So Effing Cool, I Had To Share

Anyone looking for someone to do graphic design for them really should check out the work of my good friend, Leslie. Simply put, she is incredibly talented. Here is an amazing drawing she did for some party invites, featuring yours truly (I'm in the middle and look far more bad-ass in the pic than I do in real life).

And another drawing from the same invites featuring Portland musician, Brandon Chandler.

I can't recommend her enough. If you need some design work done, message me and I will forward on to her. She ain't so bad on the eyes, either. :)

Winslow Homer

While I was bumming about the biggest musical loss in my life since Kurt Cobain passed, The Dimes quietly posted a brand new demo via their MySpace page. The track is called "Winslow Homer" and it once again shows why they are one of my favorite bands.

The track can be streamed here: http://www.thedimes.com/music/Winslow_Homer.m3u

Click and enjoy.

Leroi Moore 1961-2008

Yesterday, Leroi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band passed away. He was 46.

I met Leroi in the late 90's after my first DMB concert. He was a shy, quiet person, but very nice. The music he created with DMB has meant so much to me. I will miss him very much, as will thousands of other fans. The music will not be the same with him gone.

Defeated By The Heat

Anyone in Portland this past weekend knows how unbelievably hot it was. Too, too hot. It was difficult to find the motivation to do anything but sit in my slightly-cooler-than-the-100-degrees-outside basement and try not to move. Sadly as I sat in the sweltering heat, pissing and moaning, I realized the Las Vegas-ian in me may be completely gone. It's been a long time since I lived in the desert and already my immunity to the blazing sun has left my body.


Luckily, a couple of friends played shows that helped serve as a distraction from the extreme warmth. Ehren Ebbage played another happy hour show at the Alberta St. Pub on Thurs. There's not a whole hell of a lot more I can say about Ehren; every one of my friends know that I think he is an incredibly talented musician. I was fortunate enough to introduce him and his music to a few of my friends at this show. Once again, Ehren played a solid set and even threw in a cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" for good measure (my friends also know I love my Prince...). Nice thing about Alberta St. Pub, in addition to the talent, is that their happy hour runs until 7:45pm and the food is actually pretty decent. Unfortunately, the staff is less than accommodating. They were rude to some of my friends and, in an unforgivable move, were rude to the evening's talent. Online reviews also note the same thing: good food, horrible service. One would assume in a service industry this is something they would address. However, one would assume incorrectly in this instance. I'll give them one more shot, but treating an artist that brought in the majority of their patrons for that evening with any disrespect at all is unacceptable.


On the other end of the spectrum, the Buffalo Gap has always provided me exceptional service. They have a late night happy hour menu every night with good food for $2.95, including some killer BBQ pork tacos that I highly recommend. On their musical menu last Saturday evening was a new friend of mine, Brandon Chandler and his band The Revival. I've really been getting into his first album After All This Time (Leslie writes a great review of the album at http://deludedsecretary.blogspot.com/2008/08/review-brandon-chandler-revival.html) and I'm looking forward to the release of his second album later this year. Brandon and his band played an excellent set and I am looking forward to seeing them again in a month at a very special gig that some of you will also join me for.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you have an opportunity to catch a live show from either of these artists, jump on it.

Madison Mercy

Many congrats to my step-brother, Justin (yes, I have a brother whose name is also Justin; my folks were highly unoriginal), and his wife, Cara, on the birth of their daughter, Madison Mercy. Madison was born at 3:45am on 8/4/8 weighing in at 7lbs 12oz. She is a beautiful girl and a very welcome addition to the family.

Casa de Bondioli, Greif, y Pederson

Finally got moved into the new place. The whole process has kept me quite busy over the last week, but it has been well worth it.


The house is in the Hollywood District and is massive; way more space than my two roommates and I can reasonably justify having. Four bedrooms, a few bonus rooms, 2700 square feet plus a giant basement.


It is the perfect house for entertaining. We've already had a ton of people stop by to visit. It's what I've always wanted, especially after being in West Linn for a year and a half where no one wants to drive all the way out.


Petey has a ton of room to run around and play. That should help him get some exercise in and lose some of this extra baggage he's been carrying around. People probably think I've been trying to fatten him up for a meal this coming holiday season.


I feel incredibly blessed to call this place my home with two exceptional roommates, and one slightly overweight rabbit. I'm already looking forward to all of the good times that we will host within these walls.