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Big thanks to Rene and Shawn and all from The Dividing Line website for a great interview and some great chat last night! It was a lot of fun. Thanks to all who came by to listen and chat as well. Hope you all get a chance to check it out on the archive. Talk to y'all soon...Happy St. Patty's Day!

3/11/03:

Good show in Philly on Sat. Here's our set:

Where I Belong
Knight of Nights
Crossfire of Hatred and Love
Believe
The Mists of Dalriada
Oh, How it's Great!
Coming Like Light
Encore - I Get Lost

Although we only played for about 50 minutes (and with busted monitor speakers!) it was an energy-filled night and a lot of fun for us. I particularly enjoyed listening to Laura sing our alternative version of Believe with her on lead vocals. Very cool! Thank you to all who give our music a chance by listening with open ears.

I gotta tell you. I love my fellow IZZ-mates. What a great group of people. Not just musicians, but probably the nicest group of people you'll ever meet. And I wish more people were as kind as my band mates are. I just feel lucky that I get to spend a lot of my time with such great human beings. ok, just had to get that off my chest.

"...there is still hope..."

2/27/03

"A few gig updates. We'll be playing with Miriodor and Woodenhead on June 27 in Trenton, NJ for the NEARFest Pre-show. Miriodor is an awesome band and we're very psyched to be on the same stage as they are. We're also very excited to be opening for The Flower Kings on July 2 in Lowell, MA. So, while we hope to do a lot of work on our next album over the next two months, we're already gearing up for some very cool gigs in the near future! It's safe to say we'll be debuting some new material at these shows. That's all for now!

"I think we're all in agree-ance..." - Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit

2/21/03:

"Got a new Gateway laptop...addicted to it...but i did rip myself away from the computer today to put bass and acoustic guitar tracks down for a new IZZ song penned by Tom. It is awesome...i don't think i'm being biased either (well, maybe a little...), but it is a very cool song and it was great to add some of my little bass and acoustic guitar things to it...can't wait to play it live. We're gonna be working this weekend on another new track called "Deafening Silence" which should prove to be quite a task...it's clocking in at about 20 minutes...so we'll see where that leads.

Spring Training is here!! Let's Go Mets in 2003...

"I think I'll just fade into Bolivian..." -Mike Tyson

2/13/03:

"Sorry I've been MIA lately. Much busy. Added a new gig to our live schedule for May 2 in NYC. Check out the IZZ Live page for the deets. A few more dates will follow. Had a session with Tom working out parts for another new song that will be on the next album. Very psyched about this piece.
Laura and I played in South Norwalk, CT this past Sunday. It was fun, except for the fact that we kept having to turn our volume down...even though we were using an acoustic guitar and a piano...oh well. I just love listening to Laura sing anyway, so anytime I get the chance to have her sing with me, it is an opportunity I will seize! We did a very different acoustic version of "Where I ?Belong" but it was pretty cool! Sort of wish we had taped it...oh well, next time. Let me see if I can find out set list...
I've Just Seen a Face (Beatles) Ice Cream (Sarah M.) Linger (Jonatha Brooke) Call and Answer (Barenaked Ladies) Abby's Song (new John song) Angel (Sarah M.) She Walked Out the Door Do What you Have to Do (Sarah M.) Yesterday (Beatles...duh) Blackbird (Beats) I Wanna Win Fine Afraid to be Different (new John song) Two Step (DMB) Halleluiah (Jeff Buckley cover of a cover) Crossfire of Hatred and Love (just piano) I Get Lost Coming Like Light (excerpt) Believe Blue (Joni Mitchell) Favorite Mistake (Sheryl Crow) Where I Belong Goodbye to You (Michelle Branch) Wish You Were Here (PF) Amazing Crazy (new John song) Something's Wrong (new John song)
So there you have it...very cool, laid back, relaxed gig. Promise to post more often!

2/4/03 posting:

"Lost my voice today. Had to cancel tomorrow night at Cafenani. Upset, but hopefully I'll be back to full voice by Sunday for my gig with Laura at SoNo Caffeine in Norwalk, CT. Looking forward to that. Trying to figure out a way to hook up my new cable modem! Thankfully, I'm finally entering the world of high-speed internet access. And once I get my laptop, then I'll be set. Hope you all have escaped illness so far...it seems everyone around here is sick. Off to take some more 'Tussin...

"Stupid Lisa..." -Homer Simpson

1/28/03:

I'm loving my new Takamine guitar! It's definitely inspiring me with regard to my writing, but even more so when I'm playing live. Brems, Laura and I performed last Wed. and we had a great time. We improv'd a bit with Coming Like Light, playing from "With the Distant dawn of light.." to the end of the song, which was pretty cool. Laura sang a killer version of Michelle Branch's "Goodbye to You"...better than Michelle sings it. And did some other cool covers "Welcome to the Machine", "I Feel Fine", "Yesterday" to name a few. Anyway, Brems and I will be back there with Laura next Wed., Feb. 5, but the band will be at Cafenani this coming Sat., Feb. 1 so it will be very cool to have the whole band there, albiet not as a full electric set, but pretty close (semi-acoustic/electric). It's always cool to vary how we play our tunes. And also the start of Feb. will mark the focused continuation of recording of our new tunes. So hopefully, we'll gain some ground on our next release.

"I'll take it from here..."

1/20/03:

Had an amazing time on Saturday night at the Metlar-Bodine House in Piscataway, NJ! Great people and great coffee! But the night was truly magical for us as a band. It was the first time we have been able to play I Move from start to finish as a whole. And it was incredibly special for us to be able to perform something we feel so passionate about in front of an amazing group of people who were listening the entire time! An amazing feeling for me personally and I know I speak for the band as well when I say it was one of the most satisfying gigs we have ever done. So big thank yous to all who attended the show for giving us your ears for three hours...and you even pretended you enjoyed it! It was truly amazing.

Another very gratifying thing was the response we got from our two newest songs, "Crossfire of Hatred and Love" and "Fine". We never know what to expect when we play new songs, but after we finished Crossfire, we were blown away by the response and we'll take that to mean we're headed in the right direction! So now I'm looking even more forward to getting our next album together! Recording starts soon!!

I do have to add my two cents about the coffee...it was truly amazing. Never tasted anything like it and Greg is a great guy. Thanks for the beans man! Anxiously waiting to pour some of that brew in my own home!
Here's the set list in case anyone is curious:

Meteor
I Get Lost
Molly's Jig
She Walked Out the Door
Lornadoone
Just a Girl
Crossfire of Hatred and Love
Fine
Endless Calling
I've Just Seen a Face
Abby's Song (John)
The Lamb (Tom and John)
Celtic Cross (Brems and John)
Vitae Eternae (Brems)
Assurance

COFFEE BREAK!

Spinnin' Round
I Move
Weak Little Lad
I Already Know
I Wanna Win
All the New
Star Evil
Another Door
Something True
Believe
Knight of Nights
Oh, How it's Great
Coming Like Light
Light From Your Eyes
Comfortably Numb
Razor
Where I Belong

Well, there you have it...thanks again to Jim Robinson for an awesome night and hope to see you all soon!

1/6/03: 2002 Wrap-Up

Happy New Year from IZZ! We hope you all had a healthy and exciting Holiday season and we wish you all the best in 2003.
As IZZ moves into the new year, I thought it would be cool to take a look back at 2002. Before we embark on new challenges and musical adventures, it's always nice to look back at a very good year both musically and personally as a band.
One of our goals at the end of 2001 was to finish and release "I Move". I Move was something that we had worked on for a long time and had wanted to present to audiences. While we had played many of the songs on I Move live in 2001, we finally got a taste of the finished product in early 2002 and released the CD in early March. We knew that we were thrilled to release I Move and we knew we were happy with what we had come up with. But you never know what the reaction of everyone else is going to be. To put it mildly, we were blown away with all the kind words and enthusiastic positive responses to I Move. I don't think any of us expected the kind of response we got from the album. From reviewers to fans and friends, I Move proved to be not only what we viewed as a personal success for us as musicians, but also a very gratifying album to make and release. Anyone who is reading this is owed a HUGE thank you for taking a chance on I Move. So many of you have also forced (maybe forced isn't the right word!) I Move on friends of yours who have also liked the album. You have been our greatest PR weapon. The most dangerous threat to the bland mainstream music industry is YOU. And you are also owed a debt of gratitude for standing up to the mainstream and taking a chance on new music. Please continue to do so. There is so much great music out there that would otherwise never be heard if it wasn't for you...well, I digress!
After the release of I Move, we continued to play live as much as possible in the New York/New England area (thanks NewEARS!) and eventually landed spots in two of progressive rock's premier festivals, ProgDay and ProgWest. These gigs not only gave us an opportunity to play live in front of some great audiences, but they also gave us a chance to meet amazing people and enjoy listening to some great music as well. One of my musical highlights this year has to be NDV's performance of Kevin Gilbert's The Shaming of the True at ProgWest. Amazing.
And again, after these festivals we received amazing feedback from everyone. As a band, we felt that we were indeed moving in the right direction. Our release of I Move and our subsequent performances at ProgDay, ProgWest and a lot of other venues in between gave us fuel to move forward into the new year of 2003.
2002 was an important year for IZZ if for no other reason that it has given us many options for 2003. Right now, we have material ready to go into the studio and record for another studio album. We also have some live material to sift through for a possible live release. In addition, myself and Brems have been working on "solo" projects that may also be released in 2003. While we want to concentrate on recording our new music and releasing some live material, IZZ lives for the live show. This is where we get our life from. IZZ started out as, and will always be, a live band. And even as we record new material with the hope of releasing our 3rd studio album this year, we will try to balance our studio time with live shows and acoustic performances.
As cool as 2002 was, I expect 2003 to be an even better year for IZZ. But none of these hopes would be possible without you all there listening to the music. We really cannot thank you enough. So I hope you accept this Thank You along with the promise for more music in the coming year.
May you all have a Healthy and Happy 2003!!
And may the Mets win the World Series
(sorry, had to get that in there...)

"New Year's Resolution? Resolute This!"

12/24/02:

Merry Christmas! And Happy Holidays! Just got back from Mass. from this weekend's gig! Great fun! We had an awesome time playing up in Lowell and hope to be up there again soon in the new year. Here's the setlist:

Watchtower
I Get Lost
Run Like Hell (Floyd) Razor
Fine (New)
Endless Calling
Lady Madonna (Beatles)
Spinnin� Round
I Move
Weak Little Lad
I Already Know
I Wanna Win
All the New
Crossfire of Hatred and Love (New)
Believe
Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead)
Ancient Memory (New)
Just a Girl
Assurance
Mists
Tripping Billies (DMB)
We Are Free
Silent Night (Brems and Anmarie)
Comfortably Numb (Floyd)
Abby�s Song (John solo)
Red Rain (Brems and John - PG cover)
A Soul in Flight (Brems and Anmarie)
I Believe in Father Christmas (Tom solo)
Oh, How it�s Great!
Coming Like Light
Light From Your Eyes
She Walked Out the Door
Lornadoone
So This is Christmas?
I�ve Just Seen a Face
Revolution
Where I Belong
Wish You Were Here

A great night...we ended up playing for over 3 hours and then attempted to hang out at the Brewhouse afterwards, only to be kicked out in the street when the place closed at 1:30! Oh well...I guess I'm used to NY bars.

Big thanks to NewEARS for bringing us back to Lowell and huge thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate the holidays with us. IZZ wishes all of you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I'll be doing an end of the year wrap-up for the band later on in the week. Eat, drink and be merry...

"A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...Let's hope it's a good one...Without any fear..."

12/12/02 posting:

"Played Cafenani last night...by MYSELF! Doh...Brems was supposed to be with me, but he isn't feeling well (get better Brems!) and so I was left to play for over two hours by myself...needless to say, I wasn't exactly prepared to play for two hours alone. But thanks to Laura and the help of everyone there, we made it through...barely though...string broke on my guitar on the last song...perfect timing. Here's the set...I think

Pantala (DMB)
Two Step (DMB)
Red Rain (PG)
Something's Wrong
What You Want to See
I Wanna Win
She Walked Out the Door
Fine
Halleluiah (cover of Buckley's cover of Cohen's song)
Change My Mind (New - Ozzy rip off)
Abby's Song
Band on the Run (McCartney)
Blackbird
I Move

w/Laura
Assurance
Believe
Linger (Jonatha Brooke)
Building a Mystery (Sarah M)

Just John again
Amazing Crazy
No Reply (Beatles)
Norwegian Wood
Pigs on the Wing
Dogs (Floyd)
The Lamb (Genesis)
Lover, You Should've Come Over (Buckley)
Grace is Gone (DMB)
small excerpt of Coming Like Light (what can i do with one acoustic guitar?)
Very Bad Blues Jam
Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead)

I'm not sure if there were more...probably. It's all a blur usually on those nights. But it was a lot of fun and it's time for a new acoustic guitar...yes I love my Ovation, but it's breaking. Looking forward to playing with the guys again in two weeks up in Lowell. It'll be a great feeling to play live with the full band after playing by yourself! Very cool night though...thanks to the dedicated few who came out on a really terrible night to be out! Rain, sleet and ice! But we were warm inside and it was a lot of fun. That was my last show at Cafenani for about a month. With Christmas and New Year's coming, we all need a much deserved break. Anyway, I'll report back soon and hope to see some of you in Mass.!"

"This is John Lennon's guitar...no...really!"

12/10/02 posting:

"Looking forward to playing tomorrow night with Brems. Should be a cool night. Haven't had a chance to really work up anything completely new, but we will be throwing in some Beatles/McCartney tunes that we haven't done before, so that will be cool. And maybe a Christmas song or two. But a fun night will be had by all, that is always a guarantee. Anyone who can come to one of these shows and get Brems to sing on a song or two, you'll get a prize...I cannot convince him to get behind a microphone...and I know he can sing...
Saw a little bit of video footage from ProgWest and it looks VERY cool! Can't wait to see the whole thing. Definitely potential for release at some point as long as the audio is good quality as well.
Off to re-string guitars and play a little bit. Hope to see some of you soon!

"I know who took those lunches...it was that damn sasquatch."

12/5/02 posting:

"Snowed in! Just what I was hoping for today. No need to do anything except shovel and relax and play music. And sit next to a roaring fire...ok, well, not exactly roaring, but I did my best...with some help.
I thought I might sit and listen to some music today and maybe write about whatever I was listening to, but all I've been listening to is Christmas music and there's really no point in analyzing that. It's just Christmas music. But I'm gonna do that soon. Pick out an album and just listen and write my thoughts about it. Give me some ideas. Jeff Buckley's Grace and Floyd's The Wall come to mind immediately as two of my favs of all time, so maybe one of those. Well, I actually do have to go out and shovel more so the driveway doesn't ice over in the morning. I hope all of you in the Northeast had a great snow day."

"Hot apple cider with rum is like liquid crack..."

12/4/02 posting:

"Well, it's reeeeeealy cold today. They say we're getting ready for snow here in the Northeast, so maybe tomorrow will be one of those stay in your house and drink hot cocoa all day. I wouldn't mind one of those days actually. Let it snow! Got word from ProgWest that we should be seeing some video of our performance there pretty soon as well as hearing some of the audio mix. We're hoping that we might use some of that live material to be part of a either a live CD or some kind of DVD production. This is all, of course, speculation at this time, but it is definitely something we've been thinking about and wanting to do for a while now. So, that is something else in the works. As a band, we've been thinking a lot about this past year and also about what's in store for 2003 for IZZ. 2003 should be another exciting year as we plan to not only release another studio album, but also go forward with plans for a live CD and perhaps a live acoustic CD and maybe even a solo album or two from some of the members in the band (myself included). Of course, all these things will be updated as they become more of a reality, but these are some of the things we have in our collective heads that we want to accomplish in 2003. I don't know what got me into this looking-ahead-to-the-new-year mood, but hey, it's getting me excited just to think about it! If I'm stuck inside tomorrow because of snow, I'll write some really long post tomorrow...maybe a "classic album" analysis...it will be a good day to listen and write if it snows. So I'll be back tomorrow."

"I can wake up to the music in the morning..."

12/3/02 posting:

"Apologies for the time lapse between postings! I'll blame Thanksgiving on that...I never posted the set list for when Brems and I played at Cafenani the Wed. before Thanksgiving, so I'll do that now, but I'll warn you, I've probably forgotten most of it. Brems and I are working on recording a performance of these acoustic shows in the hopes of releasing it at some point. So this is a project that will be worked on soon. Anyway, here's the set list as best as I can remember:

John solo:
The Rain Song excerpt (Zep)
Something's Wrong
At That Time of the Night (Marllion cover)
Abby's Song
Gray Street (DMB cover)
I Wanna Win
She Walked Out the Door

Brems and John:
Red Rain (PG cover)
I Move
Lornadoone
Light From Your Eyes
Will You Remember Me? (from Brems solo CD)
Molly's Jig (from Brems solo CD)
All Along the Watchtower (with a SMOKING Brems solo)
Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey
Tangerine (Zep cover)
Warm Wet Circles (Marillion cover)
Assurance (two-guitar mix)
Believe
Time (Floyd cover)
Comfortably Numb
Wish You Were Here
In the Air Tonight (Collins cover)
I Get Lost
Fine
Amazing Crazy

Encore:
Fake Plastic Trees

I know I defintiely played some more stuff solo, but I can't remember...it was sooo long ago! Like a week. Anyway, we had an absolute blast and can't wait to do it again.
IZZ worked this weekend rehearsing for our Dec. 21 Christmas show in Lowell, Mass. where it looks like we'll be performing 4 new songs. We've completely revamped the song "Crossfire of Hatred and Love" and it's now turned out to be an 8-minute killer tune. I can't wait for everyone to hear it. Working on some Christmas songs as well for that gig, so things are definitely busy, not only in our personal lives around the holidays, but also as a band. More info to come..."

"I'm not one to dream, but look at me now I'm caught in the breeze of life and love..."

11/25/02 posting:

"Good rehearsals this weekend. Actually it was more of a writing session than rehearsals. We worked on a song called "Crossfire of Hatred and Love". Tom and I actually played this in Lowell, Mass. the last time we played there, but it has turned into something completely different now. Brems came in and added his magic and now it has grown to a piece over 8 minutes long with a very cool middle section (if I don't say so myself). It's gonna be a good one. I think we captured something this weekend with that song. Can't wait to play it live!
Brems and I will be at Cafenani in White Plains, NY this Wednesday for a little pre-Thanksgiving show. We're working on a few new covers to throw into our set and also a couple more IZZ tunes, arranged for two guitars...Other than that, I'm just excited for Thanksgiving because of the food. Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve are probably my two favorite days of the year because it's ok to eat anything and everything you want. Especially in an Italian family...it's considered rude not to eat everything. So I got that goin for me. Hope to see some of you this Wed.!"

"So here i am once more..."

11/21/02 posting:

"In San Antonio over the weekend. Cool trip...definitely a good time on the Riverwalk. Caught a few good bands actually, so it was worth it. I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately, which is my excuse for not posting here recently. It must be going around the band. Tom's not feeling well either. And things have sort of been slow since we've come back from California and ProgWest. It seems we're trying to get our feet back under us. But rehearsals this weekend should bring things back into focus. We hope to work up at least 3 new tunes for our next show in December not only for performance purposes, but also so we can start recording for the next album. I'm getting itchy to start working on our new tunes as a whole band. Anyway, it's been a sort of slow week and not much to report. So I'll sign off for now, but check back in case we have a show at Madison Square Garden in the next few weeks :)"

"Never let success go to your head...never let failure go to your heart."

11/14/02 posting:

"OK, here's last night's setlist from Cafenani as best as I can rememeber it...I'll forget some, i know...and my acoustic guitar has another "character mark on it..." Yes, I'm an idiot...
John solo:
Halleluia (Jeff Buckley cover - actually it's someone else's song, but I know it from the Buckley album)
Dora and Me (new)
What You Want to See (new)
Still...You Turn Me on (ELP cover)
Fine (new)
Three of a Perfect Pair (Krimson cover)
Abby's Song (new)
The Lamb (Genesis cover)
Lover, You Should've Come Over (Buckley cover)

Brems and John
Believe
I Move
Just a Girl (messed up words mix)
Lornadoone (messed up words mix)
Assurance
Celtic Cross (from Brems' solo CD)
Watchtower
Easter (Marillion cover, by request! when someone yells out "play Marillion!" you know you're in friendly territory)
Time (Floyd)
Light From Your Eyes
Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2 (Floyd)
Molly's Jig
The Lamb (again by request)
The Glasgow Kid (Brems' solo)
Mood For a Day (Yes duet)
Suddenly Samba (jam)
Confortably Numb (Floyd)
I Get Lost
Wish You Were Here

OK, well, there were more songs that I forget...I'll probably come back to add more songs when I remember...throughout the day I'm like, oh yeah! we played that too...so i'll try to amend the setlist to be as accurate as possible, but since we never write anything down, it's hard to remember. Anyway it was fun as hell and Brems was particularly smoking on guitar last night (he always is, but last night was awesome). We'll be back there in two weeks! Talk to y'all a bit later...peace"

"if you want to be safe, don't make waves..."

11/12/02 posting:

"Back from California! What a weekend! This is the first chance I've had to sit down and reflect even a little bit since we played on Sunday. First of all, big, huge kudos to everyone who put on ProgWest (Scott, Bob, Mike, etc.)...what a wonderful event. Playing in front of the ProgWest audience was a total and absolute blast for us. And the warm reception we got on our first visit to the West coast was more than we hoped for. I can't say enough good things about it.
Our flight into Ontario, CA was market by severe turbulence. Brems actually saw the grim reaper. But we made it in a torrential downpour and didn't see any of the Southern Cali sun until Sunday morning. But the sun did finally shine on Claremont and when it did, I think IZZ thought about relocating. Of course, here in NY today, more gray and cold and rain...why did we have to leave Cali so soon?
Anyway, back to the show. Here's our setlist from ProgWest:

Spinnin' Round
I Move
Star Evil Gnoma Su
Believe
Endless Calling
Where I Belong
Assurance
I Get Lost
Razor
Oh, How it's Great
Coming Like Light

The best part of the weekend, aside from being on stage, was chatting with everyone after the show. We met some amazing people and we want to thank all of you who came to Cali to see us perform, especially those from faaaaar away! We hope it was worth it!
Anyway, there's too much cluttering my brain right now, so I will post again later on tonight. Brems and I will be at Cafenani in White Plains, NY this Wednesday again, playing some acoustic stuff. See y'all later..."

11/5/02 posting:

"Ok...can anyone guess what I'm doing right now, at this moment? you got it, I'm on hold with my ever-helpful Sprint PCS service representative. I need to activate my new phone and it's just not going too well right now. But by this time, I'm actually singing the melody of this cool "on hold" music that sounds like a bad version of Tony Banks playing an endless solo on a $200 Casio keyboard.
On a good note, my bass was fixed today and it only cost me $10...that's the least amount of money I spent at Sam Ash in like...forever. so I got that goin for me. And I also wrote this song with Brian's groovebox...it's got this cool hip-hop beat in the background...I think it's about suicide...i don't know though...the words are just flowing, so I'm going with it. Well, that's it for now I guess. We're trying to get all our gear ready to bring with us to Cali this weekend. We leave eeeeeeeeeearly Friday morning, so it should be an interesting trip to JFK airport with like 5 guitars and other gear. OK, I've waited long enough...there's gotta be some service rep coming on soon. I'm out for now..."

"Please wait for the next available Sprint PCS Service Representative..."

11/4/02 posting:

"Saw "The Ring" last night...ok, scariest movie EVER! I'm pretty good about watching horror and all that, but this is freaky. If you want to be scared out of your pants, see this movie.
Anyway, I'm off to Sam Ash now to try to take care of the buzz that's been happening with my bass. That is not cool. And I've had my eye on this Takamine acoustic they have at Sam Ash...oh, if only I had money. That would be mine...let's see , what plan can I concoct to bring that guitar home with me...I think using the credit card is out of the question...oh well.
Rehearsals went well this weekend...we're ready for Cali."

"Turn it inside out so I can see---ah"

11/1/02 posting:

"So I have in my possession Brian's "groovebox". I've been spending countless hours today trying to record my own beat and loops...much harder than I originally thought, but I'm coming along. It's actually quite fun. I've finally got to the point where I can pick up my bass and try to play something along with the groove. There's like a million possibilities on this machine, which of course is a little like taking an open book test, you sometimes take longer to look for the answers than you do writing them out. That's what I feel like I'm doing with this machine. There's definitely something to be said for a real drummer, but with this machine you can get these great techno-y grooves and sounds and that's what I'm looking for. It's pretty damn cool...hopefully something worthwhile comes out of today's noodling. I have a new found respect for drum programmers. Anyway, enough idle typing...back to the groove...have a great weekend!"

"Beware the groove.....grooooooove"

10/31/02 posting:

"Happy Halloween! Last night was a lot of fun, despite my raw vocal chords...I'm right smack in the middle of a very sore throat and runny nose and all that good stuff that goes along with the change of seasons here in the Northeast. I had a fun time trying to sing Easter and I could hardly get through some of my own songs. By the time we played Sugar Mice I think I sounded like Fish would sound if he sang it today...oooh, that is a low blow. But he always sounds like he has a sore throat nowadays...maybe if he cut out the booze and ciggies he'd be ok. But I got through it, barely, and Brems and Brian were there to take some of the heat off my voice, which they did quite nicely. So we actually had 3/5 of IZZ playing last night which was cool and unexpected! I'll try to remember the songs we played, but as usual, we had no set list and just sort of called things out. That's part of what makes these Wed. night gigs fun. Anyway, it's too cold here today and I have to rest my voice a bit, so no more singing until Cali for me. Here's as many of the songs as I can remember:

Sound Check:
Tangerine (Zep cover)

John solo:
Bartender (DMB cover)
Gray Street (DMB cover)
Something's Wrong (new)
Untitled (new)
Lucky (Radiohead cover)
Fine (new)
NY City (new)
High and Dry (Radiohead cover)
Abby's Song (new)
Two Step (DMB cover)

Brian and John:
Eyes Wide Open (new Crimson cover)

Brian, Brems and John:
All Along the Watchtower
Just a Girl (blues mix)
Take it Higher (excerpt and breakdown, couldn't remember the chords!)
Molly's Jig
Time (Floyd)
Easter (Marillion)
I Wanna Win
Suddenly Samba (jam)
Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover)
Meteorologist Jam (For Nerd Appeal)
Sugar Mice (Marillion)
I've Just Seen a Face (Light Speed version)
Wish You Were Here (The "I have no voice anymore" mix)

I think there were more and there probably were, but my memory is like a pasta strainer...it only keeps the food in. Hope you all have a fun night and watch out for old ladies who give you pennies instead of candy..."

"If you look at it this way, it says 'Lane Fire'...really"

10/30/02 posting:

"OK, so I never finished my post from the other day...oops. Here's our Philly set list from last Friday:
Spinnin' Round
I Move
Believe
Razor
Where I Belong
Assurance
I Get Lost
Oh, How it's Great
Coming Like Light
The Mists

Brems and I will be playing tonight at Cafenani in White Plains for a little pre-Halloween jammy-jam. I think we'll be doing a few Marillion tunes and other various and sundry things. It will be fun as usual. Just sent out some things this morning to California...hopefully everything gets there in one piece. I'm off to buy more guitar strings and quarter-inch cables for Cali. It's getting closer and closer everyday. I'm very psyched for our first West Coast appearance and that it's at ProgWest is even cooler. Anyway, I'm out like a trout for now. Talk to y'all tomorrow when I try to remember what Brems and I played tonight."

"What are you, a meteorologist?"

10/28/02 posting:

"Back from Philly and Delaware and Philly again this weekend! Friday night at the Sedgwick was a ton of fun, despite the oblgatory sound problems that all the bands experienced. But Jonn from Land of Chocolate deserves BIG Kudos for putting together a great night and for handling the sound problems with class and efficiently (and he also played some cool stuff with Snacks to boot!). Set list and more comments to follow today...I have to listen to the Mets press conference for their new manager, Art Howe..."

10/24/02 posting:

"Off to Philly tomorrow. We're all psyched for this show, it looks to be a lot of fun. Stop by if you're in the area. Today is basically just packing day...getting the instruments and ourselves ready to travel. After the show, the band will go its separate ways for the weekend, and then come back to get ready for Cali which is not far away! In between, Brems and I (and hopefully Brian) will be at Cafenani in White Plains on Wed. for a semi-acoustic show, playing some new songs and doing a lot of jamming. I think it's awesome that in addition to doing our regular full band shows, we sort of splinter off to do shows with different incarnations of the band. It really keeps things fresh and gives us all a chance to do some different cover songs or just play the IZZ songs in different ways. That's why I love this band. OK, I won't get melodramatic about it...
The new Mets manager is Art Howe...ok, I think that is good. Oakland's had some great years with him at the helm and I think his calm personality will only help the type of players the Mets have. I'm still trying to think about what to dress up as for Friday's Haloween show...right now the scariest thing I can think of is a NY Mets player...oooh...that hurts. Hope to see you on Friday. Stop by the table and chat!"

"You say potato and I say pie..."

10/22/02 posting:

"IZZ had good rehearsals this weekend! We're ready for Philly and California! Woohoo! Also working on new songs...I know I keep talking about new songs, but we really have a boat load of new stuff. It's gonna take a while just to sort out what we will focus on recording. Just this weekend, Brian gave me some new lyrics (they are great by the way!) and I went home and started mucking about on the piano and this song came out...not finished, I'll leave the rest for the band to write, but there is a skeleton. But first things first. Philly this Friday, White Plains next Wed. with Brems and Brian (maybe?) and Cali. just around the corner. I'll keep updating as often as I can...things have been rather busy lately, but what else is new? I do love the new Crimson EP though! Cool stuff...Although I'd probably like anything Crimson does...they are amazing. Off to watch Game 3..."

"We're gonna need to have a chorus..."

10/17/02 posting:

"Last night was a blast. I played first for about an hour, doing some of the new songs I keep trying to work on and test out in front of an audience. It was very cool. Then Brems came on to join me and we played for over an hour together doing a bunch of stuff...since we didn't really have a set list, I'll try to remember what songs we played as best I can:

John Solo:
Something's Wrong (new)
NY City (new)
Untitled (Change My Mind) (new)
Amazing Crazy (new)
Fine (new)
Abby's Song (new)
Our Greatest Season (new)
Lucky (Radiohead cover)
I Know (BNL cover)
Grey Street (DMB cover)
Creep (Radiohead cover)
I've Changed (new)
Not For You
I Grieve (PG cover)
I Wanna Win
New York State of Mind (Billy Joel cover)

Brems and John:
I Move
Tripping Billies (DMB cover)
Wish You Were Here (Floyd)
Molly's Jig (Brems' tune)
The Mists of Dalriada
Suddenly Samba (jam, improv)
Melba Toast Jam (improv)
I Get Lost
One Slice to Go (Brems' solo)
Comfortably Numb (Floyd)
Mother (Floyd)

There were more songs that I forget, but it was a lot of fun and we'll be there again in two weeks. Anyway, rehearsals this weekend for IZZ. Talk to you all soon."

10/16/02 posting:

"A rainy Wednesday here in NY. Brems will be joining me tonight for my acoustic gig. We'll play a few songs together and then just maybe jam on the spot and see what happens. Sam Ash no longer carries the acoustic guitar strings I love! Jeez, of all things not to have in stock, they don't have my Adamas strings! So I had to special order a whole box of them. And I have to make due tonight with D'Adarrio strings. I usually like these for my electric guitar, but Adamas are the best for the acoustic. I was playing last night and it just didn't feel right without my strings...I do realize I'm a dork.
Anyway, off to rehearse a bit for tonight. Trying to learn a few new covers and go over some of my new stuff. I was inspired by Billy Joel the other night when I saw him and Elton at the Nassau Colesium. Didn't expect much from either actually, but I was absolutely FLOORED by Billy Joel. His voice is amazing. And his band kicked ass. So I might try a Billy song tonight...we'll see if I can remember all the words. Maybe I'll run down my set list tomorrow. See y'all later."

"But now I need a little give and take, The New York Times...The Daily News..."

10/14/02 posting:

"Been MIA for a few days. Rehearsals and writing have kept me busy. IZZ went through some rehearsals this weekend as a full band for the first time since Brems got back from Scotland, and it was very cool to be playing together again. After doing my acoustic shows, it's such a cool thing to feel the power of the full band. Speaking of acoustic shows, I'll be playing this Wed. again at Cafenani in White Plains. Same as usual, some covers, a lot of originals, some acoustic IZZ, fun stuff. But we're getting ready for our gig in Philly and looking forward to playing the city of Brotherly Love for the first time! Stop by if you're in the area,
I hope to post some more interviews soon, as soon as I find an hour to spare, I'll update the links page. Hope everyone is well and hope you're all listening to new Peter Gabriel and new King Crimson (which I haven't even gotten yet!) and new Beck and new Flaming Lips...see y'all soon."

10/9/02 posting:

"Brems and I got together yesterday for some chatting and catching up, but we also strapped on the guitars and ended up writing a new song! Which was very cool. So we hope to present it to the band this weekend, when we're all finally getting together as a group for rehearsal and for a bit of writing and arranging some of the new songs. So far, this new "Brems-John" composition has a very cool Bremner solo to start the song. We were very excited after we put it on tape as a demo. Can't wait to show the band.

It's getting cold here...and I am already missing the summer. I had to wear long pants today! Doh! I want to wear shorts! And sandals...oh well, this is NY in October. We just sent out CDs to a new distributor in Sweden: Progress Records. So we're psyched to have representation in Sweden now. Link to that site to follow. Also, I'm going to be posting some interviews we've done and some more reviews on the Links page, so check back soon for that. Enjoy the Fall weather...

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"

10/7/02 posting:

"I hurt my neck reading. Don't ask. Now I can't look sideways without moving my whole body which is a real pain in the ass (Apparently, King Tut had to do that too...Discovery channel). Also, I have trouble looking down, so I can't really clean my feet in the shower. By the way, does anybody ever REALLY clean their feet? I mean, they're getting wet already in the shower. Do you spend time cleaning them? I'd like to know this. I'm not saying i don't...cuz I do...really.

So I played last Wednesday, before my neck injury, at Cafenani. Cool stuff again. Did my version of "I Grieve" and my take on "Tomorrow Never Knows" as well as a brand new song of mine called...umm...I don't know yet actually. But it was fun. And the Yankees lost that night too, so it was great. I'll be playing again on Oct. 16 and IZZ will be rehearsing for Philly in the next few weeks and also working as a band on the new songs. Brems is back from Scotland, so we're all ready to go. I'm off the take some Advil for the ol' reading injury (thanks for the joke, Kerri)...(see I give credit when I steal jokes...sometimes...)"

"The Italian court...what better place to court Italians..."

10/2/02 posting:

"Yanks won last night...ugh. But looking forward to playing tonight at Cafenani. What a cool little coffee house/bar that place is. Great atmosphere to just sit around, play music and hang out. Should be fun as usual. Not much else in the way of news today. So apologies for the short post today, but off I go to rehearse a few new songs for tonight."

John's Book of the Day: A Tale of Two Cities
John's CD of the Day: Born on a Pirate Ship - Barenaked Ladies

10/1/02 posting:

"October's here...and I guess that means so is fall. Oh well, the summer can't last forever. But at least the baseball playoffs start tonight. Even though my Mets are long out of it (bye bye Bobby V, we'll miss you!), I'm still interested to see if the Angels can beat the hated Yankees. Anyway, I'll be playing solo tomorrow night at Cafenani in White Plains. It'll be very informal, just me and an acoustic guitar, doing mainly new songs that I've been working on. Testing them out and such. But also playing some covers. It's always fun to do that and it helps me stay fresh as a musician. These little unannounced gigs are some of the best kind for me. Whoever shows up, shows up and it's just about the music.

So Brems gets back from Scotland this weekend and then we can begin rehearsals for both the new album and for our upcoming gigs. Things are always busy around here, but once Brems gets back, it'll be back in full swing. Looking very much forward to rehearsing and recording again. It's a beautiful day here in NY, so I'm going outside. Later..."

"Dysfunctional excess is all it took for my success"

9/30/02 posting:

Set list for Friday, 9/28 at Lowell Brewery, as promised!

All Along the Watchtower
I Get Lost
I Move
Lornadoone
Blackbird
Tripping Billies
Lady Madonna
Assurance
Crossfire of Hatred and Love (NEW)
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
I Wanna Win
Believe
Razor
Three of a Perfect Pair
I've Just Seen a Face
Fine (NEW)
Oh, How it's Great!
Coming Like Light
"Got back from Lowell yesterday after a very cool weekend of clam chowda, hanging with friends, freshly-brewed beer and music. It was a great weekend and Tom and I had a blast playing an hour and a half of acoustic tunes (Set list forthcoming). The Lowell Brewery is an awesome place and Todd brews great beer (props to you, Todd!). We were the first of four bands on Saturday, so it gave Tom and I a chance to play and then really relax with some of the NewEARS folks that were on hand. That is always a treat for us. They are all great people and just great to talk music with. We debuted two new songs, both of which may be on the next album: "Crossfire of Hatred and Love" and "Fine". Both got nice receptions and that was cool. Of course, I had to add that they will both sound very different with the full band behind them, so I think people had to use their imaginations a little, but at least there was a taste of some new songs. I'll probably post the set list later in the day, so check back if you're interested to see what we played. Unfortunately, there is not a tape of this performance, but there were some pictures snapped, so I'll try to get those up on the web. see ya a bit later..."

"It smells just like me and it smells just like you.."

9/27/02 posting:

"OK, I officially LOVE the new PG album. His voice is better than ever and the songs are all moving. Hope to see him live. If you don't have it, go out and get it. I guess I was inspired by Mr. Gabriel and I wrote another song last night. It just sort of happened as I had the electric guitar strapped on, just mucking about. I'm pretty excited about it and can't wait to show the band.
Anyway, Tom and I will rehearse a little more tonight and then it's off to Boston tomorrow for some lunch and on to Lowell to play. Should be a lot of fun. Full report upon return. Have a great weekend!"

"Life carries on..."

9/25/02 posting:

"New Peter Gabriel album! Gave it a few listens yesterday and so far, I like it a lot. I know it's the kind of album that needs repeated listens, so I'll keep from 'reviewing' it just yet, but I like what I hear. Tom and I are getting psyched for our acoustic gig in Lowell this Saturday. It will be a lot of fun. Different for us. We rarely get to perform with just the two of us together, so it will be fun. But since Tom and I agree on almost nothing except that the Beatles are cool, our constant talking over the set list has been fun! But I think we've come to a good compromise and the set will be very cool. I'll give a complete set list after the show. Hope to get into Boston early on Saturday to get my favorite food in the world, New England Clam Chowda in a breadbowl...only as served at Quincy Market. I'm very excited. If I could live one place in the world other than New York, it would be Boston. Great city, great food, great people. Hope to see some of you there."

"I'm getting drunk once again, singing to the trees, I'm laughing in the starlight with your letters in the leaves. I'd say almost anything or tell some kind of truth, to be wild again and hungry and trust you..."

9/23/02 posting: "Whitewater rafting over the weekend in Pennslyvania! Almost fell out of the boat, hit a lot of rocks and had a great time. Everyone should try it. Got home yesterday and listened to something Tom was working on...sounds very, very cool! Even though we're still in the writing and arranging stages of our next CD, I'm already getting excited by all the new ideas coming out! It's gonna be very cool. Tom and I are also rehearsing tonight for our gig in Mass. this weekend. We still have to figure out some of the arrangements for songs for just two instruments. It's a challenge, but it's fun to hear the songs we play all the time with the band, sound so different. It will be a fun night on Saturday.
Anyway, hope you all have a good start to your week. As we get further along with the new songs, I hope to put some clips up on the site so everyone can hear what I keep talking about! Stay tuned."

"Insane in the membrane..."

9/20/02 posting:

"My informal solo gig on Wed. was a blast! Cool crowd and it was a great opportunity for me to try out some new songs as well as play some acoustic versions of come cool covers (Dogs, The Lamb, Made Again, some Radiohead, et al). All in all a great time and something I'll definitely do more of in the near future.
I also introduced my theory of new artists stealing music from artists who already had big hits. For instance, Kylie Minogue's "Can't Get You Out of My Head"...it's "She Bop" by Cyndi Lauper...just give it a listen, really. Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" and Alanis' "Hand in Pocket"...I have more, it's a proven theory that artists steal from each other, especially when the song from which they're stealing was already a huge hit. Why not just recycle?? It's happening, my friends, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. I'm just here to point these things out.

"I'm drunk but I'm sober..."

9/18/02 posting:

"And now, your daily message from John:
My words of advice for today are: Don't stop believing, hold on to that feeeeeeeelin'...ok, bad Journey quote time.
Tom and I rehearsed last night for our gig up in Lowell in a few weeks. It will be different for us. A lot of our arrangements have been altered a bit and we're going to play at least 2 new songs that we've been working on, so that will be cool. Tonight I'll be at Cafenani in White Plains just playing some stuff on a Wed. night to whoever may walk through the door. Very informal thing for me to play some new songs to people who've never hear them before! Some covers, some IZZ stuff, some new songs...all on an acoustic guitar...should be fun!
Anyway, I'm off to re-string my guitars...must have that TWANG!"

"the dawn of the dawn it meant nothing to us..."

9/17/02 posting:

"Hello! Sorry I've been MIA for the past few days. Just been hectic around here. Had a fun day on Saturday playing in an Alumni Baseball game at my old Alma Mater! It was great to see all my old teammates and it was great to throw out my arm for old times sake.
Anyway, Tom and I were talking today about the next IZZ album and we realized that we have, again, enough material for two CDs. What to do, what to do! We haven't decided anything of course, but a few ideas were thrown around, so we'll see what direction we go in. But I think for now, we're going towards recording everything we have and then putting out one CD. But one never knows about these things. They often seem to take on a life of their own as the work progresses.
On the live front, Tom and I are hoping to pull out a few "old" Genesis tunes to play for our acoustic gig up in Lowell, Mass., so that should be fun. Any other suggestions? Let's Go Dolphins...2-0! woohoo! I can't even discuss the Mets anymore without crying..."

9/13/02 posting:

"I'm working on a new piece today with a working title of "Crossfire of Hatred and Love" but that may change. I'm actually hoping to debut this one in Lowell, Mass at the end of Sept. with Tom. It will obviously be a more subdued version without guitar and drums, but hopefully we can get some feedback on some of the new tunes we're working on. This one is piano-based and sort of hovers between melancholy and anticipation...i don't know exactly where that leads us, but that's what it feels like to me. I'm sort of excited about this one and can't wait to get the whole band in to arrange it for IZZ.
On a different note, just got a new cell phone yesterday and I have to freakin re-program all the numbers I had in my phone book! What a royal pain! You'd think there'd be an easier way. I'm sure there is, maybe I'm just too lazy to find out what it is."

"It's not that I'm lazy, it's just that I don't care." - OS

9/12/02 posting:

"Tom and I just confirmed to play at the end of Sept in Lowell, Mass, which is right next to my favorite city (outside of NY of course), Boston. I am in love with that city, so I'm very excited to be playing in that area again. It should be a cool show and a good excuse for me to get the best New England Clam Chowdah in the world, at Quincy Market. It doesn't get any better than Chowdah in a bread bowl in Boston. If you haven't been to Boston, it's a must-see city.

Anyway, just sort of relieved that yesterday is over and back to the task of writing and recording. And rehearsing. Tom and I will most likely add some cool new stuff (covers and new songs) to our two-piece set. And we'll have to play the existing IZZ tunes a little differently. So, if you're in the New England area, come check it out! Visit www.newears.org! See ya tomorrow...

"I'm just takin' a Greyhound on the Hudson River Line..." -Billy

In Memoriam

GREG REIDY

10/12/75 - 9/11/01

Student-Athlete, friend, brother, son, American

"Every man dies but not every man lives" (Found in Greg's car after his passing)

I thank God for keeping my family safe and pray to God that He may comfort those who were not as lucky as I was. May we always treasure what we have, so that we may not lose it again.

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan - to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations." -Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865

9/10/02 posting:

"How good is the Drama album by Yes?? I just pulled that one out. Awesome. That and Fish Out of Water might be my two favorite 'Yes' albums. How weird is that? No Jon Anderson on either one. I guess I'm just partial to THE MAN, Chris Squire.
"Anyway, off I go to run and then tune guitars. More recording for either the next IZZ CD or for something else. Who knows? Talk to you tomorrow if I can write anything..."

"And the moment I see you, it's so good to be near you" - Tempus Fugit

9/9/02 posting:

"Looks like you got a case of the Mondays...Great movie...anyway, Tom and I spent a lot of Saturday recording tracks for 'Amazing Crazy'. We're still sort of arranging things on a couple of other songs and figuring out which ones will be on the next CD. It probably won't be decided until most of them are near finished anyway. After 'I Move' and it's continuous concept, it seems sort of weird to be taking each song individually, not really worried about how it connects to the other songs. But it's sort of a release as well. It's giving us more freedom in a way to just do whatever songs we want.
This week will most likely be a quiet one as we prepare to remember and mourn and celebrate our spirit of family and friends on Wed. It will be a rough day."

9/7/02 posting:

"It's 11:45 a.m., so I have 45 minutes until Tom and I hit the studio. You think I would've woke myself up earlier for this. But that's what happens when you're watching 'Office Space' until 3 a.m. the night before. Don't ask how that happened.
Anyway, Tom and I are scheduled to put down some final tracks today for 'Amazing Crazy', one of our new songs. Hopefully all that will be left for this song after today is for Brian and Greg to put down their parts. We'll see how it goes. Things are never as easy as they seem!
Well, off I go to get ready for a recording day. Hope everyone has a great weekend!"

"I admit it, I'm a Michael Bolton fan! I celebrate the guy's entire collection! For my money it doesn't get any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman!" - Bob Slydell, OS

9/6/02 posting:

"FRIDAY! Brems leaves tomorrow for home (Scotland) for a month, so tonight will be our last hang out session for a month. One of these days I'll go over there with him. While P Dawg is gone the rest of us IZZers will begin laying down some tracks for our new stuff. Tomorrow is the first day of this. Tom and I will be working on some of the demos we already have recorded and I hope to present my brand new tune to him as well. Brian and Greg will be getting into the studio soon I'm sure once we all rehearse the new stuff a bit.
Well, off I go for my daily (sometimes) run and then sending more e-mails and making more phone calls to plan for the (cross your fingers) 2003 IZZ tour. I've sort of made a list of the places I want IZZ to be in for 2003, so hopefully we can hit a lot of places we've never been. If you think your city or town is not on my list, drop me a line and I'll check! Have a good weekend."

"Rolling stone gathers no moss, but leaves a trail of Busted Stuff" -DMB

9/5/02 posting: "Happy Thursday! I'm posting a little late in the day today, but today was a busy day. Writing new material always takes longer than you think. Cause you start something and think, ok, this is cool. Then you leave to eat lunch or something, then come back and listen to your little demo and think, 'did i think this was good?' Then you try to re-work sections of the song and then you finally say, 'dammit! this all sucks'...then it finally comes to you and the rest of the song comes out. OK, thats sort of what happened to me today in a nutshell. But I do have a semi-completed song, freshly written today, with a working title of "I'd Rather Be in NY"...don't know if i like that one though. We'll see. I'll show it to Tom and the boys soon hopefully and we'll work on it from there.
We have about 4 or 5 demos sort of partially recorded and we're about to start recording in earnest the pieces that will become the next IZZ album. This is always an exciting time, but it's frustrating as well, because we're still playing live to promote I Move, so our time is sort of precious right now. Hopefully we can begin laying down the first official tracks of our next CD this weekend. back to the drawing board. see ya tomorrow..."
"Driving on the LIE with no headlights in front of me; I've gone an hour but I don't remember how I got here." - "I'd Rather Be in NY"

9/4/02 posting:

"Whew! What an "extended" weekend! Drove into North Carolina late Friday afternoon, shortly after having my first ever Cracker Barrel experience...wish they had some CB's around this area. Had a relaxing night and a great Margarita at this Mexican restaurant. Got a good night's sleep and mentally prepared myself for our show the next day at ProgDay. Figuring the rain would move us indoors, I tried to stop the disappointment from mounting and the minute I stepped inside the "back-up" venue on Sat. morning, I was psyched all over again. As I was tuning the guitars and listening to Thieves' Kitchen play, we were having a few laughs backstage and just getting juiced for the performace. I guess nothing could have prepared us for what happened once we hit the stage. Not only did the power go out...twice! But one of Tom's keyboards conked out too! We all had our share of improvising to do for ProgDay, not the least of which was Tom trying to figure out how to play the rest of our songs without his sounds!

But from all the "mess" came what was the most fun moment of the weekend for me personally: Joining Greg and Laura at the front of the stage with no microphone or amplification and just playing Believe. At that moment, I felt like the whole room was one big family and I guess at that moment I felt the magic of ProgDay. Through the rain and the technical problems, the magic of ProgDay shone through because the whole weekend was about music. And music can't be shutout. We were all gathered for music, not for anything else and that sentiment was the theme of the weekend. It was awesome.

We left NC on Monday and I took a trip with Laura to Washington DC for some sightseeing and to catch Guster and John Mayer in concert. Guster was awesome, John Mayer was...eh. Just got back in NY a few hours ago and still on a ProgDay high. Thank you to everyone who was there at ProgDay and everyone who took the time out to come talk to us. It was awesome to talk to you. Congratulations to all who made ProgDay a success.

Talk to y'all tomorrow..."

"Two points for honesty..."