone between a goh cd, bubbles, play dough and candy necklaces. when we finished, everyone complained that they wanted more, so we taught alex a couple of tunes right there on stage before finally ending the night. what a fun crowd you all were! it totally helped us have an extremely high energy show.

wednesday, august 2nd on haight street - san francisco, ca

to plug our upcoming show, and because it's been so long since i've busked out on the streets, i set up shop out on haight street. not the greatest location for making money, but you certainly meet your share of freaks out there... i fit right in. --jay

wednesday, july 26th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

since chris wasn't around and we had a show coming up here, i decided to do a little solo set at ireland's 32. i think i'm becoming a regular here (after all, they always call us to fill in hosting the open mic). to thank brian for coming out with me, i played all of his requests. --jay

monday, july 24th at sweetwater - mill valley, ca

my first time playing up in marin county. it seems as though there's always someone from boston in every room we play. tonight was no exception. it was the first time i broke a string playing a solo set. i can't blame trying to keep up with chris this time around. --jay

wednesday, july 19th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

jay's parents and sisters were in town, so we dragged them out to irelands to hear us play. strangely enough, we almost didn't make it due to a fire across the street from our apartment. for this night, we brought the whole drum kit and did both a transcendental hayride set as well as a goh set.

tuesday, july 11th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

i hung out and played a little late night set with miss jessica sitting in on fiddle. it would have been cool if we had worked things out a little ahead of time, but it still worked. sometimes it's more fun when we all just make up what we're playing on the spot. --jay

thursday, july 6th at the boomerang - san francisco, ca

our first show on the famous haight street. unfortunately, the other band never seemed to show up, but we were happy some of our new friends did (otherwise the place would have been totally empty). chris was more of a punk drummer than usual this night, so our songs ended up rocking with a lot of energy. just for fun, we ended up dusting off some tunes that we hadn't played out in a while. as usual, there was another broken d string... oh yeah, special thanks to pryia for showing up and bringing friends. we had just met her the other night at another show at the bottom of the hill, so it was a way cool surprise to see her there.

wedneday, july 5th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

this was an interesting open mic. i played a solo set while chris was there in the audience. i guess he was a little tired from all his driving over the holiday weekend and he's never seen me play from the audience. so it all worked out.

wednesday, june 28th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

it had been about a month since setting foot here, so it was good to finally be back. since ethan took off for the east, mike has been hosting things here. it was kind of a mellow (but not dead) night. i met up with dano, watching him play his set, then i played mine. the mike stand was a little low, so i had to stand in some ridiculous pose in order to sing. but that's what rock 'n roll is all about, isn't it? --jay

wednesday, june 21st at the stork club - oakland, ca

our second full length show over at the stork... how cool. this time (just like on monday), we invited dano to come along and sit in on bass. to keep things a little simple, we left the "thumb" electronics at home. don't worry, they worked out great on monday and will be back at future shows (we just didn't want to be a pain the butt for the sound guy because there isn't a sound check at the stork). micky (the owner) of the bar was even on hand for our set. both "purse" and gomer hendrix put on great shows after us (sorry we couldn't stay to see all of your set, gomer). there was a shaker left over from the last time we played there. it was sitting next to a bowling trophy, and now it resides in front of mr. and mrs. santa clause. by the way, if you haven't been to the stork club, you're in for a treat.. the decor is awesome!

monday, june 19th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

our first full length and full band set at the paradise. thanks to all that showed up as well as the other bands that played (jp orbit and zipnada). it was fun for us to play the back stage... when jp orbit finished, everyone just turned around and watched us while zipnada was setting up. it kept the night flowing pretty smoothly (and most importantly, there were people around while we played). as always, there seems to be a table in the back that shakes the loudest, and this night was no exception. we picked up some well used (and slightly dented and abused) shakers from those guys after they all left. we might need to break out the shaker repair kit. as a special treat for you all (and for us), dano sat in and played bass on half the tunes. he really helped fill in the sound. hopefully a hint of things to come....

wednesday, may 24th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

another good open mic. i brought the shakers and played a little (from the crowd) with dano and the hayride as well as on stage (my shaker debut) with john egan. i played a few of my older tunes as well as some songs that don't get played out too often for a change of pace. ethan played harmonica for "i lost my senses" and dano played lead on "sleepless". that was pretty cool. it was kind of a mellow night, but really good in a mellow sort of way. ethan's PA seemed to have sounded really good that night, which made all of us play a little bit better. --jay

tuesday, may 23rd at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

it was another good night at the paradise. we all decided it best to play breakup songs, so i tried out "ventriloquist" from the soon to be new album as well as "miss calculated" (one that won't be released till the next project) as well as a cover of TMBG's "ball and chain". about as much breakup as i could come up with. --jay

sunday, may 21st at the stork club - oakland, ca

so while chris was out of town, i decided to head over to oak-town to put up some flyers and plug our show in june. the open mic there is truely unique (and actually starts quite late for a sunday night). i was real early at 9:30. anyway, it was fun. i played for about 20 minutes... i don't know how well it sounded since i became deaf during the soundcheck feedback... plus the PA was really weird that night. --jay

wednesday, may 10th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

kind of a mellow night... pat was hosting in place of ethan (who was touring up the coast). this was the second time this week playing without chris... that's OK. this is supposed to be our time off from playing gigs. we're supposed to be recording, right? i decided to be nice to our neighbors and stop playing in our apartment and head over to the bar... --jay

tuesday, may 9th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

we hadn't stopped by the paradise in quite a while, so i swung by for a little late night jam session. it was good to see the crew, and a big thanks goes out to burke for letting me use his guitar. i fought a battle during each song to keep the thing in tune, but that's OK. our brain is supposed to correct for tuning issues... isn't it? --jay

wednesday, may 3rd at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

as much fun as we had hosting the open mic at ireland's 32, it was nice to show up as a performer and not a host. also, it was great to have ethan back in town. carrying on from what had happened in the past few weeks, it turned into a big jam session. it also felt like the moon was full. everyone was a little crazier than usual. the crowd danced to just about everyone that played! not bad for an open mic. we traded sets and instruments and had a grand old time. it was fun to rock out all of our tunes. welcome back to town, ethan.

tuesday, may 2nd at the hotel utah lounge - san francisco, ca

it was our first "regular gig" at the hotel utah... pretty fun. we'd like to thank frankie innocent and the trouble makers and old bull lee for playing before us. it was kind of a diverse night, which made it pretty cool. the big award goes out to steve for shaking the hardest and yelling and singing the loudest (although dano, pat and ethan made more noise with their shakers by slamming them on the tables). we just had a really good show... vierica did a great job with the sound and cat with serving the drinks. that must have put us in a rocking mood. it was the closest we felt to a late night kendall show since a late night kendall show. it made us feel at home here in SF. late night we felt a lot of love in the room... it started with slow dancing, which turned to fast dancing, which turned to dirty dancing. nothing wrong with that.

monday, may 1st at the hotel utah lounge - san francisco, ca

we were lucky enough to have our name chosen to play tonight. the hotel utah was putting on a little showcase/contest and about 75 people signed up (of which only 30 got to play). we were right in the middle with slot #15. we decided to play "autograph", partly because it translates pretty well without the drums and also because we haven't worked on that song in the recording process in a while (in other words, we're not sick of hearing that one just yet). it was a great night of performers... they seemed to have come out of the woodwork. the only negative was that some of the regulars that we've been seeing there didn't get picked. hopefully their turn will come up next week.

wednesday, april 26th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

our month-long residency as the open mic host came to an end. it's always fun to see people run off either outside or upstairs by the pool table to teach each other their songs, then quickly jam them out on stage. jay played bass with transcendental hayride and dano played bass with us. chris, of course, played along with at least half the people that played.

thursday, april 20th at the stork club - oakland, ca

our first gig in oakland! we had a lot of fun... before the show we were hanging out with the guys from the american girls, who were here down from portland oregon. hopefully we'll get to gig with them some time in the future (they put on a great show right after us). it was cool that we had met some people from the east bay and most of them stopped by for our set. we introduced them to the shakers and giveaways. jay tried out his new distorted guitar setup, which ended up working well (the guitar was huge when it needed to be). we introduced our latest tune "just one thing" to everyone. after the american girls played, we hung out to hear "fall of olive" play their set. all in all, it was a good night of music (and they had ms. pac man in the back room). there's a rumor that the club might get shut down by the city. we hope that isn't the case, because it's such a cool place to hang out. they have christmas decorations all year long.

wednesday, april 19th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

what a cool night of collaboration! we played with dano sitting in on bass, then we sat in as his backup band, and then everybody else. we played with john egan and pat anderson and chris was part of the sweet bastards (with will and tim). it turned into a jam session, especially later in the night when we were working on our second sets. everyone in the crowd got a little preview of this compilation we're working on out here... we're all teaming up and submitting our songs and working them out as an "all-star" sort of band. should be pretty cool... it was a weird night because people kept on coming in all night. never quite crowded, but a ton of people came and went all night. each performer seemed to have a different audience.

saturday, april 15th at the brainwash cafe - san francisco, ca

we were playing tour guides with kristin's cousin and figured it would be nice to stop by and visit dayla's new open mic. as it turned out the guy from "utah girl" (maybe that makes him the utah guy) lent us his guitar and we played 4 tunes with no shakers or drums. it worked out to be a really good time (and we got some brainwash bucks to pay for our drinks).

wednesday, april 12th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

week number 2 of the ireland's open mic as hosted by goh. all the regulars were there (actually, there were a few irregulars there too... we like to think of ourselves as part of the irregular crew). :) chris got more practice as the house drummer, sitting in with about half of the people.

monday, april 10th at the hotel utah lounge - san francisco, ca

another great night at the utah. it was probably the most crowded we've seen it there... thanks to everyone for supporting dayla's open mic. we saw both some familiar and some new faces. we also got to hear our friend emily play a full set as the night's feature... how cool is that?

wednesday, april 5th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

since ethan was out of town (road tripping up to alaska), we filled in and hosted the open mic. we had a lot of fun hanging out, playing and joining in with other people. the drums were used all night (sometimes chris played and sometimes other people sat in). it worked out well... especially when everyone used their shakers. the last open mic we hosted was at the kendall cafe in cambridge... it was good to get the chance to bring a little bit of the kendall out west with us.

monday, april 3rd at the hotel utah lounge - san francisco, ca

there was a rumor going on that the hotel utah may stop doing their open mic, so we went down to show our support (by playing and drinking many beers). hopefully, artists from the bay area will come down this month and show lots of support and keep a cool venue alive! especially moving this night was the spoken word by the amazing keith savage.

saturday, march 25th at the brainwash cafe - san francisco, ca

this was our first appearance at the brainwash. in fact, it was our first appearance at a laundrymat. we went down to check out dayla's new open mic. it was a lot of fun hanging out with some of our friends from other places. we could eat, drink, play and do laundry... all in one place. we had fun hanging out there with a new friend from holliston, ma. fellow bostonians are everywhere out here!

tuesday, march 21st at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

this was a really fun night! it was packed and we got to see our friend burke as the feature with his newly formed band (they were playing out for the first time). he totally rocked, as we expected. despite the microphone falling down (jay had to finish the first song almost on his knees) and breaking a pick in the first song, we managed to survive and play 3 tunes for everyone... hats off to miss jessica for hosting and tending bar for everyone.

monday, march 20th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

tonight we were the featured artist at the "utah" and brought along the full drum kit since we were playing a longer set. both of us were a little bit sick (we must have caught some sort of cold while we were out drinking on friday), but thanks to the fine makers of halls and nyquil, we managed to play. there were quite a few people there that we hadn't met before, which always makes it a good night. somehow we managed to get a parking ticket while loading up our equipment... oh well.

monday, march 13th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

it was great to see so many people out on a monday night! brian, jeanette and jane were in town from boston. they got to meet a bunch of our new california friends and polish off a bunch of pitchers. this was good practice for the upcoming st. patrick's day celebration. we did 3 sets and played just about all of our tunes (including some new ones to be released on the next cd).

thursday, march 2nd at USF - san francisco, ca

we were hoping for sun, but got rain and ended up playing in their coffee house rather than outdoors. regardless, it was still a good time. we met a few persians there that happened to know what goh means. they all got a chuckle out of that. we were bummed that we didn't have any more girls shirts left because quite a few cute college girls were looking for shirts with the fish on them. time for us to order some more...

wednesday, march 1st at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

seeing as how we didn't have much of a chance to practice out here with a full drum kit, we brought the drums to the open mic (because we know ethan and we get to play more tunes at this one). it worked out well. chris became the house drummer and ended up jamming along with quite a few people. we did our evolution tunes and ended with "lucky", which we hadn't played together since december. it was so fun to play with all those drums again... not that it's a big kit, but it seemed like it after all the time we've been playing without it.

monday, february 28th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

we decided to try out a new mode of transportation to the open mics and bike down to the utah. getting there wasn't too bad because it was mostly downhill. due to our being sidetracked earlier, we didn't get there till late, so we got the very last slot. thanks to everyone else who played for opening up for us. :) we got to hang out in the balcony with our new friends emily and nicole (usually, we hang in the downstairs section, so this was a real treat for us). coming back wasn't so glamorous... it was mostly uphill and it had started to rain. good thing the guitar bag was mostly waterproof.

monday, february 21st at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

this was chris' first time at the open mic at the hotel utah, so we made sure he got to play some trumpet and played "autograph". that song seems to be our hit there. these shows are great for us to figure out cool ways to strip down our songs. because so many people were there, we only had the chance to play one song, but got to hear 22 others play... and out of them, 2 had lived in boston at one time or another.

wednesday, february 16th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

this was the first time that both of us did the open mic here as a duo. we introduced them to some or our old favorites and the giveaways (kristin won a cd because she was smart). it was great to see the place filled up again... ethan is doing a good job at creating an open mic that people want to return to (and bring their friends along). :)

tuesday, february 15th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

alas, together again. chris made it out here from boston, and we got to have goh perform as a duo for the first time on the west coast. we played "gi joe" to plug the compilation thing happening on sunday and "autograph" so that chris could remember the trumpet parts to our tunes since it has been a little while. it was great to be back!

wednesday, february 9th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

in honor of the upcoming valentine's day holiday, i did all love (or the opposite of love) songs. that was pretty fun. it was good to see the room so crowded with all the open micers and their friends. -- jay

tuesday, february 8th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

i had miss jessica play along with me for "ventriloquist" and "satellite". looking back, i should have played willie nelson, since that's an appropriate tune to have some fiddle in it... i'm starting to get to know the crew of people there. they're fun and into drinking... nothing wrong with that. -- jay

friday, february 4th at the international cafe - san francisco, ca

my first time at this place. i played "ventriloquist" and "autograph". it was good to meet some new people and bump into some old friends (christian from the paradise). they have a great setup there... i will have to return. for whatever reason, i drank way too much coffee that day. i was actually shaking a little while playing (i don't think anyone noticed). they probably thought it was the typical stage jitters. -- jay

wednesday, february 2nd at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

there was a band playing that night, so i only got to play a few tunes, but i had a good time. later that evening we began our "wednesday night supper club thing" at dano's place. this might be a tradition of ours. thanks to ethan for bringing the whiskey! -- jay

tuesday, february 1st at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

alas, another night in paradise. we began the night by jamming in the key of a with burke, myself and jessica on fiddle. that was a lot of fun. i think we might try and begin all nights like that. barbara sang along with us. i ended up playing a few tunes and had burke and others join me on stage for prince's "little red corvette". later that evening, we were treated to a performance by some of the members of seven. what a great club! -- jay

monday, january 31th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

there seems to be a rule in san francisco... there are good days and there are bad days when it comes to the busses. on sunday, i caught the bus so easily (and the train), so getting back and forth between sf and oakland was a breeze. well today was a little different. i had to wait forever to catch the bus (but while i was waiting, i met a girl from b.c.... go figure). so i missed the signup and the first 5 performers at the hotel utah. i got the lucky spot of #27 on the list. fortunately, a bunch of people stuck around (and they were drinking). i had burke and dayla dancing on stage with me and singing backup during "autograph". how cool is that? almost every night i meet someone that has lived in boston... i met some people from germany that spent a year out there. one of them might actually play some violin on our cd. pretty cool, eh? -- jay

sunday, january 30th at the stork club - oakland, ca

my first performance in oak-town! i misunderstood the starting time and showed up an hour early, so a few of us played some tunes without the pa turned on. thanks to julie and becky for coming out with me (they live pretty close). i got to have a harmonica player during "satellite". later "george the hostess" strolled in. she was something else when she played... sort of like blues rock meets the sex pistols. we all clapped along with her and had fun (i was playing with beer bottles, which somehow seemed appropriate). it was great to get out in front of east bay people... i hope to get back there with chris when he's around... -- jay

monday, january 24th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

i went on early (the third one to go on) and played some rowdy tunes. they clapped like i was rod stewart... how great! dayla runs a good open mic (it seems to be the most well attended of all the ones i went to so far). after the set, i had a few brews and met a few more san franciscans. i'm really surprised at how many people here have ties to boston. -- jay

wednesday, january 19th at ireland's 32 - san francisco, ca

this night, i was able to play 2 sets (autograph, chopping block, little red corvette - in honor of prince, cute, sugar and pet's pet). i had a real good night with the crowd.. they were clapping during "pet's pet" and singing along during "autograph". it seems like "autograph" was the biggest hit, since that was the one everyone was talking about afterwards. i made a lot of new friends that night (and ended up going out drinking with dano and tim till 4:30). as good of a night i had playing... boy do i miss playing along with chris (he totally makes our tunes rock!). i can't wait till he gets out here. -- jay

tuesday, january 18th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

alas, another trip to the paradise (i have the feeling, this might become a hang out of mine). one the way there, i met a street musician on the bus who was trying to convince me to more like prince (we got to talking because i was carrying my guitar). i ended up playing "darwin" (yeah, i actually figured out how to sing it), "cute" and "stickshifts". late night, we got to hear a quick set from the el dorados. -- jay

monday, january 17th at the hotel utah - san francisco, ca

i tried out a new tune at a new open mic... everyone was clapping along with "pet's pet", then they asked me to play another, so i did "autograph". what a great night... everyone was friendly and supportive. it was especially nice to hear the inspirational words from the amazing keith savage. he did a spoken word about the music scene, right here, in san francisco, while one of the open mic'ers jammed along on guitar. they were calling me the anchorman (initially, i thought they were referring to the drinking game) because i was the first of us to move out here... the one in charge of planting the anchor in sf for the band. -- jay

tuesday, january 11th at the paradise lounge - san francisco, ca

kicking off my stay in san francisco, i decided to play an open mic without chris (he isn't moving out here till later in february). miss jessica and judith (the tart) run a fun show. i played "chopping block" and "autograph" for everyone... really late because i didn't get there till almost the end of the night. we ended up forming a band called "the dregs of the open mic band" with myself, burke and christian. we made up songs and then played "when doves cry" by prince. -- jay