"Don't get me wrong, if I'm looking kind of dazzled"

Like most men, I am creature of habit. And like most men, when my hair gets a little shaggy I roll into my local SuperCuts, Great Clips, or Fantastic Sam’s. So like most men would, I bristled when my wife strongly encouraged me to get a “big boy haircut” from a “stylist”. After getting a particularly bad cut my last time out (I really think it was more of a language barrier issue than a lack of skill), I finally relented and last night I made a visit to the Tribeca Salon. My first impression was that it was cleaner, smelled nicer, and played better music than any of the places I usually go. I was quickly greeted and offered a complimentary beverage. After surmising that they didn’t offer beer or tequila in this particular kind of joint, I agreed to a glass of wine, which was a nice touch since I had just knocked back two beers at the bar next door. Pretty quickly a gentleman named Steven came out and began the arduous process of “styling” my hair. He clippered it, he washed it (Awkwaaaaaaard), he stopped to chatter with the other “boys” who worked there, he textured it, he stopped to gossip some more, and finally he put some stuff in it and mussed it up in a very trendy way. All told, it took me close to an hour to get the exact same haircut that I can usually get in 15 minutes at SuperCuts (which Steven quickly pointed out is not at all Super, nor is Sam’s Fantastic), but I did get a free glass of wine and Steven recommended a hair product that makes my hair look oddly better than it ever has. I feel fabulous!

"And Napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon"

In the first ever post on this site, our host mentioned one of the 5 Guys having an OCD like predisposition towards music. Well I'll go ahead and come out of that closet carrying a harmonica, my iPod, and a mirimba. He was talking about me. I buy (yes, actually go to the store and physically purchase) anywhere between 2 and 5 CD's in an average week. Some of the stuff I get is very mainstream, while other stuff is fairly obscure (as is pretty evident by the titles of some of my posts).
With that said, I always respect and usually agree with the music reviews in Blender. However, last night I was reading this month's issue (the one with Tila Tequila on the cover, which in itself is a huge problem) and saw that they gave a CD of Scarlett Johansen doing Tom Waits covers 3 ½ stars while they hit the new 3 Doors Down with 2 stars. I just....don't know what to say. I will certainly admit that ideologically 3DD are most definitly built to appeal to Red Staters and there is a song on the CD that was commissioned by the National Guard (which rocks by the way), but overall the CD is 12 songs of hard hitting, guitar driven rock and roll. There is really not much to dislike if you enjoy rock music on any level. I agree it is nothing revolutionary, but it certainly isn't "bad".
On another note, Gavin DeGraw's new release is highly enjoyable. Very similar to his first one, which was also surprisingly good. There isn't really anyone else who combines guitar riffs with piano melodies quite the way he does, especially when each of those take a back seat to his tremendous voice. Worth checking out.

"I was lost in the cities, Alone in the hills"

After two weeks of hotels, airports, casinos, meetings rooms, and taxis, I am finally home on a weekend. I have to say, I feel rode hard and put away wet, not to mention a little bloated and greezee. Below are some thoughts, mostly chronological, from my travels of the last two weeks.
-Vancouver is a strange city. Very "European", which up until recently I thought translated to "topless" but as near as I can tell means that it is full of a bunch of really skinny dudes who all dress better than me. But the downtown area is pretty cool. From my hotel window I could see the water with sea planes landing and taking off, a green, hilly park with lots of runners and Frisbee players, and huge peaks with ski slops (still covered in snow) running all down them. Unfortunately because it is in the Pacific Northwest, I could only see these things for the first two days before the sea fog and rain moved in.
-I believe we all knew this, but Canadians can drink their weight on a daily basis. I can't hang with those guys....but I sure tried.
-Went to a casino on the last day. Pretty standard casino except for a couple things: It had floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the water and it had large clocks all over the place. It was almost the anti-Vegas, like they wanted you to leave so they could get someone else in there to take your place. Oh, and they also charged for drinks while you're playing (stingie bastards), so even though I was on quite a spectacular run I only walked out of there with an extra $120 Canadian ($93 US, thanks sagging dollar) in my pocket.
-In the airport on the way home, I managed to lose my cell phone. The whole customs process there is a massive cluster. They really need to get it straitened out before 2010 when the winter Olympics role through town. It didn't help that it was 4:15 in the a.m. and they were woefully understaffed.
-Was home long enough to repack and catch the Drive By Truckers show on Friday night. Great show but I will say till I'm blue in the face that they miss the Isbell songs in a live setting. As good as it was, the show needed one massive, lighter in the air ballad like Outfit or Decoration Day to anchor the whole thing. Great show though.
-Left early Saturday for New Orleans and then drove right over to Biloxi. Stayed at the new Grand. Hotel is very nice but the casino is small and kind of a dump. I think they are just using it as a stop gap until Margaritaville (which connects via walk bridge) is finished next year. Also played at the Beau Rivage which is beautiful and the I.P., which is surprisingly nice. The real jewel, however, is the Hard Rock. Fantastic casino, beautiful location, great pool that's right on the water and has a beach entrance and a swim up bar. Definitely where we will stay next time.
-Back to New Orleans on Sunday. Conference was pretty decent and afforded us plenty of time to have some nice meals, get fairly wrecked on Bourbon Street, walk around the French Quarter, and tour the Garden District. A very nice get away overall.
-I am now back in town for a whopping 10 days before heading down toFt. Lauderdale.

Getting Old

Let me be the first to say, I don't feel old. I don't think I act, dress or speak like I am old. But, lately, being old seems to be a reality. I just celebrated a birthday, without so much of the celebration part. Nice dinner, in bed by 10. Sure, having a 4 1/2 month old baby has something to do with all of that, but I am not built to go to bed at 9 or 10 every night. Just 6 months ago I was rarely in bed before midnight and on some weekends I still managed to see the sun come up (not recommended unless you like fighting with your wife). Nonetheless, this has been a huge a change in my life and I can't remember the last time I went out for a night.

Now, most people say "you get used to it" or "you just learn that your life has changed." I say, why does it need to be that way. Can I not be a good husband and dad but still have some part of the life I had before? I hope the answer is yes...and now that the baby is actually sleeping, it may be time to test it out soon before I go absolutely batshit staring at the walls of my house for many more weekends. I'm not disavowing responsibility, I hope that's evident...just that generally speaking I would like a higher percentage of fun mixed in. If not, I may as well add Barbra Streisand to my Neil Diamond collection and go buy a Fusion.

Everything's Coming Up Diamonds!!!!

I'm not a big fan of American Idol but I was flipping through the channels last week and came across the dark haired normal looking kid singing "Sweet Caroline" right there on the ol' boob tube. I'm a fan of this song (mostly because of the alternate lyrics) so I was compelled to sit and watch as each of the final 5 got to perform 2 songs, all of which were Neil Diamond songs. Now, I know for a fact that there are authors on this blog team that have been to a Diamond show and think very highly of his music and I must say, after years of making fun of my Aunt, Uncle, Gary, Danny, and anybody else that claimed to be a fan, I will now have to take it all back and call myself a fan.

I'm not sure when it happened...really, I've got no idea. I have a theory though. I think it's in our DNA. I think we have a time clock in our bodies that tells us when it's time to stop wearing t-shirts with a message on the front, to start growing ear hair, and when to start liking Neil. I've obviously reached this point and sadly I've reached it unloved and alone (see "what you need is a wife")

The "idol" also showed me what a farce pop music is in this day and age...indeed these are the words of the unsophisticated money machines (only Gary will get that) that pollute the Fox network and dupe tens of millions of Americans into voting for extremely average singers (see the week prior, Mariah Carey as a mentor...need I say more). What's perhaps even better, is that not a single one of the top 5 talents in America could even come close to out-Neiling Neil...it wasn't even a contest!

The spiky haired kid came the closest but at best the performances were an abortion of good singing and songwriting. I mean, the performers thought they could get by "improving" Neils songs by abruptly starting and stopping the lyrics and ended up completely erasing every scrap of the essence that is Neil Diamond. The songs had no flow, no dynamic and were utterly disappointing.

So, I am now the proud owner of some of Neil's greatest hits and I will enjoy them while dropping off a bag of old t-shirts at goodwill with a pair of freshly trimmed ears...I can't help it, I am, I said...sing on Neil...sing on.