Nashville Oct 10, 2023
I spent the weekend in Nashville, and I think I can never go back there.  It's too over-stimulating for me.  I'm a sucker for live music, and even though I don't like country, it really didn't matter.  The talent level of the casual musician in any bar in Nashville was orders of magnitude better than probably any person I've ever met.  And once you recognize what you're witnessing, it's impossible to look away.  I stayed in one bar for way too long, listening to some band play what I would describe as "old-fashioned Sunday country" if that means anything.  I walked past another bar late at night whose open window was projecting the voice of a girl singing a sad country song, and it sent chills down my spine.  Every bar on Broadway has a live band playing (seemingly) 24 hours a day, and most bars have more than one floor with more than one band.  The place is fucking sonic chaos.  Add in a little alcohol (a little) and some interesting people-watching, and Nashville is literally too much for me to handle. #music
Phish is bad Aug 11, 2021
I've been a Phish fan for a while now.  I was talking to a friend recently who was saying something about how they "never quite got the appeal of Phish", and that's something I totally understand.  Phish is an acquired taste.  But not an acquired taste like fine wine or Scotch, which are objectively good products that are sometimes unenjoyable for newcomers. 

Phish is objectively bad.  Trey is a pretty good guitarist who sometimes hits the right notes.  Mike is a sub-par bassist who still hasn't locked in a good bass tone.  Paige is an ok pianist.  Fishman is a mediocre drummer at best.  Phish is known for their live shows, but any newcomer who's heard a recording of a live show notices immediately that it sounds like Phish have never played their own songs before.  They're sloppy.  They miss notes.  The singing is terrible.  And the jams ... just too damn long. 

So what exactly is the appeal of Phish?  It's hard to explain in a way that doesn't sound crazy, but here goes:  Phish is a band that manages energy really well.  This is best demonstrated in a live show.  There's a sort of palpable energy at pretty much any live music event.  There's the excitement of getting to hear live music, preferably from a band you like.  You're there with friends; there's alcohol; weed smoke floats lazily through the air.  The lights dim; the band gets on the stage.  Phish's claim to fame (sort of) is that they routinely play songs from their entire 40-year catalog, so you never really know what you're gonna get on any given night.  The song could be fast or slow, short or long, happy or sad, old or new.  The lights follow along to the music.  Then:  The jam.  That's where the magic happens.  Veterans know what's happening, but it's still sort of a surprise every time.  It starts off slow and steady.  Meanders through ups and downs.  Dies off for a while.  Then slowly and steadily it comes back, and it builds and builds and builds to a climax.  Music blaring; lights blinding; crowd screaming.  Rinse and repeat. 

By any objective measure, Phish is bad.  Wrong notes; bad singing; weird lyrics; dumb songs.  But that's looking at it the wrong way.  Phish is about energy.  They follow a pattern of excitement, anticipation, surprise, delayed gratification, climax.  And they're quite good at it. #music
Tiers of music fandom Apr 1, 2021
There are 6 tiers of music fandom: 

1.  Never heard of them.
2.  Never heard of them.  Oh wait, they sing that?  I like that song.
3.  I like 2 or 3 songs by them.
4.  I love that one album.
5.  I like several of their albums, but none of the old/new stuff.
6.  I can recognize every single song from every one of their albums by only hearing the first three notes. #music
Musical maturity Feb 21, 2007
I'm a fan of Phish and their frontman Trey, but I've noticed a significant change in their music over the years.  Earlier albums were exact, cohesive, energetic, and purposeful.  Later albums were recorded without practice or polish.  A friend said the reason for the change is that Trey's music has matured over the years.  He's less about energy and fun, and more about emotion and feeling.  To me, that's total BS.  When a singer doesn't hit the notes and his guitar isn't in tune, I don't consider that to be a sign of maturity.  When the harmonies don't match up and the songs sound like they were written in 5 minutes (and oftentimes they were), I don't call that progress. 

I'm also a fan of Audioslave.  I think they're a perfect combination of Rage Against the Machine's guitar riffs and Soundgarden's rock vocals.  And what's interesting is that I'm in a position to watch this band mature.  I originally hated them because of radio singles off their first album (honestly, who chooses what songs get played on the radio?).  But I bought the second album after I heard some great songs.  I bought the third album a while later, and I was only mildly impressed.  And then to even out the mix, I bought the first album, and I was totally floored.  You can really see how their music progresses and changes over time.  Their earlier stuff is more energetic and loud, while their later stuff is a bit more toned down and calm.  The quality is still all there, and if anything, it's gotten technically better.  But the style of music is changing as the musicians age and mature.  I'm personally not a fan of the newer stuff because I like my music loud, but I can at least recognize that musicianship can mature over time without degrading in quality. #music
Listen more than once Oct 12, 2006
I own several albums that needed to be listened to more than once in order to fully appreciate them.  I find this happening more and more with CDs I've bought recently (yes, I still buy CDs).  Every now and then, I'll listen to a CD and instantly like it the first time through.  This was the case with Phish's Undermind.  For some reason, that whole album appealed to me in some way or another (except "Secret Smile", which is a horrific train wreck of a song), and I ended up listening to the album a good 10 times from beginning to end while driving in my car. 

But other albums affect me after the 2nd or 3rd listen.  This is the case with Jet's new one, Shine On.  The first listen was ok, but I was still a little iffy.  These guys blew me away with their last one, but half the songs on Get Born were slow and girly.  So I was expecting another album half-filled with hard-hitting rock songs and half-filled with slow ones.  Shine On has some of the same mix, but I think the songs are more effectively organized on the disc.  It's not up, down, up, down.  It's up, up, up, up, up, down, up, up, down, etc.  Whatever it is, I'm on the 4th or 5th listen and I'm loving it. 

The 2nd listen requirement is the case with most AC/DC and Black Crowes music.  This is not the case with most Blues Traveler, ulu, and Trey music.  I'm not quite sure what this says about these artists.  If it only needs to be listened to once to be fully enjoyed, does that mean it's genuinely good music?  If it needs to be listened to more than once, does that mean it's more complex and requires a certain appreciation of something that's going on in that specific band's music?  I don't know what the deal is, but I think it might have something to do with my mood, my surroundings, background noise, and how loud it is.  If Wendy's in the car with me, I can't fully appreciate a new CD because I can't play it as loud as I'd like (plus, Wendy likes to talk sometimes).  If I'm sitting in traffic and I'm late to something, I can't appreciate a new CD because I'm preoccupied and can't concentrate on the music.  So I think it depends more on the situation than on the type of music. #music
Rockstar voice Dec 8, 2005
I wish I had a rockstar voice.  A rockstar voice is that gritty, angry sound that rockstars use that makes anything sound cool.  It's what's holding me back from becoming a rockstar.  Well, that and the fact that I don't really want to be a rockstar.  I don't think it would fit my current lifestyle. 

I listen to some bands and I'm amazed at their lead singer's rockstar voice.  Take Jet, for example.  That guy has the best "Yeah!" I've ever heard.  All they needed to do was put some guitars and drums behind it, and they'd have instant success.  And that's exactly what they did.  Another example is AC/DC.  Sure, the guy constantly screams, but you can't beat it.  Anything he says is screamed with a rockstar voice.  A newer example that I stumbled upon recently is Audioslave.  I don't really like Audioslave.  I think they're weak and overrated.  But there's this song called "Doesn't Remind Me" and it's awesome.  Chris Cornell definitely has a rockstar voice.  Kurt Cobain is another guy who could make anything sound cool with his rockstar voice. 

Phish is an example of a band who's lead singer doesn't have a rockstar voice.  But their strong point isn't really vocals; it's live energy.  But that's a different story. #music
Funkwagon Oct 27, 2005
This is the story of Funkwagon, a somewhat Christian rock/jam band that existed from 1997-2000 and of which I was a member.  The band consisted of Thom Deeney on vocals and guitar, Dave Hosier on guitar and vocals, Matt Hart on bass and vocals, and Bob O'Grady on drums.  The band played various cover songs (The Kingsmen's Louie, Louie, Phish's Sample in a Jar and Down with Disease, Weezer's Buddy Holly and Holiday) and originals (Now I Say To You, Heaven, System Ed, The Game) at churches and talent shows around northern New Jersey before calling it quits so the members could go away to college. 

Background
After experimenting with a few different bands, I accepted Thom Deeney's invitation to play a song with his band at the Kittatinny talent show.  We went with Louie, Louie and decided to wear some weird costumes to help our act.  It didn't help us win, but we had a good time and made some people laugh. 

Before we played in the talent show, we had to think of a name for ourselves.  Thom ingeniously came up with "More than Conquerors" from Romans chapter 8, though the rest of us thought it was stupid.  We went with it for the time being, but I took it upon myself to gather a list of hundreds of potential band names.  It was actually something I had been working on for no particular reason for several years, and I decided to share my findings with the group.  The one that stood out the most was Funkwagon. 

Eventually, Thom used his social connections to get us some gigs, the first of which was playing at Ben Kappler's party.  I borrowed a big Marshall amp from the school (because I only had a tiny one) and we played a few songs for the cool kids.  It was a very odd show, but it got us some live practice and earned us some followers. 

Tourdates
March 20, 1998 - Erase the Hate '98 (Poster)
May, 1998 - Ian's backyard party
June, 1998 - Mike's last-day-of-school party (Poster)
December 31, 1998 - New Year's Eve at Lafayette Federated Church
Winter, 1998-1999 - Watermark Fest at First Baptist Church in Newton
March 20, 1999 - Sockhop at Sonny's Drive-In (Poster)
July 9, 1999 - The Zone in Mt. Olive (Poster, Setlist)
Sometime, 1999 - Stacy's sweet 16 birthday party
November 12, 1999 - Watermark Fest 2 at First Baptist Church in Newton (Poster, Setlist)
Sometime, 1999 - Newton High School talent show
Sometime, 1999 - Kittatinny talent show
Sometime, 1999 - Christ Community Church
April 30, 2000 - Jack Brackney's party (Setlist)
June, 2000 - Project Graduation at Kittatinny (Setlist) #music
Taste in music Oct 8, 2005
Whenever people ask me what music I like, it's always difficult to give a simple answer.  If I says I like rock, people say, "Oh, like Dashboard Confessional and Franz Ferdinand."  No.  If I say I like Phish, they say, "Oh, like Dave Matthews and stuff like that."  No.  Hard rock.  "Metallica."  No.  Forget it. 

So to quantify my taste in music, I'll identify bands I hate and bands I like. 

Bands I Hate (with explanatory phrases)
Bob Dylan - Should've been a poet instead of a singer, whiny, sloppy
Bruce Springsteen - Big ugly songs, annoying
George Thorogood - Blatant alcoholic, depressing, all songs sound the same
Grateful Dead - Weak, sloppy
Rod Stewart - Unworthy sex symbol, annoying, bad hair, old
Rolling Stones - Sloppy, unworthy sex symbols, some good songs
Stevie Nicks and/or Fleetwood Mac - Girly, annoying
Tom Petty - See Bob Dylan, some good songs

Bands I Like (with descriptive words)
AC/DC - Simple powerful rock
Black Crowes - Soul groove
Blues Traveler - Songwriting together harmony
Jet - Simple powerful rock
moe. - Jam improv energy
Phish - Jam improv climax jazz complicated talented intricate
RAQ - Complicated talented organized together
ulu - Jazz funk improv
Umphrey's McGee - Smart complicated talented jam hard rock
Weezer - Simple powerful together #music