It’s Friday night and I’m home by 10pm. I find myself going out less and less these days. Is this what happens in your 40s? I used to go out and see music all the time but now I rarely go to any event unless it’s a sit down kind of thing (again–40s: What are you doing to me!?). I think the last show I went to was The Mountain Goats a couple months ago (and Joe Pernice right before that). Richard Buckner and Dolorean sometime last year too. That’s not even one show a month. And don’t even ask me about local music. I’m out of the loop there too. But wait! At least I can hear local music on-line or check out CDs from the library. A couple of things I’ve really liked recently are Super XX Man’s CD, “X” (really sweet acousticy pop stuff, reminds me of Reclinerland a little) and the newest M. Ward CD.
There are a couple of shows I’d really like to go to soon though: On the 26th, Holy Sons open up for Scout Niblett at Berbati’s (but this is also the night Sam Lipsyte reads at Powell’s and I suspect we’ll be going somewhere with him to eat some steak), and then on April 22nd, one of my favorite bands of all times, The Wedding Present, returns to Portland. I love these guys, no matter how old they are. As long as they can still jangle their guitars at the speed of light. Just look at these ol’ rascals!
Wednesday is my birthday and I’m doing my taxes to boot (not to mention bowling with friends that night). On Friday, I’ll be pulling some extra hours at work, helping out with the Chelsea Handler signing. I’m not sure if I like her writing or not (haven’t read it) but I do know she is a big fan of Friday Night Lights, so if I’m at a loss for words around her, I’ll just talk about that. On Saturday, I’m taking Zach to his weekend Search and Rescue outing and then Frayn and I are driving up to Seattle for my reading and small press panel at Pilot Books. Phew! A loaded week. (Stay tuned for the week after that–it’s also a full dance card)
Hey–I saw Green Zone tonight and–like the other Greengrass/Damon movies–it’s a high-powered and intelligent high stakes drama.
Hey–I saw that new Lady Gaga/Beyonce video and it is crrraaazzay! I just wish her music was as weird as her videos.
Speaking of videos, I just discovered that there’s a video of my Boston reading with Justin Taylor on the WGBH site. It was a great event. Watch it here!
Hello March! Now that the majority of my touring is over, I can relax at home and (hopefully) do some more writing and blogging.
While in New York and Baltimore two weeks ago, Frayn was able to snap some cool pics. My favorites are the ones taken at Adam Robinson’s apartment. Mr. Robinson, as you may know, is a gifted (yes, gifted!) poet, publisher of Publishing Genius Press, and now the host of “Culinary Genius,” a uh, cooking show that um, takes place in Adam’s, um, beautif–err, minimalist-style kitchen. I bet these photos really make you want to see the show, huh?
That’s Joseph Young, author of Easter Rabbit, on the flipcam and Frayn in the mirror. We’re making chicken bacon feta spinach salad.
And here’s Michael Kimball, who hosted my Baltimore event with Jen Michalski, on the other flipcam (yes, this was a two camera production).
I like how Adam is like a headless blur in this photo. It’s like we’re in a Sub Pop band or something.
And then we ate.
But we only had a few minutes before we had to take off for the reading…
In New York, I had two great readings–one at the In the Flesh series…
…and the other at Word in Brooklyn. I was joined by Justin Taylor at both, whose great story collection was recently raved about in the New York Times. We share a publisher and editor. Here he is, the young mastermind, Michael Signorelli, introducing us.
Here’s Mr. Taylor
Earlier that day, we visited him at the HarperCollins offices (conveniently right next to our hotel). We saw this great display of books in the lobby.
And here’s a staged photo of Sig and I pretending to edit something. Or maybe we’re arguing about royalties…
It was a great time. Thanks to everyone who came out.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be on the OPB radio show, Think Out Loud. It’s at 9am and the topic of the show is memoir. I’ll be on with Ben Yagoda, whose book, A History of Memoir, has been a big buzz book on the subject. Also on the show is Sarah Hoopes, who has a great blog and has been in the Mortified Portland show a few times. In fact, I was on that show with her twice!
PLUS!! Hey–Did you know it’s Kevin Sampsell Week? Well, it is over at HTMLGiant this week. Lots of fun over there, including an exclusive announcement this Friday about the next two Future Tense releases!!
I just got back from a great four readings in four nights trip to the East Coast. I’ll be posting some photos from these nights–all great fun and very special–very soon, thanks to my lovely camera-ready fiance.
I was lucky to read with the fabulous Justin Taylor at the first three of these: Harvard Bookstore in Boston, In the Flesh reading in New York (see above video!!), and Word Bookstore in Brooklyn. I wrapped up my journeys with an outstanding night in Baltimore, at Michael Kimball’s 510 Reading Series.
Some other highlights from the trip:
Having a cool hotel room right next to HarperCollins in Manhattan and discovering a place called Crumbs just around the corner.
Filming the first episode of Culinary Genius with Publishing Genius’s Adam Robinson in his tiny Baltimore kitchen. I think it will turn out chaotic, hilarious, and hopefully entertaining.
Getting lost on the trains in Boston, which is a really cool city.
The first part of my February book touring is done. Thanks to everyone who came out to the events in San Francisco (@ Books Inc and at the Rumpus) and Los Angeles (Skylight Books). I really need to start taking photos. Tuesday night in L.A. was especially pic-worthy, as I met a bunch of great people for the first time, like Matty Byloos, Conrad Romo, Ken Baumann, Nick Antosca, Sabra Embury, and Ned Vizzini. Earlier in the day, I also stopped by Book Soup and signed their copies too, thanks to the escorted kindness of Joe O’Brien. And special thanks to the Joel McHale family unit for letting us stay with them while in the fancy part of L.A.
The previous night in San Francisco was also one to remember, with Stephen Elliott hosting a great line-up for his Rumpus reading at the Makeout Room. I got to read with Daniel Handler but for some reason never had a chance to actually meet him. Drats! He read a really part from a book-in-progress, hilariously titled “Why We Broke Up.”
The piece I read at the Rumpus was Cruising, the chapter about my first sexual experience. Coincidentally, I also recorded that chapter at KQED earlier in the day for their show/podcast, The Writer’s Block. I say the F-word in it but the radio folks said that it was okay. I guess they have a good bleeping machine or something. I’ll let you know when that goes up to listen to it.
I also want to say thanks to Books Inc who hosted me last Thursday in San Francisco as well. I signed all the left-over books there as well as the following places I stopped in: City Lights, Booksmith, Dog Eared, and even a Borders downtown.
Thanks also to other SF folks like Matthew “Hattie” Hein, who let Barb and I stay with him and his wife for three nights, Chelsea Martin, Joshua Mohr, Beth Lisick, and Josh & Susan Citrak.
Now, I’m home for a couple of days before hitting Seattle this Friday night for a reading at Elliott Bay. I hope to see a bunch of friends at that event as well. And then the east coast!!
Last night was one of those nights that seemed too good to be true. I had my first reading from ACP in front of around 200 people at Powell’s. My dear friend, Frances Miller, started it off with a killer intro that left me teary-eyed and barely able to begin. But I turned down the lights and read eight short parts of the book while doing a slide show. I choked up again while reading a chapter about my brother. Then after the Q&A, I invited Barb to come up and stand next to me while I tried to hold it together for the grand finale. Of course, it was futile. The tears came as I got on my knee and asked her to marry me. I was pretty much lost in that moment right then but I heard later (from reliable sources) that Barb and I weren’t the only ones crying.
After the reading there was a great after-party at Blitz (getting engaged means free drinks I found out) and I was able to visit with more friends while Barb showed off her fake-bling ring. We’ll be shopping for the real thing soon.
Thanks again to everyone who came out for this special night.
On Friday the 15th, I got a vasectomy. I know. I know. Who does that the week before their book comes out!? Well, I do. But I didn’t think it would be a big deal. The packet told me it would only take two or three days before I could go back to work. The packet was wrong!
Eight days later, and I’M STILL FEELING the pain! (sorry about the CAPS–they were unintentional but coincidentally appropriate, so I’m leaving them).
Sadly, I had to miss most of my work schedule on the first week of my book’s release. I was pretty bummed about that. I said a couple of things on Facebook about my condition but was a little embarrassed about the whole thing, so I never came right out and said the v-word. I know it’s nothing to be embarrassed about but I felt dumb hobbling around after more than 5+ days. Either the doctor fucked up or I’m a slow healer.
But at least I got some good material out of it. On Thursday night, I was the “special secret guest” at the True Stories show at Mississippi Studios. Though I was walking like a cowboy, I was still able to get on stage and read an essay I just wrote about the operation. It went over really well. But while most people were laughing, one guy in the audience fainted halfway through. Paramedics came in and took him away on a stretcher soon after.
Hopefully, I will be able to get this essay published in the next couple of months so you can all enjoy it (or faint).
In the meantime, here’s some other goodies that have popped up the past few days.
I’d also like to thank everyone for tweeting about the ACP Promo video. It’s fun to see it get spread around so much. I’ll be getting more videos up throughout the spring.
Yesterday, on the first day of my memoir’s shelf life, my beautiful girlfriend, Frayn Masters (I call her Barb) presented me with an incredibly awesome gift. She snuck around under the cloak of darkness (and the Internet) and asked a bunch of our friends to give recorded and written huzzahs for A Common Pornography. He is the epic and sweet (and sometimes ridiculous) result! Thanks to everyone (names below) who sent their love. Right back at ya!
My book is now out! And if you’re shy about putting money down on a book with the word pornography on the cover, fear not: I have thought of some crafty ways to protect your chaste reputation. Enjoy these helpful tips, my fair reader!
In 2002, I was about to self-publish the first version of A Common Pornography. It was a slim 60-page book with footnotes by Mike Daily and collages by Melody Owen, The print run was about 600 copies. It looked like this:
But first I needed to make a bit of moolah to pay for it. So I threw a benefit at Disjecta with some readings and music. Melody introduced me to Michael Johnson and told me his band, Reclinerland, would like to be on the bill. They played along with Mykle Hansen’s Bad Mintons, Giant Bug Village (the Guided By Voices cover band), and Crack City Rockers.
I remembered having a nice conversation with Mr. Johnson after the show. Not only did his band play for free but he also gave me some free CDs. A few weeks later, the book was out and I was driving around dropping off free copies to the folks who helped with the benefit. By that time, I had already played the Reclinerland CDs to death and was head over heels for Johnson’s smooth voice (great for make out music, by the way) and literary-minded pop stylings.
A couple of months later, Michael asked me to write fictional liner notes for the Reclinerland album, The Ideal Home Music Library: Volume 1. That came out in 2003.
Soon after that, to my surprise, Michael told me that he really liked the stories in A Common Pornography and that he was writing songs based on them. Some of the songs were nearly word-for-word musical versions of the stories themselves while a few were turning out a little looser in their translation. In 2007, he played some for the first time at a show at the Someday Lounge. It was pretty surreal and spectacular. And for the past couple of years, he has been crafting a whole CD of these songs–twenty of them based on chapters from the original–now rare–version of ACP.
Now it’s finally here! You can download the whole album on the Reclinerland website or listen to parts of songs on iTunes or Amazon. I think it’s a pretty fun creation and I’m flattered that Michael took so many hours (weeks! months!) to create it. And while you’re at it, check out his other fine work. I especially love the orange, green, and blue albums.
